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[
THfi
ANNUAL REVIEW,
ANfi
HISTORY OF UTERATUREi
»OE
1805.
ARTHUR AIKIN, EDITOR.
VOL. IV.
t
amssssssi I' I ik I.-
LONDON:
^SdKTSO FO^ LOKOMAN, HURST, R££$, A2a> ORM^p
PATERNOSTER-ROW.
im.
V*
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( iii )
TABLE OF CONTENTS,
With the Prices of the various Works, in Boards unless otherwise
expressed, and the Publishers' Names,
CHAPTEJl h-r^oyages and Travels,
Page
x. lurnDuii s > oyage round the World, 3 vols. l52mo. 13s. Od. rhilliiw
3. M«vor*s Aecbunt of Oiptain Cook's Voj-ages, 2 vols^ Iftnio. 8s. Harris
4. Popham's Description of Prince of Wales island, 8vo. 2s. tki. Slotkdai
5. Lwth's A^-'count of ditto, Svo. 2s. 6d. Booth — ^^
1. Bnne's Travcls;^ew Edition, 7 vols. 8vo. with a VoUune of Plates, in 4to- 41. 16s.
and Royal, 71. Longman and Co. — — — — 9
2. Tumbuirs'Voyage round the World, 3 vols. i52mo. 13s. 6d. Philliiw — — 16
" *' ' • • J.Harris — 24
Stotkdale — i.'5
T- . — ibid
6. Lindley's Voyage to Brasil, 8vo. 6s. Johnson — — — 1,'7
7. Beftvex's African Memoranda, 4to. 1*. Ms. 66. Cadell — — 32
. S. Description of 8t. Helena, 12mo. 6s. Phillips t- ~ — 38
0. Kotzebue*s Travels through Italy, 4 vols. 12uio. 20s. Phillips — ^43
10. Present State of Peru, 4to. 21. ifs. Bhilfips — — ' — 49
11. Tour in Zealand, 8 ve. 5s. White — — ^ — — 60
12. M'^'aUum's Travels in Trinidad, 8vp. 10s. 6d. Croste,^ — — 63
i3. Griffith's Traveb,4to. 11. lis. 6d. Cadell —' — —.67
J 4. Davte*s Letters from Paraguay, 8vo. 5s. Bobinson — — — 77
15. Parkinson's Tour in America, 2 vols. 8 vo. 15s. Harding — — 82
\6. Collection of Modem \'oyaj5es, &c. Vol. I. 158. Phillips — . — 85
J7. Michaux'sTravels in America, 8vo. 7s. Mawnian — — — 91
15. Beckford's Letters iirom Italy, 2 vols. &vo. 18s. Cadell — -^ 99
Id. Ckarice^s Naufragia, l2mo. tis. 6d. Mawman — — — ibid
20. Carres Northern Summer, 4to. 21. 2s. Phillips — — — 100
21. Boukon's Sketch of Upper Canada, 4to. 7s. Norftavilte and Fell -^ — lOS)
22. Sketch of the present Sute of France, 8vo. 3s. 6d. Phillips — — 1 12
CHAPT£R IL^Tkeoiogy and Ecckmstical Affairs.
1. HolnMs, Vetus Testamentum Grvcum, folio, Payne — — — 119
2. Stock's Book of Job, 4to. ll. Is. Wilkic and Co. — — 128
3. Winstanlcy's Vindication of the New Testament, 12n]o. 3s. Longman and Co. — 134
4. Nisbett on the New Testament, 8vo. 6s. Rivington — — — 135
5. lacbbald on the Fall of Man, 8vo. Johnson — — r- ibid
t>. Trinuner's Help to the Unlearned, 8vo. 12s. Hatchard — <— 13()
7. Parker's Old Testament illustrated, 12mo. 3s. 6d. Vidler — — 138
8. Sharp's Enquiry concerning Babylon, 12uio. 3s. 6d. Kivingtons ^- — ibid
9- Watson's Popular Evidences, 8vo. 10s. 6d. lx)ngman and Co. — — ibid
JO. N are's View of the Prophecies, 9vo. 7s. 6d. Rivin^tons — — 141
it. Robinson's Christian System, 3 vols. 8vo. 11. 4s. ditto — — 144
12. Smith's Letters to Bclsham, 8vo. 3s. Johnson — — — 149
13. Bekham's Reply to Siiuth, 8vo. 3s. ditto ^ — — ibid
14. New Way of deciding old Controversies, 8vo. 4s. ditto — — ibid
J5. Wright's Anti-iatisfactionist, 9vo. VicUej — -- — 151
16. Moncrief Wellwood'.s Sermons, 8vo. 8s. 6d. Longman and Co. — — 153
17. Cappe's Discourses, 8vo. lOs. 6d. Johnson — — — 157
l.S. Kcnrick's ditto, 2 vols. 8vo. lOs. ditto — — — — 161
19. Townsend's S(»rmon?i, 8vo. 8s. Mawman — . — — 164
20. Gilpin's diUo, Vol. IV. 8vo. 7s. Cadt'll — — .^ 166
i:i. Napleton's, ditto. Vol. II. 7s. 6d. S4el — — — 16S
V^ Morton's ditto, \'ol. II, 7s. 6d. Mawman — — . . — 169
x'J. Munkhouse> Discourses, 3 voU. 8vo. ll. 4s, Longman and Co. — — 170
fy CONTENTS.
Page
24. Partridge's Sermons, from Ihe French, 8vo. 7s. Kivin^tons — **" .^^i
25. Twelve Senuonson Important Subjects, 8vo. 6s. Cadeil and Davies — ibid
26. Adam's ditto on the Dutv, &c. 8vo. 7s. 6d. Longman and Co, — IJ2
27. Dore's Three Sermons, cVit^ 8 vo. 3s. Button — — ib|d
28. Drummond's Two Discourses, 8vo. Is. 6d. Johnson — — ibjd
29. Headlam's Sermon at Richmond, 4to. Is. 6d. RiviBgions — — 173
30. Phillpott's ditto at Oxford, 4to. is. 6d. ditto — • — 'hid
31. Gardiner's ditto on Dr. Maclaine, 8vo. iiatchard — — ihid
32. Mosele/s ditto, 12mo. Is. Williams , • — " — "^ ijj
33. Hall's'Sermoa before the House of Commons, 4lo. — — wjd
34. Poulter's Fast Sermon, 8vo. White .-.—.- ibid
35. Madan's ditto, 8vo. Is. Rivingtons — . — — ;hja
36. Dore's Sermon on the floiy Spirit, 8vo. — — ihul
37. Belsham's ditto on the Pros;ress of Error, avo. Is. Johnson — 175
38. A Sermon on Baptismal Faith, 4to. _ — — ibid
39. Butler's Sermon at Shrewsbury 12mo. Is. Longman *— — ibid
40. Prosser's ditto at Lambeth, 4to. Is. 6d. Rivingtons • — -—176
41. Baseley's Oration on the Duke of Gloster, 4to. Sael — — ibid
42. Bulmer's Sermon, ^vo. Is. Rivingtons -^ -^ -*. ibid
43. Hawtrey's Guide to Heaven, crown 8vo. 4s. ditto — ibid
44. Oakley s Holy Family, 8vo. 4s. ditto ^ . — . ibi4
45. Felloweson Death, 12mo. 3s. Mawman — — — 177
46. Leighton's Works, 8vo. Vols. 1, 2, and 3, 7s. each, Baynes — — ibid
47. ViUiers on Luther's Reformation, by Mills, 8vo. 9s. Baldwin ^ — ibid
48. Ditto by I^mbert, 8vo. 8s. Jones — — — ibid
49. Laurence's Eight Sermons, 8 vo. 8s. Rivingtoi% . — — 187
50. Examination of Daubeny, 8vo. 8s. — — — 191
31. Overton's Four LettcKJ, 8 vo. 35. Rivingtons — -* ibid
52. Rathbone's Memoir of the Quakers, 8vo. 2i. 6d. Fhillips — 19«
53. Bevan's Defence of FrieiKis, 8vo. 5s. 6d. ditto — — 193
54. M'Rae's View of the Church, I2mo. 3s, I>ongman and Co. — — ib.
55. Report of the Bible Society, Pai'tL Is. Hatcliard — — ib.
56. Lavater's Letters of St, Paul, 8vo. 58. Johnson — 105
57. Peace on Earth, &c. 8vo. 9». ditto — —- tt>^
58. Thoughts on tlie Creation, 8vo. 38. fid. Hatchard — — 197
59. The Christian Minor, l2mo. 5s, Williams — — I9S
60. Adams's View of Religion, 12mo. Gs. Button — ♦ — ib.
CHAPTER WL.'^Hiftory, Politics, and Statistics.
1. Wilson's History of Eg}'pt, 3 vols. 8vo. II. 4«?. Longman and Co. — 202
2. Belsliam's History of Great Britain, 12 vols. 8vo. 51. 5s. Phillips — 206
3. Orme's Historical Fragments pf -the Mogul Empire, 4to. ]1. 8s. Wiitgrave — 212
4. Rainsford's Account of the Black Empire of Hayti, 4to. 21. 2s. Cundee — 219
5. Sir J. Sinckwi-'s History of the public Revenue of the British Empire, 2 vols. 9vo.
18s. Cadeil — .« — 228
6. Adaro5^s Roman History, I2mo. 4s. I^ngman — — 232
7. The Earl of Selkirk's pi-esent State of the Highlands of Scotland, 8vo. 6s. ditto fb.
8. Wy vill's Political Papers, vok 5. 8vo. 78. Johnson — — 235
9. Reasons why the Society of Friends should not vote for Members of Parliament 243
10. An Attempt to rectify the public Atfaim of the £jnpfre, &c. -*- 244
1 1. M'DtannKl's Enquiry into the System of national Defence in Great Britain, 2 vels.
8vo. U. Is. Bafdwin — — — 247
12. Poole's Reply to Gardiner's Answer to a Narrative, &c. — — 2jl
13. Intercept ea Letters — •— — ib.
14. Sir James Stcuart's Works, 6 vols. 8 vo. 21. 2s. Cadeil — — 232
15. The Policy and Interest of Great Britain with Respect to Malta considered — 257
16. Thoughts on the Protestant Ascewkncy in Ireland — — 258
17. Lemesurier's Examination of the Roman Catholic Claims. Stockdale — 260
18. Melancthoii's Letter to Dr. Troy. Booker — — 261
19. Cockburn's Dissertation on Civilization in India, 4to. Cadeil — 264
20. Asiatic Annwal Register for 1802, 1803. 8vo. 13s. each, ditto — 265
21. A Conclsi* Account of the Commerce and Navigation of the Black Sea, 8 vo.
Is. 6d. Harding — — 256
22. Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. 4. 8vo. lOs. 6d. Longman and Co. 268
2i. Defence of Monopoly, 1 3. 6d. «?}monds — — 275
CONTENTS. t
Page
14. Talleyrand on Commercial delations. Deboffe — — 276
Ui. Lovd livetpooVs Treatise on Coins, 4to. ll. Is. Cadell — 278
^, Captain Barber's intemal Defepce of Great Britain, 2s. 6d. Egertou — 280
J7. llcilop*s Observations on tlie Duty on Properly — — ib.
;». Brarbtock's Treatise upon Ty tlies, 3s. 6d. liatchard _ 28 1
!?9. Thoughts on public Trusts, 12ino. 2$. 6d. I^n^man and Co. — ib.
30. l^y&ir*$ Enqu'ury into the Causes of the Decline of poweriul and wealthy Na-
tions 4to. IL lls-6d. Greenland and Norris — , — 286
31. Speech of Deputy Birch against the Catholic Petition, K Richardson — 290
3'i. Stewart's Suggestions for the Improvement of the Military Force, 8vo. Is. 6d.
Egerton — — -r- 291
33« (Mtterv'atioDs..and Hints lelative to the Volunteer Infantry, ditto — 2^
34. Trial for a Libel ui the Antijacobin Review, 8vo. Symonds — 293
33. Lauderdale's Hints to the Manufacturers of Great Britain, 8vo. 2s. Longman — ib.
36. Ir^'inc's Enquiry into the Causes of Emigratkin, 8vo. 3s. (kl. ditto — ' 294
37. Lauderdale's Thoughts on Circulation, 8 vo. 38 ditto — — 295
39. Lau)berf s Characteristic Anecdotes, 8vd. 58. Baklwia — — 296
39. llalfs Efifects of Civilization, 8vo. 7s. Ostell — — 298
40. HoMr's Observations on the Poor Laws, 8vo. Is. 6d. Hatchard — . 302
41. .lii Essay on tlie Principle and Origin of Sovereign Power, 8vo. 7s. ditto — 304
42. eddy's European Commerce, 4to. 21. 2s. Richardson — — 307
43. Line's Method of keepiog Accounts with Bankers «n the Country and in
LonUon,8vo. 10s. 6d. Longman and Co. — — 313
" '- .--... — ib.
— 313
r reducing the Poor's Rate — — 315
47. Cappe's Obiervations on Charity Schoals. 8vo. Johnson — — 317
48. War in D'i^uise, 8vo. 5s. 6d. Hatchard — — 318
xx>naon,9vo. ius. od. jjongman ana^o. —
44. Hunter's Sketch of the political State of Europe, 4to. 12s. Budd
4j. M'Keuna's 1 liouglits on the Catholic Cltrgy and People —
4f). Bone's Outline of a Plan for reducing the Poor's Rate —
CHAPTER TV.-^JncUnt Classics, Classical Antiquities, and Mythology.
1. Orphka, cum Notts tl. Stepliani, &c. 8vo. Payne — — 2^2^
S. Walpok's Comicorum Gnecorum Fragmenta quxdam, Stro. 5s. Mawman — 3t2^
3. Walpole^s Specimens of Scarce IVanslat'ions, l2mo. 5s. Mawman -^ 329
A Adam's Compendious Latin Dictionary, 8vo. 12s. bound. l.ongroan and Co — 33 1
5. Neilson's Greek Exefcises, with Key, 8vo. 9s. bound, ditto — — 332
6. Good's Translation of Lucretius, 2 vols, 4to. 41. 4s. ditto — ib.
7. Jones's Greek Grammar, 12mo. 69. ditto — — 345
8. Claik on ihic Tomb of Alexander, 4to. ll. Is. Mawman -^ -« 346
9. J>«icri|^onofAatiiim, 4to. 11. Us. 6d. Longman and Co. — 353
M. Vinceojt's Peripkis of the Erythraean Sea, 4to. part 2. ll. 6s. Cadell , «-- 359
CHAPTER V.'-Afodern Languages.
L Euay 00 Eogfish Accents and Prosody, 12mo. 4s. 6d. — — 370
CBAFTER YL^British Ttpos;raphy and Antiquities,
3U
L Barry's History of the Orkney Islands, 4to. W, \ Is. 6d. Longman and Co. ^^
t. Britton's Architectural Antiquities, parts 1, 2, 3. 4to. lOs. 6d. each, and 1.5s. royal.
Longman and Co. — — — 388
1 Miner's History of Doncaster, 4to. ll. Is. and royal II. 1 Is. 6d. Miller — 392
4 Nichols's History of Leicester, folio, vol. 3. part 2. 2i. 12s. 6d. NichoUf -^398
5. Pohrhele's History of Devon, folio, 3 vols. 41. 48. Cadell — — 400
^ Sir H. Englefield^i Walk through Southampton ^ &vo. 4s. 6<L JLongmau and Co. — ib.
7. DoBcumbe's History of Hereford, 4to. vol. I. 31. 3$. ditto •-- ib.
«. Jones's H&tory of Brecknock, 4ta vol. I. 21. 1 Ss. Booth — — 4C9
9. BbmdielA History of Norfolk, vols. 1 . 2, 3. royal 8vo. I8s. each, a&d 4to. 21. 2s.
Miner — — — 41«
10. PohrtH^'s History of Cornwall, vol. 3. 4to. ll. l<i. Cadell — — ib.
11. Hay's History of Chicheiter, 8vo. lOs. 6d. Longman and Co. — 41 7
12. Gtttiiwwatei'a History of Bury^ Edmunds, 12mo. 7."?. ditto — — 421
U. Hewlett's Views in Ltacoloshire, 4to. Si. 15s; 6d. MiUes — 4v2
Ml Ooiton's Traveller's Guide, 2 vols. Igmp- IL 5s. Cuudee — — ib.
il Mak3c4pi*s LondiQUm RdUvivuni, 4tp. vols. )2, 3. 4to. 3h I3d. 6d.LoDgmajiaQdCo. 4S3
vi . CONTENTS.
Page
16. Rpautics of Engtend and Wales, 8vo. vol. 6. IL 3s. Longman and Co. <^ 425
17. Whitaker's Catliedral of Cornwall, 2 toU. 4to. 21. 2s. Nicholls — — 428
18. Maw mau^s Exciirstoiis to tlie Highlands, 8 vo. 93. Ma^^l1lan -^ — 438
19. Beauties of Scotland, 8 vo. Vol. f 1 5s. VernorandCo. ^— — ib.
20. Donovan's Excursion tlirough South Wales, 2 vols. 8vo. 21. 2s. <nd cold. 31. 10s*
Rivingtons — — — 44t
21. Select Views in Ix>ndon and its Environs, 4to. Vol. 2. 31.3s. ani royal 51. js^
' Vernor and Co. — — — . 444
CHAPTER VlL^GeograpJiy.
I. Aikin's Geographical Delineation; 2 vols, cr. 8vo. 12s. Johnson — — 446
CHAPTER yill.—Biogr(q>kfj.
' 1. Roscoe's Life of Leo Xth., 4 vols. 4to. ffl. 6s. -^ — 44§
i?. Maton*s Life of Liniianis, 4to. U. lis. dd. Mawinan — — 467
3. Franklin's Memoirs of G. Thomas, 4to. 11. 5s. and 8vo. lOs. 6d. CadcU ~ 473
4. Cayley's Life of Ralegh, 2 vols. 4lo. U. 158. and 8vo. 2 Is. Cadell — ' 477
.5. Brief Account of Dr. Johnson, 1 2mo. 4b. 6d. Phillips — — 484
6. Cooke's Memoirs of FooteJ 3 vols, l2mOp l3s. 6d. ditto — — ib.
7. Memoirs of Marmontel, 4 vols. l2nio. ll. Is. Longman and Co. — — ib.
8. Laycey's Life of Erasmus, 8vo. 8s. 6d. Cadell ' — ~ — 48S
0. Thif?bault's Anecdotes of Frederick 11. 2 \t>ls. 8vo. l6s. Johnson — 48ft
10. Stark's Biographia Scotira, ISmo. 5s. Murray — — — 495
11. Female Revolirtionary Plutarch, 3 vols. 12mo. 11. Is. ditto — — Lb.
12. Memoirs of Talleyrand, 2 vols. 12mo. 12s. <iitto — — 496
13. Piikington's Dictionary of Painters, 4to. ll. I6s. Longman and Co. — 497
14. CoU'ms's Memoirs of a Picture, 3 vols. 12mo. lOs. Beil — — 504
15. Greiwell's Memoirs of Politianus, t\cc. 8vo. I2s. Catlell — — 50P
1(5. Life of Professor Gcllert, 3 vols. 8 vo. 18s. Hatchard '— — 516
17. Hartford's Co^^c^pondence, 3 vols. 12mo. ll. Is. Phillips — 517
13. Granger's Letter^, by Mafcolm, 8vo. 10s. (>d. Longman and Co. — 523
19. Memoirs of I^rrl Nelson, 8vo. 2s. 6d. Symonds — — 535
!l^ Cnmberlahd's Meinoin;, 4to. 21. 2s. Lack'uigton — - — — jfe^
CHAPTER lX.-^Poctr7j,
1. Ellin's Specimens of Metrical Romances, 3 vols. Svo. ll. 7s. Longmm and C«. — 53^
C. Spenser's Works, by Todd, 8 vols. 8vo. 41. 4g. Rivington — — 544
3. Montgomer/s Poems l2mo. 4s. Longman — — — 555
4. Herbert's Icelandic Poetry, cr. 8vo. 12s. Longman and Co. — — 558
5. Beresford's Song of the Sun, 8v6. 2s. 6d. Johnson — — 563
6. RicIiardsoiiN Poems, 2 vols. 12mo. 12s. Longman and Ca. — -— 56S
. 7. Bayrteld'i Poems, 12mo. 7s. Lindsetl — — — ib.
8. Valle Cnicis Abbey, l2mo. 5s. ditto — -r- ib,
9. Clarke's Uustioi I'Jjno. 3s. 6d. Ostell — — -. ib.
10. Maxey's Kuth andTobit, from Florian, 12mo. 5s. Boosey — — 566
11. Magnall's Half an Hour's lounge, 12mo. 3s. 6d. Longman — — ib.
12. Boun4e[i*s Fatal Curiosit\-, 12:no. 4s. 6d. ditto — ' — ib.
13. Battle of Largs, 12iuo. 3s. — — — ib.
1 4- Bowles's Spirit of Discover)-, l2rao. 9s. Cadell — — 56S
-15. Works of the Author of Epistle to Sir W. Chamba^ 12mo. 4s. PiiiUips — ^73
J 6. London Cries, 8vo. 4s. Murray — • — -*- ib.
i7. I lay ley's Ballads, foolscap, 6s. Phillips — — 575
13. liopp»er's(>cientidTales,8vo. 7s. mtchard — — SM
J 9. Epistle to James Barry, Esq. 8 vo — — •-. 57g
-CO. Soulhev's Metrical Tales, 12mo. 5s. 6d. Longman — -^ 579
^\. Boyd's'Penanceof Hugo, 12mo. 5s. ditto — — — 581
€2. Graham's Sabbath, 12mo. 5s. ditto — — — 58€
423; Mifai's Simple Poems, 8 vo. 5s. ditto — -^591
£4. Steuart's Pleasures of Love, f. c. 6s. Mawman — -i«- ib»
US. Fitzwilliam'* do. f. c. 6s. Cunde^ — — — ib.
C6. Courtier's Poems, vol. 2. 6s. Rivtngtons v — — 59*
27. Shee's Rhymes on Art, l2rao. 7s. Harding -^ -— 592
e8» Whitchurch's UispanioUy l2mo« 3*. Od, Longman and C(h ^ 59€r <
contents: Tit
CQ, The Anti-Corsican, 4to, 5s. Law — — •-, — . ^tjr
30. Grant's Prtee Poem, 4to. 3s. 6d Cadell and Davies — . — 59«
31. Coxe's MiScelbncous Poetry, 8vo. 88. W hitu — ~- — ibid
32. Bond's Woodman's Tale, 8vo. I0s.€cl. lowigiwan artd Co. * — — (»0D
33. West's Poems «nd Plavs, Vols. 3 and 4, foolscap 8vo. V2s. ditto — €02
34. Southe/s Madoc, 4to'. HI 2s, ditto — — ^ t)04
35. Smilii's &jglish Lyricf, Part 2, 8vo. 5s, Cadcjl and Davies — — 6lS
3<i Tcniplt!'* Poeijis IL'mo. 5s. Phillips — — "^ $*^
37. Icing's Ossikn's Poems, 2 Vols. 8vo. ll. lOi Longman and Co. — — ioid
3d. Macdonald'sAiiHwer io dtto, 6vo. 7s. Cadell and Davies — — 620
39. Rosa Matilda's Hours of Solitude, 2 Vols. postSvo.' i4s. Highley — ibid
4a The Chaplet, 12mo. 38. Longman and Co. — " — 021
41. Gibson's Elidure and Ella, 8vo* — -. ._ ^ ibid
42. Dovonian's Poems to 'I'hespia, 8vo. 4s. Cadell and Davies — — ibid
43- Poetical Epistle to Mr. Pitt, 4to. 2s. 6d. Gray — — ibid
44. The British Martial, 2 Vols, foolscap Svo. IQs. Phillips — — ibid
45. Poems by Bobertits, ditto 7s. Ebers — , — 622
46. Stinunerseli's Rustic, ditto, 4s. Lon^ao and Co. — — 4hid
^, Ajnatoxy Poems, ditto, 2s. 6d. Bell — — — ibid
45i. Hunter's Sports of the Genii, 4to- 5s, Payne ' — .— -^ CiJ
^ Cottle's Sdection of Poems^ l^mo. 4i. bound, Johnson — — 6^4
CHAPTER X.-^Dramatic Poetry (bid Pluf/s.
I. CifTord's Edhion of Massinger's Plavs, 4 Vols. 8vo, 21. .8s. Longman and Co. — j62i
fit. Nathan the Wise, 8vo. 7s. 6d. Phiilips ^ — — 634
3. CoUett's Sacred DEamas, 8 vo. 6s. Longman and Co. — — ^3*
4. The Natural Son, a Tragedy, 2s. Barker — — ibid
3. 'ITjcI^dy of tlie Rock, 8vo. Is. 6d. Longman and Co. — — ibid
t, I'o Marry or Not to Marrv, 8vo. 2s. 6d. ditto — — 640
7. Too Many Cooks, 8vo. ll 6d. ditto — — . — 64«
JB. The Blintf Bargain, 8vo. 2s. 6d. diUo — — — ibid
9' The Honest Soldier, a Comedy, 3s. Longman and Co. — — ibid
iO. The Honey Moon, a Comedy, 2s. 6d. ditto — — ibid
H. The School of Reform, ditt«,"2s. 6d. ditto -^ — — 64£
12. The Cabinet, a Comic Opera, 2s. 6d. ditto — — . — 643
13. Youth, Love, and Folly, ditto, is. 6d. Barker — — ibid
14. The Delinquent, a Comedy, 28. 6d. Longman and Co. — ' — ibid
li. John Bull, a Comedy, 2s. 6d. ditto — — — ibid
t
CHAPTER Xl.-^Xox'€fs,
1. Hulcroft's Bryan Perdue, 3 Vols. 12mo. 15s. Longman and Co. — 644
i. GodN%in's Fleetwood, 3 Vols, l^'mo, i5s. Phillips • — — 64^
3. Hennan and Dorothea, a I'ale, foolscap 8vo. 7s. Longman and Co. -«» 6^
4. Opie's Adeline Mowbray, 3 Vols. i2mo. L3s. 6cL ditto — — jOSI
3. Lee's Life of a Lover, 6 Vols, crown 8vo. ll. I6s. Robinsons , - ' -»-r iUid
6. Mysterious Freebooter, 4 Vols. 18s. Hut^hts — • -:- €54
7. The Daellists, l^mo. 3s. 6d. Williams and Smith ^ ^ 65£
5. Lee's Canterbury Tales, Vol. 5. 8vo. 8s. WilkieandCo. — r— ibid
9. Hebie's Pilgrim of the Cross, 4 \ ols. 12mo. ISs. Osteli ^ ir^ ibid
10. MenUl Recreations, 12mo. 4s. Baldwin — — ibid
11. Bdi'ille House, 2 Vols. 12mo. 8s. Symondg — — ibid
12. Lambert's Adyentuces of Cooroo, cro\yn Svo. 5«. Scatchard and LeUen^iap — ibid
13. MemoiTS of M. de Biinboc, 3 Vols. 12mo. 12s. Gadell and Davies ^^ 6jO
CHAPTER yilL^Mttapkygiffs, PkUology, and CrUicisnu
L An Essay on the Priaciples of human Action, cr. 8vo. 43. Johnson ' -— 657
2. Forsyth's Principles of Moral Science, vol. 1. 8yo. 10s. 6d Longman and Co. — ()64
3. Dnumnond's Academical Questions, vol. 1, 4to. 15s. Cadell and Dayies -* 670
4. Tooke's Diversions of Pudev, part 2. 4to. 11. 1 1 s. 6d. Joluison — ' &f6
i. ^fjckenne's Keport of the Highland Society on tlie Poems of Oisian, Bvo. 12s.
Longmaa^dCc^ «— — — -«- 679
m C0NTENT5.
CHAFFER XIlL—A/wce/fawVi.
f^gt
i, Fostfr's Essays, 2 rols. 12mo. 9s. Longman and Co. -— - .,^ 70f>
5L Hiats for a Young Priucess, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 12nio.. Cadel! and Davies -^ 7()«
S. Br istcd's Society of Friends Examined, 8 vo. (>s. Mawman — — 71 3
4. ^ayers's Miscellanies^ Antiquarian and Historical, 8 vo. 68. Cadeiland Davies — 716
5. Peacock on Dancing, 8 vo. 5s. Ijougnian and Co. — — — 718
6. Miller's Retrospect of the 18th Centui7, Part I. 3 vols. 8vo. U. Is. Johnson - 72\
7. Bigland's Essays on various Subjects, 2 vols. 8vo. 12s. Longman and Co. — 729
8. Andrews's Free Disquisitions, &c. 8vo. iis. Tipper and Co — — 730
9. I^ncaster on Education, 8vo. 5s. Phillips and Fardon — — — 73^
10. Pratt's Harvest Home, 3 voJs. 8vo. U. lis. 6d. Phillips — — — 736
1 1. Light Reading at Leisure Hours, 12mo. 6s. Ridgcway — — — 738
\9i. Barbauld's Seiecti<Mis, 3 vob. 8vo. 18s. and ISmo. 10s. 6d. Johnson •*« — 740
13. Twiss's Miscellanies, 2 vqls.Svo. 11. Is. Booth — — — 74?
14. Memoirs of Gilbert Purring, 12nio. 3s. 6d. Longman and Co. — — ib,
15. -j^urns Illustrated) 4lo. 11. Us. 6d. Royal 8vo. \Lu and Demy 8vo. 15s. Vemor
and Hood — ' — — — ib.
16. Ireland's Confessions, cr. 8vo. 7s. 6<1. Phillips — — 743
17. Knight on Taste, 8vo. 8s. 6d. Payne -.- — . .^ 745
18. Stower's Typographical Marks, 8vo. Is. Longman and Co. -— — 74^
CHAPTER Xiy.—Militart/ and Ntvcal Tactics.
1. GiMSdon's Address to Volunteer Corps, 8vo. 28. 6d. Egerton — ^ — 75tf .
Ij. iku-krr's Instructions for Sharp^Shooters, 12mo. 2s. 6d. Egerton — ib. .
3. Kirke's Duties of Riflemen, &c. f. c, 8vo. 2t. 6d. Vemor and Co. — — 759
4 Howard^s Drill of Light Infantry, &c. 12mo. 2s. Egerton — — 753
5. Kirige's Duties of the Light Cavalry in tlie Field, l2mo. 4s. Vemor and Co. — . ib.
6. Gord6!>^, Treatise on the Science ot Defence, 4to. J 5s. Synu>nds — 754
7. Clerk's Essay on Naval Tactics, 4to. U. l6s. Longman and Co. — 756
i« Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs, 6 vols. 8vo. 31. 3s. Longman and Co. 761
CHAPTER XXL^AgricuUure and Rural Ecommy.
I. I^wrenceen Cattle, 8vo. 12a. Symonds — — — 76«
?, Coo^munications to the Board of Agriculture, Vol. IV. 4to. 18s. Nkol and Son — 764
3. Luccock on Wool, l:^nio. 5s. 6d. Harding — — 771
CHAPTER XVII.— .V«/ttra/ Hutqry.
i. Skrimshire's Essays cti Natural History, 2 rols. 12mo. 7s'. Johnson — 775
V. Wildcnow's Principles of Botany, 8vo. lOs. 6d. Cadt-ll and Davies — — 778
S, 'I'l-acts relative to Botany, 8vo. os. 6d. Phillips and Fardon — — 782
4. Banks on the Blight, &c. in Com, 8vo. 2s. Harding — — 786
5. Curtis on British Grasses, 8vo. 5s. Symonds — — — 787
li. burner's Botar»ist's Guide through England and Wales, cr. 8vo. 2 vols. l4s.
Phillrps and Fardon — — — 78S
7. 1 h« Botambt's Guide through Northumberland and Durham — — 79a
CHAFITR XWlL-^M^dicine and Sur^erj/.
1. Hamilton on Purgative Medicines, 8vo. 6s. Murray — — — "^92
)i. Hay garth's Clinical History of Diseases, Part I. 8vo. 5s. Cadcll and Davies — 794
2. Clarke's Modern Practice of Physk:, 8vo. 9s. Ix>ngman and Cu. — — 796
4. Wilson's PJiilosophy of Physic, 8vo. 5s. Symonds — — — 79!^
9. PuFlunson on the Nature and Cure of Gout, 8vr>. 5s. 6d. Symonds — — ibid
C. KiBglaJce's liepty to iVir. Edlln's two Cases of Gout, 8vo. Is. 6d. Murray — 803
7. Hunt's salutary Cautious respecting the Gout, 8vo. 2s. 6d. Phillips -^ — 805
%. CraiBpton's E^say on the Eutropeoa, 8vo. 2s. 6<l. Carpcmer -^ — ibid
9. Harly on thestrnple Dy-sentery, &c. 8vo. 7s. Callow -^ — - — 8O6
lUk' Lambe on ooastilutional Disea^tes, 8vo. 5s. 6d. Mawman •— »«* %Qf^
pONTENTC, im.
n. Cooper on the Cataract, 8vo. 5s. Lon^pnan and Co. — — — 8 i i
12. Jones on the HaimoiThage, 8vo. 10s. bd. Phillips — — — 813
13. Duncan's Annals of Medicine, 1803-4, bvo. 9s. Murray — — 8 Id
14. Jxkson on the Medical Department of Armies, 8vo. 13s. 6d. Murray — 8 IS
)5. Procecthngs of the Hoard of Health at Manchester, 8vo. 4s. Cadcll and Davies 822
16. Buchan on Sea-Batliing, cr. 8vo. 58. Cadell and Davies — — — 8S3
17. Moseley oo Lues Bovilla, or Cow-pox, 8vo. 5s. Longman and Co. — — 824
18. S(|uirrel on Cow-pox Inoculation, 2s. 6i\. Hatchard — — — 836
19. Lipscomb's Vindication of luouulation for tlie Small-pox, 2s. Robinson — 82^
j.l Dissertation on the lailure of the Cow-pox, 3s. Robinson — 830
2:. Rogers un Cow-ix)x — — — — — ibid
£2. Report of a Medical Committee on the Cases of supposed Small-pox after Vacci-
nation, 8vo. Is. Highley — — — — — 831
23^ Merriman's Obser\'atioiis on Vaccine Inoculation, 8to. Is. 6d. Murray — 832
21 L-batt's Address to the Medical Practiliouers in Ireland on the Subject of Cow-
pox, 8vo. 3s. 6d. Murray — — — — ibid
25. Shoon>red on the Progress of Vaccination at Bengal, 8vo. Blacks and Parry — 834
26. Jcsner's Evidence at large, as luid before the Coumiittec of tlie House of Coni-
moos, 8vo. Murray — — — — ; — 835
27. Ring's Answer to Dr." Moselev, 8vo. 6s. Murray — — — 83ft
28. Mcinoire of the Medical Society, Vol. VI. 8vo. 12s. Longman and Co. ^ 838
29. Smith's Remarks on the Report of M. Chaptal, 8vo. Is. oil. Callow — — 842
30. Letter to Wilberfoice, 8vo. Murray — — — — 843
31. Johmlone'sReply to J. C.Smith, 8vo. Is. Callow — — — ibid
3;'. Whately on Polypi, 8vo. 2s. Johnson — — — < — ibid
33. KerbyV Tables ot the Materia Medica, 12mo. 4s. Murray — — ibi4
34. Luxinore's Manuiil of Anatomy and Physiology, small 8vo. 10s. 6d. flighley — 844
35. Currie*s Medical Reports on \V'ater, 2 vols. 8vo. 145. Cadell and Davies — ibid
36. Stock*s Medical Collections on the EiFccts of Cold, 8vo. 7$. Loiignian and Co. 84^
CHAPTEPi XiX.'^.Mi and Mamtfactures.
I. Shannon on Brewing, 4to. 21. 12s. 6d. Scholey — — — 847
^. Edlin on firead-makuig, 12mo. 4s. 6d. \ ernor and Co. — — — 849
CFLAPTER XX. — Farriery and Horsemanship.
II. 2s. Longman and Co.
and Co. — — — ibid
1. Adams on Horsemanship, 3 vols. 8vo. 21. 2s. Longman and Co. — — 850
j2. Snape*s Farrier}', 4to. ll. is. Longman
CHAPTER XXL— il/o/Artnafic* and Natural Philosophy.
J. Schroler's Observations made at Lilienthal — — — 851
2. Markonochie^s Prosi>ectus — — — — 853
3. BatUy's Htstoire de rA:>tronomie — — — , _• g54
4. Dubost's Commercial Arithmetic, 12mo. 6s. Symonds — — ibid
5. Stephenson's Land Sur^'eying, 4to. Ids. Symonds — — — 855
6. Fenwick's Subterranecius Surveving, Svo, lOs. 6d. Longman and Co. — 856
7. Bagiey's Young Mathematician's Assistant, 4to. 5s. &d. Longman and Co. «— ibid
8. The Wonders of the Telescope, 4s. 6d. Phillips — — — .857
9. Rios's Tables for Navigation, &c. 4to. 11.3s. Longman and Co. — — ibid
10. Lowrie on the Convenieucy of keeping Accounts u'ilii Bankers, 8vo. 10s. 6d.
Longman and Co. ' — — — — — 858
11. Jonas on Gauging, 1 8s. Drlng and Fage — — — 859
13. Dubost's Elements of Conmierce, 2 vols. 8vo. 21. 2s. S\Tnonds — — ibid
13. Meirier on the Impossibility of the a^itronomical Systems cf Copcniicus and
Ke«ton — — — ' — — ibid
14. Bp. of St. Asaph on Virgil's two S<-asons of Honey, 4to. 5s. Hatcbat*d — 8f)0
15. Frcnd's Evei^ing Amusements, 1 8()G, 12mo. 3s. N'lawnian — — 862
lb. 'I'angiblc Arithmetic, 7s. 6d. Mawman — — — • ibid
CHAPTER XXn.-^Gcncral Science,
L PbilosopLicai TroBsactions of the Ro}al Society for 1805^ 4to -^ -— 864
4
% CONTEXTS.
?. TranMctions of the Rojal Society of Edinburgh, Parts IL and JTI.^ Vol. V. — 873
3. Kees's New Cyclopedia, 4to. Vol. IV. ll. 16». Longman apd Co. — r -r- W7
CIUFTElt XXlll.-^Expcrmcntal Philosophr/,
1. Irvfoe's Essays on Cbemica! Subjects, 8vo, 99. Mavman — , — g7S
^. Nisbetfs Dictionar)' of Chemistry, 1 2mo.§s. Highlev — ■ — 881
i^, HaTPs Experiments on Ice, Heat, and Cold, 8vo. Is. Jordan and Maxwell — 882
4. Conversions on Chemistry, ^ vols. 12mo. 1 4s. Longman aiul Co. — 883
CHAtTER XXiy.-^Commcrce.
1. Anderson on Commcrpe, 4 vols. 4to. Si. 8s. Longman and Co. — ^ -^ 884
2. Dubost's Merchiint*s Assistant, 8vo. 7s. Boosey — — -t- W7
CHAPTER XXW-^Mzneralog!/.
1. Werneria, foolscap 8vo. 4s. C. and R. Daldwin ' — rr- — ^ 885
2. Trotter on destroying the Fire and Choke Dani? of Coal Mines, &c. 8vo y ibicl
3. Weaver on external Character of Fo-sUs, 8vo. 8s. Ijongman and Co. — it^rd
4. Jameson'* Mmcralogical Description of Dumfries, 8vo, ds. Longman and Co. 989
CHAFFER XXM.-^Jrchitecture and the Fine Arts.
1. Gandy's Designs for Cottages, 5:c. 4lo. 21. 2s. Harding — — S!JO
2. i— ftoral Architect, 4to. 21. L^s. llarding — , — — ibid
3. Noble's Practical Perspettive, 4lo. ll. Is. — -— — 6Q\
4. Atkinson's Cottage Ai'chitccture, 4to. ll. Is. Gaidiner — — 9ti^
ANNUAL REVIEW}
AND
HISTORY OF LITERATURE.
CHAPTER L
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS}
NARRATIVES of Ycjag6s an^ travels, and foreign* topbgrapkyi are of all
books, perhaps, the best calculated to excite a strong and general interest ill
the reading part of the community j every dass of which, frota the nlere lounger,
with whom reading is only a creditable kind of idleness, to the pUil6sbpher> whd
Waives from books the materials of useftd contemplation, is almost equally inter-^
ested in the ^tfaful narrative of the traveller. Nor is there any reason to fear that
thii department of literature should ever become exhausted -, accidental causes may
superinduce a tempotaxy dearth, but the cutlosity of the public will never fail to
encourage and reeompente those adVenturdbs spirits, who, after penetrating into
foreign countries^ to gratify their own love of novelty, will allow their fellow coun-
trymen to indulge theirs from the same source. The navigatorj it is truei must ere
kng find his employment, as far as regards the discovery of new lands, almost entirely
condudedj and with much more reason than Alexander may complain of the dimi-
oativeDess of the globe that he is destined to inhabit -, but this very circumstance
wiO probably conduce to the public benefit, by withdrawing the researches of science
from the barren ocean and the sea-beat shore, and encouraging them to penetrate the
vast tracts of land, as yet> almost wholly unknown to Europeans, though inhabited by
man in various stages of civili^tion, and presenting, to the lover of nature, an inex^^
luustible store of the wonderful^ the beautiftil, and the new.
Of America, though under the dominion of Europe, and colonies from £urope,
we know less than even of Africa j it is therefore with peculiar satisfaction, that we
perceive an increasing curiosity concerning the transatlantic Continent, and that it
be^ to attract the attention of travellers : no less than six of the books noticed in
the present chapter, refer to this quarter of the world, and althou^ the iaformatiQii
A3fif. RjBv. Vol. IV* #'
2 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
wbich tliey contain is imperfect, and probably, in many respects inaccorate, yet we
are inclined to welcome them perhaps more than they deserve, as good omens^ and
the harbingers of better and more accumtc rq^earches.
Political circumstances have excluded British travellers from the tenitories o^
France and her allies j «Qd the other parts of the continent being but little attractive*
Mr. Carr's northiern suniiaer, being a tour Uirov^ Norway and Svreden to Peters-
burgh, is the only account worth mentioning of any part of Europe that has issued^
during the last year, from the English press.
The discussions in parliament respecting Pulo-Penang (Prince of Wales*s Island),
have given birth to two small topographical descriptions of tliis little island. The
solitary rock of St. Hetena has also found a seasibfe and at^ historian.
Captain Beaver's African memoranda merit the senous study of all future leaders
of colonies to the western coast of that continent j and Mr. Turnbull's voyage round
the world deserves mention, as bemg tiic latest account of tlie singular pcditical
changes that are going on in the Sandwich Islands and some other of the Polyne-
sian groups.^
Art. T. Travels to Dtscover tite Source qf the Xile, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771,
1772, and 1773. Bu James BsivcE of k'inrunrd, Esq, F. R. S. 7 Vols. 8vo. and I
4to. Vol. of Plates. The Second Edition, corrected and enlarged ; to which is prclLxed
-a Life of the Author.
WAS Bruce ever in Abyssinia, and
are the sources which he describes, the
real sources of the Nile ? These fects
have been questioned with little urba-
nity, little candour^ and much male-
volence.
The first fact will now no longer be
contradicted. After the positive/ teati-
Inony which sir William Jones acciden-
tally found in India, he who denies that
Brace was in Abyssinia, and as he him-
self states, in high favour at Gondar«
must be a wilful calumniator. But did
he visit tlie sources of the Nile ? " The
T5nhr el Azrek, or Blue River, says Mr.
Pinkerton, was mistaken for the real
I^ile by the Portygueze writers Alvarez,
Tellez, &c. probably misled by tlie vain
glory of I he Abyssinians j though it was
veil known to the ancients as quite a
d'lstinct river, the Astapus, flowing into
tlie Nile, from the Coloe Palus, now the
lake of DLMubea. Mr. Bruce*s vanity
led hira to ad >pt the same mistake."
That the Abyssinian branch is tlie As-
tapus of the ancients is sufficiently clear,
tnd qUo. that Herodotus and Ptolomy
considered the Bahar el Abiad as the
Nile. But it is equally certain that the
Abyssinians themselves consider their
branch to be the Nile ; as such it is des-
cribsid by the Jesuits and laid down In
the |n:ip of Balthezar Tellez ; this was
tlie opiubn of Ludolphus, Hm was the
general opinion in Europe when Bnictt
set out upon his travels, and this (pinion
lie found in Abyssinia, in Atbara, and in
Nubia, not only in the country wher»
the Bahar el Asrak rises, but also whcro
it joins the other stream. There is de-
cisive proof that this is not a mere boast
of national vanity among the Abyssini*-
ans, but actually and bona fide their be-
lief, a received opinion upon which they
have formed a great, though visionary,
political pioject, which tliey oiKe pro-
ceeded to put in practice. li^iibala began
to divert the course of his Nile for th^
purpose of famishing Eg>*pt : in the lirst
intercourse which took place between
the Portuguese and the Abyssinians tiiis
project was renewed, and had Albajucr-
que lived, tliere can be no doubt but
that the execution would have been again
attempted.
If Bruce, thert f()re, has mistaken tli»
Astapus for the Nile, it is a very par-
donable mistake, tor if there be not au-
thority sutncieut to establish his opinion,
there is surely enough to excuse his
error.
The question itself, however, is infini^
tcsimalfy insignificant. The Bahar el
Asrak, and the Bahar el Abiad, meet and
form the Nile j which is to be called tUo
Nile before the junction ? The dispute
is not^conceming tlie course of the water,
but couceming tiie name. 11' indeed the
B&VCB*S 9!|l4VEf.S f^ TV« tOlTXlQB Of T]|l KILX,
tme Nile had been regular]/ durUtenedt
Ad a certificate from the church register
could be produced, the poiot might bt.
4ecided. Bat to wbom does the right of
fodfiitfaership belongin this case } Wh/
to the Donga atid Tuclawi, the people
of the Deir and Tugguki, more than to
the Ab/i^iand and the Agows of Geesh ?
The7 who reside about the junction, call
the united stream by the name of tlie
Abyssinian branch : if authority is to de-
termine the point, where can we go for a
better jury than to the place itself? The
Bahar el Abiad is the larger branch :
Brace expressly says that it is so, bat his
eJitor very properly obser\es, if they
who dwell by the junction continue the
name of Bahar el Asrak after it has
joined a larger branch, it is plain that
they consider the larger branch as re-
ceived into the smaller, not the smaller
is xeceived into the larger. It is the
straight course wh'ch determines these
ooletiered sun'eyors. Striking Instances,
he says, occur in our own country, of
livers being named from the inferior
iource» and he adduces a case in point.
The largest river in Scotland isformed by
the Teith aiid the Forth, the latter of
which Is a stream as much inferior to the
former as the Bahar el Asrak to the Bahar
el Abiad. The inferior stream, however,
in ^ite of the decision of several respec-
table writers in favour of the Teith, ob*
taiQs the name of the great river, because
it runs in the same^ line. A river must
have as many sources as a man has grand-
fathers in the fiftieth degree, and in the
one case as well as in'the other we trace
to the straightest line.
True it is that Bruce himself consider-
ed the discovery of tlie sources of the
Nile as a thing of great importance)
hmourable not only to himself but to
his age and country, and to the king
under whose reigu it was accomplinhed.
In this respect he was as absurd as his
critics. But this folly does not in the
•lightest degree detracv from the value of
his work. The journey was not the less
important because the object was ridicu-
lous, as the value of an action is not to
be estimated by tlie motive of tlie agent,
though the merit of the agent is. What-
ever be the name of a rivulet in Geesh,
vre are eqnalty interested by the pictum
of society in Abyssinia. A gap m History
has been filled up.
There remains yet a third question—*
did Bruce actually visit these sources in
Geesh, or has he merely copied the Je-
suits accounts, and tlie Jesuits map ? for
whoever has inspected both can liave not
the smallest doubt, that in the map of Bal-
thezar Tellez, these sources, and the.
course, of the river, through the lake
Derabea, are laid down precisely as they
are by the English traveller. This ques-
tion has been for ever settled by Mr.
Murray, the editor of the present edition^
whose undeviating candour and indefati-
gable industry, cannot be too highly com-
mended. Of the journey to the sources, he
tells, us, there exist, be^des the narrative
in Mr. Bruce's own words, written as he
Went along, the complete journal by Ba-
lugani in Italian, and many of the strips
of paper which he carried in his hand, on
which he wrote -with a pencil the histoiy of
each day, brfore he entered it in the
jourAal at night. We will transcribe that
part of 6alugani*s journal which describea
the springs, because it sets the questioD
for ever at rest
" At three o'clock we have arrived at the
diurch of St. Michael, above the sourct^ ;
and at an eighth of a mile, descending from this
into the plain, are found ihefountuins of the
Nite. Ave have halted in the valley (or.plain)
called Assua, half a mile to the S. S. E. ot these
fountains. Our journey to day has been
six hours, computed at twelve miles.
" The sum of the whole way, from Gron*
dar to the fountains of the Nile is about one
hundred and eleven miles.
" The fountains of the Nile are three.
One of then it will be four j^alms in diame-
ter ; but it is all fiiU. of rushes, and shews
neitlier its deptii nor true extent, it not being
possible to introduce into it any sounding in-
strument.
" The second will be fire paces di-^tant
from the first to the south, a little west ; and
will be about twelve uiches diameter at ti:c
mouth, but within about four palms, and it is
eiglit feet three inches deep.
*' The third will be twelve paces distant
from the first, to S. S. W. ; ^ts mouth i:«
somewhat larger tiian tliat of the second, but
it is only five feet eight inches deep. I'he
first being the lowe:^t, the water is seen at the
level of the earth ; but in the other two, the
* It is cnrioQS that the river should resemble the Abyssinian Nile in another very re-
■fflkablc circumstance. The stream of the 'feith i^ distinctly visible in its jjassage tluoagh
Lochhibcaig, which indeed signifies ilie Lake of the ff^irKJling Stream.
t This expression is literal^ and might be exchanged for z^ ; fliough computation be In
~ ceases understood^
Voyages anc ihavels.
gfound being a little raised, the water re-
Inains about eight inches lower than the level
of the mouth. All the three may be observ-
ed to spring (tlie w<n'd bollire sigiiiiies to boil
or bubble), but so imperceptibly that it can
scarcely be discerned by oreat attention ; and
it is raise what is said by some, tliat tliey
spr'mg witli a noise out of the ground, rising
above it.
" All this place near the fountains produces
only grass and rushes ; trees are not found,
to the distance at least of half a mite on every
tide.
The latitude of the foun-
On the Mh Nov. tains is 10 deia^eers 58 min<
the sun's altitude and 58 sec. 1 he sources of
\^as 63. 15. the Nile are found in the
On the 6th Nov. Agow countrj', in a pro-
found to be 62. vince called Sacchala. —
56, 30. Thev are situated in a lit-
tle valley at the foot Of the
mountain of Ghe<»h, by ' E. N. E. From
the fountains to the top of tlie moimtain will
be two miles and a halt, nearly three. Above
tlie fountains^ about one-eighth of a mile
distant from them, by K. E. by N^ is a
church, on the top of a hill. Called Ksdus
Michael, over the fountains. The Nile, ris-
ing out of its springs, takes a direction east
for a quarter of a mile Then it turns about
to north-east for another half-mile, always in
the middle of a plain (vallonc), without trees
or shrubs, excepting grass and rushes ; and
in all that space it does not appear to run ;
but as the earth is very iiat, it spreads, and
leaves the ground about, marshy, and (in)
stagnant (water). From this it begins to run
north, and in a shott tune becomes very rapid,
and continues to tlow by north-east and north,
linder tlie mountain, on which is the church
of Mariam Nett, for the space of a mile^
Thence it runs north-west about a mile.
About that part is the place Where they pass
tne Abay, to go to Goiidar, coming from the
foimtains^ and the church will be a i]uarter of
a mile to the east distant from this passage.
ARcr having run the foremeiUioncd mile
noith-west, it turns about west, and a little
after south-west, then south south-west, then
south, always retreating backwards towards
its sotvces in all that course. From the place
where it beg'uis to go west till it runs south
will be about four miles and a half. In this
last place it passes between two mountains,
and begins to retreat, by goine down by the
way of west, north-we^t, nortn, &c. until it
comes to cross the hike in an angle of it ; it
(then) passes near to Dara, and returning
south makes the circle of Goiam, after which
it descends (towards the north),
*' Two miles before aiTiving at the place
where it chants its cc^urse reverling towards
its sources, aie seen tlirec small streams, one
of which comes from the east, aiiolhcr from
the south-cast, and another from the south
south-east ; the two l^rst of these arise to tlie
north-east of the church of St. Michael
Ghccih, about somewhat less than one-eighth
of a mile's- distance. The first of fhe«;e ftim
nearly parallel to the Nile, receiving aboct
half a mile from its source the st-cond, antf
their about three miles after the third ; and
about a mile and a half after that discliarges
itself into the Nile. I'he Nile in that place
begins to grow large ; becatise it receivefr
there other small streams which come from
the north and Wes^ **
A minute account follows of (he bear^
Yngs of the adjoining places, as marked
from the top of the mountain of Geesh-
The manuscript from Which this is printed
is in Italian, in Balug^mr's hand-\vriting,
on the sriiooth cream-coloured cotton pa*
per of the east. It contains a complete
detail of the hours and days in which they
travelled j of the villages, rifers, moun-
tains, and in short, of every rerfiafklble
object they met with from their leaving
Gondar, Sunday twenty-eighth October,
1770, at half after nine A. M. till tl\e\t
return, Sunday eighteenth Nov. one o'-
clock P. M. hi the same year.
Such evidence is unanswerable. But
could any thiiig be more absurd than to
admit that Bruce was in Abyssinia, anct
yet to deny that Se visited the sources of
the AbysSinian J^ile ? These sotirces, says
Mr. Pinkerton, wefre ?n the seventeenth
century accurately described by P^yz, a
Portugtieze missionary, -whose account
was published by Kircher and Isaac Vos-
sius, and has in our times been very mi-
nutely copied by Bruce, as Haftman has
explained by printing (he two accounts
ift parallel columns. Mr. Murray has
confuted the charge in the best possiblof
nlannef, without condescending to iK>tice
it. He has printed the passage tls ijL
stands 1n Kir(5he'r, and added a literal
translation. In justice to hira and to
Bruce, we shall copy the two accounts,
" The source of the Nile is situated in the'
we^tem part of the kingdom of Goyam» in
the upper (or highest) j)art of a valley, which
resembles a large plain, surrounded on every
side with ridges of hilk. A. D. I6l8, April
21st. when I was living in this kingdom
aloiig with the emperor and hi«? army,. I
ascended this place, viewed every thhig dili-
gently, and found at fiftt two round fountains
there, both above four plms iji diarneter,
and with the gi'eatest pleasure of njind saw
what Cyrus, king of the Persians/ Cambyses,^
Alexander the Great, and the famous Julius
Cx'sar, could obtain by no wishes: "^j^he
water of the source is very clear and lights
and agreeable to the taste' ; yet it must be
known that these two fountains of the s*iurce
have no outlet in the uppermost pint of tlics
plain of the inuuataiuj but at tlie liuut oi' the'
BR0CB S TSAYSL8 TO TBE 80VRCB OT THE NILE.
ivantain*. We tried also the dept]i of the
ibunuins, and put a lance iuto the iirst,
vhicb, entering eieven pahns, seeined to
tiiOch, as it were, some roots of the neigh-
bouring trec^ eiilangltxi with one-another.
** 'llie second fountain bears from the first
cast about a :^toae's cast ; trying the depth of
this hj putting in a lance 'of twelve palms,
me fotuKl no bottom, but having tied two
^Jbuices together, in length twenty nalms, we
tried the thing again ; but not even then could
we find bottom, and the inhabitants say that
the whole mountain is full of water, of Which
they gave this sign, that all the plain about
the fuuntain shook and bubbled, a plain mark
of concealed water, and that, fiir the same
reason, the water did not overflow at the
SNDoes, but threw itself out with rery great
i>n:e at the foot qf them ; and the inhabi-
tanls. affirmed, as well as tht; en)petY)r him-
Sjdf, who was present ak>ng. witli his army,
that the ground had trembled little that year,
oi account of the great dryness of the sea-
son, but in other years it shook and bubbled.
M, that it could' scarcely be approached
without danger. Tlie circumference of the
jkm JB like a round lake, the breadth of
which may be a slbig's cast."
"^ Furtfaer, the pUun of thefountdns of the
Nike is difficult (k ascent, on every side but
on the north, where it b easily ascended.
Bebw the mountain about a league, in a very
deep vallej, rises another river from the
howels of (be earth, which however joins it-
sHf a little after to the Nile ; they believe
k has the same source with the Nile, but
that, oonducted under ground by secret
chaonds, it rises fmt here. But the rivulet
from the source, which breaks out below the
nountain, runs a gui^hot to the east, then,
viiid'ms suddenly. Hows to the north, then,
about tiie foiuth-part of a league afterwards,
a new li^er presents itself, d^hing from the
^ooes and rocks, to which two other nvers a
^^ttle after join themselves, breiking fixim the
east quarter ; and so on, by receiving con-
stantly one stream after anotlier, the Nile inr
creases remarkably. After a day's journey,
it meets with a large river, that is called Jama
(Jennna) ; then turning towards the west for
twenty-five leagues, or thirty-live leagues
finxn Its sources, it next reflects its course to
the east, winding into a large lake (situated
ki the province called fied, and partly adja-
cent to the kii^pdom of Goyam, partly to
that of Dambia), which it passes through in
such a manner, as that the waters of the r^ile
^heH' a remarkable ditFerence homthe waters
of the lake ; and the whole stream, unmixed
wkh the lake waters, holds op its course."
It is to be remembered also that Bruce
has hinuelf giTen in the text of his book
the whole smn and substance of the very
account by Pedro Paez (who was a Cas-
tillian anH not a Portugueze) which he is
accused of having stolen ; omitting only a
few trifling parts of no importance what-
ei'er, for the sake of brevity. Let his own
account be now examined.
" In the middle of this marsh (that is,
about forty yards hrom each side of it), and
something' less from the bottom of the moun-
tain of Geesh, arises a hillock of a circular
form, about three feet from the surface of the
marsli itself, though api^rently founded
much deeper in it. The diameter of. this is
something short of twelve feet ; it is sur-
roimded by a shallow trench, which collects
the water and voids it eastward ; it is firmly
built w<th sod or earthen turf, brought from
the sides, and constantly kept in repair ; and
this is the altar upon which all their reliaious
ceremonies are performed. In the middle of
this altar is a hole, obviously made, or at least
enlarged, by the hand of man. It is kept
clear of grass, or other aquatic plants; and
the water in it is perfectly pure and limpid*
but has no ebullition or motion of any kind
discernible upon its surfiau:e. This moutii,
or opening of the source, is some parts x)f an
ihch less than three feet diameter ; and th^
ivater stood at that time, the 5th of Novem-
ber, about two inches from the lip or brim*
nor did it either iiKicease or diminish during
all the time of my stay at Geesh, though we
made plentifiil use of it.
. '* Upon putting down the shaft of my lance
at six feet four inches, I found a very feeble
resistance, as if from weak rushes or grass ;
and about six inches deeper I found my lance
had entered mto soft earth, but met with no
stones or gravel, lliis was coniirmed by an-
other experiment made on the 9tli with a
heavy plummet and line besmeared with
soap, the bottom of which brought up at tlie
above depth only black earth, such as the
marsh itself and its sides are composed of.
'* Ten feet distant from the hrst of these
springs, a httle to the west of south, is the
second fountain, about eleven inches in dia-
meter ; but this is eight feet three inches deep.
And about twenty feet distant from the first,
to the S. S. W. is the third source, its mouth
bein^ something more than two feet large,
and it is five feet eight inches deep. Both
these last fountains stand m the middle d
small altars, made, like the fbnner, of firm
sod, but neither of them above three ieot
diameter, and having a foot of less elevation
than the first. The altar in this third source
seemed almost dissolved by the water, whiclt
in both stood nearly up to the brim ; at the
foot of each appeared a clear and brisk nm-
ning rill ; these uniting joined the water in the
trench of the first altar, and then proceeded di-
rectly out, I suppose, at the pouit of the triangle,
pohiting eastward, in a quantity that would
nave filled a pipe of about two inches dia*
metfcr."
* This is muDtelligiUe ; Kiicher havhig misunderstood, or obtained an incorrect copy of
wcongiial- - * • t • •
-6
VOYAGES AOT!) TRAVELS.
; ** The NQe, keeping nearly in ^ middle
of the niirsh, nii^ east for tHirtv yarda^ with
a very litUe increase of stream, but perfectly
visible, till met by the grassy briuk of the
land declining from Sacala. This turns it
round gradually to the N. E. and then due
north; and, in the two miles it flows in tliat
direction, the river receives many small con-
tributions from springs that rise in the banks
on each side of it : there arc two, particu-
larly one on the hill at the back of St Michael
Geesh, the otiier a little lower than it on the
other >ide, on tlie ground declining from
Sacala. These last-mentioned spring are
more than double its quantity; and being
arrived under the hill whereon stands the
church of St Michael Sacala, about two miles
Irom its source, it there becomes a stream
that would turn a common mill, shalkny,
clear, and running over a rocky bottom about
three yards wide: this must be understood
to be variable according to the season; and
tiie present observations are applicable to the
5th of November, when the rams had ceased
for several week^ There is tlie ford which
we passed going to Geesh, and we crossed it
the day of our arrival, in the time of 'my
convereation with Woldo about the sash.
" Nothing can be more beautiful than this
spot ; the small rising hills about us were all
thick-covered with verdure, especially with
clover, the largest and finest I ever saw ; the
tops of the heights crowned with trees of a
prodigious size; the stream, at the banks of
whk;h we were sitting, was limpid and pure
as the finest crystal ; the ford, covered thick
with a bushy kind of tree, that seemed to
aflect to grow to no height, but thick with
foliage and young branches, rather to court
the surface of the water, whilst it bore, in
f)rodit5ious (juantities, a lx»autiful yellow
flower, not unlike a single wild rose of tliat
colour, but without thorns; and, iixiced,
upon exaniinatk)n, we found that it was not
a spet'ies of the rose, but of h}'pericum.'*
" Here, at the foviS, after' having stepped
over it fifty times, I observerl it no larger
than a comlnon mill stream. 1 he Nile, from
this ford, turns to the westward, and, after
nuining over loose' stones occasionally, in
that direction, about four miles farther, the
angle of inclination increasing greatly, broken
Welter, and a fall commences of about six
feet, and thus it gets rid of the mountainous
place of its nativity, jmd issues into the plain
of Goutto, where' is its first cataract ; for, as
I have said before, I don't account the broken
water, or little falls, cataracts, which are not
at aH visible in the height of the rains.
" Arrived in the plain of Goutto, the river
seems to have lost all its violence, and scarce-,
ly is seen to flow; but, at the same time, it
tnere makes so many sharp, imnatural wid^
in^, that it differs from anyotfcer river I
ever saw*, rtidcing aWe twtntr shiirp atf»
gular peninsulas iti the course of *^ five miles,
through a bare marshy pkua of clay, quite
destitute of trees, and exceedingly micoiivo-
nieat and unpleasant to travel. After pas^-
in.g this plain, it turns due north, receives X\\^
tribute of many small streams, the Gomftti,
the Govoguefi, and tlie Kebezza, which de*
scend from the mountains of Aformasha;
and, united, fall into the NUe about twenty
miles t>e]ow its source; it begins here to fun
nuAd]}[, and again r^eives a number of btsau-
tinil rivulets, whkh have their rise in the
heights of Litehambara, the semi-circular
range of mountains tliat pass behind, and
seem to inelose Aformasha : These are the-
Cacchio, the CamachiuU, the Goo^eri, the
Iworra, the Jeddeli, and the Mmch; all
wiiich, ruuning into the Davola, join the
Nile something less than a mile west of the
church of Abbo.
" It is now become a considerable stream ;
its banks high and broken, covered with old
trees for the space of about three miles; it
inclines to the north-east, and winds exceed-
ingly, and is then joined by the small river
Diwa from the east. It tiien makes a semi-
circle, and receives Dee-ohha, turns sharjrty
to the east, and fells down its second cataract
at Kerr. About three miles bek>w this ca-^
taract, the kirge, pleasant, and limpid Jemnra»
pays its tribute to the Nile. 17ioiigh its
course is now mostly north, through Maitsha
on the east, and Aroossi and Sankraber on
the west, it stftl is inclining toward the lake
Ttaua, and, aft ^r receiving the rivers Bolia
and Analac Ohha, small streams from the
west, and the Assar, Aroossi, and Kelti, large
rivers fron> the east, it crosses the south end
of the lake Tzana, for about seven leagues,
preserving the colour of its stream distinct
from that of the lake, till it issues out at the
we^t side of it, in the teritory of Dara, where
there is a ford, though very deep and daii*
gcrous, immediately where' it fiwt resumes
tlie appearance of a river.*'
Is there any greater resembhmce be-
t\x'een these descriptions than there ne-
cessarily must be between two descrip**
tions oi the same place, made at dilTerent
times by different j>ersons ? if any thmg
remarkable is to be discovered in then),
it is in the points of diflference, not of
agreement. But what motive for pla-
giarism can now be assigned ? It is not
pretended that the whole story of these
travels is the impudent forgery of a maQ
who was never in Abyssinia; what then
was to prevent him ^om proceeding to
Geesh ? Th^ diiHculties and d^uigers of
the journey were not Ukely to iotiaiidaia
* A plan of the windings of the Nile in the pMi of Goutfa is inserted istj fialugani in fhc
Journal. These are singnlarl^ numerous, and. very much resemble^ tl»ugi» on SkiHbt&t
scale, what are called '' the links of ^e river FbrtA,*' near Sliriing, in ScoUaod
BBUCE's T^AYELl TO TUB SftUKCB OF Tfffi KILE.
r man wbo-hni reached Gond^. And
that he did visit Geesh is proved, as lar
as any such 1^ is cafkable of proof, hy
las own journal taken on the spot, and
bf the joamal of Bakigani. As for tbo
rMcmUance bet^K^een bis account and
tbat of Pedro Paez^ both are alike be-
cause both are true ; so also hia map
agrees with tb0t in Bakhezar Tellez, be-
caaae both are made from authentic cb-
eoments, not because one is copied from
the other. Bruce has sinned against the
Jesuits, but not as a plagtarist.
That we arc not disposed to depreciate
the merit of this traveller must already
hjve been apparent, and how highly we
value his labours will presently be seen -,
but it must be confessed that the object
of his iouniey was an unworthy one. It
not enomerate him am<»ig his authorities
for the description of the springs. Oui"
traveller may be ri^it here : but on the
other hand Tellez expressly raentioas th#
^triarch Afibnso Mendez, of whom
^ruce as expressly ssys, that he never
sakv, not* indeed ever pretended to hate
seen- tlie purees of the Nile. Bruce even
hazards a hardier mistatement, asserting
boltfly that TelleB makes no mention <^
such a discovery. Tlie work of Baldie-
rar Tellet lies befbre us j he gives a de-
scription of the springs *' as they are
described in many annual letters, and
many treatises by many Jesuits who saw
these secrets closely," — cofno em muyta^
ismuutit e muytof tratados, emnrevem mityiot^
nossos reltffiodos que viram mity de perto
estes seqredos, " The best witnesses
was the search after what was curious, ^ rfmong them, he adds, are our patriarch
Rot wbat was useiid 5 a-kin to the pur-
suhs of the collector and virtuoso, rather
than of the philosopher. However great
the efibrt, however valuable the result,
vanity was th^ motive. Attributing an
vndiie importBDce to the discovery of
these soarces, he unduly attempied to-
^ropriate the whole merit of th» dis>-
eovery to himself. No pa^^ion so easily
tempts to falsehood as vanity. H^ could'
not be coutent with being tlie pai^tner of
Pedro FatZy to use his own expression,
aiul has therefore laboured with much'
disiDgenuity to prove that nei^r he, nor
any of the Jesuits had visited the sacred
spot, the KMn to which all his ambitious
aspirariooB were directed. The extract
from Pedro Paez published by Kircher,
he says, was not in three manuscripts of
that tailter's history which he examined
at Milan, at Bologna and at Home. He
does not pretend' to have read through
these manuscripts, but only to have ex^
amined the plaoe where tliis description
ought to have l>een. Mr. Murray, how-
ever, is so well satisfied with the account
in Kircher, as fiirly to concede tlto point,
and to declare it cannot be doubted- but
that Pedro Paez had vii»ited the sources.
On this head we are not so fully satisfied
as the editor ; whoever vrrote the descrip-
tioo in Kifdaefj certainly had seen the
place which he describes | but if tlie
passage is not to be found in the three
manuacripts which Bruce consulted, it
may very possibly lianre been inserted in
that which Kircher used, by the tran-
scriber, from the aoeouat af some other
ytmiU This we suspect to have been the
case, because TeUez, though he had the
viitings di Pedro Paez betbit bim^ does
of Etliiopia, Dbm AiFonso Mendez, a man
of the highest credit, and father Mausel
d*Almeyda who relates it much at length,
and father Jeronymo Liobo, all of v^hom
curiousiy beheld it witli« Uieir own eyes."
Bruce has certainly been guilty of wilful
misrepresentation herej and his chticr
have oiYly dtalt by him as he has dealt by
idie Jesuits, with the same measure where-
with he meted, it hath been measured to
film again. .
. A similar jealousy lest any perKon
should share the imaginary honbur of
this discovery is discernible in his whole*
management) .respecting Bakigani the
Italian, who assisted him in bis drawings,
and kept a' daily jouhial' of tiieir route,
Kke himself. We suspect that tlie men-
tion of hisdeat!i (Vol. iv. p. 4'20') is pur-
posely antedated, and introduced bbfore
the joume)' to die springs, least it should
be known tliat he also had seen them,
and been the partner qf Bruce ; for it is
mentioned as having t^aken place before
the journey, and as one motive which
alhoosr induced him to return witliout
accomplishing it. This was not over-
sight. In die journal of the journey a
sejvant is spoken of, who die editor tells
us in a note was Bahigani,. In this proud
and imfeeling language does he speak of
his only literary companion, of the artist
who shared all his dtmgers, and died in
his service. Not otie expression of re-
spect, or kindness, oc endearment to-
wards this voung man ever escapes him,
— though the deatli of a dog whom one
had taken from Europe into such |
country shoiild have made an English man
shed tears. In no other instance does
]^ruce appear like a proud and hard-
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
hearted mdn, but it is the tendency of
that mean passion which was in hinqt so
preJoininant, to warp the understanding
9nd to deaden the-iieart.
So far then as reeards Luigi Balugani^
and the claim of ihe Jesuits to the dis-
covery of these sources, the errors in
Srace BT-e misrepresentations, not mis-
takes ; fsilsehoods, not inaccuracies. He
x^as not ignorant of the truth, and he had
obvious motives for concealing it. Many
other errors occur in his work, which can
only be called inaccuracies or blunders,
and which must have proceeded from an
undue reliance upon his own memory-
Some of these we shall notice,
Bruce is speaking of the conquest of
Spain by the Moors : he say*—
*' A great influx of trade followed the con-
quest ; and the religion, that contaiaed little
restraint and great indulgence, was every
where embraced by the vanquished, who
long had been Christians in name only. On
the other side, the Arabs were now no lonser
that brutish set of madmen they were under
the Khalifat of Omar. They were now emi-
nent for their rank and attainments in every
species of leaming. This was a dangerous
crisis f<Mr Christianity, which threatened no-
thins else than its total subversion. The
whole world, without the help of England,
had not virtue enough to withstand this tpr-
rent. That nation, tlie favourite weapon in
the hand of Heaven for chastising tyraimy
and extirpating false religion, now; lent its
assistance, and the scale was quickly turned."
It is impossible to explain the gross
iniorance of this paragraph. Charles
Martel. was tlie man who preserved
Christendom. As for England, it had
not the slightest influence upon the con-
tinent of Europe till the Norman con-^
quest.
*' John I. king of Portugal, he tells us,
afler many successful battles with the
Moors, had at last forced them to crosfl
the sea and return vanquished to their
liative country. By this he had changed
his former dishonourable name of Bastard,
to the more noble and more popular one
of John the Avenger." John the First
pever fought a battle with thq Moors in
his life, till he crossed to Ceuta. They
had been completely subdued in Portuc^
a hundred years before he came to uxe
crown. The whole of this chapter is full
of such errors. We know not whether
they are his own, ox taken frpm some
French blunderer,— for the orthography
or rather kakography of many of Ao
names is French.
Covillan, he says, (it should be Covil-
ham) sent frequent dispatches from Abys-
sinia to the king of Portugal, who on his
port spared no expence to keep open the
correspondence. Of course it must have
been carried on by tlie regular post-
of&ces. He. even describes the contents
of Covilham's journal, and adds, that he
sent a map with it. All this Bruce has
dreamt by his own fire-side. The con-
temporary chroniclers of Joam ll. all say-
that Covilham was lost, and the contem-
porary historians of Emanuel all say whea
he was found.
•He wonders why no mention is made
by Tellez of the three capuchins who
were stoned to death at Gondar in 1714.
The wonder would have been if Tellea
had mentioned them, for he died in 1675
himself. One might almost suspect that
Bruce never re^d^ his own writings;
he tells you that he. has a Coptic MSS.
three times as old as the books of Numa
were in Pliny's days, that is, above two
tliousand five hundred years ; and a few
pages on he adds*, that it is a Gnostic trea-.
tise. It would be tedious to proceed tvith
instances which might be enumerated to
great length. Enough has been adduced
to show diat he wrote often carelessly,
and sometimes prosumptuously, but such
blunders do not affect the main value of
his work.
Whichever be the source of the Nile,
whoever may be the first European who
beheld it, and whatever be the historical
inaccuracies and trifling blunders of the
traveller, the main value of his travels
remains unaffected. This consists in the
state of society which he has most admi-
rably delineated, a state the most extra-
ordinaiy in which any people upon the
fece of tlie globe exist. It has fallen to
his lot to reside among a people half Jews,
half Christians ; half savages, half civi*
lized 5 half blade, half white, half canni^
bals ;— ra people standing in so little fear
of God, that oaths and sacraments go
even for less among them than they do
at an election or a custom-house ; yet in
such dread of the devil that they will not
spill water upon the ground least it
should splash some of his imps, a fid dare
not ti-avel in the night for fear of meeting
him upon the road : so ignorant that they
believe hyenas to be Jews in disguise,
and oblige their blacksmiths* to live
* This is not mentbned by Bnite^ but we give it on the avthprity of Francisco AJ^v^
the first Iravelkr ii^o the country.^ .
BBtrCE S TRAVELS TO THE SOURCE OF TBfi ^ILtl
Wftsi fiom the rest of the community^
as taen who can have acquired such ex-
tzaordinaiy skill from noue but from the
dtvil ; and it must be confessed that cer-
tainly these artificers do practise the
Uackart: a people, who, in direct viola-
tion of that hospitality which all savages
practise, detain every stranger who is
unhappy enough to venture among them,
and who send for their patriarch from
Cairo, lest the little learning and mise*
fable remains of Christianity among them
should be utterly extinguished. Such is
their known barbarity, that the unfortu-
nate Copt who is condemned to be their
primate, mast be put in chajns and sent
ipto the country under a guard of janiza-
ries lest he should run away. Tliis coun-
try Bruce describes, where the inhabitants
lii-e in such a state of insecurity tliat the.
saddle and bridle can never be taken off,
nor the bit slipt from the horse's mouth
while the soads are passable, nor the
shield and lance hung up in the hall till
the rainy season sets in, and brings with^
it what may there truly be called the
truce of God 5 — a country where dead
bodies are left in the streets of the me-
tropolis for the hyenas > — ^where if the
small-pox make its appearance, the
neighbours surround the house and con-
sume it, with all its inhabitants, by ^e,
•^wbere they eat animals alive, and men
and women intoxicating themselves to-
gether at these bloody feasts, satisfy their
lusts publicly^ like dogs, in opeu day-
light !
There is not the slightest reason for
disbelieving or distrusting any part of this
description. It is authenticated by other
accounts, as far as they go, coherent with
itself, probable in all its parts. There is
oothmg which could have warped the
Teracity of the traveller here) nothing
which could be affected hy neglect of
documeats or failure of memory. It
depends not upon single £icts, but upon
accumulation ; the whole history of
Abyssinia agrees with the representation,
and every circumstance in their laws and
manners, their forms, ceremonies, and
customs, public and private, is in keeping.
No traveller ever left Europe better
<palified to travel in safety, and to keep
up the honour of his country. Well ac«
qoainted with the language of the people
among whom he was adventuring, he
took with him recommendations and
safe conducts firom the chiefs of their re-
ligioo, and the difierent powers whom
t£7iiiost respected^ or with whom they
were most connected. Without incur*
ring the dangerous suspicion of being
wealthy, he appeared as a noble, and was
accordingly valued by others qs he valued
himself. His person and his personal^
qualities were such as to obtain and to
secure respect j tall andppwerful beyond
the ordinary strength and stature of man,
he excelled the barbarians of Abyssinia
in their own accomplishments : his ex-
cellence in horsemanship delighted them,
and his skill in the managco^eot of a
double-barrelled rifle astonislied people
who did not fire the clumsy muskets of
the Aiabians without' fear and trembling,.
Wherever human courage or humap pru-
dence can be of any avail, Bruce n|ight
have travelled safely; never ofi'e ring an
insult, never submitting to one,— ^ootan^*
bitioLuly exalting himself, not meinl/
self-abased, conferring favours instead q(
soliciting then), — ^fearless in times of dan<c
ger, yet never losing sight of cautioa
when in most security,— a soldier in Iho
camp and courtier in the city — the fiiend
of the great, the healer of the sick, tho
favourite of the woman. Long will it
be before anotlier so qualified shall un«
dertake such a journey,— ^md any one
less qualified would have perished in tho
attempt.
The historical portion of his work is.
valuable to collate with the Jesuits' ac^
Qounts, and to supply the chasm fiom tho
time of their expulsion to oiu: own days ;
that part in which he himself bore a share
is particularly interesljiug. When the in^
tercourse between Abyssinia and Europe
shall again be opened^and the nation hu-
manized by future missionaries more for-
tunate than Pedro Paez (more able and
mote deserving they need not be^ and
unless, like the Jesuits, they unite policy
and religion tliey must fail) — whenever
that happy age for Africa shall arrive, tho
inhabitants will read their own history in
the writings of Yagoube the Englishman.
We have better books of travels in the
Eiiglish language; that is, books more
uniformly good, and witliout the faults of
this; but none that contains so much
interesting matter. Encumbered as it is
with theoretical dissertations, it excites a
livelier and more abiding interest than
any traveller of our own, or of any other
cotmtry. This is partly because he was
a witness of great events, and an actor in
them ; still more, because he knew so in-
timately the, most important persons in
the drama, and has so admirably deli-
neated them. It has been said that Mi-
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
ditel $uktiU ^ Raft^ i» fl^ich 9 character
m Shakespeare would hwe Gonce|v«d;
aor is this €ocnniendation^ high aB it is^
exaggerated. Other books luaj he better
written, but there ii none from which
tiuer passages can be produced; and in
flKse tliere are no tricks of composition,
nothing that the Birmingham-manufac-
tttreri of plated style can counterieit ; it
is the plain tale plainly toid^ the strong
leeling naturally expressed. In the whole
course of our readhig^ we remember no-
tBing more deeply and lastingly impres-
iive than the journey of Bruce across the
desert.
It now remains to state what has been
added to the present edition, either from
Ae papers of Bmce, or by the labours of
4fae editor. An account of the life and
writings of Bruce precedes the work. It
appears that the conclusive act, by which
presbytery was established as the national
idtgion of Scotland, was obtained chiefly
hf the address and policy of tlie founder
csf his fiunily. WlM)eTer has seen pres-
bfterianlsm north of the Tweed, will un-
ilerstflnd what reason Scotland and reli-
gbn have to be obliged to him. In his
youth, Bruce was considered as of a con-
•wnptLve habit, which there was the more
leason to apprehend, as his mother and
Aster had both been cut off by that cwse
mi our country. He had the happiness to
be educated in England, because his fa-
lt»r was attached to the house of Hano-
ver, and feared lest he might be iutected
by tile prevalent spirit of jacobinism in
iitt own country. Accordingly he was
fkeced at Harrow, where he distinguished
Ivimself. As he advanced towards man-
hood, the symptoms of disease became
Bxae ilireatening : he was tall beyond the
mcnsure of his years, his joints feeble, his
breast weak, and subject to violent coughs
en catching the slightest degree of cold.
Care and exercise saved him. For his
professrion he would have preferred theo-
logy himself, and wished to have entered
the English church. This predilection did
Dot meet with tlie approbation of his fa-
ther, and, in obedience to his advice, he
entered at Edinburgh and commenced the
atudy of Scotch law : but neither health
OMT inclination permitted him to proceed
with this. India was the next object:
he was advised to petition the court of
directors, for the liberty of settling as a
ft«e-trader under its patronage. To for-
ward this scheme^ he went to London in
1753, the twehty-sccond year of his agwt
there he became intimate with the family
of Mrs. Allan, the vndow of an eminent
wine-merchant, married the daughter,
and entered into tfie business with the-
son. In his own opinbn this marriage,
which prevented him from adventtlrrng
to Indra, saved him from the dreadful
imprisonment in the black hole. He was
now settled in a prosperous business, and
happy with a wife ; but, before the end
of the year, manifest sjmiptoms of con-
sumption appeared in Mrs. Brttce. Bris-
tol hot-wells preyed, as they always must
prove in such cases, befficacious : tho
south of France was then recommended,
which was her native country ; but siio
only lived to reach Paris, where her last
moments were persecuted by the catholic
clergy, according to their detestable cus-
tom. We copy a very aflecting letter
wittcn shortly afterwards.
" Letter of Mr, Bruce to Ids Father.
" Dear sir, Marklane, Nov. 12, 1754.
" 1 received yours of the 28th ult. If I
could be susceptible of more grief, I should
have been much concerned for my good
friend Mr. Hay ; but my distress at present
does not admit of augmentation. Death haa
been very busy amongst niy relations of late.
My poor \¥ite, my kiiid uncle,* vfho had been
always a tender fallier to me, both gone in
eight niODths ! God Almighty do witn me as
he sees best! \Vhen I reflect upon what I
have sefl'cred these tiiree years past, I am
much ivxjK inclined to pray for my life being
shortened than tor a prolongation of it, if my
Mictions must l»ve no end but with my
being. My mind is so shocked, and tlie ini-
pressioBS of that dreadhil scene at Paris so
strongly iixed, thai I have it every mii|iite
before in}' eyes as distinctly, as it was lien
happening. 'Myself a stranger in the coun-
try ; my sei-vauts unacquainted with the lan-
guage and country, my presence so necessary
among them, ana inuispensibly so witii my
dear wife; my poor giri dymg before my
eyes, tluee months gone With child, full of
that alfcction and tenderness which marriage
produces when peoj[>le feel the hapi^iness,
but not the cares of it ; many of the Roman
catholic clergy liovering about the doors;
myself unable to And any expedient to kce]>
them from disturbing her in her last mo«
ments — Don t you feel for your son, dear sir,
in these circumstances? But I will write no
more ; my a<tiicting you cannot aUeviate* my
distress. I cannot, however, omit tdling.ypu
an instance of lord Albemarle's very gi-eat
humanity ; he has been always a warm-i^re*
tector of this house. ^ The momina b^re
my wife died, he sent his chapLuu uy wn im
*- Counse&)r Hamilton.
»mUC<^ TRAVILS TO TH« f pFSCE OF TifB !MLR,
n
^ftr his services In oiir dwtnew. After hear-
ing the service of tliesick read, and receiving^
the sacrament together, he told me, in case I
teceivtti any trouble from the priests, my
lord desired I would tell them 1 belonged to
the English ambassador. When my wife
d^, the chaplain caine again to me, desired
me to CO home with h»ui, and assured me,
(hat my lord had eiven him orders to see my
wife buried in the ambassador's burjing-
cround, which was accordingly done ;' and
nad it not been for this piece of humanity,
she must have been buried in the conunon
yard, where the wood is piled that serves the
town for tiring. I could not, however, leave
her as soon as dead, as is the custom in Eng-
land, but having ordered the mournful solem-
nity, with as much decency as is allowed in
Hidt country to heretics, at midnight, between
the 10th and 1 1th uit. accompanied utily by
the chaplain, a brother of my lord Fofcy's,
9od cor own servants, we carried her body
to the burying-ground, at the Porte St. Mar>
tin, where i saw all my comfort and huppi-
jftess laid witli her in the grave. From thence,
Jbnost frantic, against the advice of every
body, 1 got on horseback, having ordered
the 'servant to have post horses ready, and
fetOBt in the most tempestuous night 1 ever
saw, for Boulogne, where I arrived next day
without stopping. There the riding, without
a great coat, in the night time, m the rain,
want of iood, which, tor a long time, I bad
Hot tasted, want of rest, fatigue, and exces-
•ive cotncem, threw me into a fever; but,
after repeated bleedings, and the great care
taken of me by Mr. Hay, I recovered well
cncingh to set out for London on the Wed-
nesday. I arrived at home on the Thursday,
iHien my fever again returned, and a violent
pain IB ray breast. 1 he fonner is so far
abated, that I am endeavouring to do a little '
bnsmess, hoping, from the variety of that, to
imd some ease nom reilections that at pre-
fientaretoo heavy for me. Thus ended my
dnlbrtiinate jounie>% and with it my present
prospect of happiness 'm tliis life."
He contiiraed in the trade several
years, and, im the course of business vi-
sited Spain, and Portugal, and France.
Before this journey he had sti^dicd the
Imguage^ of these countries, and improved
himself in drawing. As his journals re-
main, we cannot but wish that all which
IS interesting in them had been inserted
in this memoir: tt might well have sup-
plied the account of his writings, which,
howerer fit for a biographical dictionary,
h surely out of place when prefixed to
ibe writings themselves. The following
passage Is given by the editor as a speci-
men of these Joun&als.
*• There are manv particular customs in
ft»rtn|ral, ail of which may be known by this
10)^ oat whatever 'vn done h the rest of the
twrtd in one way, is in Pvxtiig^ done by the
ttontrary, even to the roduag of the mdle,
which 1 believe in aU the rest of the world is
from side to side, but in Portugal is from
head to foot. I fanc^^ it is owing to this eari^r
contrariety that Iheir brains work m so dli^
ferent a manner all their lives after. A Por-
tuguese boabnan always rows standing, not
with his face, but his back to the stern of the
boat, and pushes his oar from hfan. When
lie lands you, he turns the stem of the boat
to the shore, and not the head. If a man
and woman ride on the same mule, the wo*.
man sits bebre the man, with her face the
contrary way to whxt tliey do in England.
When you take leave of any person to whom
you have been paying a visit, the master of
the house always goes out of the room, dowa
stairs, and out'of the liouse, befbfe you, to
leave you, as he saj^s, in possession of his
house, and to shew you how much he, and
all that are in it, are devoted to you. They
are, indeed, very attentive to the smallest
punctilio, knowing well one anotiier'stempec.
The smallest affront is never forgiven. This
is the occasion of the many murders which
are continually committed here. It is, in*
deed, the only country where it can he said
that murder is tolerated. Everj' fa^^iily has .
a son, a brother, or a nephew, who is priest,
or Criar. Tliesc are the instruments. As
soon as Jhe friar has committed the crime, he
flies to his convent' ; and in six months the
thing is no more talkcil oif."
Much of this is prejudice, and the latter
part is false. A curious anecdote occurs
in anotlier note. Ou arriving at Coimbni
they visited fhe principal library, but
none of the friars could tell where the
Greek books were kept. Mr. Brace's
frieni^ having been there on a former oc-
casion, accidentally found one ; and, on
asking the friars in what language it was
written, they answered, i/tr ais;inmi du9
len^}uis mucrtaSy it is one of the dead lant-
guages.
In Spain he made some effort to obtaiit
access to the Arabic MSS. in the £scu-
riaL Don RicardoWall, the then minis-
ter, wiijhed to engnge hiiu in the service
of Spain, but did not, or could not, as-
sist him in this plan. It seems that the
obser\'ations which he had made iu Spain
were new and considerably numerous}
but in consequence of an early resolution,
which he never violated, he had deter-
mined to publish nothing on any subject:
which others had exhausted, or might
easily illustrate— a resolution springing
from that vanity which was his predomi-
nant fault.
During this journey his father died
and he succeeded to a respectable fchc-
ritance, though not equal to his growing
u
, VOYAGES AKD TRAVELS.
ffmbitioii. In ) f6l he left the wine bu-
siness* He liad seen a battle at Crevelt
without being engaged in it^ and had con-
ceived a passion for military enterprize.
Having procured a plan oi the harbour
dnd works at Ferrol fi^om soniB person in
the Spanish scnMce, he projected a sciieme
ibr attacking it, a Spanish war being thenex-
pected> and tlirough his friend Mr. Wood,
' then under secretary of state^ laid it bc-
Ibre the miiustry, adding, that if the king
wauld eotnut him wixii the command 4^*
the tolom hope, and a pair of colours,
he would not desire the assistance of an-
other boot except that hr which he landed,
till he had planted tliem with his own
Laud on the beach of Ferrol. He con-
ceived himself justified m this^ because
Hiodels of the newest British ships of war
bad been secretly procured by the Spa-
wards. The justitication is not admis-
sible f notlikig can justify aiman of ho-
nour for performing the work of a spy.
The plan was approved, but laid aside
for the sake of sending nearer relief to
Portugal. He was preparing to return
to Scotland, when lord Halifax requested
to see him.
" On meeting withhhn, hislordship laughed
at Mr. Braced desist of retiring to the coun-
try at his time of 11^ ; suggested to him, tiiat
tike wny to rise in the present reign, was by
^uterorize and discovery ; and that his ma-
jesty^ love of the arts was a sure and efl'ec-
Uial introduction to patronage. He observed,
that Africa, though almost at our very door,
was yet unexplored ; that Dr. Shaw, a writer
of undoubted credit, had spoken of mj^gnifi-
rent remains of architectiffe existing in the
kingdoms of Tunis and Algiers; and (hat
loiuething should now be done to preserve
them, by drawing, and add them to the king^s
collection. As a further inducement, he in^
tonued him, that Mr. Aspenwall, his mar
k.sty*s agent and consul-general at Algiers,
had been recalled ; that a merchant, ot the
name of Ford, who had been appointed to
succeed him, was since dead ; in consequence
of which the place was vacant. He warm(y
advised Mr. Bruce toaccept tliis opportimity
of visitinij Africa, under tlie protection of a
public character; promised tliat he sliould
nave leave to appoint a vice-consul for the
disj)atch of b^usiness in his absence ; and that,
if nc made wide excursions into tlie country,
and large additions to the king's collection,
he should be recompensed with the rewards
9*ipulated in the affair of Ferrol, or advanced
to a higher situation m the diplomatic de-
partment, "^lo these proposals Mr. Bruce
acceded. He afterwTards had several conver-
sations with k)rd Halifax and Mr. Wood on
the subject of Africa. In the course of the ^e,
mcatiou was frccjuently mi.de of the sources
of the Nile, and of the obscurity in whielk
they had ever been concealed. The foun-
tains of the river of Egypt were spoken of as
likely to remain wliolly unknown to the mo-
derns, mi til some undaunted adventurer
should trace it to its origin. Hints were
obliquely thrown out, that the discovery of
these " coy sources** could not be exi^ected
from an ordinary traveller, much less'fnjiu
oiie who had no experience m those difHcul-
ties which must accoiniiany an ^iterprize of
such magnitude and glory ; and it was insi-
nuated, that if any Briton sliould fulfil tlie
wishes of even* age, in ti>is particular, he
ought not, unner such a monarch,. and in ^
period so auspicioiis to discovery and leam^
mg, to despau' of a high reward. '
The consulship at Algiers accordingly
was given him. It appears from hist>wn
letters in the appendix, but not from tli«
memoir^ that he had accepted it because
an attack upon Oran was projected, irr
whkh he hoped to have been of si*rvice^
The fair promises of lord Halifax ended
—as the promises^ of great men usually
end. Not oply was the promise which
bad been given htm of a few months
absence to visit the interior of the coun-
try never performed 5 but pressing dis-
patches upon the roost urgent business,
m which the property, and liberty, anU
life of British subjects were at stake, were
neglected. As far as it was possible for
an individual, Bruce defended the rights
of his countrymen, and supported the ho-
no^u: of his country. If British property
was confiscated, and British, subjects
clnigged into slavery and scourged like
slaves, the in&my does not lie at his door.
It was the plan of the Algerines to
make tlie English pay them an annual
tribute i for tlie many favours which thej
received from England, these ignorant
barbarians attributed to fear — though
not the true motive, quite as worthy and
as wise as the true one. Bruce's advice^
if followed, would have humbled their
insolence for ever, and have preserved us
a station in the Mediterranean. It is
thus detailed in one of the letters to lord
Halifax :
" My lord, affairs are come to this crisis r
the Alserines have formed their plan, pursue
it steadily, and have made all further expos-
tulatbn impossible ; and I humbly apprehend
no alternative remains, but either by appear-
ance of force, to shew them this scheme is
impracticable, or put ourselves upon the foot-
ing of other nations.
" Nor is it the arrival of a fleet only that
will have the eflect to put his majesty's aifaira
upon> lasting footing of quit^t. I'hey will^
«lt7CB*8 TRAViL^ TO TH£ SOUXCE OF tB£ ITILK.
13
K IS trap", immediately niake n^sHtution, and
desire a renewal of friendship, and if we are
contented with that, the fleet will scarcely be
disarmed, until they anew begin acts of vio-
lence, till constant 'equipments on our part,
nithout any product but constant verbal sub-
jnis.^ioos on theirs, will, they ho]X}, in time,
make us prefer a moderate annual ex pence
to in excessive one so often as they please to
provoke us to K. Therefore, my jord, I
should humbly hope, besides restitution and
reparation, tiiat the expence pf the armameht
-nught be insisted upon. They really arc not
in a condition for retusals. 1 Vis, on our part,
would be such a lasting mark of superiority,
and» on theirs, so distinct a one of mal-admi-
nistrattoD, that ao Dey, for' the hittive, would
hazard measures that "might bring snch seri-
ous consequences on his country. They are,
my bid, very capable of affording this: in
the treasury m Algiers only, there arc said to
be contained thirty-tive millions sterling in
specie, besides an iounense amount in jewels
and plate.
" but if it were his majesty's pleasure his
roiral highness sliould come hitKer with a licet,
there is a much more proper species of in-
demnification than that above mentioned, of
more consequence to the nation in pe&ce or
war, which will much more readily oe coiyv-
plied with by Algiers, and which is' attended
with certain circumstances in favour of li-
berty, that make it perfectly proper for the
£ist expedition of a prince.
" This is the cession of the islasd of Ta-
baica to Britain, the subject of the memorial
indoKd, wherein I have set down imperfectly
the advantages attending the possession of it.
It has been oflered, by Algiers, to several
powers, and they have ditl'ered upon small
sums. It is of no sort of profit to the Alge-
fines at present. The above your lordahip
Miay depend upon, as it is the result of many
cnnVersations: with the conunlssary of Ta-
barca, now a slave here, and who is under
obligations to me, though he knows not what
use is to be made of liis information.
firucc had seen this island in a coasting
vc^'age. It Is famous for a coral fishery j
and, along the coast, he says, are immense
ibrests of large beautiful oaks, more than
nffident to supply the necessities of all
the raariiinae powers in the Levant, if the
<)ualily of the wood be but equal to the
size and beauty of the tree.
The whole con-espondence is in the
highest degree honourable to Bruce. He
ijoncludes one-of his letters thus : ' My
lord, in tliis country of murder, chains,
and torture, your lordship will not ex«
pect me to be more explicit than I am as
to measures.'
" I was just finishing the letter to vour
k^rdiihip, when wonl in Iwought me, th;;t titis
moraine tarly, the master of the above-men-
tsoued vcsxd* aod the ^percargo, were cat-
ried before the Dey, and in order to extort a
confession if they "had secreted any etfecls,
were bastinadoedf over the feet and bins in
such a manner as the blood gashed out, and
then loaded with heavy chains: the captaia,
it is thought, cannot recover. I have like-
wise received from a fiiend some insinuations,
that I am IB danger, and advice to tly ; but
as it was not the prospect of pay, or want of
fortime, that induced me to accept of tiiis
employment, so I will not abandon it fi-ofa
•fears or any motives unworthy a gentteman.
One broAliet has this war already liad ihc ho-
nour of dying to his majesty's service, twa
nxn-e are still in it, and all I hope is, if any
accident be^U me, as is hourly probable, his
majesty will be favourable to the survivors oi
a tamily that has always served him faith-
fully."
It Is impossible to read the correspoo-
deiHie wickouC wishing the two men U>
change situattone. Bruce would h2Vo
taug^ the pirates, a good lesson had fa^
beeti in tlie miiiistry, and lord Halifax
should have been sent to Algiers to teach
him English feelings undier Algerrne dk-.
cipliue. Bruce was neglected io his
public capacity, and ill-used as to his pri-
vate concerns. The leave of absence was
never granted him, and he was at last
obliged either to make bis excarsioa as a
private individual, or to abandon tiie prin-
cipal design of his residence in Barbaiy.
The history ©f this journey is g\\-en by
himself in the introduction to his travclf-
Frora this time, therefore, till his retura.
from Abyssinia to Europe, we may pass
over the occurrences of his life. The
tirst business in which he engaged after
his complete recovery was of a very sin-
gular nature. . Before he went to Algiera
he had received a promiae of marriage
from a Scotch lady, settled, as we sup^
pose, in Italy* Ar Bruce, however,
thought proper to make an e^urursion t».
the sources of die Nile before he claimed
the performance of this promise, the ladf
married an Italian nobleman, while he
was drinking her health at Geesh. He
thought himself injured, apparently with
less reason tlian she had thought herself
undervalued ; and, in spite of tlK^ advico
of his friends, he went to Rome to chal-
lenge tlie marquis. The atlair terminated
in th« following correspondence :
" 1 . Mr, Bruce to Sig. Accoramhonu
" Sir,
" Not my licart, but the entreaties of my
friends, made me otfcr you thij allcrnAlive by
the abbe Grant. It was not* for such sati*-
faction, that sck, and covtr *d witii woundi,
I have traversed ^f^ niuch i^nl ;ini »v:a to iiud
you.
i4
VOTAGtS AND TBAVEI^.
*^An ioBOccnt man, esofAoyed ja tke w-
^e of my couotry'-'WiUiaut pcovooatioo
cr inji^rv frooi me, you have di^ved lae
cf mr honour, by vioktitts; all tlie most
sacred eights before God anainat^; and you
now refui^e to i^ouuuit to writing wbat you
willingly confess iu words. A maa of houoor
aod iunoceoce, marquis, knows no such shifts
as these; and it will be well for one of us lo-
day, if you had beenas scrupulous in doiug
an injury as you are in rcpainiig iL
'* I am your eaual, majKHUi, in every x»-
spoct; and God alone can do me justice for
the injury which you have done me. Full of
innoceuce, and with a clear consdmcey I
commit my revenge to him, and draw my
fword against you with contidence inspired
by the reflection of havbg done my duty,
aiid by a sense of the injustice and violence
vhicli 1 have sutfered fifom you without any
" At half past nine (French reckomin;) I
come to your gate in my carriage ; if it does
not please you, let yoin* own be readv ; and
let us go together to determine whicfi b the
more easy, to injure a man in his absence, or
to defend it when he is present.'^
•« 2. Sign. Aceoramhoni to Mr. Bruce.
" Sir, Eomc, Nov. 30, 1773.
*• When the maiViage with Mm M., at
|iresent my wife, was arranged, it was never
mentioned to me that tliere was a promise
made to you, otlierwise that connection
flhoiild not have taken place.
•* With regard to yourself, on my honour,
1 have never spoken of vou in any manner,
as you were entirely unknown to me. On
wlitfrh account, if I can serve you, command
md With the profoundest respect, I sign
myself, your most obedient humble sen'ant,
" FiLIPPO AccoaAMBONi.*'
•* To Jxunes Bruce, Esq.
On his retnm to England he presented
iiis drawings to the king, for vi'hicb, it is
added in a note, he received a gratuity:
we wish it had been specified what. Tlie
liigh reward, which had been lield out to
• lim by lord Halifox, was certainly never
bestowtd, though assuredly the services
which he had rendered to literature de-
served some marks of public honour, and
public remuneration. In 177^ he mar-
ried a second time : liaving been so long
a widower, ihat tlie year of his first wife's
death was that in which his second was
bom. With tliis lady he lived happily j
but only for nine years, when he was
again lett single. lie survived her nine
years : his o*'n death was remarkable.
After having escaped frpm the barbarians
of Abyssinia and K'ubia, and the perils of
the desert, he lell down his own stairv
and died j but it is probable that his fall
was tn consequeoce of a fit He was im
his 64th year.
The present edition contains his last
correctious and emendations. As these
ire not pointed out, it cannot be expected
that we should have, collated so eitten-
stve j^ work; and had they been of any
great importance, they would have beea
fpectfied. Mr. Murray has added vari-
ous appendices and notes. To the first
book he has appended Balugani's descrip*
tion of the amja, or boat of the Nile,
and general observations on the early his-
tory of Arabia^ Egypt, and Ethiopia, which
tend to ideiuify Sesostria with Shishak,
and to prove that the Egyptians had made
oo conquests in Asia prior to the age of
Sobmon. The dissertation is erudite and
ingenious, bat the arguments would have
been more forcible if more condensed.
Here also he has inserted Bruce's letter
to Dr. Burney on Egyptian and Abyssi-
^ nian music, adding certain remarks of his
own ; a part of which we shall quote, re-
lating to the drawings of the harpers l^ooi
the caverns ef The^.
*' Mr. Brown, who lately travdfed into
Eg)'pt, and Dar Fur, and visited the cavcra
in me Biban al Moluc, where Mr. Bruce drew
these figures, has insinuated that he seemed
to have drawn them from memory. This re*
port has gained credit, and t>een repeated to
the prejudice of Mr. Bnice's diameter, both
in Britain and on the continent. * The &cts,
that may be brought to vindicate him, are
tlie following :
'' The penciled sketches of the two harps
are still preserved among Mr. Bmce's papers^
and one of them, at least, is clearly the woiic
of Luigi Balugaai. On on^ of them is a di-
rection to 'the engraver, in Mr. Bruce's hand**
writing, giving him a slight liberty to finish
the sketch, but not to change the costume of
the player. This was written a short time
before the publication of the travels ; but it is
quite evident to any eye that tlie difference
between the engravmg and'the sketch is very
trilling.
** From the known custom of Mr. Bruce
and his assistant, it is next to certain tliat the
sketches were tiiken on the spot. However
careless Mr. Browne may suppose tliese gen-
tlen^en to have been at other ti:nes, it Is not
likely that they would have sitten down, afi^
an excursion through the tombs of ancient
Thebes, to draw, ^ram memory, the sculp-
tures they had seen in the course of the day.
Mr. Iirowue does not pretend that lie cin
draw ; wc may, therefore, ask him, if he ijad
Mr. Bruce's drawmgs in the cave to compare
♦ Vide L3rchcr,Traduct. d'Herodote, vol. i. pref. p. xliv.
S&tTCB*0 tBA^BCS VO TBB SOUItCX Qf «HB VILBf
w
Aem with (be OfigiDals? If be had not, his
crjtictsni is that of a man wha is no artist,
mkinga remark from memory, "^hethcr
. Mr. Brace couid dm* or not, is of httli!; im-
portaooe b daciding on the Iruth of these re-
pmentatioDs ; for he had in his company an
exoelient draughtsman* whose works remain
to $|M9k fiar his pretensions;*'
M. Denon^ who gives us a more per-
fect view of Egyptian antiquities than any
»-ori as yet iu existence^ confirms what
Mr. fimce has said on the subject of £gyp<:
tiin mosic. That accomplished artist
sketched seren figures, playing on instru^
ments, from the walls of the royal sepul->
chres, H-estofT2)ebes^ and irom the temple
ofTtnlyra,
The most important of these sculptures
h that of a musician playing on a harp,
having, according to M. Denon, twenty-
floe surings. The sketch which he gives
liearly inclines us, at first, to believe, that
it b one of those given by Mr. Bruce )
ytX, on examination, it differs in so many
partkulars as to leave no doubt that it is
none of them. M. Denon's sketch is
evidently hasty, but probably a good re-
semblance.
Denon has now confirmed the veracity of
Bruce, who seems to have made no othet
alteration than that of improving the
figures, a liberty to which a zealous artist
|D^ easily be seduced.
To the second book the editor has added
a sommary view of the Egyptian theo-
hgf, as cdiected firom the Hebrew and
Greek writers, with the names of the
gods in the antienC native language, in*
tended to sihistrate tlie remains of Egyp-
tian antk{uity mentioned in the two pre-
ceding books. A dissertation, coutaining
additfenai prooft in support of Bruce's
hypothesis, that Egypt was peopled from
^ SQuth, 9nd the coofinefe of Ethiopia ; •
and a vocabulary of the Amharic, Fala-
shan, Gaiat, Agow, and Tcheretch Agow
bngns^es. To the third, he haf prefixed
a geographical account of the Abyssinian
pronnces, and a' preface to the history of
Abyssinia, containing a short view of the
Abyssinian constitution, such as it ap*
pears to have been in the better days of
the empire ; an account of the ceremo-
nies used at the coronation of the king,
or negux, as he should more properly be
jaHcd J of the prihctpal officers of state,
and those pecuHar customs of thfe court
tod camp, winch should be understood
before the history is pamsed/ These very
feartied dissertations are compiled from
>roce% Exiitopic M5S. T^ Utts aame
\iocki he has appeiybd misceUaneou^ notes
and remarks on the MS. Abyssinian hb-
tory, bnmght by Bruce from Gondari
and a vocabulary of the Galla' language.
The fourth book has peither preliminary
matter nor appendix $ but, in the course
of this book, Mr.. Murray has exercised a
verv unwarrantable exertion of editoria)
authority, having omitted the whole life
of Bacu^a, as jt stands in th^ former edi<-
tion, and inserted one written by himself
in a note. He says, indeed, that the life^
as written by Bruce, may be found in a
succeeding volume : we have not found
it there. This total omission must be
imputed to oversight; but the cliapter
ought not to have been displaced 5 it is
highly curious, and the roost curious anec*
dotes rest upon the Authority of tlie -mie
of BacuHa, the Iteghe, who herself com-
municated them to Bruce. Mr. Murray's
additional matter might have appeared,
as it now does, in a smaller type, and this
have been retained. The work is imperr
feet without it, and indeed contains some
allusions which are left absolutely unin«
telligible by the omission.
The fifth book also is without addi<«
tions ; but, after the sixth, we find addi^*
tionai Accounts of the transactions . at
Gondar, and journey to the sources, con-
taining a sketch of Michael Sukuls life,
till the time when Bruce entered Abyssi-
nia 5 extracts from Bruce's common-place
book concerning his first introduction to
the Ras, and from Balugani's journal;
part of these last we have previously ex*
tracted. Here also he has inserted the
descriptions of the sources by Pedro Paez
and Jeronymo Lobo ^ the first as it stands
in Kircher, part Latin, part unintelligible
Portugueze; the latter in lie Grande's
French, with translations of both, and re-
marks upon them. It is his opinioii that
Paes had visited the springs, but that Lobo
only copied his account. After the last
book^ detached articles are added from
the several journals and common-place
books, containing additional inforiuation
respecting Abyssinia, and extracts from
die j ournals oi the route homeward . The
appendix is increased with eleven addi-
tional articles of natural history 3 an ac-
count of the antidotes .used by the Nuba
against serpents. Observations of lati-
tude and longitude made by Bruce in
Africa j dissertation on tlie progressive
geography of the Bahar el Abiad, and the
other branciiet of the Nile $ accouxit of
the Ethiopic MS8. from which Bruce
composed the history of^Aby^siiiia^ ac«
B7
i4
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
count of die price of vriting-*book8 at
Gondar, and a description of some of the
most valuable works in Bruce's collection
of Arabic MSS. The volume of prints
contains all the additional articles of na-
tural history, and portraits of Ozoro Esr
they, Tecla Mariam, Kefla Yasous, and
Woodage Asahel.
It would be poor and inadequate praise
to say, that it has seldom or never fallen
to our lot to notice a book so ably edited.
We believe no editor ever before so labo-
riously qualified himself for his under-
taking. It is to be hoped tliat Mr. Mur-
'^ray will make farther and 'greater use oi
the very rare, and very difficult anoflitio*
which he has acquired. We wish for \h»
book of Enoch, however extravagant it
may be^ and for a literal version of the
Abyssinian chronicles, however opposite
to our notions of historical composition.
Bruce says tliat he has rhadehis narration
from these, more conformable to the man«
ner of writing English history j this is pre-
cisely the very thing which he should not
have done. If I am to feed u^xm ^ion^f
flesh, do'nt let it be drest like roast mut-
ton ; I would have k in the genuine cook*
ery of the Welled Sidi Boogannlm.
Art. II. AFoya^ round the ff'orld in the Years 1800, 1801, 1 802, 1 803 oni 1804:
rn which the Author visited the principal Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the English
Settlements qf Fort Jackson, and JSorfolk Island. By John TurnbulI. 3 Vols.
&)olscap 8vo.
IF every man whose business or amuse-
ment leads him into WaW or Scotland
flatters himself t^iat he is qualified to im-
part some interesting information to the
public, to present some novel view of hu-
man society, some unnoticed trait of cha-
racter, it can excite no surprise that he
%rhose enterprising spirit has led him to
circumnavigate the globe, should, on his
return, feel so fully fraught with matter
of high import and curiosity as to seize
with avidity on the press, as the only suf-
ficient conductor for discharging the con-
tents of his o*erburdened brain. Repeat-
ed experience, indeed, has evinced, that it
Is not absolutely necessary to freight a
vessel with $avans in order to have such
an account of a voyage as may repay the
time and task of perusal : the plain and
unassuming journal of a man of sense and
observation, faithfully kept, will hardly
fail to interest and inform. For many of
our best books in this department of li-
terature we are indebted to merchants and
missionaries. Among the number of our
best books, indeed, the present narra-
tive has no chance or claim to be ranked -,
such as it* is, we owe it to an adventurer
whose voyage was undertaken for the ad-
vancement of trade, not of science, and,
like most others, for purposes of private
emolument rather than of public advan-
tage.
Whilst second ofHoer in the Barwell,
in her last voyage to China, in the year
1799jMr,TurnbuU and the first officer
ot ihat ship had reason to belieVQ that did
Americans carried on a very lucrative
fnde to the north-west of that continent.
On their return to England they commu-
nicated the result of their observation to
some merchants of an enterprising spirit,
who approved of the proposed speculation,
and immediately prepared for its execu*
tion. Tho command of the vessel was
given to the captain of the Barwell, apd
the' cargo and trading part were entrusted
to Mr. Tumbull ; both these gentlemen
were interested in the success of the vey-
age, as they held shares of considerable
value.
Prom Portsmouth we sail to St. Salva-
dor in about six pages. It is perhaps a
memorandum worth preserving, that
whilst the Spaniards in the harbour wer«
lading and unlading as deliberajtely, and
as much at their ease, according to Mr.
Tumbull, as if they had been in Cadiz it-
self, tlie most minute and jealous exami-
nation of the English vessel was insistai
on by the viceroy j various circumstanoes
indicated that the Spaniards were on very
favoured terras with the Portugueze, and
indeed that a clandestine intercourse be-
tween the two powers existed at that
tinae, prejudicial to the interests of Great
-Britain, and consequei>tly unsanctioned by
the terms of a fair neutrality. Mr. T.,
however, gives thePortiigueze a Rowland
for tlieir Oliver 5 he suggests the inipossi-
bility that -a nation iaflen so low in ihm
scale of European powers should long pos-
sess' the Brazils, and monopolize an ex-
tent of country which she is as little able
Jo use as to defend j of course, if 'it falla
into any hands, it had tetter lie enjoyed
by us than the French, who would ba
likely cnottgl^ to seize upon them if an
MRNBULl's VOTAOtS 11^ THB FACIFlC OCSAlTi
17
aplKfftiniity occurred, and consok them«
lelves in South America for the loss of
Malta.
From the Brasils our adventurers steered
their course to the Cape of Good Hope,
where thef stayed a fortnight^ and thence
proceeded to Port Jackson in New South
Wales, where Mr. TumbuU remained, in
onto to dispose of his cargo, whilst the
capudn proceeded on his north-west spe-
culation. The admirable account of New
South Wales, by captain Collins, has nn-
ticipated, in all its particulars, the infor-
matign concerning it in this meagre nar-
ntive. Mr. Tumbull paid two visits to
the colony, and laments^ not without rea-
son, the disunion which at both times he
found prevailing among the officers of go-
Teniment. Numerous indeed are the ob-
stacles which seem to oppose themselves
against the improvement of the colony 3
nor, perhaps, is it a matter of much con-
teqaence, so far as the interests . of the
mother country are concerned. The vast
expence with which the establishment of
it has been attended, ought, no doubt, to
ensoie a compensation at some distant
period : a parent never expends his money
with kss reluctance than in the education
of his son : he hopes to qualify him for
earning his own subsistence, and for add-
ing to the wealth or honour of his family.
But a ookmy— a colony too of convicts !
is it likely to thrive > And if it should, is
the thrift of the offspring connected with
the interests of the sire? where is the
hood of unity and concord ? Whenever the
colony is able to support itself it will, in
all probability, assert its independence:
the aid of other countries in support of its
exertions will be called for without scruple,
tod granted without reluctance. This,
ito doubt, u a remote period to contem-
plate : the climate, indeed, notwithstand-
ii^ its severe heat, is salubrious, and when
tbe country is ck^red of its woods there
will be a large extent of fertile soil. The
cbaracter, however, of the persons who
«e traaspianted thither leaves but little
hope that they will advance the interests
of tbe colony by tlieir industry, their mo-
nls, or dielr rniderstanding^ and some of
the regulations which, with the best in-
teutkxu, the government has adopted, ap-
pear to be in the highest degree impolitic
ud prejudicial. We allude to the limi-
^>tion of the price of labour, of pro-
fits upon the sale of imported articles,
>ndto tbe regulation concerning the price
of provisions. These absurd restrictions,
hovever, call forth warm eulogiuflpa from ^
Ajijr. Rav. Voi. IV.
Mr. Tumbull on the wisdom and bene*
volence of the government! The markets
at Port Jackson having, unfortunately for
Mr. Tumbull, been just supplied, and tha
little money of the colony exhausted, ho
proceeded to the settlement of Norfolk
Island, where he had again the misfortune
to have been recently anticipated. Hers
he remained ten months, and as an ex-
cuse for sayii^ little or nothing about iti
pleads that he visited the island as a trader^
and not as a natural philosopher ! The g&k
neral statement which many of our readers
will remember to have seen in governor
Phillip's Voyage to Botany Bay, &c. con-
cerning the beauty of the country, and the
exhaustless fertility of the soil, is confirm-*
ed bv Mr. Tumbull The productions
which, according to the governor, were of
the greatest importance to Norfolk Island,
are the flax plant and the pine : the fbr-^
mer, though luxuriant in its growth, and
estimable for the purpose of naiaking cord-
age, sail-cloth, &c. does not appear to be
a native of the island. Pines grow to an
enormous size ; they often rise to eighty
feet without a branch 5 governor Phillip
says they are sometimes nine or ten feet
in diameter at the bottom of the trunk,
and frequently measure one hundred and
sixty or one hundred and eighty feet in
height. The fern tree (according to the
same author, for we obtain marvellous
little from Mr. Tumbull) measures fi-om
seventy to eighty feet, and affords excel-
lent food for sheep and| other small cattle.
The turpentine obtained firom the pine is
remarkable for purity and whiteness, and
governor Phillip, understanding that the
wood was of excellent quality, and light
as the Norway timber, thought that it
promised a valuable supply of masts and
spars for our navy in the East Indies. He
seems, however, to have been mistaken ^
Mr Tumbull says that the pine of Nor-
folk Island is very brittle, and only fit for
purposes of building, household furai-.
ture, 8cc, The pine of the South Sea>
and indeed of all warmer climates, he
says, is of a very different nature from
those of Europe. We have no doubt of
tliis : nature is uniform in her operations :
throughout the vegetable kingdom rapi-
dity of growth seems to be incompatible
with solidity of substance*
Norfolk island was colonized by go-
vernor Phillip, who sent thitlier the most
profligate part of his profligate people : •
" it has hencefortli been adopted as the
ordinary practice, that the more abandon-
ed of the convicts, and such as have fallen
C
It
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
tinder the sentence of the law a second
time, should be transported to this island."
Among the most respectable of the settlers
•re some part of the crew of tlie Sirius,
who, being shipwrecked on the island,
preferred the cultivation of so fertile a
country to a return home ; several ma-
rines who went out upon the first estab-
Hshment had the same indulgence, as also
have some of the more industrious con-
ticts. We are glad to leaiii that the cul-
ture of the sugar cane is highly encou-
raged) many of the smaller plantations
are fenced round with it. Norfolk Is-
land, however, as a place of establishment
for a colony, has the insuperable objec*
ifion. against it of being almost wholly sur-
rounded by a reef, and barricaded, as it
^•ere, against all approach, by a heavy
mountainous sea -, of being destitute of a
harbour ; and having a bad shore, the bot-
tom being covered with pointed fragments
of sharp coral rock, which renders an-
chorage impracticable. Goveftnnent has
attempted in vain to remove these ob-
stacles.
The following anecdote will not be read
without interest, or without exciting feelr
ings of compassion towards the unfortu-
aate outcast: it occurred in the island
about eight years since :
« *' One of the prisoners belonging to the out-
gangs, being sent into camp on Saturday, to
draw the weekly aUo\K'an^e of provision for liis
mess, fell unfortimately into the company of
1^ party of convicts, wao were playing cards
fpr their allowance, a tiling very frequent
amongst them. With as little resolution as
his superiors in similar situations, after being
a while a looker-on, he at length suffered him-
self to be persuaded to take a hand ; and in
the event, lost not only his own portion, but
that of the whole mess. Being a man of a
timid nature, his misfortune overcame his
reason, and conceiving his situation amongst
his messmates insupix)rtable, he formed and
executed the extravagant resolution of ab-
sconding into the glens.
" Every possible enquiry was now made af-
ter him ; it was known that he had drawn the
allowance of his mess, and almost in the same
njoment discovered that he had lost it at play ;
«earch upon scarcli however was made to no
purpose. However, as it was impossible that
ne could subsist witiiout occasionally maraud-
ing, it was believed that he must shortly be
taken in liis predatory exairsions. These ex-
pectations, however, were in vain, for the fel-
low managed his business with such dexterity,
keeping closely within his retreat .during the
day, and marauding for his subsistence only
by niglit, that in despite of th(^ naiTow com-
pass of tlie island, he eluded all search. His
p«ctiim4 depredations were solely confiiied
to the supply of his necessities ; Indian coa^
potatoes, piunpkins, and melons. He seldom
visited the same place a s<*cond time ; bui
shifting from place to place, always contrived
to mie his escape almost before the theft
was discovered, or the depredator suspected-
In vain was a reward olfered for his appre*
hension, and year after year every possibly
search instituted; at times it was considered
that he was dead, till the revival of the old
trade proved that the dextrous and invisibly
thief still existed.
"In the pursuit of him, his pursuers have
often been so near him, tliat he nas not unfre*
qiiently heard their wishes that they might b*
so fortunate as to fall m with him." The re-
ward being promised in spirits, a temptalioQ
to which many would have sacriiiced their
brother, excited almost the whole ijJand to
join in the pursuit ; and even those whose re?
Si>cctabiiity set them above anv pecimiary
compensation, were animated with a desire of
hunting in so extraordinary a chase. 1 hesi
circumstances conairred to aggravate the ter-
ror of the unhappy fiigitive, as from his re-
peated depredations he indulged no hope o€
pardon.
" Nothing of this kind, however, vras in-.
tended ; it was humanely thought that he had
already sustained suflicient j>unishnient for his.
original crime, and that his subsequent de-
predations, being solely confined to necessary
food, were venial, and rendered him a subject
rather of pity than of criminal intliction. Of
these resolutions, however, he knew nothing^
and therefore his terror continued.
" Chance, however, at length accomplished
what had ballied ever^' fixed design. On*
morning about break ot d?y, a man going to
Ms labour observed a fellow hastily crossing,
tlie road ; he was instantly struck with the idea
that this must be the man, the object of such
general pursuit. Animated with this belief,*
he exerted his utmost efforts to seize liim, and,-
after a vigorous opposition on the part of the
poor fijgitive, finally succeeded in his design. It-
was to no purpose to assure the atlrighted.
\^Tetch that his life was safe, and that his apj-
prehension was only sought to relieve him
from a life more suited to a beast than a hu-
man creature.
** The news of this ap]3rehension flew
through the island, and ever\- one was more
curious than another to gaiir a sight of thia
phenomenon, who for upwards of five year».
had so eiTtx'tually secluded himself from att
human society. Upon being brought hito
the camp, i^ncl the presence of the governor,
never did condemned malefactor feel more
acutely; he appeared to imagine that the
moment of his execution approached, and,
trembling in every joint, seemed to turn his
e>es in search of* the executioner. His pep-
son was such as may well be conceived I'rom
his long seclusion from human society; liis
beard had never been shaved from the mo-
ment of his first disappearance ; he was cloth-
ed in some rags he had picked up by the way ^
in some of his nocturnal pcregrmutions, and
TURNB.0i:l*S VOTiTGBS 19 THB FA^OtWIf OCBANc>
rat ilk ofvn fauignage wa« at£nt uoutterabl^
ItiMluiUDtelii^ible by him
" After some previous questions, as to what
jiad induced him to fomi sucli a rt^oiution,
and by what means he had so long subsisted,
the governor gave him his^ pardon, and re-
ftored him to society-, of which he afterwards
krcame » very useful member."
Mobile Mr. Tunibull was at' Norfolk
Jslaiid he received a letter from his cap-
tain, announcing the total failure of the
fiorth-westem speculation, and his return
to Port Jackson : it was resolved to try
Bass's Straits, and endeavour to make up
a rargo of skins there, as the licence from
the East Iiidia Company compelled tlie
Tcssel to visit China. The captain, in or^
der to exfiedite this business, engaged
some sopemvmierary hands, M'l^om, to-
gether with an officer " well versed in
the sealing business," he landed on King's
Island in those straits, whilst he proceeded
' with the ship to the Society Islands, in
order to supply her with pn)vigions, which
could not be purcfiased at Port Jackson at
aiy price ! On their arrival at Otaheite,
fcowever, they leanied from some mission-
aries who are settled there, that the ra-
vages of a destructive war, which was just
temuoated, had created a dearth in the
island. After remaining there about a
montli, however, tliey obtained a small
supfdy of hogs, &c. and proceeded to Uli-
etea, foudiing at Huaheine, where they
were greeted by an old shipmate who had
for some tiitie resided on tiie island, and
seemed perfectly satisfied with his situa-
tion! hi thb island the natives entertained
them with a dance.
" The performers and their attendants
came oil' in procession, iii a large double ca-
noe, having a platform or stage erected across
the forepart, on which the dancers and musi-
ciair; sat. Th'i5 canoe was accompanied by a
great number of small canoes, hlled with na^
lives to behokl the entertainment prq>ared for
ihe strangers. The women were dressed in
a H)rt of long bell hooped petticoat of thc^ir
OiFB cloth, oniamented with a purple border.
What answered tlie uurpose of a hoop was a
cou;jle of stuffed pads bound roujid the w. ist
to supjwrTaiid distend the petticoat; round
tiie body was uTapped a large quantity of
doth, fastened with bandages ; and opposite
to eadi hxt^A was placed a bunch ot black
feather^, ' They wore also a kind of turban
adorned with a variety of ilowers. A master
ei the ceremonies presided in the dance, and
directed all tlie movements, which were not
alvays of the most delicate nature. The mu-
oc con^ted of two drums made from a log
of wood hollowed out in a cylindrical shape,
wd covered a\ the end with a piece of shark
Aia, ti^itly bnced dowa the ^^ Tbie
musicians mak^ no use of dnuibestidUi -but
employ their fmgeas, and sometimes th^
tands, so as to be heard at a considerable dis-
tance. They beat slowly at first, as a signal
to prepare for the dance ; and as the music
becomes more rapid, the dancers quicken
their motions. Flutes also were used on the
occasion, having only three holes or stop%
one of which is of such a size as to admit of
the performer 5 applying his nostrils to till i^
The dance required very great exertion in the
women to keep time to the music by e:^-
piring and inspiring their breatlis, drawing
their mouths hi contrary directions, and twirl-
ing their arms and iingers with some order and
great regularity.- Ihose who excelled in
8iese contortions and gestures were the mo0t
applauded. So eager were the perfonners tor
gain the approbation of the spectators, and so
violent were tlieir exertions, overloaded wit^i
clothing and sCraitened with bandages, tha^
many of them seemed at length ready to sink
irnder the violence of their eiibrts. The di-
rector of the dance exerted himself to encou-
rage them to a ftirther continuance of their
labour, which to us appeared a kind of
cnielty ; and induced us at length to. inteii-
ferc, apparently much to the sati^^tion'of the
performers. Our people were samuch pleasea
with this ent^rtaimnent, that tliey applied to
me for some articles to bestow on tne ladies
who had wofked so severely for their amuse-
ment. Goods of ditferent sorts, to the value
of three pounds, were accordingly furnished^
and instantly distributed amongst the actresses^
and thus an acquaintance was mutually fom^
ed, which in some instances grew into a close
intimacy. »
" During this exhibition, some of the men
weje amusmg themselves by a sport ol theif
own; three of tiiem getting into a vessel
formed like ^ wooden dish made use of a(t
great feastings, their weiffltt sinking it in the
water to imthin an inch of ^e biim. ' in this
situation they whirled it. round and round, farf
means of their paddles, with incredible velo-
city, till they fell into the water, when they
again renewed the sport, to the no amaljl
amusement of the by-standers.'*
A savage who is brought from his na«
tive woods into a civilized country, therv
cloathed and fed, and anticipated, in all
his wants, feels, after a time, his resdess*-
ne.ss revive, and impatient of restraint, to
which he lias been unaccustomed, sighs
for the society of his sbble brethren ; he
is anxious to participate in the dangers of
.the chase, the vicissitudes of war, and the
barbarlti^ of victory. An add i tional mo-
tive too, for returning among his country^
men, is the pride of shewing the trinkets
he has obtained, and of enjoying the rank
and estimation he is likely to derive from
them. But it is hardly credible that a
man who has once tasted the sweets of ci-
vilized li& should volunurlly degrade him*-
C2
id
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
self into the character of a savage: and
yet this has often happened. Several Eu-
ropeans are scattered among the South Sea
islands. The ^cilities of subsistence,
arising from a soil of the highest fertility,
exemption from labour even to indolence,
and unrestricted intercourse with the fe-
male sex, these are the allurements which
a sailor, after the fatigues of a long voy-
age, is not always able to resist. The na-
tives, crafty and insinuating, take every
opportunity to seduce the sailors: sen-
sible of the superiority of European skill,
they are eager to obtain their assistance in
battle, and their instructions in the make
and use of domestic implements. It has
of late also been customary to permit con-
Ticts from Botany Bay to assist in navi-
gating vessels bound thither : these people
seldom fail to avail themselves of the op-
portunity to escape, and afford no slight
ground for the apprehension of Mr. Turn-
bull, that in no great length of time the
South Sea islands may become nests of
plunderers and pirates.
At Ulietea our adventurers found an
Englishman of the name of Pulpit, who
brought with him his wife, as he called
her, an Otaheitan girl of about fourteen
or fifteen. The moment the poor fellow
got upon deck he returned thanks to hea-
ven, in the most fervent and impressive
manner, thathehadescapedoutof thehands
4>f the most savage murderers. It seems
tliat he had been landed in Huaheine by
the brig Venus : and in return for his vo-
luntary service on board that ship he had
been supplied with such articles as would
be useful to him on the island. Among
these was a musket and double-barrelled
gun, which were objects of such eager-
ness to the natives, that in order to pro-
cure them tliey resolved upon his murder.
This horrible project was discovered to
him by the Otaheitan girl, who faithfully
assisted her lover in his attempts to elude
the attack of his murderers. Pulpit, how-
ever, was at last surprized by a party of
natives, and led away as a sacrifice to some
of their divinities : they disputed among
themselves concerning the treatment he
was to receive, and his life was spared by
the authority of an elderly woman of rank,
on condition that he should give up his
various implements and arms, and repair
some muskets belonging to the natives.
Pulpit made his escape to Ulietea, but he
assured his deliverers that the inhabitants
here had the same character of dissimula-
tion, treachery, and ferocity with the people
ofHuaheiiio. Th« evaut proved the truth
of his assertion: on the night before t!ie
intended departure of the vessel from
Ulietea, it was discovered that four of the
crew had deserted -, three of these were
Botany Bay convicts, who had been taken
on board to work the ship, under an en-
fagement that they should be returned t#
^ort Jackson. These fellows had con-
certed with the Ulieteans to cut the vessel
from her anchors, and when she should
be driven ashore, to plunder her of her
small arms and ammunition, and murder
the crew. As soon as this desertion was
discovered, Mr. Tumbull, with a degree
o^ courage bordering on temerity, went
singly on shore at two o'clock in the morn-
ing, and requested of the king (who had
been a constant visitor on board the ship)
to exert his utmost authority in restoring
the men. The king affected the greatest
surprise, and declared tliat they certainly
had not landed, although it was afterwards
known that half an hour before they had
passed by his house. In a short time the
situation of Mr. Tumbull became ex-
tremely critical : he felt himself surround-
ed by an hundred islanders, who were sa-
gacious enough to know that if they had
come to an open rupture and murdered
him on the spot, it would have defeated
the object they had in view ; and who, on
the other hand, were sufficiently aware of
their own relative superiority at the time,
to make their own terms for the restora-
tion of the deserters, who, at last it was
acknowledged, were concealed in a house
but a little way up the country. These
terms were tiie immediate gift of a mus-
ket and the promise of more fire-amis.
Mr. T. retumed to his ship, doubtless not
without self-congratulation on his escape :
some of the crew, however, had beta
tainted, and it was necessary to inflict
summary punishment on two of the ring-
leaders. On the following night Mr. T.
was roused from his sleep by an alarm
that the ship was on shore : it was dark ;
but on sounding, t%velve fathoms of water
were found, and there was no sensible mo-
tion of the ship or of tlie water. On ex*
amining the cables, Mr. T. found them
both lying slack on die deck > and the sea-
men being commanded to haul them up^
the first pull brought the ends of both of
them on board ! They had been cut, and
with the slightest breeze from sea tlie ves-
sel would have been drifted on shore;
indeed the natives had contrived to fasten
a long and stout rope to the mdder, five
or six feet under water, with which they
had inteadad to draw the ship on shorei.
TVKNBULL*S T0TA6BI IN TBB PiCIFXC OCBAIT.
ai
Tins timety discovery enabled the captain,
by deatring away another anchor with an
iron stock, to haul the vessel seven or
e^t fathoms off linom the reef. The na«
lives had all this time preserved tlie pro-
foundest silence, in momentary expecta-
tion of the bulging of the vessel : when
th^ found their desperate plans detected
they became periectly outrageous, begun
a furious assault with stones, and kept up,
during the greater part of the following
day, a discharge from fourteen muskets,
whidi they had among them, and which
did great damage to the ngg^g, boardings,
nettings, and boats. Tne discharge of
small arms from the ship, far from inti-
midadz^ the natives, made them more
OQtiagieous: fortunately the horrid me-
naces which they held out of flaying and
roasting alive any who should fall into
their hands, restored loyalty and unani-
mity among the crew. Two of the de-
serters were seen instigating the natives
with the gxeatest activity. Several at-
tempts were made to recover the lost an-
chors, but in vain : the natives kept up
so well-directed a fire that it was impos-
sible. In the course of the day they made
repeated exertions to gain the prize they
had so treacherously laid a snare for, and
it v.'as necessary to employ the large guns
^inst them in order to defeat £e pur-
pose. These bad the desued efiect, and
the ship, in the darkness of the following
night, got under sail and escaped iron»
her penloos situation.
From the Society Islands our adven-
turers proceeded, with some Otaheitans
whom they had taken on board, to the
Sandwich Islands: the first land they
made was Wahoo, where, notwithstanding
the example of treachery and ferocious-
ness displayed by the Ulieteans, the ship-
carpenter deserted, and it was thought ad-
viseaUe not to go on shore for the reco-
very even of so necessary an artificer, lest
more of the crew should follow his ex-
ample! '
According to Mr. Tumbull, the inha-
bitants of the Sandwich Isles are astonish-
ingly more advanced in civilization than
those of the Society Islands : these latter,
iodeed, have made no perceptible pix)gress
wice the time of captain Cook. Like
att savages^-would that the remark were
limited to savages in its application — their
aridity for intoxicating substances is ex-
cessive: some Europeans planted the vine
in Otaheite, and explained its future uti-
lity if allowed to remain Unmolested. The
aridity of the satires broke through aU
restraint, and the grapes were plucked ofT
before they were ripe. Not relishing the
fruit equally with their own ava, they ima-
gined that the spirit was in the root, and
end^voured to extract it by mastication,
(the nauseating process which is employed
on the ava root) 3 finding their efforts \m-
successful, they revenged their disappointr
ment by treading it under ^oot.
Mr. Turnbcdl suggests that the labours
of the Missionaries would be fiir more suc-
cessful among the Sandwich Islands than
they are likely to be at Otaheite or Ton*
gataboo : here they could have the ad-
vantage, support, and influence from se-
veral Europeans, and of a sovereign, Ta*
mahama, the great chief of the Sandwich
Islands, a man of insatiable ambition, and
very uncommon genius. In a short spacei
of time he will, without doubt, make him-
self master of every island : he was now
on the point of invading Attowaie, an
island to the leeward, whither our voy-
agers proceeded for a supply of salt and
yams. The king of Attowaie had ac-
quired so much knowledge <^ our lan-
guage from some Englishmen who had
followed his fortunes, that he was able to
understand and answer any jplain ques-
tion which was put to him : the natives
of Otaheite, although they have had still
greater opportunities of hearing the Eng-
lish language, scarcely pronounce th«
proper names of those persons with whom
they are most fiuniliarly acquainted. Th#
king of Attowaie professed a high regard
for the British nation, and, as a proof of
it, had taken to himself the name of King
George, and to his children, who are nu-
merous, he had given those of the royal
family of England, beginning with the
Prince of Wales, &c.
*' This unhappy man, who, from evei'y
thing we saw and heard, is well desejVing of a
better fate, had already suffered so much from
the ambition and power of Tamahama, that
he was now about to adopt one of the most
extravagant resolutions that can be conceived.
" The Europeans who had attached them-
selves to his fortunes, some of whom were car-
penters, blacksmiths, &c. were now with their
of&pring a numerous body. As their last re-
source, they were constructing a vessel suited
to tlie attempt of a long voyage, and in the
event of the expected invasion, thev proposed
to escape from the island, and seek a refuge
from the cruelty of their enemy in some one
of the islands whkrh they have heard are inter-
spersed in the main sea. They are whollv iff-
noraut of the method of measuring a ship^t
coui^, or of the other necessary branches of
navi^on. A compass, indeed, they possess.
Their intention in the first place, is, to steel
B
VOYAGES ANO TRAVELS.
io the westward, in the hop« of reaching some
pik of the coast of Ciiina ; or, by keeping
their xdnd to the southward, to fall in with
Otaheite, or some other of the Society
Islands."
^ After having obtained provisions and
»alt, our voyagers left the Leeward Islands,
and arrived at Owhyhee : here tliey re-
ceived a visit from Mr. Young, who, with
Mr. Davis and captain Stewart, had fol-
lowed the fortunes of Tamahama for four-
teen years. It appears that this ambitious
chieftain has prohted to the utmost by the
jnstrtiction and assistance given him by
captain Vancouver. The islanders under
bis dominion make frequent trading voy-
tgtes to the north-west coast of America,
and it is the intention of Tamahama to
Open a trade with China in vessels of their
own construction, and to be navigated by
their own people. The progress of the
Sandwich islanders in tlie mechanical arts,
according to Mr. Young's* account to Mr.
^lumbull, has been astonishingly rapid :
his roynl residence at Mouie is said to be
built after the European style, of brick,
ind with glazed windows, by European
tod Atnerican artificers, of whom he has
a great variety.
" It was only in 1792 that captain Van-
couver laid down the keel of Tamahama's
first vessel, or rather craft; but so assiduously
has he applied himself to effect his grand and
favourite object, the establishment of a naval
lorce, that at the period of bur arrival he had
upwards of twenty vessels of different sizes,
from twenty-five to fifty tons ; some of them
were even copper-bottomed.
*' He was, however, at this time much in
want of naval stores; and, to have his navy
quickly placed on a respectable footing, would
pay well for theniv He has also a certain
number of body-guards to attend him, inde-
pendently of the Rumber of chiefs who are re-
quired to accompany liim on all hisjournje^
^d expeditions."
A marine force of such strength, and so
rapidly created, has given him an astonish-
ing superiority over his neighbours : he
no.w sends his warriors into distant parts,
employs some of his ^tnall vessels as trans-^
ports^. and his . larger pnes as men of war^
T^hich are occasionally mounted with^ a
few light guns. Tamahama's body-guards
go regularly oil duty, and relieve each
other as in Europe, calling out allis well
ever}." half hour : tlieir uniform is a bluQ
grent-coat with yellow facings. M?.
Turnbull has forgotten to inform us of the
nature of the traffic which takes place be*
tweeii the north-west parts of America
and the Sandwich Islands: he prepares
himself, however, with an answer to the
\ery natural enquiiy as to the possible na-
ture of the commerce which can be car-
ried on between these latter and the Chi*
nese j he says that they are able to fur-
nish fire-arins, gim-powder, hardware,
and cloth of different sorts. A super-
abundance of these Tamahama is repre^
sented to have obtained from Enropeant
and Americans, in exchange for labour
and refreshments supplied to the shipping
■wko ha\e touched there. This statement^
we fear, will not obtain very general ere*
dit without further confirmation. • Be-
sides these articles of foreign introduction,
the Sandwich islanders possess the sandal
wood and pearl ojster-sheli, of native
produce.
Having acc6mplished tlie object of their
visit to the Sandwich Islands, that of lay^
ing in a stock of salt, our navigators re-
turned to Otaheite : in their coarse the^
fell in with several low islands, on some a(
which they landed, and had reason to be-
lieve, from the shyness of the natives, and
their indifference to the proftered trinkets
and tools, tliat they had never before been
visited by Europeans. For the situation
of these islands we are referred to Arrow^
'Smith's map, although Mr. Turnbull has
neither given us tlie name of them, their
longitude nor their latitude. So much for
his contributions to the advancement oF
maritime discovery !
During the absence of the Ma^aretf
the ship Nautilus had visited Otaheite, and
taken away all the hogs she could pro-
cure : it was agreed, therefore, that the
captain should proceed to some of the
windward islands for a supply, whilst Mr.
Turnbull, with a few assistants, remained
afr Otaheite on the salting business. She
was expected to be about three weeks: at
the expiration of two months the crew-
reached the island in a punt made from
her wreck'. Thus fetally terminated all
the hopes of the voyage ! - '
• The accounts of Otaheite and the So-»
dety Islands given by the Missionaries in
th^ transactions of their society, are by far
the- most' valuable of any that we haver
* Mr. Young, from whoin most of the particulars." respecting Tamahama were obtaUted,
Is said, by Mr. Turnbull, to be " a man of strict veracity." ...
t It is singxilar enough that we do not even' learn the name of the ship in which this voyage
is made, tHl the wreck of I'he Margaret is .related' ^t'thfr latter eud of tUc second volijme. 'Tu|
iameofthe captain is not oiice mentioned, .•:•..'
TUKNB0LL's VOTAGBI in the FACXnC OCBAN.
«#
llieir manners, customs, snperstit'ons, and
idokcnes, are there detailed with more mi*
outcness than in any other work. The
vpportnnities of obtaining information on
these snbjecu duriz^ his residence at Ota-
lieile by Mr. Tumbnll, were considerable,
bjit we find little whidi has not been an-
ticipated by the relation of the Mssion-
aries. This account indeed seems later
than the last of theirs, and the political
ecenls of the island, to use a term of ap-
fvopriate dignity, are brought lower down.
The war which the Missionaries repre-
sented as being on the eve of taking place
between the young king Otoo and the
Attahoorians for the image of their god,
Oro, had just terminated in favour of the
latter when oi^ vo}'agers first landed there,
^d was the ,caiise of the dearth which
then visited the island. This war was not
entirely of a religious nature, but seems to
have been fomented, if it did not origi-
nate in the domineering and- oppressive
character of tlie royal family, and particu-
larly of Otoo himself.
.The father of Otoo, the regent Pomarre,
died &i\ddenly at tlie time Mr. Turnbull
was at Otaheite : he considered this event
as likely to be attended with serious in-
conveniences to the Missionaries, to whom
he was ever a firm friend. Many of the
natives imputed his death to the prayers
of the Missionaries *. indeed it is a very
prevalent, and most unfortunate belief
among the Otaheitans, that whatever ca-
lamity tefalls is effected by their witch-
aaft; They are convinced too, that a
peat part of their plagues and diseases
nroceed immediately firom the shipping,
in the present instance, however, tliere
was a diversity of opinion, which, it may
be' hoped, the Missionaries would turn to
k good- account. Many attributed the sud-
d«i decease of Pomarre to some offences
he bad conomitted, and they agreed that
this must have been the fi-equency of his
human sacrifices. In order therefore to
propitiate then: offended divinities, the
body of a human victim which he had
sacnficed about three weeks before, was
bibaght and stretched prostrate before his
corpse. The Missionaries would, no
doubt, endeavour to avert from them-
aelves ibe suspicion of instrumentality in
his deaths and press the abolition of so
horrible a custom. Mr. Turnbull asserts
that it is abhorred by the common people,
9fid only supported by tlie chiefs : Po-
marre was himself a high priest, and ob-
tened great indnenoe among them by his
Uai for the gods. Ipfiinticide prevails as
much as ever, and the population of th^
island is diminishing with great rapidity.
Captain Cook no doubt overstated it at
two hundred diousand : on the arrival of
the Duff in 1797 it was fifteen thousand;
at this time (1 803) it does not exceed {iv%
thousand souls. The doctrine of fatality
is carried to such excess, that every dis-
ease is believed to be a punishment fron^
their offended deities, wrought, perhaps,
by the magic of the Missionaries, or
by shipping which touch at the island.
Iii this latter superstition they have had,
alas, but too strong Yeason to repose ! The
consequence of tliis doctrine is, that dis-
eases are considered as remediless, and the
use of medicine is rejected. *
The Missionaries, although their pious
but ill-directed labours have been thrown
awayj are pretty well satsified with their
situation : their zeal is yet unabated :
they twice made the circuit during Mr.
Tumbull's stay, preaching firom district to
district, and seconding their exhortations
with presents. Sonie of them expressed a
wish that sotne decent young wotften qf cha^
racier might be sent over to Otaheite as xuivm
for the?n. They were building two boats
firom eighteen to twenty tons, for the pur-
pose of visiting the islands to the leeward :
they had it also in contemplation upon th$
arrival of the next missionary ships to re-
treat to the isthmus, as their chief sub-
sistence ; the fruit of the bread tree is be-
coming scarce at Matavai.
The propagation of the Christian faith
still goes on very slowly :
" One Sunday evening, Mr. Jefferson re-
quested pemiission to exhort Otoo and Teri-
navoura, witli all their followers; Otoo sent a
messenger to me on the occasion, saying that
he wished to see me: I accordingly went, and
found Mr. Scott and Mr. Jeiferson ui the act
of exliortation. Their congregation iniglit
amount to about fifty. Upon its ccf.chision, 1
demandetl of Otoo what he wanted with rae.
He asked me, upon the dei)arture of the Mis-
skHjarics, whether it was all tnx?, as they
preached: I Fephed in the affirmative, that it
was strictly so according to my own belief, and
that of all tlie wiser and better part of my
countrymen. He demanded of me where J e-
hovah lived ; I' pointed to tlie heavens. He
said he did not believe it. His brother was,
if possible, still worse. Edeali was looking on,
witli a kind of haugiity and disdainful indif-
ference. It was aXlhavery or falseliood, add-
ing, they would not believe unless tiie>- toiild
see ; and observed, we could bring down thg
sun and moon bv means of our quadrant, why
could we not bring down our Saviour by siuu'
lar means r'
The M^ssiofiariet tell them that the god
u
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
lost their carpenter at the Sandwich Ulaods;
their Influence with the natives hecama
weakened, and the crew dispersed. Havw
tng remained in this situatioa three
months, they were relieved by a vesiiel
which touched at the. bland, and took
them to Port Jackson. Here they resided
a second, time till the Calcutta brought
them once again to the shores of Britain.
of Britain is the god of Otaheite and the
i^'hole earth, and that it is from this Being
that they receive their hogs, bread, fruit,
and cocoa*nut. This the Otaheitans flatly
deny : alleging that they possessed all these
articles long before they had heard of the
god of Great Britain.
After the loss of the Mai^aret the situ-
ation of our adventurers at Otaheite be-»
came exceedingly distressing: they had
Art. hi. An Historical Account of the Vqyaga qf Captain James Cook^ to the Southern
and Northern Hcfnispheres. By William Mavor, L.L.D. 12mo, 2 Vols,
pp. 656.
THE public is very well acquainted
with Dr. IVlavor's pentagraphic powers ;
children may read these volumes with in-
struction and amusement, who would be
unfit to engage in the original work.
Art. IV. A Description qf Prince qf Wales Island, in the Streights of Malacca: witU
its real and probable Advantages and Sources to recommend it as a Marine Estab^
lishment. By Sir Home Popham, Knight qfthe Sovereign Order qf St. John €^
Jerusalem, Captain in the Royal Navy, and Fellow qf the Royal Society. 8vo.
pp. 82.
THE propriety or impropriety of ex-
pending a large sum of public money on
the construction of moles, docks, quays,
arsenals, and the other appurtenances of a
marine establishment in Prince of Wales
island, cannot here be justly appreciated
without the aid of a counter-memorial
drawn up on the spot by an accomplished
»ur\'eyor. Sir Home Popham pleads for
the establislunent witli specious and plau-
sible reasoning.
'' But an advantage which Prince of
Wales Island possesses beyond any other part
of the eastern coast, is the excellence ot its
harbour. The whole space from tlie north-
cast point of the island to Pulo Jer^a, bound-
ed on the east by the coast of Queda and
Praya Sand, may be considered as a very
safe harbour, and capable of containing all
the navy pf England : the present anchoring
place is near the Fort Point, to the northward,
for large ships, and to the southward for
smaller ones, where they lie in from five to
thirteen fathoms, and so perfectly smooth in
all winds, and at all times, that I never heard
of an instance of the smallest boat not being
able to pull off to the weathennost ship. I
had apprehended, on my first going to the
island, that the north-west wind would have
forced in a heavy swell ; but as it frequently
blew from that quarter, I concluded the mud
flat, from the north point of the island to the
Queda shore, on whicli is only four fathoms
and a half at low water, served as a bar,
constituting the whole harbour a complete
bason.
'' The island abounds in several kinds of
deer and wild hog ; and it is remarked that
the wild hog is of a very delicate flavour, and
particularly good.
" The coast of Queda produces great
numbers of cattle ; and as many as may be
wanted can be obtained, whenever there' is a
sufficiency of pasturage. They have fo|f
some yeare salted beef m Bengal, with much
success. A similar attempt may be made
here, for the climate in the upper part of the
country is nearly as cold as at Calcutta. If
the experiment should succeed, beef and
pork can be cured as cheap as in England,
and the ships served with it always in less tiian
three months salfmg. Bakeries may also be
established for the supplv of biscuit ; and
there appears to be no JifFiculty in making
both rum and arrack, purer and cheaper
than what is now served to his Majesty's fleet.
Rice grows here ; and I imagine the sugar^
cane* would thrive as well as in any other
parts of hidia, which, by being cultivated^
would increase the revenue, and add to the
export to Europe."
This pamphlet would have been mor ^
intelligibie and complete if accompanied
with a map of the island in question,
which was formerly and more dlscrimi*
nately called Pulo Pinang ) and with a
chart of the contiguous sea, which might
have been copied on a reduced scale from
that published for Laurie and Whittle,
after the original Calcutta chart.
In 178a Mr.' Lacam suggested to a
committee of the house of comxnoDS the
'*' The sugarKjane grows to a prodigious size, both in tliis island and oo the coast oC
Queda.
sift 6B0&6B I.BITU3 ACCOUNT OF PSINCB OP WALB8 ISLAHS*
csfiedieixy of a nuuine establishment in
dK eastern part of our Indian possessions.
He fixed on New Harbour, in the river
Hoogly, as the fittest place of structure :
bot whaterer use commerce might \^
able to make of that site, it se^ ns ill
adapted for belligerent vessels.
If (his island, which is well situate to
cdkct the produce of the Indian archi-
pelago, be wholly exempted from the
joii^ction of th« company, and not
comprehended within the withering ban
of its charter, it will speedily become
another Onnuz'for traffic, wealth, and
pcpolatioQ. This advantage attends a
new settlement in the east, that labour
is cheap, and- the supply of a population
^miJiar with the arts of luxurious life is
easy; so that, in the course of a single
gco^ation, all the parts of a flourishing
and polished society can be put together,
and a city can rise like an exhalation.
^Zliere is perhaps no episode in our his-
tory more truly honourable to the general
character of our people and our protec-
ivm than the fortunes of Pulo Penaqg.
In August 1786 there were tombs on the
kiaod, but no man : it had been a haunt
of pintes and banditti, whom the king of
Queddah had thought it necessary utterly
to extirpate. The empty wilderness was
purchased of this sovereign for a perpe-
toai rent of six thousand dollars. In Ave
years time George-town was so much of
a sea-port, and the resort of prows so
ooBsidersble that the king of Queddah
compjaioed his continental custom-houses
DO loager yielded any revenue, and armed
toattadi the new settlement. The inva-
sion was repelled ; but an additional quit-
rent was granted to the king of Queddah ;
and the most' entire cordiality was restor-
ed. In the year 1 800, that is in the short
space of fourteen years, the population
consisted of ten thousand three hundxed
and ten persons, of whom seven hundred
and twenty-three were land<-owners^ and
one thousand two hundred and twenty-
two were slaves. The country is already ^
pierced by roads bordered with alleys oif
young spice-trees : to pensile bridges of
bamboo, have succeeded in £ve places bold
arches of brick and mortar. The cajm
huts of the first settlers are giving plao»
to durable houses and rectangular streets.
Aqueducts and hospitals, custom-housef
and jails, are already towering into cons- ""
picuity. Vessels of eight hundred tons
have been built and launched by the inha-
bitants, pepper-vines and beetle-nut treet
afford important objects of exportation.
The revenue amounts to eighty thousand
dollars, and the annual arrival of ships to
two hundred and fifty, bearing fifty thou*
sand tons. How swift a growth of pros-
perity.
The real lamp of Aladdin is tliat on
the merchant's desk. All the genies,
white, olive or black, who people the at-
mosphere of earth, it puts in motion at
the anti{)odes. It builds palaces in the
wilderness and cities in the forest ; and
collects every splendor and every refine*
ment of luxury, firom the fingers of sub-
servient toil. Kings of the east are slave*
of the lamp : the winds blow, and the
seas roll, only to work the behest of itir
master.
Ait. V. A Siort Account of the Settlement, Produce, and Commerce qf Prince of
Wdea bland, in the Straits of Malacca. By Sir George Lsith, Bart, Mafor
IJtk Foot, and late Lieutenant Governor, 8vo. pp. 94.
THIS island is unwisely named. There
is aoother Prince of Wales Island off the
coast of New Holland. It may be very
Joyal to have George-towns and Prince-
c^-Wales islands all the world over j but
i it occasions confusion and mistake in the
Linenioiy, and will, in due time, occasion
||ery troublesome miscarriages at the
Ifost-office. How inconvenient to the
aotieot world were its Selocias and Alex*
andrias,
Tbe island ber« described was formerly
cslfed Pulo Pioang, or Penang, and is si-
iBate in the straits of Malacca, opposite
tKe Queddah diore, on the Malay penin-
||bU. It aboonds with ship-timber and
iuati «f aU dimensiottfr It enjoys a cli*
mate and a soil applicable to the most
precious ailtivations of the east. It is in-
habited by new settlers of all descriptions,
Europeans, Chinese, Chooliahs, Burmniis,
Pursees, Malays, and Buggesses, a people
from Borneo and Celebes, hitherto con-
founded with the Malays, but dljQfering
from them in language. Of the com*
merce tliese particulars are given :
" COMMERCB.
'* The principal, if not the only view m
fonniiig thks settleiueiit, appears to liave been
the acquiring; a port iii l|it: Straits of Malacca,
for commercial purposes ; and there certainir
is not in any part of India a place so veu
adapted to this end as Priace of Wales
bland ; at the miic time it undoubtedly a^
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
joys greit advantages^ a naval port. —
Hitherto the productions of the island have
instituted but a small portion of the exten-
sive fcoramerce wliich has flourished here for
some years ; but although thb portion has,
<syet, btetk inconsiderable, there is the most
satofactoiy and pleasing evidence that it is
. daily increasing. The numerous, e^ctensive,
and highl)^ cultivated plantations of pepper^
4nd beetlc-nut, which are every where rising
ipAo view, will, in a short time, afibrd large
cargoes of those articles, without the trouble
and expence of importation. It is computed
tiiat there will be upwards of fifteen thousand
peculs of pepper produced on the island this
year; (1S03-4), and that, in the course of
tiiree or four yean moref theplantatioDs will
yield more than twenty thousand peculs.
ColTee also promises to become a. valuable
commodit}^ ; this berry has been imported
from different quaiters, and they all thrive
very well, and produce fine flavoured coffee.
TTie sugar cane grows with uncommon luxu-
liance ; but as the price of labour is very
high, the expence attending the making of
sugar, will prevent a very extensive cultivation
of the cane.
. '< The spice pUuitations, in which there are
many thousand clove and nutmeg trees, .are
so flourishing, that the island may reason*
aUy hope, in a few years, to be able to furnish
4 valuaole cargo of cloves, nutmegs, and
mace ; witli their essential oils, and also the
so much esteemed Kyapootee oil.
** However the productions of the island
may increase in vanous articles, -the principal
source of wealth must arise from its being
considered as the belt and greatest port of
^ exchange in India. Ships and vessels come
here from every au^urter, and can exchange
the conmiodities they bruig, for those which
are required as a return cargo. Tliis affords
the merchant the very important advantage of
a quick return of his capital.
** As there is not a custom house on the
Island, it is not possible to form an accurate
idea c^ the extent of the general imports and
exports. In the year 1 80 1-2, an import duty
of two per cent, ad valorem, was laid on tin,
pepper, and beetle-nut ; from the return given
m by the renter of this duty, it appeared that
the following quantities of these articles were
bnported, viz.
China Peculs. Catties. Amt. qf the Duty,
s. D. p.
Pepper 29,468 SJ 5,251 97^
Tin - - 14,136 86 3,982 634
' Beetle-nut 45,819 90^ 3,842 16
Sp. Ds. 13,076 78
^ ** The follo\^ing statement will shew at
"one view the different places which supply
the trade of tliis port,, with the articles ot vmr
port and export.
" IMPORTS.
^'^ PiHfm Btfngff/.— Opium,- grain, iron, steel,
•.^nuioe' stil3l:es ; piece gcKKls, which cob-
. 8istchiefl]rofHummum5,Gurrahs,Baft!ei$
Cossas, 'fanjabs, Mamoodies, Chintss,
Kurwahs, Taffatees, and Bandanoes;
*' Coast ofCoromandeL — Salt, tobacco. Pun-
jam cloths, kaal-blue cloths, handkerchicfej.
coir rope, and yarns ; chintzs ; and ^^snial]
quantity of fine goods.
*' Bombay and Matahar Coast. — Cotton, salt,
« a few piece goods, red wood, sandal %vood,
shark tins, iish mote, putclmck, myrrh,
Surat piece goods, oil, &c.
*' IF. Coast Sumatra. — ^Pepper, benjamm,
caqmhire, gold dust.
" Acheen andPedier, — Gold dust; beetle-
nut, white and red, cut and chickney ;
pepper, rice, and Acheen cloths.
*' Diamond Point. — Rattans, sago, brkn*
stone, and gold dusty
f East Coast.-^Tm, pepper, Java arrack,
sugar, oil, rice, tobacco. Sec.
*' Junk Ceylon, — Tin, birds nest<s, beache de
riier, sepuh, and elephants teeth.
" Tringano. — Pepper, and gold worked
cloths.
" Borneo.-^^old dust, sago, and black-
wood.
*' Moluccas. — Spices.
" China. — Tea, sogar, lutestrings, Tdvcts,
paper, umbrellas, Ciiina ware of all kinds ;
qiiicksilver, nankeens, tutenague, sweet-
meats, pickles, and every, article required
by the Chinese mhabitants ; raw silk, cop-
per ware, China camphire, China root,
allum, &c. &c.
" EXPORTS.
" Sumatra. E. and IV, Coasts. — ^AIl the ra-*
rious piece goods from Bengal, the coast,
and Bombay ; cotton, opium, iron and tb«
bacco.
" Junk Ceylon. — Piece goods, and opiomu
" Tringajio, Java, Borneo, Celebes, and
Moluccas. — Iron, steel, . opium, Bengal
piece goods, blue cloth ; Europe coarse red,
bfue, and green cloths, and coarse cut-
lery.
**" Cfritia. — Opium, cottons, rattans, beetle*
nut, pepper, birds nests, sandal wood,
shark fins, ^matra camphire, tin, beache
de mcr, cutch, and sepuh.
" Bciaral Coast and Bombay. — ^Pepper, tin,
beetle-nut, cut and chk^ey ; rattuis, can^
phire, gold dust, &c.
" In addition to the quantity of pepper at
present annually exported from thjs poit^
almost py number of tons could be pro-
cured for the London market, should it e\'er
be deemed advisable to send it home on acj
count of the honourable company, and ^r^
may safely venture to assert, tnat the peppe*
will be of as fine a quality as any ever pro*
cured ; and the pepper produced on the
island is considered cleaner than that of the
surrounding countries : and in general, b|
equal measures, it is heavier.
"In the year 1802, a thousand tons of
pepper of 20 cwt. were sent from the island
to Europe, without having the smallest effect
OB the surrottoding markets. That» and m^
SIX 6SOB6S LEITH*! ACCOUVT-OF rBINC? OI^%ALES ISLAND,
^gtd t much larger <qiiantfty, could easify \k
ffocured, without any nak of raising 'the
price, viz. SOL sterl. per ton of .20 cMft.
*' hintmufrable inaeed are the advantages
which would accrue to this settlement, wcrie
the exportation of pepper produced on the
island, direct to the tlondon market^ on the
honourable company's ships, once establi8h7
ed; nor would these advantages be confined
•to the settlement alone, as considerable bene-
fit, it is confidently pTesumed would also
arise to the h«mouraole company from this
tranch oit commerce. The experiment at
least appears worth the trial ; all the expen-
ce;> attending it, will be apparent at one view,
and even if the Hattering expectations which
are now entertamed should not be fiilly rea-
Kzed, still there Is ho prospect of risk, or loss,
-attending the measure. To the pepper, the
•prndoct of the island, many other articles
jni^t be added, if required, as rhubarb^
^ajiioga] root, turmeric, cochineal, &c. &c.
" One of the most convincing proofs
which can be adduced of the floiiri&liing
state of the commerce of this rising /settle-
ment, will be foimd in the following table,
dewing the number of ships, witli their ton-
nage, which have enterea into and cleared
out ftom thisrport, within the last four years,
«nd as a considerable portion of the trade of
the island is carried on by prows, an account
.4)f them is also subjoined.
" A&&IVALS.
Colours. Ships, Tons,
1799 English • - - 95 25,640
Amer. Pdrtug. Danes 37 8,299
Asiatic - - - 36 5,432
ftoo
^m
'tnoz
English
Amer. Portiig.
Asiatic ' -
Danes
English
Amer. Portug, Danes
Asiatic
Englrsh
Fortiig. Danes
Asiatic . :
168
39,371
111
31
51
31,097
8,025
5,7^
193
44,907
160
33
72
38,880
7,549
7,399
263
53,828
142
15
84
44,356
4,810
7,654
i?4l 56,820
1799
.1800
180)
1802
Colours',
English - ' -
Amer. Portug. Danes
Asiatic - - -•
Alps. TojiJf^
101 57,3^1
39 8,80$
-37 5,703
English
Amer. P
Asiatic
English >
Amer. Portug.
Asiatic f
English
Portug. Danish
Asiatic
• ■ • ~ ..'
177 41,87r
Danes
116 29,93S
30 8,27l>
'45 6,071
,
191 A,324
Daues
■ 156 36,6li
28 7,03i>
73 6,447
23^ 50,09(1
I
133 4l,l^l>
■ 21 5,25Sf
SO 6,082
234 52,461
€( TOTAL,
Arrivals
Departures
' Ships. ToTis, ^
867 194,92^
859 188,75^
To the general reader this account wiM
be more amnsiog and more instructlrd
tlian the description pnblished hy sir
Home Popham 5 but those who are called
on to determine whether directions dudl
be given in London to forbid the sea ttf
encroach on the north face of the fdtt
?nd esplanade, by the construction ci
vast stooe moles, and piers— -whether cfr^
rections shall be ' given in London for
founding huge docks and naval arBenals^--»
in shdrt, whether all the profits of tliitf
well-situate and rapidly rising establish-
ment shall be given away to the places
mongers and projectors of jobs — wUl do
well to read all Ihe accounts. That o^
captain Macalister passes for the less ac^
curate and precise.
^»T. VL Narrative qf a Voyage to Brasil; terwfnkting in the Sehivreqfa British
Vessel, and the JmptisanmaU of tlte Author and tlie Ship's Crew ^ by the Porlugflcse,
With General Sketches of the Country, its Natural Productions^ Colonial Inhabitauis'^
' i^c. mid a Description of thg City and Prohinces of St. Sahadore and Porto Seguro,
To wfdch are added, a correct Table of the Latitude and Longitude cfthe Ports on
tkr Coast qf BrQsilj Table of Exchange, if c. By TxiOMAS Ljndley^ 8vo. pp. 298.
EARLY in 1802, Mr. Lindl^ sailed
-ftocn the Cape of Gwd Hope * for St<
Hdena and a market,* this is his phrase;
ami the oi-i^inul destination of the brig jc
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
not otherwise explained. Afbr leaving
St. Helena, a severe squall considerably
damaged the vessel, and obliged him to
bear away for Brasil. He repaired at
Bahla, or St. Salvadore, and from thence
intended to steer for Rio Janeiro, where
hb expected a ready sale of his cargo to
Ihe Spaniards, trading from the River
Plata. But a storm sprung up just as he
had cleared the bay, and obliged him to
put into Porto: Seguro, which port, how-
ever, he did not reach without the loss of
the rtidder.
While he was detained for repairs here,
the civil governor, or judge of the pro-
vince, proposed to barter Brasil wood with
him for goods. ' The proposal appeared
lo advantageous,' says Mr. Lindley^ ' that
I couM have no hesitation, except from
an uncertainty whether this wood was al-
lowed to be exported; but, as tlie offer
came firom the gbvernor himself, I con-
axdered any prohibition that might exist
•s merely nominal -, and evety doubt be-
ing thus dispelled, I agreed to the ex-
d]2nffe.' The plain English of which is,
that he knew he was engaging in a con-
traband trade, but thought ne could do it
•ecurely. Gasper, one of the governor's
sons, transacted the bargain, and his bro-
ther Antonio was to get the wood ready ;
Imt the business was not kept secret^ and
in about a weeks' time both father and son
said it must be given up, regretting the
mutual disappointment, and telling Mr.
lindley that he might procure the wood
be wanted by another channel, and should
meet with no hindrance or opposition on
thmr pert. Another adventurer was soon
found, but wood is a clumsy article to
ttoxigg\ei ; the errand of the English ship
was pretty well understood, and Gaspar re-
quested the captain, in the strongest terms,
to decline the business altogether, saying,
that he had secret reasons of the most for-
cible kind for his advice. lu consequence
he set sail to proceed on his destination ;
the repairs had been so badly made, that
he was obliged once more to come to an-
chor in die river of Carevellos, near at
Jiand ; and before the carpenters here had
completed tlieir work, the brig was seized
by tne Portuguese government,, and the
crew conducted back to Porto Seguro.
An inhabitant of that place, to revenge an
old quarrd upon the governor, had laid
an information against him for smuggling
with Mr. Lindley.
Mr. and Mrs. Lindley were taken to the
common prison : they were led into an
upper room, m the floor of which a trap-
door was opened, down which they d^
scended by a ladder into a dungeon. Three
comers of this wretched place were filled
with heaps of dirt, rubbish, orange-peel,
and the refuse of other vegetables, rotting
together ; the fourth with filth of a tnon
disgusting kind, for four of his sailors had
been confined there for eight days, and
were just removed to the next duiq;eon to
make room for him and his wife. In this
place they remained a fortnight, burning
a fire during the day, notwithstanding the
exceeding heat of tlie weather, as the only
means of amending the bad air. At length
Mr. Lindley was examined f he denied
that any Brasil wood had ever been brought
on board the brig; but was ' perfectly ex-
plicit i^pecting his intention to have pur-
chased some,' had he not discovered in
time the strictness with which that article
was prohibited j tliat is, he betrayed the
whole transaction with the governor and
his sons. After this examination, in con-
sequence of his entreaties, they were re-
moved to an upper apartment.
There 4iad been found, in his writing-
desk, a paper containing a small quantity
of grain gold, intermixed with gold-co-
loured sand, which had been brought to
him by an inhabitant of Porto Seguro as a
sample. When closely questioned con-
cerning this, he made no secret of whence
he had obtained the article, but declared
he knew neither the name nor residence
of the person from whom he had received
it, though he believed that he was from a
distant settlement. They took him a days*
ride into the country to point out the man,
whom he was predetermined not to recog-
nize if he met him. The stream, how-
ever, from whence the sample had been
collected was found, a guard set over it vfi
the queen's name, and a farther samp^
taken to be assayed at Bahia.
The sailors had been ill supplied with
food. On Mr. Lindley *s remonstrances
this was remedied. His situation was not
much ameliorated -, he was called to visit
the sick, and obtained permission to tak^
the air with his wife. Still there was
much to complain of.
" Their impudence is unbounded, even to
msult ; while I can only resent it by rq>roac;h
or unavailing complaint. The captain, Mor,
who has superior apartments in the prison,
takes the liberty of runnbg into mine without
excuse ; not considering the situation of Mrs.
Lindley and myself, confined to a small room,
and who do not at all hours chuse such visi-
tors: besides constantly using my liquor for
himself and friends, notwithstanding he know*
I purchase it on the spot^ and have no suppcn^
1Z9DI.ETS VOTAGB TO IXASIW
79
J me. The jndge ordinary, er magis-
tnte of the town, daily visits the prison, and
uses the same frecdpjn : this morning he pre-
taHed us with a basket of ^gs, begged a nik
handkerchi^ in return, and, whilst talking on
the sobjecty reached a clothes-brush from the
«aR» and, sans ccremonie', brushed his hat m
oir tices. Each poor meal we make, we are
neoeaitated in the first instance to secure our
door from intrusion: and a thousand other
ineaiiDesses we daily endure.
" The vary dress of the men (particularly
in the morning) is shocking to a person of thie
commonest dtdkracy. They promenade the
prt^on in a thin p^r of callico drawers that
tcanx reach the knee, with the shirt loose over
tfaa]i,andoostoddngsor hat: if cool or rainy
veatker, ihef sometimes have the addition of
a ck»k or bed-gown loosely wrapt round
them. In short, maugre every exertion of
patioice, our situation is miserable ; and most
ghdW shall I hail the haopy day of our arri-
Tal in a land of decency.
After ten weeks confiDement they were
lemored to Bahia,and again pat in a dun-
geon ', a long arched vault, with a plank-
woriK oo one skle to sleep on — (be old a^
tndo. The captain of the fort executed
his orders with due fidelity in placing
them there} but advised Mr. Lindley to
write to the governor of Bahia, supplied
him implements for the memorial, and
dispatched it. On the morrow the com-
mandant of the sea, as he is here called,
came himself with an order for their re-
lease from the dungeon, and that they
should have an apartment, and the liberty
of the fort. Both the commandant and
the captain of the fort seem to have done
every thing which men of honour and of
fiseliitg could do, consistently with their
duty, to alleviate his confinement. He
was shortly afterwards confronted with
Gaspar and Antonio, who steadily denied
Che whole transaction, which he^ on his
part, as consistently confessed. Assassi-
nations, Mr. Lindley remarks, are not com-
mon in Bahia ; and it is a proof this, that
be walked the streets of the city in safety
fix mooths after he had betrayed this &-
mily.
His ship and cargo ^were now valued
infinitely below thair real worth. The
cargo had been pillaged, and much da-
mped; but he was obliged^ to sign a
paper, attesting that the whole was in the
nme oxidition as when first seized. The
crew meantime were allowed eight-pence
a day each ; they were in want of clothes,
for their chests, as well as Mr. Lindley's
trunks^ had been plundered. He was now
informed that he could not be sent to
Lubon till orden caxn« &ota thence^ in
reply to the dispatches sent concemit^
him ; but the governor woukl permit him
the liberty of the city, if he would peti*
tion for it on the plea of iUness, and pn>«
cure certificates to that effect. This Mr«
Lindley thinks proper to call a qoean and
paltry subterfuge from the great and
mighty governor of a country ! though he
avmled himself of the humane offer. The
return he makes is to publish the fact, and
print, at full length, the names of surgeon
and physician who attested, on oadi, that
he was dangerously ill, without having
seen him. The next Englishman who is
detected in smuggl'mg at Brasil will be
lef^ to rot in a dungeon^ He waited till
August in expectation of boing sent to
Lisbon, then with his wife, pate, and ser-
vant, made his escape in a vessel bound
for Porto.
** After the usual voyage, I arrived at
Oporto on the 2d of November, and found
vessels from Bahia that had sailed subsequent
to ours : in consecpieiice, I expected that in-
foraiation had been received of our escape^
and was apprehensive of some embarrassment ;
but my fears were groundless. I applied in-
stantly to the actiug consul, Mr.'Harr, who
pointed out the necessity of my proceeding
uninediately.to Dsbon. In four days I reach-
ed that city, and waited on lord R. S. Fltsf-
gerald, our residentiary minister, who received
me with the most soothing and polite atten-
tion, and entered into the merits of the a£Eair
without losing a mcmient Jo'uitly with Mr.
Gambler, the consul-general, his lordship had
the goodness to assure me it should be forcibly
represented to the Portugueze govemmtot,
that a satisfactory recompence might be ob-
tained for this imjust outrage on British sub-
jects, and the sufferings that had been so wan-
tonly inflicted on myself and wife. •
" His lordship honoured me with aa iatfor
ductory letter to lord Hawkesbury, wbJch on
my arrival in England I presented, and was
referred to the secretary of state*s office,
where I attended at various times till the
middle of June last, when 1 received the un«
}>leasant intelligence (as well by advice from
ord Robert Fitzgerald), that the Portuguese
government had linally resolved, that no resti-
tution or recompence whatever should be
made in the alfair ; thus leaving me no further
Erospector hope, of redress, for the mjuries f
ave in so manv respects sustained—in my
feelings, my health, my time, and my pro-
perty!"
No other termination of tlie affair was
to be expected. Mr. Lindley was engaged
in a contraband traffic, no matter whether
with the chief magistrate of Porto Seguro
or not, and no matter whether he knew it
to be contraband or not ; ignorance of the
VOYAGED ANOTBAVELS.
Inr will' no indte excuse a breiach of thcf
kw in Brdsil tbdn id England.
- The Tokime contains inany^ amusing
Indt^ of natibaal manners. It is veiy re-
markable that knive» and forks are not
jet in general use among tl^ Brasilians.
' " Tbejr first take in their fiiigers a little
jneat (wtucli is always so much over-<lone, as
lo be readily separated), then vegetables, and
ferihha; these they roll in the sauce, oil, or
*oup, with which their plates abound, squecz-
mg the whole in the pahn of the hand inta
the ^ixsBpe, and about the size, of a wash-ball ;
mliich, when thus, pre^iared, they convey mto
their mouths at once, and whilst eating form
another.
. " Indelicate, and disgusting as such a pio;
ture may seem, it is not overcharged \ botH
sexes equally use this practice; and most
dasse^; even when before Strangers, if by
chance they take up a knife and fork, ^'etthey
are soon tired of a mode so unusual^ slow, and
tedious; and they invbluutaiily drop it,- and
fell to in their old way with redoubled eager-
JW89. It is true, that, as^ in the east, water is
piesented before and after eating ; but it is by
ft> means an apology for this barbarous and
•Rrty custom/'
"It is aJstonishing to see how little subordi-
natfon of rank is- known in this country :
France, m its completest state of revolution
and citizenship, never excelled it in that re-
spect. You see here the white servant con-^
▼eree with his master on the most equal and
friendly terms; dispute his commands, and
wrangie about them If contrary to his better
opinion — ^which the superior receives in good
part, and frequently acquiesces in.
" The system does not rest here ; but ex*
tends to the mulattoes-, and even to the ne-
groes. Gne sees no humiliation except in
tlie patient hard working drudge, the native
Indian.
" The feme licentious freedom is found in
their marine and troops. On board of ship an
order is seldom issued without tlie sailors giN**-
iBg their ouinion on it, and frequentl^^ involv-
ing the- whole in dispute and conhision. In
conseqiience, each ofiicer walks tlie deck witli
a stick of no small dimensions, as a* mark of
authority; to use as occasion requires, and
carry on the duty of the vessel.
♦''The captain of the fort I am in, traverses
the platform in a pair of coarse printed cotton
trowsers, a jacket of the same, with a supple-
jack in hand, commanding his working party
of artillery-men under the title of comrades.
I took the liberty of remonstrating about his
wooden companion ; but he replied, ' Ko
duty could go on without it.' At Porto Se-
guro, I have often seen the lieutenant, Serjeant,
and a private, in the same card party: even
the captain (mor), and others the, most re-
spectable inhabitants, betting, and taking part
in the game, uithout scmple. This unreserved
freedom is productive ot the most pernicious
consequences ; you get no command promptly
obeyed, and rtrangett who e^ecf ftefeef vh
ever liable to insult. I attribute thi& promis^
aiou& intercotirse to the general ignorance
that pervades the country ; as no people pre*
tend to more hauteur and reserve tlian tha
Brasilians, or really have less, in their owtt
society.'*
Bleeding and clysters of human milk
afe the grand specifics. Mr. Lindlev wa^
called in to one poor wretch who had been
bled one and twenty times in the space of
nine days for a pain in the breast,, and of
course fairly died of the doctors. They
have an extraordinary Guy FaUx at Bahia;
" In my walk to the city a considerabte
crowd occupied the street, and I was obl^ed t<>
stop till the. occasion was over. This proved
to be the destruction of poor Judas in effigv i
when, not content with all tlie anathemas this
day thundered against him, and the eternal
tornient to which he is consigned, the popur
lace in dilTerent parts of the city dress up a
masked figure, and erect a ^bbet on winch
they exalt him — ^as do the shipping also firt>in
their yard-anns. At eleven in the morning
•they discharge musquets at the traitor ; ana
set fire to rockets fastened at his back, and
crackers* concealed in his dress.
" In the exhibition which I witnesse<l, the
rage of the good CatJiolics was not satisfied
with hanging and blowing up poor, Judas ;
but thev afterwards lowered his remains, and
dragged them in triumph through the street:"
The sugar- works are in a state of pri-
mitive simplicity.
" The word i/ig-enio is tlie/Portugueze disf
tinction of those who haVe a sugar-work :— ^
here ver)- simple, cons^ting of tliree rollers .cSf
ponderous wood, two feet in* diameter abd
three in lengtli, working horizontally in k
frame: the upper part of the center roller
joins a square beam that ascends thrckigh the
frame work; and to which are aflixed cross
fneqes sufficiently low for tlie harness of two
lorses, that move the whole, l^e side rollers
work by cogs from the ciMiter one. Under-
neath this macliine is. a long trough, slanted,
that receives the juice of tlie cane as pressed
out by the rollers. The juice is thence con-
. veyed to a shallow boiler of six feet diameter,
and skimmed from all impurities ; after cool^
ing in another vessel, they add an alkali of
wood ashes,' suffer it to stand some days, pour
off the pure liquor, 'Convey it to tlie same
boiler, and evaporate till the sugar is formed.
the settlings, &c. being distilled to a powerful
spirit. How widely different is this primitive*
sugar-making, from the hnniense works, ma-
chnies, and engines, employed by our West*-
Indian planters !"
Notwithstanding the rudeness of thii
machinery, and notwitlistanding the ge-^
neral darkness of Mr. Lindley's colouring,
it is easy to perceive that the country is in
a State of improvement. He indeed saysV
xindlstV vota^^b to BRA9U,r
»
ittt js^ffmmeni Ig iisuig eviexy diligence i
ID lender it more productive. Salt-petre
nines, pmrbaps tbe &-st.in the world^iaaye
iiteljbe^ opened, and the pepper-shrub
imported fTX)m India, and thriving; unconv-
nxnily well. Some interesting passages
iektiTe to natural history may be selected*
" I was called this morning to visit a sick
planter, who chiefly cultivates mandiock, that
mvaluable root which fomis the fariiilia, or
bread of South America, and I had an oppor-
tunity of minutely viewing the whole process
of preparation- Mandiock is a knotted shrub
that roiis to the height of six feet and upwards,
but without branches ;* the root, which is the
only useful part, somewhat resembles a pars-
liip, but is much larger. It i& planted by cut-
tine the body of the shrub into short lengths,
and slicking them hito the earth, when they
immediately reshoot, and, after growine for
about twelve months, the root is perfectly
formed, but varies in size according to the fer-
tilitT of the ground, from one to twent}' inches
in diameter, and from six inches to two feet
in length. The roots being pulled up, and
the exterior bark cut oflf, a farinaceous sul>
Aanoe remabis, milky and glutinous ; tliis -Is
nibbed to. small pieces against a rasping wheel
covered with perforated copper, and received
into a trough below ; it is then dried in di^l-
tow pans over a slow fire, till all moisture is
evi^xwafced, when it appears a dry granulated
nb^tanoe, and b ready for use. 1 apioca is
the juice of the root drained from the rasp-
ngs, and granulated in like manner over a
Ibwiire.
" Farinha was in use among the Indians of
Sooth America at the time of its discovery,
toi impeiceptibl^ adopted by its conquerors,
wheat not agreeing with the soil, and man-
diock being cultivated at an hundredth part
ctf the bhcmr and expence."
The bee& form nests which load the
trees. 13iey consist of a ponderous shell
^ day, cenaeoted like the martin s nest,
tweUing from high trees about a foot
thick, ffld forming an oval mass full tv^'o
feet in diameter. The wax within is ar*
langed in the usual manner, and tlie honey
abundant ; but little use is made of either,
ngar being the growth of the spot, and
wax sillied pleotifidly- by the African
ooknies.
" For many days there has been an im-
mense flight of white and yellow butterflies.
They never settle, and proceed in a direction
from the north-west to the sooth-east. Nei-
ther the fort nor any other building iibpedes
^hon: they steadily pursue their course;
which being to the ocean (at only a small dis-
tance), they must consequently perislr
of these.mseets is to be seen, notwUhstanding
the country generally abounds in ^ch a v?
rietv.** •
^ "" I was caught on the beach in the severest
fall of rain 1 ever witnessed. "VVhrle standing
^mder a shed to avoid its vielaice, I all fi
once observed the air full of a small flying in-
sect, which the people near me called Asiaa
ants.* This is tte moment they use Ibr mul-
tiplying their ^ecies, after which theydiop;
wien their transparent wings sticking to the
moist earth, they make a violent eflbrt and
leave them, llie insect then appears as a
sntall maggot, which immediately divides,
and each part seeking the porous earth soon
disappears : the larger ones always leave their
wmgs ; while some smaller, after separation,
regaui the air. On my arrival at the fort, I
heard they had there also swarmed in mvriads, '
as just observed.
" The large ant already noticed, is also in
a^ate of. chrysalis at- this season. It is far
increased in size during this change; and
after cohtmubg some time in tlie air, returns
Ti
J9 singular that at present no other kind
A nest which I passed of these insects was
opened, with some hundreds of the wmged
ones (which I imagine females) taking flight
from the nK>uth of it ; while myriads of young
ones continued unintemij^ed at work."
The natives, who are not always padfie,
are. formidably armed.
" The bows of these Indians are similar to
the English long bow ; about six feet^ix inches
in length; strong made, of a ponderous wx)od,
but oarticularly elastfc, and strung with the
dried sinews of an animal, or sometimes a
pr«)ared cotton cord. Their arrows are tliree
and four feet in length, well feathered, and
consist of one piece of light wood : the poiiifs
of the larger sort are simply the arrow ta-
pered, and afterwards notcliecl for about eiglVt
mches, to prevent its easy extraction; the
shorter have a broad scoop head, about four
inches long, and one broad in the center part
of it, tapering each way to its point, and
where it joins the stem ; this head is concaved
to a sharjp edee, and is a fatal weapon. They
harden both heads in the iire ; and though
the wliole arrow feels vei^ light, and appears
insiifHcieiit to pierce at any distance, yet it
kills at neariy as great a dbtance as an Eurd-
pean musket."
On the whole this is a volume which
may be read with amusement and advan-
tage. We have, however, to reprehend
Mr. Lindley for the dreadful indiscretion
with which he has published the names of
persons, who, in tlie confidence of friend-
ship, uttered their sentiments to him, and
showeJ h'im the secret treasure of their
libraries, little thijiki;ig that all was to be
• # Venni^es d*Asie,
VOYAGES AND TIlAVELS.
thus befnyed ! A fiuniluor of the inqaisf-
tkMi waald not have been a mote danger-
tuns, nor a more deadly companion for
them. No Englishman will ever be re*-
cdved with kindness or confidence by a
' Brasilian after the publication of this xna9t
imprudent book, and no English prisonrt'
there must ever again expect the slightest
relaxation of law, or the slightest allevia-
tion of imprisonment.
Abt. VII. — 4Mcon Memoranda : relative to an Attempt to establish a British Settle-'
meat on the Islandof Bulama, on the Western Coast qf Africa, in the Year 1792. With
u brief Notice qf the neigl^Hmring Tiibes, Soil, Productions, ^c. and some Obserra*
iions on the facility qf colomzing that Pai^t qf Afric^> ^i^h a View to Cultivation ;
mnd the Introduction qf Letters and Religion to iu Inhabitants : but more particularly
ms the means qf gradually abolishing African Slavery. By Captain Philip Bea^veb^
qf his Majesty^s Royal Navy, 4to. pp.500.
What shall I do to be for ever known^
And make the age to come my ovm}
IS the fine question which Cowley asked
<if himself, and answered, not triumph*
antly, by his poems. The projects of
Mr. Beaver's ambition were diSerent : he
once planned an excursion to the north
pole ; then a journey through the inte*
lior of Africa -, and thirdly, to coast the
vorld. He was at length induced by
circumstances to conduct an enterprize
lor the colonization of Bulama.
This volmne contains a narrative of all
the transactions relative to that under-
taking : it defines the chances of success
ind the causes of fidlure : it preserves the
hints and the warnings of experience, and
deserves to occasion a repetition of the
attempt Mr. Beaver's personal conduct
compels high admiration: he is one of
those natural heroes who wanted only
other followers to have founded, like
^neas, a permanent empire in a strange
and savage land : he ought again to be
folicited by his country to undertake a
commands of which the highest recom-
pense will be its eventual success.
The first chapter relates the proceed-
ings of the Bulama society in England.
The second chapter contains the adven-
tures of the colonists, firom their leaving
England to their arrival in the Bijuga
channel on the coast of Afirica.
The third chapter contains a summary
of the fortunes of those embarked in the
Calypso, which separated rather shabbily
from its companions at the outset, and
which denerted the expedition, on the first
pretext of difficulty, with ruinous retrac-
tation.
The fourth chapter details the proceed-
ings of the colony from their landing to
the retreat of the crew of the Calypso.
The fifth chapter preserves lieutenant
Beaver's journal on the island of Bulama.
By the progress of disease and desertion,
he is at length reduced to the oecoissity of
return : only one of the original colo-
nists remained with him to the last.
Here ends the historical portion of the
book. Six speculative chapters follow^
which treat of the advantages to be de^^
rived firom theexjperience collected during
this attempt— of^ the causes of failure
which are stated, convincingly, not to lie
in the difficulty or impracticability of the
enterprize— of the geographical charact^
of that part of the African coast betweea
the Gambia and Rio-Grrande-K)f the Bi-»
juga islands, and of Bulama especiallj^
their soil, productions, and capabilities— «
and lastly of the wisest plan for a futtire
colonization.
An appendix follows containing tho
public papers of the colony ; nautical re-*
marks 3 meteorologic journals; and other
particulars worthy of preservation, which
could not well be inwoven in the nar*
rative, are here separately chronicled.
The first difficulty opposed to this
effi)rt at colonization arose from the
antljacobinism of Mr. Secretary Dundas,
who laid an embargo on vessels which
had been purchased by voluntary sub-
scription, and were freighted with volun-
tary emigrants. The constitution of go-
vernment, forsooth, in which equal sub-^
scribers had equal rights of sufirage, and
chose a council for the management of
their affairs, had given ofi*ence. 'Thit
being cancelled, the ships were sufifered
to proceed: but whereas the colonists
originally tlunight themselves bound ta
obey the governors they had elected, they
now knew that there was no legal autho-^
rity over them ; thus the pedantry of Mr.
Dundas bestowed a practical anarchy on
the colonists, and prepared the critical re-
turn of the Calypso-party.
The colonists, it may be ni^ed^ shoiuld
have obtained a charter. There are tw0
plans of colonization equally practicable.
^he one is to go out with the connivance
of the di^ei^t European govematenta.
cjLPtinr •sATviL s a^lc^v mkvoivakda.
•Sf
p,^. u^ oegm on' a sysi
CBce, aud to preserve a strict neuti-ality
danng the wars of Europe. The other
is to gp out with the concurrence of a
^leclfic country^ and to solicit its aid :
where this is the intention, the form of
declaring allegiance and of pfomi.«iing pro-
ttcnoa, ought unquestionably to take
place ; in oSxer words, a charter ought to
be obtained. At the time of the Bulama
suhscription^ the friends of the blacks were
sufficiently numerous, both in France and
England, to have conjointly colonized a
vast tract of Africa for the purpose of cul-
tivating cotton by free labourers. The
democratic constitution of the colony was
adapted to the admission of people of all
kinds and countries: di^iiculty of any
kind would always have occasioned the
necessary deposit of authority with tlie
few leading mind A A colony from all
oatiGnSj a North- America in ^Vfrica, free^
iadependeni, at perpetual peace, and open
to the commerce of the world, might
veil hav^comprebended a larger portion
of white settlers, and have attained a
speedier civilization, than under the mo*
aopoly system of British intercourse.
Mr. Beaver's method of acquiring as-
cendancy over the negroes is thus recorded
in hj3 journal.
" Read prayers. Sent the Industry, with
Mr. Scott, to Bissao. Hierm. 88. Bennet
*' Employed as yimal till nine o*cIock, when
Beilchore, with two canoes, paid us another
Tisit JLeft ofl* work, and collected the gni-
metas witiiin the block-house, which Bell-
dure, and two attendants only, are pemiit-
ted to enter, at the gate of which they deliver
up (heir anus, and they are returned* to them
vfacQ they go out again. I'he rest of his
people, in numb^ twenty-eight, occupr the
^nuQct^s' huts. I am novr strong enough not
to care for tiiese people, tiiey can do notliiag
by open force, f had intended to have re-
proached Belichore for his treacherous con-
onct in having been here with a large armed
fox, with a view of attacking us ; to have
anored him that nothing that he had done
was unknown to me ; then to have dogged
lum, and turned ban unarmed ^m tlie
bland ; hut as we were now safe, and had no-
thing to fear from them hereafter, I thought
k more advisable, on reconsideralipn, to re-
ceive him in a friendly manner, and pretend
iSDOrance of what had passed.
'* In the evening, at the request of Bell-
chore, %e ftred several six-pound shot in va*"
lions directions, to the great admiration of
the Bjugas, particulaily one, which I had told
them, bdorc it was fired, should ccnne out of
Ihc water four or five thnes- It did so in iact
AsN. Kev. Vol. IV,
.^j-.^^y -rtx cvcianneci, clapping
"all white man witch;" tJiii,
simple as it appears to us, they could by no
means comprehend, and thought ttiat nothing
short pf witclicratt could possibly fwesee thdX,
a shot fired into the water, shouki come t^t of
if again four or five times. Another shot
they were told should go through a tree,
distant i suppose not more than two hundred
yards. It went through its centre, and they
were all astduishnient: but virjjat seemed to
stiipify them with wonder was the accideutai
circumstance of my sitting u]X)n one of tliesjp
six-pounders while' it was fired.
" It has ever been my custom, smce th^
departure of tlie Hankey, to lire a morning
and evening gun, that is, one at dawn 6i dav*,
and one at sunset. When the latter is fired
the dnuii is beat, the colonists retire to tiie
block-house, wluch Is tlien locked, and the
key put under my pillow, and no c^ie can,
after tliat time, go m or out without my per-
niission. We liad for some time left otf firing
to amuse the Bijugas, when, it being just sun-
set, I was sitting upon tlie gun tJiat was to be
fired, talking to Bellchore: as the boy ap-
proached with the match, Bellchore ran away,
for tliough they are highly delighted with the
noise of a caimon, they keep at a ve:y respect-
ful distance, vvliile it is fired ; and notwith-
standing they have so often seen my little boy,
not more than twelve years of affc, fire one, 1
suppose no consideration could Tnduce one <ȣ
these people to do so. As before observed,
I was accidentally sitting upon the gun when
the boy came to fire it : Bellchore mmiedi-
atdy ran away — I remained — the boy fired,
and 1 verily beliese they expected to see inc
dead.
"They had before a grckt idea of the
power which I possessed in common wilh all
white men, of performing miracles, or rather
of being a magician, ana they now believed
me invulnerable — a belief that I was at no
gains to undeceive them m. Themi. 86.
Bennet sick.
" As we did no work while Bellchore was
here, in the morning I amused him and hii
people, as well as myself, in shewing tlwan
many thmgs which riveted their faith in my
magic power, and which they at lagt believed
to be unlunitcdi
" I made them ffemark the north point of
my cu'cuniferenter, and then, desiring them
to turn it j-'averal times round, or put it in any
Other position, observe that they had not the
power of movme that point, because I luid
ordered it to reirfain where it was. The)' saiy
that it was so, and could not compreliend why
it wa3y unless by my power, hxed to tliat
point. The bubble in the spirit lev«l of my
thjcodolite, thev thou gl it alive; apd tlv^
distmctness with which they viewed dittanii
objecta, through a good telescope, ericreswed
their belief in my magic. But there -was on|^
tbhig yet to shew Aem, which would fufiy
convince them that nothhig v^as to me iro^
ix)ssible. It was near noon, and I was regu^
jating ri>y watch by the s wi* 1 ks yriXok Sad
D
-- u
VOVAGES AND TRAVELS, '
for some flnlff itrKcn-tTjrTww — u-_ij[^^ u;4,
they thought, as well as the spirit'levd, \vas
* alive: particularly after, (for at iir^t they
tvoiild not believe that the minute hand had
. motion, which is too slov; to be readily per-
ceived by the eye) I liad made one of them
'hold a pm, live miiuites before the minute
iiand, and then explained to him, that in a
^certain time that hand would r;o to the pin,
'and then pass it ; tor instance, wliilst another
*\vaikied to a certain tree and back again. Tliis
Hhey all perceived ; l)ut, wonderful as it was
to them, it ceased instantly, as well as every
thing else, to occupy any' of their attention,
'when I played off my last trick. M'ith my
quadrant r brought the'sun djwn upon tlie
top of the block-house, and then dt^slred Bell-
chore to look at it, which he did, and then,
"one after another, all his people ; when, plac-
ing one of his men beibre me, I told him that
I would put the sun up)n his head, llie poor
liijuga at first was frightened, and unwilling
to stand where I de-ired him ; but, on my
repeated assurances that no harm shcmld come
to him, he consented, and 1 shewed to his
iastonished countrymen the sun upon his head.
" In the cvenbig IJellchore htft me. He
had been much stnick with the strength and
magnitude of our build'mg, and will never,
hereafter, I am confident, attempt any thing
against us. Besides, what can he expect to
.atchieve against a man who can sit upon a
cannon^ " against which there is no gris-grls"
ivhile it is lired; and can put the sim upon
another man s head ? The Industry returned
this evening from Bissao with six new gru-
metas.*'
The result of Mr. Beaver^s interestins;
<ijxj)erience, which constitutes a suni of
knowledge wortli the expcnce at which it
has been purchased, is tlius very modestly
summed up.
" AVhat did we propose to ascertain?
' ^ First — ^M^hethcr we could cultivate the
tropltal productions un the Island of Bulama
ana tlie adjacent shores ?
*'■ Second — Whether we could do so by the
Dieans oifree natives f
'* I'hird — ^\Vhetlicr by cultivation and
commerce we mlAt tiot introduce afiion|
tnl 111 I'WltlZlUi'Vnf
** The first of these queries is prored ho-
yond a doubt, not only by what 1 cultivated
on the island ; but froin all tropical produc-
tions growing wild on it, or in its vicinity.
" Now then for the .second, which b by far
the most imiwrtant. It will appear by the
list of grumetas in the Appendix * that in
about one year I employee! on the island 196
of them. 1 hese grumetas ^vere not all of one
nation : neither were they only of- two ; but
they were of three, of four, of live, and even
of six,t and they were all free. Had it been
pnident, witJi my reduced force, to have em-
ployed more, I could easily at all times have
doubled or trebled their numbers. Iheso
gnnnetas cleared all the ground that was
cleared, they made the inclosurcs, and work-
ed hard and \\ilUngly, generally speaking, at
•whatever task was assigned to them. 1 have
no hesitation therefore in declaring that the
second also is proved : and the third v:ill nc-
ccssariti/follozv — ^for commerce will foll6w
cu LTiVvVTioK, and civilizatiok will re-
sult from them both.
" M'hcn the peculiar disadvantages eiiume*
rated in the former part of tJiis ciiaptcr, arc
added to those arising from the general cha-
racter of the settlers, and of some of the gru-
metas, as well as from the smallness of out
force for the last year, our having been able
to conmiand resjicct, and to accomplish what
we did, must remove from the m'md, I think,
,of all unbiassed persons, every doubt as to the
practii ability ot accomplishing all which we
nad proipised ourselves, had the exix^itioo
been planned with more wisdom, or executed
with more encTp;y. Aiid although we were
obliged to (jijit ttie Island at the, moment when
we had slielter and protection for more set-
tlers, anfl iields ready for the plough, yet I
tnist that our labour lias not been altogellier
fruitless, but that we have been pa&'ing the
way for some more fortunate enterprise. AjkI
though in this undertaking our mortality has
been great, nay dreadful indei^d, yet havo we
th(» satisfaction to say that no one ever fell by
the hand of an enemy ; J that we never had
any^quarrel with the natives ; and tliat the
English character which we found considered
by tiiem as sordid, base and cowardly, wc left
: *.No. 15..
1 1 rbgret much that 1 did not, when on the island, keep an account of the' nations to which
jny sevt?ral gri^metas b:^ionped, as, besifles beini; more satisfactory to the rc»a(lvr, it would have
enabled us to form sonie little notion of their national character. However, by far the greatest
numb'.T wer<.* Pfipels and Manjacks ; about a dozen of the whole number were Biafaras, a feW
BalantiH^s, four or/ive v?cre Naloos, but only tuo IMjugas. 1 had Biafara visitors fretjueiitly,
and with them sometiwws came Mandingos, but I nev^r had a Mandingo grunuta, though
tJiey have (retiuently come to the Island in that situation, in canoes belonging to Bissao. I
sonietimes also had yi-sits tVom lkilola,<i place alx)ut seventy mi'es.up the Kio Grande, but in
what nation t6 place its inhabitants I know not. 'I'hey ai'e I think a mixture of Biafaras,
Naloos, and Mandingov; at kast ])eople of each of tlio*;e nations reside at Bulola, and there
^s fr.ou nt intercourse by land between Kacundy on the Nunez, and Bulola on the Grande.
Moody Toorey was at t;iis time qiuynof Bulola ; ijjic oftin pri^iSL-dnie to come to her town,
hiit I ni'vcr was able to acc:;mpli.slnt.'
{ The reader \\M\ rcmeiiiber that vve had not arrived when tlic Calypso's people were at-
tacked by tlic natives.
CAPTAIK BEATS&*8 AVUCk'S, USMO&AKDA.'
35
sing on these powerfiii animals a simikr
opinion of stbe friendliness and compati-
bility of the white man? CameU, but not
yet, will be 'neouisite in these di^tric'f^.
Ants are trouOTesome tliere : the par-
tridge, which is a yoracioiis ant-eater,
might be "carried over. Swine are the
appropriate enemies of serpents.
The following hints for commencing
tlie settlement of Biilama^ deserve con*
spicuity.
" Supposing the colonization of the couutry
between the Gambia and Ihe Grande, as wiTl
as the uninhabited Bijuga isles, to be under-
taken by individuals sanctioned by govern-
ment, or else by gpvenimeut * itself, 1 should
recoiniiiend the repossessing ourselves of lu-
lama inmiediately ; and, upon the fertile ?oil
of tJiat beautiful hllle island 1 should cgpif
nience such a plan oi cultivation, which, \rith
common prudence and coiiimon success,
would, 1 doubt not, in less than twenty years
export to tlie parent cointry produce to the
value of more than a million'sterlint^ ; and, it
requires no great share of credulity to believe,,
might soon after take from (xi-eat Britain l«.r
manufactured goods to more than tliat a-
mount ; for which the colony wcnild make its
chief returns in raw materials, for Hritish in-
dustry' to work up ; and these would he. rc-
tumeii to it at an amazingly encreased price ;
which is, of all otliew, the most advantageous
conunerce that one country can carry on with
another.
" Me will therefore suppose the coloniza-
tion d' tiiese couiitries seriously intended ; and
that a certain number of persons are ajTived,
at the proper season of the year, that is to say,
jiut after the rains, on the island of Bulama ;
those persons will find an uniiJiabited and
fertile soil ; and gnunetas, or labourers, may
be readily procured in. the neighbourhood.
Six months dry weather may be certainly
reckoned upon,' if they arrive at tlie proper
time; in which they may clear theii- grounds
for cultivation ; and cotton, as the leiVst diffi-
cult and least ex[)ensive, and making the !)est
return, all things considered, I should recom-
mend to be iirst cultivated. Durmg the dry
season the colonists would also erect th(fr
houses and n\ake a public road &c. ; while
the governor should be making purchases of
land on the continent and among the Pijuga
islands for future settlers ; and in doing this
he would meet with no great dillicultv, as all
the ^ound uncultivated by thi m is of no use,
any further than as affording tbeni the n.t ans
of tlie chace. And indeed they are ever
anxious to have white peoj)le settlt*d in their
neighbourhood, as whr.n that is the case tliey
always expect a constant supply of European
* It would be better undertaken by government, on whose account all the land should b*
pirrbased, whidi 1 think mi^ht be done for less.than 5000 pounds ; and giants of certain por-
tions of it ^onld be made* to mdividuals at IDs. an acre. Now suppo^^ing the above tenito^y
to ctmtaiu only 18,000,000 of acres^ the whol^ when granted away, woukl produce to govern-
BMit 9,000 fiOOl sterling.
J)2 •
Uoved, respected, and admired ; yet its eiv-
jaiAy^ji3 :cared as nmch as its friendship was
courted. And although we have not been ^
hitherto able to reap the fruit of our labour, I '
hope that the day is not far distant,. when .
fonie enlarged and' liberal plan will be adopt-
ed to cultivate the western coast of Africa,
without interfering with the freedom of its
natives. Such a plan, pursucxl with a wise .
policy, is the surest way of introducing civili-
atioD, andat the same time of abolishing*
sliven- ; and if the preceding account shall
in the'sniallesl degree lead to such a measure,
I shall be amply repaid for all the time and
trouble I have expended, and all the diillcul-
tie» 1 have encountered.**
Vtlni remains for national considera-
t'on is the expediency of reviving a dis-
positioo to form settlements in Afripa.
This is the only quarter of the world in
•which British language and British com-
merce have struck no root ; to whicb the
advantage of our laws> tlie benefit of our
protection, the civilizing influence of our .
manners, our iutercourse, and our litera-
ture, have not been extended. It is tlie
bed of a soil, which we have not attempted
to cultivate ; the atmosphere of-a climate,
which we have not endeavoured to pu-
rify ; the home of a barbarism, which we
have not sought to dissipate -, the seat of
a slaver)', which we have not taken steps
to abolish. Let us try. The solid pyra-
mids of African antiquity attest the possi-
bility of labour in vain : let the htf)llow
warehouses of modem industry demon-
itrate the possibility of labour to advan-
tage. The first roads will only be acces-
tihk to the keel } but die next to the
camel and the elephant : to fleets will
lucceed caravans 3 to a coasting- trade^ in-
ternal traffic.
The elephant and the hippopotamos
of this part of Africa, have hitherto
been hunted down, as the foes of
mzn, for the puny recompense of their
ivory teeth. From Mr. Beaver's testi-
mony, and from that of odier zoolo-
gists, it is probable that their alliance
would be more profitable than dieir en-
mity. Both appear domesticable. The
elephant can carry burdens ; the hippo-
potamos can tow boats. Great care is
uLvely recommended to impress on the
black man an opinion of the justice and
bamanity of Europeans : ought not ana-
logous precautions to be taken for impres-
f»
TOVAGES AND TRAVEL!
C00&. - Til the fttctfi ikne, iHiile tbe cotton
£ ^gowing, sbinc small rci»m6 might be made
to the mother coitiitry ia the natiVe produce
enumerated ia page 3S1.
'* Having, in tin: fir^t year, made t\vo egta-
^1t:>hments on the island of Bulama, one at
the east, and the other at the west end of it ;
the former of which i3 to be coa^ddtTed the
capital of the colony ; I should tHe next year
lorm ooe on the Biafara shore opposite to it; ,
tnd another just to the westward of tliat
branch of the Grande which runs up to Ghi-
jiala. These would be both on land already
purchased of the natives ; but, if the govern-
ment at fiulama has been at all active, other
territcN'ies will have been purchased in the
^rst year ; in which case I should form a third
^Titablishment at Bulola,* and a fourth in the
isle of Galenas ; so that at the beginning of
the di7 season of tlie second year, wo s^liould
have six distinct establishments on this part of
the coast. At the begiiming of the third year,
diree, four, &ye or six other estabiishiu'jnts
might be foniicd on sonic of tiie Bijuga
islands, or on some of those: clo^e to the con-
tinent, or, on the continent itself, north of the
Hio Grande; and I should now consider the
colony as sufticiently strong and permanent
to require no further assistance from govern-
ment.
'< In the above outline, I have confined
myself to the soutbecn shore, but I think it
would be as weii, nay better, to begin the first
year at both ends. In which case I should
rocommend the taking posscisioa of Jamed's
island in the Gambia, and constructing on it
a considerable foit; and the second year an
cstablisbmcnt should ix: made on the Pasqua
river*
•* in establishing this cc^ony there are cer-
tain points which must not be swerved from ;
whenever they are, the^ony, if not ruined,
will be retarded ; tii:*3e arc :
" First, that no Lmd b^: ever taken from
tlie natives by force ; and that we do not ever
make a settlement witiuHit their consent. Wc
should even re-purchase the land alrrady
bought rather than our right to it be disputea
** The second is, that no [lerson can b j em-
ployed as a slave ia any of our settlements,
nor on board any sliip or ves^ belonging to
the colonuit?. At the same time tliat the em-
ployment of slaves is prohibited to the Kuix>-
pi*un colonists, these must also be forbidden
to interfere in the smaller degree Miiatever,
with the cmjjlojinent of tljem by the native
kings or chiefs, in their ouu towns or territo-
rit^. Nothing must bfj.done againsl their
independence. Tlie abolition of that ext^
crablc trade must be left to the gradual, but
sure, operation of reason, and exampts*
Should we endeavour to prevent the native
chiefs from selling slaves; so sudden, and so
violent a check to one of their immeiftoriai
customs; the reason, the policy, or the justice
of which it is impossible for them at 4irst io
comprehend, would ill dispose them toward*
us ; and make them either treachtfous friends
or open enemies to the success of our imd^a*-
takiiig ; at the same time that not one sjave
less would be annually sold, notwithstanding
our ill-advised and absurd attempts to prevent
it ; and by sudi means the slave trade never
will be abolished. Whereas if these people
are left to th«nselves, and to the operation of
reason and example, without the smallesi
shock to any of their customs or prejudices^
I question very much if a slave will ever be
seen in any native tu\ni of the colony at the
expiration of tifteen or twenty years. But if a
misguided zeal for the aboiilion of slavery be"
manifested, it will tend to prolong its contim^
aiice, and the colony never can, and never
will nourish. I'he absurdity of very well
meaning persons, in thinking that they can
overcome vices, customs, or pnjjudices, im-
memorially rooted in an unenli^htejied people,
by shocking, instead of gradually enlightening
. their understandings, has done a great deal of
mischief already, lb begb by telling a native
diief, the instant you have got into his coun-
try, that of his six wives he must put awav five,
because it is a great sin, and foroidden bv the
laws of God, to have more than one, will cer-
tainly astonish the chief, but will not induce
him to part fi-om his wive^. As to the word
sin, it is im})ossiblc that it can convey any idea
to him ; it is not within tlie limits of possibi-
lity ioT liini to comprehend the idea wiiich it
is meant to couvey ; and of tlie laws of God
he will have as little knowledge. But he will
know that it is the custom, and ever has been,
in his country, for evvry man to keep as many
wives as he can alibrd; and that he is re-
sjjectcd in projwrtion to tlie number of them
wfiich he mamlains. Now to insist U|>oi\ his
partinj^ fix)m llie cause of his res|>ect, without
assigning any comprehensible reason for his
8o doing, betrays a more barbarous mind than
the one intended to be enlightened. If, after
this, the siune ix^rson goes on, and tells the
chii'f, that druiikcmiess is also a sin, and that
he must give up drinking spirits ; in short,
tlial he v^ill not sell him any, nor suiicr any to
be sold to him for the future ; the ciiief, who
iias been accustomed to drink spirits, and to
see every one cbe do the same, when it was
• to be imKived, w^ill bt^gin to tliink this luini-
peaij a liaie unreasonable ; and will not be de-
sirous of having hbu for a nelghboiu'. But if
• Although Buloia is without Ihc boundary line of the territor)' proposed to be colonized,
.llring on the Naloo pcuinsuhi on the south side of the Grande, vet, from the character of i\A
inhabitants, and tlicT desire to have us cstab'iilitfd among them," I sliould then; form a settle-
ment, probably it might be thought wise to < xteud tlie southern boundary of the colony and
ciirry it to tlie Rio Nunc^ which is navigable iar ships of 300 tons burthen, though with two
j#r three bars, up to Kacuiid]^^ about sevcDiy miles from its mouthy between wliicu place and
#nlo)a on the G rande, tliesa is frc<iuem coinii4yiu;atioa^
•APTAIK BBAVEB*S AFKICAK MSMO&AMOA.
97
tbp Curdpean goes on, and tells him that he
must change his religion and bcx:ome a
Christian^ or else when he dies that he will be
misled like a yam, always in torment but
ncrer tboroughly done ; this chief will pro-
bably inquire what he means by being a
Christian, that he may avoid this roasting.
When his European instructor goes on from
one dogma to amither, all alike uninteliisrible
m the present intellectual state of tlie chief,
till he unishes witii the doctrine of the Trinity,
the b»»lief in which, he tells this chief, is essen-
tol to uis salvation : the latter, who tlunight
hun unreasonable at hrst, now thinks hhii *
outragoou&ly so ; and that he is either a mad
man, a fool, or an impostor ; and to get rid
of people profi*ssing such doctroies, will be
his cuttbtant endeavour. Absurd as such con-
duct must appear, I have seen conduct to-
wanK a native chief yet more so ; and much
mifchiof has already been done by the fana-
tical zeal of some misguided people. I could
giTe instances, but they are so incredibly ex-
travagant, that they would scarcely lind ci edit
among sober ni'mded people. If conduct like
this be pursut-d in the intended colony, it will
never succeed, and the condition of the natives
will never be improved.
" It these Europeans who settle there are
of mdu^rious habits, and conhne themselves
to one whe, whose offspring they bring up
with care and alTection, the very habit even
of imitation, (more particularly as it would \ye
an imitation of people acknowledged their
superiors in every thing) will in time, and that
not very distant,' introduce the same custom
ankong the native chiefs, and from them it will
di^oend to all others ; and thus what the fu-
rious zeal of a bigot would have endeavoured
to briiig about in a day, a week, a month, or
iycar, at the expence'of rudely attacking all
their prejudices, but which he would never
luve accomplished, niiirht gently and gradu-
ally be etfected, and made to appear thciit
own work, without our having in any imstance
wounded any of their feelings.
" As tp dn:ikinff ; if Europeans set them
the exaifiple of sobriety, if they will not em-
ploy a drunkard, and always considi^r a man
who has been seen in that state, as having dis-
honoured, and debased himsc^lf, they will soon
confine thai vice to a few of the fovrest and
DMst thoughtless of the people; who,, by tJie
b)-e, if ibcy hare the propensity, will not have
|he means of gratifying it.
*' As to religion ; there is nmch more dan-
g*?r of doing evil, than probability of doing
pad, by an excessive zeal for its inlroducfion.
In this, as in other p jints, exampU^ is mtrch ;
It we are constant in our attendance at divine
worship, and conduct oursrives there with de-
ronmi and reverence, this wtU have more
ctfect on tiic miads of the Africanf, towank
converting them to Christislmty, than any
thing that could be said by any fanatical
«ealot; and if we leave its operatkm to th«
diow workings of time, we shall certainly at*
tain our object; which the fpUy of an enthu-
siast might only place faither from us.
" So of slavery. Interfere not with the
natives bu}'ing or selling slaves ;' but let up
European employ one. His gmmctas, who
', till the ground for hire, must be reasonably
paid, well fed, comfortably lodged, and have
a little piece of ground to raise vegetables,
and to keep poultiy. 'i hese grumetas, unless
they have a very unreasonabke master, uili
be generally contented and happy; and if
they have a good master they will never quit
hun ; and generally speaking would risk their
lives on his account. It would be seen in a
very short time that these grumetas would
annually produce more profit to theif master,
than if they lutd been ait sold for slaves ; nay,
than if they could be all sold evxry tear,
whereas they can be sold but once,
" One great motive of the Africans in mak-
ing slaves, indeed I may say tlie only one, if
to piocure European goods ; slaves ate the
money, the great circulutii^ medium, with
which African commerce is carried on ; they
have no other If therefore we could substi-
tute another, and at the same time that other
be more certain and more abundant, the great
object in trading in slaves will be done away.
This may be done by tlie produce of tie
earth. Let the native chiefs be once convinced
that the labour of a free native ill cultivating
tlie earth, may produce him more European
goods in one year, than he could have pur*
chasc*d if he had sold him for a slave, and he
will no longer seek to make slaves to procure
European commodities, but will cultivate the
.earth tor that purpose ; and he would be a
gainer, even if the labour of one man should
procure, annually, goods only to the amount
of one half, or one fourth, of the value of a
slave; because these he will have every ycar^
the former he could have only orcc.**
By consulting captain Beaver's excel-
lent niap> an instantaneous idea may bd
formed of the magnificence of thi9 under-
taking.
Mr. Malthus*s book must have con-
vinced the British public that population
is always and every where progressive
witli the means of maintenance, and with
them alon^ ; tliat nations, which cannot
provide a drain for theic superfluous ado-
lescence, must rebarbarixe, and allow the
brutal qualities of sUrength and courage to
snatch the goods of life from the feebler
hands of the industrious, the luxurious and
(be refined ^ that colonies, fiu from being
• If 1 may be thought to have spoken too lightlv on tubjects so serious, my apology will
fce fcu«d in the contempt and UKhgnalwn 1 feel at the ill-directed etTorts of those misguided
and ftetf-appointed missionaries. The langoj^e i use is suoh as iiwist naturally suggest itself
to thtir ignf>rant ctUechisU. And tlie great trutliS of Christianity will be more exposed to r^^
4kMk than vcncnAiQn, by tbe cxeccisc of tUk " zeal without knowledge." Romaus \. ?.
38
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
exhaustive of national force, or burden-
some to public revenue, promote a whole-
some emigration, and facilitate at homo*
early marriages, manufactural demand,
and domestic thrift ; that with our power
t-Key extend our fume and influence, dif-
fusing our exemplary arts of life, our muU
tif^uious occupations of profit, our tradir
tionul and recorded experience, enlarging
the areii of existence, and distributing the
blessings of civilization.
The ancient world enrolled among its
favourite worthies the founders of states j
to their honor monumental cities- arise j
their ashes fertilize provinces,
Mr, Beaver wisely proposes to the go-
vernment to buy these districts for its own
account, and to grant the lands to indivi-
duals at a low quit-rent, increasable at de-
iinite periods. This is the best form of
colonial taxation, and less likely to pro-
duce by its augmentation a dangerous dis-
content; than those monopoly-laws and
n;ivigation-ncts, which check a direct inr
terrourse with foreigners.
A time of war i© the fittest for found-
ing a new colony : few emigrant are
wanted in tlie origin, and those not so
much of the fighting as of the industrious
class : the primary difficulties are thus
overcome against the period when the re-
dundant population of peace is ready to
ppur forth its shoals of reciiiits. A treaty
recognizes possession j whereas, during
peace, wars arc sometimes incurred by
the attempt at new acquisition. We exr
hoit the minister to put immediately at
Mr. Beaver's disposal the means of enter-
prize : \w« doubt not his success : the risk
and cost is small ; the plobabic gain vast
and lasting.
Out of deference for the practical vir-r
tues of the writer, let us not overlook the
literary imperfections of his book. It \\
too thick : it abounds with repetitions :
facts included in tlie narrative reappear in
the journal : reflections incorporated with
the history are brought out again in the
speculative chapters. A more scholastic
knowledge of natural history and botany
would have rendered' tlie .same circum-
stances more conducive to the advance-
ment of science, and also of the arts of
life. Gardening and agriculture may be
learnt by specific experience; but tlie
mamier in which they are practised being
a result of the experience of ages, it is
cheaper to follow tradition than to arrive
at the same rule by fresh experiments. Yet
in fitting out this colony no provision had
been made to hire Creole labourers in the
West Indies, who might set agoing, in the
established manner, the various processes of
tropical agriculture. We recommend to
the author some increase of library, and
some extension of his literary acquisitions.
Art. VIII. A Description of the Island of St. Helena ; containinrr Observations on ita
sinfrular Slruciure md' Information ; and an Account of its Climate j. Natural History ,.
and inhabitants. 12mo. pp. 239-
A solitary, wild, and rocky island, rising
in the midst of a vast ocean, which sepa-
ntes it from tliose continents on which its
inhabitants must depend for the prime ne-
cessaries of life, was not likely to have
enticed many settlers from more opulent,
fertile and independent regions; and al-
though tlie situation of St.. Helena, in the
honiCward track of our Indian ships, in-
vites them to anchor in its harbour, few
of the numerous visitors who touch at the
island enjoy opportunity and inclination to
examine with atte-ition, and at leisure, ita
5bil, structure, c^.nate, and productions.
Nor ha«? St. Helena, like the rock of Mal-
ta and Gibraltar, had the good-^or evil
fortune" to emblazon tlie page of history
witli hi^h deeds of vrar or feats of chi-
valry. It luK5 thus happened, that tlie
descriptions which hive been given of it
«re 'nioas;fc, and rather general than ii>
detail. ^Ir. Forster's is ^ exception.
If, however, this insulated rock allures
pot the historian by records of painful
^ud protracted sieges it has sustained, or of
hard-fought battles it hrs won, it interests
the naturalist by the Curious geological phe-
nomena presented for his examination,
and is dear to the philanthropist as being
the scene of a prosperous experiment,
"which in its issue, has utterly disproveti
the hardy and unfeeling assertion that^he
labour of the negro mu*t be enforced by
the lash, and can only -be secured in tli&
mute and sullen obedience of slavery.
Sir George Staunton, who stopped tliera
in his return fr«n China, mentions this
fact, to the honor of the East India pom-
jfany, in his account of loid Macartney's
embassy (vol. 2, p.60()). St. Helena is
chieiiy cultixatcd by blncks, vho \ver<i^
brought thither as slaves by the first Eu-
ropean settlers, the Fortugneze. They
continued under the unlimited dominior^
of ibcirowners> 'till, in consequence of _^
representation made to the- English Kasf-
India company," many regulation ;>werQ
enacted in their favour,, and they wero
placed under the immediate protection Cf£
the magistracy, Beiore these regulati^j^
A OESCtJPTIOir OP THt IStAXD OP ST. It ELENA.
td
vwe Adopted there was an annnal average
hss of ten slaves in the hundred, and
MnoB that time the race has conbiderably
enoeased in consequence of the comfort
and security they enjoy.
Besides the blacks in a st^te of slaver}',
there are some who are free : the labour
«f these latter diminishing tlie value of
the former, the free blacks became ob-
noxious to the slave-holders, who had in-
fiuence in a grand jury to represent them
as witliout visible means of gaining a live-
lihood, and consequently liable to become
burdensome to the community. On ex-
amination, however, it appeared, that
«// the free blacks of sufficient age to
work were actually employed, that not
ent of them had been tried for a crime of
•everal years, nor had any of them been
upon the parish. The English East India
company has accordingly placed them
nearly on a footing witli the other free
inhabitants j and the importation of slaves
•into (he island is prohibited,
St, Helena derives its name from the
circumstance of its having been disco-
rered on St. Helen's day by the Portu-
gueze, in 150S : tlie English obtained
possession of it in l6(50, and in 16/3 the
Dxxuii look it by surprize. It was retaken,
howc\ er, tlje following year, in a very gal-
lant manner, by captain Munden, who
also captured three Dutch Indiamen,
which were in the roads, and the island
has from that period remained in the
hands of the English East India company.
It marks the natural sterility of the
island, that, on its- discovery, it was des-
titute of human inliabitants, tliat it was
withoat quadrupeds, and almost without
birds J ' tor excepting some species of sea
fowls, which still hover about its coast,
and the man-of-war and tropic birds,
which annually resort thither to build
their nests in the cliffs, no otlier kinds
iccra to liave found tlieir way through tlie
vast solitude of the ocean to this remote
isle, which was only covered in a few
places with some indigenous shrubs and
plints, and these neither numerous in tlieir
kinds nor very abundant.*
The whole structure and composition
of St. Helena indicate volcanic agency ;
and whether or not we accede to the
theory of its origin and formation, deduc-
ed from n carefril examination of its njate*-
rials and the arrangements of tliem by the
author of this little tract, it will be im-
possible to A^'ithhold from him the praise
doe to his scientific re<»earch and ingenuity.
llie iottiest range of hills in St, Helena
rues iu gceutral Uuefrom the 90vitU»w?it lo
thenorth-east,forminganelevationfromtwo
thmisand to three thousand feet above the
level of the ocean. Throughout the island
their declivities present a stratified appear-
ance, showing at different heights a great
variety of tint and colour. The layers
consist of basaltic rock, placed alternately .
with deep beds of volcanic matter, and
layers of da) s ; they have moreover en
uniform tendency, even where the masses
of rock are most wild and irregular, to
assume the columnar form ; consisting of
perpendicular portions of rock, separated
from each other by vertical fissures, and
generally also intersected by horizontal
ones. Towards the summits tliese columns
arc sometimes oblique, and not unfre-
quejilly curved : the central parts of the
rock are compact and of an uniform tex-
ture, but at die extremities, that is to say
where it terminates, eitlier in the bed of
volcanic matter or of clay, it is commonly
scorified, flaky, and honey-combed ; the
scorified parts oftentimes presenting the
appearance of recent ignition, being quit©
black and scorched. Tliis cellular appear-
ance, tliough generally confined to the
sunmiits and bases of ilie rock, is some-
times found in the center of it : in a quar-
ry, situated in tjie interior of the island ;
the stone, when broken, exhibits large ca-
vities, containing a line and wholesome
water.
Tiie intermediate layers of clay and of
volcanic matter, which, like the strata of
rock, vary in depth sometimes abniptly,
sometimes with insensible gradation, cor-
respond in several re^^pects with the ap-r
pearanoes of tire basaltic columns : they
occasionally present the columnar form,
are found to consist of concentric lamellae,
whose interior surfaces are tinged with a
variety of rich colour?, and are oftentimes
found regularly fissured, separating into
uniform and angular portions.
A remarkable diilerence is observayo
between tlie exterior aud interior of the
island -, in the hills that border on th^ sea
tiie clays only appear in thin layers, inter-
posed at different heights between the
beds of basalt j the interior hills, which ag
has been already observed, are much
loftier, are composed principally of clay,
interspersed with some beds of the samo
basaltic rock and die same volcanic pro-
ducts as near the shore.
Among diese argillaceous hills more
particularly, it is to be observed, that be-r
sides the horizontal strata of which the
hills chiefly consist, thev are all penetrat-
ed by huge i:K?rpendicular sUata of loose
wid orgken rock, red, grey, or blue, re»
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS-
gfllarly fissured, the fnfgmefits in many
places being quite separate and distinct.
The fissures in the vertical strata are often
in the direction of the stratum itself> and
in some places separate the whole mass
int6 perpendicular columns, ivhich arc
again transversely subdivided by horizon-
tal fissures. As in the lapse of time the
softer parts h^e crumbled and fallen away,
some of these vertical strata rise to a great
height above the summits of the hills, ex»
hibiting, together with some insulated
masses of l^oken and precipitous rock, a
most wild and dismal pictyre; No sand
is found on the coast, except at one place,
which, on that account, is called Sandy
Bay ; nor did our author meet with any
granite ; but the whole surface of the
island is overspread with a vast quantity
of loose fragments, consisting of splinters
of the blue basaltic rock, intermixed with
light, spongy, porous, and honey-combed
stones, very various in their colour and
specific gravity. From all these appear-
ances he conjectures — in opposition to
Mr. Forster's opinion, that St. Helena as an
island or fragment of some ancient conti-
nent, existed above water before it became
the scat of a volcano — ^that the whole is a
volcanized mass, raised by successive
eruptions from the bed of the sea. Not
that St. Helemt ^as raised above the
waters of the Ethiopic, by the resistless
violence of one vast explosion 5 such a
supposition is incompatible with tlie regu-
larity of its appearance : we might, says
our author, as easily believe, that an earth-
quake could raise a city without throwing
down its buildings, as to imagine that the
hills of St. Helena could have been sud-
denly raised three thousand feet, without
disturbing the position of the broken,
loose, and hailing rocks, of whk:h they
consist.
" It seems not likely, that the perpcndica-
lar and oblique strata of broken and fissur-
ed rock, wliich pass through the volcanic
beds, could have existed before tlie formation
of tiie hills, which support and keep them to-
gether in their present position ; and it is im-
po^sibic to conceive, thai the parallel horizon-
tal layers, and those th;it cross them, were the
ertect of (>i)erations, co-existent and simulta-
neous. >\'hence it will follow, that the deva-
lion of the perpendicular strata, and of tlie
numerous oblique ridges of stone which inter-
sect t'^e liills, must have taken place at some
period subsciment to the elevation of the island
iV,elf.
" From all tliis, the mo«?t probable conclu-
sion S'ems k) be, that the various matters,
composln:^ tin? parallel lay-rs of the hills, have
b*» n siicce-sivi'ly aceuinulated by volcanic
criipii'jus ; thai tiiese matters, on cooling and
utodmiiig,' not eidy became nssuried tfn
cracked in the manner we tind them, but thal;^
in many places, the hills tiiemselves were af-
fected with larger rents and chasms, from the
same causes : that all these rents and chasms,
as well as the crater?, were afterwards filled up
with explosions of liquefied matter from be-
low: that this liquefied matter, which, upon
coolmg and contracting, would also naturally
become fissured and broken, as we see it, hak
formed all the perpendicular strata of rock,
SMid the oblique ridges tliat cross the hUls.
This opinion seems conformable to every ap-
pearance which we meet wnth in the island ;
For all the beds and layers, which compose the
main bulk of the hills, are unquestionably
volcanic ; and in niany places disposed, as we
should expect, by matter issuing from the
nibath of a volcano ; and on the spot where
we should naturally kx>k for a crater, we somo«
times find an angular or conical mass of stom^
or a huge vertical stratum, dividing the hill
into two equal segments. As the clays and
coloured earths would be more subject to rents
and fissures than the stoney matter, we ac^
cordingly observe, that the argillaceous hills,
more than any other part, are penetrated b^
vertical strata of rock, and intersected through^
out all the declivities with numerous oblique!
ridges of cracked and shivered stone. From
the loose texture of all these vertical strata and
oblique ridges, and of the insulated and p<fr-»
penoicular masses of stone, it sei*ms evident,
as has been previoiusly obser\'ed, that they
must have acquired all their cracks and fis-
sures, while in their present situation ; as they
could not possibly be displaced, without a total
disruption of their component parts : that corn
sequently, they mnst have been elevated, while
in a soil and liquefied state from the elfccts ai
heat ; and that afterwards, upon coolmg and
contracting, they became split and fissured ift
tiie manner in wliich we finq them."
.From whatever convtilsion of natur*
St. Helena may have been formed, no apf
pearance of any active volcano is now to
be seen; no shocks of earthquakes are
felt here, nor are any sulphureous, bitu-
minous, or infbmmable matters discover^
ed 5 whatever fires may have once exist*
ed, have for ages been extinct. The cli^
mate is salubrious, and the temperature;,
for an island witliiu the torrid zone, is mo-
derate, the medium heat being about Qg,
and the range of the thermometer, for tho
period of a year, from about 52 to 84. It
has nd wind but the trade wind ; is never
visited by hurricanes, and one may reside
on it for several years without obsen in^
tlie phenomena of thunder and lightnin.;.
Tlie hills and valleys, as they approach th^
coast, are alike sterile, while the 'loftier
summits of the central ridge arc coverei}
with tJie most luxuriant vegetation ; thus,
apparently is inverted the ordinary course
'^•hich nature is obseryed to pur*«ic» 'rh#
A vEscKtttiott oY rtiR iti^knti <sf sir. rblena.
4%
SrA, Mdwevct n» thsit ii Isrgc ptoportioli of
tie little rain which iaib tipon the isfamd
desooxb on the interior mottntaihs ; which
finMi die superior loftiness of then: sum-
oiits, are coajectared to intercept in their
coarae the lighter yapours of the trade-
vind, which accamnme till they acquire
a sufficient density to be precipitated in
the form of rain.
The author of this little tract has en-
deavoned to explain and illustrate some
ef the pecoliarities of. climate in St He-
lena, by comparing them with those which
exist on the peninsula of India. From
its loftiness oikI lonely situation, exposed
to all the exhalations of a mirrotinding
ocean, in a warm climate it might have
been supposed that St. Helena woald rather
haresTiilered from a superabundance th^
a deficiency of rain. The causes assigned
for the severe and excessive drought which
sometimes aifiicts this island, and for the
leiiend deficiency of moisture which pfe-
\^Ii there, are — 1. The great uniformity
of the temperature and the constancy
ef the trade wind. In the Carnatic several
n-iBths pass without a shower j ' during
this period the weather is serene and the
winds steady and uniform ; and so small
is the difference between tlie temperature
of the night and day, that there are no per-
ceptible dews, for the atmosphere in such
a state docs not part with its latent rnois*
ture/ Yet in this situation extraordinary
degrees of heat and closeness are invaria-
bly followed by storms and showers, as
alno are tlie concossion of opposite and
the intermission of periodical winds.
" While S^ature thus relieves the extraor-
diaan- heats of India, by the gathering and
dispersion of heavy stonns, she mitigates and
counteracts the siiltrine^w, incident to some
^rtimlar ^awni», by the effects of frequent
«bowcr«. It is surprizing how regular this
OMiRc of things is, at some periods, especially
in the ckpe montiis of April and Septembir,
vhi-Ji it is not unusual for rains to occur every
afteraoou, if the heat and suUr'mess of the day
ha^T bsen considerable. Yet rains, at this
season, never take place in a morning, and
▼cry rarely at night. The aftiTnoon showers
lecm to be the otVcct of each day's heat, and
proceed from clouds, vrhich collect and di*-
that^Q than^lvcs witliin tlie visible horizon.
For a considcmiblc time after sun-rise, no
clouds are to be seen ; but in the heat and
doscw^s of the for<!naon, sm.nll specks are
ob-^;r% «»d to gather all round the lower sky,
Jiid not ia the direction of any narticuiar
wind. Thesi* increase in size with tne iiici'ea-
•ing heat of the day, and coalescing, form a
continued belt or zone all round the horizon,
'iTiis, ia the afternoon or evetiiiig, blackens in
diderczii parls^ and fi^h in rain^ b'omet^tne^
the whole produces rain; though thas, ing»»
neral, is confined to particular quarters, front
some one of which the lightning breaks forth,
and the wind shortly after Ukiojj its direction
from the same point, blows delightfiilly cool
and refreshmg. After sun-set, these cloudt
subside befieath the horizon ; and tfie night is
bright and starry. This succession of appear-
ances frequently lasts for several weeks to-
^c^her, dunng whk:h the monunss are ahvaya
Kiir, the afternoons cloudy, the evening
showery, and the nights clear."
Thus it is in St. Helena : the rain usuallj
falls at the hottest or coolest time of thib
year, that is to say, when the temperature
varies the niost considerably from th©
surrounding sea ; tlie greater coolness of
the trade wind in the one case evolving
the latent moisture from tlie h^ted at«
mosphere ; and in the other, the greater
coldness of the summits of the hills con*
densing the exlial^tions borne to them bj
the trade wind.
A second cause assigned for the inmio*
derate dryness of St Helena, is the want
of land and sea breezes, and of regular pe-
riodical winds blowing from opposite quar*
ters. The change, or breaking up, as it
is called, of the monsoons, which prevails
in most tropical regions, is generally ao
companied with rain : the equilibrium be-
tween the temperature of the ocean and
the land is destroyed. * The destructlcnt
of this equilibrium is also ^produced by
the diurnal alternation of the sea and land
breezes: the wind from the sea blowing
cool in the evening on the exhalations and
vapours of the land, condenses and con-
verts tliem into rain ; and the land breeze,
when it blows chill towards the morning,
in .like manner produces showers on the
surface of the ocean.
A third cause is the small, size of the
island, and its distance from other lands;
and the fourth, the nakedness of its sur-
face, which had it been well-wooded,
might, from its eleration, have arrested
many passing clouds which now fly over
it, and have converted them into rain.
These causes require no illustration.
That the island of St. Helena may be
converted from its present dreariness and
desolation there is good reason to believe,
from the auspicious growth of some vege-
table productions which are indigenous
both in hotter and in colder regions.
From want of care and want of foresight,
it has happened, that in many parts of the
island where wood was formerly cut by
the inhabitants for fuel, no vestige of ve-
getation is now seen. St. Helena abounds
with excellent water, and in its liarbour
8hi|)s ma^ 4wi^ys rid^ ia safety : iu cU-
<2
VOYAGES And travels.
mate too is of such singular salubrity, that ,
the sickly crews of ships which touch there
▼cry shortly recover, and of the invalids
who are discharged from tlie different re-
giments of India, and sent home as in-
curable and unfit for service, many, du- '
ring their stay among the health-breathing
bills of this island, recover so fast as to
enlist again and enjoy a renovated consti-
tution. The atmosphere is unruffled and
aerene, and free from noxious vapours :
xoalignant and contagious fevers are un-
Kix>wn, nor has tlie small-pox ever found
its way to St, Helena.
As tlie island, therefore, is in every re-
spect of infinite importance to the inte-
rests of the East India company, it is to
he hoped they may attend to the sugges-
tions thrown out for its improvement in
, this valuable, unassuming little volume.
In what degree, duriug a lapse of years,
the aridity of the atmosphere might be
corrected by spreading vegetation over
mountains now desolate and barren, can
<xi]y be ascertained by the success of the
experhnent itself. A society was estab-
£shed in St. Helena some years ago, which
liad {(X its object the cultivation of va-
tw\3s exotics in different parts of the
island : had the resources of'this laudable
lociety been equal to the promotion of its
•views, there is every reason to infer, from
the actual success which crowned their
labours, that the consequences would have
been most beneficial. As it is, however,
the general improvement of the island is
ceglectcd: the want of inclosures leaves
j-oung i^ants unprotected against the in-
juries of goats, which nibble off the shoots,
and a scarcity of fuel induces the inhabi-
tants to employ for present necessities
those stores which ought to be preseiTed
for the future.
Of indigenous shrubs and trees there
^re not above nine or ten different species :
among these are the fern, whicli grows to
twenty or twenty-five feet, the cabbage
tree, two or three different sorts of gum
trees, the ebony, the aloe, and the .aroma-
tic string-wood tree. Of the smaller ve-
.getiible productions^ tlie principal indige-
.jious ones, besides some species of grapes,
are endive, purslane, samphire, wild ce-
lery and water cresses. Exotics from the.
mosf opposite climates, from Britain, Afri-
/ca, China, India, New Zealand, New
South Wales, and America have tliriven
here luxuriantly : the oak, chesnut, ilex,
bamboo, palm, weeping-willow, cypress,
orange and apple-trees and plantain.
Scotch firs grow vigorously : the cherry,
the j>ear aad the gooseberrj^ do not ^ uc-
iceed ; the peach, which was formerly the
most abundant fruit on the island, has been
almost entirely destroyed by the inexorable
ravages of a microscopic insect, whichiiaft
hitherto bid defiance to every attempt for
its extermination.
The first step suggested to the Com-
pany's consideration towards the improve-
ment of this island, is to secure shelter
for young planfs by enclosures, and to
obtain an artificial command of water,
much of which now runs to waste. Oi^
80 uneven a surface as that of St. Helena^
nothing can be more easy than to inter-
cept by tanks and reservoirs, those nu-
merous springs which issue from the hills,
and to distribute the fertilizing streams
over thirsty, parched-up grounds. As St.
Helena is unfit for the production of com,
and its inhabitants are of course dependent
on other countries for the prime neces-
saries of life, those trees should be culti-
vated with peculiar care, which woold
afford the surest resource against scarcity.
The various sorts of palm, (which are en-
tirely neglected) and particularly the
cocoa-nut, sheuld be encouraged: these
trees, the growth of tropical climates,
are of inappreciable value. The todda
panni, and tiie codda panni of Malabar,
are both recommended : the pith of the
former is made into bread, . and tlie
leaves are so large that one of them
plaited will protect a dozen people from
the sun or rain. The palmyra is a hardy
palm, affords a durable timber, and grows
out of the dead sand on tlie coasts of Ma-
labar and Coromandel. The bread-fhiit
tree might also be tried. The jack, or
artocarpus integrifolia is a tree which
yields a very nuu'itious, and at tlie same
time tlie largest fruit in tlic world 5 it iaf-
fords also a beautiful timber resembling
mahogany, and from its tliriftiriess in
Tanjore on a similar soil, gives reason to
believe that it might thrive on the argil-
laceous hills of St. Helena.
** It is a sin^lar circumstance respecting
this tree, which is, perhaps, not gvoerally
known, that it produces its fruit at the same
time from the boughs and stem, andfroip that
part of the trunk .which is under ground,
where the natives find it ui^on digging. The
fmit, dug up in tiiis way, is reckoned the best,
ajid the time of its maturity is known, from
the ground over it craclving and opening.
This tree, which is one of the most beautilul
and useful in the universe, has not btien lonff
known to Euroixian botanists. Its foliage is
very close and shj^y, and the leaf bears soni«
resemblance to the laurel. The fmit is of a
' most extraordinary size, and contains a whole-
some ^d sweet pulj), interspersed wiith smd
\
KOTZZBUE 6 TRAVELS THBOtTGH ITALY.
occasions displays a large and lovely gronpe
of beautiful young women. In so salu-
brious aclimatfe, longevity must prevail:
the females are prolific, their labours easj^ •
and their offspring healthful.
'* But it de?ervqs particular notice, that the
number of females bom iuTc, is said to ex- .
ceed that of males, which also happens at the
Cape of Good Hope: and, if the writer is not
greatly mistaken, in the East Indies. The
number of males born in Britain is known to
exceed that of females ; and this is probablT
the case in all nortliern countries. Nowif jt
be really true, as there seems reason to susi*
poet, that tile re is a greater number of fe*
males born within the tropics, and qf nialei
towards the polar regions, the hd Is well
worth the aUention of ])hilQBophers, as the il-
lustration of it might enlarge our views of the
order and design of nature, in discovering why
she thus varies, though by means utterly mys-
terious and unknown to us, the propoition of
male and female births in opposite circum*
stances of climate, ibr tlie purpose of perpe*
tuating t he race of jnankiud V*
It will be recollected that Mr. Bnitse
lias defended against the holy conclave i£
moralists, Mahomet's permission of poIy«
gamy on tlie principle that in eastern na-
tions more females are bom into the wor]4
than males. In the south of Mesopotamia,
Armenia, and Syria, from Mousul or
Nineveh to Antioch and Aleppo, the pro-
portion appeared to • be fully two to one.
From Latike (Laodicea, ad marc) down
the coast of Syria to Sidon, the number
was nearly three to one. It was the same
through the Holy I.and and parts of the
Delta : but from Suez to the straits of
Babelmandel, which contain the thre^
Arabias, it was four women to one man ;
this pro[x>rtion he imagined held as far
as the line, and to 30 deg. beyond it.
Although the final cause, therefore, of
such a disproportion may elude our in-
vestigations, the fact, if it is ascertained
to be one, facilitates our researches into
the national manners, and religions insti-
tutions, of fir distant countries.
After the ample notice we have taken
of this little tract, it is unnecessary to say
that it indicates in its author a cidtivated
and philosophic turn of mind ; the style
in which it i| written is perspicuous and
energetic.
Mt. IX. Travels through Italy in tJic Years ISCn and 18Q5. Bjf Av^vstv$ Yov
KoTZEBUS. 4 V0I4. foolscap 8vo.
lo«Bels called jack-nuts, of an exquisite fl»-
voBf and nutritious quality. The natives of
Fomeof the hills of India use these kernels as
brKtd.
" llie Mahwab tree, which grows in the
sandy (lesarts of Hahar.and Ori'^sa, and by
fopporting the Si'vere droughts of that climate,
suppH.s a scastinaJ^le sub^sihtonce to the inha-
bitants, «!eems well calculated to bear the less
parchintj droiidits of St. Helejia, and ought
10 be introduced here."
The tenp and the poon are also advised
to be tried here, and more particularly
that monarch of tlie vegetable world, the
banj-an ; these, together with various ar-
tificial grasses, miglit cover the surface of
the soil, and contribute to arrest the fall
of those loose crags which impend over
tie i-allies, and are oftentimes precipitated
from their parent rock.
Among the animals which have been
introduced into St. Helena — for on its
discovery it was destitute of any living
thing, except a few oceanic birds — ^are
to be mentioned horned cattle, which
are numerous and well- flavoured 5 goats
which are very abundant ; sheep, poultry,
and game. Horses are a^ hardy breed,
and well adapted to tlie craggy and
precipitous roads they have to traverse.
The inhabitants have to contend against
' a multiplying breed of rats, which, toge-
ther with caterpillars, and the insect whose
ravages are directed agniAst the peach
tree, swarm in incredible numbers, to the
great detriment of agriculture and gar-
dening.
St. Helena, the circumference of which
is only eight and twenty miles, contained
about two thousand souls some years ago,
five hundred of whom were soldiers, and
six hundred blacks. Wlnt its population
k at. present the writer of this tract had
no opportunity of ascertaining : there are
about seventy garden houses, and f^w fa-
milies are without one, in which they re-
side during the summer season, namely,
from October till April or May. There
are no professed imis on the island, but
hospitality is to be purchased at every
house : the arrival of the homeward-
bound India fleets i«, of course, a season
of the greatest festivity and joy. Plays,
fbnces, and concerts recreate the way-
worn passengers, and St. Helena on these
OF all thet40ers which it has been our
k)t to fall ID with, thi« Kotzebue is the
most egregious; his trifles, however, have
been so \vell received by the public, that
- ^ now coosidcrs himself Uxe arbiter of
taste, and supreme judge of merit in the
affairs of men. With a hop, skip, and
jump he posses from one comer of the
continent to tlie other, inspector-general of
stat^ a|ttl 6P3f ircfi sod delivers in Ua re«
44
V0YAG18 AND TRAVELS.
port to tfa^ woi'ld with the same confidence
that would have inspired him had he been
cielegated to the task by a general coi^ress
o^ £or(^)ean powers ! \\%at serves as a
preface to these voluRies commences in
as arrogant a manner as the pertest cox-
comb could have adopted. 'A list of
those who are not to read this work:
£Tst, All artists -, or judges of the arts, as
they are termed : unless they find any
pleasure in giving their shrugs of compas-
sioD Vveiy moment. For as they consider
the aits as something fixed, but /as some-
thing daily new ; tkey as tlie mere crea-
tion of fonu, but I as the ti'ansfiision of
mind } they as proving the expertness of
the eyes, but 1 as the occupation of the
BDul ; tlie/oim being with them the first,
tittt with me the Last thing,* &c. &c.
What staff this is, and how disgusting !
Kotzebne is a man of genius, and certainly
no inattentive observer : we object against
him that he Is pert and faiidiliar, and self-
sufficient, seemitig to stop his readers
ereiy now and then and say, ' Is not this
s smart thing ?' or like the old battered'
ha^ in a caricature — * John ! do the la-
dies^mira me V
, After rkiiouling the indi^riminate cus-
tom which prevails in Germany of strew-
ing fiowers hi festive and in mournful so^
kmnities, a custom, by the way, simple,
elegjuit, and of classic origin, Kotzebue
says, th^|L in Eastland and Livonia it is
usual to strew the path on which a corpse
is to be carried, with branches of fir : his
remark on this custom is, that < it i» a real
advantage fof the bearers and tlie followers
on foot : for when the streets are dirty
they are thus rendered' passable, or when
the snow lies deep their feet are at least
defended from the wet !* Such sl remark
might well have come from the mouth of
aome buffoon in one of his own plays. It
would cost us no trouble to select others
equally silly, but it is an ungrateful task
to censure — ^we take no delight in it. Let
us rather avail ourselves of what is to be
found curious and interesting on the pre-
sent state of countries, the face of which
has been completely changed within the
k3t ten years. Italy and the Tf rol are at
tliis moment the seat of war : like all
mountaineers, the Tyrolese are an active
and brave people : in their pursuit of the
diamois ffoat they scorn all danger and
all hardship, and are such admirable marks-
men that their services as sharp-shooters
ill llie last war were rewarded with tli«
lemporarv liberty of hunting with impu-
nity. The .value of this liberty can only
he estimated by those who kaow the pas*
sion ofthe Tyrolese fiir the chase ^ znat*
sion, says Kotzebue, more violet. than
that of the gamester. Neither tlireats nor
punishments can deter them from the pur^
suits of it ; gain is not the object, for the
goat, flesh and skin, does not sell for above
ten or twelve florins, and yet a man whd
had be^n many times caught in the fact
declared, that if* he knew the next tree
would be his gallows he would nevertheless
hunt. M.de^ussure records an interestirg
anecdote of a chamois hunter whom he
knewj he was a tali well-made man, and
had just married a beautiful woman > ' mj
grandfather, said he, lost his life in th^
chace, so did my father, and I am so well
assured that one day or other I siiall also lose
mine, that this bag which I always carry
with me in the hunt I call my winding-
sheet, for I shall certainly never have any
other J nevertheless. Sir, if you were to
offer me a fortune immediatelv, on con-
dition that I must relinquish the chase^ I
would not accept it.' Ve Saussure says
that he took several excursions among the
Alps with tliis man ; his strength and agi-
lity were astonishing, but his courage, or
rather his temerity, still greater than ei-
tlier : about two years afterwards his foot
slipped an the edge of a precipice, and he
met the fate he had so calmly anticipated !
At Inspruck Kotzebue witnessed the
dexterity of the Tyrolese sharp-shooters >
he says, that of ten or twelve shots, eight
at least entered the bull's eye, not a single
one missed the target ; and the man whose
business it was to mark the place where
the ball had struck, was so certain of no
one's shooting wide of the mark, that he
oflen continued standing near it during
the firings.
From Inspruck we proceed to Florence,
Rome, Naples ; at the time of Kotzebue*s
visit to the first of these cities tlie yellow
•fever raged within its walls, and of course
made him eager to flee from the pesti-
lence : he lias contrived, notwithstanding,
to ^U a few dry pages with die names oi^
churches, and of some of the pictures and
statues in tlie gallery. He says, that in
the year 1800, the Florentines had the
precaution to convey their most remark-
able statues and pictures to Sicily for
safety, but when the storm blew over they
were all returned in good condition. This
precfiutionary measure was adopted ratlier
late, for in the year 1800, if we mistake
not, they were most^f tli^o^t Paris.
A great and general outcry has been
made against the French for their plunder
of Italjs for their seizure of all tlie valu-i
4ble specimens ijf art, aad transportauoa
COVSBBUB^ fEATXtS iPHftOTTOH fTALYJ
4B
vfdieminto Frmce; as if the law of na-
tioas diew a circle of security round these
precious rdiques of antiquity ? As if the
conqueic^s did not display before the eyes
^'Europe a Boore cultivated taste than if
they had contented themselves with the
plunder of Italian coffers ? And as if the
FkdA bad not actually followed the ex-
am]^ 6f the Romans themselves^ who
adonied their capital with the spoils of
Greece, orSyracuse, of Carthage^ and, jn
short, with those of eveiy city which sub-
mitted to their arms ? From a fact inci-
dentally mentioned by Kotzebue, in his
Dotioe of the gallery, we may suspect that
the Florentines will not grieve long for
- the loss of their statues : ' Venos of Bel-
vedere formerly held an apple in her hand,
bat when Venus of Medicis went on her
iau^grimage, it was wished to comme-
JDorate her by breaking off two arms of
tills Venus^ and substituting two new ones
with the bend of the Medicean. It now
makes a droll appearance/ In such esti-
mation is a supposed work of Phidias Iield
at Florence ! This reminds one of an anec-
dote recorded of Mummius^ who^ when
be had conquered Corinth, and stripped
the city of all its choicest specimens of art,
threatened the soldiers who conveyed them
to Rome, that if they broke any they
sboold be compelled to replace tliem with
others! Who does not regret that the
Veous of Belvedere did not find an asylum
against this violation by unholy hands, in
company with her Medicean sister, at the
Louvre?
Naples. KotKbue's forU is in deW-
Af^ating living manners 3 he catches a few
ftiiking traits of character, and illustrates
them with little descriptions and anec-
dotss. Like all other travellers in Italy,
be seems to imagine that none of his readers
can possibly kiiow any thing about Roman
antiquities: the number of superfluous
pa^es devoted to architectural remains,
which have been described a hundred and
a hundred times before, makes a large pro-
portion of these volumes tiresome in die
extreme. For the relief of our readers
we shall pass these over, and advise Kot-
Z6bue*s readers to do the same : in de-
icribing the museum at Portici, which con-
tains an assemblage of those works of art
which have been recovered from the subter-
ranean cities of Pompeii andHcrculaneum,
Kotzebue has given an interesting account
of the progre^which is making (under
the munihcenP patronage of his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales), in the de-
febpement of ancient manuscripts.
1* Xhfi aaast. wmartabk Qt9ecU ja the mu<
soira at Pordd, are ^e manuscripts found ia
two ciiambers of a* house at HcfciUaneuinu
Though they have been so fre<)uently <fe-
scnbed, they must be seen to furnish a oor»
rect idea ot them. They resemble cudgels
reduced to the state of a cinder, and in pait
petrided; are black and chesnut brov^'u; he
in many glass cases ; and unfortunately ai«
90, decayed, that under every one of them a
quantity of dust and crumbs is'to be perceived.
Being rdled up together in the manner of the
ancients, and perhaps also graduall v damaged
by the moisture penetrating tiirough tiie asheE,
k appears almost impracticable ever to de-
cypher a syllable of them. But for the in-
dustry and talent of man nothing i ■• impossiB^i^
and his cariosity impels him to the most in-
genious inventions.
** The machine by which the maauscr^
are unrolled, is of such a nature that I despair
of describing it cleariy. It resembles, yet
only in the exterior, a bookbinder's frame on
which he usually sews his books. 1 he manu-
script rests on some cotton in the bow of two
ribbands; with one end fastened above in-
cords, exactly like the curtain of a thcatrd.
Goldbeater^s-skin is then . laid on with the
white of an egg in very small htripcs, by means
of a pencil, in order to give something to hold
by. To diis skin silk threads are rastened;
which, together with <he ribband, wind above
round the peg, in the rame manner as the
string of a violin. When the workman has,
ii^itli the skin, laid hold of howe\'er small a
part of the manuscript ; and, by means of a
sharp pencil, has loosened the iinit leaf as much
as possible ; he turns the pe^ with tlie great-
est precaution, and is happy if he succeeds so
far as to imroU a ouarter of an inch : upon
which he begins tlie operation afresh, it
must not, however, be imagined that this
quarter of an inch, which was undone with
such inhnite. diflkulty, remams a connectad
whole. Not at. all: it ratlier resembles a
piece of tinder that is full of holes.
'* After the workinan has gamed thus much
of the iiimsy leaf, he caifies it, with his breath
lield in, to a table, and gives it to the copy-
ists. These men must be very expert in dis-
tinguishing the betters. Their ta^ la not only
transcribmg, but drawing: for they copy the
whole leaf, with all its vacancies, in the care-
fullest manner ; after which a man of learning
-tries to supply the parts that are wanting.
These supplements are, of course, verv arbi-
trary. 1 here is scarcely a line in which some
letters or words are not wanting ; often wbc^e
Unes, or whole periods, must be iiiled up.
"VVhat a wkle field for conjecture! What is
tlius supplied h written in red ink, between the
black; we may tlierefore instantly perceive
at first sight, how much belongs to the origi-
nal, and how much has been added. Jt is
said that the manuscri])ts are also to be print-
ed : in tliat case I anticipate how the linn;uiit3
of Europe will employ themselves in cavilling,
each in his way, at the suj^plics wiiich hav^
been thus made, or substituting others in their
room.
*' Tlu^ cadte^ ti:ouble which the wh^lo
4ft
VOYAGES AND TEAVELS.
must occasion, may he conceived. It was
9ome time ago nearly laid asicU?, as every
tiling else is here; but the Prince of \Val«
has taken it ttpon himself, and defrays the
cxpences witliout giving otfcnce to the royal
ipoFtsman of Naples. Eleven young per-
sons unfold the manuscript:}, two others co|w
them, and a meritorious and z<'alous English-
nan named Hayter, has the direction o( the
whole. He assured me tiiat tlie (x^rsons em-
ployed began to work with greater skill and
-expedition than some ycai-s ago. He by no
. means despairs of decypherinq, all the six hun-
dred manuscripts still extznt ; and dot^s not
^tbtof finding a Menaiuler and an Ennius,
1^ he flayers himself witii having already
fiwnd a Polybius, in liis work. 1 he \ cry day
before I visited the musemn, ho h\\ disco-
vered an unknown author, naiueci C olotos.
■" His business requires a ];hil()>oplii-ai tom-
per. As tlie name of the author is always put
on the last page, he carnoi know whotni work
it is till that leaf is unroll ::cl. Seven I^tin au-
thors have fallen into Mr. Ha\ tor's hands;
but unfortunately all in si5'h a >tatc tl:at it
was not possible to open tiuin whole. He
complained tlie more of this, as there appear-
ed to be among them a work of Livy'?; at
. least, it was ceilainlv an historical work writ-
ten in his style, anJ b(»gan with a speech in
which much was said ot a family of - Acilius.
Unfortunately no more could be made of it.
Mr. Hayter lamenterl that t!ie lirst person to
whom the manuscripts had been eiitmsted (a
Spaniard named Albuquertjue) had tlrrown
them all together ; for he himself tho\ight that
- they might have been of various merit in the
• diiterent chambers in which Uiey were placed.
** At present five writei-s have l>cen disco-
vered: Philodemus, of whom the most works
have been found, and among oUiers a treatise
on the vices which border on virtues — cer-
tainly a ver>' copious subject, if it has been
J discussed with ability; Epicums: Pliaxlrus;
Demetrius Phalcreus ; and now Colotos. Mr.
Hayter is not perfectly satislicd with finding
- nothing but philosophical works ; yet he says
that even in these many historical notices yet
unknown are interspersed, 'i'liere is, for ox-
amj^ie, a treatise on ajiger, coi:tainbig an in-
ftance in which Biicchus punished Cadnuis for
• indulging that pas^Jicn ; a cinuin stance of
which we were never before intbrmed. All
. travellers interested for tfie scienc; s, will catch
- (as 1 did) with eagenness every word from tlie
mouth of the meritorious Hayter, and ioin
with me in wishing him health. He Is fully
possessed of ever\' other requisite qualitica-
tiou.
" In a fresh conversation with Mr. Hayter,
I have learnt that the manuscript of Colotos
lately found contains a refiitation of Plato's
treatise on friendslnp. Mr. Hayter has also
traced the name of Colotos in Plutarch ; who
has written against him^ as he has against
Plato. Thus It was the same with tfee ancient
philosophers as with those of our times.
" A new and important discovery has been
made within these tew days. The writings of
' Epicurus iiave hith^o been found only in
detached parts, but now they have been met
witi) all together. This manuscript is in the
be&t state of pn. servation, and Hayter will no^
be a])le to rectify his own fonnersupplerisents
by the original.* it must be extremely inte-
resting for an intelligent man, to l>e able to
ascertain in such a case whether he has pro-
perly supplied the sense* — ^A hundred and
thirty manuscripts are either actually unrolled,
or unrolling."
It is impossible to be at Naples \v'ithont
visiting Vesuvius : Kotzebue had the good
fortune to witness the eruption which took
place on tlic night of Nov. 22, 1804, and
he has descrilK'd it with raucli less draiua-
tic sentimentality and parade than we ex-
pected. There had been no formidable
indicatioas of an eruption since, the year
1794, when fourteen lives were lost, and
many families were mined by the desola-
tion, until in tlie early part of this year
(1804). Three earthquakes were felt at
Somma on May 22d5 on the 31st of July
the water had visibly diminished in the
rivers and cisterns of the neighbourhood ;
on the 11th of August Vesuvius begun to
bellow, and on tlie thirteenth a stream of
lava, accompanied with flames and stones,
burst forth from a new-formed gulph.
'Since that period, Vesuvius had not been
at rest, and an approaching eruption was
apprehended, which took place Nov. 22.
No mischief of much consideration re-
sulted, except to the character and person
of St. Januarius, whose image, when the
lava threatened to overwhelm the vinej-ards,
wa.s, as usual, t*arried in procession in
Ibrre del Greco, and placed before the
lava 5 immediately the j^eople began to
kneel before his saint.ship, and pray that
he would be so good as to stop the pro-
gress of the flood — til© flood rolled on !
The saint was placed a little farther back ;
pravcrs and prostrations were repeated
with cncreased vehemence and devotion —
but tlie flood rolled on! At length the
I)eople, finding that Januarius was utterly
inexorable, begiui to abuse him j they call-
ed him an old rascal, hypocrite, and every
other name which indignation prompted.
From words they actually came to blows.
and the sides of Saint Januarius were vil-
lainously belaboured, particularly by an
old woman, who had no mercy upon hiin.
The fact however was, that St. Januarius
had previously lost credit among tlie Nea-
politans by condescending to let some of
his blood liquefy in the presence of the
French j on this occasioi| they called him
a jacobin, and it is even said that a crimi-
nal prosecution was commenced against
him for tlie offence. St. Anthony has
profited by the disgrace of his^ tiyal, aad
KOT«MUe'« THAVXtl WBOUOfl ItiLt.
47
!i now iH very high repute! It Is really
pflmfiil to dwell on such instances of in-
fatuation; these ire the debasing effects
if «^«r^rstitian, engendered by tie craft
of the priest upon the igiiuiau«<; wf tb©
people.
The manners of the Neapolitans appear
to have suflered but little alteratiou within
the memory of roan ! the only jkw feeling
vhich" possesses them is a bitter and a
looted hatred against the French. It is
entirely superfluous to remark, that where-
erer the French have set foot, this deadly
detestation has been excited. The Nea-
politans, from high to low, are ignorant,
lazy, superstitious, and debauched : |hey
are irascible and revengeful j an injury
must, if possible, be revenged on the spot,
and, iif possible, by the stiletto. Kotzebue,
however, says, that the habit of stabbing
each other in the breast witli knives on the
•lightest quarrel, no longer prevails. The
frequency of assassination has been re-
pressed by the vigorous ordinances of the
duke of Aseoli, to whom the Neapolitans
are under various other high obligations.
Nothing can exceed the stupid supersti-
tion of these people ; we have already
civen an instance of itj another is at
hand. It ia a good custom in Naples for
cows to be sent about from house to house ;
whoever wants milk sends out a servant,
and he milks the animal before his mas-
ter's door. But besides these oows, a
iiumber of calves wander about the city
belonging to the monks of St. Francis, a
*et of crafty, idle impostors, who not only
live themselves, but get a liviiig for their
stock also, upon the folly of the people.
' For this purpose they put a small square
board on the forehead of the calf, with the
figure of St. Francis painted on it : pro-
vided with this, the animals walk about
uncontrolled, devour as much as they can,
and sleep where thfey choose without any
one venturing to prevent them. On the
contrary, if one of them should happen
to enter a great house, and lie down there
to deep, the occupier thinks it a fortunate
omen !*
Gaming is carried to as great e^icess as
at Paris, and prevails as generally among
all classes of people : the dissoluteness of
the female sex seems to surpass that of
the Parisians. Infidelity does not prev^
in Paris as it does in Naples : the cicisbeo
exists no longer as a centinel to give the
Bospicioos husband notice. From Italian
jealousy the sttanger has no longer any
thing to dread« Tafa^ an instance, of con-
summate, but according to Kotzebot't
account, not uaparallelcd depravity •
"A duke who was esteemed the hand*
soniest man in Naples, married an amiable
wuiuan of unblemished reputation, and who
to his own astonishment remained when a wiie
still amiable and irrq)roachable. The duke,
however, became dissatisfied; and paid his
addresses with great fervour to a princess,
whose name, together with that of her lover, £
shall omit. He succeeded in obtaining favour
with the new object of his passion, but (Mily
on one express condition; that as long as
their connection lasted, he should live with
his young and lovely wife merely as with a
sister. He promised every thing; but he
found this more easy than obeying, for a livmg
evidence of his defalcation too soon appeared*
I'he princess raved, and would hear nothing
h& had to say. in this dilenuna he asserted
that he was not the father of liis wife's ciiild-
The princess started: for a married man to
load himself witli such a renroach, confounded
even her for a moment, let her jealousy de-
manded stronger proof; and he promised all.
* If the child is not yours,' said she, ' send it
immediately to the foundling-house.' llic
duke leit her, and sent his child thitlier ac-
cordingly ; regardless of tlie agonies of the
mother, of whose innocence aU Naples re-,
iains convinced to this day."
To crown the whole, the Neapolitans,
in tlieir revolutionary frenzy,, committed
excesses not surpassed in savageness and
atrocity by the Parisian populace > every
one, says Kotzebue, still relates with hor-
ror, that the Lazzaroni roasted men in the
streets, and begged money of the passen-
gers to purchase bread to their roast meat!
The royal library at Naples has been en-
riched, pro tempore, it is apprehended, by
MSS. from tlie Vatican, which the Nea-
politans took from the French at Rome,
Kotzebue frequently attended the librarj^
and, from his account, it seems to contain
a great variety of manuscriptSi which
would amply reward the careful examiner,
on subjects connected with history an4
science.
RoMB. A more active and voluble
Cicerone is not to be found in all Rome
than Kotzebue himself: theatres, temples,
baths, palaces, porticoes, &c. ^c. succeed
each otiier in description, till the wearied
reader begs an interval of repose. Rome
yet continues to be the resort of artists
from all parts of Europe, and notwith-
standing tlieir plunder of Italy, the French
have a great many pensionary pupils tliere.
Kotzebue nms through the galleries of
living as well as of departed artists, and
delivers his opinion on their respcciive
VOYAGES AND TBAVELS.
vieritg^ith adegree of freedom and ooo-
:^ence which somewh^ startlen ioode$t
men. At the name of Canova he is all
idn fire ; the burst of his enthusiasm is
perfectly dramatic. The woiicsiiop of
Canova is the richest in Uonie> and, not-
withstanding that * the mamifacturers qf
just proponion" shrug tlielr shoulders, he
is asserted to be the greatest sculptor that
lias existed sinoe tlie days of Phidias.
His statue of a Venus, covering herself
with a light robe, bears some resemblance,
in point of proportion, to the Medicean
Venus : our entliub^ast says tliat, in this
lespect, Canova*s statue is for superior,
and * cannot be charged with that con-
foundedly stift* position of the arms which
the other appears to have learned c^' a
dancing master !' It is a lucky thing for
tlie Belvedere Apollo that he chanced to
be at the Louvre. St. Peter s church iares
no better with this second Smelfungus :
Smollet compares the panUicon to a huge
cock-pit, and Kotzebue the chiu-ch of St.
Peter to a handsome woman of die se-
venteentli century, who has token all pos-
sible care to counteract her charms by a
iioop-petticoot and a preposterous head*
dress. He is inconsistent, however, in
his comparison, for he allows tLe hidy to
be handsome, but he denies St. Peter s to
be elegant or imposing^ more than A
dozen popes, and several dozen arci^itects^
have been busy at tlie building, mending^
ornamenting, and spoiling it ; but * all
their endeavours at producing a grand ef-
fect have proved abortive !*
The population at Uoine .doe^ not ex;-
ceed one hundred and Lvvemy tiiuu:»aud
souls, and as the city number* very nearly
three hundred diurches, ch;^els, ic. there
is ample room for tlvs excrci.se of devo-
tion. It is represented as being a most
grievous custom to biuy the dead bodie*
within the churches, ajid, from 4Jie sciw-
city of wood, it i:* the horribje practice to
inter them witliout a colli n ; they are
thrpwn headlong into die vault on a heap,
and the mouth of it is merely dosed wiilx
a loose stone. The putrid slcnch wbicii
arises iiom this dreadful <:u*toni is, of ne-
cessity, ofiensjive and deleterious in the
e^^treme.
The following account oi the chambers
of the dead is carious :
" I went into the church of the capucliins,
to see a* painting of Giiido rcprcseiitiHg the
archancor Michad holding one of tlie dcyiJs
by a chain. My plAsurc was iijrr^lly iuter-
zupted by the capuchins a^iscmbied here. A
lay-brother, the v^Itf of caidliyal Beroif, faa^
just died, leaving > consider^e property.
The monks, after having pat tiie body mto a.
capoucke and carried it hither, )tood now
round the bier, with a niimi»«» wf aioicuioixs
Gercmomes.
" My guide having mentioned the burialr
place of tSe ca^udiins as something veir ex-
txaordinary, this raised my curiosity. Yet I
Oliver thought of meeting with a scene lik«
tliat which stmck me there. I sliall never
forget the impression which it made on mc.
llie reader must expect neitlier church-yard,
nor vault, nor cellar, nor cavern. ]n a lower
story of tlie convent, not quite under ground;
there Is a ran^ of arched chambers, with sc-
vsraLwindows loolung into the garden of the
cx>nvent, and all opened. I nc»ver breathed
a purer air than here ; and certainly 1 was ia
need of it, for Uie aspect was of itself siUffi-
cieutly oppressive. A passage running down
clos^ under the windows, is allotted ibr 'tho
livmg that may wander here ; and is separ
rated by a small balustrade from the lower
vaults, the quiet regions of death. Every
ardied rpom beyond this balustrade ap{)car«
like a grotto ; and eadi is laid out with hu-
man boivis, and j^rovided with lucbes. In
e\'ery one of these nkj/^ we discover a dead
c^pudiiji, dressed in his capouche, and witii a
loiig h^d ; for tlie dead bodies buried here
do not suffer jNitrefaction, but only drj' up.
The best-preserved arc placed hi these niches.
On each of the skumy caccascs there is »
ticket, beai'ing the name, and the faoiir ai
deuth, of its iiQssessor.
" The apaitn)0iits for ti^is puipoie ane yery
small, yet liarbour hundreds of su«^ tenants.
7 hey he here till Utey arc dcied jup; wheu
they are brought to light ajgain, in order to
yield sheir fonuor spaces to theif successors.
A small plain black cross marks every grave.
The ceiling is ornamented with arabesks con-
sisting of human bones. A pre4t\'4arge cross
is composed entirdy of the small ooncs under
the throat. Several girandoles with kmg
branches, and lamps of dij^'ereiit sissos, all hang
down. 8couces of tlie same cQUipositian dc-
coraiijthe passage ruiuiing aloA^ these places.
•* These chambers arq all set out in diil'cr-
mt styles. One was decorated with skulii
only, another \^ ith hip-bones, and so on. "We
niisi^ the adpourhe of one of tlic corpses, end
didcovuced luiderncath it a skiu very luuch lik«
vdlow pai'duuont. J£ach of them carries «.
liglit in its hand, and every girandoje aiid
sconce is provided in the same nuuuicr; wtiich
must have a strange and soleum ellect at iiiglit.
No fori'ign(ir should neglect to visit those last
rdrcats of humanity, where thousands of his
fellow-creaturfs peacefully dwell near or above
each other. The emperor Josq>h has been
hert ; and I wish every pnnce who visits Rome
wouUl do the same.
" From the fourth grotto a clpor opens into
a small cha}>d, where mass for the dead is
said. It is laid out like the other rooms, but
witii A U^^ ^paling hand. The rdioctions^
PRESENT STATE OF PERU.
49
«f die 9(nmger are here mtemipted by the dis-
covery of some vary inditlerent sonnets on the
fiailtv of human life, inscribed on the waUs.
" On leavine the chambers of the dead, we
may cast a look on some tine paintings by Pe-
ter of Cortona and Dominichmo Lantranco in
the diurdi, to dispel our gloom ; and may
Ticw the ahar contahiing the remains of Justi-
mxAf a saint who is reported to have been at
mce a christian martyr and a philosopher."
The manners of the modem Romans
cannot be supposed to difier materially
from those of the Neapolitans. Gaming
is equally prevalent, and the age of mira-
cles ii not gant, although the disgrace of
St. Januarius might reasonably have been
suspected to have staggered the firmness
of credulity. A miracle was performed
on the 21st March, in the year 1803,- at-
tested by the nun who was tlie subject of
it, the superior of the convent and all the
siiters, the confessor and two learned phy-
sicians, whose medical skill in tlie restora-
tion of the patient was of no avail ; at
length her disorder was cured through the
henevolent intercession of the Madonna.
The priests of tlie church of tliis devout
nun*s benefactress have not ^iled to turn
the miracle to their advantage. The or-
thodox believers tlironged thither in
crouds ; for three days a triduo was cele-
brated, and on the third, his holiness
Pias VII., attended by twenty-one cardi-
nals, was pleased to visit the church, and
to impart his benediction !
When a foreigner, says Kotzebue^ re-
turns to Rome, after visiting Naples, he
will be more than ever struck with the
stillness and solitude of the streets.
' Rome seems as if it had been depopulat-
ed by a plague : but it is only the effect
of the pestilential dominion of the priests.
The city contains one hundred and twenty
convents for monks, and fifty-one nun-
neries.' . Rome is less filthy than Naples,
nor is beggary carried to so impudent and
offensive an excess : the wearing of of-
fensive weapons is also prohibited here^
but not so strictly as at Naples. Fatal
slabs with knives are still frequently given
in quarrels, for the Romans, although they
esteem it a vice to steal, do not regard
murder as a crime. Pius VI. suppressed
many Sanctuaries^ but the police of the
SpanUh Place is under the jurisdiction of
the Spanish ambassador, and the assassin
may here bid defiance to the ministers of
justice.
From Rone Kotzebue returns to Ber-
lin, taking in his way Bologna, Modena,
Mantua, Verona, Vienna, Prague, andDresr
den. His remarks are in the same style
of freedom and vanity : he is often amus-
ing and very communicative — but alto^
gether we have had enough of his com*
pany and conversation*
Ait. X. The present State qf Peru ; comprising its Geography, Topograph, Natural
History, Mineralogy, Commerce, the Customs and Manners of its InJiabitants, the
SiaU of Literature, Philosoplty, and tlie Arts, the modern Travels of the Missionaries
m the heretofore unexplored mountainous Territories, 6fc. dfc. the Whole drawn from
original and authentic Documents, chiefly UTitten and compiled in tlie Peruvian Capital;
and anbellisited by Twenty Engravings ofCostufnes, b^c, 4to.pp. 483.
BY the preface to this book, to which
the name of Joseph Skinner is signed, it
appears that several volumes of a periodi-
cal work, printed at Lima, entitled El Mer-
curio Pcruano (ilie Peruvian Merciu'y),
which were richly stored with intellectual
treasures, strayed from t/teir destination, and
fell into the hands of the editor. In plain
English, Mr. Skinner found these volumes
on board a Spanish prize.' From these,
and from various auUieniic sources, the
ivcsent state of Peru has been compiled,
in particular, D. Pedro d'Oribe y Vargas,
a karaed naturalist, resident in London at
the time when the book was published, is
Bieutiooed as having answered the queries
relative to certain phenomena of climate
in Peru, his native comitry. On board the
same prize, a bird's-eye view was found
of the festival in the great square of Lima,
AaiN.Riv.Voi.IV.
on the accession of his present catholic
majesty Carlos to the tlirone, and frpm
this the prints have been taken, represent-
ing the dresses of the ditfcrent inhabitants,
A map of Peru should have been added,
and might easily have been giv^, as the
splendid Spanish map of their Americaa
possessions has been copied in London.
The volume begins with an unnecessary
and uncandid depreciation of tlie old his-
torians of Pern, because they did not ' soar
to the contemplation of man in his moral
and physical relations.' Credulous they
undoubtedly were, and so much the better j
for whatever may be thought of the old
question concerning superstition and athe-
ism, it is better tliat historians and travel-
lers should believe loo much, than too
little 5 it is better that they should repeat
exaggerations or falsehoods, than suppress
It
so
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
fects becaiise they think them untrue ; it
is better that tliey should leave the reader
to exercise his own judgment, than take
tipon themselves lo decide for him. As
for soaring to the conteroplatio» of mail
in liis moral and physical relations ; gen-
tlemen who soar so high, see bin little--
tliey who write travels must not travel in
air-balloons.
The volume promises us more precise,
and, at the same fime, more novel infor-
mation concerning Peru, than any that has
hitherto been given. The first section is
entitled general idea of Peru. The politi-
cal geography of this country has been
changed, during tl\e last century, by the
tlismcmberment af the provinces on the
nortli, wliich form the kingdom of Quito;
and of those to^ ard the east,, which con-
stitute the viceroy alty of Buenos- Ayres.
The population consists of every possible
combination between Spaniards, Indians,
and Negroes. The improvement of the
human species, by crossing different breeds,
u-as a favCTU'ite subject of speculation with
major Jardinej while the colour is the
' srimc, he may he right — Spanish and
Soiilh-down do well together. But it does
»ot do to cros^ races. The mixed breeds
between European and African, and Eu-
ropean and A'^iatic, seem to have a certailS
nralish obliquMv of nature, as if the course
of nature had been perverted in the mix-
ture. fW'heiher the European and Ame-
rican succeed better we have had no ex-
perience . Thv ex peri mcnt has been made
vpon a large pcnle in Mexico and Peru,
but we do not know the result.
Sowing aiid plantiivcc, and domestic era-
pioymcnts, were, till \cry lately, wholly
performed \sy nogrotM. It i^ only, we arc
told, within t]ies»:t four years ptist, that
wfnt'j people Iin\e conde-anided to ihese
tasks> which wc*rc formerly, and by many
of their cnuntiynu-n hiill are thonc;!il in-
famous ll>r nuTi of their complexion.
Cornmorre flouri<»hes since it lias been un-
festraiijcd ; thai is, inir^^trained with the
ifiothcr f.ountry, instead of being limited
to the g.illeoiis and the fairs of P^rto-Bello
and Pan.ima. Manufactures consist almost
entirely of a few friezec, used diiefly by
the Indians and Kegroes : hats, cotton
cloths, and drinking-gla-:ses, also are ma-
nufactured here, though in small quanti-
ties. Sugar, Vicuna wool, cotton, and
Peruvian bark, are die only home-raised
articles of exportation. The miiiei are
still productive, though little industry is
en^loyed in w orking them ; as tlie com-
luerc© of the country increases, mining
speculitions will bd abandoned. The ships
of Peni trade with com to Chili, with
timber to Guayaquil, and make a few voy-
ages to Chiloe, Juan Fernandes, Valdivia,
and Panama. We. navigate, says the
writer, with economy and ease, but arc
deficient in the scientific part, deriving no
aid whatever from astronomy. After tli»
confession, we need n(»t say they are bad
sail.vrs j hut coasting-vessels are multiply-
ing, and navigation will improve, llie
tishiTies on the coast are neglected, and
the lakes are not well stored. Ihe agri-
culture is bad; and it appears that ihe
siibsisK'nce of tlie people is precarious, and
dependant upon foreign aid.
*' Knowledge i^ general throughout Perov
as well on account of the natural quickness
and pcuctratiou of its luitive inhabitants, as
througli liiuir fondness for study, lii what-s
ever does not require a meditated combina-
tion of idea*;, the tair sex has conunonly the
advantage over oui-s. The royal imiversity of '
St. Mark of Lima, and, proportionally, the
t>ther .universities of this kingdom, form %
centre of literatare, which dUlvscs an abun-
dant light to tlie wliohe of the circumference-
Uiuler their auspices, the moral and phHoso*
phinil sciences have, latterly, made an incie-
tiible iMogress, having fowncl their way into all
the schools, and tlience diffused themselves
rapidly into evcrs' order of the state. It \^
our earnest wish that this philosophical light
may, by its permanence and eflicac^, innu-
ence and ameliorate the common sj-stem of
ctlucation. it is on that score alone, in the
acceptation which embraces the whole extent
of tlie kingjloin, tliat Peru is in some measure
defective. A good taste, urbanily, and a so-
cial disnosition, are the hereditary' qualities oC
ever\' Peruvian."
. Vestiges qf the momiTMcnts of ajKiettt Peru.
There ate obelisks at ^ahuanacu, stfor-^
midable pyramid (not having an English
gradus ad Paniassum, we cau only gijcss
that this epithet is gjven as .synonimous to
large), and colossal statues of stone, toge-
ther witli a variety of human figures well
cat in stone, which point out that this
monument belonged to some gigantic na-
tion. The farts are important; the hi-
ference about as legitimate as it would be
to say that our ancestors were twelve feet
high when Gog and Magog w(?re placed
in Guildhall. In the province of Chaba^
poyas thero are coniad stone buildings^
v/hich support large busts : they are situ-
ated on the declivities ©f mountains in
spots so inaccessible, that both materials
iand workmen must have been lo«vered
from" above. It is conjectured that the
Cacifiues, v. ho erected Uiem as their mo*
PEKSK27T (TATE OP ^ZViV*
SI
^aaeau, placed them m these difficult
s:tu2auas tLat they might not be destroyed
hy aun. Mummies are found in the ca-
toLuiubs; the word miinuny should not
have been used, as it implies more than it
is here meant to imply. liow these bodies
werepresened has not been yet ascertain-
ed; some persons ha\ e conjectured by mere
exposure to tlie action of frost; but, it is
replied, that the>' are foond in the vallies,
and in the warmer parts of the country.
Many ruins are specified in proof of the
^1 of th/t Indians in civil and military
architecture j aiid of the roads cut through
the middJe of the Cordillera mountains :
it is said tliat the encyclopedists, who have
denied their existence, have only to send
5oiae one to view the splendid vestiges
which yet rema'm. Mines of the natives
are mentioned, and, what is more extraor-
dinary, fragments of aqueducts, which
prove dut tbey were acquainted with hy-
draulics. In this science, and in agricul-
ture, it is admitted tliat the Spaniiu^ds have
not only not exceeded tliem, but have
iaika short of their progress. As in
China, the Peruvians filled up the clefts
of ihek rocky hills with mould, to increase
the ^aamity of cultivated ground. Their
sepulchres still occasionally supply sped-
mens of their pamtings, manufactures,
mechanical instruments, and w^eapons.
Many remains of their poetry and music
itill exist. The shepherds still, use the
qu^ to reckon the number, increase, or
diainution of their flock, to record the
day aod hour when a sheep died, a lamb
was yeaned, or one of the flock stolen.
' Pdlare erected to point out the equinoc-
tials and sol&tices ; the names given to the
pUaeU ; the oelestiiil observations relative
to eclipses; and those by which they
ke|« their time, are aoxnany data by which
^r progress in astronomy may be calcu-
lal€d.' Ihese dau therefore exist, unless
thifilai^gua^e be wilfully inaccurate, which
a»nredly we have no reason to suspect.
How much do we regret that these very
important facts are related, in the book,
little more at length than in oxir recapita-
l>tai ! and how earnestly do^we wish that
tbey had been ^iescrajed minutely, and
that views had been added. As for the
drilization of Pferu and Mexico, there is
no doubt that both conntries were in a very
^ and extraordinary state of civiliza-
ti«i. A print 'is subjoined to this section,
^the costume of the jmcg aryl his queen,
« the modem Indians represent it in their
pocessions. This costume is so evidently
Mtious^ &at it ^ould ,xwt .fauve h«cn
copied : it if fit for OOUiipg Wt ih§ pan-
tomime of Pizarro.
Physical geogmp!iy in Peru. Fro!» the
insutierable bomb&^t of this chapter we
can collect nothing. Some queries rela-
tive to the climate follow, witii answei;?
by Don Pedro, himself a Peruvian. They
terminate in a conjecture, tliat by erect-
ing conductors si(ffici€JUl^ high aiid stifi^
cicntly numerous, the fickle atmosphere of
Great Britain may be converted into a
climate as serene, steady, and beantiful, M
that of low Peru. The iron-masters will
have no obj<5ction to the experiment.
From the section upon botany , it aps>
pears that able botanists have been senft
over by the late and by the present king ;
both monarchs will long be remembered
by the Spaniards as the benefactors of
science. Of zoology little is said : there
is a print of the Llama, and a wish express-
ed that attempts may be made to domes-
ticate the vicuna, which, as the Jndianf
hunt them for their wool, will also be de**
stroyed. The ne^t section is upon.antbcor
pology. it is said here, tliat in tlie cabi.i
net of natural history at Lima, a tooth
(one of the viqiai^) is deposited, taken
from a mummy discovered in Tarija,
which weighs a pound and a half! The
body from whence it was taken, was con-
veyed from Tarija to Cuzco by the maiv
quis of Valle-Umbroso, and shipped for
Madrid; but taken on the way by the
English and carried to London. ][f, per^
duince, tlie Pct^utian tuercury should reach
that capital, say the writers, we request to
know, tlirough the medium of the Philo-
sopliical Transactions, whether ^the giant
tlius intercepted wants the tootli in ques-
tion. Was there ever so prodigious a
fable so circumstantially related ? Another
such tooth is mentioned weigliing more
than five pounds, found in the same pro-
vince Either Garagantua, or Og the king
of Basan, who used to catch whales in
tlie mid sea, and toast them against th*
sun, must have been buried in Tarija.
An account follows of a living giant, with
amis like a Gibbon, bulkier than the Irish
giant, but not taller and worse proportion*
ed : a moderate reasonable giant, such a«
an Englishraau niiglit safely speculate
upon for a show— a monster with grin*
ders of a pcimd .and .a half weight would
eat up Mr. Pidcock.
*' Mineralogy. Fromthe statement in this
chapter it resufe,0iat in the eight intendencjes
intowhich the ?riccipyalty of Peni it divided,
there vjere, in theyear 179Uti3rty-nines«rvk:^
iri>te mi&f9 <tf .gfiU^^ifireja hiuidredaad ^khiy*
£2 -p» ^ •
52
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
four of silver, four of quicksilver, four of cop-
per^ and twelve of lead ; at the same time that
twenty-nine gold, and five hundred and
eighty-eight silver mines had, by various ac-
cident* and casualties, been rendered luiser-
viceable. In this statement the mines con-
tained in the kingdom ot Quito, and in tlie
viceroyalty of Buenos- Ayies, although tJiese
domains mav be considered as constituting a
part of the iPenivian territory, are not com-
prehended.
" During a space of ten years, from the
commencement of 1780 to tlie end of 1789,
the above mines yielded thirty-five thousand
tliree hundred and fifty-nine marks of gold,
twenty-two carats fine; and thn,*e miUioiis
seven hundred and thirty-nine thousand scvi.ni
hundred and sixtv-threemarks «C silver. * I ft
the vear 1790, tfie silver mines yielded four
hundred and twelve thousand one hundred
and seventeen marks of that metal ; being an
excess of tliirty-eight thousand one hundred
and forty-seven marks over the average pro-
duce of the ten antecedent years.
" It would appear that the mines of Mexico
are much more productive than those of Peru,
since in the above year of 1790, which was
far from being reckoned one of the best, five
thousand and twenty-four marks of gold, and
tu'o millions one hundred and seventy-nine
thousand four hundred and fifty-five marks of
silver, the produce of the mines, were coined
In the royal mint of Mexico. The propor-
tion of silver was consecjuently in the ratio of
more than five to one greater than that afiford-
«d by the Peruvian mines."
The Mexican mines flourish, while the
Peruvian decline. Two writers in tliis
magazine explain the cause of the decline.
Hiere is a want of capital : tlie money-
lenders lend small sums in small instal-
ments, for which they are to be paid in
pina, that is, the silver after it has been
freed from the mercury with which it was
amalgamated, and before it has been fused.
This they have at so low a price, that
their interest is eighteen per cent, for
three or four months. What tliQy ad-
vance la not all in specie ; a great part is
in coarse baize, and other commodities,
^orbitantly rated, with which the miner
pays his labourers in kind, and they often
run away. Another cause of decline is,
chat neither whites nor negroes can work
in^the mines ; they soon ^U victims ; die
native Indians last larger, but they are
licarce. In die royal mines they are com-
pelled to work, and it scemfthat the pri-
vate miners would very willingly be per-
mitted to enforce the same prerogative.
Commerce, Witli tliese details we s>liall
not detain the reader \ it is ot Kttltt gene-
ral interest to enter into minute accounts
of a commerce in which we can have no
participation. The facts respecting po-
jMilation are of more importance. There
are, in the viceroyalty of Peru, one tiiou-
sand tliree hundred and sixty towns, and
yet, according to the highest computation*
tlie number of inhabitants does not ex-
ceed one million ! four hundred tliousand
of diese are Indians. There has been a
grievous depopulation. In 1551 the royal
commissioners stated in their returns, that
the number of Indians amounted to eight
millions two h\mdred and fifty-fivie thou-
sand J it is tnie that the viceroyalties of
Santa Fe and Buenos- Ay res were com-
prehended in the census, still the depopu-
lation is prodigious. The small-pox, un-
known in Peru till tlie year 1588, has
been the main cause — to the American
tribes this disease has proved dreadfully
fatal J but tlioiigh this be the main caure,
a heavy load of guilt remains for Spain :
white men will not work the mines, and
they will not compel the negroes to work
them, because it kills them too soon, and
negroes cost money j but the Indians are
-grown upon tlie spot, and it is what they
are bom to— a curse which they have in-
herited from their garents. Doubtless the
Spanish casuists can trace their genealogy
to Canaan, the son of Ham, and silence
all scruples of humanity by quoting Noah'*
malediction; doubtless- the Spanish f)oli-
ticians can preve that the produce of the
mines ■ is indisi^ensable to tlie ' state, and
that human lives, when weighed against
gold and silver, are as dust in the balance.
We indeed exclaim against this systematic
inhumanity; but with what consistency
do we exclaim against it ? or why do we
deny that to be good logic for America,
which is admitted as irrefragable for Af-
rica ? While England continues the slave-
trade, she must not inveigh against Spain ;
while we consume negroes, we must not
cry out against the consumption of In-
dians.
From 1517 *o 1790, nearly eleven mil-
lions of negroes have been transported
into Peru ! and these also have been con-
sumed ! The Spanish writer plainly states,
that they are so many individuals lost to
the growth of the population, and the
rd usage, cruelty.
reasons assigned are
the rigorous labour exacted from the fe-
males during pregnancy and unmediatelv
* The mark of gold being estimated at a hundred and twenty-five piastres, and that of
silver at eight piastres, the total amount, in sterling money, o? the produce of the twt^
during tkiHiboYe ten years, will be found to have been of the vahie of 7,703,545L
PRESENT STATE OF PERU.
^
^^ parturition, and the melancholy
wiiich their miserable situation occasions.
Wlicn will this irafiic have an end; this
foul disgrace to Europe, to Christendom,
but to England in particular ! The work
ef retribution is begun in Hayti: there
the iniquity began, and there the first ac-
count has been rendered — ^who can tell
where it will stop !
The mixed descendants of the negroes
in Peru become perfectly white in the
fourth generation ; this is said to b^ so
prejudicial to the kingdom, as to have re-
peatedly called for the interference of the
legislature. What colonists arrive from
Spain seem to be so many lost to the mo-
ther country, winch ill can spare them,
and nothing added to Peru : some few
niake fortunes and return ; others remain
single, because they and their posterity
would be alike excluded from any honour-
able situations : — this should have been
more clearly expkined j nor do we under-
stand, bj' the phrase which is used ofetn-
bracing celibacy, whether it is meant that
^se persons merely remain single, or
enter into the monastic orders. This is
one i^iecimen of the miserable stj'le of the
book. A great proportion of the Euro-
pean emigrants are mere vagabond adven-
turers; of no use while they are above
ground. Hands, therefore, are wanting
in Peru, and of coiu^ every thing is
wanting in proportion; roads, bridges,
canals; there is no internal commerce in
consequence. The conclusion of tliis
essay, which thus exposes the weakness
of the country', was suppressed by autho-
rity.
Historical and Political Reflections on
the Papulation of Lima. The capital of
Peru contains three hmidred and fifty-live
Krcets, three thousand nine hundred and
forty-one houses, including one hundred
and" fifty- seven which belong to ri^igious
communities, and fifty-two thousand six
hundred and twenty-seven inhabitants.
Of these one thousand six hundred and
forty-sevcn belong to the different mo-
nastic orders, and three thousand one hun-
dred and eighty-four live in religious com-
nmnities without having made the vows ;
but dtesc also are to be considered as lost
to the state — a proportion, on the whole,
of one to eleven ! the secular clergy are
not included in this number. There are
nine thousand two hundred and twenty-
Mie slaves, two thousand nine hundred
and three free servants. The capital has
increased one-fi&h in size since the vice-
royalty of Buenos-Ayres separated fi-om
Peru.
The account of the university of St.
Mark, in this capital, is characteristic.
" The fees disbursed on the admission to
the diftcrcnt degrees, were originally very
high. Each doctor of the faculty, besides
paying a considerable sum to the rector, head
master, register, and other officers, was ob^
liged to fee all those who composed the chap-
ter, or assembly, at the time of his admission.
If he took a secular degree, he gave to each
of them a velvet bonnet ; and if the degree
was ecclesiastical, a bonnet of doth. To tliis
gift he added another, of six fjat hens, four
pounds of cold viands, and a pair of gloves,
fiiese disbursements, united with the cxpcnces
attendant on the public exhibition of a bull
ligiit, in the great square, on the day of ad-
niission, and the sumptuous entertainment
given to all who were present, were found, on
an average estimate made in 1743, to ajnount
to the extravagant sum of ten thousand pi-
astre's for each degree. To remedy this in-
convenience, it was then settled that the gra-
duate should pay into the chest of the institu-
tion the sum of two thousand piastres, to be
divided equally among the doctors; and
should prqvide a slight refreshment for those
who were present at his examination. Ho
^'as, besides, to bestow small fees on the rec-
tor, head master, register, and other persons
holding literary employments in the college.
The gross amount of the charges has been
since reduced to one tliousand and sixty-six
piastres.
" To obtain the degree of doctor, that of
bachelor is, in tlie first mstan. e, indispensably
requisite. For this purpose, the student must
be provided with a certiiicate of iiis liaving
attended live courses in the faculty to which
he aspires, together with another certificate of
his having taken the private lessons, without
which his studies would have been incomplete.
The cxp<»nces of this degree are moderate,
amountmg to twenty-five piastres only. Con-
fonnably to the spirit and tenor of the laws of
the kingdom, whenever ten degrees of bache-
lor have been < onferred, a similar degree is to
be bestowed on a poor scholar, as a btimulus
to application, and a recompense for the suc-
cessful prosecution of his studies; but this
favour has been liberally dispensed by the
academy, which, with a view to the prosperity
and cultivation of the sciences, has not limited
itself to the number of indigent students for
whom the above legislative provision was
made.
" llie ceremony of the reception of a doc-
tor in this univerhity is not uninteresting. On
the day appoint;>d, at sun-set, the interior of
the hall having been lighted, and the doors
closely barred, the examuiation commences
before the masters and doctors, who alone are
allowed to be present. Between the first and
second lc*ssons^ an oath is administered by die
i4
VOYAGJ^ AND TRAVELS.
fed^irtoeaclioftheasAsUots; and when the
second lesson is concluded, four of the doc^^
tors, tlie junior taking the lead, maintain a
controversy witli the candidate. This doea
not, hovttver, prevent any one present from
making such obsenations as he may deem
Essential to his further satisfactioii and secu-
rity. The rector, the president, the four re-
phcants, and the six most ancient doctors of
the faculty^ now proceed to vote privately ;
and by their sutlrages, the individual who has
been exammcd is either admitted or tejected.
The wliole concludes by a refresliment of
sweetmeats and jellies, substituted to the 5iU|>
^r ordered by the ancient institutions of tlie
academy.
" On the following morning, the degree is
confert^ svith every solemnity. Provided
the ceremony be not, by special favour, per-
formed in the mterior 6^the university, the
cliajjel of the blessed Virgin, belonging to tlie
great church, is splendidly ornamented ; and
thither the graduate, accompanied by the
aitiidents, collegiates, and doctors, proceeds to
nislke his profession of faith. 'iTie rector
having administered' to hnn an oath to defend
the mystery of the immaculate conception,
and to detest the execrable doctrines of ty-
rannicide and regicide, the degree is delivered
to him by the head master, at the same time
tliat the register invests him with tiie badges
of his newly acquired dignity. This bemg
done, a latui oration is pronounced in his
praise, and a theme proposed to him for the
exercise of his talents.
"The. number of doctors is not limited.
At this time (in 17§1) there Ate one hundred
and thirty-four in the faculty of theology ; in
that of lows, one hundred and sixty-four; ip
that of medicine, twelve ; and six masters of
Arts."
The university is poor, nor wonld its
rents be sulHcient, if several of the chairs
were not vacant, and if the other profes-
sors did not give up half their salaries.
The members are celebrated for their pa-
triotism.
'* It Is impossible to read without satisfac-
tion the sacrifice of life, goods, and persons,
made by the doctors, masters, and students,
m 170$), when the English, having invaded
the port of Guayaquil, excited a general panic
tfiroughoiit the kingdom. They enrolled
themselves, witiiout any exception of classes
or jconditions, for the king's service, and form-
ed themselves into companies. Dr. Martin
de ios Reyes took the coimnand of the com-
pany of the ecclesiastics who composed the
chapter ; that of the seculars was commanded
by Dr. Bartolome Romero ; and that of the
students by Dr. Tliomas Salazar. The rector,
Don isidora C^edOj to evince his attachment
and fidelity to his sovereign, took the com*
niand in chief.'' ^
It may be impossible to read this with-
out satisfaction in Lima, and it is impos-
sible to read it in England without smiling.
If we were reduced to the necesbity of arm-
ing our owTi universities, the heads of col-
leges would not be the tittest possible com-
manders. They themselves would not
think it necessary, to evince their loyalty,
that they should change their wigs for
helmets.
The charitable establishments in Lima
are many and flourishing. They have a
theatre, which is fasliionable : the writer
wishes tliat the comedies* of v hich monks»
popes, and saints, are the heroes, were
laid aside ; that the actors would declaim
with less violence ; tliat any one might be
permitted to seat himself in the pit with-
out regarding his dress or his periwig j
and that the company would not smoke.
Silence, and no smoking, is the motto ia
the theatre at Corunna. Cotfee-liouses
were first established in 17/1 ; they sue-,
ceed well.
" Tlie literary memoirs of Madrid ♦ con-
tain the provihions made by Don Mariano
(Joton, sujjerintcndant-gcnefal of jielice of
that court, with a view to the introduction of
a greater dc*corum in th(» coiliee-houses. T*he
principal enactments are as follow : ' firsts
that in all the col]ee-housi»s in which a certain
share of decency, and a corresponding neat'
ness, should not be observed. Jointed doth^
should be hung up, the walls white- waslu^d,
and the doors and iabh» coloureil. Stxonclly ,
that a clean dish should be scfved to eadi in-
dividual, notwithstandinn: three or four persons
should unite together, for this nnson, that, iu
pouring the liquor from the cup to the saucer,
it was spilled on the table, w) as, by tiio slight-,
est inattention, to stain the clotiies and majitlc»s
of the company. 'ITiirdly, that the waiters
should, on their prescntiiig tliemselves, b<?
clean, without either a net or a bonnet on the
head, and, if possible, combed, &c. &c/
What would some of our readers say if we
were to innnuate the like ?" t
The detestable amusement of cock-
fighting is permitted twice a week oa
working days, and on Suadap end festi<;
vals. There is a regular cock-pit ; seata
are paid for, and the mob admitted grati^
to stand. Not a hint is ventured 'm re*
pi^bation of this cruelty. EuU-feaste^ of
course, are fashiouable. Teymis is lepre-
sentjed as a ruinous game, m copse(j^Qi)c^
^ Vol X, pages 404 and 4Q5*
. TBfeSfilT STATE OF XlSP*
5i
«f the enarmocis bets which are made
opooit.
Customs and manners. This is the sati-
rical portion of the wurk« aud not the lea.st
valuable. In ''the form of a fragnn^ut
upon the state of the Roman colonies in
Africa, one writer insinuates that tl)e In-
dian and Negro female slaves are the mis-
tresses of the Spanish husbands, the bawds
of thdr wives, and the nurses of their
children: that they sway die fashions,
direct the education^ and contaminate tiie
morals of the youths and tliat their influ-
ence is so great, that the European wo-
men even imitate them as far as possible.
Another satirist exhibits a Peruyi.m beauty
in a dream, thcr^ to expose tlie manners
of his countrywomca.
"Observe attcnliTcJ)' : tiiat white whiel^
Birprises thee so much, is a thin coat of ar-
senic or while lead, laid on with art, and in a
jnanntf ghied to the skin. This Is a despi-
cable cuiitoni in ;^ny other nation ; but, among
the countr\ women of Eugenia, it is abso-
lutely crimiiial, seeing that, by its adoption,
the)*' injure and tamish their natural whiteness,
that surprizing whiteness w^hich excites the
envy of ail the other ladies in the wv^rld. Art
thou desirous to sec tlje mischiefs by which
this detestable paint is accompanied ? Eeuiark
the foreiieafl, which has a somewhat dispro-
portionate width : it proves that the hair has
Moi odf at the teujples, by the friction of
thijMle ingredient. Observe, now that she
«mil«: she has several decayed teeth; and
if it uca* lawful for tliee to approrxii her,
thou u-oaldest be sensible that her brcatii even
is m some measure vitiated. All these arc
consequences of the same abuse.'
^'''fhe hands,' exclahned in continuation
the scnipnlous censor, * those hands which,
pbvsically, arc beyond a doubt well shaped,
delicate, and hambH^ntc, have, in a moral
pojnt of view, several very notable delects,
ihose honourable marks which the use of tJie
needle, or of the di-stai}', occasionally leave.<,
are not to be traced ion them. Among her
countrywomen, it is considered as derogatory,
to know how to take up a Iof)p in a stocking ;
aad but few are to be fmmd who arc able to
embioida' a pair of rnliies, for the husb.aud,
cr few the boy^. Tlie discoloration wiiirh is
« pqceptible at th^ tijis of the tliumb, tore-
ft^jer, and miiidk hnger of thp right hand, is
Dving to these extremities being logularly
made to answer the purpoA2 of tlic tork, i^
t.V repasts -.-—a filthy pnictlce by' which the
strongest stomacii must be nauseated. loi:-
twat«iy, however, this indelicacy is not to be
found among certain principal nympl^ who
ait the Mower ami the ^lory of ihi4t Ifighly far
voun^d country.'^
It is carsoQ8^ that what Ben Jonspn c;ill3
' the laudable use of forks
Brought into custom here, as they are in Italy
To the sparing o' napkins,'
should not yet have become general ia
the Spanish and Portugueze colonies. Per-
haps they agree with the German diving
who preaclied against tl>e custom, and
said it was an insult against Providence
jiot to touch one's meat with one's fingers,.
*' The most conspicuous part of the cos-
tume is thcfaldtttin, or short hoop pettkroat,
more particularly worn in the carriage, and at
pulilic eulertainments. It is made of richly
embroidered cloth, velvet, &c. ; ia rendereci
Hexible by the means of wlialebonc ; and
provided with a .wadduig, to give it a greater
protuberance, so as to display the ankle mor^
perfectly. U is attended, nowever, by this in-
convenience, that, m climbing a hill, or oi|
any sudden jnotion, the wearer makes an ex-
poiiure which borders on indc^cency. Its nu^
merous plaits cause it to assume a variety o|
graceful fornis, at the same tune that they
n^nder it very costly, fifteen yards of stufi'at
the least being consumed in the 'outward co^
vering. Tiie expence of this article of dresj^
alone, is rated at between ^hree and four hun-
dred crowns ; notwitlistanding which, a mo-
di.sh female of lima seldom pays a ceremoni-
ous visit, without having previously had re-
course to ttie Bodtgoius, tlie pruitipal street
in which the fiishionmongers reside, for a^a/-
dellin of the newest taste. In tiieir jewels,
and, in general, in every part of th^:u: dress,
the ladies of the Peruvian capital are equally
extravagant,
*' One of their favourite oniame^ts is th^
puchcTO de flores, or nosegay, which, as it
may ser\'e to ilhistrate the progress of luxury
in that capital, with tiic civil history of whi(;h it
is in some degree coimected, merits a detailed
tloscription. Its basis con<h5ts of the blossom
of a small apple of llio size of a nut, of a white
lily, of one or two roee-buds, of tht^ same num-
ber of cherry-l)lossonis, and of tlie flowers of
the Seville orange ; the whoU* laid on a plane-
leaf, of tlie dimension of the cigliih part of a
siieet of paper. On the suriti- e <>f tin's plane-
leaf are cii5:i)0sed chamomile- tlowers, the
flowers of the yellow lily, violets, daisies, and
tliyme , and, over thesc'again, a small branch
ot'bazil mint, anoUier of a s^t^t pea bearing
a violet rtower intermixed with white, and,
occaisionally, a stem of hyacinth, a branch of
the odoriferous rush liaving yellow llowers
and white leaves, and the blossoms of a small
fruit, a kind of strawberry, but larger in size.
Having been sprinkled with a watei* of a com-
mon scent, or with a spiritqus solution of
amber, this pwr^ero is valued at half a real.
"The ditTerent aggregates, such as the
Ho^soHis of the little orange of Quito, of the
apricot, of tJie small apples' which have an am-
ber colour, of the larger fmits, and of the med-
lar, ^jetiier wWi tlie chir'imoya,* camations»
♦ A flower of pieao appearance, b«t of exquisite scent.— ^V/ocr.
58
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
►wers, anemones, tulips, and other
liowers in full season, being conjoined with a
puchfro of double or treble the size of the
simple one, augment its price to two or three
piastres. Its value is raised or diminished, in
proportion to the private festivities which are
on foot, and to the times of tlie public fes-
tivals.
" To the augmentation of value above-
mentioned, is to be superadded the price of
the flower named ariruma, which is so arbi-
trary, that it rises from six reals \o six or seven
piastres, accorduig to the season, or to the de-
mands of the pur hasers. Artificial flowers
of this description liaving been recently intro-
duced, have in some measure dimhiished the
value of the natural ones. It is, however, to
be noticed, that the puchcro of natural flowers
is to be procured at every season of tlie year,
there bemg simply a variation of the more
exquisite flowers, which, for want of a proper
degree of skill in the culture, are not at all
times obtainable.
"This indBpensabte luxury is purchased
by all the different classes of females, in a
street fronting the steps of the cathedral
church, from which it is distant about fifty
paces. Thence the expectants proceed, either
to seek diversion from the chances which .may
present themselves, or to wait the appoint-
incnts that have been already made. It is
needless to add, that the Cafle delPeligi^o
(Hazard-street), for so this street is denomi-
nated, on account of the dangers to which li-
bertines wei-e formerly exposed, in their in-
tercourse with the abandoned females by
whom it was freauented, still contbues to be
the rendezvous of gallantry.
*' The station occupied by the women who
deal in flowere, is divided between those whose
speculations are on a large siale, and the re-
tailers. The former have their backs to the
church; each of them confining herself to
one or two species of flowers. 1 hey are the
female gardeners ; and in their firont are rang-
ed those wlio make thepwcA^ro*, on the tables
placed before them. Thev are very intent
on this occupation, and at the same tune very
courteous.
" In private houses, the puchero, or that
which correspond^ to the pucfuro, is constant-
ly made to serve as a<iomestic and favourite
gratification. I'hc ladies select the flowers,
and free them from the sandy and seminal
particles, which are apt to soil, and are de-
void of scent ; such as the yellow at the ex-
tremity of the orange-flower, the fibrils of
which give out an amber stain, in common
with those of the daisy and rose-bud, and of
the blossoms of the mti<ilar, apple, and smaller
fruits. Having sprinkled them afresh with the
purest water, thijy are placed beneath a cry-
stal vase, into which is introduced a small
chafing-dish filled with live coals. On this
chafing-dish is poured the most exquisite per-
fume, blend- mI with di(Vere|itaix)matics, to the
end that the natural fragfancy of the flowers
xna} be heightened.
" This delicate operation havini^ been per-
for.ned, an economical distribution is made
among the ladies who are present Each
places her portion hi her bosom, and thence
presents her favourite with an orange-blossoin,
or a small bunch of flowers, which sometimes
receive a greater value from the beautiful
• hand that bestows them, tlian from that of
Nature herself."
The portrait of the men is even more
unfavourable than that of the women.
Satirists use dark colours, but even in
caricature they endeavour to preserve
some likeness. Unless those writers fouUy
belie tlieir countrymen, a detestable vice
is practised at Lima, which, to the honour
of tlie Spanish peninsula, is no more to-
lerated there than in England.
Essay on the false rel i^ion and sup^rsii^
thus customs of tfte Peruvian Indians, The
chief deities were Apuinii, the sun, the
lord and father j Uuiri Inti, son of the
sun ; Imic Vauqui, brother of tlie sun ;
and Tarigalajuray one in three and three
in one, if this interpretation is to be be-
lieved. Besides these there was the idol
Rimac, or the speaker, — who may have
been their oracle j and Pachacamac the
omnipotent, whom they regarded as above
all, the deity whom perhaps tlie priests
acknowledpd, who invented idols for the
people. For private and particular devo-
tion they had household gods called Cono^
pas or Guisicamai/ec, lords of tlie house :
Compos, stones to whom they prayed for
water ; Htiancas, other stones erected in
tlieir plantations that they might lighten
the toil of the husbandman 3 and Mama-
tcras, long cylindrical stones w4io were
to take care of the maize, and supply
abundant crops. To bestow upon these
poor idolaters, immersed as they were in
darkness and error, the intelligence diey
needed, the essayist tells us, immense
vvisdom prepared the fittest means. It
discovered to Europe this valuable part of
the globe, and transferred its dominion by
the right of concjuesl to Spain !— Happy
change for the Peruvians ! it is true that
tliose who were not put to the sword were
made slaves, and that a few millions have
been worked to death in tlie mines -, but
what is that to the incalculable advantages
communicated to their posterity ? Have
they not got nuns instead of Adlacunas,
and the trtie trinity instead of Tariga-
tqnga ; crucifixes and madonnas instead of
Guasitnacoyea at home j and crosses in tlie
fields instead of Conipas, Huancas, and
Mamateras, besides a whole array of
saints to pray to into the bargain.
Accowu of the costumes, superstitions.
rRBSEMT STATE OF PERU.
sr
€»i exercises r of die Indians qf the Pampa
id Sacramento and Andes mountains of
Pent. The country in which liars and
dreamers placed El Dorado with its capi-
tal Mansa^ is inhabited by various savage
tribes in a miserable st^ge of ignorance.
Their complexion would be almost of £a-
ropean whiteness^ if exposure and un-
guents had not made them swarthy : they
are well made and strong, because they
murder the deformed infant, and their
habits of life destroy the feeble one. To
make the body strong they bind the waist
and the joints of their male infants witli
hempen bands, and they flatten the head
before and behind to make them like the
fiill moon. Unmarried women go naked
among them, and among those tribes who
inhabit the warmer parts, aU are naked.
ITicy have no idols, but worship the maker
of the world during the time of an earth-
quake, and only then. They call him
hther, and believe that having made the
world he retired, into heaven. An evil
being is also acknowledged by them,
whom they place in the centre of the
eanh. Their conjurers represent them-
selves as his delegates, Mc/umes or ^g»-
rrros Mr. Skinner calls them, overlook-
ing that the latter word is only a Spaniard's
translation of the former. Polygamy is
only in use among the Caciques, yet they
delight in aphrodisiacs, and some circum-
stances are raentioned which indicate a
loathsome sensuality^ as degrading as that
of the Polynesians.
Their notions of a future state differ in
different tribes. Some expect a world
like their owii, with plenty of boiled plan-
tains and juf:as, where they shall %ht
with thunder and lightning, and sport in
the milky way, which is the grove of di-
versions. Others believe in transmigra-
tion, and worship the particular beast into
which they conceit their father or their
cacique has passed. They cultivate cot-
ton tor the only garments they use j and
yuca of which they make their only drink,
for the water is miwholesome. Stone
hatchets and wooden tools are tlieir only
impJements of husbandly. They use poi-
fontd weapons against wild beasts, but
never in war j an extraordinary fact, that
having such means of destruction^ a sense
of honour, or humanity, or policy, should
prevent them from exercising them. War
is the main business of their lives. Tliey
bring home tlie heads of their enemies,
make necklaces of tlie teeth, and masks
of the &kin, and hang up the skulls as
ornaments from the roofs of their dweJl-
injs. Among the Itucalis, a warrior.
whenever he carries home the tead of an
enemy, opens the skin of his own nose,
and puts in the little hiLsk of the palm
und^ it, just upon the brid|^. A nose
completely embossed from the top to the
tip in this maimer, is as honourable as a
blue ribband in England. What is most
remarkable is, that they treat their prison-
ers with great humanity, in all respects <
like brethren.
Account qf the public congi-eg^ations of
the negroes residing in the district qf Lima.
The^ negroes are divided into ten casts, ac-
cording to their original countries j each
cast lias its own chief, and two head cor*-
porals are chosen as chiefs of the whole :
each has its meetings, in which the con*-
tributions for their festivals are fixed, ac-
counts rendered, and disputes between
husband and wife, &c. settled. All tte
festivals of these poor people are connect*
ed with religion, but it is surprizing to
find that certain ceremonies, which are
clearly derived from their native super-
stitions, should still be permitted to them.
Historical and chorographical descrip^
tion qf the province of Chichas y Tat-ija.
Francisco Tarija, who left his name to Uiis
province, might serve as the hero of a
romance. Leaving Pizarro and Almagrd
to devastate Peru, and to turn their arms
against each other, he with a small band
of followers penetrated to this fertile
valley, when tlie natives who bad never .
been subject to the Yiicas, and had never
heard of the Spaniards, received him with
resi^ect and awe. Here he settled, and
peaceably began to teach the lodians the
language of Spain, and the habits of civi-
lized life. But his numbers were insuf-
ficient, and after his death they relapsed
into their former stajte, preserving no,
other relic of his language than his name,
which tfiey gave to the valley, as it is be-
lieved, in aflection to his memory. The'
larg« teeth are again mentioned in this
paper, but the .writer has too much com*
nion sense to dream that they can have
been l^uraan. A great blunder of the
translator occurs here , he says tliat the
chronicles of Flavius Dexter, &c. '* were
extracts surreptitiously made from father
Gerommo, aYonuince qf la Higuera*" The
fact is, they were fabricated by the Jesuit
Jlieroni/mo Reman de la Higuera, and Mr. '
Skinner has converted his name into a
romance !
PI ait for gaining access to, and peopling
the Andes mountains of tlie province q/
GuamalicSf proposed and set on foot by Don
Juan de Bczarcs, The projector of diis
new seltlemeut is a merchaia of Lima,
J8
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
miaatuif in a copies perspiration, le%v«
hiin free from every ailnjient. Tht few trials
of this remedy which have been made, have
been extremely successful against siphvlis;
and if the practical enquiries that have been
^ecent^y instituted should coixe^pond uith
them, cures may be effected by the means»of
one of the most surprizing simples for which
medicine is indebted to the American contt'
nen|. The production of a wonn, which the
Indiaas name susiillo, and by which a paoer,
very similar, to that made in China, is fabri-
cated, has been hitherto uiUtnowi to' all tht
naturalists.*
Bezares obtained the sanction Of the
government to form settlements here, an4
it is supposed that his plans will be pnr*
sued; — ^but however well di.^posed the
government njay be to such projects, po-
pulation is wanting; nor is there that en«,
terprize in the people which in North
America almost supplies the want of po-
pulation, and secures whole provinces of
forests and savannahs to be cultivated by
their childrens' children.
Repopulaiion qftke valUy of Vitoc. This
paper communicates sonie curious histo^
rical infbnnation. In 1^42 Juan Santos
Atahualpa fled into the mountains to
escape punishment for murder. He called
upon tiie Indians, boasting bis descent
from the Yncas,-*4ind by his n^me it ap-
pears that some such descent liad been al«
lowed by the Spaniards, took the title of
Apu-Inga Kuapiacapac, and proclaimed
himself the restorer of the empire of his
ancestors. A multitude of Indians joined
him, five and twenty towns-r-or more aci
curately speaking, establishments of the
Franciscans were demolished, and Qui^
miri, an important post. Conquered, an(l
its governor burned in it? ruins. T\\^
valley of Vitoc, which was then overruu,
* This catir pillar is bred in the facae, a tree well known in Peni, and named by the Peru-*
vian Flora, MS. mimosa inga. In ppopoKion to the vigour and majestic growth of this tjree,
U tlie number of the insects it nourishef;, and vvhicii ^re of the kind an4 si^ of the bombyx^ as
Bilk wonn. Wjien tliey aue con^jHctely satiated, they unite at the body of the tree, seeking
the part whicli is best adapttxl to tlie extension they Have to take. They there foi in, witfi ti\^
greatest sjTnmetry and logularity, a web which is 'larger or smaller, accprdkig to the number
of the operants ; and more or lesjs pliant, according to the quality of tlie l«af by which they have
been nourished, the whole of them reniaming beneath. This envelope, on which they be-
stow such a texture, cowisteticy, ami lustre, that it canndt be decomposed by any practicable
expedient, having been finished', they all of them unite, and ranging Uicmsdves in vertical aqd
even files, Ibrm in the-centre a perfect square. Being thus dis{H)scd, eacli of tl^em lualoes its
cocoon, or pod, of a /:oafse ana short silk, in which it is tran&iormed, from the grub tQto tbtt
chrifsalisy zxnX from the chrysalis into the papilio, or nioth. In propprtJAHi as tljuey 9ftenvar4
cttiit their confinement, to take wing, they detach, wiierever it is mosjit convcni«ij^ jto Ihein,
their envelope, or web, a portion of which remains suspended to the tiimk of the tnee, wher«
it waves to and fro like a streamer, and which becomes ihore or less wliite, accordii>g to th.e
air and humidity the season and situation admit. A complete nest l\as already been trans^
initted to his cattioltc majesty ; and, by the hands of his naturalist, Don Antonio Pineda, ^
piece (if this natural silk paper> nu»|suriiig a yard and a half, of dn elliptical shape, whick i^
ptxAilj^r to all of tjiepi,
who wbe^ cm the point of Fetorning to
his native cmmtry with a respectable for-
tune, met with a Spaniard who had long
led a sava^ life among these Indians, and
represented to him their docility, and the
advantages of the country. Bezares de-
voted his property to civilizing the.se
people, and i^eclaiming them to Christian-
ity, from which,' since tlie unhappy extinc-
tion of the Jesuits, they had filleu. Un^
bappy we <^1 tliat extinction, because of
all tlie moiia:ritic orders they only were
well employed. Upwards of twenty
(towns which they had established were
found ia ruias,'>-"tbe term of course has
not its. European aigni^cation, but it im«
plies fixed dwellings, and habits of do*
mestication and agriculture, the first rudi-»
raents of civilization. The tree which
yields tlie red bark grows here in great
abundance, and also the yellow bark,
neither of which had been calculated
upon. Other promising productions have
been discovered.
<* Bejrares met with a description of very
lofty trees, the wood of whkh is unknown,
but valuable, not only because, with all its
foiidity, it yields with equal suppleness to the
plane and tlie cl^isel ; but likewise op account
of its 5«)ii-violet colour, by which it appears
to he, in preference to any other wogd, adapt-
ed to the purpose of dyemg. He found ano-
ther tree which produces, m the shoots of its
hrajiches, a resinous substance in grains, of a
gieenish hue, whidi, as he pro^^ed it to be an
eilectual substitute for sealuig-wax, is appa-
rently calcufctcd for many ases. A kind of
0zk": or wiHqw, which grows in thip territory,
is de; med by the liidians a qieeific in com-
pla'unts of the bowels, and is named by them
ccUnturc, because, b employing its decoc-
ticm in cases of the most violent rheumatic
liticctions, the patient is subjected for three
&f lour hcure to a violent fever, which, ter-
HESENT STATE OF PEHU.
«
WM only beginning to be repeopled when
tbe tern ian Mercury was publihlied : the
new Yuca then possessed liis acquisitions
m peace, but Jefc no successor. An f n-
dian Toussaint might shake tlie Spanish
empire in Peru.
Periodical u^orks. Mexico supports a
gazette^ a civil tliary, and another of nj-
tural history. The Peruvians r.ow rival
this fiourishing state of hterature; a Di-
afio £oo:)&iiiico was started at Lima^ and
soon followed by this Mercurio Peruano,
which commenced in 1791. The Sema-
narioCritico fallowed this, :ind it was then
boasted that Lima had at lengtli placed
itaOif 00 a footing with Mexico, at the
time of the greatest splendour of the latter
city, by possessing a Diary, a Mercury,
anda Weekly Critic. In the same year
a periodical paper \\ as set on foot at Santa
Fe de Bogota, and o^iother at Quito, —
symptoms of improvement those, but
which also prove diat literature had d^;-
cJined in the Spanish colonies as well a in
the mother coxmtry, and that its revival
was later. Nor are these symptoms en-
couraged: die editor into rms us that the
Mercur}', after having been progressively
subjected to a variety of restraints, was
finally discoi^tinued in 1 7i)6.
Pdiiicai economy . The ccadem ical so -
cietywho published tiie Mcrciuy, offer a
gold meual of eleven ouncx^s, with a ring
and chain g£ gold for the bc^t plan for
iniprming die roads, which are in a
miserable state, and a silver piedal tor the
second best. One only was *icn i i n , w hicli
was pot thought worthy of either. The
bishop of Quito^has exerted liimself to
promote tlie same desirable object, and
ecbscribed five hundred piastres towaidfi
opening a road in his dioce<e. He al^o
offered a premium to the best baker, — a
6ct v/hich proves his own excellent wishes
«nd, iauntion?, and cKposes at di<> same
lime the sad condition of th^ colony.
JBiovrapAy. 'J his article contains bio-
graphical skctclies of P. Juan Perez Me-*
fiacho, a theologian of the siKteeuth cen«
tiiry, remarkabW for his stature and his
rtruttg memory ; of D. Antonio Lewn Pi-
neloj a useiul, hiborious, and learned
writer of the sei^irteei^th ceiittiry ; F.
Fnmcitico d^l Castello, a biimi iuipiovi-
i'iiore, not long dead ; and 1). Diego Lo-
pez, who lost hij wi%s iu ^tlenapting t^
*<j«ai>e the circk.
Lmgevit^. A single instance is given
» a DftCive SpaiifanL who lived to l)e J 33.
An article upoa imr^oroiir^' a>ncluvietf
An appendix of considerable length it
added, containing a history of tbe mis-
sions of Caxamarquilla, of the origin and
loss of those of Manoa, and the travels ot'
P. Manuel Sobreviola, by the river Hual-
laga to the lake of Gran Cocama in l/QO,
and of F. Njirciso Girbal y Barcelo by the
Marannon and Ucayali to the tribes of
Manoa in 179I, with an account by So*
breviela of the entrances into the ^noun*
tainous country made at difterent timet
by the Franciscans, whom Mr. Skinner^
according to the conmiou error of Kuglisk
wr i ters, call s monk s instead of friars . So-
brevicla's map was not in the volumes
which fell into the translator's bands.
We do aotrccoUect whethw the great
map of Spanish ^Vmerica be of a later
date than l/CjO, or if, as we rather think
it be, his survey would be included 5 but
in any case that^map should be reduced
for the subsequent edidons of this work.
A few curious circumstances respecting
the Indians and the country may bt
gleaned from this portion of the volume.
Tlieir mode of catching wild beasts might
usefully be practised wherever man it
placed among such bad neighbotirs.
" They nuke a narrow passage fomied by
stakt s of a competent thickness, and six feet in
length, well Iksteued together and fixed in the
earth. The top, and one of the .entrances,
are secured by other stakes of the s^me dc-.
scrii>lion : in the middle of the pusoage thor j
is a divisioji. At the cntraiice which is Itft
oprn, a stout plank, supported by a cod
which Is slightly secured m the ftoiit of the
paisage, is siMfa^uded. >yhen tiw bowlings of
a tiger are heaid, a dt^ l^ shut up in the m-
ner division, who, iindiiig himself in confine^
nient, begins to howl. The tyger instantly
darts forwrarcl, tliinking himself secure of hia^
pay, and bAn^ mublo to find any other pas*,
sage than the one where the plank is suspend-,
ed, enters tliat wa\ . Now entangling hmiself
in the cord, he spfaig^, throws (kAvn the plank,
and linds himself hemmed in without bein^
able to hurt llie dog, who is protected by th<£
division of boardii. A4ter having ainusc4
diemselves untiixthc animal becomes furi^us^
tlie isdians put him to death with ihch clubs
^d arrows."
Wolves are trapped in a like manner
in some paru of Europe ; diere is a pruit
of such a sn^te in one of the early volunoet
of the Gv^ntleman s Magazine. Some od4
diiugs ar4f rdated of diese American ty«
gers, that they watch for die cayman m
the \>mVM of tKe Ucayali, and fasteu tbeir
dawt in his eyes, the only part which they
can pierce ; and that when they catch a
turtle, diey imitate nian, by turoixig it on
4(6 b£H:t^ ^ tbmi »f curift^ It Fokcoof
a>
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
ve know catch eels, but when tygers turn
turtle-eaters it is time for the court of
aldermen to take alarm.
The remains of one of tlie Yncas
brifkesare still to be seen over the mouth
of the lake Lauricocha, where tlie Tun-
garagua^ one of the sources of the Maran-
Don, issues from it. They are stone py-
ramids, excellently wrought, a yard and
Iralf square, and placed a yard asunder 5
does Mr. Skinner mean pillars when he
6ays pyramids ? — his grandilocjuous style
€>*tcn obscures and sometimes destroys
his meaning. We read in this volume
of the cxplcration of America, of gratuitous
crogadons, of decorticating the trees, of
retrograding on foot, and of s fluviatic
voyage. This gentleman would have
written better English if he had not had
the misfortune of learning Latin.
The navigation of the Marannon is re-
markably inconvenient. Even English
♦ sailors would object to going under water
•n their floats in the whirlpools or pongo*.
'* These pongos are straits formed by high
and pendant clilfs, over whidi the descending
torrents force a passage with such a degree of
violence, as to occasion terrible billows, eddies,
aiui whirl^)ooltJ, by which tlie balsas are sub-
merged. The latter are composed of fifteen
logs or beams of wood, twelve }ards in length,
and somiwhat less in their united breadth,
the narro\^nessof the pongos not admitting a
greater extension. They are furnished with
aloft)' and solid tilt, formed of canes, beneath
which the cargoes are made secure with strong
cords. At the extremities, as well as at the
parts where tlie beams are united, other beams,
ialf a vard in hcaght, are tinnir attached in
' the manner of small pillars ; and by these the
navigators secure themselves, attlic time when
the balsa„ which, hotrever, speedily returns
to float on the water, is submeiged iu Uic
pongos."
The information comprized in this vo-
lume is new and highly interesting 5 a
more modest title, however, would have
been more decorous. Information con-
cerning Peru, — or Transactions of the So-
ciety at Lima. A curious book concern-
ing this country might certainly be com-
piled at Lima, from a few volumes of the
Monthly Magazine, but it would not be
accurate to call it the Present State of Eng-
land. We very much disapprove the
manner in which it is dedicated to lord
Melville : as if no information were wel-
come to government but such as could bo
subservient to mischievous pur|K)ses. It
is the dread of such buccaneering schemes
as are evidently in the writer's mind, which
has rendered Spain i^ jealous of suffering
any accounts of her colonies to be made
public, and such schemes are merely buc-
caneering. What madman dreams of sub-
duing Peru } and expeditions which end
only in plunder are disgraceful to the na-
tion that undertakes them. The Spaniards
have been forced into the war against their
wishes and against tlieir interest, — ^it is
both for the honour and interest of Eng-
land to show that she is sensible of this,
by sparing Spain as far as may be possible.
Willingly would Spain throw off the yoke
of France and become our friend, for of all
nations in Europe it is the best disposed
toward us ; every thing which weakens
that noble nation, delays the day of its
deliverance, and aids tlie policy of Bona-
parte.
Art XL A Tmr in Zealand in the Year 1 802, xvith an Historical Sketch of the Baltk cf
Copenhagen. ByaNativeqfDciwiark. Tk£ seco?id Edition, 12mo. pp. 182.
THE Danes arc a brave, generous, and
grateful j^eople ; and slight as is the sketch
here presented by a native of the manners
of his countrymen, every now and then
an anecdote occurs which gives a mo-
mentary interest to the narrative. Den-
mark has been singularly fortunate in her
ministers of state : the yoke of dej^endence
on the court of Russia, which it was the
patriotic wish of the unfortunate count
de Strucnsee -to throw off, was removed
by the more skilful genius of the younger
Bernstorff, who also completed the pro-
ject of emancipatioB, undertaken by his
illustrious uncle, the old count de Bern-
storff.
It is singular enotigh that the enfranchise-
ment of the peasants was a scheme which
Catharine, probably to weaken the power
of the nobility, endeavoured to bring
about in the Russian erhpire. To a simi-
lar manoeuvre recourse has^ been had in
most countries in Europe, and wherever
it succeeded the monarch has found a
power succeed more jealous of despotic
authority than that which it destroyed.
In England, some of our most despotic
monarchs incorporated several small towns,
and conferred on them the privileges of
royal boroughs, that tliey might send bur-
geSses to parliament, and thus counter-
balance tlie preponderating power of the
nobility : Henry the eighth gave to twelve
counties, and to the same number of bo-
rouglis in Wales, the right of sending each
a representative to parliament. Edward
▲ TOUR ISt ZEALAtYD.
61
liie sixth created thirteen boroughs, and
restored ten to the privileges which^ from
long (tisuetude^ they had fbifeited 5
Mary created ten, Elizabeth twenty-four.
The same policy was observed in France :
Louis le Gros, in the early part of the
twelfth cenfniy, was the tirst who endea-
voured to counterbalance the formidable
power of his vassals, by conferring impor-
tant privileges on the towns within his
o«-n dominion. Still fartlier to depress
the aristocrac)', Philip the Fair, in a sub-
sequent period of time, introduced tlie
deputies of free towns into the states ge-
Aeral of the nation. The emperors of
Germaoy, in order to undermine the ba-»
ronial power^ which they were not strong
enough to oppose openly, elevated tlie
clergy. Tlie consequence was fatal : pa-
pal authority rose resistless, and trampled
on the imperial insignia.
The Russian nobi^y had too many ex-
amples before their eyes to be seduced
into a measure which they feared would
diminish their opulence and authority.
Whether the present emperor Alexander
may be aWc or willing to effect what the
great Catharine failed in, time only can
unfold* The elder Benistorff, however.
Dot dismayed by the failure of a project
which, whatever might have been its im-
mediate object. Would eventually improve
tlie character and condition of a large mass
of people, sacceeded in liberating from
bondage the peasantry of Denmark. Ig-
norant people are often unacquainted with
their own interests : the author of this
Tour, whose signature, A. Andersen, is
annexed to the dedication, says, that at
first the abolition of vassalage, by which
«ery peasant became his own master,
and enjoyed the fruits of his own labour,
was considered rather as an hardship than
as a blessing. Lands were parcelled out
in lots, upon which farm houses were
erected, and those peasants only remained
in the villages where lands were conti-
guous. The others, however, were placed
in a situation in which they knew not how
to begin business : removed from a &rm
the good and bad qualities of which tliey
were acquainted with, some of tliem were
perhaps invested with a sterile part, or al-
lotment of a common. An agricultural
society, however, was formed,' which re-
warded individual exertions* in husbandry,
and activity and diligence were crowned
with merited success. The change lias
been as beneficial as the warmest philan-
thropist could have wi^^hed, or the most
e^r zealot hare anticipated.
The peasantry, nmsed from their tor^
por, have testified the sense they since ac-
quired of their ameliorated condition, and
die grateful feelings with which they are
impressed towards their benefactors, by
erecting stones in memorial of tlieir deli-
verance, and in honour of their deliverers.
Mr. Andersen has called his book the
narrative of a Tour in Zealand: by ^
plying the compasses to his scale of Ba-
nish miles, at the bottom of a neat littk
map of the island, it does not appear thalt
his peregrination at any time exceeded
half a dozen miles from Copenhagen, or
that the whole extent of his tofwr could be
five and twenty ! From th© capital he went
to Roeskilde, then proceeded north as far
as Elsineur, and coasted along Uie Sound
back again to Copenhagen.
We have said that the Danes are a ^-
lant people j henceforth let it be recorded,
to tlie honour of the north, that diey are
also a most gallant one. Several young
women, whose Itfvers were killed in the
memorable battle of the 2d of April, IBOI,
received relief from the patriotic fund
which was established on tliat occasion.
The historical sketch of the battle of
Copenliagen, which is annexed to this
tour, is full, and, no doubt, accurate.
The engagement did infinite honour to the
bravery of both parties : the Danes wem
certainly unprepared for it, and at this
time would present a far more formidable
resistance. As it was. Lord Nelson did
not hoist the white flag until two British
ships of the line, by running foul of each
otlier, got aground, and were raked by
red hot balls t'rom the battery of the three
crowns.
The day of peril and of suffering was
to tlie Danes the commencement of a new
era in their military establishment ; and
the great accession of strength which their-
navy has received since that event, testifies
the confidence they repose in its exertions
on any future emergency.
Within the space of one year afler the
battle of Copenliagen, a fund of upwards
of fifty thousand pounds was raised, the
interest of whicli is applied to tjie main-
tenance, relief, antl education of about six
hundred and fifty persons, who had suf-
fered either individually or by their con-
nections in that engagement. When any.
of these pensioners die, the portion em-
ployed in his maintenance reverts to the
capital, which is established in perpetuity
for the encouragement of the navy. On
the first of July, 1S<X), the total number
oi guns on Danish ihips, fit for service.
^
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
was one* tliouttiftd aeven hundred and thirty
«Xiand©fun«en'iccablegunseightliuiulieU
aod eighiy-two. Ca|>tain HohlcDberg bad
been apjwiuted constructor of the royal
iiavyinihe)t?ar J79(>; he travelled llirough
the prioclpal maritime countries in Eu-
rope, and i«turned to Denmark, where
hici geuius and exfcnious were inddiatigably
and successfully employed. In the year
2800 it appeiirs, from the above statement,
that very i>iarly one-third (not ab Air. An-
dersen has erroncou-ly stated more than one
iialf) of the Danish navy consisted of ships
incapable of patting to sea, being eitlier
entirely superannuated or standing in want
of repair. On the l>.t of July, 180J, tlie
•liips fit for service carried two thousand
one hundred and eit^hty-twno guns, aixl
those in an unsen'iccuble state one hun-
dred and seventy eight only, which is not
ane-tliirteenth of the w hole. If this ac-
count is convct, however, it appears that
the Danes had not yet eniployc4 all the
guns from ihiMr mv«erviceabie ships. Tiie
statement will stand tHus :
Jul\, 1800.
Ships fit for 5Jcr\Tce carried - 173G ( ogig
July, iSOJ. .
Ships fit for sorvico carried - 2 1 B J ( ,^,gQ
— - uuiitfor surviLc - 17^5 i*
258
Thus, the nnrocrical majority of guns
employed in the navy was greater by two
liundred and tifiy-eight in the year 1800
than in the year 1 BO'i.
Within the siime space of time the
ro^'al na\nl acuhMiiy doubled the number
«»*' its midshipmen, a proportion ofwiiora
make an annual excurion on board a fri-
gate to tlie Ikllvc, under tlic inspection of
a superintendant.
" A battel-^ ciill( :l Prc>pves<(»cn (Ih^Tomli-
rtone) was civilod in il\i* si'u, to th<.' south-
vard of tlii» cily, t.> prevent an enemy from
kombardinj; the doc-k-yards and otiier im-
^rtitnt pbci*<. Tl.e pLui of this battci-y was
laid before Christian \ I. and approved by
hiiu the 2d April, 174'J; a remarkable day,
as the eiltectsot tiiat r.egliqence wiiich sutlered
the buttery to go to decay, were nioat severely
felt on the same day in 1801.
" To replace tiiis battery, the Elephant, the
Sotmd, and the Princess Vilhclmiiia were cut
do^ii, Ailed wtti) ballast, and groOiKted in tJ^
ruim, to raise' a fouudatiun tor a neu* fort»
This undtirlaking is pursued most zealously,
and a few years will, 1 hojxi, cxliibit as line »
batter}' there, as that we have to the north of
the city, calhxl the M'hrce C'nmns. This last
batterv was coiiPtmcte<l at tljc distance of tw<^
milc!» from ?hore, on the plan ot our ingenious
Commodore Gerner,* wlw dying before it
was comphHed, tJie batterj- wa? sunered to go
almost to dc*cay; but in 1801 it became aa.
object of more serious attention. I'pon liic
approach of the British Heet it was hurried
uito a state of toh^.'ble defence, though un-
fiimished with eitljer bix^ast-work, or powder
magazine. However, three furnaces were
completed for heating balls, and the batterv
being foilwrjrtety made like a horse-shoe, with
a tolerable large' harbour in the centre, showers
of shell.:, which would otherwise have annoyed
the garrison very materially, only whihtied by
their ears, an. I buried themselves in the water.
" After tiie battle the East India ConijKinY
furnished govcniment with a large quantity of
cotton, in bags, and many individuals col-
lected empty ^ugar bags; they were filled
with sand, ^\hieh, with the cotton bags, made
a most excellent breast-work all rcHind the
garrison, in two days every thing was dis-
posed to meet whatever danger might occur.
" A priyect has, likewise, been attempted
for the cretlion of a.third battery on the side
hnmediat'-ly opjx)site. b'hould this ever be
accomplUlied, the Danish metropolis may be
considencl imprei^nable, as in the citadel, Vre-
derick^liavn, a line of formidable batteries
have been raised just above the water's edge,
which, together with the nim})firts, are con-^
stracted so as to cross their iire with the batn
teries iu the sea, though the distance cousi-.
dered, certa'uily with no ^^reat effect, unles»-
parlicubr circum:»tances should favour the
eat ranee of an enemy to tlie inner roads.
** New batteries have likewise been raised
onllie iit-w dock-yard and ail along the tx)ast of
Amack, so that it the cnemy,8onie years hence,"
should aitem[)t making any impression on Co-
penhag(*n by £ea, he would, upoe the smallest
c;ompi;(tition, be welcomed with upwaids of
live iiundred guns, most of which are long
tiiirly-six pounders, hidependent of mortaiN,
that throw shells of no less than one hundred
and litty pomids weiglrt.
" l^ouble ramparts have been elevated,
and fosses du^ horn the batteries on the shore
of Amack, adjoining the Baltic, down to the
western gate, a distance of one and « half
English miles.
'* Thus tlic 2d of April, 1801, surpassed t}«
uninternipted calm ol ^i eighty years' peace
in yielding substantial benehts to Denmark,
uidependeiit of the s]>eedy re-establisluBieut of
♦ Commodore Geraer died in 1784. He invented a madiine worked %7 etrht liorges^
which drains the ro>al dock in twenty-four hours ; a tjftk which formerly emploTcd ^^p^ hun-
dred sailors iiu essantly for three days. I remember once to have been in thin dock mlb tw»
Englisli sea captains, wiio paid many obliging compliments to tlie ingenuity of Gour, axd*
spoke in very i)igh tenns of tlie dock itselt, altogether the labour of art; the.tidea«aL|JOEBHl^
ting us to e$t4)lish similai docks to those in Englaud.
U^C'AhL\rU*S llEtATftLf IN tKINtDAD.
«$
that bamionT which has so lon^' tiibsistei,
and which T trust ^Almighty God will ever
pre^ffTc, bettvcen t%vo oations, to botii of
which niay, with justicej be applied the lines
of Addison :
" llappythepcoptewhbpresrrvetliw honour;
By the same duties that oblige tlieirprii €.*/'
In this devout wish we most sincerrfy
join.
Art. XII. Travels in Trinidad during the Months qf February, March, and April, 1803,
in a Scries of Letters, addressed to a Member of the Ituperiai Parliament oj Grtttt Isri-
taia. Illustrated with a Map qf'the Island, By Pierre F. M'Callum. 8v'o. pp. 354.
THE author of these travels was bom
in Scotland, and seems to have been en-
pged in commercial pursuits^ from the
lamiliar aptness with which he talks of
eveiy thing mercantile; he has resided
much in the North American republic,
visited San Domingo during the ascen-
dancy of Toussaint, and went to Trinidad
in Febraary, 1803, to reconnoitre the ca-
pabilities of the place.
Trinidad, according to our aathor, was
then governed by a Welshman, named
Ihomas Picton, who finding himself, in
his civil capacity, intrusteil by the Spanbh
laws )*nth arbitrary powers of imprison-
ment and torture, and, in his military ca-
pacity, with a despotism not less forrafd-
able, gave the re.ins to his passions, in a
inanner more resembling the administra-
tion of Paris, where lewc&ess and rapacity
are indulged without restraint, than the
tBuai government of a British province.
Among the persons confined by order
of governor Picton, was the author of
, these letters : the alleged motive of com-
mitment was a contempt of court ; but
the apparent eause was a suspicion of what
the governor called sedition, aud jacobin-
ism and disaffection. But we will borrow
the author's own narrative.
" When the signing of the preliminaries of
pcsictf was announced in Trinidad, the inliabi*
tarns, actuated by a spirit of loyalty which dif-
fii^ iuelf through all ranks, prepared a duti-
fill address to their sovereign, expressive of
their sttVMi^ attachment^ to his majesty's per-
Mi and government, and prating him to ex-
toid, in due time, the Uessings of a British
cnmilotloii to "lYinidad. The framers of
tbis address were Messrs. Sanderson, bhaw,
dad Uighani; the fbfiner a respectable phy-
sciaDy and the two latter engaged in mercan-
tile pursuits, — all of them Englishmen born,
vvmly attached to the constitution of tiieir
oative country, and of cous^iderablc experience
Id the colonies. As great pains have been
taiceD to represent this address as tlie violent
ptwfoctioD of an intemperate partv, calculate^
to distoib the peace ef the colony, and to
. render the governor theobject of public odium,
I am happy ia the opportunity of doing justice
U> 4ie irainen of it, . by furnishing an exact
Copy; and I think you will agree with me in
prcMiQdtig it ^ loyal, constitutional, and
temperate a petition as ever was framed on a
simihtf occasion.
TO THE
king's most excellent majesty.
" Most Gracious Sorerei^,
" We the principal freelwldcrs, mei*
chants, and other British inliabitaixts of the
island of Trinidad, approach your majesty's
throne with tlx; most dutihil respect aiid af-
fectionate loyalty, begging leave to present
our unfeignctl and earnest congratulations oa
the happy change which has taken place ia
the political aft'airs of Eun^c, among whose
nations none have been so clistinguislMxi as
your majesty's imperial kmgdom, for that
perseverance and success wliich have dignified
your majesty's cxHincils, and have iniprcssed
tlie world with an appropriate opinion of their
wisdom and penetration.
" That so long aiid extensive a 'war sI'.miM
be closed by such a signal series of un])aral-
leled successes, both by sea and land, and cud
in a peace so honourable in its terais, and so
valuable by its addition to your majesty s do-
minions. Is a consideration which must excite
the proudest exultation in every British bo-
som, but more particulary aflects the hetirts
of your majesty's most loyal subjects in this
island, who feel, with inexpressible gitttltude,
the immense obligation which your majesty
has been pleased to confer on tliem by your
gracious solicitude to ccnlinn this «most valu-
able conquest, and add it to the other coUiies
so happily placed under your majesty's pa-
ternal cave and protection.
*' Iji thus venturing to address your ma-
jesty, we are emboldened by that gracious
concie?cension and regard wliich it has been
your Majesty's pleasure to extend on every
occ3«5ion to your dutiful and loving subjects';
and we -niost humbly beg leave to represent,
that next to our most anxious prayers, witiciv
will be contimially offered up to heaven tor
the long life and perfect health of the best o£^
kings, aud for the continued blessing of peace,
we most earnestly hope your majesty will be
graciously pleased, as speedily as m your ma-
jesty's wisdom may seem expedient, to a)m-
plete the happiness which we already begia
to feel under the cession of this island to ouf-
motlier country, by extending to your .faith*
ful and ttffectiobate subjects in this colonjf tlie
privileges and protection of the British constw
tution,.as experieuced by a free representatioa!
in a house ot assembly, and m a trial by jury :
privileges which tv^ mherit in commou >vith
64
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
•«r countrvm^n wider your majesty's mild
and benevolent government in Great Britain
and its numerous colonies.
" We most humbly beg Itfave to lay at your
majesty's feet our warmest protestations of
loyalty and attachment to your majesty's per-
son and family, while we cnerish the recollec-
tion of the happy events which confirmed the
liberties of Englishmen, by placing }our ma-
jesty's ilhistrious ancestors on the throne.
" That tlie blessing of almighty God may
contume your majesty's health during a long
and glorious life, and prolong the happiness
and prosperous influence of your majesty's fa-
mily over your majesty's united kingdoms to
the remotest ages, is the devout and fei-vent
f rayer of your majesty's most faitliful and af-
iiectionatc subjects."
The signatures follow of one hundred
and eight British planters and merchants.
A couipt roller of the customs had signed,
but being threatened with the governor's
displeasure, obtained the erasure of his
signature. This address was left for sub-
scription at the store of Messrs. Thomas
Higham and Co.; and, after being signed
by as many as chose, was confided to
^ViUiam Harrison, esq. A meeting of tlie
addressers had nominated him as their
chairman : half tlie persons assembled
wished the address to be forwarded to a
mercantile house in London for presenta-
tion: a majority of one voice decided
that it should be given to the governor to
be forwarded. This vote marked the
persons who wished for a fresh governor.
They thought fit to dine together at
Wharton's tavern, in ortler to commemo-
rate the annexation of Trinidad to tlie
British empire. The governor heard of
it, and sent word to tlie innkeeper that he
should hold him personally responsible for
any seditious meeting tliat might be held
on bis premises. Some gentlemen went
to explain the innocence and loyalty of
their object : the governor took from them
their rank in the militia, and dismissed
the custom-house officer who had with-
drawn his signature to the address.' Mr.
Higham was arrested and led to the com-
mon prison, itself a sepulchre filthy and
unwholesome in no common degree ; and
the author, who seems to have kept a club
with tlie managers of this addrers, but
who did not sign it, was also arrested and
committed J and, after about a week's
confinement, was shipped off for New-
York.
This arbitrary banishment has not de-
terred Mr. M'Callum from accomplishing
a task for which he had been making pre-
parations in Triiiidadi- he has proceeded
to lay before the public all the otlier ty-
rannies of the governor, of which he
could collect accounts. The catalogue
of accusations is so formidable and so
horrible, tliat, if the common courts
of justice do not possess a jurisdiction
competent to tiie investigation, sotne par-
liamentary proceedings ought to be had
on the occasion, that the colonial subject
may in future know the formal meth<xl of
redress.
Beside that portion of the letters which
is devoted to the impeachment of govern
nor Picton, they contain several instruc-
tive, novel, and curious particulars of a
colony likely to becGme very important ;
being situate at the moutli of the Oi-ono-
ko, and uniting to the common sources of
tropical pros^ierity the command of a na-
vigable communication with tlie interior
of the South- American continent. Port-
Espana will consequently be a great em-
porium ) whenever the progress of settle-
ment and civilization shall invite the ship-
ping of Europe beyond the bocas (not
bocases, as this author writes, the singular
is boca) of the great river.
There is^ resemblance between the
usages of the people of Trinidad, and
those of the antient Greeks. When an
European arrives, his first care is to pur-
chase a concubine, of the black, yellow,
or livid kind, from the priest (p. 30) ; or
from the girl's mother (p. 79) ; or from
stationary slave -venders. Auctions of
naked slaves are frequent : tlie artisan
fetches more than the husbandman. A
belief in witchcraft is so prevalent, that
negroes are tried and tortured for sorcery.
The Sunday is observed like a pagan fes-
tivalj goods are sold in tlie foreiKK>n as on
a fair-day 5 in the afternoon, songs and
music, dancing and games of chance fill
up the intervals of feasting : the rites of
worship are pantomimic and idolatrous.
Trinidad produces fine grapes (p. 41);
and might rival Madeira and the Gape in
the production of dry and sweet wines.
Surely the British legislature ought to
withdraw a fourth of the present wine-
duty, upon all wir.e grown and made in
Trinidad. This will presently cover the
country with colonists, and render us more
independent of European agriculture. Be-
sides, Trinidad may in time supply North
America with an imitation of Madeira, if
the fashion should deserve adoption ia
London.
" Tlic following statement, though not
perfectly accurate, will, however, tend to git«
U'CALU^> travel's IN TRINIDAD.
'65
xm an idea of the portioii of land capable of
CtiitifolJOQ:
ACRES*
13 13 Lots saitable for sugar 420,160
943 , coffee 302,400
138 . = cotton 50,560
304 -—a cocoa 97,280
Total27JO Total 870,400 acf.
Deduct 400 lots already grant- )
ed by the 'Spanish [ 128,000
. government. 5
5320— So that the crown >
now holds - j
^42,400 acn
We wish that an increasing quit-rent,
liable to be settled afiresh by parliament
eve^ fifteen years, were demanded for tlie
giant of colonial lands. Some land-tax
ought to exist in favor of the state> as an
incleranity for the expence of protection,
and the risk of endowment. Duties on
produce, which is our present plan of in-
demaificatioD, divert mischievously the
Mtaral course of coounerce, and will at
last trauster it te that country which, by
its inteinal economy, can afford to levy
the lowest duties. Thus, tlie fms of Ca*
nada are now shipped in Philadelphia for
China j and the return cargo is smuggled
into Canada j the whole operation being
conducted by British capital and for Bri-
tish provinces.
Some words are expended (p, 79) ; on
the cttckcxia Africana, a disease of the
itomach for which negroes seek a remedy
in eating dirt. A West-Indian, with
whom we have conversed, thinks it a dis-
ease which results fro*n the excessive use
of trfacco ; an indirect debility of the
itoniach, brought on by intemperate
liinoking , a practice in which die negroes
delight, and in which they are willingly in-
dulged by their toasters, who attend more
than is imagined to the comforts of their
dependents.
Of the general face of the country the
fuliowing account is given :
" There are in this inland three distinct
'Jdjes <rf jiioUQtatns, the northern, middle,
™ southern, covered with incorruptible
woods proper for sliip-building. 'llie nvers,
u^'eral of which are inconsiderable, have been
traced 2nd examined as to wliat distance they
ijre navigable ; and a report lias been made by
Mallet, with respect to the unprovements they
"ay be capable of, bv deepening their beds,
taaking canah, &c. 6iit as tiiis man (though
i creature of Picton) never discovered any
^alefiU, except a srries of ill treatment to-
wards his amiable wife, I do not iinaguic that
Ui« surveys merit any liolice.
Axn.'Rev. Voi. iV.
*' The navigable rivers on the ^esi coast
which disembogue themselves into the gulf of
Paria, are the Caroni, Gurracara, Cuura, aufl
Siparia ; those on tlie east coast of the island
are the Ortoire, Neg, Lebnmche, and the
Oropuche.
'* Mr. Christie, a gentleman of consider-
able talents, in the siuveyor j^enerars de|>art-^
ment, is preparing lo survey the river Caroni,
a few miles distant from hence. This is the
prmcipal river of tJie island, being uavigable
from Its eatraoce to the Aripo, a branch of
the Caroni, a distance of about twenty miles.
I'iie views of govermnent are, to connect the
Aripo with tlie Guaro, a branch of the Oro-»
pucne, also navi^.iblc to the sea, which Will
open a communication from the west coast of
Paria to the east coast, or Atlantic ; and also
to clear the bed of the Caroni of the rubbish,
so as to drain the great savannah before men-
mentioned, which will be the means of not
only rendering the Port of Spain healthy^ but
of tacilita^ig an easy hitercourse with the inte-
rior of the island.' The river Ortoire, ot
Guataro, is-the principal one on the east coast,
navigable to Morne Orange, a distance <k
about twenty miles, havuig from two to five
fathoms water ; but as the mouth of tl.i'; river
is shoal wat-er, it would be requisite to cut
a navigable canal to the bay of Mayaro, which
would give the facility of exportation to the
production of an munense tract of cultivable
land.
*' In the bay of Mayaro, we find safe an-
chorage, havmg good holduig groimd, a iin»
bottom of sand and gi'avel, and may embark
and disembark at any time of tlie tide.
*' The Neg runs a short distance parallel
to the shore, fonning a sort of canal about six
miles m length, which receives the waters of
the Mangro%'e trees that spread over all this
part. The water of this river is black, and
so tainted, as to make the sea frothy all round
its mouth.
'* The Oropuche is navigable about ten
miles on the banks of tins river. A hue set**
tlcinent might be formed, containing forty-live
divisions, about 14,400 acres. Tlie rivers
Guaro, Siparia, and I-,ebranche, are insigni-
ficant, and hardly wortli noticing, Because
neither of tlieni are navigable above 6009
paces.
*' Tlierc are several marshes ; that of Ca-
roni might be drained as well as those of
Ortoire and Oropuche, but the marsh of
Lagona Grande is inaccessible, llie mar^ii
of Icaque is level with the sea, in which there
are two gulfs ; one has an elevation of about
seven feet, and the other twelve : mud and
calcareous earth are cootinually gushing from
them. In the months of March and June,
the two ptmcipal months, they emit metallic
particles, stones rounded by friction, and otliet
neterogeneous substances.
" Rio Grande is a valley belonging to the
cfown, which lies about sixty-^ight miles from
lhl5 place, containing eleven divisions of three
hundred- and iwonty a^res each, with a ^
0$
\^OYAGES AND TRAt^LS.
riva* meandaiiug through it, having good an-
choring ground; sheltered by a head-land
from the north-cast wind, and being healthy,
it is remarkably well adapted for a white psOr
pulation* Balfandra is another place I deem
cc^ually advantageous, and not more thin six
nulcs trom Rio Grande, situated on tlic south-
cast side of the island. Tlie reason why I
give the preference to these places is, notonly
their superior situation with regard to health,
but their distance from any other settlement,
which would preyent them from liaving any
intercourse whatever with the cc»Tupt society
already mentioned, as —
' Creeping in the putrid sink of vice.'
'* I have just seen a considerable quantity
of petroleum, bitumen, dA^caWedpimspiuUtos,
carabe funentin, gummi fufierum, mumia,
carabe of Sodom, fossil pitch, and Jew's. pitch,
a ;nineral sulphur, solid and light in sub-
stance, of a dusky colour on the outside, but
a deep shining bU ck within, having but little
taste or smell, except when heated, in which
case it emits a strong pitchy odour. It was
brought from Cape de la Brea, situated in the
western extremitjr of Laguna Grande, where
there is a lake of it, elevated between seventy
and cSghty feet above Uie level of tlie sea.
We are Informed by Father Gurailla, that
some little time before he came to this island
(which may be reckoned nearly about seventy
years), a spot of land on the western coast,
about half way between the capital and the
Indian village, sunk suddenly, and was imme-
diately replaced by a small lake of pitch, to
tlie great surprise and terror of the inhabi-
tants. I suppose he means by the capital,
the village of La Brea, for I do not know that
any other petroleum lake is fcwnd m the
island but the one above mentioned. The
question now remains, whether this petroleum
would not supersede the use of copper, for
9]ii()s navigating these sejis ? If it would,
what a great ex pence would be saved, not
only to the nation, but to individuals. Surely
the* experiment ought to be tried.*'
Accounts of the principal productrons
Are given in the scientiticTorm in which*
they appear in l^ooks of natural history :
the author's personal observation does not
intervene much. There are many digres-
sions which one would gkdly spare : Pope
and Pomfret, Armstrong and Goldsmidi,
could as well be quoted in a tour to
Iceland as in a tour to Trinidad: all
books are too large 5 let us have no-
thing nnnecessary. The author is over
fond of employing fine words, some of
which he misunderstands : but he displays
xnany kinds of reading, much information
and experience, and a laudable zeal for
public morality and political beneficence.
Although we have done with the travel-
ler, we have not with his island. Trini-
dad is a recent acquisition, thinly and va»
tiously peopledvwhlcfa i» §cii«itipg from the
hands of the British legislature new zxA
purer constitutional laws. Why not make
the experiment of a code more lil»eral to
the black colonists, th^tn that which 'has
hitherto prevailed m the West Indies ?
To the iitiiwrtation of slaves we are not
about to object. The lands of tropical cli-
mates cannot be cleared and cultivated,*
and made profusely to contribute tovard
the sustenance of mankind, without the
aid of that swarthy race, whiqh natore
has formed or seasoned for the hot lati*
tudes. The venal negroes are slaves at
home ; like all th^ vulgar and unedncat-
ed, their memories have tittle tenacity,
and they soon acquire as real an attach-
ment to their new as to their original
home.
But sb soon as thte imported slave is sold
by Auction, let him be termed a vassaL
Let the act of his being purchased fagr a
British land -owner better his. condition,
and confer some of the privileges of fiee*
dom. By passing fi'om the hands of the
slave-merchant to those of the planter, Wt
him become> accoxding to the apt defini-
tion of the Roman law, mscribcd to the moU^
Let him acquire a right of settlement on
the estate to which he belongs ; let th»
land which he is to cultivate be ^comj^U-^
ed to afibrd him a maintenance in the
hour of disease, and during the twilight of
decrepitude. This is West Indiao law
already in the chief point ; and it is en*
forced: a Dutdi planter of Deni^ary^
whose black peasantry were so scantily
provisioned during a scarcity that €h^
begged for food in other plantations, had
his estate taken away by tlie courts of jus-
tice for one year, and put under the cam
of tmstees, who fed his vassals properly,
and who accounted with him &x ths
surplus.
I'he right of transferring vassals from
one estete to another seems incapable of
limitation, so long as the country isunder-*
stocked with kbourers. Whenever the
number reared shall exceed the demand
ibr labourers, the claims of negroes for
maintenance on the estates to which thejr
belong will become burdensome $ ai^
then, voluntary emancipations will abcdish
vassalage, in the same manner as it has
been dropped in modem Europe. In the
mean time vassals must be saleable be-
tween the planters ; because the act of
sale, transferring a claim of maintenance
to a different tract of land, is as necessary
to authorize migration, under the West
Indian system of poor-laws> as a paritk
certificate here.
cxiFnrfts^i travels in bu&opb/asia unfoa, astd akabia.
^
SoineUiiag could be-dcxie in the new
coostitution of Trinidad to facilitate the
acqaisition of a pecn/iam, or individoal
property, by tke negro vassaJry. ' At pre-
sent, the blacks keep fowls and pigs^ and
out of savings so acquired purchase their
litde luxuries: but a specific price might
be set (m emaBcipation, so as to enable thp
industrious to buy their fiieedom : of this
price a part siiould go to the state, whicli
would thus be burdened with the mainte-
luace of the free poor. We should tind
however, as in Poland and Russia, that it
would only be worth the while of skilful
inechanica, such as carpenters or black-
smiths, to incur the precarious subsistence
flf a iiee labourer.
Trinidad has the advantage over all tlie
^oiooies of a larger proportion of female
raisaby. Hie Spanish manners have
founded a greater domestic demand for
women, than our manners : we want labor,
they want hixuiy. These manners should
not be discourrged ; -they ought rather to
be corroborated by sl poll-tax on the male
population ; the multiplication of qreole
laboorers being the radical and proper
core both for the alave-trade, and tor co-
lonial vassalage.
Some power must be conceded to the
empb)'er over his workman^ analogous t»
that of a^master over his apprentice -, but
this power ought surely to be restricted
withm narrower bounds dian the vague
bat wide stretch allotted in the Code noir,
In reforming the criminal jurispmdence
which protects the negro, the cry of li-
herty, Quality, and the rights of man, is,
^ ! still in its place. The doctrine d
equality wis originally a fiction or hypo-
thesis of the civil lawyers, put for the
purpose of ascertaining what is due to
each, what ought to be commanded for
erery one. He who reviles this doctrine
professes in the first instance to be a des-
piler of justice -, he may be a great states-
man, as Burke was^ bat he. cannot be a
man of principle In Trinidad, we will
not inquire farther, the violent death of a
negro is not avenged like the violent death
of a white; the one is but manslai^hter.;
the other, murder. In Trinidad, torture
may be applied to the negro 5 in Trinidad,
aorcery -may be punished on the negro;
in Trinidad, flagellations, at which a regi-
ment would mutiny, may be inflicted by
the civil law, or without the civil law.
Here is indeed a cruel change in the ne-
gro's condition. In his native c juntry h^
enjoys trial by jury. When the grameta
draws a knife on his employer^ a palaver
is held. The master states his case and
produces his evidences : the singry man is
then heard, and his companions pronounce
' whether he has the reason.' Tlie pur
nisbment is only inflicted if their verdict
dpes not acquit. Why are iK>t slave-dri-
vers subject to a similar control ?
This pursuit of the good opinion of
one's companions, to which the native
Africans are tremblingly sensible, is the
most powerful stimulus to human excel-
lence, and the basis of all the forms of
ambition : of the descensive benevolence
which scatters patronage, ^ud of the as-
censive benevolence which aspires to do-
mineer. Men are most easily directed by
theur equals : trial by jury is the verdict
of nature.
Under Adrian the murder of a slave
was first punished with death -, and the
master accused of cruelty was oompelled,
on conviction, to sell the complainant. The
successive extenuations of servitude be-
tween Adrian and Justinian merit tlia
consultation and imitation of those houses
of assembly, which have a similar popu-
lation to govern. The protection of fe-
male chastity and of the rights of msff-^
Tistge was the latest improvement of their
condition, and the pure gift of Christi-
anity.
The appended map of Trinidad is not
accompanied with a scale of distances. .
Art. XII TrecveU in Earofe, Asia Minor, and Arabia. By J. G&ipriTBs> M. D,
Member qf tke Royal Medical Soeiety of Edinburgh, and qf Hseral Foreign Lite*
rary Soeietiea. 4to. pp. 400.
TH£ present volume. Dr. GrifBths in-
fbnos us, is to be considered as the pre-
lude to one of more importance, as ' the
tint link of the chain of observation
whldi he has made upon men and go-
vernments.' But thi& greater work, which
'WQffid include discussions upon the whole
system of our Indian empire, and the laws
and manners of the Hindoos and Moslem
subject to it, he will not vetitore upon,
till he has ascertained the disposition of
tha public to receive his farther labours,
by the. reception which they «hali give to
this. In our last year's* v<^ntie we ad*
vanced some opinions upon the buMMta$
of periodical criticism, nifficiently appli«
^ JsLthe levieival of Tennant-s Indian RecreaHiMms, p. 559.
F3
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
cable to form a riile for condilct in the
present case. If in \aorks of iiue litera-
ture there be a defiipieiicy of taste or of
genius, the critic has a right to complaia;
if in historical and scieutiiic compilations
he discovers a want of research and a want
of industry, he is ju«tilied in rtSenting it
as a want of honesty ; in works like the
present, where an author comes forward
with an account of what he has himself
8e«n or learnt in distant countries, if he
lands any new information, instead of
cavilling at the manner in which it may
be conveyed, he ought to learir and be
thankflil.
Dfr Griffiths embarked in the summer
of 1785 for the Mediterranean, with no
other motive than his ' natural and r)Tc-
sistihle inclination to visit distant and mi-
fnquenicd countries;* an inclination, he
says, which very early persuaded him,
that, with good humour, a spirit of ac-
commodation, and an abundant share cA'
jxitience, the difficulties of traveHing might
be surmounted, and nrany of its dangers
avoided. The vessel touched at Genoa,
On- the situation of the slaves and prisoners
here Dr. Griiiklis nxikes some huiBane
and interesting remarks.
'* Humanity has reason to rejoice, that the
disgraceful system of tortiiriHg the 'lurks and
Afncaas, taken prisoners by the vessels of tlie
Genoese Republic, is no longer pui*8ued ; and
that throughout those states, now subject to
Gallic influence, the horrible j)ersrcutions to
which these luiforlunate victims were exposed
have totally ceased.
*' Amongst the first ol>jfHts 1 visitj»d, on
the morning after my arri\al, were the pri-
sons near the harbour. Here I behfhl, I
think, tlveverv k>we;^t pitch of human wretch-
edness and degrr<latioii 1 A niuuber of aged
I'urks were cluiined to tiie wall, iu stone re-
cesses, at a sliort distance from each other ;
and some still more a^ed in cells, so low that
they were never able to stand uprip;ht ! Many
of these men. of misery a})peared to have lost
all sense or recollection ; and one, who par-
ti9ularly attracted my at lent ion, had counted
no less' than twenty-seven years of captivity !
He, seemed about "sixty-live vears old — iiis
iiowtng beard was whitened f)y mistortune;
and his sullen deportment indicatetl the rooted
antipathy he so jastly entcKained against his
inliuman Christian tormentors ! buch was
liis prejudice, that he treated with contempt
the trifling assistance I was dispo>ed to otler
him ; aod allowed it to remain noon tbe
ground untouched, witliout ev«i condescend-
ing to acknowledge it by the slightest ge:r-
ture.
'* Quitting this melancholy object >vith
every feeling of humanity tipon the stretch, I
entered one of the j^alleys— ^Here was an as-
semblage of wretcliedaJss one would tluiLk
sufficient to annihilate all idleaof mepfimeni;-
yet such is tt>e accommodating spirit «ith
which we are endowed by Providence, tliat
even here I heard the sounds of joy aiul.^iong
and Uiughter.^— Turk chained to 'lurk — Chris-
tian to Christian, and, by a refmemeiit of
cruelty, C'hri,stian to 1 urt ; all were rivettcd
to the beuclies of the vessel — Here tliey
worked and ate and sle|)t ; and wnked to a
renewal of the lierrid circle of tlieir emploj-
meut ! — ^\'et so littk; di^l^e^siug to one fellow
with whom I spoke appeared tlie life of a gal-
ley slave, that he had actually comDionccti a
tliird term of seven years conlineuicnt for a
veiy trifling renmneration — He had been first
condemned to seven years i)uni>hnient fer
criminal conduct — then served seven years
for another person, and had, a few da^'s pre*
vious to my vi>it, contracted a similar engage-
ment. Tlie only answer I could obtain to the
few questions I ventured to ask him respect-
ing his state was a kind of smile, and Che
xunle ? Non mi diipitwe tanio ? U hut can I
say ^ I doiUJind it so vcnj disai^rttahlt /
■* ** I wa> afterwards informed that this was
not a very uncommon txrcurrence ; and tliat
even many of ih se poor wretches, becoming
debtors to the government for some tritiiug
assistance, or loan of money during the term
of their imprisonment, were frequently oblig-
ed, upon faikire of payment, to renew tlietr
services, and pass the remauider of their life
in all the misery of a galley slave, llie dis-
tinguishing appellation of Uiese amateurs was
JBuone voglic, whilst those conlinedfor crimes-
were Urnwd J'brzatti"
Tlie use of proxies in England is not
carried quite so far j indeed we have not
deduced all tlie advantages from the prin-
ciple which might legitimately follow.
We Mndeed permit our peers to said their
opinions upon great national subjects, and
Upon points of law which have passed
througii the inlorlor courts to their highest
tribunal, taking it for granted tliat the ar-
guments wliich might be advanced in de-
bate could throw no new light upon th^
subject, and produce no change of senti-
ment— and thaty. so the vote be given, it
matters not by whom. It is equally rea-
sonable, and even more coii\*cnient for
great men, to allow of punishment by
proxy, according to the^ custom of Genoa.
Dr. Griffitlis mentions it as a curioug
proof of inconsistent toleration, that a
^Tosque should have bc»en built for tlie
Moiiammedan slaves, and the free exer-
cise of that religion pcnnittcd tliem, for
"which they had been so unjustly deprived
of liberty. Strictly .speaking, war is not
made upon the piratical states for tlieh-
religion, but for their piracy. The moors
of Barbary ai'e the common enemies of
civilization and of the human race, not
merely of Christianity and Europe. We
<2B1PPITHS'S T&AVELS lif EUROPE^ ASIA MINOR^ AND ARABIA.
G»
'*» Bflt say this froni any wish t© extenu-
ate tlje lolly or barbarity of a mere buc-
caHeering war, but in the hope that the
cfarisikii poArers will one day, by common
couvQt,and for their common honour, ex-
(iRguLsh ihese deipicable and detesuible
gp^^mnients.
Tlie game of pallove might advantage^
OB^Iy be introduced among us by some
£i^ioaable traveller. Athletic sports are
always useful, and this might have a fair
dizixc of coming into voguCj as it would
be new and foreign.
** -\ ball of Ir at her, fill«< with air, and equal
in sizi* to a man's head, is propelled hack\Tards
aod fhrward^ by ineans of a wooden instru-
Dice* lixcd u;x>a tile arm of the striker, cuHcd
iruccitdr. At a little distance it resembles a
rouif, but is covcriitl with short wooden dia-
ni'Wti-sliaped points. The hand and arm
b-'ijjq in(i\xhiced into it, the player, by gra^jj-
^1 * P^ placed for the purpose across the
ioti-mal part of the instrument, secures it
imiS- in its situalion, .and uses it v^itli a dci»^
terity (nily admirable.
"'The parlies eni^a,T[ed generally consist of
^wchrc, six on each *«ide ; and llie object is to
drive the ball into the adversaries ground, or
2s far distint from the adversaries themselves
3s ptHsible."
The Italian hospitals ace establishments
of ^uch magnitude and liberality, tliat even
ia England we liave nothing which cnn
he set in com|iecition with them : no cer-
li^catesor recommendations are required)
sickness is a sufficient ticket of entrance :
iwr are the inc*urable ever discharged.
Ue copy^ the nemarks of Dr. Grittiths
qpon these excellent institutions, because
iucb xemarkB siiould be as widdy circu-
lated as possible.
"In dwelling upon the exrellencr of the
Itadiaa hospitals, I do not wish it to be under-
rttfxi, tbat I hold such establisbments, or the
ticiiity with which they may be entered, as a
aperCx consicieratiou* in favour of tJie poor,
to those rcgulalUms, in a gcinnal view, wliich
have been adopted under the head of the poor
hu-5 in Knglaiid ; nor am 1 unconscious that,
by the Ja.vs of England, every poor person,
vltfmit the means of subsistence, inherits a
ririit tosirpport from his parish; that every
•m^L^ralc is bound to convey to such pansii
the aHikled wretch discharged from an hos-
pital, and that such arrangements have been
«nde bv the laws of the land, as hiunauity
and justice CAjuld devise for the benefit of the
dJ«tTe«»«*d, fcb tliat piirochial assistance Should
pT.'vcnt ll:e aiserr of dying froili actual want
d fovid. i am p«ifectly aware of all these ad-
vantage? in England ; but 1 still contend, that
tbesick nt Ji, who linds his misery a sutficicnt
iex)mmeiichlk>n to en€«re the attentions of
nuKiical men., and tlie means of sup^^grt, bo
long as he shall require-them, is iufinitely more-
tbilunate than the sick man who, in conse-
(lut'nce of the probably incurable nature of
Iris complaints, is dischari^od from an Kn^';lish
hospital, to be transferred from one end ot the
island to the other upon a waggon, because
none Iwit iiis own pansii is compelled to sup-
port him.
" 1 am tend, that -those hospitals arc to be
preferred, where every day is a receiving day,
toXho^e whose gati^s are opened to tlic recoiii*
nicndatory letter ef a subs<«riiber only once in
the week ; -uid where, even on tlrat day, the
amount of the sub^xription is often consi'dt^ed
of more importance than the disease of the
patient, .provided tliat disease be not of the
mo^t serious i«ture ; in which case, 1 allow,
that the hujnlmity of our truly respectable
physicians and surgeons always ovcrbaianci^
the pecujiiiu-y interests of the establi? hnuiit.
" i am aw'are, that cases ^f accidents arc
received at all tunes, without nxroininenda-
tton, at all our hospitals ; but is John with an
int(Nmittent Jev(?r ou 'ihureda> less an object *
of compassion th:mon tlie Wednesday follow-
ing, which 1 will (iresuine, for the sakeof argu*
rount, is the established receiving day ? Is Wil-
liam with an ascitic, or 1 homas with an erysi-
pelatous uiUummation, less entitJtKl, by the
seveiity of their suti'erings, to an immediate
endeavour at rehef, than Richard, who has
been thrown from his horse, and fractured his
libula?
'* If it be pleaded, that the ftmds pf our
hospitals will not alford siich general and in-
discriminate admission of ]3atients, and that,
wi»re evfry invalid to be received without
fonnality, the establishments must be ruined,*
my observations are correct. Happy, I re-
peat, in this particular, is the country where
thi' al}Hct«*d jxwr may be at all times well pro-
vided for by the benevolence of ihericli, with-
out waiting' for a letter of recommendation, or
a rtveivhig day !*'
Having readied Smyrna, the traveller
proceeded to Constantinople. Often a^
this metropolis has beeu described, a city
so interesting on every account, must still
present something new to every traveller,
however well informed. Dr. Grilfiths
pretends jaot to have penetrated into the
seraglio, — iudeed the sight of three heads
witli labels to them signifying to whom
they belonged, lying at the gate of the
inner court, might have cured him of any
rash curiosity. Arguing from tlie impos-
sibility which existed to himself, he at-
tempts to discredit all descriptions of these
inaccessible recesses. But the old writer?
to whom he alludes were men of veracity,
and jewellers and physicians may have ob-
tained access where a young and idle
traveller would be excluded. He (bund
the prejudices of Mohammedan pride and
ignorance in full force 3 the true believers
70
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
Bad not then recciycd those salutary les-
' tons of European discipline and European
strength which have convinced them that
a horse in Egypt t& notdegraded by carry-
ing a christian on his back. The kqftan,
Which has usually been represented as a
mark of distinction, is, we are here told,
rather a mark of subjection, it being a
custom that every ambassador must be
habited in the Turkish manner before he
could be peraiitted to see Mc light of the
The dishonourable deling of the
Turkiali- traders is thus extenuated*
. i' The censure which has fallen upon the
Tai^ish and other Levantine traders, in re^
spect to their attempts to deceive or cheat, by
asking three times more than the value of the
articles they sell, deserves some moditicatkin.
— ^A Levantine trader fixes no precise price
to his merchandise ; his object is to obtain as
nvxh as he can ; not to mnch J9fr caU. per
anatun upon his capital: he is acquainted
with no price current, no rate of exchange;
and from a want of that regularity in business
to which we are accustomed, sees notliing con-
trary to propriety in demanding a consider-
able sum for an article of inconsiderable in-
trinsk vahie ; estimating its worth by the pro-
bable necessity of the buyer, and therefore
not otTendcd at any proposed dimmution. —
There does not appear to me, in this mode of
traffic, any tJiing very repugnant to honesty,
nor indeed very different from what every day
occurs in commercial countries. — The dibtinc-
tion exists merely between the wholesale ex-
tensive monopolising advance in price of any
article in demand, established upon a grand
exchange b^ very rich merchants, who all
partici|)ate m the advanta^; and the tem-
porary eflbrt at emolument of a poor huckster
m a boutique, desirous of obtaining a more
than usual profit upon an article wliich, by the
inquiry, he supposes absolutely wanted."
The defence is admissible to a certain
6xten; only. Actions considered singly
are not the same as in the gross. An ad*
Tauce upon sugars, for instance, Ls a sort*
of authoritative «ct ^-^ tax laid by the
West India merchants upon all tea-drink-
^fs, which is openly enacted, falls upon
each individual in due proportion, and ag-
grieves none. But were the grocer to ask
three times its value for a pound of sugar
to every customer, and abate in his de-
mand according to their pertinacity, thitf
would be an act of personal knavery,
which he himself would feel as such, and
by which each person whom he succeeded
in over-reaching would be personally in-
jured. It is well known that men as*
sembled in bodies will agree to actions of
which each individual Would be ashamed;'
A mob will proceed to. massacre, thea^
every man among them would shudder
at the thought of committing murden
We must distinguish between wholesale
and retail wickedness, — between Alex-
ander and the pirate. We must insist
upon private honesty, though public ho-
nesty should be out of our reach.
At Constantinople Dr. Griffiths became
acquainted with Mustapba Campbell, th©
Scotch Ghumbvagee Bashee, or general
of bofnbardiers, of whom other tra vellera
have spo^n. This gentleman, or rath^
mussulman, bore testuaony to the trsth
of baron de Tott's story of tlie canuon^ .
which has been so ignorantly and foolisbl j
ridiculed as an extravagant falsehood.
An account of the Mohammedan reli-
gion is given at some length, avowedly
abridged from D'Ohsson. Why has not
the second volume of that valuable work
been translated, or why was the first pub-.
I'nhed in a style of sikcb needless expeuce ?
The system of the Turkish government i».
better explained in Glivier's excellent tra-
vels. The state of the Turkish military
force is copied with due acknowledgment
from Mr. £ten, as is also a statement of
the ordinary revenue and expenditure ot
the Porte, with a view of its debts and
credits in 1776. As Mr. Eton's book is
so very accessible, we could well have
excused two quarto sheets of transcription
from an heneU octavo volume. But the
most valuable information in this part of
the book is that which explains tlie method
by which the Turks endeavour to secure
their projierty from contiscation. Tlie
only means of securing it, under a govern-
ment so rapacious and so arbitrary, is by
making it over to soiiie religious or cha-
ritable purpose, in which case it is callecl
a wakf.
" An estiiblished fonnality in bestowing
pro,«.Tty in wakfe reciuirini that the donor
should nominate a person, named ATootou^
wauiee, to whose niauagcmeut the revenue^
are to be entrusted ; and another called A a-
zecr, to whom the Mootoiiwaulee is compelled
to render yp his accounts once in every Six,'
or at farthest every twelve months. But as it^
is the peculiar charactcribtic of wakfs that the
founder should be at perfect liberty m the
choice of an agent or director, as well as in the
disposal o( his property, he has a right to unite
both privileges in the same person. He may
even reserve to himself the management of
the estate, or grant it to his wife, to his diil-
drt-h of either sex, or to his friend. A mode,'
therefore, presents tt^lf, by which a consider-
able portion of his fortune may be ensured ta
tiie heirs of a family, since whatever property*
is not spetifically msposed of in the act wbitH *
GSIFFITBS'S TXATtLS IN BUBOPB^ ASIA MIR«K^ ADD ARABIA.
71
eaUGMbes fhe wskf, becomes tacitly the right
of the MooCouwaulee. Tiise the term tacitty,
because it is ptresumed by the law tliat the
Mootouwaulee expends lor pious purposes^
Morcfing to the suggestions A lus wm devo-
tioD, the^Vftiole of tiie wakf, ahiiough no posi-
tive applicatioii may have been jnadk: by the
fMuxier.
^' The advantage which the most opulent of-
ficers of the Porte continued long to take Of the
fedlity witb whK*h they could evade the right
ofthe'sultaun to inhent their estates, became
at last so evident, that the laws azte now much
mcfe enforced than fonnerly ; and whenever
a person of rank dies, or, wluit is the same
tfamg as to the sultaun's privil^e, is disgraced,
the whole of his property is seized, and a ri-
fOTGus examination made rcspectins the wak&
with which it may be charged. When the
residue of the fortune accruing to the family is
found to be in a proportion not approved of,
the sukaun, wichout ceremony, conhscates the
whole estate for his own use, making it an-
swerable only for the wakfe properly authen-
ticated."
*' The produce of the wakfs, with which
mosques and other establishments are endow-
ed, usually exceeds very considerably the ex-
penditure which their maintenance reoulres ;
and the Mootouwaulee seldom scnipies to
appropriate tlie difterence to his own use.
Many of the imperial mosques Imve a revenue
of twenty or thirty thousand pounds sterling,
whilst their whole expences require not more
than half, or at most two-thirds of this sum.
llie pen|uiBites, which are therefore eno>
nxMis, are divided between the Nazeer and
Mootouwaulee, witli little risk of discovery,
as the government appears to be ignorant of
the depredations committed, and no heirs of
law are furtfacoiTiing to claim the imapi^ropri-
ated estate."
The wakfs of the mosques, which are
continually increased by legacies, new en-
dowments and good jnanagemeut, form
no inconsiderable part of the ways and
means of the Sublime Porte. The mufti,
and the grand vizier, and the kislar agah
arc nazeers to most of the mosques in the
empire -, the kislar agah's chest in parti-
cular contains many millions of piastres.
Hiisfiind is a never- failing resource. The
Buitaun htirtmjffs from it without hesitation,
and the minkterof^ nance engages to re-
turn the som so borrowed.
There is another kind of wakf still more
^nvenient.
" Formeriy the mosques, which were suffi-
ciently rich, 'were accustomed to })urcliase
estates with the* surplus of their revenuvs, for
which they paid only half of the real value ;
but as a fe'rther compensation, the seller was
permitted to enjoy the possession of the pur^
etiaied eitate for a giveu Busaber ci yeaiSy
upon allowhig to the mosque a Very trifling
rent. *
• '* The proprietorV of estates consented to
this mode ot disposing of tiieir property, as
much from a spirit of devotion as trom the
advantage of placing it beyond the grasp of
authority ; for the f^e being duly registered
with all the forms used at unequivocal wakfs,
they were regarded merely as tenants. To
ensure the tranquil enjoyment of these estates,
it was particularly spccilied that a certain sum
of money had been paid in advance, and that
another^ valued at a tenth of the annual value,
mutually agreed upon between the parties,
would be paid annually. — ^At tlie expiration
of the stated term, the property so purchased
devolved to tlie mosque ; out if the possessor
died previously to tlie date detemiined upon,
the mosque invaiiably permitted ti. heirs of
the deceased, or in default of heirs, those
who farmed the coUectioMs of intestate estates,
to enjoy the property till it became legally an
appurtenance ot die moscjue.
"In this kind of wakf the repairs of the
estate were al\frays imposed upon the mosque ;
but as this circumstance gave rise to perpetual
disputes, it frequently aupeared that pre\'aii*
cations originated witli tJic mosque as well aa
with the proprietors or their heirs ; and the
government was therefore induced to revise
the laws, and improve those which should be
found defective.
" By tlie laws now in force, it is enacted,
that the mosques, shall purchase these estates,
whenever inclined, at a iiMxlerate rate ; that
the tenants shall be responsible for all repair?",
improvements, or embellishments ; anu that
the proprietors shall have the right of posses*
sion in perpetuity. Tliese regulations are
scrupulously attended to ; and the method ot
ajrangemctit is as follo^^-s :
" The proprietor of an estate makes a ces-
sion to a mosque under the title of wakf, for
which he receives a sum of money, calculated
at most at liftcen per cent, upon the real
value of the property ; sometimes at not more
than ten per ceiit.-^Yor two thousand pounds
value, therefore, in land, the mosque pays
only two hundred or three hundred pounds ;
ana the seller, who is theii considered simply
as a tenant to the moscjue, pays an annual
rent to it, equivalent to the mterest of the
sum which he has thus received for hfe own
estate. — ^The interest is calculated as the con-
tracting parties may agree, but must not ex^
ceed fifteen per ctrit.
** This svstem will, no doubt, appear very
singular to tlie reader : impoitant advantages,
however, result, not only to tha mosque, but
also to the founder of tlie wakf ^ for by tlieso
means the property is no longer liable to the
common forms. of civil law, and is sheltered as
it were from every kind of seizure and con-
fiscation.
'** The founder esteems amongst his advan-
tages, 17770, The right of continuing master
of an estate, upon which he may reiode^ or
72.
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
by wliicli be niaj- benefit by lettm^ it to
anotlier.
" 2do, That in case of debts contracted
after the wakt* hiw been legally made, na pro-
ceedings of common law can attach it, noj-
. can any creditor pretend to claim a property
which is adjudged sacred.
" 3lio, 'i he right of transmitting to his
children of both sexes the whole of nis pio-
jerty, or rather the produce of this property,
t» equal proportions ; whUst by the laws of
the government no other property can be
Tilled to his childrcii but in the proportion of
two parts to the males and ons to lemales.
" Mo, The right to mortg^e» transfer,
*nd dispose of hia wakf by cession or othcr-
wUe as may best suit his convenience ; subject
however to a duty payable on these occasions
to the mosque.
" Sto, 'i he privilege of not conforming to the
law, which gives every proprietor of an estate
contiguous to anotlier about to be sold a pre-
fei-ence to all other purchasers
" The mosques, as may be natyrally sup-
posed, derive siu)eri()r advantages.
" lino, The timdi employed at interest
have an undeniable security in' the estate morti
gaged.
*' 2do, The rnosquo, not being any longer
compellecj to rq)air estates so purchased,
^icouomises considerably.; and tlie tenant,who
is most interested in their preservation, will
nece-isarily attend to the amelioration of the
property.
" Mio, These rej>air3 and emhclliihments,
as well as every sort «f augmentation which
the tenants may choose t-O make, belong to
tlie mosque by law.
" Mo, The enormous receipts which accnie
by the duty ajlowcd by law to be levied at
every commutation that takes place by a
transfer of the tenant's privileges, change of
Alootouwaulffc, or otherwise.
" bto, 'J 'he essential advantage of inheriting
these estates whcij cvtT the founder dies williT
out children, the property then devolving,
ipso facto, to the mosque ; and no claims of
iht heirs at law, nor even of grandchildren,
can be attended to : — ^Also of inheriting those
tfistates for which tlie stipulated annuaf rent is
neglected to be paid,"
P.'irticular care is necessary on the part
€)f the wakl-raakcr in drawing out the deed
<)f conveyance, as the law so far favours
the mosques, that even a verbal disjiosi-
tion in their favour is admitted.
From Constantinople Dr. Griffith re-
turned to Smyrna, and there met a young
Swede, who was willing to travel with
him to Aleppo. I'hey made their arrange-
rnents with the pwner of some horses
i^'hich were en singed to carry merchandize
tti the metropolis of Syri?, clothed them-
selves like Ci)mmoii Greeks, and set out
witli thp caravan, tp encounter the dif5-
oulties and dangers of an Asiatic journey,
■The mode of travelling and the accommo--
dations on the road ^re well described.
'* Caravanserais, or khauns, are most com*
monly large square buildtnga of stone and
brick', appropriated at convenient distaxxn
on each road tlirough the Ottomaun j^mptro
to the service of travellers : the)' arc frequtint-
ly the gratuitous olfering or K'gacy of the
well-disposed ; and somciimes a prot/f of pa-
ternal regard on the part of a patriotic suituim.-
They are generally rendered so far common,
dioiis, that round the inside of the qnadrai^gle
a story of chambers is built, whtTt* tlic travdit*r
may repose without dinger of those acrideritji
horn the horses, and other beasts of burthen,
to which he is exposed below. The center of
thi.s quadrangle on the ground lloor, wlrtch is
open and not covered by a roof, contains the
goods, and, when not completely filled by
then), the horses, &c. ; but it often occiira
that some of the animals' are brought upon
the elevated bank which is continued on thrt^
sidos (or on the four sides, allo\ving a space
for the door) of tiiss quadrangle, and .destined
for the travellers themselves previously to
their retirinc to their chambers. It is upon
this elevated bank of earth that the meals are
dressed, the pack-saddles, 6cc. deposited, and
where the immediate attendants of the cara-i
van remain as guards to the propeily. It ic$
here also that all accoujpan) ing passengers
must be contented to eat and Aw\i whenever
tjie chambei's above their heads <ire occupied,
or where, as it sotm:times occurs, no such
chambers liave been constructed. Fountains
of water are often in the center of the cara-t
vanserai; never at any great distance: and
these establislunent-s, though rude and unequal
to the comforts ot an inn or a p)st-hcuse, yet
bear with them the stamp of civilizaticn.
** It is usual for the caravan ba^^hee and his
myrmidons to be on the alrit before day-
light, and no time is lost in loading iHe
horses ; when the whole pivcecd during four
or live hours, then halting near a fbutilain or
rivulet for about an hour, tlie nmt is renewed
till near sun; et, or uptil some favourable >pot
is met \yith, which arrests its progre^^ for the
night. So man}' delays, however^ take place,
bv stoppbg to shift, or secure the merchan-
dise upon the saddles, to mend the miserable
tackle with which it is fa,<»tened, aad to wait
for the conductor's business in the little vil-
lager u])on or near tlie road, that the greate»t
extent of ;^round passed in one day «eldoin
exceeds tliivt>-, apd is ;nore generally under
twentv-iive m*iU»s.
" At convenient distances through all Asia
Minor, and indeed wherever 1 have halted
through the Turkish dominigns, the erection
of fountains, as well as caravanserais, denotes
tiie attention which has been paid to the ne-^
cessities of Mussulmaims. Many of the for-
mer are built with elegance, and ornamented
wUh xnscriptio;;s jti gilded letters^ allusive (u
6KIFFITH8 S TSATIX.S XK ZVKOTt, ASIA MINQR| AND AltABXA.
7a
thcfbuD^TT, as well as to the pnncipal article
of die Mahoinniedan &ith. An iron bowl^
lawBded by a chain, is always ready to
assbt tht! thir>ty, and a Hewing stream near it
to supply their 'beasts Very generaUy a hut,
at DO great distance, is provided with" coffee,
bread, ee^, and a distilled spirit they call
rakee ; or if the pious Mus>ulm un proprietor
should be scniptilous on the subject of the
labt articJe, the traveller has only to wait until
be meets with a Greek, who in every village
may be found to fiimish this pernicious,
thoM^ on 5uch occasions ahnobt irresistible
iBXury.'
On the fourth day they reached Sardis,
now called Sart ; the city of Craesus is now
a miiienible village of clay huts, and the
caravan halted amid the ruins of a palace.
Their next stage was Allah-Sheer, the
dtyof God,. the ancient Philadelphia, still
a populous place, where toarse cottons
and carpets are manufactured, and the art
of dyinj is better understood than in most
parts of the neighbouring country. The
Khauns here axe g^ierally full of mer-
chants, and tlie cotiee- houses and baths
well frequented. There are several Greek
churches, and one which, though mean,
is large, is called the episcopal; all in-
dicate the state of wretched poverty in
which the Greeks exist, and the bishop
has few other comforts than those which
he may derive from a conscious discliarge
of his duty. Here leaving Lydia they
entered Phrygia, and proceeded to A-
phiom-Kara-H«ssar, the old Apamea,
Wt on the banks of the Mafsyas, which
falLs into the Meander, The wool trade
forms the chief occupation of the inhabi-
tants, but great quantities pf poppies are
cultivated in the neighbourhopd, and much
ofHuni exported. In this melancholy
journey, Uirough a country which h^
been, and which ought to be, the garden
of the world, they saw little else than fine
lands uncultivated, and villages in riiins.
And now they were informed that the
road to Koniah was dangerous, for an Aga
\i'lth a troop of banditti had stationed
himself about ten miles from the common
route, and from rhence infested the coun-
try. This alarm was not groundless; the
handitti surprized them at their mid-day
meal, and demanded money Js duty for
passing the confines of their Aga. One
of these rufBans attempted to kill Dr.
Griffiths, who owed his escape entirely to
the protection of a hadgee in the caravan.
His share of the misfortune, however, was
Bot yet over. When supper was prepar-
ing, tha Tiurks obstinately refused to let
him and his compauion partake, unless
they indemnified them for the loss they
had sustained from the rohbers. Hh»
reason assigned for this demand was quitft
satisfactory. " You are two infidels, who
have been the cause of all our misfortunes,
on account of our having had the weak-
ness to allow you to come near us, and to
travel with us. Mohammed has in his
wrath punished us by permitting robbers
to take away our property ; and therefbra
unless you reimburse us for our losses,
you must no longer expect to eat from our
dish." Even the hadgee, who had given
them his oath of protection, thought this
a reasonable claim. They were to reach
Koniah the next day, where they had let-
ters of credit ; their purse was light, their
stomachs empty, for in the rencontre with
the banditti they had lost their dinner, and
they gave up all their stock of cash : it
proved far short of the expectations of
their companions, but they had honour
enough left to accept the will for the deed,
and allow them their share of the meal.
At Koniah, however, the travellers at^
tempted to right themselves by complain-
ing to the Turkish raerchant to whom
they were recommended from Smyrna |
he replied that it was out of his power to
enforce restitution, as t^ie Turks would
plead it was only their share of the loss,
and he very sensibly advised them to pro-
ceed without exciting murmurs against
them.
In this city is the great mosque of the
Mewlewahs, the whirling dervises, an
order instituted in the six hundred and
seventy-second year of the Hegira, A. D.
1294, by Jelaulud-dinn Mewlana. This
is the chief mosque of the order, and the
schaik is obeyed with the most profowid
respect. The proofs required from a no-
viciate are sufficiently severe. He \%
obliged to perform the lowest services of
the kitchen for a thousand and one days— -
a favoiurite number this it should seem
among the eastern nations. An order
called rufayees, from tlieir founder Said
Ahmed Rufayee, is distinguished for
more extraordinary practices. After four
scenes, as Dr. Griffiths calls them, in
which they have to all appearance com-
pletely exhausted themselves by violent
cries and motions, th^ fifth, which is cha-
racteristic of tlie order, conmiences.
** This is by far the most extraordinary,afld
cannot be witnessed without a degree ot" hor-
ror, 'llie state of inactivity to which thtf
dancers appeared to be reduced is now chang-
ed to one of ecstatic phrenzy, which they call
Hd€tk It is in the fervor of this religious de-
y»
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
Iitram that they make Oietr triab withred-bot
JftKl.
• << Ib a rece» in the waU, near the seat of
ike ichaik, cutlasses, and other sharp-pointed
instntnicnb, are suspended. Two <x the der-
vishes, as soon as the hfth scene commences,
take down ei^t or ten of these instruments,
and, after making thcni red-hot, j)resentthciu
to the superior ; who, repeating a tew prayers,
afad invoking schaik Ahmed Rufayee, the
fdimder, blows upon the heated iron, carries
tbem ligiitly to his mouth, and then delivers
them ui those who most vdiemently demand
4hcm. It B at this instant that these fanatics
appear tramported with enthusiastic joy: they
seize the irons, look upon them with exi^res-
sh'e tenderness, lick them with their tongues,
bite'them repeatedly, and at length extinguish
them in their mouths ! Those who cannct pro-
ctre any of tiic red-hot instruments grasp the
rtitlasses with fury, and wound themselves in
thf side, arms, or legs.
" k frequently luppens that they support
these esctraordinary tortures without the small-
est expression of pain ; but if they have not
power to resist, and fall under the violence of
th«r efhrii, ihcy throw themselves into the
?rms of a brother. In a few minutes the
fchaik visits them, breathy upon their wounds,
anoints them with saliva, recites prayers over
them, and promises a speedy recnveiy ; which
they pretend always taJces place in twenty-four
hom% afterwaids, frhen their wounds are no
longer visible.
^' llie ori^ of these singular customs is
said to be th^ belief that tiiefoimder, Ahmed
Sulayee, in a moment of religious transport,
thrust his leg into a fire, and was instantly
cured of his woimds by tlie virtue of tlie
breath and saliva of Jhdiil C(mdcr<k)olanee ;
fmm whom they imagine tlieir founder re-
ceived a similar power, which he at his death
transmitted to all the schaiks his successors.
" Ihe instruments made use of they call
gpoly whkh signifies a rose ; n>eaning to cop-
vey an idea, that the use to which they apply
them is as agrcecble to the shrine of their
elected chief, as the odor of tlie flower is ge-
nerally acce])table to the voluptuous of the
present age.
** It must be confessed, however, that great
mpicions have been entertained of these der-
vishes eraploving some artifice in their exhibi-
tions, as.weflas of tlieir possessing secrets,
communicated only amongst the elders of
their order : but there can be no deception
In the uncommon exertions and subse^juent
fsxhaustion from fatigue, which they publicly
exhibit in the ceremonies above described.""
Prom Kooiah they proceeded with the
caravan through Kreklee by Adana to the
^ort of &aftdash, and there embaFked for
Snediah, the ancient Seleucia, on the coast
of Syria, and from thence once mpre pro-
ceeded with the caravan. On the way to
Antioch, Dr. Griffiths and his Swedish
friend were once qiofc obliged to paydutif.
After leaving it they reached MJartavaun,
a place of which they had heard sufficient
to excite the curiosity o£ the most torpid
traveller. #
"In truth, the extraordinary customs of;
the inhabitants are so irreconcileable to our
ideas of propriety, and so diametrically oppo-
site to every thing we imagine a principle of
devotion, that were not the facts ascerta'med
beyond a doubt by many authors of respects*
bility, I should scarcely venture to expose my
veracity to the suspicions which may arise
from a detail of the occurrences witnessed.
" Upon entering the village the inhabitants
flocked around us, and, before we could dis-
mount from our horses, eagerly seized upon
some part of our doathing, and' invited us to
accompany them home. Men and women
were equally solicitous and equally loud in
endeavouring to attract our attention. A-
mongst them a well-looking man, in company
with three or four females, not less fa\ oreCl by
nature than himself, in spite of their olive-
colored complexion, whispeped into my ear
the Turkish words, '^ Keff-var, Keff-var-
geld!" — Much pleasure^ {txvaits you, come
with tne ! My companion, as well as my-
self, was well>ai8posed to enjoy the hospitable
ofler; and, resistmg the repeated attempts of
others to withdraw us from our exulting host,
we entered the doors of his mud-walled resi-
dence. The women were dressed in loose
vests, with a head-dress rising in a point, and
unlike any we had seen: they were joyous,
familiar, and vociferous. Unfortunately the
conversatkm- ^vas almost conlined to them-
selves, for of Arable I miderstood not a wonl ;
and my companion, whose knowledge of the
eastcni languages was extensive, was too re-
cently arrived to be familiar with the pronxin-
cbtion of our new associates. The house
continued a scene of hurry and activity, until \
a smoking piloh and a roasted kid engaged us
all at the same table. A spirituous liquor was
handed round, and the highest conviviality
was manifested bv all our hosts and hostesses,
pf whom we had three men and four women.
" After paying a serious attention to our
meal, coffee and jJipes succeeded. I'he men
disappeared one after the other, then returned
agam amongst ils for a few minutes ; seemtxl
amaz'mgly well pleased with the jokes whk^i
circulated among themsflves, accompanied by
gestures evidently intended to impress us with
the idea that we Were perfectly at home ; and
at la)gth we remained without interruptkxi in
the full enjoyment of the ladies' societv.
''Such a contrast to the ji'alous prohibitions
establish^ throughout tJie countries in which
we had travelled, and even to the prev^l'mg
manners of those immediately surrounding '
the village itself, was calculatedf to excite our
curiosity as much as our surprize; and to
have ascertained the reality of circumstances,
which, when reported to us, we could only
regard as the inventions of pleasantry or
fiction, was a subject of astoaishnici^t wbki^
GXIFFITHS'S TKATBLS IH BUHOVS, ASIA UINOI, ANP ARABIA.
fi
evening. Here he met with an adventnm
Aot altogether unlike the custom of sweat-t
ing in the Spectator. A party of Torkisl^
ladies meeting him alone in the gardens
upon the banks of the Kowick, joined
hands> and formed a circle round himj^
while others, who were at liberty within
the circle, pushed him on every skie^
laughing violently at the sport. Had any
Moslem come up, he wquld have been
bastinadoed, or imprisoned, tor undergoing
this diversion, to which he put an end at
last by forcing his way through,
Mr. H., one of the English residents at
Aleppo, was- at this tune obliged by busi-
ness to go to India, and wished Dr. Grif-
fitlis to accompany him^ saying, indeed,
that witiiout him he dared not undertake
it. The invitation was readily accepted,
for it was indilierent to the traveller which
way he went. Mr. H. took with him a
daughter only seven years of a«e, because
he could hot bear to leave both bis chil-
dren. It is almost inconceivable that any
man should thus needlessly have exposed.
a child to the dangers of such a jo^mey.
" Mr. H. determined to take with us a hone
of great value, to which he was oartial : fiid
a machine, cidlcd mokdffahj was tit ted up for
cotiuiion use. This is fanned of two boxes,
about four feet in length, and eighteen or
twenty inches in breadlii. One of these is
slupg on each side of- the caiuel ; and, by
means of upriglits ox posts hxed at tlie out-
side cornel's,, a canvas covering is thrown over
them, and sharks the travellers from the. tXr
trcme heat of the sun.
*' 1 o render tliis machine more commodn
ous, the boxes are nearly filled with mat**
tresses, but the movements of the camel pre-.
vent all comfort; and every time the fore-
feet of the auiraal come to the groimd, the
shock is similar to that which is experienced
in the bow of a vessel when labourmg agaictt
a heacl-sea ; and in a few hours 1 was so
bmised, that I (quitted the mohalVah, and ever
afterwards, even when the lieatwas almost
insupportable, preferred walking.
" ITie provident care of Mr. H. had in-
duced him to pack up a very exceUont tent,
some wines; liqueurs, butter, and h variety
of dried articles ; not forgetting a quantity of
vinegar, alum, and a pair of bellows, for.tlie
purpose of purifying the bad water we had
reasoi^ to expc^rt.
The alum proy^ useless : it only re-
(noved one unpleasant taste, by cammu**
nicating anotheif yriskh. was worse. Th»
journey was dreddfbl I the &'moo/r/i * It6-
quently blew, and pf the European tca^
vellers the child was th« one who sufiered
llMed us ample room for discussion during
(be rest of our journey.
" In the morning we were greeted with the
most friendly and obliging salutations, llie
voRKn as well as the men accompanied us to
die bouse where tlie horses had been ptit up ;
isA a pre«nt of a few piasters to our liberal
host do3ed their compliments and our adven-
ture.
"The history of these people is still but
litUe understood, although the Euroj)eans re*
jkient at Aleppo have fretjuently oaid a visit
to the village of Martavaun as well as to that
diiled Trfiem, which, at a few utiles distance,
is inhabited by the same race. They are said
to be a sect of the Ansarians ; a tribe whose
origin is traced to an old man, who lived in
the year eight hundred and ninety-one, at a
Tilta^e named A'awr, near Koulfa ; and,
amongst a variety of extraordinary tenets, a
]lriiicipal object of their devotion is the <lis-
tfoctive attribute of the female sex. From
htiice, as a natural consec|uence, may be de^
dooed their religious attention to a multiplica-
ftjn of its enjoyments ; and, with ^ pious re-
gard to their opinions U]x}n the subject, they
onbrace every opportnnity thrown in their
way by the arrival of strangers, without any
Ikind of attention to their age, their rank, or
toeir religion •
"They hold frequent assemblies, wjhere
l^ronitscuous connection is the conclusion of
such ceremonies as they have thought proper
fl> adopt in the fulfilment of their worship :
Imt wliat these previous ceremonies are, seems
to be uoknown, or involved in doubt and ob-
scurity'. The men arc of much darker conn
plexion than the women, and pay little atteo-
tion to the external omainL-nts of their dress;
whk'U is similar to the comiUon habit of the
Arabs. Many of th** women were not only
dean, but much mon* attractive than has been
etpresstxi by sevcfal travellers, whose reports
were rat her grounded u|X)n hearsay than po-
satire evidence. Their limbs are liuely form-
ed, as is generally the cas<* where nature is
not coniined by the trammels of dress ; and
tSeir teeth are beautifully white.*'
In this part of Syria they met two of
the sec^ called Yauzdia, who professedly
adorers their devotions to Shitaun, •Satr.n>
or the evil spirit. Dr. Griffiths observes
that there are other customs in the world
as ridiculous, and moce atrocious ; he might
have remarked that wc have Yauzdia in
Snglaod, who not ctnly worship an evil
spirit, but give hin\ tlie name of the deity j
and inve< him with all the attributes of
the deity— except justice, mercy, and
goodness.
Dr. Griffiths arrived at Aleppo in so
dirty and so populota a condition) that he
was ashamed to nsit the baths till the third
day after liis arrival, and even then in the
^ Dr. Griifiths writes the word tluis, after the excellent authority of Dr. Kusscl^ changing
only the final y into <r^ as ff^ore analogous/ ht^ says, to the Arabic pronunciaUopr
f«
VOYAGES Ai!D TRAVELS,
least. Their stock of procmions ran low ;
and the malted tongues, with which they
had absurdly provided themselves, proved
«f .DO use when water was scarce. The
thermometer varied, during the day, from
Cttiety-siz to one hundred and four de-
grees ^ the nights were frequently cooled
^ northerly winds.
At length they came in sight «f the
l^rand dome and glittering minarets of
Xtscbcd AU* 'Here Dr. Griffiths must
relate his own rash and perilous adventure.
" My friend was almost exhausted by the
naim aad Mneaaness he experienced ; nor was
1 much less sa: but a desire to expbre (at
iia as was possible for a ciuristiau) the re-
nowned tomb of the prophet Ali, held in es-
Cmation by the Persians witb a zeal equally
enthusiastic with that which the Iladcees of
!&]rcca cntcrtam (br tlie shrine of Mahom-
B>cd, Taiaquished my disposition for rest, and,
contrary to tlw a<lvice of Mr, II. I set off
alone iir the village.
'* It is seated upon an elevated ridge of
snul hiUs : a tolerably good street nsns nearly
iram south to north about three hundred
yards. The houses on each side are fiat-
jTOofed ; many of thein being so constructed
that their roofs are but little above the level
of 4he street To enter the liabitable part
of them, it is necessary to descend from the
streets down several steps ; sj that one is apt
to hnaglne the street has been formed bc-
txecB two rows of houses already built.
'• After proceeding along tlus street, aa-
<4her turns abruptly to the right ; aiul on the
left of the angle is the grand eiitrance to the
celebrated mosqua In a variety of shops,
nearthe gates of the mosque, were e»: posed
to sale water-melons and other fruits, as well
an many dried grains: but in almost all of
tliem the proprietors were reposing them-
selves ; and on account of the extreme heat
not a sin jle person appeared walking in the '
ftreets. "Being thirsty, 1 wished to purchase
part of a melon, and addressed myself to a
shopkeeper for the purpose ; but taking me
for a Greek, he loaded me with abuse, and
refused to contaminate fiimself even by sell-
rng to me ono of the articW op his shop-
board- I retired without making him any
reply ; and, unon Tny return past liis hiit, ob-
«er\'ed he han again laid hnnself down to
•li-ep. Oa apj>roaching the gate of the
mosque, I perceived that all the good Mus-
siilmauns, at each side of tlie entrance, were
in the same drowsy disposition. Stimulated
by an irresistible, yet unpardonable airiosity,
I nastily walked into the iii'st court. An ele-'
gant fountain, ornamented with coloured
tiles, and a profusion of Arabic sentences,
was constructed in the centre ; and a corridor
roimil the area afforded a shady walk to thai
part of the btiildmg, where t\^*o handsome
doors led to the ititerior of the mos(jue. I
went to that on the jeft-hand side ; and find-
ing iw one at prayers, entered it far enough
to see the whole of the apartment. The donm
is very handsome, but by no means so Jarge
as that of Saint PauPs, as colonel Capper
^ judged it to be from its apj)ea ranee at a dis-
tance. The mosque is rich 1 y ornamented with
balls of ivory, glass, ostriches oggs, and a pro-
digious nuinlK^r of lamps, not only in tiie
centre, but on every side. Very small-siztd
rich carpets covered the flooring, and two ex-
traordijiary large silver candlesticks were
placed near the Alahareb.
" Apprehension of discovery now began to
operate upon me, and 1 traced back my steps
with caution, greatly dissatisiied at liavins
found nothing extrabrdwiary ; but, bt fore I
could repass tJie gate, an old man started up,
and called to me in Persian. Not receiving
any answer, he awakened two others ; when
the)' all jumped from the elevated part where
they had been sleeping, and exclaimed moat
vehemently. One of them, anned with a
schnitar ^tortuoatcly for me not unsheathed),
and another with a short stick, made many
blows at me ; which parrying in the best man-
ner I was able, aithoui^h not so successfully a*
I could have wiahtxl, 1 da.shed through these
beanded her)es, and was assailed in my llight
by many large stones, of which, for many
days, I bore tlie marks.**
As ihtj advanced tl^eir sufferings be-
came almost intolerable. The sand was
so hot, that the horse was actually lamed
by the burning heat of his shoes. Tlie
S/nwo/ei. became more frequent and more
violent: tlie tliermomeber lose to one
hundred and sixteen degrees ; what little
■water remained was so tliick and cont*.
minated, tliat, parched as tliey were, diey
could not swallow it. For eight and forqr
hours they were in want of water, at
length tliey reached the well, but not ia
time to save the life of Mr. H. He lived
indeed to taste the water, and almu6t im- .
mediately expired.
The child, probably because she was in
the mohaffah, suffered comparatively little
from the poisonous wind. At length they
readied the Euphrates j but though many
of tlieir dangers were over, the heat coo-
tinned to increase. Pahrenheit's thenno-
meter rose to one- hundred and thirty-two
degi-ces under the tent ; and when exposed
a quarter of an l^our to the sun, to one
hundred and fifty-six degrees. On die
forty-eighth day after their departure from
Aleppo they arrived at IJassora. Here Dt,
GriAitlis consigned his little charge to tli«
commercial resident : she remained a few
months tliere, and ri'crossod the desert
under the care of captain Currie, who de-
livered her safely to her mother.
From Bassora Dr. Griffiths suded for
Bombay, and there his volume ends. W «
wish to see his remarks upon India.
DATIE^S LETTEXS 9ROU PARAGUAT*
»
This book is poblislied in a maoiKr un*-
Becessarily expensive, which we notice,
because it is becoming too much tbe prac-
tice for authors, or for booksellers^ to
nuke the public pay tor blank paper.
The three hundred axid ninety-six pages
of this quarto might have been comprised
in a thin octavo volume, or even ib a duo-
decimo, and that too in a type which
\^oidd require no spectacles to magnify it.
There is certainly no legal standard for
printers measure^ but tliere is a standard
of honesty to which evoy things ms^ be
referred.
The prints in this Toliune are aetlter
beautifial nor useful ; they serve no other
purpose than to enhance the price of Am
work. They have a bad custom, ift arbi^
trary governments, of licensing books-^
they have also a custom of fixing the suoi
at wliich they shall be sold— our Rngiigli
publishers are proving that this custom !•
not quite so bad.
Art. XIII. Letters from Pera^aoff: describing the Settlemmts rf Afonte flieo imd
BumofJ'jres ; the Presidencies of Bioja Minor ^ Nombre de Dios, St. Muryani SL
John, (Jc. ^Cv xsitkthe Manners, Customs, and religions Ceremonies, fyc. cf the Inko"
kitOHts, U'rilten during a Residence qf seventeen Months in that Country. By Johji
CossTANSE Davie, i:*^. 8vo. pp.293.
THIS book has, in some parts, a kind
t>f romantic air, which prevents us from
trusting implicitly to the information which
it contains : it is evident, however, that
the writer has described many things from
actual inspection} and, as eN'cry notice
concerning the state of Spanish America
ii highly interesting, we are. much in-
clined to give the volume before us a
welcome reception. The advertisement
infonns us^ that
•* The writer of the following letters^ a gen-
ti^nnan of liberal education and considerable
property, harlng been disappointed in his
hopes of happiness with a beloved female, to
ftiieve the distress of his miud, resolved to
travel; and leaving .this country for New
York, on his arrival aimmencetl a corres-
• Modence with his most intimate friend
Yoike, esq. of Taunton-Dean, in the county
of Somerset, his half-brother. After remain-
ing at New York a short time, he suddenly
formed the resolution of embarkmg on a tnui-
iogvoya'e to Botany Bay — ^with which tliese
letters begin.
" Soon after they had sailed, a tremendous
itanii obliged the captain to alter his course,
and make for the river Plata. They safely
reached Monte A idt^o, and afterwards went up
to Bucnos-Avres, to ri'pair the v<«sel ; whefe
VkT. lhs\& was seized with a dangerous dis-
order, which usuallv attacks Europeans upon
tbeir first landing m tliat country ; and the
aptain, having repaired his damages and
ronipleted his stock of provisions, was under
thc disagreeable necessity of leaving him in
the care of the fathers of the convent of St.
Don/uuc, by whose unremitted attention he
^covered in about three months.
I " The jealousy of the Spanish government
causini^ fahn, upon his recovery, to be coiv-
£ned to the limits of the convent, he, to ob«
t»a more liboty , took the dress 9f a noviciate ;
and, IB con!«quencc, after a short time was
permitted to vi$it in the town, and soon after
t9 attend (aUier Hcnuadei o& a visli to some
of the presidencies in the interior of thepn>-
viiKe of Paraguay, which v^ere tmderstood
to be in an unsettled state : diis enabled him
to inake many observations^ AvhieU he took,
every opportunity of communicating t» hit
friend ui this c ountry, through his agent at
Kew Y'ork, by means of the American cap-
tains trading to South America.
" After his return to Bnenos-Ayres, it it
certain that he went to Conception, ia Ciuli^
as he was last heard of from that place, in
the year 1803 : but whether he lost his life in
any insurrection of the natives, or was im-
prisoned by the government in coasequenoft
of Ills correspoudencc being detected^ is uar
known."
From tliis it is evident, that the frieal
to whom these letters are addressed is nol
the editor of them, and, of course, not re*
sponsible for tlieir authenticity in the state
ill which they appear before the public.
Another suspicious circumstanpe is, that
the latest letter in this volume is dated
May 1798, although we learn from the
Advertisement, that Mr. Davie was hist
heard of firom Conception, in Chili, ia
1803. Were no letters received during
the wbolQ of this interval, qt have thej
not come into tlie possession of the editor >
Soon after Mr. Davie's arrival at Mont»
Video, he was seized with a dangeixitia
iever, accompanied and succeeded by long-
cxmtinued delirium, during whicli he was
conveyed to Buenos-Ayres, and left at
the Dominican convent there, by 411*
.friend the American captain, who was
obliged to proceed on his vayage. From
the monks, to whose hospitality he was
entrusted, he received the kindest atten-
tions, and finally got the better of his ill-
ness by means of an Indiap remedy.
Being thus left alone amopg strangers,
and, in consequence of the war betwecB
JEp^land and Spain, being considered «s
tf^
Voyages and tRAVElis.
t prifiOner> Mr. Davie "vras induced to re-
tain the noviciate's habit, with which he
htA been clothed on his first i^eception into
the monastery^ in the hope of being al*
lowed a little more. Hberty, more especi*
idly a^ he was looked upon by tlie goCbd
fimers as a catholic^ in consequence of
the following nustake.
** These reverend fathers regard me as a
tery pious and devout catholic. This strange
prepidice I can no otherwise account for^ than
ny tJieir finduig on my neck the precious
cross worn by my lost — . I missed this
iraluable reUc immediately upon regaining
my senses, but was dilHdent ot asking for it»
as not knowing where or how I had lo;it it.
However, when 1 was, in their opinion, sui)i-
ciently recovered, the jewel was restored to
me, and in a transport of joy I seized and
carried it to mv li})s. lliis motion ^f mine
«vas attrQ»uted ]>y the brethren to a motive
of grateful piety,' and they very readily conr
ceived that I was one of their own persua*
This letter is dated June 1797, so tliat
the subsequent events related by Mr.
Davie occupy a period <^ only eleven
months. The discreet conduct of the au-»
llior, his attentions to his ecclesiastical su-
periors, and a \veIUtinied present to the.
Btonastery, procured him tiie liberty of
visiting a ^w of the principal families in
the town, and of making little excursions
into the neighbourhood. The country
taaad is, for the roost part, an immense
' sasanna, extremely fertile, especially in
those parts that are annually inundated by
the river, iind covered with luxuriant
herbage, supporting large herds of wild
cattle and horses, tlie descendants of those
formerly imported bither from Europe.
The cattle^ however, are not so numerous
as they usM to be, on account of the de-
xastation committedamong them for many
years *past by the hunters, who destroy
them by thousands metely for the sake <^
the'u: skins, tongues, and fstt.
Splendour, dissipation, idleness, and
filthy strikingly characteriae the settle-
fneat of Buenos- Ayres ; and the influ-
ence of the clergy being' very great, the
x^ligiou^festivals are solemnized with un-
usual pomp. The account of the cele-
tartion of Corpus Cluisti day deserves to
ha extracted.
'< The mocning was ushered in by the rio^-
ii^ of bells, firing of cannon, and other ami-
lar demonstrations of joy. At ten o'clock^
upon a signal given at tne ^veriior*s house,
the community prepared to join in the gene-
sal ca^vakade ; aiid now, for the first time, I
sKattoM^theotttsideflf thecanrBOU We
were arranged in order, in a large ft:|nftre,
within tlie gates : firit, the young chorister*
were divided into four bands, twelve in each 5
these are the cliildren tinder the tuition of the
fathers. The lirst division was to precede the
whole, singing a particular service appropriate
tO' the day. On either side the^e children'
walked lay-brothers, bearing ensigns, or pic-
tures representing the dilferent achievementi
of their patron sauit Then followed the
novices, amonc; whom was myself; every one
bearing some precious relic or another, en-
closed in boxes of ebony and ivory, curiously
' wrought.
" 'i b us succeed«l another band of music,
accompanied by ^i the visitors of distinctk>fl,
of which there were not a few from the dis-
tant plantations. Next came the elder la-
thers of the convent, two and two, each car-
rying something relative to the festival ; and
after them the superior, chased in all the re-
galia of his ofHce, surrounded by the young
students go'mi; to Cordova, and six lay-bro-
thers, bearing banners. ITie remainder of
tJie community, choristers, and several newly-
baptized Indiaus, brought up the rear ; every
one in this procession being arrayed in their
richest and gayc-st attire. The caralcade,
having cleared the convent-gate, entered a
iai^e Jiandsome square ; en one side of which
stands the cathedral, a very fine well-finished
edifice, crowned with a cupola, and open on
all sides to the view. Round this square were
. assembled the societies of several other or-
ders, all dressed in paraphernalia ; and a
more curious scene 1 never witnessed, it
seemed as if people from all nations of the
earth were collected together, presenting
every dillerent shade of the coinple.xion, from
the silver-haired iniiabitant of Denmark to
the sable-hued native of Guuiea.
" Among the crowd some Indian caciques
held a very conspicuous ulace. . They wore
party-Goloiured cotton haLiti;, prettily decor
rati*d with a variety of feathers, arranged in a
ver)' judiciotis and elegant nianner. Bands of
wo«j1, red, puq>le, and yellow, encircled their
heads, and supported some of the most beau-
iiiul plumes I ever beheld. Several of the
caciques wore glittering ornaments on their
chkis ; others on their necks, arms, and legs*.
But if these Indians pleased by the satety of.
their attire^. another tribe interested me ne
4ess by their simplicity. These were dad in
white cotton vestments, with no other oma^
ment than large full \riiiie feathers, rising oot
above another round the head. This dress,
contrasted with the dark copper cok>ur d
their skms, was peculiarly striking, and gave
a most singukir, though extremely pleasing
appearance to tlie whole.
" The outsides of the houses, round thf
jquans wete hung with festoons of Jewcrs,
and Ihre birds, tiaiwith strings, to prey^
thetresoape, but long enough toadmitof tJtm
.flutteringsui&ctcntly to expand iheir.i»eautifiil
plumage ; .^contrivance which J must cooSe^
Jiad a fvry picturesque .eStait The paitic^
jd tiirnhunnh vas dixoiated vntk^an juaeoinr
tiUnt a LiTTSBS fk6x Pit Aotr4^.*
fflODqiiqptity of real aod artificial flpwers, io
the dBp(»a! of which a great share of ta$te
bid been displayed. Under the principal
arch was placed' a band of musiciaiis^ who
tm^ flndpliiyed most enduBrtingly. Indeed
thefe is not a place m the world, not even
itilT, where sacred music ismore studiously
«tt«ided ta Up<ia a volley beiog fired by
naieof the soldien — who were all drawn ufp
oi one side of the square— the processtoa
Gmmenced by the military, fully accoutred,
uarchiog otT two and two, to the sound of
«lfums trumpets, and other martial music, at
ifiterrab halting, to diseharge their pieces ;
tile beBs of all the diurches ringing, and the
diips in the harbour vetun^ng the tire in the
tamu: to that altogether you may suppose the
oooGCft by no means a de^icable one. Fir$t
after the solcUers came the order of St. Fraof-
ds, airanged in nearly the same manner as
ourselves ; then followed a second division of
the mililarv, and the choristers of the cathe-
dral: to tlicm succeeded the order of St.
iaines; and, thirdly, we came in. Between
ouritar, and the advanced guard of the fourth
eBoaminity, was borne on a very high a)tar>
Ikfaly deoQiated, the elemcDtB oif the eucha-
list, 9MTouoded by a vaist number of jpeople
of the first rank and. quality ; some ot tliem
heaxins ligbted wax-candles, highly perfunt-
cd ; others incease, many banners, and not
a few relics : the whole group flanked by sol-
diers on horseback, in ttieir newest and best
attire, firing alternately to the right and left:
and wherever a cross was erected, which I
Mieve was at the end of every street, the
vhole cavakade bsdted to sing the appointed
lervicc.
" After the eucharist came aaotkei^ division
of soldiers, and after tbcra all the remalaing
rd'igious of the town ; while on either side tf
the street— for we took the middle-Hsiarched
the mobility, men, womettr and childi«n ; btrt,
notvithstaiiding their numbers, all ranged in
regular order, and observing a profound si*'
fence, except when diey iotned in the general
cfaonises, and then blessed St D^imc*
What a din was there ! Each division of the
whole procession was attended by a band of
nunc, which, halting at the crdsses^ played
aJmoat divinely ; and sorry -enough I was,
vhen the devotion of the muhifeude, break*-
iag foith into audible sounds, spoiledsuch ex*-
ceilent harmoBty.
" The decorations of the houses in mag^
aificence surpassed any thing I ever beheSi
■t Europe on the like occasion. Tlie streets
are w^ *, and most of theni in a Mraight Ime ;
the houses in general low, with here and there
a very elegant church or public buil^g,
finished accordmg to the rules of European
architecture. Every habitation was hung
cither with tapestfy or coloured cottons ctf
various djes, ornamented with feathers in a
'wy Higemous manner ; between which were
n^enoed festoons of fiowers, articles of plate,
andLe?ren jeweb, according to the riches of
tke tmifir. Across the streets^ from side tp
^
aide, were triumphal arcbds, con^)OKd of
boughs of trees artfully interwovi^n; kois^
which hun^ as at the portico of the churclu
a great vanety of living birds, aH suspoode^
in the most advantageous point of view, and
somei of them beyond description beautiiiiL
Between the arches were set out a vast quan-
tity of eatables ; such as cakes, pies, £ruits»
Sec. all disposed io a very agreeable maimeii
and I could not help feehng a kind of peculiar
EttglUh pleasure at this part of the exhihatioo.
Cfose to tlK* houses, on each nde of the street^
were likewise pkuied living animals — ^>'o<u^
' tigers, lions, wolve^ do^, and even monkeys
ot a particular large specKs — sccunedso caf^
fully as to prevent any possibility of the^
escaping, or hurting those that nugjht come
near them. From tiie windows wi^re su9->
pended baskets^ very neatly wove, ot aiovd^
green colour^ containing every lund of seei
or erain with which they mean' to sow th^
land, that the Saviour of the worlj^
might bestow "his benediction on them asiie
passes, which they tliink will undoabtedly
procure them a pleatifui harvest ; aadindeed
they are seldom, if ever, disappc^ed.
*' There is not a stieet tlirough which te
procession passes but is adorned in thb %ihstt
did manner : for on this festival the riches «f
every individual are displayed to the greater
^advantage possible, and with a peculiar dc-
,gree of ait ; which must, I should think, oo»
cupy a considerable tune m preparation;
• "In one of the streets leadmg to the great
square I saw three of the largest and Ime*
peacocks I ever bdield: ato |ttK«i6ants of an
extraordmary size and beauty, not tauch wt-
like the peacocks in point of feather, hut taUeiv
with itioiv slepder legs ; and in lieu of a long
sweeoins tail, small tufts of featliei's, coa^
posea of dark brown, bcautihilly ^ded with
green and gold ; but their ejcs and plumage^
m beauty and variety of colours, far surpassed
any of the biped kind that had ever Wore
met my iaspection. ITiey all appeared vert
tame ; and, wiUi several other large birds fas-
tened in a smiilar way, were not in tiie least
disturbed bv the firing, the shouts of the*mul-
titude, or the trampling of tiie horses. 1 he
ground was all over strewed with herbs and
flowers, so regularly disposed as to resembk, ia
many places, the most delicate Persian carpets.
fn iine, all the sweets of nature seemed col"-
lected m one spot, to honour the -sacred fes-
tival : and a greater assemblage of people «ft*
all ranks, ages, and conditions, 1 jievur wil-
nessed, even in the most populous city in Ei*-
rope ; nor so profound a suence and regiil^
rity, except wlien the pious responses were
made.
*' The governor was dressed in a rich Spa-
nish habit, tastily ornamented with goli
jewels, &C. He was stjrrounded by a nii^
merous*and very ^lendid retinue, a*? nonfc
but the sick are exempt from assistance at thJb
ceremony. i
^ " When the procession reached the'e?4liQ»
dbl, tlic air was almost rent by the mujti^uip
M
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
of Tcnoes; and vvt entered the edifice during
ft heavy discbarge of artillery from the gani-
aoa and ships in the harbour^ also volleys of
.'musquetry from the soldifrs in the streets.
Here high mass was celebrated, and the sa-
crament administered; which ceremony, of
course, occupied a considerable time, and
when ended the different communities retired
in the same order to their respective convents,
^lie principal visitors and caciques are invited
to the govemor^s, where a plentiful banquet
b provided for them, composed of every de-
Jioicy the country affords. The eatables, &c.^
-with which the streets were adorned are taken*
down^ and distributed by the parish priests
among the inhabitants, who entertain all stran-
gers that clioose to partake of them. At night
viere is a general rejoicing ; when some very
ingenious fire-works are displayed, and «a»
ttonal games exhibited, such as hunting or
ludtingthe wild bull, &c. and various maitial
exercise^ in which the inhabitants of Buenos-
AjTes particuUurly excel.**
We are sorry to obser%'e that tlie op-
pression of the Indians still continues in
ail its rigour, and that this is the causdof
the comparatively good treatment experi*
cnced by the negro slaves : the cost of a
negro is considerable, and therefore his
purchaser is induced to use him weUj
out the poor native Indians, whenever
they can be caught, belong to the govern-
ment, and are consumed, without re-
^morse, in the public works and private
cnnployment, by excessive labour and
scantiness of food.
The empire established Ky the Jesuits
in Paraguay, although its destruction was
:^pQrently very complete, has by no means
yet ceased to operate : the necessary ten-
dency of this measure was to increase pro-
digiously the power of the military com-
isanders, at the expence of the influence
till that time possessed by the priests;
the consequence of which is, that the ec-
clesiastics, in the distant presidios at least,
are yerv discontented, and ate intriguing
both with the converted and unconverted
Indians, to expel the military by force,
and throw off^ their dependence on the
governor of Buenos-Ayres. Some sedi-
tious movements among the clergy, in tlie
settlements on the Uraguay and the lake
Iberi, had parfcicularly attracted the notice
of government, and it wzs thought expe-
dient to send, from tlie Dominican mo-
nastery at Buenos-Ayres, a respectable ec-
clesiastic, fatlier Hernandez, to conciliate
if possible the existing difl^irences. Mr.
Davie bad the good fortune to prevail on
the father to allow him to accompany the
nritssion as secretary, and accordingly, in
the mon^ of Seprcmber, he quitted the
capital with his associates, and commenced
his journey. They travelled by land up
tlie banks of the Plata, as far a:i the little
harbour of Rio de las Conchas ; here they
embarked on board three balsas, or cover*
ed doubk: canoes ; and crossing the Plata,
entered the Uraguay, a deep and rocky
stream, and one of the principal contri*
butors to the main river. The Uraguay
abounds in fish, and its wooded banks
swarm with game, and are infested by
tigers, not indeed so formidable as those
of Bengal, yet sufficiently fierce to exer-
cise the skill and courage of the Indian
hunters. After proceeding for some da}'s
up this river, they entered one of its tri-
butaries, the Iber, and at length r^ched
the lake Iberi, out of which the Iber
flows in one direction, and an unnamed
stream in anoiher, that falls into the Plata
at tlie presidency of Santa Lucia. The
lake is above one hundred miles long, and
forty wide : it is sprinkled with nuroe-^
rous islands, and on its fertile and wooded
shores are established several flourishing
settlements, at the principal of which »
Rioja Minor, father Hernandez and his
company took up their residence.
" This town is pretty large, and very regu-
larly built. Ihc streets, which are in the Ro-
man style, exactly parallel, are divided by
plantations of trees thick set, oranges, le-
mons, citrons, myrtles of every various 5^01!,
and scores of other odoriferous shrubs, which
as you pass' regale the senses most delightfully,
and seem to give one a foretaste of tho^e
blissful regions where our religion tells us we
shall rest for ever. little currents of tlie
purest water run witli gentle ripplings under-
neath tiie trees, over a smooth ned of small
round pebbles. The houses are mo$>tly built
of clay, one story high, and covered with
tiles; but tlu? dwellings of the commandant,
corrigidor, fiscal, anil others of note, arr
higher, inade of brick, and fitted up with
every convenience. The public storeliousc
is in die centre of the town ; it b oiu» story
high, very long and wide, divided into seve-
tal apartments, so contrived as to receive
every dilferent article for use or barter. !• or*-
nieriy this storehouse was under the sole re-
gulation of tiie rector, and by him only was
le jjroduce proportioned out to the Uittereiit
families; but now tlie Spanish com: ^ ndant
claims a share in the diiitribution.*'
The unusual alertness of the military
clearly showed that raiscliief was appre-
hended, but for some weeks no disturb-
ance took place: in January 179^» father
Hernandez, accompanied by Mr. Davie,
went, ott account of his health, to the^ mi-
neral waters of Ariciffe, near the pnesi«
dency of S;tfita Maiia, on tbe-xiver Pk-
DAT IS^S LETTERS FROM PARAQUAT.
81
tarn; from this place he was suddenly
ifcaUed to ihe suqceeding month to Rioja
3finor, where every thing was in confu-
sion. The father, on his arrival, found
ihe moDastery surrounded by a guard of
soldiers, and that two of the principal ec-
clesiastics were under arrest on a charge
of trtasQD; this disgraceful circumstance,
tc^ether with the fatigues of his rapid
joomey, afiected so severely both his
health and spirits, that he died in a few
da>'s, leaving the two parties in a state of
tbe highest irritation against each olber>
Vthidi shcnrdy concluded in the following
tragical manner.
*' Futficr Michael and father Josqjh were
phceil in confinement, until tlie balsa sliouid
be ready to convey them to Buenos- Ayr6s.
1 «as 9(> much taken up with the ilhiess and
death of our good pastor, that I never even
be!ik)VGd a thought upon these men until the
moniing after the funeral, when I scut to tlie
couiuiandant to rec|uest tiut I might be per-
mitted to return with the prisoners to the* con-
vent of St Dominic, if tliey were not already
sent off; for not a single person had oiwned
his lips to me on that or any other subject,
save the death of the superior,- whom every
•lie lamented, llie answer I received from
Don Policarpo (the governor) was, ' that he
should consider of ray request ; and in the
meantime desired I would Keep myself quiet
^wth the other two brothers in the monaster}/
round which I found the guard was still sta-
tiwied. This answer of the commandant's
somcuhat siirpHsed me; and about the
middle of the day after that on which it was
sent to me, 1 was sitting in the apartment for-
merly occupied by the venerable Hernandez,
n-decting on my situation, and wondering for
what new vicissitudes I w;as rese^^'ed, when I
was routed from my reverie by the loud con-
. filled dm of an approaching multitude. .Pre-
witW a »gnal-gun was fired, the driuns beat
to anns, and the piercing war-shout of tlie
Indians burst upon my ears. I spnmg in ter-
ror from my seat, and ran to the*window ; but
it only commanded a vieu' of the convent
garden. I was therefore hastily returning to
the door when it flew open, and the friendly.
Indiaii, who made my secret box for me,
r^ished into the room, followed by about
twenty of the town Indians. * Come with
me, father Mathias,' said he — for that is my
nrligious title — ' for with us you will be safe/
' \\ hat IS the matter >* cried I ; ' what does
ill this mean ?* ' Father Michael and fother
Joseph,* retuined he ' have been rescued fh>m
the oalsas by some tribes of the wild Chanias :
tliey have joined tiie tow^n Indians, ^ho have
ris4^ in a bodvy and are now surrounding
every Spaniard's house ; but 1 will preserve
ytju. Saying this, he threw part of a tiger's
sluD across my shoulders, and pulled me after
him out of ihe monastery, aqd towards the
maud. All we pasied was tupiult, horror,
AxK. Aey. Vol. IV.
and confusion ; the military were fljnng in all
directions, pursiuul by the Chanias, armed
with long barbed darts, which they sent
through tlie air with amazing celerity. The
townsmen had taken possession of tlie signal
post, storehouse, and arsenal, and bemg at
tlie hour of siesta, all the Spaniards had been
taken miprepared. This was the revolt which
had bedi so long dreaded, and ^-hich the
commandant too securely thought lie had
elfectually circumvented through the intel-
ligence received from the Indian. But this
pretended confession, it now .appears, was
only a deep-laid scheme to deceive the com-'
"mandant; the conspirators h^d fpreseen the
consequences, and provided accordingly. I
perceived, as I passed along from the" mo-
nastery to the water, that all who had not the
whole' or part of a tiger's skin upon their
shoulders were immediately sacrificed either
by tiie town Indians, who wore this sj-mbol,
of by the Chanias, who had theirs lied about
their waists as tJieu* common, and indeed only,
covering. When I reached the strand, the
first objects f beheld were the dead bodies of
the comnumdant and major-general^ pierced
in every part with darts and arro^i's, i have
since learned they dragged the former from
his bed, and massacred hUn ; his wife and
family were killed in much tiie s^me maimer;
and so sudden and unexpected was the blow,
tliat not a s'uigle destined victim had escai^ed."
• ** On tlie sixili day in the evening, tather
Michael came to me, and apologised for not
seeing me before, saving, that the many ma-
terial things he had had to arrange alone pre-
vented him. lie then entered into a k>ng
dissertatbn on tlie necessity the town Indians
had beenoinder of adopting the decisive mea-
sures ihcy had pursued, to obtain that liberty
the state of Spain had so long deprived them
of, and which it was their firm determination
to secure against whatever ste|w the crown
'might have recourse to, to prevent tiiem ; for
although diey respected the laws, they were
not disi>osed tp abide by any but those they
tiieinseivcs sliould frame: their oppressor^
had reigned long enough, and tliey were re-
solved to enjoy their native freedom, oif
perish in the attempt."
The insurgents offered Mr. Davie a
quiet residence among them, and even to
secure his escape to England 5 but expect-
ing to be appointed to a mission to Cliili,
he declined their offers, and was sqjU in a
balsa to Buenos-Ayres, wher« he safely
arrived in the month of May. Here the
volume terminates. Besides the events^
of which we have given a sketch, tliere
are interspersed several interesting parti-
culars relative to the manners of the In-
dians, and the police of the Spaniards 5
bat these we decline to notice, oonceiving
it to be an injusrice to the author to make
any more extracts from a iroaU hook.
VOYAGES AKD TaAVELSw
^RT- XIV. 4<Tour in America, in 1798, 1799, and 1800. Exkihiihg SJcetchcs qf Stf^
eietif and Manners, and a particidar Account of the American Syttem <jf AgrictUturef
xiith itit recent Imnrozenient^ By ViicHAnn Parkim«on, late of Orange HiU^ near
Baltimore' (AutnoY of the '* Experienced Farmer" ^'c. 2, Vols. 8vo. pp. 735,
Ma. PARKINSONt ought to have ei>
titled his work an AgricidUtral Tour; for
It lias lio pretensions to have given a satis-
factory accouat of any otiier phenomena,
than those which interest the farmer.
Jut for the very rej^son that it selects for
ijbcord and discussion such ieaUires of tlie
Qountry, as the author was peculiarly qua-
lified to give a critical account of, it ex-
ceeds ia value those superficial books of
travels, which treat of every thing, s<nd of
every thing defectively. The farmer, who
nrojects an emigration to Niorth America,
^lould fittudy this work } it will deter him
l5*oro executing the project, by the satis-
ftctory detail of causes, why me agricul-
tural profession neither ia, nor is, likely to
bocome a profitable or pleasant employ-
ibent, in any part of the United States
whfch the writer visited. His tour is con-
fined to the central provinces of the North
American States.
The author embarked at Liverpool,
landed at Norfolk in Virginia, went to
treat with General Washington for a femt
near Mount Vernon, and tin^dly settled in
the neighbourhood of Baltimore, in which
town he «old a great quantity of milk.
Concerning this sweep of district the ac-
count is ample, minute, instructive, and
decisive.
Instead of a survey of the back settle-
ments, some sliocking stories are told of*
tlie atrocious conduct of the Indians in
1782, when tliey were toid to have been
hallooed upon the western settlers by the
intrigues of the British: it is more pro-
bable that the usurpation of Indian dis-
tricts, without orderly purchase, gave oc-
casion to thi$ savage w\irfare.
The author next travels to Philadelphia,
Brunswick, and New- York, for the pur-
pose of soliciting subscriptions to his re-
printed Experienced F^mer. His social
iutrodwctious are various, and the infor-
mation collected is considerable for so
cursory a three months journey.
Hif tliird tour, is a circuit of three hun-
dred mileSff chiefly along the Chcsapeak,
through Annapolis ; ixere, if any where,
tbe author linds something to praise. The
ijorthern, the southern, tlie western states
were never inspected : but as the tide of
emigration fi'om Knglaud mostly tends to-
ward the country bet wcea New- York and
Baltiroore5 that territory b described con-
cerning which information Is most impor-
tant on this side the Atlantic.
We learn in general that the soil is every
where* bad; labour every where dear^
demand for produce every where narrow
and precarious 5 necessaries eveiy where
costly; and comforts whc^Uy uncomeat*
able : that farming on a small scale, or a
large scale, is a losing trade ; and that a
£urmer*s lamily m reality subsists^ not bji
the profits on his stock or C2^ixal em*
ployed, but by personal Egging, which,
as all men's labour is well paid, may keep
a family h-om starving. The roads are
execrable ; but the gentlemen hospitable.
The people are insolent, dishonest, and ra-
jijacious. There are no poor-laws, no pu-
nishments, no schools. Civilization, whidu
always proportions itself to tlie densi^ of
populousness, is retrogressive, and ap-
pvoach?s nearer to a Russian than an Eng^
lish level : the symptoms of culture ob-
ser^'able in the towns are due to the in-
flux of tbreign, chiefly Scottish, mer-
chants. In short, such a picture as Bu-
low of Hamburgh drew, in 1797, of th«^
commercial interest of North America,
is here drawn of the landed interest.
Both authors agree that the price of land
is on the decHne; and tliat the incle-
mency and unwholsomeness of the cli-
mate are uiiconquerable impediments to the,
higher stages of cultivation and improve-
i»ent. The country is not only bad, but
unbetterable. The inliaWtants are con-
stantly crawling westwards, and. at every
remove sink lower toward poverty, priva- '
tlon, and barbarism.
In all this delineation there is evidently
much of caricature ; and' a systematic,
wish and endeavour to ciirry favour with^
the' tories of England, by ascribing the
evils of North Aiuerica to its republican-^
ism. To the doctrine of equality is at-
tributed the insolence of the commonalty^
to liberty, tlieir improbity; to tlie wanf
of a distinct exemplary class of noblemen,
tlieir vulgarity or rudeness ; to the want]
of an established clergy, their ignorance. '
The author was pleased with Washuigtoa'
and Jefferson, and therefore omits to men-
tion what they lose by wanting a king.
Those who are curiousLCQnceniing-:\me-
ricao agriculture >vill^ of course^ consuls
^AlKlIf SOV t TWM »r AMM^itk^
U
tk book itself; vre shall indicate ovly tt
kwhcta, which may supply hints lor lm«
proTcments at home.
In Che Patowmak there are ftpsh^water
ofsters, large and &t: ** the taste ia wateiy
aad ditt^reeable to me, but not so to the
Americans.*' Supely this sort of shellfish
might be reared in the inland lakes of
Great Britain.
""There 2tt ^TBit numbers of hogs» in ge-
bI of a very interior kind. The real Anie-
ncan-bog is what is termed the wood-hos:
fbey are lone in the leg, narrow on the back,
short m the body, iiat on the sides, witii a long
samit, very lousii in their hair, in make more
Ske tfie wh caUed a perch than any thing I
can describe. You may as well think of stop-
ping a crow as those hogs, lliey will go to
aifastanceform a fence, take a nm, and leap
thmigh the rails, three or four feet from the
gnxuid, turning themselves sidewlse. These
hogs sufler sudb hardships as no other animal
GouJd endure. It is customary to keep them*
hi the woods ail winter, as there is no thrash-
ing or fold-yards; and they must live on the*
roots of trees, or something of that sort; but
ihcy arepoor beyond any creature that I ever
saw. That is probably the cause why the
ibaerican pork is so very fine. They are
something bke the forest-sheep. I am not
certain, with American keeping and treatment,
if they be not the best ; for I never saw any
animal live without food, except this ; and 1
am pretty sure they nearly do that. When
tb^ are'frd, the ifesh may well be sweet : it-
isaU vouD^ though the pig be ten years old ;
and, iikepigs in general, they only act as a
convevaoce to carry com to market. The
sort c^hogs I left in America pay the most for
faod i ever saw. 1 fed some half-bred ones,
at six months old, that weighed ten stone
each— fourteen pounds to the stone. With
^nery little food and care, tliey kept fat in their
ptjwiiig state.
" I had a sow that yielded me one hundred
and twenty-five pounds fifteen shillings in ele-
ven roooUis. I sold three hogs to general
Eidgdy for fifty-six pounds five shilUngscur-
rency. llie pigs were all sold trom the sow
at se>-en weeks old, except one. At two litters^
ibc had only twelve, to inake the sum.** -
This breed may be worth importing for
the northern shires: ^here food is pJenti-
iol, the Java hog is the quickest fatter.
A peculiar Imeed of chickoas, which hiy
<>ggs all winter, also deser\'es attention :
ii is norjced page 2g9. The sofV crab,
and the canvaa-back duck are mentioned
as delicacies, which the curious in eating
tbmki import, llie early white wheat is
4tocribed, voL 11. p. 322 : there are many
VMriciies of wheat cultivated- in Sicily
^Huch actt unlived in Amerioa, or even in
^wt Brilftin^ one so ra^d offfrowth,a»
to rield thrice in a year* * 1!o the hot
countries American £irmers shoold adf-*
dress themselves for seeds and for prec««
dents. Herd-grass, or swiamp-grass, me«
rics trial at home; and so does timothy-
grass.
'' The great advantage of herd grass li
that it grower on Swampy ground where wafaP
is liable to stand: it grows in those sort df
swamps with such luxuriance in America, as
to produce, it is said, a greater burthen than
timothy ; and is much superior in quality to
either clover or tunothy. It is a much Aner
grass than timothy, is better hay for cattle or
leep, is hardy to han'est ; and, in growing,
forms a sod, which mats the land over in suot
a manner, as to cause it to bear the pressure
of cattle, horses. Sec, though previously so sof!f
as not to bear the footsteps of a man. 'it is the
only grass that forms any kind of sod on land
in America ; for by nature I never saw a sod
in tiie country, but where the herd grass grew.
The earth is so loose as not to cause grasses to^
fonn a sod, as in England ; the swamps are
flie very same."
The twenty-fourth section contains va-
luable reflections on the management of
Aegroes, suggested by the inspection of
those belonging to general Washington,
of whom &ese curious particulars are'
give^.
'' I think a lam number of negroes to re^
quire as severe discipline as a company of
soldiers: and that may be one and the great
cause why general Washington managed hia^
negroes better than any otlier man, he being^
brought up to the anny, and by nature in-
dustnous beyond anv description, and in re*
Kularity the same. There are several anec-
dotes related of him, for bemg methodical.
I was told by general Stene that he was travel-
ling with his fomily in his carriage across the
country, and arrivmg at a ferry belonging to*
genefai Washington, he oifered the ferryman
a moidore. The man said, '* I cannot
feke it." The general asked, " Why, John?**
He replied, "1 am only a ser\'ant to general
Waslimgton ; and I have no weights to weigh
it with ; and the general will weigh it ; andif
it should not be weight, he will not only maker
me the kwer, but he will be angry with me.**-*-
*' Well, John, yoir must take it; and 1 will
lose three pence in its value :" the fen^inaa
did so ; and he carried it to general AVasiiing*
ton on the Saturday night following. The^
general weighed it ; and it was not weight : it-
wanted tJuee half-pence : general Washmgtoib
carefully lapped up the three half-pence m m
piece of paper, and directed it to general
Stone, which he received fixjm the ferryman
onhisretuin. General Stone told me anotheif
of his regularities, that, during the tune h«
was engaged in the army in. the American-
war, saijaom home, he had a plasterer from'-
Baltirooi^ to plaster a room for httn ; and th^
room was measured, and the plasterer's de*
mand paid by the stewar4^ Wiietf th^ ge**
S4
[.VOYAGES AXD TRAVEI^.
fteral returned home, he measured llic room,
and found the woik to com^ to less by iiftfeu
shillings than the man Iiad received.* Sonic
time alter the plasterer died ; and the widow
married another man, who advertised in the
newsjxipers to receive all and pay all due to
Or by her fomier hiisl>and. The general, see-
ing the pai>er, made a demand of the lilteen
■shillings, and received them. Another time,
a man came to Mount-Vemon to pay rent ;
and l^e had not tlie exact balance due to the
general : when the money was counted, the
general said " Thei'e wants four pence." The
luaft ortercd him a dollar, and clesired him to
put it to the next year's account. No, lie
must get the change, and leave the money cm
tJie table until he had got it. The man rode
to Alexandria, which is jime miles from
IMount-Vemon ; and then the general settled
the account. It was always his. custom, when
he travelled, to pay as much for his servant's
breakfast, dinner, or su])per, as for his owii.
I was told this by the keepur of a tavern
* where the general' breakfasted ; and he made
flie bill three shillings and ninepence for tlie
master's breakfast, and three sliiilings the ser-
^rAnt's. The general sent for the tavern-
keeper into the room, and desired he would
tda^e the same charge for his servants as for.
Ijimself, for he doubted not that they bad
^atcn as much. This shews he was as correct
in paying as in receiving. — It is said that he
never had any thing lx>ught for his use tjiat
was by weight, but he weighed it, or any thing
by tafe, but he had it counted : and it'he did
not find the due weight or number, he sent
the articles back again to be regulated. There
is a striking instance related of his conde-
lijcendency : he sent to a shoemaker in Alex-
andria to* come to measure hini for a pair of
shoes ; the shoemaker answered by the ser-.
\ant that it was not his cus»tom to go to any
one's house to take measure for shoes. The
general, being told that, mounted his horse,
and went to the shoemaker to be measured.
** It may be worthy the reader's notice to
observe what regularity doi*s ; since there can-
not be any other |>artlcu1av reason given for
general \\ ashingtou's Miperiiar |x>wers than his
correctness, that made hnn .fable to govern that
wild country : for it was the opinion of many
of his most ultimate fri<5iids, that his intellects,
■were not brighter than thoj^e of many other
men. To me he apj)earc*J a mild friendly
. man, in company rather reserved, in private
speaking witlj candour. His beliaviour to me
was such, that 1 shall ever revere his name.
Before he died, general Washinaiton himself,
with his own hands, closed his eves and
mouth."
At page 573 tliis author says he has re-
coromendecl to government to prevent the
emigration of uiicertifieated persons : tlie
grant of this certificnte to depend on the
clergyman and overseers of tlie parish.
The only just method of; preventing emi-
gratiou is tu diiisemuiat^ iustruciiou. Let
extracts from Mr. Parkinson's book he re-
printed ill a cheap form, and read aloud
from tlie pulpit of cfery Welsh parish, if
it be necessary to resist, by active inter-
ference, tlie roanaing tendency of the ne-
cessitous classes : but let no laws imprison
the Briton in his country. Ratlier let us
repeal those laws which already resist tli*
exportation of mechanics and artisans,
under a foolish and tyrannical pretext d
their founding elsewhere our manure-
tures. Skill and industry being more
highly recompensed in Britain than abroad
will not find tlieir account in emigrating j
ignorance and idleness may well be spar^,
their migration will be an ease to thd
poor's rate. If tliey can dispose elsewhere
of their reputation to more advantage,
they have a iiatnral right to carry it tliitlier.
Does jVIr. Parkinson secretly mistrust the
credibility of his own delineation of N<Mth
America, tlrnt he tliiuks it needful to cor-
roborate his arguments against emighitioa
J?y new legislative restrictions ?
The English farmer who wishes to re-
move, would probably>find Ireland a more
profitable resting-place than North Ame-
rica. There is much good land unculti-
vated, and still more ill-cultivated, for
want of skill and of capital, in the western
island. But the most patriotic specula-
tion seems to be the enterprize of tropical
agriculture. Trinidad is still to colonize,
and the banks of the Esscquibo. Tlie
same quantity of labour aiKi capital ap-
plied in the warm countries increases
much more rapidly tlie mass of produce
and of wealth, than ,af J)lied in the cold
countries. We much wish than some
such book as Mr. Parkinson's Experienced
Farmer were drawn up in Jamaica or De-
merary (it might be entitled tlie Tropical
Planter), containing such plain directions
for the culture of maize, cotton, coffee, in-
digo^ sugar, &c. as should facilitate in
new settlements the transfer of the agri-
cliltural arts. These things ti-avel much
too slowly. Mr. Thomas Cooper praised
timothy-grass in 179^, Mr. Parkinson con-
firms tlie eulogy : yet timothy-hay is still
to seek among the productions of BnglLsh
agriculture. A greater quantity of praise,
of coaspicuity, of noisy gratitude, must be
awarded in favour of those men, who
have the forethought and take the trouble
to bring over useful animals and plants.
Lucullus has been immortalized for in-
troducing to Rome tlio cherry tree ; and
shall we reserve no recompense, . not at
least a parsley-wreath, for the brow who
will introduce tbe Americaa. hsu, that
i COLLECTION OFMPDEKN AND CONTEMPORARY VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. 85
lars eggs in the Christmas holidays ? Per-
haps Mr. Parkinson has the merit not
liierclj of obiierving, but of bringing over
KTend of these useAil articles.
This book is not neatly put together.
Some facts, as the eflect of plaster of Paris
on a turnip-crop in its early stage of ^rowtli,
tre repeatedly narrated. Softie state-
ments, as that concerning s\vapip-grass,
arc ac^Lwardly interrupted to talk about
sheep or the weather, and tlien returned
to again as unexpectedly. "Some rela-
tions, as those concerning tlie Indian war-*
fere, which do not repose on personal en--
quiries, and are disconnected wiih tlie-
chief topic, might haw been wholly omit-
ted witli advantage. The grouping of to-
pics, the treating of each thing in its pro--
per place, is as favourable to compression
as to interest. These two volumes re-
duced to one would form a Qompleter
work.
Art. XV. A Collection of Modern and Contemporary Foya^es and Travels: containing,
1, Translations from Foreign Lcmguages, oj Foyages ima Travels ntvtr before trans"
latcd; 2. Original l-'oyages and Travds never before published ; 3. Analyses tf NtSii
Voyages and Travels publisfied in England. Vol. 1, 8vo. •»
WHEN books of every kind are be-
come so extravagantly dear, any plan
^hich renders useful works more acces-
sible is sure 6f our approbation. The plan
of the present requires no explanation
fnrther than what the title-page conveys ;
ii is a collection of travels, not a compF-
Jation, printed In a fair, clear, well-pro-
portioned type, on good paper, each page
cnDtaining more than two of such quartos
as it not unfrequently falls fo our lot to
notice ; yet the page is not crouded, and
the letter not unpleasantly small. The
canteuts of the volume must be noticed
separately,
Trazeh in Istryia and Dalmatia, draxim up
from the Itinjerary of X. F. Cassas, Author
and Editor of the Picturesque Travels in
^yria, Fhitnicia, Palestine, and Lozvtr
StpWt. ity J OS E p H Lav ALLE E, Member
<^ the Polt/techmc Sotiety, of the Society
^ Arts and Sciences cf Paris, of tlie
Azriculturat Society of the Seine and
Juarne, dfc. Translated from the French.
THE first part of tliese travels, which
contained an historical account of Uie
countries through which M. Cassjis tra-
velled, has been omitted by the translator.
We do not approve of such mutilations,
but as this introduction was the work of
M. Lavallce, the French editor, not of
the author himself, it is of less conse-
quence. TTxe chapter abridged from it,
which relates to tlie manners and customs
of the Morlachians, is the most valuable
in the whole.
The origin of this people is uncertain.
Tliey arc dispersed o/cr Dalmatia, though
principally among the mountains in the
Ulterior, and extend towards Germany,
Hungary, and even Greece. Two distinct
races seem to be confounded under one
naine, the one of Celtic, tlie other of
Asidtic physiognomy and complection.
TiN^e latier are the mountaioeers^ ^d the
least civilized. They are robbers by pro-
fession, but religious enough to prefer
robbing Turks to Christians : the science
of thieving is carriod by Uiem to the
greatest possible perfection, and ihey re-
semble the Arabs in their inflexible fide-
lity when once their * faitli is pledged.
They are;, remarkable also for hospitality,
the virtue of barbarians not of savages 5
the Morlachian who has a good stock of
provisions sliares them with his neigh-^
bpurs, and partakes of their abundance in
his turn ; if he is in want he enters h^^
neighbour-s house, takes a place at the
table, and remains as long as he pleases.
. The custom of vowing friend^iip .it
very remarkable,
** Two young men, or girls, associate to»'
gether ; and their union is consolidated by a
common education, custom, uniformity of
character, and sometimes by those i mforesecr^
and sud<len emotions of sympathv, which
often arise in the liuman breast. \Vhen two
voung- pei-sons agree to live in this kind of
harmony, they repair to the church, accom-
panied by tlieiV relations ; and the priest oifers
a benediction on the union, uliich becomes in-
vioiable. Two girls. joined in this mamier,
are called posestrimo ; and two men, pobrat
timi. They are tiieii inseparable for the rest
of their lives: evei^ circumstance has a com-
mon-interest betwegi them ; pleasures, cha-
grin, dangers, injuru»s, and reverse of fortune ;
all, in short, is divided between the pobratimi
and his comrade ; and tlie posestrime and her
friend. Even the sacrifice of life has often
signalised these ardent attachments ; and, if
two pobratimi should happen to dissolve their
union, the event is regarded as a public cala-
mity, and as the forerunner of some great
misfortune with which the nation is threat-
ened."
But this singular custom is becoming of
less effect as strong liquors become more
common among them, and they get in-
fected with the despicable vices of thQ
Jtalian^.
86
VOYAGES AND TRAVEJi;:
, a p9«siim wliich needs no (os^
tMriog, is inculcated aa a duty. In case of
a murder the bloody clothes of the slam
are [deserved by his family^ and shown
to the children. Forgiveness is unknown -,
they will in some cantons accept money
as the price of blood, but otherwise ven-
geance is sure to be taken. The death of
the offender does not put an end to the
feud, his family inherit the danger. Some
follow theGreek church, some the Romish,
the priests of both sects being equally ig-
norant The superstition of Vampirism
prevails here as m Hungary and Greece ;
out th^ Morlachians, more prudent than
their neighbours, take meastu-es to prevent
tjie mi^chief• ikfore the funeral they
ham-string the corpse, mark certain cha-
racters upon it with a hot iron, drive nails
into it, repeat charms over it, and then it
ii as peaceable in the grave as an obstre-
perous English ghost when laid in the Red
Sea. What is the origin and where of
this widely-extended and most horrible
superstition ? Their paganism, whatever
It may have beep, is not altogether forgot-
ten ; the names of their andent gods are
jjways repeated in the bridal song.
They have tlieir minstrels or ballad-
singers, whom M. Cassas calls chaimters,
there is never a feast without one.
" The songs, which are in the Illyrian idi-
om, but corrupted by their transmission,
thnoqgh a number of ages, describe the his-
tory of some Sclavonian heroes, or relate to
some tragical event ; the time of which is for-
gotten, lliis heroical song b grave, heavy,
and monotonous. The instrument with which
it is accompanied, is but little calculated to
give it animation : it is a miserable monochord
guitar ;• the sound of which is dull, and with-
out modulation. The poetry, however, is
not without energy : it does not posses^ the sa-
Vage wildness of that of Ossian ; but some-
times has that august kind of simplicity, which
pinietrates to the soul. If a Morlachian lr?k-'
vel by night amongst the mountains, he ge-
nerally sings; and these antique poems are
always the songs which he prefers. A long
exclamation, or rather a barbarous and m-
longed crv, precedes each strophe. It oTtefi
happens that this song is heard a^far off by
some other Morlachian, who never fails tore-
peat, in the same tone, the couplet which the
other has chaunted ; and they thus answer
each other as long as they can be heaid. It
zs impossible to describe the species of dui-
ncss or melancholy, which thb landof muf^ical
dialogue spreads through tlie soul, the doleful
expression of which is prolonged in echos by
the desart mountahis, amidst the profoimd si-
lence and solitude of niglit."
Wiiy did not M. Cassas colkct$oine of
these songs ? Wliat a hint is here for
some Italian Macpherson I
The women are hardly used ; in this
respect tiie Morlachians are savages, not
barbarians. The wife never partakes her
busband^s bed, she is obliged to sle^ oia
the floor, and the roost disgusting dnploy*
ments and hardest labour is her k>t. The
children of course in such a state of so-
ciety receive little attention, they are suf-
fered to crawl about almost naked, and
they who survive the seasoning become
hardy and agile. Their conunoa drink
is milk made into whey with vinegar.
Wine and peppet fbrra their febrifuge |
pepper and gun-powder infused in brandy
their panacea ; it will scarcely be believed,
says the writer, that this remedy is oftea
attended with success 3 perhaps, however^
they are indebted for their cure to the
abundant perspiration which it induces.
Red ochre mixed with fat substances is
the only ointment they apply to wounds
and contusions ; and it is a fact, he says,
that from the experience of the Moiia-
chians, some men of science have ob*
tained from this oiptment, in similar cir-
cumstances, the toost favourable results.
For rheumatism, to which they are very
subject, tiiey apply a heated stone wrapp-
ed in damp linen.
The travels of M. Cassas were perform-
ed in the year 1782 ; he was sent by a so-
ciety of admirers of the fine arts to make
views of the scenery and architectural re-
mains in the vicinFty of Trieste, which
were to be engraved at Vienna, under the
patrondge of the emperor Joseph II. but
the artist, finding that the coasts of Istria
and Dalmatia abounded witli rich remains
of antiquity, resolved to extend his la*
hours. The first place of importance
which be visited was Pola, whose magni-
ficent amphitheatre is now called the Or-
landina ; so luutied, he conjectures, by ig-
norfint banditti, who admired the poem of
ArioM, and this guess is as good as any
other. His coasting; voyage was endanger^
ed not merely by the storms so frequent in
those seas, but also by pirates, from whom .
he once narrowly escaped, lying hid in
his vessel in a little creek, covered with
tfees, while the pirate boat brushed, the
veiy branches which concealed it. H«
examined the remains of antiquity at Zua
and at Asseria, now called Podgragc, a
place which strongly excited his cu-
riosity, and made a short stay at Se*
benico, next to Zara the pleasantest
town in Dalmatia. They have a cu-
rious custom here of electing a king
A COLLECTION OF If O^DERK An6 CdlTtllM'rOtAtt VOYAGBS JLND TRAVELS. Bf
it Christmas, vhosS reign lasts only a
fertnight* •
" For a length of tinio, tins panfomimkal
kmj; was cho:;en from amongst tlie Yiobk*s ;
but at present, they th'aik it beneath them le
amuse themselves witli such biitfoonery ; and
this chimerical crown ha>, then-fote, devolved
to what U called, in Italy, a man from the
dn-gs of the people. M. Cassas, who was at
iJehmico only in the sunuiier season, was hot,
ronsjquently, witness to this ceremony ; but
Fortis asert;; tJial this king, notwithstanding
the short duration of his autiiority, enjoyed
«ercTal pren^tives of sovereigniv ; such^for
example, as tltat of lading tlie "keys of the
town, ai having a distinguished place in the
cathedra], and of cfeciding upon all the diffi-
ciiities or disputes which arise amongst those
who compose his court. The town is obliged
tri provicle him with a houf^ suitable to thte^
dfg;iiity of his elevated sitoation. When he
teave« his hoose, he is always forced to Weaj*
a crown of wheat-oars ; and he cannot appear
in pubtic without a robe of puq)le. or starlet
cloth, and surrounded by a great nuinber of
officeR. The govei^Ksr, the b^oi>s, and
other dignitaries, are obliged to give him a
ieast; and aU who meet hun must salute him
^itli respect. When the fortnight is At aik
end, the king quits his [)alace> strips ofif his
crown and purple, dismisses Im court, and
returns to his hovd. On con^^idering this ce-
remony, in a certain point of view, its Iblly
might seem to have a phiiosOphidl end: it
micht fiirnjsh an annual type ot the instability
of human grandeur ; but it is doubtful whether*
those who instituted it had sttch an idea in '
tricw."
Many instances of ^nailar customs In
other parts of fisrope mi^ht be mention-
od, resemblix^ more or less the Satur*
nalia.
The cascade of Scardona is diescribed at
great length, and with much artistical en*
thnsiasm ; but mere description can give
knt very inadequate ideas of such scenery j
and here, as indeed in most parts of these
travels, we haf\'e to regret thit die original
work is not before m. We cannot form
fi &ir opinioii of M. Cassas, who is profes*
sionally an artist, v.htn we read his des-
<^lption and do not see his views. The
long account of Spalatro occasioned a si-
milar regret, for the lew aqua-tints in tliis
pablication, t&onghto the foil aii respect-
able as can be etpocted, aie of little va-
lue. In feet, this is ond of th<i books
which fheold not have befcn iheinded in
»di a collection as the present What
can be more ill-contrived than to ^t the
vohime of an artist c^ its prints ?
One remai-kable Qitract shall conchid^
«itr aecount ef these travels ; h dt^HjH
" Thisti\^Ttmsbetwe<inTQc!u Of a con-
siderabfe height, ^^hosc ruggedoesli is insur*
moitotable, even by the most ^venturous
herdsman; ^ove these rocks appear the an-
ticine and dismantled towers of the old castle
df Novoscogtio, exhibiting tiie vestiges of sa-
vage feudalit)', m the bosonl of more savage
nature. Not far from this spot is the village
of i^an-Canciano, or Saint-Kosiun, which is
likewise situated on the summit of the rocks.
At the foot of diis village, the fiuecca affords
to those who take' delight in the plicnomcia of
nature, a spectacle the like of wnich is seidOni
to be found in the world : in tliis p^rt the £s-
siu*e in the rocks is so vertical, that they ap-
pear to have been cut by the hand of man,
and this ste^ness is cverV where alike, how-
ever various may be the \incs which they fol-
l6w hfi their super-position ; but what adds stiS
more to their sin9;\ilanty^ is then* summit!^
which are ait with a sort of syinmetry, and
appear like so many square towers, that com-
mand and seem to defend thotte gigantic
walls, or they might rather be taken for bat-
tlements. At the base, that is to say, in the ^
almost uniiUliomable abyss fonned by these
natural ramparts, the Ruecca wmds land runl
with a k>rt of majestic slowtieSs, seeming tti
disdain the opposition of the blocks . witii
which Jts bed » cvclry where interspersed, till
it suddenly arnves at an immense cavity, the
frightful and sombre peristyle of a subterra-
neous gallery, ot wiiich the terrified imagiiia-
tion can neither guess nor measure the dei)tli;
In fact this gulph ihay be described as an
enormous and inconceivable precipice, in
wWch the waters of the Ruecca faU, witli a
tremendous noise, and are lost from the ob-
servance of man •, but whither they go, to
what depth they fall, or how long they have
disappe^ircd ui this .receptacle, ho has nevt- r
been able to ascertain, during thousands of
generations, and manj ages will doubtless yet
pass aWay before this mystery will bo disco-
vered. No one can conceive the dreadful
and incessant ioarihg of the waves, m the deep
cavities of this impenetrable abyss, nor the
tL*rror which ^izes on the spectator, at his
lipt view of file guiph. It is here, by his
unexpected humiliation, tliat man is compell- ^
ed to acktiowledgie th«^ Ihnited extent ot liis <
rfilnd ; and ihougn every where else he may
be proud to tliink and act like a god, he here,
jKirhaps for the first tltnO, perceives his infoi^
liiation to be .only that of a subordinate crea-
ture. But this IS not all, for the traveller, if
he pi'ocecd jio further, \yill have but an in-
complete idea of the singular destiny of the
Ruecca ; he must, if possible, pass this mounr
tdin, or rather this gigantic wall, the fractured
sides of which absorb Ihe fiver. The other
^dc affords A spectacle not less extraordinary,
and perhaps still more wild ; the samerueged*
ncss and nudity in the rocks, but more disor^
der and confusion : the masses, which are
equally vertical here, obstruct, intersect, and
pass each other hi various directions, while tlie
summits frequently come m contact, and at
oihir times appear at a considctabl6 dislan&e
7" '*
B3
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
from each oilier ; m short, the whole presents-
the most shapeless and tcrriiic chaos. It is in
the midst of these numerons blocks, that the
Riiecca, a'fter meandering throngh tlie bowels
of the mountain, issues vidlcntly fi'om a deep
and narrow fissure, and disgorges itself into a
large basin, six hundred feet below the level
of San-Cantiano, which is so shaded by the
elevation of the rocks, that it is constantly
inaccessible to the rays of the sun. It is even
pretended, that all attempts to ascertain its
depth by sounding have proved ineffectual.
In ^t, this may be considered as the tomb
of a river, so remarkable for its adventures :
the threads of water which trickle from the
ovcrtiowhig of the basin, after having nui
ior some time across the rocks that lie dispers-
ed below this kind of crater, diminish till they
At length become imperceptible^ and thus tlie
Kuecca <iisappears for ever."
The language of the translation is disfi-
gured by inflated phrases. We are told
that the Romans surrounded the town of
Pola with their omnipotence, and we read
of the anfructuX)slU€S of a rock [
Travels through Denmark, Sweden, Austria,
and Part^ of Italy, in 179S and 1799, ht/
Charles Gottlob Kuttner. Trans'-
laicdjrom tlie German, •
Kuttner is a good, sensible, plain mat-
ter-of-fact German traveller, who tells you
all he sees, which is not so much as a man
with better eyes would have seen, and all
he learns by inquiry, in which he seems
never to have been deficient. His book
would be an excellent companion for tra-
vellers following his track, as it is full of
useful information. Here again we have
to complain of mutilation. The trans-
lator has judged it proper to dispense witJi
the desultory observations on Hamburgh
and other well-known parts of Germany,
and has conducted th^ reader at once to
tlie autliofs entrance into Denmark.
The account «f Denmark is in general
very favourable — such was the order,
cleanliness, and comfort in die isle of Fu-
fien, that the traveller could have fancied
himself in Holland ; tlie smallest cottages
were comfortable, there were no traces of
opulence, and scarcely any of poverty.*
Copenhagen is described as one of the
finest capitals in Kurope. Every thing is
extremely dead there j though I should
spend more in the course of a yenr In/
London, says the traveller, yet here I coht'.
sider many articles as dcjrcr, because ,
they are so much worse. Religion, he;
Rays, appears to be out of fashion at Co- :
penhagen, as in most otlier places ; this '
it should be remembered is the remark of
a German. The royal library is one of the
most extensive in ffliftstendom ; it haJ " *
just received an accMsion of one hundred
thousand volumes. We have beard ainc©-
tliat nearly tliat number of duplicates have
been sold from it. But the most inte-
resting institution is the lying-in hospital^
where all mid wives in the Dauisli domi-
nions ought to have studied.
'* This institution is properly a kind of
foundling-hospital, in whicn mothers may not
only place their children, but where they may-
also be delivered. All pr^nant women of
what.ever condition, religion, or country, are
admitted, wiUiout being asked any questions ;
they are even allowed to come in masks and
to retain them during their residence there.
This building formerly had, in an aperture in
the wall, a machine similar to those I liave
seen at Milan, and in other foundling-hospitals^
in which a person may place the cliild, turn
the machine inwards, then ring the bell and
go away. This has iKJwever been removed ;
and the king has ordered every female wlio
presents herself to be admittcni, only wiih
certain liniitatidns as to lime. Married women
frequently apply for admittance ; and, at their
departure, are even at liberty to leave their
children behind them* Women of rank and
property frequently avail theniselves of this
general licence, because they here find better
attendance, and superior conveniences, to
what they could possibly enjoy in their own
houses ; and for which they, of course, pay.
The best accommodations for ladies of this
"description cost rifteini dollars per week. Tliere
are. other apartments for twelve, and others
again as low as eight dollars.
" 1'he lodgings of the pnmarried are sepa-
rate from those of the manicd women. In
this regulation, I thougfit 1 discovered that a
distinction \yas made between tlie children of
love and the offspring of the man iage-bed,.
which, in an institution of this nature, appear-
ed rather improper. 1 was, however, inform-,
cM, that this regulation was introduced, lest
the single ladies, by living among those who
were married, might meet with some of their
actjuaintance, and thus be discovered. Tlie
apartments for twelve and lifteen dollars are
liandsonie, and, in general, spacious and con-
venient. At my desire, I was shewn several
rooms, for the reception of those who are
gratuitously admitted into tliis institution ; and
found tiiein all clean," conmiodit)u>, and com-
fortable."
German \^ universally understood in this •
c*ipital; it is but lately that tlve Danes
have taken an>» pride in their own lan-
g^iage J all the. laws and public inscriptions
are now in Danish, and they will soon
, have their own poets and hist(xrians. On.
ithe road to l']Lsiiior lie p5i»sed through the
estate of count Bernstorf, who made all
his peasantry free ; at lirst they considered *
tiiis as no great beaclit^ but they have felt;
A €0LLECnOH ^F MODERN AND COKTEMPP^ART v6TAG£a AND TRATStS. 8§
its advantages, and have erected a monu-
me&t ID gratitude to tlieir emaucipator.
On entering Sweden an alteration was
wm risible ; the appearances of comfort
aod respectability about the cottages were
zwt to be seen. The roads are even bet-
ter than in Englaud, unnecessarily goed
aod mimerous in a country of compara«
tirely little trade^ and thin population. In
some parts nothing but Swedish was
spoken, but Kuttner confirms the obser-
Tation so often made by others, that wo-
men understand every compliment paid to
them, be it in wliatever language it may.
• At Fredericshali he visited the spot where
' Charles XII. fell ; the trophies and inscrip-
tions which marked it have been all de-
molished, and in their stead nothing is to
be seen but a wooden cross, painted white,
on which is written the sie^e, Dec. 11,
1/18. The traveller says • that the king
. vas killed by a musket-shot from the ram*
part, I have not the smallest doubt; for
in my opinion the nearest part of it is
scarcely six hundred feet in a direct line
from the spot.* Without expressing any
qunion upon this much-controverted ques-
tion, we must remark that' Xiittner has
been \ery easily satisfied. It is by no
Rieans proof enough tliat he was killed
ftom the ramparts, to tell us tiiat he was
vithin shot.
The scenery in Norway is described as
ail travellers describe it ; nothing can be
lyiore exquisitel}- picturesque. Govern-
ment, he says, endeavours to prevent the
improvement of the country 5 there seems
no proof of the heavy accusation ; if tiiey
have not thought proper to establish a uni-
Tcrsity at Christiana, it may have been
becanse tlie place v/ould not support one,
Mr. Coxe b often mentioned to be qor-
lected. .
Stockliolm is well described; the ac-
coont of the king s character is not plea-
sant, yet cannot be called unfavourable.
He is said to he uncommonly grave, uu-
natunilly it might have been said, if it be
true that he has never been seen to laugh ;
his manners are cold and austere 3 even
his former play-fellows have been severe-
ly reprimanded if they ever seemed to re-
coileci that their sovereign had once been
tiieir tiieqd. He dreads nothing so much
as the idea that any |x?rson possesses or
seeks to obtain an infineuce over him.
But, on tlie other hand, he pays due attcn-
t^^ni to the finances of aft impoverished
oonntiy, and exercise^ a strict economy,
the higlvst virtue whiclja king of Sweden
can e&erclse ^t pre^eut^ wiihoi^t t^e sli§ht<-
est derogation from a proper dignity and
splendour. . The opinion of his charactet
may be misconceived, but the favourable
account of his conduct rests upon facts
which cannot have been mistaken.
The late^ king is said to have been a
complete Frenchman in his taste. There
is in the library at Upsal a large box, on
which stands a smaller one, both secured
with strong chains and locks. They were
given by the late king to the university,
with the injunction tliat they should not be
opened for "fifty years. Thunberg has
given his beautiful collection to this uni-
versity.
The Swedish raaAufactures are not in
A thriving stata ; English goods are far
better, and even when smuggled clieaper.
From Sweden he entered G'ermany,
An account of the Hermhutt^rs merits
transcription,
" The bretlirens' house, that is the house
inhabited by the unmarried men, and where
they all worlc for the general benefit of the so-
ciety, has a mean appearance, both internally
and' externally. I'liey have their comment
donnitory and refectory ; but there are tables
at ditferent prices, wliich each is at liberty to
chiise, according to his taste and abilities.
Most of them are artisans ; and tJic excellence
of their work consists in a certain neatness,
finish, and durability. But as the articles
macle here are on the' whole better than thost
manufactured m other places, they are neces-
sarily dearer.
"In the sisters* house eveiy thing appear-
ed to me to be on a belter footing. and a more
extensive scale. 1 he exterior is more respec-
table, the acoommodatioiis are superior, and
the whole has a neater and more pleasing ap-
pearance. This is the habitation of the gu-
inarrred sisters, who are subject to regulation^
perfectly similar to those of ^he brethren.
*' What made the most impression on me
was the burying-ground, which is situated on
an eminence, conmianding the finest prospect
of any in the vicinity of licrnihutt. It forms
an extensive square, inclosed by a hedge, and
intciTscctt'd by alleys ; over each grave is
placed a ilat stone* recordiiig the name and
native country of the deccast-d, together with
the year in which he 'd'tnt home, or, as it is
more frequently expressed, fdl asktp. Th«
graves in the pnncipal Ihic, nearly in the centre
of tills ground, were particularly interesting
to me ; they contain persons from es'ery coiui-
try hi Europe, and I migiit ahuost s.ay from
every part 01 the world. On the most elevat-
ed point of this burying-ground a kmd of pa-
vilion or small w^oodeu tower has been erect-
ed, the view from which is extremely bealiliful.
" Do you know tliat the directors of
all the congregations of the evangelical
bretiiren in tlie world, reside in a vil-
lage, two miles from tUis place ! It is called-
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
Bctlwfedorf; «nd 38 by right the birth-place of
4he omereiQKtioii, for it was there that count
2iBzen&il collected the first Moravian bre-
thren. These directors are called tlie Unity's
tlders' Confercoce, whicii is generally com-
posed of from twelve to fourteeji persons, who
iiever have any fixed place of resiiVhce. These
govern the tvhole htitemity with unlimited
pavrcT during a certain number of years, at
the end of which a «ynod, composed of depu-
ties from the congregations in every part of
the world, is held, and a new Eldcrfi Coiife-
Tcnce appointed. The men^rs of this con-
ference constantly remain together, and the
affairs of the unity occupy their whole atten-
tion. In this conference the German nation
«>pears to possess the sam»j preponderance as
the Italian in the college of cardmak ; indeed,
I am informed that all the members oif tfa6
present are Germans."
' Tkb linen manufactures of lAisatra are
«n the decline. Great quantities were
Ibrmerly exported to Spain and South
America, but cotton is supersedii^ linen.
It is one proof of Bruce's wisdom that be
fccesaw this. * Cotton,' he says, • after
^rool shonld be the ^vourite maaufacture
of Gieat Britain. It will in time take
place of that isngrate^il culture flax ; will
em{>loj moie hands,, and be a more ample
field for distinguishing the ingenuity of
our manufacturers." The cloth febrlcs
flourish in Losatia, improved by the im-
portation of Spanish rams, and the in-
creased attention paid to the breed of
ibeep.
The Thefesiairam at Vienna is justly
insured by KQttner. This seminary for
the children of the nobility was founded,
is its name implies, by the empress The-
lesa, suppressed by Joseph II., and re-
establisfied by the present emperor. A
more mischierous institution never waa
conceived by the spirit of arisiscratical ab-
aurc^ty.
"The pnpils'are here separated, from in-
fency, from the rest of the world, that they
may receive an education which, at every
itep, announces to them that they are beings
6f a higher order. On viewing the interior of
the institntion, the spectator is astonished at
the degant -aiid extensive apartments of the
Abbot or prelate, who has the inspection of
the Wiole; the vast and splendid halls in'
which the pupils dine, play at billiards, receive
Company, and occasionally ijive balls; the
stables, which contain forty-six horses, and
toom for a greater number ; the large riding-
School, the spacious garden, the copious n-
hrary, a^rtd the magnificent lecture-rooms.
These young gentlemen daily have six dishes
.for dinner. Many of them will, probably, in
the course of their future lives, be obliged to
put up with less, and will here lay the fbunda-
von oif discenteat with their circ«uMascc9 a&4
situations, that will embitter the remaindo- df
their days. Many a future ofiicer will here
make a bad prepfation for the want and the
hardships which are so often inseparable from
a military life."
" The pupils in general arc never left by
themselves, they are at all times obliged to
conduct themselves like gentlemen, and ate
never sufl'ered to indulge, free from restrain^
in those childish sports aud innocent diver*
sions which constitute the deRght of boyhood.
In all the corridors, I observed attendants^
and they appear to be watched in the strictest
manner. This indeed is a methotl of prevent-
ing the extravagancies which boys in" the
English schools sometimes commit; but it
is the liberty they enjoy that gives the telkT
that independence and limmess of character,
which distinguish the English nation, and
whicii it is impossible that persons educated
in this place should possess."
The institution for the deaf and dumb ^
is said to be more successful than that of
the abbe dt TEpce. It is hot perhaps ge-
nerally known that the first person ^^'ho
carried this art to perfection, and probably
the first who ever practised it, was Fr.
Pedro Ponce, a Spanish benedictine of
the sbtteenth century. One of hfe pupils
was an excellent Latin scholar^ and had
even acquired some Greek.
The mortality in Vienna exceeds that
of any other place in Euiope : the annual
proportion of deaths is calculated at one
in twenty, and Kiittner tliinks it is under-
rated. What can be the cause of this pro-
digious consumption of life ? — Some anec-
dotes of Joseph are related, all highly fa-
vourable to his character. What is said
of the reigning emperor is also in his fa-
vour; he follows the simple unostenta*
tious manners of Joseph, aud is -beloved
by the people. A proportionably greater
quantity of animal' food is consumed in
Vienna than in London, not that the
Austrian^ eat more, but because their
p(X)r eat mekt, and the English poor do
not. At Leebch the traveller heard dread-
ful anecdotes of the French ; tlieir atro-
cious conduct towards women exceeded
any thhig he had ever . heard before.
Throughout Styria the only complaint
against the government was that it liad
agreed to the preliminaries of peace too
floon^ whereas if it had sufiercd the pea-
santry to oppose the French and defend
themselves, it was confidently maintained
that verj' few of the invaders could hard
escaped out of the country. Kuttner
himself thinks that the French army might
•have been destroyed.
He proceeded to Trieste and Veaict,
a cit/ eadly changed from what it Was.
HICQAOX 8 TBAVBLt TO TBS AX-LEOAITr MOVKTAIlTl.
91
^ "The cotAns^ between the f<5rraer and
ment times is do where so striking as on the
grand canal, which is now very dead in com- .
vartson with what it once was. *' What b
Kcome of all the gondolas which used to
svann on this canal ?** — La rivolutione ! they
itpiy, with an Italian shrug. "But there
must ^et be a great number of opulent iauii-
lim wflo [>ay visits, or go abroad to take the
air ?"— itowio in casu — " They remain at
home,'* B the answer. — " And the numerous
boats and gondolas, which formerly rowed for
wagers, while a crowd of loiterers ran after
theBi> And the many gondoliers and boat-
men who used to sing and laugh and joke of
an erenii^?'* — Non hanno piuspirito —
•• They have no ^[Hrits, or life.' —I frequently
become impatient at such unsatisfactory an-
t«rcn; but it is certain, that in these respects
a great alteration has taken place at Venice.'^
From thence Kiittner returned by way
of Padua, Verona, thel^^^^ Munich, and
Ratisbonj to Hamburgh^ where he con-
cludes his travels. The book contains so
much good sound information, that we
ate sorry it lias been in the slightest de-
gree abridged.
Travels to the toesttoard of the AUegany
Moimteuns, Sfc. By F. A. Michaux.
A s^arate publication having been noade
AjtT. XVI. Travels to- the westward of the Allettmu Mountams^ in the States qf Ohio,
Milftiichff and Tennessee: in the Year 1802. ^^ F. A. Michaux, Af, D, translated from
.r. _. , « r . r, # I _. «... pp.350.
period of more than ten years, made nu-
of another translation of this work, we flhai)
refer the reader for an account of it to the
next article.'
The next portion of tlie volunae i? oc-
cupied by an itinerary from London to
Coastantinople in sixty days, taken in the
suite of his excellency the British ambas-
sador to the Ottoman Forte in 1/94. It
may be advantageously consulted by fu-
ture travellers, but requires no mther
notice. . *
The remaining articles are analyses of
new voyages and travels lately published
in London, a portion of the work wUch
ought to be omitted. The editor asserts
that his abstract of captain Woodward's
narrative contains in the small compass of
thirty- two pages every passage worthy of
preservation in the whole* work. How
far this may accord with the custom of
the more respectable Loudon publishers
we know not, but to us these kind of
abridgments appear little better thati pi*
racies. Tliese analyses should be dispens*
ed with, and no retrenchments made £iam
the other works — the publicatian weoU
then really be valuable.
-. the original French, hy B, Lambert, 8vo.
TH£ name of Michaux is well known
to the lovers of botany j and will ever be
Eratefblly remembered by all who know
how to appreciate the valae of an enter-
prising atKl laborious life, devoted to the
JNirsuit of natural science, with a conti-
nual regard to the general good of man-
kind. iVndr6 Michaux, the father of our
tveseot traveller, having visited England,
and traversed the mountains of Auvei^gne,
the PTrenees, and port of Spain, for the
sake of improving his botanical* know-
ledge, and as a preparation for more dis-
tant and more hazardous expeditions^ in
the year 1782 accompanied the French
consul to Persia, under the patronage of
Monsieur the present claunant of tlie
crown of France ; and spent two years in
expiodi^ the vegetable riches of that
country, from the gulf of Persia to the
Caspian sea. In 1785 he was sent by the
French government to Nortii America,
with a commission to collect tlie seeds
and roots of such plants as promised to be
eidier useful, ornamental, or cuiious, if
€uki\'ated and naturalised in France. For
thb purpose he establislied gardens in the
.Mtghb(Hirhood of New York and Charles-
Wwn ia South Carolina, and, during a
merous excursions pverdiflferent parts of
that vast continent, from the coast of the
Atlantic to the banks of the Ohio | and
from the Bahama islands and Florida to
the upper part of the river which &lls
into Hudson's bay \ and sent to hia em-
ployers, from time to time, laive quanti-
ties of seeds .and young trees which have
been propagated in France and oth6r cbun-
tries of Europe $ these also be cultivated
in his two American gardens^ witli the
addition of many plants from the eld con-
tinent, which he thought likely to flourish
and become useful in the new. The dis-
turbances occasioned by the French revo-
lution obliged him to return home in the
year 1 796. But his ardent love of science
did not permit him to rest satisfied with a
state of inaction. Disappointed in his de-
sire of a new appointment to North-Ame-
rica, he was induced to engage in a
iNjyage to the Isle of France; and, unfor-
tunately for the interests of science and
mankind, in the year 1803 died of the
country fever in the island of Madagascar.
Dr. F. A. Michaux, with whom we are
at present more immediately concerned,
appears to have Inherited tiic public spirit
#'
VOYAGES 'AND TRAVELl
Ittid intl-epidity of his father, whom he had
Accompanied in his thivels through several
parts of North America. On that account
tie was. selected by M. Chaptal, minister
of the interior, to takp another yoyage to^
Worth America, for the purpose of send-
ing to Prance the pjants whipli remained
|n the two gardeps, and of finally disposing
q{ the grpimd. The garden in the neigh-
bourhood of Charlestown, we are happyi
to learn, has been purchased by the agri-
cultural society of South Carolina, and is
still applied to the u&e for which it waa
tormed by its philanthropic founder.
; i)r. Michaux having some months, to
ifpare, availed himself of the opportunity
jo pass through tlie new western states
which, though traversed in part by his
father,, had not been visited by himself
during his -former residence in North
Aancrica. The result is the work now
befcJre us. .He modestly present^ it td the
public, not as a compleat account, but as
a relation of such particulars as occurred
^o him in a circuitous journey of eighteen
^iindred miles, through tlie countiy be-
yond the Allegany mountains, performed
In the course of three months and a half,
eometimes on foot, sometimes on horse-
\acki and for 348 ^mil!^ in a pirogue or
canoe on the Oh jo^ eitlier alone, or accom-
panied bv such travellers as he accidentally
inot with on Jhe way. ,. As a further apo-
io!Ty for the Wevity of his- narrative, he
adds^ that when he undertook the journey
he had no intention of publishing his ob-
^ervationsj and therefore omitted collect^
\ug a muhimde of facts, whicli would
4iow be pleasant to read, but which at
that time, he felt no inducement to write.
His readers, however, xyill have the satis^
f;iction to find, that though there are
niany things which they may wish had
|)een told, they will mept ^\itl^ nothing
that is trifting or of dubious autliprity,
pn Michaux possesses a mind accustomed
to accurate and extensivje observation,
vrhirh liaving taken for its iruling principle
tlie benevolent sentiment of the comic
poet, humani nihil a vie alicnmn putq, is
always awake to whatever may.be condu-
cive to die benefit. of his fellow-nien. . .In
^very part .of his travels he attends to th'e
natural advantages and disyd vantages of
the country, the direction and character
of its rivers and mountains, its spontane-
ous productions, its .population, agricul-
ture, and commerce, the manners of its
inhabitants, and the means which he
thinks' likely to beUer their situation, .and
make them more -respectable, and Iwippjc.
"His remarks are the more valuable, as
they relate, td a country which has only
just begun to be reclaimed from 9 stat^
of savage nature, ai^d is qpw advancing
with uuexan^led peleritf in the arts <$
civilized life.
From Philadelphik to Pittsburg, the
place of his fii*st destination, is three hunv
dred dnd ten miles, As fer as Shipperis-
burg, one hundred and forty miles lit»m
Philadelphia, there is the convenience of
a public caniage, of which, as that part of
the road did not promise much that woulcl
be new. Dr. Michaux availed himself. . Af
Shippensburg he joined in tlie purchase
of a horse with an American officer, who
had been a fellow-passenger in the stage,
and tliey agreed to ride and walk by turns.
After travelling ten miles they came to
Strasburg, situated at the foot of the first
chain of the blue ridges. This chain con-
sists of tfer^e piirallel ridges of equal
heiglit* sppa^ted by two small vallie$
tliinly peopled,''^nd distautjy cultivated.
Tiie ascent of the first ridge is steep j and
it cost our travellers three quarters of an
hour to reach the top. Other ridges sooi^
succeed, the intervals between which are
filled with small hills, till at length the
Juniata, one of the Streams tributary to
the Susqueliannah, forms » larger vallej,
!and afibrds room for a more numerous
population. .Beyond the Juniata are other
ridges, the highest of which is the A^e*
gany,. the boundary of the eastern and
western waters. It is ascended by a road
extremely steep^ which requued a labo«
rious marcli of two hours. On tlie west^
era <>ide the soil improves, and the tree^
in the woods are of a better kind and
greater size. The Laurel hill, a ridge
parallel to the former, derives its name
from the kalmia latifolia^ and rhododen^^
dion maxinpum, both of which are called
laurels by the inhabitants^ the former^
eight or ten ieet high, exclusively occupy-
ing every spot ahttle open, and the lattei
covering the banks of tlie torrents.
Pr. Michaux having been told that in
Ligonier's valley, on the west side of
Laurel hill, a shrub is to be found, tlie
fruit of which yields good, oil, ,his ever-
acti\ e benevolence impelled him to go in
search of a production which cannot fail
to be. of great utility, if .to the valuable
property of the. olive there be added that
of l>eing able. to be^r.the^coldof the most
northern countries. His account of .the
snccc^ of his expedition shall ,be;givex]i in
his own words, .. ••
*'-' The day after my arrhral, I proceede4
intQ the woods, .and at' mj iiist txcvnkA
found the shmb which was tne object of my
JMfCHAUX's TRAVBLS TO THB kttZQASX MQUNTAINS-
seaidi. I realized it as being the same
ufaicli my father had discovered tifteen ye^n
hdSoK ui the mountains of South Carol'uia,
and which, notwithstanding his care, he could
mK nuie succt^ed in his garden near Charles-
ton. Mr. W. Hamilton, who- had also re-
ceded seeds and shoots from this part of Peim-
j}kanb, had not been more successftil. '^i'he
skiii ba-ome so soon rancid, Jhat, in a few
dav?, tliey lose their germ'mattng property,
aoti acquire an extraordunary acrimony. Tms
shmb, which seldom rises more than tour feet
above the ground, is dioecious. It grows ex-
diisively on mountains, and is only found in
ojjI, shady places, where the soil is very fer-
tile. Its roots, wiiich are of a citron colour,
are not di\-ided : thev extend horizontally to
a ^rrat distance, and give birth to off-sets,
which seldom rise to more than eighteen inclies
li hoight. The roots and bark yield a dis-
agnreable smell on being bntised. I charged
»v host to colkt± half a busl«l of tlie seeds,
aail to send thwn to Mr. W. Hamilton, point-
ing out to him the precautions it would be ne-
c^^^ar^• to take to keep them fresh until tliey
could reach him.**
In the Deigbboarhood of Greensburgh,
thirty-two miles short of Pittsburgh, Dr.
Mlchau^L discovered unequivocal marks
of a mine of pitcoal, and was informed
diat this substance is so easily procured
as to induce some of the inhabitants both
of Greensborgh and Pittsburgh to bum it
for cheapness. Tlie road continues moun«
tainous to Pittsburg, which is situated at
the confluence of the Monongahela and
the Allegany, whose united streams con-
stitute the Ohio. The former of these
rivers rises in Virginia, at the foot of what
is there called the laurel mountain, which
forms part of the western side of the Al-
kgany chain, and is navigable to Mor-
gaa's town^ one hundred and seven miles
above Pittsburg. Tiie settlements on its
banks are numerous, and there are several
small towns in whieh commerce is car- '
ried on with great activity. The source
of the latter is fifteen or twenty miles
from lake Erie. It is navigable two hun-
dred miles above its junction with the
Monongahela, and its banks begin to be
tolerably peopled. The sugar maple,
ivhich is always a sign of a fertile soil, is
very common in all the country, watered
by the two rivers.
The Ohio at Fittsburgh is about four
bnodred yards wide, and vessels of a con-
siderable tonnage are built upon it and the
Monongaheki. Oi^e of two hundred tons
burden was launched at Elizabeth town,
twenty-three miles above Pittsburg. When
Dr. Michaux was at PitUd^urg, there was
on the stocks a three-masted vessel of two
Imodred dod Mty tofi& burden, which hf
afterwards learnt had arriv«d aak at Phi-
ladelphia, and which, before it reached th»
gulf of Mexico, had to make a river
voyage of two tliousand two hundred
miles : and eleven hundred to the junc-
tion of the Ohio witli the Mississippi, and
nearly as much to new Orleans . The
Ohio as far as Limestone, four hundred
and twenty-five miles from Pittsburgh, is
navigable for large vessels only in the spring
and autumn, that is, during the montlis
of April, . Marcli, May, October, and
December : at otlier times boats of a mo-
derate size pass with difficulty : but at
these two seasons, tlie waters are raised to
such a height that vessels of three hundred
tons burden, steered by men well ac-
quainted with the river, may descend
with perfect safety. The passage up the
river is of course difficult, and has not yet
been mucli practised. When Dr. Mi-
chaux was passing down in 1802, they
were sendiiig cotton from Tennessee by
tlie Ohio to Pittsburg for the first time,
to be afterwards, dispersed through the
back part of Pennsylvania and Virginia,
The boats were pushed up the river by
poles, and went abput twenty milQs a
day. The men who conduct the boats
from Pittsburg to . New Orleans have on
their return either a fatiguing journey of
fourteen or fifteen hundred miles by land,
in six hundred miles of which they pass no
white settlement, and pnly two or three
Indian villages, or, which is generally pre-
ferred, take their passage by sea to Balti-
more or Philadelphia. Tlie principal ar-
ticles sent down the Ohio to be exported
from New Orleaas to the West Indies are
flour, hams, and smoked pork ; and for
the consumption of Louisiana bar- iron,
coarse cloths, bottles made at Pittsburg,
whiskey, and barrelled buttfer.'
Tlie current pf the Ohio is exrremely
rapid in the spring j and the form of the
boats which navigate it is calculated, not
to accelerate their progress, but to coun-
teract the swiftness of the stream .s They
are from forty to forty^five days in mak-
ing the passage, but a canoe \\'ith two or
tliree men will accomplish it in twenty-
five. In the summer, on the otlier hand,
except in the straits formed by islands,
the current is slow. ' It was judged by
Dr. Michaux, when he went down it, to
be about a mile and half an hour. At
this season its waters, owing to the heat
of the climate arid the slowness of tlie
ciirrent, acquire so great a degree of heo.t,
that they are not drinkable till they have
been kept four and twenty hours ia tlie
shado; so that theWvigatoi: bf afresh
VCrrAGES AKt> TIAVEK.
9k tf)0 distsance of two thou*'
sand miles from the ^sea, and compared
with which our boasted Hiames is but d
bxDok^ often sufiers greatly from thirst.
Its banks^ although from twenty to
iixty feet in height^ affi}rd scarcely any
itony substance in the upper part of its
coarse. With the exception of some
]aTge» detached, soft, grey stones for ten
or twelve miles, they appear to consist
tnitirely of vegetable earth. A few miles
above Limestone a calcar^us rock of
great thickness begins to appear. Two
kinds of rounded flints are found in the
bed of the rtv^r ; one of a dark colour,
easily broken, the other of a white semi-
transparent quartz^ smaller and less beau-
tiful.
fVom Pittsburgh, for nearly three hun-
dred miles, the Ohio runs between two
ridges of hills of near equal elevation,
vluch Dr. Michaux judged to be from
three to four hundred yards. They are
sometimes undulated at their sununits,
but often seem perfectly level for several
milea^ with occasional intervals, which
afibrd a passage for the streams that fall
into the main river. Their direction is
fatallel to the great chain of the Allega-
fties, with which they are considered by
Dr. Michaux to be connected, diougk
admetimes from forty to a hundred miles,
distant from. them. Between them and'
the river there are often flat spaces Ave or
six miles broad, which ara generally
known by the name of Riven-bottoms,
They are covsered with wood, and exceed
in fertility, perhaps, every other part of the
western territory, llie greater part of
tbft large and small rivers, which ^11 into
the'Ofaio, have alao their rivers-bottoms,
but generally less rich than these on the
main river. Dr. Michaux saw a plane
ttee, platanus occidentalisj on the right
bank of the Ohio^ which at the height of
fliur feet^om the ground^ was forty-^even
flset in circumference. It appeared to
ke«p the same dimension to the height of
fifteen or twenty feet, and then divided
into several branches of a proportional
thickness. The tulip-tree, lirodendron
tuHpifcra, perversely called poplar by the
inhabitants; is, next to the plane the larg*
cif tree of North America.
The banks of the river on both sides
aiB covered with trees, which often con-
fltitute beautiful vistas. Dr. Michaux
giipes. a lively picture of one near the
xboothof the great Kexmaway.
" For fcaur.or: five miles the Ohio preserves
itr breadth, whkh is about eigiit hundred
jBxtts; soui -c^Lfaibilfrthe most perfect alignmeut
6it esK:h side; Its shelving banks, iising-fhRii
flve-and-twenty to forty feet, as in the rest of
its course, are planted at the bottom with wiI-=
k>w8, tlie pendant branches of which, and the
dear green of then* foliage, form a veiy pleas^
ing contrast with the sugar-maples, red mables,
and ash-trees, situated immec^ately aoove
'them ; and thfese, in their turn, are overtopped
by the plane, the tulip-tree, the beech, and
the magnolia^ wliich occupy the highest ele-
vation ; the lat^ branches of these, attracted
by the brighter light, and (he more easy ex-
pansion, incline towards the sides, covering
the trees situated .below them entirely, and
even stretching much faitherover the river.
This natural disposition, which prevails on
both banks of the river, forms a regular sweep-
on each side, the image of which, reflected by
the crystal of the water, embellishes this mag-
nificent pro^ject.'*
Both banks of the lower part of thai
Monongahela, as well as those of the
Ohio, till it takes a southerly direction,
belong to the state of Pennsylvania, and
are advancing fast in population. The
town of Fittsburgin 1802 contained about
four hundred houses. The remainder of
the country between the Alleganies and
the Ohio to its junction with the big
sandy river, where its- course becomes
westerly, is in the state of Virginia. ITie
greater part of it is so OAountainous^ that
it is settled only a little way up the su-
bordinate river. But the banks of the
Ohio, which till 1796 and 1797 were so
thmly peopled, that them were not more
than twenty-five or thirty femilies in a
space of near four hundred miles, have
since that time attracted so many emi-
grants, that the plantations are at present
not more than fl-om one to three miles
asunder; and some of them are always
within sight ftom thcmiddleof the river.
J>r. Michaux is persuaded that its future
pEQg^ess will keep pace with iu late rapid
inrmiiiMiii
" The poskioii olthis river, the most happy
whkh can be found in the United States, will
cause It to be considered as the centre of ac-
tivity of the commerce between the eastem
and western states: it is by it that the latter
receive the manufactured artkles furnished t9
thefir^ by £uf(^, India, said the Antilles;
and it is the only cliannel of commuriicatlon
openwith the ocean, for exporting the pro-
duce of that vast and fertile part of the United
States, comprized bet\v-een the- Allegany
mountains, the lakes, and the left bank 01 the-
" All these advantages, added to the salu-
brity of the climate, and the beauty of t^
situations, enlivenod, in the sprine> by croudi'
of loaded boats, hurried on with incredible
rapidity by the current, and by the extsaix^'
dinary specucle of vessels of heaw burden
mcHAUx's t»4ViU Taxa&ia.MQAvx vonrrAurs.
l^i pioceed directly fnwi 4he middle of
^is Ti4 coDtincui to the West Indies: sdl
tiioe advantages, I say, make me look to the
huiks of the Ohio, frgm Pittsburdi to Louia-
viile, both included, 33 being lu^ely to be,
vitkjp twenty years, the most nopujous atul
mostoMnmerctal port of the Umted States..
It is also tiiat to which !■ should not hesitate to
girc the preference, m chusmg my place of
ifekkaKe."
Of the state of Ohio, wliich has but
lately been received into the union. Dr.
Michms saw only the settlements on the
right book of tiie river, its boundary from
the states ot* Virginia and Kentucky. Ma-
rietta, situated at tb« confluence of the
great Muskingum with theOhio, one hun«
died and eighty miles from Pittsburgh by
water, is the chief establishment in this
state. It has not existed £tteen years,
«Ki the number of its houses was in 1 802
WOK than a hundred. The Muskingum
ristfs near lake Erie, is navigable two hun-
dred and. fifty miles from its Influx into
the Ohio, and is there three hundred and
forty yards broad. The seat of govern-
ment is at Chillicotte, on the great Scioto^
about 60 miles from its moQth. Hie banks
%f this river are said to be almost as fer-
tiie as those of the Ohio : but as they are
lower and mote humid, the Inhabitants
are subject to obstinate intermitting feverv
in theautunm, which do not cease till the
approach of winter. Chillicotte con-
tains about a hundred and fifly houses.
At Limestone Dr. Michaux left the
Ohio, and peoceeded by land through the
late of Kentucky to Nashville in the
itare of Tennessee. Kentucky was dis-
covered in l/fOby.some Virginia hunters.
At that time it was not occupied by any
iiatioa against all who attempted to settle
there : (hi this account.it was calkd Ken-
tucky, which in their laugoo^ signifies
the land o£ blood. No fixed estabUsh-
meot was fomwak init til}J780. In 1782
the ttomfaBrof its white inhabitants was
•bout three thousand : in 1790, one hun-
dred tbcnsand: at the gene^ census
taken in 1800, it was two hundred and
tWTOty thousand : and when Dr. Michaux
V ^^ unskiliuhiess o£ tfo smmycn.
Frankfort is the seat of govemmtot, but
is less populous than Lexington, which
contains about tl^ree dnmsand inhabitant,
and is the •Idest and most considerabla
town in the three new states. Theg^t»t-
est length of the state is four hundiieA
miles, and its greatest breadth about twa
hundred. In its whole ^tent it seems l»
rest on a bed of perfectly homogeneou*
hmestone, which in some of the deep
channels of the rivers is exposed to view
to the height of three hundred feet per-
pendicular: the vegetable earth varies in
thickness from a few inches to twelve <v
fifteen feet. There are also ^^'TOerona
explored mines of coal, but with the ex-
ception of a few iron mines, there ia,
scarcely any olher mineral substgnce ia
the country* '
The land m Kentucky, as well as m
some of die Adantic statas. is divided jotm
three classes, which are difi^rendy assess-
ed to the land-tax: but the same kiad rf
land is there put in the second class, whidi
•Mst of die mountains would belong to dve
first; and in die third, which in Georgia
and Carolina would be assigned to the
second. Thae is, mdeed, some land ia
the eastern states as fertile as a^ in th0
west; but it is not common, and is sei*
dom met with but by. die aides of rive»
and m the vallies.
^Zt^'^^'K^''^ CumberiandindepeR^
dently<if a fewtrees, M-Jch are pecuhi to
th^ cotmtnes, Uie niass of the fmesK 2
lands of the first cms, is compo^ ^f^^
east of dieinounlams, in dxe most ferti^tt^
these speaes are principiJly the OBtm^'
> nigra, cerulea, white, blik,
hricaria, black-jack oak ; OuiimdinadiJ^
locust; an^ ^fmana triloba, papair.^^
nses to the height of diirtv fet. Ih^^
ast species, in oarticuJar, denote thTrichS
lands. In cool mountakous phK«s anrf^
the sidcsx^f the riven wludtRoT^S
banks, there are also found the ^uctcusmSI
A — — — • —- ""w».^.. xTxu.iuHu^ which are as large as a hen's '^a^- n,™"!?
«» tkre m 1802.. the pqpojation was, *acclmrimm,^l>x r^Xlsa^^
etmuted at two hundred and ^ thpu- "f™. be«ct; «««ralso itpkS^dZ
and, including about twenty thousand
jepo daves. This rapid increase would
tee been still gKater> if it had not been
ar dieigioviog difficalty of ascertaining
the titks to die land^ occanoned pardy by
tb»iiii«sr^tl|»Jasid»desa«r^ andpaftly
^te and ytUow tuhp-tree ; aod the AiLSi
l^^^^mma, cucumber-tree, the. thwe*SS
r^ ^»»» to a ctrcuniference of eighteS
toed befote> grow, to a larger sac. Twl
two spea«i of tulip-tree, with white aod yd- ,
©6
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
low wood, have no external character, dither
in the leitves, or in the tiowfrs, by which they
can bii distinguished from each other, and ag
tlie yellow wood is most used, before a tree is
felled, a piece is cut out, to asccitahi whether
it is of this species.
" In the lands of the second class, are
found Fa^ut castanea, chesnut ; Quercus ru-
' bra, red oak ; fUerciis tinctoria, quercitron ;
Laurus saifsafras, sassafras; Diosptjros vir^
giniandf persiinon ; tiquidambar siyraciflud,
Ny9sa tHIosu, gum-tree, a tree which neither
yields gum, nor resin, as its name seems to
unply.
• " Those of the third class, which arc gene-
rally arid and mountainous, scarcely produce
any but the black and red oak; i\iG Qucrcux
prinus montatuif ixx;ky oak, some pines, and
sometimes Virginian cedars.
" The fuglans jxicanc is not met with
ncarci' ihali the mouths of tlie rivers Cumber-
lacd and Tennessee, from whence the fniit
is sometimes brought to Lexington market.
Neither docs this tree gmw to tlu! eastward of
the Allegany mountains. The Lobelia car-
dinalh grows abundantly in all the cool humid
filxHs, as well as the JLolfclia sphilitica ; tliis
is more common in Kentucky than in any part
of the United States which 1 liave seen. The
Laurus Benzoin, spice-\vood, is also plentiful
here. The two genera, f^accimum and ^Jn-
dromeda, which constitute a series of more
than thirty sparies, and are very abundant in
the easteni slates, seem, in some decree, ex-
cluded from those of the west, and the caka-
reous district, in which only tlie Andromeda
urborea is found."
The barrens or racadows of Kentucky
Comprize an extent of sixty or seventy
miles in length, to fifty or sixty in breadth.
• " From the signification of the word," says
Dr. Michaux, ** I expected to cross a bare
tract, with a few planl.i scattered here and
tliere upon it : ancf in this opinion, 1 was sup-
ported by the notion which tiome of the in-
habitants had given me of t]ie«>e meadows,
belbre I reached them. They told me, that,
at this season, I should perish with heat and
thirst, and that I should riot meet with any
shade tlie whole length of the loatl ; for, the
greater number of the Americans, w ho live m
woods, have no conception that countries can
exist which are entirely free from them, and
still less that they can be habitable. Instead
of lindinga coiuitry such as had be«.'n describ-
ed to me, I was agreeably sih-priz;'d to see a
beautiful meadow, well covered with giass,
of two ot tliree feet in height, wliich is used
to feed cattle. A great variety of plants also
grow here, among which the GLrurdiaJinxa,
gall of the earth, tlie Gnaphah'um dloicum,
white plantafai, and the Rucibeckia pnrjmrca,
were at this time predominant. I noticed
that tiie roots of the latter plant Jiave, in a'
^rtain degree, the acrid taste of tlio^ leaves
of the Spilanthus qlemcca. When I crossed
' tiittse meadow«^ thice-fourtiis of the'plautsjjtsi^
done flowering, and the period of the «tiafi>
rity of the greater part ot their seeds, was s»tiU
far distant ; I, however, collected about ninety
specimens, wliich I have brought to France.
\*' In some parts of these meadows, several
species of wild creeping vines are met with,
and particularly tJiat called by the inliabitants,
summer grapes. These grapes are as large,
and of as. good a quality, as those from the
vineyards hi the neighbourhood of Paris, with
this chflTerence, that they are not so close upon
the bunches.'*
'The remarkable nakedness of this and
some other similar tracts of a country,
which in its natural state is one thick fo-
rest, had before been attributed by Volney
to tlie custom of burning tlie grass every
spring, practised time out of mind by thft
Indians, and continued by the white set-
tlers. Dr. Michaux, who does not seem
to Have been acquainted with A'^olneys
conjecture, was led to form the same con-
clusion by an observation which occurred
to him incidentally, in a future part ol'bis
journey.
" At a short distance from Macby, oit the
rivei- Hoist en, lifteen miles from Knox ville, the
road, for the space of a mile or two, nms beside a
Coppice; very thickly set witli trees, the largest
clumps being twenty or twenty-five feet across,
1 had never seen any part of a forest in a simi-
lar state ; and I made this observation to the
inhabitants of the country, who infonned me
that this spot was fonnerly part of a barren, or
meadow, which had become naturally re-co-
vered with wood within the last twelve or iif-
teen years, shice the bad custom of setting lire
to them, as is jiractised m all the southern
states, had been discontinued. This example
seems to prove, that the extensive meadows of
Kentucky and Tennessee are indebted to some
contiagratiiMi, which had consumed the fo-
rests, for tlieir origin, and that they are pre*
served in that state by the custom, which still
orevails, of setting lire to them annually.
vVhen on these occasions chance preserves
any spots of them for a few years from tlie ra-
\"ages of the flames, the .trees spring up agsun ;
but, bemg extremely close, tlie fire, which at
length catches them*, burns them completely,
anil reduces them to the state of meadows
again. Hence it may 1m.' concluded that, in
tiiese countries, the meadows must continuailT
encroach upon the forests ; aiid, in all proba-
bility, this wjs the case in Up|jer Louisiana
and'New Mexico, which are only vast plaias
to wiiich the savages set fire aiinually, and
where there is not any tree."
Tlie .elks and bisons, which formerly
abounded in this country, are almost all
gone orer to tlie right bank of tlie Mis&i-
sippi: tlic only, species of wild aninuik
which are now common are the deer; the
bear^ the wolf i the grey and the r^
lftCHAUX*S THAVfiLi TO TtlE ALLB^^ANt MOUNtAtlrfl.
#
htovedfbses; tbe wild cat* which is either
the Cmadian lynx or a variety of it^ and
BiK, as has sometimes been supposed^ the
ongzD of the domestic cat of Europe ; the
racooD; the opossum^ and three or f(5ttr
ipectes of squirrels.
"The \frfld ttirkies, which begin to be very
farce in the soiitht-m stales are- plentiftil in
those to the Westu'ard. In the most luiinha-
bited parts they are so tame as to. be easily
kxikd with a pistoMiot In the oast^ on the
CDntiary, and parficularly in the neighbour-
hood of the searports, they cannot be ap*
{Moached without difiiculty: they are not
•lanBed by a noise, but they iiaveavery,
quick sight, and as soon as they discover the
hunter, fly away with such rapidity, tliat it
takes a d^ Kcveml hdnutes to come up with
them; ^nuwhen they see themselves onjhe
p:!DlM)f being caught, they escape by taking
10 flight. The wild turkies gencralljr remain
it die swamps, and by the sides of nvers and
credp> and only come out in the moniing and
eimag. 1 hey perch on the tops S[ the
highest trees, where» notwithstancUng their
bulk, it is not always easy to see them. When
they have not been frigHtcncd, they return to
Ihe same trees for several weeks in succession.
" To the east of the Mississippi, in a space
af more than eight hundrud leagues, tiiis is the
onhr species of wild turkey which is met with.*
They are larger than those reared in our pouU
try yards. In autumn and in winter tiiey feed
ciiietiy on chesnuU and acorns ; and some of
tboie 'killed at this season wei^h thirty-five or-
forty pounds. The variety ot dome'stic tur-
kies, to which the name of English tlirkies is
giTtn, in France, came origmally from this
species of wild turkey ; and when they are not
OQSKd with the common species, they retain
the primitive colour of their plumage, as well
as that of thdr legs, which is a deep red. If,
Subsequent to 1523, our domestic turkies Were
natuRlized in Spain, and from thence were in-
troduc*nl into the rest of Europe, it is probable
that the)* were originally from some of the
more soiithem parts of Anerica, where there
doubtless exists a species diHerent from that
of the United {States.'*
Many horses are bred in Kentucky
Hrhich £od a good market ih .the southern
stales, particularly South Carolina: the
number of horned cattle is also consider*
able; but very few sheep are reared. Dr.
Michaiix travelled upwards of two hun-
dred rniles in this state, and saw but four
plantations at which tliere were any.
Their flesh is not much in esteem, and the
MK>1 is of the same quality as that of the
•hecp in the eastern states.
The cultivated produce is chiefly tobac-
co, hemp, flax, and the different grains of
Europe, but principally maize and wheat.
Whisky IS distilled fit)m oats, and bnmdy
from peaches. Except a tew apple-trees,
the peach is the only friiit-tree which haj
hitherto been raised in the country. Ail
attempt, indeed, has been made by a Swiss
settler to establish a vineyard, aiid great ex-^
pectations were fbrtned concerning it 3 but
the experiment has not succeeded, in con^
sequence of the humidity 'of the atmos^
phere occasioned by the vicinity of the fo^'
rests. Dr. Michaux is of opinion that the
barrens are much better adapted to this
purpose than (he spot x^hich has been cho«*
sen on the banks of the river Kentucky. •
Tlie manufactures carried on at Lexing^
ton are fhose of writing paper, ropes, tan*'
ned leather, nails, pottery ware and gun*'
powder. The sulphur for the last is ob*»
tained from Philadelphia, but the tohpetre
is the {iroduce of Kentucky and Tennessee,
and has hitherto been fabricated iii no-
other part of the United States. Th&
earths which yield the lixivia are obtainedf
from the grottoes and caverhs, formed ott
ihe declivities bf high hillSi in the most,
mountainous parts* They are very rich:
in the nitrous principles, which is evidently
owing to the calcareous rock, firom the de-
cay of which all these excavations aror
formed, as well as from the vegetable*
substances which are accidentally driven*
into them. This, Dr. Michaux observes,
seems to show that the assimilation ot
arfimal matters is not absolutely necessary
to produce a greater degree of nitrification'
even in the fiJ^mation of artificial niti^
beds.
These manufactures are said to atiswer
notwithstanding tlie extreme high price of
labour, and the scarcity of handicraft
workmen, owing to the general preference*
pven to agriculture. To render the de-
fect of artizans in the West country more
perceptible. Dr. Michaux gives the follow-
ing comparison t
" At Charlestown in Carolina, and at Sa-
vannah in Georgia, a white workman, slich as
a joiner, carpienter, mason, white-smith, tay*
lor, shocdnaKer, &c. earns two piasters a d.iy,
and cannot live a week for less than six. Atr
Ne\7 York and Philadelphia he receives only
one piaster, and it costs him four per week.
At ^la^ictta, Lexington, and Nashville in
Tennessee, this workman receives a piaster,
or a piaster and a half per day, and can live a«
week upon one day's wages.
The state of Teimessee is bounded to the*
north by Kentucky, to the west by the.
Ohio, to the south by that nominal part of^
Georgia which is reserved for the territory
• There is one spedmen of afemalc in the coUectioti cf the MuscUm of Katuial BlstorV:
A*».Hev. VoulV. H
d»
VOiyAGE^ AND TRAVELS.
ef the Cherokee aini Chactaw Indians, and
to the east by tlie Allegany mountains^
which separate it from Virginia and North
Carolina. It ha4 not aaiuired population
enough before 1796 to be admitted into
the union as a separate state : till then it be-
longed to Nortl^ Carolina. Its principal
rivers are the Cumberland and the Ten-
nessee, botli which fall into the Ohio at
the distance of ten miles from each other,
and are separated for nearly the whole of
their course by the Cumberland moun-
tains, which are a process from the
Alleganies. Cumberland river rises in
ICentucky, among the mountains which
separate it from Virginia. It has a course
of about four hundred and fifcy miles, and
15 navigable in winter and spring as far as
three hundred and fifty miles from its af-
flux ', but in summer it cannot be ascended
tnore than two hundred and thirty, i, e.
fifty above Nashnlle. The Tennessee is
the largest river that fails into tlie Ohio.
It commences at a place called West Point,
on the south-^ast side of the Cumberland
mountains, and is formed by the junction
of the Clinch and Holstou, botli which
xise in the Allegany mountains : they are
^ach near two hundred yards wide at tlieir
confiuence, and are navigable to a great
distance. The Holston, in particular^ is
80 for neariy two hundred mile^ j so that
the Tennessee, in conjunction witli it,
would have a navigable course of about
eight hundred miles, if it were not for tlie
muscle shoals which, for #lx months in
tlie year, obstruct tlie passage about two
hundred and fifty miles from its mouth.
The greater part of the Tennessee, running
tlirough the Indian territory, has scarcely
any settlements on its banks.
The Cumberland mountains divide the
state of Tennessee into two parts, which
have so little connection -W'itli each (Hlier,
and diifer so much in their products and
interests, that tliey wijl probably. soon be-
<;ome separate states. They were origi-
nally known by.theiiames of Cumberland
and Holston. West Tennessee, or Cum-
berland, is in extent about two-thirds of
the ^ole« and though it had few settlers
before 1789> is now supposed to contain
«bout thirty tliousand white inliabitants.
Nashville, its principal and oldest town,
consists of about one hundred and twenty
' houses, of which seven or eight are built
of brick. The vegetable eailh rests cbidly
on & horizontal cj^kareous rock, but is not
«o deeg as in Kpiitucky, and partakes more
<^ an argrltaceous nature, without an
diaLtureof^tony^b^tances. Qnlhehi^ '
any
igh
banks of seme of the rivers the upp^T
rpcks cover thick beds of ferru^neout
schistus lying horizontally, the laminae of
which, on the slightest touch, break o^in
pieces a foot long, and faH spontaneously
to powder; and on such as are the leak
exposed to tlie water aad the light, there
is a white efHorescence of an extreme te«
nuity, and greatly resembling snow. la'
tliese banks there are also deep cavcms^
in which arfe found masses of an alumioow
substance, so near the degree of puifqr-
required for the operations of dying> that-
tlie inhabitants not only collect it for their
own use, but also 'send it to Kentucky.
As greater care has been taken to render
the tides to projx?rty cjear and uncontro^
vertible, this part of Tennessee b now ge*
nerally preferred to Kentucky. The sn* 1
perior warmth of the climate, moreover,
is fa\-ourable to the growth of cotton, a.
much more profitable produce than either'
grain, hemp or tobacco; stufis of a find
quality are already fabricated m the cou]i-> 1
try from the raw material.
East Tenessee or Holston is situated h^ *
twecn the Cumberland mountains and tha^
highest part of the Alleganies, . Its ltine«>^
stone appears to be deeper than in West*^
Tennessee, and the beds which incline to i
the horizon, are divided at small intenr^'j
by strata of quartz ; it is watered also bf*'
a great number of small rivers, whidi^
cross it in all directions. The best IttA
is on their banks ; the remainder is of aa 1
indifierent quality ; and as the climate i»
considerably colder than that of Wrtt-
Tennessee, none of it is favourable to tJie
cultivation of cotton. Dr. MichauK, sa-
tisfied with stating the fiict, has assigned
no reason for the latter dtfferenoAi bat
it may probably be owing to the opposi-
tion made by the Cumberland mouuuins
to the passage of tlie warm current of sir
fiom the gulph of Mexico, to which Vol-
ney has ingeniously attributed the supe-
rior temperatunfc of the countries on the
Missisippi to that of places on the sam#
parallel of latitude in the Atlantic states.
East Tennessee began to be settled as*
early as 177^* and the number of its iyia-
bitants is now estimated at about seventy
thousand, ilicluding three or four thpusaod
uegroe slaves. On accomit of the bad na-
vigation of the river, its trading concenia
are nearly all carried on by land with the
sea ports on the Atlantic 5 it is, therefore,
thought by Dr. Michoux to be the roc»t
unfavourably situated of all the parti of
the United States that are now inhabited,
being -sarroundad bj. e^ttftnsive tracts of
mCRAUX's TEA VSL8 TO TBE ALLlEOAKY MOUtTTAINS*
coonfrjwkidi yield the 6ame products,
9od are eit-her more fertile or nearer the
tea-si^. The seat of govenrnieot for tlie
yibok state is at Knoxviile, on the Hol-
stoa, wftuck ooQtaiiis about two hundred
booses*
The mouBitaiiison the east of Tenessee
are gmersUy allowed, by tiie emigrants
horn Pennsylvania and Vii^ginia, to be
liigfaer than any others to die south of
HttdMQ^f rirer. They place the great
hiba mountain in the first rank, then the
iran mountain^ the yelkVw mountain, the
hbck motrntain, and the table mountain.
In support of this o{nnion it is alleged,
that faehft-een the 10th and 20th of Sep-
tember, the cold becomes so severe on
the mountains, that the inhabitants are
obliged to have fires, which is not the case
with auy of those in Virginia, although
Ihcy are some degrees fiuther north. Dr.
Micfaaux has also seen in his father's
notes that he fi>und trees and shrubs on
the yellow .and great father mountains
which he never met with afterwards, ex-
c^ in Lower Canada. These moun- .
taifls do not tmn part of the grand chain, '
hit ave strictly within the district of the
western watexs. They have also a pecu-
liar character, and instead of forming a re-
gular ru%e with little or no undulation,
iheyaxe imiilflted mountains contiguous
«iKky at the base. The peal dividing ridge,
which is truly a oontinuance of what are
called the AJlegamcs in Pennsylvania, is
known in North Carolina by the name of
the Une cidlge. It is xaudi lower than
^T. XVIL Pamiliar LeUers from Italfj to a Friend in England. By Peter BECKro&D,
£sa. In 1 wo Volumes, Svo. pp. 004.
,the Tennessee mountains^ and was passed'
by l}r. Michaux to the east of the iron
mountain on his return to Charlestown.
In the whole of the western states thirty
years ago, there were scarcely three thou-
sand inhabitants : at present there are more
than four hundred thousand. There are
two printing presses, tx)lh at Pittsburgh and
Lexington, each of which pttblishes two
newspapers every week* At Knoxville
one is published twice a week, and at Chil-
licotte, Nashville, and at Jonesborough
and Holstou once. And so desirous is the
federal government to propagate instruc-
tion and a knowledge of the laws among
the people, that it allows the editors of tiie
periodical papers, published through the
whole extent o{ thq United States, to re-
ceive those which they exchange witli
each other, or which are directed to them^
post free.
We have endeavoured to condense and
to digest into as small a compass as pos-
sible, what appeared most important with
respect to the rising states, that it may
serve as a kind of fixed point firom which
their farther pi^ogress may be estimated.
An abundant and rich gleaning, we are
very sensible, may be gathered after us :
but ioT this, as-weU as for our author's ob-
servations on his way through North and
South Carolina to Charlestown, ^^e must
refer our reader to the work itself: and
shall only add, that the narrative is illus-
trated by a distinct map of the soutliern,
western, ^nd middle states.
rr is not very easy to throw the diarm
^novelty over a taie which lias been so*
<yto told. These letters wene, many of
them, written so kmg ago as the year 1 7S7t
tod most of them be&re the invasion of
Italy h^ the French. Mr. Beckibrd seems
^ have passed much of his time on tlie
omtineot, and to have had abundant lei-
An« to complete his memoranda*- We
*Binot, however, think that the present
work vas mnch wanted: it contains a
pw deal of unnecessary matter ; matter
^hlch presumes niudi upon the ignorance
ot die reader. What in the name of good
latteor coramon sense should an epitome
of the aoueot History of Home be intro-
doced for ? Almost every town he enters
Mr. Beckford thinks demands from him a
sketch of its classic days ! The familiarity '
of the style displeases us : Mr.- Beckford
introduces too many silly stories and jokes
from Joe Miller, many of them are coarse
and vulgar, and some of them scarcely
decent. If on the one hand, however, we
complain that tliese letters contain much
irrelevant and tiresome matter, it roust,
on the other hand, be conceded, that every
thing is described which admits of descrifn
tion : now and then a leisure boor may
be employed^ not nnprofitably, in perusing
them.
Art. XVIIL Xaufragia ; or Historiral Memoirs nf Shtpearecks, and qf the Providential
JfcHxtnmce of yt99€U. By James Stamicr Cla&ke, F. R. S. Chapiain qftkeJ^iuct^s
Housckoidf and Librarian to his B/9yul Highness, Vivoo. pp. 421.
W'£ are sorry that so osefiil a design as that of this yolunic should bare bflea
H2
100
VOYAGES AST) TRAVELS.
* executed by Mr. Stanier Clarke. Any
thiog like a judicious selection we could
Dot expect from tliis gentleman, after his
History of Maritime Discovery j but we
did expect that he would have shown more
knowledge of the subject upon which he
was writing. Not one of the most extra-
ordinary shipwrecks which have taken
place are to b« found in his collection :
but the novels of Robert A-Machin, and
Captain Richard Falconer, are unsuspici-
ously, inserted as true history j Philip
Qnarle is just as credible, aud just as au-
thentic as eitlier.
Here we might dismiss this meagre
compilation, were there not in the liri»t
section a ' Dissertation* on the real autiior
of Robinson Crusoe, which requires some
comment. Tlie following extract is tlie
whole of this dissertation : .
*' Before I conclude this section, 1 wish to
make the admirers of this Nautical Bomaiice
niindfiil of a report, which prevailed many
years ago ; that Dffoe, after all, was not tfj'e
real author of Robinson Crusoe, I'his asser-
tion is noticed in an article in the seventh vo-
lume of the Edinburgh Magazine. Dr. Towtrs
in his life of Drfoe in the Biographia, is in-
clined to pay no attention to it; but was (hat
\>Titer aware of the following letter, which also
appeared in the Gaitleinan*s Magazine* for
1788? at least na notice is taken of it in liis
LifeofZ>^bf.
" Mr. Urban, Dublin, Feb. 25.
In th^ course of a late conversation with a-
nobleman of the fit st consequence and infor-
mation in this kingdom, he assured mc,'tliat
Mr. BeruaminHotioKayi of Middleton Stonv,
assCiredhim, some time ago, that he knew tor
fact, that the celebrated romance of liobinson
Crusoe was really written by the Earl qf Ox-
ford, when conlined m the tower o. I^ondon ;
that his lordship gave the manuscript to Da-
niel Defoe, who frequently Nlsilcd him daring
his ooiiAneinent : aud that Dcfcfc, having af-
terwards added (he second vojuine, pubHshc4
tiie whole as his own })roduction.-r-This anec*
dote I would not venture to send to your va^
Uiable magazine, if I did not th'uik my infor-
mation good, aiid^ imagine it migliC be accep-
table to your numerous readcK ; ndlwitllstand-
ing the work has heretofore been generally at-
tributed to the latter."
. . ' W. W.
*« It is impossible fcfr me to enter dn a &*
ctission of this literary subject; though I
thought the circumstance ought to be mcnre
generally known. And yet 1 must .observe,.
that I always dUcemed a ver}' striking failins
off between the composition of the iirst and
second Volumes of this Romance — ^tliey seem
to bear evident marks of having been the
work oi different ^Titers."
Mr. W, W. dating from Dublin, in-
forms Mr. Urban of the Gentleman •
Magazine, that an Irish nobleman assured
him that he was assured by Mr. Benjamtn
Holloway, of Middleton Stony, that he^
the said Mr. Benjamin Holloway knew,
i\x fact, that the earl of Oxford wrote
tlie first volume of Robinson Crusoe ! Ad-
mirable evidence ! Mr. W. W. one : ibm
Irish nobleman twoj Mr. Benjamin Hol-
loway three — ^here there is a gap, and we
know not through how many generations
tliis ridiculous talsehood had passed betore
It reached Middleton Stony. And Mr-
Clarke, though it is impossible for hin»
to enter into die subject, thought this tes-
timony ought to be more generally knoun^
and adds, in supi)ort of it, that he alway»
tliought the secoud volume of Robinsos
Crusoe inferior to the first. Admirable
critic!
Nothing can more strongly charactenzer
a mean and little mind than an eagerness
to believe and propagate such idle ca-*
lumnies as this ! What would a court of
justice say to Mr. Stanier Clarke if be
were to make his appearance before them
with a st^)ry that Mr.. A. B. had written
him an anonymous letter, to say tliata wor-
tl)y friend of his had assured htm that John-
a-Nokes knew for fact that John-a-Stiles
had picked his [)ocket ! False accusation
In tlie present case is as much heavier an
biRMice as the valuie of a good name is
greater than gold. Mr. Clarke's memory
may help him to this comparisoR in verse.
Something is said oi Alexander Selkirk
\n tlijs same section, llie reader who
would wiah to know every thing that can
be known concerninvr him, may consuh a
little volume upon the subject, published*
four or five years ago, by &Ir. Isaac James
of Bri:»tol. Tlie account is authentic, and
highly curious.
Art. XIX* A'NorOiern Summer; or Trwfids Round tlie Bakic; through Dvnmnrkf
Sxveden, Russia, Prwrniu, and part of Germany j ii^ the- Y.ear. 1 &u4» Btf JloH N C akr, ^i^» •
JIuthor if the Stranger in France, S\c. 4 c. 4lo. pp. 480.
Mb. CARR gave a liglit and agreeable
itcount of his cxcursipu into IVtmce, and
he has now given us a light and agreeablt '
account of his trayel» through the ies^ ire*
* Vol. Lvai. Part I. page 208,
CARR's NoHTHRRN £trMM£ft«
101
ipfnied countries which surround the
Baiik. To atford amusement seems to
have been a prime abject with the author j
he writes, ciamUe caiatno, and enters but
sligfadj into the politics, religion^ history,
or statistics of the countries he visited.
Mr. Carr is an arti^, and the delineation
of DatioDol characteristics is congenial with
his ta^te and pursuits : his anecdotes are
numerous and oftentimes iliustrative.
The first capital town wortli stopping
at is Cc^^enhagen : ee passant, we have a
good picture at Husum. The fair was
held at the tiriie Mr. Carr was there ; the
huckraimned bosoms g(( the" women, to-
gether w ith the vast protuberant rotundi-
tit^ which they display . behind, form a
whimsical contrast to the fashionable dress
of our English beauties. ' In the even-
ing, a crazy violin and drum allured me
into a public room, in 'V^iich the merry
peasants were dancing waltzes. Heavens !
what movetncnts ! A Frenchman who re-
vokes e\iery thing into operatic eifect,
would Iiave felt each particular hair stand
erect had he contemplated the heavy so-
lemnity of the performers. The females
looked like so many tubs turning round,
and their gallant partners never moved
their pipes from their mouths.' ITiis is
not a bad picture; a Danish Jupiter making
love to some tender female, fire issuing
imm his mouth, and the god himself, * in-
^"fiiible, or dimly seen,' through clouds of
smoke that curl around him. Bunbmy
might give it to our print shops.
' Dancing is a favourite diversion with
oor northrtsm as well as our southern
neighbours : if tlie poorer classes of tkk
country meet together it is to drink!
A mdnorable day for Denmark was the
2d of April, 1801 : we claim the honours
<A that hard-eanied, if not dubious vic-
tory, and certainly In its consequences we
had every reason for triumph 9 the battle
ofi^Cc^ienhagen dissolved the confederacy
of the northern powers, and produced the
convention, in J 803, between his Brit-
laiiic M;<jesty, and the king of Sweden,
respecting the search oi neutral vessels,
and regulating wliat sliould in future be
deemed legitinoate cargoes. The Danes,
however, fought so valorously, and with
such terrible effect, that for two years they
commemorated tktir victory by an anni-
versaxj rejoicing.
" On oar return to the dty, and about a
snile from it, a turt^ hilkx± of small poplars
^tr9cted our notkre : it was the national tomb
of the heroes who fell in the memorable battle
fxf CopcBhagen roads, a» the i2d of Apri!^
1801, and stood in a meadow about two hun
dred yards from the road, and looked to-
wards the crown battery. As we approach-
ed it we saw i small monumental obelisk
which was raised to the memory of cajj-
tain Albert Thurah, by the CroMTi Prince.
It appeared by tlie iaacnprton, that during the
heat of that sanguinary battle, a signal was
made from one of the Block sliips, that all tlie
odicers on board were killed; the Crown
PriiKie, who behaved with distinguished judg-
ment and composure during the whole of that
territic and anxious day, and was giving his
orders on shore, exclaimed, * who' will take
the command ?' The gallant ITiurah replied,
' I will, my Prince,' and immediately leaped
into a boat, and as he m^is moimting tiie deck
of the block ship, a British shot numbered him
amongst the dead, which fonned a ghastly
pile before hiai, and consigned his spirit anU
nis glory to the regiofls of inunortalily."
A larger tomb is erected by their grate-
ful country qjer her fallen heroes :
** It is a pyramidal hillock, neatly turfed
and planted with saplkig |X)plars, correspond-
ing with the number ot otlicers who fell. At
the base of the principal front are tomb stones
recording the names oi each of these oihcers,
and their respective shijjs. ^ A lillle above is
an obelisk of grey nortlicm marble, raised
upon a pedestal of granite hearing this mscrip-
tion :
♦' To the mtmbrif qf those vJio fell for their
eountri/, their grateful fi Itow citizens raise
this monumcKt, j4prii 2, 1801.
" And beneath, on a white mari>le tablet,
imder a wreath of la^m*l. oak, and cypress
bound together, is inacribwl:
" The wreath which the country bestows
never ioitficrs over the grave of the fallen
tvarrior.
*' The whole is enclosed in a square pdlisa-
do : as a national monument, it is too dmiinu-
tiye/'
Tlie following anecdote is worthy to be
recorded: after the preliminaries of paci-
fication were adjusted, at the impressive
interview between lord Nelson and- the
Crown Prmce, the latter took some re-
freshment at the palace ;
** During the repast Ijord Kelson spoke in
raptures of tlie braver}' of the Danes, and par-
ticularly requested the prince to intnxluce him
to a very young officer, whom he described
as liaving pcrfonned wonders du ring the battle,
by attacking hb o^n ship immediately under
her lower guns. It proved to be the gallant
young Weimos, a stripling of seventeen ; the
British hero embraced him with the enthusi-
asm of a brother, and delicately intimated to
the prince that he buglit to make him ah ad-
miral, to which the prmce very happily re-
Eli.'d, *'If, my lord, I were to make Jill my
rave officers admirals, I should have no cap-
iiVBS or Ueuteoants in my serTice/ This he*
102
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
roic youth had Toknteered the commaiKL of
a praain, which b a sort of raft> carrying six
small caiinon» and manned with twenty-four
men, who Dutdied otf from shore, and m the
fury of tlie battle placed themselves under the
stern of lord Nelson's ship, which they most
successiully attacked, in such a manner that,
although they were below the reach, of hi»
stern chasers, the British marines made ter-
rible slaughter amongst them: twenty of these
gallant men fell by their bullets^ but their
young commander continued kuce-deep in
dead at his poiit, until the truce was an->
nounccd. He has been honmired, as he most
eminently deserved to be, with the grateful re-
membrance of his country and.of his prince,
who, as a mark of his regard, presented him
witli a medallion commemorative of his gal-
laittrv, and has appointed him to the com-
mana of his yacht, m which he mak«siiis an-
nual visit to nolstein."
Copenhagen does not present many
objects of high interest and curiosity : tlie
city is between four and five £ng]ish
miles in circumference, conta'ming about
foiu: thousand houses: the royal palace
fell a victim to the flames in the year
I7g4', it was an immense and splendid
pile of building. Its internal decorations
vere of the highest magnificence : the ritta
saal, or knight's saloon, was one hondred
and eighteen feet long, and fifty-eight feet
broad: nine windows lighted it by day,
and at night twelve hundred wax-lights,
distributed in three lustres, shed a brilliant
blaze over the room } on each side was a
gallery richly gilded, and supported by
forty-four columns of cinnamon wood,
the base and capitals of which were also
richly gilded, The paintings of Abilgoad
on subjects of Danish history embellished
the hall : the library of the king contained
one hundred and thirty thousand volumes^
and three tli<nisand manuscripts, and was
much injured by the fire. Fart of the
castle of Cliarlottenburg is devoted to tlie
royal academy of painting, architecture,
and sculpture. Those of its productions
which Mr. Carr had an opportunity of
aeeingi gave him no very high opinion of
the fine arts in Denmark. The, palace of
Fredericsberg, wliere the king resides, is
small, and the gardens are tastefully ar-
ranged ; his majesty has for many years
been unable, from the iiifirmity of his
mind, to j)erform the royal functions, which
devolve on the crown prince, who is de-
ji^rvedly beloved by all his subjects. The
"Dmes are a grateful people : a few miles
from tlie capital on one side uf the public
road is a plain and simple monument,
erected bv the peasants of the late count
Sei;tistortt; in gratitude Qf theii: liberation.
The crown battery is an interesting ob-
ject : it is square, stands about half za
English mile firom the shore, the water
flowing into it* It is undergoing altei»«
tion and enlargeaient; goverDmcnt has it
also in coiaemplation to r^se a fresh bat»
tery to tlie southward.
Among the charitable instltaUons is aa
hospital where pregnant women, who have
reason for seeking ccxicealment, are re-
ceived upon paying a small stipend : they
enter at night in masks, and are never seen
but by those who are pecessary to thdr
comfort, nor are their names ever w-
quired. This interesting asylum seems
fiir preferable to foundling hospitals, which
oifer a premium to tlie violation of ma-
ternal feelings : it is s^id to have produce^
a visible diminution in the crime of infanti-
cide. The mild laws of Demnark punish
not even the murderer with death.
Taking leave of Denmark, we cross the,
Sound, and enter into tlie Swedish terri^
tories : the sight of Cronenberg ca-itle re-
cals to mind the unhappy late of the!ami->^
able Matilda, who fell a sacrifice to the'
political jealousy of Juliana Maria, the
monster step-mother of his present ma-
jesty. The story of her niisior tunes ex-'
cited so deep an interest at the time that
Mr. Carr has introduced it. Cronenberg
castle now forms the residence of the go-;
vernor of Elsineur : it mounts three hun-
dred and sixty-five pieces of cannon, and
its subterranean apartments will hold more
than a regiment of men. Its strengths
however, is not so formidable as its ap-'
peorance : tlie British fleet under admi-
rals Parker and Nelson passed it with per-
fect impunity, and disdained to return a
shot : it stands on a peninsular spot, the
nearest to Sweden.
The next place we stop at is Stockholm,
but in travelling from capital to capital we*
must not forget the intermediate coun-
try : tlie appearance of the peasantiy and
of their cottages, indicates poverty :
**' Sweden is One continued rock of granite,
covered with lir: hence the cottagt*, ><-hich
ace only one story high, and many of the su-
perior iiouses, ar;ii constructed of wootl, the
{)lanks of which are lot into each other in a
uyer of moss, and the outside is painted of a
red colour ; the roof is formed with the l)ark
of the birch, and covered with turf, which ge-
nerally pYesonts a bed of grass sufVirieiitly high
for thescytiie of the mower. The tiooKof
the rooms are sitrewed witii tiie slips of young
fir, whicl) give them the appearaiK-e of litter
and disorder, and the smell is fur fr9m bt^uig
pleasant. Nothmg can he more dreary than
winding thioughthe tbrOsts, which every now
CARRS NOHTRERK SUMMER.
101
nd tin oment to th« weary eye little patches
0f deann ground, where tirs had been felled
i b^ lire, the stumps of which, to a considerable
hla^f were left in the ground, and, at a dis-
tant nsembied so many laige stones. In-
nkmstiMe abundance ot wood induces the
peamt to thuik it labour lost to root tiieni tip,
ttd they remain to augment the general
Ircaraieis of the scenen-.
"Tbe population in both the provinces of
Sfania and Smaland b very thinly diilbswl :
xcqrt in the very few towns between Hens-
ofg and Stoddiolni, the abode of man but
iRiWiefreBhestheeyeof the weary traveller,
^t (Bwn of day, and all day lon^, he moves
■" a forest, and'at night he sleeps m one. The
\f birds we saw were woodpeckers. The
^heck boasts
'content. 'ITieir clothes and stockmgs are
of light cloth; theikr hats raiKd in
crawn, pouited at top, with large broad
, and round theh- waist they frequently
a leathern girdle, to which are fastened
' knives in a leather case. I'he countty jq
prorhiccs appeared to be verj- sUtiIc ;
ily small portious of its rocky surtat e were
wtred witn a spriDklihg of vegetable mould.**
Tbe peasants bake, thit'ir bread only
«ce, or, at most, twice in tbe year : m
times of scarcity ihey add the bark of the
Kfch well pounded | and Mr. Carr says,^
that thus prepared, their cakes require the
ms of a stone-eater to penetrate them,
iliey are made round and flat, with a hole
io the middle, through which a stick or
nii&g is pass^« ^nd they are suspended
6oro die ceilings,
StockboIiQ IS m^der infinite obligations
to the taste and genius of the late illus*
triotu monarch 'Gustavus III. who not
merely gave encouragement to science and
tbe fine arts in his metropolis, but to
«tiiineice and agriculture throughout his
kii^doDL The manner, however, in
whih he effected the revolution of 1772,
and tbe absolute power with which he in-
vesled himself at the expence of the arig-
tooacy, are not consistent with tlie cha-
racter to which he aspired, namely, that of
« ptxiot king. The power which Gus-
tana gain^ he employed for the bepelit
of hb people; this cannot be questioned 3
*wt to effect a revolution by his sole ijn-
trigues, and In that revolution to destrqy
the legitimate, though abused power, of
the states, and make himself a despot, was
ai act of violent hostility against the prin-
ciples of liberty. Mr. Carr is dazzled by
the splendour of his genius and the ex-
|«nstl«M resources of his mind ; he is lost
ID astonishment and admiration.
Sergell the statuary, Mr. Carr saw the co«
iossal pedestrian -statue of this monarchy
in bronze, which liad just been cast, and
was then polishing. It is a present from
the citizens of Stockholm^ and will cost
forty thousand pounds ; it is^ ptfrhsps^ the
Jw5t eftbrt of tlie iirt of Sergell, who, al-
though every tribute of. honour has beep
paid to tlie sublimity of his genius, and the
delicacy of his taste, is no^'^ become in-
sensible to admiration, disgusted with himt
self, and disgusted with die World. Hia
Cupid and Psyche is qot to be 8o)d \J\\ after
his death. .
The palace at Stockholm b an elegant
itry are poorly housed and clad; yet, edifice, begun by Charles XI. and finishe4
aich discouraging appearances, their by Gustavus III ; within its walls is the
boasts the bloom of health and the smile king's museum, which Mr. Carr was for^
tunate enough to see, immediately after
the opening of severed package^ po^tain*
ing five hundred valuable paintings and
antique statues from Italy, where they
had been purchased by the latter- soe
vereign about eleven ye^rs since, and
had been prevented from reaching tlieir
destination by the French revc3ution.
They lay in great confusion, and soiq^ o^
them were much damaged. In the pa#
lace of Drottingholm there are also som«
exquisite statues in alabaster and marble,
and Etrurian vases, purchased in Italy by
Gusta\'us III. Haga was the favourite
retreat of this illustrious monarch: the
little palace, or rather chateau, which it
of wcK>d, and is extremely elegant, wa^
built after his designs, with the assistance
of Masrelier. The gardens are laid out
with great taste, and the surrounding
scener}' is remarkably picturesque. Hagif[
is about a mile and a bsdf from Stock-
holm: in the year 1791 Gustavus laid
there the foundation of a vast palace, but
the ^dertaking was discontinued at hi^
death, as being on too large a scalej atLd^
too expensive for the country.
The laws of Sweden are mild and
simple j capital punishments a^e seldon\
inflicted, and the prosecutpt sustains nq
share of the expence of prosecuting ^ cri-
minal. England would do well to adopt;
this system of indepmification, as Sweden
would to imitate from her the ac^ustment}
of costs in civil causes by reference to i|
jury, In Sweden eaph psurty psiys his owi|
costs.
Mr. Carr made an excursion to Upsala,
and paid a vbit to the mines of Danmora,
which, notwithstanding they have beea
wrought for three hundred years, yet pro?
duce a vast quantity of ore of a superio^v
i^ 9 tempofar|r buildhig at the house of quality, muct^ used in tbe firitislt fite^ '
m
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
•piaaufactories. The mipient town of Up-
aala was once the capital of Sweden, and
the jfesidence of the high-priest of Odin :
.in the cathedral/ which is a prodigious and
unwieldy pile of briok and of heteroge-
oieaus grchit|5cture, repose the ashes of
Linnaeus. The fojlpwin^ simple epitaph
jppints out the spot :
"Ossa
Caroli a Lr.vNB
cquitis aunti
niarito Optimo
filio iinico
Carolo a Lin'nb
patris succcsiiori
et
sibi
Sara Elizbkta morxa.
*' Tlie affectionate reverente of the ptipih
0f this distingiiislied^xpouijder of nature, and
the powers jof his celehratctl friend Sergei I,
have eDdeavoiired to siippiy the humility t)f
the prec€»ding tribute, by raising, in a little
recess, a monument of Swedish porphyry,
supporting a large mt^uliion of tlic head of
the illustrious naturalist, v'jhich is said to be
^1 admirable Iikenes^ of hhu ; under it is the
jbllowipg inscription:
(Jarolo a Linnk
J3otannicoruni
princ'ipi
Ainici et discipulii
In a private chapel of the cathedral is
the tomb of Gustaviis Vasa, whose effigy
is placed between that of hi^ two wi\ es,
Catherine and Margaret. Mr. Carr should
have transcribed the inscription which is
sacred to the memqry of such a hero^ such
a patriot, and such a mnn.
From the Swedish Mr. Carr proceeds
to the Russian territories : his talents for
description are pleasingly displa}'ed in the
tullowing p;^ssage :
*' At fiyeoclQck in the evening of the siyth
of July, with very little wind, wc slowly vith^
drew from Stockholm, liefore night we were
completely becalmed ; our captam rowed us
up to a rock, aiid throwing out a ^ang-board,
tied the vessel to a fir-tree tor the night. Here
wc landed, and ascended the rocks, which,
sparingly clothe^ with grey moss, rose from
the water's edge in the most grand, romantic,
aijd picturesque disorder. Before us the rich
crimson suffusion of the sun, just sunk behind
a dark undulating line of fur Crests, gave at
pncc trancjuilUty'and tone to the lake appear-
ance of this arm of the Baltic, which was en-
livened by the white-lagging sails of a few
boats, 'thj^ on the opposite side softly and
slowly ofc^pt^d through the deep shadows of
ih^ shoretjt, crowned with the woods of liston*
pottage ; whilst in the south, the ^ower of S|
Catherine's, mounted upon her airy summil
the houses, the palace, and the spires, seem
composed of light cloud and mist. The
lence of this delicious repose of natures
only feintly broken by the dashuig of the o
SLiti the carol of the distant buutmen; in tb
language of the divine Milton:
^ Now came still evening on, and twillg^i
Had m her sober livery all things clad:
Silence accompanied ; for bejist and bird,
I'hey to their grassy couch, tiiese to
nests,
Were slunk
- how glowed the iirinamealt:
I:
'theJ
With living saphirs.*
f Seated upon a roc*k, we for a long tiTne
pontemplated this exquisite scene, till at length
tlie call of sleep induced us to descend intof
our cabin, where our accommodation*^ wctq
very comfbrlable. AVith the sun, which was
an early riser, we unmoored, and advanced!
but verj"^ slowly ; as we proceeded, misery 'm^
a new shape presented Itself. From a wretch-
ed hovel, hpon one of the islands which bi
to appear ti\ clusters, hanging ovff the
9fthe waterj and ready to drop into it, anol ^
man in rags, and ne^ly blind, put off in a
little crazy boat, and'rovving towards us inir
plored our charily iii the niost touching man-
ner, and seemed very gral^fu) fof the trifle
we gave him.
" In the evening, having made but Ihfle
way, the master again moored the vessel to
another island for the nijjht: as I foundwa*
the custom, on accoujitot the danger and di^
iiculty of the ^lavigatbn. This island was i&r
deed a most enclianting scene ; upon its ro-
inantic summit of jgrey ropk \v^ found a little
cottage, embowered in trees of lir, ash, and
elder, that niight well be called ' the peasauts
nest," A fisherman, his aged mother his wife
and his children, forme(lthc population of th'^
beautiful spot. A Utile field of grass, in vhkrh
a cow was grazing, another of com, a garden,
and the waters of the Baltic, i^hicb again rer
^embled a lake, supplied iiipm with all theic
wants, and ali their nclu». Here it seemed a«
if the heart could no longer ache, as if ambir
tion might wish to be what he beheld, axK|
tliat love might ponder on the past without a
pang, llie inside of the cottage was neat and
chearfiil ; the good old lady, whh the chil-
dren in their shirts playing mund her, sat
knitting by the light of a spriglitly fire, and
under Kwks of snow presiniteU a face art peace
with all tlie world. Upon hearing that we
wbhed to have some supper, tlie hsherman*
with a couuteniuice of healtli and gaiety, de-
scended into a little creek, where his boats
were moored, for some perch, coniined in a
wicker well in the water, whilst his young
wife, who liad a pair of veiy sweet expressive
e)-es, laid tlie cloth in a detached room facing
the cottage. "Whilst supper -was preparing 1
nuubled over this little paradise. Night caiK
CA&H S irOJITHERN SUMXn.
105
p^ and afl the beauties of the proceding evcn-
ig, with some variety of new forms, letiuti-
ed ; the same bright bespangled heaven ! the
same serenity; the same silence! yielding
only to the unceasmg rippling of a little stream
of rock water, to wiiich, as'^it gushed from a
bed of long moss, and as our fair hostess pre-
sented her pitcher, thiiftily fenced with wicker,
might be applied tlic btautiml inscription erf"
BobquUlon, on the fountain ia the street of
Kotre Dame des Victoires in Paris :
" La nympihe qui donne de cette eau
Au plus creux do rocher se cache;
Snives uq exexupie si beau ;
Doouez sans vouloir qu*oii le sache.**
Or thus in English :
** Prompt to reJieve, ^kio' viewless v,'npp'd
in stone.
The nymph of waters pours her generous
streaiu :
Go, gentle reader, do as she has done ;
See while vou bless, but btemng be unseen.^*
J.C.
"It was just such a spot as the poetical spirit
flf Cowpef would have coveted : his eve would
fiaye penetrated, and his pen could afone have
painted every beauty.*
Bad as the inns are in Sweden, they
are still worse in I^assia?^poor as the pca-
»nts are in Sweden, still poorer is the
peasantry in Russia, Swedish and Rus-
£tao Finland are the confines of the two
* ixmmries^ and rival tach other in sterility,
glooTOi and wretchedness.
The capital of the Russian empire has
beoQ describe^ by so many travellers of
larioos ta^es, oountries^ and pursuits,
that we have hardly a right to expect much
novelty from a transient visit, Mr.Storch's
' Picture of Petersburg* is spread upon
fljch an ample caqvass, and executed with
M accurate a petiptl^ as to have left com-
paratively little for succeeding artists.
Oa die other hand, the imperial city,
from the unbounded power and resources
9( the monarch, is ever presenting some
pew object of admiration to tlie observer :
ia die course of the last year five hundred
noble houses wcra erected within its
^Us ! Its population has nevertheless de-
di^, whilst, as appears from the last
estimate, that of the country has en-
peased.
A metropolis is the centre from which
civilization radiates, sheddmg on the re-
moter provinces its weakened l^ms,
feinter and morq feint^ as the line of dis-
t:mcc lengthens- To the genUis of Peter
tfee Great and the late Cathei*ine, Russia
is indebted for every thing : for the crea-
e^and extent of her commerce, and for
eievation to that rank and power whic^
«he now holds among the nations of the
earth : they taught the barren wiWeroess
to smile, and formed the statue froni tho
unliewn rock. The present emperor is
treading in tlie steps of his illustrious an^
cestors, and tljere is hope that, in a long
reign, he may succeed in rubbing ott
many of the asperities which still charac-
terise his subjects. The arts are highlr
encouraged and cultivated in Petersburg;
architecuure with more success than sta-
tuary : statuaiy with more success than
pamting, which seems to demand a milder
dimate. The great obstacle to civiliza-
tion is the ignominious and grinding vas-
salage of the peasantry : the late Catherine
made some attempts to mitigate its seve-
rity, and Alexander will better deserve the
appellation of great than his Macedo-
nian namesake, if he subdues that pride
and prejudice of his nobility which ar«
nourished to the injury of his people."
A Russian peasant is in a state of the
lowest degradation :
,r ^^^ ,?! S^^ ^* ^^ ^« o^ws to him-
self; his foibles, and they are few, originate
elsewhere : he is the absdute slave of his lord,
and ranks with the sod of his domains ; of a
lord whose despotisro is frequently more bit-
ing than die Siberian blast. Never illumined
bv education, bruised with ignoble blows, the
object and frequently tlie victim of baronial
rapacity, with a wide world before him, this
oppressed child of nature is denied the com-
mon right of raising his shed where his con-
dition may be ameliorated, Ofmzttffd only to
toil m a distant district under the protection
of tliat disgraceful badge of vas^lage, acer-
tificate of have, and upon his return com-
pellable to lay-thescanty ftiiits of his labour at
the ieet of his master ; aiid finally, he is exclud-
ed from the common privilege'which nature
has bestowed ujwn the birds of the air, and
the beasts of the wilderness, of chusing his
mate ; he must m^ry when and whom his
master orders. Yet under all this pressure,
enough to destroy the marvellous elasticity of
a Frenchman's mind, the Russian is what I
have depicted him. If the reader is not
pleased witli the portrait, the painter is in
fault"'
It is a vulgar apophthegm, ' take cam
of the pence, and the pounds will take
care of themselves :' it may be applied in
politics, ' take care of the poor, the rich
will take of themselves.' The Russians,
according to Mr.^Carr, are not bad mate-
rials to work upon : he over-rates them
however. To ' bear the curse and scorn,
and frequently die blows of his superior
with mildness,' proves only that his spirit
is broken, and his manhood mutilated j
(he individual Russian, perhaps this ' poor
106
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
Mr. Gould yet holds the office of imperii
gardener at the Taurida palace ; he &ajoiy%
a munificent salary^ and beholds diii
' little paradise, which he created from a;
mephitic bog, flourishing and exciting the
admiration of foreigners, and in the shade
of which Potemkm^ Catherine tlie Great,
and two succeeding emperors of Russia,
have sought tranquillity and repose from
the oppr€;ssive weight of public duty/
The Russian navy is supplied with several
English officers : tlie late emperor offered
tlie command of a vessel to the noted
pirate Paul )Jones j on hearing it, all tlio
Englishmen in his ser\-ice instantly sent
in their resignations. This anecdote must
be recorded to their honour.
The I'aurida palace was built by Ca-
therine II., and presented to her tavourite,
prince Potemkin : here it was that be gave
to his imi)erial nustress that costly fi^ta
which beggars all description, and even,
baffles imagination to concei^'e of. In
the gorgeous magnificence of their pa-^
laces, and the splendor of their eutertain-
ments, die Russians far surpass the feeblft
pomp of more soutliern princes : to thei
banks of the Neva seem to have been
transferred all the riches, grandevur, an4
luxury of Asia. Mr. Carr was an eyen
witness of the brilliant festivities m'hich
took place at the nuptials of the grand
duchess of Russia a^d ^e prince of Saxet
Weimar.
Within the massy walls of Michaeliskyk
palace perished tlie unliappy Paul : Mr.^
Carr has devoted a chapter to this gloomy
subject, and thrown an interest over the
fete of the emporor, which tlie violence
and eccentricities of his character and con-
duct had almost forbidden to be excited
in his favour. ' The original source of
my information,* says he, ' is from one'
Ufho beheld the catastrophe which I am,
about to relate, whom I can neitlier name
por doubt J a catastrophe which is toa
near tt^e period in which I write not to.
render, an unrestrained disclosure of all
the particulars with which I have beei^
furnished unfair, if not imprudent.'*
The caused whi^h first produced the wn-.
natimU estrangenient of Paul from h\\
mother are unknow^i : it is not unknown,
however, that, for many years past, he was
k^pt in a state of the most niortifying aixi
♦ It is to bo regretted that any considerations of delicacy or prudence should exist, suf^
ficieiitly well-grounded tojirohibft the disclosure of every particular which is known on so in-
terobtlDg an event. The tune may arrive when Mr. Carr will deem tKese restraints no longer
necessary ; in wliicli case he will no doubt supply vis with that important desideratum, tli^
name of tlie person who Uhtld the cata^tropfw, and from whom his' information is deriv^
Rfcv. ' .
slave of the north,* may have displayed
' the most heroic valour in the field, and
the most gentle moderation in success -,*
but the victortet of Suwarrow were the
indiscriminate desolations of a beast of
prey : the relentless massacre of thirty
thousand Turks at Ismael, and almost of
an equal number of Poles at Praga and
Warsaw, displayed more of ferocity than
* Jieroic valour,* and certainly evinced as
little ' moderation in success* as a natu-
ralist could have expected from any mon-
sters in tlie shape of man.
It is an encouraging trait of character,
that the Russian is mijd and humane to-
wards the animals over which he has do- ,
minion : if his horse is sluggish, h'e cheers
him by a few exhilarating sounds. If the
jaded beast proceeds no faster, still pa-
tient, he sings ; if this does not answer
the purpose, he talks to hhn, reasons with
him, but is rarely seen to strike the ani-
mal, whose services are only withholdea
when the force of nature is ei^hausted.
*' A Russian, in the ebullition of passion,
may do a ferocious thing, but never an ilhiar
turld one. No being under heaven surpasses
him in the gaiety of the heart. His little na-
tional sooR cheers him wherever he goes.
Where a German would smoke for comfort,
the Russian sin^s. There is nothing cold
about hiin biit his wintry climate ; whenever
he speaks, it is with good humour and viva-
city, aecoinpanied by the most animated ges-
tures ; and although I do not think that the
Graces would at first pull caps about him,
yet, hi the dance, for spirit and agility, I would
match and back him agahist any one of tlie
most agile sous of carelcssuetis in the Cliampt
ELysets."*
An Englishman feels the flush of ho«
nourableand patriotic pride, tliatwhithei:-
soever his countr}'men go, they are re-
ceived with cordiality and respect; in
their person a willing homage is paid to
the intellectm:! and moral character of
tlie British nation. Whoever has travel-
led on the continent knows this: Mr.
Carr relates jnany little anecdotes indica-
tive of tlie deference paid to Englishnaen
in Russia. Many are settled at Peters-
Imrg, which owes some of its architec-
tural ornaments to tlieir genius and taste :
particularly to Mr. Cameron, the present
imperial architect, who lias a superb suite
ot' apartments in tlie Michaelisky palace.
CARK*S yOSTH^RN SUMMER.
lor
ImmiliatiDg degradation . He was not only
derived of t£e honours due to his high,
lank, but even cut otf from the ordinary
idicities of life : ' the pressure of his hand
excited suspicion j peril was in his attach-
ment, and in his confidence guilt and trea-
sou. He could not have a friend without
foniishiDg a victim.*
Fiul is said, by a gentleman who had
the honour of s|x?nding a short time at
his sechided Jittk court of Gatschina^ to
have displayed ' a mind very elegantly in-
dined^ and, withont being brilliant, highly
cultivated, accomplished, and informed,
frank and generous, brave and magnani-
mous, a heart tender and affectionate, and
a disposition very sweet, though most
acutely and poignantly susceptible: his
jwraon wus not handsome, but his eye was
penetrating, and his manners sudi as de-
noted the tinished gentleman.' He loved,
c*en to indulgence, his family and ser-
yants, who, in return, were most devot-
edly attached to bun. His ardour in mi-
litary pur&uits was entliusinstic ; his ce-
lebrated challenge to the crowned heads
pf Europe was wortiiy the age of chi-
valry. •
It was the mtention of Catherine that
Paul sbould be passed over in the succes-
sion, and diat the grand duke Alexander
should mount the vacant throne on her
demise. A short time before this event,
*be had committed to count P Z
a declaration of her will to this effect, ad-
dre$sed to the senate. This last favourite
of Catherine's, however, immediately on
leamiug the death of his royal mistress,
flev to Payiovsk, where Paul then re-
sided, and delivered up to him this im-
p«rtant docninient. The new emperor
regarded tlie courtiers well-timed zeal,
b)' iftqwing him alone, of all the panders
to hiii ni^tber's loose and voluptuous ex-
t«5es, to TQp\n his honours and liis for-
tniies. * ' •'• *
Paul, hou'cver, soon ri?pented of his li-
berality : every ^pvi which had been pol-
luted T»ith Catherine's' HcenciDus orgies
fcecaaic hateful iii his eyes, and ever)' per-
son who had been associated in then) was
to the list degree di«gn«tiijg: Paul had
been elevated to the ina^rial dignity hut
« very short time before he gave alairniing
symptoms of octa^ional derangetnent : so
otter was his abhorrence against those pa«
laces which had been, tlie favourift resi-*
dences of his mother, that, in his delirium,
he had determined to level every one of
them to the gi'ound, and actually built for
himself tliat gloomy and enormous pile,
tlie palace of Michaelisky, which was
the scene of his own murder.* With
these strong feelings, it Avas impossible
that the sight of count P— Z — should
not have been odious to him : to effect
his ruin, he was denounced as a defaulter
to the imperial treasury of half a million
of rubles, and Paul proceeded to sequester
bis estates, and those of his two brodiers.
In despair, one of the latter walked bold-
ly up to the emperor on parade, and re-
presented to him the injustice of his mea-
sures :. it marks the inconsistency of Pauls
character diat he listened to him with at-
tention, and restored the property. The
original disgust soon returned, and P—
Z — was ordered to reside on his estate :
this rustication was borne with impati-
ence j and madame Che\'alier— a French
actress of resisdess fasciiiation, who had
been purjwsely introduced on the boards
of the Fi-ench theatre at Petersburg, by
Messrs. Otto, Sieyes, and Talleyrand, to
seduce the emperor, and decoy him into a
political snare — madame Chevalier waa
bribed, by a magnificent aigrette of dia-
monds, valued at sixty thousand rubles,
to intercede, in some unguarded hour of
dalliance, for the restoration of the count.
The artifice succeeded, and die count was
graciously received by his imperial ma.s-
ter, against whom, whatever private pique
the former might have cherished, Mr.
C;UT believes it was wholly lost in his re-
view of the drcadful condition of tlie em-
pire, and in those aweful measures which
were afterwards resorted to. However
that may be, it seems to have been in the
bosom of P — Z— that originated the
idea of saving the empire by destroying
the sovereign. Several noblemen, and
jxjrsons of high rank and Consequence^
among tliem was the governor of die city,
engaged in this fearful business j and, ac-
cording to the merciful and generous as-
surance of Mr. Carr, who one would sup-
pose derived his information from the
partial account of a conspirator,! none of
them was actuated by any other motive
* During hn» tnnporary ^ver^ion against the English, Paul ordered the celebrated bust of
Mr. Fox, vhich was nitKleiled from liie at iJie express desire of the late empress, to he carried
iiitu the cellar! 'i he present einpt'ixir has done him^lf the honour to place it in the magniti"
prm gardens df the 'i aurida palace, in company ^tth a great number of beautitiil statues and
Colos-a] r4sts.
' t On the burdcK^ of Poland, Mr. Carr met this idontkal count P-*- 2^— at a post-house ;
KSS
VOYAGES AND TRAVeLS.
Ifaan to prtvent the iihal ruin of their
connlTry, and for this purpose tliey deter-
mined to place in peril tlicir own lii'e^ and
fortunes.
" The pabce of St. Michael is an enor-
mous fabric : the whole is nioaled round, and,
when the stranger surveys its bat^tionf of gra-
nite, and numerous draw -bridges, he is natu-
rally led to conclude, that it was intendwl for
tiie last asylum of a prince at war with his
subjects. Fhose who have seen its massy
waits and the capaciousness and variety of its
diainbers, will easi!}' admit that an 'act of
violence might be committed in one room,
and not be heard by those who occupy the
adjoining one ; and iliat a massacre might be
|)erpretrati'd at one cud, and not known at tlie
otlier. Paul tcxili po>se>sion of this palace as
a place of strength, ami beheld it with rap-
turcy because his imperial mother had never
even seen it. Whilst his family were here,
by every act of tendcrucss endeavouring to
soothe the twnble perturbation of his nimd,
tliere were not wanting tho^e who exerted
evei-y stratagem to inllame and encrease it.
Tlicse people were constantly insinuating,
fiiat every hand was armed as^ainst him.
With this impresswn, which added fuel to
Ills burning brain, he ordered a secret stair-
case to be constructed, which, leading from
his own chamber, passed umler a false stove
in the anti-room, and led by a small door to
the terrace,
" It was the custom of the emperor to
deep in an outer apartment next to the em-
press's, upon a sopiia, in his rt^imentals and
boots, wliilst the grand duke and duchess, and
"the rest of the imperial family, were lodged
at various distances, in apart nients below the
story which he occupied. On the tenth day*
of March, O. S. 1801, tht-duy preceding the
fatal night, whether Paul's api)ri.'hension, or
•nonymous information, sujjgeited the idea,
is not known; b\it conceiving that a storm
was ready to burst upon him, he sent to
count P — , the governor of the city,- one of
the noblemen wljo had resolved on his de-
struction: ' I am informed, P-~,' said the
emperor, < that there is a conspiracy on foot
aj;auist ra? ; do you think it necessary to take
any precaution?' The count, without be-
traying the least emotion, n*plied, ' Sire, do
«ot suifer «uch apprehffn^^ions to haunt your
luind ; if there were any combinations form-
ing against your majesty's pTson, I am sure
J should be acc^uaintecl with it.' ' Then I
^m satisfied,' said the emperor, and the go-
vernor withdrew. Before Paul retired to rest,
he unexpectedly expn^ssixl th4» most tender
soli<:itpdc for the emnress and his children,
kissed them with all the warmth of farewel
, loudness, and remained with them longer than
usual : and, alter he had visited the centinels
at their dilferent posts, he retired to his chain-
they seem to have passed the evening in company, ond to have breakfasted together on the
jbllowing momingj when the count gave the p^y a cordial iavitatiim to his s<at at Moscow.
Rev.
ber, where he had not long reniaxnecl, bdbie^
under some colourable pretext that satisfied
the men, the guard was changed by" tbe offi-
cers who had the command for the night, and
were engaged in the confederacy. An hus-
sar, whom the emperor had particularly ho-
noured by hi^notice and attention, always at
night slept at his bed-room door, in the anti-
room. It was impossible to remove tini
faithful soldier by any fair means. At this
momentous period, silence rWgned through-
out the palace, except where it was distuifoed
by the pacing of tiie centinels, or at a distance
by the murnmrs of the Neva, and only a few
lights were to be seen distantly and irrv'^lariy
gleaming through tlie windows of this dait
colossal abode. In the dead of the Wf;ht,
Z— and his friends, amounting to eight or
nine pcrsions, passed the draw-bridge, easUy
ascended the stair-case wiuirh led to Paul's
chamber, and met with no resistance till thej
reached the anti-room, when the faithful hus-
sar, awakened by the noise, cliallenged them,
and presented his fusee : much as they must
have all admired the brave iidelity of the
guard, neither time nor circumstances would
admit of an act of generosity, which might
have endangered the whole pfan. Z — drew
his sabre and cut the poor fellow down. Paul,
awakened by the notfse, spnmg from h'ts sopha:
at this monient the whole party rushed into
his room ; tJie unhappy sovereign, anticipat-
ing their desi^i, at nrst endeavoured to en-
trench himselt ui the chairs and tables, then
recovering, he assumed a high tone, told them
they were his prisoners, and called upon them
to surrender. Finding that they fixed their
eyes steadily and fiercely upon h'im, and con-
tmued advancing towards nim, he implored
them to spare his life, dL*clared his consent
instantly to relinquish the sceptre, and to ac-
cept of any tenns which the^- would dictate.
In his raving, he oHered to make them princes,
and to give them estates, and titles, and or-
ders, without end. They now began to press
upon him, when he made a convulsive eflTort
to reach the window : in the attempt he failed,
and indeed so high was it from the ground,
that had he succeeded, the expedient would
only Ivave put a more instantaneotis period to
his misery. In the eflbrt he very severely
cut his hand with the glass; and, as'tiin- drew
hhn back, he graspeiia chair, >*ith wfiirh he
felled one of the assailants, and a de^jjerate
resistance took place. So great was the noise,
that, notwithstanding the massy walls, and
thiek double folding-doors whicli dividt d the
apartments, the empress was disturi)ed, and
began to cry for help, when a Wice whispered
in her ear, and unperatively told her tore-
main quiet, otherwise, if she uttered another
word, she should be put to instant death.
Whilst the cinperorwas thus making a last
struggle, tlie prince Y— struck him on one of
his temples with his fist^ and laid him iipoa
€A»^8 NOftTHBXN St7MM£t«
1Q»
Hie floor ; ftml, recovenng from the blow,
9p^ implored his life ; at this moment the
Mut of F — Z — relen^^ and Ujxm being '
obscn'ed to tiembte and hesitate, a young
Haoovefian resolutely extlaimed, ' We have
passed the rubicon: if we spare his life, be-
KK the setting of to-morrow^ sun, we shall
be his victims !* upon which he took off his
nsh^ tuned it twice round the naked neck of
the emperor ; axKl giving one end to 2^, and
holding the other himself* they pulled for a
coQsidmble time with ail their force, until their
iniserable sovereign was no more : they then re^
tired iirom tiw palace without the least moles-
tation, and returned to their respective homes..
What occurred after their departiwe can be
'bftter conceived than depicted: mescal aid
was nssorted to,, but in vain ; and upon the
Weathless body of the emperor fell the tears
of his widowed empress and diildren, and do-
L BKStics; nor was genuine grief ever more
! ixcihly or feelmgly displayed tha& by him
on whose brow this melancholy event had
planted the crown. So parsed away this night
of honor, and thus perished a prince, to
whom nature was Mcoerely bountifiil. The
accnteness and pungency of his fedmgs was
incompatible with ha^^iness: unnatural pre--
jndice pressed upon the fibre, too finely spun,
and snapped iL
" Tis not as heads that never ache suppose,
Forgwy of fancy, and a dream of woes ;
Man is a harp, whose chords elude the sight.
Each yielding harmony, dbposed aright ;
lliescrews ievers*d (a task wluch, if he please,
Ood in a moment executes with ease).
Ten thousand thousand strings at once go
loose.
Lost, till he tune them, all their power' and
use." ' CowpER.
** The suQ shone upon a new order of things.
At seven o'clock the intelligence of the de-
mise of Paul spread through the capital. The
interval of time from its brst communicatbn
to its diflusion o\'er every part of Petersburg,
was scarcely perceptible. At the parade Alex-
ander presented hmisdf on horseback, when
the troops, withlears rolling down their rugged
and suohbrowued faces, hailed hun with loud
and cordial acclamations. The young em-
peror was overwhelmed, and, at tne moment
of mount hie the throne of the most extensive
empire unoer heaven, lie was seen to turn
from the grand and alfecting spectacle, and
weep.
" What followed is of a very subordinnte
consideration; but perhaps it will be eagerly
adced, to what extremity did the avenging
arm of justice pursue the perpetrators of the
deed? Mcixry, the brightest jewel of every
crown, and a7orbm and melancholy convic-
tion, that the reigning motive was the safv«:*
tion of the empire, prevented her from being
vindictive- Never upon the theatre 'of litis
was tbere presented a sceira of more atiectiB^
magnanimitv ; decency, not revenge, govern-
ed the sacrifice. P — Z — wa;? ordered nUt
to approach the imperial residence, and the
goveraor of the city was transferred to Riga,
As soon as madame ChevaUcr was inionneii
of the demise of her imperial patron, she pre*
pared, under the protection of her brother, m
dancer, for ilight, with a booty of neariy »
million of rubles. A police otnccr was sent
to inspect and report upon Ijcr property:
amongst a pile of vahiabfe articles, he distco*-
vered a diamond cross of no great intrinac
vaKie, whkrh had been given by Peter l, to m
branch of tJie imperial family, and on tlist ao-
coimt moch esteemed ; it was to recover iStam
that the of ncer was sent, who obtained it, after*
the most indecent and unprincipled resistance
on her part. Pai»s{X)rts were then gi^anted to
madame Chevalier and her brother. llni»
terminated this extraordinary and impressive
tragedy.*'
Numerovrs are tlie anecdotes of Alex-
ander, which testily to the excelleaoe of
his understr.nding, and the benevoleooe of
his heart ; we had noted two or thnee of
thes«, with a view of presenting them to.
our readers, but we are limited by the xuh
ture of our work. Mr. Carr took leave of
Petersburg, passed through Livonia, and
skirted tlie Baltic through the Prussian
dominions till he reached Berlin. Here
he baited a short time, and, of coorso*
paid a visit to the great Fred«rick*g fa-
voorite retreat at Potsdam : the pictum
gallery at Swns Souci is a noble roooiV and '
contains a very choice and precious, ool-*
lection. Military discipline seems to hayft
relaxed notlnng of Its severity since the
days of Frederick : on the otliaT hand, it
is pleasing to reflect that, throughout the
Prussian dominions, and ^le vast empire
of Russia, complete toleration in religious
subjects i& allowed.
After having rested himself from the
fatigues of a long journev, Mr. Carr left
the delightful Linden waUc of Berlin, and
that elegant specimen of architecture, the
Brandenburg-gate, and returned to his
native la!>d. The account which he has
given of hi* travels, displays a cultivated
taste and an inquisitive mind. Several
engravings adorn this volume from draw-
ings, taken on the spot by the tasteful
pencilof Mr. Carr.
Aat. XX. Sketch qf his Majesty's Province qf Upper Canudu. By D'Arcy Bo vito^^
Barrister at Lau\ 4to. pp*. 99.
TO this volame Is prefixed a map, but
•b so small a scale^ aikl s» leantily dotted
with, towns, that not half the places or
crea subdivisions mentioned. in^he oaqra*
no
Voyages anb travem.
tivd xm therein fee found ) it ik worse
than u»less, it is perplexing: we recom-
mend, as an tmportartt luiprovemeht, at-
tachi;ig the narrative to a good tnap> and
charging half-a-gninea for the voiurrte.
Where the extension of geographical
knowledge is the chief object of a writer,
ke ought to provide the essential assist-
ance of linear description.
ITie land-surveyors of Upper Canada>
who have dissected its forests and marshes
into rectangular shires, without setting up
rtatron-staves or rattling a polechain, ar6
distributing, by the theodolite, such masses
of property, as will outmeasure the estates
dP Russian nobles, and found rivals to Bri-
tish peers. With as little ceremony as
one petitions for a clerkship in the excise-
office^ his majesty's patent is solicited for
the grant of couuties^ which will place
one's grandson among the lords of thd
world, and prepare new American wars
from the ambitious ingratitude of over-
fostered children. There is rashness in
these grants. No quit-rents are reserA'ed.
No taxes levied. The expence of protec-
tion ought progressively to be asked of the
dependent stiitej and the wisest. form of
obtaining the indemnity is not by the le-
vies of the custom-house, but by the as-
sessment of the tenantry. Let the rent
to the state amcxmt but to a shilling the
aqnare mile, while the difficulties of set-
tlement ccmtiuue j but let it be progres- .
aive with tlic produce, and comaiensuidte
with the prosperity of the country.
With the circumstances and wants of
North America a new division of human
labour has grown up; an army of wood*
clearers. 'i'hese anti-savages sell their
farms In the states of Kew York and
Vermont to Kurojxian emigrants, or agri-
cultural neighbours, and undertake to re-
duce into th^* like saleable state the un-
touched acres of Upper Canada. To them
the sway of a republican master or a dis-
tant king, is alike inditfcrcnt. Where
ptt^t comes, lies their country. They
purchase on iive }ear bonds a lot of tM o
hundred acres. I'he men come by them-
selves at first, fell or ginlle the uiconve-
nient timber, rear a log-house, harrow the
cleared intervals, sow wheat, and then re-
turn for their tamilies and cattle. The
flext year they bring tlieir stock, their
waggons, and their women, and improve
tlieir new houses into decgit residences.
In live years tliey have paid for the ike
simple of their faniis ; they have increased
their stock j they are ready to hitch witli
added ^nvers i!b Uie lepelitiiou of a siaii-
lar efiterprtse'> and they^g&in tell wltii a
lai^e profit to tlie second ordier of aet«
tiers. So many of these primary colo-
nists are now m organized nroveroent,
that some thousand families in a year will
cross the lakes which separate America
from British territory^ and re-ceounence,
bn the oppositie shore, their levelling ope-
rationsv They perforate a wilderness in
a 8um)li6r, mhide tunber into wheat-halm,
and lead bullocks to browse where the
bear growled.
Care is taken not to move beyond reach
of water-carriage, as there must be an an-
nual excliange of the supeiiluoiu produce
for the clothing, the metallic utensils, the
glass and pottery ot' £urope. Farmers of
skill and capital succeed with advanti^
to these inclosures; they combine more J
than one allotment, and place dependents ^
in the supernumerary log-houses. The
climate of Upi)er Canada is mild and in-
viting j the soil rich and productive; the
winter useless to any purpose but amuse-
ment ; and journeys are undertaken in
sleighs or sledges of four or fi\e hundred
miles to visit tlie neighbottrs. The dis-
tance between Edinburgh and London is
within the beat of regular acquaintance.
In such a country, population is con-
stantly tending to dispersipn, and no where
to accumulation. Of course, manners ar6
tending to rudeness, not to refinement.
Education is confined to the ordinary uti-
lities of milking coin's, feeding poultry,
killing sheep, flaying bullocks, ploughing
land, and buying and selling. The last
occupation has some tendency to preserve
tlie knowledge of letters and figures -, but
where the labour of the youngest is valu-
able, and tlie distance of tolerable scliools
immense, tliere is a risk of the whites re-
hilling into Mohawk ignorance, and of
having to bargain at talks for want of be--
ing able to sign a contract. Much laad
has been set apart in Canada for the
church: why not grant it under the
double tenure of j)erforming worship on
the Sunday afternoon, and keeping school
on the Sunday morning? Parents will
perhaps travel to worship, if their chil-
dren are to be taught to spell and to cy-
pher. A vernacular litiurgy, in which tlie
people take part, favours tlie difiusion'of
the art' of reading. To so much of en-
croachment on the habits, whether satho-
lic or presbyterian, of the Canadians, as
tends to secure the loud reading of the
forms of worship, ojne would wish the
exemplary classes to incline. Yet we un-
derstand that the clerical situations in Ca- .
B0TJlt6N*« EKETCH Of UMftK 6Alf AbX.
Ill
vtk ire •onDHivithig to any educated
flstt, tbat the English clergy^ who are
mostly w-ell boni^ the younger sons of oui^
eminent families^ and hence accustomtdi
to the best society^ unwillingly listen to
oSen of transatlantic preferment.
In Great Britain the press supersedes
tlie importance m£ otal instruction; but
io North Aineril;:a the antique provisions
ibr a learned olrder are not less necessary
now than during the feudal ages df £u*
rope. Nor can a profuse removal into
colonies which are just arrived at the ma*
tority to require an insertion of £uro^
pean improvement, be any way so effica*
ciouMy stimulated as by inducing the chief-
tains of petty sects to become the leaders
of migratory flocks. Whether this can be
accomplished without a repeal of the act
of onitormhy, may be contentedly aban-
doned to the discussion of parliament or
of the con vocation.
Whatever may be the objections to the
clerical order, as at present constituted in
Europe, there is no doubt that in Canada
it wcNild be an impediment not to wis-
dom and tolerance, but to ignorance and
^oatidsra: it would keep alive a pious
attachment to the mother country; it
would import and dlfiiise both knowledge
and manners. Barbarism and civilization
ate equally natural to noan, and bear a
pnetty r^olar proportion to the rari^ or
density of populousness : barbarism is the
name given to that set of manners which
prer^ where men are thinly scattered >
and civilization is the name given to that
set of manners which prevails where men
aie thickly scattered: retrogression takes
place whenever popolousness grows thin-
ner, progression whenever it grows den-
ser. European families transported to
Canada must wilder in a generation or
two : the precautions of the lawgiver ought
chiefly to be directed toward securing those
aits of life which are in danger of being
abandoned there.
An important service ipight be render-
td to Upper Canada not only by sending
pastors, but fipcks. Why not repeal tlie
laws against wAing, and permit the ex-
portation of our best breeds of sheep into
Canada? The wool would return hither
to be numu^tured, and at a price which
would ^Kalitate to our manufacturers tlie
supply of distant markets. The higher
it^ges of cultivation are incroaching on
our domestic sheep-walks; and wool is
gradually ascending to a price which en-
dangers our staple industry. Hides and
t>ilow, IS well as wool^ might be brought
fixttnGabada in greater abundance, and
80 might hemp iai^ flax. The ^ndation
of a naval arsenal in the river Saint Law-*
rence would give an expedient directieo
to the contiguous industry.
A curious delineation is that of the set«
tiling of wild land.
** Wild lands, that is, lands in a state of
nature, have been sold as low as a qliarter of
ia dollar per acre, for prompt payment ; and
mucii has been sold from that price to half a
dollar per acre. In other situations, similar
lands have produced horn one dollar to two ;
but such prices in money are rare, and can
only be obtained where a person liappens to
be settled in tUc4ieighbourhood» aud to own
adjoining land^, Bnt a new settler, or a per-
son desirous of making a purchase, can always
do it to great advantage if he can command
moncv.
'* Tlic lands are usually divided into lots of
two hundred acrt^ each, fonnin^^ a complete
farm ; that quantity of land bemg fully suf-
ficient for any one farmer^ Much land in
this country is purchased with no other view
than to sell again, a trafHc concerning wliich
I do not feel competent to decide, whether it
should be considered as advantageous to the
country or not. In many instances it has a
good tendency, in others the reverse. Thou-
sands of poor people come into this country
to settle, without being able to advance
money, not bemg possessed of any c^itaL
A person so circumstanced is of course con-
strained to purchase on credit, which he does
to great disadvantage, unless he happen to
deal with a man of peculiar honesty. TJie
tenns u^ally are, to pay the purchase money
by instalments, sometunes embracing a period
of four or five years. In such cases, tlie ven-
der usually gives the purchaser a bond, with
condition to give a deed of conveyance at a>
certain period, provided the purchaser shall
fulfil his sevenu payments. Somethne:*, in
case of non-perfomiance of these payments,
the obligee hi the bond avails himsell ol his ad-
vantage, and takes back the land with four or
five years unprovement upon it, and resells it
to a fresh purchaser to a great profit. In tnith,
any jierson capable of advancuig money may
purchase very low, and sell at an advance uf
one or even two hundred per cent, profit,
payable by instalments. This system aflbrJ.s
an excessive advantage to the municd man,
who takes security of the purchaser for tht;
purchase money, with interest, which at once
alfords him au immoderate advance.
'* The plan I here state is daily fi)lIowed ;
and I can in>1ance cases where piK)ple iiave
actually improved their interest in the cour^ie
of seven years more than one tiioesand per
cent. The local situation of Upper Cairada
is such that it will ever be the mo^t thiivihg
country in America. 'I'he Americans ar^
per]3etually removbg into this province,
which produces a regular «?> stem o\ trade in
that way. I could instance some few ca^^v^
tn
VOYAGES ANii tftAVEt*.
irikerepersons have pturdiased biid fiw ten
«r twelve dollars a jot (of two hundred 9cccs};
vhd, in the course of twelve or fourteen ye&rB»
Ibave refused three hundred pounds fur the
same land. This may be termed land spe-
culation ; but however obnoxious the system
may be to some minds, it does and ever will
r:evaU in this country ; and, upon the whole,
am much inclined to think that it is a be-
neficial traffic for the coi^try. The bulk of
the inhabitants are Americans, whose natural
turn of mind leads to variety ; for which rea-
son they no sooner improve a new farm than
they are desirous of selling it No set of
men on earth, perliaps, are so competent as
Americans to engage in the difficulties of a
new country ; and Europeans, unacquainted
vith such a course of lite, will fmd it better
policy to purchase small improvements than
to engage in such dlHicuIties. I know of no
method by which a capital can be improved
to so great advantage as by adopting this
system; but it requires some knowledge of
the country before a person can form a just
opinion either of the situation or value of
lauds. It may appear almost necessary to
say what. sort of persons, under these cir-
cumstances, can become pu'cliasers. But
my reply will be ver)' general : ahnost every
one. If a man haf great industry, and a
femily sufficiently advanced to aid instead
of encumbering him, he can, without any
money, make a purchase of a single lot of
two hundred acres ; and, to »isc a common
expression, make the land pay for itself, that
is, from its own produce. If a fanner has
three or four boys old enough to help him,
they can easily clear twenty acres of new
land ; and, if they have ordinarj' luck, the
fet crop will yieki live hundred bushels of
good wheat, wnk:h, if the market price is a
dollar, will produce one hundred and twenty-
five pounds currency, that is, double the va-
lue of the land. Many persons have become
purchasers of land, with no other view than
that of selling on credit for large profit. Many
hundreds indeed there are in this country who
own from eight himdred to two thousand
acres, yet began without any capital. I could
enumerate many instaiices of individuals hav-
ing maintained their families, and, in the
course of seven years, collected from six to
twelve hundred acres of land. Irue it is
that this cannot at present be called a large
pxroerty ; but when a parent can reflect that
he has secured for each of his family after
him a comfortable fann, how satisfied must
such a one feel. It has not been the lot of
every one to be forced to these reflections :
happy are they who have no necessity for
them ; but much more happy they who by
their industry have rendered themselves in-
dependent, and their families after them."
If geographers would pay some atten-
tion to euphony in the imposition of new
names, they would ^eatJy facilitate to fo-
seigpers tb« prominciation aind rccolkctiou.
4f such nameff. Why spell CrwiHiarfi!*^
burg : the ^ is no part of the Saxon vit"
hebn, whence the English name Williani
has been corruptly ^rmed: this initial
letter answers the double purpose of dis-
playing ignorance and puzzling utterance.
Why preserve unshortened the French
names of places ? Ijet point au galop be-
come Faint Gallop} let point au barril
become Point Band ; and point au cardi"
fUU become Point Cardtnal. Let us amal-
gamate the French topical nomenclature,
and die other remains of their language,
with our own, but so as to efface that
appearance of strangeness, of quotation^
which yet adheres to some of the phra-c
seology adopted in this sketch. To revive
the names familiar in the mother country
may be natural. When the Persians
colonized Egypt, they founded another
Babylon and another Ecbatana ; but these
double nommatioDs produce inconveni-
ence. Baltimore cannot be spoken or
written of witliout a descriptive qualifica-
tion: contiguity suggests Baltimore m
Ireland; celebrity suggests Baltimore in
Maryland. Diminutive appellations would
sometimes be more respectful at well as
more convenient; Londonetta instead of
London. Vowel terminations would suf-
fice to discriminate, and woUld preserve
every desirable recollection. The grand
subdivisions ought every where to be
named from the contiguous lakes and
rivers, for this plain reason, tliat their
situation is thus suggested by their name:
the name of a French department instantly
tells you where to look for it on the map^
A system of geographical nomenclature
might be c^ontrived, which would greatly
facilitate the reraerabrance of names and
sites, by giving to names of mountains
one termination, to names ot jrivers ano*
ther, to names of provinces a third, to
names of towns a fourth. Thus the pro*
vinoe watered by the Niagara might be
called Niagria, the chief town Niagaroui
and the mountain down which it fidls
Niagar.
At the peace of 1783 the Americans
would probably have been content with a
line of demarcation allotting the wholes /
territor}' north and west of the Qkiro to'
the owners of Upper Canada. Perhaps it
is become worth the while of the British
government to open a negotiation for ex*
changing New Brunswick and Nova See- ^
tia against tiiis unoccupied district. The- '
coast thrives better under the free trade
and maritime privileges of the United'
States: the interior settles faster under
\
PitBSBKT ST^TB OF FRANCS.
119
ftepatonagc of British capital, and the
prettKnc^ of British custom for produce.
Thc« proTiDces therefore would be served
by an excbauge, which, tor a oentury to
come, will not be of importance to either
government as a fund of taxation; dnd
before that time the Canadas will have
attained the age of emancipation.
Ait. XXr. ji Sketch (tf the present State qf France, By an English Gentleman, who
escaped from Paris in the Month qfMay 1805. 8w. pp 124.
PEACE was unfavourable to the repu-
tation of Bonaparte, and, had it lasted,
▼oold have occasioned his deposition.
He is too ignorant in literature to appre-
ciate die merit by which he is suri^ound-
cd, too religious to be a welcome chief-
tain for {fie philosophic world, and too
despotic to be obeyed with a disinterested
alacrity. He has not the dextrous alla-
bQity of Augustus, who could substitute
the equalizations of politeness for those of
republicanism. His internal government
was barsh^ unjust, and cruel: it united
the mistrost ot a Venetian with the seve-
rity of a Spanish inquisition.
War has restored to Bonapaijte, in thel
eyes of Frenchmen, his original and pe-
ciliar value. His superiority as a general
renders him the most desirable chieftain
for bis country. The odium which was
load against his assumption, his caprice^
and his petulance^ is become mute. Pub-
lic gratitude and public confidence have
superseded the sneers, and froAMis, and
n^ of a refined displeasure.
This writer speaks of him with the
artificial ill-will of a suiSerer, not with
the indjfi'ereuce of a mere observer. He
who determines to live free or die, will
commonly domineer : he stakes more on
bis puipose than his antagonists. Moreau
feared infamy, and feared the scalfold:
without the senate he would not begin,
arid with the senate he would have shrunk
from some gf the sine qudnons of usur-
pation. Singleness of view, however in*
compatible with the interest of mankind,
where the cosmopolitical passion is not
the ruling one, is almost a necessary ini
gradient of succisssfui ambition. This
character of greatness belongs to Bohai
parte. Whatever actions ^e essential tp
his success should be criticised tolerantly.
He is not to be compared with other men,
but with other usurpers.' To Septimius
Severus be bears a close, resemblance 'by
his personal character and his iiinovative
institutkMis; but being more adventurous
and less accommodating, he is tmiikely to
bring hii fbrtiuies to an atchor : he must
contmoe in fiill sail or be 'v^ecked.
The conquests of the ancient Aomans,
fike those of the British i^ H'lpdostan^
AHii.R«r.Voi..IV.
were rendered subservient to national
opulence : the generals and proconsuls,
like our nabobs, brought home fortune^
which adorned the metropolis with edi-
fices, and scattered a demand for luxuries.
But tlie conquests of the French, although *
accompanied with profligate extortions, •
have not sensibly increased the propor-
tion of rich residents in their metropolis,
Paris does net flourish. Bridges are built,
market-places and quays are cleared, pub-
lic monuments are erected and embellish-
ed ; but new houses, new streets, new
villas, are no where climbing. The pa-
tronage of government is parcelled out in
small shares among the civilized neces-
sitous : it is not employed to attract the
residence of provincial opulence. By the
profuse confiscations, by the breach of
entails, the consequent absolute tenure of
land, its divisibility among mor^agees>
and among heirs without preference of
primogeniture, the huge estates have beea
crumbled, and the nobility has been
minced into a yeomanry. There may be
more ease, but there is less splendor.
The country is tliriving, not the chief
city.
If Bonaparte wishes for trade, ships,
and colonies, he must transplant his me-
tropolis to Bordeaux. Conmierce c&n do
nothing for a town situate like Paris. It
is inaccessible to shipping; and inconve-
niently approached even by boats: the
Seine is. a rapid stream, and in some, de-
gree a torrent: iadry seasons the shoals
are hardly e'vitable. Many advantages
would attend the transfer of the seat of
government. Instead of tlie profligate
population of an idle metropolis, Bor-
deaitx would offer- an orderly multitude,
accustomed to maritime art<^ industrious
habits. A less vigilant ani' intolerant
polico would suflice to preserve order j
the prevalence of occupation would check
th^ tendency to revolutionary fanaticism.
In* a commercial town, public opinioa
operates habimally in favour of peace, of
justice, of respect for propert}' j not in
favour of mutalions that will supply talk.-
The tendency to French encroachment
will eventually spend itself on Spain, and
* through Spain on the .coast of 4&ica^
1X4
VOYAGES AND TIAVELS.
Bordeaux is a more coniii^^t site of
sway for an empire growing in tliat direc*
tion; and it is securer from the approach
of German or Russian armies. Paris was
built while civil arcliitecture was in its
kifom^: the priirata bouses are inconre*
nient beyond corrlgibility ; no water is
laid in to the apartments ; no stair-case is
private; no room but is a thoroughfiuv.
Hie loss of labour occasioned by the per-
terse distribution of the apartments makes
tlie diiference of a servant per family. The
Streets are as absurdly contrived as the
houses: tliey are all narrow, and without
foot-ways : there is no remedy but to re-
build. This reconstruction miglit as well
take place elsewhere. Paris might re-
main the Athens of the French empire,
ihe seat of colleges and museums, of lite-
rature and art ; but the Rome, the impe-
rial city, should be stationed on the im.
periai river, open to the ocean, should
have navigable access to the interior, and
be the natural mart of interchange for
every thing domestic with every thing
foreign. Paris has seen its acme : demo-
litions may awhile conceal the progress
of ruin and desertion, and embellish the
increasing vacancy; but commerce is be-
come so much more powerful a principle
in the creation or annihilation of cities,
tlian the expenditure of courts, that the
return of an eminent prosperity is impro-
bable to a place so ill situate for traffic
and circulation.
The state of public welfare and opinion
IS thus sketched:
" A new quay has been opened from the
Pont Aotre Dame to the Pont au Chanf:e on
thf- Isle of Paris, called the Quai Dessaix, in
memory of the general of that name, to wliom
ft nionumeJit lias also be»'n erected in the
Place Dauplnnt on a rouml pedestal, orna-
mented With the names of all the contributors
to the expencc on marble tablets.
" But these publie edifices ahd decorations
have nothing to, do with the comfo:^ of the
people, and cannot be taken for the sigss of a
pips|x!ro<is city. 'I'here arc not ten houses
now buikling m Paris and its suburbs ; and
some lately nnishcd, in the best part of tlie
town, near ihaFauxbourg (or Suburb) St. //o-
nore, on the site of the Convent of the Jaco-
bins, are without occtipicrs.
" Nearly a twelvenionlU has rfapsed ^iftce
tlie groiiad on the north side of the Carde«i
ot the Tuilleries has been cleared, from the
Place Louis Xf^- to the Carousel ; and a car*
riage-way paved, with the name R»ie de Rivati
pompouniy iixcd up on handsome stone ta-
blets.
" The ground of this intended stre«, lying
ou the side of -the garden t>f the Tuiileties^
and opposite to the imperial nalace (ihe best
and indeed the only desirable situation in
Paris), has to the present moment contintied
to be otiFered to let for the purpose of build«
ing ; yet such is the want of capital and spi-
rit, or such the apathy or doubt on the pmlc
mind, that not one stone has been laid.
*' The Morgue, an e<Mce for the recqition
and exhibition to public view of the nume-
rous bodies of nightly assassinated individuals,
and of people found dead and deposited theic
to be owned, is a well contrived in'w building,
lately opened, and is never empty of unfoi^
tunate objects.
*' Great part of Paris exhibits nothinc but
raggedness and dirt, llie inhabitants, hov-
ever, contend, that it is cleaner since tiie re
volution thwi before. They have therefore
derived one advantage from this event, and
one which they very much wanted ; but much
improvement will still be required to bring
it into a state of wholesome cleanliness.
" A project is in contemplation to bring
water to Paris, somewhat on the plan of the
New River of London ; but Paris, as it now
exists, can never be supplied, in every house
and in every family, with water.
" Hie height of the buildings, and the
number of fomilies in each house ; the dear-
ness of manual labour and of lead ; and, above
all, the tittle inclination a Frenchman has to
lay out a sum of money, unless on the cer-
tainty of immediate profit, must prevent the
distnbution o( water by pipes, cocks, and
cisterns; the first expence of which could
only be reimbursed by gradual savings, and
by. tlie comfort' and convenience of the im-
provement.
** It is not the custom in Paris to take or
grant a longer lease than for nine years: three
is the usual tenn ; and if the proprietor of a
house sells itafter luiving granted a lease, this
is immediately void between tlie tenant and
tlie landlord. 1 o guard again^st tliis pxac-
lice, it is usual to insert in the leases a fine on
t)ie landlords in case of their selling the pro-
pert v before the expiration of the term.
'•This custom otshort leases operate very
powerhiUy in aid of the natural ais{x>sifion of
the Parisians to impleaidiness in their liouscs,
an^ inattention to repair them. They justiff
the contimiance of the practice of only taking
three, six, or nine years* term, in a miUding*
by pleading the uncertainty of tluugs, and the
apijreliension of changes ui their jtciitical $}*$-
tvm aiid 'Situation, and the consequent ^hictu-
atkakis in the vahie of property.
THEATilSS.
" New Dif^Qtres -are sin adifing to thefreit
Mmib^r already ensdi^; in Batis, lo ^^mtcfy
liie taste of the hihabitsnts for dramadc ea-
tdtanments.
'* The Tkegtre Franfais, the fn»d €|M!t%
and the comic ojiera, do honour to the spcnic
art, and are perlect exhibitions in their Jiind.
Tha grand opera^ttdt Italian) is amost mag-
fUncent ^Ipcctach^.
i
YH&SSNT STAT* Of fllA^CB.
*iaog kaaedmMf undar the contioiil
md ^iPBction of t^ scorenunent, who cootri-
htfe largely to their" support, the theatres of
has are in its hands great means of lulling
and amusing the people, and of attracting fo-
tognas to a place so dangerous to thcin in
fvery respite, but particularly so since the
vrvokition of BoDapsrte.
"The small and very mferior theatres and
show* situated in the Bouicvartb (rampart^),
mar the Gale St. Martin, many of them not
to be ranked in some respects with Sadi/er's
Wctts, an? wtU frequented by even the higher
class of the city of Paris. These places of
•amosemciit, a^ well as tJie many public danc"-
in»-nx>iTi?, the open gamhig-tabies, and the
innumTablc cofl'ee-houses, are always liMed
by this Tivacious p«ople.
" Attention to dress is more observed at
d)c theatres of Paris by the audience than it
k W5 dtfee yeafs ^o. NJen who dress well
^UflUcTiuHy adopt tbe English mode ; but the
emhroidefod liveries introduced by the aw-
fej of Bonaparte, may give for a time a ciew
wedion to liic public taste in thb respect.
•* At the theatre of the Gate St: Martiii,
ifc the representation of a piece on the taking
Pf^hgapaUun, the audience dapped on
^rcdtaiofaTery illiberal assertion put by
tteauthor into the mouth of one of his pcr-
foa^0e$ of tAe p)ay. ' The English are trai-
k«,* said the actor ; and the house applauded.
"XolwithsUndia^ this syniptoqi of prgu-
QJcc, the war with England is not popular in
France; thou^ scwne amopg die few that
think, believe it in some measure the cause
d their countrr, or at least feel that it ought
to be supported «# a war: and though they
gdiott uucm the taU-nts of Bonaparte as ^
#Mni,Ciey cortaioly do uot Wour hii^ 09
** A fittle piece is played at the theatre of
)^^ Comique, caUed rekili, in which
tbcbealihofa now-made emperor is drank
aithc staje. After the coronation of Bona-
l^te, a kind of pause seemed to be made at
tills Mssage, in order to observe whether the
peojJewoukl applaud with an allusion to the
wcent coronation of their Napoleon, but
taoe was not even a vMsper of approbation,
ff.14 P^y ^^^^ ^« title of Henry the
. ^Ih had been forbidden on account of
c^ nuiked applause which ei'cry passage al-
Aft^ ^ ^ destniction of tyrants excited.
After his coronation, BonapaVte ordered it,
and appeared himself. His impudence, how-
W, was not proof aeainst the ordeal ; for
o« hoRc rang widi redoubled aad continued
Pab of applaud at every sentence pointing
^ *2"^' ^^ fc€ quitted his box before the
^■wttsiou of the perfonnauce.'*
«f
Jitd^abQi^ tjbftipFoIfitipQ full ^ f:xm^
quoices, gives dw psitiodoiy cfGsffs^,
Vidafi^pvL, and MoEeaii, aad a scaxiQr dLetch
Of the! general state of Frw*.' He de«
scribes the coronatipn 5 ije treats of thjD
Eope and religion, an4 of tit legion of
onour. An impoh^t cliaptq?: |s that
which respects our sw^jj^ 4xxi iippn*
^oned couotiymen.
'* The peculiar situatbp of Ae E^sli^ now
detained m France ynder the name of W-
tages, ou^t to excite tlie attention of tlieir
countrymLn at home, who enjoy the privilM^e
of personal liberty, the advantages c« cH^
cising jklieir talents for the unprovjexni^t of
their Ibrtimes, and the aocic^ ojr their mends,
in a country of fiei^en. ' ijbey' were ^c«
by sui-prise by tlie Aincxamp!|[^ measure'^
ttDnapaite's aiTite for' their detention, ^hich
was put in force yiMii^ V^^J^ t)jcin were
traveling in i^fferqif parts pf france at a dis-
tance from the capital, and wlici^* they cd
not know of the dcpaj[;tufe of the i^mba&didor ;
and some of them were ac;;b»lly pnthqtt i<^
nev to leave the ixmtry. *
^' li is surdy a repi^i^ach to a neat and ^ene*
reus nation that'dicpoor amoM tK^r cbtfotryr
men, unfortunate prisoners jui m en<*ipy*s landl
shut out from even the ordinary hopes oTmoi
whom the cli«9ce of Wiiir ^tatAS, s^ld pdt
experience the ^ha^d ,of l^be^Uy all|!vja&(
the niisi^ of JtHeir h^pfcss ^uatjon, 9^P^
in the persons Qjf .the^r p^ coimtrmeh m
more easy circvuistances dctampd in pnson
like themselves, who lately poibriQed % play
for their benefit. Arc toCy forgotten?-^
too ofien happops to those' who laogutsji j4
prisons!
"Letit>nowbe Jcnownito*©lWftJ$hpfh-.
uc, that many .of ija^r co^inAT^p^gfi fftfXi0Xr
treme distress; ^djpot a ^f^^^^vfm,
militarij prisons, by military authority, fS
having incurred debts for the ordinary com*
forts of life, which they are luiabic to dis-
cliarge. Certainly our government could
not treat on this basis till alter a general
peace : but the liberatk^n of the hostages, now
so cruelly detained, might be solicited, and
in the cause of humanity, and to release such
captives, it would not be a dishonourable or
unpardonable subnassion for government t9
solicit justice as a favour, doing so tui^ dig^
la a similar nnafifected manner many
«» passing phenomena are related by
tow author, whose observations include
™ giweroment, the army, the police,
^ law, ihe m^mners, the newspapers,
« the trade of Paris. He speculates a
Till the late escape of his fleet from their
confinement, Bonaparte has waged war on
only those unfortunate men whom he has got
within his power, and on the finances of Eng-
laud. Shall the people who have, in the lat«
ter respect, so nobly sust;\ined the credit of
their ooiuitry against the attacks of an Unprin-
cipled enemy, suffer their defenceless coim«
trymen, whom mere chance, and events which,
human foresight could not guard against, have
put into his nands, to sustain in poverty the
effects ©f his anger, and the malicious sugges-
tiau<3 of his disappointments, without contri*
but'ik^ to remove the evil of Zi/ant, heaped «C|
la
116
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
them in addition to their other hopeless and
melancholy circumstances?
".If the etic[uette of government prevents
them fipm being an object of its attention, it
becomes more particularly the duty of spi-
rited and literal individuals to think of some
effectual measure to alleviate the misery of
their unprecedented situation.
*5 It has excited the wonder of the French
people, to whom the active benevolence of
the English character is known, that nothing
has been done on this subject; for they par-
ticularly recollect how liberally the people of
this country contributed to tlie support of the
French emigrants in the beginning of the re-
volution.
'* That there are indigent and worthy men
among them, let the circumstance of the exer-
tions made for them by their fellow prisoners
be a proof to those who have no other means
of judginij,
" No doubt can be entertained that any
sum which might 1>e contributed by the people
of England for the relief of the necessitous
part of the hostajges in France, would be well
and judiciously applied and distributed. The
care of managing it would be cheerfully un-
dertaken by some of the gentlemen of for-
tune, rank, and consequence, who are de-
tained with them.'*
In our opinion, this government ought
to offer to exchange the prisoners of re-
giilar war against the detained English^
The injustice of the detainal is a disgrace
to Bonaparte ; but it ought not, under a
notion pf protesting against such injustice,
tp be made unnecessarily grievous to the
individuals seized. The wisest revenge
for injustice is the affectation of an oppo-
site generosity : the fear of shame ac->
complishes wnat retaliation cakinot efiect.
Release without ransom^ parcAe^ or ex-
change, as many Frenchmen as there ari
Englishmen confined at Verdun -, and de-^
sire these Frenchmen, on their return, to
solicit the release of the detained English.'
Such at least, at the beginning of the con«
test, would have been the noblest and tbd
wisest course: but magnanimity conies
with ill grace as an after-thought.
There is the more reason to hope that,
if any pretext were afforded to the French
government for the release of the hos-
tages, tliey would immediately be set free,
as the real object of detention is at an end.
While the invasion of Great Britain was
in project, the English newspapers threw
out the abominable proposal to take do
prisoners among the invaders. This re*
fusal of quarter to the conquered and the I
suppliant is so contrary to the usages of '
ciiHlized war, and so outrageous to eve^
feeling of humanity, that a French arm/
refused to put it in practice when decreed
under Robespierre by -their government
Against the threatened and possible mas^
sacre of prisoners the seizure of these hos*
tages was intended as a precaution. It
was felt that few English would be taken
on land or sea, and that the guests, who
confided in the rights of hospitality, were
perhaps the only ones whom their power
could reach: they were seized, that the*
means of retaliation for any irregularity
might exist. Now that invasion is post-
poned indefinitely, a release would pro-
bablybe acceded to, especially, if aiittb
private bribery were to corrobowttf'oflS*
ciai arguments.
(• '17 )
CHAPTER II.
THEOLOGY
AND
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS-
THE articles in tJaU department will be found less numerous and less valuable than
usual. The strength of our th^Iogians has been spent upon sermcnis; but^ we ar«.
happy to add, not spent in vain.
I. A single .work appears in our first class. Dr, Stock, whose translaticm of Isaiah
was noticed in our second volume, has undertaken a New Version qfJob, in which,
if be has not been completely success^il, l^e has continued to exhibit himself as an
able scholar in Jewish literature^
II. In sacftd criticism, Mr, Winstadey claims the first post. His Vindication qf.
efiTtaifK Passages in the common English Version, addressed to Gran, Sharp, though
short, is honourable to his character as a scholar and a divine. Mr. Nisbett appears
a^tn, with credit, in defence of the hypothesis he has long been labouring to prove
respecting tht Second Coming qf Christ, Mrs, Trinmer has published a bulky volume.
of Amtotaucms upon the Q'd and New Testament, which she has entitled, '' A Help to
the Unlearned," but which we fear will, in many respects, be found a hindrance to'
them in the proper study of the scriptures. Mr. Parker has compiled from the best
authors, and for the use of young persons, Explicatidns of remarkable Facts and Pas-^y
ssgei in the Jewish Scriptures, which have been objected to by Unbelievers; and Mr..
Granville Sharp has opened again his formidable battery against the church of Rome,
in An Enquiry whether the Description qf Billon, in tlte IQth chapter qf Jtevelaticns^
agreet perfectly with that of Rome as a city.
III. Two works only, and those of very difibrent merit, have appeared in support of
natural and revealed religion : Mr, Watsq/i's popular Evidences (^Natural Religion anA
Qristimity, and Mr. Nares's connected and chronological View of the Prophecies.
TV. Nor is our list of controversial theology, for the present year, long, or marked
bf any work of extraotdinary value. Mr. Robinson, of Leicester,, has stood fi:>rth the
champion of modern Calvinism, with three volumes, entitled, *' The Q^stian System
wffolded." A short but interesting controversy has taken place between Mr. .Smithy
and Mr. Belsham, in consequence of some reflections upon Calvinism in the sermozk
preached by the latter on occasion of the death of Dr. Priestley. An ironical writer,,
who calls himself Basamiites, has attacked the trinitarian hypothesis, in a work,
qoaintly entitled, Aipstreoov Ayara(ri$, or a neto Way qf deciding old Controversies; aqd
iHr. Wright^ of Wisbech, ali^ a unitarian writer, has published a work on the doc-
tjine of the Atonement, and which he has called ^' The Anti-soHrfactiomst."*
V. Our catalogue of sermons is larger and more valuable than u^ual. Wdlwood^
Cifpe, Kemick, Napletan, Gilpin, Toumsend, are names that will appear with honour
118 1HE0L06Y AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
amongst the most eloquent or the most instructive of English preachers. Mohkhaust,
AdamSf Motion, Partridge, wad Dore, will not be generally thought to have contri-
buted much to the large and valuable stock of this branch of theological literature,
which we already possess.
Single sermotti upon various subjects have been published by Headlam, Phillpots,
Gai'dino', Mostly, Hall, Poulter, BeUham, md p^ers^
In practic€U theology wq haVe Rawtrey's Guide to Heavoiy Oakley's Holy Family,
and an excellent little Treatise, by Mr. Fellowes, on Death,
VI. It is not yet ascertained who are the true churchmen. Dj\ Laicrcnce, in
Eight Sermons preaclied at tie Lecture founded by Mr. Bampton, has endeavoured to
vindicate that character to those who give an amainian interpretation to tlie thirty-
niite ^t$efes. An anonymom toriier has re-publtshed, from a rfespectable ncionthly
vrdrk, a " Candli Examination of Mr, Daxtbenfs Vindiciiz Ecdesid JngHcana:,"* on
the contrary side. Mr. Overton himself also has again come forward in reply to some
ccciMdrW Strictures ok his former Work in the preceding article, with irKidenttd iZr-
mArks 6n Dr. Kipling, kc.
.Ite schisnk in the Society of Firiehds fs not, nor, we fear, is it likely to be, healed^
The only tracts connected with this curious and not important part of modem ecclo-
fiifetf«tt history, which have this year come bcifbi*e us, are a Memoir by Mr. Rathbone,
^Itiot of a Kfarrative of Events in Irebnd, &rc. and Bevan'i Dtft-nce of the Christian
Mariner, iftc. Two otiicr pubKditiohs relating to the society of Friends are noticed,
iSk dfte in our ^itic&I, the other fn out miscellaneous chapter. The most impor-'
tJril ^(rcJ^rkj ho^^Met, relative to lecclesiztstical history, in our present volume, is an
JR% dh ^ BSffbiiii&ibit, by Viilars, wntteh tfriginiHy in Ffench, and of which two
S&gli^ tran^a6dAs have been published.
Ifil. To tlwite niajr be iddted the following miscellaneous articles: the Emt Report
4f ^ BH/AftiM F(i>reigH BiMe Society; Lavater's Letters qf St. Paid the Apostle:
mi 1%t Cmmtih ikirhr.
Of kll theate ,^rks \fe shall liow, according to tlie best of our jitdgment and ability,
jWWelfi % gi^ s'6ch to account as shall convey to our readers some just riotidn of
their respective value. Paying all due regard to the feeKiigs of the different authors;
iHd ifbktb&s rattier tb shfew the dpiniobs of ©tliers tlian to obtrude our own, we shall
di^fbtly teStbHti ftdfe fill tftifece^saiy censuffe, and confine ourselves as much as pos-
sible to the iftrifcdrf df *ialySs. 'tKeftre may be means of making Works of this
iitire iriore Hfiiuslog^ but n6xie, ^t are firmly persuaded, by Which the end in view
tAn He ihxkt prd^pctly and surc^^ Wi&it^. We could, perhaps, have entered intd
doritfovfer^y ixrith Abs\ ol'thfe lifers thit hivte appeared before us; we could haxe
^dbbBited mimy cBT tKdff principle, arid propose and defended cur o\<'n5 but how
ISikh ^cfd 6tir duty IraVe beAi faIflHed> "We do not consider ourj>elves as the guar-
AcrAs W" ahy pafticulaf bteed, but ai |{)!edged lo give a fair statement bf the design
end Execution of tSe tKeclfcgicid works of the year. For ourselves, we are accustomed
ib read, fd ?*S«:t, Wifl tt) Jttdgi j tfhd Mx Utfe eiercise of tliis right, ive have em^
'brticbd ^enfitaeifts vftififh ^^'t highly esfefein, aild which, on all propfer occasion^, we
aie prepi-cfd d^jenly fe kvow, afifl atfettaoiifely to defefifl. But to the public ^* is rf
^We tnoment ^p^fefffer we belong to thfe Whodl of Geric^ra, df Leyden, or cK" Cra-
eow: our priv^ fentlinertts^ ^iirhcn ^ appekt da teviex^eh, shall as iuuch ais fos-
TETU8 TESTiUBlTTUU GUMCVU, kc.
119
ttble be oonfiiied to our own breasts^ and in oo case be made Uie standard bjr which
(k jentimeots of oChenTahali be tried.
THE SCRIPTURES.
iRT. I. Fdui Tfttwmeni»m Gntatm cum variis Lcctiombui, EdiiU Robe^tu^ JJotMSS^
FUio.
AANIHA, KATA TON OEOAOTIUNA KAI RATA TOTS 0.
Daniel kttta Urn Theodotimia kai kata touM 'EiniomikoHtM,
DR. HOLMES haa long been known
in the liteiary world by a sennon on the
Eesucrection ; by his Bampton Lectures j
by 6xa Tracts ^ by an Ode to the Duke
ot Portland ; bat especially by his Epistle
to Bishop Barru^on, whichj in the ye^
l7S8,we believe, announced and intro-
dtioed his intended collation of the best
maniucript cc^ties and printed editions of
the Greek Oid Testament; and by the
subsequent but leisurely progress made
in die fiermion of that laborious task.
Whelher the oil of patronage, or the bur-
aiih of pnise kas keen wanting to over-
oonethe natoral friction of weariness pr
indnleBcg, we know not We r^;ret, fco:
the honour of Pritish theology, that so
i^pkndid and neritmrieus an enterprise
•QouU not animate to more active per-
severance, faitt, like a wounded saakOj
daw ita slow length along.
Even the first tome of the Vetus Tm^
■KBtaM Gntcwn cum varifs Ltciionibus
made its ^ppea^Ulce at the Clarendon
pKSB only in 1798. The general dbarac-
ter of the edition has so amply been dis*
cQssed and so wittingly commended in
those journals whidh could commemorale
its birch, that we can no longer hope to
enhanrr its celdnrity, or to influence 'its
eondoct. Tl» collators have now travel-
led on to Daniel : there will be more of
novelty in discussing tlie itness of thus
cMBpfcfaendtng thb book in the canon of
script uie^ than in transcribing from Scbar-
fenheig. Specimen imimadvgrsionum, quibus
la^ mafnmdli Dumetis et irUetpreium ejus
vOcnm frmaeriim Grrcw^m iiliutpeuUifr,
tmcmdan^. Tbtfl is tlie most u&eful sort
of conamcmtary on the sacred writings^
which enquires coaeomipg their antiquity
and their readings, with a view to their
historic value.
' The .present edition profesaQs to con-
tain the Greek translation of Daniel by
llieodotion, which is arranged liistj and
Ihe pnor Greek translation of iDaniel,
made at Alexandria, which is arranged
last. From Theedotion's version has
been lof^ped the jtoty cif Susaima ; from
i vac^n fbas been lop{ied
the song of the three holy children : fhui
neither of the promised texts are honestly
given, both having been garbled intp re-
semblance with the canonica} Daniel.
Theodotion of Sinope was bom of or*
thodox christian parents, and educated iu
their religion, which he professed awhile
at Ephesus. Having ve»d the book of his
&llow-dtizeo^ Mardpo, entitled, TheAi^
tithetea, which attempted to point out in*
consistencies and qpixtradictions betwee?^
the Old and the New Testament, he be*
came, like Marcion, a bdiiever in tho
christian jscriptures only. Afterwards,
conceiving these christian scriptures to
be the less strongly authenticated of the
two, he renounced Christianity, and tupir
ed a Jew, in which iiuth he died. His
translations from the Oid Testament are
thought to have been made about the
year 185, undor Commodus, and are said
to have been ii^possed as a penance w
expiation for his having been ojiice a
christian.
#The Alexandrian version was made nO'*
body knows when, nobody knows by
whom : the newest authorities incline to
the suspicion that it was completed dur«
ing the reign of Augustus, with die pa*
tronage of Agrippa, under the superiiv^
tendance of Philo-Judseus. Ari^^teus says
that seventy men were shut up separatfely
by king Ptolemy in seventy cells, and'that
aU the seventy translated jill the btbje pre-
cisely in the same words : irom m\\\s silly
legend results the denomination of the
Si'pinarint, or seventy men's version 5 an
appellntion, whicli only popish C!:eduli^
should condescend to Repeat, and which
we are shocked to obsexve in tlie title-
page of a protestajit publication.
To tlie curtailed texts of tliese two
Greek versions are appendjid iu this odi-
tion a laborious collection of readings, de-
rived irom various manuscripts, and edi-
tions of manuscripts, especially the Chi-
gian. We observe no citation of the
version of Daniel, edited at Strasburg iu
1784, by J. B. G. d'Anse de Villoison,
along with the Proverbs.
Some jporsous have supposed that tho
120
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
mention of Daniel the prophet, by tlie
founder of cliristianity (Mattliew xxiv.
15) confers a sanction on tlie specific ap-
plication of passages in Daniel to the tinries
of Christ. The work in question was
certainly a sacred book of the Jews, ap-
pointed or allowed to be read in synago-
gues, a national classic, and therefore
^dapted to supply the orator with allu-
sions : hut the specific application, as pro-
fessor Paulus observes (Commentar iiber
das neue Testament, vol. iii. p. 406)
amounts to no more than tliis — ut verbis
Daniditicis utar — and does not m the least
imply .any ascription of foresight to the
author, whqse phraseology is quoted.
There is no irreverence therefore in dis-
cussing the real origin of the book.
The proper canon of Jewish scripture
appears to have been clpsed by Nehemiah,
who (ii Maccabees, ii. 13) ' founding a
library, gathered together the acts of the
kings, anfl the prophets, and of David,
and the epistles of the kings concerning
the holy gifts.' . To this collection Judas
Maccabeus added some apocrj'phal books ;
for it is further said (v. 14), * in like man-
nei* also Judas gatliered together all those
things that were lost by reason of the war
we had, and they remain with us.' It is a
question of some curiosity whether the
Jbopk here published with tlic superscrip-
tion ' XJaniel* can have been extant in the
time of Nehemiah j or whether it be one
of the deutero-canonical writings first de-
positied in the temple -archives, und^r
Jui^as Maccabeus.
A short recapitulation of the leading
tircurftstances in the life of Daniel will
l)oint out those events and ideas, wliich
were most likely to be strongly impressed
on his mind, and familiarly alluded to in
his writings. The date of Daniel's birth
\s not precisely known. He was taken
captive by Nebuchadrezzar, in tlie third
year of Jehoiakim, carried to Babylon, and
brought up in the schools there. Whis-
ton, in a note to Josephus, suggefts with
probability that he and his companions
were made eunuchs ; indeed tlie fourth and
fifth verses Ivi^ Isaiah, apparently apply to
tliese captives, or hostages. As the Per-
sians were accustomed to make eunuchs
only of the immature, Daniel could
hardly be more than twelve year? of age
at the time of his translation. He was
consequently born about the twenty-eightli
or twenty-ninth year of the reign of Jo-
jslah. That he was son to this king is no
where stated ; there is even an apocryphal
#e^t whicj) p^ lus father ^b^l : ^et th«
words ascribed to Isaiah in 2nd Kings {x%.
18.) as well as the passage in Daniel (1.3.)
render it evident that it was systematic
with the Babylonian court to eictinguish
among subdued princely families tlie hope
of further posterity, fearing the rebellious
adolescence of hereditary claimants ; and
that among the children of the royal family
of Palestine were selected tlie clients of
thia mortifying patronage. Daniel (ix.
24.) was born at Jerusalem.
If Xerxes, as well as Artaxerxes, (Jo-
sephus Ant. XI. 6.) was called Cyrus among
the orientals, and if Daniel continu^
(i. 21.) until the first year of this prince,
he lived in all about eighty-six years :
twelve at Jerasalera ; thirty-seven at Ba-
bylon, Kcbatana, and elsewhere, under
Cyrus the great ; thirty-six at Susa and
Persepolis, chiefly under * Darius 1 j and
one under Xerxes.
When Cambyses undertook the inva-
sion of Palestine, it was natura) for the
court of Babylon to attach Daniel to that
army ^ as his local knowledge and power-
ful connexions in Jerusalem were likely
to facilitate essentially its success. Da-
niel does not appear to have approached
Jerusalem during tlie siege, but to have
staid at Iliblah with Cambyses.
Cyrus the great was killed in warring
against the Visigoths who then occupied
the northern skirts of the Persian empire :
his descendants had not that personal re-
putation which was necessary in his suc-
cessor. Cambyses learnt his father's deadb
in jEgypt, and hastened toward Babylc»i
to claim tlie sovereignty : he died su<jden«
ly on bis way of a wound, which was con-
veniently ascribed to accident. Merodach
the second son, or as iEschylus calls hiiu
Mardys, next ascended the tlirone j but
was hurled from it by the management
of Otanes, under tlie pretext of his being
an impostor. (Herodotus, Thalia 68),
Seven leading men declared for Darius ^
but the Babylonians, faitiifiil to the pos*
terity of Cyrus, defended their city against
Darius, in favour of Belshazzar, or Bal-
thaser, a minor son of Cambyses. The
people of Nineveh too, attempted to re-es-
tablish there an independent sovereignty
under the Nebu-saradan, or Sardanapalofii^
whom Cambyses had employed against
Jerusalem. Darius, who .was a Mcde,
took both Babylon and Nineveh, and
became sple master of the Persian eilk-.
pire.
This-success he owed principally to Da^
niel ; whoj though courted by Belshazzar
(y. 2^,) ^ye to this priqpe miw^coilii|k
TEtUS TBSTAMENTUM 6BJBCUM, &C.
121
ondes (v. 26.) and firom his immediately
subsequent promotion (vi. 2.) under the
iBQiper, must long have been a secret
^ieod of the son of Hystaspes. The new
difision of the provinces by this prince
(ri. 1.) and by Daniel^ is also noticed in
Herodotus (Thalia^ 89) who makes twenty
larger divisions^ incltiding no doubt the
ooe hundred and twenty smaller ones of
the Jewish account.
Throughout the Persian empire the fire-
^arshippers and idolaters, the monotheists
imd polytheists, had long formed two inve-
teracely hostile but nearly equiponderant
lects, who were perpetually cabaDing for
the patronage of the sovereign : as was
nearly the case also in Palestine under the
Jewish kings. With Darius the idolaters
came into disfavour 5 and the massacre of
thdr priests by] his party (Thalia, 79) was
commemorated in an anniversary festival.
The Jews (Esther ix. 15«19.) lent zealous
assistance on this occasion . Arioch , chief-
tain (Jadith I. 6.) of the £lamites^ a Jew-
ish clan (Nehemiah vii. 12.), who was
captain of the king'» guard (Daniel 11. 14.)
and intnisted with the execiltion of this
leveie measure in Babylon, appears to
hare been on very courteous terras witli
Daniel (11. 15.), and to have concerted
with him (11. 24.) various exemptions from
the proscription.
Nor was Daniel less active in securing
' the allegiance of Nineveh. Diodorus Si-
cvAas records his interference under the
same of Belesis. He was named Belte-
shazzar (Daniel v. 12.) by his sovereign :
the termioation tsar appears fronl Forster's
letter to Michaelis, to have been a Medic
title J Beltesh therefore is the name re-
presented by the Greek Belesis. After
- the suli^agation of the whole empire by
Darius, no further mention is made of
Daniel. When Darius, by taking Esther
to wife, married into the royal family of
Westine, one would have expected to
find Daniel attaclied to her fortunes, as
well as his kinsman Mordecai : perhaps
the whole revolution which overthrew
Haraan or Intapherues, which divorced
Vashti, and made empress the Jewish prin-
cess, was the woik of the powerful mind
of Daniel. The influencing ministers of
Fersia were often derived from thp schools
^ the eunuchs.
let us now turn to review the various
composition ascribed to him, which, in
the fomi given to it by Theodotion, is a
translation firom a work partly written in
Hebrew, and partly in Chaldee. If Da-
M had been drawing up a Jbook for the
people of Palestine, he would employ their
vernacular language, that is the Ghaklee
(as we absurdly call it) or Sjrriac -, if h»
was drawing up a book for the instruction
of the Persian empire, he would employ
the Hebrew, which was the language of
Babylon in his time : but he would not
employ both, that would un£t his book
for either purpose. Still less would a man
during his boyhood familiar with the one,
and during his education with the other
dialect, think of editing a book in Greek
(a language to which he was born and
bred a stranger) and then of translating it
first in to Chaldee, and next in part into He-
brew. Yet such is the history of the bib-
lical book superscribed Daniel, Not only
the Greek words ir^a;r/pot, ^Sgyjxa, xtipv^,
xYfpvG'a'siy, xi&apis, xi^xpa, (ra|u,/3yxij, tJ/aA-
rrjpioy, irstaa-os, occur in the Hebrew, cm:
rather macaronic Daniel 3 but even the
word cvif,<pwvix which cannot have pre-
sented itself to a person, who was not
translating firom a Greek text Nor
would any of these words have mingled
in the vernacular dialect of Palestine, be-
fore the Macedonian conquest. Neither
the text of Theodotion, nor the prior text
of tlie Alexandrian version, can have pre-
served the archetypal Greek Daniel 5 for
both contain marked orientalisms of -dic-
tion. The text of Thecklotion is borrow*
ed from that Daniel which is included in
the received canon 5 that of the Septua-
gint has variations, ^which indicate, that
very different editions, or copies, passed
for original in early times.
Not only . the dialect but other circum*
stances prove that ^^^ ^ioo)ii must have
been drawn up in Palestine, by a person
ignorant of the Babylonian court. Both
Cyrus and Darius were monotheists, or
fire-worshippers, like the Persians .aiid
Medes, among whom they originated.
Hie viands set on their tables were uQt
oHered to idols. But here Daniel (i. 8.)
and his companions are made to object
generally to the food on the king's table,
as if to partake it was a breach of the
Mosaic law. Had they refused only pork,
their conduct would be in costmne 3 but
they are described as refusing wine, which
could to them be unclean food. only in
case it had been partly shed in libation to
idols. This passage is symptomatic of tlje
times of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the
Maccabees, when every faithful Jew was
called on to bear halntttal testimony against
polytheism, and to abstain from meats of-
fered to heathen gods. Yet this passage^
is in the Hebrew portion of the book.
J22
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIM.
The image of gold set up by Nebuch-
adnezzar in die plain of Dura is sixty cu-
bits high and fix cubits thick : it is not a
oaiiaculoiis production, birt a work of
imman ait. Michaelis has been at the
fxiins to calculate its solid contents, and es-
timates the worth of the gold at three
thousand four hundred and eighty millions
cf dollars. There is hardly so much in
the whole world : this wonderfid effort
0f foundery cannot therefore have been
described by an eye-witness, if it has been
described by a man of veracity. It is a
statue, which, if coined iutodarics, would
more than discharge the national debt of
Great Britain. Darius was no maker of
golden statues ; the pecuniary wants of his
ambition tempted him to invade the sepul*
chies of tlie dead (Clio, 187), and the
temples of religion (Clio, 183) ; 2nd,
although he is stated to have replaced the
atatue of -Bel, which he coveted and had
ventured to remove ; yet if there be a his-
todcal basis in this extraordinary narrative,
that very seiztire of the statue of Bel,
which, according to Herodotus, was only
twelve cubits high, must be the basis.
The tnttsformation of Nebuchadnezsar
lor aeven years into a wild beast is narrat-
ed in the fourth chapter 1 this chapter of-
JeM a fine harvest of various readings:
but those only which aivct historical state-
fiients can merit discussion.
At the doae of the dfth chapter, instead
of Darius the Mede, as in the common
version, Artaxei-xes die Mede isma^ in
the Alexandrian version to acquire the
jLiDgdom 5 Darius being fkll of days. It
is tevident that the (dirase Darivs the
Mede cnonot have «come into use, until
there had been a second Darkts who was
not a Mede; and consequently that the
Ohaldaic text is subsequent to the reign of
Darius the second. It is also evident that
the author of the Alesaadrian text must
iiave flourished after the accession of Ar-
tjwterxes Memnon, who followed Darius
II ; for he makes an Artaxerxes succeed
to a Darius, an order of inanies which had
not occurred in tiic list of Bab)donian cm-
peroiji before that date. These circum-
stances however do not quite suffice to
prove that the book of Daniel was com-
posed after the time of Nehemiali's com-
piling tlie canon 3 because Nehemiah in
tiie received chronolog}' is placed too
soon.
The new^ division of the provinces of
the Persian empire (vi. 1.) is rightly as-
cribed by tlie text of Theodotion to Darius
the Mede (Herodotus^ Thalia^ 89) and
wrongly by ihe Septuagint text, as it k
here called, to Artaxerxes. The Sepfua*
gint text of the 28th verse also contain*
an historical blunder, and makes Cyroi^
succeed to Darius instead of Darius saU
ceeding to Cyrus. This verse has bea|
the real cause of that wild suppositioii
advanced by sir Isaac Newton and othei3%*
that Cyaxares and Darius are one.
The seventh chapter, like the fizBt» if
written in Hebrew 3 but its oracular all»»
sions so closely resemble those rantalng4
in the Chaldaic portion of the seoQ«i'
chapter, that one cannot well avoid m^l
cribing a common origin to them bodb
An attempt may have been made to traoi^ :
late the whole book out of the vemacobir ;
Chaldee into the sacred language, or Hfp^J
brew, which began with the seven^i
chapter, as the pr<^het is there first m»\
troduced speaking in his own person ; ant I
this attempt may next have been extendidtj
to the biographical or legendary part 4^
the book, but, have becQ brok^i off i|f^^
some accident, before two chapters we^
gone through with, Tbe Greek texts c
ceal this solution of continuity. The <
cular passages have been well comoieiwi^;^
by Gf otius, and, after him, by CoUiiisj, iitl
his scheme of literal propheqr cxynsiilcjllj
(p. 148 to 200) ; the due, or key^ ^^""'iKi
this labyrintli of hieroglyphic ioiagecj^
to be found in the 8th chapter (v. ^20-2^*)fj
which though a sufficient passport :
jpbyry^s time, is so no longa:. Mu
by a more industrious consoltarion <£ i
itfst book of Maccabees, has added 1
satisfactory elucidatk>ns to those of Grotiaf 1
and GoUins ^ but at the ninth chapter te I
abandons the literd, or natural, for a nsyt*
tical and supematuial scheme of inteipB»»
tation : he avoids to perceive the puBd^
ality with which the author of DanlJ
(ix. 24-2^.) paints the oondkioo a£ Jan*
salem under Amiocbus (1 Maccabees, i.
54.) and under tlie short but enthuaiailt
cally welcomed toleration of Lysias (1
Maccabees, vi. 58.) M'hois described as a
Messiali, who toas to be cut tiff", baHnoifat
hintsc(f (Daniel ix. 26.) ami who bt fytt
suftered (l Maccabees, vii. 2-4.) for Ifo
son of Antiochus. The author of Dankl
also alludes to the destruction of the.sano
tuary (Daniel, ix. 2(>.) which was miha*
biy accomplished by the people of JjkeBie*
trius, when they encamped before Jenisa*
lem (1 Maccabees, ix. 3.) end slew JiidaK
Thus it appears that all the aUvsioiis^
real events in this oracular conyositian
center on the times df Antiochus asid Ac
Maccabees^ and no whore tfa^txihhe^o^
r%fvs TsstAiftByttrat^ enxcw, $tc^
123
dtfiii : and this » exactly, tbat the' des-
trsdioQ of the sanctoaiy, of which Judas
Htccabeos was a witness shortly be-
fore ills death, is mentioned in Da-
nief, vhereas the death of Judas Mac*
dbeas is not meutioded* It seems
tbnefoft as if Judas Maccabeus himself,
or somebody under his immediate mspec-
tioo and dltectioni was engaged in accom-
modsting the bdok of Daniel to the events
ef his own times, iar the purpose of in-
t^ohttng that reiigiods loyalty for which
his pirtizaDs were distinguished . So con-
fidently may it be daswd as a portion of
hts secondary canon. That the book of
Daniel was in great request among his ibl-
Joweis may be further inferred from the
Second chapter (v. 59-6O.} of the first book
m Maccabees.
The commentary of Michaelis on the
CQDcinding chapters of Daniel is as satis*
fidoiy as it is learned : be apobgizes
honestly for his diffiatlties af^er die thir-
teenth Terse of the eleventh chapter,
where the narrative of Poiybius quits him.
He oonoborates the main inference that
ttexy historical allusion descends ooly to
Ihe time of Judas Maccabeus. Of Mi«
dael, (Daniel xiu 1.) Michaelis nudces an
ifeegKxical persone^e, a gnardiah angel of
Mestine : fhxxi Ouseley's epitome of the
antient hbtoiy of Persia, it may be susn
|K(ed that Aidavan became powerful at
thh sra, and supported the Jews against
the Greek sovereigns of Babylon. Mi-
chaelis conciudes his exposition with this
i^markable sentence ' in der 'That, kaum
ehic Weimt^aig Ui so wunderHchvcrstanden
vnfdeHf ais diese, so doss wir, wie ich
*d^ mtknkah ^^esagt hahe, die Erklanmg
iAm- htiien Hii§te nicht den Kirchencdeerh,
dk sk aufi vtondtrlicksie erkt&rten, sondem
n der IhuptsOcke dem Fcinde dir Religion
Porpfyriozndankenftaben,' Indeed scarce-
ly any prophiecy has been so strangely ex«
poinded as this : so that, as 1 hav^ oflen
dbaerttd, w« ateuot Indebted to the fathers
af the churcfi, tvlio expound ft most wUd-
Ifj bet to Porphyry, the foe of reli-
^00, ibr ^ inain grouadwori^ of expia-
tiat)on.*
Ha^ !9io^ thiit this decofid Daniel
ftm't be iteiinted t6 thb tithes, if not to
lie %aha of iritdas Macetbdus, it merits
tsSf&y whicft ftfto the {k)ems (hat may
^M frtMti^ hb iiscribed te^^ €rst
iU Mk DM^. 4>oubt^ *Mtf taik)Dally
te eifteftaBM ^chie^mftig "tin! t^ipfdpHa-
Mi df Bb mitMW <Mkfts. ^t«itoiak
^ ^«Mte afl^ehb 10 hAf^ ct^teofed %is
9^ tt^^ 'bdtmiKfkM kis-iatt!«s, «M
Zechariah his panegyrics. Odes ate scat-
tered among the productions of thesft
writers of loftier tone and more stndioui
composition tl^ die works which they '
intersperse.
In the time of Nebemiah all these writ-*
ings were probably deposited in arks, or
chesti, belonging to tlie temple o€ Jeru-
salem ; each on the separate napkin which
had be^n hung up for its original promul-
gation. In Arabia it was long an habitual
form of publication to suspend a new-
poem for perusal (sir W. Jones's works*
IV. 245) at the gate of some public build-
ing. Cotton doth (Arrian, 717) anl
linen cloth (Pliny, xiii. 1 1) was in early
use to write on throughout die east. - The
squareness of the Babylonian character
adapte4 it pectdiarly for nations who wrote
on a woven material : now this alphabet^
in the time of the prophets wab still ia
use 5 and consequently tlie connected prac-
tice of writing on linen. Baruch (Jere-
miah, XXX vx. 18-28.) writes with ink on a
roll, which could be burned in the kmg*6
presence, and was th^efore not of parch-
ment Isaiah, or more probably Joie-
miah, alludes (Isaiah, xxii. 25.) to the
nailing up of burdens, (X oracles. Hab-
akkuk (11. 2.) undertakes to write his ora-
cles in letters so large that he who runa
may read. A mlsarrangement of such
autographs may easily have given occasion
to erroneous superscriptions ; when these
napkins or litenny fi'agments, were fir«t
tnmscribed on continuous rolls of linen.
It remains to be enquired whether any
internal characteristics will authorize a
partial correction 'of the iteceived distri-
bution.
Whoever .reads the first twenty-foul:
chapters of £zekiel will be struck with
the identity of manner which pervades
them. The poet i^ evidently a man of
vigorous and busy imaginadon, but of low
and ignoble taste. He appe;u*s to know
Jerusalem and its neighbourhood, and die
banks of die Chebar (Chaboras) from
Carchemish to Tel-abib : with die rest of
tlic world he betrays little acquaintance.
His favourite tbrmtda is to begin with u
parable or allegory, which he leaves awhile
wholly enigraatic:iJ, and dien e5q>lains by
the narration of a cohresponding evenu
He is a ditfuse writer : not content to in-
dicate he completes all his images, des-
cribes from head to foot with needless de-
tail, and instead of selecting the £ner
^upes, parades before us the endre pro-
cession of his thoughts. Of his writings
tte t^nciur is didactic chiofiy, althou^
m
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
tlie nineteenth chapter might pass for a
fragment of Jeremiah, and they seem
intended for the perusal of fellow-cap-
tives.
From the xxvth to the xxxiind chapter
Snclnsive^ 3 distinct and loftier vein of
poetry prevails. Nothing low or spun
out here requires apology. All is dig-
nified, simple, concise, s%iblime. A pro-
fusion of geographical knowledge is sedu-
lously displayed, such as might be ex-
pected from a professed historiographer of
the campaigns of Nebuchadrezzar. These
poems all relate to one or other enter-
prize of the kings of Babylon, and are
rather adapted to metropolitan readers
than to coptive jews. They were evi-
dently written on the spur of the occa-
«on ', since, at the moment of the block-
ade of Tyre, the poet does not hesitate
<o threaten, or announce, its capture
(c. XXVII.); but in a subsequent poem
(xxix. 18.) he owns that tlie siege had
been unsuccessful, and that the king was
marched forwards to Egypt. For this
miscalculation, for this want of foresight,
the poet apologizes, and, apostrophizing
Dthbaal, the king of Tyre, says nearly :
• It is true, I called your resistan<pe proud 5.
|>ot I perceive you estimated rightly your
strength : you were wiser than L' And
cti this occasion the poet names himself
(xxvii.-S.) Daniel.
The xxxvth, the xxxviiith, and
xxxJxth chapters are composed in a simi-
lar strain: the two latter evidently relate
to some expedition against the Scythians,
and probably to that defeat of them which
Herodotus (Clio, 105.) places in the reign
of Psarametichus, or So, king of Egypt :
in which case the poem cannot well be
cotemporary with the victor)*^ celebrated.
It may have originated oa a recent view
of the whitening bones of the Gothic in-
vaders.
Again; if the first forty-five chapters
ef Jeremiah be attentively perused, the
reader will be struck with much identity
of character. An unrelenting hostility to
idolatrous rites, and an anxiety to transfer '
the allegiance of his countrymen from the
Egyptians to the Persians, distinguish th»
matter of this author : a love of para-
phrase and tautology, his manner. A
complaining, evil -boding strain charac-
terizes the whole. His finest passages are
the patlietic descriptions of occurring
miseiy during and after the siege of Je-
rusalem. The habitual want of bright
and bold imagery tallies with his unvaried
wailing cast of expostulation. Very few
exceptions ofifer. The xxiiid chapter to-
deed seems more modem than the pre-'
ceding one, and of opposite tenour, and
it brings out those trains of idea and aUu-
sion in which Zechariah delightji. The
xxvth chapter, fi-om the 15th verse oa*
wards, might be thought to form a dis-
tinct oracle. The Lamentations, which
are in the best manner of Jeremiah, par-
take closely the same general character of
composition as tliese forty-five chapters*
But from tlie 13th verse of the xx.vith
chapter, to the 58th verse of the fiity-f^rst
chapter, intervenes a spirited, vigorous,
concise vein of poetry, full of boldnesa
and sublimity, delighting in images of
war, and descriptions of conqu&st, and
occasionally borrowing decoration fi'oin !
idolatrous mytholog}\ Greographical al-. ;
hisions are profusely scattered : names of
places are accumulated witli triumphai
complacence; and the poenis all relate
(there are nine distinct odes concernii^
Egypt, the Philistines, -Moab^ AnuDon,'-
Edotn, Damascus, Kedar, £lam> and Ba-
bylon) to one or other aehievement of the
armies of the Persian emperor. Now a$,
these nine oracles occupy, in the Aiexao-
drian version, a different order and placet
in the book of Jeremiah from that assignedi
to them in the established version, it 'vf '
natural to infer that they have been-.hesi«;
tatingly and arbitrarily^ ascribed to this*
prophet by his pctsthumojis. editor, aad^
that they belong, like tlie minutely, dmi- *
lar matter scattered in Ezekiel, toDanieU
Thirdly ; of the many poems asM^nbed
to Isaiah, who flourished under tlie kings
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, few allude,
to contemporaneous events, or to persons
of his aera. Most exliibit symptoms at' z
posterior date. Thus the xith chapter^
by mentioning the branch of the stem of
Jesse, announces itself as. firom the tinaest
if not firom the hand of Zechariah^ who
was the poet of the restoration! Tl|e
xvth and xvith chapters, which profess
to have been written within ^Arer years
(xvjth 14.) of the destruction of Moab,
must consequently be by a whole oentury
posterior to Isaiah: Moab having been
overthrown (Josephus, Ant. x. 9.) about
^ve years later than Jerusalem.. Tb^
Liiid chapter is probably a lamentation o(
Jeremiah for . the death of Zedi^uah^
Other chapters, as the.Livth.and fbllowT
ing, abound with trains of sentiment na-.
tural and- usual only to prophets who, like
Zechariah, wrote after the return of the^
jews from captivity. Here ^Iso occur
gome poems closely reseqEibling^ the warn
T£TU» nStAVMVTVU GXBCVM, tcO,
m
•cop scattered in Ezekiel and Jeremiah.
Socfa are the xiiilh to xixth chapters in«
donvc; the xxistand xxiiid chapters,
tbe xLvth chapter to the 1 2th verse of
tfae Liind chapter/ and perhaps some other
fragmeiits* These poems share more or
less that loftiness, that art, that proneness
to geographic allusion, and that concen*
tration of attention an tlie Babylonian so-
verdgn, which characterize^ it seems, the
other odes of Daniel. It is moreover evi-
dent, that the xvth and xvith chapters of
Isuah have the same author as the xLViiith
chapter of Jeremiah j and that-the xxuid
chapter of I^iah has the same autlior as
the xxvith and xxviith chapters of Eze-
kiel 5 10 great a resemblance and confor-
mity would have been avoided as plagiar
rism by two distinct writers ^ but the
lame poet may well be supposed, in a
nbsequent edition, to have indulged this
ample variation. It. follows that these
poHns may, with much confidence, be as-
cribed to Daniels
Were a chronological arrangement of
these compositions to be attempted, it
would be necessary to consult thq histori-
lad order of the events which tliey cele-
brate. . Cyrus is named in sc»ne of them,
md forms a leading hero. This prince
(Herodotus, Clio, 177), after the conquest
of Saidis, raised the army which was led
against Labynitus, leaving Harpagus, the
^edc, in Asia Minor, with the forces re-
quisite to keep^nder the newly conquered
Lydians. After the taking of Babylon
(Clio, 191.) Cyrus interfered in the a&iirs
of Egypt, and favoured the rebellion of
Am^jgainst Apries, or Hophra. Jeru-
salem b^ng at that .time a satrapy depen-
dat on £^pt^ was prot»hIy the price of
thb assistance j and hence the first siege,
in wjnch Darnel and othei^s were made
captifes, and tak^n to. the Chaldean
Kfaools. Jerusalem was first acquired by
the Babybnians in the reign of Manasseh
(u Chronicles, xxxiii. 1 1.), and was con-
Qoeied from them by. Necbo, king of
Bgypt, at the close -of Josiah^s reign
(n Kings, xxiii. 29.). After some years,
Cyras, choosing to march against the Mas-
Si^eiai, or Visigoths (Clio, 208.^, invest-
ed Cambyses with the vice-royal^ of all
the rnrion dependent on Babvlon, under
the tine apparelitly of king of the ChaU
decs* (II Chronicles, xxxvi. IJ.)- This
pripce, dissatisfied with the equivocal al-
ksiffice both of Zedekiah and of Amasis,
^uidertook the regular subjugation of Sy-
na aqd Egypt, summoning to bis ^d some
ttoopi ^uji Asia Minpr, If Ujupagus
still commanded these troefps, he most ho
the Holofemes whom Ju<Uth slew. They
will have taken Damascus in their way tor
the rendezvous at Riblah, and will thencv
have proceeded conjointly witli the troops
firom Babylon, and under the command
of Nebuzaradan (Jeremiah, ui. 30.), to
the conquest first of Jerusalem, then <£
Ammon and Moab, next of Gaza and
Ascalon, and finally of Egypt. Cambyses
joined the army in person at a more ad-
vanced period of the war, after the oom^
meucement of the siege of Tyre, and bj
a march through the Arabian desert (Tha-
lia, 7.). Many of these incidents aro
mentioned bv the prophets
First should occur among his works, if
aiTanged according to the order of event;
the xviith Isaiah, and so much of xLixth
Jeremiah (23 — 27.) as relates to the mis-
fortune of Damascus : these compositions
appear however to be considerably subse*
quent to tlie siege which forms tliebr
theme : they confirm tlie account in the
book of Judilli (11. 27.), that the plain of
Damascus was laid waste in harvest-time.
The second siege of Jerusalem is not
sung : the patriotism of the poet could not
bear to triumph, his loyalty did not dar«
to lament.
The expeditions against Ammon, Moab,
Sen:, Hazor, Bozra, £dom, and other con-
tiguous places, are noticed in tlie xvth and
xvith Isaiah, xLvinth and xxixth Jere-
miah, XXV th and xxxvth Ezekiel. The
march of Cambyses through tlie desert
(xxist Isaiah, 13 — 17.) is commemorated
as by an eye-witness and companion.
If any specific purpose invited the corn^.
position of the xxxviiith and xxxixtb
chapters of Ezekiel, it was probably that
of inflaming, by the recital of former con-
flicts, the passions of such Jewish recruits
as were to join Cyrus against t^e Scy-
thians. A newly conquered country, from
the ditninished means of maintenancei
has always aiforded numerous leviel to
tho conqueror ; and such troops are studi-
ously employed at a distance from their
original frontier.
The encampment before T)Te seems to
have lasted during the whole war, apd
eventually to have become ratlier a bazar
than a blockade. It was resorted to by,
the Persians for the sale of captive^ (Joel,
ni. 6.), and tbx the purchase of military
stores (Thalia, 19.), and was employed to
compel the co-operation of Ethbaal, then
king of Tyre (Philostratus, as quoted l^ '
Josephus, Ant. x. 11.) in various under-
ti(14ng9 of Cambyses. T« t^ intixnid^r.
na
THEOLOGY AKD ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
tery siege allode the xivith and xxviith
Siekie), the xziiid Isatah, and the
xxvnith of Ezekiel.
To tlie inarch through Gaza, Ashkelon,
and other towns of the Philistines, apply
the xxvth Ezekiei, v. 15, Ice. and the
XLviith Jereniiah.
The xixth and xmith Isaiah, the
sxixth and xxxtli, and the xxxiind Eze.
kiel, and the XL^ith Jeremiah, v. 14 — 2&,
concern the war in Egypt and Ethiopia :
these poems, like the lamentation for
T)rre> must ha\'e preceded the historical
catastrophe, as they vary from the real
eirent.
The xxxist Ezekiel is evidently an
elegy on the death of Cjttus, defeated and
killed by the Massagetas (Clio, 2\4.) :
Che 11th and 12th verges are very ap|H-e-
priate: and the wliole poem is solemn,
foblime, and worthy of die majesty of its
liero.
' On the death of Cyrus, one Smerdis, or
Mardys, or Merodach, assumed the em-
phv, while Camhyses hastened homewards
fo dairo it. The conspirators in the in .
teresC of Darius probably dispatched both
these princes ^ Camhyses at some obscnre
^ttce, where he was said to have killed
himself accidentally (Tha)ia, 64.) ; and
If erbdach later (llialta^ 70.) at Suaa.
The xivth Isaiah is another elegy, ^nd
OD the deeaaee of Camt^ses, to whose
death and burial, in a foreign land, tftie
20Ch vene alludes. It tnttac hopre been
written duriog die aupremacy of Meio*
jtfach ; as the I7<h verse cootaios an in^
direct f raiae of the lit*eration of Jefaoia-
kitn {hsnmUAkf lii. 31.). This ode is
•QMrlativcly grand.
The Babylonians, instigated by the ido-
Isltrotts priesthood, ea may be inferred
#POBi the eventual massacre of that «rder
(Thalia, 79.), determined to defend their
«ity agaioit Dah«s, m behalf of Bakha-
«ef , 4 minor son ef the prince <Baruch^
a. 11.) who had brought Daa)iel out of
Mestine, This young sove^gn was
iooin besieged by Darius in his metropo-
lis ! and, the city liavingbeen taken alter
aiaeteen months hiv«9liture (Thalia, 152.),
the king was thrust through in the streets.
To these -events ^pp^-tain the xnith
and XLViith Isaiah, and the tJk and xiaf
Jeremiah* x
Darius, after the capture, rased the lor-
tiiications of Babylon (Thalia, 159.) whiA
had been spared by Cyrus^ and augmented
by Camhyses (Berosus, as quoted by Jo-
aephus. Ant. x. 1 1 .). This circumstaw*
is accordingly specified (Jeremiah, Lr.44.J
by the Hebiew bard. The expulsion oC
supernumerary women is another pecu-
liarity of this siege of Babylon by the son
of Hystaspes ; and it rs noted by the He-
brew (Isaiah, XLvir. 9.), as weU as by the ,
Greek (Thalia, 150.) authorities- Inar-
tentiveto these two discriminating marks»
some commentators have erroneously sup-
posed that a prior siege of Babylon by
Cyrus is referred to in these poems.
In the capture of Ninevdi, as wd! as
of Babylon, Daniel must h2^e tdten an
interest which, in other similar instances,
nuide him endeavour to immortalize the
event in stmg. There are no l?istoricaI traces
of such a prophe?: as Nalium. There is as
allusion in this orade (Nah^m, in. 8.) to a
passage in the xLvith Jeremiah (v. ^5.>^
which indicates identity of autiiprship.
The internal evidence of style, tnanner,
power of mind, also favour the ascription
of tliis vision of coiisolation to Daniel.
Suppose tlie poems here enumea^ed tn
h^ve been sq^arated from the otSier scrip-
tures oa ffooDds soffidieptly convincing,
they will oe found to contain poetry of
superior quality. This Daniel would be
far the greatest of the Hebrew bards,
and worthy to have iiis odes inscribed on
the walls of ^10 palace of Persepoli^.
Nor is it ttntrkely tfcat the decypberers of
the arrow head characters tliore engrav^
are actu^flly making an addition to tbe
ckculating mass of bis pro^uctjods. Edu-
cation and inteHect o^ tliat hig!i order,
whSch distinguish Danid, were too rare in
the times q( Darius, to ^owmuc^ -nmee
of dioice in the sdection rf his panegyrist.
Enp^gh, Tvce trust, h^is beei^ said to
prore that l4ie l^ook, cpmraonly attributed
to Daniel, may with more probability ije
racked amon? those wiiich vc:ere ooinpos^
about or after tlie tiipes ^f Ae Macca-
^es, than among the older scriptures cf
the Jews.
Ube following pas^ige^ wtiich we ^haH fuote js^s one pf the mocp^eipaxkable v;^t^napc|^
of variation between the two tex^sjj^ere edited^ wQl fiiu^i^ qijir jC^ecs ^iti^iUp
PI^)artuiuty p/^pmparison.
Prom the patM Xi&TA TON &Z0^ Fkxbx dhe iOanie} SATA S10«£ |GI^
VKTCS T«9TAW»TUM O&JBCini^ &C.
v»
mr ©ew, xai wAoygyrc^ rov Kvpiov. 24.
tpas iCaMfiey Bif ro ^cw rs ary^Of wf-
^iXfj. 25. Kai stXcv 6 Pa<ri?^vs, i $e
tyv ia'A arlpa^ rs^cxpaf >^?Mpt»eYous, xou
Gspvtrxnvrra^ iv (/lscm rov vrvpof, xa*
^ix^p^s% jtc £S-t7 iv ayrw>', xai rj opao't^ rs
rerapr'iv iy^ix vm 0£». 26. Tors mcf^tr-
^}^ }^xt(/v^'i^9vo(rop mpo$ rr^y ^upav ryjf
8a TB lAfrtroy, ^f fiXS-grs xrw isvrr xai gg-
^X^w Ss^pa;^, Mio-flt;^ *Af Jgvayw, ex /x€-
ro:j TB 9Dpo^, 27* Ka< (ryvayovrou o< 0*0:-
rcatau, xai ot rpoorrfyoi, xau w rcirajp;^a/,
T9S MpoLSt. In ax eKv^iBvas ro orup rou oruD^
furs; wrran, xau r^ ^pi^ n^; xe^aXi^^ au-
TQff ix ifXcykS^f xau rot, <roLpasap%^<ic(;rujy
ix i{*^M»^, xoi oV,a^ irvpof ax 1^*/ £V av^
TUf, 28. KdEi carsxptb^ ISa^ax^Aovoa-op 0
fixJiXsv^, Ksu etiTBv, evXcyrjrps 6 0£O^ ri
n**AyItX£v carri, xau h^BiXaexo r8$ wou^as
mrri^ Zri hfsieoi^iicay W aiyrw' xau ro
kwL ri fixTiXiw^ T^XK^iw^ay, xau v^xpe-
Imlsot rx y«//*-ara xyrwv stg nrvp, oirojs ^m^
dXX ^ r^ ©£0? ayrwj'. 29. Kau lyji ixn^
iWflEirt ^&vfba' ^as Xa^s, ^'jXri^yXwanrxj,
^ taof tae% pXAC^yiu.iXi' xxrx rS Qsi X£^-
^X» Mio'a;^ 'AthvxyWf si$ dtcouAeixy
k^rrait xau ot uxai aurcoy Big iixpirxyrfV,
M^i wx Srt ^B0§ irspoc. Iris Suvyjprsrai
^ftnff^cu h-Qcg. 30. Tors 6 fix^iXs-JS xa-
TFj^B rov ^siaxx* ^^^X* 'A^hyxym,
^ ^X^?f Ba«vXaiyo;, xau ^v^TfCsv xuraf^
ttJ T^ix^y wiTB^ ^sicr^cu Tffo^rwy ru>¥
lK.la«By, r-jav h rr, fixo'iT^ic^ xurS, 31.
lix%wx^hy6a'op S px^iKBif^ trxtri roig
>^iU fvXaus, xoi ykMcra-xis, roig oixso'iy
h vxcj rJ yy, ^^i^ iu^iy* wXT^v^sn^
32. Ta r^£ia xoi rx r^pxrx, i hroi-^ff§
Iter Ij^ S Ssos i S^irof. r^scTBy hxyrioy
Bfii a»ayTiiXxi ituy^ 33/tif [ji^xXx xxt
h^pXTf ifixa't?\£ix avr»Vs '^xariXsix oio;-
nv^ uu { S^j^ix auri Bts yevmy kou yB-
ij ^Xog EX rTfg xa^ivtf ByBitvpt(r8 xxt aifoe-
rsivsy avroi Sb flruvsnj^^o'ay. 24. Kfla
iy^yffro Jv r^ dxatrxt rov fixriksx ujtti^ay-
r»y oun'euv, xai Irw;* k^swpsi xvrsg ^wrrxg,
rors Na?oy;^o^OKdtro^ 0 fixa-iXBvg l^ayftato-e,
xoi fltyenj a^Bvcxf, xxi siirsy rotg ^iXoi^
xvrs, fi^t iy^pxg rpBi$ BCxXofx^sv eig fj^Bvo¥
r» vrvpoi weirtJmtEMof ; xa* siirov rev fix-
oriXBi, xXr^^usg, pxa-iXsv. 25. Kxt BiTfBv &
fixviXsvs" I^a eyw ipoj ay^pag rewxpxf
XsXvpi^vovg VBpiiexrayrag h rw wpi, xxt
f^Bpx sSsfxix sysvyj^ h xvroig, xxt ij oex-.
&iS r« rstxprov opiOi'Mji^x 'AyygXou Qte.
26, Kxi wpoo'EX^cuv 0 fixviXBVi vpog rijv
hvpxy rrjs xau.iv» xxiop^tyyis ru) mvpi, htx-
X£frBy xvr8$ s^ iyo^xros, Is^px^, Mifrx^,
'Athyxyio, o\ "mouoBs rov ®sa rwv ^stay r»
wf/is-ovj k^sX^sre sx r» mvpcr Srtag »if
i^fXbov ol xy^psg ex ^B<ro'j row wpo^.
27. Kxi 9vyjix^,<ray ol vtrxhty roiexpyxi,
xai xp^tifxrpiwrxi, xas 01 ^iXoi rs pxrt-
Xevog, xx\ i^Ewpovv rag iy^p'jmrovg hiEtysg,
on ay ^^aro ro iffvp ra ^^^xrog xortoy,
XXI XI rpiyBg aurcav ^v xxrexxrf<rxy, xxt rx
vafx^apx xvrww ix ijXX^ioa^rprxyf 9^s Scr^yj
ra mvpog ijv iy xvrotg. il8. TifoXaJCuJv h
NaCoup^o^oyoo'o^ 0 fix^>jevg ttvsy, coXo-
yijro^ Ku^io; r» Xe^pxx, Mura^, *AC^c-
yxyujf og doTBrsiXB rov ^AyfEXoy xvra, xxi
irw^s rsg wou^xg xvrB^ rovg iXiticwfrx^
he xvrw ryj[y yxp mpoorxyniv r» fixartXEvg
ij^finjo-oy, xati mxpB^'jjxxv rx wwxrx
xurwv stg BfiitjpivfMy, Hyx ju.^ Xttxprj^Mgri
|xi}^£ izr^oo^uvijoriuo) bBt^ mfco, aAA* ^ rw
BBwaorojy, 29. Kxi tvy eyoj %ptfm, Trx
vrxv S^og, xau vxuxu ^jXou, xau 9x^xi
yXsvc^eu, Sg A fiXxo'ffgM^ st^ rwifijptcit
roy 0Boy ^eSpx^f Mi«j6^, 'At^ipxyut, &«-
jxgAic^o-erai, xm « otxta xvns n^ci;^*
crrau, ^ton ovxsri^t^g htpg, ig ^vtryn*
rxi B^B?^r^xt vrwg. sio. Otrrwr w )3«?ri-
XEt^g rtp 'ZBhxx> M'«J2» 'Afftf^o/w, Igoo^
tnky $8g If oXtig rtfi xwp&g, uxTBrr^trsp
xvrng Spx^rrxg- 31'. Apx*^ rr,5 'EinroX^s*
NaCoi^oaovoo^^ 0 ^xrtXsvg mart roig
Xxotg, fvXxig, xxi yXix^y^rm^, rou otxnrtr
h tffxayi ry yri, stpTiyTj vjji^w ^Xaj^w^^Eiiy,
32. Ta '^ifi^Bix xxi rx rspxrx, i fiWtTjw
lurr* ijM.8 0 ^tog 6 iAj«r^f, r^pgfftr Uxmoft
iLVv dyxyfsihau ipAy, 3$. '&g jueyaX* xxi
tff^jpx" wg lueyxXrj xm hrj^ypx ij SxviXux
xvra, Tf ^xTiXmx avm, fixriKtix xutan-^s, ij
i^ov^ix xvm tig yvftxst xoi y^BXt.
Verbal critics dua exftgetic virtuosos Bt Gottingen, m W]^, vhcre there, are,
viDdowell to consult fur&r theDnnlel moreover, tlxe apocryphal, or udditional
»«.
m%
tetnpbit Okrigwis Terses afjfarfizftl/ izK^Rided Ito be set W
.'OlMiatto CKiioft
masic
126
THEOLOGY AND JECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS-
Art. II. The Book of J6B : metrically arranged according to tfie Masora, and nttatg
translated into English ; with Notes critical and arplanatory : accompanied on ilie (^
posite Paee by the authorized English Fersion. By tlie Right Reverend Joseph Stock^
D. D. Bishop of Killala and M. R. L A* 4to. pp. 246.
WE congratulated our readers in a for-
mer volume, that the learned bishop of
Killala having been induced by his friend
and relation archbishop Newcome to turn
his attention to sacred criticism, had, after
the death of that eminent scholar, entered
upon the same walk of useful learning,
which he had trodden so long and with so
much honour and advantage ^ and pre-
pared himself to add to those valuable
translations which have proceeded from
the labours of some of the brightest orna-
ments of our country. The first speci-
men of Dr. Stock's abilities as a translator
has been — as it deserved, very i^vourably
received. The version of Isaiali proved
him an able successor of his venerated
friend, and raised expectations, which we
trust will be fully realized. We strongly
recommended that work to the attention
of biblical students — and a frequent use
of it has confirmed the opinion of its
merits which we at first formed, and witli-
out hesitation expressed. The work which
now claims the notice of tlie public, tliough
it be not destitute of considerable merit,
is not equally free fi-om imperfection.
Many pas:>ages, obscure in the common
English version, aie here indeed elucidated
— ^many beauties hitherto concealed are
here brought to light — ^but dark passages
still remain to perplex tlie reader, which
are capal)le of being illaminated— and
many- alterations are introduced which
have far less excellence than the passages
for which they are substituted. This has
arisen in part from the difficulties with
which, owing to various causes, the book
of Job abounds— in ji^irt also— tliough the
right reverend trai^lator will not perhaps,
upon his hypothesis allow it, from his not
having had recourse to the literature of
Ai'abia^ and in part, w^e fear, in no small
Brt, from the haste, together with the
iictive circumstances, in which this ver-
sion appears to have been made.
That the translation of the book of JolJ
is no easy task, has been admitted on all
hands.-—'' Mvlta sunt loca valde. obscura,
ftndta qua varsr ut quisquam mortalitan
satis intelligatr was the complaint of
Lowth : and Dr. Stock has hiipself enu-
pierated some causes which contributed
to the incorrectness of the old English
▼im^Sb 9ui wbiob not iTei^g yet xemoyod,
must produce their effect upon a modem
translation.
That a translator and interpreter of ihm
book of Job should be well versed in other
languages of the east, besides the Hebrew
— liat he should be a proficient in Arabic
— and deeply read in the numerous and
rich effusions of the Arabian muse — ^we
tliiiik cannot reasonably be doubted. When
it is considered tliat to whatever period
the date of this beautiful composition be ,
referred — the scene of this poem is laid in
Idumaea — ^and tliat some of its most diffi-
cult as well as its most beautiful passages
are distinguished by their allusions to the
natural history, or to the manners and
customs of tliat region. The style, we
allow, is pure Hebrew, yet many unusual
words occur in this work, and oppose very
serious obstacles to the progress of the
interpreter : and if other parts of tlie Old
Testament, known to be composed by
native Jews, and at a late period of their
monarch V, often receive considerable illus-
tration from the Arabic tongue, much
more must the book of Job. We have
reason to believe that this language is un-
known to die bishop of Killala ; aiid this
we consider as one cans^of some passages
beuig left as obscure, and as unintelligible
as he found them.
Knowing tlie book to be the most diffi-
cult in the Jewish canon, and himself
destitute of one source from which Ger-
man critics especially, have very copiously
and very successfully drawn in their ver-
sions, and in their illustrations of the ^Til-
ings of the Old Testament, it ought not,
most assuredly, to liave formed any part
of the learned prelate's ambition, that a
work of this nature had been completed in
a short time 3 and in the midst of afilic-
tions which might well have rendered him
incapable of the cool and laborious in-*
vestigation required in such an employ-
ment. It was therefore with moiled
emotions of surprize and grief that \i^
perused the following passage, with which
the admirable analysis of the poem con-
cludes.
"This (viz. a confident expectation that
the government of God will be vmdicated m
a future scene) is the impoi^t ksson to b«
Icamtd from the book ot Job. Till man ai^
nv^9 at tl^i; blessed place, whwe ke sh4
6T0CIIL*S BOOK OF JOB.
329
Inor ereo as he is known, let him lay his
juiidiipon hi^ mouth, and humbly acknow-
iedjeiys incapacity to judge of the dispensii-
tioosofdie figiituJus governor of tiie world.
-liiwUlend well at theTast with him that loves
Ui God, and trusts in him.
" Reader, 1 believe so. I am assured of
it; although 1 also have shared in the miseries
of mortality, and am at thii very moment
pittc«l through with sorrow . A few days be-
i*i: I prestTibi^d to my-^elf the task of trans-
lating iob, a disease ot the most excruciating
kind tell on a bi?loved consort, my most laith-
ful companion thn)ugh toil and peril for tiie
apace of tMenty->eveu years. While 1 pro-
ctedetl, not hef liissoluiion only svam before
my eyes : pain, the extremity of pain, which
I would mo>t gladly liave bought oft* by my
own suflVring, drew" from the most patient of
human creatures accents of woe, which I liear
now, and will speak no more of them. It was
a business of six weeks. The last line of this
tnmsiatioD was tracing tcliilt they carried lier
to lua- grave.*
" \ly God, it is thy doing ! I will lay this
good book to my heart, and be still."
p. 243, 244.
Under such circumstances, and in so
ihort a portion of time, a work of this na-
ture cocdd not be properly performed. We
ate astonished indeed that it was perform-
ed at all ; and more astonished still that
it has the merit which we very gladly
ascribe to it : but tlie cause of sacred cri-
ticism would have been better served, and
the reputation of the learned prelate
^ouy have been givatly increased, had
he been content, in that season of afflic-
tion, with deriving trom the original work
the consolation he has found in it 3 defer-
red the translation to a season in which his
mind could have been free from the per-
turbation under w hich it must have labour-
ed; and apportioned more equally the
time employed to the difficulty and im-
jiortance of the undertaking.
•In tiie preface Dr. Stock attempts, we
tfaiiik widiout succciss, to settle tlie time
at ^liich this extraordinary poem wa^
VrTitien. He observes, p. v, vi.
** The sacred critics in gtneral have been
apt to ascribe to the book of Job an origin
tiBit loses it«e!f in the sliadts of anticjuity. 1 he
o^ion, I believe, rested at first on the very
uud^ foundatkm of what is stated in the two
conchidiDg verses of the work, which ascribe
to its heru a k>ngevity tliat belonged only to
the ^fneratioDs not far distant from the tUxnl.
Of the authentkrity of those verses 1 thudt I
bai^e shewn in my note on them that we have
t^ery reason to be suspkdous.
•' But if it were ever so difficult to ascertain
the portion of time when the patriarch lived,
it may not be impossible, from internal markg
in the poem itself, to conje»:tiire with tolen»ble
certainty the era of its author. Ihis is what
1 have attempted 16 execute. The subject
Is curious ; and on a close inspection of the
work before us, certain notc»s of time have nre-
SviJited lliemselves to my observation, wnich
appear to have escaped" the diligence of all
preceding critics. The reader will allow me
to oiler them to him here in a summary* man-
ner, referring him for further satisfaction OA
the point to what I have said m the notes.
" Allusions to events recorded m five
books of Moses are to be found in this poem,
Ch. XX, 20, compared with Numb. xi. 33,
34. Ch. xxvi. 5, compared with Gen. vi. 4,
7, 19. Ch. xxxiv. 20, compared with Exod.
xii. 10. Ch. xxxi. 33, compared with Gen.
iii. 8, 12; and I shall hardly be expected to
prove, that the author of the jwem derived
nis knowledge of those events from a history
of so much notoriety as that of Moses, rather
than from oral or apy other tradition. Fact*
are not usually referred to, before the history
recording theni has had time to obtahi cur-
rency. I'he inference is clear: the writer of
the Cook of Job was junior to the Jewish le-
gislatorj and junior it is likely by some time.
" A similar mode of reasoning upon com-
parison of Ch. xxxiii. 23, with 2 Sam. xxiv.
16; 1 Chron. xxi. 15, will, if I mistake not
greatly, bring down the date of our poem be-
low the tune of king David, »
" Lastly, C'h. xii. 17, to the end, seems to
po'uit to the circumstances pnceding and at-
tending tlie llabylonish caplivity: and CIl
xxxvi. 8 — 12, has an appearance' of athiding
to the various fortunes oi Jehoiachin king of Ju-
dali, 2Kings^xiv. 12. xxv. 27; notes of time
these, which, though not so manifest as the
fore-i.Tentioned, may deserve attention ; since
they add strength to the sentiment of tlu)se
learned men, who have been inclmed to give
the honour of this celebrated composition to
Ezra."
If our readers will give themselves the
trouble to compare the above-mentioned
pas.sages, they will undoubtedly be con-
vinced that in this attempt to ascertain the
era of tlie autlior of tliis book. Dr. Stock
has not been successful. The first of
these passa^s derives all die little efficac^
it may possess, from a variation in the
version which comes not with siifticient
authoritj'. He who has not access to Dr,
Stock's translation, cannot judge of the
importance of this passage in this enquiry.
For " surely he shall not feel quietness
in his belly, he shall not save of tliat ^v|kich
he desired," Dr. Stock reads, "Bccrost
he acknowledged not the quail in hi« iito-
* Mrs. Catliafme Stock died May 5, 1805, in the 55lh year of her age: she has left tc-
hiixl her hfleeu cliildren.
Ax5. jibv. Vol.. rv. K
130
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
mach, in tlie midst of his delight he shall
not escape/' The old version is more
suitable to tlie context, and would not per-
haps have been altered by the right reve-
rend translator, had not the ambiguous
word iTfiT afforded a plausible opportunity
of supporting an hypotliesis. The next
chapter, which is thought to contain an
allusion to the deluge, rests upon no surer
foundation. In. Ch. xxxiv. 20, tliere is
very probably a reference to the death of
the first-born in Egypt, and in CJi. xxxi^
the transgression of Adam is expressly
mentioned. But such focts as these —
the former of which, it is probable, had
but recently hnppened, might be the sub-
ject of oral information only. The story
of Adam, wc have ever}- reason to believe,
was a common tradition ; and so striking
an event as the sudden destruction of tlie
first-bom, could scarcely fail of being soon
communicated to the neighbouring people,
and amongst those who were not idolaters
must have been remarked and cited as an
evidence of the power and the moral go-
vernment of God.
Of the allusions ,to the destroying and
the interceding angels in the time of
David, aud to the events attending tlie
Babylonish captivity. Dr. Stock himself
does not appear perfectly convinced ; and
no one will find them in the passages to
'which he has referred, who has not an
hypothesis to propose or to support. It is
in point here to obser\-e that the former
of these was regarded by Warburton,
whose object also it was to bring the date
of this book as far down as possible, as
•* a most circumstantial account of God's
dealing with Hezjkiah." The ques-
tion, therefore, re«[)ecting the date of this
singular and beautiful production, is not
yet settled. One thing we apprehend
must be regarded as certain — tliat if it had
been of tlie age of Ezra, tliere would have
been no occasion to explore the poem so
minutely, or to alter the version of am-
biguous words in order to find references
to the Jewish history : tliese must have
been interwoven with the whole piece,
and given • a strong and decided colouring
to tlie poem.
Two of the sources, whence the He-
brew poets drew their most striking and
2. This man.'] 1 follow the masoret distinction of the lines.
6. The bases thereof,'] lis cassoons, upon what are they sunk ?
10. I fixed:] Heb. 7^2aAe5/*or/, fixed it decidedly and briefly. *']n">U is the Chal-
dee version. Had we aiuthority of MSS. 1 should have preferred ?3C?fc^1 and { im-
nclied against it my decree. See the verb in Parkhurst. Being of rare occurrcuce,
t nwght have been changed by transcribers for a word more couunon.
beautiful imagery, were, tlie sacred ritef
of their religious worship, and the sur-
prizing occun'ences in their eventfiil his-
tory. Images derived from these abound
in the odes of David, and In the cfiiisions
of the propjie'ts. It is therefore scarcely
credible, that a long and ornamented
j>oem, in which so few of these image*
can be discovered even by the microscopic
eye of a framer of hypotheses; was com-
ix)sed a considerable time after these rite*
were established, and ,these occurrence*
recorded by tlie pen of the historian.
But it is time to proceed to the exami-
nation of the learned translator^ laboursb
In carefully colliiting this version with
that in general use, we have found nearly
five hundred variations, of w^hich more
than four hundred and thirty are mark-
ed witli an aster". w, to denote that they
* depart materially from our comnioa
English translation.' Of these variations
many are very judicious, others are need-
less } some cUe very faulty, blemishes
rather than improvements. As a fair
specimen of tlie work we present our
readers witli the following version of lh«
XXX VI nth chapter.
" CHAPTER XXXVIIlth.
" 1 . Tli(»n Jehovah answered Job out of the
whirlwind and said:
2. Who is this that darkeneth wisdom by
words,
* This man without knowledge ?
3. Gird up now, like a man, thy loins,
For I will question thee, and uiform thoa
me,
4. M'here wast thou wlicii 1 founded the
earth ?
Tell, if thou knowcst zvhat is understand-
ing.
5. A\ ho lixed the measures thereof, if thoi
kuowest ?
Or who stretchetl the line upon it ?
6. I'lwn what ar«i the ba'^es thenx)f n-sled,
Or who laid the corner stone thereof?
7. When the morning stars sung together.
And all the sons of God shouted for joy.
8. Or who shut up with d(x>rs the sea.
When it brake forth, as if it issued from ft
womb r
9. ^^'llen I made the cloud the garment
thereof,
And thick darkness its swaddling-band,
10.* Wheal lixed over it my decree.
And set bars and doors,'
STOCR*S Book OF JoMi
i^i
i\. And said, hitherto shall thou come, but
jio further,
And here shall thy proud waves be stay-
id.
7?.*Ilail thou out of thy seas commauded
the morning >
*Ha4 thou known the datfn, since it was
ap{xmiteil ?
13. Thai it might lay hold of the edges of
the earth,
*And the Hashes be set in motion from
her?
14.*She chansjdth her appeatanre, as cldy
from the s<*al,
*And they pre-^cnt themselves like a per-
son fuil-dresswl :
L5.*-Vnd firoiu the Hashes their light is with-
drawn.
And tj c high-raised ann is broken.
16. H±»t thou entered mto the mazes of tlie
sea ? .
Or iu the inmost recess of the deep hast
thou Malked ?
17. Ilavc the gates of death been revealed to
thee.
And Uic gates of the shadow of death
liast IhiHi seen ?
lS.*I)ofi thy understanding extend to the
wide stretchings of the earth ?
TfH, if Ihou knowcst it all.
to. Where is the road to zvfune light dwcll-
elh?
And dariwne^s, wliere is the place therrof ?
JO. Seeing thou canst conduct us to its bor-
der.
And seeing thou art acqiiamted with the
paths to its house.
21.*Tho*i nmst know, because thou wert born
at the time.
And in number thy days are many.
22. ?Iast thou enteretl into the treasures of
the snow.
And the treasures of the hail hast thou
seen,
23. Wliich I reserve against the time of dis^
trt*ss,
Against the day of combat and war ?
24. Where is the way to where lightning id
Strewed out ?
To whence the east wind is let loose upori
the earth?
2j. AVho hath laid out for the flood its chan-
nel.
And a way for the forked bolt of tliun-
der,
26.^ To cause rain on the earth where no
man is,
On the wilderness where mortal is not ;
27. I'o satisfy the ilesolate and waste ground j
1 o cause the issue of the grass to sprmg >
28. Hath the ram a father?
Or who hath begotten the round drops of
the dew ?
29. Out of whose womb came the ice ?
And the hoar frost of hc*aven, who hath
gendered it?
30. As with stone, do the waters cover them-^
selves,
♦And the face of the deep is taken pri*
son^jr*
11. ^stayed.] ITeb. shall one put a stop to ; verb im})er.
12. The duiL-n.'] Joining irTOTl, as in many copies. "Idp'fci, since it ivas eMb-^
hikfd, for the purposes mentioned in the next verse.
Ibid. Out of the. seas.l From M'hose bosom the first streaks of light seeni to tdkd
their rise. To prevent the equivoque of ^"^^"^D which may signify either from thjr
da)'5 or from thy seas* two copies have tlie word *7D*^D, from thy sea in tl^e singu-
lar cumber 5 but it is not necessary to write so, since tlie context explains thci
ttmse.
13. And thejlashes,'] Vulg. O^JHin, of die authenticity of which word it should
«eem that many copyists had a doubt by writing the y in a position elevated above
the level of the other letters, and that twice over in die same verse. In place of tliis
intruder we should substiiutc the letter D, and make the D^StJ'l, wliich denote*
foMkct of Ufrhfniftq, corruscations, as in P?. Ixxviii. -18. The whole passage will
theu become both consistent with itself, and elegant. Tlie flashes, or first streaks of
A?y-i«cht, are tlescribed as presenting themselves to view in the gay dress of a cour-
tier going to wait on his hovereign ; while the earth, whose edges are illuminated by
wm, changes her appearances, as the clay (the eastern .substitute for sealing-wax)
takes difterent forms according to the seal : the splendour of these flashes is diminish-^
•Bdby the .«!ujKTior lustre of tiie pliinet of day advancing in his course, till by degree.^
^ fu^ raised ann (or the projected arm) tV^"^ yi*^^ tlie ann of Shooting) which was
itrctclied across the heaven, is broken off. Of the justice of this picture of the sky
w a fine rooming every reader must be Jl judge, who has accustomed himself to the
budable practice of early rising.
. 16. Tfte mazet.'] From *nU to be perplexed comes the name, implying meanders^
■tricate passages into the abyss. — Scott. Parkh, Ipfl is the penetrate of the ocean*
20, 21. Contain a lofty irony. — Scott.
^. Li^tning.'] So we should render "1*lN herci as in chap. x;txvii. v. 3i oa ac-
«wnt of its acconipaniinenis— whid, ruin, and thundor.-— ^tfy^.
132
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTIGAL AFFAIRS.
bind
up
the
delights
of
3l.*Cmist thou
warmth,
*0r the flakes of#.cold canst thou set
. loose ?
32.*C;mst tjiou hfms; forth the biiglit iii its
Sfu^on,
*An<{ annfort corrosion over her sons ?
33. KiiowonI thou th«» Matults for heaven,
, *Canst th^Hi lay d;>wn regulations for the
earth ?
3L Can<«t thou lift up to Uie clouds thy
voice,
That A deluge of waters may cover thee ?
35. CaiLst liiou dispatch the lightnings, that
they may go,
And may siiv unto thee, Iiere we are !
3t). Who iiath settled in the inward parts
wi>doni ?
Or who hath given to the imagination
discernment >
37. AMio shall number the vvarrijig clouds by
wisdom r
*Aik1 tlie pitcbcr of heaven who shall
St0(>]) ?
38. When the dust iixeth into hardness.
And the clodi slick close to,«TKher ?
39. \N lit thou liunt down for tiie lioness her
prey Ir '
And witli animal llesli wilt thou stuff the
young litnis ?
40. AViien they couch in th(?ir dens,
*\\'hen thtj abide in the covert, their
place of ambush >
41. Who layeth out for the raven his provi-
sion,'
When his youno: ones caw unto God,
* Whi^n they are straying to where tliere is
no food ?"
All the corrections which the common
versiou has received from the hand of
Dr. S. arc not equally judicious. Impar-
tiality reciuires that we select a few to
exemplify tliis remark.
Old rcrshn — '* For now it would be hea-
viiT than the sand of tlu; sea: Uieretbrc my
words are swallowed up." Cliap. vi. v. 3.
Dr. Stock — " For now b^-ond tiie sand ' of
th<* sea it would be heavy ;
Therefore my words are swallowed up.'*
O. f\ — " C'aiist tlkui by sea/chin^ lind o\it
God ? canst thou fmd out the Ahmghty unto
perfection ?
** It is as high as heaven ; what can>t tliou
do ? de 'pvr than hell ; wliat can>t thou kiiow.*
Chap. XI. V. 7-8.
Dr. S. — " Canst thou by searching fmd out
God?
Unto perfection canst tliou find out tlu; Al-
mii^hty ?
See the heights of heaven^ what canst tboa
do .'
See a deep below hell, what canst thou
know ?"
0, /'. — *' If r wait, the grave U mine bouse:
I have made my bed in the darkness.
" I liavc said' to corruption, Thou art my
father; to the worm, Thou art my mother
and my sister." Chap. xvii. v. 13-14.
Dr.'S, — "Though i tarry, the grave is
mine house,
Ir darkness must I seek my mattra^Js :
To the pit must J .say, my father an tbou ;
My mother and my sister / mu^t call the
worm."
0. /'. — " B*»hold, I cr}' out of wrong, but
I am not heard: 1 cry aloud, but tlurrc istia
judgement." Chap. xix. v. 7.
Di\ S. — " Lo, 1 may cry murder ! but
have no answer ;
r may roar, but there is no justice.'*
O. V, — ** llie lion's whelps have not trod-
den it, nor the iierce lion passed by it.
** He putteth forth h shind upon^he rock ;
he overtunieth the mountains by the- root^"
Chap, xxviii. v. 8-9.
Dr. S. — '* The sous of the splitter trcaci it
not,
Neither passeth over it the jackal.
Into the flint he Uirusteth his hand,
He upturaeth by tlie roots the mountains.*'
In a note upon tliis passage the trans-
lator obser\-es, tliat the spliUer signities
the lion : — ^Why then, we ask, has he
3 J . Vi€ delights.'] A pleasurable sensation of warmth. — Parkh, Tlie ^akes of
cold are the spiada of frost, which penetrate the skin.
32. Comfort corrosion.'] A beautiful poetical image. Canst thou make amends iQ
' tlie destructive blast tor the loss of tlie numerous trilie of insects, to which she gave
hirtb last season, ancl Which were swept away as quickly as they came, bj giving Lrr
the opportunity of producing as many more ? For DI'STO see above. Cliap. xxxvii.
verse 2.
33. Regulations.'] For TitfittTfi read with one MS. Jll'^IOtZTtt. The common read-
ing affords no antecedent to I'^IO^P.but 0*^27, the plural to the singular.
34. Mat/ cover thee.] May form, as it were, a pavilion for tlie lord of thunder.—
Scott.
30. Discernment.'] To count the conflictingeletnenUt as Parkh. expounds D^plTW.
37. Who shall stoop,"] To discharge their contents upon tlie earth. This image is
similar to the inclined urn, which the heatlien poets place in tlie hand of a river-ged.
Scott from Schultens.
38. W^Af/i tlic dust.] When rain is most Wanted to mollify the glebe^ hardened -bj
brought.
STOC^ S BOOK OI^ JOB.
133
chaogfd the old verBion for a synouimoufj
ejpre^iony harsh and unpleasant, und
letjtiirioga marginal illustration ? This is
QupTuot cither of taste or judgement.
0. y. — *' I am a brother to dragons and a
rmnpanion to owls." Chap. xxx. vl *9.
Ih". 6\ — " A brother am 1 to drjy;ons,
AaA a comi^auion to the daughters of screech-
ing.**
AVe cite this instance as one amongst
many others tlint might be adduced to
justify the censure >»'e hii\ e passed upon
die hasty mnniior In which this version
Lis been prepared. Daughters of screech*
t»» is a literal translation of the original
pxnical phrase 71 jV^ m^H, and might
pn>piTly enough be substituted ibr oiiis,
but in a short note Dr. S. informs us lliat
it is 'a common epithet for osl riches.* In
hU haste he has unfortunately forgotten
tbat in his transhition of Isaiah, cliap. xiii.
V. 21, he hai« rendered the very same
phrase by acrrcc/i-oit/.s and, uj>on the au-
thority of tliat excellent critic Rosen-
roulier, asserted tliat it cannot mean oS"
tricfits.
All the above alterations, and many
more, we are .sorry to say, might 1x3 added,
are needless j and some of tiiem betray a
total want of discrimiualion 'and taste.
We subjoin a few yet more reprehensible,
in which the correction is not only uced-
kss but abbolutely faulty.
0. /*. — " lie is wise in heart, and mighty in
Jtrfn^h : who hath hardened himself against
^ liiiii, ajid liath pro^pTed?" Chap. ix. v. 4.
Dr. S. — " Wine in heart a-* lie is, imd
miffjity in strength,
AVho >Iiail play the sturdy with him and pros-
ji-.-r:-''
(\ y. — " He will not suffer me to take my
bfvatii, but fiUeth uie with bitterness." ibid.
T. 18.
Dr. S — " He givcth no respite . to my
breath,
Tliocjgh he stuifrth me with bitterness."
0. y. — " If 1 say I will forget my com-
pUint, I will leave oif mv heaviness and com-
Jartnivsetf." Ibid. v. 27.
Dr 'S.—*' If 1 sav I will forget mv sad
tlMUght,
I will leave mv zin/ faces, and wear a smile.' '
0. y. — " 1 uni from iiim that he may rest
I'll he shall accomplish, as an hireling, Ixis
^Jii)." Chap. xiv. V. 6.
Dr. S-^** Look anray from hun and let him
tleray
Till he has run through, as an hireling, iiis
day."
What ear is not offended by this miser-
able jingle? What cause of boasthig is
there here, that this translation was a
work of six weeks ?
0. F. — " With us are botli the gray headed
and verv ai^ed men, much elder than tii-s la-
thiT." Chap. XV. V. 10.
Dr. •i'.-7** 'fhe gray head and the chrony
are with us,
Th<? plenti.ous, more tlian Uiy father in
days."
O. y. — " M'hereas our substance is not cut
down, but the remnant of them tiie lire eon-
sumeth." Chap. xxii. v. 'iO.
Dr. a. — " As surely as our estate shall not
be carried away,
So en their savings 'shall the fire ptey."
O. /'. — " 'i'lie east windcarrieih him away,
and he deparletli." Chap, xxvii. v. 121.
Dr. a. — " The east wukI upliflelh liim and
he Is ort'."
O. y. — " Her young ones aKo suck up
blood." Chap, xxxix. v. 30.
Dr. »S'.— " And her young ones gobble up
blood."
It is no pleasant task to point out such
gross > iolations of propriety and of goo<l
taste as these, and we are sorry to observe
that the list might have been made more
extensive. Our object has been, to in-
duce the learned prelate to be more cau-
tious in any future work of this nature j
and to reperuse before he favours tlie
world with a translation of any other por-
tion of scripture, those excellent rules
which his great predecessor laid down in
his admirable ' historical view, &c.* and
to which he himself so faithfully and ju-
diciously adhered. It is with interpret-
ers in general, as with annotators : they
never know when to stop, but appem* to
estimate the value of their version by the
quantity rather than the quality of their
coiTections. We recollect scarcely a
single translator, * who has not, without
any reason, altered elegant and harmo-
nious passages in the common English
version, and utterly destroyed all sweet-
ness of sound, widiout improving tlie
sense.
Our readers may perhaps be curious to
know the opinion of the bishop of Xilkla
conceniing the much controverted passage
chap. xix. V. 25-26. It' we had not al-
ready extended this article to a more than
usual length, we would transcribe the note
upon diose verses. We can do no more
than state that Dr. S. rejects the opinion
of Peters aud others, that the bnguage of
Jtjb had fl reference to a general resurrec-
tion to etenial life, and considers it as
expressing a full ' expectation of returning
from the grave at son)e future ixMiotl, to
see his own innocence vindicated, and his
calumniators punished.'
Many short but uf^eful notes accompany
this \ersion, yet tlieir number miglit
J34
TI^EOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
vith great advantage, liave been n>uch in-
creased. Every book should be as com-
plete as possible in itself. This is a rnaxim
which has been often recommended, and
no author should be unmindful of it.
The obicure passages, of which almost
every reader of tliis version will wish tor
an elucidation, may be cxplnined !)y
Heatli or Scptt, but these valuable works
are not in every reader's possession.
We must not omit to mention that in
this work several conjectural emendations
by Dr. S. occur, in general very judicious
and happily throwing light upon difficult
passages. One of these has been already
placea before our readers in tlie e^v tract
we have made. Of the rest the following
are the most satisfactory : chap. vi. v. 7,
'»13 for *<n3 ; chap. xv. ver. 22, ^mSJO
torl^in ISn 5 verse i^9, D'^blD for
0*^730 J chap. XX. verse 7, ih^^Xl foF
•)7 /3D ; chap. xxx. verse 2, *^Sb4 for
^3M J verse 24, ]rT7 for Trh ; chap.
xxxvii. Til for '^'^5. This part of die
learned translator's labours might have
l)een extended ; and the emendations of
many eminent critics, now widely scatter-
ed, might liave been collected, and,
in many instances, advantageously intro-
duced.
The translation of Isaiah by Dr. Stock
was accompanied by the Hebrew, and
we are sorry that tlie same plan lias not
been adopted in this version of Job. ' Th«
Hebrew original,' observes the autliori
' I have not been at the pains to annex tn
tlie present work, because tlie critics
seem to have given me no thanks for my
lab<)ur in publishing Isaiah with points j
and I work for ordinary scholars, like my-
self, who do not hope to understand He-»
brew very well, witliout the assisiance of
those reprobated points.' Pref. p. viii.
We are perhaps among tliose to whom
the learned author here refers. We ven-
tured to express om* disapprobation of tlio
points that accon^panied the original of
Isaiah, but we are truly concerned and
surprized, that, because the points were
reprobated, the Hebrew text has been
in tlie present publication widiheld.—
Though we do not lay the same stress
upon these barbarous inventions thai the
bishop of Killala does, yet we should
have been glad to have seen the original
text even with the incumbrance of the
niasoretic commentary.
Wo now take leave of this version of a
very curious and im|X)rtant book of scri|>T
ture, after having endeavoured to give a
full and an impartial account of it. Wo
are happy to express our approbation of
the greater part of tlie corrections which
the common version has here received;
but we regret that it is not so perfect us it
wpuld have been had the author bestowed
upon it a larger share of uninterrupted at-
teution.
SACRED CRITICISM.
Art. III. — .4 llndicaiion of certain Passat^cs in the cnmuion English fcrsion of fhc Xczd
Testament; addressed to Granville Sharps Enq. Author of the '* Renmrks on the Cues nf
the Definitive Article in the Greek Text of the At it' TestamuU.** By the Rev. Calvin
Wfnstanley, a. M. 12mo. pp. 84.
OUR readers, \ve apprehend, cannot
have bedn inattentive to die progress of die
j.'nquiry to which this excellent litde tract
ivlatcs, and which we hope it has brought
to a conclusion. In the j'jar 1797» tliere
iippeared, in the second part of a learned
occasional work, entitled ' Museum Oxo-
^liense,' a paper written by Mr. Granville
^harp, and intencled to exhibit an argu-
inent in favour of the divinity of Christ,,
deduced from the Greek definite ardcle,
and die copulative conjunction. In die
Evidences of Christ's Divinity, hy Dr.
Whitby 3 a table iK>j to be found in his
LAsl" THoi^GiiTS, Hs Dr. Burgess well
knew, though he had not the candour to
acknowledge it. In die course of the
same )'ear appeared six letters addressed
to Mr. Granville Sharp by Mr. Wads-
worth, it was said, of Cambridge, intend-
ed to form a supplement to the ' Re-
marks,- and to corroborate the si^ecies of
evidence which had been exhibited in
diem, by numerous quotations from the
midst of erudite criticisms, not generally fathers', esjx?cially the Greek fathers. In
regarded as iipportant, it might have re
mained knovyn only to' a few scholars who
have acce3§ ):o tliat work, had not the
present bishop of St. David's, in the year
J 7t)d, urged by his great zeal for tlie or-
thodox faith, republished it in a pompous
1S03, six more letters were addressed to
jNIr. Sharp by an anonymous author, of a
very diti'erent character, and of very dif-
ferent views, who called himself Girgoiy
iBlunt. An account of this witty produc-
tion was given in our second volume.
and illiberal manner, subjoining a tabic of IJis object was, ridens diccre xxrum 3 and
IKCHBALD S TWO THEORIES OP THE FALL OF MAN.
135
in && field of grammatical controversy he
ma^ be acknowledged to have used the
we2pons of ridicule \^th great sit ill and
CiTecL Mr, Winstanley has entered last
into the lists — 3 sober champion^ cased in
die armour of Grecian literature, and at-
tacking hi^ boastful antagonist witli his
owB weapons. He has clearly proved
that the iirst suspicions which arose in
Mr. Wadsworth's mind are unjast : ' Sure-
ly/ said I, * Mr. Sharp has only not gone
10 tar in the investigation as earlier critics.
There mast be some secret fiillacy ; and
be is producing to us, as a valuable dis-
covery, that which his predecessors, after
ha^'ii^ for a time followed it, must have
foimd oat to be an empty phantom, and
ao ihey returned from their pursuit, and
sat down again, not venturing to tejl the
world how idly they had been occupied.'
See &> Letters, Sec. page 2.
This secret feliacy, which esca^>ed this
laat-mentioned author, has been detected-
by Mr. Winstanley, and clearly bronght
to light. He examines, witli care, the
se>eral mles which had been propo.sed by
Mr. Slitirp ; he ' proves some to be de-
fective, some fidlacious, and others abso-
lutely talse.' It is impossible to give any
satisfactory analysis of such a publication
as this, or to select any passage that should
do Justice to the author or his subject :
but \va recommend it to the serious re-
gard of those who, dazzled by " tlie im-
ix)sing light in which the * Remarks* have
been reconmiended to public attention,*'
have been induced to give their approba-
tion to canons of criticism Xvhich are at
variance with the genius of the Greeic
language, which tend to deform and vi-
tiate our English version of the Scriptures,
and which * exhibit the sacred penmen in
unfavourable colours, irreconcileable witlv
the uprightness and simplicity that cha-
racterise their \n ritings/
AiT. l\'. — A concise and interesting fiexv of the Ohjection of Mr. Gibhon, that our I/yrd
foretftld his second Coming in the Clouds of HtaviH in the Generation in zvhich he lived,
'^zhirhtlte Revolution of seventeen Centuries has proved not to be agreeable to Kjperienc.e:
ehirfty intended its a Specimen of the true Method of asccj^taining tiie genmne Meaning
if the Xezv Testament, By N. Nisbett, M, A. Rector of Tunstal. 8vo. pp. 39.
THIS little tract, published in the terests of our common Christianity, ^e
form of a sermon, delivered, we are told
w tke preface, before the judges of assize
at Maidstone in the year 1802, is an epi-
tome of a very valuable w^ork, reviewed
by us in a former volume. The subject,
it is well known to theological students.
will venture to confess that, from the very
day in which a^ e read the first publica-
tions of this intelligent and zealous writer,
we have been satiNded of the justness and.
high imporUmce of the principles which
he has been labouring to establish. We
has occupied the author's attention for earnestly recommend this tract, but
many years, ' from a steady conviction,
as he asserts, * that it would not only fur-
nish an unanswerable reply to Mr. Gib-
bons objection concerning the coming of
Cimst3 *>"^ 'Jiat it would lead to a more
accurate knowledge of the New Testa-
ment than has hitherto been acquired.*
As this subject does not relate to any
•pcculative doctrine, but involves the iu-
especialiy the publication to which we
have before alluded, and of which this is
only an outline, to tiie attention yt' those
who arc desirous of seeing an able illus-
tration of many very striking passages of
scripture, and a strong hold of intidelity
swept away like the house erected oh the
sand.
Avt. \.-^Brirf and impartial Ficw of the tzvo Tlieories of the Fall of Man, by the Rev.
P. Ikchbald. 8vo.
THE author of the Wisdom says in
the second chapter (v. 23 and 24), ' God
tTe4ed man to be immortal, and rnade
him to be an image of his own eternity ;
nevenheless, through envy of the devil,
eanie death into the world.* This is not
only the scriptural, but the popular opi-
ttioQ concerning the fall. Milton, who
was learaed in theology, and who aspired
to make his fablings correspond witli the
K;ceived uf>tions of the clu-istian world,
ffvfi* an analogous representation : ac-
cording to which, mortality is the heredi-
tary corruption we owe to Adam, the im-
puted penalty, the unceasing consequence,
of his conduct.
Mortality, if it be a misfortune, is how-
ever no sin. Vice is a departure from the
laws of reason, crime from tlie laws of
society, and sin from the laws of religion -
To die is not an act of disobedience to
God. The original sin of Adam, if it
produced a mortal change in his nature,
became^ by tiiat \iiry change, thenceforth
136
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
incapable of repetition. It is no more
possible t6 inherit a sin, than to inherit a
tall from One's horse. A sin is an act of
transgression, not a habit or a tendency.
What we can and do inherit is the capa-
bility of sinning, tlie power of being sti-
mulated by apj)etite, anger, vanity, and
lust, to commit actions unfavourable to
our own happiness, and to that of others.
This capability of sinning is necessarily
accompanied with a tendency to sin : for
the original propensities ot' all animals are
selfish: every creature naturally prefers
itself to others : and such preference, in a
case of collision, is sin. It is by experi-
ence and cuhure that tliose sympathies
and forecasts are evolved, which purify
our actions' into virtue, by causing them
to be performed with a view to the pro-
duction of the greatest happiness, whe-
tlier we ourselves are to partake it or no.
As far as selfishness is sinful, and self-im-
molation virtuous, we inherit peccancy
and accjuire merit : we pass, as is techni-
cally said, from a state of nature to a state
of grace. This regeneration of our ideal
associations is often brought about by the
means of religious opinions ; by in:3istiiig
on the advantages which, in a future state,
V'ill attend the sacrifice of ourselves to
others ; by insisting on the miseries which,
. in a future state, will attend the prefer-
ence of ourselves to others ; thus making
our very selfishness a motive to our bene-
volence. And thus faith mgy conquer tiie
original hereditary selfish tendency, or
pravity, of our nature, and ought in ihat
case to be imputed to us as righteousness.
These observations being, premised, we
suspect it will be found more scriptural,
and more rational, to incline toward ll>e
first, than toward the second dieory of tiie
f.dl here examined : although several of
tlie phrases in use among the cah inistic
arguers may be mere jargon. We advise
tlie author to reconsider his opinion : we
prize the learning, the clearness, and the
-sincerity, displayed in the statement of itj
but we diink its soundness likely to be
denied both by the tlieologian and the
metaphysician.
Art. VI. — A Help to the Unlearned in the Studt/ of the Holif Scriptures : beinq an Attempt
to explain the Jiihle in a familiar ff'ai/. Adapted to comiiion Apprelunsions^ and accord"
ing to t/ie Opinions of approird Commentators, By Mrs. Trimmer, Author of Sacred
History^ t^c, S^c. 8vo. pp. 8J2.
MRS. TRIMMER*s character is well
known and highly esteemed. The poor
have foimd in her a benevolent friend,
and, in some instances, a judicious in-
fitructress j but for the employment which
she has here undertaken she is by no
moans qualitietl. Odier talents than this
good lady possesses, are requisite in those
who would unfold to the uninformed the
volume of holy writ. In aiming to be
faniilinr, she is often eminently trifling :
in her condescension to the weakness of
those whom she would instmct, she some-
times derogates from the sublimity and force
of the lessons of divine wisdom'j and,
throughout this ponderous book, one great
object appears pre-eminent, the support
of the ftstablished system both in dcK-lrine
and discipline — a system to which we
have no doubt slie is sincerely attached.
Had she confined her recommendation of
this to such passages of scripture as clearly
authorized her to do sq, she would have
been in the way of her duty : but she has
twrtured many a passage to effect this pur-
pose, and advanced interpretations for
which she can shew no warrant. A few
*' Gen. XIV. ver. 18. — Observe, what is
said of Melchizedec, and the blessing he pro-
nounced upon Abram, and what Abram gave
to the priest of the most high God. From
which we leani that it is agreeable to the will
oi God that the people aiiould pay tithes to
his miiiifters. Farn^ers, tiu-rcfore, and otJien
of whom tithes are demanded, should pay
them to the clergy with a willing mind, as an
otlering to God ibr increasing the hiiits of
. th(! earth." '
"Psalm xcii. — The instruments, men-
tioned ver. 3., were always used in the tcniple
strrvice at Jerusalem ; and in many cluisUan
churches there arc organs, which are great
helps to devotion when people mind properly
what they are about ; but very often Uiey at-
tend only to the music, as an amusement,
which is a great profanation of the liord's
house and his holy worship. They should
sing to the praise and p:lory of God, as the
clerk calls ui)on them to do."
" Matt. XV 11. ver. 22. — From our Lord'?
sending Peter to catch a fish, we learn, that
in cases of necessity we should work in our
respt'ctive callings,* in order to earn money,
since God's blessing attends honest industn*.
If Peter had not found money in the mouth
of the fish, the sale of it would have fetched
him something, and by fishing on he might
short extracts will be sufficient to shew ^»^'<^ ^^^^ sullicient number of fi>h to pn>-
the character of Uiis work, and to justify 1".^*^ \^''' ,^"ij^ ^Y' '''^^i!,^' ^^r ''/ -fil uH
the rpmnrka w^ h^^^ ^rlvunV..! ^ ^ *^»»^ "\™ Ic, that our blcsscd Lord, if he had
chose it, could have got great riches for him*
the remarks we ha\'e advanced.
MRS. TKIMJfEH's HELP TO THE UNLEARNED.
137
sdf from the bottom of the sea; but he had
mwonced all tiie pomps and vanities of the
Hvrid, and submitted to a state of poverty
fcr the sike of mankind.**
** St. John, XVII. ver. 20. — ^The concluding
part of this soU^nui prayer was for all our
ijauX's falthfiil followers' to the end of the
vorid. To be €me xvifh God the Father and
n/AGod the Son, ver.i?l, must signify, to
have the Holy Spirit imparted to them. 'Ihis
was the glory which our iSaviour gave to all
hfii hithful aiM:iples, to be united with God
by means of the Holy Spirit, wliich is given
by the Fatl»er tliruugfi the Son."
Mrs. Trimmer is very reprehensible for
h.i\*ing used, in this passage, and in a man-
ner which lias the appearance of artilicc,
a phrase that does not occur in tlie scrip-
tures either of the Old or New Testa-
ment
" Acts, XIII. ver. 1, 4. — Observe, that tlie
apostles antl all the firn ministers of tht* gos-
pt"! were directed by the immediate inspira-
tion of God. There Is no occasion for this
iKAv, as every thing our Saviour and the
apostle^ taught as nece^sarj' for salvation may
be read in Uie Bible ; but as tlie sacred books
were written at first in other languages, and
tiie gift of tongues is not coulinued, it is
proper that chiistiaii ministers should be
Iramed men. The work for which Barnabas
and Paul were separated, was that of preach-
ing to the Gentiles. Observe, that tl\i;y \verc
ordained to this holy office by the laying on
of thehtmds of the apostles. Tliis rule has
been kept up in the christian church from the
lime of the apostles. The bLshoi)s, who are
BOW at the head of the dmrch, practise it,
and every clergyman is ordained first deacon,
and afterwards ylWr*^, with solemn pray«^r and
the laj-iag on of the hands of the bishops,
who are so far in the apostles' place, that it
rests witli tliein to see that no false doctrine is
taught in tlie church, and tliat its holy ordi-
naiiCi-s, amongst which is the laying on of
their hands, are c^ervtd, and an order of
i>'gular ministers kept up. John, who is men-
tioned ver. 5, was Jolui Mark, not St. John
the EiTUigeUst."
In a short introduction to the epistles
ve meet with tlie following :
*' Christians of the present day arc there-
fore under very different circumstances from
those of tlie apostles' limes. They have nei-
ther Jews nor heathens to dispute with. They
have the \\ritten scriptures for their guide ;
they know that thev are delivered from the
burden of the Mosaic law : and that they liave
nothing to do with the doctrines of tlie hea-
then philosophei^ ; and those of this happy
country are free from persecution ; they have
chwthes in which they may assemble witliout
fear or danger ; they have a r^;ular order of
ministers, which may be traced up to those
ft^ were first ordained by the layuig on of
the hands of the apostles, according to Jesus
Christ's holy institution ; and they liavc an
established tbrni of worship, in every respet:t
agreeable to the doctrines of our Saviour and
his apostles. Christians of tlie present day,
therefore,, have no reasonable causey for dis-
sensions ; they can have no occasion to as-
senil)le in fields, or to make churclies of pri-
vate houses, in order to hear the gospel.
" But unhappily there has been a great fall-
ing otf from the established church; and
there is a gr&di number of sc<:ts and parties
amongst us; still, however, the established
church, as maintained in the kingdom, is a
true branch of tlie holy universal church, built
on tlie foundation of the apostles, Jesus
Christ himseif hfhi<^ the chirj conitr-stone.
The members of the church of England llicre-
fore, that is, all wlio have been baptized in
their infancy, or at any time according to the
oftice of baptism in the Common Prayer
Book, are bound to continue finn to its ofdi-
names and doetrities to the end of their lives ;
for they cannot liiid any g(X)d, that is, any*
scriptural reason for depcirthig from it ; and
they should carefully guard against the insi-
nuations of those who would draw them away
from it; but at the same time they siioulil
also avoid giving way to a contentious and
pers(jcuting spirit."
Again :
*< I. Cor. IV. ver. 1, 7. — In these verses the
apostle teaches christians in what light they
should regard those who are ordained of Go<l
to instruct them in the religion of Christ. By
the mysttries of God, we are to understand
the great truths of revealed religion, and tlie
two sacrament:^, baptism, and the Lord's sup-
per, which it is tlie duty of the ministers of
Cfirist to explain to tlie' people, and, admini-
ster agreeably to the word of God. Those
who hold this sacred office should be reve-
renced by their peopUi, and not judged hardly
of by them. It certainly is an ollence to
God, when people set themselves agaiiLst the
ministers of tlie church; whoever is disposi-d
or persuaded to do so, should call to mind the
a])6stle*s admonition hi the fifth verse."
We shall produce but one more quota-
tion, of itself enough to shew that they
who trust themselves to Mrs. Trimmer's
guidance, may indeed learn w hat she be-
lieves, but not what the scriptures teach.
" I John, V. vet 1, 9. — From these verses
we Icam that none are the true ciiildren of
God but those who believe in his Sonj and
keep his coinmamlments ; and that this is no
difiicult task — also, that tlirongh faith in Christ
we may overcome the temptations of the
world. Ver. 6 means that Jcsus Christ, who
was baptized with water by John the Baptist,
and shed his blood for mankind, was really
the Son of God. Ver. 7. In the text we have
the doctrine of the I'rbiity, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, three divme per-
sons in one God. How this can be, is be-
yond our power to comprehoid^ but while wc
133
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
cannot understand our own nature^ consisting
of body and soul, we must not wonder that
w(* slio'uld not be able to understand (he na-
tim* of the Godhead, so infinitely above us.
In the New Testament we n ad ot the Father
as God, of the Son as God, and of the Holy
Crhost as God, yet wo are repeatetlly told that
there is but one (jod ; (h^-si; three therefore
nnist be in that one God, which is all that
Iran be known by us."
Is it possible that Mrs. Trimmer should
undertake to comment upon tlie scrip-
tures, and not know that the most ortho-
dox divines of the established chiircli have
demonstrated that the words upon wliicli
she here lays so much stress are interpo-
lated ? If so, what is this ponderous vo-
lume but a blind guide to lead the blind
astray ? If she did know this, then a hea-
vier charge lies against her; a charge,
however, which we have too gtx)d an opi-
nion of her heart to suppose can be fairly
alleged. But every scribe should be well
instructed.
Art. VII , The Old Testament iUuJtt rated : hein^ ErpHcations of retTuirkaMe Facts and
Passages in the Jen ish. Scriptures, "jnhich have been ohjcettdto by L'ubt lievrrs, and the-
proper Lnd'.r standing of ivhich mat/ be rendered condiieive to a further yJcquutntuHce
with tli£ Chris! inn. Dispensation. In a Series of Lectures to Young Persons, By S am u ei.
Parker. Unio. pp. 37f5,
' THE design of this little compilation
is good — but Mr. Parker's apprehensions
are not unfounded, that '* critics may
probably find great imjierfection in the
execution of the work." '* His object
has -been," as he informs us, " to select
from the writings of others, and some of
them men of considerable celebrity, pas-
sages,,which have a tendency to elucidate
various parts of tlie Old Testament, and
to remove, or lessen, the objections of ini-
believers." Had this plan been executed
witli judgment, it would have proved ex-
tremely valuable. The efforts of the
present compiler will not be >^'holly lost,
but tlieir benefits would have been much
more extensive and more lasting, had the
uumerous passages which he has collected
from the most approved writers been jwo-
perly arranged, and connected by sonic
l)ertinent and judicious original ohxerva-
tions. A few reflections by Mr. Tarker
himself do indeed occur, but the wtirk
would have lost none of its value had
they been wholly suppressed. This little
work, however, may with great advantage
be put into the lunds of young jx^rsons j
it will funiish diem with many excellent
replies to the cavils of unbelievers ; and
especially will direct them to more copi-
ous sources of information.
Art. VIII. An Tnqum/y "whether the Description of Babylon, contained in the Xr/I/th
Cluipter of the Revelations, agrees perfectly ui'lh Home as a City f fyc. In a Letter to ilte
Reverend Mr. ***. //^ Granville Sharp. 12ino. pp. 'J53.
THE questions which have occasioned
this inquiry, ai*e the following : " Whe-
ther the description of Babvlon, contained
in the xviiith cliapter of the Re%elations,
agrees perfectly with Rome as a city, a
commercial city inhabited r^id visited by
merchants and traders? and whetlier it
may not be applied with propriety to some
other opulent and mercantile cities ?** p. 2.
Mr. G. Sharp decides that it applies to
Rome. Following the track which has
* been long occupied by pfotestant inter-
preters of this wonderful book, Mr. Shaip
endeavours to prove that Rome not only
lias been, but still is, notoriously guilty of
all the tliree Babylonian crimes, idolatry,
sprcery, and bloodshed ; and of her being
a trading city tliere can, lie imagines, be
no doubt, when it is remembered wliat
an extensive sale of indulgences has been
carried on in it — a traffic in tlie bodies and
souls of wen ! !
Among many curious passages whicli
occur in this curious little work, none is
perhaps more remarkable than that in
which the author speaks of the fatal en-
deavours to bring alx)Ut a war against
France. '' Of die lafe Mr. Eihnund Burke,
who was himself a real papistical jacobui,
at the same time that he accused d e
English people of having eighty thousand
jacobins among them, in order to incul-
cate the idea of a iwcessity to exercise a
power bejond tlie law, and to promote the
illegal measure of suspending iL'* r. 62.
EVIDENCES OF NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION.
By the Reverend
Art. IX. Popular Evidences of Natural Religion and Christianity,
Thomas Watson. 8vo. pp. 477.
THE audior of this useful work lias thought it necessary "
to ojQfer some apo-
WATSON S POPULAR EVIDENCES.
139
fcsj7 (0 the world for bringing it forward,
utilst we have in our own language so
many excellent treatises on the same sub-
ject, and especially after that most excel-
lent peri'onnance of Dr. Paley's " Ele-
roenh of Natural Theology." But no
apology can be required by any candid
reader. Derham and Ray, and others
who have entered upon tlie same argu-
ment, are too learned, as Mr. Watson
justly observes, for those who have not
some previous a<xjuaintance with the sub-
jects on which they treat. A more po-
pubr work was wanting, and ]Mr. Watson
has endeavoured, and not without consi-
derable success, to supply the defect.
In the tliree first chapters the autlior
endeavours to settle the respective claims
of religion and modern philosojjhy. He
ihews that the title of philosophy is un-
justly Usurped by infidcHty, and that jt
belongs properly to religion j he examines
vith some degree of severity tlie general
characters, the acts, the talents, and the
fe\ouiite studies, of infidel philosophers,
and ably supports llie pretensions of reli-
^on to wisdom, as being founded upon
right reason, and leading to the supreme
gooil. Here he has borne somewhat too
hard upon metaphysical pursuits. We
agree indeed with an author that " dies©
are the most uncertain of all studies j tliat
they have given birtli to wrangling and
endless disputation 3 and that they have
been perverted by mien of talents and in-
genuity to puzzle, to perplex, and be-
wilder, the world ;'* — but they ought not
to be thus indiscriminately condemned.
Metapliysics have been successfully em-
f\aj&\ in the cause of moral and religious
truth, and they present some subjects, not
merely of curious, but of important sixj-
culation. The author's inquiries are next
directed to the probability^ that there are
beings in tlic universe superior to men,
and diat die planets are peopled by such,
beings ; and from these conjectures, for
Ihey are nothing else, he deduces the pos-
sibility of the existence of a first great
and invisible cause of idl things. Happily
he has "surer words" in store to confirm
our belief in this article. He then conjec-
tures again that rational beings may pass
through different states of existence as
other animals and even vegetables are
known to do, and tlms may rise again after
death : but in the second part of this work
we meet with something better than such
imperfect analogies, upon which we may
rebi our hope of a future state of being.
Tliese observations form tlic subject of
the four first chapters, and may be con-
sidered as introductory to the chief design
of the work. After a few remarks upon
atlieism, our author proceeds to prove the
existence and perfections of a Supreme
Being; His argument is " from the ef-
fects to the cause, from the visible crea-
tion to the invisible creatot." He first
takes a general view of the universe ; tlie
union, the conn^tion, the preservation, of
all things, are adduced as evidences of the
being — the unity and tlie providence of
God. He dien descends to a more par* /
ticular examination of some of the most
important or striking parts 5 he shews
what the sun, the moon, the stars, the sea-
sons, and die great deep, depose concerning
the existence and the attributes of tlie
Supreme Uein^ Man is presented to our
notice next ; his nature, his excellences,
his imperfections, are all adduced to con-
tribute to the demonstration that there is
a God, and that he rules over the crea-
tures wljom he has formed. A few of
the most remarkable quadrupeds — and the
different provisions made for them — some
str living facts in the history of birds and
of insects, arp likewise mentioned as tend-
ing to the same conclusion, that the works
of nature arc irrefragable arguments of
the being and the providence of an ititelli-
gent first cause of all things. The various
relations which animals bear to men—
their use, their dependance, their hosti-
lity, are shewn to be illustrations of die
power, wisdom, or goodness, of the Crea-
tor. As a conclusion to this first pan of
his work, our author very properly calljr
die attention of his readers to tlie noble
powers and faculties of man, as strong ad-
ditional evidences of the existence and
perfections of the Supreme Being.
From this sketch it will be readily per-
ceived, Uiat'Mr. Watson does not in this
investigation interfere with Dr. Paley. We
subjoin an extract from die first part of
til is treatise, which will in part clearly
evince this, and aflbrd a specimen of our
author's manner. Dr. Paley thinks but
little of the evidence that astronomy flir-
nishes j it did not suit the peailiar nature
of his argument. Mr. Watson regards
the heavenly bodies as well adapted to
display the being and the excellences of
dje Creator. He has accordingly in a po-
pidar and familiar manner shewn that die
glory of God is strikingly manifested in
the firmament. He thus speidis of the
moon ;
140
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
"This light (viz. of tlie moon) is wisely pro-
portioned to the seasons and climates that
most need such assistance. 'Ihis distribution
Is so apparent, that it cannot fail to call the
attentive observer to notice the wisdom and
goodm-ss of such an appointment.
*' In summer when we have little occasion
for this additional light, the arch that the full
moon de-cribes in tliese months, is a small
portion of a large circle. Her duration is
then very short. She barely shows her full
orb, and* descends to visit climes that require
more of her friendly aid. In these nortiiern
latitudes, she makes a short rang^ above our
southern horizon, m* a rly about the same com-
pass that the Hin lakes during our shortest
day; and in many cases her stay is even
much shorter. She is then liltle wanted, and
is therefore but little seen and very little re-
garded.
*' Whilst, dMrinc;thc winter season, and our
shortest <lays, the full moon takes a wide cir-
cuit, rising far towards the north, andp ssiiig
our meridian m a high elcvat on, she d« sceuds
in our western boundary, and generally near
the same place that the sun sets in our longcrst
day. Her stay alx)ve our horizon is during
the whole night ; her duration is nearly equal
to the Sim's duratitni in otir longot day, and
sometimes mucli longer. (This depends up(m
her latitude at the time.) At this time in the
depth of winter, mankinc! most want her bc-
neiit, and therefore at this time it is shared
out to them in the greater degree.
" In the highest latitudes, and the further
Tcmovcd from the bendit of the sun, the full
moon continues the longest, endeavouring to
supply that want to the inhabitants. Jn our
norlh»»rn hemiiJphere, the further north that
any country is removed, so much a greater
share have the inhabitants of the winter's full
moon.
" What I have said here with respect to
the benefits of this planet, applies equally
to both the noilhcrn and southern hemi-
spheres. They enjoy all a share m her bene-
lits in proportion to their wants.
" Now, if we were to reverse the case, and
s\ippose the full moon in summer should take
a wide ram?e above our horizon ; and, on the
contrary, tnat in winter she should hasten her
^ departure, coming forth only to shew her full
orb, and dej^cend suddenly and leave the
world in darkness, we should' certainly censure
the wisdom of the apix)intment, * as bear-
ing in it no marks of benevolence and good-
ness. But this is not the character ot any
part of God's works ; the more they are
sought into -and the better they are under-
Stood, the more marks of beneficence do we
find.
*' It may be argued, that these benefits
arise entirely from the mechanism of the uni-
▼erse, and are governed by fix(.»d and stedfast
laws. This, most certainly, is the case ; but
who has constituted these laws ? and who
planned this \Vonderful frame* of nature? The
answer to this question leads us to the ac-
knowledgment of the wisdom and goodness
of the Great First Cause."
" During the montlis of the harvest, the
full moon continues wit ii us much longer than
during any other months of the year. At
that period she hastens her rising, as if to call
on the husbandman to collect the fruits of the
earth under her friendly assistance. During
the tirst seven or eight Jays after Uie full, you
will rind her generally up before the light of
dav has totally forsaken the skies. From tlie
first to the last of th(.'se eight days, the dilfer-
ence between the time of rising will in general
be found to be less than two houi-s. '1 liis dif-
ference, however, varies in diiVerent places ;
and there is some Variation in the &anie place
in dill'erent yeare. Th:.* principles and causes
of this appearance, this is not the place to exa-
mine and explain. A slight acqtiaintance
with the globes renders the whole pflenome-
non perfectly intelligible. It is sutlicieiU here
merely ti) state the lact, and to c^ll the atten-
tion of those, who may not have considered
this appearauf e, to the' examination of a fart,
which atiords a pleasing testimony of tJie care
and goodness ot our heavenly father.
** This becomes a piieuomenon more strik-
ing, when compared with the fi.dl moons in
the opposite seasons of the year. During
the spring season the. full moons quickly pass
away, 'i'he second or third night after the
full, she rises late, and in a night or two more
it is very near morning before she makes her
appearance. At that season the husbandman
has no great occasion to prolong his lalK>urs
in the tield. At that time, generally cold and
uncomfortable, it would be neither pleasing
nor suited to his health to expose himself to
the severity of cold damp nights. But during
the month's of harvest, when the gatliering in
of the fi nits of the earth is the imixtriant la-
bour of the husbandman; when the suste-
nance of the whole year depends very much
on his diligence at that season ; when he is
imder the necessity of usin^ every exeilion to
prevent the uncertauity ot the seasons ; and
wlien th 'Se months are generally soft and mild;
our great parent and benefactor gives them
extraordinary assistance, by sending to us
scKrfier and protracting longer the stay of the
friendly moon. All his works praise him, and
bear testimony to his providence and care.
y4nd oh ! thutjiicn would praise tlie Lordjor
his goodness, and for his zi'ondcrful n^rks to
the children of men,*'
Having in the conclusion of the first
part of diis treatise shewn that man is
formed for religion, Mr. Watson proceeds
in the second part to exhibit in the same
familiar manner the evidences of the trutli
of Christianity, He insists chiefly npon
those \\'hi«h are usually denominated in-
ternal. He shews that the evidence we
have is the best that can be desired ; and
taking the prominent parts of this evidence
as it is usually exhibited, fcc illustrates
Watson's i^opular evidences.
141
than with much ability and effect, and in
a inaDner suited to the common capaci-
ties of mankind. We cannot enter into
an analysis of this part of the work, nor is
it necessary, as Mr. Watson takes no new
ground. If he has produced any observa-
tions not usually to be found in treatises
upon tKis subject, it is in tlie concluding
chapter, in which he exiimines some colla-
teral evidences, and particularly die insti-
tution of the Lord's supper. We were
much pleased with the following very
juit and striking passage :
" In tills institution, we meet, not only with
a remarkable in^stance of his knowledge of the
heart of man, by tliat accuracy with which he
foretells their several failing^, which were
futhfuli V- accomplished, but also of his insight
into futurity, by 'assuring thcni that he would
still have a church and a peo|jle to celebrate
tin* benefits conferred by him on the world,
and to preserve the remembrance of his dyin<j
\ovQ, What other can be that command
*hich contains the essential parts of this in-
slitotioQ, Do this in remnnbrancc of mr ?
Never was there a time so unlikely for its ac-
cmiplishmenL He was the next day to be
cnicilied, and all his disciples would abandon
him: and these things he also foresaw and
fonHold. The continuance of his church was
not then an accidental circumstance, which
anise from a combination of unexpected
events, neither within tlie knowledge nor sub-
ject to the direction of men ; but an event
long foreseen and provided for by him, who
is our great lord and head.
. " Had he foretold this event a few days
before, when riding in triumph to Jcrusaleni,
vu might have considered it as a fortunate-
wedkrtion, thrown out in the enthusiasm of
his greatness and ambition ; and that it liad
bftn brought about contrarj' to aH probabi-
lity. But it is dejivered at a time when, Xo
all human appearance, he had not tiie smallest
prospecl of a church, or so much as a single
follower; at a time when he saw himself
within the grasp of his relentless enemies : it
was within a tew hours of his bemg led to
mount Calvary, to undergo an ignom'uiious
death. It was' amidst his very preparations
for this death, that he gave forth that com-
mand, to do this in reinenibranct: qfinc, 'I'lie
next day he knew he was to he crucitied, his
etMoiiies were to triumph over hhn ; and wlio,
after this, would either dare or chuse to re-
member him? After this tragical end, the
disciples do not seem to have entertained the
smallest idea of ever agaui acknowledging
Christ. Concealed in diH'erent lurking places in
Jentsalem, or wwidering dejected and solitary
b lis neighbourhood, they only thought that
it 'Xii^hf'xho should have redtemed Israel;
but meeting with this dreadfiil disappointment,
they seem totally- to liave abandoned tliis
hopeless and ruined cause.
" Their state of muid during this suspense
was singular and distressing; they never
blamed their master, they never urged thai
they had been deceived: bewildeied in the
greatness of tlieir grief, and the extraordinary
change that they had so lately seen, their love
never sinks, and yet they dare not hopcl
" They believed not iiis resurrection when
it was lirst annouiu^ed to them, and some of
tliem refused to believe even tlie testimony of
the whole disciples when they aflinned 'this
great c»vent.
"It is scarcely possible to bring the evi-
di?nce of tiie gos})el to a sev erer test. If there
had not been suinetliing extraordinary in his
character, how can we account for Uie'ir rally-
ing agiiin alter this fatal dispersion, and their
lirm adhei-ence to him ever after? Now we
have, ill this ordinance, a standing monument
to convince us of the truth of his prediction,
and all its ch-cumstances ; and the whole his-
tor)' of the worid, and botli friends and ene-
mies, must acknowledge its accomplishment
From his cross a church instantly sprung up,
it hicreased rapidly, and hath exteiided its
arms to the ditlerent quarters of the world ;
and the experience of eighteen hundred years
assures us, that he has been remembered, re-
membered in this very ordinance, and that
remembnuice must endure till Christ come
again.
*' Go back again to this imjwrtant scene :
behold the Saviour of the world, assembled
witli his disciples for tiie last time before his
sufferings ; see the father of this little family
taking his farewel of his children, delivering
to tliem his dying command, and fixing a
period for tiie duration of its observance.
Every thing corresponds exactly to this pre-
diction. '1 he scene throughout* m>t so awlul
and sublime as the wonders of nature at his
crucilixiou, yet sfieaks to us in calm but strong
language, which all nations and ages hear,
truly this xvas the son of God.*'
Upon the whole, we can venture to
promise our readers that tliey will find
great pleasure, and much valuable instnic-
tion, from tliis performance. It discovers
sound judgment and n-^tional piety"; and
in the hands of many to whom Dr. Paley's
Elements would be of comparatively little
service, may be of considerable use to
confirm their faith, and at the same time
to suggest some lessons of practical utility:
The St) le in many parts betrays a nortti
Briton : and is throughout less correct
than the value of the work required, and
less polished tlian the nature of the work
allowed.
Art. X. A connected and chronological Fiezv of the Propfiecics relating to the Christian
Church; in Twelve Sermons : Preached in Lincoln's Jnn Chapel, from the Year 1800 r*
142
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESLVSHCAL AFFAIRS.
1804, dt tJie Lecture founded by the Right Reverend William Warhurton, Lord Bishop (^
Gloucester, By Robert Nares, A, J/., h\ R. S,, F. A, S,, ArchdeacoH of Stafford,
ifc, 8vo. pp. 371.
THERE is no subject^ we believe, in
the whole compass of tlieological inquiry,
attended with so many difficulties as that
of prophecy j particularly that branch of
prophecy which is usually produced from
the Jewish scriptures, by christian writers^
ss relating to the Messiah. These diffi-
culties have been felt and acknowledged
by the soundest divines and tlie ablest cri-
tics, and several attempts have been made
to remove from so ver}' important a part
of the Old Testament the obscurities which
prevail in it, and the apparent incon-
sistencies which arise from the usual and
the reputedly orthodox mode of interpre-
tiitlon. Mr. Naies, however, has been
perplexed by no difficulties himself, and
consequently has not felt the necessity of
preventing or rejnoving such as some of
his readers may have experienced. He
enters into no investigation of those pas-
&jges which both Jews and Christians have
denied to be applicable to Jesus of Na-
zareth : he disdains to regard tlie connec-
tion in which they appear j or if he ever
tlirows out a hint tliat other events than
tliose which distinguished the life of
Christ might be originally predicted, he
removes every difficulty by the magic
touch of a type, or a double sense. There
are many inquirers whom this will not sa-
tisfy J but for inquirers the arch-deacon's
work does not seem intended. He treads
over tlie old ground, removing no impe-
diments, nor exliibiting any additional
iight.
** Prophecy may be usefully characterized,
as a miracle, of uhich the testimony reniaim
in itself. It is a miracle, because to foretel
events, to whicA no chain of circumstances
vleads, no train of probabilities points, is as
much beyond the power of human agents, as
to cure diseases witli a word, or even .to raise
the dead. But that actions of the latter kind
were ever perfonned can be proved, at a dis-
tant period, only by wiUiesscs ; against whose
testimony cavils may be raised, or causes for
doubt advanced. But the man who reads a
prophecy, and perceives the corresjignding
event, is himself the witness of the miracle :
he sees that thus it is, and that tJnis, by hu-
man means, it could not possibly have been.
" A prophecy yc»t unfuUilled is a miracle at
present incomplete; and these, if numoruus,
iHay be considered as the seeds of /uture con-
viction, ready to grow up and bear their fruit,
whenever tlie corresponding facts shall be ex-
hibited on the tlieatjc of the world. Will the
£ceptic then say tliat a man should ilisbchcve
even his own knowledge, when if b^ars wit-
ness to circumstances so extraordinary? A^
well might lie say it, as reject the testimony of
miracles, merely because it gives evidence la
facts of very unusual occurrence. Yet, in the
instance of prophecy, absurdity can hardly g#
so far.
" 'Hic Holy Scriptures are thickly sown with
the set^ds of propiiecy, from the beginning
even to tlie end ; and thtfsc have been gradu-
al ly developed throughout the history of man ;
antl will be more and more unfolded to the
eonsununatio'n of things, resj^ecting this pre-
sent world. A series of pfopliets, it has beerf
already obs€»rvcd, was given to the nation of
Israel, to preserve them tram tlie abominable
superstitions, and idolatrous divinations, of thtf
nations among whom they dwelt. But tlii?
was not tlie origin of pmplicc}-. It originated
in the earliest period of the world, from God
himself, who foretold to Adam and the Patri-
archs the distant hopes of restoration and re-
demption, jirovided for tire human race.
The propIrtHic spirit was next communicated
to the Patriarchs, and rested mofe especially
upon Moses ; wiiose inspiration had at once a
retrospect to the period of creation, and a view
to tile redemption of man ; and even to th^
most distant fates of thc'choseh people, whom
he had conducted out of Egypt. It was im-
parted, through a series of prophets, till the
completion of the canon of the ancient scrip-
tures. It was again poured out, without nn^ar*
sure, upon our blessed Saviour, and was con-
tuiued to his apostles, till the second canon of
the scriptures wa»ako closed, by the Revela-
tion given to St. John."
Upon these principles the plan of these
lectures is formed.
" Tlic great and pjeneral bond of imion be-
tween the covenants is, in (ruth, that of pro-
phecy; by which the Holy Spirit has mira-
culously coimected the' beginning and the end
of the world. W herever man is fcnrnd, there
also are the pervading rays of divin'e VKt-
SCIENCE, either tending'to our Saviour, and
marking him out as the messiah of God ; or
proceeding from him, and giving light to tlie
faithful, even till the iinal day of uuiver>al
judgment.
" Prophecy, in its mo?t intimate connec-
tion with chrrstianity, has thi'« extent and com-
pass ; and our blessed Saviour gave an ac-
count only of one division of tlie subject,
when he cn plained, in the ancient scriptures,
the prophecies liuit related to himself. 4t was,
however, as much as could at that time be t^i-
ven. His own predictions, with those of Ins
apostles, and such of tlie jewisii oracles as ex-
tend beyond the period of his tirst advent, —
all these arc to be weighed by a christian (li-
tills day, if he would contem])Ute the wlmle
KARSS*! tJBW OF TUB PI10PHBCI£S«
143
farce of piO|>hccy, as applicable to our Savi-
our, and to those wiiocall upon his name.
'• ThK, therefore, is the kind of view pro-
riH-d to hi* taken in tlie present Lectures ;
Tirst, comprehending the prophecies that
nkte tn our Sarciour, us Author andpcrpc-
tytQl fittid of tlie Christian Church: U. S<?-
cowiiy, thr^tr zihickjorett'l thef<ite of his di^
cipifi, '^'h.thcr adv. rsc or prosperous, from
the time m bis df}xirturc from thtm, to that
oj his IfhU most soltmtt advent, llicse will
farm two grand divibions of tlie subject."
In seven successive sermons the pro-
pbecies- relating, or thought to relate, to
our Saviour are enumerated. From the
book-j ol" Moses are produced the prophecy
given to Adam concerning tlie seed of the
woman ; the promiiSes made to Abraham
and to Jacob ; the benediction of this lat-
ter patriarch upon Judah ; the prophecy of
TYPES, such as the pai>sover and other ob-
itrvances amongst the Jews : the predic-
tion of Balaam, and the declaration g£
Mioses respecting a propJiet that was to be
raided from tiie midst of the Jewish peo-
ple. From the time of Moses to that of
David, no direct prophecy ccHiceming the
MessiaJi is known to have been delivered.
In tlie reign of that king it was foretold
tiiat Solomon should be settled in the
house of God, and in die kingdomj/orwcr,
and that his throne should be establisiied
for evermore. This Mr. Nares concludes
must refer to the Messiah, though he ac-
knowledges tliat •* it miglit require, per-
haps, some persuasion to convince us that
this divine oracle had in truth so exalted
a meaning and reference, were it not con-
tinned b}' other circumstances." p. 132.
The>e circumstances are deduced . from a
few passages of scripture widi which tliis
ha^ no connection ! David himself then
Comes under consideration in two points
of view: l^t, as a type of the Messiah 5-
and 2dly, as an inspired person, enabled
to foreiel iiis advent, his sufferings, his
glor)', and his everlasting kingdom.
To trace whatever may be applicable
to our Saviour in the Psalms of t)a-
vid, Mr. Nares asserts, would be to
trattbcribe a large part of those sacred
bymns. He therefore confines himself to
tho«je jxissages which are actually cited in
the New 1 estanient. The Psalms parti-
cularly, but yet briv'fly , noticed, are : . the
2d, lOtli, 22d, 4Kst, 110th, and 118th.
Upon this subject Mr. Nares has produced
an authority, which by all good christians
will uitdoubtedly be esteemed of verj'
great weight. " The apostate spirit him-
self, (he gravdy observes, p. l05.) ac-
cording to the narrative of the evangelists^
confessed that die Psalms "were prophetic
of the Son of God 3 for he said in t)ie
course of his temptation, alluding to tlie
51st Psalm, ' If diou be die Son of God^
cast thyself down: for it is written, lie
shall give his angels charge concerning
dice, and in their handsi shall diey bear
thee up, lest at any time thou dash- thy
foot against 9 stone.' Jn this, as in some
odier instances of evil spirits, reluctant
testimony was borne to the truth, by those
who were most alienated from it."
Solomon is then cited bodi as a type of
the Messiali, and likewise a prophet. His
predictioiis concerning the Messiah aire
said to be found in the 132d Psalm. Tiie
sixteen prophets then pass under a very
hasty review j and all except Jonali, Na-
hum, Zephi^iah^ and Habukkuk, arc as-
serted to ha^e prophesied of Christ.
With Malachi closed the series of pro-i
phecies under the Jewish dispensation.
Four hundred years ensued, during which
the divine oracles w6re silent. . Thea
came the fulness of time; and the subject
of prophecy appeared, and began a new
series of astonishing and important predic-
tions ; some now fultilled, odiers waiting
the time of their accomplishment.
" Messiah \^'as certainly to be a sovereign,
of whose kingdom Uierc was to be no eud :
but Jesus expressly declared, that his kingdom^
as man, was not of this world ; and that his
triumph would be hereafter, in the clouds of
heaven. Confomiahly to this riglit interpre-
tation of the ancient prophecies, our Saviour
pretlicted the treachery of one disciple, tlie
lonsteraation and dei^ertion of the rest, and
his own death upon the cross. His view, how-
ever, rested not here. He looked forward to
his resurrection and ascension ; to the etltf-
sion of the lioly Spirit upon his apostles; to
their successful preach'uig in all the world ; to
the rejection of the Jews, and the conversion
of the Gentiles ; events which, Uiough impos-
sible for human sagacity to foresee, certauilT
took place, and justiried his words. With
hiore minute exactness did he foretel that ju-
dicial visitation of Jerusalem (at tliat time in
the highest degree inr.irobable), \\ hen its state
and polity should be dcstroved, and its mag-
nificent temple levelled witli th« (hist. . lliis
prediction, strictly limited to time for its ful-
lilment, is, .of all that ever were given, the
most exact and circumstantial, and aifords,
therefore, the most perfect pr(X)f of miracu-
4ous foreknowledge ui the propliet who pro-
nounced it.
" Various other partk:i|lars, then hidden
from cvciy mortal ej-t, and discoverable by
no analogy which could be founded on ihc
course ot human events, wgre predicted by
oui: blessed Saviour. Such as the persecu-
tion of hi? di>i iples ; the fortitude of some, and
144
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
gospel; and 10th, The universal resnr* .
rection, and day of judgment.
We have thus given a ^ithfiil oatliae
of these lectures, from which our reader*
will be able to form some good judgment
of the nature and extent of the information
they convey. We are sorry that we can-
not congratulate the lecturer upon having
fully answered the intention ot the right
rev. founder, by adding to the evidence
of •' the truth tjf revealed religion in ge-
neral, and of the christian in particular."
Nor can we congratulate the inquirer after
religious trutn upon his having a rational
and a safe guide through tlie intricate
mazes of prophecy, in which so niany have
been bewildered and lost. One principle
pervades the work, which is manifestly
untbunded j that the language of the Jewish
prophets, which the writers of the New
Testament liave applied to Christ, must ne-
cessarily have been originally spoken in re-
ference to him : and frequent passages oc- .
cur to which many sincere believers will
not be able to assent, and by which the
sceptic will not be favourably impressed.
DOCTRINAL AND CONTROVERSIAL THEOLOGY.
Art. XI. 7%e Christian System wf folded, in a Course of practical Essays on the principfd
Doctrines and Duties of Christ iariity. In Three f'oltunes, 8ro. Sy Th 6 mas R o b i k s o v,
Af. A-y Vicar qf'St. Mary's, Lticesttr, pp. 453, 499, and 539.
THE author of tliis work is not unknown
even the particular fate of others; the divi-
fiionsand dissensions of chriitians among them-
selves ; and the secure pennaiienry of the
chuixh, under every circumstance ot external
or internal disadvantage. These things, which
have always been fullilling, from that time to
this, and will be to the end of the world, are
standing proofs of divine kno^\iedge, in him
by whom they were foretold ; — proofs inca-
pable of refutation or contradiction," '
The prophecies by our Lord, and his
llisciples, are then arranged by our preach-
er, under ten different heads, and very
briefly and • imperfectly discussed in tlie
tliree concluding discourses :-^l st. The
rejection of the Jews and call of the Gen-
tiles 3 2d, The preaching of the gospel
throughout the world j 3d, The persecu-
'■ tions of the apostles and their converts j
4th, The destruction of Jerusalem ; 5tli,
The fate of Rome and its conversion 5 6th,
The rise of Mahomet and tlie Saracenic
power 5 7 th, The rise and chai-acter of
Antichrist; 8th, The conversion of the
Jews 5 pth. The general prevalence of the
to the religious world. He is a person of
forae consideration in the daily increasing
class of tliose who denominate themselvfcs
* True Churchmen,* amongst the adherents
to whom he has gained celebrity, by a
large, * Treatise on Scripture Characters,'
and by some tracts of less magnitude and
importance.
*' The chief attention of his life," he infomis
us, " has been occupied upon the subjects of
the work which he has now submitted to tlie
public eye, not merely in the retirement of his
studv, but in the active performance of his
minfsterial duties. He has been labouring,
not without cflect, to establish among the
people of his charge what he conceives to be
the fundamental principles of the gospel, and
upon them as a lirm basis to erect the super-
structure of christian moralilv, of solid devo-
tion, and of vit^l holiness. And now, witli a
view to their spiritual progress, and in the hope
that his instructions may be remembered with
advantage after his personal services on earth
are terminated, he sends to them from the
press tiie substance of what he lias mvariably
delivered from the pulpit"
We carmot convey to pur readers any
information respecting the design of this
work better than in the words of the au-
thor;
" His plan has been, after considering the
strong and decisive evidences of the inspira-
tion of tlie Old and New Testament, and attemJ-
iiig to tliat state of mind with wliicli they ought
to be received, to investigate wliat is Uidr
grand object, and what tlcir most importuit
contents. They were undoubtedly designed
■to communicate tlie knowledge oV tlie true
God and of his will concerning us. They ei-
hibit his character in the varied perfections of
his nature, and call upon us to yield to him
all possible reverence, love, and obedience.
They describe his formation of tlic cartii, and
the peculiar administratibn of its goveriiniciit
by himself.
'* Man is introduced to our view as a crea-
ture of high excellence and dignity, as bear-
hig the iuTagc, and constituted tne vicegerent,
ot Jehovah. But he is also represented as
having fallen from his original cinineiKe, and
sunk uito a deplorable state of depravation and
misery.
" Here the system becomes unspeakably
interesting. To console us ni our distress, to
rescue us from, merited and impending ruin, a
di\'1ne person interposes ; and to him give all
tlie scripture's witness. He is the grand sub-
ject of revelation : ' the alpha and omeea, tlic
beginning and the ending. ' It is therefcre re-
cjuisite that we fix a large share of our aitea-
tion upon him, and enquire what arc the of-
fices he 'sustains, and by wiiat means he pro-
cures reconciliation for us. We behold nim
relinquishing tlie glories of tlic heavenly world.
MOfilNSOK S CHBISTIAV SYSTEM.
US
tnd Tslntarily submitting lo the deepest hu->
■ulobao aad siifiieriiigs upon earth. He
istf» by rarious methods ; aod in Die acconi-
pibknaA of this grtat work a distinct consi-
deraiioD is given to his teaching, ius example,
lus ligfateousne^y his atonement, his interce^
man, and his guveniment.
"Another divine person is introduced b
ttas %itst economy, co-operating with the Sa*
rknr, and fultilling his gracious purposes.
The Holy Ghost daims our adoration, aihance,
giautude^ and love^ By the most amazing
praces He recovers men to tlie knowledge^
the !iimyibide, the aer>'ice, and the enjoyment
idGod. He brings tliem to the pre.scnt pos*
sesaun of the blessings of rederoptkm; He
iorms their character ; He guides, preserves,
and cheers them; and gradually preparer
(bem for the fruition of the eternal inheritance
reserved m heaven for them.
"Our attention is then directed to this
* chosen generation/ this ' peculiar people,'
vtum the Lord has saved, lliey are*dis-
tiittittjhed, not more bv tlieir high privileges
and cunsolatians, than by their steadfast p<*r-
anreiance in moral and religious duties, i he
•fule of obedience is proposed, its extent is
^MTwn, and its excellence Yindk:ated. 1'he
am^ants of God are also men of prayer, and
are daily surrounding the throne of grace with
their importunate ^itions. Tliev are in-
ilnicted what and how they shoulo ask, and
ac assured that they shall obtain the blessing
ttey supjjTicate. They are considered also in
a cottectire capacity, are incorporated into a
ipiritiial society, and by certaui divme mstttu-
uns they maintain communion with their
heavcaK' Father and with each other. Such
k the Church of Christ on earth; and all its
6itfaful members afe in succession removed to
a better world, where the wliole company will
Aortly be assembled together, and, reccnving
their ' perfect consummation and bliss tK>th
in bodv and soul,' shall reign with their ex-
aked Head m gbry cveHasting.
" These are the outlines of the syrtem here
pfopoMd, and the author does not hesitate to
pmunce that the representation is scrip-
lonl. and contains the substance of genuine
Chmtiuut}'.'*
In fiUing up these oatltnes^ the author
hascfaoten to throw his system into the
fetm of essays, of which there aie, in the .
whole work, uineiy-eighi. The twofirst^
SR introductory, npou the holy scriptures.'
£isfat follow upon the attributes of the
J^iy. In the eleventh esss^ the subject
of the Trinity is discussed . Eleven essays
are next devoted to the consideration of
Man, his creation, hb fell, his misery, his
salvation. This leads to the consideration
of the Saviour, whose godhead, character,
ttd office, are treated upon in the nine
saoceeding essays. These are followed
by dght upon tbe personality, the divinity,
^ influences and operattoiu^ of the Spirit.
Affi..fi£v.Vox..lV. ' '
The fortieth essay is on true repent-
ance, from which, to the fiftieth, the wri-
ter is occupied upon the subject of faitli,
its nature, its consequences, its divine ori-
gin, and its necessity. Seven Essays then
claim our notice upon the nature, tlie
progress, the completion, the author and
means, the advantages and the necessity
of sanctification. The fifty-eighth essay
treats of cliristian obedience; the fifty-
ninth of tlie comfort of the Holy Ghost ;
and the sixtieth of tlie witness of the spi-
rit. In the sixty-first the writer endea-
vours to establish the necessity of keeping
the comnhandnients, meaning by them the
decalogue delivered on Mount Sinai, and
the nature and obligation of each com-
mandment are discussed iu fourteen suc-
ceeding essays ; these are followed by one
on prayer for special grace to keep tlid
commandments. From the seventy«>se«
venih to the eighty-fourtli essay, inclu-
sive, the several petitions of the Lord's
prayer form the subjects of discussion^
and these are succeeded by one on the
church of Christ, one on public worship^
hve on the christian sacraments, baptism
and the Lord's supper, one on the resur-
rection of the body, and one, which con-
cludes tlie work, odl the life everlasting.
Our readers are now able to judge of
the design of this work, and of die prin-
ciples upon which it is conducted. The
author professes ' that he has not attached
himself to any leader, however eminent
for learning, piety, or usefulness, and that «
he does not wish to raise the standard of
feotion, or establish any. Shibboleth.
Whatever appellation may be given him,
he declares that he will still maintain that
he has followed ^ no other guide than the
inspired volume.* We are not disposed to
call in question the author's veracity in
making such professions ; but we beg
leave to express our regret that he' has so
often left the guide he had chosen, to wan-
der after objects of his own imagination^
or so totally neglected the directions which
his sacred conductor afforded. We have
seldom seen in the same compass so many
passages of holy writ misinterpreted and
misapplied. No enquiry is instituted
concerning tlie connection of the most im-
pcHtant texts of scripture ; no attention is
paid to the genuine sense of the originiil
words, to the occasion on which they w^ere
written, to the sentiments which tliey
were designed at first to recommend or to
opjwse. What opinions might not thug
be discovered in the sacred volume; what
opinions might not thus be shewa to hav*
L
146
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
the sanction of God's word ? WTiile the©-
logians treat tJie scripture in so irreverent
a manner, endless controversies must ex-
ist ; various discordant and opposing creeds
must be adopted and professed. Mr. Ro-
binson very properly cautions his readers
against * setting up their own preconceived
opinions, or carnal inclinations, against the
bible. If it ha indeed the word of tiie
living God, it is an infcillible and authori-
tativc umpire in all doubts and dlsputa-
tioas. We should therefore miplicitly
$u!)uiit to its decisions, and bring all our
systems, creeds, and purposes, to be ex-
amined by it." This advice is good ; but
our author has exhibited, in his own in-
stance, the difllculty of following it. He,
lil^e rainy others, with honest and upright
intenti'Mis, have, perhaps unperceived . by
tlicmsjlwjs, examined the scriptures by
tlieir own ' systems, creeds, and purposes/
Hie ciiusc of religious truth is thus injured
amongst tiiose who profess to honour divine
revelation ; and the scriptures are brought
into disrepute amongst many persons of
discenuuent, who either^ without givkig
tlierasclves tlie trouble to enquire, imagine
that the word of God, like the oracles of
paganism, can be fairly made to utter op-
posing sentiments, or, satisfied tliat there
can be but one sense afiixed to the sacred
writings, yet despairing, amidst sucli great
variety, to discover tliat sense, leave the
important enquiry, and treat with neglect
the treasure of heavenly wisdom. We
cordially agree with Mr. fiobtnson that
the infidelity of many, and tlieir total dis-
regard of the scriptures, are chargeable
upon the evil of their deeds 5 they come
Dot to the light lest these their deeds
should be reproved. But tliis is not the
sole and universal cause of unbelief. It
has been our lot to know some men of a
sceptical disposition, but of very dilFerent
characters J not ' proud philosophers,' not
* formalists,' not • wilful and impenitent
transgressors,' but men of meek and en-
quiring minds, sincerely desirous of fulfil-
ling all their important duties in life, and
in all the fruits of virtue more to he dis-
tinguished tlian many who make a noisy
piotession of rchgion, and who call down
fire from heaven on all that worship not
with them on their Zion. They vvitlihold
their reverence from the. scriptures in cJn-
setjuence of seeing them irreverently
treated by persons who professed a vene-
tHtion for them : tliey deny their impor-
tance, because they observe that they are
fiiiployed to justify die wiliiesl fancies,
and the most absurd opiaioni, A\'e do
not vindicate such conduct; isut we cmi^
aider it, and would earnestly propose it Id
the supporters of systems, as a eautioa
not, l^ a method of quoting and applyio^
scripture which they would not adopt Ui
respect of works of less value, to give oc-
casion of oficnceto those who are not strong
in faith.
Such observations as these have bem
suggested by the- work before us; widi
what reason our readers shall judge from
a few passages which we now .select.
The following occurs in the tbirteentb
Essay.
* *' We begiD' with the understanding, and
consider whether its present state be not sudi^
as to prove that it has- lost modi of its ab-
ginal excellence. Msoi is still dtstinguisbed
by hi» intellect from all other creatures upon
earth. We mean not to decry the use rf
reason, or derogate from its importance. It
is an inestimable talent, which we should da
well to aillivate, and exert with diligence and
fidelity, in the service and for tiie gloiv of
its divine author. But, while we praise uod
for the precious gift, we should l>e aware d
its degeneracy, and the injury il has sustained
by the fall. This is, indeed, wliat few penon
are willing to admit ; for there is no endows
ment, of which we are more disposed to be
proud. So just is the observation of Zopfaar,
' Vain man would be wise, though man be
born like a wild ass^s colt.' Tiie dcscriptkn
is instructive, but very mortifying. lie as-
pires after knowledge which was never de-
signed for liiin, and of which he is utterij
incapable ; he Is conceited of his intellcdual
powers, as if they were able to discover and
comprehend the nature, the attributes, aod
purposes of Jehovah, and considers uiH, that,
m subjects of a spiritual kind, -he may4ie fitly
compared to creatures the most ignorant ain
stupid. He is bom so ;' and therefore tliis is
luiiversally the case, and results not from any
piiailiarly imfavourable circumstances, in
which certain individuals may be placed.
Like the animal here refcrretl to, lie is af
himself, or without assistance, perfectly uian-
fonnt-d, as well as altogether untractabie,
foolish, and perverse in the extreme, and not
to be taut^ht any thing but by severest disci-
pline, ^riiis, it should seem, was an acknw-
ledged tmtU in Job's time: may we sciiwislj
attend to it, and be deeply alfected by it!"
Before IVIr. Robinson ventured to by
so much stress upon this passage from
Job, he should have been au-eful to en-
quire whether our ticanslation fully ex-
presses tlie sense of the original. A
learned prelaffe has decided, tliat it does
not; and has given anew version of it,
which renders it utterly iuapphcabic to
the doctrine of tlie above quotation. We
shall subjoin that version with the note
accompanying it^ tor 4he inlermatioa if
ItOBQVSON 8 CHniSTlAN STSTEM*
147
Mr. Cobtnsorij and the benefit of those
of our readers who msy peruse the essays.
The oliservation of Zophar^ according to
Dr. Stock, is this :
"That the growing up person may gather
st'use:
And the wild colt become a man.''
And this much improved rendeniig of tlie
original passage is, by the right reverend
translator, thus justified and explained :
" The pxnsing i^ person] ^')^ part. Pahul
ot 3;^i verb. Sequent, from !I13 to ger-
miuate ; see 2^ch. ix. uit. llie iuten*
tioQ of divioe punishments is to correct
tbewildoess of youth, and to cause the
savage to become, to be bom t^ain, a
rational creature. T?!*' is used in the
tense a( becoming, or being rendered, Prov.
xvU. 17. as Scott remarks.'* See Dr.
Stock's Version of the Book of Job.
Again, p. 256, 257. Mr. Robinson ob-
serves: " Our very hearts, the fruitful
source of abominations, are offensive to
God; and therefore ills that we are '*by
tmitfft the children of wrath .^* He see»,
and ouiit see, with abhorrence, that " lust
of the fl^fa,** that *' carnal mhid/* that
" fpimryLa trasyms,'* which is enmity a-
gainst Dim. Tliis is the ianlt tod corrup-
tion of die nature of every man, that is
namraUy engendered of the o&pring of
Adam, — ^^^vhich in " every persim bom into
this vsorld dtTeroeA God^swath and dam»
nation.**
Here indeed is as^dindd somewhat of
the appearance of learning; bi4 what
good end it is to answer we are at a loss
to discover. The genuine import of
" carnal mind'* is not explained by quot-
ing the original, ^^cvijaa trlLpMS } nor is
tlie phrase by nature, as used by the apostle,
int^reted by the largef diaracters in
v'hidi It is printed, lliese expressions
are taken completely firom their connec-
tion to serve the purpose of a system,
and the sense which, acoofding to the
tenor of the apOstle*s argunient, mey tmiH
bear, is either entirely overlooked, or
carefully ccmcealed ; neitlier of which cir-
cumstances is honouttlble in a professed
teacher of christiaiVj^octrilie.
We need not go far for another ex-
ample of the faijlt which so glaringly
pervades this performance. In the very
page firom which we have made the last
extract^ it is said,
"To the transgressor even of one pre-
cept it (i. e. tlie la%) shews no mercy :
for what is its language ? '* Cursed is
every one that cotitinuetli not In all things.
which are written In the book of the law
to do them ;" nor is its sentence light.
It dooms the sinner to final and everlast-
ing misery. It declares him to be ac-
cvirsed of God: and that curse, if not
removed, must issue iu everlasting de-
struction.** And again, p. 258. " The
law discovers our true state, and pro-
nounces our doom. ' For by the law is
the knowledge of sin j it worketh wrath ;
the commandment which was ordained to
life, 1 found to be unto death j it is tlie
ministration of death and condemua'-
tion.^ "
Are the reasonings of the apostle urged
Upon the Jew to prove the wisdom and
necessity of abandoning the Mosaic dis-
pensation, and of adliering solely to the
more liberal principles of Jesus, to be
thus applied witliout any discrimination
to the state of those who were never sub-
ject to its autliority ? Is the christian
system likely to be unfolded by any one
who heaps text upon text, widiout any
consideration of their primary meaning ?
He who undertakes to explain or de-
fend opinions which are usually deemed
of high importance, should be extremely
careftil to take no ground from which
there is any danger of his being driven.
I'he success of an adversary will wcfikea
tlie confidence which it is .his object to
gain ; and the detection of one mifounded
argument will induce a suspicion of the
validity of all the rest. Mr. Robinsoa
does not appear to have considered this
when he wrote the following paragraph
in his twentv-third essay. Vol. I. p. 307.
" St. John admonished his christian
brethren to beware of idolatry ; but it is
idolatry to give divine honours to Christ,
if he b^ not God in the proper and full
sense of the word j and yet the apostle,
whilst delivering the caution, declares
with peculiar emphasis, ' This is the
tnie (rod and eternal lite.' "
A careful perusal of the whole passage^
of which this is only a part, immediately
points out the antecedent to " this** In
our common version (but not in tlie old
English versions) , an imwarrantable liberty
has indeed been taken which migJit em-
barrass a mere English reader? but Mr.
Jlobinson ought to have known what the
original really teaches in tliis passage, and
how clearly the most eminent critics,
whose orthodoxy is beyond suspicion,
have proved that the antecedent is A/w.
not Jesus Christ. Our reverend essayist,
fearful of the "subtleties of criticism,'*
see p. 306. seems vory cautiously to avoid
L2 '
148
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
that exact and scrupulous enquiry into
every passage, and into everv construc-
tion, and into every term, which is ne-
cessary in one who would teach tlie
christian system.
A few lines below the passage we liave
juKt (juoted, Jude is said to style Jesus
" the only wi.se God.'* Here the author
refers to tlie doxology in this epistle, be-
ginning thus : " To the only wise God
our sa\ iour," And is Mr. Robinson so
little versed in the language of scriptirre
as not to know that tlie epitliet " saviour"
is applied to the Father ?
We cannot refrain from laying before
our readers an instance or two more,
though the character of our author, as a
critic in scripture, may have been already
«hcwn with sufficient clearness.
" To the Philippians al,so he (i. e. Paul)
declares his linn di't*Tmination to retiouijce
ail reliance u{)on his own obedience and at-
tainments, and his fervent desin* and expec-
tation to stand conn>li?te before God, asi-oii-
siflered only in his saviour; " That I may
vin Christ," sa-d he, " and bo found in him,
not Jiaving min(? own righteousness, which is
of the law, but that which is through the faith
of Clirist, the righteousness which b of God
by faitli." I'hese are clear and incontro-
vertible testimonies, that St. Paul lookefl for
eternal life as procured for him by the merit
of Ills Lord and master, and that he taught
men every where to cherish the same liop«js.
We need not fear to follow such an example,
or to adopt his expressions, liowever un-
fasliionable they may now be, in laying down
or explaining our ^ stem of faith."
If this part of the system depends upon
the text here quoted, it must fall. Here,
qs before, no attention is paid to the mean-
ing alHxed by the apostle to the termf
laiv or righteousness, nor any account token
of the connection in which they appear,
apparently for no other reason than that en-
quiries of til is nature would have prevented
the passage from being adduced; But is it
thus, by refraining from a strict regard to
the situation as well as to the import of
the leading terms, that a knowledge of
the christian system can be obtained ?
We select the following from the essay
on the influences and operations of the
Spirit.
*' In oar lord's last solemn address to his
disciples, who were dreading his departure
from them, Jie sugge^ed to them for their
congelation, that his place W(xikl be supplied,
and his gracious jmrposes carried on, bv the
continual presence and elFeclUHl workmg of
the Holy Ghost. On this consideration, aliove
all others, he grounded his exhortation* to
theui, and his exprciilious clearly slicw, that
the promise was intended, not for dicm <nI
as individuals, but for the benefit of his chuit
in all ages. " I will pray the Father, and h
shall give you another coinfoiter, that lie ins
abide with you for ever ; even the ^irit i
troth. — ^Aml when he U come, he willi^piof
the world of sin, and of rigliteousness, aod(
jmlgment.** " The world is too extensi%'e
tenn, in whatever sense we underbtand it, I
be contined to tlie apostles, or even to tb
christians of their day ; and the whole pu
sage amounts to an engagement on the pai
of Christ, to support his f^hful poopk; at ^
times, and to wnnff men to the knmrlcd^
and experience of his salvation, by theenerg]
of the lioly Ghost, who akue contSkd it*
Is the term loorld, indeed, a leim H
extensive to .be amfioed to the christian
of the apostles' days ? How tlien did
happen diat our Lord himself applies
that very term to- the unbelieving Jewi
who had hated liim, and were to hate hi
followers ? Compare John chap, xv, Wi
19 ; also chap. vii. 7* Why then did thi^
evangelist in nis first chapter call (he Jev^
ish people the vH)rld T Chap. i. 10. Wkj
has Paul in ao many passages distinguishec
the Gentiles by that term > What ibet
is meant by that term, when in John Hi
19> it is said, *' the world is gone afte
him ?" Wliat— but why need we multiply
such questions \ They are readily answer-*
ed by any one moderately versed in di^
knowledge of language. We refer Mr^
Robinson to that excellent lexicogiapheij
Schleusner. In his invaluable lexicoo^
Nov. Test. art. Ko 0-/^0;, No. 4. jS. he wil|
find many otj^er passages than those t(|
which we have directed his attention, de^
monstrating that the term has frequentlj;
a confined or limited meanmg. " Sigoi-
ficat, observes Schl. xximundas apud I^i-
nos, magnam hominum mtdtitudinem, ex
eontexta oratione definiendain.*' But Mr.
Riibinson is one of those interpreters of
scripting who despise the eontexta oratio.
We could fill many pages with extracts
and remarks similar to thfe preceding.
But we must forbear. What we have
said, it must be evident^ proceeds from uq
wish to controvert the system which tht
lAithor believes lias the sanction of scrip-
ture ; but from a cordial desire of seeing
the word of God more reverently treated,
and of entering our pro^st against a prac^
tice so injurious t9 true religion, as that
which pervades these volumes. In a work
avowedly popular, vre do not look for
elaborate disquisition or learned criticism;
but we expect, and justly expect, diat it
should be the result of very accurate in*
vestigatiqn^ and minute enquiry^
BSLSBAM I VIKDICATION OP DA. PRI£STLET«
149
^B^ H be not encumbered with erudite
auKKations, yet, that It admit notliing
whkhasAy not be successfully vindicated.
Fnio alioost ereiy page of this perform*
aoce, we are jnstilied in the conclusion,
tbt the author has* not studied the scrip-
tfim. He has read them much, it may
he; and no sniaH portion appears to have
bcea coDfuuitted by him to memory : but
the enquiries, on what occasion, to what
persons, with what particular view3, evan-
gelists or apostles have written, he seem;
not to have instituted. With what hop^
of satisfaction then can any one apply to
this work for assistance, in examining tlie
true nature and extent of christian doc-
trine ? Mr. Robinson's system of faith,
indeed, he will find amply detailed ; but
if the remarks we have offered be just,
there is reason to doubt whether that be
in every respect such as is taught in th«
writings of the New Testament.
PrUatU-y, ami a Defence of Dr, PriettU'ifs Character and ff'ritings, in Repbf to
imadversioM qf the Her. John Pyc Smith ; in Letters to a friend. By Thomas
Aat. XII. — Letters to the Rev, Tltonuu Behham, on some Important Subjects of Tkeologi"
ea( Discussion, referred to in his Discourse on Occasion of the Death of the Rev. Joseph
Priestley, LU />. F, R. S. ifc. SfC. By John Pye I»mith. Second Edition with some
Imprsvcmenis^ 8vo. pp. 129.
Art. XIII. — A Vindication qf certain Passages in a Discourse on Occasion of the Death
of' Dr. Prici ' ■ - • - ^ - . _ .
vie Jnimadvi
BsLSHAM. 8vu. ppT 109.
IN dw discourse which has occasioned
these letters and the reply, Mr. B. spoke
•f Calvinism, as ' a tremendous doctrine,'
adding, * that had it really been taught
by Jesus and his apostles, their gospel
might truly have been denominated not
the doctrine of peace and good will, but a
message of wrath and injustice/ of terror
md despair.' He also ftuther stated, that 'Dr.
P. Tiew^ Calvinism as the extravagance
of error, as a mischievous compound of
impiety and idolatry ;' to this he himself
ssvMed, and scrnpled not in addition to
call it 'a pernicious system.' In men-
dooing the controversy that had passed
beroven Dr. Priesdey and Dr. Horseley,
^Ir. B. had likewise said that ' notwith-
standing the overbearing temper, and the
great talents and learning of his adversary.
Dr. Priesdey was completely victorious/
hnvoked by these insulting words of
AiT. XIV. — Aifs^sm Ayara«r i Or a New Way qf Deciding Did Coniroversies.
Basamistes. 8vo. pp. 194.
the Unitarian Goliath, Mr. S. (a young
tutor at a calvinistic academy, though
no calvinist himself) like anotlier David,
comes fortli to check the insolence of tlie
bold opposer of the armies of orthodoxy.
But not with the skill, the prudence, or
the success, of the shepherd youtli. He
disdains the sling and the stone, and de*
mands a panoply. Rncumbei-ed with ar-
mour which he had not sufficiently prov^
ed, his attack is hurried, his blows are
feeble, he seizes upon stations which he
cannot matntam. When Ids strength is
thus fruitlessly spent, tlie giant advances :
fewer indeed are the blows he deals, but
heavier and surer do they fall 5 and the
stripling, tlioiigh he owns it not, is van-
quished. We cannot enter into the detail
of this contest : our readers will be inter*
ested in perusing it for themselves*
By
THIS £icetioascontrover»alist has pro-
filed to his work the old motto— n'<2e»^enf
dicen tenon quid vetat f and he attempt9
to re&ie the orthodox ^ith^by^what he
deems a reductio ad absurdum.
Speakiug in the assurned character of
aa adversary of ' Unitarian heretics,' he
tbm propounds the nature and design of
bis attempt
" In this alarming period of pr^-ing re-
«Mrii, wlicn men, destitute of chivalrous
tcntimfut, rudely examine the awful fane of
txtJodox devotion, and expo% to unhallowed
rja {\it bdy fhriue of ineilable mysteries, it
^Kvmiei a moit necessary branch oi reli|^us
Fwkaice to remove our orthodoxy still &rtber
from vulgar apprehension, and to shcher it
within more mysterious folds. The manner
in which this pious work ina^r be most elfec-
tually accomplished, i» a question of considei-
able magnitude. To me it doc*s not appear
to be sa3e policy to ^ve any ground to our
adversaries,- or to coutuie ourselves to defen-
sive operations : but I apprehend, the surest
way to preserve our ortkcxioxy inviolate, is to
malce bold and unexnected advances on tlie
hereticks — ^to flash the comscation of some
new divinity against them, which, like the
xgis of Minerva, shall petrify them witli as-
tonishment. Obvious as tlie wis<^om of this
conduct appears as soon as it is mentioned, .
yet I confess it was lirst suggested to me by
tlie ndble trope, so happily applied by a late
most devoted servant to the priesthood, and
150
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
an admirer of orthodoxy -. when the vessel of
state wa8 too heavy, and ready to sink on one
aide, he ran to the opposite side in order to
preserve an equilibrium. In like manner,
since Unitarians have run into the extreme of
inculcating simplicity of worship, and since
the world is so much inclined to side with
them, that the catholic faith is m danger of
being upset ; the ortliodo?t on the contrary,
may create a counterpoise to the love of sini-
•plicity hi the human mind, by adding to the
objects of worship, and multiplying incom-
prehensible mjniteries. In courormity witli
tilts captivating idea, I am happy to tliinkthat
I can give tlieni incalculable weight, by ad-
ding one to tiie two infinite minds or pef.«)ns,
with which they have already improved our
notiop of the Dejty. By this unexpected de»
vice, I have every prospect of sudaenly turn-
ing the scale, and of exposinjj the h^^rctics
aiol't, in tiieir timi, iji a curious attitude. The
Trinity thus will be a point gained, and a
fubicct Jit rest, at least for ijiany years;
and the contest in futiu-e will be aboiit the
Quaternity, or some other nity.
"To secure this important advantai^e, most
fortimately, I have no occasion tor invention
or ingenuity: I have only to search for the ar-
guments ot the- orthodox since the -time of
Athanasius, a few of which will fully answer
my purpose. I am also confident of ;In active
support from the Orthodox, who cannot desert
thc^r own principl»!s ; thoui^li perhap;> 1 can
expect only a tardv coopcrati^.ii from some-
very pious souls, wlio are smitten with a de-
vout love for a triangle, and from some cau-
tious politicians, who may be appi'ehensive lest
they might destroy the decisiveness of a cast-
ing vote, by adding one to their odd number
of divine persone. Against the prejudice of
the former we shall find a remtjcly as we pro-
ceed ; and let me here remiml the latter cir-
cunispt'ct gentrjr of an improvement, which
has beni made in most ftf our courts of law,
in which one person has been added to the
three on the bench, with manifest advantage
to the public. But I have no great desire to
weaken their attachment to o<ld numbers,
provided they remove to a farther distance
iVom a dcistieal unitarianism, and pro^/ided
♦hey uicludo, in tlieir scheme of orthodoxy,
tluit person whoni I. shall now propose.
"The person, whose apotheo«?i8 I contend
for, is the Jewish legislator: and I shall prove
it to the astonishment of all heretics, by
s^ich arguments as the Orthodox will be proucl
to acknowledge for their own. * There are
<•( rtain attributes or perfections, which solely
b<«!ong to, and characterise the Supreme
Brin?5 : tht^e cannot be ascribed to any crea-
ture : whvjrever we find these perfectiipns as-
cribed to any being in the scriptures, we have
the fullest assurance tiiat such being is God ;
both because they are incommunicable in their
own nature, and because God hatli declared
he will not give his glory to another, Isaiah
xHi. 8. But these perfections are ascribed to'
the person whose apotiieosis 1 contend for ' in
the scriptures, therefore, he is very and etfmal
God. This I shall prove by the most clear
testimony of God's word.'* 'llie instant this
bold advance on the I'nitarian is aiuiouiKed,
all the truly Orthodox will reassume their
courage, and will anticipate a complete
triumph over our astounded adversaries. At
the outset, 1 have extricated my party from a
SiTious dilemma, in whwh the I'liitarians
vainly thought we should stick fast for ever.
Thev have continually indulged their inalicc,
bjr (femanding from us in our distre»,to mark
out piTciselv Si)mc medium between Tritheism
and Sabelllanismt- This spiteful recjuisition
is now impertinent, because we arc no lonqiT
conccrnetf about the former extreme : lessa-
ralh<i>m should henceforward be mentioned
in its place, which is infinitelv removed from
tritheism ; and betwen this infinite aca?saion
of iulinity and Sabclltanism, it will be very
hard uideed if we shall not be able to nndoiit
some medium. Many other pleasing pros-
pects Dpen huddenly u[)on us. If Unitariaus
are nor past all feeling, we may expcx:t tliat
they will discover remorse, for liaving repiy-
bated the Orthodox as polytheists and manu-
facturers of almighty }>ersons, when I shall
shew that the latter are to be blamed only for
their great moderation ux this manufacture.
Our modesty is no less conspicuous than our
moderation, since we have long enough con-
tented ourselvt^ with the title of trinitarians,
which is held in great contempt by hereties,
when wtt might easily have assumed the more
sonorous and honourable title of quatuora-
rians."
Agreeably to the purpose thus express-
ed, our author proceeds sometioies in a
delicate, sometimes in a coarse strain of
irony, to apply to Mo3es some of the
leading arguments which have been incau-
tiously advanced to prove the divinity of
Jesus Christ. Unitarians may be amused
by tills production, and contirmed in their
reputed heresy, but serious trinitarians
will be displeased at the manner, and not
convinced.
The author himself is indeed awaro—
" That the pious readier may sometimes
wish, that this argmnent might have been car-
ried on, witlioutthe fee use of the most
sacred name ; but if he should perceive a fault
* Short defence of the doctrine of thp D»vinity of Christ by an anonymous autlior, pub-
lished at LcM-cis. As 1 shall sometimes have occasion to quote this publi<-ution, which has
rc.eived the highest enconuiims from >ome of our first-rate writers, 1 shall call it infotuit^
short defrncf.
t Sabellius taught that there is a plurality of moles or cliaractcrs in the divine nature, but
aiinily pf ixrrsou.
Wright's akti-satisfactiovist^ Sec.
151
i& tliFTC^pcct, I believe he will not say that it
fM> vith mc, unless he should think h an un-
justifubK: proceeding, to repeat anfd submit to
ik rcnsure those unworthy ideas of the nature
of Godf which are expressed in a ft.»w docu-
miTiU of great notori*«ty, and which "are de-
liwled by persons, who set the greatest value
OD the form qf goidhness. On the contrary,
be will perceive, that the teal intention of my
argument is to cause tlic name of our Ihaxcn-
fy Fattier to be hallotved,"
We have little doubt of his intention,
but we hardly think it will be effected.
Tliey who cannot be reasoned out of their
trinitarian faith, will not be laughed into
tmitariamsm^
Art. XV. — Tke Anti-S<(tixfactioniitt ; or Hrc Sahcation of Sinner t by tlie Free Grace of
God : being an Atttnipt to Explode ike Protestant, cut well as Popish, Xotlon of Salva-
tion &i/ Human Merit, and to Promote the Primitive Christian Doctrine of the sufficJnict/
vf Dkine Mercy for aUv:hoarc Penitent: iti Tfuree Parts. i?y Richard Wright.
8vo pp. AVJ.
IT appear*; from an historical notice
prefixed to this work, that it is published,
chiefly, in consequence of a controversy,
' respecting the trutli or falsehood of the
notion of Christ's having made satisfac-
tion for the siiis of nseu,' which has lately
;q>peared in a uiontlily publication entitled
tlje uni\'erbalist*s miscellany, and ia whidi
Mr. Wright took a considerable part. Mn
JenaiD, a clci^'maii in the establishment,
^•as at length excited in opposition to Mr.
Wright, and in the same niiscellauy, to
defend the doctrine o£ atonement.
" I rejpHcd to Mr. Jerrani (obsen-es Mr.
AV right) in a series of letters, which were in-
ierted in tht sauie work. To my answer Mr.
Jt-nani did not think proper to ofler any reply ;
though the magazine was stiU open to him.
However he, in consecjuence of my reply,
jnade some material alterations in his letters,
tuppnssed some i>assag(S, dropped some rea-
KKimgs, and substituted otliers, &c. In this .
improved state he republished his letters ; but,
tliuugb he availed himself of my reply in cor-
nrtiiig and altering them, he carelully avoid-
ed dropping the slightest hint tiiat any reply
had bren pubiished. Hence I thought duty
called upon ine to republish my answer, tiiat
it micht nave a more general circulation, and
tljat 1 might meet my opponent's argimients
in their piesent form : but, judging it best to
tnat the subject more at large, I liave penned
the folknring work, which is now submitted to
the examinatioa of the publkr. Criticisms
and ifferenc^s to the original I have as much
as possible avoid<rci, it being my wish to adapt
mv reasoning to the common reader: I have
hid recourse to these only when justice to the
catfce of truth seemed imj)erk)usly to de-
aiandit^
The author sets oat with a few preli*-
minaiy observations, in which he takes
' a general view of tl^ way of acceptance
with God, ^ taught by Moses and the
prophets, by Christ and his apostles.* He
then eaters upon the great object of his
work; first, stating tlie doctrine of satis-
ficdoD ia the vords of its defcndersj fiuch
as Luther, Calvin, various sjTiods, con-
'fessious, and articles ; Flavell, Baxter,
Beveridge, &c. &c. 5 and placing 5n a pa-
rallel column such passages of scripture
as he conceives afford a refutation of these.
In a second chapter he attempts to re-
fiite the doctrine of satisfaction by argu-
ment He next endeavours, with the as-
sistance of Priestley's history of the cor-
ruptions of Christianity, to account for
tlie rise of the doctrine anK)ng christians,
and its continuance to tlie present day^
and in a fourth chapter, in answer to a
question which he is aware may be pro-
posed, what lie would substitute in tlie
place of this doctrine, he replies, the sal-
vation of sinners by the fiee grace of God,
and explains the terras of tliis reply.
In the second part of this treatise Mr.
Wright enquires concerning die doCUine
of atonement-: he investigates the mean-
ing c^ the term, the authority upon
which its use in tlie English version of the
new testament rests, and asserts, tbtit it
should rather be reconciliation. The doc-
trine of atonement he denies, and con-
tends for that which teaclies the reconcili-
ation of men to God by means of the
gospel. The letters originally published
in tlie universal ist's magazine, in reply to
Mr. Jerram, follow. II13 writings of the
old testament are then examined for the
purpose of discovering what they teach
concerning the death of Christ, and many
remarks are offered on the iifty-third
chapter of Isaiah -, tlie object of which
is to shew, that this, as well as every
other passage of the Jewish scriptures, is
totally silent concerning die death of
Clirist as a vicarious sacrifice. A few
general thoughts upon the sul^ect of sa^
crifices succ^, which throw no new
light upon the much agitated questions of
their origin and desjgp. All the texts of
die new testameftti usually cited by the
advocates of tj>e dpctrijie of atonement,
are dien brgught luiJder a review : the
151
THEOTX)GY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
author is not content with 'abareexhi-
^bition of them, though he thinks tliat
would be suflScient to discover to the can-
did and serious enquirer after truth, how
destitute their hypothesis is of plain and
positive proofs ;' but he gives a brief ex-
position of them according to his own
system. As several of the offices ascrib-
ed to Christ have been supposed to favour
the doctrine of atonement, our author
proceeds tooiier some remarks upon these.
, He enquires into the meaning of the terms
.mediator, surety, propitiation, advocate;
and intercessor ; he attempts to explain
wliat is to be understood by Christ's being
made sin,, and a curse; by his agony in
the garden, and his exclamation on tlie
cross ) and lastly, to prove that the phrase
for Christ" s sake is a mi^ranslation.
In the third part of his work Mr; W.
very briefly enquires into tlie nature of
the death of Christ, its design, and the
connection which that event had witli the
dispensation of the gospel and the salva-
tion of men.
We will enter into no controversy with
this autlior upon the subject whicii he lias
thus discussed. That he is an opponent
of popular creeds and confessions will be
evident from the outline we have given of
his work. Whatex'er may be the value of
his arguments, we will bear our testimony
to the general ability nnd the truly candid
temper with which they are managed.
We subjoin the following specimen :
*' Satisfaction demanded implies injury re-
ceived by him who demands it» and a capa-
bility of receiving compensation ; but Gixl is
no more capable df receiving injury than he is
of doing injury, or than he is of receKing
benetit. Job xxxv. 6, 7, 8. ' If ihou sin-
nest, vUat doest thou agraiust him ? or if thy
transgression be multiplied, what docst tiK>u
unto him ? If thou be righteous, what givest
thou him ? or what recciveth he of thine hand ?
Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art,
ana thy rightcotisness may profit tlie. son of
man.' Clu^. xxii. 2,3. ' Can a man be pro-
fitable unto God, as he that b wise may be
profitable unto himself ? — is it gain to him
that thou niakest thy ways perfect ?* Psa. xvL
2, 3. * O my soul, tliou hast said unto the
Lord, thou art my Lord ; my goodness ex-
tendeth not unto thee : but to the saints that
are in tlic earth.' As God is absolutely inde-
pendent, above all influence, incapable of
mistaining injury, or receiving beneiit, from
any one, it is impossible he sbooid demand
ana receive satisfaction, or aa equivalent for
bxs fsLvoT ta sinners.
*^ But it is argued that, though he cannot be
personally iniured, his justice was injured, and
that it was niS justice required satisfaction:
this affects not tlie aigument; far what is \s» i
justice separate fiom him wliose justice it hf
Can justice, viewed abstractedly, be a per-
son capable of acthig and sullering, of receiv-
ing uijur)' and compensation? I'he justice of j
any being is the rectitude of his comiuct, the i
equity of^his ways; ana, surely, the rectitude |
of tiic divuic conduct was not diniintsbed, nor {
the equity of God*s ways interrupted, by the ]
evil actions of his creatures. Justice can '
neither demand, nor axxive, any thin^ but i
as some one demands and receives it m the ]
nanic of justice ;. therefore to say that the jus- j
ticc of God demanded and received satisbc-
ti<m is, in cflect, the same thing as saying I
God iiimself demanded and mctived satisfac- i
tion. Sin is no where but in the creature, aH j
its eflects are restricted to the creature, and J
all tlic injury done by it is done to the crcarj
ture: consetiuenHy, it is in the creature thatj
reparation for the evil produced by sin ts rr
quired : and this reparaiion can only be mad
by the restoration of the sinner to purity and!
happiness : in other words, by the removal of I
the evil from those who are the subjects of it: I
this is effected, not by an innocent person 5
suffering in their place and stead, but by
their refonnation and recover}' to the paths of
rectitude.
" It may l)e said, tliough God is not injur-
ed by Our sins, yet the good of the moral
system is, the interests of our fellow creatures
are ; and consequentlv satisfaction was neces-
sary, 'lb this 1 reply, wliatever injury had
been done to the moral system it could not be
repaired by the cruel niurder of an innocent
person, which is spoken of in the new' testa-
ment ^ a gn>ss violation of moral principle :
there seems no way of repairing the injury
done to the moral sj-stcm, but hv the refor-
mation and future good conduct of those who
have done it However the interests of crea-
tures may be injured by sin, it b not possible
to compensate that injurj' by any thing but
the amendment, and future right action:s of
those who have been injurious."
" A^in, the notion of Clirist's making
satisfaction for sins establishes the doctrine ol
merit, yea even of human merit. Its sidvo-
cates are continually, talking of the merits of
Christ, and that they expect all blessincs from
God on the ground of the merits of Christ
as if God would bestow no favor unless some
one had merited it? Yet th? phrase, merits
of Christ, is not to be found in the new testa-
ment. It is fully admitted, tliat the merits of
Cluist stand very high ^^^th respect to us ; we
owe him the warmest gratitude and praise, as
the medium by whicn all tlie blessings of
grace and salvation are communicated to us ;
the favor which he manifested to us was great
indeed : though he was rich, yet for our sakes
he became poor, that we, through his poverty,
might become rich ; he sacrificed hb own iSfe
to effect our salvation, and he stiU lives to
cany on the work ; but, however gneat his
merits with respect to us, however great tlic
obligations we are under to hun, he never
/WBU.WOODS 8BRMOK8*
153
<UflKd mj thing of ^e Farther^ either for
hiatfdf or flnners, on the ground of his
mrhts, but recoved every thing as a free
ibSl Hk apostles never mentioned his hav-
M^ merited any thing at the hand of God,
either far himself or others ; but, on tlie con-
trary, they ascribe every thing he hath receiv-
ed, aad every Messing he bestows to the gift
Df hts Father ; which is uicompafible with the
doctrine of satisfoction. Our opponents talk
mudi of the merits of the death of Christ, as
the only ground on which sinners have a right
to expect salvation ; and they sing —
' Tb bv the merit*; of his death
' The Father smiles again ;'
» if God would have been eternally frowning
npoD the world if Christ by his'dymg groans
had not appeased his. wrath, and induced liim
to smile on his own works, llie merit of
Christ's dt^th must be human merit ; for it
was the man Jesus who died. Many of our
opponents admit that it was -the man, or hu-
man nature, only, that died, "^niey contend
that the same nature that sinned must make
faiBfactiop ior sin ; but it was hunum nature
only that sinned. The merits of his death
could only be the merits of him, or tliat, wliich
died, which is acknowkxlged, even by our
opixjnents, to lie merely human ; for, atter all
they say about the Godhead of Clurist, they
acknowledge tiiat the Godhead could neither
suH'er nor die. lience it appears that the
merit of Clmsfs death is, c\'en ontbe ground
of bur opjXNients, human merit : and it is by
his death, they suppose, he made satisfaction
for sins : it follows that thesatiafection scheme
changes the doctrine of salvation by grace for
that of salvatk>n by human merit."
Many like ourselves rtiay be unable to
assent to tlie interpretation which Mr. W.
has given of several passages of scripture ;
but he is entitled to the praise after whic^
every theologian ought to aspirfe, of hav-
ing scrupulously weighed tlie mean fug of
every scriptural term which he produces
in support of his system j and of having
paid a strict regard to the conne^cion and
original design of most of tlie passage*
which he has quoted.
SERMONS AND PRACTICAL THEOLOGY.
A»T. XVI. — Semumi by Sir Henry Moncreipf Wellwood, Bart. D. D. and F, R. S.
Edinka^ ; one qf the Minisicnf of St. Cuthberfs, £dinbun;k ; and Senior Chaplain im
Ordinary in Scoiland, to his Royal Highness tlie Prince qf Urales.- 8vo. pp. 480.
'WB have already remarked that our
list of sermons for the present year is
more than usually long, but at the same
time honourably distinguished by several
vahiable volomes. Among these^ the la-
bours of rhe r^v. baronet justly desene-
to be ranked ; and if tliey have not
any ' pecoliar' ' they have certainly very
pcive^* claims to tlie attention of the
puUic. And we are persuaded that they
wiU be ' neither useless nor unacceptable'
to many who have not the felicity of be*
longing to the congregation among, whom
the author has laboured thhly years, for
'«'hom these discourses were originally
prepared, and to whom they are now
chiefly addressed. *ITie character of this
volume may be easily given. The sub-
iects which the preacher has discussed are
weighty and important — the manner in
:which iliey are treated is worthy of the
p momentous topics employed — grave, dig-
'nified, impresisive — tlie style chaste, un-
encarobered with showy ornament— but
not destitute of eloquence. ' The doc-
trines and tlie duties of Christianity are
^presented as inseparably united, in the
^di and practice of those who embrace
It ;* those doctrines which are in unison
*widi the establHhed creed of the church
to which the preacher belongs, are in a
'lew pagei brou^t forwards^ but not ex*
I
tensively : throughout the volume the an*
thor appears actuated by the maxim with
which he concludes his preface — ^that
' practical religion is of much more im-
portance than the solution of difficult
questions, and the ^^ctification and sal-
vation of tliose who profess the gospel^
than the soundest opinions.*
This volume comprises fourteen ser-
mons, upon the following .subjects.: 1,
On the unequal allotments of Providence ;
2, On the minute improvement of the
blessings of Providence \ 3, On self-de-
nial J 4, On tlie form of godliness ; 5, On
christian faith and morality ; 6\ Ou the
result of good and bad affections ; 7> On
the inheritiuice of a good man's children -,
8, On tlie doctrine of grace ; 9, On the
conduct of Providence to good men ; 10,
On the general spirit and effects of Chris-
tianity 5 11,12, On the universal promul-
gation of Christianity ; 13, Prospects of
futurity ; 14, On Uie cultivation of per^
sonnl religion.
Of these sermons, if we were required
to select the most interesting and impor-
tant, we should name the second, the
third, the sixth, the seventh, tJie ninth,
and the tenth. From one or two of these
•we sliall subjoin some extracts, to justify
tlie good opinion which we have expressed
conceru'uig this ^oluiue.
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFF.imS.
]54
The subject of vthe second sermon is
deduced from these words, recorded by
John : ' Jesus said to liis disciples, gather
Tip the fragments that remain that nothing
be lost; And the preacher selects, as ex-
amples to illustrate the minute improve-
njent of the blessings of providence, sug-
gested by these words : the fragments of
the provision made for our temporal neces-
wties; the fragments of our time ; tlie
fragments of our private comfort or of
our personal advantages 5 the fragments
of our health, or of our vigour. The two
first of these are common topics, and the
merit of the preacher, in discussing these,
consists, as might have been expected,
not in introducing new thoughts, but in
placing old truths in a striking and impres-
sive point of view. The two last, though
not less important, have been, we believe,
less generally noticed^ and are here set
forth with great ingenuity and force.
Having briefly but severely rebuked tlie
temper which is generally manifested
under the loss of blessings once enjoyed,
the preaclier proceeds thus :
<« Tlicre is scarcely any situation in human
life, in which there are not many couitbrts re-
maining, wliatever the blessiiigs are, which
•fcave been taken away. This is an unques-
tionable fact, though we were not to consider
the cases, in which providence compensates
by subsequent events, the hcavit^t calamitit^
Which wc can experience. We niay have lost
what we valued a§ our best advantages, and
may regret them with a degree of tenderness
which supposes that their place cannot sooii
be supplied. We mav have nothing more
than * the fragments' of oxir most precious
blessings, which were once entire. But it is
possible, that, by the grace of God, the
liith which is purilied bv sorrow, may enable
us to make n*orc of ' tfie fragments' than we
were able to atUin by the full extent of our
advantages. We arc not to sink uito despon-
dency, whilst we are still pennitted to enjoy
many blessings, for which wc give thanks to
God : whilst Si the use of them there is still a
ihity which wc feel to be binding on us, a good
woiit which we have still the opportunity of
fullillir\g» a service which we can still perfonn
to tlwse around us, or a ^ood example, which
the l)lessings which we still possess can enable
us to shew them ; or if, wlulst ' we suffer af-
tliction by the will of God,' there is still a
.friend who helps our infirmities, whose face
we can cheer by our gratitude, or by our
•ympathy, or by our patience, or by our
trust in Godw . . , i.
" If we are still cqjable of activity and of
active duties, no deprivation of past satisfac-
tions will justify our inactivity. Much less
Cim it entitle us to indulge the desjiondency,
which looks only to the grave. On tlic other
hand, if we shall estimate at their true value
* the fragments which remain' to us of private
or personal comfort, and shall use Uiem faith-
fully, as the means of -fulhUing the dutica
which we are not pennitted to rei!nqui5ii,thcy.
will grow or will be multiplied in uur i^ossessioa
by tlie influence of God. If we sliall pere©-
vere till we reap tJie result of thcin, one satis-
faction will be added to anoth* r, and God inay
be pleased ' to bless our latter end,' Uke }iAi\
even more than the happiest paj-t of ouy ^last
tune.
" No man can have a right to r<*ject tba
advantages which are left with hhn, or to re*
hnquish tlio duties which he can still fulfil, on
account of the blessings whk:h have been
taken away. We may have good reason to
regret tliat which wc no longer possess. M
as long as our probation lasts, much will re-
main after all that wc can lose, which we ait
bound botli to value, and to enipby for dsp
charging our uid'ispensible duties."
Nor are the remarks under the last ex-
ample ' the fragments of our health or of
our vigour,* lesB forcible or important
" Every man of understanding acknow-
ledges our obligation to apply our talents to
the business of hunjan life, or to the entls of
our probation for the worid to come, as lowj
as we are capable of exercising them, li n
impossible seriously to doiibt that our persoual
duties must be indlspensible, as long as wc
have the means of fulfilling them.
" But when the doctrine is applied to prac-
tice, we are apt to take ver>' different view
of the subject. Though it is a truth fully es-
tablish*^ by experience, that it is bctA for
every man, in the present life, and most for'
his advantage as an immortal being, to perse-
vere ui the active duties of his condrtion, as
long as it is possible for liim to discharge
them ; there is notiihig whicli men more w-
jierallv allow to dwell on their thoughts
through life, than the kiea, that a time shall
come, long before tliey die, when they sluB
be able to relinquish their usual or pnrfessioial
occupations, and to spend the rest o{ their
tinw, without labour or exertion, m the enjoj-
mcnt of their private or domestic situations.
Few in companson arf ever pennitted to rea-
lise an idea, which so many allow to occuw
their imaginations. Of tliose wIk) are enabted
to relinquish their labours, if their lives arc
prolonged, the greater part have reason to
rcpeot what they have done. By tlic change
produced on their hjbits, and by want of usj.
their facnilties arc gradually impaired, as liifi
sources of their activity are diminished ; an^
they meet with chagrui and disappointmtiit,
where they expected to have found nothing
but satisfaction or tranquillity. .^,
" I do not sav that those who have retirw
from the bustle of affairs cannot employ, «»
employ faithfully, ' the (rd^eDi^ootnji
their health and of their vigour. They 1^
ccrtainlv much hi their power, if t^'?,*?®:
•crate tlieir leisure to real duties, J^ *f^
their talents occupied as tliey ought to di,
WELLWOOO S SEEMONS.
155
Bsd) ^kh rdates to the discipline of their
««D minds ; much which can be done in do-
Bu^ life, for the advantage of the old or of
the young, ta whom thev can give their atten-
I tiDDor their tinie ; much by which they can
b^ use6tl to those whose cliaracters they can
■Ulntiice, whose hands they can stren^ien ;
vbom th«7 can assist in their difiicuUies, or
comfort in then- sickness, or fiimish with the
means either of prosperity or of religion.
" Those who apply the decl'uie of life to
«orh puipoies as these, do not retire in vain
from the bustle of the world. If they em-
^ce heartily the opportunities of usefiilness
which they still possess, nothing is lost which
tht-y are capable of attamhig. ITiat which
Ibi-y do in secret for the glory of God, or for
the'ad\,antage of their fellow mortals^ is sane-
Mvd bv the prayer of faith, and shall be ac-
njunieJ io tiiein as good service, in ' thu day
of Christ/
" But though I say this, I have no hesita-
(kxi io add, that tliose who abide by their ac-
tive occupations from a sense of duty, and
who employ the la^t i)ortion of their talents
wh'Te they spent their vigour, have much
better reason to expect, that both their useful-
ne»-s end tJieir perr^onal comfort sliall be con-
tinued as lone as they five.
" No good man's conscience will suggest to
Km tliat heoughtto become wearj' of his la-
bours, fie wfio delights in the service on
vhich his duty or h'ts usefulness depend:;, can
have no wish to relinquish it. He is anxious
to* j)f rsevere in the duties which he can in
ai.y degree accomplish, even when he is con-
8.fx» of his decline. He looks up to God,
to whom he thinks he shall soon return ; and
ftough lie knows that his summons to die
eannot be distant, it continues to be the first
wish of his heart, that he may be fbimd em-
pknnng the la'^t portions of his health and life,
in the duties of nis proper place.
" A man who is able to preserve this happy
temper of mind to the end, has a fiar better
prospect, than other habits could at'ibrd
niro, of possessing the vigour of his faculties
to his last hour ; and therefore of extending
his bbours and his usefulness far bevond the
ordinary term of human activity, fte hears
(he voice of his master, urging liis duties and
his fidelity on his conscience, till his strcn^h
iSjfone: and he does not lose the unpression
of it, till the last spark of life expires.^'
In the tenth sermon preached in Edin-
fcuigh, before the directors for the asylum
for the blind, the rev. baronet very
aUy illustrates this important doctrine-—
*' That relief to the miserable, and the
general instruction of ihc poor, essential
rharacten of the Messiah's reiin)» as de-
wibed by the prophets, were leading and pe-
culiar features of the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ, as it was promulgated by him-
self and his apc^tles ; tnat they have univer-
»11t folkiwed its.progres8, through all the ages
»)u countries whick it has hitheito reached;
and that, as well b^ means of those who have
not believed, as ot those who have siucereiy
^nib:a ed it, they have universally produced
the most extensive and salutary eiiccts^ on the
conditions of human life."
The whole of this discourse is deserv
ing of the serious and attentive perusal of
every unbeliever, and suggests many gra-
tifying reflections to every enlightened dis-
ciple of Clirist Having shewn what was
the aspect of Christianity among the poor,
during the personal muiistry ot' our Lord^
sir Henry justly obscr^'es :
" IJefore I attempt to trace its progress for-
ther, it is necessary to retnark, tJiat both the
distinguishing characters which I have suppos-
ed to belong to it were at this period almost en
tirely new to the world, and are not to be
f )und eitiier in the history or in the institutions
of the ancient nations.
'* AVe are not to suppose men of any age
or country to have been destitute of the" ftnj
ings of hinnanity, or incapable of exercising
them. But those who are acuuainted with
human nature know well, how tnese may be
controuled or |)erverted, by their superstitiousy
by their laws, by their uiveterate prejudices,
or by their general manners.
" lliere were virtues among the ancient
nations which we read with a glowing satisfac-
tion, and relate with nride and reverends
But their compassion for the helpless or tlie
sick among the people, the kindness of the
great to the poor, then- provision for the old,
or for the dying, among the lower onlers, or
then- general sympathy with their conditions,
were certainly not among thoir virtues. SiA-
ting aside what we fuid in the history of hf
daism, there has not comedown to us one trace
or vestige of com])assion to the mis^Table, to
the sick, or to the dying, among the common
ranlys of the people, wliich was sanctioned by
the religion, or by the government, or by the
institutions, or by the general manners of any
ancient nation.
" This fact is so well established, that a se-
rious argiiment has been maintarnqd in modem
times, in defence of the ancient sj'stem of sla-
very, founded on the assertion that it held out
to the great body of the people the only ef-
fcctual seairity which they possessed, against
the miseries of sickness,' of famine, and of
age.
" If this is in any respect a just view of the
preceduig ages, it is no wonder that it sl.ould
be given us as a disthictive character of the
Messiah's reign, that, as the great deliverer
and restorer of our fallen race, he was every
where to heal the sick, and gladden the blmd,
and bind up the broken heart, and * to com ;
fort all that monrn ;* and that minrcy to the
miserable should be represented to be as
much a peculiar, as it is a universal, charactrr
of the dis])ensation, over which he presides.
'* The instinct ion of the great ma^s of tl e
people, was a circumstance not less new or pe
culiar. The wisdom of the most enli^teiied
156
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
nations of antiquity was confined to the schools
of theif philosophers. Tlicir religion was
yirnpt up in impenetrable fobles and mysteries,
which but a few individuals were allowed to
examine. The knowledge which the people
at large were permitted to actjuire, was only
calculated to. rivet cm their ramds the terrors
of the most abject, irrational, and depressing
superstitions. While the art of printing wa:^
not vet discovered, and the people wore effec-
tually excluded from all the means of infor-
mation, which have become so accessible in
Biodem times, all culture an<l all real know-
ledge were of necessity confined to tlie higher
orders of men. The* instruction of the peo-
ple could be no o^ect of attention, and never
was attempted. They were universally left ta
labour ana to ignorance.
" We may no doubt recollect, that in the
free states of Greece and Home, a certain
portion of infonnation was uiseparable from
the spirit of liberty, and from the effects of
the doauence employed to work on the pas-
sions of the multitude, either in public trials
or i)olitical contentions. But it is not difficult
to form an estimate of all the useful knoi^-
ledge, which can be traced to this source,
which, in its bat state, had certainly little in-
tluence to promote either the virtue or the
happiness of the people. And if this kind of
information is excepted, which was accessible
to a very inconsiaerable number of the hu-
man race, the people of the ancient world
were effectually excluded from every source
of instruction bcjond the perceptions or the
observations of an uncultivateid mind.
*' It was therefore no common attribute of
public teaching, that it was given universally
to all the orders of human life ; and it was, of
consequence, a character of the Messiah, as
hew as it was peculiar, tliat he preached the
gospel to all the people, * to the wise and to
the unwise,' to the priests and to the slaves ;
that he preached it through all the land ; and
preached it to tlie lowest of mankind.''
In that part of the discourse in which
it is the object of the preacher to show
that the relief of the miserable, and the
instruction of the people, have distinguish-
ed the gospel from the first age of the
gospel to the present times, we meet
with the following passage ; which we
quote, not as containing any thing new,
but as deserving of being frequently incul-
cated upon those, who, for want of due
deliberation, are accustomed to under-
value the gospel.
*' tt is impossible to calculate the effects
6i the knowledge which was rapidlv sprt^
from Judea through all the world, ' 'fhe peo-
ple who sat in darkness, and in tlie sha«kyw of
d<'ath, saw indeed a ^reat light;* and tlie
knowledge of the doctrine of salvation by the
son of Gotl, wa«i followed by a thousand
•ources of light and information, from whkrh
the peopte b^ boea effectually «xclu(kd in
all the preceding ages. Indeed, tlic effed of
the promulgation of Christianity to all order*
of men, to disseminate every citlier s|>ecies of
infonnation, as well as its own peculiar cioc-
trincs, and its immediate and general mfluciioe
on the manners and character of those who
embraced ' it, cannot be either questioned or
disguised, by those who have Inrstowcd any
attention on the history of the times. Tht:
emperor Julian, who renounced Christianity,
and who laboured, with indefatigaT)1e zt-al, to
bring back the people to the ancient supersti-
tions, saw so much of the effects of the chris-
tian discipline, and of tlie regular instructkia
given by the ministers of the gospel to the
great body of the ]x»ple, that, with a view
to give the same advantages to the heathm
supiTslitions, he proposed a fonn of diaci-
pline, a system of publk: instruction, and even
an institution for alms, after the model uf the
christian i hurches, to be ado|>ted and iiicorpo-
ratiNl in the temples of idolatr)-. No cons -
c^ucnces followed from this design; fnc before
the cxptTiment could be tried, the empeior'*
death put an end to all his frenzy. The fact,
howevcT, is a demonstratkin from the mouth
of an enemy, of the power and success,
with which Christianity was seen to have
spread a general light and knowledge anMng
the people.
" The corruptions in the christian churchy
which were imperceptibly muhiplied, till they
at last produced the monstrous usurpations of
the church of Rome, gave the lirst great check
to the general information, which Christianity
had ditlused. After the people were no loi^ri^
jiermitted to read the scriptures, and were
conlined to a worsliip peitbrmed in an un-
known tongue, the human undenstandii^ wat
soon in worse fetters, than it had ever worn ;
and the ignorance and barijarisin of the dark
agc*s followed.
" On tlie other hand, it is a fact equally
certaui, tliat the reformation and re^ ival of the
christian cluirch in the sixtiicnth century, was
the signal of light and knowledge returning to
the worid. Ihe general knowledge of the
scriptures diffused among the people — the zea-
lous and ciilightcned exhortations of the fint
reformers— the art of printing l>cgun at this
critical time — ^the books which the refonna-
tion produced and circulated— created a new
asm in the liistory of the world ; and sprnui,
niore tlian ever, the sources of substantial
information through every country.
** We have been more indebted for the su-
perior light of motleni times, and for the
modern improvements in every art and science
to the influence of Christianity, and to the
means of information which it' has created :
to the effects of its doctrines, of its spirit, and
of its pn>givss; than to all other causes what-
soever. • The gospel, preached to the poor,*
has acUlod nuich uidecd, to the resources
both of thi: rich and of the wise ; and has
done so, by presi^rving in its progress, the
same general and peculiar characters with
whk:h it was at tint pEDaMllgat«d ^ Christ
and liis apoatic-s.'^
CAPPB 6 DISCOUHSBS QN DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTf.
HieekrcQth and twelfUi sermons^ upon
the Diiiversa] proqiiilgation of the gospel^
ccidcain many valuable observations ; but
ve lev that the preacher has not accurate*
Ij intcipreted that passage of Aripture— ^
die 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew's
go^l, upon which these sermons ar^
^ndcd. The events there predicted
hare, surely, all received their accom-
pltihmeot ; and once the gospel of tho
kingdom was published l;hroughout the
ivorid. Infideli^ has taken a strong hcid
nt
amidst the concessions whidi have beeii
incautiously made on this and other sub*
jects connected with these chapters ; and
she cannot be completely dislodged till
those concessions be removed. Upon
this topic no one has treated so ably as
Mr. Nisb,^tt, and we recommend hk
writings to the attention of the rev. ba-
ronet, and to all who are desirous of un-
derstanding the history of tlie founder of
diristianity^ and the epistles of his earliest
ministers.
Abt. XVIf. — Ducmirse», ddtftij an Devntional Suhfecis. By the late Rev. NswcoMfc
Cappe. To which are prefixed, Afemoire of his Life. By Catharine Cappe. if^itk
an Afjiemdix, containing a Sermon preached at the Interment of the Author, By the Rev.
WiLUAM Wood. - Also a Sermon on occasion of ifu: death of Robert Cappe, M. D%
vntk Memoirs qfhi9 Ufe, By the Rev. C. Wellbeloveo. 8vo. pp. 484.
THE author of this posthumous vo-
fome was not altogether unknown to fame,
though he retired from the public eye,
and spent all his life in a distant proving
cial town, almost uninterruptedly occupi-
ed in the study of the scriptures. During
the American war he published several
hu, sermoDSt which oblaiined for him the
chiracter of an eloquent and faithful
preacher, and the ^niration and esteem
of many eminent persons. In the latter
part of his life, when he was disabled by
severe attacks of the palsy for performing
the accustomed duties of his station as a
aunister, he gave to the worlda series of
difiooones on the pcovidenoe and govern-
ment of God, which have been deservedly
admired for the comprehensive view tliey
take of an important subject, and the elo-
quent and energetic manner in which tlie
practice of piety is enforced, and its con-
soiatioos recoaniDended. Since the au-
thors deaths two volumes of critical re-
iDnks and ^Ussertations^ on many impor-
tant passages of scripture, have been pub-
lished, which, however variously the novel
priociples that they contain may be ap-
preciated, must be universally acknow-
ktiged to dbplay great research, and great
erudition, and to suggest, upon some to-
pics, enquiries of no trifling and iinim-
portantkind.
A more acceptable present could not
have been offered than that which the ju-
dicious editor has here made to the public.
From the memoirs of the learned author
piefixed to the Critical Bemarks, in which
naiiy extracts from manuscript sermons
«^ere inserted, as well as from former spe-
cimens of his talents as a preacher, we
yK^tte prepared to espect that, should the
editor be induced to publish a sdectitm of
discounes from tliose which his patient
industry had rescued from the oblivion In
which they must otherwise have been
buried, th^ would prove eloquent, pious,
adapted to improve the understancUng, to
amend the heart, and to enforce the prac-
tice of holiness, and virtue. Our expecta«
tions have not been disappointed. A vo-
lume, such as we ventured in the name of
the public to solicit, is now before us ; und
we will assure our readers that, although
the £ng]ish press has teemed with thc^
discourses of able and eloquent divines, it
has sent forth few tliat can claim a wipe*
riority to tliose with respect to anyextel-
lence that ought to mark a work of thm
nature.
The editor has done wisely in prefixing
to these discourses the very interesting
and improving biographical sketch, origi-
nally drawn up for the Critical Remark^i.
A few alterations have necessarily been
made, but none of them are of great im-
portance.
llie volume consists of itventy-foter dis^
courses. The three first are uponyinc^
which the preaclier, with much ingenuity^
demonstrates to be a reasonable, a desire-
able, and an important principle, not en*'
thusiastic, nor independent of evidence^
nor peculiar to religion ; but a principle
upon which the most contemptuous scoff-
ers act in the commonest concerns of
life— 4 principle suited to the wants and
imperfections of the human mind, and in-
troducing those who embrace it to the
most delightfiil entertainments. The/o«r
succeeding discourses have been selected
from a series which was composed and de«
livered by the author under the severest
pressure of domestic afilictibns, amongst
which the death of an amiable partner^
us
THEOLOGY AKTD ECCLESIASTICAL AFFiURS.
the affectionate mother of six children,
wAg not the lightest Let the reader of
these bear this information of the editor's
in mind, and the pious let^sons tliey incul-
cate will reach his heart witli greater
force. In the first we are taught tlie un-
xeasouableness and tlie folly ^of undue
anxiety respecting any future evils tliat
may arrive -, and, in die tliree tliat suc-
ceed, we are taught the duty of joining
prayer with thanksgiving, under such at-
Mictions as no anxiety has been able to
prevenL
The exclamation of the psalmist^ ' Lord
I am thine,' aflbrds the subjects of tlie
Kvctuh discourse, in which many useful
xeflecttons are suggested from this weighty
and consoling truth, that man is the pro^
perty qf God, The aghtk and niiuh dis-
courses are employed in deacribii^ the
obligations, the importance, and tlie rea-
aonableaeaft of the love of God. In a
verj ibrclble and eloquent manner, tlie
pr^cher proves that,
•* The love of God is one of the most na-
tural operations of the human heart, the most
«)bvious and self-approved direction of its sen-
timents ; for it is to admire, what is perceived
to be truly admirable ; to esteem, what is in-
finitely worthy to be esteemed ; and to che-
rish in our hearts witli complacency and de-
light, the id^a of what conffssedly deser\'cs
ciir supreme affection: it Is, to cultivate a
gratemi sense of kindness that exceeds our
tenderest thoughts, and of beneficence tliat
tfassetb knowledge. — ^To be devoid of the
love of God, not only betrays an unnatural
apposition to the dictates of self-love, and of
chanty ; but also to that other powerful and
amiable prindpte, by whatever name you cali
it, whidi recommends all moral goodness to
mu hrarts» It imj^es a strange insensibility
lb our own happiness, to the happiness of our
brethren, and to the noblest obligations ; a
criminal prostitution of our aifections, and a
perverseness and mconststency of character,
alike wretched, deplorable, and guilty.''
But reasonable as the love of God is in
itself, and essentially neces^ry to our
own happiness, and the preser\'ation of
our virtue, the preacher is aware that there
may be some d'ifHculty in preserving and
cultivating this divine affection : he there-
fi;)re extends his enquiry into the causes
firom which thia difficulty proceeds, and
the' means by which it may be best over-
come. We regret that our limits will
not allow of the copious extracts which we
could with great pleasure select from these
very valuable discourses. In some mea-
sure connected with these, are the four
s^ucceeding discourses, the most philoso-
phical, and, upon the whole, the most nn«
portant in the volume. The subject of
them is the lave qf pleasure, which is thus
accurately defined ;
" It happens that although we have names
for many of our affections, «igiitticant of their
general nature, significant abooftheatfcctibit
in its excess or its defect ; yet, in very few
instances are we provided with dUTcrcnt tenns
whereby to distmguish it when inditferent,
neitlier laudable nor blameable, from the same
afiection in its excess, in which, it is in one
way criminal, or in its defect, in whicli it is
criminal in anotJier way. Pride, and anger,
are two censurable ]>as6ioas ; tlie one being
tlie excess of that alfection tliat is naturally
excited by the consideration of what is woilhy
in ourselves ; the other, the excess of that af-
fection, which insults necessarily awaken.
But, for these afTections, in their general na-
tore, in which thrr ace indinerent ; or in their
defect, in which tney are tehy, we have no
appropriate terms. If we could speak of tibcm
accurately and usefully, we must describe
them in several temis, and carefully distin-
guish them from pride and anger, which are
the names only of^the excess.
'' From this narrowness of language arises
much confusion in our ideas, giving birth to
many prejudices, which in tiieir eflfccts may
be huilhil to the comfort, and even to the gooti
conduct of life; and hence it becomes neces-
sary, to attend closely, and distingiiisli accu-
rately, when either the nature, or the obiitra-
tions'of man, are the subjects of our medita-
tion or discourse.
" For that affection, or rather for that da^j
of aftections which we comprehend under tlie
denomination of the love ot pleasure, we have
onljTthis single term to signify its general na-
ture: we have no names to distinguish it ac-
cording to the difterent objects it embraces,
nor even to express its excesses or defects.
Unless we enter into a particular descnptlbo
of tliem, we hare nothing but this general
term by which to express all these varioos
senlimeiits, and all their different degrees.
fiiit it is obvious, that with regard to some ob-
jects of delight, our love of pleasure caimot bf
criminally weak, aUhough in regard to othens
it may beblamcably defective; in respect to
some sources of denght, it is not probable, it
is not perhaps possible, that it should nin into
excess; inrespectof others, it is very prone a^
to do;' and there i^ hardly any class of plea-
sures, in respect of which there is not sonw
degree of afiection that is innocent, becaisie i
natural and unavoidable: hence it follows, i
that what b true of any one thing, which vc i
call the love of pleoMire, b by no means tn» j
of all that we mean at any time by that name.
" The pleasures spoken of by "the apostfe^
between which and the love of God we pro-
posed to show you that there is a real opposi-i
tion, are those which we derive from seasibici
and external objects. * In respect of ih<-3C,
there are two ddfcrent species gf tlie love «f
€AFFB*« 0IBCOVaSE3 ON DBVOTIONAL «VBJ£€T8«
190
llflHire, which altKoiigh» in the higha* ranks
of Me especially, often combined, may how-
eriT sobsist apart, and when they do, they
coiuCitiite two ditf^^reni charactvrs; the one
fursaa the grattficationt of a v^ imaguia-
tian, and forms the character of tht* guldv and
ihe fpy ; the other, the gratilication of the in-
ifdor appetites, and forms the character of
the carnal and debaxichcd. llie hearts of the
one, are m scenes of dissipation and aniuse-
ment, and there is their sovereign tmjoyment ;
the debghi ami desires of the other, are in
scenes ot sensual indulgence, in makmg or en-
joying the provision they have macie, ' for
the tieih to tuUii the lusts tliereof.*
The opposition which must necessarily
fnbsist between each of tliese species of
die love of pleasure aind the love of God,
is distinctly and forcibly marked, and a
strong and afiecting appeal is then made-
to the hearer^ whether to the degrading
and the dangerous love of pleasure he can
consent to sacrifice the pure and satisfying
love of God. We cannot withhold the
following just and striking passage :
** If such solicitude, care, and attention, be
leedfol to maintain and cultivate this divine
aflection, can it llourish, can it live m Uie
ht3it» of the giddy and the gay? Will they,
to whom thought is fetigue, who ily from
amusement to amusement to save themselves
ftom their own minds ; will they be induced,
will they be able, to abstract tiieir thoughts
ftom viable and external things ; to fix them
on God who is a ^int, whom no man hath
xen or can see, and all whose excellences are
ipiritually discerned ? — But what need have we
^li PG40O OB the subject? Did ever any one ex-
pect to find a man of pleasure at his devotions ?
ddighklng in the opportunity of retiring to his
doset; uleascd to indulge the sacred seiili-
mcnts ot rel'^on, and assiduously cultivating
fte teve of God } Is it the men of pleasure tliat
crowd our rdigious assemblies ? Is it the men
«f pleaiure that adorn our sanctuaries with
^ truly decent, and serious demeanour? with
an appearance that betiavs no constraint, no
uneasiness, no impatient dissatisfaction^ or iii-
didbence? Is it the men of pleasure that
oartify the day of God? — But it is ijot neccs-
lary in belialf of the doctrine I maintain, to
miihipK' these inquiries ; even with themselves
I Diay lodge the appeal: it is no part of tMr
r pride that they are religious; this i»a charac*
ter that they are more apt to deride tlian to
affect; they do not ordinarily even pretend
to be devout — ^^'et, my friends, sufl'er not
yourselves to be deceived ; let no man con-
clude that because he hath not fully arrived
at the open contemnt, or even at the total ne-
(kct of religion ana religious ordinances, tliat
tboefore he b not a lover of pleaaues, mote
than a kner of God. True religion cannot
. aibiijt with the love of plea:iure, but the form
; of godliness may consist with and encourage
i i^ The olfices'»f devotkm^ both public and
private, may be performed, may be imhAf
and habitually perfomied from very ^ef^t
motives, and tor ver}' different ends. To noit-
rish the spirit, of devotion, to promote the lov^
of God, they caimot be pcifonned, where the
love of pleasure is the ruling principle ; — to
deceive the world, to deceive the persons
themselves, they may. Try your devotions z
do you mean to be really religious, or to ap*
pear so? In refiectmg on thoui, do you consi-
der the fruits of genuine piety that have arisen
out of them ; or, are you itiore disposed to at*
tend to the merit you think there is in them;
and under the considoratbn of this merit, to.
exaise or to conni\'e at those indulgences, of
which you have at least some suspicion that
tjiey are not right ? If it be so, your piety is
irrciiffion, and however unwilling you may be
to believe it, however averse to nave others
think so, you are indeed lovers of pleasuxe
more tlian lovers of God.^'
The author then proceeds to specify
9ome marks or signatures of that charac-
ter in which the love of pleasiu^ fatally
prevails; and the whole enquixy concludes
thus :
*' My friends, you have much to do with
Go<I; yourselves and every thing m which
Jfoii have any interest, are absolutely in hit
lands. You have far more important tians-
^ions with hhn tlian any that you are con-
scious of in this world ; it will not be very long
before the youngest of this audience will find,
it so. ITie time will come, I could tell the
day beyond which it will not be deferred, but
the . day before which it will come, I cannot
tell ; the time will come when you will find
this world vanishing away, and another open-
ing upcm you, this worlH of trial ending for
ever unto you, and a sense of everiasting n-
compence 'commencing. You know as well
as I do, would to God that you would let tlie
idea sink deep into your iiearts, that the
round of this world's pleasures will not last for
ever. The rose will fade, the eyes grow diiB^
and the heart ^row faint, and all tliat is of this
world become incapable of adihinistering, even
a momentaiy cordial or amusement. You
know as well as I do, ]^ouid to God that you
would let the thought take possession of your
souls ! that the time wiU come when the warm-
est S4>petites will be cold, whea tlie acute^t
senses will be dull, >vhen the liveliest fancy
will he languid, when the giddiest smner will
beseriou<;, and the drowsiest conscicnci^ awake.
The time will come, of which your preachers
luive so often warned you, when your bodit^
shall be undistin^vi^hable from tlfe dust tliat
ilies before the wind, and when that dust shall
have as much mterest in th<; gaieties and sen-
sualities of those upon whom it falls, as you !
Long before that tune arrives, the day may
come upon you, wheu, on a dying bed, whife
you watch tor the moment that is to stop that
beating heart, you shall look back upon the
hfe that you have spent, and forward mto the
eternity that is to receive you* In that awM
180
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRSf.
season, whence will you derive your comfoft^
To whom will you apply yourselves, to plea-
sure, orto God? I have seen devotion triiuuph
in the arms of death, but you need not wait
until that awiul period, to "be perfectly per-
suaded, that pleasure cannot triumph there;
It is not the remembrance, that you have
loved pleakife more than God, that can give
yoa conHdencc when you arc entering into his
prefiencef it is not tnis conviction that can
comfort your attending friends: if you love
them, if )tju love your own souls, let God
have your tirst attentions, let your duty regu-
late your pleasures.
** Jlie considerations that have been ad-
dressed to you, arc considerations by which
you ought to be impressed — you tnink so
yourselves. Some of yOu, perhaps, are im-
pressed by them. Cherish the nnpression.
No artifice has been employed to fix any false
impression on you. It is the simple truth that
hs» been set before you, you will iind it to
have been such, ere long. Carry the ideas^
carry tlie sentimei}ts tJiat liave been suggested
to you into every scene of pleasure into which
you go; that you may never at any timf^-he
allectedby such scenes, otherwise thaiy* you
ought to be aA'ected; that your pleasures may
never be of any other kmd, or of any other
measure, of repetition, or concurrence, than is
innocent and laudable ; but being fKcrfectly
consistent witli the spirit of devotion, and
with all that tiie Lord your God requires of
you, while you live niay be pursued witliout
remorse or suspicion, and, when you die, re-
flected on without apprehension or regret.*'
Some instances of very desirable effects
Eroduced by these excellent discourses
ave, we are told, already occurred, and
ive doubt not that they will be eminently
useful in rescuing many from the fatal
stream of lawless pleasure and of heedless
gaiety.
To these succeed two discourses of a
very ingenious and pleasing character, on
the appearance of Christ, after his resur-
rection, to Mary Magdalene. In our pro-
gress through these, the object of which
is to shew the cause's of Mary's joy upon
tlie unexpected discovery of her master
and friend, we were fully convinced of the
justness of a remark which occi^ in the
conclusion :
** That it is not a formal, careless, or cur-
sory perussd of the sacred histoiT, that can
di^over to us all its beauties, or {et in its just
impressions to our hearts. This can be at-
tained only b^ attentive meditation, and re-
iterated reflection on the scenes and circum-
stances of the events, and on the feelings and
lanouage of the agents. Without this, many
of me beauties of the sacrod story will lie hid*
den from us, and therefore many things that
might have confirmed our faith, and through
that, our virtue, as well as many things that
might have exercised the good aflcctioDS of
our hearts, will remain undiscovered.*'
The same remark is admirably il lustxafed
in tlie three following discourses upon the
words of the angel at tlie «npty tomb,
* Come seethe place where the Lord lay."
From these words Mr. C^pe has sug-
gested many new and beautiful tlioughts,
and derived no weak additional evidence
to that of which we were before in pos*
session, of the reality of that event upon
which tiie faith and hope of the christian
are built.
The nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first
Discourses are on David's Morning Hymn,
of Praise. Tlie 19th Psalm is well' ex-
plained, and the glory of God, as dis-
played by the heavenly luminaries, is pleas-
ingly illustrated. The three concluding
Discourses are of a very peculiar and \'ery
interesting kind. They are entitled. On
the Use and Impravenient to be deritedfrom
severe Illness; and were composed and de-
livered by the author, ^ on recovery
firom a fever, by which he had been con-
fined to his bed several weeks, and hts
life despaired of many days.' Many ex-
tracts were given by Mrs. Cappe, in the
first edition of her Biographical Sketch ;
it is therefore unnecessary for us to say
n;ore respecting these impressive dis-
courses. We cordially join her in tlie
hope and tlie expectation that many yet
mibom may profit by the labours and the
example of this excellent author, and thut
have cause \o join their thankfulness to
that of his family and connections, for the
recovery which enabled him to suggest
such awakening and important truths.
One excellence in this volume we oiust
not omit to mention, and to recorameod
to tlie notice of those who publish ser-
mons for the use of families : a short
prayer is added to all except the two last
discourses, suited to the general train of
thought in the discourse to which it is af-
fixed. Much pious seutiment is found in
these prayers, expressed in simple and im-
pressive language.
We cannot take leave of this volume,
by which we have been so much interest-
ed, and we hc^ improved, better than in
the words of the editor herself :
** It is tme, indeed, that a ^yhit of devotioD
is not tlie spirit of the times ; yet some per-
sons, surely- tliore arc^ who wish to discnmi-
nate accurately between steriing piety, which
leads to every thing great, and noble, and con-
solatory, and that wild enthusiasm which err-
ingly assumes iti honoured name — some, who
wciiild wish to keep stzictly within the bgi^
kij:RrcK*s discourse ov doctrike akd practiob.
mn herotid which*, pleasure, even innocent
lAsboiv, assumes a dinerent character— to
«^i7<- if«». 1 . KEN RiQK. /rt ^tt-o ^oitimcs, 8oo. />/>. 391 flfff/ 373.
iff I
persons such as these, the Sermons here pre-
sented to them, cannot be without their value."
THIS, like, the preceding, is a posthu-
mcus publication,. of considerable value 5
the work of a well known and very re-
jpectable character amongst that class of
protestant dissenters, which is distinguish-
ed by the title of Unitiirwn. Jt appears
m cf»nse<iuence of a recjuest preferred to
the author's widow-, by the congregation of
vhich he had been long a pastor, and
yhich, upon his uney.pocted dcntli, was
^e^.irou5 of having some durable memo-
rial of his virtues and his talents.
^J^ ohjcct (obser\'es the editor) pro-
pCKed m thtf sek^clion of the discourses which
ciBiiiJOse (he two volumes now laid before the
piolic, \a.< iK^n, not to tbrni a work \>hich
roighl recx>mmend it:?elf to any religious i)arty,
*T mourmg its s.-ntiments exclusively, but,
as lar » possible, to exhibit the opinions of
lae author, whether tlu-v concurred with those
JtothcR, or iK>t. . Kvtrv man, who thinks for
fiiaisdf, IS likely to dirti-r in some points of
anjMrtance. even from those with whose views
lib OH n may, for the most part, coincide, and
with whom he may. theretore, be commoniv
nnkwl by some discriminating a[)T)ellation'.
Mr. Kennck did thijik fur himself; nor did
ht htr<itate to declare the n-;u!t of his reflec-
tor oq all i>rop<n- occu'cic.ns. U would not
Wmfore have been to do jusUce to his cha-
wtter, to have kept back anv of hisdiscouT^es,
jLTdi/ because they were distinguished bvst n-
tan.n(, widely differing from those which
wt- embraced by the maj^Mity of christians.
ID no one instance has tliis been done.''
.J^fgPneral character of these volumes
Jul be apparent from these remarks by
the editor. The greatest part of the di/-
coOT^ are doctrinal, and the doctrines
^iMch they are intended to recommend
aresoch as are tisiially deemed heretical.
The first Discourse is enlitled ' The Va-
lue ot Truth and Danger of Error,' and
abounds with forcible and important ob-
wnations. The three following are ' On
the Stare of the Dead 5' tlie design of
^ch IS to prove that there is nointer-
JMJduKe state of consciousness between
tothand the resurrection j anS that all our
iwpesot afuture life depend upon tliat great
c^ent. The preacher's reasoning, though
olten specious, is not always conclusive;
^ in these discourses he has clearly
•hewn diat they who insist so strenuously
ttpon the necessity of a scrupnlous ad-
lierence to die exigence of the place, and
a minute examination of the genuine im-
port of the phraseology of passages of
scripture upon which any doctrine is to be
Alts. Rsy. V9L. IV.
founded, are themselves too prone to vio *
late the principles of interpretation whic'^
they wisely recommend. A dispassionate
enquirer will find many texts quoted in
these discourses without that strict regard
to tlieir terms and situation which so im-
portant a subject as is here discussed re-
quired.
In two succeeding sermons the charac-
ter of Paul is ably vindicated from tiie
charges of Mr. Paine; and in the sevegth
sermon, the epistles of that great apostle
are defended against the attacks of the
same rude champion of Infidelity. Mr.
Paine's groundless invectives against the
gospel, and its earlie:jt preachers, are now,
we hope, and believe, despised or forgot-
ten; but these discourses will be always
valuable as a vindication of a truly exalted
character, and as establishing diis fact, tiiat
' the arguments employed agauist chrfsti-
anily often betray a total ignorance of the
subject on which tliey profess to decide ;
are confident assertions without proof • or^
if they preserve any appearance of argu-
ment, are shewn, by a little examination,
to be wholly inconclusive.* (Vol. i. p. (>8.)
The destruction of the seven nations of
Canaan is explained and vindicated in the
eighdi sermon, upon the principles usually
received.
The ninth sermon, on the religious in-
stmction of children, is highly judicious
and deserving of th« serious atteniioji of
parents. Tliis is followed by one, in which
the preacher endeavours to enforce the
practice of giving the Lord's supper to
children. Mr. Pierce and Dr. Priestley
were strenuous advocates oil the same side.
A valuable part of this publication suc-
ceeds. ' An Inquiry into the best mediod
ot communicating religious Knowledge to
yo^ng Men -; witli, ' An Address to
young Men at the conclusion of a course
of Lectures upon the Evidences of natu-
ral and revealed Religion, and upon other
important Branches of religious Knov/-
ledge.' To minisiers and young persons
out of the pale of the estabhshmeut;, a se*
rious perusal of these cannot he too stre-
nuously recommended.
We gladly tianscribe the following pas-
sages from the address :
"It is a truth, which cdnnot be too strongly
mculcated upou young persons, that a rctjulaf
and frequent perfonnatice of tfie exerci^/es of
devotion is particulaily necessary for therh^
upo n this plaia priiwipie, that the kss there^
M
162
iWEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
of a devotional spirit, the more cuUivalioii it
requires. Those who have long perfonned
these exercist»8 with proper attention, who
have acquired JHSt notions of the Divine Be*
ing, and impressed them deeply \\\wh their
hearts^ may almost venture to truest them-
selves to the habits they have alrrady form-
ed : these will dictate to them such a"tcm[)er
and behaviour towards God, upon all occa-
sions, as it becomes human creatun*s to main-
tain, or at U^ast tnid to strengthen and conlirm
the dU|)ositions they have alreiidy acquired.
The occasional oniiMiou of a religious c:ver-
cise will do them comparatively little injury ;
but to young persons it may be of fatal conse-
Suence: by preventing them from forming a
evout habit of mind, and thus leavmg it to
J)e exposed, untincturcd with religion, to the
corrupting influence of the world. Be con-
stant and punctual, therefore, in observing the
exercises of devotion. Avoid the practice of
attending public worship one part of the day
only* and still more ^he pernicious custom of
spending the whole of the liord's day at home,
in business or amusirment : a custom which,
if it were to become general, vould do much
towards banishing all serious piety from the
kingdom. ' You have nci^d of all the assistance
which you can obtain, and cannot neglect any
without losing an important benefit.**
Speaking of books, Mr. Kenrick ob-
serves :
" But I iriust caution >t)u to beware of
spending much of your time m a S{>ecies of
reading, which is very captivating to yoimg
^rsons, and in which the publications of the
present da^^ afford them abundant op|x)rtu*
jkity of gratifying their inclinations. I refer to
eucb books as come umli'r the d<*scription of
novels and romances. That nctitious charac-
ters nwy be so exhibited, as to afford useful
instruction, cunnot be denied. Virtue may
fee drawn in sucti just and strong colours, as to
engage our' esteem and at! miration; and vice
jepn^aifnted «o odious, as to excite disgust and
aL>hurreucc; impressions, wliich are certainly
calculated to make us cultivate Uie one, and
avoid th«^ other. But when vicious characters
are endowed with the striking qualities of ge-
nius, courage, generosity, and pleasmg man-
ners (;is is generality done, in order to rejider
them interesting), 'tliese qualities lesscm that
horror; which we ought to feel, at the sight
of great crimes, and tend to impair rather thAn
strengthen virtuous footings and habits. 1 o
say thiit cliaracters of this kind, in wliich some
of tlic worst vices are united with many ex-
celltrncos, are natuial, tliat is, occur in real
life, is indeed to asstTt no more than what is
true ; but yet that does not destroy the force
of liiy objection ; for they are not characters
with whom atn' one, who has a regard to his
own moral iinprovnnent, would choose to have
frequent and intimate intercourse; and wliat
is injurious in real life, must l>c so, in some
degree, when exhibited in fable. If, besides
produ4.*ing tl)is evil, these writings give men
hUe ideas of humiui life> aad cucounige ex*
pectations of happiness, which ean never M
fultilled ; * if Uiey exhibit such scenes to the
imagination, as tend to inflame passions, com-
monly too violent already in young persund^
they become still more exceptionable.
" 'Hie objections )ust mentioned lioW, with
still greati*r force, against tiie entertainmeHi
of the theatre ; liecause the language and t^
cliaracters iirr more licentious, anil being i
nearer resemblance of real life, nn- belter W;
culated to make a strong impreasion npon tbt
mind. Both species of amusemenl, atthongki
capable of being employed for useful ouM
pG«es, are generally so conducted ^ to ufej
an unfavourable inHtiencc upon the TiitiieaAl
happiness of mankind. I cannot, theiefoRVi
het]) considering those who read novels, or ai
plays indiflcrtminately, as in danger of haviB|
their morals corrupted, and by 9omt of tktt
in no small degree.
" Thev# who are pleased with the histoif ;
of individuals, will And a more useful, and ■[
less agnH,'able employment, in reading ifa
lives of men, who have taken a dtstingimhd
part in the busiitess of life, and were, at til
same time, emment tor their ywty and viitiA
Partiadarly in reading the lives of those lAl
have endured great calamities, on account m
Uieir religkxM sentiments, 'llie unparaUclel
sufferings of tliesemen (excite onr oonipasaoi
and the deepest fbliorrence of those pcnv
cious principles and passions, by whkh tht)
wen; occasioned ; while the fortitude and Bia|
nanimity, the meekness and patiaice ill
which tliey were borne, fill us with admir
and preixiVe the mind for passing throuilji
scenes with the same temper ; or, alt>
similar trials should never occur to call
the exercise of these virtues, tlicy tend to «i
derate our regard to the world, to which cMl
tians are liable to be too much attached,1
seasons of tranouillity and peace. Many \
lustrious examples ot this lund you wiQ il
in the history of the puritans and noo-ca
Ibrmists in Kngland ; among the prote<^
tlirou^hout Europe ; and among the priniilii
christian martyrs, iji every part of thewoflM
Brave and generous spirits, ye were the d!
daunted advocates of truth; the omamfl
and glory of human nature ; the gn-ate^l h
nefactorsof the hmnan race; all ages wlHni
your history witl\ adjniratkn, and ycxirfl
amples will inspire the heart with virtue to!
latest generatkMis."
The thirteenth sermon treats upon
much diiiputed subject of natural
moral evil witL reference to the "
benevolence of the Deity, with whidi
vins attribute the preacher shows the pi
mission of evil is not at variance. In t
fourteenth sermon^ the scriptural pin
' remission of sins>* Is explahied, W
no little ability, upon unitarian princifJI
The four jfbllowing sermons, on * G«|
Motives,* deserve the attentive considdl
tioh of the untieliever. ITic modi
which Christ and his apostles proposed!
lieit ibewn to have been^ kve cffd
ninUW
athid
allM
&£KltCK'6 DWCOtJHSEl ON DOCl'RlKB AND PKACTICB.
I6t
tod ftar of censure J rational self-interest 5
heocfcknce to niefi) and a regard to
Cod.
« We sec then," observes our author, after
t wrr accurate examination of this important
' «bj«t, " that Clu-ist and his aposUe* recom-
I iiMaded to men their duty by motives, which
are not only ratbnal and powerfiil, and there-
AnuadapUid lo their purpose, but by such also
» U3xi to unprove and exalt the characters of
those, who arc under thWr influence, to raise
thrm faun one degree of virtue to another,
until ihi'v aiuin the peifertbn of human be-
aiws ionn the love of praise, and the pursuit
©f fetf-mterest, to the practice of benevolence,
to a Mffd to God ajui to ctuMcience. From
bodiUKJSc considerations, therelbre, we may
jwtly infer Uie excellence of the instructiong
which they delivered.
. '* If we compare the mode of instruction
pMed by them, with that whic'h was followed
I hy other leachere, we shall perceive their su-
I pcnonty. The prccepfcj of morality made no
i part ot the heathen religion, nor did their
finesft enjoio tiie practice of it as necessary in
f order to pPDcure tiie fiivoiir of tlieir divinities;
<^eO'tojn5 that was requisite they represented
; ^ coQSBtJDg m the performance of some
; tomng ceremony, which had no connection
! gghvinne. Their philosopliers, indeed, de*
! liwa some excellent sentiments on the sub-
; ject of morals'; but the motives by which they
^ISL***^!^' ^'^ founded upon present
•d^erest, the good of society, or the good
rfthw country. Tlie grand moUvc to a good
f ^ 1 *^^'"1 fro"" tJie doctrine of futiu-c
•iT Ai?? P*'"*^"™*^"*^*' ^'*^ ^™ ^« belief
« JmAhnightv Being, the present witness of
wactions and our future judge, were left out
I ci Uwr system. What feeble obstacles to the
'25" headstrong passions other motives
i a»wl, m comparison with these, I need not
attempt to prove.
" It may now be asked, how came Jesus,
w» r-s only the son of a carpenter, and him-
waa caipenter, or his apostles, several of
^toa were iishennen,. so well acciuainted
»mi human lUiture, as to know what motives
»^ calculated to reach the human heart,
»Hfto mve the greatest authority to those
«ufh deserve most weight? Or. if natural dis-
eajment taught them this, which is verv un-
nWy, considering that they had escaperl the
flj^eramcnt of the wisest philosophers ; bow
ojnctfaey, ,f they were impostors, to iiKulcate
l2«tl»-irtollowersthepraoticeof disinterested
wvolence, and to tpach them, above all
fS^'i^^^J^i ^^^ "Shts of conscience, and
21? I ^^' **^"* ^***^'* iinpostore give
'wMnscIves no concern? How came they to
2** a contempt for worldly pleasure and
fj^ and for a temporal' interest, and to
jwctusto fix our principal regards on the
fm^ of a future life, which happiness is
»conj« not like the paradise of iMihomct,
2?«s«al delights, but in the society of the
«^s, and w serving God with improved
^f When they promised honour to those
■w complied witii their precepts, why was it
honour ftom the few accompanied with dis*
■ grace ftiom the multitude? Thi* was surely
not to act the part of impostors, who endea*
vour to suit tiieir doctrine to the taste of their
hearew, and who, having in view temporal
and present rewards themselves, propose tliem
to others. This conduct can be accomited
for only upon the suppositions that the reli-
gion whicli they taught came from heaven,
and that they were instructed by God himself
m tlie motives by which it was to be enforced.
If yoii set a value u\xm the best means of
your improvement in goodness, you will not
sulfer such a religion to be easily wrested out
of your hands." .
The nineteenth sermon treats of tho
observance of the sabbath, and is distin-
^ished by its piety no less than its entire
freedom from austere and superstitious
notions : and the volume concludes witli
a brief view of wliat the author deemed
incontrovertible evidence of the humanity
of Christ. ^
The second volume opens with a ser-
mon oh Public Worship j in which that
practice is very ably defended. Many
useful observations are found in the four
following discourses : On the Fear of the
Lord J the Moral Sense; against Indif-
ference to Religious Truth ; and Christian*
the Salt of the Earth. The twenty-sixth
sermon, on the phraseolog}' of the epis-
tles, is a useful epitome of Dr. Taylor's
key to the apostolic writings. The seven
discourses which follow, are upon the
doctrine of atonement, and were delivered
originally as lectures to a class of young
men. Tiiey are entitled, Rej)entance and
Reformation only required in order to
acceptance with Grxl. On the design
and ends of tlie death of Christ, The
nature and design of the sacrifices of the
Mosaic law explained. The figurative
language applied to the death of Christ
m tlie New Testament explained. ITie
doctrine of Ciirist's atonement inconsist-
ent with reason. On the language ap-
plied in the New Testament to the death
of Christ. And inferences from the false-
hood of the doctrine of atonement. It ij|
acknowledged in an advertisement pre-
fixed to the^rst, that in various places of
these the author has closely followed the
essays on tlie death of Christ, &c. pub-
lished by Dr. Priestley, under the name
of Clemens, in theThecilogical Repository.
To these succeed seven sermons of a mis-
cellaneous nature. On the necessity of
providing a subsistence for public instruc-
tors, pr^ched in aid of a collection for
the sup[X)rt of dissenting ministers in
Devonshire and a neighbouring county.
Ai^ainst persecution for reMgious opiuiwj.
I64r
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
On the fivture existence of infants ; print-
ed before, but now published for the tirst
time. On tlie vahie of life, aiul tlie law-
fulness of wishing it terrainatiHi. On the
d'linger of bad company, which contains
several cautions tliat may prove highly
useful to tlie young. A sermon preached
liefore the western unitarian society : and
FduYs valedictory prayer explained and
improved.
Such are tlie subjects, which in tiiese
voKimes are presented to the notice of
tlie public. Their value will be variously
estimated, according to the ' measure of
orthodox faith which may have fallen to
the share of their various readers. Un-
biassed by any partiality for the author or
his opinioiLS, or any undue attachment to
such parts of our own creed as !i^ rhay
have opposed> we hehitote not to axow
that we liave found in these discour-jes
niany evidences of an enlightened under-
stiulding, an extensive knowledge of the
scriptures, and a^ spirit of rational piety.
To the unl>eliev#r they suggest many
striking proofs of the truth and value of
tlie revelation he contemns ; to tlie young
tliey ofter many salutary and inbtructive
lessons ^ to the advocate of established
creeds, they exhibit a pleasing denied*
stration, that some good thing may stUi
come out of Nazareth ^ aud in the brcart
of those whose sentiments are here viinfi-
cated, they will awaken tlie regret which
must have been felt ♦ at 'the loss of si>
zealous and able an advocate.
Art. XIX. — Sermons on ran'ous Subjtcfff. By the Reverend Joseph Townsend, M, A,
Hector of' Peii'sey, 8vo. pp. 384. ^
IT was the intention of the venerable
author, as we arc informed in the preface,
'* to have reserved the publication of
these discourses for his executors. But
lumenting to see that the progress of inli-
dolity, and tlie morals of the age, are .such
as to call loudly for die zealous exertions
of all the friends of religion, piety, and
virtue, he resolved to lose no time in
committing his dioughts and admonitions
to the press. They were composed more
than twenty years ago, but constant oc-
<'upation prevented their receiving those
i.i>t toLicIios, which were required, before
the author could venture to submit them
to rho Inspection of the public.** Pref.
T. V. vi.
The volume is small, aud the subjects
of investigation arc few 5 hut we recom-
iiitucl it as containing much important
iiibtruction, and peculiarly worthy of dia
•trious rt^gard of youth. Would they
but lihten to die counsels of age and ex-
pt-rience which are here <3fi:ered, inlideiity
v^uuld not be so prevalent, and Uie vices
^f ilie age would be checked.
The iirst .sc-rrnon is, on the being of a
God. In this the pre:i«:ljer" exposes the
absurdities of ailiclsni ; ijup^gests many
arguments to prove the exStence of an
intelligent first cause, drawn tVom the
"Vvorks' of nature; and deduces from the'
subject some good practical relleciions.
The second and diird sermons are on the
moral law. I'hey are designed to shew
ti)at diere can be no consistency of con-
duct, no stability in virtue, without re-
spect to the laws of die Most High. These
are sotVi«what 4iifu£e %Vkd decl^matoryi
In the two succeeding sermons, on th«
gospel, die preacher demonstrates by an
a]>peal to the systems both of ancient and
modern philosophers, that no satisfactory
knowledge concerning religion can be ob-
tained without the aid of revelation. These
dis( over much ability. We transcribe the
following passage from the fit'th sennoQ:
" What then is the boast of human reasoi^
and where shall philosc^phy begin her tri-
umph }
" Let the impartial judge then tell us vhat
advantage the wise and learned of this voA^
have acquiretl over die humble dk^ciples of
tiie dcispised Jesus, if they have cto advan-
tage, what occasion can there be to warn the
christian against philosophers ? Is it presum-
able that he should be plundered of his hopt
by men who have no hope to animate tbar
zeal, and no certainty to guide their steps? It
is at least possible ; and the diuiger to be ap-
prehended niav be jmputed, either to insa-
tiable thirst for knowledge, to vanity and self-
conceit, or to Inortliiiate deshe of lilenuT
fame. ** Ye sliall be as Gods, knowing goud
ajid evil," was the riret and prevalent teinpta*
tion ; and from that fatal hour, whilst the way
to the tree of life hath been almost des«*itc4
and untrodden, -philosophers have been
crowding round th«j tree of knowledge, and
contending tor its fruit.
"The desire of information cannot pioperiy
be considered as fli^ sJource oi error. But
when, impatient to be coiitined within' the
bounds wfiich the God of nature hath esta-
blisliedK men, eager in pursuit of science, quit
tlie province whicii belongs* to reason, and
follow Uieir speculations, where they can de-
rive ne ■ assistance from revelation, tney imi^
XCander widely from the trutli. As long as
they coniine their inquiries to numbers a6d U>
quantity i ks long as their researches ntialt
TOWNSENDS SERMONS.
165
oairUthow^ sciences and subjects, of which
n'jr«t« i< coiiipKifit to judge, ihev will arrive
3«rcfuJiK\'; aftid the juVtuess of their conclu-
ntKHvilibe iiuivcrsaiJy acknowIedgtHl. Jki-
ToiK this all is darkness, conjecturis and dis-
fwee. ^Vh^^p reason is compiHcnt to jud^^e,
the vlioie earth is of one language ; but when,
■ihiwt authority, men attempt to build a
loucr. whose top may reacli to heaven, all is
QontuiioD, and the wisest appeal* to be void
ufundenianding.
"Optical deceptions in the two extremes
of Y won, are not more frecmeht than those of
llie cijid, when it is stretched to the full in-
ienskfj of thought: w^hcn we are to comj)are
iilejs which are distinct and clear, we may
ttfciV draw conclusions: \ihen they are ob-
scuffi 2nd faint ; when the mind can si arcely
prasp them ; when it is either confounded at
eiery step by ill defined resemblances, or
urrhle to acquire ideas that are complete and
C0iiipr«fhpnsivc ; w.e should suspend our as-
sent, and rest sati§(i<>d with doubting. When '
the daud tluis remains u[)Oij our tabernacle,
like Israel we should (x>ntinue in our tents.
"Tarough the long period of revolving
ap's murii hath been added to tJie common
itixkoi science, innumerable facts have ber*n
a>cx.»rt4ined, and'from them, as far as relates
to f!'e ina(x:rial world, most important deduc-
liwK have been made ; yet we may venture
toa^ert, that, as to invisible antl eternal ob-
k«i<, independently of revelation, we can
wiitol no Nuch pn)!;ress, nor is one cloud re-
moved which hung over the liead of our most
nanotc progenitor."
To these succeed eight sermons on
Umptaiiofi. In these tlie progress of
tempCatioo, tlie means of avoiding, of re-
sisting, and of passing through it, supe
lepresented with much ingertnily and
fora\ ITiese di«conr>es might have lx{;fi
compressed, perhaps, with advantage, and
tlieir eil'ect wonld still be encreased were
the arrangenieat which iJie author has
with judgment adopted, more clearly
panted out to the ordinary reader ; for
the weighty trutlis they contain, and the
tbitible manner in which these truths are
proposed, they deserve imqualified com-
mendation. The following passxigc, which
exlubiis a fair specimen ot the wJiole si^ries
of these discourdcs, will prove to our rend-
ers that the judgment we have pronounced
is not erroneous :
" To avoid temptation, men of \irtuou$
prinriples must be careful upon all occuaioiis
to appear what in reality llu'v are. It is not
jecussarv that you should a»^ume pecuUiur «e«
Tttity of manners, nor that you should make a
witton dispkiy of your religious principles :
hut that, if^you arc indeed a friend to virtue,
you should never upon any account put on the •
(lisorise of cold Indffierence to its interests,
«M much kss sbculd you atfecl to be a friend
to vice. Vriulsi yoQ carefully avoid ostenta-
tion and hyptx-risy, takc^ hetnl that neither
false imxlesty nor me fear of ridicule betray
you into mischief. If religion be a cheat, re- *
nounce it ; if it be true, be not ashamed to-
own it, nor afraid to manifest the niost hivio-
lable attachment to its precepts.
" A word, a look, on some occasions, are ■
suflicieiit to encourage or to check tempta-
tion. Few men have lost all regard to ciia-
racter, nor will they venture to proceed, till-
Uiey have felt their way ; more especially if
any doubt remains upon their mind of the
teniper, principles, and disposition of the per-
son whoni they mean to gain. Guilt cannot
meet the eyes of inncx-ence, but, covereil with
confu>ion, shrinks back, when in danger of de-
tection, and then either returns to the as.-ault
with greater caution, if encouraged to proceed,
or, if confmned in the opinion, that your
virtue is not to be cormpted, makes a preci-
pitate retreat. Only tor a moment let your
conduct be inconsistent with ) our priiicii)ies ;
understand by signs, and by signs j)arley wit !i
sin ; or discover the least degree ot hesitation,
and the tejnjiter will advance with the conli- •
dencc of victory. None but the most prolli-
gate and hardened wretch, void of understand-
ing, and lost to all the feelings of luunanity,
can propose a base and dishonourable action,
without he has some reason to imagine that his
proposition will be accepted. Uut, when you
shall have lost your reputation for integrity, .
no one will take the trouble to speak darkly.
No : when inclin<?d to the commission oi a
crime^^he will without reserve or fear make .
known his p >rpose, and urge you to be a par- .
taker of his guilt. Had Joab maintainetl a
character for virtue, or had he been known to
regard his honour us a soldier, he had not been
calltKl upon to extHrute the base and execrable
purpose of his sovereign.
** A character for religious principle will be a
strong bulwark against ihe assaults of sin, not •
only as ke(»ping the wicked at a proper dis-
tanc e, but as operating on that laudable kind
of pride \vhich naturally is found in evtTy
breast, the pride of character, the sense of ,
dignity, discovered in regard to tlie good
0]»inio'n of mankind, which is only to be se»
cunxl by consistency of conduct. .Suppose
that your rejHitation stands uriimpeached ; you
must of nwesslty desire to pn^st^rve it spotless :
but if it be lost'aiid past redemption, you wiU
be indilierent to the good 0|)inion of the
world, and will bid a dieu to sliame, Hanislu^
from the society of those who*;e virtue niigl»t
reclaim you, and condemned to pass your
time in the miserable haunts of impii.ty and
vic«' ; exposed conliimally to sin, and harden-
ed by the bad examplt»s which sunvund you,
you resw-n»ble the unhappy lejjcrs of Cartha-
gena, in New Spain, who, whhout distinction
of rank or fortune, are thrust out of the city
and compelled lor ever to associate only with
those loathsome objects, who are infected by
the same disease. (UUoa, B. 16. 5.)
<* Supposiiig that your character is not past
166
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
redemption, hut only wounded; yet your
powers of resistance are thereby considerably
weakened: for how can vou at any time pU'ad
regard to conscience, when your conscience
is known to be occasionally subservient to
your evil inclinations ? Nay,* do but manifest
in a single instance ths^t you csin violate ita
dictates, and you will b« ashamed to urge it
^ a plea for not complyhig with the di^ires
of either friend or patron, from whom you
have any tiling to hope or fear."
Tlie volume concludes witli two ser-
mons on the leaven of tlie Sadducees and
Pharisees, designed as a caution agaibst
infidelity and sensuality oii the one hand,
and hypocrisy, spiritual pride, selfishness,
and other crimes of die ancieot Pliarisees,
ou the other.
In the preface to this very useful vo-
lume, we are infiirmed that, with the
same view of leading men to the practice
of virtue and tlie knowledge of truth,
the autlior is now preparing for the pre^s
Observations on the Character of Moses,
lifi an historian, as a lawgiver, and as a
prophet.
<'This work will embrace a variety of in-
teresting objects.
" As an historian, Moses displays the work
of creation in its progressive stages, till it ter-
minated in the formation of tiK* human race.
He gives an accoimt of our fall from a state
of hinocence and virtue to the most abject
conditk>n of depra\ity and vice, lie dt-
scribes an universal delug** ; he speaks of tlie
dispersion of mankind, and affirms, that, prior
to this event, the whole earth was of one lan-
guage ; he represents to us tlie sunplicity of
manners which prevailed in the jjastoral ages,
the nature of the patriarchal government, and
the introduction of sacritice, with other reli-
Sious observances universally prevalent from
le most remote antiquity.
** I'hese subjects lead to geological discus-
tkMis, and to the examination of tlie various
languages which are spoken in En^ope, AA,
Africa, and Ajiierica.
•' In his geological disaissions, the author
has examined tlie Several strata whicii appear
in every part of Europe ; but he lias paid
more particular attention to such as prevail
in Britain, and has described their usual bqcn
cession, range, tlijckness, dip, and disloca-
tion<«, the materials ol' which they are com-
posed, with their extraneous fossils, and the
Useful puriKJst^ for wliich tht^se materials are
adapted, tiie nature and extent of springs, aod
the regions to which both coals and uihieial
productions are confined.
"In his examtnatiop of languages, he hai
sclt*cted 3,600 words, in English,^ all mono*
syllabic, lus behig most aiicunit, aiid tfiese he
has compared witli corresponding expn^oos
in three score languages, in order to depioo-
strate that they all originate in one. Thit
part of his wort ma v be considered as a key ta
the languages of Euro]H*, because, to any
j^erson wlio is intimately acquainted with one
of these, it facilitates tlie acquisition of all .the
rest.
" T\\e fii-st part of his work is almost ready
for the press, and will appt-ar in one quarto
volume. It has (x-cupied twelve years of
close application and unremitting attcntioD.
Indeed, the whole bent of his studies, for
inorethan half a century, niay be cunsidercd
as having been directed to this object, because
it has4)tH^n constantly preparing hijn for the
undcrtakhig.
" Whem ver that volume shall appear, it
must not be considered as incomplete with-
out tlie succeetling volnm«% because it will
thorrnighly investigate the character of Moses
as an liistorian, which has no dependance oo
what is meant to follow, respoctmg his com-
parative merit as a legislator and a prophet.
In a word, it will stana like the principal and
central portion of a vast edilice, to which the
wings may be occasionally added to' compocie
one whole."
We look for the appearance of this
work with some degree of impatience.
Art. XX. — SertTi^om Preached to a Country Congregation. To which are added, a few
Hints for Sermons, intended chit fly for the Uae of the younger Clergif. By the late M'il-
LiAM GiLFJN, M, A, Prebendary of Saiisbury, aiul f^car of Boldre, in New Forr^f.
VoL IV, Published by his Trustees for the Benefit of his School at Boldre, 8vo. pp. 42 J.
Mb. GILPIN's character as a plain and
gerious preacher, hag been long known
and highly esteemed ; and the well earned
reputation which he enjoyed during lite,
as a faithful parish-priest, will not be di-
minished by this posthumous volume,
prepared by himself tor the presg. Regret,
indeed, will be felt that tliis has closed h\9
labours ; and an ardent wish will be ex-
cited in the breast of every reader who
wishes well to his country, and to the
(;;b8|)el of Christ, that the Lord of the har«i
vest would graciously send other such
labourers into his harvest.
The first sermon in this volume wai
preached before the bishop of Winchester
at Southampton in the year ] JSS, and has
already appeared in print. The object
which the preacher had in view was to
enforce upon his reverend brethren the
atudy pf the scriptures: and many judi*
cious and many candid remarks occur.
The following is not the least deserving
of Dotioe in au age too much distinguisbea
61L?IN*S tBlMQKS*
16;
VyiWgotedattochnient tg meUphysical
tbcolog)':
"Thus again, with regard to the other im-
port2m fubjfct, on which I touched, as there
aie many px<sages of scripture relating to the
Jmnuoitv of Christ as welh as his divinity, I
cinmrt pe»uade myself, (as some pious people
jttve doue), that an exact faith on tha head
V Mcessary to salvation. Numbers, I have .
no doubt, wii| bt- saved through the merits of
ChrBt, H-ho conceive hiin qiiIv as their law-
gifc^, aqd conseieiUiously oWy hi« laws;
though thev mav not have those ex«iUed ideal
of his divine nature, to which our Scriptural
fule, 1 think, so directly leads. If their holy
ixG iaveallained the principal end of a better
toilb, they ttught not surely to be Ivandod
^ hard nai«es, and c6nsid(»red among
thi>i n'ko dctiff Christ before metiy
♦* We arc sometimes told they ought ; be-
cause without this exalted faith in the divine
namrc of s^ s^vitwir, the mmd cannot attain
thc}>eelev^t'<l heights of love, which the gos-
pel pr(*«ribe?, — One should think so indeed :
but before we pass these harsh censuri's on
lihers, let any of us.wlio do hokl that doiv
trinp, a<k our own carnal hearts, whether it
purify thorn in this exalted manner?"
The second sermon preached at a visi-
talion, has also appeared before the public.
The republication of it is well timed, and
we a^ persuaded tliat if our clergy would
attend to the admonitions which are here
dpUveied, they would secure respect tq
theuMelveis,and lessen the influence which
ignorant aiid fanatical preachers so ^ta%
possess.
Thirteen sermons follow upon import-
ant practical subjects, all distinguished by
eittllent maxUns oif conduct, enforced
with great seriousness, and delivered in
chaste and simple language, level with the
capacity of every rustic hearer^ and adapt-
ed to make its way to the lieait. We
could select, if it were necessary, in proof
of the justness of tlie cliaracter which we
ascribe to these sermons, and for the
pleasure and improvement of our readers,
many such passages a:^ the following i
"Our aptness to deceive ourselves ipro-.
feeds eniiriHy from self-love. If it was not
thai we b%e ourselves better than our neigh-
bour, we should be as quick-sighted to our
ovn faults as we are to his. But self-love
blinds us. As parents are blind to the ble-
mishes of their cliiklren, and skreen theni
often under harmle» names, so are we bl'md
to our fiuilts, and have a tliousaiid excuses
fcr than, which neither shew their nature nor
our i^U, but merely our own self-love. —
Pt^ps all your neighbours know you lead a
wtlijh life: you spend much of your tune,,
and much of your mdney, in company and
bpor; youios« yonr businissi as few p^oE^e
care to have dealings witU a man who can be
so little depended on: your family suffers:
in short, you have made yourself a very con-
temptible felloxv. Yet still you stand high in
yo\ir own esteem. You have your excuses
always ready. Perhaps you can afford to
spend vour money} so that you injure nobody
but yourself; as if the kinder God is to you,
the more right you have to squander what he
gives. Or perhups, though you may hav.»
been sometimes guilty of a little excess, yet
it has been very si'ldom, and ne\'er without a
good reason : you were fa^tigued, and wanted
a little n-freshment ; or. you just stepjied in to
talk with a neighbour on business; or, m
short, there was something which makes your
offence ver)' tritling in your own eyes, though
the n»al cause was neither more nor less than
a love for liquor ; and every body sqj.^ it but
yo^uself.
" Again, it is suspected tliat you have not
always bc*en quite so honcsC as yoU should
have been; that your bargains have not al-
ways bexni fair and oix?n ; that you have some-
times endeavoured to over-reach a neighbour
secTetly, where you knew the law could not
touch you ; tliat you liave taken the adv»itagu
of the ignorance of a purchaser, to charge
more than you knew your commodity was
wortli ; that vou have praised the commoditjr
YQu sold for qualities which you Wvll knew it
ilid not possess.— Now, tho\igh you know all
this to be true, you will prob^ibTy lesson it m
your own eyes by a thousand little shuflling
excuses. Let the purchaser (you may sug-
gest to youTselO mind hfe business ; 1 mmd
mine: I do not im|X)se upon him, he imposes
on himself: he should examine what he buys ;
I am not to teach him his business: ,am 1 to
be both buyer and seller ?— there is an art m
every thing— there is an art ot buying, and
an art of selling ; and a man must live by his
art.— By such self-deceit you can easily im-
pose on yourself; but how are your eV^ions
overturned by one plain question, whuh an
honest conscience would suggest! Suppose a
ron should treat you In this way. Suppose
should sell you an unsound beast for a
sound one, or a piece of damagc*d goods for
what ought to have been perfect, and allege
all the excuses which you have just alleged,
would vou be imposed uiion by them?
Would you, m short, call him an honest man ;
or would not you be more ineUned, as I
verily suppose you would, to thuik him, with
all his tine excuses, an arrant knave ?
'• You sec then, my brethren, how self-love
imposes on us, ajid makes the same tlung, or
nearly the same thing, appear trifling in our^
selves, whkh appeared so offensive in our
neiRhbour. You see how difficult it ts for any
one to sav to himself. Thou art the man ;
though each of us is ready enough to condemn
an offending brother,"
Nine sermons on St. Mattliew's gospel
are published m this volume, "as a spe-
cimen of a mode of preaching which Mr,
Gilpin thought might be uscfva. to. «
ijCft
THEOLCXJY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFF-tVIRS.
country congregation/' Theae deserve
atuiuionj but they will be fcnind not
t,iirticieut!y extended. Top large a por-
ticki of scripture forms the subject of each
dkscourhe. The utility of such a plan can-
not be disputed. As Mr. Gilpin rightly
observes, " The scriptures' will be read
with more pleasure, the more each little
difficulty which now and then stops an
unlearned reader i.^ removed."
The twenty-fifth and concluding ser-
mon, following immedijtjly those on
St. Matthew's gospel, is designed to shew
fliat the words of eternal life are tlic only
safe guides we can follow in the invest i-
gation of truth, and in the government of
our conduct.
This volume contains twenty-three,
gketche^ as hints for sermons. The
younger clergy, e3pecially such as are set*
tied in country villages, cannot do beitef
either lor themselves or their tiock, than
occasionally to fill up tliese outlines, faith-
fully copying the style and colouring of
tlie^e finished pictures of this master.
Tiie volume concludes with two excel-
lent tracts ; one an analysis of Pours
epistle to the lloitta^ts ) tlie other entitled
lUusti-ations used by St. Paul in his u-n/iiig-t.
In the controversy, which is now agitatol
within the pale of the established church,
the first of these tracts may be foiuid use-
ful. We recommend it to the serious
con.sidera(i6n of those who are zealously
coiit<*ruiing {or the calvinistic doctrine^
whioJi they assert is to be found in tli©
seventeenth article of faitli..
Art, XXI. — Sermons for the UseofCoUcv^cs,.^chi)oh,andFnmilics. ^// John Xaple-
Tov, D» D, Chancellor of the Diocese, and Canon lie$idcntiartj of the Cuthedral Church
ofHtrrford. 8vo. pp. 382.
THIS second volume will ably support
the credit which the first conferred upon
the autlior, as a sound and useful preacher.
The sermons now published display a
correct taste and an enlightened judg-
ment : the discussion of mysterious and
metaphysical doctrines gives place, as it
ought, to practical theology j the style is
plain without meanness, level with the
attainments and the capacities of a nistic
dudiencc, and at the same time not un-
united to the chapel of a college. Nor
ire tiic subjects upon which the preacher
dwells unimportant, as will be seen by the
following sketch of the contents of this
volume : On setting God before us. On
not caring for religion. On faith. On
profession of faitli. On the miracles of
Christ. On prophec)'. On the uses of
the law. The great exemplar. On the
feabbath. On religious knowledge and
practice. On exemplary conduct. On
temporal happiness. On sickness. On
^e resurrection of Clirist. The divine
nature hidden. On christian mourning.
Approach towards perJection. On con-
solation. These subjects aie well diss
cussed in twenty sermons,
Tlie following extract, very important
in itself, will convey to our readers a just
notion of the style and manner of our
preacher. It is selected from the dir-
course on miracles. Having shewn iii
llie first place that the miracles of Jesus
were such as could not possibly be effected
by hiunan art or ir*du&try^ he thus piro*
ceeds:
^' Secondly, The miracles, of Jesus vere
of such a niturc, and so circumstanced, that
it was niipossihle for a witness of common sciise
to iniagmn they were eflccted if tlirv wtre
not ; or to doubt whether tht y were cifected
or no. 'i'hey were no spectre, or apparition,
presented for a moment to the eye; no
sounds, or vi >iccs, otlercd for an instant to the
ear ; passing away before tiie resiKrclive or-
gans could seize their object, and distinctly
examine it ; or before the rei)ort of oue seu>c
could be tried bv that of another; bt-tbre
reason could dci-ide upon the comjwund re-
port of hot h. They Mere no objects exhibit '^1
to the doubting senses, at undue di^tancc^. or
through df^cinng mediums : no bumini;
comets, or portentous appearances in the ^kv,
or in the air. These miracles W4n*e laid bet'ore
the witnesses in as clear a manner, and f<»r ji
lonuj a time, as the ordinary works of uaturiv
or the con)mon performances and transaciions
of mankind. 'Ihey fell mjder tiiOiie senses
wliirli ar«^ lea^t capable of being deceive<l:
they were setni, tliey were heard, they were
handled ; they had all tiio evidence*' whu h
the faculties of man can ij:ive him of the ex-
fstence of any tiling in tliis material w<irld.
If 1 see " the man sick of a jwlsy arise, take,
up his bed, and go into his house," 1 hu^e
the same assurance of his cure, as I hatl \y>
tore of his infimiity. If tiie fever, or tlie K^
prosy, deixirtat the touch ofJouSjthe healih
and soundness of the patient is as numifei?t, ai
if it had proceeded from the slow ojx^raiitKi
of medicine, or the gradually a*tnrning
healthy state of natu re. The wsten? of i^a/a-
rus, and the Jews of Bethany, had not Kettt-r
proof tliat Lazarus was bom, and liatl livi*d
among them before his death, and that he wai
dead and buried, than "that he 'returned to
them from his grave, and lived with theni
afterwards. The farts were' evident in Iheip
nature ; complete in tlie cNecution ; lasthig oi
thQi* eAecU Xaxxxsm reui^ed witl^ his '&•
MORTONS SERMONS.
169
tians," and instmcted moreover by revelations
from heaven. This people had, before the
birth of our Saviour, in consequence of their
captivities and olher circunistunpes, inter-
mixed with various other civilized nations.
Conquest and proselytisin had brought to
them divers foreigners to administer their
government, and to worship at their altarsl
They had strangers from Rome, visitors from
Africa, and from distant parts of Asia. It
was probably from this intercourse .witii fo-
reign nations, that they were become deger
neratc in their religious principles. As the
conversation of their idoiutrous neighbourdL
had fonncrly seduced them into gross and
horrid superstitions ; so now they had import-^
ed from distant countries the mOre rehned,
but- not less d^gerous, poision of infidel ity^
The creed of the early ages was now question-
ed among them by a presumptuous philoso-
phy. What holy Job believed, and what
Abniham knew by familiar experience, wai
rejected by the pretended wisdom of these
eniightent'cl tunes : for there were some among
the disciples of Moses, and even in the sanhe-
drim, who " said there was no resurrection ;
neither angel, nor human spirit." But this un-
happy prejudice, into whicli a part of tiie na-
tion (the Saddiicees) had' fallen, confinns the
incontestible n^ality of tlie miraclesx)f Jesus ;
as ft rendered them more averse from hit
person and doctrine ; more unbelieving of his
- divine character, more ouick-sightod in the
examination of his wondrous works ; more
determined, had it been possible, to disallow
them, and defeat their credit. As his reli-
gious doctrine clashed with the notions of the
Sadducee, so did the lowliness of his worldly
situation and pretensions disaj^point the ex-
pectations, and excite ilie aversion, of the
Pharisee ; who, though he believed a resur-
rection and a lifv* to come, yet could not re-
sign the temrxiral dominion and prosjjerity,
which he liad promised to himself fiom " the
redeemer of Israel.*' It ajjpears then jjlainly,
wliat was tiie scene of our Saviour's miracles,
and who were tlie spectators. ** These thing?
were not done in a comer,** nor before in^*
competent or favourable judges."
^Ekf n object of admiration to the people,
tod of ienpor to the chief pne.-<ts. M ary Mag-
4«{efl^ rescued fioui the, doininion of evil
ipm^ irred to be a sober witness of her sa-
vour's nsurrectioD. it b said also, that .many
otiier^ who had in like manner experienced
hs power and goodness, lived in the days of
the apostles to extreme old age.
" ihinlly. The miracles of Jesus were por-
fcnned in a civiKzed nation ; m an enlight-
ened age ; at public iistivals, and in other
^rge as&»emblies ; befinre witnesses of various
stations, cbamctecs, and countries. The Jews,
amcmg whom our Saviour was bom, and be-
fore whom he exiiibited his mightv works,
had long since, from the special advantages
wiuch they enjoyed, (though not always
bom the use which tiiey made of them,) de-
served the distinction of " a wise and under-
standing oeople." They were in possessbn
of an autfientic history of the world, be^n-
nin^ at the creation, carried through the lirst
ag€5, and tracing the origin of the earliest na-
tions. They liad a system of tnie religion
and soimd niorality, luiknown in the schools
of Athens, or in the palaces of Rome, 'llwy
had poetry not surpassed in any age or
rountry. XU these confessedly were written
by their anci'^tore, read in their synagogues,
tdught in their schools, revered in' their tami-
l*es. The spUfndour of their temple, the cu-
rious manulacture of its furniture, their ajipli-
Citioii of muMcal instruments and voices in
surprisii^ nuinbcTs, to high strains of elo-
iiucoice upon the noblest siiDJects, — all these,
existing a thousand years before the coming
of Christ, shew tiieir rank among the nations
of tho« primitive times in the arts and em-
bellbhiiienti of life. So that if any writer,
:.nri«it or modern, has thought proper to
>j»e.ik of tliem as an obsKJure, ignorant, or
barharuus people, he seems to have been
KUilc.1 by national or sceptical pRyudice ; or
to have been influf»nced by a partial view of
tlieir present hmnlliated state : forgetting how
fifv, ifany, of the European nations, among
vkom the providence ot God hath scatterccl
iliem, can shew any evidence of cultivation,
or^fven of existence,'at the time when '* Moses
*as learned in all the wisdom of tlic Egyp-
AiT. XXII. — Strmons on various interesting SubiecU. By the Reverend Joshua Morton,
Hear ofRistL'li/ in the Counti/ of Bedford, and Chaplain m ordimiry to his Rot^U HigJu^s0-
the Prince of '/rales, FoL 11. 8vo. pp. 385.
TO those who have approved of the
former volume, this also will be accepta-
ble ; and (hat many have approved of it,
may be reasonably concluded from the
appearance of that now before us. Or-
tuodox, coniitient, versed in a kind of
phraseology higlily pleasing to the mul-
Wude of christian bel ievers, Mr. Morton^
We have no doubt, is a popular preacher,^
and will easily find readers and admirers/
His bookseller we apprehend will never
say of his discourses, as we are informed
one of the trade said of a volume already
flQiiccd^ tliat tkey arc too good for sale.
Thirty sermons are contained in this vo*.
lume, upoir the following subjects : Di-
vine worship. The gospel the word of
life. Thd fell of man. The fall general..
All men under the sentence of tl)e law.
The redemption of man by Christ.- The*
ministry of reconciliation^^ Dearfi. ' Tha»
uncertainty of life. God chastiscth tig-
for our • good. Prayer. Perseverance in>
prayer. The strong hold, llie work of.
salvation. The tnie rest of tlie gospel.
The blessings resulting from tlie ascension
of Christ. iJelshazzar's feast. The peni-»
tout's prayer. The prodigal son, Hope,
170
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
passtonon him, and went to him and hcmni
up hU wouncky pounn^ in oil and wine. In
the obedience of fai^ lite was formi;d a periert
righteousness, satlsfiictory to all the claims vi
divBM;]ustice» inliiiitdy ssufficient ta justify ail
who believe on h'unfroin all things from which
they could never be justthcd by the law of
Moses. Would you see Je»us m the very
moment of his |tt:rfecting our ttxlemption ?
Bdiold him in the garden of Gcthsemane
8 rostrate upon the earth, and jm an agony '
[)ere, till the sweat falls as great drops oC
blood to tlie ground. Trace hini to the
courts of the Jcwiiti and Roinau judicature ;
in the one you see him bla^^phenied and
beaten, in the other, scourg<*d and crowned
with thoma; follow him a little further, ami
vou sec Jesqs suspended on the bloody tree;
his nerves trembling with the torturing nails^
bis body writhing with dreadful agon\'. Would
you sec Jesus ? look up to tlie cnMS guilty,
but penitent; look up, and sec hifibrow bcfaifi^
uig benignity and love; behold the blood
gushing from his opened side; there springs
tiic fountain of your hcfie ; ther^ tiows the
blood of Jesus Christ, the Son, of God, whicJi
cleanseth from all sin. May esvrh of our
. hearts catch tl^e healing stream, and be saved
with an everlasting salvation. Once more^
we see liim nsiiig from the bed of death, tri-
umphing over the grave, (for it was imposn
sible that the grave should hold him), ascend*
iug to heaven, there, exalted beyond all praiso
and all thanksgiving, he ever lives to niako
intercession for us, having our int«*rests still
near his lieart, possessing the same love, pity,
and tenderness, he is ready to communicate
daily to all wlio seek his a^^sist^ipce, every
grace ai)d every blessii;ig to help them in
time of need."
Art. XXIII. — Occaudnol Discourses on various Subjects, with copious Annotations^ h§
Richard Munkhouse, />. D. of HueetCs College, Oxford, and Minister of St. Jdm
Biqftist's Church, Ifakejield, In Three Volumes, 8vo. pp. 343, 379, and 402.
in GoJ, the good man's suf^ort Tho
patwnce of God with mankind. God
inarciful to the eleventh hour. Fast day
termon, 1803. Tlie excellence of the
scriptures. Tlie furnace of affliction.
Tha blessedness of faith. The interest*
iog character of Jesus. The one thing
needful. Ti» deatli of Christ and his
resurrection, llie close of FEmFs minis*
try, and his hope asserted. We subjoin
Ihe following extract as a specio^e^ of our
Utttbor's manner ;
. *' Would you have your plan of actk>n de«
<nded in the whole of your intercourse with
the wcirid, set his example always betbre you,
listen to Ins instructions who spake as never
man spoke. Had he been asked to i^ive you
his own portraiture, wure you to put the (|ues-
tion agam, •• Sir, we would see Jesus," j-ou
will see lum in his own parable of the gtjrxl
Samarltaii. Whilst the priejit and Levite
p^ far fmak the scenes at miser>', benevo-
Lnce draws near ui the person of a good Sa«
maritan, to the robbed, wounded, dying tra-
veller ; and, with all the tenderness of com-
passion, applies the healing balsam to his
wound, aud prompt relief to his necessities.
In this scene we s<% national partiality sub-
sidins, religious prejudices banished, no voice
heard but that of goodness. Nay, we see
something mon; ; we see Jesus Chnst as pos-
aessing that promptitude and that power to
save the children of men, which ought to
raise him high in our estimation, and place
him supreme in our aflections. He came
\rhen man wa^ in tliis vale of guilt and of
inisery, and when he saw him he had com-
DR. Munkhouse does not now appear
before the public for the first time. Of
the twenty-five discourses of which these
Tolumes are composed, several have been
already submitteil to the judgment of the
public, and with that judgment tlie author
16 fully satisfied. He exults in the flat-
tering reception wluch they experienced,
tnd &ls himself relieved from a part of
his apprehensions concerning the estima«
tion in which the present volunies will be
held. The style of these discourses is not
destitute of a certain degree of energy 5
and the principles which prevail throughout
discoverafirm and zealous attachment to the
civil and ecclesiastical establishments of our
country. ' Concerning the subjects of these
discourses, and his own sentiments and
principles, the author thus speaks :
•' The subjcKis that most freouenlly ocair
in the ensuing discourses, are such as natimilly
arose out of those occasional fasts and festivals,
which have, m the course of the last twelve
years, been appointed to be solemnized by
royal proclamation, 'lliese, it isliojjed, breathe
a spirit of piety and devotion, suited at all
times to the nature of the service, whether of
peniteiKC aud supplication, or of praise and
thanksgiving. Questions also of a political na^v
tiure are brought under discussk>n ; not from
any desi^i, hi the breast of the author, to in-
fusie politics into religion, but, on the same
principle bv which so close a connexion exi^its
between church and state, to iniiise religion
into politk» ; and from an anxious wish to
promote, to the extent of his abilit}-, tlie inter-
. ests of his country, and the cause of social or*
dt»r, by strenuously inculcating the virtues of
})atriotism and loyaltv, in opposition to those
plausible, but imposing and deceptious, doc«
trines of liberty and 'equality, which have of
late years been advanced with such shan»?U^
efl'roiitery, and circulated with a malevolciit
assiduity.
'' Inseparably connected with the pro^pe-
rity of our country b the preservatipn of its
political constitution, tlie "permanence of its
establishments, civil and ecclesiastical. Hence
the author's dislike of republkan tenets, be-
fitRMONS OK IMPOHTAKT SUaiSCTS*
m
eft^aftheirlKMlilitTtothe fonner; and of
t<ct]nsm»asbein2iiMre immetliatelv injurious
tetiwbttcr: whJhout a wish, natwiUistauding,
to retnin ti&e liberty of cUoicC; aad freedom
of di^'Uttioo, fi^rthcr thaii as such restriction
nax be nece»saiy to the peace of tiie church,
and to the safcty of this vniteo kingdom.
ncreaie, doubtless, virtuous characters under
cTrtT form of civil government ; and he ven-
taftft' to reckon, In the number of his friends,
naav uprigl^ conscientious, good men, whose
RKguMH tenets are very diiterent from his
In these volumes we are presented with
wmefoit samons ; three sermons on occa-
sion of public thanksgiving ; four preached
hetoie ditfprent lo^es of freemasons ;
€Mie before a friendly society 5 one on
tbc first Sunday in the year ; oue o;i
tbt sk\'e trade ; one on the opening of
AiT. XXIV. — Sermons, altered and adapted ta an EnglLih Pulpit, fron^ French fTr tier*.
Bif Samuel Pai^tridge, M, A. F. S. A. Hear "of Boston, and of ff'igtoft vjtiik
fttttdrim:, CJiaplai9 to the Right Honourable Lord Gwydir, and late Fellow qf' Mugdatt^
i^^l^CfOrford. The Second Edition. 8vo. |ip. 327.
FEW of the French sermon- writers only to assail such ordinary intrenchmentt.
St. John*s church 9 one previous to the
introduction of Merrick* s psalms ; one far
the benefit of the green-coat charity
school ) one fur the beneht of the choir
in St. John's church ; one preached apoa
the delivering the colours to the royal
Wakefield volunteers ; and one at Hona-
gate wliilst they wereupon permanent duty.
Each di<icourse,is either ** inscribed witk
the name of a friend or benefactor, or de-
dicated to some exalted personage : and
tlms the autlior professes to bav6 alifeo
indulged the fonduess of affection and the
feelings of gratitude, and paid a willing
tribute of respect and admiration to re-
splendent virtue iu high places." Pref; p,
xiv. The public prints bave lately an-
nounced tliat Dr. Alunkhouse has bcem
preferred to the vicarage qf Wakefield,
deserve translation, fiossuet ^d Saurin
have more .of thought, argument^ and of
that sort of eloquent decoration which
depends not on tlie language but the idea,
than their competitors. Flcchier is over-
rated* in his conntry. Massillon has 4
brilliant oration on the consecratioti of
colours. Boordaloqe is ingenious and
stately, but wants originality and feeling.
We hare here selections, not from the
renowned but from the secondary French
preachers; from the Cambaceres, the
Ddboses, the Lecointes, and the Do-
pespes.
For 2| patriot, it is consolatory to observe
bow iqferior ta the Jeremy 'taylors, the
Halls, the Barrows, are these continental
oiaton ; how much less of leari)ing, of
sfy\e, of argument, has satisfied, has de-
lighted, has convinced their hearers, has
httshed their doubts, has warmed their
real, has winged tlieir hopes. Well
might infidelity triumph where it had
Well might floundering piety des})air,
whe^e it had oiily such wisps of straw t<»
catch at. Better surely liad it been ta
translate those sermons of our cotempo-
rary Mercier, which have illustrated Ji
London pulpit and a Ix)ndon press.
We really cannot find a tolerable ex-
tract. So much tlie better. These ser-
mons are probably not intended to be
read, but to be preached. They are tlie
fitter for the pulpit, from being likely to
escape domesdc circulation among the
audience. Delivered by every-day men,
tliey may well pass for originaL Listened
to by every-day men, they may be staid
out without fatigue ; for they have been
abridged witliin limits which will accom-
modate a three-church curate. In tlie
doctrine there is nothing for orthodoxy to
wince, or heresy to kick at : it is e\-eTy-
d3y christiiinity witliout a specific cha-
racter, little eiu>ugh to live with, much
enough to diu wit]).
Aet. XXV. — Txpeke Sermons on important Subjects. Addressed chiefly to the middle and
lozver classes qf' Society, 8vo. pp. 3j2.
THE suljects are ; the omnipresence of
tbe Deity. The cross of Christ. The
chmtian*s glory. Christianity consistent
with reason. Christianity not seditious.
The wisdom and power of God displayed
in the redemption of the world. The
uQifersal judgment' On hearing the word
of God. The love of God. 'Hiedeceit-
Wness of tHe heart. The equality of
mankind. The divinity of Joiiu Christ.
4k|i tpiiitual worship.
"These sermons," the preacher informs
us, " have been delivered at different
times and to difJerent congregations*
They have been heard wMth deep atten-
tion, and often with considerable emotion."
We do not donbt it. All that is excellent
is- borrowed from our most celebrated
pulpit orators, witli n© more than a ge-
neral acknowledgment; and all tlie ori-
ginal matter is of a sliewy tinsel nature,
admirably adapted, if weU dttiivered, tu
i7%
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
make an impression upon the minds of
the ordinary class of hearers. Eut we
must enter our protest against, such lia-
grant peculations as this anonymous di-
vine confesses. As large portions of works
already before the public are thus again to
be carried through, the press^ they sliould
be particularly marited, that there niay be
no danger of their beir»g attributed by
tliose who have not known them hi thirir
original form, to the plagiarist in whose-
pages they are confounded with his own
matter. Cuique suum.
Art. XXVI. — Strmans on.the Existence nfthe Drill/, the immorUdihi of the Saul, the j4u^
thcnticitij of the Bibie^ and other important subjects. Btj the Heir rend), Adams, J.-M, •
Alasttr of the Academy at Putney, and Author qf several much-approved ki-^oricat Pub**'
Heat ions, Bvo. pp. 314.
IT is not very usual, perhaps, for an
OHihor to review his own productions j •
fcut as Mr. Adams is by his own confession
little else than a compiler, we will allow
him to be his own reviewer. Hear then :
'' The following sermons will be very useful
as a family hook, particularly ^vherc there are
jxjung jK^ople ; for the sooner they begin to
Iiave a veiu-ration for the Deify and the chris-
tian reliffjon, they are the more likely to be
good members of >oci. ty. They will be more
dutiful ch lichen, bi-tter servants, better nuLs-
ters, ami better aoUtiers too. " I fear Ciod,
and I have no otlier fear,*' is the celebrated
saying of a great man, who w.is dissuaded by
his friends from a dangerous undertaking in a
good cause.
" It may very naturally be remarked,
*' tliat nothing new can be said on such sub-
jects." True. But as the. classical and hU-^
torical publications^ of the aulhor liave fallen
into tlic hands of, at least, one hundred and
thirt}^ thousand persons, many will be in-
duced to read the sermons^ because tliey were
pleased with Yds other literar>' pnxluclions.
" The excellent writers consulted for ma-
terials, are Stillingtlett, Abeniethy, Addison,
Butler, Bryant, Clarke, King, Pearson, I'H-
1ot:ion, ScoU, Sharp, Baxter, Swift, Sherlock,
Porteus, - Palcy, Set^d, LanghoTDe, Stcme, ,
Mason, Grant, Burnet, 15arrow, Sherlock, i
Wjrst, Ray, Derham, Atterbuiy, Blair, and.
Leland. ^
" It may not be improper to add, thatth^re ^
is not, in the whole volume, a single senli- *'
ment contraiy to the doctrinc»s of eitua'
church established in Oreat Britain.** ']
The materials which the industrioos-
compiler has collected, are arranged under •
the following heads : On the existence of
the Deity. On the study of the work* of '
God. On the inmiortality of the .soul.
On providence. On the omnipresence
and omniscience of the Deity. On the
divine origin of tl^e scriptures. On reli- •
gious hojie. On the pleasures of religion. •
On the internal excellency of the diristiau ,
religion. On the government of the
thoughts. On religious retirement. Ojv
true wisdom. On consideration. On the •
character of Jcsn.s as a divine teacher. Oa
christian benevolence. On the advantagt>»
of prayer, and pious contemplation. On *
the resurrection. On the joys of hea\on.
On the certainty of future happiness. On
the love of God. On human life, duel*
ling, and suicide.
Art. XXVII. — Three Sermons, preaclied at the IFcdncsday Evening Ij-fiurc af Sttlter^'HafK.
London ; to zchich is added, the Siihstnnce of a Discourse delivered at Maze Pond, South-
xvar/c, in aid- of the particular Baptist Fund. By James Dore. 8vo. pp. 135.
THESE Sermons are upon the follow- peculiar excellence. The preadier adopts
ing subjects : On M»dcsty in prosecuting
Religious Enquiries. • On tlie proper U*je
of the Figurative Language of the Scrip-
tures. On the Spuitual Nature of the
Crospel, and on the Harmony of ^le Di-
vine Operations. They are not dcotitute
Df merit, though not distinguished by .any
not only the doctrine but the style of the
old school ; tlie divisions and subdivisions
artf tediously minute, and tlie studied bre-
vity of almost every sentenco produces a
monotony which no powers of delivery wc
apprehend could reUeve.
Art. XXVIII. — Tv:o^ Discourses, designed to recommend a general Observance of //«
Lord* s Supper, i?^ T. Drumaiono. 8vo. pp. 43,
THESE Discourses are 'weU composed
and adapted to answer Hhe preaclier's de--
f ign.. The origin of the simple and so*
cial service^, which .is^here recommended
to geneml observance^ is clearly and justly
stated^ and. tbe corruptione wJ^ch it iia>..
undergone are briefly but satisfurtoriJy
detailed. The information which these
discourses convey will be acceptable to
tliose who may not approve . of all the
principki o£ the author s creed.
GAKDIKBR S SEItMOK.
1^
SINGLE SERMONS,.
^uJttl/ication hy Faith, A Serjnm preached at the Primarv VisitaHon of the
William, Lord Bishop of Chester, held at Richmond
kiT XXIX. — ^»o..,.w...i... -^ . ^...
kidt K^T. Father in God, Henkv fi i^i../i>i«, x../, «, m.^^..^,. .y v.,*.o.c., «c .«. *.* ***.,*/
iMlorksUre, Aiis^uat *2'2, 1804, atid published ut his Lordship's request. By John IIead-
ULM, A. M. Rector ofJf'i/cliJ/'e, 4to. pp. 30.
TOE preacher has select^ for the sub-
ject o{ his discourse the enquiry by Job,
" How shall man bejust with God>". and
from these words ba.s taken occasion to
combat, with some ability, that large and
daily increasing schism in the church,
which calls itself the True Church qfEn-
gland, Mr. H. b^ins by stating the
orthodox 'doctrine of tlie fallen nature of
flfio, and the reiuedy which has been pro-
vided. He expresses his astonishment
ihat, at the present period, any questions
sse agitated concerning tiie justification of
the sons of Adam by faith^ and proceeds
to aiusider what the doctrine of the church
is apon this subject -, and also the nature
and ejects of some prevalent errors arising
from a dillerent interpretation. After a
very particular examination of the .nature
aud consec^uencc of iaith, the preaolier ob-
lenes;
*'Tliis sc(^«:? then to be the sum of tiie
doctrine-; oi" our church, founded upon tlie
authority of Ncripture, on this important sub-
JKi ; tiit we an." justified by faith alone ; tlidt
faith means a siinplt- but sincere belief m the
j5i>.{>f»l of Christ ; that justilication means the
cbogc which is etTected in us on our becom-
ing christians, and the difference tlieiice pro-
duced between -our fallon and our retleenwd
iiature ; that baptism is the only rite oniaia-
ed by Christ himself, as the means whereby
Wii receive Uiis gracious privilege ; tliat wliea
Nve lire thus justilied in baptism, good works
are absolutely necessary to make our caJlinc
and election sure ; that although by faitit
alone we are justiiicd, we must neverthdesi
bring tbilh fruits meet for salvatiim, and can
obtam eternal happiness only by pei'se\'eranoc
in faith, in hope, aud holiness."
In a few short observations on tlw na«
ture and effects of tlie prevalent errors,
Mr. H. charts tiiose who arrogate to
themselves the title of tnie churchmen,
with aftixing nn erroneous n\eaning to the
word justificatiou, confounding acceptance
here witli final acceptance at the day of
judgment} by this means producing an uu-
scriptural and baneful separation anKxigst
christians, aud at the same time by their
denial of die spiritual grace of baptism,
opening a door to enthusiasm and delit-
sion. This discourse is well written, and
cleiu-ly convicts the True Churchmen of er-
ror ^ but has Mr. H. himself, supported
•s he is. by Hooker, Waterland, Jones, and
Paky, discovered the truth ?
Akt. XXX. — A Sermon, preacJurd before theUni-ctrsiiy ofOjford, at St. Mary\^, mMonr
<iiy, .Vor. 5, 1804. Bif the Rrs. Henry Fhilltotts, M. yi. of St. Mary Magdakng
College, and kicar of Kilrnersdon, in the County of Somerset. 4to. pp. 18.
THE author of this -temperate and welT
vritien discourse 1ms, of the two events
by wliich, in the annals of our country,
ll:« fiflli of November is distinguished,
chosen for his subject the establishment
ofkingWilliamlll. on the English tlurone.
He first takes a retrospective \ iew of the
principal circumstances in our liistory that
Tendered some such great crisis unavoida-
ble, and shews how favotirable, above all
others, the period in which it did happen
^3* to the preservation,. both of the peace
tof the country and the integrity of its con-
stitution. He then offers some remark?
on tlie real character ot" tlie e\ent itself,"
affirming, that it was not a revolution but
a measure devised, and happily accom-
plished, to prevent a revolution of tiie very-
worst kind i an awful crisis^ in its conse-
quences but not in itself, the subject of re*
jbicing j and he concludes witli pointing
out some instruction resulting from that
view of the subject which he has taken.
The whole is well adapted to promote
that political ^ moderation wliich tends to
tlie peace and impiovement of the state.
Art. XXXI. — The Faith and Hope of the Rixliteous ; a Sermon prenclied at the OclU"
goa Chapel, Bath, on Sundai/, Dec. 2, 1804, on Occasion of the JMitti of the Rev. Archi-
JlAU>^L4CLAlKE, />./>. BytheRev.JotnsGARmnEKjV.D. 8vo. pp.39.
AFTER contrasting the righteous and
the wicked, strugsUng with adversity and
at the close of life. Dr. G. passes to tht
eulogy of the pious and learned subject «^
lU Theology and ecclesiastical affairs.
tbi* fiulesid discourse. This might, we ed td the character of the truly venerable
think, have been done wich n^re judg- • person, on occasion of whdse dcalii it W3»
ment, with more feeling, with much coaiposedk
greater eftect> and in a maimer better suit*
Art. XXXII.— ilnoc/*, or Ike Jidvmitagcs fif M^h Attainments in Heligion, A Sermon,
preached at Oranee-street Chapel^ Leiceftter-squarr, London. By William Moseleit,
Minister qf^ the Taheinacle^ Hemlay, 1 2mo. jip. 3:i.
THE author of diis discourse sends it 5«ch an indiscriminating use of scripture
into the world with a desire of promoting we have s<2ldom witnessed. The title-
personal religion. The end is important, page proclaims the class of christians to
and the means here employed likely, to a which the preacher belongs, and m whic^
certain degree, to accomplish that end. this discourse will be found most accept*
Many pious observations occur, expressed able,
ia a forcible and impressive manner^ but
Art. XXXIIL— ^ Sermon, preached before the Honourable House tf Commons, at ttt
CImrck of St. Margaret, Westmimtcr, on H^ednendatf, Feb. *iO, 1805, being ike Ifay ^p-
pointed for a Gtnvral fast. By Charljbs Henry Ball, D.D. Canon of Christ Church,
Cj^ford. 4to. pp. 133.
FROM tlie wonis of the apostle Paul surprise, though it may odr indignation,
m his epistle to tlie Romans, ch. viiL v, that in tliis part of the discourse the
31. *' If God be for us who can be preacher has omitted the mention 6f that
against us }** the preacher takes occa- abominable traffic wiiieh is still carried od
•ion to enumei^ate many of the most visi- upon the blood-stained shores of Africa,
ble and striking instances of Qod's favour This sermon is, upon the whole, well
to us as a nation. He next proceeds to written j but neither in style nor senti*
notice some spots and blemishes in our nieut differs much from the generality of
national character. It ought not perliaps, sermons on similar occasions*
ail circumstances considered, to excite our
Art. XXXrS'^. — A Fast Scrpnon^ preached at the Abbey Church, Bath, on Wednesday^ Feb.
20, 1 805. PublisJied at the Request qfthe Mayor and Corporation of Bath, and the Colonel
and otiicr Officers of the Loyal Bath l^oluiUeers, By iJie Rev> Ed m vn d Po vltbr, M. A^
Frebendary qfli^incliestcr. 8vo#pp. 33.
WITH much labour we got through cising their ingenuity in unraveling long
this uninteresting ill-written discourse ; and intricate periods^ they may here find
and^ if any of our readers are fond of e&er«- ample amusement.
Art. XXXV. The fatal Use qfthe Sword : considered in a Sermon preached in St. Philips
Cimrchf Birmingfuim, on f^'^ednesday, Feb. '20, 1805, tlie Day appointed for a General Fast.
By the Rev, Sp£ncer Madan, A» M, 8vo. pp. 20.
THE text chosen by Mr. M. is Matt, the same words, and of which an ample
xxvi. 52. ** Then said Jesus unto him, account was given in our last volume.
Put up again tliy sword into his place. These principles are here successfully
•for all tliey that take the sword shall combated» but Mr. Madan is (perfectly
penshwith the sword j" and the object right, when he observes in a postscript, that
he has in view is to confute the princi- they *^ have been noticed by more com-
pies which Mr. Warner advanced from petent examiners,"
Art.. XXXVI.— TA<f Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth ; a Sermon preached at the B<^Uid
Monthly Association, at Mr. Burnside's pltice of IVorslup, Red Cross-street^ Cripple*
gate, Feb. 2\, 1805. % James Dore. Publiskea at the Request qfthe Associated m-
nisters and Brethren. 8vo. pp. 42.
THE Holy Spirit, says the preacher, is flueuce. Upon the.se three topics Mr.
the spirit of truth, because he revealed the Dore has enlarged in'such a manner as «ns
truth, he authenticated the truth, and he can easily conceive was acceptable to the
^ompanioB the truth with his divine in- congregation assembled as his auditocs.
BAPTISMAL, FAiTH explained*
173
JUt. XXXVn.**-7*^ Progress 1/ Error concerning the Person of Christ ; represented in
M Sermon, dtUvcred 4U the UniUarian ChapeL in £ssex*stre€t, March 3 1, 1805. By Tho»
Mis Belsham. 8va pp. 35.
THE first part of this discourse con*
bins a very well written epitome of the
hi<tory of opinions oonceming Christ, as
It has oeen described more at large by Dr.
Priesdey. This is followed by some re-
flections arbing out of the preceding
view of what tfae preacher deems the
progress of error respecting the pef-son of
the Messiah. A prayer appropriated ta
the discourse and to the occasion on which
it was preached, i& subjoined. The preach*
er s hope ' that a double portion of the
prophet\s* spirit might rest where his
mantle falls,* aj^ars from thii discourse,
likely to be realized*
Aet. Wy^VUh-^Baptij^iiud Faith explained. .4I Sermon, preached before the University
qf' Cambridge, Aprils, ISUA. 4to. pp. ^0,
ItiE doctrine of this discourse would,
we apprehend, be better suited to the
dnpei in £sae&«street than to the church
of the oniTersity of Cambridge.
** It halh been observed, says the preacher,
in fimwr of the christian religion, that its po-
litiTeiiiitinitioDS arc not only few m number,
intt ako m their whole nature perfectly simple
and intelligibie. The obs^Tvation is certainly
ji»t in itself ; but how few christians can con-
sh>taitiy urge it against the adversaries of our
tiilh, if they are themselves sincere in the re-
presentation of these institutions which they
publicly avow > Can the Roman-catholic,
mho believes tiansubstantiation to be directly
taught in one of them ? or the protestant,
who contends that a belief of the doctrine, of
the Thnitv b expressly required by the
other?
" I mean not to insinuate any comparison
bKvcen these doctrines, or to afhrm the truth
or £iischood of either. I only mean to ailirni,
that whoever undertakes to prove the excel-
lency of the christian revelation from tiie
plainnes and simplicity of its external rites,
must be able to shew clearly tliat the doctrine
of the Trinity, as ^ted in the creeds and ar-
tJek-s of religion owned by the generality of
pratestants, hath no better foundation in tiie
^mn of words used by our' Saviour in the in-
stitutioD of one of them, than that of transub-
Hantiatiuo hath in the form of words«used by
him in the institution of the other, lliis I
>haii attempt to do in the following discourse,
Mt mMely for the sake of doin^ justice to the
vgumcut'advsoiced in fsivour ot our religioa,
Alt. XXXIX — The Use and Abuse of Re^on in Maltrrs of Faith. A Sermon, preached
ot St. ChatPs, in ShreXKsbury, at the Triennial Institution qf the Hon, and Ris^ht Rev,
Janus lord Bishop of Uchfield md Coventry, May 28, 1805. By Samuel Sutler,
A/. A, Head Master qf Shrewsbury Scfiool, and late Fello:v qf St. John's College, Cam-
bridge. 12010. pp. 22.
from the perfect simplkrity of its positive oidi*
nances, but for the higher purpose of ascec«
taining tliat faith which is made necessary bj
Christ and his apostles, to entitle a person to
the name and privileges of a christian. Tliat
some faith is necessary cannot be denied; but
what that particular faith is, hath long been
matter of great dbpute among chnitian^
themselves," *
Of this faith Mr. T. thus sums up his
account :
*' Let hs not then be ashamed of the pure
^p(?l of Christ. The belief of it consists not
in beli«*Ang any other doctrine but that of
eternal life, by the remission of sins and a re*
surrectiou from the dead, tiuough the^maa
Jesus Christ, the righteous Saviour anct dc»-^
tined- I»rd of niankmd. Neither our chrts-
tiaii privileffes nor christian duties, depend oa
any other faith. ^\'hat higher privilege can
we enjoy, than that of being children of God ?
which is secured to us by our faith in Jesus
Christ: by that faith, whether we have been
Jews or C« entiles, we are all the cliildren of
God. What higher duty is enjoined us than
that of conqueiinfi: the worid ? What nobler
victory can be gained by any faith ? * And
who,' says the apostle, ' is he that over-
cometh the worid, but he that believeth that
Jesus is tlie son of God ?"
How general must have been the ex-
clamation as the astonished gownamen re-
turned to their home?,— ' We have heard
strange tilings to-day 1*
MATTERS of ^tb, says Mr. B. may
be considered as of tliree kinds. They
ue either matters of historic fact and rea-
lon only, as that there was such a person
« Jesui Christ, the history of whose life
was written by his disciples, and is pre«
served to us ; of they are matters of fact
and revelatiin onhf, as that Jesus Christ
was the son of (iod from all eternity;
or they are matters of consequence, dedu«
,^ The Bev'. T. Lbdsey, the founder of the chapel in Essex-street
iTd
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
cible from both the former. With the
first of these learning is altogether ; with
the second, in no degree ; and witli the
third, partially concerned. Upon these
principles the preacher censures all dis-
putation upon tlie doctrines of election
tuid reprobation, and the Trinity. But he
has neglected the very important circum-
stance, that these doctrines are discnst^
and by some rejected, not becaase they
are above human reason, but because they
are not to be found in the word of God.
By tliose therefore, for whose benelit wt
suppose the discourse before us was in-
tended, the preacher's reasoning will bv
considered as altogether irrelevant.
Art. XL. —Tfie Umty qf the Christian Body stated, A Sermon preacktd in LamhtA \
Clmpel, on the 2Sth of April 1805, at the Consecration of the Right Rev. Htmrtj Bathnntf^\
LL, D. Lord Bishop of Norudch, and published at the Command of His Grace /M*^
Jj9rd Archbishop of Canterbury. By Richard Prosser, A Z>. Prebendary of Dux^ \
ham,"Ak.o, pp. 19. "
A temperate but not a ver)' forcible defence of religious establishments j from h
Sph. iv. 15, l6.
ArI*. XLI. — A Funeral Oration, to the Memory of His Rot/al Highness the late Dute tf
Gloneester and Edinburgh*, delivered at Grosvcnor C/uipel, Grosvennr Sguure, on Sundmi
the Sth of September, 1805. By the Rev. T. Baseley, A. M. Chaplain to the Rigk ^
Rev. the Lord Bishop of Lincoln, 4to. pp. 23.
COMMON place declamation, and one uniform tissue of ' pompous notliings/
Art. XLII. — The Origin of Sovereipi Poxver, and the Lawfulness of Defensive fTar. '
A Sermon preacfted in tlte Church of All Saints, If ainfteet, in the Cototty of Lincoln^ on i
Tuesday y June 4ih 1805, to tlie Ifuinjiect Corps ofToluntetr Infantry, Jiy the Rev. Pe-
ter BuLMER, A. B. 8vo. pp. 29.
WE have had occasion formerly to
•ommend Mr. BuJnier as an animated and
& patriotic preacher, and that commenda-
tion is further warranted by this discourse.
We cannot sj^eak of him with equal praisf
as a politician.
PRACTICAL THEOLOGY.
Art. XLIII.— .^ Guide to Heaven : seriously addressed to all 'who believe the Gospel to k
the irord of God, By the Rev. C. S. Hawtrey, v(. B. Vicar ofH'idston, Monmouth-
shire. 8vo. pp. 172.
THIS little work has been composed
e\'idently with the best intentions, but, we
fear, riot altogether in such a manner as to
secure tlie accomplishment of the author's
J>iou3 wishes. Feeling, as he .informs us,
an earnest desire, seconded by tbe impe-
rious call of duty, as a minister of the
gospel, to impress his fellow-creatures
with a sense of the great importaiKe of a
practical obedience to all its laws ; and
convinced that, after what has been so.
ably but so ineiFcctually written upon the
subject, no arguments which he could use,
no exhortations wliich he could utter,
would be likely to avail— he determined
to collect the numerous and urgent pre-
cepts of practical piety which the gospel
contains, and arrange them under proper
heads. In this little Volume therefore,
we have exhibited at one view the* greatest
part of what the scripture directly teaches,
concerning forgiveness. and mutual love j
the duty of prayer, cove tousness, and
wordly-mindedness j temperance and clias*
tity, humilit}^ justice, honest}', and tmtbf
swt^aring and blasphemy 3 repentnna^j
the Lord's supper ; charity to the [xwr j
fortitude in adversity ^ conjugal Jove ;
parental and filial love j masters and ser-
vants J obedience to goveriiorsi, and con-
duct of .tiie <;lerg)%
Every collection is followed by what is
called an appfication ; but this is in several
instaaces so short, and so deficient in
energ}', as to produce no effects. We are
convinced that a selection of this kind
might be made eminently usefu\, but it
should be formed by a person of judge-
ment, of taste, and, at the same time,
mighty in the scriptures. The precepts
should be arranged as much as possible in
some connected order, and closed or fol-
lowed by something more than unmean-
ing exclamations.
Akt. XIAY. --The Holy Family ; being a complete Provision of Domestic Pielv, Intchid
are Reflection^ qn £ducation, Prayer in its Public and Private Duties, and an Exhor
fiSSAY 0!( Tfie XEPOHMATtOM OF tir^HEl.
Ml
tatum to the Sacrammt as Essential to Salvation ; to xvhich are add d Morning and
EtcniMg Prayersjor I-amUies, ^c. ^c, Btj the ii^v, T. Oakley, ^. M. 8vo. pp. 116.
THE title of this strange work will give
cor readers some notion of its contents, it
is for us to shew theai the value of this
volume : we cannot do this better than by
dting the author to ^peak for hhnself :
" Christy in tlie lir>t view of his hcavehly
povers, h the ris*.'n sua oi a new world, a lii-
: mioary, uncoutined by nature, and expands
through the ioliuily of Sjiacc : 1 am come
* hght into tiic tvorid,' ui whom the morning
dawns of the everiaNting day. — p. 91.
♦" Christ is our propitiaikm, and liis niercici
tendered in the latent hour ; but the hojie of
glor}* is tlie fair penitent's, and to the inipeni-*
tent no remission of sins. p. 9^.
" Heaven is the maitiage of salvation, and
its many mansions a court where guests throng
from everv clime ; and angels hail tliL nup'
tials Oi Christ, and his sjx)U84; tlie church ;
his joys are the fallings that arc killed ; h\i
diimer, everlasting lire. — p. y8.
•• O! hallowed blood of Christ, bfuse
thy vitaP powers into my soul, and through
ever)' vein ol my body !"— p. 1 13.
This, and much more like it, issues
ftpm the university press of Oxford ! !
Arr. XLV. — A Br irf Treatise on Death, Phihs \ihicalhj. Moral fh, and PfactlcaUy con-
sidered. By KoBK&T P'ellowes, A. AL Ox on. 12mo. pp. 134.
THIS treatise is inscrllied to tlie me-
mory of the lady Harriet Fitzroy — by the
death of >vlioni, we conjecture, this va-
feabie little work was suggested. The
•entiments it contains are sucli as on dif-
ferent occasions, and by different writers,
hare been before inculcated j but tJiey
replaced by Mr. F. in an interesting and
impressive point of view, well adapted.
according to hi:s puqiose, to reclaim th«
thoughtless — to alarm the wicked — to in-
crease the hoj)e of the righ teems — to cheer
the dying — and to comfort the afflicted
mounier. To those who belong to any
of these classes of j>ersons, we earnestly
recommend this pious and instructive per*
forniance.
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
never before printed ; twenty-eight ser-
mons 3 expo.^ition of tlie creed, the Lord's
prayer, and ten commandments f dis.
C()urses on Matt. xxii. 37, 39. ; on Heb.
viii. 10. ; and a short catechism. The
prefhce by Dr. Doddridge was originally
prefixed to an edition of the archbi^hop*9
works, publisiied at Edinburgh in 1748,
by Mr. D. \N'ilson. The life which ac-
comp.inies the pre^ent edition, written by
Mr. £. Middleton, is one of the worst ar-
titles of biography we ever perused.
ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON was a
man of considerable note hi his day, and
Ms works have always been regarded -as
valuable, on account of the spirit of piety
that pervades them. The present collec-
tion, which professes to be complete, con-
tains his practical coimneutary on the lirst
epistle (rf Peter 5 expository lectures on
ft. xxxix.3 Is. vi. ; and Rom. xii. j several
charge*, &c. to tlie clerg}' of the diocese of
Danbhme ; seven letters on difterent occa-
Uttis } rules and inbtnic^ions for a holy
i£le^ MDoe biaitorical facts in his life,
AiT.XLVIi.— iAj:.,iff;/ on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation of luther ; tfie
Ifork a/wcA Ol^ained the Prize on the ittujifion Proposed in 1.S02, by the National Jn^
shtiOe of J'nsHce ; ' ff'/tut has been the Jnfiuence of the Htformwion of Luther <^n the
P^ic^ situaiion qf the dijt't rent States of Europe, and on the Progress qf Knowledge r
! f^im a Sketch of the History of the Church, from its Ponnder to tfi€ Rrformation ; in-
I tejW at an Appendix to the B'orlc. By Charles \ illers. Jrunslaled, and lUus-
I tntedwith Copious Notes. By James Alilt, JSsq.
lAlT-XLYUI.— £«rfl7/ on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation by LiUher, ^c. '
! faat&fklty Translated Jrom the tost Paris Edition. By B. Lambert.
I ACAI>EMIES may propose wiseques- wise answers. Tliey send abroad a qti«s-
l«»s, bat tbey are not likely to receive tion which requires Ions: study and hi\z
j A«».REy..VoL.IV. N •. .. *
m
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
thought, sfnd fix a day for the reply, later
than which none can be received. It is
very well for booksellers to do this> ^ose .
journeymen bring home their work as
punctually as the taylor and the shoe-
maker, but any thing better than journey*
work b rarely to be had for bespeaking it
To the solution of a great historical ques-
tion much previous knowledge and fbie-
thought is necessary ; they wiio have ac-
quire this knowledge are not likely to
give the result in a manner prescribed for
them ; they who have it not can produce
nothing that is valuable. Coll<^ essays
are one degree above school-boys' themes,
and academical essays one degree above
them : the candidates have to read for the
subject ; they are volunteers who most be
driUed, not soldien ready for service ; in-
jitead of feeding the mind th^ cram it, as
turkeys are served beting Christmas, and
all that comes forth is crude and mdigest-
ed : the understanding has had no time to
concoct and assimilate what has been
stuffed in. The Teylerian society has not «
yet decided any one of the disputed points
of theology, and all the poets who have
emulonsiy contended for the profits of
Mr. Beaton's Kislingbury estate, have not
done quite so much honour to Cambridge
as Edmund Spenser, who could not get a
fellowship there, or as John Milt(»i, who
was whipt across the buttery hatch.-—
Prize rams and prize oxen may be had at
reasonable notice, but the attempts at
rearing prize poets and prize philosophers
do not ^eem to have succeeded so well.
All rules, it is said, have the'u* excep-
tion, and we are truly pleased, that fortu-
nately in tliis case, the exception lies be-
fore us. Of all countries in the world we
should least have expected a satisfiuitory
dissertation on this subject firom France, a
land wherein rational religion seems never
to have been known, and of all times least
should we have expected it at the present,
when Bonaparte, most probably a bigoted
cathollp himself, hus restored eatholicbm,
shorn of its beams indeed, but still the
same in spirit, still with transnbstantifltion
and auricular confession, a Latin service
and a celibate clergy. But France is
liardly entitled to the credit of this work:
she sent the seed indeed, and has received
the firuit of the tree,, bat the tree itsetf
was reared and thefi:uit matnred in a bet*
SsrooontT'. ; ^. Villers is (German in his
studies*, his opinions, and his philosophy*
He isa pupil of Eickhom's schoot, and he
hSs lesmt in Chat school a theology which
no QtbvTfioaU have taught bim«
It augurs well for France that the
tional institute should have proposed
a. question, still better that ueysl
have awarded the prize to so truly lil
and enli^ten^ an essay. A very
markable sentence occurs in the
mencement of the work : M* ViUen
serves that the subject regards both
gion and politics, which he calls the
cardinal points <^ the lifo of mani '
qf ike fnt frerogad^ci t^ Uber^, i§
jwvcr'qffmaiid unconshtantd
•a thote in^cTtaM subjects, and in
cmmtry duu power is dxrcised, vfi
th€U country it free.'
With the opinions of the German
ters M. ViUers has caught a little
much of tbdr method; thdrover
tod^ for anaDgement---of their
and saoond-ii^ dividing and subdi^
sorting and separating. Order is an
cellent thing, but these which are the
remonials of order may well be "
with. There is no necessity to label
sonings if they follow in natural
He employs also too mUch tinoe in <
ing the road along which his procesacn i
to pass ; this ought to be done, hot
should be done before people are
bled to see the show. It is right that
himself should perfectly understand
limits of his subject, but it was bj
means necessary that the r^den
Walk the bounds with hiih. All that
of the first section, which is to show tk4
every cause is itself an effect of
other cause, till you arrive at a first cacnd^
is mere matter , of amplification ; M
mouthful of froth which disaj^poiflli
him who would drinker
The second section is upon the essenct
of reformations in general ; here the au-
thor speaks of what are the hopes of msn^^
kind/and he speaks rationally, religioosiy/
rightly.
** Do we th^ ||ive permlsnon folum vte^
contemplates the history of the hmnaii rMb«
to a^ of himself whither tends that aicce**
skm of tvmultuouft events, of commotkflM
and of transmutatioQS in Uiings and h €fti
nions ? Let him give free scope to hismM
in pursuing the end of so many pragroRie^
revolutions. Hecan find it only m the aibiime^
idea of a stale of things^ to which the deskiBl*.^
tioB of the whole human race being foBf j
consummated, all their physical and iiionl4
powers havng attained their hidtfAdq^reeifti
impcevenient, mankind would be as good».tt *
wise, and as happy as the original qualiiiei i
of their nature pennit. Net that ft caabeH
demoMtrated that this aoldeni^of BMii»T^
latf^ this nifllfmnim oC pjotosophji » m
28SAT OK THB RftFOSIlA^TZOy OF LUTBAR.
179
Were blended with them At last the light
burst forth anew on all sides. During three '
ages, since its appearance, it has spread, and
made a progress hitherto unexampled. 1 he
illumination of Athens and of Rome is re-
stored, not only throughout Europe, but at
Philadelphia and Calcutta. Rome, and A-
thens, which our knowledge and our arts would
astonish, would admire also the philanthropy
of Europe, which glories in the feelings of
humanity, and allows not slavery to exist on
its soil. Such are the efTects which have re*
suited fix>m the dismal itaundatioa of the bar-
barians in the fbuith centuiy; and in this
manner does time at last vindicate the ways of
Providence, whose power during the course
of one or even of several generations appears
sometimes entirely to have remitted its action.
It behoved me bo make choice of this exam«
p!e, because the apparent downfal of human
nature, during the long interval of barbarity
in th« middle ^es, is ffeneraliy the favourite
theme on which the adversaries of perfectibi*
lity descant in recommendation of their pwrn
doctrine."
The metaphysics of^this section cod«
ceming the body and spirit of human in*
stitutions m^ht well have been spared. In
the following we arrive at the real subject
of the essay : it contains a sketch of the po«
litical, religious, and literary state of Enrope^
at the beginning of the l6th century, and of
the political ef&cts which the reformation
produced, such as breaking down the
power of Austria, which would else have
destroyed the liberties of Germany, es-
tablishing the independence of Holland,
and in fact that balance of power which it
has been the object of all statesmen sinco
to preserve.
Conjectures foUow r^rding what w«uld
have happened if the reformation had not
taken place. The state of society in Austria,
in Spain, and in Italy, answers the question.
Fanaticism would every where have con*
timied to make bonfires of reformers and
as the dream of ^Qantbropy ex*
ft to our own imaginatbn. But in the
d BttOt m those of society, we cannot
[fCRdring a tendency towards the bet-
tNords an order of things more just^^
hnefioert, in which the rights of every
better ooarded, and thosie rights more"
dividea. Let us c;rant that absolute
will never be me lot of mortals ;
M the same time, let us acknowledge
Hispcrfectkn forms the ideal object of
hMe, that it is a want, a demand of
^iKelkctual nature. It is not clear that
'" ever arrive at it ; but it is certain
T' « to it. Peiadventure the phe>
the geometrical asymptote is
to be repeated in the moral world,
; we diall fc>r ever approximate tp the
vilhout being able, to touch it
iVf to oar tune the species has made
|m ; it is credible that am successors
bthe ame. Greece and Italy, barba-
SlUidr cariv agp, were fiv behind Greece
kafy in the brilliant dajys of their imjK-ove-
L Batr however enunent, in many re-
i^that improvement may have been, it
iseaTiar to each of those nations, and ex-
(ewith regard to the rest It bebixged
edtizca of Athens, to the citizen of >
Bit bdcmged not to man. All the
^ the globe was bom to an inheritance of
inty, and slavery, of practical slavery,
tfh a few millions of men. Was im*
(Bent to be confined for ever to a few
fio a narrow comer of the earth ? .Were
likns of human beings who vegetated
fcstore-faottse of nations between me Obi
h Elbe to remain eternal stranffers to it,
b be for ever only the swor&uen or
j^ibves of the privileged orders > No ;
iSRirediy ! Among them too the dis-
IP of light was to take ^lace ; an inter-
jivas to he formed by which the spirit of
iia aad of Achaia was to be carried to the
bna Chersonese. To accomplish this
I it was accessary either that the small
Icr of people with whom improvement
Uodaed should subdue innumerable na-
Rapa penetrate to the remotest comers of
awtmrtaat re^ons ; or that the mass of philosophers, and pederasty to* walk abroad
dtrrated nations should conquer the small in purple* Bigots would have persecuted
Mr, aod become hicofporated with them, in stupid sincerity, and mitred atheists
leaativepboe of iUuminatkm. After the
sf those means bad been tried, aod the
had penetrated as &r as was oonsbt-
^a power aad a virtue worthy of eternal
Mn^tbesecood, more natural, was set
^ the mysterious Arbiter of human
the diikten of the north poured
es out upon the south of Europe, and
sittcuowndaricness along with them.
B9 SMcaied to come again. Scstcehr
Wd theie a feeble nark of fight appear-
like a^nl^t f/kim vhKh lasted the
^INpartkned to thelofsign mass which
Htved. TcnagBofferaaentation were
Id aswmjlate aio many hetemgene*
^ to the better iagredioits which
have made a common cause with them
against honesty and truth. Some valuable
facts are mentioned in this chapter which
show that though the giant Pope b by
reason of age, and also of the many shrewd
brashes that he met with in his younger
days, * crown crazy and stiff in his joints/
he doth still ' sit in his cave's mouth»
frinning at pilgrims as they* go by, and
iting hts naUs because he cannot come at
them.' The holy see has not to this hour
recogmsed the king of Prussia. £very
year the pope still doth * etcommunicate
and anathematize, on the part of God Al-
leO
nrz.JlOOY A^O) ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
a::-! .«. v^ en r»:r' csx. 'St.' i:<'tJjc T^rr.ii.t
tii:se -k.-j, f J.-*- tie iimrL- .-e. :n2> -'i',
an: i>:r^jiii^ jirrr^sj *' >L»r?-n L-tbcr,
a^ ^_i. ftad ihc >^.Ii ::' L-- %. ! >: n .-.,
carry -- *:ji ti«rn: inj c^" •/*>?> p- - f^^nr, or
c.^:i ;r::'T firi . ts. Trie bi^.--n:riii of
L^ Jr.- *, 2 / 11* CTp— ri z J* the Mi>-
riiw^i---- ,__ <r 'rce:^ ;*iril rjci is Germany
u ,.>r .-iT. iz:;.^"! Xe»er lei it be
c •-• ri T^.^ ii «i.-x-? Ds-y MeJeji were
r. J — p iije cr.trT c^i r-'ni, he wiHild
aCfci 2i> r ^_cti-tji Trrr :ii erer. M. Viiiers
sir> iz. CT* of b^ r-cnes, • a str'kla^ xnona-
ibtIjC ci the hmjor.!/ which neni.'ioeJ in
CxrboLk Gencjar at The eiul cf the eigli-
tet^ih ceacurr cs.lst< in tbe narration of
the A^v£^t:rvs of >L Si*had, which has
bcesi pcl.-ahed br iLit gentleman, profe>s-
cr of pi^lai^TCiy inth^* uniFori'tyof Jena,
viu mi K^rcierij been a Bencrdictiiie
floci^k in the <XL.%e3t of Bjnz, whence he
iGiie h-5 esc2.»e, f>nunjtely for hirn^ejf
acii i-yr piJio«vYJy, ubich he s»till cuJti-
^jirt w'.ih >:Lxcess. Yet tht^ monks of
Baaz were re^rded as the i.c'-ti of catho-
lic Ger.^iiiijy. It wo^Id be uinicult to be-
iiet-e tl« e\ce>5 of ibrir stiperntiiion, if it
were n.ic <5eNcnbeu by an eye-witno>5, and
ODe who had himself been concerned in
it.' It might be rcadering wnie servite
to thi» counbT to translate the book thus
Sfv4^ea of. B:^hop Gardiner has still his
admirers in Ei^land ; convents have been
re*e&tal>Ii>hed here in dedance of the law of
the land, and the children of protectant
puents perverted, and induced to enter
theni- Howe\er we ha\'e been accustom-
ed to hear the present time called die age
of reason, and the age of intidelity^ it is
more tnUy an age o( superstition.
With this en«]uir)' the first or introduc-
tory part of the ess:iy coiKludcs. Tlie se-
cOnii, which bears lor its general title * iu-
iijaence of the i-efvimiaiion ,-coramences with
u ch.i;>:cr upon the political situation of the
states oi Europe. ' Mens, agitat niolem* is
the motto. Almost inwiediateJy after Lu^
tKer lud raised ilie ^unJard of re\olt, tlie
po[K*> lose half the einpi/e, more than half
J>vviiir.cvli«>d, all Denmark, Sweden, Hol-
liiiui; nud England i the xi^sources n^l^iph
iLey sapplied to Rome wt-re instnntl^
off i n /r was ilic succesaor of St. '
any loiiger the trecieiidous power I
been, e\ en in those kingdoms whi«
p."esen^ their feith. Instead of j
tue hw be M-as now compelled to 1
it. he >Aai now obliged to regulate j
rtf jrm as tlje courts of Vienna or I
or L'jS a found convenient 3 and la]
ti.n^ri to d^bj!id his Janizaries,
tri<ri and disciplined band. As lujj
Grciined, the political in£ueuce ofcj
Djeii lied away also. Richelieu ;
zaiine are only exceptions. A
manners was foired upon tlie ch
the n-formation ; it lias had do
since } nor was it possible longer !
c!-. -^»' to r-*maiu in their brutal 1
i^n-^rauce ; when they could not 1
iuTCi they were compelled to tryj
men;, llic Je^uits stirted up, and t
bad its age of learning, for which asii
it is indebted to tlie reformat ion.
woiiid have been no Laynez if
been no Luther, no Baroiiius had ^
been no cenluriators at Magdenb
Bellarmine and Bossuet Jiad there I
protestants.
The reformation furnishes
parallel to the political fernienta
later times. Oi the protestant
M. Villers s.iys, * what the raost i
nent danger (^t" tlie state could nol|
obtiiined trom individuals, zeal for i
o'juined witli ease. For the artists, 1
ers, peasants, ran to arms, and no
of ihem thought of murmmmg at(
thrice as heavy as those which they^
taiucd before. In die violent ag
inti» which die danger of religion
the mind, people oftered goods and \
and they perceived not the eflbrts (
burdens widi which they would iiaye^
sidered themselves oppressed in a
calm situation :' substitute king and {
stitutiou for religion; and this is tl^i
ture of our associations, and lives-and
tunes men. Prodigious power was
thrown into die hands of those proti
pi-inces, who, like our Elizabeth, \
how to use it; and on the other had
the struggle in catholic countries betwel
the clcrg}' and the crpwn ceased for e^
and the one leagued itself wltli the ot&l
for the comiuon vbject of deceiving a
oppressing tlie people^ of enslaving thai
body and soul.
IM. Villers briefly notices the jacolniKiil
of the relbrmation. We find, he styi
among some of the extravagant secb, I
that of th^ anabaptists, the same pretd
15SAT OV THR ilEPOBMATIOW OF tUTHEJT.
I8jr
H fo absolute equality and iiberty, as
K*iiich gave occasion to all the ex-
es or ihe jacobins in France. Agra-
Jaas, the plunder of tlie rich, formed
of their doctrine also : and on their
fcrdh raighthave lieen already written,
IT with castles, and peace with cot-
C ^Ve hiu e hi t>ur pv)ssi'hsion, a rare
ciirious book, from whence the pa-
rt may be continued. * It is the very
^teofcomon people, namely of tiiese
lynes, tkit wh;ii so ever they be per-
ided nnto, agreablc to theyr;affections,
Sy shal be ready, in a sodeyn gyere, to
X>mplysh ; regardying nother daunger,
conimoditc, though sone after they
It tlieyin. And lyke as the people of
11 brought th« jeweUes x)f their
and chyldern to the makyns;e of
gvilden caltc 5 so d j-d they brynge theyr
'lies, bcades, ry'iges, outches, with
y, both gold aad sylver, to the cora-
i hutches so hai^ouudantly for this pro»-
w, ih'Jt men doubted, iu some jjlace,
icdier they had poore folke sijihcieiit to
sume so excedynge heapes of ryches.
> this dont was sone made a phi)'n
! J for within a whyle after, the ar-
te heat of theyr lyberali dviv(x:ion
Led cold J and because tliey contynued
styil in br)'ngynge in theyr oblations,
hutches and coffers were.jemptye ere
en vyst it. llien whyles ft was com-
leed what waye mygiite l>e beste taken
the preservation of tliis ordynaunce.
Bite it shuld decaye, to xheyr confusion
It began it j some gave counsell that it
ilde be neces-sarye to depryve the
g)' of theyr goodes, and to dysuibute
possessions, landes, and rentes,
ig lay people, and to throwe downe all
isteries, and churches, makying coyftc
!<rf crosses, chalesses, and other sscred
Jeveh, for the sustentation of the poore,
» they alleged.'*
M. VilJers does noj^do justice to these
Jacobins of the refoi-niation. Voltaire
msj and says truly, of tlie manifesto which
^Muncer drew up for them, that it might
''nave been signed by Lycurgus. It is a
»y«pm, says Robert Robinson, of justice,
tirtoe, and happiness ; and so equally dis-
tributed, that it is impossible to know any
thing more of the religion of tlie authors,
tiinu tliat they were christians, who held
tliemselves bound to make the holy scrip-
tures the rule of their actions. And h«
bids us cociipnrc their memoriiil with the
Augsburg confession J eacli article o' which
Jbegins with docaity and ends with damnant.
They desen-ed a niore resjx!ctful mention,
in spite of the excesses to which they were
induced by madmen, who can, in all ages
and all countries, find followers enough.
When we execrate the excesses of the
peasants in Germiuiy, and of the jacque-
rie in France, the heaviest portion ot the
curse should M upon the oppressors who
provoked them. The insun-ections in our
own country, under Wat Tyler and John
IJall, were disgraced by no such enormi-
ties. England was free from tli^e reproach
of national cruelly till tlie accursed pro--
ceedings in Ireland.
Notwithstanding, however, the war of
the peasants, Germany was infinitely in-
debted to the* reformation. It served
( 'oarles V. as a pretext for attacking those
states of the empire which were hostile to
his ambitious projects, and he probably
regarded it as a happy circumstance. But
it gave them tenfold strength ; it united
them in an indissoluble bond of union ;
the liberties of Geruiany were saved 3 and
. the consequence is — that there is now
broad sunshine in Saxony, and candle-light
in Austria — ^that wiiat Eickhorn publishes
at^Gottingen is prohibited at Vienna. This
very essay M'iJl, no doubt,, be included in
the list of prohibitions, and it \y> not our
fault if the Annual Review be not tliought
deserving of the same hououri
M. Villers asserts, that Prussia owes
much of its popularity, and nrnch of its
success, to it.H religion. In Silesia, and
in all the Austrian dominions, tlie num-
ber of secret protestants, the descendants
of those who had fought for freedom of
coiLscieuce, under Zisca and Procopius,
was very great. Prussia is every where -
held up iu this volume as the Ormuzd,
and Austria as the Mrinian, of Germany.
I'he Uanslator makes some foolish objec-
tions to this, which is the prevailing teeU
I • The little volume from which this has been extracted is entitled, ' A Dialoge, describmg
'^ ftcOngiiallGroimd of these Lutheran Faccions,and many of their abuses. Compiled by
SyrWiiliafnBarlowe, Chanon, late Byshop of Bathe. Anno 1553.'— There had been an
• tarfier editkm. I conceive this volume to be singularly rare ; it was certainly not knoMrn to
thevrtiterof Sir William's life in the * Biographia Britannica.' Possibly he himself endva-
[ jonred to suppress it, wlicn he thought lit to swun with the stream, rt?sign his house to lienry
L \ 111. lakean active part in th«; divorce, and accept one of the new bisheoricks. It is a well-
tvnitBi book; the product ipn of a cool, prudent, sensible maiv vho felt hmiself well otf,
I afid <i,(i QQ( wi$h for any clianges m the state of affairs.
282
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS^
lag throughout all the North of Germany ;
but he states truly, that Prussia, liberal
aod enlightened as its government is, is
still a tmnny, and if the sceptre of Fre-
derick-William should descend into the
hands of a fool, or of a bigot, it would be-
come, in practice^ what it already is in
theory. There is, however, this security,
that Prussia owes much of its ppwer to its
popularity, and if it cease to be the head
of the enlightened par^« it would cease to
be formidable.
In Denmark, the spoils of the cleigy
fell to the nobles. Gustavus Vasa availed
himself, in Sweden, of tlie reformation,
to strengthen his own power ^ — ^his great
successor saved the liberties of Germany ;
but Sweden lias, from that day, declined.
There is, however, something vital in the
country 3 — ^its sovereigns have always been
remarkable : — that &w of nature which
produces what the Germans call kakkerlar
kens, seems not yet to have begun its ac*
tion there^
What relates to Switzerland is admir-
ably said :
*' Republicans and ardent friends of liberty,
as were the Swiss, they should, in appearance,
have flown to meet a reformation. Seven
eantons, however, remained catholic; and
another thing remarkable is, that the cantons
Which wefe most decidedly rq>ubUcan, were
of ^that number. This pnenomenon is not
easy to explain by those who are not well
acquwnted with the local circumstances. It
has been already obserVed, that the catholic
religion neither is nor can be in all places the
same ; being modified in different situations,
by the nature and circumstances of each.
The Catholicism of the little cantons of
Schwitz, Uri, and Underwald, precisely be-
cause it was established among those moun-
taineers, naturally republican, had assumed
e form agreeable to their character, aod bent
itself to their maniters. The imagiaaUon,
besides, of the iuhabitants of mountains is
lively, and receives.a strong impression from
external objects. A worship, therefore,
clothed witb many forms and ceremonies,
must naturally please them better than one
more simple and severe. Here had lived the
foundei*i of Helvetic liberty ; and the memory
of aU the events, and of all the great charac-
ters of that epoch, were intimately associated
in their fancy with the catholic worship, and
its cerenK>ni^. The fields of famous battles,
the acts of their ancestors, were On their soil
designated, not by obelisks, but by chapels.
Who lias travelled in Switzerland, and not
been to see the chapel of William Tell ? A
species of idolatry, a national fanaticism, was
excited in the little cantons by this mixture of
the worship of liberty with that of religion.
Such, even at this day, is their Catholicism.
They do not even conceive that thpreie m
other. The abuses of the church had flcaceil
been felt among them. The Popes scanei^
exacted any tnmite tif those poor n
taineers ; aod their pri<sts, being tiie
persons ai any information in their ^ ~
and towns, acquired, and have still pre
a gp>eat ascendancy in the deliberatkait^
their assemblies, and in all their afiairs.
to this, that knowledge bad made lessf
aniong them than amon^ thdr rich a
the plains; and that, havug already 1
these, as it were, the present of liberty, i
were not in a temper to let them]
them a change in iheir religion.."
Geneva also occaston« siame ex<
remarks. " It may be truly
says M. Villers, " that this little
has had as grekt an influence cm the
tiny and improvement of Europe^ a
veral mighty monarchies.
" This is a new proof of the uninense adv
tage to human nature of little stat^ and}
the employment which is inade by their me4
of tlie concentrated pqiwer d each district i
tlie ^ globe. Tliis proof is repeated at ef^
step in Gennany ; where we meet with i
cities and principalities <rf moderate c"^"
all of which have their principle of life,
peculiar and independent. Each prides I
oh making industry, the sciences ands
flourish in its littfe capital* Universitiea I
schools ^e. multiplied; and knowledge!
comes more general in the nation. If tmtkl
persecuted by fanatician in one quarter, it|i||
only to make a step, an^ it finds a secure av^
lum on passing the next firontier. In fiii&
each state in this confederate system ^e§^
itself as something in itself; and by that sit^
circumstance becomes something. E?ay
city, of moderate size, is ^not struck with t.
paby by the idea that it is nothing; that 4
one or two hundred leagues distance is anodier
gPMter cit V, which is every thing, a gulph, n
which its labours are swallowed up ; a pbce^
where the whole glory of the empire is CGfr
centrated m one lummous point, away («b
which there is no safety; nothing butwd^-
ism, political, moral/ and literary, throngb-
out an immense country. Had Athens, M
Delphi, Cortnth, I^edemon, M^leoe^
Smyrna, not ei^oyed this individuality, and
had one sovereign city monopolised the whole
splendour of Greece, would so many asest
men, and great virtues,, have every wW
appeared ? Had not the arts and muses of
Italy every where behetd courts and floqnslir
ing republics in their nei^bourhood windi
smiled upon them ; had genius not beet
awakened by immediate celebrity and en-
couragements at Ferrara, Mantua, Venfte,
Florence, Guastalla, and Sienna, as at Romf
and Naples ; had there not been in ail Itek
but one center, one point ; one city, ^nm
that country have become, in the arti, (te
mosit cl3asy;al of ny)dem timet .'^
msSAT OH THB HBFOJIMATIOK OP tUTKBa*
X8i
HoQndwas distoxbed by contending
mta, after its independence was secured.
tt is wdl observed, that where the prince,
» well as the people, became protestant,
k Ifce old police was maintained with the
merrel^ion: an important example to
^Jitoi, who had always better lead reform-
than be overtaken by it Inthesec-
conoenuDf England, M. Viilfrs is
[wonqxletely misl^l hy Hume,
^ It is anuisii^ to iM»r M. Villers t^lk of
rife gloony and inflexible character of the
[Soglurfk Whathe skyg irf^Iidand is un-
k^aly true;
I ^' The leformatioD, which to other countries
>im beeo the source of so many blesang^ has
i^eoi to unhappy Ireland a most disastrous
piDOUTge. Treated as a conquered people, and
: |DDg at the discretion of England, the Irish
^efasdmtciy remained catholics, precisely be»
(aose then- oppressors wme protestants.
Thrir chains were, on that account, rendered
itfce heavier. Tbeir island was filled with ra-
is Englishmen, by whom nearly all pro-
was grasped, fhe despair of these
l^j--^j.orated men at last broke out with fury
SpI641. a massacre throughout the island
Wied cf more than a hundred thousand pn>-
^Ittants. CromweH afterwards took vengeance
~ tbem, and delivered up ahnost the whole
1 to bis soldiers. WUlikm III. established
a 1^1 and constitutional tyranny. The
Ucs were deprived of political existence,
property, and even of education. It
I Iwaaid to make of them a horde d
i and barbarous mendicants. It is like
tnans, accordingly, that they have tfiken
^tta^/aaux on every occasion which has pre*
[ med itself. Animosities of this n^ure re-
QUD, and axe transmitted through many ^e-
AxatkiDs. During the last war, the Irish
kare sufficiently shewn, that several reigns of
Waatkjn liave not entirety obliterated theif
oe^ resentments*"
We now come to the states of which
thegoreroments have not embraced the
reformation. Spain has been dismem-
^)ered of its possessions iiT the Netherlands ^
'vitaoal\f it has been little changed, for
tbe mqcisition is of elder date, and extir-
ptted heresy by one vigorous persecution,
^t^faich was a ipere nothing to its exploits
aganst the ^ews, M. Villenr says, " the
<iifeence between her language, and that
of tbe other nations of Europe, was one
obstacle to the new dQCtrine&." It WJis too
•light a one to deserve mention, and in
^, there is as much difierence between
SBjr other £mx)pean language, and all its
«»15M»WB. There were Spanish pro-
ftttant writers, but their books were burnt,
wd themselves too, if they were caught,
ue state of S^^in mi Portugal, so fiur aa
r^rds the freedom of eQQniry^ (andtha
consiBqnedces extend to every thing,) may,
with little hazard, be ascribed to a consti-
tutional disease, not far removed from re*
ligious madness, in Isabel of Castile, which
became hereditary in her descendants.
Such is despotism ! the state of one in«
dividual*s stomach, or gall-bladder, affects
the lives and destinies of unborn milliont.
^ranOis the Rrst hated the reformation,
because he had sense enough to see that
the principles of civil. and religiona free-
dom were closely connected, and being
a sensual and a bad man, he was of conrso"
hostile to liberty and morality. His snc*
cessors were more bloody than himself |
they disgraced their country, and their de-
testable religion, and homan nature itself^
by the massacre of St. Bartholomew's, the
foulest day in the whole histoxy of man*
kind. But that throne and that altar which
then leagued together for tliis accursed
purpose, were overlhrownjtogether by tho
ultimate consequences of that refbrmatlon
against which they had so hellishly oon»
spired. The leaven of liberty which Cal-
vinism lef^ behind it ceased not to £»*«
ment till it had produced the revolution.
Italy was little affected t it was too im-
mediately under the sword of the pope
and of the emperor; and the few reasoning
men who did not become either pagans or
infidels, retired into other countries. It
was the lot cf Po^md to receive the most
illustrious I ignorance has extinguished
all that formerly rendered that country
ilhistriousA and the sociniffiis exist no
where in any strength but in England.
Second Inqmiy. External Situation qf
the States <^ Europe in regard to one a$^
other.'^^The rdigioos struggle, produced
the balance of power, France siding at first
with the protestant princes, and calling in
thck Turk, because France has always
made religion subservient to policy. M.
Villers thus recapitulates the effects of tho
rej(bmaation, in regard to politics.
«' Europe, plunged during several centuries
into stupor and apathy, interrupted only by
wars, or rather incursions and depredations^
without an object useful to.tlie human ^ pedes,
all at once receives new life and activibr. A
mighty and universal mterest agitates the na"*
tbns ; their powers are unfolded ; and their
minds opened to new political ideas. Ttk^
ceding revolutions had thrown mto action
only the arms of men, this set their mmds
also to work. The people, who till now had
been counted oaly as cattle, pas^vely subject
to the caprice of their leaders, begin to act
from themselves, and to feel their own impor-t
taacc and utiUty. Those wb^ emhraot tbi
ttt
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAinS.
i)p(b)*mation mdk«; ,i c oiirmon ciwse with their
spverelgiii>, aud lioiicc ari^i-N a close union, a
<Jomijiunity oLiuterc^t aud aclion between the
Srince ipia his subjects. \k>\h arc for ever
elivered from tlie t-xcessive an(l burthensomo
power of the clergy, as wtrl! as from the stn^-
^le, injurious to all Europe, and which lasted
so ion:; between the poptb and the emperors,
for the supreme doiuinion in that quarter of
the globe. 'I he social ortler is regulated and
Ijnproved. 'Ihe Austrian power is restrained
within due limits ; that ot France is raised
aiid opposes* it.; llie importance of durable
alliance^; begins to be felt ; tlie bodi.-s poli-
tic of Europe form a connected system in
<v'hich one part is balance i by aj'iother; a
whole regularly organi-sed, of which fonniTly
ijot even an if lea was conceived. States, such
as SJtveden and Turkey, which s^-arceiy till
that time exist<kl with regard to the rest, ob-
tain rank and importance in that .system.
Others, such as Iiolland, are at once pro-
ductid by the mighty siiock, and from the be-
^hining acquire preponderance. The founda-
tions are laid of the Prussian monarchy, and
0f the American republic. In politics a ge-
neral spirit is formed which embraces all Eu-
rope, llie art of negotiation is improved ;
becomes more frank and more certain ; and
Ijie cQurse of alfairs more clear and simple.
In tliis state of union and contact, commotions
find wars become more general, but they be-
come also of shorter duration, and their rigour
is softened by belter and more humane laws
of nations.
" Jn one part of Europe the church ceases
to form a foreign state within the state ;
Vheuco it is easy to foresee that this change
will every where be produced ; and that the
head of the church will be contined to the
incre spiritml sut)r^!macy. Finally the catho-
lic'clergy reform liuir conduct by the exam- "
I>le of the j^rotv^Ntants ; and they jxain in mo-
ralsj^in knowlciii^c, and esteem, what they lose
jn powtJr and riciies.
. ^' At the same time all the governments in
Jlurope increase their internal power ; thoje
vhich arc proles tant by the union wiiich they
fprm with the mass ot'the people, and by the
Wealth, prorogalive^j, and jurisdiction ol the
(*hyrch, uj)on wliirh they seize : those \vhich
^e cathoiic by placing themselves on a for-
rnidablc footing of war, by rtxkicinc; the pro-
V'stants in. their own dominions, iind thus sub-
i^uing one i^art of tiieir subjects bv the other,.
the citizens by the soldier;."
The consequent progress of knowledge
is next investigated. The church of Rome
3aid, Submit, without examination, to au-
thority ; the protestant church said. Ex-
amine and submit only to thine own con-
viction. ProtCptaniism, says Grei ling, is
tjie repulsive pow^r with which reason is
eucjowed to remove and throw off what-
ever would occupy its place. The first
and 'immediate improvement was in theo-
logical studies, yfh'ich M. Villers, after the
German school^ divides into eatechettcat
and hatniletical and exegesis, or the critical
exnraination of the text of scripture, of
whicli the kermcneutical is a part. The
translator has taken occasion here to m^
troduce a \ ery b' go ted and unnecessary .
note. The state of the pro.^stant clergy
ii then described : — * protestant theology/
.s:i}'s tlieautlior, ' rests nn a system of exa-
mination, on the unlimited use of msxm.
It regards the d*x:tnnal part reduced to pa-
rity and simplicity as only the body ot'religi-
on, the positive form which it reijuires j mi
it is .supi>orted by philosophy in the ex*» ;
minaii(jn of the Ihws of nature, of mora-
lity, and of the rela lions of man to tbft
Divine Being, Whoever wishes to be xa-
stmcted in history, in classical literatufe
and philosophy, can chuse nothing better
tlian a courre of protestant theology.'
Jn reqard to Philosophy and to the Morai
and Political Sciences. — The Romish
church has always persecuted philosophy,
as well before as afler the reformation.
Witness Roger Bacon andGalildo, Jof-
dano Bruno, and Vanini. If indeed a
philosopher would work miracles like
Thomas Aquinas, or sport problems con-
cerning the Virgin Mary, like Duns Sco-
tus, he might tlien metaphysicize as deeply
as he pleased. But the reformation nec^es-
sarily led to free inquiry j Luther might
banihh Muncer, Melancthon might ciy
out ai^ainst the fanatical anabaptists for
disbelieving the devil, and Calviu might
burn Servcius, but the flood-gates were
oponed, and wlio was to stop tlie waters?
Mnncer and Socinus, MiddietOQ and Eick-
horn, are the legitimate successors of Mar-
tin Luther, though Martin would hixe
bespattered tliem as fiiriously with his ink
as he did the devil with his ink -stand. lu
this section M. Villcrs candidly admits
that the number of lli inking men -who
have appeared in France is very limited;
and he asserts that tlie philosophical spiht
has for a course of years seemed dead in
England. This truth txcites the indigna-
tion of the translator, who talks loudly of
Ileid and lieattie. Morals have iiecessa-
rilv b<?en better understood since the ca-
suists have been laid aside, political science
partakes of the general progression, and
has been so far, and only so far, affected
by tlie reformation. The same may be
said of the physical and mathematical
sciences, fine literature owes to it the
German and English bibles^ which have
iixed tliose languages.
The fine arts have suffered every where,
and in Scotland tliey have been extirpated;
IteiAT OK T9£ RJBFOBMATJOK OP JLUTSBI.
IB&
dttt oooDdy is an exception to every thing
ii^iuch has been asserted of the bepeiits of
the leformatipa } the reformation pro-
duced Dodung there but degradation, fa-
oatkri^iD, and barbarity. John Knox \va»
the l^larat of the reformation.
€^H9eqwcnces of the events which accom-
fwaed and follaii^ed the r^ormaiion, Dis*
tarkmces and wars in the political xvorid ;
coMttvcersies in the theological world. T]ie
argument against the reformation, from
the wars which it occasioned, is nuga-
tory'and contemptible 3 it was the occasion
of these wars^ not the cau^c^and the result
has been favourable to tiie liberties and to
the happiness and virtue of mankind.
These wars produced a long exhaustion in
Germany, indeed every where. Sweden
and Spain are the only, countries which
have not recovered it. The Austrian domi-
ntons are the only part of the world which
has, in every resj^ect, suffered by these
wars, but they alone who opposed the re-
£mnalion are guilty of all the evils
which resulted from it. In like manner
it was the occasion, not the cause, of much
theok)gical controvers}' 5 by which, how-
ever, DO harm is done. It is not indeed
the best way of using white paper 3 but
they who have ever seen an income-tax
schedule, know that it is not the worst.
A curious section traces the secret so-
cieties of firee-masons, Rosycrucians, and
Hlumioati, to the necessity which perse-
cuted sectarians were driven to, of secret
meeting and signs of recognition. Tt is
added, diat there will soon appear a work
in Germany, by M. Buhle, which will cer-
tainljr establish what is thus advanced, and
^ibilall the proofs. Some ytry curious
remarks upon this siibject may be found
in die Monthly Review (xxv. p. 50.) in
the reviewal of Bamiel, one of the ablest
articles that ever appeared in a work of
periodical criticism.
The Jesuits furnish tlie subject of ano-
ther section, for this association of religi-
oasantijacobins is certainly to be placed
among the effects of the refoiiualion. Their
system of education is thus admirably de-
veloped.
" Their directing principle was to cultivate
aid carry to the nicest possible degree of
perfection all those kmds of knowledge from
which DO immediate danger could result to
I the 8\5tem of hierarchic-ai power, and to ac-
quire by this means the character and renown
of (he most sd>le and learned pers<mges in'the
christian world. By means of this cotiunand
of the opinions of men, it became easv for
I tbeoi either to prevent the growth of Chose
tranche;} of knowledge which might b'mrfruif
dangerous to the pjii^al power, or to bend,
direct, and graft upon them at their plea-
sure. Thus by inspiring a taste for classical
learning, profane histoiy, and mathematics,
they contrived dexterously to extinguish tlie
taste for encjuiry into matters of religion and
state, the spuit of philosophy and iuveoti^a-
tion. The philosophy taught in their schoolf
was calculated to excite av.Tsion and disgust.
It was jio other tiian the scholastic system, re*
viewed and corrected by them, applied to
present circumstances^ arid the controversy
with the reformers, whose arguments, it may
well be supposed, were always there pre-
sented in a manner to fall before the artillery
ot the schools. With regard to the study of
religion, it was confined to the books of tfieo-
kjgy composed for that purpose by tlie-mcra-
bevs of the society, to the casuists, and the
Jesuitical moralists. The study of the origi-
nal charters of religion was prevented ; or if
tlie gospels and other pieces appeared som€^
times in the books of devotion, (and this it
was impossible to avoid, wh;?n the transla-
tions given by tjie protestants were public,)
they were accompanied with interpretations,
anci even alterations suitable to the main
viev^'s of the society. Their great watchword
was the utility of th^ sciences, and the 1>eautT
of the belles-lettres. All that related to the
moral improvement, to the ennobling of hu-
man nature, all that relates to the phUosopbi-
cal and theological sciences, the Jesuits en-
deavoured, and in reality were enabled, to re^
tain in oblivion ; to render theology as well as
philosopiiy a bari>arous system of subtleties,
and even ridiculous to men of the world.
How can it be (letermined to what a degree
tliis Jesuitical mode of instniction, which be-
came the prevailhig jnode in catholic coun-
tries, and diifei-s so prodigiously from the
mode of instniction among the IProtestants,
modiiied the species of culture, and the par-
ticular turn of mind in Catholic countries, so
dit^'crent in general from what is discovered in
the ProtestaJit > From all this however it fol-
lows (and this consideration appears to me the
key of the very contradictory Judgments
passed on the plans of the Jesuits in the ailti-
vation of the sciences) that this soci^Jty per-
formed immeiise services to certain parts of
literature, which it improved ; but that on the
other hand, it retained, designedly, certain
other iin})ortant parts in the dark, or so ob-
structed the avenues to them with thorns,
that nobody was tempted to enter. Thus,
considered generally, the instruction given
in their schools, very brilliant in one respect,
continued very dart in another, was a system
partial, incomph^te, and which set the mind
m a wrong direction. But, as on the one side
all was clearness, and illumination, and on the
other all mystery and obscurity, the eyes of
men were naturally directed to the illuminated
'side, and disdained to dwell upon the oilier,
which they acquired the habit of considering
as altogether insignificant
160
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AJTAIRS,
"To model science according to the in-
terests of the pontifical power, and render
even science ignorant in all thin^ in which it
was requisite tnat she should be ignorant ; to
produce some things in tlie clearest lig^t, and
to retain others in the thickest darkness ; to
fertilize the kingdoms of the memory and the
iniaginatipn, by rendering that of thought and
Reason barren; to form minds, submissive
without being icnorant of any thing but what
could effect theur submission ; like those, high-
ly valued slaves of the great men of antiquity
wlio were g^a^^na^ians, riietoriciansy poets,
Ahe dancers, and musicians, and knew every
thing except -how to become free ; I cannot
fear that I shall be contradicted by any mi-
partial man, in stating that such was the sys-
• tern of instruction ad^ed by the Jesuits. It
was ingenious, and immitabfy adapted to the
«nd they had in view. It was calculated to
fonn illustrious, and elegant authors, learned
men, orators, good Roman Catholics, Jesuits,
it' you please, but not men in the full accepta*
tion ot tiiatterm. He who became a man
tinder their mtnagement, became so inde-
f>endcntiy of that management, and in spite of
As the Jesuits opposed the reformers,
1^ the Jansenbts opposed the Jesuits, M.
ViJiers ascribes all me fruits of this latter
rivahry to Martin Luther. Without ,rhe
reformation, he says, there would have
been no Jesuits, and without the Jesuits
no Port Royal j thus the works of Ar-
jiauld, Tillemont, F^ucal, kc, are among
the fruits of this prolific seed. This is
fomething like the connection between the
priest all shaven and shorn, and the XBt
that eat the malt that lay in the housQ that
Jack biltlt. There is no end of these re-
jnoto consequences'} the price of nutmegs
is one, and the archbishop of Canterbury's
wig is another.
Reflection cmceming the u$e$ made qf
ihc wealth qf the church, M. Villers re-
grets the little good use that has been
made of this treasury, and yet he supposes
the distribution in our own country to be
more judicknis than it really is^ thus mach
however we may fairly boast, that in no
conntry has it been better applied. The
Essay terminates with a brief recapitula-
tion, in which the author ends as he be-
gan, b^ shewing that the reformation, so
active a cause to succeeding ages, was it-
•elf an effect of the spirit of its own age/
What Dante and Petrarca were to poetry ;
Michael Angelo and Raflfaello to the arts
of design ; Bacon and Descartes to philo.
•ophy 3 Copernicus and Galileo to astro>
tiomy ; Columbus and Gama to geogra-
)>hy • the same, vt'as Lutlier in regard to
leli^on. All >yere tbfi first characters of
their respective a^« bat (heir age irat
ready for them.
A sketch of the history of the chtttch
down to the reformation is appended, it
might with more pr<^riety have been pre-
fixed. We shall transcribe from this tha
character of the great founder of Christia-
nity, as perfectly explanatory of the an-
.thor's system of belief.
" He preached with the tranquil majesty of
a mind mvested with a superior miasioa, and
which had no other buaness on the earth, but
that of establishing tmth, piety, and love
amon^ mortals, ^rious and cucumspect i^
his actions, ingenuous, simple, and sublune m
his discourses, his mind appeared calm, trans-
parent, and profound as the ether of heaven.
Supremdy mild and benevolent, a holy aeal
against impiety and vice could done move or
a^ect lum with passion for an instant Thus
is Jesus described to us by his four historians.
If he was not such, tmdoubtedly we must ad-
mire the genius of those who imagined so fine
a picture, and still more the happy chance by
Which the same picture presented itself exactly
to four evangelists, who, in all probability,
could not each copy from the other. But i(
he Nvas such, as it is impossible to doubt, wbal
then was the nature ofthis extraordinary be-^
ing, who resembles none of the great person-
^1^ represented* to us in history, ana whose
lite, without bleinlsh and without affectation^
exhibits not one of the weakness^ of human
nature ?
" Jesqs, dur'mgthe few years of his public
ministry, sowed the hnpenshable seeds of a
doctrine qf pure adoration, of love and justice;
or rather he only sanctioned and vivified those
seeds naturally sown in every heart. And
what is not less wonderful and extraordinary
than his whole mission and character is, that a
Jew, a member apparently of a nation trnpa-
raHeled for its selhshness, its exclusive spirit,
and its enmity to the rest of mankind, iirst
presented the notion of an universal relijgpon,,
of a church for the human race, of a fratemity
of all nien under the authority of a common
father. One father, one family, one service^
one love ; this idea was miraculous in that age ;
it was so in a much greater degree produoe4
and established in Judea, Jesus ottered it a^
his only precept ; explained, and applied it
to every case. He gave charge to no apos^
ties, plain, unlettered men, to go and diffuse it
among all nations, declaring to them that
every where its ^fleets would be great. They
1^, tney speak, and the worid becomes chris-
tian. Jesus meanwhile, pursued by the tana-
ticism of the priests of the ancient law, was
the same ami^ executioners and torments
which he had been in the midst of his disci^
pies, a pattern more than human of patience
and firmness, of mildness and sublimity. " Fa-
ther," said he, praying fbr his executioners,
" Father, forrave them, for they know not
what they do.^ This last proof was wantioc '
tP enable biiQtoofferapracUcalexam|ple«
KAWSBWes's SBKMOH*.
HKf
ftf HMSI difficuR liftiies. Aft«r this notiHng
BOiereniaiiiedforhimtodo: ail was tf)tt>A«3
tonse Us uwn Gqmssion ; tnd he med the
Boble death of a mrriyr to teutfa and virtue.''
' Hie whole of this sketch displays a
dtoraogh knowledge of ecclesiastical his-
M. VUlers has touched lightly upon
the evils which the refornaation has oc-
casioned; he specifies its injurious efiect
npoD the fine arts, and nothing more. A
worse evil is the total stop which it has
hitherto pat to the progress of christian-
itj) the Danish and Moravian missions
are too unimportant to be considered as
. exceptions. Protestantism wants all the
implements for conversion. The Jesuits
truned up men for the purpose, always
either the most enthusiastic or tlie mast
able of their body, and not unfirequently
both qualities were found united. Celi<»
bacy enabled thsse adventurers to carry
their lives loose about them, they looked
CD to martyrdom as to the highest bless-
u]g» and to canonization as Sie highest
tommit of earthly glory — thrones in hea-
ven and altars upon earth were to be
their reward. But the Protestant church
militant would find but few of its soldiers
ready to volnnteer upon the forlorn hope.
The missionary^rom a reformed covmtzy^
Ms OBt with only his own stock of ze^,
there are no cooler heac^ at home to di-
rect him ; he has no order to share in the
f^oryofhis success, or sing triumphant
hjmns for his martyrdom; he sees no
charms in the stake and the foss, and
^vontof all, he has no tools to work with,
no idols which he can offer to the idolat'or
, in exchange for his old gods. It is the
Mate which must convert Hindostan and
Polynesia, not the churchy
The rdfonned churches may also envy
the admirable skill with which Rome en-
listed into its own service all such fanatics
as create sects in protestant countries.
TheWesleys and Whitfields of Catholicism
kave been the founden of new orders, or
the reformers of old ones, and proved its
iDost useful labourers. In that wonder-
ful system of impositioB every t^ing was
made useful. The church of Rome sent
enthusiasts abroad to extend its empire
and be made its martyrs \ and those whe
were too mad fbr any diing else, it kept at
home to feed upon bread and water, fiog
themselvesj wear hrfr-doth, see visions^^
receive revelations, and become sajpts.
Our Bridgets and Gertrudes go to Bedlam,
and our Jpnip^s to the parish ^ork*
houses.
It has been said, that the reformation
was. premature, and would have been
more efiectual had it been delayed } but
the example of France does not prove
that any great changes in the state of the
church are conducted in these times more
moderately, mor^ wisely> or to better end»
than they were in the sixteenth century.
Popeiy never could have fallen without
violence. As for its reforming itself, have
we yet to learn thatrefbnfb are never to
be expected firom within; that for goi<«
tres and cancers there is but one cure ?
That the reformation has not been coin*
plete we may acknowledge. What howw
ever may be fiirther wanting in eur own
country is in the body, not the spirit of
the church. Our clergy have kept pace
'^th thdr countrymen in imt>roVenient.
Consubstantiation may l)e in' the articles,
and transu^stantiation in the catechism;
but neither do the men who subscribe to
the articles think of the one, nor the chil*
dren who repeat the catechism of the
other $ they are not Insisted upon as points
of faith, and they form no part of the na-
tional belief. Were the churci^f Eng-
land to improve the condition of its in-
ferior clergy, and to make its articles cor-
respond with its actual' belief, its friends
would have little to wish, and its ene-
mies nothing to hope.
Mr. Lambert's translation has a life of
Luther prefixed, which, if not more ne-
cessary than Mr. Miirs notes, i^ not quite
so Avorthless. Ic is from a later edition^
and contains a preface of M. Villers^
which ^he^'S that his book has excited, as
miglitbe expected, some controversy.
AxT. XLIX.~^fi Attrmpt to lUusfrate those Articles of the Church <^ England which the
Cuhinists improperly consider as Caivinistical, In Eig/d Sermons, preached before the
University ef Oxford, in tlie Year 1804, at the Lecture founded by J. Bampton, 3f. A,
Canohff Satishury, By Richard LawrencBi LL. D. of University College, 8to»
pp. «0.
n" has been justly remarked by an en)!-
Mt theological professor of one of our
tvavDcuties, that in order to ascertain, or
^ m^^ffk to ihf f Timitivt aeme of our
articles, we must put ourselves in the
place of those who compiled them. This
is precisely what Dr. L. has attempted in
the kclures now before us. Ho U ^ot
tM.
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS-
indccd'the first, zi he adknowledges, by
whom Uiis mode of illustration has been
adopted; but lie lias been much more
diligent,' and much more 8ucce3sful, than
those who have preceded him. We will
endeavour to give in a brief but faithful
ftketch, the result of the dry and laborious
investigationH through which he Ikis been
uccessarily led in deternuning the state
of religious opinion" at the begimiing of
the reformation in England.
Tl>e nature and extent of his design will
be evident from the following paasagc in
tlie iirst iiermon.
" On one hand it has been contended, that
onr articles are consonant with the crord of
Calvin ; on the other with that of Aiminiws.
It1s not my intention to follow thi:* contro-
\crtrd question into particulars. Yet pcr-
kaps it should be cursorily remarked, that
c^vn the Calvinist has proved in the most con-
t hieing modej-tliat they are not in their nc-
Cfs: ary construction completely calvinisticAl ;
*fliat something is wanting in thnn to prodncc
entire satisfiction; for repeatedly has he la-
Wirrd, although constantly labou'red in vain,
ftrst to render them explicit on this liead, and
aftenfarda to get his iavourite emendations
«i>proved and established by public authority.
I(ut with these points the elucidation, which
1 propose, is l>y no mearis connected. It will
Ihi canfmed to a comparison of our articles
with the prevailing opinions of the tinu^when
thev were composed, at least with those in
whfch the)' immediately origiiiated, cm* from
viiich they were collaterally derived.
'* If we contemplate them in this view, or
rather suth of them as will become the sub-
ject of investigation, we find, that far from be-
ing framed according to tlie system of Calvin
m preference to all others, thejj were model-
ed after the Lutheran in opposition to the Ho-
inisli tenets of the day. The whole scope,
thfTefoie, of ni}* design will be, instead of
coiwideiing tbem ahstrat tediy, to survey them
lelativdy, with reference to the particular
tenet.s alluded to ; and tlie principal part of
my obs( rvations will consist in developing
tliese, if not minutely and in full detail, yet
fufhciently for the purpose of illustration.
But before I proceecl to explain the selected
doctrines, it will be recjUisite more at large to
point out the real basis u|)on which the super-
structure of our chunh was raised ; and tlien
to give the evidence which the articles them-
wlvcs exliibit of having been erected upon
the same foundatwn."
The English reformation, which, as is
well known, commenced under Ilenry
VIII. was completed, according to Dr.
L, in all it* essential parts under Edward
VI. No subsequent alteration of any im-
portance took place. The original, after
which it was moulded, was tlie Protestant
establishment m Gemiany. The " men
of the new learning,*' as the English Pri>-
testants were called, were all Lutherans ;
and many attempts were made, both by
Henry and Edward, to gaix) the personal
assistance of Melancihon. The two most
important publications of Henry's reign,
the Bi.sliop'4 Book aud the King-s Ftook,
with the exception of a few points breathed
the spirit of lAitheranism. *' Cpon tlie ac-
cession of Edward the oiBces of the
church, observes Dr. L. were immediate-
ly retbrmcd (which before had been but
partially attempted) after tlie temixraie
system of Luther, and not after the plan
of subversion, rather than of reformation,
which Calvin had recently exliibited at
Geneva. Nor were any alterations of im-
portance, one point alone excepted, made
at their subsequent revision. At the
same period also the first book of Homi-
lies was composed : which, altliough
equally Lutheran, yet containing nothing
upon the subject of the sacramental pre-
sence, has remained without the slightest
emendation to the present day." p. 15.
Soon after this Cranmer translated a Lu-
theran catechism, which he editctl in lui
own name, dedicated to the king, and
strongly recommended as a treat i^e ad-
mirably adapted to improve the principles
as well as the morals of the rising genera-
tion.
" On the whole, therefore, the principles,
upon wiiich our reformation was conducted,
ought jwt lo remain in doubt : they were ma-
nifestly Luthenui. With these the mind tjf
him, to whom we are chiefly indebted for the
sahitary measure, was deeply impressed, and
hi contormity with them was our Liturgy
drawn up, and tlie first book of our Hoinilies,
all tliat were at tl>e time composed.*'
The articles. Dr. L, asserts, w'^re drawn
np by Cranmer, after the model of •* that
boast of Germany and pride of tlie refor-
mation, the confession of Augsburgh." Up-
on one point only, the doctrine of consub-
stantiation, a deviation from it was made ;
and upon this point the author of the con-
fession was himself suspected. Of their
subsequent history Dr. L. observes,
" When a permanent system of faith tv3$
settled by the clergy assembled in convoca-
tion under Elizabeth, the see of Canteihury
was filled by Archbishop Parker, who as an
antiquarian and Saxon scholar still ranks hi^h
in the republic of letters. J<or as the re-
storer of our church did he acquire a les so-
lid, if less brilliant, reputation. CaHed bv the
)>rovidence of God to rebuild the walls of our
Zion. rudely subverted by papal bigotry,
lA'^aV.CB*) SBRHPIffS.
169
Iff oegif^ed not'the revered materiais of the
toaaer fabric. After tlie revival of our litur-
gy, bisalteiilion was directed to the considera-
tion of speculative questions: and here the
temperate procectlings of the assembly, which
discussed then I, seemed perfectly to corres-
pond with his most sanguine wishes. Instead
of entering upon the task of innovation, in-
stead of liringing forward a new code of doc*
iTines, wIhcIi ^ume niig:ht have thought more
adaptet) to the improved state of religious taste
and seuti'.iient, the convocation was satisfied
to tread in a beaten path ; t not only made
the artkrJes ofCraunier the basis of the pro-
posed system, but ado])ted them in general
word for word. Of what was the intention in
this re?|>ect no testimony can be more conclu-
sive, than the evidence"^ of the original docu-
nient itself, which is still preserved with the
signatures of the clergy annexed to it, and
uhich is iiothit^ more than an interlined and
amended copy of the fonnulary, which had
been adopted m the preceding reign.
"\A'haisoever tiien might have been the dis-
position*; of a few overzealous men, the mem-
bers of this important convention displayed a
remarkable proof of their moderation and
jddgnnent, by generally reviving what had
been before est^liahed, rather than, in order
tognitify the restless sijirit of innovation, by
inculcatmf^ novel doctrines. Instead of in-
creasii^ the numl)er of the articles, they di-
minished them ; instead of extending their
sense, so as to make tliem embrace a greater
proportion of speculative tenets, they con-
tracted them, and appeared in every case
more deposed to extinguish difference of opi-
mon« than to anient it by add'uu; fuel to a
&mie, already rising above controul. In one
or two instances indeed additions, or rather
additional elucidations, were admitted. Of
the tendency however of these we cannot
doubt, when we learn tiiat, with the exception
of one ol>vious topic alone, they were not
ori^pnal ; tlat they were neither the produc-
tioitt of Parker nor the convocation ; and that
they were not borrowed from any calvinistical
or 2uinglian, but from a Lutheran creed.
The creed to which 1 allude is the confession
of Wirtemberg, which was exhibited in the
council of Trent the very year, when our own
articles were completely arranged by Cran-
nier. That their resembkmce to this compo-
litfOQ should have been hitherto overlooked
is the more remarkable, because it seems too
visible, oae would conceive, to have escaped
the notice of the most superficial observer.
For it was not confined to a mere afiinity of
idea, or the occasional adoption of an indivi-
<W expression ; but in some ca3es entire
extracts were copied, without the slightest
omission or minutest variation.
"If then wc duly weigh the facts, which
have been stated, and the consequences which
sman to/esult from them, we shall not per-
haps be at a loss to determine, from what
quarter we are likely to collect the best ma-
ttt^fefioc.illttstratingthe articles of our church*
We perceive, that in the first compilatioa
many promtucnt passages were taken from
the Augsbourgh, and in the second froni ll>e
'Wirtemberg' confession; the latter not being
considered as a retractation of the forniT,
but rather, M'hat only it professed to be, as a
repetition and comi>endium of it, The.«
were the creeds of Luthei-ans."
Dr. Lawrence fiullier remarks :
*' To the writings of Calvin it will be in ya'a
to apply, as some have dofie^ irom any con-
ception, that our clergy in loe last revitJion
were eaqer to propagate the new pruiciples,
which tiicy may be supposed to have imbil^ed
during the sanguinary persecution under
Mary. For, as if distrustful upon this heail,
the prudent restorers of our church, unless on
an individual question, where the uUerests ui
truUi forbad a compromise, kept tlie creed of
a diil'erent comrnunion in view ; the creed
likewise of an iCra prior to thai event, whidi,
by compelling many of our proscribed coun-
trymen to take refuge on tii^ continent, par-
ticularly at Geneva, laid tJic foundation oi a
controversy respecting discipline and the fomif
of divine worship, which /ong disturbed thd
tranquillity of our ecclesiastical establishment,
often threatened its existence, aikl unce actu-
ally subverted it. * But to the name of Calvia,
whose talents even jjrejudice must confess to
have be«n not inferior to his piety, but wltoS4*
love of hypothesis was perhaps superior U>
both, from the celebrity which it aftenvard*
acquired, too much importanca has bfea
sometimes annexed. It has been forgotttii,
that at ihe time under conteinplalion, Uic er-
rors of the church of Rome were almost the
sole objects of religious altercation, no public
dissension of consequence liavmg. occurred
among protestants, although thinking variously
on various topics, except upon tlie single ptni.t
of the eucharist: and that Calvin s system,
upon this had not obtained its full reputation,
his controversic»ii upon the subject not being
then in existence ; controvevsie^, which first
began to perpetuate his name, and to render
Calvinism a cnaracteristical appellatwn. Nor
has it been sufficiently observed, that his title
to fame on this occasion arose not so niuch
fix)m hb opinions themselves, which ditiered
but little, except in temis, from What had been
before advanced by Bucer and other media-
tors between the two extremes of a coporeal
and a spiritual presence, as ft-om the perspi-
cuity, with which he explained, and the abi-
lity, with which he defended them, when at-
tacked by the Lutherans, who had not yet er,*
tered the field of combat againf t hjm. But
no more convincrog evidence, pcrliaps, can be
alltdged, that the mcense of flattery, which
was afterwards abimdantly offered up, had
not then been received, than the total silence
respectmg him preserved by a contemporary
writer, who seemed pertinacbusly attached
to all his opinions ; I mean the well known au-
thor of an Ecclesiastical History, contaitiipg
the acts and monuments of martyi:$. Fn^in
190
THEOLOGY AND kCCiJESlAsnCAL AFFAIRS.
ihe Tohitninoiis pfodactibn alliideti t6, it ap*
peara not that any of those, who niflfered in
the reign of Mary> were acetified of having
adoptcia the sentiments of Calvin; but either
of Luther or of Zuingle: nor does the dtoIk
historian himself, while he dwells in detail upon
the writings and merits of both the latter, dis*
tinguish the name, or attempt to immortaliae
the memory, of the former.
« It was indeed more to his theory of pre*
dcstmation, than to that of the sacramental
presence, that in process of time he was in-
debted for his renown. Even this however^
at the period under review, had not passed
the controversial flame, from which, m the
estimation of his eealoiis adherents, it came
forth with additional brilliancy and purity.
It was not then, as afterwards, the object of
applause, but, on the contrary, of disappro-
bation. - For his doctrine of God's dreadful
decree, which before bad attracted little no-
tice, was then beginning to give offence both
within and without the territory of Geneva.
Dretui^ull term it, as being no less so to his
feelings, than to ours ; for the same strong
epithet he himself applied to it. * Horribile
quidem decretum fateor,' were the precise ex-
pressions which he used, when shuddering at
Lis own favourite idea of irrespective reprobar
lion."
In this pasiiage there is an inaccuracy.
In the last examination of Mr. John Phil-
pot b^ore Bishop Bonner, the Bishop of
Coventry thus addresses him: '' ^ur
church, of Geii^va, which ye call die Ca-
tholic chordh, is that which Christ pro-
phesied o£-— To which Phiipot replies,
"laAow the cfanich of GcDm,awlthe
doctrine of the same, &c.**
In his fifUi examination also, he asks
his persecutors, " Where is tliere one of
you all that ever hath been able to ans\ver
any of the godly learned ministers of Ger-
many, who have disclosed your counter-
feit rtligion ? Which of you all, at this
day, is Sbit to ans^-er Calvin's institutions,
whichns minister of Geneva ?" And soon
aflenK'ards, " In the matter of predestina-
tion, he is none 0ther opinion than all tlie
doctors of the church be, agreeing to the
icriptures/— Sec Fox's Acts, &c. vol.iii.
p. 495 and 4/0.
Bui Phllpot was nol a leading man in
the work of reformation ; and the doctrine
of the English church must be proved by
^the |>rinciples of those who eompiled her
articles and her services.
Tdi Lutheran writers, therefore. Dr. L.
tumi in preference -, and by their aid he
proceeds to prove, that the suticles upon
oiiginai sin, works before gone, and tree
wiU, ZM allied to the same, upon juatifica-
tioQ by&ilb akme, and upon predeitiqa^
tion and election, were formed, ^(^ 9c^'
cording to the principles of Calvin, but
with a sole regard to the topics on whkh
the Lutheran reformers were at issue with
the church of Rome. That the first Eng-
lish reformers would be chiefly solicitous
to counteract the errors of the chinch
from which they had separated, we should
be inclined to believe previous to exami*
nation j and an accurate investigation of
their writings appears, agreeably to the
whole tenor of th^ valuable notes whicb
accompany tliese lectures, to justify and
confirm the position. To foUow the learn*
ed preacher through the whole of his la-
boured enciuiry, to trace after him, even
in the slightest manner, the doctrines of
the schoolmen upon the above points,
to detail the proofs which, firom the wark%
of Luther, Melancthon, Zuinc^le, and Cal-
vin, fi-om the confessions of the earliest
protestant churches, and the writings of
our first reformers, he has so amply de-
duced, in order to iUnstrate and establish
the principle^ of interpretation which he
has advanced, would occupy no small
number of our pages without doing suf-
ficient justice to our author. We shall
therefore forbear, and be content with
subjoining the recapitulation, which Dr»
L. has himself inserted near the close of
his eighth sermon.
" .^er having completed the ilkistrsi^bn
which 1 proposed, it only reouuns for me to
restate, in a few words, the varbus topics
which have been discussed. In adverting,
however slightiy, to each, we immediatd3r
perceive, that the leading object of oitr r^onn*
ers in every instonee was to christianize the
speculations of the schools ; topoint out, as I
have had frequent occasion to observe the ne-
ct%*sity and efficacy of aedemption. Aecord-
ing to the perverted theolo^ of their oppo>
nents, by wtiom the orades of divine truth
were little studied, and less regarded, the cor«
ruption of our nature, as far at least as it re-
lates to the mental faculties, was deemed
wholly ideal ; by congruous merit we were
tliought competent to obtain God's favour
here, and by condian the fruition of his glori-
ous ffodhead hereaner ; while it was ooncdv*
ed, that on account of both we were predes-
tined to salvation. Fascmated therefore by
the potent magic of the schools, when the soiu
of man surveyed her powers and her pros-
pects, instead of viewing herself as a nnfiil
and fallen creature, contaminated by original
and ruined, beyond all hope ojf human remedy,
by actual depravity, she bcbield hendf trans*
tinned into an angel of light ContemphUktng
the approbation of hi»ven, not as a iMon to
be supplicated, but As a reward to be desesved^
she disdained to accept it gratuitously, but
claimed it as the recompence of kes virtiMMBd
XAtrBBirCB*8 sil&kovt
19^
Huhietiae, To her ofwn merits
ibeiaipKited her justification in thb life, and
kerfniiidtilie to bliss in the life to come, un-
madfai of those, which the christian ought
liane to plead at the throne of mercv, and
%tich hj repentatice and foith he makts his
oiRL Nor did her conipIacoK^ io her own
food cpalities and superior emlowments rest
CTCD here. Axiayed in all the dignity of mo-
rd excellence, and the graces of gei^uine piety,
she beheld herself eternally. present to the eye
«f God, elected before others for her intrinsic
woith, and predestinated to everlasting feli-
city, because deserving of it. Where, in such
m syslem, is to be found a place for the full,
perfect, and sufficient eblation andsatisfiaction
«f him, who came to seek and tosaye that
which was lost ?
" On the other hand, when contrasted with
^scholastical doctrine, in how advantageous
a point of view, how much more consistent
«tthGo^>d truth, and de<!larative of Gospel
toK&oence, appears that of the church of xn-
gjad! The ever-memorable divines, Ivho
CBBpiied her offices, and reformed hei; creed^
Ivtnd of exercising their talents in abstruse
theory and viun speculation, directed their at-
totioQ wholly to the word of God Upon
tfiii grounding every position which they esta-
Ifahedy tliey taught, with no less simplicity
^ikm smceritj, that we possess by nature a
Icndcncy to evil, which in itself is no innoai-
flosqaahty^ but one offensive to a just ''and
Uy God, when abstractedly considered ;
that we caBDol ourselves in any way atone for
m ; but that an atonement nas Seen once
' Bade for all by the common Saviour of man-
laid; and that ooosequoitly, mstead of at-
traipHng to expiate it by our own merits,
I whetfaer coi^ruous or condign, we ought ra-
I tbcr, with a livdy Caith, united to a truly peni-
; tent and contrite hearC to trust in the expia-
; faan of Christ alone, because something more
h reqojate than we can perform, to appease
thcoHrifasure, and satisfy the justice of hea-
ven. Thus while their adversaries laboured
to promote phaxisaical pride, and render the
crosB of Chnst of no effect, they solely endea-
voured to inculcate christian humility^ and to
demoDstrate the inestimable value ofchrlstian
redemptjoo; not indeed in a calvinistical
sene, as if feith were appropriated to the elect
only, for th^ woold have been to exchange
one ^ledes of personal conceit for another ;
bat m a sense, which both scripture and rea-
son approve, which makes the light of the
cvsnyBcal as general in its mfluences, as that
of the natural day. For upon the subject of
predestii^tion, as well as upon every other,,
which has been aBuded to, their prudence
was not less oonspicuoiis than thdr piety.
Approaching it with reverence, and tueating it
witti circumspection, they indulged not, like
niany in the church of nome, and like some
who weie enumerated among the fnends\of
reformation; in abstruse disquisitioiis upontlie
nature of the divine will ; they boasted not o£
a philosophy, which affected to soar above
vulgar view, and fix its sublime abode in the
bosoni of God himself. I'hat he, whom the
wonders of created beins perplex, who knows
not half the wisdom of tJie meaiiest uisect,
that man, equally nnperfect as impore, should
presume to investigate tlie arcana of the oo^
niscient nund, appeared to then the height of
^travagance and crime. Their feelings re*
coiled at tlie idea of passing the boundary,,
which the scriptures have prescribed, and of
exploring without an infallible guide the abyss
df the unrevealed godhead; what no hiunaa
intellect can comprehend, they were content-
ed in silence to adore. Every attempt there*
fore to explain the will of the unknown God,'
as he exists in his native majt^sty, amid clouda
of impenetrable daricness, they utterly dis*
claimed, and spoke only of that consolatory.
effect of it, which the sacred volumes disclose.
to us, and represent as certain, the predesti-
nation of christians to eternal 1^. With this
express object ui view they mtimately blend-
ed the doctrine of election with the holy ordi^^
nance of baptism, including all in t * univer-
sal promise, and regulating the aecrees of
Goa by our assumption or rejection of the
christian character ; persuaded that the con-
trary tenet of a preuestination by individual
destmy is attended with the worst of conse^
quences ; that while it furnishes the proAigate
sinner witli a pretext for his vkes, it increases
the agony of the desponding, whose petitions
for mercy and forgiveness seem never to
reach the throne of grace, but return to his '
afflicted soul disregarded, if not despised ;
adding tenfold horror to his despair.*'
In one or two instances Dr. L. may have
exposed himself to animadversion, but
upon the whole the ground he has taken
upon this subject seems to be that which
alone is tenable. We have endeavoured
to give eur readers a view of this ground j
and having done this we must for the pre-
sent rest satisfied. The contest is not yet
oyer : other fields remain to be fought ;
and we shall, for various reasons, reserve
ourselves for some future remarks oo the
respectiye strength and skill of the coai«
batants*
Am. L.---GMdSMl Examtfiatianqfthe Rev. Charles Davbent's " Findtdo! Scelena An*
gUcmug, iniMchtomeqfthefalstr Reaaaniruts, incorrect Statemem», andpaJpMe Misrc
pre$aaadon9 in aPubHcatim, entitled, 'The True Churchmen Ascertained, bff John
OvciLTON, .A. B.* are pointed ota.** H^ith Occasional Strictures on the above-mentidned
Werrk^fMir, OymToir. Svo. pp. 141.
A&T.Ll-*itarJMiR'« to the Editor of the Christim ObrnverM^ ^ fteply to thai Authat^^
192
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFiVlIlS.
' Occasional Striciares on tlie True Churchmen Ascertained ;* in his Candid Examinatui^
of Mr. IJ avbeuy's FindiciiC £cclcsi(e Anglicano', with incidental Remarks on Dr. Kip*
ling, Mr, Dauhen'/, tlw RevUziers, 4'C- ^!/ John Overton,-^. M. llectcr of St, Mar^
$aret mul St. Crux, York* 8vo. pp. 106.
THE first of these publications is lit-
tle more than ^ transcript of the review
of Mr. Daubeny's work, which appeared
in the Christian Observer for 1804 3 and
v/e must do our brother-reviewers tlie
justice to observe, that it proves them
worthy of the place they occupy in the re-
public of letters. The charge of false
leasoniugs, incorrect statements, and rais^
Tepresentations, which Mr. D. had urged
igainst Mr. Overton, is here successfully
retorted upon himself j and he is proved
to be utterly unfit for the management of
a question which requires sound judg-
ment, patient and accurate reading, a
candid temper, and a love of truth rather
than of victory.
Tlie occasional strictures have given
some offence to Mr. Overton, and he has
cotne forth in vindication of himself, not
only against the reviewer in the Chris-
tian Observer, who, if not a partizan, is
a friend to the cause which Mr. O. sup-
ports, I iit als9 against avowed enemies,
inch as Dr. Kipling, Mr. Daubeny, and
foroe anonymous opposers. He has con-
ducted his defence with much ability ; he
hs» shewn that the author of the stric-
tures has fallen into error with respect to
some parts of his former work ; and he
has entered upon a further explanation of
his views on some points, on which be
was liable to be mistaken. A critique
upon Dr. Kipling*s pamphlet, published
in a former volume of our work, is sHgbiij •
noticed and reprehended by our author.
We see no reason to retract the opinion
we then offered. Supposing, what we
had every reason to suppose, that by Cal-
vinism Mr. Overton meant tlie distia- "
^islung doctrines of tlie Genevan re-,
tormer, we were certainly justified in re- ,
presenting tlie reasoning of Dr. Kipling
as *' demonstrative and incontrovertible.'^
If Mr. Overton and his party disclaim anf
attachment to what we have been ac--
customed to regard as the true character-
istics of the disciples of Calvin, they
should contend no longer for a calvinistic
interpretation of the articles. Much of '.
this controversy might be avoided, were*
the disputants careful accurately to define
the leading terms they employ, and with
more precision to point out the subjects
of debate. But of this hereafter.
AnY. LII, — A Memoir of the Proceedings of tlie Society called Quakers, belonging to ike-
Monthly Meeting of Hardsliuw in Lancashire, in tlie Case of the Author of a Pubiiof
Hon entitled i a Narrative of Events tvhich have lately taktn Place in Ireland, Sfc. £a
\VnxiAM Rathbone. 8vo. pp. 92.
IN our last volume we noticed at
iome length the " narrative" mentioned
in the above title, and stated tlie general
opfSion^ that it was the production of
an eminent merchant in Liverpool. This
opinion has been at lengtli confirmed by
the appearance of Mr. Rathbone' s name.
C^sidering the general tendency of the
narrative to excite a disapprobation of^e
pnweedings that were detailed in it, the
Utseral spirit of the narrator, and the dis-
pO»iticvis which have lately prevailed in
Ae society of Friends, no uncommon fore-
ifgbt was requisite to warrant an expecta-
tion that the case of the expelled members
ifl Ireland would soon be also the case of
fbeir apologist and h istorian . If any reader
of the narrative formed that conjecture,
(and what reader did not ?) he will lind it
reritied in the present memoir. The nai-
nilire was published on the 30th of March
1004'^ On the 24th of June following,
tbe oTdTseers of the congregjation in Liver-
pool stated to William Rathbone their re-
gret that such a book should have appear-
ed I that it had also given great pain to
the society, and tliat it was much to be
lamented that he had not consulted some
judicious friend prior to its publication*
A report of tlie publication was laid be-
fore the monthly meeting in August j
various visits and conferences took place;
the usual formalities were obsen*ed ; and
tlie business terminated with the disuniiin<r
of William Rathbone fi^cm membership, in
a montlily meeting held at Maiicliester,
February 28, 1805.
The greater part of the papaphlet nov
before us consists of a letter addressed to
the monthly meeting of liardshaw, in
answer to the charges brought against the
author of tlie " narrative." To an unpre-
judiced reader we doubt not it will appear
satisfactory ; while, together with the rest
of the memoir, it will shew the danger-
ous tendency of what is called church
fcEPORT OF THE BIBLE SOCIETT. 1^3
di^pline, and the lamentable possibility a studied simplicity of m;inners, and a
of die anion of ecclesiastical tyranny with professed abhorrence of priestcraft.
Art. LI I. — A Drfince of the Christian Doctrines of the Society of Friends, against the
C^ir^e of Socinianism : audits Church Discipline f indicated, in Ansivtr tb a ikriler
t^'i st:/it't Jufuself f'crax : in the Course ofu^hich the principtd Doctrines of Christ ianilif
4irc set jortk, and some objections obviated. To nhich is Pvt fixed , a I. cite r to John Evans,
the ^4uihorqf » a Sketch of the Denominations of the Chri.itiun World,^ and Striviuns oft
the Eighth atid yitith Editions oftluU fforlc. By John He van, Jun. 8vo. pp. ^75.
WE noticed in our second volume, p. assuredly entitled to silence any of their
154, one of the tracts against which tliis
rokime is written. The point at issue is
I question concerning the opinions of
Penn, Barcl.i}', George Fox, Isaac Pen-
lington, Claredge, and Morrii», who are
looted ou both sides as our old divines
ised to quote St. Ambrose and St. Au-
pistine. it is curious to see the society
)f friends producing the authority of tiieir
Withers !
llios much seems clear. The quakers
Itove no confession offaidi, but they are
preachers who shnll preach doctrines con-
trary to tlie received and geii^al opinions
of the society. If the separatists were
numerous enough, they might form a
di«>tinct sect like the general baptists, but
for tliis they have neither numbers nor
zeal. They incline to the reasonable side,
and reason is not the rock upon which
churches and meeting-houses are built.
Which is right or which is wrong- in the
point of doctrine^ we sliall not pretend to
say.
Ibt. TJV. — A ticw of the Old and Xew Jf^tij of Doctrine, Discipline, and Gorernment, in
the Churches of Christ, includini^ Remarks on Baptism, the Lord-'s Supper, the Plurality •
0f Elders, their Ordination, ^r. ^r. % David M'Rae, A. M. U'lno. pp. 204.
MR. M'Rae, it appears, had not long
left the diviniiy-hall of kiiig's college,
Aberdeen, which he had attended three
wmths, when he commenced an itinerant
pnncher. In this situtition he grew more
lod more dissatisfied with tlie doctrine
Bid discipline of the church of Scotland.
ffe therefore left the old w ay, and struck
wt into a new path, to which he ima-
pnes the scriptures of the New Testa-
ment directed him. He has advanced
some plausible objections against the prac-
tices of the church from which he has
withdrawn ; but if we have properly un-
derstood him, he has not been ver}' suc-
cessful in his endeavours to discover the
apostolic doctrine and institutions. He
has left an old way, and turned aside into
a new one; there is an older way still, the
.good old way of Jesus and his apostles.
MISCELLANEOUS.
kRT. LV. — Tfic first Report of the British and Foreign Bihle Societij, 1805, with an Ap-
pendix, ana a List of Subscribers and Btnef actors. 8vo. pp. 108.
THIS society was formed in the year
1804, and \re sincerely congratulate its
«nevolcnt members upon the rapid and
JXtensive success which appears to attend
heir exertions. The object they have in
iew is in the highest degree important,
od die prospect of its attainment is pro-
ortionebly encouraging. The committee
eserve the wannest praise for the zeal
ad indostiy with which tliey have com-
iDnicated throughout Europe the insti-
Ion of the society^ and for the judgment
h which they have promoted its de-
[^. An institution which solicits die
icurrence of persons of every sect and
tf, may displease the bigot, but whilst
leveres upon such broad and liberal
[xiples, to give as wide a circuladon as
sibie to the scripturen^ in the most ge-
[ally approved versions, without note
AJisr.Riv. V01..IV,
or comment, it will meet with tlie good
wishes and the encouragement of every
friend to religion and virtue.
The report now published is highly in-
teresting. We learn from it, that in
consequence of a notification of th« plan
of the society being sent to Germany and
Switzerland, a similar establishment has
been formed in the imperial city of Nu-
renberg, supported by contributions from
various parts of those countries, and pro-
mising to be very extensively useful.
There is reason also to hope that a bii>>;
society will be soon formed in the GeiiriJii
dominions of the king of Pru^si^.. Tl^i'
: advantages of these institutivn^^ i.re likcJy
. to be extended even to the Uuniar. caiJio-
lics. In a letter tUkfi a priest of tlii^ av.n-
munion, laid bcfoie the connr.itice^ il ih
stated :
O
J94
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
" That all blind bigots of his church have
always spread an opinion, that it was entirely
forbidden to the common people to read the
bible, and that this opinion is stiU too preva-
lent. That notwithstanding this, many of
their clergy "both in Swabia and I^varia, not
only recommend the reading of the scriptures,
particularly of the New Testament, but
strongly exert themselves to promote it. That
be \wX himself distributed many new Testa-
ments, and some Bibles, among the more en-
lightened catholics ; that the people seem
more and more desiroiLs of perusing the bible,
and that the number of clerg)!!!^! disposed
not only to tolerate but to commend it, is daily
increasing."
The efforts of the society have been
warmly seconded in Scotland and Wales :
the deplorable ignorance of the lower
classes in Ireland checks the exertions
that would otherwise, no doubt, be also
made in that countr}%
At tlic same that the committee en-
deavoured to make this institution gene-
rally known, tlieir enquiries were directed
to ascertain to what extent the want of
bibles existed in the christian world at
large.
In the southern provinces of Ireland
the want of bibles is particularly felt;
not above a third part of the protestant
families thore possess bibles, and amongst
the papists, who are far more numerous,
a bible is probably not to be found in
more than one out of five hundred fami-
lies. In Sweden and in Holland the inha-
bitants are well supplied ; to the enqui-
ries which have been made with respect - - , ., -
to Denmark and the Russian empire, no to members of three several denommatwiBj^
answer has been returned. she now hired a house and a servant girl, ag^
in Nurenberg, thus writes Xo iht n^
ciety :
" When sometimes I am privileged to jivt
away a bible or New Testament, lather and-
mother, son and daughter, are running ate
me, thanking me a hundred, and a thousand
times, kissing my hand, and my coat ; shed*
ding tears of joy, and loudly exclahnii^;
* May God bless you : may the Lord Joos
bless you in time and to all eternity.* Bttfiy
I felt sometimes a foretaste of heavenly joy,;
so that I could not sufficiently bless God, far
having «-ntmsted me with the honourable com-
mission of steward of the kind bcnefactioiy tif j
others. But the more I disperse, the moie
the petitions both of ministers and scho**
masters increase, not only from Austria, \M/p
likewise from Stiria, Cariiithia, and Hungaqr, '
insomuch that I am afraid to present thar ■,
petitions."
A letter from a clergyman in Alsact*:
c(Mitains the following curious and inter**!
esting passage :
, " The first bible shall be given as a presof.
to Sophia Bernard, who is one of tlie most ex-
cellent women I know, and uideed, an omr*
ment to my parish. While unmarried, sfaffj
undertook, with the consent of her parenl%J
the support and education of three hdpie^t]
boys, whom their wicked father had oflri^
trampled under his feet, and treated in ainaa^j
ner too sliocking to relate, when nearhr starji
ing with hunger they dared to cry out for fooir"
Soon afterwards, she proved the happy meag
of saving the lives of four Eoman cattwW
children, who, without her assistance, woow
have fallen a prey tp want and famine. Ttai
she had the management of seven childK%(
to whom several more were added, belonpngi
A design of printing copies from a
Chinese MS. of the New Testament, has
been relinquished, chiefly owing to the
expence it would occasion, no less than
3ix thousand pounds being required for
the printing of five thousand copies. Two
thousand topics of a translation oi the
gospel of St. John in the Mohawk lan-
guage have been printed, five hundred of
which have been recently sent to Ame-
rica. ^Ye cannot consider this as a judi-
pious measure. Had it been tlie gospel
by Matthew or I^uke, some good end
might have been answpred ^ but a sup-
plementary work, in no small degree ob-
scure, not fully understood by our own
4iyines^ will hardly make a favourable or
durable in^pression upon ^ minds of
Indians.
The correspondence an^eked to the re-
port isjn tlie highest oSgree interesting.
>Ir.' lylcslingj ^ respectable merphant
supported the whole of the fanrily entir^j
with her own work, and the little money she
got firom the industry of the children, u^wifli
she taught to spin cotton. At the sameto^]
she proved the greatest blessing to the mm
village where she lived. For it is impossiWfti
to be more industrious, frugal, clean, chofr,
ful, edifying by her whole walk and conTOji
satjon ; more ready for every good word and
woric ; more mild and affectwnate, more vm
and resolute in dangers, than she was: Sataii
so enraged some of her enemies, that twf
threatened to destroy her old tottering c*
tage, but God was gracwusly. pleased to pt-
serve her. A fine youth, of % noble mmdi
made her an offer di his hand. She ^^
fused, but he declared he would wait forte
even ten years. When she replied, thirtdic
could never consent to part her poororplw
he nobly answered, " Whoever takes w
mother, takestbe children too." Sphedi*-
and all these children weie breoriit 19 of
them in the mostcardiil and excdlcBt vmr
ner. Lately, they have taken in some <^
orphans, whom they ai:e tr^oing up m lat
BDW&BDS'S PEACE OK EAKTR*
1*5
(or «nd loTe of God. Though these excel-
lent people pass rather for rich, yet their in-
come is so limited, and their benevolence so
estesave, that sometinnes they hardly know
iiov to furnish a new suit of nccessan^ clothes,
lb tiiem I intend to give a bible, considering
that Aeir o^ii is verj- often lent out in diller-
ept Roman catholic villages."
Nor muck less interesting is the infor-
nation which has been received from a
riergyman in North Wales :
** There are none of our poor people wili-
ng to live and die; without contributing their
Bites towards ftMwarding so glorious a de-
\ffL Their 2cal aad eagerness in tJie good
•use, furposses e\'erj' tiling I have ever be-
an; witnessed.
'* On several occasioiis we have been oblig-
d tu check their liberality, and take half
ihat they otTered, and what we thouglit they
ought to give. In very many in>tances, ser-
vants have given one-tnird ot their wages for
the year.
" in'one instance, a poor servant-maid put
down one guinea on the plate, being one-third .
of her wages : that it might not Ix: p.rceived
what she put down, she covered the ffuinea
with a halfpenny. One little! hoy had, with
nuich trouble, reared a brood of chickens ;
when the collection came to be made, he sold
them all, and gave every farthing he got for
them towards it ; and this M'as his whole stock,
and all the living tliat he had. Imiumerable
instances of a similar nature might be men-
tioned."
We are happy to find that this tnily
excellent institution meets with so much
encouragement 5 and we hope and be*
lieve " that its beneficial effects will be
progressive and permanent.'*
^T. LVI. — Letters of St. Paul tlie Jpostle, written before and qfter his Conversion .
Tnaulatcd from the German of the late Reverend John Casper Larater, Minister qf the
Gmpei at Zurich. 8vo. pp. 115.
NO weak evidence in proof of the ge-
nineness and aiithenticii/ of the books of
be New Testament, has arisen from the
perfect consistency that appears between
fe character of the apostles and the
•ntihjs attributed to them 5 and if the
Midity of that evidence required to be
kmonstrated, an appeal might be safely
tade to the publication now before us.
fcr any other purpose it is altogether
iKle«. It affords a complete demon-
itetion of the inability of genius to con*-
^t such a forgery as the apostolic epls-
ies would he, had they not been com-
tad by those persons. whose names they
«r. The character of the apostle of
4e Gtntikrs, is in these letters most
E«Jy violated J feelings are attributed to
, which it is evident from his history
» never knew; and opinions are here
Idivered as his, to which he was a total
ftianger; opinions indeed which ww'e not
*ovn in the christian world, till many
?ca» after his death had elapsed.
ItV. LVn,— 0« Earth Peace, Good fTill totvards Men ; or, the Civil, Political, and Reli-
gious means qf Establishing the fCingdom qfGod on Earth, as fully contained and con-
^rmed in the Scripture Prophecies; in which will be comprised, the proper practical
Heasures qf redressing public Affairs, uniting all Parties, and bestovnng permanent
^face,Pro^rUy, and Happiness, on Great Britain, and all Nations. By the Author
f the Income or Property Tax. 8vo. pp. 500,
It is hardly worth our while to obsen'e,
that these letters are arranged in four
parts- 1 . Letters to various persons, who
agreed with Saul, or differed from him
in respect to Jesus and his disciples.
ITiese are six in number: to Gamaliel,
to Caiaphas, to Simeon, to Eleazer, to
Jacob Ben Israel, and to Judas of Da-
masais. 2. Four letters written imme-
diately after his conversion ; to Simeon,
to Joseph and Suhma, the t^vo witnesses
against Stephen, to Gamaliel, and to Ana-
nias. 3. Nine letters to his christian
friends^ Titus, Timothy, Apollos, Erastus,
Aquila and Priscilla, Lydia, Sergius ?au-
lus, Epaphroditus and Luke. 4. .Letters
to instruct, warn, reprove, and direct per-
sons in en'or, and backsliders.
Were it possible for any one of the per-
sons here addressed to peruse the epistle
inscribed to him, he would assuredly ex-
claiAi with Felix, Paul thou art beside
thyself!
FHE language of this work announces
well-inclined benevolent man, much
id in the theologists and politicasters of
' day, who has intertwisted into a sort
^pieok the expectations of millenarians
d perfectionists, and believes his book
^ the predesdned. harbinger of purified
religion and perpetual peace. Happier
who can so dream, than he who estimatei
more justly the phoenomena of reality.
We do not think the work likely to
contribute essentially to the rapid progress
of the whole toward perfection. It is
diffuse, and it is driftless. No precise
02
190
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
^counsels are given how to amend the
condition oi mankind. We are taught to
expect tliis amelioration from DanieJ and
the Apocalypse ; which is calling on Hcr-
cules, instead of applying our slioulders to
the wheel. The moral tendencies of the
hnrpan mind are classed j but no disco-
veries are made in the method of abolish-
ing the selfish, and diffusing the philan-
thropic affections. The autjior boasts,
(page 469). that he invented the income-
tax! let him complain, and welconje,
that he is unrewarded by the minister 5
but let him not claim tlie gratitude of the
people.
With a general complacency in the
tendency of this work, we are much at a
Joss for specific grounds of approbation.
A vague metaphysical pious verbiage over-
flows, like the silver mists of moon-hght,
every thing definite in tlie author's pros-
pects. His new Jei-usalem is a city in
the clouds, to rise like an exhalation, one
pees not how, to glisten like a boreal au-
rora, one knows not whence. Rulers are
to govern as if they were christians, sub-
jects are to earn money only K) give almsj
and war and want are to melt away.
I'his author's manner is desultory j he
immingles dissertations on the philosophv
of mind with his religious projects and his
political dogmatism : a convenient speci-
pien to detach is the following confused
dissertation on the faculty of intellectual
combination, which seems written for no
other purpose than to display the want of
it'.
^' As tliis impoilant faculty consists or ope-
rates ift joining, uniting, cojinecting, and
placing together various tilings, notions, ideas,
thoughts, acts, facts, tiiiths, &c., of different
kinds, so as to form from them new or other
compounds, objects, subjects, &c. ; for in-
stance, a notion, a complex idea, a song, an
oration, a picture, imagery of various sorts,
^c. ; and as it may tlius be considered as the
creative faculty of the mind, for which we
want a proper name, thot.e of imagination and
invention being exceptionable in some re-
spects.
*' As expression is 3 princioal adjunct, or of
material consequence in alt those kinds of
compounds, works, &c. of the intellectual
combination, wherein language, painting, &c.
are employed as mediums to communicate
them, and become fartlier important for the
puqjoses of rendering them more pleasing,
instmctive, and entertaining, as well as more*
powerful and extensive, in the effects they
produce: as therefore those combinations in
which language, painting, &c. are such essen-
tial ingredients, may be called compositions,
which tcjrm will happily and conveniently di^
criminate them iroin those wherbin langoap,
&:c. are less niaterial. or disj^^nsable.
** As the different kinds ot intellectual oonr
bin:iti(>n may, conformably to thisdistinctBi^l
be arranged under thj following heads :~
(Ordinary intellectual comhjuation,
Original intellectual combination,
Ordinary composition,
C>riginal corajwsition.
Imaginative com|X)-ition,
Origiijal imaginative couiiXfeitioD,
Wit,
Association.
" As ordinary intellectual combinatioj
employed in i)iitting our acts, tlioughts, I
together, in order to execute various j
formances, express our sentiments, &c
cording to modes conmion to all men kj
spect ot dillerent incidents, and for the v *
purposes of liuman life: cus it is, in an in
pohit of view, of important service in jt
dirferent ideas and uolions into others n
complex, and giving these propter na
whereby they may be lixed in future, grncr
known, and more readily recalled: or in^
farther enlar-ring them by a similar JuikA
as the advantages of science or the inif
ment of soi'iety may require ; or in alii
modifying, and subtracting from theDt,a$
be requisite: as general notions and them«(
which are of the greatest advantage in lifc^r
naturally formed by the mind in various e
processes: tliis faculty combining absta
ideris, &c. together for the purpose, tlie pi
ceiling forming metliodical arraogeniail
which comprehend tJie dijTcrent partkroll
brought under them, and the thorough ol
ceptiun of one individual of the same spoi
agreeing in general with that of all of tbq
except in a tew cireumstances, which howl
the mind soon learns to lay aside.
" As oii«4inal intellectual combinatiooil
been of sini^ular service in forming veir vil
able compoiiiul notions and ideas; forinstaai
in resnect of numbers, the compound ac^
of which, as hundreds, thousands, inillid^
&c. enable u<; to form satisfactory conceptiqp
of the largest amount of individuals : asith
been still more serviceable or meritorious i
various ^'iews, projects, and actions, whickl
has concerted and carried into effect, of til
perior excellence to such as were commoo^
l.nov^'n before^ : as it is thus from the greal^
strength and extent of its powers above \isai
of the others entitled to the rank and distiai^
tton of gtiiius. For literature is iijconipetrt
totbrm tliis, and could not elevate Cssarabort
Alexander the Great, as a consumniate f^
ral ; ancl though it is an object highly de>ir8blei
that genius should not only perform, but by
language transmit to posterity the noblest ser-
vices, and* the most finishei monuments d
taste, yet it is probably here deficient, obIj
because it has neglected, or has not had tk
opportunity of acquiring literary talents^
" As it appears unnecessary', and even ioi-
proper, to speak at large of the nature and
process of plain literary compositioo, vbdbe?
THOUGHTS OS' THE CEEAftON, ScC.
197
Opdioary or opijinal : for vvliat may hcfre be
bidinrv-spci't ol conibinatujii r. nil expression,
WrttiK-refmisilcsof enher, i^ loo \vA\ imrlor-
ft«rji aid genera Jly knowii to raiuire any ex-
pi^Mtwii; and tiiJre is no want of excclknt
euiupie^ of both.
•' Aa hiiaginative composition corresponds
ia general wilh these last remarks: as it often
bonvivs ifs combinations or descriptions from
»<un% yet displays them witii just selection
and dijcnminalioD, as well as with great elc-
gaoce and talent : as hiiaginative coni{M^sitioUy
aod Oiigiiial imaginative composition, are cha-
fcterised from their ability to gratify our taste
■id fedings according to the system and prin-
C^ilcs, die heads of which a're given in the
vdofthe second subdivision of the mind: as
fccyboth affect aud captivate, elevate and
Aonish, ddtght and gladden mankind with
jbeir powefful and diversified performances,
nt require for this purpose all the advantages,
po^, and charms of nature, fancy, and ex-
irssioQ : as imaginative composition has often
wn confounded with tJie njere recollection
^ its own imagery, or ot pleasing conceptions,
or ideas' in art or nature: as c^cel-
;y df original imaginative composition is
' coDsidered as the liighest cAbrt of hu-
ability; and as the most serious subjects
plain Kterai)' composition demand tiieir as*
in some degicfc, in order to acquire
le ciiarms and perfection,
f ** As tlieexceUen<7 of orierinal combination
p gefieral, if it be (x:casiouaUy the gift of na-
Inre, can often be fonued or created by dit-
fcrait means: and as it is greatly dependent
^1 various eictemal circumstances, and on the
iappy and proper employment of the powers
'«f the nund in general; ou the quantity and
Mtnre of the information or materials gather-
M and combined ; on temper and character ;
9A the predominance of certain passions, par-
jfeikrly of those which excite, elevate, and
liksp^^^ftQ^inci ^^ A^ ^^^ attention; on the
ilrtnledual faculties ; on these being fullv and
tarioibhr exercised, particularly iij the dilVer-
tot modes of combination ; 011 their pentH ra-
&n, and tlje nnanner in which they obsene
ttings; on their comprehensive views of tJie
hfjfpt and most minute objects ; on memory
ttd nicdlection, and cm their being stored
with objects applicable to the purposes pur-
|Med; OD surrounding scenes and situations,
JU> favourable to the progress of peculiar
*«op{fils; and on the diukI not being restrict-
ed to present attaimnents, but daring to laimch
Ml m a free manner in pur^it ot such as are
)et undiscovered or unemployed, and being .
competent to convert them with propriety and
advaiitajje to its particular purposes.
** As wit itself is allied with imaginative and
original composition, and may be benefited
by the preceding ob>ervations'; and a^ it con-
sists or operates in forming a composition or
picture, the unexpected and fancilul relation^
or analogies of wiiich surprise, please, excite
risibility, and constitute m a great measure
its peculiar nature.
** As association may be consideration td
be a species of uitellectual combination, by
which we attach things intimately to each
other, which yet are so dilierent m nature,
that they cannot unite aud form a whole ; we
thus aosociating external objects, circum-
stances, and qualities together, thoughts with
other thoughts, feclHigs^^with other feelingsy
thoughts and feelings together, aud any of
these with external objects, and often with
little or no examination, and from the slightest
relations : as thus various opinions, dictates of
tiie passions, notions, aiut ideas» are improperly
associatctd, but beujg respected bv us, the
things with which they are associateu act upod
us by their means, and thus apjx-»ar ditferent
to us from what they actually are: as the mo^
tives of our actions are in like manner very
subject to such associations, and under tin*
impres.si(>n.^ of these iniiucnce our conduct:
as even tlic beauty and sublimity of material
objects may in a great measure depend upon
the ideas aud feelings, which we have attached
to them : and as the recuii\nce of a thought,
or object, often causes us, to recollect its asso-
ciations-"
This whole passage, and many anotlief
such, has notluug to do witii peace on
earth, good will towards men, or the civil,
political and religious means of establish-
ing the kingdom of God on earfh^
which are the professed purposes of the
writer. It exhibits an extraordinary want'
of nieiAory. The phrases flow so quickly
from the author's pen, that he forgets,
over his explanatory amplifications, the
purpose, tlie design,. die end, the aim, the
scope, the drift of his assertions ; and each
paragraph terminates williout coming to
any one proposition whatsoever. Wft'.
have as again and again, but never arrne
at the so. We are much afraid the wri-
ter's millennium, like his argument, will'
be always about to b^in : and then the-
paulo-post-future of prophecy is in fact an
aorist tense.
Ait. LVIII.— ^/ew Thoughts on tite Creation, Generation, Grotviii and Evolution <^. Mr
Hitman Bodf/ and Soul: on the spiritual and immortai Nature qf the Soul of Man : afni
OB the fteiurrection of his Body, at the last Day, in a spiritual, incorruptible, and gldti'
MState. 8vo. pp. I7l. •
*' IT will, no doubt,'' says the unknown men concerning the care and salvation of
■rthor of this tract, " be granted, that in their immortai smils, while, according to
^ do the ministers of Gi^ preach to Uie feshiouable Jocuines of tiie tirups^
19$
♦theologV and ecclesiastical affairs;
they believe that they have no souls to
Ve saved." Introd. Rem. p. vi.
From such an exordium what may not be
expected ? Among many other brilliant
'discoveries no one can be more acceptable
than a complete answer to the enquiry
#hich has been so often instituted con-
cerning the seat of the soul :
*' As, therefore, Adam was created aHvc>
then br(;athed the same common air as did the
other living creatures ; so it is evident, that
the inspiration of God into his nostrils, was
not tor the purposes of common animal breath-
ing, but for the fonnation of his living soul.
And is it not highly probable, that thu inspi-
ration was meant to pass into the brain, in the
course of the olfactory irervos, to pervade its
substance, and irom tiiencc to be diliused
through the whole body ?"
And again :
*' That the soul's residence in the body is
extended throughout the whole, a}>pears to-
be further implied from the following circum-
stance : When the surgeon amputates a' h*g,
the patient, often, afterwards complains of the
toes of that foot, although they have, with the
leg, been separated finom the body ; and this
symptom has (generally been accounted for,
by saying that it arises from the irritation of
the extremities of those nerve«, by which tU
nervous influence was conve}-'^ to the too.
But it seems to mv. rather to intimate, that this
sensation is conveyed from that part of the
soul itself which formerly resided m the toesi
and now exists in a new situation; for thoiub
the surgeon amputated a part of the bo^
he could not also divide a portion of thesooi;
as it most probably siiruuk Irom hLs.knife, a4
retired upwards.'* _
• Every other inquiry upon this import-
ant subject is decided with equal ingenoitf
and precisiurt. Texts of scripture tut
have puzzled the ablest commentatoo^*
are here presented to tlie reader freed frot.
every obscurity. . Dr. Priestley is desa^
convicted of ignorance of physiology ai
well as of tlie language of holy, writ -, aaf
bishop Law is proved to have been i
bungling interpreter. Nay, so confidoi^
is this advocate of immaterial ism in lU
ability with which he has managed tkf
cause, that he ' thinks he may ventoBi
to assert, tliat, if the excelleut bishif
pf Carlisle was now alive^ he would nsii
joicc, yea, greatly rejoice, to see the sub*
ject placed in that clear point of view, "
which it is now permitted to appear*
p. J 57.
Art. LIX. — The Christian Mirror; exhibiting some of the Excellencies and Defects 4
the religious Iforid. Containing various Essm^s in Prose and Ferse, 12nio. pp. iSj.
THIS is not altogether an uninterest-
ing collection of essays upon various re-
ligious and moral subjects. The princi-
pies which are inculcated are those usu-
ally deemed ortliodox ) the diaracters in-
troduced are supported with some degw
of spirit 1 and the general tendency of til
whole is to corii^ct the errors and to "
prove the virtues of those who profess ti
enteiiain a reverent regard for religion.
Art. LX. — A View qf Religions, in three Parts: Parti. Containing an alphabetical Com
pendium of the Denominations am6ng Christians, Part II. Cwitiiining a brief Accosd
of Paganism, MaJiomedisyn, Judaism, and Deism. Part III. Containing a ricxv of the i^
ngions qfthe different Nations of the H'orld. By IiAK^7AB Adams. A Nerv Editim^
with Corrections and Additions. To zvhich isprtfixed, an Etsay on Truths by Air*
]>REw Fuller^ ISmo. pp. 300.
THIS will be found a very useful corn-*
pilation by those who have not Brough-
ton, Mosheim, and other works of a simi-
lar kind in their possession. The autho*
rities seem in general to be well selected,
and the leading principles of diflerent
^ects are represented with fidelity and can"
dour.
We transcribe as a specimen, the fol-
lowing account of the Greek church :
'' Greek CrUrcb. In the eighth cen-
tury there arose a ditf^^^eace between the east-
em and western churches, which was carried
on with great vehemence durmg the ninth
century ; and in the eleventh century a total
separation took place. At that time the pa-
triarch Michael Ceralarius, who \v-as dcaroaj
to be freed from the papal authoritv, pobB^
ed an invective against tlie Latin church* an^
accused its members of maintaining \^iiailf
errors. Pope Leo the ninth retorted tk
chafee, and sent legates from Rome to Ct*;
stantmople. The Greek patriarch refused ni
see them ; upon which they excommunkaftl
him and his adherents publicly in the cbtticl
of St. Sophia, a. d. 1054. ITie Greek i*-;
triarch excommunicated those legates, vik
all their adherents and followers, in a poU^
council ; and procured an order of the ew
jMjror for burning the act of excommuflk*';
tion which they had pronouifced against th^
Greeks. This nipture has never been heaWt
and at this day a very considerable part of to
world profess the religion of the Gredk, tf
ADAMS S VIBW Ot ItlLfGlONt.
199
lisiaiicbaidL— The Nkene and Atiiaaasian
a«ds ire ike sxinbols of faith in this church.
"The {trincfpal points which distinguish
tke Greek church m>m the Latin, are as fol-
Jovr—lst, They maintain that the Holy
GJiost Koceeds from the Father only, and not
from the Father and Son,— 2d, They disown
Ibe authority of tke pope, and deny that the
chuchaf Rome is the true catholic church. * —
3d, IVy do not aD«ct the character of infal-
fiufitj.->4th. They utterly disallow works of
Wfatxogatifoa^ indulgences, and diqiensa-
4iaiis.— Mh, They admit of pra)-ers and ser-
vices for the de»d, as an ancient and pious
^custom ; and even pray for the remission of
'their sins: but they w'ill not allow the doc-
trine of purgatory,t or determine any thing
^fegmatically, concerning the state of depart-
ed KHib,— dth. They sometimes defer the
baptism of their children till they are three, .
Ibarv five, or ten years of age.f— 7th, The
: duian, or baptismal unction, immediately
fcflovs the immersion of baptism, llie priest
anofiiti the person baptized in the principal
puts of the body, with an ointment conse-
^ crated with many curious circumstances for
tiat purpose by a bishop : this chrism is called
^ unction with ointment. £xtreme imction
is called the consecration with holy oil. TTiis
^ duism is a mystery peculiar to the Greek
' coQunomon, and holds the place of confirma-
tion in that of the Roman : it is styled the seql
cftke gift of the Holy GAo«f.— 8th, They in-
^ sist that the sacrament of the Loitl*s supper
I ought to be administ^ed m both kinds :% and
th^ give the sacrament to children immedi-
atefy ;^ baptism.— 9th, § They exclude con-
I finiation and extreme unction out of the se-
j veo sacraments. — 10th, They deny auricular
vaakssioa to be a divine precept, and say it is
ooiy a positive institution of the church.
Confe^ioii and absolution constitute this mys-
teiy II in the Greek church, in which penance
doesQotoiake anecessary part.— llth. They
do not pay any religious homage to the eu^
charist. — ICth, They administer the commu-
nion to the laity both in sickn<^ and health.^-*
13th, They do not admit of images m basS"
relief, or embossed work; but use painting
and sculpture in silver.— 14th, They permit
their secular clergy to nuury once; wit never
twice, unless they renounce their functioni and
become lay men.** — 15th, They ccmdeinn all
fourth marriages.
*' The invocation of saints, and transub-
stantiatioQ, are alike received by the Grec^
and Latin churches. They observe a number
of holidays, and keep four fasts in the year
more solemn than the rest; of which the &st
in lent, before easier, is the chief.
" The service of the Greek church is too
long ^md complicated to be particularly de-
scribed in this work : tiie greatest part con-
sists in psalms and hymns. — Five orders of
priesthood belong to the Greek church ; viz.
bishops, priests, deacons, sub-deaoons, and
readers; which last includes singers, &c.
The. episcopal order is distinguished by the
titles of metropolitan, archbishops ana bi-
8ho[)s. The head of the Greek cliurch, the
patriarch of Constantinople is elected by twelve
bishops, who reside nearest that famous capi-
tal ; but the right of confirming this election
belongs only to tlie Turkish emperor. The
power of tljis prelate is very extensive. He
not only calls councils by his own authority to
decide controversies and direct the a^'airs of
the church, but, with the pemiission of the
emperor, he administers justice, and takeS
cognizance of civil cases among the members
of his communion. The other patriarchs are
of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria, who
are nominated by the patriarch of Constan-
tinople. Besides the power of nonimating the
other three patriarclis, and all episcopal dig-
nitaries, ttie patriarch of Constantinople en-
joys a most extensive jurisdiction; comprising
the churches of Anatolia, Greece, WaUachia^
* The eastern church attach no' idea of personal sanctity or infallibility to the patriarch of
Constantinople, thdr supreme head, although he bears the style of the thirteenth apostle.
t The Greeks, and aU the eastern nations in general, are of opinion that departed souJs will
not be immediately and perfectly happy ; but that the first paradise will be a state of repos^
aod the next of eternal felicity.
i This is the custom of the Georgians, who are a part of the Greek church. The Greeks
nofonn baptism by dipping the person three times under water distinctly^ in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
% The napkin which is spread upon the holy table must be consecrated by a bishop, and
have some small particles of the relics of a martyr mixed in the web, without which tne eu«
charist cannot be administered.
§ The last sacrament of the Greek church, is that of the holy oil, or euchalaion, which is
sot confined to persons in the last extremity, like the extreme unction of the Roman church ;
hot is administered, if required, to d^out persons upon the slightest malady. Seven priests
are recjuired to administer this sacrament regulariy, and it cannot be administered at all bY
Ics than three. After the oil is solemnly consecrated, each priest, in his turn, anoints the sidfci »..
person, and prays for his recovery.
II Sacramoits are called niy^es in the Greek church. By the Greeks, a mystery is de-
fined to be a ceremony, or act, appointed by God, in which he giv^h, or signi£etn his grace;
*Ki of the seven whk:fi they celebrate, four are to be received by all christians ; viz. bj^rtsm,
the baptismal unctkm, the eucharist, 2Uid confession. None <A the other are censid^^ as
sbligatory upon all. See Supplement to the Encyclopaidia, vol. i. p. 487.
** Their regular, o^ monastic clergy, are never allowed to marry.
ftX).
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS,
Moldavia, and the islands of the Archipela-
go.— For the adniinibticition of ecchi^iasticai
atVairs, a svijod, coiivciiod monthly, is coiii-
posed.of the heads of the church resident in
Const^itinop>e. In this jissembly the ];a-
Irkirch of Coitetantiiiople presides with those
of Antioch and Jerusalem, and twelve arch-
.biiihops.
In iegard to discipline and worship, tlie
Greek diurcli h-^ the same division of the
clergy into re^lar and secular, the same spi-
ritual jurisdiction of bishop.s and their ofticii^k,
(he same distinction of ranks and oi)ices witii
• the church of Rome.
** 'llijere is a branch of the Greek church
that, thou^ii joined in communion of doctrine
and worship with the patriarch of Constan-
tinople, refuse to receive his legatees, or to
ol)ey jiis etlicts. This division is governed by
its own laws and institutions, under the juris-
diction of spiritual rulers, who are uidepeiideul
on all foreign authority.
" 'llie (jreok church comprehends in its
bosom. a considerable pari of Ganrc, the
Grecian isles, Wallachia, Moldavia, Egypt,
Abyssinia, Nubia, Lydia, Arabia, Mesif^po-
tamia, Syria. iSilicia, and I'alestine; Aie^can-
drid, Antioch, and Jerusalem ; the whole of
the Russian empire in Europe ; great part of
Siberia in Asia ; Astracan, Casan, and Gtxir-
gia.
" It is asseited by Dallayav, in his account
of Cons-tantinopU-, ancient an<^ nuxk-rii, whkh
was |»ublished in 1797, that all ordtri^of the
Greek clergy interior to bishops arc pcmiilted
to marr)'. Celibacy and the assumption of
•monastic habits, areindispen>abiy requibitein
tliosc* who are candidates for the' mitre.
" The riches of some of the Greek churches
and monasteries, in jewels, partiailarly pearls,
in plate, and in the habits ot the clergy, arc
very gieat, and n-ckoned not much ii'icrior
to those in Roman Catholic countries."
The least valuable part of the work it
the inconclusive and illiberal essay on
truth which is prefiiuxi by the EngUsli
editor.
( 201 )
CIIAITER III.
HISTOUY, POLITICS,
ANiy
STATISTICS.
IF we estimate the-value of an historian by the research vhich be di,vplay«, 6m
liighest ji^acc among the writers wliose works we are about to notice, is miquestkai-
ablj due lo Mr. S. Turner: hib former volumes on the History of the Anglo-Saxons^
haie alre^idy received from us their merited praise ; and his concluding volume «i
their Manners and Literature, possesses tlie same solid merits^ and will prwemwc
acceptable rrom its subject to the general reader. Mr. Belshara has also coochadel
Ids well-written and spirited though prejudiced History of the Present eventful Eeigou
Capt Rainsford has communicated some new and curious information corjcerning Ae
recently established Negro Empire of Haiti ; and the Historical Fragments of the
Mogul Empire, collected by the late Mr. Orrae, will bestow upon him an additixinal
claim to the respectful remembrance of his covtntrymeii.
The spirit of political controversy has been unusually quiet during the last vTeari
Che Catholic Petition, indeed, has stimulated the angry spirits of a £qw obscure
politicianfi, to repeat some old and often refuted calumnies, but the general good
tense of the nation appears satisfied, that not merely a nominal but a real union and
co-operation of all the subjects of the realm, is absolutely necessary to the independ-
tnct and political existence of Britain.
It is airions to obser\'e, notwithstanding the notorious and systematic di«-
couragcment to literature which has distinguislied the administration of this
country for the last twenty years, tliat the influence of the reading and writing
part of the public has been silently but rapidly hicreasing ; in consequence of
wiiich the candidates for literary fiime, among tlie higlier ranks of society, ha\'e
been of late mate numerous, and we may add (without disrespect to the nobla
tod royal names in \Valpole*s catidogue), more meritorious than formerly. A
new direction also appears to have been givcji to tlieir stuilies: the desire of
writing indi^ient verses has been replaced by the more lionourable ambition of
esceliifig in those studies> connected with national and general politics, which are
tfrictly professional to every British nobleman, and to every member of the House of
Commons. Hence we have to rank aniong the foremost names in our present Chapter,
the Ear! of Selkirk, for his enquir}' into the state of the Highlands ; the Earl of Liverpool
for bis letter to the King concerning the Coins of the Realni ; the Earl of I^auderdahi
102
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
for his work on the state of the Circolation j Sir J. Sinclair for his History of the
Revenue 5 and Mr. Rose for his enquiry into the Poor-lavs.
The new principle of maritime law lately put in practice against the Americans^
has met with a specious anonymous advocate. The national defence and state of our
military forces have been treated of by two or three writers, and the rising commerce
of the Black Sea has given occasion to some interesting and practical in/ormation in a
pamphlet on the subject.
Art. I.— TAtf History qf Egypt, from the earliest Accounts of that Country till the Ex^
sionqf the French from Alexandria in the Year 1801. ii^ Jambs Wilson, AD.
3 Vols. 8vo.
THESE three volumes are dedicated
to the son of sir Ralph Abercromby^ and
may be considered as a result of tliat in-
terest, which, since his achievement, the
British public has taken in Eg}'i>t.
The history of distant ill-known coun-
tries ought always to begin with a gea-
graphical sketch of those permanent fea-
tures of the land/ water, and air, which
influence the distribution, the move-
ments, and the manners of the inhabi-
tants; because whatever peculiarities of
the present dwellers necessarily result
from their situation, may confidently be
ascribed to the antient ones, although not
apeciflcally recorded of them. Mr. Wil-
aon has with propriety consecrated his
£rst cliapter to the geography of Egypt.
We. should have preferred a description
more entire of the features of nature from
Bruce and Brown, and of the monuments
of art horn Pocock. We are sorry at
observing references to Bryant ; this looks
as if his dreams were trusted.
The second chapter treats of the man-
ners of the early Egyptians. Closely con-
nected with these phaenomena is the in-
vestigation of their origin. Volney, from
personal observation, and Monboddo, from
ancient authority, have thought that the
progenitors of the Copts were negroes.
Mr. firo^Tie does not perceive, in these
Copts, the African physiognomy, but
rather the Arabian ; and denies to them
the snub nose and the woolly liair. Tliere
are other clues of investigation which may
be called in aid. A close resemblance
has been observed between the Hindoo
and the Egyptian superstitions : the names
of several divinities agree; the venera-
tion for the cow, and for tbie lotos, as an
emblem of production, prevail among
b^th ; their zodiacal signs are alike, and
are of a nature to have been invented in
India; both nations were ^vided into
GtBts ; both had undergrotmd temples, an
areane theology for tl^ educated, and a
gaudy idolatry hz the multitude. It is
likely, therefore, that the Egyptians an
from one stock with the Hindoos. Ilie
Hindoos are fiom Tibet ; for it is dor
that they flourished in the Penjab, sad
adown the Indus, or Sind, as well »
adown the Ganges : and it is also clear
that a people, having many of the radical
rites and manners of the Hindoos, most
have descended the yellow river, and
have formed the basis of Chinese popok-
tion. A situation about Tibet for die
progenitors of the Hindoos solves all dis
phauiomena. But how could these people
get to Egypt ? The most probable answer
is this; coastwise, from river's moaUito
river's mouth. Colonies ^read in the
antient world, as in the modem. Those
who inhabited the Delta of the Indus,
would, in their coasting voj'ages, discover
the Delta of the Euphrates. The mer-
chants of Paula, Minnagora, and Barigazi^
would found a Babylon ; and attempt
there the same interchange of finger-wtnt
for food, of manu£ictur^ for raw mate-
rial, which our merchants began succes-
sively at the mouths of the American
rivers. The Delta of the Sind, or Indus,
has incurred desertion, probably £pom
natural causes; perhaps from some nxj
CTeat flood, of which the early settlers at
Babylon and in its vicinity seem to have
preserved a strong recollection.
From the Jewish or Bal^loaian scrip-
tures it appears, that this same people
had already in the time of SoIomoDi
founded sea-ports, or emporiums, iu both
the forks of the Red Sea, ft Ezion-geher,
and at Eloth, or Su^. From this last
place -the colonization of Egypt is a mere
step ; and it seems to have begun abcmt
Cairo, or Kahira, as a town called Babf-
Ion, after the old country, existed in tbt
neighbourhood in the time of Cambjses.
Tyre branched from Ezion-geber, as wdl
as the first seats of Egyptian comnieroBi
Memphis, signifying fnciah, ,was, when
flrst foundeo, on the Mediterranean: tbi
Delta is subsequent accretion.
OXMB*S PRA61CENT5 OP THB MOOVL BMPIKE.
2QS
Hus order of filiation being admitted,
the Copts, or ancient Egyptians, must be
lerl'rred to the Asiatic Blacks, to tlie same
iiuman race as the Lascars, and not to the
African breed. But although the inhabi-
unts of Memphis and Cairo, and the
oomoiercial population of the Delta, may
uiih great confidence/ be derived firom
au oriental source, it is not equally clear
that Xo-ammon in Upper Kgypt, tlie
Biospolis or Thebes of the. Greeks, was
a colony fi-om tlie same quarter. Its po-
pulation may have ascended thp Nile -,
but there is not proof so strong : a re-
semblance of language however is stated
to pre\-ail between Upper Egypt and Abys-
itnia, and the language of Abyssinia is
said to resemble that of Syria and Arabia :
so that au oriental and not an African ori-
gin may most rationally be assigned to the
whole Egyptian nation, and indeed to the
mass of settlers on the African coast of
the Bed Sea. Pyramids seem to have
been contrived for pkces of refuge dur-
ing inundation : the numerous or lower
dosses were naturally arranged on the
wide steps ; the priests, the nobles, and
the kings, on the narrower summits of the
structure; and thus each order of the
people Was secuve, during the public dan-
ger, in proportion to its rank in the social
pyramid. The tower of Babel, according
to die description of Herodotus, must
hare been a pyramid of this kind, con-
Rsting of sev^n mounds^ or steps. The
rjge for these anti-diluvian structures
would be peculiarly natural in a people,
compelled by inundations to emigrate from
the Delta of the Sind. It may be inferred,
fi:om the description of the ark of Noah,
that the navigation of these early mer-
chants and f^tives, was conducted in
ships of wicker,
what the Greeks called the aversion of
' the Egyptians tor strangers, seems to have
beea nothing more thui the enaction and
execution of some quarantine precautions :
for die fiu:t of a ready intercourse with
hsmiu, Jews, and Greeks, at all periods
of their history is notorious : and the
Greeks had a landing-place, or as we
should call it a lazaretto, assigned to them
at Naucrates, on their complainii^ of tliese
sestntDts.
In tbm second book Mr. Wilson begins
the histoiy. The first cba|^r talks of
Meoei, C^rmandias^ Sesostris, and Phe-
ron. It is wise to say little about them.
AU nations were originally governed by
judg^, or village^caciques, each of whom
Wu sovereign in his own establishment^
or district. Beside these local, liereditary,
patriarchal, petty, sovereigns, who are
often called kings by the liistorians of early
times, another class of powerful chiet^
tains existed, elective generals of tlie
fighting population, a sort of leaders of
banditti, whose trade, like that of tlie
Arabs, was plunder, and who occasionally
collected fi)r some specific inroad a consi-
derable array : these military chietlains are
also called kings. Of tliis last kind was
Sesostris 3 but the relations concerning
him are too extravagant to merit more
than a qualified confidence.
Mr. Wilson relies too much on Diodo-
rus Siculus, a compiler of Greek romance,
who flourished under Augustiu: it was
the story of Herodotus that should have
t<een told,^ if it was not to be sifted, as
having some claim to the rank of early
and original testimony ; but -Herodotus
himself may safely be corrected by tlie
book of Joshua.
In mentioning the Sethos of Herodotus,
Mr. Wilson might more confidently have
attributed to him an identity with tlm
king Hezekiah of the Jews. Among the
Greeks, the Jews passed, like their Chal*
dean and Persian progenitors, for fire-
worshipf)ers ; and hence it happens that
Hezekiah is called a priest of Vulcan*
We may know the fire-worship to liave
been at luost emblematic, or rather ritual;
but the idolatrous by-stander, seeing no
unage, supposed the worship addressed to
the flame on tlie altar. Michaeiis assents
entirely to (he identity of Sethos and He<-
cekiah. The deliverance of Hezekiah
from Sennacherib must have beeiv record*
ed in hieroglyphic characters, whenue
Herodotus inierred a deliverance by mice^
He says mice gnawed the bowstrings ot
the Assyrians, and thus compelled their
retreat. But we know from the hiero-
glyphics of Horappollo (No. 50} that th#
mouse was the symbol of disappearance,
and from 2nd Chronicles (xxxii. 21.)
that tlie disappearance resulted from an
epidemic malady, by which armies have
often been tliiuned} yet there are hints
which may infiise the suspicion that this
disapi^earance was partly accomplibhed by
the payment of a contribution out of the
tempte-treasvtry.
Psarameticus was the true founder ot
kingship, of an hereditary dvnasty of so-
verei^s, among the Egyptians : his bro.
ther-judges lif^ him into power, and
thus his authority partoc4s: the stationary
character of theirs, andxomprized twelve
hitherto independent phaiaoh«hips. Tha
904
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
de(cnt of the Scythians in Palestine, cele-
l>rated in the xxxviiith and xxxixtb chap-
ters of Ezekiel, is perhaps to be dated under
Psaninitttcus,
To him succeeded Necho, the enemy of
/osiah ; he was a so\ereign of merit, and
patronized voyages vff discovery ; his sliips
are said to have girdled Africa. Psatnmis,
Hophra, and Amiisis succeed. References
«o autlroritres arc^in this part of the work
tery scarce ; and the chronological diift-
cultics in reconciling the Babylonian and
Kgyptian series of kings are eluded by
silence, not met, not conqueied.
• With the third book begins what may
be called settled hl>tory. It extends ti-om
the accession of C^^amhyses upon the Chal-
dean throne, until the death of Alexander,
ftid the consequent partition of his con-
quests among thegenerah of his army.
The fourth book condenses the history
of tlie Ptolemaic dynasty : they were the
Medici of the antient world : literary*
without talent, opulent without virtue,
perfidious and profligate, but munificent
and sociable, both the families presided in
the seats of refinement, durmg an age of
culture, Over a commercial and luxurious
people, which ascribed to their patronage
die wealth, the wit, and the art of Alex-
andria and of Florence. The litei-ary his-
tory of the Alexandrian school of poetry
and pliilosophy ought to have been giaen
with more extent and elaboration : on
«fiese periods of bloom the historian should
be careful to bid tlie reader's eye re-
pose.
The fifth book gives the civil history of
Egypt while it continued a Roman pro-
vince ; and the sixth book the literar}- and
ecclesiastical history of the same |)eriod :
here was an opjwrtunity to use some re-
cent discoveries of tlie German theolo-
gians.
The seventh book details the state of
Egypt under the Ommiad, the Abbassid
and the Fatimite caliphs. The eighth nar-
xates that celebrated crusade in which Ri-
chard Lion-heart acquired so hFgh a repu-
fation for personal prowess, llbis portion
of the narrative may serve to give an idea
of tlie historian.
'' The kings of England had but lately ap-
peared on the great theatre of conquest and
Jtime, whereas those of France, from their si-
tuation ami circumstances, liad been more
known and celebrated in war. Philip Aucus-
fws was one of the greatest princes who had
a{)peared since Charlemagne ; and therefore he
entered the camp of St. John d*Acre with
■iftRy prejudices in his favour; but tlie address
and courage of Richard, king, of England,
struck ilui whole armies witli surprise ; and io
^hc si^iit.of the SardLCOy as well as the cIiJi^-
tian w<irriors, Philip of France- wai cast loio
the shade.
** Scarcely was the capitulation ^ of Acta
settled, wijen the French king made kuovu
his intention of returning iiome. Many might
liave bion ihr reasons whicii produced this
sudden determination, and some of Ukmare
ascribed to bad health, and danger from poi-
son ; but the pri(ici})al causi's seem to nave
been, disgust at tiie celebrity of his rival, aiid
unjustihable designs of aggrandizing himself
at home, in llicliard's absence. |^ hotiocr,
nay, if \ ows could have bound hini, he mu4
have pursued a diilcrent course ; but iie left
Syria, and his depiiiture was disgraceful. To
iijjure the character of Ricliara, and,' if pos-
sible, to veil his owni perlidy, Philip falsely
accused the king of England of hiring ni6fians
to muriicT Conrad. But the truth is, that the
prince of Tyre had given offence to the oki
man of the mountain, and, liaving refused re-
dress, tlkit revengeful chief sent a^sassaua, who
cruelly put him to death,
"The origin, name, and conduct, of tlietntc
of af^assins *e thus recorded : Hassan Sabah
was a Persian of science, and travelled much
in pursuit of knowledge. He begun to es-
tablish a new religious sect ; and, in the ca-
reer of his ambition, founded a dynasty. He
made ctniquests of considerable' imiwrtance,
and took up his residence in the castlt: of Rod-
bar ; but afterwards removed to Almut,
which was a place of greater strength. His
followers were taught the most absolute sub-
mission to their chief ; and if tliey did iiis
will, they were promised the most delightful
abodes in Paradise. The chief of that peo-
ple became terrible aniong tJie nations; for
wherever he received an offence, real or ima-
ginary, thither his servants secretly -found ac-
cess ; and ncidier sovereign nor subject was
secure from vengeance. 'Phey carried a con-
cealed dagger, and, in the least suspected situ-
ation, stabbed, ami put to dealli, the objects
of their resentment. It was in this mannw,
and by such means, that Coiund suifertd
death.
" The prince of this tribe was called id
Arabic Sheik al Gebal, that is the senior of
tlie mountam; for tlie pail of the Person
Irac, over whidi lie presided, was the most
elevated district -of the coimtrj'. His title,
therefore, was the senior of the 'mountaio ;
but the historians of the crusade, traii^bting
the word Sheik literally, denominated him the
old man, instead of the prince or lord of the
mountain. The assassins entertained some
fanatical and dangerous notions about reli-
gion; and though tliey were occasbnally
weakened, yet they continued to infest the
eastern world, till, in the year \\t2, they were
finally destroyed by Bibars, the sultan of
E^ypt. They were called assassbs by tlie
wnters of the west, cillier from Hassan their
founder, or from the name of their cooccak^
0RMfi*6 RF.\GM£NTS OF THE MOGUL EXPIKE.
»5
poniard, ami hence sec;-et and dctt;rmined
inu.U.'fen» are demminaietl as^sr»im.
" \Vui\c the king ot l-Vmice was pursuing
anireadly measures at hoiiie, Richard was
waniily fngagetl in arranging the ai'tairs of the
Hoiy bnd. FhiKp, wilii a show of zeal for
the intei^sts of the cruaade, left in Pa]e8tin«,
the d'..ke of IJurgundy, with 10,000 men.
fikharJ, with the troops which were at his
cuniniand, laid siege to Ashkelon, took the
city, and added otner towns and possessions
to tile remaining fragments of the kingdom of
Jerusalem. It was suiiiciently evident, that
t^M^e sixcesstiil eribrts w ere intended, as pre-
liminary measures, for making a grand attack
upon the city of Jerusalem. When Saladin
was compe!]e'<I to leave Ashkelon, he hasten-
ed to the Holy city ; and the kbig of tng-
Jaiid, having paused during the months of
winter, followed hbu to Jerusalem. 'Iha ap-
pfocch of Richard spread consternat.on througli
ihtf city; and it re<iuir«l a- 1 the intiuence and
address of the K^yptian sultan to prijvcat the
(Mhwb from delivering tlie keys to Richard
PUatagenet.
'* Still, howeve-, Salx lin's prospect of suc-
cess brightened ; and when the hour of sur-
lender appeared to have arrived, suddenly
the king of England's army stopped, and the
pursuit of victory was abandoned. I'he num-
oer of his solriiers had indeed been diminished
by the fatigues and calamities of war, and
tjii-re was a general desire of returning home.
lli*-se occunx*nces were marked, and eagerly
aggravated by tlie duke of Burgundy, who,
like his master, the king of France, was jea-
lous of Richard, and desirous of bringing lum
into diNgmce,
" But whatever was tlie cause of deserting
Jerusalem at the moment it might have been
taken, wl* may presume that the fault was not
in the king of l^ngland, and tliiit it (!id not acr
cord with any wi.-h or desire of his, though
the enemies of Richard have painU'd it in
differt^ colours, lie heard tlie resolution
with aitonishraent ; he saw their retreat with
at&ic^gii; he pled and threatened, but his
prayers and tJjreats were in vain. His laurels
began to wither on his brow, and in agony he
ascended a hill in sight of Jerusalem, to take
ills last look of tlie Holy city. But so com-
plett'ly u-as he overwhelmed witli grief and
shaiije, that he wrapt his face in his gamu-nt,
b order tliat he might not behold the hill of
Calrar\', whkh he could not deliver from the
pcm-er of the 'lurks.
" But m his retreat Richard was still for-
midable. His courage was tenible to his
entniies ; and in token of martial prowess, he
jJsJias sumamed Coeur de I Jon. With cons>ider-
' 'able advantage he fmislied a truce with Sala-
din, for the space of tiirce years and upwards.
Asilikelon ana Ramla were to be dismantled ;
Tripoli and Antioch were to be resjx^cted by
fh«! Turks; and the whole sea-coast, froin
J^Fa to T>Te, was to be ]X)sses?ed by the
rliriNliajH. ' The pilgrims of Kurope were to
bt under the protectiou of ISaladin, and to cji<
joy every comfort, as if Jerusalem had jiot
Oeen taken. JSaladin and Richard were stnicJk
witii eacii other *s greatness ; and the historuM;$
of eithe*; |>arty have done ample justice t&
the conouct ot the heroes* The advautagcott^
terms which Richard procured in a season of
desertion and dejjaiture, are suijtident proof*
of his wisdom and greatness. T'here was one
proposal, however, in the tenns of agi'etymeut,
which niiiy imply a greater regard to famiJr
aggnindisement, 'than to the general cause of
the crusades. A marriage was suggested b<y
twe.n Al Adel, a bwther of the sultan of
^^Syp^ and tiie qnetn dowager of Sicily, who
was sister to tlie king of luigkmd. 'rhougli
Richard may bu charged with undue attentiliHi
to tlie interests of his own fiimily, yet an in-
genious advocate niijht plead* successfully ilj
his behalf, and shew, that private mtcrestVa*
in that re^^jiett the public good.
*' The conduct of Richard's troops would
not allow iiim to persist m tlie attack upon Je-
rusalem ; aad, if the veneiable city could not
be taken by forccy it was pi-omoting the. com-
fort of the christian pilgruns to ha\ e it placed
under the du-ection of those who would yield
them protection. It was stipulated, ui the
proposal of marriage, that Al Adel should be
proclaimed king of Jerusalem, and St. John
d'Acre was to be given in dower with the sis-
ter of Riclwrd. Hopes might be entertained,
that Al Add, through tlic mtiueiKe of a chri^
tian wile, might be jicrsuaded to embrace tl;e
christian cause, or at least, in case of progeny,
that the heir to the kingdom might prefer ain\
ad<)pt the sentiments of his mother. But
the difference of religious opinions, and na-
tionai manners, were unfriendly to the com-
pact ; and alter mature deliberation the mar-
riage proposiil was mutimliy rejected. Ikit
the treaty in all its other j)arr3 was brought to
a conclusion, and sajictioiied with every usual
solemnit}'.
" Riciiard, on his way to England, met
with many diilicullies, anrl was taken prisoner
by the sinister conduct ofJiis enemies ; but he
was soon set at liberty by the interpositionof
his subjects, and the uitluence of the jx)pe.
He was received 'at home with great demon-
strations of joy ; and was the lirU king, of tho
Norman raej, who dis|)layed much attacii-
ment^ to Kngiand, or was much beloved by
his English subjects. After escaping many
dangr>i-s in Svria and Palesthie, he ilied upvm
the ()lh of April, A. l). 1199, of a wounJ,
which he received trom :n arrow in besieging
the castle of a refractory v.issal.
" T'he departure ot Richard having deli-
vered Saladin trom the intrusiuns of a formi-
dable enemy, he put the a (lairs of state m or-
der, and returned to his favourite residence at
Damascus. His health had been much im- "
paired by the toils of a military life ; and he
nad suffered greatly by the uncomnion resist-
ance which was necorsarily recjuired in oppo-
sing the crusades. He was seized with a iosi
of appetite, his spirits sunk ; and at the age of
little more than lilty-five years, he linishcxi a
206
HISTORY, POLU ICS, AND STATISTICS.
life of labour and success. He had reigned
about twenty-four years over Egypt, and
almost nineteen over Syria.
" A. D. 1 \Q3. The mourning, ^hich was
universal throughout the realm, sunk deeper
than the exterior trappings of woe- He was
a great, a generous, and a virtuous prince.
By address, courage, and wisdom, m? rose
from an humble station, to the exalted rank in
whkh he died. Ambition was the leading
tendency of his character ; and so eagerly did
he strive for power and conquest, that tliough
he owed every thing to Noureddin, yet lie
was guilty of ingratitude. The charact r of
the times In which he livetl, ajtd the nature of
his pursuits, dki not permit him to be altogc-
tlier free from violence ; but, in general, he
was a just and benevolent prince, lie did not
oppre^ his subjects ; and though, in that im-
soltled state ot society, he liiight have fleeced
the rich, and barasseci the poor> yet he often
remitted the tribute which was due. He was
illustrious in works of oublic charity, and en-
couraged every valuable pursuit. He was a
devout Musleman, and punctually performed
the various services whkh his religion enjoin-
ed. He set a high value upon the Sonnite
taditions, and was rather gloomy and super-
9titk>us in his views.*'
The ninth book sketches in too concise
and rapid a manner the fortunes of Egypt
under the Ottoman dynasty. Mignot is
the autlK>rity most habitually relied on :
the abridgement of the Ottoman history
bj Digeon hiis the merit of being derived
wholly firora oriental sources, and might
have supplied several particulars toward
filling' the interstices of this chronicle.
The ninth book ought to have consisted of
the first chapter only : as the second be-
gins a wholly new subject, and treats of
Egypt, since it has been dragged by the
French into the list of territories to be coa«
tended for by the Europeans.
A tenth and concluding book, tinder-
takes a delineation of th^ present state of
Egypt. In discussing the object of Leib-
Art. it. — History of Great Britain, from the Revolution, 1688, to the Conchmon qf the
Treaty of Amiens, 1802. By William Belsh am. yoU. XI. and XII. Bvo.
nitz's memoir (Vol. ii. p. 306.) we bare
given our opinion rfthe statistical value of
the country : we value it lower than this
author ; and we wish that the peace-
mongers of Amiens had consented to eva-
cuate it in favour of the French j if there-
by a recognized possession of some equi-
valent African, territory, as from the Cape
to the Zaire, or from die Gambia to thc^
Senegal, could have been obtained for this
country. There is in the climate and con-
formation of Eg}'pt an overruliug force
which condemns it, like Arabia, to a sta-
. tionary condition : the French will not be
able to render it important : it is in the
main what it was of old. That stage of
civilization which excited (he wonder of
the primeval savages of Greece is now
barbarism : that degree of wealth which
excited the cupidity of Roman armies and
pro-consuls is now mediocrity.
This work is composed in a clear, agree*
able, and lively manner, with too current
a pen to allow careful investigation, and
with too eager an expectation of the coiv-
eluding campaign to allow all the requisite,
details : yet there are. few writers who
could have executed quick work so well,
or good work so quick. We wish that
the author would consider this as the
sketch, the outline, the promise of a future
more learned and more elaborate history
of £g}'pt ; and that in the progress of his
enquiries he would allot more attention
to the modem annals, which occupy less
than their fair proportion of the whole
composition. - The talents, the acquire-
ments, and the taste of Mr. Wilson are
worthy to produce a more lasting mooo-
ment : are worthy to attain a more couia-
geous tone of criticism.
A map of ancient as well as of modem
Egypt would have been convenient to the •
THE task of a contemporsoy historian
Is peculiarly difHcult : much trustworthy
information always remains inaccessible
during the life of the concerned : much
known truth is veiled or varnished from
motives of fear or hope.. ' Tiberii Caiique,
et Claudii ac Neronis res, florentibus ipsis,
ob metum falsse ; postquam occiderant,
recentibus odiis^ composite sunt.' A high
degree of merit ought to be ascribed there-
fore to the mere courage of sincerity ; it
ia of all qualities the scarcest, and of all
qualities the most important, in the wit*
ness of the transactions he has to reoord.
This merit belongs to Mr. Bekbam be-
yond his competitors.
One critic of Mr. Belsham*s histoiy has
received a pension for disputing his ac-
count of the origin of the antijacobin war.
When denial is recompensed so high, some
impression must have been felt from the
assertion. Yet we cannot but admit that
for research Mr. Belsham has not merited
80 much praise as for fireedcmi ; and tbil
BBLSBAH's bistort of 0R«4T EBITAIH.
ao;
maiEf soiuces of intelliraice^ especially .
*fte foreign^ have been left unexamined
vub a n^ligenoe not entirely creditable
toiiis industiy or to his acquirements.
}As. Beliham has the virtue, as Pen-
adms would caU it, of writing with a
plain style. ' Liceat denique hie addere
(sap this author, De Arte historidi)
esrendum esse hlstorico ab llbris belle
icriptis. Nam quamvis optimiun dicen-
di genus cum sunrni^ veritate possit con-
fUDCtom esse : tamen tanta est aninu
nunani £ragilitas, ut vix ac ne vix qui-
dem hae duse virtutes uno in homine
smol possint locum habere : ita ut qui
smoBDO et fiorido scribendi genere utun-
tnr, an etiam verum dicant, merito sem-
per dubitandum sit. ' Bxemplo possunt
esse Xenophon e Grascis, et e Latinis
Cortios, qui ditissimo dicendi genere usi,
fere Don historias, sed Milesiacas &bulas,
Tidentur composuisse. Potest e recen-
tioribos exemplo esse Voltarius, quo
aeiDo yerum historiae genium possidebat
ma^, nemo scripsit luculentius ac di«
•ertios, sed quo nemo plus iabuiarum
ioxiL*
The earlier volumes of this work have
preceded the date of our notices: thl>
devendi b^ins with the year 1799, ^^
with the thirty-&r8t book of the histonr,
aod, afier mentioning the king's speech,
it recapitulates the debate on the habeas
CQipiis act It was worth while for the
iustorian to observe, because the orators
did not make the observation, that the
babeas corpus act is of little value in
quiet times ; ministers have ordinarily no
interest to interrupt the regular adminis-
tradon of justice : if in all imquiet times
it be taken aMray> it might as well not ex-
lit When the constitution is not strong
<3iOQgb to protect itself without despotic
powers,' let the constitution be strength-
ened 1^ ^ Insertion of more represen-
tatives popularly chosen ; but let it not
exhibit the detestable* spectacle of des-
potism attaining the ends of orderly go-
vernment, wlile liberty and justice are
asserted to be impotent. Such profane
d»bclief in principle, in virtue, the re-
ivesentatives of tiie people should loudly
dcommunlcate* \
lo narrating (page 120) the entrance of
^ French troops into Naples, Mr. Bel-
sbam talki of « the interesting spectacle
of liberbr crowned by the hands of reli-
V^ b the first place, allegorical spec-
tacles are not spectacles at all.
'^ So Ihavc seen in Araby the blest,
Apbeoix cottqb*dupoA her fiiaeral uest."
What happened ? Did the religious part of
the Neapolitan people join the French ? No.
They adhered to cardinal Ruf!b, who
' bearing aloft the crucifix in the one
hand, and brandishing the sword in the
other,' was very successfiil, especially
through Calabria, in collecting recruits to
oppose the invaders. The higher orders,
tlie infidel classes, of society, were at
Naples the only friends of the French ;
the populace were hostile, partly from the'
wholesome instinct of patriotism, and
partly-dfrom superstition for those creeds
whidi they knew the French despised.
A few priests may have been hifed with
the silver spoils of their own altars to be-
tray a country w^hich they despaired to
arouse; but the ecclesiastical order was
not in the interest of the French. Their
guides were found among the lawyers and
students chiefly. This method of nar«
rating in abstractions, and of substituting
allegory to fact, is rarely consistent with
historical precision : it is oflener adopted
to conceal idleness, than to abridge the re«
suit of enquiry.
In the thirty-second book occurs a nar*
rative of the expedition to Holland. This
was the most important and the most ill*
managed of all the undertakings of Great
Britain during the whole war : the most
important, because it direcUy tended to
check and to limit the northern aggran-
dizement of France, which alone inters
feres with our security and our independ*
ence > and the most iU-managed, for rea-
sons which parliainentary acconmiodation
may have suppressed, but which the his-
torian ought to promulgate. The expe-
dition was fitted out too late in the sea-
son. There was a want of geographical
information in landing at the Helder at
all; because tlje passes between that
place and the seats of population and au-
thorijty in Holland, are defensible by an
inferior force against any invader. There
was so litUe contrivance in the equipment
that half-disciplined militia-men were em«
barked for a difficult service ; and that
horses came in one ship, and their saddles
in another. It was rumoured that the
cavalry would either not come or not b«
wanted, and the saddles were thrown
overboard into the mud, purely for a pier
to step ashore upon. Care should have
been taken to land unexpectedly in some
place whence it was possible to march ra-
pidly to Amsterdam : no cavalry should
have been sent : rash battles should have
been fought (this depended on the general
selected) 2 foir a mere regular progress was
2(»
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
certarn Jisappointment of the en«] in vic^v:
and a defeat was no greater evil than a de-
tention. Such remarks the historian of
hrs own tinies should collect from tlie in-
dividuals engaged : and he shonld. state
thein without reserve j not for the pur-
pose of exciting indignation, that would
be useless, but in order that the eye .of
public nii^trusf may ia future be turned
(Ki those individuals. \^ho have so con-
fJucted the cause of their countr}'. We
are fighting for mu' laj^t stake. If the con-
.5trtution necessarily secures to birth, to
rank, to .wealth, to sympathetic opinion,
^n influence which they deserve not, the
only cliance for remedy lies in vigorous
fJeuanciation. Let tlie historian brave an
nnjiist exile, in order to resnie his coun-
try ffom ignorant, or base, or ])erverse
councils. On this occasion, and on some
others, we feel inclined to censure the
urbane, the tame lenience of Mr. Bel-
sham's criticism.
At i^age 205 there is an extenuatory pas-
sage in the note which resjiects tlit^ butch-
er}' at Jaifii. Bonaparte is represented as
less blameworthy than Suwarrow. The
Russians had been irritated by the pre-
vious massacre of t heir troops in Warsaw,
which the royalists, commanded by Kosci-
usko, had perpetrated. Suwarrmv had
vindictive feelings to satisfy, and had pro- .
bably orders to satisfy them, But Bona-
parte's butchery was self-willed, and a sa-
crifice in cold blood. And why is Bona-
wrrte to be censured with qualitication ?
Is he not thcsubverter of liberty, the abo-
lishcr of the political C(jnality of relig'';'is
sects, the conqueror of anarchy, not by
voluntary, but by despotic means, free
from jamily afFection or expansive hun\a-
nrty, ignorniit and superstitious, another
Septimius Se\erus ? If i;lory be at the ser-
vice of such usur]>ers, there will be no end
of tliom. TJie greatest of warriors is not
the greatest of men.
In the c\c\ enth volume the thirty-fourth
chai)ter narrates with becoming courage a
reprehensibl<£ outrage.
" Nearly at this time a most extraordinary
and signal act of vcD^ii.r.cu was ihllicted on
t'le inhabitants otCeseiiatico, a small maritime
town situated on the Avhialic Guit. 1'heinu^
nicipality of this obscure plao(% had, it seems,
according to the accounts transmittetl to lord
Keith, arrested a Britisli officer charged with
public dispatches. As they jnisfht, not im-
probably, have acted undfr constraint from
the French troops stationed in their vicinity,
it would have appeared to the world no dero-
gation of dignity, and much more agreeable
to e<iuity, it th<'; noWe coinuiander had made
some enquire' into the previons and atfeoifant
circimi^antes ; insti^d of which, ihv VA C«r-
sd and Fij^my sloo|>s wei^, after a lajwe qf
tiine which seeuud to indicate tliat tti< o**"
fence, whatever miglit liikT<* heeu its magr«i-
tude, lad pas.std iulo oblivion, iUspu\ch«!d*
* io make a proper example of titc UrjinJ^
The boats of botli vessels landed at dawn di
day on the 27th of August, and, after some.-
opposition from a body of French tropins,*-'
made tin mst:lvcs masters of the plac^, which -j;
tliey tlicn, agreeably io their orders, coat'-*
plelely tfes^ioyed — **the vessels and the har-. -
hour (oniiinjT but one liame.' — ' Of thirtpoirj^
vessels, gf ciiifcrent d*?scriptions, lying wilhia j
the mole of Cesenatico, two were sunks^
and eleven burnt; tlie harbour was choai^ed.^
by thewrecJv of four purposely sunk in tlie,'.
mouth of it, and both jwers entirely consumed.* j
Thus did the nughty arm of liritain, bva'
toucii rather than a blow, ' all the ilourishntf
works of peace destroy' of an industrious aiia
humble, but probably happy coronmnity, who Jj
could scarcely sujpose the pos?ibility of so ,.•!
terrilJe a calamity ; for a revenge so dreadful, ■
incited by an oflence so trivial, was perhaps
never heiore inllictrd in any age, or hr>ard of
in any country the name of wliich is knowa
among civilized nations."
The popularity of the British character '
among foreign nations i$ so essential to •
the success of our remote expediiions,
that these wanton piratical freaks of eoter-
prize cannot be too steadily discouraged.
A less unwelcome specimen of Mr. Bel- '
sham's nuxle of narraiiou will be the fol-
lowing:
" The routiiie of parliamentarv business
went on asu^ual during the illness of the king;
but his niaje.>ty having now happily recovei^
ed, the appointments of the new ministers
were announced in the a customed and Tcgo-
lar lorm ; and on tlie l/tli of March, Kir.
Addingtou w as s\\€u*n into his lug;lp,ofiice as lirek
lord of the treasury, with tlie cliaucellorship
of the excliwpier annexed ; and Mr. Pitt w..s
divested of that power w hich he had exercisc-d,
in time> the most eventful and important, for
the long peruxl of seventeen years; during
which tiie character of this niinister was as
fully dev«.'io])e<l, as clearly discriminated, and
as strongly marked, as ifuit of any states>jiiaa
who ever directed the councils of Britain,
liis early det laiatioi'i, on the removal of lord
Norlh, and the advancanent of lord Rock-
ingham to the station of first minister, * tiiat
lie would not accept of any subordinate situa-
tion,' exhibited at once the extent and the ir-
regularity of his ambitk)n. In proportion as
his pretensions were high, his maimers wcfe
haughty. Instead of the generous feelings
and noble enthusiasm of his fatiier, he disco-
vered a disposition selfish,. cold, and artful;
and it was quickly seen that he possessed no
quality of youth but its presumption. In his
conduct there was never found that frarkss
teELSHAM 8 HISTORY OF OKEAT BBlTAlff.
20$)
toip&ftr, that dignified candour, which arc
'fecenaJne ort'spring of an elevated minci, and
He EriK (^erion of real wisdom. At no tkne
HA he dj*|^lay ttat commanding fortsiglit
•bell marks a'superier intellect, or that con-
toottog prudence which* knows how to avert
inpaxiiug m»chi;.f. At no season did he en-
harour to stem ,the torrent of public preju-
ice, or to make the poople calm and wiite
Aa thej- were infiamt* d and ignorant. The
Ireain of public opinion he submitted dili^
JEBtly to watch; and suffered huiiself rather
bbe carried away with it, than to aim by ar-
boos edbfts to (lirecA its course where wis-
hm or patriotism nii^ht suggest.. The mind
tf ihe natiun, under his auspices, made no ad-
ances: on the coatrarv, its movement was
laifonnly retrogFade. 'llxc errors of the pub-
ic he laboured to convert to his own advan-
age, not to correct at the hazard of his power. -
Be was the attentive observer of timet and
wsocs, not the l>eneficent and enlightened
mtnictor of nations. His elotjuence, for
riiich he Wss deservedly celebrated, was
dneliy characterized . by what rhetoricians
^ mnplificaiioju He possessed in perfec- .
|i» all the modes and subtilties of reasoning.
Hid was copious, even to tJie brink of verbo-
Ity. He had the faculty of speaking much
Bw saying little; and, wlien silence waS im-
practicable, he knew how to make language
pbscr\ieBt to all the pvrposcs of taciturnity.
KissoleiiHr avowals Wv^re clothed in impene-
fable darkness: and his explanations were .
cakuUted equally to dude tne vigilance of
&e.«atchful and the curiosity of the inquisi-
tive. Tht connexion between the means and
tbe end appeared seldom intimate in his
Ibooghts, and was rarely either defined hi his
«onl» or exemplified m Ws conduct. The
pbas, therefore, which he designed, aldiough
fKOBcctttf^ with courage, constancy, and vi-
gour, afanost invariably failed in the execu-
tioofc It is rcmarkable, that, during the se-
venteen yaai? of his administration, no one
ictofpa^bonage was extended to literature,
totkn sciences^ or th • arts.
" That spiirit of violence which had so long
artuateil the proceedings of the late admini-
stfatbn, ?uftered.no abatement to the very
fast nioraent of their oolitical existence. On
theSlst of January Mri secretary Dundas, by
letter, apprized the lords of the admiralty,
/that it was his majesty^s pleasure to revoke
.the induteence granted to the French iisher-
.tten ; and that they and their boats should
.DC lienceforth subject to capture — advices
having been received tliat these fishermen
*ere under requisition, and that even those
^roo had been released from prison, in order
♦to be lent home, -under the express condition
flf not servinjf ^ain, were cotnprised in that
•wq[iBsitioD. It was his .majesty's further plca-
»iQre, that all those set at liberty on their pa-
,K4e be requbred to return into this country ;
tod that those among tliem who shall neglect
wobry these orders, sfall be madcto suiVer
*^*«f'-gorsofthelavvsof v,'ar, in case they
«™id a^in be made prisunen whil;! serving
AxK. Hit. Vol. IV.
the enemies of his majesty.' A cc^y of tfajt
letter was transmitted to Ivi. Otto on die 29th
>of Januai-y ; and he immediately apprised M.
Talleyrand of thismeasurt — the true motive*
of which he declared himself unable io con^*
jecture — at the same time expressing his fears
that, from the intentional delay in the conv
mUnication of the order, a great number of im-
fortunate persons must have &llen victims to
it. Mk Otto also addressed, upon this occ«*
sion, a most able reply to tlie EnRlish govern-
ment, stating his ' astonishment that mere af)^
prehension and conjecture should have been
made the ground of such a procedure, without
any complaint, fonnally or previously offer-
ed^ and much less any refusal of justice on the
part of the French government. He deprc^
cated tiie efl'ect of a measure hostile to a
peaceable class of people for the most part
aged, invalids, or chddren, who were conse-
quently incapable of hurting the enemies of
their country ; and whose simplicity of man-
ners and industrious habits could not give any
umbrage. Those,* he says, * who have sul>-
mitted to the English government the reports
on whidi its late determination is fbtuided^
cannot therefore have any other view than to
add to the numerous subjects of irritation
whidi a protracted war has produced belweea
the two nations.' This act of , provocation
awak;ened the hi^est degree of resentment in
tiie mind of the first consul ; and instructions
were tbrthwith transmitted to M. Otto, to de-
clare to the British government, ' that he
could no longer remain in a country, where
not only evei-y disposition to peace is abjured^
but" where the laws and usages of war are dis-
regarded and violated ; but that the first de^
sire of the French government having always
been to soften, as much as possible, the hor-
rors of war, that goverimieut cannot, on itt
part, tliink of making the poor fishermen vic-
tims to the prolongation of hostility: it will
therefore abstain from all such reprisals ; and,
on the contrary, it has given orders for all
French ships, anned for war or cruising, to .
leave the occupation of fishermen uniuteijupt-
ed.' Such and so striking was.tlie contrast
exhibited by the two governments ! But the
{)rudenceoJtM. Otto toreseem^that an ame-
ioration might take place in the JBuglish coim-
cils, in cohsequt^nce of the changes in con-
templation, he postponed liis departure till
the new ministers had taken upon them the
actual management of public co'ncerns : and a
favourable omen of the better spirit which
now predominated in the national counciU
very early appeared, in the notice transmitted
to M. Otto on the 3d of March, of die suspen-
sion of the kite order respecting the French
fishermen; ^and, in the sequet; the dispute
v^-as liappilyand silently adjusted.
" But a fer more flagrant, thoHgh perh?.ps
not in its tendency a more fatal, proof of ilie
disposition of tlic late ministers to involve the
nation, as it were, beyond all ref^.em;/* on,
and to stake its very existence en the r ;suit
cri the quarrel, appKared in tiu i;:^^Ci cf coiui-
cil, d^ttodtlie I4tli of iauudiy, ui i^yii^j an
?
210
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
qinl^ixgo on all .Russian, Swedish, and Da-
-nish '<re^sell in toe British ports, of wliich se*
ireral liundreds were actually seized and se-
questered. Sp that, fiir from harbouring any
intention of resij;ning tlie government for the
sake of eifectuatmg the great object of peace,
as some refining politicians dreamed, those
daring and desperate ministers seemed rather
inclined to extend and aggravate the horrors
of this odious war to the utmost of theirpower ,
ID order, if possible, to deter and affrighten
others from undertaking the future couduct
of it."
The whole conduct of Great Britain to-
ward the northern powers, is recorded
witli spirited disapprobation: the first
step toward a recovery of their friendship
is to acknowledge tiie turbulence of our
arrogance. Perhaps a little maritime, as
well as diplomatic criticism, might have
been hazarded on the battle of Copenha-
gen: it is said an earlier attack coUld have
been made, with the advantage of an op-
posite wind, and a profounder knowledge
of the soundings could have been obtained
from the Hull and Yarmouth pilots who
were on board the fleet. Seidelin s nar-
rative ought to have been consulted as a
corrective of the English accounts.
In the thirty-fifth chapter Mr. Belsliam
applauds the clergy-incapcttatton act.
Why is this state never to avail itself of
the Wolseys, the Richlieus, the Ximenes,
the Leo X,, the Talleyrands, -who may
happen to originate among its clergy?
Why is any specific form or grade of re-
ligion to disqwdify fh)m public T>f!ice?
Why are holy orders to be treated as a
disgrace, and to debar a man from
sitting among the representatives of his
country ? Above all, why is the character
of priest rendered indelible, and made an
infliction fpr life, even on those who re-
nounce it ? Tliis bill 1.4 the creature of a-
nile superstition, and proceeds on the sup-
position that it w sacrilege to secularize
what lias once been dedicated to God.
Suppose it were necessary to bring in a
bill for the repeal of the act of uniformity,
it could not conveniently originate in the
lower iHNise, because there can be no
clergy to overlook and criticise its provi-
sions. The Commons have defrauded
themselves of a power of legislating in
church af&irs. There was a time when
Mr. Wyvill was the natural candidate for
Yorkshire, and when popular gratitude
ought to have placed him on tlie hustings.
At all times the best orators amon^ tlic
clergy are the natural representatives for
Oxford and Ciunbridge. — But tiiere .s tlie
rub. Persons h^f/Jtk ux pov» er began to ap-
prehend^ ^t Is smdf clerical antagoni
and an encroachment on the equal'
thtt civil rights of the people of Great
tain weighs nothing against a personal
connnodation.
At pa^e 3<22 Mr. Belsham a little
out of his course to comment the
ate, or fundamental religious JegiUai
of the French. It is well known th«t i
French policy concerning region i* ta
rowed from that whicli t& peace of W|
phalia legalized in Germany, and
ed for the purjH)se of facilitating
conquests. The privileges of
men tare conceded to three distinct bcs
tlie llomish, the Lutheran, and the i
vinist, and all others are in the eye of
law not even tolerated : thus a sort of i
tarian trinit}^ in unity becomes the esi
sive religion of the state ; and the m
magistrate distributes the ecclesiastic ]
ferment of the three rival parties,
tlie case of the protcstant sovereigntiai
Germany tfiis policy softened the
sities between the two {votestant sei
and nearly melted them into one;
tlie catholics grew less numerous. In
case of tlie catliolic sovereignty of Frai
we shall bee the protestants grow les^i
merous. Indeed we already see thei
testant prefects attending mass, and'
cepting incense at th^ hands of the
lie priesthood ; and this occasional
formity is applauded by protestant
ters, who are candidates for the pal
of Bonaparte. It surprises ub that
Belsham should delight in the ooestabi
ment of three sects, of which the
, rian is not one.
In tlie XXXVIth Book Mr. BeU^I
narrates tlie j)eace of Amiens, and the
bates upon it. Those who wished
keep llie peace, of course, praised i|^
the whole ; those wlio wished to break i
peace, of course dispraised it : but.it i
so unskilfully made, that neither
was satisfied . Something might
been added to the parliamentary <
of the measure. Instead of agreeiag:!
evacuate Eg>pt, it would have been ( '
ter to dispose of it, and to dispose of itl
favour of the French. The Cape, i
Pondichorry, and New Orleans, and I'
ta too, would have been all abaoda
readily to us: and the French
have had a colonial drain for men of i
rit and adventure; who, if pent upj
Eurojwan France, will constandjr '
oversowing contiguous departments,
strengthen nig their country by aDO«%
tiona whcze her frtrength is a nuiiaaoK
%Bt8aAM*S RtSTOBt OP GBBAT B&XTAllt.
SU
bvo t^ Fraoce cannot hurt oar Hin-
llsCU); sod with Egypt all her aggran-
l^meat would tend southerly, where it
ynDocenti and not toward Hollaod, and
fWeser, aad the Elbe, where it is
indeed. It was the project of
(See Annual Review, vol. ii. p.
, to give Kgfpt, th^ African Holland,
booej in order that she might spare
European Holland. In three genera-
^ more the ministers of Britain will
iliapi attain to that degree of prospee-
le wisdom, which the literary world
kKssed three generations ago. Too
In one is reminded of Uie truth of the
pediib chancellor Oxenstiema's re-
Irk, how little wisdom is made use of
i|OferDing the world, qudm parvd $api^
jfts rtfgUur mwndua, A gross instance
I statistical ignorance occurs in lord
|iirkesbury*8 speech (p. 379) • ' The
HiOD of Louisiana by Spain, to France,
k another ground of complaint. That
IBTiiice had originally been a French co«
tf, hafiog bc^ ceded by France to
•in after the treaty of 1/63. The va-
I of it at present was nearly nominal.
II naval station New Orleans was un^*
Kmt' Here tlie value of Louisiana,
iold for several millions, is repre«
^ as merely nominal : and New Qr«
|to is wnmgly placed in Louisiana ; and
n of course errooeouslv supposed by
is mioister to have passed into the hands
\ the North Americans when they pur-
Mscd that country : whereas the pur-
use of New Orleans was the subject of
Isubiequeot treaty, which is probably
Mnry to the law of nations. New Or-
Itott ooaU have been asked for, in the
jHiSOtiatioD Kd die peace, but was forgot-
ton. And New Orleans, which is to die
Ni»5tppi wl^t Alexandria is to the Nile ;
pvhidk must become the depository of the
Indnoe of all the interior of North Ame-
|fca; which, by means of a canal into the
hqr Spirito Santo, can be made accessible
hr sinps from the sea even during the
•Meowings of the river $ which is likely
l» grow with the rapidity of Liverpool,
WA, to ODtgrow it by all the difference
iKweea the Mersey and the Missouri ;
II bdd up as an wdrnportant place of ship-
1kg. No wonder that the island, on
Ikdi New Orleans sunds, wa$ neither
iKackid during the war, nor treated for
Miht peace; akhough it b^ns to be al«
jndy, whal Trinidad cannot of a century
koGOie,' die emporium of an inland com-
Uroi %oagh well-watered provinees,
vhot the ffts of dyilisation^ and the
wants of luxnry, have sbndc root, and are
growing. But however deficient lord
Hawkesbury may have been in those geo*
graphical studies, which to a negotiator
are indispensable, we cannot agree with
Mr. Belsham in the censure past on his
conduct (p. 39a) respecting the French
emigrants resident here. We do hold it
for the kipg's dignity to protect entirely
the obeyers of the laws ; and should not
murmur at a war undertaken to prevent
the quondam lodgers in Holy-rood house
from being turned out at the instigation
of Bbdaparte.
Mr. Belsham has displayed, in die ac<*
complishment of his vast task, perse«
verance, sincerity, principle, a love of li-
berty, and an independence of character,
of rare example. He may be considered
as the bishop Burnet of the present age;
as an historian of his own times, who pos-
sesses almost the same unaffectedness of
manner, the same honesty of nature,
pushed occasionally by whiggish warmth
beyond the exact path of impartiality; who
has perhaps less continental literature,
but who has more fearlessness of power,
and a purer indiflerence to patronage.
Had Mr. Belsham*s history been dedi*
cated (o the prince of Wales, he might
aptly have repeated die words <^ Tindal'a
celebrated address. ' Here then, as from
a faithful monitor, uninHuenced by hopes
or fears, youi: royal highness will learn, in
general, tliat to a prince nothing is sd
pernicious as flattery, nothing so valuable
as truth ^ that proportionate to his peo^
ple*s liberty and happiness, will be h\%
glory and strength ; that true valour coxi-
sists not in destroying, but in jprotectiog;
mankind) not in conquering kingdomi,
but defending them from violence } tli^
a prince's most secret counsels, motivet,
and pursuits, will probably one day h«
published and rigorously judged j an^,
however flattered while Uving, yet, wh^
dead, he will be treated as his actioiig
have deserved, with honour or reproa^)^
with veneration or contempt. But above
all, you will here see tlte nature of ^ur
exoellent constitution, where the prero-
gatives of the cnywn and the privilegei of
the sobject are so happily pioperticmed,
that the king ^d the people are iuiepa- *
rably mnted in the same interests. Ac«
€oraingly yott will here constantly find,
that io the reigns where this upion wa^
fndtivated, the kingdom flourisbbd, and
the priQce wa» gkfiwu , powerful, trusted*
beloved I on iha contary, when fanr an
arbitretv din«sUUn ex evil fovuuels, in
Ill
nt&TGRY^ POUTICS, AND STATISTICS.
was interrupted, the constitutiotf languish-
ed, mutual confidence, vanbhed, distrust,
jealousy, and discord arose 3 aiKl, ^hen
entirely broken, as was sometimes the
case, confusion and civil war ensued.*
• This passage Is desen^edly classed
among those praises proceeding from a
good inclination, accompanied with re-
verence, which iotti Bacon considers as
the appropriate form of addressing kings,
and great personages : Itiudando praci-
fete. By aiiecting to lay before them
A»T. In. — Historical Fragments of the Mos:ul Empire, nftfie Morattoca, and rfthe Ea^
Concerni in Indosfan ; Jram the Year 1639-: ort^hi of Hie English Establitkment^ 4
oftiie Compan/s Trade, at Broach and Hiirat ; \md a general idea of the Goremmi
at}d People qf Indostan, By Robert Orme, Es(f. F. A. S. , To which isprefiiedf
Account of tlie Life and ff'nlings qfthe Author, 4to. pp, 472,
what they are, you may humbly put diM
in ;iiind what they should be.
But he is not less Usefiil who teathet Bl
dispraist; who, by censuring the &11M
of former princes and governors, shall "^
ter their successors from jealousy ai
the progress of freedom, frofti intol
for the variations of superstiiion, and M
a conniving indifference to the extra^-aga
augmentation of court patronage and
peiKiiture..
Mr. ROBERT ORME was. bom at
Anjengo, in the Travancore comitry, on
the 2 5 til December, 1728, and was sent
over to England for education at two years
©f age. His father, a physician on the
Company's estahiisliment, consigned tliis
son to an aunt of the name of Adams, who
resided in Cavendish-square, London.
There he received the element? of educa-
tion, and was put at six years of age to
Harrow-school. In J 742 he returned to
Calcutta, wliere he was placed in the house
ef Jackson and Wedderburn, in order to
Ik; cfualitied for commercial pursuits. A
writership had been obtained for him in
Jlngland j apd at the end of hxe, years, as
is the Uhual routine, he became a factor.
His atteiiilon to commerce was assiduous
.■ artd prutitablc ; he made a voy^e round
-tlie Peni^j^ula toSuratj he penetrated into
tiid iliterior to make purchases. . His in-
\ t^lligence became so conspicuous that in
:lf52 he \\i\s consulted about the retbrm
ot' tjie police of Calcutta, and suggested
a^^eparjftioii of the powers hitherto cou-
' - tided' to a single Jamadar, He drew up
* 4ki' this peryud a general idea of the govern-*
'tiiteiit and people of Hindostan, now first
puWislied entire: it was corrected and
cdmpkted on bward the Pelham, in which
. . vessel he went, in 1753, ta Europe.
/ Lord- Holdernesse was at that time a se-
cretary of slate : he cousiiltiBtd with Mr.
iOfnne, and corriesponded with him ; he ,,— -
attfjnded mimitely to his advice^ anji te-. been ;nore. perfectly Tnfbnnedbt(hesu^
gan'a'n^gaikitiea^with the French niihis- on which he' \A& under^ken"t*cr' write; a4
ters for the purpose of thwarting thei an\-
bi tious; projects of M. Dupleix. dn Iii^a,.
The wise suggestions .of Mr, 6piie oce'a-j
. Aioned /the adepHon of a train of niea«
wires, which lord Clive was appointed to
conduct, and which terminated so advan*
.tftgeousiy fox tke British interests. Mr.
Orme went on a confidential mission
to Hindostan, in I7M, and sailed ool
return for Europe in 1758. Unf<
nately the Grantliam, in which he e
barked, was, taken by- the French, 1
carried to Mauritius; thence he got
Nantes in the spring of l/tiO : be
some months agreeably in. the French
tropolis, and came to London tlie foil
ing Octot)ec. ' A new house v.-ds j
chased" for him in Harley-strect : he
ranged there his valuable library, and
gan to compose the History of the ~
tary Transactions of the British Natioo
Hindostan. IJe had collected for
purpose, while in the East, the requki
documents. Tlie first volume was \
]ished in August, 1763 : ill the Ani
Register for tl)e following year it was \
reviewed or characterized, as is su
by Mr. Burke.
•
" The manners and characters of tlie
r;ous pveople ^'ho inliabit the g^c^t empire
Indosliui, the peculiarities ol their, rdijpt
aud tJifir policy, and the astonishing evi
which have lately happened in tiiatpart of I
world, liave rendered the history of the trs8»
in India an object of general* curiosity. 'IBi
great interest we have still in that eiupire,!^
\va}s as a trading, lately as-'a corH]uefiii|
people, will make a proper, narration of ov
tomierproceediiigs tliere ^ matter pflbe tsxA
useful, mstructiou. Uji^auyiqrjrf this voik
has gratified tills curiosity, and coinmuuicatct
tliis mstniction. " Kd histqrjan seeiiis to hast
Vef)(lfew^havVpt)§**3Sed'mbre fiHiythetafat
of fmpre^mg )r, mthedicttrestamdD&ostnnl
maimer, oa the'imaf(inttibn and ondersteiAi
4ng of IfW reader, f q. this workHhe ci»ii
arafltli^ prepared; |:he chai^clets .fitro»
delineated ; and the situations well desc^bS
It is no uncommon thine to find in ordiaflt
wrlteti more of the conmisioD, than of tbe w
0&MS*f RI^TOniCAL FRAGMENTS^ 8cC.
tn
ri^iiritorthe fiffht, in their descriptions of
B fngapTOMt But nothing can oe more
kor aadsatis&cton' than the whole detail of
(toy uaiK^ctions whidi we find in this
WltoL WhetUer the march or tlie retreat,
e attack or the defence, the encampment or
e battle, every tiling is drawn with accuracy
dprfctsioD, in great detail, but without any
nc tedious. In these particulars, Polybius
I be scarrefj' thought to exceed him.
"It must he obsei-ved likewise to his ho-
oiS that there reigns through the whole
frkan air of disinterestedness, and of free-
B-from all passion and preiudice, public or
ivate. I'he Frenchman who acts gallantly
wisely. Amis as much justice done to ius
joos and bis conduct, as any of the author's
nntniiien. The same impartiality seems
have bem observed with regard to' all per-
oai connections, lliis volume does not
try the war further than IT^S.**
Wr. Onne was elected a fellow of the
icicty of Antiquaries in Manh 177O:
id was SOQD after appointed historiogra-
Kr to the India Company, witli a salary
; feur hundred pounds yearly. He vi-
tod France a second tinae in the spring
^ 1773, and was introduced to general
OSS}' 5 who expressed his satisfaction at
le justice done by Mr. Orme to the
leach officers, invited him to his villa,
id communicated some maps and other
^Bective documents, of which Mr. Orme
ttiledhimfielf in the second edition of
b book, which appeared in the following
nuaer. Two years later, in 1775, an
^ndix, containing several notes and an
Idcx, was issued in addition to the first
B^ne : the second volume was publish-
1 in October 1778- I" 1785 a third edi-
on became requisite, and Mr. Orme un-
ertook to prepare notes and an index to
be second volume similar to those which
ad been annexed to the first -, but the de-
lining state of his health iuterrupted the
irogresiof this toil.
In 1/82 Mr. Orme gave to the press
listorical Fragments oi the Mogul Em-
ire, of the Morattoes, and of the English
SoDoenis in Hindostan, from the year
659. This laborious work liad been in
ffeparation long : it was intended to as-
nme a completer form 5 but a marked
Icay of vigour and a disinclination for
Cuiy occasicmed an abandonment of tlic
IDsoitof hi^ier perfection.
Mr. Orme's debility was of that kind
Much British constitutions often incur
worn the effects of the climate of Hin-
toepa : it did not unfit him for lively par-
fcpation in tlie pleasures of society, or
til the incidents of public affairs. He pos»
med and indulged the accomplishments
of the luxurious world. He listened fre-
quentiy to music j he visited and criticized
the exhibitions of painters and die gal-
leries of art J he prized the pleasures of
the table, and the conversations of the li-
terate.; he composed verses, his address to
the moon and the accompanyhig melody
still remain engraven in our song-books*
He exchanged the atmosphere of London
for that of Ealing in 1792, and only came
to Harky-street during a month or two
of the winter : he sold the city-house ii|
l/O^^' At Ealing he died, in January
1801, in the seventy-third year of his age j
and bequeathed to the India Company
those parts of his library, chiefiy manu-
script, which related to the history, th0
literature, and the affairs, of tlie East. An-
quetil du Perron, who was a judge both
of the oriental and of the European ac-
quirements and information of Mr. Orme,
characterizes him as erudilissimvs ct veri^
tatis amaniminius Indict hi5toriographm»
(See the Oup'nechat, vol. ii. p. 7^5*)
The rank of Orme aniong our histori-
ans is not well ascertained or universally
agreed : he is seldom mentioned as the
rival, still less as the surpasser, of Robert-
son : yet we suspect that an impartial in*
quiry uito the relative merits of these two
writers would terminate in awarding the
preference to the native of Travancore.
Gibbon is the greatest of our historiims r
for appropriate learning and research ; for
judgment and sagacity in the conciliation
of testimony, and in tlie approbation of
character -, tor force of thought and state-
liness of diction ; he is alike admirable :
the fault of his matter is the disproportion
of the parts, of his style to narrate in abs-
tractions.
The second rank must be conceded to
Hume. The author of a dissertation on
the literary history of Scptland, prefixed
to some recent lives of the Scottish poets^
has thought fit (p. I67) to attempt the
degradation of Hume below Robertson,
with a zeal more honourable to his chris-
tian than to his critical orthodoxy. Of
Robertson's high merit we are amply
convinced : his best history however iS
that of Charles V. : great part of tlie work
respects the afiairs of the Germans ; yet
lie does not appear to have consulted a
single one of their native vernacular wri-
ters on the subject of these aflaurs. He id-
deficient therefore in the first quality of
an historian, research, in Thucydides, in
Tacitus, in Machiavelli, one admires a
strength of mmd, 3|n energy of intellect,
a thmking force, which soau^times revealj
ii4
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
itself in their burning words, sometimes
in the sharpness of their personal charac^
terizattons, sometimes in the depth of their
moral and political inferences and reflec-
tions. But who can find up in his com-
xoon-place book a single striking maxim
extracted from tlie writings of Bobertson ?
In wh^t are our statesmen tlie wiser for
his narration ? By the facts alone. He is
deficient then in a second desirable qua-
lity of the historian, which might not un-
aptly be termed thoughtfulness.
Hume also wants research. The His-
tory of the House of Tudor was his first
and his best historic effort :' that of the
House of Stuart is partial, and not sifted :
his Ancient History of England is noto-
riously inferior to that of Milton. But
Hume displays the thinker, exercises the
philosopher, and instructs the statesman.
Robertson's whole knowledge seems con-
fined to his topic J Hume's to embrace
every other : yet Hume is then most ex-
cellent, when he draws not from without,
but from within. The style of Robertson
is plain, not always clear, though often
picturesque. The style of Hume is tame,
but beautiflil ; it is far superior for purity,
euphony, precision, and selection of orna-
ment, to that of Addison, whom he imi-
tated : it is the transparent garb of ideas
shapen with the chisel of a master.
Without tlie strength of mind 9r the
c1as»cal learning of Gibbon and of Hume,
Mr. Orme excels the former in Ike pro-
portion and disposition of his matter, and
the latter in inquiry and fidelity. His
preliminary dissertation has been com-
pared and preferred to the introductory
book of Thucydides 5 to whom he is only
inferior in not decorating his speeches and
narrations with the inferences of a senten-
tious wisdom. Orme is a more instruc-
tive historian than Robertson: praaical
men can rely on the one, not on the
other. Compare the siege of Pondicherry
at the close of the first book of Orme,
witli the siege of Metz in the eleventh
book of Robertson : a military man will
better know how to invest Pondicherry in
future from Orme's account ; but nobody
can learn from Robertson how to defend
or attack Metz. The use of histoxy is to
preserve the lessons of experience.
In the characterization of individuals,
Orme draws his inferences from facts and
observations, not from the balance of testi-
mony : but Robertson leans wholly on tlie
accident of testimony 3 and, sooner than
miss an opportunity of drawing a pai'ade
character, he gives a fictitious importance
to insignificant men. Tlius for pope Mq|
cellus IJ[. he provides as pompoos a ;
gyiic, as if tliis old man had been el
for his efficacy, and not for his decrepil
The character of Luther, again, is a i
repetition, and a verj' tedious on«, of |
clesi^stical puffs 5 his low buffoonery,
his insincere use of vulgar credulity, in
serting the apparition of the devil, and]
professing to receive th^ Apoc^ypsc tt
having denied its canonicity, when
found it could be employed as a tod agrf
the church of Rome, are suppressed, 1
dishonestly^, by Robertson, but from^
norance of facts, which he seldom lo "
for at the source. How superior is C
character of Dupleii^, (book v. year 1]
where the grouxids of every panegyric I
recorded, and the most exepiplary audi
quisite justice is shewn to ai
Orme is superior to national prqu
Robertson, imbued even with sect
Orrae.coDtents himself with notipng ]
is peculiar; Robertson prolongs his (' '
adon with scholastic phrases, of univ
applicability. Orme paints finom natp
Robertson from books: Orme with
precision of portraiturerr-Robertson \
the vague distortion of the rhetoric
Orme has tpo great a crowd — Robert
too thin a groupe of agents. Orme C
our neglect to the strangeness of his {
sonages—* Robertson our favour to \hti
lebrity of his. Orme is growing- on 4
interest with the empire whose origiosl
sketched — Robertson is fiiding oa our I
terest with the dissolution of the re
and political parties which he de
but did not dare to criticise. Orme ]
the raciness, and foliage, and verdure, j|
living history^ sprung up among th€ rafl
and on the spot — IU>bertson the sear4
vested stateliness of the monu
trophy.
Qualis frugifero quercus sublimis in agiQ
Exuvias veteres populi, bacrat^que 9^sl«4
Dona ducum : nee jam validis iadicilNi|
haereiis,
Poudere fixa suo est, nudosque per aMIl
rauios ' I
Effundcns, trunco, nom firondibus, e&i |
umbrani. ,
The works collected in this vohiroe fooftJ
an essential appendix to OnT»e*s Hi^^.
of the Military Transactions of the BritiA
Nation in Hindostan. They consist »
the Historical Fragments of the Mojt
Empire, first published in 1/62 i andii
three posthumous publications, drawn if
on specific occasions 3 namely, l£t,.Qri(f>
orme's historical fragments^ &c«
215
of d^ Eflgltib Establishment at Broach ami
^ SoTitt. 2d, Idea of the Government and
I 9b7ple of Indofttan. 3d^ Eifeminacj of
^Ibe ioluibitants of Indos tan. These tracts
Ijre accon]{>anied with maps, with some
Wiciditiiins, and with a biography of tiie
badior. From the last of these disserta-
^OQSy which constitute the only wholly
j^ew portion of the volume, we shall bor-
' some valuable observations.
I • " This great extent of co\mtry has, from
|be earliest antiquity, bwn inhabited by a
iieople wjio have no resemblance, either in
p^'iT litres or manners, with any of the ua-
|bas ».jich arlr contiguous to them ; and al-
Itibough th»::«e nations have, at dili'erent times,
ieiit conquerors amon;^ them, wlio liave
Btabiished thems(*1ves in dliVerent parts of the
ppuntry ; althoi^h the Mo^l Tartars, under
Taiumane, and his succesors, have, at last,
^pidered theniseives lords of almost the whole
flfit, vtft have the .original inhabitants lost
tey litde of Iheu- origi'.ial cliaracter by tiies3
wtures ; contrary to the effects of conquc^st
Ik all the Christian, and in most of the Maho-
IBPdan empire's, in which Cyrus, Vercinge-
•brix, an4 Caesar, if risen from the drad,
WMid not distinguish any tra- es of the men
^lAo obeyed them in Persia, in Gaul, and in
Jtibf ; but tkis might Poms in India, on the
nry i^ot in which be submitted to Alexander.
• " Besides the particular denominations
llrfiich they Deceive firoui the casts and couih
^Ififs in which they are bom, there is one more
fPiKTal, which is applied mdiscriminately, to
wtii^itsh the origuial natives from all who
feve intruded themselves an^ongst them ;
ifieadoo, from whence iodian. And throagh-
«it the miHioits of Indians which inhabit lo-
^fetaxaithough situated at such distances as
•oold^ffice to form them into several dis-
tinct natbns, are visible the strongest marks
rfooe general character, in their dispositions,
m thdf olwervances, and in their form.
_ *' TTie colour of the Indbns is, generaljy^
Aher that of copper, or of the olive, but both "
with various sha<ie3. It is not absolutely' the
pmximity of the inhabitant to the e({uator,
that determines his complexion in India ; other
I^hnical causes, from ditferences which arise
33 by starts, in regions equally distant from
thesun: and it is in their a>mpIexion tiiat less
national generality is found, than in any other
of the properties of thchr figure: some are
ahwHt black ; but these are either inhabitants
of the woods, or people inured to labour and
Htlgues uncommon to the rest of their coun-
try men.
*' TTie hair of the Indians is, without ex-
wptifln, bug, fine, and of a jet black. The
*ose, if not always auuiline, is never buried
ifi the fiice, nor with large distorted nostrils,
•siatheCoiiirees of Africa", and in tlie Malay
Wlians. '1 heir lips, though in general larger
««l ia Euro|ieaus, have nothing of that dis-
•gewble piotuberancy projectmg beyond
^ix»e, which charaCtenseft^the two people
just mentioned. The eyebrows are full in the
men, slender in the women, well placed in
both. The eyeild is of the doest form,--4ong^
neither openmff circularly, as in many of the
inhabitants of h ranee, nor scarce ojpening at
all, as in the Chinese. The iris is alway$'
blacky but rarely with lustre, exoeptii^ in
their children, and in some of their women :
nor is the white of the eye perfectly clear from
a tinge of yellow ; their countenance, there-
fore, recmes little animation, but rather a
certain air of lansuor, from this feature.' From
the nostrils to the middle of the upper lip
they have an indenture, strongly marked by
two ridges, seldom observable in the northern
Europeans, but often in the Spaniard and
Portuguese ; and frx>m the middle of the
under lip there is another s\ich indenture,
which loses itself a little above the chins
these lines, chiefly remarked in persons of
their habits, give an air of sagacity to the men,
and of delicacy to the physiognomy of the
women. The outline of the mce is various,
ofteneroval than of any other form, partial-*
larly in the women ; and this variety of out-
line is another of the principal cnaracter»
which dist'mguisheth the Indian from the
Tartar as well as Malay ; whose faces are
universally of the same shape ; that is, as
broad as tney are loiig.
** The climate of India is di^ded into two
seasons: from the month of October to
March, the wind continually blows from the
northern, and in the other months frx)m the
southern points of the compass. These sea-
sons, called by navigators monsoons, are su>
pended twice in the year, for the space of
tweiity or thirty days, whilst one of the rciign-
irig wuids is losing and the other acquinng
strength. The southern winds, nassiug through
regions inflamed by a perpendicular sun, and
accompanying its ^proacn, diminish DOtfajng
of its ipducnce ; the season of their duration
is, t^ierefore, very hot indeed. The northern
winds, after havioe scoured the vast plains of
Tartary, receive additional keenness m their
passage over the summits of mount Caucasus,
covered with eternal sno^i-s : they bring in-
tense cold into the countries which lay at the
foot of these mountains ; but do not carry
more than a very riwderate degree of it be-
yond the 30th decree of latitude; for as,
(taring the whole time of their continuance,
the air is pure and unclouded, the sun has
always heat at noon ; and so much in the
southern parts of India as to mve Europeans
ver}' little, if any sense of c6ld, not more than
that of the month of June in England.
" The texture of the human frame in India,
seems to bear proportion ^th the rigidity of
the northern monsoon, as that does with' the
distance from Tartary ; but as in the southern
monsoon heats are felt at the very foot of
mount Caucasus, intense as in any part of
India, very few of the inhabitants of Indostan
are x^ndowcd with the nervous strength, or
athletic size, of the robustest nations of
Europe.
'< On the contrary, «mthward of Lahore,
US
HISTORY, POUnCS, AND STATISTICS.
we 8^ , dirou|}^put Indi% 9 race of men,
whose make, physiognomy, and muscular
strenj^h', ' convey ideas of an effeminacy
Itrliicll surprizes when pursued through such
aumbers of the species, and when compared
to the form of the European who is making
the observation. The sulor no sooner lands
on the coast, than nature dictates to him the
AiIl result of this comparison ; he brandishes
his stick in sport, ' and puts iifty Indla^is {0.
Aght in a moment : confirhned' in his con-
tempt of a pusillanimity, &nd*an incapacity
^ ci resistance^, suggested to him by their uhy-
siognomy and fomi, it is well if he recollects
that the poor Indian is still a man.
" The muscular strength of the Indian is
siill less than might be expected firom the
appearance of the texture of his fraine. Two
English sawyers have performed in one day
the wurk of thirty- two Indians: allowances
made for the ditfert nee of dexterity, and the
advantage of European instrumei.ts, the dis-
parity is still very great; and would have
oeen piorc, had the Indian been obliged to
have wofked with the instrument of the Eu-
ropeans, as he would scarcely have been able
to have wielded it.
*' As much as the labourer in Indostan k
deficient in the capacity of exerting a great
deal of strength at an onset, so is he endowed
with a certam suppleness throughout all his
frame, which enables him to work loqg in his
own degree of labour; and which renders
those contortions and postures, which would
cramp th^nhabitaut of northern regions, no
constraint to him. There are not more extra-
ordinary tumblers in the world. Their mes-
sengers will ffo fifty miles a day, for twenty or
thirty days, without intermission. Their m-
fantry march fester, and with less weariness,
than Eruropeans ; but could not march at all,
if they were to carry the same baggage and
socoutrements.
** Exceptions to this general defect of ner-
"^Tous strength, are founa in the inhabitants of
the mouiitahis which run in ranges, of various
directions, tiiroughout the contment of In-
dostan. In these, even under the tropic, *
£uro];>eans have met with a savage whose
bow they could scarcely draw to the head of
a ftmnidable arrow, tinged with the blood of
tigers, whose skins hp oilers to sale. Excep-
tions to the general placid countenance of the
.Indians, are found in the inhabitants of the
woods, who,1iving chiefly on their chace, and
perpetually alarmed bv summons and attacks
from tlic princes of the plains, for tributes
withheld, or ravages committed, wear an air
of dismay^ suspicion, treachery, and wildness>
. which renders them hideous ; arid would ren-
der €hem terrible, if their physiognomy car-
ried in it any thing of the fierceness of the
mountaineer.
*' The stature of the Indian is various : the
northern inhabitant is as taU as the generality
of our oWb nation: more to the south their
height diminishes remarkably ; and on tlie
coast of Coromandel we meet with many
whcw^ Stature would appear dwarfish, if this
idea was not taken off l^ the sltmiiesa naA
ret^ularity of their figure. Brought into tbr
world with a fiiciilty uijkuown to- the labours
of European womvn; never shackled in theH
infancy by ligatures ; sleeping on their bark%
without pillows ; they are, m general, very-
straight;, and there are few . deformed persoofti
ainongst them.
" Cabour produces not the same effect osv
the human. nrame in Indostan as in other
ccfuntries : the cpmmon people, of all sorts,
are a diminutive race, in compariion witH
those of higher . casts and better fortune^;
and yield stiil more to them, in all the advaiH
tages of physiognomy. Prohibited from roar-».
r)^mg out of their respective tribes, every csst
sei ras to preserve its respective proportion
of health aud beauty, insanity and ugliness
There is not a handsomer race in the uuiivrsea
than the Banians of Guzerat : the Haram^
cores, whoce business is to rcniovvi aU Vuadx
ot filth, and theburyers and bi'mers otdead
bodies, are as remarkably iiely.
" Kature seems to. have showered beauty .
on the fairer sex throughout Ind jstan, with
a more lavisli hand than in most other c^unn
tries. I'hey are all, without ex:ceptioa, fit
to be mdrried before thirteen, aud wijnided.
before thirty— flowers of too short a duration,
not to he delicate ; and top delicate to last*
long. Segregated from the company ot the.
other sex, and strangers to tiic ideas' ot zt-
tracting attention, they are only the hand-,
somer for this ignorance ; as we see in theaj,
beauty in the "noble simplicity of naU're. . ,
Hints have already been given of their phy- j
siognomy : theh* skins are of a pjl:sh aB<l
softness beyond that of all their rivcJs Qnihc. i
globe; a statuary would not succeed better j
m Greece itself, in hi^ pursuit of the Greciaa ^
form ; aud although, in the men, he would ^
find nothing to furnish the ideas of the Fai^ »
nesian Hercules', he would find, in the women^ ,
the finest hints of the Medicean \'euiis, .
'* If we consider the impo.^sibilily of a, .
stranger being admitted into any one cast* ,
to which a Bramin w'dl administer any 0/ l<ii
sacerdotil functions, and tlie universal, re-
striction of marriage to persons of the saiiic
cast, we shall not be surprized to find tiiat
the Indian has pa'ser\'ed hL», physio^nomj.
from a resemblance with any ot his neigt
hours.
" Montesquieu attributes much to the ef- .
feet of climate ; and Ids critics impute to him,
to have attributed much more, to this clfjCt
than he really does. It is ceitain, that tiiere
Is no climate in which we may not find the
same effects produced in the huinan species, •
as in climates entirely dilTerent in situation,.,
and in every other cucumstauce. I'he Sy- '
bacites, whose territory' was not n\orc than a .
day's journey from the country of the Hora-
tii, the Cincinnati, and the Scipios, were
more effeminate than the subjects 01 Sardar
napaliis ; and there are Sybarites at this day, „
in the country of Vercingetorix. The Britons, .
although they possess, at this day, all the
courage of their painted ancestors, who 6eat
OKMs*s HISTORICAL VKAaif BKTS^ 8ee«
21T
tt? smiest general of the worid out of th^ir
f ountn*, are, doubtless, incapahle of bearing
l&e tiem the fatigues and iurdships of a cam-
" Bat it would be to contradict all our
feelings, not to allow that it is much more
difirult to bring the human race to particu-
lar Laoits m some countries than in others.
To make a^ Sybarite oi' an' inhabitant of the
50th d<^ree of latitude, inrinite inventions
om.^ have been carried to the greatest degree
of perfection : apartments must he closed
and fuelled so as to fender the alterations of
Ktxkk little sensible to iiim : he must be
carried in vehicles, contrived to be as warm
as tiif a^^aitments he leaves,, and almost as
easj^as the chair in which he slumbers : his
fKKi must be every tiling that 13 not simple.
** To* produce the same eifect in such a
climate and such a country as Indostan; uo-
tising is necessary but to ^ive the man bis
daily food. Tfie effect ot the sun on the
peri^'iration of the human body, together with
the saitne^ of the air, render this sifcrv-^lion in
India more powerful than the effect of labour
io oC*er countries. The awkward constraint
vising from rest in northern climates, is the
calt 0f nature to throw oif sometliing ob-^
ooccijus to the habit, or to quicken the cir-
cuLtion into wannth. Sensibie of neither of
these impulses, and satisfied with the present
«£&>« oi ease, tiie inhabitant ot ludostan has
mcoucejtion of any tiling salutary in the use
of ex ociie ; and receiving no agreeable sen-
sation from it, esteems it, in those ndt ob-
liged to it by necessity, ridiculous, or tlie
effect of a discontented spirit.
" This general tendency to indolence })emg
admitted, we shall find nature encoiiraging
the.niiiit.
" 11>e savage, by his chace, and the per-
petual ^-ar in which ne lives iJitli the elements,
B enabled to devour, almost raw^ the flesh of
the animals he has killed. In more civilized
nations, the plowman, from his labour, is
enabled to vligest, hi its coarsest preparations,
the wheat he has sown. Either of these foods
would destroy the common inhabitant of In-
doitan : as he exists at present his food is
wee.
" To provide this erain, we see a man of
lU) musailar streh^n carrying a plow on
his shoulder to the tield, which the season or
rcseiTOTrs of water have overflown. This
■lender instruhient of his agriculture, yoked
to a pair of diminutive and feeble oxen, is
traceJl, with scarce the impression of a fuiTow,
over the ^ound, which, is afterwards sown.
The retnaining labour consists in supplying
the iieid with water ; which is generally el-
ected by no greater a toil tiian undamming
the canals, which derive from the great teser-
voir. ' If, in some places, tliis water is drawn
from wells, in most parts of India it is sup-
plied bv rab ; as thence in tliose parts where
the laiy season is of two or three months*
duration^ is always sown just before this sea-
son begins. When reapeS, tlu: N^omeu sepa-
rate the gr^Jn from the*hui, ip wooden map-
tars, or It ife trampled by oxen, instead of
hedges, the field is inclosed with a slendor
bank of earth.
" A gtaiu obtained with so little labour,,
has tlie property of being the most easily di-
gestible of any preparation used for food,
is therefore the only, proper one for su
effeminate race as 1 nave described. ^
is wheat in India ; it is produced only '
sliarper regions, where rice wlQ not so eaS
grow, and \5'^here the cultivator acqunes z
' tinner fibre tlian the uihabitant of the plain. ^
It was, probably hitroduced wilh.t(jp ^Vlcorau*
as all the Mahomedans of no Ahern extract iua
prefer it to rice, as muclj as an Indian re-
jects a nourisJiment which he caiuiot well cfi*
gest, even in its finest preparation.
** Water is the only drink of every Indian^
respectable enough tp be admitted into their
assemblies of |,ublic woi-ship, as idl inebriatin*
liouor? are forborn, through a principle <J
religion ; not that the soil is wanting m pre-.
Ructions proper to compose tiie m«st intox-.
icating, nor tlieiuselvei in tlie art of preparing,
them for the outcasts of their o.wn nation, or'
others of persuasions different from tlieir own,
who chuse to get drunk. They have not
©equally been able to refrain from the use oi,
spices, and these, the hottest, without which^
they never mgke a meal. Ginger is pro- ^
duced in their gardens, as ea^iily as radijhei^
are in oui*s: and. chilli, the highest of all ve-.
ffctable productions used for tbocJ|p in?5omudi.
fliat it will blister the skin, gi'ows spontane-]
ously : these, with turmeric, are the principal,
mgredients of their cookery, and by thdr
plenty are always witJiin the reach of the
poorest. A total abst'uience from aiiimci
lood is not so . generally observed amongst
them as is imagmed ; even tlie Bramins wiJI'
eat fish; but as they never prepare either
fisJi or flesh, without mixing them with much
greater quantities of spices than Europeanf
suffer in their racouts, animal food never
makes more than the slig)itest portion oftivir
meal ; and the preference of vegetables, of
which they have various kinds in plenty, if
decisively marked amongst them alL fhe.
cow is sacred every where: milk, from a
supposed resemblance with the amortamor
nectar of their gods, is religiously esteemed
the purest of .foods, and receives the pre-,
ference to vegetables in their nou'ishment.
*' If the rice harvests should fail, which,
sometimes happens, in some parts of India,'
there are many other resources to prevent the
inhabitant from perishing : tliere are grains of
a coai-ser kind and larger volume tlian rice,
which require not the same continuation <^.
"heat, and at tlie same time the same supulies
of water, to be broitght tp perfection: there
are roots, sueh as the Indian potatoe, radish,
and others of the turnip kind, which, without .
manure, acciuire a lar»?er si/e than the same
species of ve.u;etiiblc in "Europe, \\hen assisted
with all the arts ofaqjriculture, although much
inferior to those of Peru, of which Garcilussa,
31t
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
della Vega gYve» so astomshiag a (lescriptioii:
there ve ground fruits of the pumpkin and
melon kinia, which come to maturity with the
ssime focilHy, agd of which a single one i^ suf-
ficient to furnish a meal for tfiree persons,
ivho receive sufficient nourishnient from this
sleadgr (fiet. The fruit-trees of other coun-
td^^mish delicacies to the inhabitant, and
J^Hiy anv thin^ more ; in India there are
^P^ whicli fiirnish at once a delicacy and no
cont^ptlble nourishnient : the pahli and tlie
C(Koa-trees gi\'e in their large nuts a gelati-
nous substance, on which men, when forced
to the experience by necessity, have subsisted
for fifty days : the jack-tree produces a rich,
glew^', and nutritive firuit : the papa and tlie
plantain-tree grow to perfection, and give
their fruit witntn the year : the plantain, in
•omc of its kinds, supplies the plaoe of bread,
and in all is of excellent nourisliment. I'hese
are not all the presents which the luxuriant
hand of nature gives as food to the inhabitant
if India ; but as the natural history of this
country is reserved for more diligent and able
enquirers, this imperfect enumeration is surti-
cteilt to prove that the Indian, incapable as
he is of hard labour, can rarely run the risk of
being famished ; and that, from the plenty
which surrounds him, he is confirnied m the
tiebility m which we now see his frame.
" Nature has made tjiem still other pre*
•ents, which supply many oUier of their wants,
without exacting 'from tJicm the exertion of
BMich labour. The bamboo, which grows
every where, requires only one stroke of the
Itatchet to split it from one end to the other,
and to divide it yito laths of all lengths, and
of the smallest sizies ; at the same time that,
intire, it is large and strong enough to jerve
as the support of such houses as the climate
demands ; for in the greatest part of Indostan
the bare earth affords a repose, without the
danger of diseases to so temperate a people.
The palm and the cocoa-nut-tree give their
large fan leaves, which naturally separate
intosevcral long divisions, with which a mat
may be made in a few minutes : a numlier of
these mats laid oyer the scaffolding, erected
widi no other matenak than tiie bamboo and
packthread, compose, in a day^ a house, in
which the Indian may Hve for six months, in
those parts of Indostan which are not subject
to much rain. If a better house is re.juirttd,
walls of mud are carried up to the height of
six or se\'en feet, and rendered, in a few chiys,
extremely hard, by the Intense heat of tlie
sun : these are covered with tiiatch, made of
rishes, or the straw of rice ; and many per-
son* of goad casts, and far from distress in
their fortunes, even Bramins, are satisfied
with such a ha^Jitation. There are brides,
and very good ones, in India ; but a brick
house is* a certain mark that tlie inhabitant is
extravagant or rich.
** The sun forbids the use of fuel m any
part of the year, as necessary to procure
warmth ; and what is necessary to dre^s their
victuals, is chiefly supplied by ibe dang of
their cows.
*' The want of raiment is scarce an idcoin
yenience ; and the most wealthy remain, by
choice, almost naked, when in their own
families, and free from the interconfse (4
strangers; so that all the manufactures of
cloth, for which India is so famous, derive
more froni tlie decency of their character, the
luxurious taste of a rich and enervated pe(H
pie, and from the spirit of commerce vnich
has prevailed among them from time imnip-
morial, than from wants really felt ; and if the
manufacture of a piece of cloth was not tiw
least laborious task in wliich a man Cu.t Im
employed in India, it is probable that the
whole nation would, at tliis day, be as naked
as their Gymnosophists, of which the anciente
say so much, and knew so little. Breatliin^
in the softest of climates ; haviiig so few rti
wants ; and receiving even the luxuries of
other natioiis with little labour, from thefeF
tility of their own soil ; the Indian must be-
come the most effeminate inhabitant of the
globe ; and this is the very point at which ve
now see him."
The fouodej-s of the printing-prcisat
Calcutta, have prepared the obliteration ot
these enduring habits. Where printing
is unknowD, tradition supplies (be place
of recorded experience : it is there, mfact,
tlie most perfect form of preserving the
inferences drawn by our ancestors, from
their local observation. It is entitled to
the same sort of deference and obedience
whicl; we Europeans shew, in manyquesr
tions of morals, to the opinion of th&
higher classes, or o( the world, where.our
sacred books, and- our moral philosophers,
have decided differently from the world.
It does not follow^ that a prevailing prac-
tree IS wrong, because tlie motive for it
has not yet been translated into words, and
intelligibly recorded. But now that we
print about every thing, and about nothing
more frequently or more usefblly than the *
moral habits of the several peoples of the
earth, every nation in its turn is put on
the defensive, and obliged to account foF
its practices, or to abandon them. ITic
authority of ridicule is a counterpoise to
the authority of tradition. Laugliter is,
in almost all cases, a retrograde motion of
traditional impressions. The satyrist, the
comic writer, the novelist, so soon as they
can diffuse, in the language of the Hin-
doos, their criticisms, can cause to be
dropped, by imitation, whatever practice
was learned by imitation j unless there is
a reason in nature, a cause founded in the
circumstances of the time and place, tor
such practice. Ridicule is never success-
ful against a rational practice, becaxise
men return to it for the same reasons
which occasioned its institution; lljey
learn again^ experimentally, what the;
«AIKSPO&]>'S ACCOUNT 0^ THE BLACK EttPIRE OP HATH.
*^5
Iti kft off from Ignorance of the motives
iriiich led to its adoptioq^ they come
again a po$terimi to the usage which an a
prwri syUogtst had exploded , If they re-
cofd their experience when they resume
fbeir usage, ridicule not only can never
triumph again, bqt cannot even he brought
to bear against such psage. We can ho
more laugh at a proposal to reverse actions
wisely willed, than at a paralytic stroke.
Where uiaqriage tal^es place sp early as
in indostan, tradition needs to have great
weight The boy and girl housekeepers
could not gp on, unless they took almost
f very action of {ife upon trust, and ma-
nagni by imitation like their parents.
By the time they hav^ learnt they have
got to teach the arts of life': not the
sUcfatest intervali during which the ac-
quirements of education could be com-
pared with the wants of society, is al-
iowed. The child must be educated ex-
actly like its parents, or not educated
at all, vh^reyer the system of very early
inarriage prevails. Early gestation short-
cos the endurance of feminine beanty.
This circumstance, added to the legal
permission of divoroe, must render the
proportion of faded widows, whose en-
liowmenU are coveted, very considerable
in the East; aqd may have favoured that
Aw. IV.— ^Ji Historical AccourU of the Black Empire qfHayii : Comprehending a Vietj
af the principal Transactions in the Revolution of St, Domifigo, 'xiih its yJncitnt and
Modem State. By Marcus Rainsford, Esq. late Captain of the Third IFest-lndia Re-
Simem, ifc. 4rc. . 4fo. pp. 467.
inhuman state of opinion in which wldow^^
burning was preached into vogue. la
order to abolish the practice, our oriental
novelists sliould make the attack on the
surviving relations, and represent them
9s in conspiracy with the priest, to seize
and divide the property of the sacrificed
enthusiast. Let it become a disgrate to 4
family, that, from eagerness to inherit.,
it avoided to dissuade the voluntary deati^
of a m«ther. But these are speculntions,
in which it is rash to iqdcilge without
local observation,
These, like all the other productions cf
Mr. Qrme, will be a lasting honour tp his
country : nor has the utility derived from
them, practically, been less conspicuous
than their literary merit. We trust that
the possessors of tlie History will occa-
sion a sufficient demand to clear off the
copies printed of this supplemental volume,
and that a new edition of the works of
Orme, chronologically arranged, will
speedily illustrate the London pvess. —
We are not convinced that Mr. Orme's
orthography of proper names ought al-
ways to be respected; and we reconunehd
that, at least in the indexes, the odental
orthography be given in Persian cha-
racters.
CAPTAIN Marcus Rainsford has pass-
fd about twenty-five years of his life in
the British service, and was on duty in
the West Indies during the late war, at
the time of the attack on St. Domingo.
After the evacuation of the island by 3ie
British troops^ ^Ir. Rainsford took occa-
sion to embark in Jamaica for Martinique,
on board a Danish schooner, the Maria,
which was overtaken by a hurricane, and
obliged to seek refuge in Cape Frant^ois 3
it was thought mo^t expedient and most
safe to announce him as an American pas-
senger, in which capacity he was freely
receh'ed by Toussaint UOuverture, and
Csw much of the internal composition of
the black republic. The information col-
k<'*ted during that interesting residence was
laid before the public in a small book,
which was reviewed in our first volume.
Other particulars have since been collected
of the negro-insurrection, an introductory
history of St. Domingo is prefixed, public
papen and documenii are reprinted as an
appendix, and thus a great book has grown
out of a short and accidental visiC. The
map has merit : the other engravings de-
merit.
The introduction contains an analysis.
of the principal sources of intelligence
consulted by the author. He calls ih«
Abbe Rayni's work an able compilation :
we think otlierwise. The information it
offers cx)ncerning the West Indies may bfc
more trust-worthy than that concerning
the East Indies ; but he who asserts after
the Abb^ Raynal risks rashly ; and he who
enquires after him will usually find that
ihuch was narrated as true which is wholly
invented and fictitious, tliat more was al-
ready known than his pretended diligence
collected, and that his declamatory inter-
ences are politically unwise. Tlie Abb6
Raynal's is, in tlie literary world, a dropt
book : his intelligence is derivative, and'
his sources must all be reconsulted.
The first chapter of this history gives a
sucuiict view of the fi>rtuues of St. Do-
7M
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATTSTICS.
nringo or Hajii, from its discovery by 0>*
hunibus in 1492 to its highest prosperity
during the penultimate peace. The sta-
tistical is better executed than the histori-
cal intOTnation. A curious but inaccu-
rate assertion occurs, that the food of tlie
early inhabitants of St. Domingo has been
the model of nourishment for the negro-
•laves throughout the West Indies.
•'The food of the early inhabitants of St .
Domingo, appears to have comprised a simi-
lar description of vegetable^ to that of the ne-
groes at this day: plahtzdns, Indian wheat,
millet, tiie cassavi root, potatoes, and Carib-.
bee cabbage. Their quadrupeds included the
tnialicr species of a lizard, yet the delicacy of
» West India table ; the Agouti rat, of
which a description are yet found in some of
the islands ; and the ako, a small sliort-tailed
dog, which did not bark, with otheirs viiose
names have not come, down to us. Their
Ushery was more abundant, every bay and
creek furnishing an ample supply, as many of
them do to the present time. 1 he" European
quadmpeds now supply the necessary food of
Europe colonists, with only such local ad-
ditions as are objects of delicacy, or introduced
by custom ; amonc these may be named the
land crab, the ortolan, and a variety of wild
iovri of delicious taste and flavour, lite indi-
genous vegetables yet, rcmain,t including plan-
tains) yams, a speciies of spinage, potatoeSj^
cassava, Indian wheat, and cabbage; to
these are added the European roots, herbs, and
pulse ; and no want is found of cabbage, tur-
nips, carrots, par8nips,peas, beans, artichokes,
&c. A variety of miits ornament the luxury
of the table,, amone which the melon and pu^e-
apple, peaches ana 'strawberries, oranges and
lemons, the cashew, apples, pears^lums, and
nals, are |>Ienteou8ly combined witn a variety
of productions introduced firom dilTerent coun-
tries."
The second chapter treats of the origin
cf the revolutionary spirit in St. Domingo.
> This is justly enougn ascribed to the
French revolution, to the discussions it oc-
casioned, to the various elective assem-
blages of the inhabitants for sending depu-
ties to the states-general, and to the society
of the friends of the blacks ; but above
all, to the versatile legislation of the Na-
tional Assembly, which left to each party
the hope of the eventual aid of govern-
ment. There is, however, a remoter cause,
which may produce analogous eflFects else-
where ; the very large proportion of opu-
lent and free people d colour, who en-
joyed the advantages of education, and in*
curredthe morti^catious of exclusion. St.
Domingo, being the oldest of all the Eu-
ropean settlements in America, is natur-
ally stocked with a larger share of creole
population : unless care had'been taken t*
connect political privileges with property
and not with skin^ it was natural to find,
at any opportunity of commotion, a com-
mon cause mad0 against the white intra*
der first, and next against the slave-owner.
We admire a bronze statue, no less than a
statue of marble j it is a foolish prejudice
of the eye not to know how to detect the
^ forms of beauty, and the expressions of
intellect, in hving olive-coloured figures.
Addison holds up his Cato as approving
the addresses of the black Joba to his
dauglUer j but such intermarriages have
been too rarely encouraged by the European
planters, to bring about a community of
interest among those privileged classes,
whose labour is not saleable by their em-
ployer.
Tiie third cliapter gives an account of
the progress and accomplishment of the
independence of St. Domingo! Much use
is made of Mr. Edwards's excellent narra-
tive. The following relation occurs of
the capture of Port-au-Prince by the Eng-
lish, whom certain planters had invii^
over.
" The caphn-c of Bizotton determined the
fate of Port-au-Prince. The party remained
in the fort tjll joined by the main body of the
army from L* Arcahaye, which, one part by
huid, and the other by sea, made its approach
on tlie side next the rich plain of Cul de .Sac
On the 4th of June they arrived within three
i.iilcs of the to\vn, and, at ten in tlie momio^,
the detachment of colonel Spencer man hei
to occupy a post on tlie- heights behind the
capital. When they had advanced about half
way they were met by a mulatto woman, who
acquainted them, to their surprise, with its
evacuation. Colonel deChannilly, with iiftf
of the Colonial cavalry, were dispatched to as-
certain the fact, which they found as she had
stated ; and they immediately took possession
of the fort of the gafe of I^gane. About
half an hour after, a crj'^ was heard from a cck
lar m a very concealed ^tuation, andujx)&the
door being l>roke open, a negro was discover-
ed, surrounded by barrels of gunpowder. Thf
unhappy wretch 'had be«5i placed there, ac-
(ordiiig to the opinion of M. de Charmillr,
the preceding niglit, ,to blow them up at a cer-
tain time, but his match being extnguisiied.
his oun life, as well as that of those who sur-
rounded him, were thus spared by niercacdr.
dent.
*' The fort De T/HApital was the next to be
taken possession of, which was accomplished
in the same manner, but with the appearances
of imminent danger they e9cape<l with their
lives ; for here the commissioners had planned '
their prinri|>al blow to destroy the new mas-
ters of Ih * place, which had been defeated by
the rain just nientioned, A train of powder*
HAINSFOHU'S ACCOtJNT OF THB SLACK tHPIKE OF HATTt.
Ill
%S5 found reaching from the magazine, (where
several of the barrels had their bottoms
ioocked cot, and the powder strewed about
tk Hoor,) to die thickets behindthefort ; the
irLole, fortuuately , was wet, and by precaution
fvcry acciiiout was prevented.
" Fort liobiu« iii wliich were between two
and three hundred men, who liad reius,ed to
Jiy vith the Qonimissioners, readily surren-
dircd to M, cK: Charmilly. I'he Barou de
Montalciubcrt was sent to take possession of
Fort St Joseph, which commanded tiie gate
of the town leading to the Cul de Sac^ and a
ddachineut of troops from Leogane went to
Ihe Fort de St. Claire, llnis, in a few hours,
the English were in full possession of Port-au-
Priijce. The commodore, who had entered
the road, look j)ossession of Fort de Tlslet,
and sent in a British flag, 'which De Chamiil*
It hoisted at Port Robin, with sensations that
are (^er to be felt than destTibed- " I con-
lidcred," says he, ** this happy event as a re-
compeace accorded me ' by fate for all my
Ub^txrs, and all my troubles'in the salvation oi
St. Domingo," At six o'clock General
Whyte arrived.
. •' Sufh u-as the qapturc of tliis important
capital, whose character and wealth had teuipt-
td ever} person employed in the uit ended
conquest of the island. Within the compass
of its lines wtTe one himdred anil thirty-one
Jjieces of caniH)n regularly mounted in batte-
ries. In the Iiarbour were twenty-two vessels
laden with sugar, indigo, and cbflee, of which
thirteen were from three to lave himdred tons
hurthen, besides seven thousand tons of ship-
ping in ballast, in value amounting to 400,000/.
A Booty much more considerable was con-
veyed away |i>y the commissioners, who loaded
.two hundred mules witli their riches, and car-
lied ajray near two thousand persons in their
tzain, Having previously arranged thcu" af*
Jbm, and findmg the people of colour, (of
vriioae aid they had only intended to avail
ihemsdves teniporarily,) possessed of the
vrbole natural strength of the island, under the
mulatto Rigaud, and a negro named Toussamt
L'Ouvcfture, they soon after quitted the co-
lony, consigning immense wealth both to Ame-
rica and France, leavuig Gener^ Laveaux in
,the character ot commander in chief; and re-
tuiued to Fran9e, where they received from
the government presiding at that time a sanc-
tion of. theic {»roceeding. Polverel soon after
died, the victim of a life of dissi])ation, but
Santhonax lived to. pay .the colony a trium-
phal t^-
"Much controversy Jias existed on the idea
4if ahme private arrangement liaving taken
:piace betwetsi them and the commodore, with
:arhoDi several ila^ of truce passed during the
those days.in which the detachment from the
army waui kept inactive. How' this was has
JKJKT be^ explained, but from the situation
•of theroad from Portsiu-Prtnce to Jacmel, it
IS clear, that Uieir retreat might have been in-
terrupted, and, according to some, the fate of
the colony deteradoed. l^)ieaiately after
Port-au-lVince came into the possession of
the British, more than three thousand armed
inhabitants assembled *m the town, ready t»
undertake any enterprize for the further re-
duction of the colony. Unfortunately, no use
was made of the present advantages, .out what
theyaiforded in profit; thus an opportunity
was lost, which, as is oilen the case, never
occurred again.
** The capture of Port-au-Prince, so muck
dcsii-ed, se^ms to have fbrmi»d the heigiit of
British power in St. Domingo. " From that*
period the affairs of its possessions,*' says ail
old English ofHcer employed oh th^ spot^
" began to decline in proportion, as it were^
to the vast accumulation of expence; auA
all was languor, disease, or pecutation.** As
soon as the general satis£action gave way to
the necessary consideration for defence, the
soldiery were compelled to assist in raising In-
trenchments ou the side of the town next the
mountains by day, and to perform military
duty at nignt, thereby sufiering the effects^
alternately, of the sun and the dew. Many of
these men had been six months on ship-board*
and the season was unfavourable to them. At
this unfortunate iuncture arrived the Experi-
ment frigate,-'Witn the remainder of the troopt
o'rderec^ from the Windward Islands, under
the conunand of the Honourable Lieutenant-
coloi^l I^nnox, consisting ' of eight fiaiik
• companies belonging to the 2:2d, 23d, 25tlv
and 4lst regiments. Now conmienced la
St. Domingo the ravages of that contagioiv
which, with a power more terrible tlian ordi-
nanr death itself, has bereft so manj &miUei
of their hopes, and cut off the flower of a pro*
ipising army, without the gratificatioii ofaa
honourable conflict.*!
This chapter and the ensutng one, or
fourth, are more complete than the two
first chapters -, they throw a new and ori-
ginal light on many incidents and trans-
actions, and oiFer important warnings ta
nigh communities. A good sketch m
given of the state of manners resulting
from the independence of the blacks $
this is the most racy portion of the history;
it is not repeated from' the observations of
other writers, but painted in a lively man*
ner from personal inspection. The mili-
tary exercises of the bla\:ks are stated ta
resemble those of our rifle-corps, and to be
performed witli admirable skill and cele-
rity. S'ubordiniitiqn, or rather distinction
of rank, is known only in tlie field ; the
drummer, the private, and the colonel,
dine at tlie same ordinary, and take a new
precedence b/ seniority^ or by the acci-
dent of arrival.. Those of me blacks,,
who have attained to prosperity during the
revolution, as many have done by tlie sa-*
laries of office and the appropriation of
spoil, live with a more than European
m
tnsTOftX> tourics, ani> statistic^
IKNDp and etiquette*^ they gladly employ
knalatto servants. To the American mer-
chants, who bring over what they want,
they are hospitable and attached. Many
Americans have settled among them, and
have married rich women of colour. They
have French plays : the mass of actors are
negroes, but a few French players remain
to instruct and to chieftain the rest. The
negroes are very fond of the theatre, as
well as of music and dancing, and bil*
liards. They eat dogs. They practise
polygamy. They labour less tlian before,
but enough to provide for tlieir simplified
wants. The love of country ' and of inde-
pendence is loud : no invader would have
much chance of success. They venerate
the memory of Polverel and Santhonax.
'•The situation (says our tniYcHer) of those
who still remaioed in humble privacv, and
who fomied the great bulk of the people, was .
indeed very greatly changed. Iheir condi-^
lion, agreeably to their capacities of enjoy-
ment, approached uearer happiness than many
otliers which are considered its ultimatum.
Crimes were by no means frequeut, aiid those
lather attributable to arcident than vice.
They were perfectly at liberty as regarded
themselves, and were more ready to perform
their soctak duties, than the state was ui^it in
requiring them. Those aualities conspicuous
in tlie negroes under their worst circum-
stances, their regard for all the relations of
life, and (enderness to each other« seemed ex-
panded with their freedom, and maiiT of the
littie prejudices tliat had existed wore away.
Those amusements, which were formerly sup-
pressed, had now free scope, but they restrain-
ed themselves from public aunovancc with
more regularity than could have been eficct-
ed bv tlie strictest police.
" rhe menagt of the labourer of tlie town
an<!itsviciiiily,was improved in a pioportkt
equal to hfs condition. A rough, yet neat
couch, supplied the pive of the wretched
bedding of a former period, and the visitor
wsB aoi UDprovided for, though it is lament-
able to state, that in sevcm instances the
furniture of the cottage was behcrfdcn to the
{)ublic commotions, and in one instance, pam-
iuUy risible, a beaatiftil fire-screen, the dex-
trous workmanship of some fair sufferer, con-
cealed a dog tiien roasting from some of their
fellows, who considered it opprobrious to be
rnofis^curs des chicns,
"In one instance, the writer was introduc-
ed by a brigand of peculiar intelligence, (with
whom h«t^had freouuit conferences on the mi-
litary tactics of the black army) to the cot-
tage of a black labourer, of whom an account
may not be uninteresting. He had a femily
of thirteen children ; eight of them by one
woman, and the remainder by two others ;
the former only lived with him in the same
cottage, with his mother, who was aged and
inton ; the other two» lepaiately^ at a small
distance. This man was ati ^tarae of legi^
laturc, and his family a wdl regulated king'
dom in miniature. His cottage consisted </
three irrecular apartments, the first of vhich
was his refectory', where, as often as possiblci
and always on 70 j£r« de fetes, bis subjects s^
sembled, includlDg on those occasioiis hh
three wives. The mrntttnre of this apartment
was entirely of his o«*n making, even totiie
smallest utenidl, and with an ingenuity beyond
what might be expected firom perfect leisuiv,
notwithstanding the artificer, during the pro^
cess, had been obliged to attend his labour in
the fields, and was a considerable time in
arms. • On a neat shelf, appropriated pecu-
liarly to their use, lay a mass book, and a nun
tilated volume of Yomey*s Travels, some]»m
of which he understood more than his visitor.
Every thing convenience required vras to be
found on a small scale, and th e whole so com-
pact, and clean, with such an air oSproprete
throughout as was absolutely attractive. His
own bed-room was furnished with an tin*
proved bedstead, supported by tresseh, with
a mattress and bedding of equal Quality witk
the other furniture, but that of liis cmldrcs
and mother surpassed the whole. One bed-
stead contained them, yet separated the sale
from the female, the young from the aged,
and was separated or combined in an instaot.
I'he third was his kitchen and store-house,
and mi^ht also be called his laborator^Fi for
conveniences were found for chemical expe-
riments, though not of the most scientific kiad;
but every utensil for culinary purposes vrerc
provided in the best manner. 1 he wife rf
this labourer (for he had submitted to the ce-
remony of marriage with the female who hsA
borne him the most children, as is the general
custom with them) was neariy as ingenious as
himself, and equally intelligent. Ihe mode
he pursued in Uie Regulation of his domestic
economy was excellent ; as continence b not
a virtue of the Macks, the increase of his fiimi-
ly was not coufiued to his own house : yet,
e\'en in hb amoon he was just; and as*the
two mothers before-mentioned %rcte less pro-
tected than his ostensible wife, thepriiBary
object of hb consideration was to have tlie
whole of his chSdren under Ids ov^n care.
This was reconciled to all parties 'from tbe
first, in so mild a way, that no distinction was
nercttvable but in age, while the mothers
field a rdatiouship to their domiciliated off-
spring simitar to that of an aunt or cousin,
each exerting herself {mt the purpose of add-
ing to the comforts of her own child. On
festive occasions, the two nnothers sat aker-
natcly on the right or left of the nii»tre^ of
the house, with as much etiouetteas mk^be
perceived in a more ele\'ated station, and vilk
the utmost hannony . The master of the &•
mily was absolute, but with him it was ia
theory, not in practice, for all seemed to Tie
in forbearance. As soon as the children coold
contribute their little powers to laboor, they
were employed; the younger (except as re-
garded their strength) Being subject to their
HAIIMFOiD'g ACCOUNT OF MB ALAG» EUTIHB OP HAYtU
23S
ftruf officfs ; and, singiiW as it may appear,
w ttf fc tite occasions alluded tOj they
»«jW tpon tiieit ««ilors, ihourii but by "a
feywrs, and senned delighted in the ofiice.
i%^rffaC!e to this rule, in accordance with
that reverence for age so renoarkable among
fcbcks of erery condttiou, the grandmother
reteivcd theaifection and attention of all;
and thoi;§h often crabbed, infirm, and dis-
contented, no one Seemed to consider her
fiulin^ as such, but as a daty prescribed
them to bear."
Some indi£cretioiis of the author in re-
fuiTiing ashore aftt^r his embarkation ex*
posed him to the suspicion of behig em-
piojed as an English spy. He was seized,
imprisoned, in a fixed open cage, and was
supplied during' the- night, through the
beis of his grate, with fruits and refresh-
xoeiits, b}' the humanity of a woman of
colour. A tribimal of black judges sum-
mooed aud questioned him. Luckily his
papers, which did contain some military
plans and comments, were timely de-
stroyed. The case was re[>orted to Tous-
saint, who good-naturedly ordered the
prisoner's release, accompanied with a
gentle hint that he did not mistake the'
author for an American. The biography
of Toossaiut must not be passed over :
" This instance of patronage by M. 1
''Toussaint UOuvertnre Mras bom a slav^
in the year 1745, on the estate ofiJie Count
de Xoi, at a small distance from Cape Fran-
cois, in the northern province of St. Domingo,
aqwl since remarkaWe as the very source of
revotation, ^d site of a camp^ (that of
Breda,) from whence its native general has
■sued mandates more powerful tlah those of
any monarch on the eartli.
"While tending his master's flocks, the
fwiim of Toussaint began to expand itself, by.
u attention towards o^ects bevoad the reatJi
«f his comprehension ; and without any other
opportunity than was equally possessed by
those around him, who remained jjearly in
impeoetrable i^iorance, he learnt to' read,
vmU, sod use ficttres. Encouraged by thie
a en be rapioly made ia these arts, anc|
with th^ proMct of higher attainments,
he employed hbnself assiduously m the further
cukiration of his talents. His acquirements,
« is ofteotimei the case, under such circunv-
itaoces, excited the admiration of his fellow
slavey and fortunately attracted the attention
Jf the attorney, or manager of tJie estate,
M. Bayou de Libertas. Tliis gentleman,
vitha dBcrimtoation honourable to his judg-
Aent, withdrew Toussaint from the labour of
the fidds, t9 his own Ijoose, and began tfie
jundiotation of his fortune, by appointing him
^ po^Koii» an enviable situation 9mpng
«^, tor its profit aad coiqgpBnttiv* rospec*
'' This mstancc of patronage by M.Bayoq,
itnpressed itself strongly on the susceptible
mind of Toussaint I'rue geniu^ and ele-
vated sentiments are inseparable; the recot
lection of the most trivial action, kindly be-
stowed in obscurity, or under the pressure of
adver>e circiunstances, wamis the heart of
sensibility, even in .the hour of popular fer-
vour, more than the proudest honours. This
truth was cjiempfitied by the subsequent gr»*
titude of Toussaint towards his master. Ifc
continued to deserve and receive promotion,
progressively, to ofiices of considCTable coa-
ndence.
" Among other traits fondly preserved in
St. Domingo of the conduct of Toustaiut
durhig the early period of his life, are his re-
markable benevolence towards the brute
creation, and an unconquerable patience. Of
the former, many instances are related which
evince a .mind endued with every good qua-
lity. He knew liow to avail liimsdf so well
^ot the sagacity of the horse, 1as to perf.cm
^^onde^s with that animal, without those cruci
'methods used to extort from them the doci-
lity exhibited in Europe ; he was fr^uently
seen musing amongst the different cattle,
seeming to hold a species of dumb converse;
which tl^y evidendy nndeistood/aiid pcc^
doeed in them undoubted marks of attention.
They knew aud manifested their acquaint-
ance, whenever he appeared; and he has
been frequently Sfe4i attending with the anx-
jety of a nurse any accfdent which had be-
Men them ; the only instance in which he
could be roused to irritation, was when a
slave had revenged the punishment he .re-
ceived from his owner upon his harmless and
unofl'enduig cattle. Proverbial became his
patience, iiuomuch that it was a ^vourite
amuseineut of tlie young and inoonsiderate
upon the same estate, to endeavour to^ prc-
voke him.by wanton tricks and aff'Med nu -
lijnity. But so perfectly he had regulated
his temper, that fc constantly answered with
a meek smile, and accountea for their con-
duct . by such pieans, as would render it
stiictly pardonable. To the law of self-
preserratioo, or the misfortune of not know-
11^ the delight of philanthropy, he would at-
tribute an act of brutal seliislmess ; whil« he
iiDputed to a moii)ent4r>' misapprehenpjaii, m
Inclination to rude aud maliciouf controversy.
Thus was his passive disposilioR never in tlie
smallest degree affected, beting reaciy on all
occasions to conciliate and to bear, in circum-
stances whether frivolous or of the highest
Importance.
At tlie age of twenty-five Toussaint at-
tached himself to a female of sim)1ar character
to hU own, and their union cemented by
marriage, which does ijot appearto have been
vioUied, conferred respectability on their
offspring. Still he continued a slave ; nor
did the ffoodness of M. fiayou, altliough it
extendea to render him as bappy as the^tate
S24
ttlSTORy, K)LITICS, AND STATISTICS.
of sCTvitticfe vould admit, ever contemplate
tht; manumission of one who was to become
a benefector to Iiim and his familj. Such is
the eiVect of aucient prejudice, in obscuring
the highest excelleiueof our nature ; he wlio
would perform godlike actions without hesi-
tation, firom any other cause, shrinks from a
breach of etiquette, or a violation of custom !
'^ In the comforts of a situation possessiiig
a degree of opulencti'jToussaintfouud leisure
to extend the advantages of his early accjuisi-
iious,aiid by the acquamtance of some priests,
«bo possessed little more of the character
than the name, acquired the knowledge of
'new sources of information, and a relisn for
books of a superior order tl^ !irst attracted
his attention ; the author of whom he became
the most speedily enamoured, wfis the Abbe
Raynal, on whose histor}' and speculations in
phik>sophy and politics he was intent for
weeks together, and never quitted, but with
an inten^on to return, with renewed and ad-
d.f oiul pleasure. A French translation of
Epictetus for a time confined him to its doc-
trmes, which he often quoted ; but he soon
loughf higher food for his capacious mind,
and found in a portion of the ancient histori-
ans, the sununit of his wishes. He was there
^eenstudiourily consulting the opinion of those
wlio teach the conduct of empires, or the
management of war ; yet, he neglected not
those who aiiji to liannonize the mind, and
teadi man himself ; tlie only difference in his
habits imbibing tliese treasures created, was,
an external polish, which imparted an micom-
faon grace to his manners.* ' '
• '^Tluis proceetled this illustrious man: like
•the simple acorn, first promiscuously scat-
tered by the windi, in its slow but beauteous
progress to the gigantic oak, spreading its
foliage With august grandeur, above the minor
growth of the forest, defending the humble
ilirub, and braving the fuiy of contending
elements.
• " Continuing on the estate on which he was
born, when the deliberations preceding the
acttal rebellion of the slaves, were taking
place upon the pUmtation of No^, the opinio^
of him who was always regarded with esteem
•aod adriiiratiou was solicited. His sanction
Hvas of importance, as he had a number of
Slaves under his command, and a general in-
fluence over his fHlow negroes. Among ife*
leaders of this terrible revolt were several of
his friends, who. he lad deemed worthy ii
make his associates for muti:al intelligence { '
yet, from whatever cause is not ascenaincd, *
lie forbore in the first instance to join in tie \
contest of liberty. It is probable that hii' :
manly heart revolted from cruelties attendnt '
on the first burst of revenge in slaves aboot
to retaliate their wrongs and suffering* oa
their owners. He saw that the innocent
would sillier with the guilty ; and that the
etfects of revolution regarded future, more
than present justice. When the cloud charge
ed with electric fluid becomes too ponderous^
it selects not tlie brooding murderer on the
barren heath, but bursts, perhaps, indiscri- I
miuately, in wasteful vengeance, o'er inno-
cent flocks reposing in verdant fields.
** lliere were ties which connected Tow- |
saint more strongly than the consideration of 1
temporary circumstances, lliese were, gn» "j
titude for the benefits received from his iwh- i
ter, and generosity to those who were abootj
to fiill, — not merely beneath the stroke of the"
assassin, for that relief from their sufTeringi
was not to be allowed to all, but likewise tfc
diange of situations of luxury and splendour,
to an exile of danger, contempt, aaci poverty,
with all the miseries such a reverse can accu-
mulate.
*' Toussaint pVepared fof the emiffratioD of
M. Bayou de Libertas, as if he had only re*
iviovecl for his pleasure, to the Ainericao coo-
tinent. He foun^means to embark produce
that should fonn a useful provision for the fo-
ture ; procured his escape with his femily,
and contrived every plan for bis convenicna;
nor did his care end here, for after M. Bayou'i
establishment in safety at fealthnore, in Mary
land, he availed himself of everj* opportunity
to supply any conceived deficiency, and, »
he rose m circumstances, to render those d
his prolcgS more qualiiied to his situation
and equal to tliat warm reruembi^cc of the -
services he. owed him, which would never ex-
pire.
Having provided for the safety of his mar
tor in ihc lirst instance, Toussaint no longer
resisted the temj^lations to join the array of
his country, wliith liad (at this period)' av
simicd ix fc^lar forni.f He attached iiim-
* Tlie fo^owing books were conspicnoos. in the library ofToussain!,ai Ibt of which «•
banded to thc'aythor in /:onsequence of his enquiries respecting the progress of Msmind:
^criptoresdere Militari. - ,
Caesar's Commentaries, French ti^nslation, by De Cri$se*
. .Des Claison's History of Akxauder and Caesar.
. D Orleans' History .of Revolutions in England and Sp:uiu
.. MarsljaJ Saxe's MiUtary Reveries, ' ' ^ , . *
.. Guischard^s Military Memoira of the Greeks and'RoBBin**
• Herodqjus, History .of the Wars of the Persians against the Greeks
, Le Beau's Memoirs,.of the Academy of Inscribtiond and Belles I^tre^* .
. Lloyd;8>Iiliiai:y and l^qliticai Klemoirs; the* Whiles of the En^ish Socniei» Plotarcfti
Cornelius Kepos, &c. &c. &c.
t It is pleasing to reflect, tliat Toussaint was not the only instance of a similar condoct to
the present. It occurred, with many variations, in num^ous dsei \ an eminent iostasce of
wliich will be found in the third chapter of thii work.
ftAJN8KOAl>*S ACCOUNT OP THE BLACK EMPIRE OP HAYTl.
225
irifto the corps under the caknmaiid of a
Itwngeous black chtcf^ named BiasM>u, and
te appointed next in commaDd to him.
IWujh possessed of striking abOities, the
WMMn of this gonecal roodered him until
|v the situation whKh he held ; his crueky
Med him to be depriTed of a power which
lie abused. No one was found eqinlly cai-
i^ed io supply his place, with the new
f»cer, Tous«iBt; therefore, quitting for
eter a subordinate situation, ht was appoint*
cd to the command of a division*
^" If during this ejrly part of his Ufe, the
Mkk general had shone conspicuously,
Ihnwgh every disadvanUge, with the bri^t-
tJt talents and the milder virtues, he now
rose sopenor to all around him, with the
ioalities and rank of an exalted chief. Every
psit o( fab conduct was marked by judgment
lad benevolence. By the blacks, who had
nbed him to the dignity he enjoyed, he was
Mored with enthusiasm; and, by the public '
^■racters of other nations, with whom he
■d occasion tO c<Mnmunicat<;, ht was re-
ponded with every mark of respect and
Bt«em. General Laveaux called liim '• the
•W), the Spartacus, foretold by Raynal,
Wiosc destiny it was to avenge tlie wrongs
JWMMtted on his race:** and the Spanish
Hacqub d'HerJnona declared, in the hyper*
We of admiration, that " if the Supreme
had descended on earth, he could not inhabit
I hwrt more miparently good than that of
Twsaunt UOuverture."
•* His powers of invention in the art of
5a!?^ ^«n^Jc government^ the wonder
■ those who surrounded, or opposed him,
bd not previously an opportunity for exhi-
Jtowi as at the period to which we have ar-
tmA in this history. Embarrassed by a
ninety of contending Actions among the
J^J^j andby enemies of different nations
™^a«ct^, he was too much occupied in
Jjfing the blows constantly meditated in
«r«Mt miarteis,. to find leisure for the dis-
P«J of thatwisdom'and magnanimity wliich
K so cmiMitly exercised. Nevertheless^ a
ywwy of incklents are recorded in the fleet-
wgmmorials of the day to corroborate the
*«ewiice of his character, and still more
»e niprcned on the memory of all who hate
^.^^w^ scene of his government. Not-»
imhstanding tlie absoluteness of military ju»
nadicUon, which existed with extra power,
no punishment ever took place without the
JMwuB endeavours cJ the General-in^hief
rV^ j^ exerted in every way that could
wsdensed. Noobjectwas too mean for his
»^onrtianccpr advk«; ndrany crime too
F« to be suknected to the rules he had
pe^bedto hmiself. The punishment of
^wte or munoral labourer was, being with-
«ww» from a^ricuUure, and coodttmiej to a
a^iy wrvicc dangerous or sercre. Jn
«»of trc«on he was peculiarly wigular in
toideas, and the foifowing incidentWiB afford
a^enmen:—
Jl^^.^f'f^'^ Mmthnd arrived
«POft the island, four frenchmen were re-
■ A5». Ret. Vol, IV.
taken who had deserted the Wack chief with
aggravated treachery. Every om expected
a vindictive punishment, and of course a
cruel daatli* Leaving them, however, in
suspense as to their fete, he ordered them to
be produced in church on the following Sab-
bath, and, while tliat part of tlie service was
pronouncing which respects mutual forgive-
- ness, h^ went with them to the front oi the
altar, where, impressing tliem willi the flagi*
tiousness of their conduct, he ordered them
to be discharged without fiarther punish«
*ment»"'*
The anecdote is omitted that TonssaUit
was fond oftheatric declamation, and es«
pecially of Saurin'd Spartacus. As the
third scene of the third act has had an
obvious influence on his turn of sentw
ment, and may not lie within the reader'^
reach, we shall reprint it: the vein of
sentiment is worthy of CorneUle. ^
'• Jf(P^*a/a.— Esclavo des RonisdM, per-
mettez qu*on vous dise. . . ,
** Spartacus. — Leur esclave I £t quel droit
me mit entre vos mains ?
A qiiel titre, au berccau ravi par les Ro«
mains,
Le fils d'Argetorbc a4-il port£ vos chames >
Rome m'opposera sesiuraurs inhumaines.:
EUe voudra s'en feire un titre rev^r^ ?
Quo! ! son ambition^ k qui rien n*est sacr6,
Traine en de vils liensi le tils avec la mere,
Insuhe la fill&captive, en presence desonpere,
Et pretend s*arroger un juste droit sur eux?
C'est le droit quun brigand a sur le oal*
heureux, •
Dont il prend dansun bois la d^pouille et la
vie: .
Mes iers sont un forfeit qu*il feut que R<xne
expte. ,
Eh, n'ai'je pas le droit d'en Mre le vengeoTP
II faut d^truire enlin ce ii^au <le8tn]cteur,
Dont les dicux trop long^tmpsont aflligfi la
terre.
II est temj)s que mon bras, au defeiit du ton*
nerre,
Ecrase des tyrans, dont Torgueil se crott n6
Pour tenir k son char Punivers enchain^.
*' Measala.-Aja^ l(*0(B fonde, tt«)d, «t
niaintient un empire.
Le droit dedominer, oil chtque peuple a^ipiri^
Des talens, du courage, est le pnx gk>rieu3t t
Et d de Tunivers Rome fixant lesyeux.
Passe les nattons en talens, en courage ;
Le droit de dominer est son juste putagc. ,
Tousont miSme d^> mais non mtoes vertus ;
La loi d« Tunivers, c'est malheur aux taincus.
*' Spartacus.'-tx malheur done ^ Rome I
autrefois son eschiye,
A^)ourd*hui son vamqucur, j'ai le dtoit'dp plu«
Itave.
Ses titles atijovird'hui tont devenxis )m nHenst ;
Pui^ue, de votteaveu, le succ^ fit ks 9Ntttf.
Qu^teit Rome en effet? Qui fvi^pt voa
anctoes^
Vn vil r^mas de serfs ichapp^s ^ leuriHiitp^
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS,
225
t>t fenwics rt de bieti.s pcrMcs raviaseurs ;
Rome, voiU quels sunt tes digncs fondateursr !
Laisitfz done lame* fers, iM$n pas que j en
rougisse ; „; . ^. "
La honte en e^ i wos, ainsi que 1 mjustice ,
La gloire en e«t k moi, qui dc ce vil etat.
Qui, -du sein de ro[)prol>ite, ai tire mou celal ;
Qui, Totre caclave epfin, w^at, creant une
Me feire le vengeur dc laterre opDnmee.
QneKane quittif done oette vame hauteur.
Qui lui sied mal sans doute, et dcvaut son
vainqiieur.
En barlian-s, sur-^out; nciaitcs plus la guene,
'S^/ivwo/tf.— Mais vous-ni«mo de sang m-
ondant cctte terre,
N'cn avcz vous vers6 qu'au mrficu dn combat?
Tarente, abandonu6e aux furcure du soldat . . .
"J/wrfflCM*.— Malgrtina vigilance, il est
mine desordres,
Que n' ont pii prevenir ni mcs soms, m mcs
ordRs;
Par un viJ iiiteret le soldat excite,
Au d<»ir du butiri, joint la ferocity,
lit ce sont ces cruete, ces awes sangumaafcs,
Des phis noble* projets, ii!strun\ens iiMfrce-
naires, ^ , , .
Quni faut fairc scnnr au booheur des bumains.
Nous avons trop peut-^tre imite les Romams.
Mais, en pSaignantr abus, j*ciwi«ge les suites,
Yh\ qi^f^ls sont en etfet quelques cites de-
truites, ., . ^
Quelques champs ravages? S! j attcins k mon
Sr, du mondc opprim^ Icur pcrteest le salut ;
Et si, des nations, par mon bras affranchies,
Les biens, les liberies, leshonneurs, et les vies,
Nc sont plus le joiiet de ces brigands titres,
De tous ars proconsuls, 2i qui vous les livrez.
" Mcs.mla.—XoiTv. preset est grand; mais
soutlrcz qn*on vous disc.
Que le sneers cnctwc est loin de rentrcprise:
Was dun obstacle encore vous resie h, sui-
monter;
. Et rose .«. ... .-
•* Spftrtdctts.—li faut Ics vaincro> et non
pas les compter; _ .
Toiit ptojet, qui n' est pas unprojet ordmane,
Veut que l*on execute, et Bon qu'oft delibcre.
J'ose tout esperer ; les miracles sont faits
* Pour qui veut fermirmcnt la mort, ou le
succ^s."
As some poets. copy tbeir characters
from nature?, so some natures copy tlieir
characteft from the iwet. The feeling
ntid loftiness manifested oirali occasions
by Toussaint, seem to place bim in this
cIhss. It appears, hoxvever, tliat one Pas-
cal, a descendant says our author.. errone-
eusly of the celebrated writer,\an abbe
Moliere, and an Italian ecclesiastic named
Marini, were among Uie literary coad-
}utor& of Toiwsa'ttit, and drew up his pro-
clamations and.coostitutions ot govern-
ment. The Moses is ofteiier of es-
sential importance than the Joshua of a
irvi4ution5 because he is less replaceable:
courage and command are more CDitica^
tifu than intellect and acquirement. 1^
QU Domingo the eccletiiabtic cummitim
of law-givers remains, and w'dl, itwajf^
hoped, guide Dessalincs, and thesuc«f—
of Dessalineii, in the steps of the |
Toussaint. Yet the civilizing inft
of hU personal virtues is irreplac
This admirable hero has been treated
Boniiparte in a manner at which
ought to shudder. Thp purest teeUr
our nature were employed to dccoyl
hito submission.
" Of a scene cquaJ to the hii^hesl
the drama, narration can give uo semi
without using the language of passino *oi
gerous to truth. Enough, lw\»evcr, Bhr
^om thesflf-condiinningaccountof the
fa prove, that it was of the most aflect^
lure. Tills wretch, with a Iw-axt co!d «
cell in which he was bred, viewed the «
tions of this Inteivsting family, only to I
advantage of their situation. V\ hen thel
Uirst of joy and atfection We»e over, and
hero turaetl to caress him, to whom he im
diatelv owed tlie delight he hail experi
CoisiKwi began his attacft. " I saw ihein
teare," says he, " and, wishmg to takea^
tage of a period which I conceived Ul
favourable, I stoj^ him at tlie mof
when he stretched out his arms to me,
recapitulated the letters of Bonaparte ai
CH?ir, and invited hun to accede to ^hcn^
painted the ink*ntioiis of France towanli
island in the most fascinating, language;
scribed tlie advantages of resuming its reir
with the motlier country ; and ck-clared^
the utmost solemnity, tliat it was not tM
tention to interfere with the lilieTtr rf
blacks; concluding with a wound that ^
to the heart of I'oussaiiit;— his.ordcis
turn with his charge to the Ca|>eiinn
if he did not cbnsent. The wife of I
recovered from the conAtilsivc joy with
she was seized, comnVeiiciHl solicitations
milder kind^ and, nolwitbitaiKling tlje d
by a frown, from tliat face which lud m
. beamed with tenderness upon ^f**™
to urge the advantages with which she
impress d. I'he unconscious childifa
scril>ed the happiness m which they hail I
nurtured, and the h^ seemed to hcfeW
opposing solicitations so tender, wh«
well-practised tutor again assailed him#
becoming less cauti<ms, lihited al tm *■
diatc juiiction with the Captain-Ct^^
1 oussaint, now coftfuinetl in his sospO
instantly retired from the view of hisvp
chijdren, and when Coisnon expected,
infernal pleasure, his fraudulent viclofy»^
him this digniticd determinatk». **
back my <;hildTen, if it. must be so, 1 «
. faitlifiil to my bretJireu and my God!
characters o! father and hero could not<
' in this trvinn situation. Toussaint ^ m*
another sigtit of his chiklren, but in less
. two hours trom the moment of his aii.«V
»AniSkjJU>*3 ACCOUKt t^r THP BIAOK EjlPiUfi OPltATTt.
227
pitPdfl[*aIn for the camp/firon) wheocc h*
PrtTinwdaibniial answer 16 ihe letter of Gc-
leralLeClerc. lliis ctreiimstniice j^ppears
10 laTviievelo]ied in a clearer view the inten^
iooyof the iD^-aden, and is an ezcplanatkm of
Ik Aaiied JiOfitility ia Uie onset, although
Ifltbseil to be only inteudea to re-establish
b cubnial reUtion of the island to France*
W aasiR er w-as conveyed by Granville, the
ilor of the younger sons of Toussaint, a
hsjchman ; and a correspondence was con-
KkU with the sanie demands on the one part,
}fi an e\'asion of satlsfactorj' explanation on
tttther."
The calling m of the domestic affec-
)ns, as^means of influencing public con-
fct« has in it much of the barbarian \ and
taSis the in6ncy of society, when the
IMKunp Coriplaniis was brought to order
\ lii mama. Where such means are
|| in vogue> one part of heroism 'must
f Dlaccd in overcoming the private at*
({meats. But proceedings^ which im*>
ym those who recur to them a total
pt of the finest sensibilities of our na-
il^ oogbt to be held, like the use of
weapons in war,- or of the tor-
in junsprudence, deeply, indelibly
)cftil,not only to those who actually
i in them» but tu tlie nations which
\ for their public agents those who
^ in them. ' Manoeuvres, less un-
l^ihle because more conformable to
^routine of political villainy, at length
Ikhed from Toussaintvhis most active
■orrers) and furnij»hed the oieans- of
pehending his person, and of sending
|l fo France, where he died in custody
^ noa-descript manner. ^
Jlc ydlow fever halving thinned the
IS^of LeClerca war witli England
nfsg recommenced w^hich- lessened the
!»ce of recruits from France, the dig-
its of the blacks with every form of
^Etoiation having broken out afresh,
paliues r<*»umed the assertion of a
f'Diti H^cpeiidence. It may endure,
if M, 4; will reba'tbarize the island.
^ heedless extravagance of the black
^ttss^apd^he dislike of industry among
iir followers, vamt *spee(iily create a
Iti^.of all the proiluctions of inter-
ilfie. Some taste for the luxuries of
pjp^ ^11 remain : and at last perhaps
L^triun pracUce will be resorted to, of
lag bio slavery- the superfluous ado*
toDCtiy in order to obtain iron utensils
Idutilled JiqucFs, Thus a new. and
Hp»us martof sbves nwy be founded .
pe West Indhn ArqhiiKslago, by the
fAKiaas. reioued. 4x>.'lor abolishing
The usual effect c£ violence is to defer
its gratification. The revolt of the helots
during the earthquake of Laconia, termi-
nated in changing their bonds into fet-
ters. The revolt of the Italian slaves
under Spartacus delayed, by intimidating
the masters, an alleviation of their coiidi«
tion. Industry begets property j property,
justice 5 and justice, freedom. Whenever
the natural process is intemipted, by caU-
ing in force, the *entire progress yitist
begia anew. Security will first be re-
established, and concession be made tlie
recompence of a penitent and experienced
submission. The inhabitants of San Do-
mingo are more likely to owe independ«
ence than liberty, to tlie negro amiy^
The fee- simple of the confiscated and
plundered estates may by degrees pass
over to the American merchants 5 and a
maroon gypsey-like population of owner-
less negroes may live in idle savagtsm
among the mountains | but the proprie-
tors, whoever they are to be, will at last
purchase the alliance of the public force,
and introduce the cheapest method of
cultivation.
Agricultural communities suffer more
and oftener than commercial ones fi-orti
the insurrection of journeyman. By
throwing open the ports of the West
Indies to American commerce, a furtlier
settFement of the trading classes would be
attracted to the island sea-ports. . A direct
trade with the East Indies would be a
more advantageous measure, and a means
of gradually transferring many articles qf
, cultivation, and many aits of life, from
the Asiatic to the American world, toge-^.
tlier with a mass oFfree labourers, accus-'
. tomed to tropical industry. Thus a middl®
order of people might be domesticated in
our West Indian islands, whose presence
would defend the planters against rebel-
lion, and the vassals against ill usage. The
consumption of opr doniestic manufac->
tures would be much greater ; for one
.white, or one free mulatto, consumes
three times as much apparel as the half-
naked negro, not to reckon his other less
certain wants, which increase witli his
prosperity. And a provision would be
made for tlie easy obtainal and gentle sub-.
stitution of hired labour, during the acci- ■
dental or local ro'olts of the negroes,
during the pressure pf seasons or the ar-
rival of fleets^ and during a dearth of the
Africans. . : •
Sir George Leith's htstofy of Pulo-
penang shows how very rapidly all our
new colonial establishments could be pro
228
mSTORY, K>UT1CS, AND STATISltCS.
yided vidi inhabitaiitir if tfaey were but
opea to the reoeptioo of ibe mpeifltious
Dopulation of our Asiatic possessious.
Noc only Trinidad and Balaina might be
at once itocLed witb men^ but the islaiid
of Manyo^ wkich ougbt also to be §etzed»
and wkicb u better situate for iatemal
Hade with the South* American copttfKBt
thflif Tntmdai, would witbooC difia
be supplied with €ienifpbl teltkife.
what Qte 19 it to poMeflt both the C9it 4
the west, mdoi we mder theflicia||
ctfe to one Mothar'a weU-being > Wioj
serve oar ookxiies, ioasoMicfa as we I
them ia trosc foe the bandit of 1
workL :
Aat. V.—Tkc History (tfihe puhlie Reoetmepf^ BritM Empite. OnMrnif (
cmaUof the public Income and Expendittrrc from iht remotest Ptnodsrtcm
HisUnry, to Michaehmu 1802, wiA an Accoumi of the Reveme 4^ SeoOandmii .
ami an Analysis qftke Sources of pnblk Revemu in generoL By Sir ioav Siitc
Baronet, M. P. Fol. III.
THE two former volumes of the work
before us preceded the comroencemenl of
our literary annals, lliis begins with an
analysis of the British national debt, as it
stood in 1804, and computes iu capital
amount at 337J6GOAG5L and its yearly
interest at 22;S77S^^^' By this time, no
doubt, half a million each week is put in
circulation by the issue f#r interest merely.
■ We agree with sir John Sinclair in think<-
ing that this is not an alarmiUj^ sum. The
.credit of an individual is always sufficient
to borrow up to the whole aoxxmt of his
filed property : andthecteditof anation,
if tflies were arrays laid on the rental of
.fixed property, would nearly suffice lo
the same extent
The second chapter treats of the reve-
nue of Scotland, and the third 6f that of
Ireland. A more interesting speculation
i^ contained in the fourth copter, which
treats of the national resources.
Sir John Sinclair enumerates frugality
first. This is Ciceronian rant. Optwmm,
St in pnmuufBuniHk ctin repttbiica, recti*
gal ttt parsimmdum. Sober ]rfiilo6ophy
will pat less confidence in retrerichment.
We seek in vain te the historical instance
9f a revenae permanently invigorated by
mere parsimony, dully, it is boasted,
was- a niggard to the b^gariy courtiers,
and, without new taxes, wound up an in-
significant revenue to five times its origi-
nal amount. But he took in liand a
country desobted by civil war, at the low
produce of anarcty, and by buying in
cbfap the douhtful claims od the state,
and by ^tending- -the collection of the
t4TC3 over .thcrirboSe surface of Ftance,
hs mii^^^ell work the apparent miracle
oc j)nyifig in ten years two himdr^ rarl-
lloni of debt, and increasing the public
income from tli'rty to one hundred and
ui'iy millions. The c^tsQ of Gr^at Britain
i-; di.'unt^tricnHy opprttite. Here we have
' ilrndy ihc alert co%)eition of a strong go-
llie<
abofe^n
ithaaei
lywt^l
bosily going en.
is boUow-drained with
and eveiy drup of profit, that mm]
iIr beniity of nature or the
labour, from the heavens
the earth beneath, is presently ;
into the main tnak, and t
poolof the-treaswy. Cdan^eoast
would hazard so much allegnnce t
endinger tsanquilliiy. Our
is either the reoompenceof {
which it were unjust tovnthdniri j
wages of oonupt obediciicey ^
untfife to dispense with,
public ^th broken widi ali t
ers, who-bave been quartered en 1
tional treasury, not for public t
§o€ the private services, the 4
the abused iafkience of their
tront f coidd half a noiHion a 1
a single week's expendilare» be 9i\
mizra f And is nothmg tebe f
the tongues, the pent, os the i
a gang of comtt pflnsin
starve? in timtitlike
spiraeie» arer afflon|^ the
gcnieei Ufa, it i$ cheaper i»r
tD* have too many gutsts than '
besiegerai Suppose a
book-keeping introdoced in att I
offices; and that msyi
were posted by double t
bide3Ltev formality of
aiKl that every acconnt
kept cleasly andaecessibly, bat :
printed : would the ttew ann^ i
cost much less than the ok} am^^
bezzlers? Yet this rdfonn,ara^
increase the patronage^ |^
tlie expence<n unfiiir hanmrs-eiwi^
enough to be realized.. ]fivgaSKii(i
est nmom bom, said Laberius, •
has usually proved in ministers (
Necker expected by aimple^^
.meet the deficiency in the
ce$i a more coun^eooa
«jHCUu« iBTUm or rut mitibh xmpikb.
^
tMaa. woold hare tnad &e public more than thdr lay brethhm. ^ WWwut oc- •
0Rlit We admit gmeniHj the expe- tending such a ^^wlap"" ,*»,;2l„S'r .
nte it iiigh as a reaoorce: like a
Idtchen, what it saves in cojIs
m maekineiy; and varies the
of wasle without mvcb t&cimg its
respects some particular dassta
ThcK U Jio tax that has h(Hm more gcnc-
nUly approved ot than that whKh.mipoKd a t
certab duty upon Ibe dMfercBft imecttrB oi-
fices of the state ; and it has bcennireU urged,
that since those who are employed m the set'
vice of government, must submit to the re-
daction of their saUries, why should not ,the
dignified ctergy, who enioy many valuable .
places, with very liUle trouble attending tliem,
be considered in the same fight, andjbe u»de .
subject to the same law, parttcularly at the .
offices held bv deans, re^denbanes, canons, .
prebendaries, psecentors, treasurers of cathet
dials, masters of colleges, &c. have this adr
vautace over many of the civil offices, that
they are enjovedfor life, and that; the holders
cannot possibly be deprived of tlwmby any ;
thing short of legislative authority, t .
"Those who enjoy a plurality 6f livings,
ought also to be l&ble to an a^lditional tax
w«t*«.^ « 4^.«. w. . of two shillings in the pound. Howevor ve-
impoitance, or wealth, with the- hemently such accumulations may be de-
Sir John Sindair ktf especially cea-
* (r. 2lQ die ^xtniv^ance of the
t, an extravagance the
; our artillery is not
a cipilal footing. Among the sound
ihiis ramsted bj hun for the improve*
: oflhe revenue, we da^s a commu-
of the duty- on eoal carried coast-
for an excise-dmy on coal to be
tbywei^at the mouth of the pit :
I also the following comrnents onec*
ttnoonve:
*^0f all the corponitioRs tliat exist in this
caa be compared in }K>int of
of Eiiglaod, including the various se- fended,! they are ecjually <^?n*^5f^/® ^
" in the universities of Oxford and - genuine principles of ecclesiastical polity, ^^
to tile soundest doctrines of the christian re-
When once the extent of a parochial
je, ifhkh are so mttinateiy coanect-
l^it
'Many friends to ecclesiastical jefonna-
I bare contended, that a complete altera-
I af the piesent s\iitem is necessary ; that
rliiBarcfayaiight'to be totally ab«)lished,
1 ilt property vested in the public ; and
i^lka a national church ought to beesta^
"M^ Dn ihc presbyterian model, being the
I expensive ; or, that the clergy shoukl be
^qfaely dependent on the voluntary con-
botioDi of the people. But in every plan
J^impoiDiit a nature, extremes ought to
ligjon . , -
district is ascertained, if it furnishes a sum
adequate to the maintenance of a paBtor,the.i
inhabitants of the district a^e entitled to have
a clergyman residing anwncthem, to mcul-
cate Uie principles <rf relieidn^and to edify
them by his example ; and if a pluraUty of
livings is at all to be permitt«!d, such as are ,
siUfered to enjoy so considerable an advan'age
ought to pay a duty to the public for the pri-
vilege they possess.
^ « Heavy taxes on^t also to he laid upon
i^wjWW; and a prudent man, who would, non-resident clergymen, whriher pmralists
^P*'***y giv« his voice in ^vour of the
'j, yme it novr for the first tune to be
, mstoad of raslily altering ancient
istovbidi a Qa&m has been ac-
• vodld rather endeavour to make
Bt church establishment of as much
CKrrior as possible, by GcnopeUiiig the
T'to tende more in their respective
MS ; aod, hiaomecases, by imposing. ad«
.'J'P'^'W upon tli^ income they possess.
[ liii».alRady.hecn remdrked, m a foiv
Law jwtoftliis work, that prior to the resto-
i n*wn» oratleast to the establishment of the
or otiienvise, who do not fulfil the object of
tlieir appointment^ll The ignorance and
prqfligacvof the lower ranks in England arc,
perhaps with some justice, attributed to tlie
uiatleiition of their pastors. It cannot be ex*
pected that those who are abandoned by their
natural mstructurs, and left to the guidance
of their own hnpetnous passions^ should al-
ways act as becomes the professors of the
christian rdijgioBx- And it is of little conse*..
quence, that a wretched curate is left, with a
pitiful sahry, t6 conn over the lessons ^ the .
day, or to preach a cold and lifeless sermon
J^"25»ea\th, the clergy taxed themselves,, iippn Sunday, 'whilst his profld sajwor is
kW ne^tfyp^ two 9hi&ing8 in the pound , amusing biiuself m ^e capital^ qp wandering
i ' ■''-..
!f^*^*"*^ ^""^y ^ lemarked that the property of the church is subject to tlie present- land
pttmcommoDwhhtUerestofthekingilom. "...
F J^^iderationsgn a new Place^ax, printed anno 1756i: .
^n^' '^*»rton, in his Defence of Pluralities, as now.practiscd m the Church of England, .
^^ aaoo 1703, bus attempted to defend tlie holding of two beneiices at the same jLiiuc* ; *
t^;SP P|ggpal awwment is, that phirdists are not more useless in their ofpfessiou Ui^n non-
|IC"??r*f?yBi«n; whkh cannot Hare much weight with any body, and i^ less- with- those
«da JSt^ ^ ^ should also be extended to those who p^vsent themselves, and wlio f cu-
iw w'oj^ in thdr gift in the same manner as an hcredkary estate.
230
KI5T0KY, POLrnCS, AXD SXjOISIXS.
*• !>-:i k ft k» tocrsi ezzsPiOK or rTxtc^
6c to Gtrnr t^fttae pre^-^vo'iaco c>-rx,*T*i
«f«!t;. Use tVrgr oai;^ £i& kvr^ lo be k:5-
l-3f *al iu CS«0<M4 Ail ^iin of tier ri^*. *.'r;i>i k-
bf CTT waa raiKd a frr-^a- y t}>^ r^jr .^ of
w.iidi a fs«tT a optpoiTr^. u^Jl zi ry/.^z^ to
Crtf«t:n« tsst ^dsrizm^zTCrKi of tV cfa^r: Vvi,
in r«ror^#e9ce tiyrreof, an act «as pi^«rl, by
tbf*: iiu virfior o^ ibe Ofv n>?.i.'ftci>. in rv^xiie^
CHMSci^ofwlBdi: tbefeitfrv^ ani t<^^>», a
poftoftiwr r'^recueof tii^ ctttmib, w^re talLea
fom taer pf.x>Jc, and approprat-rd to t.V aajj-
Thj* nraoch c/tijc r* r».rj'j«- a!iic«n»t-J to abwjt
«^14000 per anrnin: ; ariJ oo thr 6nt of ianu-
anr 1735, the £OT--fry>4^ of that dnritj p<»-
seHrd brvifi^,, from -arin^* and priraU» b**-
fid-ctiom, the wnj of ^ 1 5 A>>> of OW Soutb
Jtea AfBuitie», and i.i.<{37: 2- II, of ca-h
in tht faaocb of thcrj- tnra-urfr.* Whaterer
the state of that fund may oov be, ret «urdr,
if the mall living of the chorrii m{(ured to
be au^^nentedy ii u not from th<- rerenue be-
kmgiiig to tJie csown, aud to the public, but
iroixi the church iticlf, where iu emoluments
ase roDiev*rd! y too great, that the a4ditk»
ooght to.be danaiylcH."
A third pofort, more practicable than
prai^e-woftny, is the hide-tax recom-
mended at page 057- Tlie tax on leather
already subsisting is too hear)', and com-
ptls poor children to go unshod; this
practice brings on di^ea^es of tbe foot and
ankles, and disablement for military ser-
vice. We should prefer a total repeal of
the tax on leatlier to any additional assess^
ment ; and we presume that much more
leather cnKilA be exported from tliU coun-'
try, if hidi» both can^e and stayed free of
duty.
• Another important hint is thrown out
in the following passage :
• " When the revenue arising finoim the first
fruiti and tenths, was originally appropriated
far
to ortvte sane |3c;r: s z.ars TsaasSyl^
pcipose ; aad r j* as incnr^BXE •> ~
Id Lil^iir t^c:, ts^ ci
'%^:£n aad a is£Li
Hs asiiM Am iXi3iii.«a9'i
k EafiaBar- Taaaws^att^'osci
1 '\/<C«>^. per SBBBE ; aad «Lct. aacs <»
CB a 4 per czbL laock. WDdli i^^^f ]
tbe space cf a laiadzgi ycsr^ t±s
" Boi <» ttt tix? ti^iil^zpffi
bees bcDfStt-d by sora onztricrxEk
K haritj- a ui^rii ^ Gr a£ ac2i^x 2 ;
sid'?nft>ir kjpcMt^sor ; t^r* i: nrx s
fnqndatitjst of aaj ^.xid ; sct, basitt^ ;
p2n^ ■ Fngfcs^, Id v^ a iCQ '
hare not t><^ii c**J „ irLici, wtTc
milled i^o uuc -u:a tor i-x
ject, wouiJ be f3r^:;u-Lh<: "C
lects. Tlae cli.ir.^^7c iW^r Tires
ne^ of xst^ poor, m T-^rarc, szd
alooe, tnxtnd 250, GX/. per in'^'-r
that fOBi, opoatizig ispon z 4 prr cjU.
would hare arciina^ttted, si ^tge sp
century,, to the an>.ii.7fit» oc 3Sd,>''^
and cou?equexxlly our dg-btyfcavy :
are, mi^t have oeen actuall^diac!!^^
fcxe thb tinifc, by TohzoUry.Qpszitri^s]
had such a $>^eai be*/u pTop<:r!y i:z '
and encouraged at the rev okLkxi.
*' Nay, the particuUr idea ahavt I
has not bem iK-glccttfd. Anao 1733, J
Norton, £»q. of SoulbwkiL, in tLc
bourfaood of Poctsnouth. left hk
and estate* to pariiaiiient to par th
debts^. Sir Joseph J<t3q^l, masttj of i
in the rdgn ofjGeorge' il. who
173S, bequeathe!} eilects to the
aUout 26,000/. to the sinking
parlbment was afterwards prerafled
reverse the will of that jHibLc-spintinl <
yet that very sum would hare bough
space of forty-five yeans, tiie sum ot T
of 4 per cent, stock ; and at the c i<ccl|
of a century sir Joseph Jekvl would
been recorded as a bcacfa«*tor to ti.e [
to the amount of I,25j,0<)0/. Such a ^|
fimdf.
: l^M
* Sffe Lords' Jourpab, voL xxir. p. 665, The retura was printed anno 1736, in one 1
lume folio. ^
t See Ketones Liber Valonun, third edition, printed anno 172B.
% Paterson*s Description of the Roads of Great Britain, p. 17. Road from Londcm to
Portsmouth. It is saia, that the will was set aside. A 90py inay be seen in the Gentienon <
Magazine. Vo|. iii. p. 57. (Febniary 1733.)
^ 1 he history 6f Sir Joseph J^yYs legacy was ais follbws: By his will, dated the 4th of
May 1738, he left 10,000/. East India ^ock, and 10,000/. Soutii Sea stock, tobeapplH
after the death of £Iiza}>eth his wife, to the use of the sinking fund, in such manner as i^ixmid
De directed by act of parliament. His widow died anno' 1745 ; and the East India stpck waf
sold anno 1747, for 15,873/. : 14; and as the South Sea stock was then about par, the vhote
legacy amounted to about 34,OO0iL By SO Gea III. cap. 34. \^ 13,582 : 9 : 2 in mouey, wis
f' iven from the sinkiag fund to the residuary le^tees. By an act passed anno 1 772, ( 12 Geo.
II. cap. 53.) the sum of ^2,290 : 4 : 10.oif this legacy was ^n'ccted to be paid mto the
exchequer, to be applied^yh^ sinking fimd. This was the only advantage reaped by the
public from this pa^'--^ for by 14 Geo. HI, cap. 89. the bakiace of hi^ legacy v!U
givo^totobcirii
Sikclair's revenvb of ths baitish empHib.
3dl
I it been' oncotifas;|eft], would have soon
ITie author of this work, liaving dU-
i aiaoag liU friends, a small tract re-
nding such an idea, was happy to find
: liicl u ith the wannest apprubation ;
? by whom it was pcrusccl, expressed
ii^c'st anxiety, that the necessary iaws'
t purpose might be enacted without dc-
I that tiu-y niiglit have an opportunity of
flig. Ivnv sinceivly desiroiu they were, of
iKNjng lUc uitert::sts, by voluntarily con-
0a^ to dHniuish tlie be^vy iHirdens.to
di their fellow-citizens were subject.
'Aft a strong and useful incitement to suck
fee benefactions, it might be enacted, that
|y lum thus giveD, should be aocumulated
impound interettt iu the name of the do-
r and the politic regulation that was dc*
ImTeqard to the augmentation of the
livings of thi- clergy, ought ^o be a-
by which a sura etpial to tlie money
li, sKould be taken from the general
and appropriated to the same purpose.
|b-£oQ:f quences of such a regulation may'
■^fiily <uppose4 finom this, that there »
|r a citizen in this country, who by great
tr and miniitc attention'might jiot accu-
laic luOOi. in the space of a few years. If
tsuin were laid out in 4 per cent, stock, m
; coarzje of a century it woidd purchase
ROOO/. of slock ; and if an equal sum
we taken from tiie sinking fund, at the end
II himdred years he would appear a bene-
^ to the state to the amoiuit of half a
jUion, at the concUision of which period a
Mq2 should bo ejected to his memory in
PRtminster-abbey, or some other conspiciH
^eUiiice, as a mark of the public gratitude.
O^ mii^hl a private mdiviaual, acquire im-
Jwtil Iwoour, by means pertectly pCMJticat-
|fc toll cas)-.**
The sale of the crown-lands Is advised
yj^convindng arguments at page 294.'
toDje reserve of timber-groond for naval
^y has been pleaded for j but we be-
«we that private interest and private
loxaiy will always provide the requisite
^w. Besides, if ship-building should
wcome too dear, the laws which privilege
British-bailt ships can be repealed- Some
scanty binu occur at ps^e 303 concerning
tbc availability of our East Indian con-
yesti. Lxal hans might there be made^
funded, and provided for.
Among the papers included in sir John
^««^ir'5 aj^ndis may be distinguished
"* fim, entitled an analy«s of the sour-
«» of public weBue. It compiles a vast
fi»aM of fact aa4 reference concerning
^on in diflferent ages and countries j
^ roarjhab in convenient arrangement
}«>^oa« forms of tribute. One of the
«*«»ajlctfi chapters is the third, which
*f2ts 9f juUiQ revfiuuc fxwi buildings^
without noticing those rent-taxes by which
our poorVrate is a^tessed, or those win«
dow-taxes and hearth-monies^ which are
so conspicuous in the catalogue of our
burdens : both these are taxes on build«
ings. £dihces form a veiy producCtvi
and a very expedient source of revenue ':
their utility to die coxuitry is not at all dt*-
minished byany tax^ however heavy on the.
rental : only their capital value, their selling
price, is ailected, whkh Militates transfer.
It would bcexpedient to window-tax places
of worship and empty houses ; this would
prompt a demolition of deserted and 9U«
perfluous baildings, aid accelerate the re-
duction of rents, \yheii ike country is over-
stocked with shelter. .
Iu a section of the second chapter at
,<liie third book of this- meritorious analysis^
(which ought to ha%^ been published apart
as a separate work, for it has no connexion
with tlie history o( the revenue) sir John
Sinclair lays down the axiom that ' taxes:
ought to be in proportion to the property
which each ^ individ«al possesses/ This
appears to us panidoxicaL '. Property use-
fully employed ought never to be drivetf
from its destination by the persecutions of
Ae tax-gatherer. Property mischievously
employed ought to be driven frocti its des*
tination by die inroads of the tax-gatherer.
The purest title to property, as Mr. Burke
observes, is the wise employment; and
this is the title which tlid taxer ought to
respect. He is not to burden equal pro*
perty equally in the hands of idk^noss and
of industry. The idler, who lives a use-
less life, on the rent of his acres^ houses^
bonds and fands^ ought to pay more la
proportion, than the farmer, manufactur-
er, or trader, who renders these lands, or
buildings, or capitals^ productive, llie
fatigued labourer must not be blooded so
often as the pampered feastcr -, nor ought
the political physkiaxi to amerce alike the
earnings of industry aad thie squanderings
of luxur}'.
A second appendix enumerates the va-
rious books extant on die subject of finance
in our language : we wish it had been e
critical catalogue ; and that those works
had been shortly characterized, whicli it
is worth while to read or to rejM-iat.
This copious history of tlie revenue
abounds with curious details 3 it displays
an enviable command of library and a me-
ritdrious range of reseapch 5 but it has not
bU the coniprefliioo of materials, the neat-
ness of redaction, th^||ttematic distribu-
tion and proport^^ ^hich an ar-
tist bookmak' ^trived tm
2S2
H18TORY, FOUnCS, AND STATISTICS.
attain. The inslnictioo bestowed u va-
riocu aod iniportatit, but desultoiy and dif*
ibse : it wmden, like a bank-Dote^ from
die merdtant to the land-owoer, fmm
Zng^d to Iielandj firom the ei^cise-office
to the treataiy.
Sir John Sinclair displap much indns-
fry and much txdent ; he excels perhaps-
p»ore in compilation of £ict than in felicitj
of infefenoe, in antiqoaiian tbtti ia crf&4
Cal investigation^ and is rather the «talMl
than the statesman. Yet be has tbm^
greatness, that his object isutUi^ not di»^
pbj y that he is ^x^rapt fiiom serviiiij ii|
party or tp power- ; and that he offcn v^
his toil and his wisdom tQ the public
vice with the unreserve of patrioiism i
the ralmness of disinterest*
^T. VI.— The Raman Histarif, Jhm the Foundation of Borne to the Subversion tf A^
JSoitem Empire, and the Taking oji Conxtaniijujple bu the Turks, in the Year of' tmr is*>j
viaur 1453; including the Antiquifies, Manners, mia Customs^ as ueU as tkeJuriam^
denee and Military Estahlishmtfnt of' the Romans. In Seven Books. On a nea amisai\
4erestbig Plan, By the Rev. Johk Adams, j4. M,\ Author of the History cf i
Mritain, and other much approved FubUcations, 8to.
THERE is a good book on Roman an-
tiquities by Alexander I^^hm c£ £din*
burgh : this John A<l3a>s is not a writer
p{ equal learning, research, a conden-
sation : but he h^ performed with conve-
siient propriety and less ambitious task ;
and has abxidged fqr the use of schools
and of yoqng people^ into an inconsider-
able volume^ the whole Roma^ history
down to the taking of Constantinople..
The earlier pqrtipns of the narrative are
more' cpmpletely given than the later.
We should have preferred ^ severer con-
densation of the first book. The current
fables concerning the Roman origins must
i)e learned^ because they are often alluded
fo : but it was not necessary to dilate so
piuch on tb^ marvellous aqecdotes of the
primaeval kings and champion^.
The first nistorians of Rome were
poets. Ennius wrote metrical annals of
ihib kings > and Naevius a metrical chro-
|iicle of th'e first Punic war ) but the for-
mer of these two bards could have no au-
thentic sources of intelligence y he did not,
like Naevios, relate eyepts pi which he
"was a great part. Romulus and Ilemus,
Numa and ]£geria, class with the kings
and nymphs of the Polyalbion.
The priesthood aire stated annually to
have written on a white bo^rd, which was
exposed tp the inspection of the few wjio
<:ouid read, a short register of the rpagis-
trates and events of the year. These
agreed notices of public occurrences were
|ifterwards transcribed and preserved in
the archives^ an4 are quoted as the fiu^dat
mental documents of Rofnan
Now these archives down to the ]
perished totally during the
of Rome by the Gauls, fasti^ [
collections of precedents for laws and pcib<^
lie rites, yreire afterwards compiled, an^
ascribed to the traditional fathers cf tka J
country ; but the^e is no trust- worthy
history before Camillus. ' \
Yet this poftion of history fills ten I
chapters of the volume before us ; where^. '
the whole period from 470 to 1453, oe« \
cupies but nine chapters.
^ The archaeological matter concerning tfe
arts, manners, fames, coins, religion, sbI
constitution of heathen ' Rome, is too ex-
ten^ve for a wprk professedly histerjcsl.
On the contrary, there is a deficiency of
geographical matter: without a map of
the Roman world, containing the antient
names of places, it is not easy fbf yoong
people tp follow an annalist of their af«
ftirs.
The mention of those modems, vbq
flourished before tl^e faking of Conatan-
tinople by the Turks, plight have hm
forborne. A long catalogue of naroes.oc-
curs frpm page 249 tP page 25(5, which
have notliihg to do with Roman history;
they niusf h^ leaves of some other wed
sown in by mistake.
We have no doubt tliis bqok will be
fouiid sufficiently aseful to invite a se-
cond edition, when we trust a more pro-
portionate distribution of materiaU w^
be attained.
Art. y II.— Ohtervations or\ the Present Stale of the Hii^hlands qf Scotland^xvifh a Ftcv: "./
the Causes an4 probable Consequences of Entigruiion. By the Earl op Selkirk.
8vo. pp. 224* • ' ^ .. • . ^ X a .
THE chief cause of prosperity among
the numerous classes in Great Britain is
is a national affection. There is nocoanr
try in whicn so large a proportion of tbe
^t spirit of enngration^ which happily people have tn^veljed : Qone> in which s«
^n% VARL OF SBLKXftK OV BHtGRATIOtV.
ass
mmj me caastzBdy emplcrjred in migni-,
tarf occapatioDs, as earners, driven,
4itoi7*iiien^ and sailors : none, m which
Ifce iofiibs of the natives pxc so distant
fem their cradles. To die rich, or to die
abroad, is the avowed system of pominer«
ad ente^prize. Discontent with every
flkoatioa which can befoetteft^ is the me*
ritorioos profession of all ranks. A lub«
ber> a stay-at-home, is with us a term of
^dnse. lliis is rational. He who expar
iziales himself confers a benefit on nis
jpemaining feUow-citizens : he bequeaths
^hile alive to another the form of subsist*
cnce in which he was engaged 5 ha con-
tnhutes to cheapen food ami to raise the
wages of labour, by withdrawing competi-
tioii, and thus to fiicilltate at home early
inarriage and the consequent purity of do-
mestic morals. His industry, whmver it
is employed^ wiU be exchai^d for some
flf the productions of his mt^er-country,
[vfaose manufiyitures are sure to profit by
his consumption during absence. If emi*
Bently ptosperous, he will return at last,
and bring back the glorious recompence
jof iiis industry s if bat ordinarily success-,
fid, he will have still contributed to make
the commerce, the language, and the
power of Qieat Britain pervade the distant
ftoviaces,
A society fyr the encouragement of
^ougration should be founded. It should
keep lists of poor fim^ilies willing to be ex-
ported, and of t^ districts to which they
would contentedly be carried. WJien a
sufficient <2argo is ready for Sotany-bay, or
Puk) IVnang J for the Cape, or fiulama ;
^ Trinidad, or Upper Uanada i )et the
requisite arraqgeioents be talf^ii by tbe so*
ciety to secure a proper rebeption^ ^^ to
convey gratuitously tho colonists. The
expeiKe pf crossing the sea is the c^ief
impediment to the speedy population of
Ibe British settlements. Many peri»ons»
especially from Wales and Ireland, in or-
der to conquer this difficulty, sell them-
pelves for a given term of years to the
American captains at Liverpool, and rre
ttiM to the highest bidder on their arrt*
Ml at Baltimore, or New York. This
white.Blave trade is carri^ on under the
forms qif the laws concerning apprentices :
and there U reason to believe that, by suc-
cessive advanoes pf money or necessaries
lo the boodsinan, w^h prolongations of
[lis slavery, beyond the aeyen ypars of the
original agreement, arc brought to bair^
as entirely assimilate tJie condition of the
British emigrant, in the pretenctedly free
f«tcsof Jsoriii-^mericai to that of a Ko«
t
man citizen sold into perpetual slavety by
a harsh creditor. It would be an act of
humanity, as well as of patriotism, to wam
these rash rovers against contracts so op-
pressive and tyrannical; and to &cilitatc
thehr landing in freedom on territories not
less ' likely to oifer an easy maintenance
than the provinces of the United States,.
During p^ce, a proper emnloyment &c
the ships of government would be to carry
out passengers freight-free, in all direc-
tions, to the British settlem^ts ; diu'ing
war, the supe^iluous population natuzali/
finds another coursp^
Among the pinraons to whom a society
for the anoouragen)ent of emigration
would eagerly allot its honorary medals is
the present ear^ of Selkirk. He visited
Canada I 1^ £xed on a spot m Prince £d.
ward's Island as the field of colonization y
he provided ships, stores, medical attend-
ance, instmments of labour ; he superin-
tended the ^lotment of the lands, and 19
a single y«»r established a considerable
oommmnty, Independent of external or
foreign aid for subsistence and shekqi;.
To Cecilius kird Baltimofe, the founder of
the prosperity of Matyland, the grand-
children of his patronage justly ascribe n
high rank among the benefactors of so-
ciety, and the worthies of the human race.
The future islanders of Prince Edward's
land, will preserve a similar gratitude for
the memory of the earl of Selkirk. Hit
narrative is simple, interestii^, instruc*
tive.
*' This isUnd of Prince Edward b situatei
m lat. 46" and 47^ in theGulphof St. Lao*
rence, near the coast of Nova Scotia— it it
about 120 miles long, and much intersected
by arms of the sea, dong which is a thinly
scattered population, estimated at about 7 or
SOOO, Tne lands of this island were granted
io the year 1767, in several large lots, of
which a great proportion fell into the hands of
persons who have entirely neglected their inn
proyen^ent, and in consequence of this many
very extensive tracts are totally uninhabiiech
Tlie settlement I had in view was to be fixed
in one of these, where, for upwards of thlrtr
miles ak)ng the coast,, there ivasnotasinato
habitation. The spot selected for the priwi.
pal establishment vf2s separated by an arm of
the sea, and an inter\ai of sef^eral mUes, from
any older setlleinent, Tiios^ that w«e m tlie
vicinity were of mcoosiderable amount, and
little benefit was derived frpm any iutercoune
with them ; so that tiie emigrants who arrived-
on this occasion were placed in circumstances
scarcely more iiivourable than if the island had
been completely desert.
" These people, amountfaig to about eight
hunOrcd persons of all ages, reached the isl;md
234-
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
in three ships, on ihe 7th, 9tli, and 27lh of
August 1803. It had Ixren my intention to
coine to the island soine time before any of the
•i*ttlers, in order that everv rtxjuisite prepara-
(ioa might be niade. In this, however, a num-
ber of untoward circumstances concurred to
ditiappoint nie ; and on rav ar^i^''<J at the ca-
})itai of the island, I learned that the ship of
most importance had just arrived, and the pas-
sengers were landing at a place previously ap-
pointed for the purpose.
" I lost no tune in proceeding to the spot,
irhere I found tiiat the people nad already
lodged themselves in temporary wigwams,
constructed after the fashion of the Indians, by
setting up a number of poles in a conical fonn,
tied togetlier at top, aiid covered with bouglis
of trees, ^hose of the spr«ce fir were pre-
ferred, and, when disposed in regubr layers
of luffictetit thickness, fbnned a verv substan-
tial tJiatch, giving a slielter not inferior to tliat
of a tent.
** The settlers liad spread themselves along
the sliore fi)r the distance of about lull a mile,
upon the site of an old Frendi villagi*, which
liad been destroyed and abandonee! after the
i-apture of t/ie island by the Britibh in 17:>.S
The land, wliieh had formerly been cleared of
wood, was overgrown again with thickets of.
young trees, uitersjjersed with grassy glades,
'iliese open spots, tliough of inconsiderable
extent with a view to cultivation, aflforded a
convenient situation for the encampment : in-
deed the only convenient place tliat could have
fceen found, for all the rest oftlie coast was
covered with thick wood, to the very edge of
the water.
** 1 arrived at the place late in the evening,
awl it liad then a very striking appearance.
Each &nily liad k'mdled a large, lire near their
wigwam, ainl round these were assembled
^coupes of tignres, whose peculiar national
«ress added to the singtilarity of the surround-
inc^ sceiie. Confused heaps of baggage were
*very where piled together beside their wild
habitations ; and by ttie number of iires the
whole woods were illuminated. At the end
tiHus line of encampment I pitclied^ny own
tent, and was surrounded in the mornmg by
a numerotis assemblage of people, whose l)e-
haviour indicated that the^f looked to nothing
less than a restoration of the happy days of
Ckmship,
" After our first meeting, I had to occupy
myself in. examining the lands, and laying
them oiit in small lots lor the settlers. In
this business I soon began to feel the inconve-
nience of not having arrived at the time £
bad hitended. llie plans which had formerly
been made of the land, were too inaccurate to
be of much use : a new sarvey could not be
completed sudlcieptly soon ; but some mea-
surements were indispensable ; and even i\^
Httle took up time that could iU be spared.
»om tills cause^ combined with some oi those
errors from which a first experhnent is rarely
exempt, it happened that three or four weeks
eiapscd boforc the settlers could have their iii*
dividual allotments pointed out to than ; 2mA
during all this time thc^y were under th*'* ne-
cessity of remauiing m' their hrst eucainp-
ment.
" These hardv^people thought little of the
inconvenience' they fell from lUe sliglitne^s^uf
tlie shelter tliey had put up for ihenKelvcs ;
but in other respects the delay was of very
pernicious tendency. There are few parts of
Anerica where there are not people ready to
practise on the ignorance of new-comers, and
ty representations, true or falne, to entice
them to fix on some pkice wliere the oflicioi^
adviser has an inttirest to promote. IJorae at-
tempts of tliis kind were made, and, thougji
not ultimately successful, gave much troubJe.
'J lie conndence of the settlers seemed to be
shaken ; and from tlieir absolute ignoranre of
the country, argument had no ertect in remov-
ing an V uiireasonahle fancy. The terms upon
wiuch lands were otferetl to them were scarcely
equivalent to one half of the current rate A
the island ; yet they acceded to them «^h
much hesitation, and a long time eUpse<i be-
fore they became sensible of the uncom-
mon degree of favour they liad experi-
enced.
'• At one period, indeed, there seemed to be
a probability of the settlement breakic^ up
entirely. As long as the people remained i«r-
gether' in tJieir encampment, they jjartook in
some degree of tlie versatility of a mc^b. ii
was not till they liad dispersed to tiiAx sepa-
rate lots, till by working upon tlieiu they fcJ
begun to form a local atiachiucnt, ar.J l;r
yifw their properly with a sort of pitemal
fondness, that I could reckon tlie scltl«.ineix:
as fairly b<,*p;nn.
'/ In this interval an abrming conVagio«
fc\'er broke out, and gave no small de:;rce «
anxiety, by its prot^ress among thestttier*.
My appreiiensions, however, were relieved bj ,
the presence and assistance of a iiiedica! gen-
Ueiuan, w^hom I was foitimatc enougli to have
as uiy companion, and wliose profe>sional
skill was ecpialled only by his amiable and
htunane attention to every chiss of patients.
ITirough his assiduous and' imremitted exer-
tions, the disease was soon alleviated ; and
few Cital cases occurred. There were not
many of the scttlei-s, ho^^'ever, that escaped
the contagion altogether : it was diflicult tj
intercept it among people living m such clo«
vicinity, and in a continual intercourse, which
no 'means could be found. f.ir .preventrng.
'lliis fever liad been occasioned by someacri-
dental miport<ition, and certainly not by tiie
donate, which is remarkably healthy. The
disease was nearly eradicated, when the peo-
ple began to disperse to their separate lotSr
upon which Uiey had all begun to work be-
fore the middle of September.
" I could not but regret tlie time wbicb
had been lost ; but I had satis&ction io re-
flecting, tliat the settlers liad begun the csltt-
vation of their farms, with theiT little capial*
unimpaired. Hie principal exp;-nce thev hsi
to incur was lor piovi:iions to suj^oit thca
TRB $AKL OF SELKIRK OIT' BMIGBATIOST.
2i5
^dAig ft^ vrntcr and ensinng season ; be-'
fids wiiidi, till the more opulent purchased
makb cam, and some oHicr cattle.
" PhMrisioiis, adequate to the whole de-
BBad, were purchased by an agent ; he pro-*
mucd some cattle for beef m distant parts of
the island, and also a large quantity of pota-
toes, which vrcTC brought by water carriage
iato the centre of the settlement ; and each
funHf received their share within a short
dfelance of their own residence. Some difti-
ojfUes ocoiriH, indeed, in procuring a full
ioppiT ; for, though the crops of the island
affmed a great super-abiintlance, most of
the iiirmers who could spare any considerable
quantity, had taken up the idea, that, from
so large an additional number of consumers,
thty could get what prices they pleased, and
TKxd their demands to such an extrax'agant
dipgrcc, that it would have been better if the
wti^e piorisTons for the settlement had been
importied from a distant market. In fact, it
i*ls finmd necessary to send to Nova Scotia
for a quantity of flour. Throuehout this bu-
siness some trouble was unavoidable ; but of
tMs the settlers in general had no share.
From the moment tiiey were fixed in their
rtspective allotments ot land, they were en-
abled to proceed \iithout interruption m their
work.
** A gentleman of medical knowledge, who
1^ accompanied the emigrants, and assisted
ia the management of the undertaking, settled
among them in a centrical situation, from
whence his professional aid could soon be af-
fjrded to any part. Not very for from the
same place, a for^ was erected ; a blacksmith
W5B the only artificer who v*as judged to be
indispeDsably requisite ; for in consequence
pf the small progress of the division of labour
^aiong the liighlanders, every man is in the
l£d»t of doing for hunsdf most of the other
branches of work, for which the aid of a pro-
fesed tradcsnun would be required by people
more accustomed to the habits of commer-
cW society.
" To obviate the terrors which the woods
were calculated to inspire, the settlement
^as not dispercd, as those of the Americans
tRualty are, over a large tract of country, but
ooncentnited within a moderate space. Tlie
Jots Were laid out in sucli a manner, that there
were generally four or five families, and some-
times more, ^-ho built their houses in a little
knot together ; the distance between the ad-
gcent hamlet seldom exceeded a mile,
iach of them was inliabited by persons nearly
related, who sometimes carried on their work
in common, or, at least, were always at hand
to oome to each other's assistance. This en-
abled them to proceed with the more vigour,
25 there arc many occasions, in the work of
c3carmg away the woods, where the joint ef-
forts ot a number of men are requisite, and
whi^aangle individual can scarcely ma!>e
**y Progress. TTiere is a great advantage in
donng a considerable f eld, rather than the
»ne meat of land in detached sppU^ as it
does not suffer so much from the shadow oC
the surroundine woods. Besides thhs, the
work of several men being collected in one
place, made so much the greater show. The
progress of each, insulated by itself, might
have appeared poor and insi^ficant ; but
when united, when the forests wore seen re-
ceding on cvfrry side, all were amm']tted by *
the encouraging prospect of advanceinent.
Experience, too, was rapidly oonmiunicated
among people thus concentrated ; emvIatioiL
was kept alive ; and, when any on^ was in- .
dined to de<mondcncy^ the examj^.and so-
ciety of his ttiends kept np his spirits. To
their famiUes, this social style of settlement
was a comfort of the utmost importance for
cheering their minds, ahd pre\'^enling tlieni
from sinking under the gloomy impressbns
of the wilderness.
** This plan was the more readily acquicfc-
ed in, from its similarity to the former situa-
tion of the small tenants in their native comi-
tr\- ; and, in many Instances, a party of nr-
lations wtt'e willing even to take all then* land
in one large lot in partnership. This, as;, a
sociable arrangement, I \ris disposed to en-
courage: it was ibuud, however, to lead to
much trouble in the subsequent- stages-of the
business, as the partners soon began to wish
for a subdivision, and this was seldom ac-
complished without a good deal of wrangling.
The advantage of concentrating the settle-
ments might have been attained without in-
curring this inconvenience, and is of such es-
sential consequence to jKJople who are unac-
customed to the woods, that it ought not to
be given up for any motive of inconsiderable
moment.
'• Before tlie settlers had dispersed to their
several lots, while they were still in the en-
campment which they had formed on landing,
some of the tnlmbitants of the island were
employed to build a house, so that all had
access to liarn the methods used: some kind
was after\rards cleared in a situation they had
frequent opportunities of seeing. From these
examples they appeared to receive no small
instruction; wr, thoudi their first trials of
the axe were awkwara, they improved ra-'
pidly.
''* Their houses were, indeed, extremely
rude, and such as, perhaps, few otlier Euro-
Dcan settlors would have been satisfied with.
ITic first buildings of the American woodf-
men, from which our people took their model,,
arc constructed without any other materials
tlian what the forests aflbri The walls arc
formed of straight logs, about eight inches in
<iBameter, rough and u-.idressed, laid horizon-
tally, and crossing each other at the comers
pf the building, where they are coarsely
grooved or notched about half through, tor
allow each log to touch that immediately be-
low' it : the chinks between them are stuffed
with moss, clay, and small wedges of wood.
The roof is fermcd of birch bark, or that of
the spnice fir, ix*eicd otif the trees in large un-
brokea pieces^ and secured by poie^ tied
236
KISTORY, POLITIGS, AND. STATISTICS.
dom on tiiem witH v^-thes or plhbk twigs.
This coverings if well laid, b sufficient to keep
i»t any rain, but must be. protected from tlie
suu by a cov^og of tliatcK ; for which pur-
fKHe aquatic grasses, or the amali twigs of
the spruce aqd other sorts of fir trees, may be
sued. Ho«|ws of this kind, of iiAeen or eigii-
teeo fo9tt by tfen or fourteen, were the dwell-
lags of loaay of the settlers for th^ first
fCfisom
/« The har4y habits of these Higlilanders
gave them* in this respect, a great advantage
over people who are accustomed to better
»(x»ramoitotion»' and who would have ein-
pip/eA % great proportkin <4 their time in
Mldiog comfoctahte bourses. They, on the
centrary, had soon secured themselves a shel-
ter, poor indeed in appearance, and of narrow
dmansQos, but sucn as they could put up
wifthiara temporary resource; and immedt-
ately tppUed themselves with vigour to the
essential object of dearug thtiir lands. Not-
withstandiDg thb weik was of a nature so to-
taBy new to them, they applied to it with
ei|^ euidaity, that before tlie winter set in, .
they liad not only* k>dged themselves, but
fXBoeaoine progress in cutting down the tre<^3.
This was continued during winter^ whenever
the weather was not too severe: and, upon
the opening of the spring, the land was finally
prepared for the se(Ml.
" The aeal with which they proceed<?d in
their work, was exeit)pliiied by a man of above
sixty years of age, who with his three sons.
Inhabited one ofthe little hamlets tliat have
been d&cribed. The young men had agreed
Mncng tliemselves, that as this new species of
labour would be too severe for their father,
he should do nothing till, from the progress
ofthe clearing, he should employ himself in
some sort of wt>rk he had fo>rmerly been ac-
customed to : the veteran would not, how-
ever, be dissuaded from taking up the axe,
till his sons found they had no recqurse but
to secrete it from him. In anoti>er instance,
this zeal appeared rather in a whimsical man-
ner. In walking anoong the settlements, I
came unexpectedly to a house newly erected
by an elderly widow and her two sons. The
young men had gone from home upon soine
business •, the mother, having ho immediate
occupation within the house, had taken up
one ofthe axts Uiey had left behind, and with
amazonian vigour had begun to attack a tree.
She had made some progress, when ray com-
ing up interrupted the work— rath«*r fortu-
nately, I bdlieve ; for the frood old lady had
proceeded witli more ardour than skill, and
there appeared to be some danger tliat, in the
progress of her work, the tree would havp
fallen on the roof of her new habitation.
" The settlers had every incitement to vi-
gorous exertion from the nature of.thi?ir. te-.
nures. They were allowed to purchase in
fee simple, and to a certain extent, on cre-
dit : from fifty to one hundred acres were al-
lotted to each femilyat a very moderate
price, but none was given gratuitously. To
accommodate those who had no superfleily'
of capital, they were not roqaired to pay tbt
price in full till the thurd or foiotii year ef
their possesskm ; and, m this time, an tndo>-
trious roan may have it io his power to dis-
charge his debt out of the prodaoeof the bud
itself.
" The same principle waa acUieredtoiii
the distributfon of provisions; for though se» *
veral of the poorer settlers conld not gt» oi
without support, every assistance they recei? •
ed was as a loan, after diiescxutiaj iototibt
necessity of the case, and under strict obii^a*
tions of repayment with interest. T\m^
while a remedy was pn>vkled for cases of suck
extreme necessity as might otherwise have ,
put a stop to the progress of the settlers, they
were not encouraged to reliance on any re*
'source but their own mdustrv; aad tbeip
minds were not degraded by the hummatiag :
idea of receiving any thing uke clarity. TIk i
nroud spirit that characterized ^ antieot '
Ilighlander, was carefully cherished among ^
them : tlie near prospect of jndepenrlence was |
kept constantly within their view, to stimulate
their exertions, and support them inev^
difficulty.
^' Having calculated the arrangements ne- ;
cessary fqr the progress of the setUemenI, and i
having left the charge of their execution in the
• hands x)f an agenC whose fidelity and zeal I
was well assured of by long previous aoquainu
ance, I left the island in September, 1803;
and, after an exfcnsive tour on the continent^
retiu'ned in fhc ^d of the same mondi the
following ye^u*. It w^ with the utmost satis<»
faction f then found that my plans had bceq
followed up with attention and judgment.
Though circumstances had intervened to dis*
turb, m some degree, the harmony of the set-
tlement; they had produced no essentially
had ctlcctf and the progress that had been
made was so satisfactory to all coocenitfd^
that litJLle difficulty occurred in healing every
syrc.
<' I fmmd the settlers engaged h^ securing
the harvest which their inoustry had produ«
ced. They had a small proportbn ot gnu^-
of various kinds, but potatoes were tiie prin-^
cipal crop ; these wore of excellent quality,
^d would have been alone sufficient lor tBe
fintire support of the settlement. The pro*«
pect of abundance had dilifused universal sa-
tisfaction, and every doubt as to the eligibility
c^ the situation seemed to be remqvM. In
the whole settlement I met but two meti w i»o
showc*d the least appearance of despondeiicy.
There wcrc three or fourfamilifs who had iv^
gathered a crop adequate to th<'ir own supply :
but many others had a considerable super-
abundaticu. The extent of land in cultivation
at the diffi,Tcnt hamlets, I found to be in ge-
neral m a proportion of two acres or tbt!re-
abouts to each able working hand : in many
cases from tluree to four. Several boais had
also been buQt, hj means of ^ which, a conj^i-
derablc supply of fish had been obtained, and
formed uo trilling addition to the stock of
WVTILfc^fl POLITICAL PAPElSr
1»7
ynrraians. Tbus, in fiffle morcf than one
j«v 601B the <iate of< tbeir laodiDg-on the
«bttj» IokI tiiese people ma^ themselves in-
depcodant of my supply that did not .aiise
fan their own iaibour.
. ** To their industrious disposCon^ add pG^
BFveiiiiff eocigy, the highest praise is justly
due. Without tfiese, indeed, every other aa-
vantige* itoM hate hem of no avail ; for. If
the anangcSneiits that have been detailed
AaveoBy meiit, it may all be comprised in
thi»*-tfaBl by their meuos theiad«9^ of the
iodiTidaal settlers was pf^Krved unimpaired,
was alioved fall scope to exert itself and was
so directed, as to produce all the effect, or
Bcariy all, that it could produce.**
The -intotKlQciioa to this accoont cxm-
tains macb histoncal tnatter cbnceming
•the ancient cooditioir and progressive al-
teration of the Hi^hUuKl tenantry, llie
striking tetcures ot their manners were
•4rKfiti^al pecaiiaritie» remlting from ex*
perienced expediency. In a new ootm-
try, under* new tenures of property, with
a soil inviting less to pastoral and more to
i^ncokmal pursuits, these peculiarities
^mM no kiBger be wise, and wiU thexe^
Ibm not be perraaneiit k may be piea-<
nnt to the old to hope that they are be-
'ipeathing the langoage and customs of
theiir patiial mountains to another trans-
atkotk country ; but an entire donfiision
of tbdr dialect into the £n^ish of the
neighboorliood, and an approximation of
thor maDDers to those of the American
woodmen. Is amove probaMe and a move
de^rabk result. Much merit is due to
those icasontflgs of the earl of Selkirk
(they occnr chiefly in the sixth' section),
which attack the sophisms lately advanced
against equgration : his mind is superior
to the provincial prejudices of the FVasefs
and the Irviues^ he perceives that he b
serving both fiia comitry acAl mankfhd hgr
placing the labourer where toil is most
productive. HofW £ew noblemen jft the
earl of Selki«it*s age i^ive acqairad his
claims on natiootal gratitude! NoCoootent
with the iodbsnre of a heath, or the dis-
play' Of taste in codaffe -arciritoclaiie, M
•clears a huge foirtit hl&ito vntoitdbed fajr
man, and converts the vast solilndte in»
a fertile field) he leads tiie cow MKKho
^heep to grace in tnarahes known only «»
the beaver and the morse ; he rears tho
bomes ofa thousand men, where the bear
and the serpent bred. We hope the ead
will not idways be aeparated 60m the
clients of his beneicent petromge. Tiae
British provinces along the rivtr St Law-
rence ought to be divided into moce go-
vernorships 3 because each couit tag torn
effect of making a city, and of preserv-
ing by importation a peq)etual sample of
civilizdd «nd Sdropc&D men. To one of
these govemonhip*3 we Mwiiiklwish, iiir
the oouatry*8 sdfie, to ^ an activity Imis-
ferred, which woold soon accomplish ior
a whole province, what it has revised ia
so consi<krable a district.
Where the Roman conqoers, he inha-
bits ', says Seneca. Where the Briton un-
habits, he conquers^ and thatisapurer
praise. Heseizeson the wilds of nature^
and adds them to his empiae, by planting
there the industry that wilir&xtilise the
soil, and the laws diai will civiltxe ite
people. His invasions are made with ilie
■ pruning-hook^ and the plough -, his levies
and oontribations are an interduftige that
is to enrich ; bis encampments are fairs
and warehooses : the com spring along
his path, the city climbs beside his xest-
ing-place.
AiT. VIII.9— ^o/f /ica/ /ypfTf, cmnprinitg the Correspondence qf seceral distii^uUked
Pawns, in the Year* 1792, 1793, ^'C. uitk the Editor, the Rev. CHRXSToraaa Wt-
viUL Gutirman qf' the UUe Committee qf Auociation in the County qf York. FoL 5.
8vo/pp. 448.
shall discuss with no less freedom the de-
bated and voted projects ^ the Tolanlary
com-ention of chieftains, than we applied
to the exaniination of Mr. Wyvill's perso*
nal scheme.
The most important paper is No. xtr.,
which contains a declaration of the prin-
ciples and plan of parliamentary reform,
recommended by the Society of the Friends
rf the People in 1795.
These friends of the people are known
in the literary world by various resolutions
arid epistles, and especially by the pobli*
cation of a petition presented to poriii^
Of Mr.Wyvill's Considerations on two-
ibid, brgradationed. Election, a deuiled
critique was ^ven in our third volume,
'|. 288. ^Tbat tract rea{^iears here, pre-
ceded by various public papers, emanat-
ing from societies confederated for the
olKaioal of parliamentary reform, and ac-
companied by much private correspond*
tooe with thie acting members of those
associations. The Volume .fornis a desir-
>ble cpotinostion of the history of a poli-
tical sect, whose earlier proceedings are
already recorded in four volumes^ former-
'^ -published by the same editor. We
oas
msTORT, potrrics, and staiktIcs.
meot, which every reader Toio$t acknow*
ledge to be a masterly bill cf atuinder
d^iost the iDOst valued branch of die
conatitatkxn. Tt the pejdtioii succeeded
this declaration, coatainixK a plan of the
repnasentatiVe assembly »whicli the society
prgpasea to siibstitule instead oi the hete*
ro^eneoua body that has so long governed
us ao tolerably. As a work of literary
drt> the declaration is inferior to the peti-
tion. The contained scheme merely pro-
poaes dividing the country into 513 dis-
tricts; and niAering the komehoUkrs paying
pariMh-taxcs to elect one representative Hor
each district. The subject is not yet of
critical importance, as the people have
never been called on to carry th^plan into
execndon ; it is not therefore too late to
discuss it calmly. We may be allowed
to interpose some humble animadver«
sions.
At p. 19, it is asserted that ' for all
the practical ases of representation, the
poorest man in the kingdc^ will find him-
self as efiectually represented by this plan,
as if he -voted in it hinoseif.* The like
might be predicted of the present house
of commons with equal probability. This
method of election by tajcable house-
keepers will exclude a vast class of jour-
meymeny and will admit tlieir employers to
vote. Now it is one among the grievances
of the poor that the wages of labour are
in many instances inadequate ; and that
the combination of joum^men to pro-
cure redress is forbidden by statute. This
law ma^ not be repealed by a parliament
so chosen. It is among the grievances of
the poor that the privileges of apprentice-
ship are only obtaitiable by too long a
servitude, lliis iie&triction may noC be
removed by a parliament so chosen. It is
among the grievances of the poor that
leather, soap, catidles, salt, sugar, baer^j.
and other of Uteir absolute necessaries, are
too heavily taxed. These burdens may
not be commuted by a parliament so
chosen. At least the constituent >ody
would have litti* motive to desire such
changes.
Again ; with the progress of luxury and
of taction, and with the decline of the
xelflgioos spirit, the eleemosynary virtues
are girowiog scarcer. To the industrious
vi^tation of individual hovels . have suy-
ceeded indolent ostentatious contiibutions .
to establishmehts. of benelicence. W'e
now do good by machinery, not by per-
aonai klx>or. Paupers have consequently
need cf a right of suttrage freiiucutly ex- .
«rciaed> iuQrtkr to recover the useful no-
Mce 4E)f . the classes immediately abott
them.
The practical uses of representatioo tp
the most numerous elass of the people are
likely to be wanting on the exclusive sys-
tem. It has not an equal claim with the
system of universal suihage to the support
of the benevolent. Experience amply
proves that the interests of the cxclmU
classes are little heeded in free govenuneoti.
How oppressive to young men under
t wenty-tive is the law of conscription in
France I it originated under a system of
sudrage confined to those above five-and-
twenty. How oppressive to the peasantry
of Poland was their vassalage ! it was re-»
tained, even during the paroxysm of a re^
volution, by a legislature of land-ovnen.
How oppressive is the policy of the church
of England to all classes of sectaries \ be-
ing excluded ironi public emplc^ments^
they cannot get at redress.
The provision relative to a new divisioH
. of the country is brought forwards at
p. xxii, and very small shires are recou^
mended. Why ? In order to condne po-
litical power to the feudal aristocracy, in
opposition to the monied interest ? The
fiinaller any of these divisions, tlie more
seciure is resident individual wealth of in-
fluencing the elections. The larger any
of these divisions, the more secure it pub-
lic opinion of bearing down before it tiie
influence of individiul wealth. The re-
presentation of Rutlandshire is as regular
an appurtenance of the great land-owner,
as the representation of Yorkslure is of
public opinion. The influence of wealth is
ui proportion to the contiguity : operatii>g
on the chapmen whom it can patronize, or
the inferiors it can countenance, it lessens
rapidly with distance : whereas the inflo*
ence uf opinion is equally intense at every
distance from the focus. 'Men of riohes
have an interest in procuring a division
into small shires. Men of celebcity havd
an interest in procuring a division into
large shires. Ihe /riends of the peopio
have decided against the talent, but in fa*
vour of the property of tlic couutry j they
are for exclutling merit in behalf pf
wealth. For this purpose no innovation
wns necessary : tlie subsisthig quaUhcatioo
secures it sufliciently.
If these 513 divisions are to consist, as
nearly as possible, of an equal number of
square miles, tliey may become conve-
nient as military districts, or wapentakes :
where the distance of the place of drill is
tlie chief consideration, liut in this ca^e
they will confer representation in the iu-
WTVILl's POLltlCAt 7AF1R9.
Tig
ixnt ratio of the populoiuness : London
luiij have to depute but one member, and
ao ctfual «pace on the wo]ds ot Westmore-
laad maj do the same.
if these 5 13 dmstons are each to ton-
tab an equal nitniber of houses, they must
he peq^etualty shifting their frontier; and
streets of voters miMt be hitched at each
decdon tirtKn a famUiar to a strange coq-
tiweny. Sooie of tlie divisjonoy as in the
foetropohs, will be very small ; others, as
ta Camwill, will be veiy large. This
sort of deformity has been pieti?rred, and
ttTselj preferred, by the friends of the
people : ^iet there i* inconvenience to be
teared both from the mutability and the
inequality of their districts.
A &uAcient .reason is assigned^ p.xxii.,
why these divisions should not each choose
tso members; because thus persons o{
opposite principles are often sent to repre-
aciit tlie same place : birt the motive for
preferring one to three is not so satisfac-
torily explicable. The larger these divi-
lioBs axe, the more ea:»tly will the peopjc
ihemseWes be enabled to carry the plan
ioto execution j because in every large
district some persons of weight, of zeal,
aod of iotelligeoce, are to be found, who
are adiiicted to hinovative politics, which
is less certain in a small district. Now all
sweeping schemes of reform ought to be
constructed on the principle that they are
one day to be realized independently of
the goi^erunient : as, without this facility,
nosu&icut motive can ever be oflbred
. to die existing legislature for peipetraling .
a political suicide, by bestowing its sanc-
tion. A map should he made of the pro-
jected distribution^ and circulated among
the retbm>ers.
One ax]gament may be oilfered for pre-
fetrinj a size of shiie which shall depute -
Mw representotives, to a size adapted for
depatiDg one, two, or four. If tlie majo-
rity in £iV6ur of a giveii party be in each
siiire but of a single vote among tlie people,
this will, in the meeting of their tliree
dejpgatest produce a majority gf two to
one in the legislature : consequently tlie
tendency to acquiesce in, or the dilHcuky
of resisting, the will of a mere majority
of the people^ will always by these means
he xtry great. Whereas, if one, two, x)r .
feur deputies be nominated by the'rival
tactions, and each party has its lialf of the
ftpnesentatton to marslial under, e^'ery
popoltf facticc must divide the constituted
authorities in the same proportion as it
divides the people ; which could not but
^daftgerottsto pub|ic tfranquiUity, under
a fomi (^ government where the national
representation were the seat of authorit) -
A second provision of tliis plan is, taot
the election of the whole representatiou
of the kingdom shall be sasidG at the sam^
hoiur and on tlie same day. One would
have thought that BritiiJi experience had
evinced the absurdity, mischief, and nui-
sance^ of such a regulation. Would the
representatives of the people have been
deserted in 1784 by the constituent body,
if the public ferment occasioned by the
coal j; ion had had lime to cool ? Tlic wis-
dom of national decisions is always en-
dangerett during moments of popular ef-
ienescencc. In consequence of speeches
delivered with glow, and circulated with
zeal, or of some paniphlet written in a
manner unusually impresske, rt of tew
happens that the mass of a people are rat
a given moment operated on by ilie argii-
meats on one aide only : and that, while
the impression of these reasonings is re-
cent, tlicir occasional declamtions wooid
be contrary' to their settled will, their roo-
mentaiy passion different from tlieir ddi-
berate opinion. They ^ire in a like stat&
with the audience of a debating school,
during the plaudit which succeeds the ha-
rar*gue of a favourite sophist ; at that in-
stant tliey would vote differently ixwn
what they will do at tlte close of the dis-
cussion. Now if, during such cbuUitiofis
of preji^dice, a complete dissolution of the
Icgi.'jJature occufs, the mass of represen-
tatives will be sent in conformity to thi*
transient impression, (uxl the measures of
government will paitake the cast of popu-
lar vehemence. Tlte people therefore
ought not !o intrust themselves at any one
time Avith the choice of a majority, or
even of a half of the legislature. But if
one-third only, or any less number, be to
g^out at once; the chance must he, that
the settled should prevail over the occa-
sional will of the people, the slower but
maturer decisions of their judgaient over
the hasty plirenzy of transient impatience.
Another important danger to which the ^
freedom of nations h^ been exposed .in
all revolutionary periods, is tlie extra-legal
perpetiTntion of authoriiy in the hands of
their leaders. , The tliirty . tjTaiUs of
Alliens, the decemvirs of Rqmt, tho long
parliament of England, the cruel parlia-
ment of 1716, Hie French convention^
ha\'e all forcibly prolonged 'tiieir power
beyond its just period. For these usurpa-
tion's no remtidy has been found short of
insurrection. It onght to Ixave been con-
sidejrecU th^t if the A^cle of a repce^ien^^
240
HISTOR*, POUnCS, AND STATISTrCS.
tivebody hare at once to vacate their seats,
that whole body may be interested to put
tdE its dissoKitxon> and to protract illegally
its sittings ; and that if^ one half be to go
out at once, one half is liable to that wish,
ttid may find it easy to gain over a vote
or two, and thus effect its purpose.
Whereas if one-third only, or any less
munber, be to rote out at once, the chance
alwa3rs must be that the legislature itself
Will compel the punctual observance of the
law (two-thirds having, by the hypothesis,
no interest in the breach of it), and tlms
aecure to the people a r^;ular periodical
lenewal of their choice. .
For both these r^sons partial rcFtation
is essential to wise representation. The
prerogative of entire dissolution, or simul-
taneous dismissal of the delegates* ought
to be withdrawn from the crown. A fur*
ther objection is, that the cotemporary
meeting of all the C6nstituent8 of a house
of commons, legally calls into action a
power necessarily greater than that of the
government, whose stability, in democra-
tic times, might thereby be attacked.
A defect of this decdarataen is, that ccm-
cemtng the duration of parliament nothing
it stated, except that it may safely be tri-
ennial, biennial, or even annual, on the
plan recommended. We deprecate very
short parliaments. It is not the duty of
lepresentatives to decide in all cases as the
peof^ themselves would decide ; but as
at is best for the people that they should
decide. Not the coincidence of their
opinion with that of their constituents^
but its coincidence with universal justice,
18 the rule of approbation. Now the
shorter the time a delegation lasts, the
greater the probability of obedience to the
constituency. In onkr then to diminish
the influence of hasty, vulgar, and un-
sound opinion, time enough ought to be
given lor sudden ferments of the public
mind to subside. The representathre
should have a chance of assuadiug his own
better' judgment on tiie multitude. A
year in the present state of instruction u
evidently too little* Triennial are there-
fore preferable to aimoal parliaments.
But annual elections are compatible with
triennial parliaments) of three county-
members^ one might rote out yearly. Or,
under sexennial parliaments, one rote out
biennially. This would keep alive a suf-
ficiently frequent appeal to the people;
and, by influencing progressively the di-
visions in the house of commons, would
abate the insolence of power,, and inter-
cept the despair of secessions. Short par-
liaments would cboqien foottnditlie &;•
nity of a representative; and the collet
tive body would lose weight and power is
the state firom the comparative »sigiiifr
cance of the component individnal^. %
years is not too much £ar a demagogue to
unfold his general phm of conduct and io-
{^lation: time should be allowed lbri»
prentioesUp to the local rirmmwni < tja^
requisite. The liberties of Franoe mi
gone; because every body who oovecii
a seat in the house had been aocoii -^^
ed i there was no motive to be .»
any longer for a colk^e of tribunes,
the flre-ilies, that clKise, had sbooe,
liad burnt out their phosphorus,
parliament of Britain produced fewer
men during its trienniality, than sibc
prolongation.
A great reform has been ac»
In the British parliament by the ««^
tion of the hundred new memben
Ireland. The effect which loid Chu«.
anticipated fix>m increasing the number
representatives is already very discemifalski
a consciousness of strength,, a ^Mrit of jw
dependence, is rising anew. Tlie iiaii
best addition would be to mSa fiie nmo*
presented towns to frame a charter hi
themselves. It is withm the competeaci
of the royal prerogative to gram sucM
charters. Any homogeneous system «f
representation has its inconvenience. ScaU
one sect or interest would pr^iotidenley
and would new-model every thitiff br k^
peculiar will. There is no tolerance wh(«
a majority has counted noses: the puU
tans of England, the libertines oiVnaaefy
overwhelmed their opponents as with tl#
tide : but.the waters ebbed, and one te
now to lament the wmt of those hol^
and anchorages which, if the pariiameiNs'
of ¥t^c&, or the UHmidpal corporation
or the provincial states, had been specii-i
caUy represented, might perhaps bars
t>een found; As the best administratis
are those which consist of an aristociscy
of strong minds culled from rival and op.
ponent parties; sothebestvepresentatioia
are t^ose which leave uncon&sed the »•
tund sources of social influence, and ad-
mit them all in due proportions^ We
should like to have twenty or five-aad«»
twenty tribunes of the people, eligiblo hf
universal suflrage withoot anyquaiifio^
tion of property, superadded to the ext»t
legislature. Let us see if they could con-
trive to better the condition of the poor
or of the rich, to strengthen the. gravits-
tion of allegiance, or. br^hten ths radi-
ance of puUic glory, .! .
WTVILl's political PAPfiRS,
341
A hampgeneoas representation of the
people woaJd be disconnected with the
oobiUtj, would be disconnected with the
cmwD, If equally numerous /with the
piesent house of commons^ one chance is,
tfaat tbe lanie quantity of patronage would
be equally operative. It might annex it-
self as an humble appendage to the her&-
! Staij branches of the constitution, accept
I ^btrtbutions of emolument and honour
foan the minister fur the time being, talk
I Jiboat the public and care for itself —
r iD this case nothii^ would be gained by
i the alteration. Another chance is, that
i> h voiild display a spirit of independence,
increase its own authority at the expence
€£ the hereditary institutions, and en-
: cioach both on the influence of the crown
and the privileges of the nobility. This
; if tbe more probable event : it is, the ex-
:' pcctadon, the hope, the desire of the
- feople, and then* motive for soliciting re-
.' larm. Now can any politician, who has
< lead the history of England through tlie
' hst, and of France through the present
:. centmy — ^wbo has considered the nature,
1, ^rit, and tendency of a popular assembly,
i. atroDg in the firesh confidence of the
i yeo(^, and anxious by splendid enter*
ii'^jnae not to disappoint the expectations
^fmned firom its long-protracted hard-
earned appnsacb-— can any less tutored
: policician doubt, that such a body will be
»- willing and able to encroach, not merely
. oa the nuschievous prerogatives of the
: crown, but on royalty itself > that it will
aoce more vote the house of lords' super-
fluous, concenter in its own hands a legis-
^ Itttve omnipotence, and then employ it
', ai breakii^ up all ,our corporations and
establishments? lliis rational conviction
; is grown so general, that those, who are
. not lepoblicans, consider these sweeping
^ projects of innovation as volcanic ground,
which the cautious tread of a constim-
. tiuDalist has to avoid ; and begin consen-
1 taoeousiy to turn away from every plan
of parliaaieotary reform, which goes to
. the length of representing the people.
The r^ubltcans, on the oUier hand,
^ would perhaps be blameable, if they
' flopped short at a plan of reform for one
j; iiouse of parliament only. Mr. Fox has
Wisely said, that every unnuxed govern*
pat is bad— simple monarchy, simple
•riitocra^, simple democracy, have seve-
1% been found oppressive. Legislative
OQBipolence intrasted to any mdividual,
^ oc toaoy corpoiatioa. Is a power too great
to be wielded well by men. The exclu-
lire sway of a despot or of a citizenry.
Am. Bar. Vol. IV.
the monarchy of a kti^ or the monarch/
of a convention, is tyrannous alike. It
should seem therefore that, if ever the
lower house be strengthened by connect-
ing it with the mass of the people, a new,
a stronger, and inpre elective upper house,
ought also at ike same time to originate, in
oitler to keep its authority in equipoise,
and to divide and moderate its power.
Can it be less legal to conspire the new-
modelling of the one than of the other
house of parliament ? Why not substitute
the pursuit of a constitutional reform to
that of mere parHammtary reform > Ouf
nobility grows too numerous for the ex-
pedient concession of arf entire vote in the
upper house to each of its members.
Why not limit the peerage to direct de-
scent > Why not confer ai} elective cha-
racter on the whole upper house, vesting
the Choice exclusively in the nobility,
and granting one vole to knights, two to
baronets, four to barons, six to viscounts,
eight to earls, ten to marquisses, and
twelve to dukes, in the choice of their
proxies, or delegates ?
The remaining public papers arc of
little moment.
The subsequent correspondence, though
somewhat dull, from the unvarying tone
of reciprocal panegyric in which it is con-
ducted, deserves a short commentary.
At page 15, Mr.Wyvill blames tlia
friends of the people for not expelling Mr.
Cartwright. And what was tlie crime of
Mr. Cartwright ? He was a friend to uni-
versal suffrage. It is mortifying to see
these would-be reformers behaving like
bishops at a council ; intolerant to every
aberration from their own confined creed •
and, while they are complaining of tha
exclusive spirit of the state, themselves
getting up an interior ostracism to defraud
principle of its confessors, and the poor of
their advocates.
At page 115, we find Mr. Wyvill coa-
lescing with tlie government-party, and
subscribing those declarations of allegiance
which had been indirectly called for by
the proclamation against seditious publi-
cations and assemblages. These meetings
for the declaration of loyalty took place
throughout the kingdom in November
and December 1792. The old reformers,
whose associations were of ten years
standing, chose to distmguish themselves
from the new reformers, who were more
apparently aimed at in the proclamation.
The old reformers signed the constitu-
tional tests : at least Mr. Wyvill and hil
friends did se. They 40 not scruple ta
K
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».' '. '/• ' ; " r', ♦.^'^, it IS eijx 'I.*rrjt icr
t '• t'/ry-iM'^/ 1/ fHJic ail Oi.tiry m ixrhjJl
'/J f li/riji, in ^-^'I'j-r to WiW disunion be-
tv/y*n t!ic pe^^.le an! thtir represeriU-
t •'•♦, ai»'J !l,«i» to V. jtlidrrv frmn the prr>-
f "l\r'/% <)i tin; fu^Ute of comm*>n% ibe
*'' 'nU'U^tu'C anJ itK.cnini'jf'jnent of po-
J/«»|jr %ym\ymUy, Wltti^L-.er the Lou^of
< oiijni//n» \* itutiken into tlie Jcthrir^ni' of
vTtility, arid u Iriiding its inttruim-i.tality
in tti'* pcrikinal oaprices aiiJ enterprize^
^'f the tfUttuiuh, with t^x) little rc.^ird to
p'lUjic and national welfare, it is cxptdietit
i"r ijic whi<f-party to raise an outcry In
iitUuW of n-Jorni. in ordrr to bring pcjpu-
J;!r oditiin cm the sycophants of majesty,
afjd to interni) t cilatorial i;er\ility by tlie
irjfcrpoiitiini of the con.slituiTit body,
'liic rcfr,rairr» of 17^2 merited the ap-
prol)afion of tin- loricn, the reformers of
I7^>2 till! npj)rohM::';n of the wliigs.
At pji;<r 210, a nut« otGiim in whirh
Mr. Wyvill rerapjulatcs the primipal nr-
j;iimfnu whi'h have been op|K)sedto jK?r-
%<'tu\ rcprehcntHfioii, or iini\crsal.sulfnige.
'1 liv piijMiIacc, ho b'dys, lliroiigh iguoraut«
^j. ':* ai
' : ■ : :r . r:.. . : -_-*= ._ -J
-^"^ '•" ^-. - •:----_•? -ci:
f-:r I ;:«r - t:^?r.:r,
-"J^ 1... ' _ --:T» -C 1:2s X-r.
Ljc.-e - -_ - i rz-> -^ -t T -te« r Ifi
tjit - r---i : :i 7- T«rr- : ;f »oIJ ferl
lt-l; ti: _. :. 'rz 'L^ rrcil' .c ct die]
:i- :: -c n- --. r> ri > < Z3iz-3cr, atd ':
u>e i^rtt .-.jL^rr . £ bes«r: Jcs^-c and <
r*/. h -. _€> irr bt^r^-nefcl id
rcilj, c.r "■• i-=.r Mr. WttiU's phiase,!
gc-kerr-^' . , -w.s?y 'B-LI be 21 the
avcr» ( t C-: ::il n, ih^ v ill pc^onote d
mz-.-.n, ih^ ^rfli cocxfcr a reu-a
po-A er on liie instnctors cf tbe criuhil
AVe •Jjo'dld K? g!jd to kn* w w here (
other prettaded aigiai^;rrs a^in-.t
vcr5al suflrn^e arc to bt- f^uaJ. llie i
ihcrity of Sir A\1i!uiii J. r.^-s, of Sir Ja
Mackintosh^ of Mr.Tiu.-m3s Cooper, J
they are all weighty na-iies, decide* I
uni\cr>;d sulfrage: under ^iiat pretext 4|
the Sk^\ oc3to« of limitation sLelitT th^
di.-i-cnl ? Why not grant to six towas fli
to >ix counties, a choice by ur/iverNil a*
I rage, in order to observe it* opentioOQi
a safe scale r No form of represeDiauW
onght to be rendered general, witM
previons experience of its cflfiects. Yafc
shire is a fit county to new-model for tW
purpose of experiment ; as it is too lat^
tor the extant plan of election. Jbfl
people of each riding, or Jitliing, mffjit
appoint delegates, agree *on a p<?cul5*
plan, and petition parliament for a sepa-
rate bill ot r«dfea». Whtf« iIm oldv>!
REASONS^ &C.
243
I in fjrour, let the old way retTiain :
^ckinge js wished, let change be
Such relbmis ui detail could
DO alarm, and might, with much
nent to the reformers, correct, in
icwir^e oX txvo parliaments, the chief
uities of tJi<» eatiiblished arrangement.
[tCe cxiiort Mr. AVyvill and his friends
I take into ccn>ider;»tion the propriety of
W!i4»aing the legislature lor a subdivision
I Yorkshire into three counties, and for
wrtlii limiting anew the riijht of sutfrage.
! If no effort
it is probable that parliament would listen
to petitions for introducing thirty or forty
additional members. Westminster might
petition for the liberty of choosing tiiree
instead of two representatives. Wapping,
a district of the metropolis, which the
docks will render very important, might
petition for an especial charter of repre-
sentation and police 5 nor ought it to
ciioose fewer than three members. Man-
chester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds,
might apply for a sii^ilar privilege, and
receive the grant of one or two represen-
tatives according to their respective popu-
lousncss.
,«..>, v.. s..^ be uindc to abolish or m-
fogeon tiie boroughs, which are guarded
t ail ilie jealousies of private property,
t»T. IX, Reasons 11 ft*/ the Society of Frleruls should not vote for Members ofParliamcnL
8vo. pp. 19. ^
I THE whole argument of this little
argument
Mti U coulaijicJ in these
two p-ara-
:\ representative is one who personates,
supplier, the place of another, and is in-
Brted « ith his right and authority ; conse-
iBitly tlie voter send« him with full power
let in the house agreeably to the establish-
Ibw of the land, which chiefly consists of
iesc particalars:— to preserve the constitu-
Mias it nou- i<, and to ascree to such alterar
lis, or to assist in the fnuning of, and ])as«-
|sach ads, as may be requisite more firmly
> establish the present government ; to vote
r the mutiny act annually ; for the mainte-
iace of the annv and navy, and the cluuch
lablishment, when necessary. He must
boTote the taxes to defray the expences
Rasioned by the increase of miHtary and
inl expenditure, that \var may be prose-
Itted to the utmost extent, according to the
leources of the country ; and to vote the
IBbsidics to foreign princes, to strengthen
hdr alliance, and^ to enable them to raise,
haci bring into the field, their contingent
^fKtos of men.
■ " The Toler delegates the representative,
pA niTcsts him with all his power : instead
if ^injt himself, he deputes another to re-
ij««nt aim, and exactly approves a system,
«e baas of which is uar, and the established
•«ti?ion by a farced maintenance. 1 sliali
l^imt one query tor consideration, ^\hether
ifcdi voten are not implicated, in so doing,
%ilh the disastrous consc^iuences w hich war
^taik? and shall insist thait they are parties
^ e differ diametrically from tliis casuist,
ilBd think that the proper form of pro-
: *^'0^ against war is to depute such men
to parliament al wall favour pacificatory
tounciis ; but not, as is the usage of qua-
ttn,t06hun the burden of public defence.
In like manner, -.ve thiiik the proper fomfi
. « pKCtCaiing aga'mst lylbes is to depute
such men to parliament as ^fill propo^^e
their abolition ; but not, as is the usage of
quakers, individually to witlihold that
levy. For, if instead of obeying laws ema-
nating from the agreed agents of the com«
mmiity, citizens were, on each occasion,
to assert a claim of private judgment cori-
cerning the expediency of such public
commands, .and were separately to disobey
whatever laws they did not approve, a
complete anarchy would ensue. No re-
venue could be collected to keep even 9,
road in rei>air ; no criminal legislation en-
forced 5 no territory defended against in*
vasion j no public purpose whatever car-
ried into execution ; the advantages of so*
cicty would all cease at once.
Hence the moral obligation to obey
even the laws we disapprove is stronger
than the duty of bearing testimony against
any human absurdities, however diffusive,
obstinate or vexatious. The object of
such testimony being merely to better the
temporal condition of mankind, it would
be absurd to sacrifice tlie end to the means.
Only in the jeopardy of those para-
mount interests, which are supposed to
afi'ect the eternal condition of the soul,
can it be defensible for individuals to be-
have toward a mild magistrate, as toward
a tyrant and a plunderer. There must be
warrant from scripture to warrant civil
disobedience* This the quakers cannot
find, either in the case of military conscrip-
tion or of levying tythes. John the baptist
exhorted tiie soldiery (Luke, tii. 14.) to
be content with their wages. Peter bap-
tized Cornelius, a centurion, and othcT
devout soldiers (Acts, c. x. v. /.) of hij
company. Jolin the evangelist is probably
John tlie.Essene, whose eventual military
coasequence Josephus (Dc Bello Judaico,
lib. iii. c. 'i. § 1 .) repeatedly notices. Ih^
244
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
proff ssion of a soldier is not merely a per-
mitted but ah honoured employment
among tbe founders of Christianity: it
has the sanction of th^ master himselfj
see especially Luke, c. vii. v. 6— -p. In
the discharge of taxes Jesus was no less
an exemplary citizen. He had been long
a resident at Capernaum, and, on revisit-
ing his place of abode, they that received
tribute came to Peter and s^id : ' Doth
not your master pay tribute?* ttesaith:
*Yes/ (Matthew, c.xvii.v. 24—25.) And
again, when consulted by the Herodians
about the expediency of submitting to Ro-
man taxation, he expressly teaches sub-
mission (Matthew, c.xxii.v. 21.) to tlie
sovereign for the time being j and advises
Art. X. — An Attempt to rectify the public Affairs of the United Kingdom and Empire, t
promote their private Prosperity, illustrated by many national Projects kit^rto lut fi
dered effectual; with a Proposal for making an imtnediate, durable, and adoar'
Peace : humbly addressed to the L^slature. By tht Author qf the Income or 4
* Kur. In three Volumes, %\o^
that, while the image and superscnpdoi
of the coin were Cesar's, to him, ^<^"ay^
a heathen, tribute should be paid. . 'Bm
trthe is notoriously a tax of Jewish on^
(I-eviticus. c. xxvii. v. 30 — 32.), and nHtt
conforniable to scriptural €uth<Hity tka^
these Roman capitations. The resistancli
of the quakers to soldiering and to t^thiij
is therefore not merely anarchic, butaDti*!
christian. • |
We counsel this author to reconsidofci
his argument ; and to set about predi^j
posing the members of his sect to coofifli
their protest, or testimony, against lliif
laws, to a wholesome interference in
tions.
TH£R£ are foar motives for making
books : 1 . The desire of attaining an end ;
2, The desire of gain; 3. The desire of
fame ; and, 4. The desire of composition. '
This book is so driftlen, so useless, so
temporaneouSj that * it cannot but have
been drawn up to gratify the latter of
these motives. It seems entitled there-
fore to tiiat indulgent sort of reception^
which hobby-horsical amusements, that
are innocent, obtain from the politeness,
if not from the complacency, of the by-
stander.
This is more than an innocent, it is a
well-intended, but it is a long-winded ex-
ertion : panting praise would toil after it
in vain. • As in a maggot-race ring draws
ring after ring with most visible progress
and most insensible advance, the turges-
cence of effort travelling at every hitch
from head to tail, and back again—so
here section drags on section, and chapter,
chapter 5 and at every fresh topic the au-
thor stops to recapitulate dnd retrace the
little whole length of his political crawl.
Still the wish to be useful is no less obvi-
ous than the wish to be busy. Gratitude
balances every feeling oi annoy. The
love ci country is estimable even in the
prattle of its dotage. If patience in the
reader is attended with long-sufierlng, it
will be followed, like going to churchy
with moral consolations.
The introduction narrates the author's
motives for attempting to rectify public af-
fairs ; ^nd gives an outline of his design.
The second dtapter recommends the
institution of parish-agencies ^ or the
pation by government of a power
confided to elective overseers. This m
at first appear to save trouble to the pk
rishioners, and to £ivour the comforts #
the poor. The pauper-monger appdnfinl'
by ministry will feel less solicitude aboitj
the interests of the payers, than an over*'
seer appointed by the parish, and will oat<
care less for the good-will of the poor,,
But all such appointments by govemioail,:
degenerate in a few years into mere jobij
into ho5pitals for decayed valetry aai
dependents of ministerial land-owDea»!
Tbe hired pauper - mongers, like oeir
brooms, will at first sweep clean ^ by d^
grees they will become useless pensioae»i
on the poors rate, which, for the sake «(J
their percentage, they wiij be very alert ts
increase. Elective and rotatory instita-'
tions, on the contrary, always retain that
elasticity. They are less brilliant thtt ,
those new patent patronized methods exd*j
cuted by the zeal of vanity for the pacadf ;
of publicity ; but they are of less train ;
'sient operation. There is the same pro-
portion of good overseers now as there
was in the forty-fourth year of ElizabedL *
Another plan for the increase of joiini-
sterial patronage, which this author dh- ,
cusses, is a corporation fi>r national infor- ,
mation, a sort of clergy to teach the ads .
of this life, ^ such as (page 191) agricul-
ture, medicine, mental improvement, aod ,
practical jurisprudence.' This plan nuAi
be licked into fofoi. The churches mi^t» ,
for half (he Sunday, be put at the dispoiil
BDWAXDS'S ATTEMPT TO KBCTIPT FUBLIC AFPA|RS.
94J
•f die nigeon ; who might lecture on
' the impoitance xx£ temjperance to health i
of iMfflov-dniningy to springy lands 3 of
daadag, to military proficiency ; and of
the firinciples of mechanics, to the vulgar
mts. He might read chapters out of
Bbckstone, or out of Burn« dissert on
British history, and promulgate the new
bws with expositions. The ty thes might
then be divided between the guardian of
the body and of the soul j between the
teftcfaen of oar wisest coursfe for here and
fcr hereafter. It might be doing too much
at once suddenly to make the alteration,
more than prejudice to-day would bear :
but it would certainly not be amiss, we
are serious here^ if at least one living in
every hundred were immediately to be held
: by a medical instead of an ecclesiastical
'■' qualification. This would secure, or at
jvcst motive the requisite education in
i •Coootry surgeons, and could be made com--
; patible with the respect due to college
■ property. In a thinly peopled neighbour-
I flood no surgeon can earn an indemnity
tx an expensive frequentation of the me-
Iropolitan schools of medicine ; yet in
every neighbourhood skilful medical help
•light to be within call.
The third chapter treats of the finances.
In the table of contents some very novel
plans are promised for paying our debts
flid increasing our revenue -, but alas ! we
ind nothing but the old resources, econo-
ny and peace, sinking funds and taxes.
We will give one hint to the author. On
pe^^ it is easy . to be magtiificent : nor
vodd petty wares avail in our vast chasm.
Lay a land-tax on the whole peninsuhi of
Hindostan. * Send over the necessary peo-
ple to survey and to assess the vast dis-
trict As an indemnity for taxing tlieir
loil, relieve their trade, and throw open,
free of duty, their ports, and those of Bri-
tain to each other. Open at Calcutta a
hank for receiving this revenue : and let
that bank there sell stock in the English
fbodsy-and there pay dividends on stock so
iold. The form of remittting money home
^I then consist in buying at the Calcut-
tihaak a perpetual annuity in the British
^onds ; and all the hoards of our nabobs
viU become loans to the state. The divi-
dends bong payable in that country, and
Mcnied on dieir own land revenue, a great
deal of native property will gradually take
confidence and place itself Uiere ; so that
^e or two hundred millions of our na-
tiood debt would migrate of its own ac-i
cocdyabdmake room here for the creation
cfai much freak itock. From reckotting
our debt by lacks of millions, we may.
bravely aspire to extend it to a crore,
Land-taxes, which are of all others the
wisest, because they encroach on the re-
venue only of the idle, are peculiarly dif-
ficult under the British constitution, on
account of the sympathy felt for the bur-
dened class by tlie proprietors who are
crowded in ix)th houses of Parliament,
This country lias consequently been al-
ways the victim "of its an ti -commercial
system of indirect taxation. If lord
North had spared the tea, and rated the
soil of North America, the colonies would
not have murmured j their landed inter*,
est was a feeble fragment of their popu-
lation. He might dien have instituted in
New York an office for paying dividends
out of the land-tax, and have funded there
vast supplies of capital toward the wars of
tills countr}', instead of their funding here
tlie national debts of America. Every
colony ought to be founded on the prin-
ciple of paying an increasing quit-rent for
its land. There would then be a secure
local revenue to mortgage for the remuner-
ative expence of protection.
The fourth chapter treats of agricul-
ture, and recommends to the state to take
into its own hands the whole farming
system 5 to contract with Irish rebels for
the digging of potatoes, and with the wo-
men of Billingsgate for the crying about
of milk. This writer rivals sir James
Steuart in his r^ for regulating andmed*
dling. We doubt not he woidd think it
rational in government to open retail
shops, under pretext of securing the ex-
cise duties, and to sell, on account of the
lords of the treasury, calicoes, dish-clouts^
mutton, and mustard*
The fifth chapter, whieh proses about
national industry, fills the whole second
volume. The best thing that can be done
for the internal improvement of the ad*
vantages of the country is to delegate the
power of passing inclosure, road, a;id ca-
nal bills, to local courts of magistracy ; so
as to diminish the expence of acts of par*
liament, and to fiicilitate the examination
of evidence on the spot. Such courts
might have a jurisdiction coextensive with
the circuits of the judges ; might sit dur-
ing the recess of parliament ; and might
comprehend deputies, nominated by the
justices of the peace and by the corpora-
tions of the towns, or their head-officers.
Parliament ought to be rid of the detail of
local legislation.
The sixth chapter, which occupies the
greater part of the third volume^ advisea
245
fflSTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
an immediate peace. Mr. Edwards would
hiive us keep Malta, give Egypt to France
(which may l>ecome very expedient, how-
ever impertinent) and conquer fur our-
selves all Assyria;
This MTitcr is not so precautious as
^Irs. Glasse, v ho instructs her pupil to
catch the hare before she directs about the
cooking.
Appendix after appendix thicken these
volumes into portly ponderosity. The
projects which pass in review are mostly
notorious, and are rather expounded than
discus-ed, or appreciated. One of the
most peculiar, and of tlie favourite pro-
jects of the autlior, is the institution of
parish agencies, which is more concisely
and explicitly recommended in tlie con-
cluding appendix than in the first volume,
and which we shall republish in the form
it there receives.
*' Such persons as may have read the pre-
ceding work may be prebunnxl to be in gene-
ral convinced of the intiiiite importance of
public agenc} , as it has been proposed for in-
numerdblc concerns useful to the nation at
large, various in their kind, and yet still more
renjarkable fur the dilTercnce of their extent,
referring alike to the most minute particulare '
of internal police, and to proposals as bound-
less and opj^osite to each othcr^ as the five
preceding are. At the same time these con-
cerns or proposals, to which it is essentially
necessary, are considered to be indispensable
for the inaiiitcnance of the ftiture greatness
ami prosperity of the empire. However, it is
requisite to insist farther upon the subject in
rtspcct of the importance of tlie combinalion
of miblic ai^t^ncy with the pu'scntmagisl rates
and difVeri-nt parish ollicers, which is proposed
inidtT the general substitute, as see chapter
third.
** These at present are intnisted with vast
powers, bu( are under no controul : for any
appeal which the law allbrds is nugatory, and
will not be had recourse to, unless they com-
niit great ollem es. They difler, in (his re-
S{ic(t , from all otlier of tl^ civil orders, even
the clercy bemg suljject to strict discipline.
They are, in fact, exempted from the regula-
tion-i of policCj as if a sense of the presence of
an active controul over their conduct would
not ))rudiice a salutary attention to their rt>
spec tire dutit.M?. Let it be supposed, that
th'-y are Jiiirhly valuable in their respective
offices, and their services indispensable ; yet
t^tM^agi^lracY, like all other orders, will pro-
duce Oct asjoiially, or often, individuaj^ whose
g*"n(>ral conduct may be reprehensible; and
pjirivh oflic'TS are still more frequently de-
inKjuent. Some dejrree of controul here is
thi-refo'c retjuisite : and a barrister as'«5ociated
with thu* for.ner, thmich his iurisdictjon i^ ♦^k-
tcmlcd to two or more circl'v^, uiid-un ag«:Ficv
steward with the latter in every cirde c*f the
kingdom, will be as small a che-ck as can be
introduced ; and mu>t ausv^er vciy importsmfe
purpostN. Thus the conduct of i>oih may bO
duly regulated, and the functions of tliciV of-
fices happily discharged in all respects : and
a.s they together coustUute a body of police,
they will be more respected ; and Millbpza
eirective agency, with which refractory and
pretended paupoTN. or those who penVymi
statute work upon the roads, will not irl*le.
At the same time the check conmiis»Ton«;m
might be obliged by law to select a proper
committee, or committees, to act on the occa-
sion, both for a circle in general, and for the
diiferent parishes and townsh'ps. These woolfi
maintain the cause of tlie people, while ther
would thus co-operate w ith this general bn<^
of agency, in advancihs; the welfere of t!»
country: a:id the ditferent orders, emukm»
of following theirexample, would not be coo-
tent with the mere periV^rmance of their public
duties, but would cordally enter into the spirit
of them.
" Parish or township officers left as they are^
to themselves, are often negligent to all ex-
treme, or commit the grossi«t violatioiis of
their duties ; or frecjuently are incapacitate^
to perform them ; or, engaged in tneir ow»
affairs, cannot spare the time necessary for the
proper execution of those which relate to the
public. These last they overlook in such a
manner, as to render ineflectiwl niany hii!}i!|^
salutary regulations of the legislature : and m
res}>»ect of the first plan to be proposed for the
diminution of poverty in general, are Ye.-\' in»
jurious, as they attend not the numeroiii ktnds
hes among the lower orders,, inattentive to
form their children to those habits of industry^
that are the surest means of reducing the poor
rates. It is impossible her:* to describe the
amount of ti.e detriment, or in what ditfcrent
respects they are injurious to the countrv.
Yet they are capable of being chosen, andot
biMng subjeded to co-operation with Uiccirrfe
stewards, by such proper regulations of polic?,
as would render very valuable services. Thui
they may every where assist the agency s'cw*
ard' throughout the extent of the circle, and
yet experience less trouble than they do at
the present time ; while, seated in the centre
of population, he may there employ iiifenor
agents as these maybe wanted, or dispatch
tJiem as thev are required in tlirt'erent parts.
Tht?y would of cour'^e be employed to super-
intend diiVerent kinds of w ork, caVried fonnard
in their resptfctive neighbourhowis, and to en-
ter proper minutes for the purpose. Farther,
they would readily furnish him with local in-
fo nnat ion, as well as take upon them a grt^t
part of the trouble of the aG;ency. Thus a
single steward, w ith proper oflicers' under hiw,
trained to the various oflices of public agency,
and acting under the supreme board, would
be able to accomplish all tlie local concerns of
the circle ; and sucJi a person might have !x ea
f«^iind verv servirciible in re?pect of tbe ii^
come tax/'
MACDIARMID S SYSTEM OF NATIONAL DEFESTCE.
247
Ifaniilonal bankruptcy were on the
jxHUtirf being eiitrcted, it might be meri-
torioi!^ lo device a vast increa.se of useless
offiiYS in order to provide pensions for
the niort- vociferous and piliable suft'erers.
But under Jiii order of things, which al-
nsidv stifles by profusion of patronage,
lI2 ienJe;icy to independence among the
people, there can be no occasion for more
ttatc-paraiitcs. Alrcaru' the tax-gatherer
» frequently bid to call dgnin. Even the
richer inliabitants of 4>ari!»iie!5 put off their
pavnjents, no driubt in order to keep in
wmutcuaiice tli^ir pcK)rer neighbours,
ii'bom real want compels to such pro-
Basunadon. New nuinagers must have
new salaries ; out of what rates c:ui these
be eitorted without iidiumanity ? Rather
|et us calculate which public servants can
be cashiered without detriment, which can
be ecjuitably recompensed with inferior
profusion. To simplify, not to. compli'*
cate the mechanism of administration, ii
the purest pursuit o£ statistical contri-
vance.
in nil these dissertations there h much
repetition, much want of arrangement,
much reference to and fro, much vain
claim of invention and discovery, much
confusion of idea, and much appearance of
oscillating conviction, which begins by
advising one way, and ends l>y advisnig
another. N(jtwithstandtng tlii«, the au-
thor's self-complacence insensibly gains
upon his readers : to be well-meaning is
to be deserving ; to have toiled for the
public is an extensive claim to gratitude.
^T. W.—Jn Enqniry into fhe Si/sfcm nfXafional Dtftnce in Great Britain. By JoftN
Macdiarmid, Esq. li vols. 8vo.
NEARLY half this book consists of
^peculations about the price of land, the
nrinus taxes, the sinking fiind, the pro-
doctive industry, and the national debt of
Sreat Britain j things which may be
pressed into connection with the national
defence, as might the revolutions of the
•easftns, and the tlieoiy of the weather,
llttt which ought' rather to have been se-
parately considered. After ordering a book
about the public force, in order to bee<iuip-
ped with conversation for the mess, it lA
prwoking to find it full of the solicitudes
of the countingrhouse politician.
Det'ence-^the very word is qn military.
^T)at occasion liasi this country for otlier
detencetlian its navy? Should a legion
of invaders chance to land, fur}' will fur-
'ni^h weapons, and courage, victoiy, to
the people. It is in order tq asi^uine our
nmi among the European nations, tliat we
mast traiin to military skill a larger pro-
portion of our population. Of stay-iit-
bime soldiers, and stationary cavalry, we
liave enow and to spare.
llieintluence of a sy.stera of defence on
nwral% Mr. MacdLirmid unde^akes to
dacuss in the tJiird section of the second
chajHer. In the course of this important
investigation what are we told— that ill-
ness is a vice-— :that the Athenians tJiought
*«>--*hai the Spartans thought so— diat
^ Romans e3fcemi)Uiied the fact — under
the emperors apd imder the Popes — iuid
that the reformation favoured industry.
At leugdi come a few observations in
point : that military manners relax indus-
Irv-^liiat Q,^.^, interrupt cl^istity — that
they fxivour ignorance — that they encroach
on liberty.
l*'inall}', wc are informed that heavy
taxes operate as temptations to perjury.
Tlie intnxluctory and concluding re- •
flexions may be passed over as irrelevant,
but the intermediate matter deserves some
extent of commentary : let us first tran-
scribe it.
" If our militarj^ system have a powerful
tendency to relax the industry of lh<.* peoiilc.
it must fuive an equal tcudi-m y to rehix ilvir
morals. It Is the business of recTiiitinj; ^wt-
ties to introduce habits of chinikeiuu-ss and
debauchery of all sorts wherever they ^;y. It
, is by a tasiV for these that tjiey expect to un-
settle the habvis of industiy among the youuir
men, and to allure them into the servu e. It
will nut l> ? denied that tlie morale ol bodi
sexes suffer cviuall) by these proceedings.
'* it is notlo be supposeci that the morals
of tlio>«-- w ho h:ve been allured into tiic siTt
vice by such means should inunediately reef)-
vor iJv*' Uiint,or tliat the consecjuence-.; ol Ihrir
vite> *\)uld be contir.ed to themselves. ( )i.r
officers call loudly for the institution ofhaj*
ratk>, where tiiey "may have the soldiei> in-
medial elv under their own eye. U is wl-.h
justice tfiey complain that tlieir men, uhrii
quaiiercd in our grt^at towns, beeome uni-
formly licei»tiuu.s, dissipated, and di^e•lse(l.
AVill any one afViim tliat when a ivi^iinent
leaxes a't<iwn it carries the cifects of its \i(vs
along with it f More women are CTeiL-rally
suj)pQse(l to be fUbauehed by the memlieis
of tlie army than by any other class of men. "
'i'his is not' lo be « oinidered as any re[)roa(h
to them. The members of the army diJlcr
nothing from their fellow citizens, uide-s in
the situation in which they are placed, "fhey
would not trifle their lime in cn:>;iarin^ ^'.m^.I^
us
HISTORY, POUTICS, AND STATISTICS-
and ill-educated women^ if tbey had any thing
better to do.
"Those unhappy persons, who are called
tlie dregs of society, acquire this appellation
not less from their uselessness than ti om their
vices. The wives of the soldiers, who come
on the parish, are supposed to rank in the
fcale OT morals only a few degrees above
the women whom they send on the town.
Their destitute children usually discover tliat
tendency to dis^lute habits wh'ch distinguishes
foutidlings and parish children. This is to be
ascribed to the military system, and not to the
parents who are altogether unable to give
their children a proper education.
** The arlny is sapposed to be a profession
which requires no previous education. Hence
it is not unusual for country gentlemen, and
the .better sort of people in general, to neg-
lect the education even of their younger sons,
under the idea that, although they be gi>od
for nothing .else, they may still lind a provi-
sion in the army. The expectants of com-
missions, being thus accounted privileged
idlers, spend the time which they Know not
6ow to etnploy, in hunting, fowling, and othe#
amusements of this sort ; and ])erhaps still
more frequently in debauches, or in dang-
ling after the eaually idle women of the neigh-
bourhood, whether the habits thus formed
are corrected in the army will appear here-
after. But it will, at least, be owned, tliat the
half>pay officers, when thrown back on so-
ciety, are occupied with nearly the sanie pur»
suits as tlie expectants. 1 hey are gentle-
men by profession, and are therefore bound
to hold \ in sovereign contempt those means
by which other persons better their conditicni.
It is only, however, in idleness that they can,
in general, uphold the vocation of gentlemen.
The scantiness of their pittance compek most
of them to a rigid economy, which does not
allow them to partake in the expensive immo-
ralities of the age. In this case they have all
the virtue of a compulsory abstinence. Let
it not be supposed, that I mean to insult those
who are already doomed to wretchedness. It
is to the system, and not to its victims, that
the demerit is to be attributed. Are unhappy
men to \>e blamed because their education
has been neglected by their parents ; because
they have been abandoned from their youth
to idleness and the lures of immorality ; be-
cause they have been doomed as' their only
resource to a profession which has barely af-
forded them tne means of subsistence, and in-
spired them with an insuperable prejudice
against every other method of bettering their
condition ; because they are afterwards thrown
on the world with a moiety of this pittance ;
and because necessity and insurmountable
prejudice conij>el them to wear out the re-
mamder of their existence as an useless in-
cumbrance to socictyi to breathe the free air ,
in pining and hopeless poverty, or to rot in a
jail? Are even the parents of these men to be
blamed ? Or is not the whole to be charged
on a system which abuses both parents and
children by fallacious lures }
" I have remarked some incroochments oa
freedom which seem at least to be appreho^
ed from a perseverance in our present rain*
tary system. Expeience proves that any
diminution of the freedom of a people neces-
sarily vitiates their morals. Montesquieu, ft
most acute observer of men, distinctly per-*
ceived this. He informs* us that virtue h ia-'
dispensible in a free government, and altog^
ther unnecessary and extremely dangerous is
a despotism. He aftirras that even in a mo-
narchy, where the sovereign rules by law, biA
by such laws as those of France, it is OB»
tremely difficult for the people to be viito-
ous. But Montesquieu was the subject of aft
arbitrary monarchy ; and was therefore obBf* .
ed to redeem his head by a quibbl'mg disdnc .
tion between private and public virtue ; al- ^
though he owns that public virtue is the rea*
of the greatest private virtue.''
No doubt the diffusion of military naaa* .
ners has altared, and will affect yet mare
our national character. We shall be gd-
licized by the change ; for tlie French cha- •
racter in the main is the result of invete*
rate and extensive military habits. Thcfa
are certain concatenations of moral qualir
ties which must be taken or rejected ia
the chaui, not link by link ; certain itt-
. conveniences, wliicU arc inseparable from -
particular excellences 5 certain viciow--
excesses, which always accon^jany tbe
profuse cultivation of the coiinected vir-
tues. Lord Bacon observes, justly, that
" all warlike people aie a litUe idle, and
fear danger less than labour ; nor must
tliis temper of theirs be much checked if
we would preserve their vigour." I«t
the progress of recruiting officers be ob- .^
served, it will be found most successAd
among those who are averse to iDdustiy.
A given proportioi^ of the males, espedr •
ally those begotten by tbeyoui^, are bom
with the military propensities, spirit, inn .
patience, sensibility to applause, a fickle
and migratory taste in places and persosi.
These lads, when they attempt commer-
cial pursuits, fail in tliem. Their wages
are gone before tliey are earned. They
try experiments in life, and hope by gam*
bling speculations to atone for the ne-
glect of parsimony and perseverance, A
long peace overstocks trade with theie
characters, who do best in the colonies,
as explorers of. new markets. An East
Indian .war provides for them to their
taste, by buildii^ them a palace, or a
tomb. Return rich or die, said a wise
director to his son whp was going out in
the company's service. But, althoQ^ a
given proportion of the maleii, perhaps a
tenths may be said to have the inilibry
HACDIABliXD » SYSTEM OF NATIOKAt DBFSNCB.
249
jfPtSsfoatum, may expediently be train-
ed to varfare, and employed in extending
tbe empire of their country ; it is danger-
ocs to break in upon the natural division
of labour, to generalize the manners of
mOIuiy men, to make their pursuits the
ol^ects of popular imitation, to inoculate
fx the scarlet fever, and teach every ar-
tisan to carry a muiiket. Industry is most-
ly a hahit, the result of long coercion and
orerawing superintendance, which is so
agreeably interrupted by pompous parades
and crowded festivities, tliat it is easily
bribed to try the experiment of venturous
idkness. The veteran of industry makes
a bad soldier. Arts exercised not abroad
but within doors, and delicate manufac-
tures, that require the finger rather than
the arm, have in their nature a contrariety
to a military disposition. The sedentary
classes lean to sottishness ] they are not
^frmikards, but tliey habitually use stimu-
lant diinks and drugs : they require this
substitute for airy exercise ; a sluggish and
torpid character of constitution super-
venes, ill adapted for fits of effort, sub-
ject to the most fatal disarrangement un-
der the enduring privations of actual ser-
irioe; and incapable of being animated into
beroism by the gin of the hour of battle.
It is easy, as we see by our mijitia, to de-
bmdi away the pupils of thrift, but the
stale is no gainer by such apostacy -, by
making soldiers of such men it has only
piepared new battles of Zama, or new
campaigns of St Domingo. Those Spar-
tan lawgivers, who are for having us be-
come a military nation, and for educating
US all to excel in the military exercises,
endan^ much more than our commer-
cial arts. Military morals are closely con-
nected with military manners and habits.
Spirit must be excited and enhanced in
the armed classes by juvenile conviviality*
lliis is mostly followed by a riotous inso-
lence of the men in uniform, by a more
irritable sense of honour, and by a multi-
pficatioa of duels. The military exercises
•re acquired to most perfection by the
yoQz^ : yet the consequence of convening
shop-boys and journeymen at sixteen to
the parade is^ that habits of dressiness and
earty libertinism are adopted, which their
earnings will as yet not aiSbrd to purchase ;
and that, Xq sapplv these factitious wants,
the property of their masters is too often
laihly violated. General Murat is record-
ed to have boasted, that in a French army
ereij man was a thief^ which was also
tbe case in Sparta : but even in England,
where pecooiary probity is held peodiai/
sacred, there is a proverbial suspicion of a
tendency in the military taste to respect
propriety more tlian property. There is
no honour among honest man, (says the
vulgar adage) and no honesty among men
of honour. The remedy for this mischief, '
the worst that is likely to result at all ex->
tensively frpm our new regulations, is ta
allow pocket-money profusely to the
young men for leamiiig the military exer-
cises. With the eager libertinism, the
personal elegance and desirableness, the
shifting residence, the general celibacy,
and the frequent poverty and extravagance
of continental officers, has been found
connected a tendency to adnlteroiLs inter-
course. It is well known that in France
the marriage- bed was invaded with as lit-
tle scruple as the tent of the baggage-
women J and that garrison- towns were
especi ally notorious for gallan try. Indeed
lewdness throughout animal nature is al-
lied to courage : the gelding is a spirit-
less beast. Religion is not favoarable to
courage,iialf its essence consists in insph*-
ing iears of the mind 3 and the habit of
dwelling on prospective solicitudes of the
imagination is the basis of appreheilsion,
dismay, and panic. Impius miles was the
familiar characteristic of the Roman sol-
dier : spernere deos was of old observed to
be a natural concomitant of daring. Frooi
those who quibble about a Sunday drill,
who expects efficacious resistance to the
foe ? Tlie priest and the soldier are natural
antagonists. Bravery seldom flourishes
in a community but at the expence of some
tenderness and humanity^ Women and
priests, who are usually forward in offices
of kindness, are supposed to be compara-
tively inferior in point of courage. An-
ger is a tearing mangling passion ^ and,
during its paroxysms, cruel : but anger
is the regular stimulus of bravery 5 every
general reviles the foe. Those who are
naturally most apt to flinch, are naturally
most apt to sympathize. There is indeed
a reflex sympathy, as there is a reflex
courage, brought on by reasoning about
our duties, which may co-exist with an-
tagonist qualities : but these are accidents
ofacconaplished natures, not the average
lot of ordinary men. Old' generals are the
mildest but not tbe boldest. The Rus-
sians are the bfavest, the hardiest, the
best of soldiers, but they are not the noost
humane. Archenholtz says, that in tha
seven-years war some Russians, who had
just lost their limbs, were seen on the
ground still to gnaw at the Prussian foe .
who had &llen beside them. The French
MO
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
€»cel in tbc military, virtues, bnt not in
justice and humanity. The Irish are
splendidly courageous j they have much
humanization to acquire. The Calabrians
^re the most daring, but the most cniel
of the Italians. The Spaniards abound
not in courage, but practise benevolence,
and so do tlie Hollanders. Nor are the
private lives of distinf^uislied generals, or
the public acts of countries, wiiile imder
the ascendancy of standing armies, at va-
riance with analogous inferences. It may
be feared, tlierefore, tliat if we were to
convene a parliament of drill-serjeants,
or implicitly to obey the drill- Serjeants of
parliament, and to nationalize among our
youth indiscriminately the military quali-
ties and excellencies, other qualities and
other excellencies of rival or superior
value would proportionally dis^pear :
and we should find less religion, less re-
gard to conjugal fidelity, less humanity,
and less pecuniary probity in the commu-
nity than before ; qualities which, if in-
significant to the power, are not so to the
prosperity^ or to the happiness of a nation.
Semi-soldiers may, and often do, retain
the bourgeois virtues ; but of what avail
are such soldiers in an emergency, and
of what use before ? So long as the defence
of the country's independence, which is a
paramount consideration, can be accom-
plished without involuntary inrolment,
«r as our author calls it, a system of de-
fence, it is more desirable to respect the
ancient div ision of labour, which secured
in each department the appropriate skill,
to have a militaiy sect than a military es-
tablishment J a partial and elective than a
nnivcrsal and compulsory conscription -, a
decimation than a levy en-massej it is more
desirable to remain a civilized than to be-
come a military nation.
In a chapter on foreign assistance, a
command of common-places, and much
art ofexpansion is displayed by the writer,
but the advice given is desultory and
vague, llie great error of our diploma-
tic politics during the Pil^ administration
has been to liave preferred the alliance of
Austria to that of Prussia, because Austria
was the more powerful state 5 whereas the
alliance of Prussia, although weaker,
ought to ' have been preferred, because
Prussia alone can check the nortliern ag-
grandizement of France, in which consists
our ri.sk. The friendship of both tlie Ger-
man courts at once may seemingly but not
heartily be had 5 because their German
interests compel th«m, or at least habim-
ate them, to rivalr)'. By assisting Aus-
tria we have always had to fight against
the southern aggrandizement of France,
which is the form of«xten.sion it behoved
us to facilitate ; had we succeeded in al-
lying ourselves with Prussia, Holland
might have been defended against France,
An opportunity was lost in 1/67 of ex-
changing with the stadtholder Hanover
for the Cape : Prussia might then have
taken the electorate, and we the Cape
and some spice islands for our indemnity.
The third chapter, which treats of ren-
dering a people w-arlike, fills nearly a vo-
lume. We are here told, " that experi-
ence has shown it to be impossible to ren-
der even the population set apart for de-
fence permenently warlike, if the rest of
the population be effeminate.'' And
again : " tliere is no instance of a bold,
hardy, and vigorous soldiery existing
among an effeminate people.** What does
this writer mean by the word effeminate,
that he imputes the quality to whole na<«
tions, rich and poor ? The powers of go-
vernment arc often possessed, perhaps
commonly, by the efleminate, the luxur
rious, the refined, the opulent classes rf
a community; and such governments are.
often conducted with a gentle, an ob-
liging deference for the public opinion of
the gentlemen and ladies, who visit in ibe
higher circles, which is perfectly polite ;
but who can form an idea of an c^eminate
people ? WJien or where did such a plie-
nomonon exist > Wlierever there hava
been men there has always been great in-
equaliiy. Inequality implies the mistry
of sonje. Wherever there is misery, chil-
dren must be reared in privation, in hard-
ship, in drudgery ; and they must gitiw
up with qualities die reverse of clfcmi-
nate. Misery has hitherto been tlie lot
oftlic majority of every community at A\
times 'j eii'eminacy can never ha\ e infect-
ed the mass of families. Eirtmiiiaie ru-
lers must be common in all cuuntric5,
where the sway is exclusively Intrusted to
the aristocracy 5 France had such rulers.
before the revolution, during tlie greater
part of two reigns; but from the raoraent
tlie authority was irau'^ferred to the ruder
classes, all the excesses of niiisculinene-s
broke loose and over>prcad the country.
Universal suffrage would abolish every
symptom of effeminacy even in modern
Rome. Military usurptition is anotlier re-
medy, but a remedy which restores the old
grievance (if it may be called so,) in a ge-
neration or two. 'i'he son or grandbou of
the usurping general is educated to be-
come an etleminate king. If eifaninacy
IKTERCEPTED LETTERS.
coold become the attribute of a whole na-
1300, kw«>al<i be proper to institute socie-^
6e/i Par xffonemmr the conilition of ttie poor,
in oTiier that a harsher, liardier education
jnighUevive the energy of tlie numerous
cJa^^ Nature, vdser tlian man, propor-
tiaus the rauhiplication of tlie people to
their comforts, and tlius provides mi ever-
Jsting supply of scramblers for siibsist-
coce, and of temperate hardiliood. The
prxtorian guards were tattened into effe-
minacy ; but, during the deepest declen-
sion of Italy, Beiisarius could raise there
amiies which defeateil the Goths. By at-
texKiing to tlie physical education of the
poc^, by teachii^ the games and dances of
aotiquity, something more of plasticity
may be attainable, and a larger proportion
4)f them ad:pted for fighting men. But,
ID general, peace rears loose hands (as
2#I
they are called) and war educates skilfW
otiicers ; and if peace and war alternate
often enough, neither to clieck the breed
of tr(X)ps, nor to obliterate the experience
of connnanders, every country can at all
times be provided with a good soldiery
proportioned to its populousness. A me-
ritorious chapter on this topic is tlie tiftb
section of the second volume, on the cir-
cumstances which render a people hardy.
On the whole this book deserves pern-
sal and deserves praise. It is dilute, full
of notorious, of superfluous, and of irrele-
vant matter : it might be epitomized with
advantage. But it displays good reading
and good sense, it contains counsels of
pressing importance, and it breathes a spirit
of moderation^ of ecjuity, and of lib6a-
lity.
AtT. XII. — Repltf to^M. R. Gardiaer^s Awesver to a Xarrative exposing a Farit^ff ofirre*
gaJar Traitsactioni in one of the Dtpariments qf foreign Corps, By\L }aue% foouu
6vo. pp. 133.
TWO pamphlets relative to this con- readers. We trust and we hear that it is
trovcrsy were noticed by us Vol. HI. p. not likely to escape the notice of i^arlia-*
306: this will attract the same class of mentary conunittees of enquiry.
A*T. Xni. — Letters intercepted on hoard the Admiral Aplin^ captured by the French, and
inserted by the French Gt/ceminetU in tlie Moniteur : publishtd in French and £ng^i;dL
8vo. pp. 165.
TO recite the title of this work is nearly
a suiBcieut account of it. Th6 corre-
spondence here reprinted was published in
the Moniteur in French only. These
JEnglish letters are not copies of the ori-
ginals, but versions of a translation ; por-
traits from a bust, not from life. The
marquis of Titchtield, who begins with a
qiuitiition from St. Luke : * There went
out a dc^cree from C?esar Augustus that
all tlic world should be taxed,* will hardly
recognize his testank.mt again in the
Prcnchified rhetoric : ' Augustus said, let
us place the universe under contribution.'
Beside the variations occasioned by
double interpretation, these letters are
purposely garbled. In the first a critique
occurs of tlK5 duke of York's conduct,
which the Moniteur gave at length, and
vliich the London publisher suppresses.
It may be inferred from the diaracter of
the specimens selected for publication,
that the French government, at the time
olits editing these letters^ had determined
to give up the invasion of England, and to
undertike that of Ireland. Great care it
taken to prepare the Parisians for this de-
termination, by printing at full length
every woman's scrawl which described in
strong terms the activity of British prepa-
ration against the invader j and by bring-
ing out every obscure or scattered para-
graph which hinted at Irisli discontent.
Two letters, those at pages 57 and 58,
appear from internal evidence" to be for-
geries of the Fjcnch official translator : he
must ha\ e visited London while we were
quarrelling about the representation : for
he uses the words rotten-borough faction,
as if they were still the nick-name of an
unpopular party. These letters throve
peculiar light on the drift of the publica-
tion, and put ii;to English lips what the
French public are wished to believe.
The most interesting fragments of this
correspondence having already appeared
in the morning paj>ers, extracts would ba
saperduous aud stale«
f 52 HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
ikiT. XlV.-^Tke fTorh, poUiical, meic^hvsicaf, and chronological, qf the late Sir Jame9
. Steuart, ofColtness, Bart, Ni^fP first collected by General Sir J amrs SxEUAiCr, Bmrt, id$
Son, from his Father^s corrected Copies. To which are subjoined, AuecdoieB tf the
Author. In Six Volumes. 8vo.
SiK JAMES STEUART, of Coltncss,
was the only son of a baronet of the same
name (who had been, under queen Anne,
solicitor general of Scotland) by Anna,
the eldest daughter of sir H«w Dairy mple :
» descent in reality noble, but the diffii-
sive popularity of the clan -names of Scot-
land gives a twang of vulgarity to their
sound, which rarer names necessarily
escape.
He was bom at Edinburgh October 2 1 ,
1712 J educated until thirteen years oif
age at North-Berwick school, and entered
in 1725 at the university of Edinburgh.
In 1727 his ^tber died j but he continued
perseveringly his studies, matriculated in
J 729, and was called to the bar in 1735.
- Sir James Steuart next undertook a
continental tour. He accompanied a
lellow-studcnt to Lcyden, crossed France,
and went to pass fifteen months in Spain,
where he received in 1736 the tidings of
his mother's death. He visited France a
second time on his way to Italy, became
acquainted at Avignon with the duke of
Ormond« and was by him recommended
lo the leading friends of the pretender at
Rome, in whose society he imbibed a
dangerous attachment to the ex-royal
fimily.
In 1740 sir Janies Steuart returned to
Scotland, renewed with lord Elcho a friend-
ship begun cm the continent, and in 1743
married lady Francis Werayss, his lord-
ship*S sister, who bore him a son and heir
the following year. During the contest
for the .parliamentary representation of
Edinburgh in 1743, sir James Steuart
tendered his vote, which, on account of
some informality in the record, wa^ dis-
puted : he pleaded his own cause in court
with- a propriety and an eloquence that
piled a trophy over his very defeat.
In 1745, a year of crisis, sir James
Steuart was among those who welcomed
Charles Edward into Edinburgh -, but the
battle of Culloden having blasted the
hopes of the party, he withdrew hastily
about October into France, and settled
with his family at Angoulesme. Lady
Fanny chearfully partook, and efficaci-
ously consoled his exile. He visited Paris
in 1754, and retired to Brussels in 1755 ;
but finding the place ill adapted for the
education of his son, he migrated in If 57
to Tubingen^ a cheap German university.
celebrated at that time for skilful pco*.
fessors. ,•
Sir James Steuart had been excepted
from the general pardon granted to the
friends of die pretender in the statute 20
Geo. II ; a distinction honourable to th»
importanceandiutegrityof his zeal. Thna
deprived of a country, be sought in cosmcK \
polite ad'ections a substitute for the pa- i
trioticj he mingled in the factions cf t^ I
republic of letters, defended Newton** i
chronology against Freret and his coad^ I
jutors ; vindicated against the aQthor et i
the System f de la Nature the int^ligenoa |
of the plastic cause ; wrote on Germ^ ;
coins, and at Jengtli proceeded to the !
composition of his great work on political I
economy. |
The climate of Germany was too in* !
clement for the occasional health of ar
James Steuart : in the autumn of 1/58 h» |
went through the Tyrol to Venice, and :
resided with his family for some tune nes
Padua. Lady Mary Wortley MontagO:
came to delight in their society : she cor* '
responded during four years with sir
James, mentions him and lady F\uiny with *
the eulogies due to their accomplislmiena ;
and virtues, and made some kind efibzts
to reconcile their sovereign.
With the accession of George III. new \
principles of favouritism were to begin. ^.
In March 1761 lord Barrington obtaioal *
for the son of sir James Steuart a cometcf ]
in the dragoons. Sir James made ap-
proaches toward his country, and cama to •
dwell at Antwerp. The French suspected
him of a disposition to transfer the intelli^ ^
gence he possessed in their nation to the
service of his own j they broke open his
house at Antwerp, and seised his papen.
After the peace of 1763, sh- ^mes
Steuart received assurances, that if be
chose to live quietly in Great Britain, he
would not be molested for the past. He
immediately returned to Edinbuigfa, and
ere long settled at Coltness, his family
seat. He published in 1767, his Princi-
ples of Political Economy, a work of ex-
tensive information, which fills two quarto
volumes.
In 1771 a pardon to sir James Steuart
passed the great seal. Some further tracts
on the corn-trade> on the money-circula-
tion, of Bengal, on the desirable unifonnitj
of weights and measures, and on Dr.
tTKTJART S WORKS.
25^
Bealtie's idea of truth, amused, if they did
DOC iUoftrate, the remainder of his life.
An estate was bequeathed to him in 1773
bf or Archibald Deiiham, which was en-
joyed only seven years : his death took
.place on the 2Gth November 17SO. He
wn buried in a iamily vault of tlie ceme-
tery at Cambosnethan, and a cenotaph
built to his honour in Westminster-
Abbey.
By publishing this complete edition of
his father's works^ his son has erected a
yet mare durable monument to his me-
mory. The first four volumes exactly
oocDprise the principles of political eco-
nomy. This work is valuable for com-
ptktion of fact, for copiousness of argu-
mentation, and for conversancy with the
political writers of the continent. It has
Icnnded that sect or school of politicians,
who wish the state to interfere with all
our coocems j who would have govern-
ment buy and warehouse our com, go*
remment undertake to manage our poor>
govenunent prescribe our religion, govern-
ment select our physieians, and govem-
mtot monopolize our banks. It teaches
the ^antagonist system to that defended in
the weahh of nations. According to
Adam Smith* Ui ti$ alone is the ■ perpetual
prayer of a wise people to its rulers : ac-
cording to sir James Stuart it is lend us
ielp. The one would repeal every law
that caa be spared ; the other would enact
every law that can be execiUed : the one
would leave industry free as air; the
other .shape Its vent through jobs and mo-
nopolies. If Adam Smith's system tends
iomewhat to anarchy, sir James Steuart's
tends surely to hyperanarchy.
Among clerks of office sir James Steuart
is a fevouiite politician ', because his prin-
dpies go to enhance their consequence,
and to multiply the demand for their ser-
vices: even ministers, being mostly go-
verned by clerks of office, give a practical
preference to his system: but his doc-
trines deservedly Want the sanction of our
leading statesmen, and of our critical phi-
hsoffhen: they sacrifice the productive
to the devouring classes 5 they paralyze
£berty, and patronize inequality.
As writers, both Steuart and Smith are
difiuae : tb^ recur niuch to exposition,
and paraphrase, and illustration : with
few syllogisms they fill many pages, and
place the art of persuading in detaining
the attention. But Smith has always a
distinct wid in view, and travels toward
it without digression ; whereas the scope
ofStetiartU often vague, iidefinlte, and
undistinguishable : Smith «draws his in*
ference before, and Steuart after compo-
sition. Smith is more neat, Steuart more
copious ; Smith has more scholastic,
Steuart more cotemporary learning -, Smith
owes all his reputation to kis intellect,
which will retain its exalted rank ', Steuart
owes some i;o his personal consequence,
which will vanish with the recollection of
his friends.
The n(tw matter of this publication be*
gins with tlie fifth volume: not but that
much even of the two last volumes has
already been printed, but in so fugacious,
or so local a form of dispersion, that to
the literary world it may be considered as
new. The principle of numa^ applied t9
the present 'state of the coin of Bengal can
only merit attention on the other side of
the Cape. Where a transient, where a
topical grievance is to be remedied, the
resident authorities should be asked for
the prescription. The letter of Mr. Francis
displays more understanding of the incon-
venience, and a clearer insight of theprac- "
ticable means of correction, than all tl»
professor-like verbiage of sir James Steuart :
to Mr. Francis, lord Barrington ought
clearly to have intrusted the requisite ac-
tive interference.
The Dissertation on the Doctrine and
Principles of Money applied to the German
Chin is again a pamphlet out of date. A
good treatise on this topic is Beccaria's
Trattato delle Manete.
The Observations on a Bill f on* altering
and amending the Qualifications qf Free^
holders well deserved to check an intended
encroachment on the efective franchise.
Tie Considerations- on the Interest <ff the
County of Lanark, detail in a very amus-
ing manner the effects of the coromerciil*
prosperity of Glasgow on the landed in*
terest of the contiguous province. Ihe
natural progress of opulence begins in th*;
towns^ and tlience diffuses itself through
the neighbouring country: commercial
precedes agricultural prosperity : trade is
the substantive, husbandry the dependent,
occupation.
The Dissertation on the Poluyqf Grain
constitutes the best, we had aloiost said
the only, literary defence of the extant
British policy respecting grain; a policy
which we examined at lengthy and in it
manner, we trtist, to have produced some
impression, in noticing Cursory ' Observa-
tions on the late Com. bill > a policy which
raises the price of subsistence a fidl fourth,
and distributes this needless tax, not
among the public creditors of the itate>
254
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
but among the farmers and. land-owners,
neither of whom liave any claim or right
to the slightest public recompense, tor
exercising an interested industry, or for
living in unproductive idleness. Beside
the interference by means of bounties and
prohibitions, witli production, importa-
tion, and exportation, sir James Steuart
recommends the establishment of public
granaries ; and as his disciples are po^ver-
fut unfortunately, as well as numerous, in
tliC state, this new mischief may probably
be superadded to those already inilicted.
\VV sliall transcribe the outline of his
• plan.
*' Jjct an eJiqiiiry be made into prices of
grain tor twenty years past ; let the mean price
ot" it be ascertained. Bounty-money being
at present paid until wheat comes to forty-
eigtit sliilliniTN piT quarter, let it be inquired,
wiiether maniilaetures do not then sull'cr too
mucii from high prices. I'pon these infor-
mations let tlie legislature determine to what
height it is ex])edient, ujk>u the account of the
manufacturing classes^ to allow the price to
rise.
" Upon the other -hand, let an inquiry be
made into the interest of the farmers, in order
to find when that class generally begins to
«iiFer by loo low [iriccs. I.et tliese points be
settled by calculation, and from the best in-
ibrmaiiott ; tliey may afterwards be corrected
from cJciKTience during the execution of the
plan. For the sake of distinctness akme, I
fllkall suppose forty-eidit shillings per quarter
to be the beginning ofdistress upon the manu-
facturer, and forty-eight sliiliings per qnarter
the beginning of distress upon tne farmer;
the urices between these extremes should, I
tliink, be considered as reasonable, and not
to be checked, or influenced, in any respect,
by the policy of the country.
" These preliminaries settled, I propose,
*• That all coriJorations, conununities, or
bodies politic, all hospitals, all jnanufacturers
having the direcfion of large undertakmgs, all
masters of collieries, iron-works, or mines
within the nation; or, taking the tlung on a
larger scale, all cities, towns, and consider-
able villages, b which the inhabitants (not
employ ed'in agriculture) reside, be severally
obliged (as far as the legislature shall judge
|)roper to extend this plan) to make up ge-
aieral lists of their inhabitants, with such ex-
actness as may be judged nece&sary for the
j>rQper execution of it. •
" That in proportion to thenumber of per-
^ns of all a^es, in each of these dilfercnt
^.lasses, jurisdictions, and districts, a granary
be formed, capable of containing eight
bi'iShels of wheat for every such person,
which quantity I take to be sufficient nou-
rishment for twelve months.
" 'I'hat the preparing and Inspecting these
granaries be commuted to the cohmiissioners
«>ithe IftodHax; that thest? J>e authorised t9
appoint granar) -keepers, with rea^nal^ m^
lancii for tiie nianagi'ment of ihem, who i^att
give sufficient security for their aduiluittci*
iion.
" That the granary-keepers be obliged to
receive, from the fanners of the district, such
parcels of whi*at, of the best quality*, as (ac*
cording to the regulations made froin time to
time !) y the commissioners above mentioned)
sliail be presented to them, at the price of
forty shillings per quarter, until the severJ
granaries be provided.
" That there be an absolute prohibit:oa Xo
receive any grain either below or above tiJi
standard.
" XI wt, in a year of great plenty, when
there may be a* competition among the fer-
mers for a preference to lumish the granamv
the commissioners may detenninc extrj
question between them for the encoura?:e-
ment of tillage, and tlie inspiring of eoti^
tion*
" That no old grain be received, not any
from second hand, when in comj>etitioD wita
a famier of tlie district.
" Tliat as s<x)n as the requisite quantity is
procuretl, the granaries be shut up and ex-
cluded fiom all competition with the corn-
dealers ; and while prices fluctuate belo* ■
that of forty-eight shillings, the grab cifl*
tained in them be no more allowed to iafto-
ence the market than it could have done lad
it been exported.
" lliat, as soon as the price of wheat sloS
rise in the respective markets to forty-eigf^ ;
shillincfs, the several granaries Ixi opened;
but with this restriction, ncvt-r to be ikwcd
to sell in competition with any com-dtaier,
fanner, or other, who shall bring grain t»
market below this price.
** That the gnuiary-keepers shall be »
thoriscd to issue, in payment for the giaia
received, corn-bills, printed for the purpoa^
signed by them, by the inspector to be nanifd
by the commissioned, and by the receiver of
the land-tax for the county, which nott^are
to have a currency in tlie kingdom like bank-
bills, and be payable at the bank. They art
to bear no interest while they circulate ;' bat
from the time of their being paid, the bank
to receive an interest of percent.
more or less, as the legislature and the bank
shall agree.
" I'hat one penny in the pound be added
to the land-tax, as a* fund for paving the inte-
rest of the corn-bills paid by tnc bank, until
reimbunjement to the bank by the granariesy
upon the sale of the gmm i which penny in
the pound may, I suppose, produce about
40,000/. sterling per auniun; and this, at
4 per cent, interest, will correspond to the
capital of one million sterling, supi)osedtobe
laid out in the purchase of wheat, at forty
shillings ^er quarter, which is therefore the
price of 500,000 quarters of wheat, destined
for the provision of the granaries over tiic
whole kingdom.
<' That no person^ at least in tlie bejisimf
aTEUAllT4 WORKS.
255
«f the scheme, be put upon the graiary list,
but such as are of the kwer classes of the
people, manufecturers, labourers, and poor
iou^eepers, with their chiklren ; suchj in
a word, who may be supposed \o be the
mm e^entially hurt by the high prices of
grain.
" That proper lists be made at each gra-
nary of those who are to be supplied from
^> and these in proportion to the grain which
shall have been delivered, reckoning one
cjiiaTtcr of grain for every penon admitted
upon the list. ^
" 'VhaJt^ upon opening the granaries, it
shall not be aUo\vod to distribute grain to
any but to those upon tlie lists, nor to these
above one month's provision at a time, ac-
corduig to the proportion above mentioned,
ot eight bushels for that of twelve months.
This regulation to continue as long as the
granaries remain open.
" *rhat, for the ease of the poor, who can-
wi purchase much at a time, there be mark-
ets opened bj- authority, for the retailing of
finalfquantities, in the same proportion.
" Tnat the money arising from the sale of
the griin be put into the hands of the re-
c«\er general of the land-tax, in order to be
jaid into the bank.
" 'ITiat he, upon making up his accounts
irith the exchequer, be obliged to produce
Yom-btlls discharged by tiie bank for the
amount of his receipt.
. *• That the said receivers-general be ob-
figed, at least annually, to report to the
commissioners the state of the grain in the
several granaries, and the extent of the
corn-bills in the liands of the bank.
" That, for tlic greater exactness, the gra-
naries of -earh toimty shall be distuiguished
by pailicular Hiimeros ; which shall be res-
C Actively entered into the eranary-book, and
? indorsed upon the com^DJlls issued by the
fianary : and when such bills come to be paid
at the bank, they ^11 be entered into books
kept for the purpose, aocord'uig to their nu^
snera
" Having thus laid down the out-lines of
a plan with as much brevity and clearness as
I nave been able, I must observe, that the
small aoccss 1 have to be well infonned as to
many fiicts, has induced me to keen as close
to general [iHnciples as possible, and to avoid
particular detail, which is, however, of the
greatest use for rightly Arming schemes, as
well as for illustrating all political disserta-
tions."
In the first place, tlie price of grain
annot fall below the standard necessary
for the desirable encouragement of agri-
culture. When com ceases to repay,
with an average profit, the expence of
rent, tillage, and delivery, the farmer
can convert bis arable lands into pasturage,
and thus mcr^ase the growth of hay, milk,
butter, cbeeie^ wool, u^id similar produc-
tions. Suppose these articles to fall be-
low the price necessary to replace with an
average prolit the cost of growth, the far-
mer will decline to hire his land at the old
rent. What will then have hapjiened ?
Tliiat tlie consumers, who are the nume-
rous ckss^ will be benefited by die dimi-
nished price of produce, and that tlie pro-r
prietors, who are tlie few class, will be
miured by the diminished price of rent.
The farmer's profit will always in the long
run be tlie average tate of profit ; but tht^
industrious classes, who are the mass of
consumers, will subsist more cheaply ;
and the idle classes, who are the mass of
proprietors, will subsist less conveniently.
Industry will have l>een rewarded, and
idleness punished. This is as it should
be. ^lorc proprietors will in consequence
become tiUera, and recruit the productive
classes ; and all ob}*JCts created by hid lis try
will become cheaper, more abundant at
home, and more exportable abroad, than
before, in consequence of the reduced cost
of labour. The diminution of rent is a
positive good, to be pursued directly by
taxation, if it were not a necessary and
natural result of the entire liberty of tlie
corn- trade. The earnings and surplus
wages of a society are greatest, when rent
is cheap; because move pejsons work,
and tlie workers subsist on easier terms.
It matters not to a community where its
food be bought, whether m Yorkshire, of
at Alexandria in Egypt, or at Alexandria
in North America, so it be bouglit at the
cheapest : die task of importation is itself
a source of useful industry : domestic agri-
culture is most desirably employed in tlie
production of irremoveable comrao<rities-
The end to be answered by granting
bounty-monies and restrictions on im-
jportatjon and exportation bemg bad, tiie-
tonus of offering and distributing premi-
ums for growing com do not deserve dis-
cussion. Yet the plan of founding public
granaries is itself one of die worst of dio«-e
tbrras. If the state is to interfere, and
buy up corn whenever corn cheapens, and
to house that com in public warehouse*
until it be wanted, this branch of specula-
tion will be snatched from the hands of
private merchants, and wdl by diem ha
abandoned. The purchases of die state
will always be proportioned to the cheap-
ness, and not to the probable want of tlie
commodity, they would else be intBcaca-
cious; and thus a bounty on production will
be given, when a bounty on production
ought to be withdrawn. The' sales of {Iiq
itate will be profujic, in proporiioa to the
^6
mSTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
dcarlh, and not to the probable deficiency
of the commodity 5 else they would be inef-
ficacious for their end, which is to level
prices ; and thus a bounty on production
will be witlidrawn, when a bounty on pro-
duction ought to be given. But in the
hands of private merchants depreciation
takes place in propcirtion to the stgck re-
Strved for immediate conbuniption ; and
appreciation takes place in proportion to
the deficiency of that stock; and thus
growth and importation are invited at the
right moment, versatile culture and ex-
portation are stimulated at the right mo-
ment. To say nothing of the conupt
contracts, and careless stowage, and pro-
fligate waste, which attend public stores*
Leave theconi-trade to itself, and rising
markets will ■ invite, and fiilling markets
will repel, private capitals from this line
of enterprize. Employ government-buy-
ers, and xh& capitals invested will be al-
ways the same. But it is obviously proper
that, during tlie rise of produce, the capi-
tals employed to put agiicultural industry
in motion should be increased, in order to
cause a more extensive growth ; and it is
obviously proper that during tlie fall of
produce the capitals employed to put agri-
cultural industry in motion should be de-^
creased, in order to check a superfluous
^owth. Private interest tlierefore ope-
rates aright, when public providence
would operate wrong. IluUand enjoyed
during the last century an unrestricted ex-
portation and importation of corn,- she
had no state 'granaries, yet tlie price of
com . was there less fluctuating than in
England, and thougli she grew little or no
com, she was the cornucopiae of Europe.
Experience has confirmed the theory of
Adam Smith in contradiction to the theory
of sir James Steuart. See also our third
volume, p. 306.
The Ftan Jo? introducing an Uniformity
qf Weights and Measures deserves some
attention. We are of opinion that govern-
ments cannot legislate very decisively on
the subject. The weights and measures
of the most commercial nation are always
tending to generalize themselves. The
motive for legislating is to spare tlie la-
bour of translating into new figures the
weights and measures already noted. The
trouble of change is itself a grievance. It
imght be worth while to incur this trouble
once for all, if each nation would concur
in the same new standard. But for a
tingle nation to make the change is to
increase the grievance for no purpose.
The best standard is not yet agreed. Tbo
decimal divisions of the Trench lessen tte
arithmetician's labour, and may thereloie
be welcome in tiie countine-hoase i fant
they increase the difficulty of subdivisioa |
quarters become fractions instead of ime*
gers, and thus the retail dealer and tiie
vulgar reckoner is put to greater incoove- ,
nience* The French have returned to dwj
twelve-hour day ; they wiU probably ie« J
turn to the s1xteeu-ounce pound. Coimj
are most easily changed, a decimal divi*']
sion of coins has been ^rand convemotj
at Naples ; yet the metre-mongen of,
France chose to leave the coin rnicliangaL
Nor have the poets deserted tbeir Ate*:
andrines for decasyllabics. The GmA>
jargon of science is ill adapted for a vol^
nomenclature J yet denominations
mon to all languages are as important
condition of the best wci|;hts<and
sures, as the universal intelligibility
arithmetic cyphers. There is this ad
tage in diversity : that it intercepts a pi^
cise estimate of profit, which ought te
vary with the demand of a given plaoe^
but which could not vary widiout odiun^^
if buyers were easily aware of the cost]
elsewhere. The profit of a druggist aogfat
to be higher than tH^ profit of a grocer $
his trade requires m6re skill, and renxras .
his capital less expeditiously; yet tbej
both sell in many instances die same arti«
cles. Force on them the same weigfafis,
and the dniggist will be feviled by tbo
populace for his extortion. It is wise to
ask why things are, before we vote fir '
making them otherwise.
The Observatiom cnDr, Beattie^s ^Esu^
certainly deserve the perusal of those wlio ;
think Dr. fieattie s Essay worthy of pe*
rusal.
The Critical Remarks on the Systant de
la Nature have the higher value of attack-
ing a superior book. I
The Defence of Newton is curious fiv \
having been composed in a foreign Jao«
guage ; not so, for erudition ; not so, far
sagacity.
A translation oftbis Defence terminates
the collection of sir James Steoart's writ-
ings, which deserve to become a library-
book, and to be consulted for information
oflen, for inference seldom. The style ^
rather European than idiomatic, but has
more purity than was to be expected from ,
so habitual an absentee.
In Mr. D. William^s Lectures on Poli- i
tical Principles, the character of this writer
is given in an oracular but imprecise man-
ner. ' Sh: James Steuart (he says p. 247),
the most profound and original of all
POLfcY Wl*H iESi'KQr TO MAL^-A.
2Sf
^r^iterson political subjects, has collected
MXkArmitioa and fonned conceptions with
gfeaf anxiety and labour: but he pro-
duced his thoughts as they occurred 5 and
he bad nearly forgotten his native lan-
^tiag^ He is the miner who plunges into
Cbe bowels of the earth j while Montes-
quieu and Hume are amused with appear-
^ances of hypotheses on the surface : but
be leaves the ore mingled with dross. Dr.
Smitii has formed some of it into metal :
iaf^r'wT authors have stolen pieces unob-
*erved ; and financiers, or the secret
prompters of financiers, occasionally avail
themselves of his skill. The general mass
xenaains to be explored by some congenial
spirit ; who, it is to be hopfed, will do
jusktioe to his memory while he profits by .
bis labours.'*
We do not accede to the assertions that
tir James Steuart is very profound or very
anginal : he only looked Ground him for
Ibe books whence his materials are drawn.
not into the deep wells of antiquity, or
into the Chosen sources o^ intellect. He
has collected infomiation and fonned
conceptioiis with gre'ht anxiety atid labour.
He may be compared with a miner, whose
exploits respect but ordinary ore, and who
disinters copper of lead, while Montes-
quieu and Hume are delviiig for sparkling*
crystals or pure silver. Adam Smith is
greatly indebted to Hume ; but not so to
sir James Steuart. Adam Smith had ^
clear head : wliat he writes i^ necessarily
intelligible. But sir James Steuart has
often permitted himself the use of jargon ;
and has written many pages (as concern-
ing the distribution of taxes into propoN
tiondl, cumulative, and personal) which,
neither he nor any of his readers can ever
have understood. The obscurity arising
from muddiness by concealing the bottom
may prtss for profundity : but to such ob-
scurity the great writers never recur. *
Art. XV. — The Policy and Interest qf Great Britain v:ith respect to MaUa summarily-
considered, 8vo* pp. 16O.
Fll(5T occurs ^ disquisition on the
ralue of Gibraltar, next oh that of Mi-
Aotca^ and thirdly on that of Malta. All
these possessicHis supply the British mini-
ster with pretences for patronage -, and .
&dlitatB the lodgment of troops within
xeacb of Spain, Italy, Greece, Syria, and
Egypt, into which countries the inroads
of Fretich annies have occasionally ex-
tended* They offer therefore a readier
itiean of thwarting French eliterprizes,
than we should possess without these hills '
of stone.
Our politics are oflen antlgallican to
absurdity. British ministers think it their
duty to oppose the undertakings of tlie
Fresck, even "when those uhderfakings
interfere with no British interests. If
Prance must a^rahdize herself, it is better
she should do it southward, than iiorth-
^vBid; toward* the Mediterranean, tlian
toward the Baltic. During* the anti-
jacobin war, if tlie overflow of French
force had been quietly tolerated in over-
spfekling Italy, Greece, Syria, and Eg}'pt,
Xno of these countries, Italy and Egypt,
would at first have been undividedly an-
nexed to the French empire. If our ef-
forts'had beett wisely reserved, and wholly
bent on the defence of Flanders and Hoi-
tmd, neither . of these proviiices would
have j^ily become subject to France.
Ho«rinuch tnore advantageous to this
fioufltiy it. would have been, if the peace
AsK.RjfT. Vol. IV.
of Amiens had so allotted them !* The ■
French general intrusted with the govern- '
raent of Egypt, would by this time have '
rejected the sovereignty of a Parisian up-
start J and would have been no,w court- '
ing dilr alliance* to renider Fgypt inde-
pendent ; and Italy, consolidated by a
conquest, would not despair of recover*
ing a substantive independence, in con-
cert witli Switzerland, and witli the aid '
of Austria and Britain. Half the enter- '
prizes of our antijacobin ministers were ^
made in our own wrong ; and could only
serve to restrict tlie French within retain- *
able limits. The very diflicdlty which
Malta opposes to the acquisition of Egypt
by the French, is likely to be the cause
of jtnnihilating the Austrian power, by'
compelling the pursuit of extension along
tlie middle zone of Europe.
This treatise displays historical and to-
pographical knowledge of Malta, and pro-
bably originates with some of those place-
men, who are distributing the benefits of
British administr^tiofi* among the late stib-
jecti of the knights 5 it does not display,
biit it may purposely conce^ll, nautical '
knowledge j or thie inutility of the island •
as a naval station would have been frankly
avowed. As a piece of argument this
work is ludicrously feeble.— Observe the
following passage i
'' I hold it no temerity to aiSrm, that
% cautious; <nllghtea«d, and adequate cool'
S
358
HISTORY, POLITICS, ANf) STATISnCS.
eideration df this great c^ucstioii will produce
an ahswer, coinpreheudmg the following pro*
positions; viz.
"I. That it is kidispeDsably necessary that
Great Britain should employ the most effica-
cious means that she can 'devise, to guard
against Uie possibility o( France ever again
acauirinff possessicHi of MaUta,
^S. That, consistently with that deject,*
and in necessary course to its attainment, it
13 indispensable that Great Britain should es-
tablish the permanent presence of her power
at some secure, and imukr, position, within
the Mediterranean.
'* 3. That the most simple and convenient,
and, at the same tin>e, the only certain and
effectual mode of attaining both, these ends,
is, that Great Britain should remain in pos-
session of Malta."
Here, in order to guard against France a
acquiring Malta, Great Britain Is advised
to occupy a Mediterranean island, and tliat
island Malta. This is arguing in a circle,
and treating identical propositions s& in-
ferences from one another.
The most valuable part of this treatise
ia diat which defends a passage in his
Majesty's declaration or manifesto against
France^ \>j endeavouring to shew that the
oMer of St. John cannot nowte considered
as the body to which die island of Malta
was to be restored. Where a sbmetJiing
so very like bad faith has sullied, as the
French assert, the public conduct of Great
Britain, one is eager to catch at the most
plausible defence of the proceedings ar-
raigned. We solicit tlie historian I o weigh
the grounds of defence here adduced:
many of them are entitled to his accept-
ance and repetition.
A passage which indicatet ambitious
views in our governors is the following :
" Whether the secret wish of his (Bnona-
|>arte i) mind he, to attempt a rapid opera-
tion for reaching our Indian empire ; or
whether he is prepared to prosecuie tJiat
obfect by a mote tardy and Kn^ringprMcmi
or whether those views are, &[ the present
absorbed in the inunediate purpose of rerir*
ing the natural fertility of Egypt, and ccc-
verting its immense dormant resources to
the agpandizement of France ; by creatine
a colon ml system, surpassing, in productive*
ness and security, all that our America
islands can aspire to ; which cter of these be
the governing purpose of itis nind, (thce^
it. is most reasonable f o suppose that th^nt
all confined in it), we are indnitely. t»
cerned in beins^ early prepared to disa^^wiit
and frustrate it. Aod nature has proviW
no nwans by which we can possibly aocts*
pfish this, but by occupying Malta; ^tf\aA
isTand, with its dependencies, she seems 1»
have formed and prepared to become, ii
these latter days of general chan^, violciice,
and exertion, the representiitives of dit
Britannia Imulce within the Mediterraaea&.
; " Buty m enumerating the political anm
which we derive from the occupation crfMaHi,
we are not to overlook a most efficacious ao-
ral power ; of which we likewise became pos-
sessed, the moment that the genius ef Bntliit,
the evil genius of Buonaparte, first took post
Vpon that island. Already has his esapire of
dartness suffered xnolestatidn from the pros*
imity and splendour of truth ; the ravs of
which, diffused from th» centre ofMi^
have cast their light upon the opposite coMs.
Already the illumination of a fi-ee press, dis-
creetly ust!d, and iudiciously direded, bs
begun to dissipate the mists of error {«Midc»
ception which enveloped that wide horiiofl.*
Already the system of falshoedanddecdt,
hj which the tyrant governs the minds of his
subjedt nations, has experienced some ooud-
teraction from that emcacious engine; and
he himself, and his tyranny, stand now fully
exposed to the public view of Italy, of Greert,
and the Levant.**
It is a puny ambition to possess a fhr
rocks, which can at best serve asrrti enmgfe-
garden : the Cape and the rbrtr Ztoffe «t
wortliier objects of culture. What Off-
thage coveted, we may disdain.
Art. XVL— 7^«ig/(rt on the Protestant Asctndanaj in IrehanA ; lidth «n j^iQipm£r. »w.
pp. 108.
SO long as the church of Rome and the
church of Const antinople agreed in reli-
gioiis doctrine, their commoii creed had a
ri^ht to th.* denomination oi catholic, or
universal; because it was, in fact, the
only recognised and established form of
christian confession. But as soon as tlie
Greek and Latin chur<2ies began to mar-
shal under their respective patriartbs anS
popes, and became distinct sects, the teria
catholic ought to have been dropped.
The notorious corruption of (heNicdife
careed, by the insertion of the words Jffj^
que, began at the council '<^ Toledo, ift \
* *' For several months p^st, an Thilian paper has beenpubfislied weeJ^y in Malta, "tte
object of which may be inferred from what is here said. TTiis paper, actlvefy disttibiitedfe
the Mediterranean by the opportunities which our naval stipeHonty tnust ever cobHtftna,^
perused with avidity, not only in the islands of Greece, but on tht coast tf *aa Wwlv**
at the regencies upon the coast of Africa.'* %
PKOT^STANT ASCENDANCY IM |RBLAVD.
359
a, nukr king Riocaredo> in the jear
^19. This additiooal clause can be traced,
•s nbrtady accepted by the Galli^aQ church,
10791. At the synod of Frankfort, in
794, this innovation was superinduced on
Gecmanj, and from the time of tlie coro-
nation of Charlemagne, it may be consi-
4ticS, as having become the orthodox dog-
trine of all that portion of Christendom,
%hkh recognined the spiritual supremacy
of the Pope of Rome.
The Roman catholic faith, which dif-
fers -from that of the ancient church, by
maintaining the two-Jold procession of the
Holy Ghost, is, therefore, but a modem
heresy, first established in the 'year 794;
. and has prevaiJed in Europe only during
about fa^tiie interval that elapsed be-
tween the foundation of Christianity and
the refbnnation. The bishop of Orleans,
Theodulfus, seems to have been the person
through whose zeal the power of Charle-
magne was moved to convene those coun-
cils, which established this recent and dou- '
bid genealogy of the Spirit ; he is, there-
lore, the tbonder of the Roman catholic
sect; the proselytes to which niight fitly
betwnned^ in ecdeaiastical history, Th^o-
diilfians.
Ahoutseven hundred years later than
TheodolC flourished Rucer, who was con-
f ultad by Ajrdibishop Cranmer concerning
theakeration of the English churcli, and
vbo aiipears fb have defined those articles
of ^ith, which are now held sacred from
the Tweed to the Channel. Ireland was
first converted by the Theodulfians, and
next undertaken by the Bucerists. Four-
fifths of the inhabitants repeat the shibbo-
leth of the one sect, and half the ren?ain-
ing fifdi of the other : about a tenth are
Calvioiats. Ths. Bucerists have attempted
to draw the Calvlnists into their alliance,
aod, under the common name ofproUstam,
to advance a claim of ascendancy in Ireland.
Assisted by the civil power of the British
govemmeoit, this arrogance has been so
aoccessfol, that the tyme is collected over
all the lands .c^ Ireland, for the exclusive
benefit of the priests of the Bucerists* A
dadtnai fraction of the community has
coDUivcd toixm&cate^ for the fae&efit of
Ui own pecoliar priesthood, one-tenth of
i(be Btmal ^produce^ which is equivaljent
Jto the fe»<stuiple of one-sixth of .the whole
territory of Ireland. This has been ac-
.fi>iapli^hiid.4Qd.9»iutained by the forcible
iute^M^ion aod execution of penal laws
ag9io)t the calibration. of ma^ and other
JMiMtntoctiotti pf thepriftgta of the Theo-
dulfians (which laws have lately been
withdrawn), and by the exclusion of theijr
laity itom oflices of magistracy, honom-,
and profit (which exclusion still subsists).
Under Elizabeth, and at the instigation of
the Bucerists, one hundred and tbuty
priests of the Theodulfians were executed
at Tyburn, and elsewhere, for no othe^
crime than the inculcation of their tenets:
80 extensive a destruction of priests never
accompanied any other persecution, ex*
cept that by the late atheistical revolution**
ists in France. Under Charles the First,
North America was stocked with the ex-
iles of a less murderous, but not less ex-
tensive persecution. Under Charles the
Second, two thousand Calvinist priests,
who had been inveigled by the Bucerists
into temporary alliance, for the sake of
accomplishing the restoration, were, with
tlie most ungrateful perfidy, ejected from
their benefices, and had tlieir private pro-
perty, in the revenues of the church, to-
tally confiscated, without indemnity, by
an act of uniformity. What was thua
done against tlie Calvinist clergy was ex-
tended, under William the Third, to their
laity. Corporation and test acts were in-
troduced, in order to deprive their ad-
herents of all political influence. They
yet labour xmder the same grievous pri-
vations as the Theodulfians. During the
reigns of George tlie First and Second, a
philosophic party gave the tone to our
statesmen; the spirit of tiie hierarchy
slumbered; Ireland was tranquil, and
Britain happy: but the opportunity was
lost of removing the legal infringements
on the political equality of religions sects;
and the evils of intolerance were all to be
renewed during tlie ensuing reign. Every
one recollects how much I he rebellion
of North America was embittered by the
apprehension of being visited with epis-
copacy ; £|nd hpw much tlie rebellion of
Ireland was occasioned by the refusal of
cadiolic emancipation. Two civil wars is
a high price to have paid for gur docility
to this clergy.
Our author, after dw'elling at cpnsider-
ablc length on these grievance^, mak^ tli/9
following specific proposal :
« What I shoqld, therefore, advise is, that
jaovernment should, without delay, reoiove aU
the remaining disqualifications aud restraint^'
on account of reli^ous opinions ; should sub-
stitute a political instead of a religious test,
and ^ndeaKPVir to mi^ the people forget
\iai^ aoontraFV one .had ever been imposed
The^e j^uld be no dit^tinctions retained, and
it. is thj^ .h>t9rest of the state to |>romote the
most entire oblivion of those wJtuch formady
S2
j6q
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
«fkbted. The effects of these measures will
be, to give consequence and. consideration,
where there fe already property and charac-
ter. It will be a cheap piircliaie, for the go-
vernment will buy the aupport of a ri\imerons
party of the rich and respectable, at the ex-
fience of whit it has no claim now to retain,
t will be selling what is of no utility, for what
is above all price. Hie Catholic landholder,
"merchant, and peasant, will derive an addi-
tional motive tcr maintain, at the hazard of
their existence, the security of a governmpnt,
the latest actions of which entitle.it to their
gratitude and love. ' These,' says Mr. Burke,
* are cliains that, though light as air, are strong
as links of iron.' This repeal, while it joins
the two persuasions in power, will unite them
in affection. All the talent (and in what
country is there so much r) will then be em-
ployed on the side of the state, at a period
when all that can be broug^ forward ought
to be called into action.
" The next consideration will be, to pro-
vide for the support of that religion which it
is thus proposed to admit into our establish-
ment ; and in so doing, tJ\e object should be,
that the burden imposed upon the people for
the purpose of obtaining the necessary funds,
should DC no more than just sufticient to en-
able every man, with decency and comfort,
to live by his ministry. The Irish govern-
Bient allo\A's, at present, salaries to the mi-
nisters of the Presbyterian worship. There
seems to be no reason wliy the same indul-
fence should not be granted to the Catholics.
•olicy, ati well as justice, demand it. A
small, but independent hierarchy, ought to
be established. Supposing tlie parishes to
amount to 1200, allowing a salary of lOOL
per annum to each resident priest, and 40CiL
to each bishop, the amount of the whole es-.
tablishment would ;be le.si tiian l60,000l. per
annum: an ecclesiastical establishment not of
a very splendid nature, but perhaps suQpicizi
for tlie moderate wants of the Catholics, and
conformable to the principles, not of encoip'
rarfemeht but of toleration, on which it ia
proposed to acquiesce in their demands.*
Thi^ eslaj)lishment, when compared to ilie
Protestant, which exceeds half a miUion, fiir->
nishe* a proof, at how cheap a rate an inslir
tution of so m»ich importance can be pur-
chat^ed. 11 le Catholic religion now exi^in^
in Ireland, under all the disadvantages of pe-
nury and contempt, is still equal to the main-
tenance of public morals, and to the support
of Christ iaiiit^k*. The numbers too of the t«o
sects, are ofsome consequence. The PrcH
testants of the regular church do not exceed
600,000 souls, a-id their establishment costs
the whole nation half a million. The Catho-
lics amount to three millions of people, and^
they would be amply contented with the pay-
ment of 160,0001.^'
Two objections to this plan deserve no*
tice. — Why introduce a political test at
all > Cannot a republican be a good ma-
gistrate under a monarchy^ and a royalLsf
under a republic ? Harmony of specola-
tive tenets is no more necessarr in poli-
tical than in religious theory. CoalitioRS
of hostile factions have often govmied
well 5 experience justifies the joint em-
ployment of disagprceing dogmatists.
Aet. XVII. — Serious Examination of the Roman Catholic Claims, as set forth in the POi-
tionnow pending before Parliament. Bt/ the iitr. Thomas Lemesurier, Rector qf
J^unton Langville, late Fellow qf \ew College, Oxford. 8vo. pp. 60.
THE descendant of a French reftigee
may be allowed to feel some hereditary
prejudice against the church, which pro-
cured a revocation of the edict of Nantes :
but if this prejudice has so far abated
against its doctrines, as to allow of con-
formity to an establishment, which Cal-
Tui accused of papism j and lias so far
abated against its practice, as to allow of
a defence of that very intolerance, which
protestants once ascribed to the clergy, as
Ilomanists, and not as tithing-men 3 this
prejudice can have little claim to indul-
gence, or to excuse : it borders on an ig-
noble apostacy to the creeds Snd the cruel-
ties which his ancestors wltiistood.
The Rev. Mr. Lemesurier first ana-
lyzes the catholic petition, which in hii
opinion (p. 10), ' does not state the cas*
of the petitioners with that clearness and
precision which is or ought to be re*
quired.' This is a new ground for resist-
ing the prayer of a petition, that it was not
dralvn up by a neat writer : happiljr thii
ground of objection is still more applicable
to the reverend gentleman's own counter^
prayer. •
He next compares the qualifications re*-
quired of an Irish Roman Catholic, which
are affirmative or juratory d^larations of
opinion, with the qualifications reqfuired
of a member of parliament, which are pe-
* <' I have selected this sum in preference to a larcer, because in the reformation of Eng-
lish curacies, laudably commenced by the English bishops, lOOl. per annum was esteemed k
competent provision for an English clergyman. The Scottish ministers are supposed to en-
joy, upon an average, ©early the^ame sum, independent, however^ of a house and ^ebc of
Jm acre-i.*'
LZTTBK TO DR. TROr, kc.
2Sl
tmixy or territorial possessions : and
asks, (p. 13) whether there be more in-
justice in imposing tlie one th/ia the
oliwr. This is an Oxfordism : the doubt.
could hardJy have occurred elsewlaere. It
nay there be customary to weigh sub-
scriptioos and adjurations to articles of
6ith, against pecuniary income and terri-
torial tythetf ; and to consider the impo-
sition of the one as no grievance, when
accompanied by the conce8:iion of the
Other. But ecclesiasUcal morality is not
always that of the world. Among lay-
men want of veracity is a disgrace, and
poi-crty is, not. The man of honour in
practical life feels a reluctance at making
formal and public assertions of opinions,
which have never been examined, or ne-
ver understood, or never proved to tlie
ia(is£iction of the asserter. He feels no
rductanoe to acknowledge or declare the
want of a landed estate. Both inquisitions
are cases of impertinence and injustice;
but the one violates tlie conscience, and
the other only the pocket.
ITiirdly, the oath of supremacy is de-
fended. It denies jurisdiction in matters
ipihtua] to all aliens. If the presby terians
oi the continent were to hold a synod at
Geneva, for the purpose of determining
anew the canon of scripture, and were to
transmit exhortations to the kirk of Scot-
land to admit the Wisdom and the Eccle-
aiasticns into the christian canon ,* any at-
tcuUon lo the authority of such council
woold be a violation of the duty enjoined
by the oath of supremacy. It is tlierefore
an oath not quite fit to be imposed even
on protestants, far less on catholics. «
Fourthly, this author has recourse to
what he mistakes for alarming language,
and calls out in his panic as follows :
(p. 45) ' What shall we say further to a
popish chancellor, and a popish prime-
minister, diq>osing of all the dignities in
the church, and of the cure of souls in
such a large proportion of our parishes?'
Shall wfe not say, po ! pish ! If Boling-
broke and Burke, who were catholics
bom, had been prime-ministers during
tht principal part of their political career.
would tills country have been worse off
than under the men who overbore, or b\i«-
perseded them ? Would literary merit
have been less secure of advancement in
the church ? Lord Chatham, the best of
our prime-ministers since tlie revolution,
was a notorious despiser of tlie church of
England, and he reviled its ordinatices in
parliament. The purest churchmen, such
as I^rd North and Mr. Addington, have
been sorry ministers of state.
Fifthly, the intolerance of tlie Romaqi.
Catholics \i adduced as a reason for with-
holding toleration from tliem. If ,a great
number of whites .were slaves in Tom-
buctoo, oppressed by their masters and
grievously abused, would it be less a duty
in the negro monarch to introduce milder
laws and progressive emancipation, be-
cause, in some western islands, precedents
had occurred of white tyranny ? Be tole-
rant to the catholics, that they may feel the
superiority of your religion in the very ge*
nerosity of its sway. To find a precedent
for the sin of intolerance, is not ah apolo-
gy : the retaliation of injustice aggravates
it; the pernicious consequence being, in
the second instance, foreseen. Besides,
what claim would the Bucerists them-
selves have to toleration, if ancestrial per-
secutions were to be visited on posterity ?
Recollect that Queen Elizabetli put to
death ona hundred and thirty catliolic
priests (see the list in our third volume,
p. 282), for promulgating their religion
in England. These things must not be
repeated against the intolerant party : not
only his church, but M. Lemesurier him-
self, might be in danger -, and we wish him
many happy years.
lliis pamphlet concludes with the as-
sertion, that the granting of the Roman
Catholic Petition at tliis jimcture leads to
no less tlian the total destruction of the
country. How the repeal of a law can
destroy a country, we know not : perliaps
the author believes that miracles have not
ceased, and that saint Calvin and saint
Bucer will sink under sea Scotland and
England, whenever their people become
ashamed of bigotry and persecution.
Aax. XVIII. — ji Letter to Dr. Trot/, titular Archbishop of Dublin, on the Coronation qf
Bom^arU ^ Pope Pius the Seventh. By Melancthon. 8vo. pp. 97. '
OF the spirit of this pamphlet the fol-
lowing sounding denunciation will give a
just Wea :
" From among the thousands and ten thou-
«ads of christians, impressed with these sen-
^iQCDts, and terrified and appalled by his por-
tentous conduct, I stand forward as the public
accuser of his holiness — 1 stand forward to ar-
raign him in the ^e of heaven and of earth—
In the presence of men and of angels, I
charge him with a flieht of unpiety and blas-
phemy, beyond all that the most audacious
abusers of the Most High liave ever attempt-
202
history; POLtTlCS, AND STATISTICS.
ed ; with an extreme of insult to the Supreme
Ruler of the universe, tliat has, as it were,
been reserved for the last outrage on his pa-
tience and forbearance, in this age of unparal*
leled apostacy from all religion, and for a cha-
racteristic winding-up of that horrible revolu-
tion, which laid its foundations in the tempo-
rary extinction of the religion of his blessed
Son, and now braves heaven by the mockery
of restoring that religion, only to outrage and
pro&ne it.
*' In all the horrors of this revolution, I
charge him with liavine made himself a party.
In all the horrors of this revolution, I ciiarge
liun with having made our God, and our Re-
deemer, and our Sanctilier, parties, as far as
his assumption of the divine commission, with
which he invests himself, can accomplish so
impious a purpose.
" It is the authority of the Most High which
he pleads ; it is the sanction of his commission
of which he makes his boast ; it is his highest
prerogative in governing the affairs of men,
that he pretends to exercise, while he corifers
the imperial crown, the price of all the enor-
mities to which the French revolution gave
birth, on its most distinguished parricide,
and anoints with the holy oil of kings the mer*
ciless hands that sluiced the most innocent
blood during its exterminating progress.
** It is in the name of the irtiraaculate Jesus,
And \rith the invocation of the Holy Spirit,
that he consecrates a sceptre, wrested from
its legitimate possessors by a series of such
atrocities, flowing from this revolution, as ne^
ver before stained the annals of human crimes,
or drew down the curses of heaven on the hu*
man race.
" It is the blessed Son of God whom he
associates in the filiation * to which he admits
t recorded apostate, who in the face of the
christian and infidel world, and by a public
proclamation sent into the world with his sig-
nature, while commandinc the revolutfonary
armies in Egypt, asserted that God Iiad no
bon, no associate in his kingdom.
" It is to the grace of God, poured largely
into the heart of this ferocimis homicide, who
by a more insatiate thirst of blood, and a pre*
eminence in every revolutionary crime,
^lipsed the fame of all his revolutionary com-
petitors, that he ascribes the desire to receive
the imperial crown, the golden fruit of all these
crimes, from the hands of Go<Vs vicegerent
and representative ; and it is to the immediate
inspiration of heaven, in answer to his own fer-
vent prayer?, that he attributes his detenni-
nation to gratify this desire of his most * cUi-
tifui wn,' who now professes to be a < atholic,
as, when k answered a revolutionary piir|K)8e,
he professed to be a Mahometan, unci who
now venerates the health-hear inp: cro.w, as he
then venerated th^ healtli-administering Ko-
ran.
" With rfespect t^ the high station he lills
as head of the Roman catholic church, seatiedf
in the see of the prince of the apostles, and»'
as his successor, venerated, I mi^ht say ador-
ed, by such a portion of the chnstjan workl*
I cliarge him with having betrayed its dignit j.
" He canonizes as the pious and aeakm
protector of that see, the man who made a
merit with the people of Egypt, that he was
the servant oi their prophet ;f a Mussuhnao^
who Iiad inarched to Rome to overthrow the
Pope, because he invited the christians Iq^
make war against the mahometan rehgion.
" He recognizes with tlie. warmest effusioos
of gratitude, tlie most rapturous expresseof*
of joy, the man 'who waged a war of extenm*
natiun against his munediate predecessor ia
the pontilical cliair; who plundered him
of all that the zeal of chri-tian eniperonani
princes had lavished on his'see ; who cast him
into pri^'On, loaded liim with contumely. ai4
at length, by his cruel treabnent, and the
ruin he brought upon the patrimony of St
Peter, as well as on the whole catholic cfaordi,
broke that truly pious, upright, and Yenenbke
pontiff's heart, and brou^ his grey hain
with sorrow to the grave.
" To the royal £unily of France I chac]gs
him with the foulest ingratitude. He takes
the crown of St. Lewis from the altar oq
which, by an eternal decree of Boniface the
Eighth, ms name was for ever to be tnvocsted,
and places it on the head of the mulxlererof
his descendants,
" In the throne tliat had been fiOed bytiot
race of kings, who for so many ages had'bm
sanctified as the eldest wd» ot the Roman c*»
tholic church, the founders of all its temporal
power, the liberal benefactop to whom the
see he fills owes all its princely possessions,
Jie seats the upstart usurper of their birthrigbt,
the plunderer of their inheritance^ the tyrant
who founds his p6wcr on their rxlinctroii.
" These are the charces I brinfi; against thb
fether of the faithful, this visible^head of the
chun h of. Christ, this vicegjerent of God. U
is not a tale of old times ; it is not a transar*
tion of ages of ignorance and superstition, to
which we scruple to give credence, as so dis-
similar to all that the principles andfeefmgs
to which we are habituated can suppose po?«
sibte : it is the act of the hour m whicb I
write :— enlightened Europe is witness to it—
the astonish^ and indignant world bears tes-
timony to it. Stand forward, yoa whoever*
rise the oflice of advocate for this delejgatf
of heaven ; stand forward, and in the &ce fit
your country defend him against these clarges.
Stand fonvaVd,and exculpate him to the num-
berless prnfessoi^ of yocr own religion, irf»
hang down their he»ls in ^hanie and silence,
and to the whole body of your protestant fd-
low-subjects, ^ hose indignatioii I bat fmMj
express,"
In our ophiion, the pope has acted w*
* liis dearly beloved sou in C^IiriNt. See the AllacaUon to tfic wcrct CoiWH^ory,
•\ bee liis iVocUuuatioHS,
LSTTSR TO 1)S« TROT> &C.
wfleaffjr witk IImi practice of his diarchy
with ilie law of nations, and with the
principles of morals^ in crow^niug^Bona*
parte.
Ttte catholic church <loes not interfere
with ay odxsr title to sovereignty than
&itk She always prefers the orthodox
upstart to the heathen heir, and crowns
without hesitation a Constantine or a Pe-
pta> or fulminates without hesitation a Ji^«-
iian or an Elizabeth, whatever be the crha*-
facter of their civil claims to sovereignty.
it is a proof of the forbearance and loog-
•affif^riBg of the catholic church to have
toSemted the Bourbons so long. Both
Loms XV. »id Louis XVI., instead of
repressing and persecuting the encyclo-
pedic beresiarchs, conniv^ at their im-
pieties, extended legal toleWon^ and ap-
pointed ddsts and protestants to leading
P^Scesof.the state. It was conformable
topn^cedent, that under sovereigns so dan-
genmsly liberal (compare the conduct of
tiie priest Savonarola under Lorenzo del
Medici), a Sieyes or a Gregoire should let
slip the arguments of sedition, as a whole-
soine corrective, in order to teach the
throne its depejidence on the altar. The
church well knows what Bamiel teaches
tlood, that a triumph of sedition is the
school fbr kings ; and that the magiiitrate
only patronizes her jargon and her panto-
mime for the sake of the obedience wiiich
she knows how to inculcate. The direc-
tory of France was antichristian : it was
correct therefore in the catholic ecclesi-
«tics of France to transfer their allegiance
to Bonaparte, who was a professing chris-
tian at least, and is probably a sincere one.
The Egyptian proclamation drawn up by
hi] sta? of $avans, and no doubt signed
unread, proves nothing as to his personal
religiosity : if it proved secret infidelity,
there would he more glory due to the
church for bending the stubborn neck of
that courage which has doubted, than for
keeping in curb the cowardice of habitual
sn^rstitbn.
The extravagant doctrines of tlie English
tones concerning the indefeasibility of he-
reditaiy claims, and the imprescriptibility
of royd titles, form no part of the law of
nations. Right is power recognized by
others. Mi^t becomes right, as soon as
a formal acknowledgment to that effect
ioten'cnes. After tlie peace of Ryswick,
the rights of James the second to the throne
of Great Britdn were, as far as respected
the rest of Europe, at an end. During
^e ensuing peace, it was a breach of eti-
quette ill French TOtcrs to call him king :
and, during the ensuing war, it was in thf
French nation a recision o{ their own
agreements, and an arbitrary unconsented
revocation of implied compact, to assist
James in 1715, as entitled to the British
crown. Not only Vattel, Martens, and
Giiuther, support tlus doctrine ; but the
French themselves, in their declaration of
war against the emperor, in 1733, com-
plain thus :
' L*£mpereur a entrepris de prononoer
aans autori(6 sur ce qui s'etait passe dans
I'interieur de la republiqi:|e de Pologne.*
They admit that a foreign power is never
competent to pronounce concerning inter-
nal rights ; and consequently that domes-
tic recognition oUght always to involve
foreign. The pope therefore acts con-
formably to the law of nations in recog«
nizing j}s sovereign of France the object
of French recognition.
And now to tlie principles of morals.
When could anarchy terminate if the
claims of the expelled were perpetual?
Who does not see the absurdity of treat-
ing as valid those claims of the Irish pea-
santry over lands whence theur ancestors
were ejected ? If such clauns were un»
expirable (and the claims of ejected prio*
cesare of the same kind), each generatioa
must fight anew for the whole mass of
fixed property. For fields of harvest we
should have fields of battle j for furrows,
graves. In matters of domestic legisla-
tion, -the law can efficaciously Umii the
exact date of prescription, ; because so-
ciety can call in the mass of possessors to
support its definitions of title. But in
questioi^s of the law Of nations, there be-
ing no executive police to employ, it is
expedient, and therefore just, that pre-
scription should be coeval with recogni-
tion. If the European powers made no
bargain at the peace with the French go-
veniment about the«forteited property of
the emigrants, that property must remain
a valid forfeiture. If no reser\'ation was
made of the rights of the house of Bour-
bon (and Bonaparte would not have treat-
ed as the occasional sovereign), those rights
have been virtually resigned j and it would
beun gentlemanly, and a breach of honour,
in any member or minister of the British
house of commons to propose now to re-
enact them ; no single nation, no confe-
deracy of nations^ can have a right to de-
-Glare them valid. As it is no object to the
community whether an estate be held by
John Doe or Richard Roe, provided there
be no uncertainty about the proprietor ;
so it is 00 object to the commonwealth of
%H
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
tuitions, whether a reigning dynasty be
called Capet or Bonapane, provided tliere
'be no doubt about the real sovereign. The
friend of order therefore is to promote
the ascertainment, not the litigation 3 he is,
like the poj)e, to corroborate the decisions
of international lawj'ers with the over-
awing sanction of tbe mother church.
Th^ pope is the representative of the
catholic interest 5 he promotes that inr
terest by crowning Bonaparte j he thereby
reconquers to the Roriiish church the
most powerful of the European kingdoms.
Compared with this conversion of mil-
lions, and of their sons' sons, to tlie holy
see, what are tlie puny interests of a fa-
mily heretofore royal ? The pope would
have been a traitor to bis office to in«|
acted otherwise.
We advise this trumpQt-tongued de-
claimer to lay aside his passion, aud to re-
examine the argument at issus ^ he wants
that power of voluntary transmigration,
without which tlie merit of party-chi^»
tains can never be equitably appreciated
It became the duke d'Eughien /o<fefor
the traditional rights of his family ; but,
in recommending a quil mourut totte
pope, impropriety is advised : he had to
perform the humbler duty of living %
tlie catholic church, and of crownii^ it|
restorer. A pope is not bound to die fiv
Monsieur, but only for the . church of
Clu-ist.
Art. XIX.— Cac^Wtf* Dissertation on the best Means of civUiung the Subjects of At
British Empire in India,
THE Bev. Claudius Buchanan, vice-
provost of the college of Fort WiJliam in
Bengal, gave in 1804 two hundred guineas
to the University of Cambridge as a prize
for tlie superior English prose dissertation,
* On the best means of civilizing the sub^
jects of the British Empire in India j and
of diffusing tbe light of the christian reli-
gion throughout tlie eastern world.' The
quest^n is studiously so put as to admit
but one answer — * endow churches.' Ci-
vilization may be best extended by the
missions of commerce 5 . and Christianity
best taught by the distribution of printed
instruction, which can be accommodated
to the languages of different provinces ;
but if the san^e engine is to be used for
manufacturing such discormected products
as civilization and Christianity, that engine
must be an ecclesiastical corporation.
Where the inference is prescribed, the
philosopher will disdain to discuss -, but
there are men in modem times, whose
ductile eloquence can always labour to po-
pularize the very inferences of tlieir pa-
tron ; whose obedient souls aspire, as after
a merit, at diiving in the rut of prescrip-
tive orthodoxy, and whose accommodating
reason can always evolve the very creed
of the cotemporary magistrate.
After noticing many peculiarities of
fhe Hindoos with reprobation, the au-
thor proceeds to his main proposition.
It appears absolutely necessary that a
church-es^Uishment be immediately com-
menced ; and at page forty-one it is fur-
ther recommended that a bishopric be
endowed in Bengal.
When this bishop and these clergy, of
th^ v^lue of whose importation only tlie
wicked and the ignorant can doubt^ are
an'ived in Hiiidostan, vvhat are they to do?
They are to disperse a partial version of
the scriptures.
And thus, that mass of fanatical and ig«
norant absurdity, compiled by bishop
Newton from popish and mystical theol(h
gians, which corrupts every source of hisr
tory and confounds every faculty of judge-
ment, and with a perverseness at which
JVIr. Halhed would blush, holds up, a
prophetic and allusive, a multiplicity of
passages in the scriptures, which have DOt
the slightest pretensions, which lay not tho
feeblest claini to a prophetic character, «
to be dispersed among the Hindoos, as a
part of christian religion. Js this to dif-
fuse light, and to scaler civilization ?
The various forms of chriscianitr, while
they subsist as sects, feel out their appro-
priate public, and serve to define the mo-
ral and intellectual attainments of tbeif
respective adlierents : but, in an unoppos-
ed established shape, they have never yet
been decidedly beneficial. iFrom the es-
tablishment of Christianity under Constan-
tine, to the beginnmgs Qi its disestablish-
ment under Pope Leo X., is the darkest
and most uncivilized period of European
society. Shall Britain prepare such a mil-
lennium for Hindostan ? ]
This author is not unwilling to learn of
the enemy. Among the causes of the ^
propagation^ of Christianity, he reckons ,
(p. 3 1 .) in the words of Mr. Gibbon,
' the exclusive or intolerant zeal d the
christians.' Witli such views of fact, the
determination to succeed cannot but be
accompanied with the use of exception-
able means. Among tliose already sug-
gested, is a proposal to call in tlie aid of
the civil power (p. 27.) to abolish the
ASIATIC AKK0AL XEGISTEX.
:2tf$
I of sitting in Dlierna ; and another
proposal (p. 23.) to abolish the custom of
crectin* a Koor. These practices per-
hap5 tlivrart, in some cases, the aclminis-
InadoQ of justice : if so, let the courts of
law, in their judicial capacity, interfere :
bat if the suppression be made at the in-
stigation of the priest, the customs will
be endeared and en rooted -by all the influ-
ence of competitory fanaticism. The
fway of the East India company has this
of praise- worthy ; that it has equally re-
spected the hereditar}' notions of Moslems,
Seiks, Idolaters, and Christians, and has
toleiated reciprocal conversion, without
conferring recompences on apostacy, or
jHivile^es on foreign faitli/
The would-be christianizers of Hindosr
;*taa ought to draw up for that people
and that climate a peculiar plan of rell-
, i;ion, if they wish to be successful. In
! Irclaiitl one form of Christianity is pre-
I 'vakntj in Scotland another ; in Great Bri-
tain a third ; why not provide for every
main division of the empire a distinct
I nd adnpted worship ? Sir William Jones
I advises a new selection from our sacred
; books : why not also a new liturgy and a
[ new ritual ? Surely the progress which
las been made in scripture-criticism since
I the lime of Luther, would enable our
; more learned cotemporaries to compile a
; lystem less dangerous to the reputation of
i European taste, reason, and civilization.
; The orientals admire the European man j
Art. XXl — Miotic Annual Regi^er, or a Victv of the History of Hiy*dostan, and of tlie
Politics, Commerce, and Literature qf Asia, Jar the Years 1802 and 1803. 8vo.
they are acquainted with our merchants,
our soldiers, and our lawyers 5 if they
should become acquainted with our reli^
gionists, how soon the aseful spell must
be dissolved ! Happily the spirit of the
gentleman often corrects the spirit. of the <
priest, and tlie opinions of the age fore-,
stall the opinions of the church. If an
eastern hierarchy should be established,
one may indulge the hope tliat some mea
will obtain preferment in it, who have
more the temj>er of philosophers than of
missionaries -, who are not less solicitous
about the interests of literature than about
the interests of protestantism, who pre-
fer sincerity to conformity, and consider
toleration as an esscnti.il part of equit}*.
A bishop of Bengal may one day be found
to merit tlie rare and pure praise lately
inscribed on tlie monument of the bishop
of Down.
One would have wished to see a disser-
tation, which wins a prize in a British
university, remarkable for a display of
the appropriate learning. Mr. Maurice is
quoted and epitomize^ occasionally, and
Sir William Jones has been consulted;
but the mass of information which Son-
nerat, which Anquetil, which Fra Paolin#
especially, have imported into Europe
concerning the religions of the east, and
the braminical system, appears to slirni-
ber unnoticed in the shelves of the college
library.
THE Asiatic Annual Register began
'with the present century, and has already
been noticed in our first volume, p. 332.
It continues to be conducted on the same
plan, with increased resources and spee-
dier assiduty.
An account of the Mahratta war, a
chroDicle of minute occurrences, a list of
promotions, births, marriages, and deaths ;
state-papers, debates in parliament and
^ at the India-house, characters, poetry, re-
' Tiews of books, and miscellaneous tracts,
ibmi the varied bill of* fare.
Hie literary world will take an interest
^ in the statafces of the new college of Fort
William in Bengal.
It would have been well so to organize
' the college, that natives of the country
could be received there both as pupils and
f pTDiesaors. The christian test imposed on
professors ought not to have been intro-
<luced. Can the Sanscrit, the Chinese,
and siniilar languages, be taught by £u«
ropeans as well as by the natives of the
provinces where these languages still sub-
sist ? This test tends to prevent the ob*
taining of the best possible instruction.
The life of Tofuzzel Hussein Khaa
will be read with high gratification
throughout Europe. The example of a
native of Cashmir studying so successfully
our languages and our sciences ; translat-
ing into Arabic our books of mathematics,
and committing to an oriental press the
£ir-fetched select importations of his high
and comprehensive acquirements j is a
harbinger of tlie entire civilization of the
world.
What a misfortune to the progress of
culture, that so naany difBculties should
be thrown in the way of migration to
Hindostan, by the East India company !
Had an open trade subsisted during the
last generation, instead of the monopoly,
our arts, our habits, our literature, our
sciences, would have struck root long ago
m
HISTORY, POLrtlCS, AND STATISTICS.
in the peainsula; our merchaoU would
have docncsticatcd there an European ci-^
TilisatioD ; and pro^'inces, which are now
the quarrj of plunder, would hav€ bea
paying to commerce a vohmtary aul {
larger tribute.
Aat. XXI. — A concur Accourrt of the Commerce and Xavigation of the Black Sea :
recent and auihentic information. 8to. pp. 53.
ABOUT tliree years ago Mr. Eton was
sent by government to the southern pro-
vinces Qi Russia, as well to purchase on
trial certain naval stores, corn and salted
provisions, which, it was tliought, might
habitually be wanted for Malta, as to
make a general rqxxt concerning the faci-
Eties for British commerce offered by tJie
^veral ports of the Black Sea. This
pamphlet contains a summary of the in-
formation collected by him, and will form
like basis of a more extensive statistical
work concerning tlie countries visited. It
contains, in a cheap, unaffected, and con-
densed form, matter of immediate ira-
portaAce \sj the statesman, and of lasting
importance to the merchant. Literary
industiy mav manufacture from these
ipateriids a thick book of travels, and re-
publish what is already known of the
Elack Sea shore : here we obtain apart the
recent additions to our circulating know<
Wge.
The Black Sea has deservedly been
named 'the guestless,' the inhospitable,
ibr such is the meaning of the word
Suxine. In antient as ip modem times, a
mischievous resistance was opposed by the
borderers to the navigation of tins inland
•ea. There are natural impediments :
during the summer, north-cast winds are
almost perpetual, and ships lie sometimes
uriod-bound for three months. Sharp
vessels that can work well to windward
«re fittest for this trade. There are artiii-
, cial impediments : all tlie ports are shut
to vessels liable to quarantine, except
Kafia and Odessa, wliere alone lazareitoes
have been established. No accurate charts
exist to guide navigators in the Black Sea.
A vast mass of produce descends the
Dnieper, which might conveniently be
•hipped at Oczakow : it is compelled to
take tlie more expensive road through
Odessa, by the absurd preference of prince
Poterakin, who chose there to construct
moles, kays, magazines, bazars, and other
apparent appurtenances of commerce, in
tlie hope of attracting a trade which na-
ture has allotted elsewhere. Odessa has
neither wood nor water : die port is bad
in blowing weather : the sands washed
down the Dnieper are constantly filling
up the haven. The ex pence of carrying
€j>rn from Cherson to the liiman, is from
ten to $fteen kopeks the chetwert (j
half-a-crown per bushel), but to
the freight is from eighty to one hi
kopecks ; on which account com msf
had cheaper in the Liman. The prg|
step for restoring to commerce its nat«
course, would be to establish another <p
rantine at Oczakow, for vesseb
to load in the Liman : this should be
cited from the Russian government.
An English house of great respecti
lity at Odessa, b that of Mr. Henry Sq
son, a native of £xeter, who resided
Naples before its commerce wasiot
rupted by the French. Kaffa is
likely to engross tlie cora-tzade
Odessa : the best Of its wheats is
amaui ; it is the kind, of which the Nei)^
politans make their macaroni and
celli. There is a sort of rye near Ei«
betgrad, of which the grains mi
almost half an inch in length. At
son the empress Catharine founded an
miralty : the disadvantage of this site
that there is only £ve or six feetwatetij
and that ships of war built there most'
put into camels, as in Holland, to
the bar. A general of infantry fixed
spot, as a general of cavalry fixed
Odessa.
There was a considerable Frencb naiK*
fi:ation to the Liman before the revolutiofl,
Toulon was thence supplied with d»4
stores 'y and the merchants of Marseite
carried out the silks of Lyons and dt
cloths of Louviers. The return of Freacb
commerce is looked for with anxiety If
all people, and particularly by tlie grait '
proprietors. Its efifects have founded
among the nobility, or landed intere»t, rf \
southern Russia, a Galilean party. It is
impcu'tant, as a mean of securij^g the d*
liance of Russia, that a Bxitishcommertf)
equivalent to that of Frauce, should be
founded in the Kuxine. This may beat ;
be done by purchasing annually tor the .
admiralty, at a regular loss, tlirough pri- 1
vate merchants, a certain quantity ot ib- ]
val stores. The merchants will soon ac-
quire tlie routine of demand and supply ^
and a trade will thus establish itself ablt
to stand alone. The importance of con-
centring the population and Boeln^'*
tan influence of Russia, rather in ^
souths where the soU and climatvire fiaf>
COMMEftCS AND NAYIOATION OP THE BLACK 8fiA«
Z0
fliaa in the north, where a perpetual war
BittSt be waged with nature, is felt by the
■djeiiteaed mtnd of Alexander. It is
fe Britain to prove that her versatile in-
ktij can as easilv collect the productions
If Russia througa the Mediterranean as
PD^ the Baltic
Ocsakow 18 the natural deposit of what
Kcnds the Bog and the Dnieper. Kafta
die natural deposit of what descends the
pD. For these phices lazarettoes must be
ituoed, and consuls appointed.
A canons fact occurs at p. 33. " The
lUfiieTamrspimierB make better cordage
to the Elfish. Thejr aw veir clever
d expeditious, and their method is pre-
Mt, as they feed the yam from the end,
t the middle of the fibres of hemp,
lb merits attention, the difference is
R great."
much wiser establishment than those
^Odessa and Cherson is that of Kaffa, or
rwe Mrrite, Ca&,
'* Vesds arriving at Caffa, any month la
ft jvar, may begin to load immediately,
nig quarantine, and the magazines being
Ik to the waler-^ide, at little expence. Hie
mas that bring com from Anbat unload
** The Qaarantine-Lazaretto, and the whole
ftbt establishment, as well as the custom-
toe, are upon the shore ; and the natural
ta&y of the ground and port afford every
IK^dSfnce that can be desired for the expc-
ildon and economy of trade.
f ^ Ships of war even have a secure anchor-
JMe ID the bav, though it is somewliat open,
ife ground being excellent A pier is' to be
gut into 40 lect water, and a second and
pier for the qusuantine-harbour, so that
win not be subject to be mixed. There
be ports for sh'qps actually having tlie
llhgoe OD hoard, those under precautionary
;^raQtine, and those that have performed it,
'V an oot subject to it.
^ . " Thcdty, which had been entirely ruined.
' n rebuildipg, and trade already biegins to
' iourish.
" AH tiiese wodcs arc conducting by gene-
{ ttl Panshar (a general in chief, and hereto-
Ifcpe governor general of the c!ty and pro-
vinoe of Kiew), than whom the emperor has
.Ma mopebteUigent, a9tive, honourable, and
ttaioQs officer in his service. Ihe soms that
i*iU be stviid by his ability and economy, are
^credible. He was fonnerly an officer in
ow^ards.
" ITihis tlw place found most advantageous
fcrsaltiogofnieatlbrexpbrtation. TheCri-
PM^OMQ area snail race, but those of the
t^ubta, not iOO miles firom Caiia, are a fine
■fXthried^andbeoome vQiyfat early enouf^
to kiU in the ccnl weatheritf the spring as well
, tf autuma, esscrat in some very late seasons,
t un the Don and Volga, ace also vast herds pf
cattle^ which are driven tq distant mai^ett*
Beginning at Bachmut, Poltava, Elizabeth,
. and mto Poland and Genrnuiy, they feed at
they go on the rich plains, from the Don to
Calm they can be broufliit easily. The whole
road is fine pasture, and the neck of land be-
tween Ambat and Yanitsi produces rich grass.
In the Caban they have salt marshes. In
some parts they lull the cattle for the hides,
and to boil out the fat The onlv lake in the
Crhnea wliicir produces salt of tlie best qua-
lity for presen'ing meat, is near to Perecpp ;
but lately the salt of the Kertch has been
found of dn equal, or even superior quality ;
that is, it is more free of magnesia, witJi which
other kinds of salt abound in too large a pro-
portion. These different kinds of salt iiave
been analized by Pallas and by admiral Mol-
ler at Chersbn. Cattle may be bought lean^
and the price of feeding them in the plains is
one rouble a head. It is calculated tnat b^rf
may be salted (a proper establishment being
made) for live ferthings to three halfpence a
pound. Lean hogs are to be driven to Cafla»
and there fattened on barley; which is very
Pat ho^ are very reasonable at Erement-
chug ; but if they are killed and salted in the
beffinnins of whiter, they cannot be exported
before Alay or June firom Chtrson : and salt
meat does not bear land-caniage in these
parts, ^rhe aeent who was sent from this
country, saltea poric for the value of l,0()0/«
at Olgopol in Poland, in the spring of 1803 ;
but a greater quantity of rain fallinff than was
ever remembered, which renderea the car-
riage long, and great heats coniinff on, the
wnole was spoUed. I mentton this that otheia
may profit by the example. Much of the
evil was also owing to tlic bad quality ci the
Polish salt
** Casks must be 'bespoke of the proper
size and strengtli, and made during the winter
naofiths at Krementchug, to have them cheap*
With wooden hoops they cost about 2s. 6d.
to 3s. each. Iron hoops are best liad fron
the manufactory beksnginj; to Mr. Raikes, of
St. Petersburic : the carriage in winter fram
the forces to tne Crim, is very low. An iron
rolled noop, nine feet long, costs him about
Td. sterling. Hence it is evident that, to en-
joy every advantage^ it is necessary to give
orders for salted beef nearly a year beforehand.
The casks and hoqps must 'be procured in
winter, the oxen purchased in spnug* fed and
killed in autumn. Or tliey may be purchased
tat^ generally in spring, always in October ;
but this is not so advantageous as buying them
lean and fatttening them.
*' The articles of the produce of the Don,
Volca, and the circumjacent countries, ne^d
not be enumerated, they an* known to every
one. Iron comes to Czaratzin, on the Volffa,
in one season from Siberia, and is carried oy
land to the Don much cheaper than it goea
to St. Petersburgh ; and it wdl he still more
reasonablt: when tlie canal is completed,
which Vdl join these two rivers. It wdl then
Qot cost above half the price it costs at St. Pe-
96i
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
tersbuigh. The oak on the Don, &c. is not
so good as that on the DneiptT ; bill the deal
or fir, for planks, is even better. Cannon,
and every thing appertaining to a ship, miiy
be brouclit to Calia. Mr. Gascoign has t!«-
tablished an iron foundery at Logan, on tJ\e
Don. The Russian sheet-copper for vessels
h now brought to great perfection. Hitherto
the ships of >^•ar in the Black Sea were not
coppered, and were much injured by worms."
Some of those gentlemen who obtain
travelling fellowships at Cambridge should
undertake a circuit of the Black Sea.
Marble ruins, on which the chisel of
Greece has left its everlasting stamp, would
frequently cross their footsteps. The classi-
cal recollections, in which they delight,
vould crowd on the soul at every promon-
tory. We do not condemn them to rc-^
main in Sinopc, but we wish them to go
thithef. The popularity of their country
would efficaciously be served among the
Russians, by die celebration of contiguous
*ites, which are again becoming the haunts
of civilized men. Many a patriotic sug-
gestion will occur to the classical observer 5
and will travel, in association with his to-
pics, to the polished and leading minds
both of Russian and of British society.
An interesting sweep of Turkish coast is
thus noticed by Mn Eton.
" The ports are, on sailing from Constanti-
ix^le eastward, first Achilio, at tlie distance
of about thirty miles ; it is a place for small
craft only. Thirty miles farther is Kef kani,
a port for four or iive ships of four or five
hundred tons burthen, and two or three fti-
gates. The next is Bender Heracli (or He-
raclea), sixty miles distant, where the largest
fleet of ships of the line may anchor in per-
fect safety in all winds, though it is propei%
only a deep bay. From tliis, sixtj **
lies Amastra, where there are many
ruins and Greek and Roman inscriptions, a
beautiful oak timber c^owhigdouii to the 1
ter-side. It was an island, now joined to I
main land by a causeway, composed, in ]
part, of slutts of marble'columns. 'i'he s
port is dangerous, and receives onlv
small craft. The other port will bold
frigates, but the entrance, round the ppnit^
an anc icnt sunken mole of marble, is lat*^
dangtrous. Around the port there arcs
the remains of an ancient marble <
square projertious into the sea. ]
is Kitros, and round the cape is Sin
well known tlijt I need not describe it Tl
the Turks build most of their ships of 1
and tiie timlx^r of all this coast is almoit <
eternal duration. It grows on dry rocky 1
" From Si nope tlie coast is not exa
known, farther tlian that it is esteemed 1
saf<' to Trabizond and to the Phasis. Fn
thence to the Cuban it is very little knoviu*]
Here one regrets to find only the J
tistical gazer; he might ho\vever
propriety have invoked the tutejary [
of tlie ancient traveller. Mercury,
Castor and Pollux j to the service of <
merce, ^nd to the ser\ice of
his attention has been steadily diitacted. •
This pamphlet should be transmit
to our ambassador at Pietersburg, with i
ders to get it translated into Russian. ~
mercantile interest of Russia ought to 1
made aware of the unchangeable
reasons and causes for preferring C
to Odessa; in order that tlieir petit
and representations may, if requisite, 1
allied in, to obtain from the empemi
Alexander a quarantine-establishment 1
Oczakow.
Art. XXiL— TAtf Histon/ of the Manners, Landed Property, Government, Ixixvs, PoehA
Literature, Religion, and Language, oftht Anglo-Saxons. By Sh. Turner, F. A. S. 8iS
HAVING detailed the civil and mili-
tary history of the Anglo-Saxons in the
volumes which have been already noticed^
^fr. Turner in this completes his under-
taking, and presents us witli as correct a
picture of their private life as the imper-
fect d<Kuments which remain could en-
able him to compose.
Of the Saxons in their pagan state he
has gathered all that could be relied upon
with certainty 3 and though the history is
imperfect, he b amply entitled to our
thanks. Their government, their laws,
and their religions system, ane equally ob-
scure ; nor does it seem quite certain that
they had either the knowledge or the use
of alphabetic cliaracters. From the imi-
formity, however, of the principles of le-
gislation in continental Saxony, an^
England at a subsequent period, Mr. Tur*j
ner infers that pecuniary compensatigij
was even at that time the general moW
botli of redressing personal injuries aoii
punishing criminal offences: a featnR^I
he observes, which certainly announce!^
tliat tlie spirit of legislation even at tfat'
early period began to be understood j-
though their severity in one instance;,
against adultery, was both personal wi<
sanguinary. I
" If a woman became xmchasfe she «<]
compelled to hang herself, her body was bunt ,
and over her ashes the adulterer was exeoitoK [
Or else a company of females whipped lie '
from distrkt to district, and, dtvidtog ^
garments near the iniddie» they pieroed ^
^VRKEE*S HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-SAXON'S.
^
H^ vitJi their knives. They drove her,
km bMiug, from their kibitatioiis ; and
(feresDever she went, new collections of wo-
ia reaeved tlie cruel punishment till she
hired This dreadful cu loin shews that
rsrage character of the nation was not
rfned to the males. Female chastity is
M a Tirtue a$ indispensable as it is at-
but its proper guardians are the
example and tuition, tlie cont>tiiu-
de&acy of tlie temale mind^ its native
tof Jionour, and the uncorrupted voice
feding of society. If it can be only
■Uiued by the horrors of a Saxon punisli-
j^ the nation is too barbarous or too con-
sated, to be benefited by the penalty."
Sbr the domestic history of the Saxons
I later period, Mr. Turner's materials
W in course more copious -, and he has
bed their reigning manners, the general
lory and spirit of their legislation, their
^ dieir literature, their religion, and
It language, not only with correctness
1Mb thehand of a master.
^pe ^cst great change," he observes,
raie Ao^Saxons appeared in the discon*
Incc of their piraci^. They ceased to
ftp ferocious spoilers of tlie ocean and its
is; they becaiiie land-owners, agricultu-
L and industrious citizens ; they seized
idirided the acquisitions of British alTlu-
j^ and made the commonalty of the island
Ir rfaves. Their \var*leaders became ter-
gal chiefe, and the contlicts of capricious
I mgHinary robbery were exchanged for
^posesaon and inheritance of property in
Innotts sorts; for trades and nianutac-
PB ; for useful luxuries, peaceful indditry,
M domestic comfort.**
1*1 what relates to the institution of
m earliest years there is one feet, the
taembrance of which appears only to
pe been preserved by the Anglo-Saxon
pn, tnd which we could not but con-
toplale with astomshment.
"The northmen were in the habit of ex-
f"«ng their cluldren. The Anglo-Saxons
£V"^ ***.^^^ been unacquainted with
■ nbumanity ; as one of tte laws of Ina
"wjoes, that for the fostering of a foundling
Jwiuings should be allowed the first year,
wve the uext, thhrty the third, and after-
«w according to his wUte« or his personal
The course of education, however, by
■ch the Anglo-Saxons conducted their
uWren to maturity, cannot be detailed
Wballtheminuteness an inquisitive reader
npitperhroe desire. Spciety, k should
to, was then divided -but into two or-
»- ffld laymen and Ecclesiastics were
■ other terms f©r ignorance and team-
flfc Sf early M the seventh century, ia-
dced^ there wete a few found who rose
above tlie level of the age, and endea-
voured to recommend the use of schools.
But tiie principal iniprovcnients in Saxon
education were the work of Alfred, in
wliose view none could be either great or
powerful who undervalued knowledge:
and sumetliiug must be also attributed to
tlie emigration of the Irish ecclesiastics.
From the chapters on tlieir food, their
drinks, and cookery, we learn that their
tables were better furnished than we usu-
ally suppose them to liave been. They
had oxen, sheep, and swine 5 and tliey
used fowls, deer, goats, and hares. Among^
their lish, eels are by far the most pro-
fusely noticed 5 and io the more common
of tlie sea-iish now in use, they added the
dolphin and tlie porpoise. Orchards too
. were cultivated^ and we find'figs, gtrvpes,
huts, almpds, pears, and apples, mentioa-
ed. Theu- principal drinks were wine,
mead, ale, piment, morat, and cyder.
And cookery, it appears, was not merely
a matter of taste^ but of indispensable de-
corum.
In regard to dress, the terms which hav*
readied us are at this distant period but
difficultly comprehended 3 but it is moi^
tlian probable that the reader will, from
the following extract, form a good notion
of an Anglo-Saxon lady :
'* ITie wife described by Aldhelm has neck-
laces and bracelets, and also rings, with gems
on her lingers. Her hair was dressed arti-
ficially ; he mentions the twisted hairs de-
licately curled with the iron of those adorn-
ing her.
" In this part of her dress she was a contrast
to the religious virgin, wliose hau- was entirely
neglected^ Their hair was highlv valuable
and reputable among the Saxon ladies. Ju*
dith is perpetually mentioned with epithets
allusive to her liair. Her twisted locks are
more than once noticed :
'' The maid of the Creator
With twisted locks,
Took tlien a sharp sword.
" She w4th the twisted locks .
Then struck her liateful enemy.
Meditating ill.
With the ruddy sword.
. " The most illustrious virgin
iConducted and led them,
Resplendent with her twisted locks,
To the bright city of Bethuha.
" The laws mention a free woman, loc
bore, wearing her locks as a distinguishing
circiunstance. JuditJi is also ^escribed with
her ornaments.: * ' ^ .
. , "-The prudent one adorned with gold '.
Ordered her maiden* -^
270
HISTORY, POLITTCS, AND STATISTICS.
Thai cominaiided he
The blessed virgin
With speed to fetch
To his bed rest, '
With bracelets laden.
With rings adorned.
" Aldhchn also describes the wife as loving
to paint her cheeks with the red colour of
itibium. The art of painting the face is not
tlie creature of refinement ; tlie most barba-
rous nations seem to be the most liberal in .
their use of this fancied ornament.
" The will of Wynflxd makes us acquaint--
ed with several articles of the dress and orna-
ments of an Anglo-Saxon lady. She gives to
JEthelHoeda, one of her daughters, her en-
graved beah, or bracelet, and her covering
mantel (mentel). To Eadgyfa, another of
her daughters,, she leaves her best dim tunic,
and her better mantel, and her covering sar-
ment. She also mentions her pale tunics^
luer tof n cyrtd, and other linen, web, or gar-
ment. She likewise notices her white cvrtel,
and the cufls and ribband (cufhan ana bin-
dan).
•' Among the ornaments mentioned in the
Anglo-Saxon documents we read of a golden
fly, beautifully adorned with gems; of golden
Termiculated necklaces ; of a bulla tiutt had
belonged to the grandmotlier of the lady
^xiken of ; of golden head-bands, and of a
fteck cross:
'^ Tlie ladies had also gowns ; for a bishop
af Winchester sends as a present ' a short
gown (gunna) sown in our manner.' I'hus
we find the mantle, the kirtle, and the gown,
mentioned by these names amongthe Sakons^
and even the ornament of cuffs.
*' In the drawings on the manuscripts cf
these times, the women appear with a long
loose robe, reaching down to tlie ground, and
large loose slee\'es. Upon their head is £
bood or veil, which 'foiling down before, was
wrapped round the neck and breast. AH
the ladies in die drawing have their necks,
from the chin, closely wrapped in this man-
ner, and in none of them is a fine waist at-
tempted to be displayed, nor have their heads
any other covering man tlicir hood.**
Of their houses, furniture, luxuries,
conviviality, and mnusements, it would be
impossible to convey an adequate idea
here 5 we shall therefore content our-
ielves with obser\'ing tiiat, from the scat-
tered notices which could be obtained
from a laborious perusal of the Saxon
writings, Mr. Turner has formed a little
memoir, whicli merits more than ordi-
nary care in the perusal.
The chapter on their trade is replete
with Taluahlcand instructive information;
although little of cextraordinary interest
occurs in the history of their commercial
navigation : and this we rather wonder at,
since it -was as-early 'as ^ eighth 'cantury
that the commerce ttf" Britain^ which firom
the time of die Bomans had been ahsa
totally extinguished, appears to have M
vived. I
In the calculation of then* monej ]
Turner reconciles some apparent
dictions; and brings an authority i
laws of Alfred, which seeaas to i
that there were two sorts of
use^ the greater and the len.
coins in use among them he i
have been foreign; since the i
of none which have been hitherto
vered have been acknowledged by o
tiquaries. But there is one pa
which the numismatic readers
bably be divided in opinion.
'' Thattbe Ang^o-Saxonsdidnotusec
Bionev before the JEloman tcdkesaetkm i
duced the custom, is an idea i
ranted by the expression the^ applied I
This was mynet, a coin, and irom tbis^ i
tian, to coin, and m)-netere, a pcrsoo c
These words are obviously the Latin i
and monetarius ; and it usually happe^
when one nation borrows such a tenaj
another, they are indebted to the i
for the knowledge of the thing wlucb i
signates.'^
On the chivalry of the .
we have a curious chapter,
valry, indeed, which was accoaip
that refined aad enthusiastic spirit <
lantiy which marked a btigbter
but chivalry in its first fbrui^ aa a i
investiture.
Of the chapters on their landed ]
we shall say but little. Cue ori
curious is perhaps that on the
which their lands were liable. On i
mMitaiy service the principal of the]
trations are new : but it is from i '
queror's survey that the moat
fonnadon has been coUedtd.
" Toe other two great serrioes to \
land was generally liaMe were, the
tion or reparation of bridges, and fc
walls. Ihese are enjoined to be <
most every grant In Dot
said of Chester, that the
cause one man iae every hide to
buDd the wall and bridgeof the city, i
man should fail to came, his kird waa i
forty shillings.
" Besides these three great s
later writers have called the trinoda i
tas, there were many ether buvdeos \
the landed interert was moie or lesi
the hands of the sub-pmiirietacs.
*'A scafelul provision Is «ukd«
.grants rsgainst royal tributes and
and tliose of the groat and ppwc
it is mentioned that the king ^
miire hb pasture, nor the etuc
those men called ^KSting^fteaj *
TU«XSA*6 BISTORT OF THE AKOX.O- SAXONS*
271
0 ony hawks, felcoos. horses, or dogs.
afloCkr it is agreed that the wood should
thecut fi» the buildhigs of cither king or
pee: It is etee\khex€ expressed that the
d should be free from the pasturu and rc-
IVD of those men called in Saxon walh-
cU, and their feasdog, and of all Engli^-
1 or iiareignen> noble and ignoble. This
idoi, of being corapclied to entertain
en, is menliooed in several grants, {n
^ the pasture of the kinj^'s horses and
ORIS, and of his swine> which was called
m leswe, is noticed.**
&iDong die particnlars, however, of the
faces in Middlesex and London in the
Hm times,* we perceive one or two of
5 modem nan>es in which Mr.. Turner
bettatnly mistaken. Tichehapi, in the
iomsdsy Sarvey, is not Twickenfiam,
t kkenham : had it been the former it
id have been specified not in Elthome,
mHoonslowhandred. Hergotestane,
is not Heston but Haggerston^, a de-
hamlet in the neigbboorhood of
H'
foorth, siacth, and seventh chapters
the third book, on their conveyances,,
11 lav-suits about land, and denomina-
IB of land, are al most needless : at least
omission would have been no loss to
lirark. But the election and corona-
of the Anglo-Saxon kings carries a
ie share of interest, in those times
crown was not hereditary, but elec-
le. It remained so till the Norman con-
Etarminated the power of the Saxon
tagemot, and made a change highly
Gioui to our national prosperity.
^ « The Coronation Oath.
?" In the name Of Christ, I promiw three
pfeto the christian people, my subjects :
rjBt, That the church of God and all the
Witti people shall alwa^-s preserve true
lace uader our auspices.
v*| Second, That 1 will interdict rapacity
jfH all iaiqmties to every condition.
^Tliini, That I will command equity and
py inall judgnieut-s, thut to me and to you
Ipacious and merciful God may extenci his
■ »
I shall say amen. These prayers shall
r vluchj))e bishops are separately to re-
"WeinvObithee, 0 lord, Holy J'ather,
Hdrfyaod Eternal Goii, that this thy ser-
: (whom By the wisdom of thy divine dis-
HtioDs fromthe b^'uming of nis formation
[msp(|eiedt dh, thou hast permitted to
M, r^cuiJB jh tlte flower of youth) en-
I witb the ^ of thy piety, and full of
ynet of troth, thotimayestcaiiSB lobe al-
S adraaci^ dity b|y day, to better things
(( God ai^ moi. That, rqoicmg in the
F ^ supqreli|racej- he may Mt&fk the
throne of sapreme iKuwer, tod defendod on ^
sides from his enemies by the wall of thy mer«
cy, he may deserve to . govern happuy the
people committed to him with the peace «f
propitiation and the strength of viiMory.''
" Second Prayer.
** O God, who directest thy people In
strength, and govemest them with love, give
this Siy servant such a spirit of wisdom witb
the rule of discipline, that, devoted to thee
with his whole heart, he may remain in his go-
vernment always fit, and that bv tliy favour
the security of this phurch may be preserved
in his time, and christian devotion may rennaiii
in tranouiliity ; so that, persevering in good
works, lie may attain, under thy guidance^ to
thine everlasting kingdom.'*
' After a third prayer, 4he consecratwo of
the king by the bishop takes place, who holds
the crown over him, saying,
" Almighty Creatoi', Everlasting Lord, Go-
vernor of heaven and earth, the maker aofl
disposer of angels and men, Kin^ of king}! and
Lord of lords, who made thy faithful servant
Abraham to triumph over his enemies, and
gavest manifold victories to Moses and Jo-
sima,.tke prelates of tliv people, and did^t
raise David» tliy lowly child, to the siusmit
of the kingdom, and didst free him from the
mouth of the lion and the paws of the beast^
and ^om Goliath, and from the malignant '
sword of Saul iyid his enemies; whoditiateft-
dow Solomon with tlie inetilbble ^ft of wisdooa
and peace: Vxk. down propitoushr on our
humble prayers, and multiply the gifts of thy
blessing on this thy servant, whom, with hum-
ble devotion, we have chosen to be king of tlie
Angles and the Saxoii*. Surround liim every
where witli the right hand of thy power, that,
strcngtliened with the faithfulness of Abra-
ham, the meekness of Moses, the courage of
Josliua, the humility of David, and the wis-
dom of Solomon, he may be well-pleasing to
thee in all thins^, and may always advance in
the way of justice with inoffensive proffress.
" May he so nourish, teach, doi^na, and
instruct the church of all the kingd(»n of the
Ando-Saxons, with the people annexed to it.
and so potently and royally rule it against all
visible and invisible enemies, tlisit the royal
throne of the Angles and Saxons may not de-
sert his sceptre, but that he may keep their
minds in the hannony of the prist me faith and
peace ! May he, supported by the due «ub-
lection of the people, andglorihed by worthy
love, through a long life, descend to govern
and establish it with the united mercy of tliy
glory ! Defended mth the helmet and invin-
cible shield of thy protectkxH and^rroundcd
with ceh^sUal arms, may he obtain the tri-
umph of victory over all his enemies, and
bring the. terror of his power on all tlie uiv*
feitliful, and 6hed peace on those joyfully
fightinc for thee ! Adorn hun with the virtues
with which thou hast decof&ted thy £aithCol
servants ; place lmnh)g|h in his dominion, anii
•anoint him with the oil of the gmce.41f.tlnr
Holy Siaritr '
"xri
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
•* Here he shall be anointed ^th oil ; ani
tiiis anthem shall be sung :
" And Zadoc the priest, and Nathan tae
prophet, anointed Sotoinon king in Sion, and,
approachiog him, they said. May the king .
live for ever.*'
" After two appropriate prayers, tlie sword
iras given to hiin, with this iuvcn-ation :
" God ! who govemebt all things, both in
heaven and in earth, by thy prov\dencr, be
fwopiiioas to o\ir moit christian king, that all
ihR strength of his ent'niios may be broken by
the virtue of the spiritual suord, and that
thou combating for hiai, tlu^y may be utterly
destroyed!"
" The king shall here be cro^vned, and
^lall be thus addressed :
" May God crown thee with the crown of
riorjr, and with the honour of justice, and the
labour of fortitude ; that by the virtue of our
benediction, and by a right faith, and the
^f^jirious fruit of good works, tliou mayest at-
tain to the crown of the everlasting kiiic^don?,
through hts bounty whose kingdom endures
for ever.'^
•* After the crowp shall be put upon hfe
bead, this prayer shall be said :
^ God of eternity ! commander of the vir-
ftres; the conqueror of all enemitts, bless
this thy servant, now humbly bendmg his
fcead before thee, and prcsene him long in
bealth, prosperit}-, and happint-ss. When*
ev<r he shall invoke thine aid^ be speedily
n*e5ent to him, and protect and defend him.
Bestow on him the riches of thy grace ; fulfil
his desires with every good thing, and crown
JCtim with thy mercy."
" The sceptre shall be here given to him,
with this address :
• ''^Take the illustrious "sceptre of the roval
power, the rod of thy dominion ; the ro<f of
justice, by whicii mayest thou govern thyself
Well, and the holy church and christian people,
committed by the Lord to thee! Majest
thou, with royal virtue, dofend from tlie wick-
ed; correct the bad, and pacify the upright ;
and that they may hold the right way, direct
tliem with thine aid, so that from the tempo-
ral kingdom thou mayest attain to that winch
ir eternal, by his aid whose endless dommion
vfill remain through every age."
" After the sceptre has been given, tliis
prayer follows:
** Lord of all! fountain of good! God of
all ! Governor of governors ! bestow on thy
•ervant tlie dignity to govern • well, ancl
strengthen him that he bcconie the honour
granted him by thee. Make him illustrious
above every other king in Britain I Enrich
Inm with thine affluent benediction, and es-
tabliih him firmly m the throne of his kmg-
dom \ Visit him in hi^ olTspring, and grant
hfaii length of life ! In his Jay, may justice
be pre-eminent, so that, with alVjoy and feli-
city, he may be glorilied in- thine everlasting
kingdom."
•' The rod shall be -here given to hira with
%\% address :
'' Take the rod of justice and equity^ by
which thou ma>'C5t understand bow to soo&e \
the pious and terrify the bad ; ttach the way |
to the erring ; stretch out thine hand to tiw ^
faltering ; abase the proud ; exalt the hu
blc, that Christ our Lord may open to th
the door, who sa) s of hihiself, '' I am the dc
if any enter through ineh» shall" be sav
And he who is the key of Da\id, and the st_
'tre of the house of Israel, who opens and i
one can sliut ; who shuts and no one Can op
may lie bu thy helper ! He who bringeth 1
boundi*n from tlie pnson-house, and the <
sitting in darkness and the sliadow of deal
that ill all tilings thou .mayest deserve to I
low him of wliom David sang : * 1 hy s€at
God, endiireth for ever ; the sceptre of i
kingdom is a right sceptre.' Imitat?
who says, ' 'Ilwu hast loved riijhteous
and iiated iniquity ; therefore Go3, even
God, lias anointed thee with the oil of i "
ness above tliy fellows."
The benedictions follow.
" May the Almighty Lord extend the
hand of -his blessing, and pour upon thee
gill of his protection, and surround thee
a wall of happiness, and with the guait
ship of his care ; tite merits of the liolv M:
of St. Peter, the prmce <rf die apostles ;
of St. Gregory, tlie apostle of the Bi
and of all tlie sauiCs interceded for thee !
" May the Lord forgive fhcc alt the
thou hast done, and besto>v on thee the i
and mercy which thou humblr askest of
that he may free thee from af I adversity,
from all the assaults of visible or invisibie
tnios.
" May he place his good angels to
over thee, that they always ana every wl^
may precede;, acxompany, and follow theft;
an<f by his power may he preserve thee f
sin, from tne sword, and e^'ery accident
danger.
'* May he cv>nvert these enemies to
benignity of prace and love, and make
gracious and amiable in every good thiB|S|
and may he cover those that persecute ^
hate thee with salutary confusion ; and
cverlastinc sanctification flourish upon tfaee.
'' May lie always make thee victorious and
triumphant over thine <fnemies, visible oria^
visible, and pour upon thy heart both thefejr
and tJie continual love of his holy name, m.
make thee persevere in the right faith arid ia
good works ; gi-anting thee peace in thy da^'
and with the palm of victory may he bnnj
thee to an endless reign.
" And may he uuike them happy in tbs
world, and the partakers of his everbsting felh
city, w]k> will to make thee king over W
people.
** Bless, Lord, this elected prince, Aoo
who rulestfor ever thekmgdoms of all kin^
" And so glorift' him with thy blessofo'^
tliat he may hold the sceptre of Solomon tnio
the sublimity of a David, &c.
** Grant him, by thy inspiration, so \A^
vem thy people, as thou didst peouit SolaaM
Ur obtain a ptaceftilliiDgd^fotf '
l'VaKBR*8 HISTORY OF THE AW6L0-8AX0N8.
m
^ Ikdpedm qfihe State qftke Kit^^dom.
•' Stand and retain now the state which you
life hitherto held by paternal succession,
|ffih hereditary tight, delegated to thee by
authority crfAlmighlY Gud, and our pre*
; delivery, th?t is, of all the bishops and
kr servants of God; and in so much as
I hast bdidd the clergy nearer the sacred
rs, so much more reniember to pay them
honour due, in suitable places. So may
le Mediator of God aiKi men confirm thee
mediator of the clergy and the common
llopk;, on the throne of this kingdom, and
Etta thee reign with him in his eternal king-
j* '* Tbis Prayer follows :
' " May tlie Almigbtv Lord give thee, from
k dew of h^ven, and the£eitness of the earth,
ifiiDdance of com, wine, and oil! May tlie
nople serve thee, and the tribes adore thee !
Be the lord of thy brothers, and let the sons
bf thy mother bpw before thee: he who blesses
bee'shall be tilled with blessings, and God
Ube thy helper: may the Almighty bless
I with the blessings of the heaven *above,
in the mountains and the vallies ; with the
sins of the deep below; with the blessing of
suKxImg and the womb ; with the blessings
fgnpes and apples ; and may the blessing
i ^ ancient fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and
icob, he heaped upon thee !
«* Bless, Lord, the courage of this pnhce,
ad proflper the works of his hands ; and by
IT ble^mgmay his land be hlled with apples,
^Sthe fruits, and the dew of heaven, and of
deep below ; with the fruit of the sun and
; from the top of the ancient moun-
fipom the apples of the eternal hills, and
the fruits of the earth and Its fulness !
May the blessing of Him who appeared
, the bmh come upon his head, and may the
iull blessing of the Lord be upon his sons, and
\ nay he steep his fieet in oil.
L " With his horn, as the hotn of the rhino-
I ceros, may he blow the nations to the extre-
^ inities of the earth ; and may He who has as'*
; cended to the skies be his auxiliary for ever.''
" Here the coronation ends.''
The oommentary on the laws of the
Anglo-Saxons, thoagh not fiiU, is satis-
I fectonr : the progress of llieir legislation is
I traced in some of its more prominent fea-
, tures, and in the principal offences : and
: their legislative system well digested.
But it is time we should now enter on
the pleasing, though perhaps less diversi-
^ i^ porlioncf Anglo-Saxon history,i^hick
we formerly recommended to Mr. Tur-
; ner's notice: Uie rise and progress of
f tfaetr /j/erafur^. On this head we cannot
i Irat express surprise, that it has been hi-
L tl^ BO much neglected : particularly as
[ ^e have i^ow a fbnndation in the iiniver-
I ^y of Oxford for the* preservation and
• •ncwm^incntof theAnglo-Saxontongue.
Aa». Rev, Vox., IV.
Mr. Turner's first observations are di-
rected to the Latin poetry of the Anglo-
Saxons, as it was cultivated by Aldhelm,
Bede, Boniface, Alcuin, and others, in the
eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. And
the specimens he has cited, though tliey
may have few charms for modern scho-
lars, at any rat6 acquaint us with the at-
tainments and powers of composition of
those men who gave the jgrsteftectiUil en*
couragement to learning in the island.
On the vernacular poetry of the Anglo-
Saxons, Mr. Turner's efforts at investiga-
tion have been more laborious. And
though the mechanism tod scheme of
versification of the earliest specimens may
be inexplicable, yet will it be found that>
toward the close of the Anglo-Saxon ara, .
poetry began to lay aside its homely dress
and coarser features, and assumed the
style, the measures, and the subjects which
in a future age were so happily displayed
as to deserve the notice of the latest pos-
terity. Among its leading features, Mr.
Turner reckons the omission of the mi-
nuter particles of speech, the contraction
and inversion of phrases, and the peri-
phrasis. The most ancient spedimen is a
fragment of sacred poetry, by tlie first
Cadmon, preserved in king Alfred's ver*
sion of Bpde's Eoclesiastical History.
Aldhelm also was a votaiy of the mu^es
in his native tongue ; and king Alfred is
said to have inserted it as a remark in his
manual, that lao one had ever appeared be-
fore Aldhelm so competent in English
poetr}^ None had erer composed so
much, and none could either sing or re-
cite it so appositely. But; which .is very
singular, not one specimen of his verna-
cular poetry has survived.
King Alfred's translations of the poetry
in Boethius deserve a notice particlilarl/
favourable? and Mr, Turner has displayed
tliem to advantage. And there arc som©
fragments of poetry of peculiar interest^
which may be found interspersed among
the naked &cte related in the Saxon chrp*
nicle.
But the poet who deserves most notice^
perhaps, was the second, or pscudo, Csed*
mon, whose paraphrase of Genesis was
edited by the celebrated Junius.
« In its first topic, * the «l of the apieV
it exhibits much of a MiJtonic spirit ; ajd if Jt
were clear that our illurtrious bard had been
familiar with Saxon, we shodd be induced to
think that he owed somethmg to the para-
phrase of Cxdmon. No on eat least can read
Cadmon without fcding theldta intruding
uponhis mind."
274
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISUCS.
C«dmon thus describes the creation :
" There was not yet then here.
Except gloom like a carem.
Any ttiing made.
But the wide ground
Stood deep and dim
For a new lordship^
Shapeless and unsuitable.
On this with his eyes he glanced^
The king stem in inind,
^d the joyless place beheld.
He saw the dark clouds
Perpetually press-
Black under the sky.
Void and waste ;
Till that this world's creation^
Thro' the word was done.
Of the King of Glory.
" Here first made
The eternal Lord,
The patron of all creatures^
geaven and earth,
e reared the sky.
And this roomy land established
With strong powers.
Almighty Kuler !
*' The earth was then yet
"With grass not green,
With tlie ocean covtred.
Perpetually black ;
Far and wide.
The desert ways.
" Then was the glory-bright
Spirit of the Warder of heaven.
Borne over the watery abyss
With great abundance.
The Creator of angels commandedL
The Lord of life.
Light to come ibrth.
Over the roomy groundv
"Quickly was fulfilled
The hi^ Kmg*s command;
1 he sacred light came
Over the waste
As the Artist ordered.
Then separated
The Governor of victory
Oyer the water-flood.
Light from darkness,
Shaile from shine;
He made them both be named.
Lord of life!
Light was Arst
Thro* the Lord's word.
Called day.
Creation of bright splendor.
/'Pleased well the Lord
At the b>2ginning,
The birth of time.
The first day.
He saw the dark sliade
Black sjpread itself
Over the wide grotuid,
Whea time decuned
Over the oblation-smbke of the edu^
The Creator after separated
From the pure shine^
Our Maker,
The first evening.
To him ran at last
A throng of dark clouds.
To these tlie King himself
Gave the naipe of nights
Our Saviour
These separated.
Afterwards as an inheritancft
The will of the Lord
Made and did it
Eternal over tlie earth.
" Then came another day.
Light after darkness,
I'he Warded of life then cammanddd
The greater waters
In the middle to be
A high-like heaven timber.
• lie divided the watery abyss, "
Our Governor,
And made tliemt
A fastness of a firmament.
This the great one raised
Up from the earth.
Through his own word.
Almighty Lord!
" The world was divided
lender the high firmament.
With holy might;
Waters firom waters:
From those that yet remaia
Under the fastness.
The roof of nations.
Then came over the earth.
Hasty to advance.
The great third morning.
" There were not then yet made
The wide land,
Kor the useful ways ;
But the earth stoocl fast.
Covered with flood.
The Lord of angels comniandtd
Thro* his word.
The waters to be together
That now under the lirmamait
Their course hold.
An appointed place.
Then stood willingly
The water under heayen.
As the Holy One commanded.
" Far from each other.
There was separated
The water from the land.
The Warder of life then beheld
Dry regions ;
The Keeper of the virtues
Wide displayed them:
Then the Kong of Glory
Kamcd them earth."
Other striking specimens of Aziglji>'
Saxon poetry are quoted from the fiag-
tnont of the history of Judith^ pubUsbei
OEFBKCB OP THE PBINCIPLE OP MONOBOtY^ &C.
175
k tbe ' Hq)t3teuch :' but we hare not
oom to give them here. The principal
nformadon that vrc gain from them is,
bt its leading features were the metd-
horaDd the periplira«ii3.
Tbe most interesting rcmains,.however>
F Anglo-Saxon poetry which time has
ifleredto reach us, are contained in a
■iQ&cript in the Museum, from which
6f. Turaefs extracts have been both co-
bas and judicious. Mr. Turner thinks
It this curious manuscript presei-ves the
icst poem of an epic form in the verna-
hr language of Europe which now ex-
Ik It undoubtedly deserves to be sub-
kted to the public.
Tbe general literature of the Anglo-
tsons must be dated from their conver-
'm to Christianity : they derived it chiefly
om their religious intercourse with
KDe: and their literary progress first
^ by the introduction into England of
tt Latin and Greek languages^ and by the
iection of their books. The sixth and
hwnth centuries were the happy times
Fwisdora and knowledge which England
Id known before his time> alluded to by
toed. Yet though literature in the se-
Kdiand eighth centuries was striking
broot into evoy part of England^ it was
ktbe monasteries almost exclusively that
ittet with any fit soil, or displayed any ve-
ptatjQD. The ignorance of the secular part
of society w^ not only gross, but general.
Mr. Turner's observations on the state of
learning at this period are truly valuable,
and he closes them with literary memoirs
of those from whom it leceived its best
encouragement.
Of tlie arts and sciences of the Anglo-
Saxons, Mr. Turner's information has been
gathered from the b«st sources 5 but there
are one or two point's in which we can-
not fairly agree with him. That the first
Saxon churches of our island were all
built of wood may be very fairly doubted.
That of Greenstead in Essex (p. 452), wag
originally built but as a temporary chapel
for the reception of St. Edmund's body in
its way to town. And llsley (p. 460),
should be Jfflcy church, which not only
was not a Saxon building, but is known
to have been erected by a bishop of Lin-,
coin in the twelfth century.
On the more abstruse sciences of the
Anglo-Saxons, the propagation of Christi-
anity among them, and the progress of
their language, we have not room for ex-
tracts. In the latter enquiry much has
been built on Mr. Tooke*s foundation.
To say more would be superfluous. It is
true we have pointed out a few feults, but
we have rarely seen a book replete with
knowledge more curious or more instruc-
tive.
liT. WUl.^Drfence qf the Principle of Monopoly of Corn-factors or Middle Men, and
Argfiments to proxx: lltat ff'ar does wt produce a Scarcity qf' tU Auc^surie^i qfLifa^ 8vo,
pp. 30.
TOIS author uses the word monopoly,
lot IB its proper sense for exclusive deal-
llj, but in an arbitrary sense for large deal-
i^. By thus changing the meaning of
fc word, in defiance bwth of etymology
B»d of usage, he may easily make it ap-
pear that what he calls monopoly, that is,
Ifce employment of large capitals in any
^en bnuich of business, is useful to the
(ttblicj a truism which has never been
blled io question.
' l^rge farms are here most absurdly
fcJasscd as monopolies 3 whereas they in-
ewasc the competition of sellers : for small
finnen cannot afford to attend the corn-
Jarkets, but dispose of- their produce to
miller and die inn-keeper without
■ ing it into the national stock at all j
lirge ^mners bring their grain to
* nJcichant, and accept whatever price
^ from the average demand. •
[/tte East India Company, on the other
jMnd, is justly classed as a monopoly >
but it is not equally just to class it as a
useful institution. The conquests in Hin-
dostan have chiefly resulted from the in-
terference of the state through its militar/
patronage and its board of controul. Tk*
coihmerce of Hindostan would more thau
double instantly, in case of a dissolution
of the Company : it would probably have
ascended to ten times its present amount,
if tlie Company had been abolished in
1783. Compare the rapid growth of
West Indian commerce under a fire*
trade, with the slow and lingering
growth of East Indian commerce under
a monopoly: although in the East Indies
there existed already a vast and civilized
population to deal with, and the privi-
.lege of intercourse pervaded continenti
and islands immeasurable and innume«
rable ; while in the West Indies the po«
pulation was to create, and the agriculture
too, be^re any ^ofitahte intercovFse could
be founded,
Ta
276
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND StATISTtCS.
An attempt is made to show (p. 25),
that war cheapens com -, but the tew in-
stances adduced db not suffice to establid
an improbable general principle.
Akt. XXIV. — MSmaire mr ies Relations Cammerciales des Etais4fnis arocc VAngUtern
Par le Cttoyen Talleyiuinp. Lu a V Institwt National, IclbGermimd, An. S. AbU
<2'ufi Etitd sur le$ Avantages, cL retirer de Colonies Nouvelles dans Ies Circonstoficcg pM
sentes. Par le mSme Auteur. La a PInstitut, lel5 Messidor, An 5. 8yo. pp. 47. ■
The twQ dissertations h^e reprinted
in French are extracted from the Menioirs
df the Parisian Institute, where they were
<}riginally read, and received with a court-
ly, but wjith a rational approbation. They
originate from the French minister for fo-
reign affairs, and have therefoie a title to
be considered, not merely as the specula-
tions of an enlightened individual, but as
tjie projects of an active and ambitious go-
vernment.
The first respects the commerce of ^
United Stated with Great Britain. It re-
veals to France that little hope can now
be entertained of siiperseding the British
merchants in the American trade. If the
monopoly enjoyed by France during the
rebellion, if the regulations obtained dur-
ing the fresh emotions of gratitude for
their emancipation, did not suffice to di-
vert the Current of commerce from its an-
cient channel, no new motives can be
offered strong enough to affect the result.
The habit of analogous wants, and of re-
ciprocal accommodation, the use of a com-
mon language, the kinship of the people,
the similarity of their laws, which decides
in an expected manner every questibn of
property, the Englishness of Washington's
disposition, which favoured an early and
entire reconciliation, the sympathy of re-
ligious sentiment between the trading
towns and classes of Great Britain and
those of North America, would account
for a preference of intercourse, were cir-
cumstances of interest in equipoise : but
ihe British nation has, besides, the advan-
tage of manufactures mor« cheap and
fnore adapted, and of capitals more pro-
fuse and more rotatory than the French
nation.
The American character is, in Talley-
raild's opinion, and he had observ'ed it
closely on the spot, not fixed. He sketches
with eloquence the woodman and the fish-
erman, as the most common specimens of
native manners : the inhabitants of towns
ape the British. He omits to observe tliat
tliere is a growing difference of opinion,
^nd of spiriti between the northern and
liie southern states. The state of New
York, and all tlie more northerly, tend to
freceive rOA Boston the colouring of their
manners and opinions : they resemble A|
calvinistic protestants of Europe in tUI
probity, in their love of order and ^at^
pline, in their frugality, tlieir purit
their pi^ty. The state of Pennsylv
and all the more southerly, tend to )
from Baltimore the colouring of
manners aitd ^c^inions; they resemble |
deistical classes of Eiuropc in their :
tion, in their love of liberty and la^
gence, in their profusion, tlieir lib
ism, their profaneness. The former i
a Scottish, the latter an Irish basis of c
racter: the former delight in maritiflai
the latter aspire to military entetpdeH
The profuse employment of negroei^
the southern states will gradually fbmli
mulatto peasantry and a dipt jargozL ^
is not unlikely that geographical partf^
may arise, and that the northern 2lnd soadi
ern states may separate from each otk^
under die chieftaincy of distinct preside^
In tlmt case the soutliem states willMj
disincline to French alliance.
The results drawn from the facts at
duced are, 1st, " That tlie first years d
a peace decide the commercial systetolfl
a st;tte, and that, if tliese are Hot tuiim
to account, the neglect becomes IcKpff*,
ably ruinous.
2d, " That commercial habits ivq
broken with more difficulty than is s(^
posed, and that interest may approxinai^
at once and for ever those who were an*
ed for years against each other.
3d, *' Tliat, in the calculation of du-
rable connection between men, identity o<
language is to be reckoned as one of tie
strongest bonds.
4th, " lliat the liberty, and espedally
tlie equality of religious sects, is one of thia
most powerful instruments of social tran-
quillity j for where consciences are re-,
spected, other rights will be so too.
5 th, " That the spirit of commerce,
which renders men tolerant from in(^-
ference, also renders tliem selfish iiwB
avidity ; and that a people, whose monli?
has been shaken by long agitations, oQglit
by wise institutions to be attracted to-
ward agriculture; for commerce keeps
the passions in efTervescence^ bat agncai«
ture calms them.
c. M. tjlllsxranp*s mjbmqibb.
277
•^ And finally, that after a revolution
* ch ias changed eveiy thing, a man
t know how to renounce his hatreds
Iht would secure his happiness."
iTbere is good sense and good writing
\thls dissertation; but less originality
I force of thought, and less precision
I splendour of expression, than might
le been expected from one, who ranks
^gh amoiig French intellects, and who
lattained a celebrity so European.
Tae second essay has a superior merit,
cgins by predicting the separation of
\ West India islands from their respec-
t mother-countries. This is not easy,
pbout a vast protecting naval force,
1 as North America cannot yet Itimish,
I British colonies could not relwl with-
i risking to incur a total devastation j
kde beLig under the necessity of ami-
7 the slaves, for whom die independence
bid be acquired.
ft next recommends the establishment
3ew colonies, as a commercial substi-
? for the old, and as a mean of busying
I providing for those agitators, who,
ring been disappointed in one revohi-
1, are for trjing others.
' In examining the motives (says Tal-
and) which instigated tlie establish-
»t of ancient colonies, it may be re-
cked, that, even when they were in-
- insable, they were still voluntary : they
i a^ested by governments as an in-
ig specolation, not as a penal banish-
ct. This idea is especially conspicuous,
t states ought always to hold in reser\'e
B means of placing usefully, out of their
mnrecincts, that superfluity of citizens,
iJicb, from time to time, grows formi-
ble to tranquillity."
^ The author next advcns to the coloniza-
tion of Ix)uisiana, undertaken in 1 719, and
of Cayenne, undertaken in J 703, by the
Jrcnch government. He attributes the
taiinre to the not sending out orderly in-
dustrious frug^ families, instead of profli-
gate spendthrift disgraced adventurers.
Filially, he proposes the islands along
U» African coast, near the mouths of the
illegal and the Gambia, as the proper
«eau of a new coloniaation. This project,
we believe, originated with Montlinot,
and ^-as further evolved by Golberry, in a
pnblication consecrated to that purpose.
It » said that the recommendation of
jr^^^ tad weight with Mr. Pitt,
w was about to send put, under Capt.
•caver, a well-apw>u?ted preliminary car-
go of setders for Bularo, in order thence
to weispioul this very di ^ trict.
The French are less adapted to be the
founders, than the conquerors of colonies*
Their Cayenne has in forty years not at-
tained so great a prosperity, as Britain
added to Demeraiy in five, by taking it
under her protection, it is the same in
Canada : the habits of our emigrants are
so much nKtrefavQurable to thrift, tbat the
English population doubles its numbers
as fast again as the French 5 and their v^ry
language is in danger of becoming obsolete.
Tiie French resemble the Greeks of anti-
quity : diey have the military and intel-
lectual virtuesy not the civil and conmier-
cial : they have courage and talent, not
probity and industry. Itis wiser for them^
to invade Aan to found ; to seize than to
earn. The soundest advice given them^
in this essay, is the indirect intimation (^t
p. 45), that it would be well to prepare
by negotiations the cessiop to France 6£
•Egypt : they would there occupy the so-
vereign and ornanaeptal situations of so-
ciety, witli little need of toil, and none ai
morals: they would direct to more pro-
ductive forms of agriculture the laboiois of
a swarming population, and would cany
the arts and literature to revisit the nest
whence they sprang. The French woul4
be quieter neighbovurs to Europe and tQ
ourselves, if they had an outlet for thefc
wild population : Egypt is for us^ for
them, for all men, precisely the safest
stowage.
The peroration is thus conceived:—*
'^ From what lias been advanced it follows*
that every thing presses us to be busied
about new colonies : the example of th<^
wisest nations who have made them means
of tranquillity j the necessity for providing
against the separation of our actual colo-
nies, in order not to be left behindhand by
events -, the expediency of cultivating tror
pical productions in the neighbourhood of
their natural cultivators ; the propriety of
forming with our colonies a more natural
sort of union, which will be easier in new
than in old establishments -, the advantage
of not being forest^led ^y a rival nation,
for which each of our delays in this way 19
a conquest; the opinion of enlightened
men who have directed .their attention
and their enquiries to this obj^t; and,
£inally> the pleasure of being able to at-
tach to such enjterprizes those speculative
men who want projects, and those disap*
pointed mj^n vfho want hopes.
" Diversa exilia et desertas qusrere tetras;
Auguriis aglmur JDivuau" ^
27B ^
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATBTICS.
Abt. XXV.— >^ Treatise on the Coins of the Feabn; in a Leter to the Kkig. Bjf ChamHJ
Earl of Liverpool. 4lo. pp. 268.
LORD LIVERPOOL has been repeat-
edly heard of in the republic of letters.
He published, in 1757, a discourse on the
establishment of a national and constitu-
tional force in England : it prepared the
subsisting railitia-system, to the multitu-
dinous defects of which our objections
were stated at page 233 of the third vo-
lume of the Annual Review. About the
fiime period be composed a discourse on
the conduct of Great Britain toward neu-
tral nations; it introduced the insolent
and novel principle^ which has sometimes
been called ' the rule of the war 175(5/
and which occasioned those successive
combinations of the maritime powers
against Great Britain, that to this hour
continue to perplex our statesmen, to ha-
rass our Security, and to abrade our con-
tinental popularity. In 1785, he issued a
collection of treaties of peace, unaccom-
panied with such a disfertation on the
science of negotiations as the abbe Mably
Iiad prefixed to a similar collection. He
now undertakes a treatise on the coins of
the realm. With much parade of autho-
fity and information, with views far from
illiberal, he is apt to elude specific advice
and definite inference j and, after appear-
ing to consider a subject in various bear-
ings and comprehensive points of view,
he' leaves the reader willing enough to
accept his result, but often unprovided
witb it. He is tediously diffuse, and pros-
Ingly instructive; he has too much of
the micrology of an antiquary, too little
of the precision of a statesman.
This work begins with an account of
the state of the coins at the accession of
his present majesty. It proceeds to the
definition of money, or coin, and to the
description of the metals of which it is
made. The imperfections to which coin
is subject as a standard measure, or equi-
valent, are next considered 5 and the ne-
cessity is indicated of preferring some one
metal as the measure of the rest,
' The authority by which coins are made
current, the English standard of gold and
silver, arid the moneyer's pound, are pro-
perly explained. The several ways in
which coin may be debased next pass in
review; and some historical statement^
occur respecting our early coins.
' The relative values of gold and silver,
the inconvenience and expence arising
from their fluctuation^ the profits ~made
lyy intefchangii^ them for eachother,t
lefbrmatioos in the nxsietary systtm \
gun by Edward VI. and compkiBd 1
Elizabeth, together wicii the
motives fi^r these changes, constimtei
other series cf topics.
At length come the principSes of cobfT^
age> which are, page 113, accordiDg |
our author : I . That the coins, which 1
to be the principal pleasure of pn
ought to be ooade of one mei3l onlj:
The author proposes to shew of
metal the coins of this kingdom, wfai
are to be the principal meaaureof |
perty, ought to be made : and, 3.
what principles the coins of the other 1
tals ought to be made. lu iUustiatioa 1
the secoiiJ of these propositions, the t
of Liverpool argues thus :
*f In very poor countries coins have
and still are, princmally made of coj^r;
sometimes even of less valuable materials.
*' In countries advanced to a certain det^
gree of commerce and opulence, sflver h ik%
metal of which ceii^s arc principally nade. j
" In veiy rich countries, and especjaiiyifc
those where great and extensive commerce »
carried on, gold is the most proper metal,«3
which this pridcipal measure of property, aaft;
this instrument of commerce, aioiM 1%*
made : in such countries gold will in practice;
become the principal measure of proper^,
and the instrument of conmierce, witn m
general consent of the people, not only vidh^ ^
out the support of law, but in spite of almc^*,
any law that may be enacted to the contrary;
for the principal purchases an^ cxchaDgci
cannot thiere be liiade, ynih any convenience
in coins of a less valuable metal. In llffl
your majesty's kinffdom, 5?6 great is its wealtii,
and so various and extensive is its conunerce,
that it is become inconvenient to cam' o»
n^any of the principal brandies of traoe, oj
to make great payments, even in coins of
gold, the most precious of metals: on thi^^
account a very extensive pJiper currency ba^
been called to its aid: but this paper caa
ne\'er be considered as coin, for it • Ijas no
Value in itself; it only obtains its value >nth
reference to the coins wlikh it represents.
" There is still fur Aef Reason for prrfCT-
ring at present the jjold coins to those made
of silver, as the principal mea:'Ute of property
and instrument of commerce in these youi
majesty *s dominions. I'his measure ou^^t
certainly to be made of that metal, ^^^
varies least in it* prire or value at i'le market:
It is dLiticalt to ccinceive, thfit in a commer-
cial light the price or value of any comincKBty
can be estimated, but with ri»iefencetosoiM
other commodity, eivher gold or silver, or
leKD UVBKYOOCi^S TKBATISE ON THE COINS OF THE EEaLM.
279
BCtbuYdte; and the price or value of the
mottsinetais is generally estinuted Avitli re-
voict to each other ; that is, according to
e pleaty or scarcity, and the demand there
nr be £9r each of tnem. It is certain too,
i the price or value of gold bullion, in the
kkli market, has for many years varied
I. than the price or value of silver bullion.
m an account I have seen of the price of
Etfs for forty-one years previous to the
ir 1797, it appears, that ttie price of dol-
^ during that period, has varied K^y^t
cent. It is true that, before the general
>mage of the gold coin, the prices, both of
A and silver bullion, advanced, in conse-
wre of the then defective state of our gold
IS as has been observed already : the true
iaiion therefore in the price of silver will
« aocuratWy taken, by. giving an ac-
of this variiaition, subsequent to the
tn\ recoinage of our gold coin. It ap-
by the account last stated, that the
of silver in dollars has varied in twenty-
I rears, thatis, from the end of the year
4, to the 31st of December 1797, 1 lif»
cent, and even in the course of one year,
: is, tbejear 1797, no less than 9^ per
Thevartation In the price of silver bnl-
appean to have been still greater, by
account, with which 1 have been fa-
by the Uite Mr. Garbett, an eminent
C and manufacturer at Birmingham :
appears, that the silver purchased by
as a refiner, with bank notes, varied,
Dfding to his calculation, in the course of
years, to 1793, more than 19i per cent.
10 one year only, more tlian 13} per cent.
' From information, on which I can rely,
ppears, that the bank directors have m
icral paid for gold bullion, during twenty
rs previous to the year 1797, not more
D 31. 17s. 6d. per ounce. But occasion-
r, Hhen they have been in want of gold,
1 paiticularly during the six months pre-
US to March 1 798, \hey have raised the
ce Aid. per oz, to encourage the impor-
on of it; so that they then paid for it
173. lO^d. per oz, being the full mint
But, as stateil in another place, the
Tis^ price, which these directors have
' i'jT gold, during the before-mentioned
fcnty years, was 31. 17s. 7Jd. per oz. or
4^- per'oz. less than the mint price ; so that
tiie \-ariation in the price of ^Id has not
amounted, during the whole ot tliis period,
to i per cent. It appears, by the account
htfore-mentioned, received from Mr. Gar-
Wtt, that during the forty years in which he
has bought and sold gold bullion, as a re-
tui»?r, the price of gold; purchased with bank
Botes has varied in Lcnidon nearly 54 per
t«it- It is true, that by the same account
t^ price of ^old has varied in a greater de-
gree at Pans, Amsterdam, and Hamburgh,
but bv no means in ^e same degree as
Repetitions follow of what had been
said before, together with a list of precau-
tions necessary for rcgxilating the princi-
ples of coinage, a statement of objections,
and a detail of the condition of British
coin trona l/OO to 177-*.
The art of assaying is described. An
account of the several ways of calling in
deficient coin is given. I'his niiglit have '
been a more curious chapter: for the
principles of the plan of compensation
adopted toward the holders of clipped
coin in 1774, we are referred to the books .
of his majesty's treasury. What was in
print before is so carefully re-printed, tliat
where something could have been added
to the current stock of information, it
ought not to have been idly withheld.
The Spanish dollars, the copper coins, the
state of the mint, the expediency of re-
viving the office of e/change, the efiect of
paper-currency on the value of bullion,
are progressively discussed. To the con-
clusion succeeds zji appendix.
With respect to the plan proposed, we
9gree with the noble author that it would
be more convenient to coin and circulate
pounds and half-pounds, tlian guineas and
half-guineas, which are the pr^ent frac-
tional measures. It wouM also be con-
vCiiient if ten pence made one shilling^.
We disagree with the noble author in his
doctrine concerning seigniorage. He ob-
jects to levy a seigniorage, and would
have tlie guinea circulate for its value as
bullion. The consequence of not levying
a seigniorage is, i;iot only that the coinage
becomes a needless ex pence to the public,
but that at any slight rise of bullion it be-
comes wortli while to melt dowp the
coin J whereas, if it circulates fpr three
or four or five per cent, above its intrinsic
value, the little fluctuations of gold and
silver do not afford a sufficient temptation
to melt down coin. ITie prodigious de-
struction of British coin during the pre-
sent reign, whicli has rendered such va.^t
coinages necessary, has resulted from the
non-levy of a seigniorage. Gold is worth
something more for having been weighed
and assayed, and separated info pieces of
convenient size. A heavy seignoriage af-
fects prices.
AVith respect to the treatise itself, it
displays an extensive acquaintance wiiJ;
domestic writings on this topic j but tlio
foreign authorities quoted are too few to
arrogate the praise of comprehensive read-
ing. Boizard's Considerations sur les Fi'
nances; Bec-r^ria's Trattato delle Monete,
with Vasco's subsequent remarks} tin?
280
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
Aort essay of Hermes Verhcssenmg des vice, even when he avails hinwelf of
Mwiss!we$ens, are among tlie first that oc- reign illuminattons. Nations execute
cur to us as unquoted. Perhaps, howevwr
(except in questions which respect the
law of nations), the statesman does well
to appear to be governed by domestic ad-
more pleasure, and vaunt with morej
those taws and regulations, for which (
suppose themselves indebted to native, i
tellect.
^^- XXVI. — Considerations on the best Means qf insuring ihe interna! Dtfence qfC
Britain, By Captain Bai?.ber, commanding the Duke of CumberlaiiiPs Corps ojT
Shooters. 8vo. pp. 63.
THIS accomplished officer advises a
compulsory training to the use of arms of
our whole male population between the
ages of eighteen and forty-five. He is
not for beginning young enough. The
Athenians set about teaching the military
exercises at sixteen. The supple limbs of
adolescence more easily acquire the arts of
warfare: and the captations fancy of lads
is more easily attracted to the business,
The growth of the body ought not to be
completed, when any given employment
is first undertaken ; because the muscles
chiefiy called into action will else not ac-
commockte and proportion themselves to
the requisite exertion, and not assert in
their organization a preference of vigour
9nd mobility.
Compulsion is a grievous, and ought
therefore to be a late resource, By a tax
on apprentices, shopkeepers, footmen,
students, clerks, waiters, journeymen, and
other occupations of the young — to be
levied by taking out a licence, and with-
drawing it in favour of those who attend
a given number of musters — all the desir-
able and expedient indirect compulsion
may be brought to bear. The rich would
decline the trouble, unless for the sake
of the rank of officers. This is well.
The habits of the luxurious unfit them
necessarily for the camp, and for the
hardships of efficacious military effort.
They would die of disease in the season-
ing. Bheumatjl^m and dysentery make
bad ftudleers.
Let the opulent be induced to keep
aloof from a service which they would in-
jure. Play, or pay. Our anny is the
worse for being officered by so elevated a
class. The French army has been
proved precisely by being vulgarlj
raanded. Generals have often
work to do ; soldiers always : the
nance of educated natures would
success. The greatest warrior
modern sovereigns was Frederic of
and the greatest blackguard. The
of Pompey were gentlemen, and
beaten : Caesar had the mob, and the
tory. Under the later emperors the
man discipline declined fastest when
was most most genteel to hcJd a
sion. The barbarians supplanted the
fined Italians and Greeks. Therailil _
virtues qre unnatural to the weJl-boiiJ
Rank should be fought for, not sold.
cellence in war desorv^ the highest
compeuces of the state 5 but it is a '
of worth, which sagacity will seek an
lower, not the upper steps of die
pyramid. .
Captain Barber seems aware of tlucj
he says, p. 53, " I believe this statemof
to be correct, that the volunteer coq%
which are considered the most geut^
have much worse musters than such if
are composed of the ordinary classes."
He strenuoXisly recommeads black beit^ i
browned muskets, ordinazy hats, sai\
cropped hair, to all volunteers: apdto|
especially insists on the multiplicatioD of:
the sharp-shooters. Their peculiar eflki
cacy against invaders is justly noticed,
Perhaps the privilege of killing gaaJ^
without the expence of a licence, or the
necessity of a qualification, ought to be
CX)nceded, as a patriotic encourageoieat,
to every member of a rifle-corps.
Art. XXVII.— Ofewnw/ton* on the Duty on
deacon of Bucks.
SEVERAL persons in this countiy are
friends of taxation in the abstract, and
atfect to think every seizure of individual
property for public purposes is a merito-
rious act in the state, and a victory of ge-
neral over personal tn^r^st. If this prin«
Property, By the Ret. la. Hesiop,^^
8vo. pp. 37.J
oiple were carried to the utmost, oodig
would be lefl in the possession of w
subject, but the means of paying for ho
yearly subsistence 5 and the whole super*
fiaity of his earnings, and the whole »>
cumulation pf • his economy, vouM **
TffOVOBTS on TVKtlCTMUSU$
aai
^i>ig>i Biw»il under the forms of law, and
m^aadered is those roeculative arxina-
flwsaci and distant expeditions^ by which
iMioisters contrive to annihilate the many
mHliorM- tbgy levy^
To this dangerouf sect of tax-admirers
: liekingB the rererend author of the pam-.
I jpfalel before us. He assures us that] the
ysoperty-tax is just, because the duty to be
vod is in proportion to the proper^ to be
UDlected. It follows that all proportioned
CaxeSy however needless, are just. He
also assures us that this tax is politic, be-
\maae the object of Our insatiable enemy
il» not only conquest and dominion, but to
[vfonder and seize the whole property of
^pbe kingdom to enrich himself. It fol-
I^Jbtwb that all taxes whatever are politic,
\mgovided our enemy is as insatiable as our
$wn excheqaer. Such is the marvellously
-pdniirable and convincing reasoning of
'fhis learned archdeacon.
He lelli as further, that the exemptions
and abatenientg under the property-act
extend too far ; and proposes a number of
new rules for eroding and diminishing
these deductions. He thinks, and truly,
that the occupiers of land are privileged
against tlieir share 6f this tax in an unfair
and unwise degree ; which facility givea
to the landed interest is, like the success-
ful opposition to the horse-tax, a natural
consequence of the large proportion of
land-owners who sit in both houses of
parliament. He finally treats of the dut/
on tythes, which is considerably the most
intelligible portion of the book.
If the tythe were every where converted
into a modus ; and such modus allowed to
be redeemed by individual proprietors at
their pleasure, after the manner in which
the old land-tax was extinguished, the dif»
ficulty of ascertaining and assessing duly
this vast source of income would t^ sen-
sibly alleviatedf
JIrt. WVni. ^^Treatise itpon Tythes; containing an Estimate qf every tyihedble Ariich'
in common Cultivation : xvith tks •carious Modes qf' compounding for the same. By the
Rev, James Bea&block, A, M, $vo. pp. 73,
MODERATION, as it is called, has
Vcfaerto been characteristic of the English
ci»rgy : with ^•ast rights over tlie produce
0f the soil, they have been content to
compound for a moderate portion of tiieir
Ales, and to accept, instead of kind,
whidh varies in value, a certain yearly al-
lowance less than equivalent. Tiiere is
flBOch of virtue, something of ignorance,
md something of indolence, in this con-
duct A grey-coat parson, such is the
nick-name given to a lay-proprietor of
tythe, usually exacts more dian his con-
tiguous ordained brother.
This treatise will operate diffiisively to
abolish clerical moderation. It will dis-
pel the ignorance, and relieve tlie indo-
Jence, of those who are moderate from
helplessness. It teaches, in a simple in-
telligible form, the art of rendering tythe
productive. It pnjvides arithmetical tables
fbr casting np, by the bushel, the value of
vheat,rye, and barley, of oats, beans, and
pease ; for casting up hay by the load> and
poiatoes by the ton. The art of compo-
AtioD^ not for homilies, but for salary, is
instructively inculcated, under its several
subdivisions of composition by valuation
of crop, by annual agreement, and b/
permanent modus. Nor is timber for-
gotten; or the strange exaction on the
earnings of industry, to which millers are
exposed. This personal tythe, notwith-
standing the intimation to the contrary- in
Burn's Ecclesiastical JLaw, we apprehend
to be no part of the law of England : ib is
a second assessment of the same com..
Levitical law, which the clergy call di-
vine right, refuses the tythe on subsidiary
crops, and ordains the levy to be triennial.
One good eftect may fiow from this
book: by familiarizing the real value of
the tythe, it will facilitate a just commu-
tation. The redemptiom of ike tythe,
after the manner iu which the old land- .
tax \vas redeemed, might easily succeed
to a commutation ; the property of the
church would then be embarked, where
it ought :to be, on the same security with
that of the stock-holder. This would
stabilitate the funds, and augment thd ua«
tional power of borrowing.
Art; XXIX.— 7^i/gA^# on pvMic TYmts. SvoL pp. 203.
"niE Memoirs of Planetes are deserved-
ly recollected foac an Attic plMnness of
style, for close apedfic simple reasoning,
ket^9$dcdl xaogeof idea« and aievel-
ling, philanthropy of sentiment. These
thoughts oh public trusts have originated
with a pupil of the. same school. ^They
are likewise ix^erences from too ^idusivia
2S2
PISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
a conarrltation of the scanty records of an-
cient experience: they have a similar
neatness of garb, and an analogous more
than republican tendency. As in Ogil-
vic's Essay on the Right to Property in
Land, so to this author agrarian proposi-
tions appear worthy of legitimation. As
in Gbndorcet's Constitution for France,
90 to this author the decision of the mul-
titude in their local assemblages appears
more conducive to the national interest
than the concentred wisdom of elected
deputies. The analysis of the govern-
ment of ancient Rome is tlie text to which
he attaches his political homily : in Rome,
lie manages to find models for the insti-
tutions he recommends: there was rea-
lized the social paradise he aspires to
create anew. France is his bottomless
pit, whence every deterring instance is
updrawn.
Tlie first chapter givea, or professes, to
give, a cursory view of the Roman con-
stitution, from the building of the city to
the aasth year of the republic. What do
we know of these early times ? Nothing
trustworthy. Herodotus, the earliest his-
topan of die ancients, did not flourish be-
ibrc the fourth century of Rome, and he
unfortunately had not travelled into Italy.
At the close of that century Rome was
taken by the Gaul*^ and burnt to aslies.
The records, the public monuments, all
perished. A« anarchy of five years sus-
pended every habit of authority and obe-
<Kence. Caraillus was the true founder
of Rome; with him begins its credible
kistory, and all the causes of its great-
ness.
Festus gives ns to understand that the
antiquity of the city was computed from
the number of nails found in a given wall 3
and that the driving in of one annually
had supplied the place of annals, before
the use of letters. Livy expressly testi-
fies that the art ©f writing was very rare j
snd that the commentaries of the priests,
as well as other public and private docu-
ments, had been burnt in the conflagra-
tion of the city by the Gauls. No pos-
sible source of intelligence could exist
concerning the previous period. It was
not until a decree of the senate, passed m
the year 450, under the consulate of Pub-
lius Sulpitius Averrio and Publius Sem-
pronius Sophus, tliat the Romans began, to
compile trustworthy public records : this
decree withdrew from the priesthood,
and placed under the civil magistrate, the
care of the archives.. Fasti were at that
tmie forged by one Cneius Flavius, in the
name of Nuraa, and were then first pm.
mulgated and engraved on brass. Pin.
tajch, in his life of Nuraa, quotes the tes-
timony of the chronologer Clodius, to
prove the falsification of these pretended
documents j and the judgment of Pblj-
bius assents to the same fact Andmig
taken from tlie priesthood, in the year
450, must have been taken frwn them,
because they were imperfectly kqrf j it is
likely that the very lists of consuls, bade
to tlie year 388, when the dictatorship of
Camillus terminated, were found iocooh
plete. The previous lists of militaF}' tri*
bunes, if authentic, ought to pass for 9
census of the army of Caraillus, wiiidi
resettled Rome; that is, for cotemporaiy
names, rathpr than for a pedigree of tl»
repiiblican magistracy.
The pretended historical notices of the
times before Camillus being tlioroughlf
insupportable, no inferences from experi*.
enCQ may be founded on the^tudy of that
period.
In the year of Rome 630, Tibena? '
Gracdius proposed to revive the execntioq
of a law of Licinius, enacted in 3&5,
which was said to have limited the agra-
rian projTcrty of citizens to five hundred
acres. This was an attempt to supersede*
the prescriptive rights of property on a
ground of statute law ; and may be t'om-
pared witli certain English attempts to
confiscate without indemnity those tnir-
gage- tenures, which are avowedly venal,
in defiance of institution ; or to annul
sales of ad vow sons, which ecclesiastical
prejudice considers as simoniacal. It was
more strictly an attempt to conveit a land-
tax into a rent-tax, on the ground that the
original land-tax had been proiwrilooed
to the rental. Confiscations have seldom
been scnipled by non-proprietors. Until
the commercial forms of property liad be^
come numerous ; until it was perceived
that these forms of property, which are
very moveable, immediately £y fiwn the
land where they are not superstitiously
respected 5 the doctrine of the inviolabi-
lity even of property, founded on mere
prescription, was little thought of But
the habit of possession, and the threatraed
interruption of that habit, were frit then^
as now. Tiberius Gracchus, instead ol.
being refuted, was resisted in arms ^ and
was murdered by the party, whose pos-
sessions he threatened to disturb. After
this event, our author thinks the govern-
ment of Rome too disorderly to fiimish
precedents for legislation : so that to a
narrow period of little ijiore than tvQ
THOUGHTS ON PUBLIC TRUSTS.
283
fcondiwl years mnst be restricted the ex-
cmplsij portion of the Roman annals.
During these only two pattern-centuries
tfae ibrm of the Roman constitution is
qaiie uncertain. Hear our author.
" Historians seem to have been also inac-
cante in stating the manner of appointing se-
niors. Some of them say positively, that
when the first hundred were appointed, each
fif the tiiree'tribes chose three, each of the
tMrtv curia chose three, and that Romulus
chose one ; and when another hundred were
added, upon incorporating the Sabines, it is
expressly said that they were chosen by the
people ; jet others say that the kings, and
a&enrar^ the consul and censors, had the
power of nominating the senators.
" It is probable that this seeming contra*
diction Wis owing to the notoriety of the
people's power at the time, whicli made his-
torians think it necessary to mention it in
tTt^ case. For the same reason they fre-
^ently call a law, the law of a certain coii-
fol, ret they do not mean that he enacted it. «
In like manner, when a king is said to appoint
lenators, tliey mean that he presided at the
laeeting; ana suppose it to be understood,
tiiat the votes, or approbation of the people,
determined the matter, as in the case of
enacting laws. Tliat such is then* meaning ap-
pears more certain when vre reflect, thatLivy,
and other early historians, use, indifferently,
both modes ofexpression. But what is most
conduiire, none of the historians have denied
the authenticity of those narratives which
lUle, thfiit the people elected the senators,
and pointed out tne particular manner of
tlecfang the jSrst Ij^ui^dred, which they would
havedone^ if they had supposed that those
xarrath-es contradicted their own accounts of
these transactions.
** We are therefore to suppose, that the
Roman historians understood these expres-
sions, that the kin^, consul, or censor, nomi-
nated senators, as unplying, that it was done
either with the actual votes, or with the con-
currence of the people. That the power of
the people in that matter was so well known,
that the mode of CT^preisjon. could not be
mtsunderstood ; as Eni^ish historians, for the
»me reason, frequently call an act of par-
liament, an act of tii^ king or his minister.
'' Though t^e votes of the low ranks were
pf no use when taken by centuries, yet their
presence in the assemblies was necessary, to
fiipport fheir tribunes, who Jiad a legalright
lo stop public proceedings. It was by that
jwwer, and by their forming a legal head to
the plebeians, that tJi^ triljunes were enabled
to force the patrtcians (after many violent al-
tercations, and bein j frequently on the brifik
6f civil war\ to yield up all the exclusive
priviles;es which jhey bacf usurped i?hen the
consular office was established, and winch
tfj«y had acquired by the ntw method of
▼otuig; to allow the poorest Roman an equal
toie with the richest in ehactmg laws, and
to be equally eligible to offices, which had
been the constant practice in Rome, from the
building of the city until the method of taking
the votes by centuries was established."
Here is a theory of the Roman consti-
tution, which begins by imputing inaccu-
racy to tlie historians. The writer is him-
self awaie that he does not talk from
his book. The routine of office among
the Romans was this. A public character
first solicitexi to become qiuestor. In tho
early ages tliis was a mere collector of the
taxes : in latter times it corresponded with
^ receiver of the revenue. It was a pro-
stable office, and founded for the holderv.
d, permanent prosperity. The lenient
quaetor became popular, and could pursue
a tribuneship, which was coirferred by the
universal suffrage of the citizens. The
strict quaestor acquired tlie support of tlie
government-party, or optima tes, and could
pursue an edileship, which was for a long
period conferred by corporations, called
centinriate assemblies. The edile was ex-
pected to bleed freely, and to carry through,
his office a magnificeiice proportioned
to his supposed profits. The splendid
edile became praetor, a civil magistrate.
The respectable praetor became consul, a
military magistrate.
Where lay the nomination of tlie quaes-
tors ? Clearly, we apprehend, with the
consuls : for Tacitus tells us, tliat until
the year 30/ the mere nomination by the ,
consul was a valid election. Where lay
the election of the quaestors afterwaids ?
Clearly, we apprehend, with the conntia
irlbuta. In many of our county elections
the poll is taken by hundreds j the resi-
dents in each hundred voting at a peculiar
booth. If at such elections the majority
of each hundred told as a single vote, and
the election was decided by the majority
of hundreds, this mode of voting w^ould
resemble the conntia tributa. The tri-
bunes, and latterly the ediles, were elected
in tlie same manner.
But the higher offices of tlie state, those
to have served which bestowed for life a
seat in the senate, were in the gift of the
centuries, or comitia centuriata. And
what were the centuries ? An arrange-
ment of tlie Roman people depending on
tiie amount of their income-tax. The
non-payers formed collectively but a single
company, or century. Those whose in-
come was rated at 12|- thousand pence of
brass, were divided into thirty centuries ;
each of which companies decided by an
internal majority, like the tribes in the
other form of ejection, concerning any
»r
HISTORY, POLITICS^ AND STATISTICS.
candidate^ cyr law, and gave in their cor-
porate capacity one vote: so that this
class had thirty votes.
Those whose iacome was rated at 25
thousand pence of brass were divided into
(twenty centuries 5 so were those whose
income was rated at 50 thousand ; and so
were those who income was rated at T5
thousand: these three classes had m all
sixty votes.
Those whose inconae exceeded 100
thousand pence of brass were divided into
eighty centuries. Here is a list of only
i81 centuries: but mention occurs of
192 centuries having voted : it is probable,
therefore, that the equestrian order was
separately divided iato centuries ; and, as
round numbers prevail in the whole ar-
rangement, that it was divided into 20
centuries: making in all 200 centuries,
beside the class of non-payers, which, in
tase of equal division, had a casting vote.
As soon as the men of 100 thousand,
and the' men of 75 thorusand, had polled ;
if they were nearly unanimous, an elec-
tion was decided. The appeal was made
to a lower and a lower class, only in pro-
portion to the dividedness of opinion
among the optimates. The Roman con-
ititution, therefore, as far as respected the
higher grades, pr the election of praetors;
consuls, and senators, was a government
/ ky property : or rather by diose forms of
property which contributed to the reve-
nues of the suite. He who thinks this
government practically good (we think it
at every period of the Roman history dis-
orderly and oppressive), ought to advise, in
Great Britain, the transfer of the choice of
both houses of parliament to the payers of
the income-tax; and that the number of
votes, or quantity of influence, entrusted
to an individual, should be proportioned
to the amount of his assessment.
Instead of such vqj'j practicable change
in our institutions, this writer suggests the
Ibllowing plan of constitution :
" Divide the country into provinces of
stich extent, that the moat populous shall not
contain above 1,500,000 soiils; and in tlie
\CQ&% populous, that few of the inhabitants be
above forty miles, or a day's journey, from
the place of provincial meetings. Lach pro-
vince to be divided into districts of such ex-
lent as that there shall be at least four or five
^stricts in the provinces of the least extent ;
and in the least populous parts, few of the
ii^iabitants should be above fifteen nulcs from
the district meetings that they may go home
in the evening. Lists to be made up of all
tiie nyen in each province above forty years
of age. Every three hundred of these^ uving
most contiguous to foijo a vrard, and to meet
in a church, or some other convenient placx^
on a certain day annuaHy, to elect two pRH
vincial senators, and one warden or judge kit
the ward. Theie three oihcers must be ior^
years of age, and resid^t in the ward far;
which they are elected, or in onethat isai-j
joining. These ward voters aUo to dect, at
the same time, a vicewarden and exteoi-
jurymen, each foity yeacs oki, and reuM
in the ward
'^ The wardens, vicewardens, and jurfOMf
of every twenty contiguous wards ia the aft*
tion, to elect out of their r^peetiveprmi**
cial senators, two men to be natiooal fo^
tors ; these to continue to be also provHidi
senators. *^
" The great natiooal officers to be ekeUl
by all the senators, wardens, vicewankai^
and jurymen of the nation, annually, th^
votes to be taken, in their respective district^';
These men to elect a coasui, a vicecoodL
and also such a number of generals, admiral^
superintendants of tlie revenue, of tlie narj^^
of the ordnance, and such other n^ioal
officers as tlie senate may judee necessary.
" The senators, wardens^ vicewardens aal
jurymen of each province, to elect annaal^
one of the senators of the province to be{
vemor ; also to elect two judges, a pu]
prosecutor, and colonek and majors of bI^
btia for the province.
" The senators, wardens, vkavardens, aii;
jurymen of each district to elect annually oat!
of their senators to be prefect orgoveniorj:
and also to elect captains, lieutenants, ao|
ensigns of militia for their district.
'' in towns of more than one ward,tbe
senators, wardens, vicewardens ?Liid iurymcai
to elect one of the senators or wardens to be
chief magistrate.
'' It is usual to choose tlie generals of \af
gades from tlie colonels; but as the merits tf
colonels of militia cannot be known to 4.
the magistrates of a nation, it seems tote
proper, .that the magistrates of t^vo ortinee
ac^oining provinces should elect the gene ralarf
brigade. This method niay also be adoptet
for electing other public officers whose spi«n
of action is local, and whose conduct ca|
only be known in the neishbourhood, scdl
as superintendants of pubhc stores, of build'
ing snips, &c. care being always taken t^
the number of electors be so great as to pre*
vent them from making it a job.
" As it is necessary that the society shall
prevent, with jealous care, any laaa or ictof
men, from acquiring absolute power over their
persons or property; they should be at ail
times prepared to defend themselves agaiwt
internal or external enemies, by beii^ pro*
perly organized, and regularly exercised »
militia, in some prudent rotation till a ceitw
age.
" When a standing army 1? jodged occe*'
sary, the officers may be electw by the saa
persons who elect the officers of ^ilitia.
" Method qfconduQlijigpuilick^^fiCikf
tfftOtTGETS ON PUBLIC TlUSTS,
3SS
9%e cOBSul to haTC a seat in the senate^ and,
as ^[cat for that supreme council, -to have
tfe charge and direction of all national affairs,
•9 corres^od with foreign nations, to lay be-
Ibre the senate such schemes as he judges ne-
tataiy for conducting public business, esti-
I mates oi expeaces, and e^ety other informa-
I Hon tbat is requisite to enable the senate to
i §mi jnBt views of the situation of the society,
lint such schemes may be adopted as are most
Sfeely to promote the public iK^cI&re. The
CMifiyl aho to correspond with the governors
W proTiiKes, with the generals, admirals, and
«mr public officers, and to give such orders
as he thinks proper for conducting public
Im^^ft acooroing tt> the intentions of the se^
Mtr, but to hare no i^ilitary command.
•• TJfc^ viceconsnl to preside in tiie senate,
ted in the event of the consul's death, or be-
\ ^ inca^dtated, to otiiciate as consul.
*' The national senate to meet on a certain
I 4iy asnnaHy, and to have supreme coatroul
! ««er all the ciHTent national busuiess, over the
toititary force, over the consul aud all national
officers; and, when it judges proper, may
^opose a law or a tax, or to engage in a
mr ; abd if no objections are made withm a
' 'totain time, the Ws are enacted, and the
var det^red in the name df the people ; si-
knee b^Big taken* for their <x>n6ent. But if
an achial majority of the ward voters, or of
the wardens and jurymen, give instructions
te their respective senators to vote against
any measure, tliey must vote accordingly:
anJl if a majority of senators are instructed
I lo vote against a measure. It must be given
I ^.
** The s<tete is not ^vereign : it is a select
i committee, composed <tf men of the highest
lank and of the greatest abilities, chosen by
Ibc society to superintend their common con-
i cans. It ia but proper, therefore, that the
wardens and jurymen, who are of the middle
fank^ should have a negative upon laws or
I ci^igtng in w*ir. And to protect the lower
faints ft^om oppression, it is necessary that
ttfe majority of ward voters, which includes
«vcry rank, should also have a negative. It
B equally proper, that tlie majority of the
.ward roteis, or the majority of the wardens
aid jurymen, should have power, at anytime,
to iibtruct their respective senators to annul
any law enacted by the senate, the evils of
which were not foreseen when it was enacted.
But instructions from the wardens and jury-
men arc not to be regarded, when opposed
by iosCruction^ fiwm the ward voters.
" But it would be extremely hnprudent in
« todctyof free men to put themselves in
the power ^ the senate, by making it neces-
Ory for all laws to originate in that x^ouncil.
An^ individual of the society, therefore, has
liberty to ptopoae any law, but nopower to
oil any meeting of the people. But if an
actual majority of the ward voters approve
€f it, they may ffve instructions to their re-
ipective sebatdrs ; .and if a majority of sena-
tors are instructed to tote for the lawfto-
poaed, the senate must enact ii And iaws
thus enacted, by instructions of a majority of
the ward voters, cannot be auiulled but by
the same sovereign power.
'* When instructions are given to enact a
law, to annul a law, or against a law proposed,
it is evidently necessary, that the vote of each
senator, who has received instructions, be
counted, whether he is or is not present in
the senate.*'
In the first place, why are men of fortf
alone to vote > Was the author born in
17(>5, and willing to level down to biiHi-
self ? The lives of youth have been ty-
rannically fkmg away by tlie rulers of
France, in consequence of confining sutr
frage to those above twenty-five. Tbo
conscriptions press precisely on the dasa
so excluded from auiSrage. What mm
ever became excellent as an orator, t^
whom the senatorial arena was ^hut until
forty > By whom but by young trihnnes
and representatives have the interests of
the people been ardently advocated i Th^
old age of a patriot, or a geaers^l, is seldom
worth his youtli.
In tiie second place, wkj should the
stability of public kws and institutions be
exposed to the custody of any single .bod/
of men, whose powers are delegated aud
revocable > Such republics ace overturned,
of course, by the generals of their own
creating 5 by their Cromwells and Bona-
partes. Some form of her;editary institu-
tion, not liable to be cashiered by ^per-
sion, or by tlie v<Uuntary revocation of
power, is the strongest counteracting force
to military usurpation, before this clieck
be withdrawn, a substitute antagonist force
ought to be. devised.
In tlie tlilrd place, why are the instruc-
tions of the people, or of the forty-year-
old constituent body, to be held impera-
tive ? Wise decision is the object of .sena-
torial deliberation. It is more likely that
representatives, who ought to be chosen
fortheir superior political insight, will de-
cide aright,. than tlie less leisurely, less in-
structed, constituency. The want of in-
dependence, not the wiuit of , wisdom, is
the cause of what of oblique may be re-
roarked in the votes of tlie parliament of
Great Britain. It would be a wis^r body,
but perhaps a less independent one, if the
qual^cations of property were withcb^wn,
whioh narrow eligibility to those classes
whose. youth. is. too opulent to be indus-
trious.
We could make further objections;
hat, as' the apeculation is not. about to be
roalised^ a.^f»nplete .discussion!^ needless.
286
HISTORY^ POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
It will be read with amusement^ if not
with conviction ; and will familiarize the
art of reasoning about governmental con-
stitutions, if it do not form a sect, like tk
schemes of Harrington and Hume.
AiT. XXX. Inquiru into the permanent Causes of the Decline and Fall qf p&sserfid <mi
wealthy Nations. -% Wiluam Playpair. 4to. pp. SOO.
A NATION may produce a great crop
of military merit at one period, as England
did under Edward III. ; a great crop of
naval merit at another^ as under George
HI. Literary excellence may abound
most when public power is on the decline ;
as was the case of Great Britain, during
the reign ef James I. j and of France,
during the reign of Louis XV. Wealth
and the arts may attain their acme, as at
Florence and Rome, under Leo X,, wiien
morals and liberty are disappearing. Na-
tional welfare is a combination ot various
sources of comfort, of strength, and of
glory : its decline ought not to be dated
by the occasional decay of any one specihc
form of human competition*
I'here is something of antagonism be«
tweeumany of the desirable national quali-
fications. Opulence is naturally hostile to
military greatness, by causing a less hardy
rearing of tlie poor, by patronizing finger-
work and sedentary manufactures, by ac-
customing the officer-classes to luxurious
and- delicate living, and by directing the
attention of statesmen to the most onlerly
provisions for quiet, for security, and for
defence. Yet the armies of Titus and of
Trajan were formidable, M-hiie tlie wealth
of Rome was at its highest pitch.— Poverty
is naturally hostile to literature and the
fine arts ; by uprooting the leisurely classes,
who can alone cultivate them, and by in-
tercepting the demand for their produc-
tions. Yet Germany, which is less wealthy
than Britain, has produced within the la&t
thirty years, a greater crop of literary ex-
cellence 5 and has evolved more enthu-
siasm for art, if she has not displayed
equal accomplishment. Equah^ is na-
turally hostile to politeness and refine*
ment, but favourable to liberty and to
justice. Commerce always generates
morals J both pecuniary probit)', and do-
mestic chastity j but it is not so habitually
accompanied with courage, with honour,
with firankness.
The most essential ingredient of na-
tional welfare is power. Without suffix
cient strength to defend its own inde-
pendence, a nation cannot but feel that
every form of prosperity is precarious.
What have availed to Geneva and Swit-
zerland their morals and their liberties ?
What to Venice and to Holland theif
commerce, their wealth, and their public
order > What to Portugal and SpuntlKir
colonies ? What to Italji^ the arts, orto
Germany her learning > All these thii^
are bowled down before the cannan-bSt
of the conqueror ; or suffered to subiit
only inasnmch as they can be itaksfA
subservient to his aggrandisement. If
therefore national decline is to be nxa^
sured by any single standard, that stand*
ard ought to be military strength. Witli-
out a conscious power of self-defence^
independently of subsidiaiy tributes to
those royal condottieri who undertake
wasfare «o make a profit by their soMieiy,
to flourish is but to invite partition.
Let us apply the gage, military pre*
ponderance, to the chart of Mr. Playtair^
we sWl find new lines of contour supeft*
seding his. The French revolutiQn,\?hld^
with him, makes a great rift downward!
in his silhouette of the mountaiH-sammit
of French super-emij^ence, will be found
to elevate rapidly its pinnacles, and pile a
Pelion on Ossa. What can Mr. Piayfair
mean by making wealth, commeroial
wealth, the great, the single standard of
substantive excellence among nations^
On this principle he ought to rank Egypt
higher, after it became a Roman provioce,
than while it obeyed the Ptolemaic dy- .
nasty. Alexandria derived an increaae of
demand and of prosperity from anaexatico
to the Roman sway : yet who would place
under Hadrian the acme of Egyptian great«
ness ?
If Bonaparte had superseded the dy-
nasty of the Guelphs, and were lording it
at Windsor as he does at Shonbrun, he
might leave the present channels of com'
merce open, and add the opportunity of
continental demand -, but should we place
at siich a period the high-water of the
tide of English greatness ? No. Vile in-
deed must be the spirit which, for the
sake of selling a yard or two more of ca-
lico or calamanco, would submit to the
dictation of a foreign force, and hold at
foreign mercy pven an improved pro^
rity.
Let us then not confound the decline
and fall of nations with a diminished de-
xxiaad for Wng eUs or broad dothi with a
I^LAYFAIR S INaUIRTT.
287
tkapMss of coffee^ or a cheapness of tur-
mp-SBcd. Let bankers sigh over the fail
of stocks, and dbbles over the fall of
estates; these things, like the men who
Test property in &em, may pass away,
and the nation remain stronger than ever.
It is when recruits throng not to the
; stiadards of a country in danger -, when
jxessuce is inefficient to man its navies 5
) viien citizen-soldiers abound by exempt-
'wg them from ballot and conscription,
■ diat there is cause to tremble.
To prol(»ig the prosperity of the British
: empire is an important study and pursuit :
i Int the means adapted to preserve its
i veakh msy be adverse to ■ those for pre-
r senring its power. Power, like time, is
! the foundation of lauge\'ity ; wealth, Uke
mux, the foundation of extension. France^
\ wpeadmg on men and iron, is likely to
^HOQtGve ; as Britain, depending on men and
"fjM, is likely to outspread, every other
.tttbo. In Asia, in America, a British
fOfHilatJon is domesticating her language,
IfDd uuveisalizing her maoAers : bpt each
utfhsi children will, in turn, lay claim to
pnwncipation, and perhaps not oonspire to
Ipotiact her individuality.
\ The system of Mr. Playfair may in a
fptai degree be gathered fiom the foUow-
ia^ passages :
"We shall see that the first revolutions
m the world were efl'ected by the natural
^jttRDgth, energy, and bravery of poor na-
ISaoa triumphing over those that were less
"Jfttrdy, m con^quence of the enjoyment of
'*wlth, \mtil the time of the Homans; who,
jBtt other nations, first triumphed by means
<f superior energy and bravery; and after-
■- inriB by making war a trade, continued, by
;. baying regular standing armies, to conquer
'Ac oatioas who had only temporary levies,
««• militia/, to tight in their defence.
" The triumph of poor nations, over others
fcDaaay respects their superiors, continued
iannff the middle ages, but the wealth ac-
- gred by certain nations then was not wrested
fom them by war, but by an accidental and
.'mfcreseen change in the channel through
»hich it flowed. At the same time that tliis
» datige took place, without the intervention
. rf force, the art of war changed in favour of
Wealthy DatioDS, but the changes took place
|ly dow degrees, and the power of nations
aow may almost be estimated by their dis-
|08cable revenues.
. "This change, however, has by no means
rred the prosperity of wealthy nations ; it
, o&iy prevented p«or ones, unable by
means of fair competition, to do, by conquest,'
what they could not eftiect by perseverance
in a;"ts and industry ; for, hi other respects,
though it makes the prosperity of a nation
more dependant on wealth, and more inde-
pendant of violence ; it prevents any nation
from preserving its political unportance after
it loses its riches. It does not, by any means^
interrupt that progress by which poor nations
gradually rise up and rival richer ones in arts,
it has not done away the advantages that
arise from superior industry and attention to
business, or from the gradual introductioa
of knowledge amount the more ignorant,
thereby lessening their inferiority, and tend-
ing to bring nations to a level ; on the con-
trary, by increasmg the advantages, and se-
curing the gradual triumphs gained by arts
and industry, from the violence of war, it
makes wealth a more desirable object, and
the loss of it a greater misfortune. It tend^
to augment the natural propensity that there
is in poor nations to equal richer ones,* al-
though it, at the same time, augments the
difiiculty of accomplishing their intentions.
" The superior energy of poverty and ne-
cessity which leads men, under tliis pressure,
to act incessantly in whatever way they iiav«
it in their power to act, and that seems likely
to bring tliem on a level witli those that are
richer, is then the ground-work of the rise
and fall of nations, as well as of individuals.
This tendency is sometimes favoured by par-
ticular circumstances, and sometimes if. i%
counteracted by them ; but its operation is
incessant, and it has never yet failed in pro-
ducing its edect ; fbr the triumph of poverty
over wealth,on the ffreat scale as on the small,
though very irregukir in its pace, has conti«
nueti without interruption from the earliest
records to the present moment'
Tills speculation is, in our opinion, very
inexact. Tiie seats of trade become ricli j
but poor nations, as such, have no ten-
dency to become seats of trade. The
Scotch of late^ as the Swiss during the
preceding century, furnished to all the
great comme&cial cities a large proportion
of the superintending skill : from clerks
they have become merchants, and have
acquired vast wealth. Yet Switzerland
and Scotland are not much enriched by
the foreign success of their expatriated
children : few bring home the rewards of
their toil. The countries being moun-
tainous, and therefore barren } the streams
innavigable, and therefore useless 5 trafKc
cannot attain there an eminent activity.
Geographical adaptation must coincide
with that of the people, for any district to
become very commercial. The mouths of
* 'Hie present inferiority of Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal, compared
w tile rank they held in former times, is easily accouiUed for by looking at the leak <tf
teicTtnuet.
3M
HISTORY, POLtriCS, AM> STATISTICg.
great rivers form the natural dwelling-
place of trade: Alexandria, Thessalonica,
Vcnic«, m^y resume their ancient conse*
guencej but Constantinople, Genoa, Na-
ples, owed to aoci4e^t^l causes their great-
peM, and are probably b an irrevocable
prograst toward declension.
liie radical cau$e of the mignrtioA of
prosperity depends, according to Mr.
Pla>'fair, on the altered habits ofeciica-
lion, which wealth always introduces.
Tf this theory were true, there ought to
be no national declei^sipn any where : be-
cause, as all poverty muk perpetually
operate to generate the habits of frugality,
industry and spirit 5 and as poverty is the
perpetual destiny of two-thirds of the
community 5 a great majority of the peo-
ple must every where be stimulated to
preserve sound habits ; a;id tlie causes of
decline could only attack a luxurious irac-
tion of the nation, whose relapse into the
lower classes would scarcely be felt.
The power of a nation is as the number
©f persons trained to arms j and the wealth
©f a nation is as the number of persons
trained to industry. The difficulty consists
in domesticating, in naturalizing, in fixing
to tlie soil, the various forms of employ-
ment. The artisan must follow his work.
\Vhen a town is built, and there is no fur-
ther demand for houses, the builders must
ipradually disperse, and attach themselves
to other masters, in districts not yet over-
built When tlie demand for calicoes
abates, the weavers must quit their em-
ployers, and seek, under the makers of
hempen and linen cloth, for analogous
occupation. Our manufactures are li-
mited, not by the possibility of make, but
by the possibility of sale. So our com-
merce : if the continent wanted twice the
quantity of sugar, and coffee, and cotton,
we could cause them to be grown : a small
rise in these articles, if it endures tor a
year or two, will induce the planters to
take the requisite additional grounds into
•cultivation 5 but when the average produce
comes up to the average consumption,
that sort of commerce is full : no more
hands can be busied in it with utility. If
War raises the freight and insurance in
£nglish bottoms, so that the coffee and
sugar of the West Indies can be carried
more cheaply to £urope in American bot-
toms; end thus be landed at Hamburg
and I^tenborg, subject to fewer charges
than are incurred at Liverpool and Lon-
4ofr; the cofiee tUid sugar will find tlut
fiheapest-Toed^ anddraw after them^ from
Liverpool and London, the reqmsit^ capi'
tals and superinteridence.
The principal revolutions of commeretf
have resulted from the discovery of m
cheaper route of transportation. Th^
merchants successively remove thwf
counting-houses, and tlieir capitals, aof
the dependant labo!]fr^ to the roost coove*
nient sites of emporium. The haaati
which flourished one war at Ostend, Uli-
Bom during the next at Hamburg: aka|[
belligerence may cause them to strike iioS
in Tonningen or Riga, if tlie old poittl
cease to be considered as neutral.
A vast portion of the trade of tbe vwllj
consists in thorough/are : in the moviogfl
commodities through a specific coimti
while on their progress from the place
production to the place of constimptid^
The increase and accumulation of custoaSE
house duties, and dock-charges 5 the
orbitance of mercantile profits,
general by the profuse luxury, or
taxation of the traders; the acd<
war, which, in the form of freight,
surance, or con\'oy-duties, has often
cessively assessed one particular rootc
transportation ; the new geogrsphtca!
sition of the scats of production and
sumption; have all a greater or
influence on the trade which coodsts
transit.
Most of the instances of declensions
duced by Mr. Plajrfair, are more sitt
resolvable into the discovery of a chi
route of .transportation, th^ into a of^
posed effeminacy, and incapacity of €»
tion, infecting the enriched conntii^
Babylon and Tyre flourished, while tblf'
conveyed die commodities of the laxrf
rious and manufltcturing East into ^\
rude and newly-settled countries d Bl»|
rope. The wars of the Greeks and P&»;
sians, by interrupting the inteneningja^^
tcciive police, caused this trade to sed^di
securer, and therefore less expensive, chai»
nel tlirough Alexandria. During that ii^
terval in which the Syrian isthnnis fH
again secure from the Arabian robbefft
ftlmyra and Antioch rose into great fcfflH
sequence. Anarchy again drove the tM
. back to tlie isthmus of Suez, and throng
Alexandria to Venice and Barccloi
Something depended on the chief sestflf
consumption, which at first v^as Nafofe
and Ghpeece,next Italy, and then SpsinriJ
France. The migration of trade .was tta«
by the diminution of 8ecnrity,and execaW
by the progressive situation ofdemaw^
Demand for foreign produce aivsp«'
PtATFAIR's INQUl&T.
2S9
miaislieswith the cultivation of a country,
Uuif of the arts of manufacture are pro-
I fmrdf introduced and exercised at
[ £me. Russia, which imports beer, might
i-.li«vit Spain, which imports silk stock-
['J^^ might wea^'e them. England, which
||^>orts linen, b learning to buy the jBax
iBv. It is in consequence of the internal
rfnptss of industry that the ancient roar-
jpts fall off. Thus Germany ^ow buys
fiMO^aratively little of the British manu-
^Actores, and that for Poland, Hungary,
iifA the nider nations behind.
■ When the Portuguese first explored
idostan by sea, Portugal became the
of transit for every thing oriental.
: Portugal was well situate only tor
s demand of the Spanish market. The
took in hand the same, trade : it
\ a cheaper course for the middle zone
[Europe to import up the Rhine, and
(cciitigoous rivers, than from Lisbon.
t trade therefore migrated, without any
' I of the Portuguese. When the Spa-
[b first discovered America^ they ra-
r attempted plunder tlian interchange :
i public revenues^ and the fortunes of
ers and governors, were rapidly grow-
but t&y founded no manufactures
fhons, for the supply of the colonial
' St, and they did not direct the io-
r of their colonies to commodities in
use. Silver, indigo, oochineal,
lare forbearable articles, were made
» objects of importation. The fashion
fusing segars and chocolate are the only
^tematically prudent accommodations of
^ Spaniards to the expediencies of their
' Dial agriculture. They have used
r colonies as taxable provinces, as \n^
Mrementi of revenue to the state, not as
PKUtt of increasing the ferms of European
nunteDance. They send out people to
m^ there, not to thrive there : so tliat
pexioo and Lima are more advanced in
Vb aits of life than Madrid itself. Nor
•Ktfae Spamsh colonies adapted by nature
f^becountries of great exportation. They
9B ill-watered : there are few navigable
R*eri of consequence, down which the
jpodnce of the interior can be cheaply
fcwght : hence the necessity of abandon-
l|K idl but the more expensive productions
i^theagricQlture of districts accessible by
pttef. We rail at Spanish indolence for
pnving nodiing but dollars and cochineal
|nm Luna^ but it is doubtful whether
*» own smugglers, who profess to undcr-
^ the South whide->fishery, will be able
j^citract, from the coasts of Chili and
fcu, any thing but dollars and cochineal.
Ahn.Rev.VouIV.
With Mr. Playfair s view of the causes
of the decline of commerce, the grand re-
medy would be, as he observes, to uni-
versalize education ; in order that a suffi-
cient stock of skill to conduct the higher
department:; of commerce, may be cou«
stantly originating in those dasHiCs, which
are reared in penury, with firugal habits^
with adesird to draw riclies from whatever
source ; which are not refined into dis«
interest, philosophized into contentment,
and polished into idleness 5 but which
preserve a due portion of the honest mean-
ness of our nature, and meekly take every
advantage which the laws have not branded
with criminality. One set of qualiticts fit
a man to acquire wealth *, and another set
to use it.
We should be very glad to see the bene-
fits of education extended ^ but we should
not rely on parish-schools for preventing
the declension of commerce. The educa-
tion of the Scotch is very general and well-
conducted ; so is that of die protestant or
northern Germans. Both nations rear a
large portion of the clerks and secondary
agents of the conunercial world. Yet it is
not to this universality of education that
the prosperity of Glasgow or of Hamburg
ought to be ascribed. There is already
enough of education in the world to supply
the requisite number of merchants* clerks:
no situation becomes vacant in the com-
mercial line but that many candidates com-
pete for it : situations will not abomid the
more for the profusion of candidates.
A distinct sort of efifort is necessary to
prevent commercial vicissitudes and de-
clensions. This consists in opening fresh
sources of demand $ either by making trea-
ties of commerce with nations hitherto
averse from intercourse, as China ; or by
founding in the unsettled districts of the
earth a civilized population, and thus rear-
ing a nation of customers, as in Nortlf'
America. It cannot be too often repeated
that tlie delta of a great river is in every
war the most desirable situation to be oc-
cupied by Great Britain. To have occu-
pi^ Trinidad and Bulam was wise : the
island of Marayo, or, as some geographers
have it, Maragno, at the mouth of the
Orellana, would for a like reason be a de-
sirable acquisition. A settlement there
would soon fringe with plantations a vast
navigable river, and become the medium of
exchange for the commodities of innumer-
able nations. The chance for acquiring
New Orleans at the peace of Amiens was
shamefully neglected.-
The prosperity of tlie British coloniea
U
ago
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
can greadf and rapidly be increased by
suilenng them to trade with one anotlier.
Some commodities, now imported by the
West Indies through the mother-coantry,
would in this case not come at all to Eng-
land, but stop in their way from Chma or
Bengal. But the mcrease of settlers in
the West Indies, which would result firom
permitting a trade with the East, would
make up by another sort of consumption
for that lost iu the form of East India ar-
ticles. Besides, the eastern tropical agri-
culture and arts of life would thus become
familiar to the western Indies, and be
more speedily naturalized there. The
charter of the India company not only
retards and paralyses the prosperity of
Aiia; but of all those portions of our
dominion which might profit by its inter-
course.
Without acceding to the fundamental
principles of Mr. Playiair, we have derived
gratlhcation from bis book: it collects
from various quarters phenomena rela-
tive to the history of commerce : it illus-
trates them by a copious commentary;
and impresses them on the recollection
by various coloured charts ingeniously
devised, in iihich curved lines describe
the fluctuations of prosperity. The title-
page annouiioes disquisitions far more
comprehensiye in topic than are to be
fonnd in the subsequent voltune. Ttej
causes of the decline and fall ofcommaaif\
xveailh are alone discussetl : wbereas oa
is led to expect a theory of national povu
and an investigation of the causes wUd
have led occasionally, as in Spain, to th
rise and tlie fall of agricultiire, or as |
Italy to the rise and to the fall of Hterauj
and of the arts. The ouihor proailti
speculations as various as those of Marte*
quieu; but the fates of jurisprudence, of »
ligion, of military discipline, are all ^
gotten, over the tnrifts of the custoa
house. The style is inelegant; unaitecli
but redundant j the same ideas repeid
recur with little variation of form in
chapters; Adam Smith is a dilute wtil
but his expounder chooses to outdo
£iult, and runs iulo a mawkish exubcra
Time was, when literary epitomizerst
in fashion; when a Wynne obtaiad
reputation, by stripping Locke of his tW
less ambiguity and voluminous t3utok(
Time is, when literary expanders a»
v<^ue, and the materials of a pamplil
in order to be rendered saleable, must
dilated into a quarto. Time will
wlten acres of barren paper will be i
ingly exchanged for a small but Art
garden 5 and when merit will be mai
not by the magnitude but by lhequa%
its eimrts.
Art. XXW.n^peech of Afr. Deputt/ Birch, in ilie Court of Common CoundU at
Guildhall cf the City qf' Loudon, on Tutsdatj, April 30, 1S05, against ik "'
Catholic Pd^idon, now btjort both Houses (if Parliament, 8vo. pp. 26.
HAD ther .law about baking, which
passed in the. thirty-first year of his pre-
sent Majesty^ ^eluded a provision to pro-
hibit selling,'; err exposing to sale, during
Lent, or on ^meagre-days, oyster- patties
and baked custards, lest a superstitious
consumption of the same should be made
by Roman catholics, in preference to the
roast beef of Old £ngland ; possibly the
injustice of such a law might have been
detected by the worthy Deputy. Is it
less unjust to prevent a Roman catliolic
firora exchanging his bodily or mental gifts
for a portion of that income which the na-
tion oilers* ai a bounty to the soldiqr, or
the barrister ; tlian to prevent his exchang-
ing a part of his income for the food which
he prefers ? Rotli are impertinent inter-
ferences with the mode of subsistence the
most agreeable to the individual. Both
tend to narrow the public su^^ly of lux-
urious support. 1;
TJie haianguing Deputy bawls out, that
" our religion, our laws, our iibcrtie
every thing is at stake." — By our rdi^
he can only mean the monopoly enjofi
by his own sect (the Bucerist, no doal
of holding public ofRces. By our Icrxtt
can only mean two or three laws wW
must be repealed to grant die prayer
' the petition. By our liberties, he cantf
mean our restrictions on liberty : the*^
tlidics ask for the removal, for the wi4^
drawmeut, of prohibitions : our libcrtitt
would be increased by granting tlidrif^
quest. This last slang phrase is »*
merely an idle exaggeration, like the t*»
former \ but a glaring, inexcusable, ^
honouring contempt lor truth.
Next comes an abusive picture of <*
tliolic intolerance. A member of W
church of England reviling catholic itW-
lerance is a little like the Empress of !!»•
sia writing a comedy against lewdjie*^ ^
Frederic of Prussia composing his Aitti*
machiavel. This church has been the
IV66EST10KS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MILITARY FORCE.
291
aiost iotolehuit of all the protostant
efaurtfaes, aiid with ev<^n-handed injustice
hs&red firoca a double battery the bullets
{ cf persecation, both at tbose who believe
aore, and those who believe fewer, tlian
krtbirty-oine articles. Uoder one so-
veieign a hundred and thirty catholic
priests were put to death; under ano-
1 ther, two thousand presbyterian priests
» lad their revenues coofiscated. Not one
lovtteiga educated in her faith has yet \
[Art. \XXl\.— Suggest ions far the Improvement of the Military Force of the British
^ Empire. "By the Hon. Brigadier Gen* iiTEWART, M. P, 8vo. pp. 95.
terminated a reign of glory ; for Elizabeth
was a catholic — William, a presbyterian —
and the two first Georges, lutlierans, when
they acceded.
The Deputy concludes his speech by
saying, " fVe kno'jj in our consciences wc
skill alxxays tolerutc /A«i»."— The Deputy
cannot know in his conscience what is
historically false in fact. Inspiration itself
cannot unrealize truth.
THESE suggestions deserve liie atten-
of government ; a great revolution is
necessary in our firmed establish-
it: we have not the removable force
licb the mere protection and preservation
^ our widely-scattered empire requires.
continent is concreting into larger
its enterprises depend on few
and Great Britam has been offered
our hereditary foe, like another Poland,
the quarry of partition. Navies are
s sufficient pl^ge for independence,
ttts of military service must pervade
mass of our populousness : and armies
nwre numerous than heretofore must
made a standing disposable force.
This will endanger our liberty, Sub-
8iit then. Our h)dependence is a higher
care. Bat measures may be taken to ren-
f iw standing armies compatible with free
^CODstiiutions. Tiie venality of commis-
^ODs, though in other respects mischievous,
i»^ the merit of connecting the array with
t Ae propert)' of tlie country, and thus witJi
-■the class most intere^ed in the observation
Jof justice, to thft securit)' of which liberty
J k essential. If rights of suffrage were tjie
iriecompence of long service, there would
Jfe a tendency in the soldiery to defend
^•Qch rights. Thp patrt>iiage of the army
, amid be transferred to committees of the
; fttiatorial bodies/ A larger proportion of
, ittlependant rank, of rank resulting from
. aiere seniority of service, might be tole-
iwed ; and the old officer, instead of selling
fc» resignation to his successor, might
bve specific claims on the state.
After all, is it not a prejudice to sus-
f^t that large standing armies tend to
lengthen the monarchic branch of any
'ttnstitation? Did ijhe arniy side with
Charles 1. } Did the army side with
«roes II. ? Did the army side with Louis
aVI-? Has the power of Bonapaite
■Jftni endangered by any disaffection but
ttatt)f the army? The imperial dynasty
of^Rome was often changed by the army.
The whig jealousy of a standing army may
well have arisen, from a suspicion that
the intruded dynasty would be dismissed
in its turn, by a powerfril native force.
Military revolutions always enthrone thd
best general, li any power in the com-
munity can limit thearbitrium of the chief-'
tain of the armed strength of a country, it
is that of an hereditary nobility : they
alone constitute a force which cannot be
cashiered by dispersion. Representativos
of the people vanish before military usurp-
ation; not so patrician &milies: if the
House of Commons never repeats the
blunder of voting the House of IjotAs use-
less, military usurpations are not to be
dreaded.
At all internal risks, let us improve our
army. A prudent alteration is proposed
at page 22 : —
" It appears to me advisal)le to divide en-
listments into tlie regular service into three
distinct voluntary periods, which, when unit-
ed, should coipplete a species of twenty-fot^r
years, or that period ot a soldier's life which
intervenes betw«?n his sixteenth and his fort\-
first year. I would place the whole of the
army, which is now serving, upon the first
period. Tliis should be for ten years ; end I
would hi fiiture cause all recruits to be eiilist-
Cil for that period. I would establish a second
period, wliich sliould be for eight years, and
lor which perkxi a soldier may enroll him-
Tjelf previous to the close of his first period.
On inlering the second period, he should re-
ceive a hall bounty, antl, whilst serving in it,
should have an addition to his pay, and bear-
some distinguishing mark on his dress. Pre-
vious to tlie close af the second period, a sol-
dier should have the option of n^-cpgagi^ig for
the third and last |)eriod, whicli I would term
the veteran's service, and which ought not to
exceed six years. I recommend that this,
period be likewise acoonipaoied by pay and ^
distinction on dress additional to the pre-
ceding. T\\G soldier wlio shall have com-
pleted his third period of uninlerniptcd ser-
V2
201
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
yke (for to this condition alone would I at-
tach the adyaotage either of period or pen-
sion), should become entitled to half-pay for
the remainder of his life, according to the
rank which he may have held at the time of
lib d^harge, or served under during the
gre^^ port of his tiiird period. 1 would,
moreover give every soldier, who b now in
the regular army, credit towards his pension
for as many years as he may have already
sened uninterruptedly, and \vhen the hventy-
fburth shall be completed, place him on the
half-pay list, although he ma^' not have gone
through his three periods, according to this
regulation.
" For the cavalry and artillery I would pro-
long the first period by two years, deducting
them iiomtbe second ; the additional time is
^n the first Instance requisite for the instruc-
tion wiiich ij peculiar to those services.
" I conceive that the whole of these pen-
nons may be borne aa the Chelsea funds, but
not nece^rily the onlv bounty which issues
from that institution, it being understood that
esctraordinary cases of service^ wounds, or loss
of health, shall entitle such soldiers as may be
duly reooromeDdt:d to the benefit of it, at any
period, as is observed at present: roy object
IS to secure to every soldit^r who can produce
a certificate of twentj-four years service, a
comfortable pension tor the reiwainder of his
life, vrithout nis being indebted for it to any
thing excepting the liberality of his country,
and his own fcjnff services. The pension
oo^ht to be according to the pay of the third
period, and not of the first; thus, for in-
stance, I will suppose the pay of a private
soldier in his fint period to be fourteen pence
per day, in the second to be fifteen pence, and
u his veteran period to be sb^teen pence per
AaT. XXXIIL— 0^«crwrfio7w and Hints relative io the Volunteer Ittfatdry. Dcdkdd to
the Earl qf Moira, By an Officer, 8vo. pp. 47.
day. The half-pav will be thus : 6^ pmct
for a private, probably eleven pence iur a
corporal, and nfieen pence for a seijeaut, a
proportional increase bein^ understood to take
place upon the pay of their ranks. Who a
soldier abroad shall have completed a pcnod,
he oueht to be found in hb passage homcv ]f
he will not re-engage."
The recoo\mendatioa at page thii^
three, of a levy of boys, merits consider-
ation : the military exercises are kait
with advantage early : and might vii
less encroachment on profilahle labov
be allotted in velunteer corps to yow^.
lads. An augmentation of one-third ii
the pay of the middle class of cffiooiii
proposed, and the introduction of a m ;
rank of cadet, or sub-ensign, b iagst>
ously suggested as a form fen- pi:epaa|[|
the advancement of meritonous 8ei}eaitt^|
or other non-comaiissioned ofi5cers,iBll
the commanding and liberal grades oftk ;
service. A reform in the guards is. for
obvious reasons advised.
A vast enlargement of the regular foroi^
an annihilation of the subsisting mifitiv
and a~ modification of the yolnnteeis into
a stationary militia, seem to be objects tl
admitted expediency. The police, lio#>
ever, cannot be intrusted to a stationj;
militia : volunteers would object, in
of riot, to fire upon neighbours, on a(
of the permanency of vindictive ^^^
The regulars must be at the call of w
magistrate.
auuni^
accoM
THE best defence against invasion is
the fleet, which would probably intercept
and sink the great mass of any approach-
ing force. The next best impediment is
a fljring artiller)', mounted on high and
broad convex wheels, adapted for being
driven rapidly along the sands of the
shore.
Against a landed enemy, the regulars
constitute the most satisfactory resource,
and in case of their defi^t, the rifle-corps,
who would thin the foreign force one by
pne very rapidly. But militiamen and
Tolunteers can seldom be brought to such
a state of discipline^ while in their semi-
'civil capacity, as to be entirely relied on
for formal warfare and pitched battles.
The great use of such associations is to
drill and train men who may afterwards
be regularized. The exemption from
ballot was a strange inconsistency in the
Tolunteer system, and has gradually stock-
ed the coTDs precisely with those who shun
real service. One proposal of this oSoer
deserves notice.
" If I might venture to suggest any thioj
(which I do widi great diffideDcc) that n«[,
m my opinion, contribute to tactical iinpi^
ment, I would recommend that the mode a
formation should be always in three ranb;
and that the third rank eooritt ol^ pitan^
whose pikes, in the act of chaii^g, sbonU
range with the bayonets of the hne in fiwt
llie impulse arising fipom this m^boda
fomiin§ would be irresistible, as the steadiaei
of the tront rank, from a confidence of Wj
being so well supported, would so inc
the momentum of the charge, as to
down an before it. The pike, likawc, »
defensive weapon against cavalry, is «>
preferable to the bayonet, as its loS^^
keep the horseman at such a distance tbt
could make little or no use of his sword.
Much verbiage occurs about sir Bob«t
Wilson's pamphlet and the battleof ZirnaJ
and much just praise of the earl of Moiri
LACDERDALB'S hints to the manufacturers^ BlC.
293
AnT. XXXIV. — Trial for a Libel in the Antijacobin Review. 8vo. pp. 50.
WHETHER the Antijacobin Review
coodnues to be assisted by a quondam
co-operator, vho has avowedly passed
into the service of Bonaparte, we have not
the means of ascertaining: its conduct
amid not be more favourable to French
views if it received direct instructions
from Talleyrand. Suppose the French
were projecting the invasion of Ireland,
(and the coxnnoents with which they kive
accxxnpanied the intercepted correspond-
ence from OD board the Aplin show that
Ifaey very lately proj^ted it) what could
Kibly ronxe the numerous classes ior^
lod to take part with the foreign in-
vader, in the present drciimstances of the
tttpire, bat such virulent and bigoted
ibaae of the catholics, and such daringly
EDoal attacks on their leaders, as have
ybeen hazarded by the Antijacobin
I 'leview, and punished in a British court
-if justice ?
The trial in question is here recorded
omch at length : the obnoxkms passage
I bid in the indictment runs partly thus:
i ** Nothlnig affords such strong evidences of
f jopish dissimulatioii in Ireland, as the ex-
I Ikntitions of the Romish clerjKY, and the iOyal
I lUreaia of their flocks, lliey have -dom-
t^Mnily been fbimd to be sure presages of a
Meep-iaid conspiracy against the Plotestant
mat ; and after it has exploded in rebeUioa,
r^feirdei^ generally lament, from the altar,
I tile ddoanns of the people, and their treaxm-
l ible conduct towaros the best of sovereigns,
and the only constitution that affords any de*
gree of rational liberty; though from the
nature of their religion tliey must have
known, and might have prevented it. The
dreadful rebellion of 1798, accompanied with
sudi instances of popish periidy, must con-
vince the reader, tiiat no reliance b t» be
placed on tiie oaths or professions of Irish
papists to a protestant state. Doctor Troy
must have known all the circumstances whica
preceded the insurrection in Dublin, on the
23d of July 1803, and yet he did not put go-
vernment on their guard. The present ad-
ministraiion are convinced of his ^treachery
. on that occasion, and yet, for many years past
he had been treated at the Castle with the
utmost respect, and had even received fiivoucs
for some persons of his own family.**
The jury fined the defendant fifty
pounds : Mr. Ersk'uie was counsel for
the plaintiff.
We trust that the constituted authori-
ties, in traasferrmg to new hands the ad-
ministratioa of oup a^urs, may be coo*
sidend as having struck the tents of pec*
aecotion for ever.
Nihilque praeseoti patriae communis
statui magis accomodum foret, quam si
mutua Concordia in civilibus, tolerantia
in sacris> postliminio revocaretur^ et ia
commune consuleretur. Alioqui non m^
jorum, non nostrum omnium, non tot re-
gum fidesi non legnm majestas, non pax
communis, non Ubertas acquabilis, doo
iequitas, non respublica stabit.
Art. XXX V. — HinU to the JUani^facturers of Great Britain on the Consequences of the Irish
l/mony md the Sifsttm since pursued qf borrowing in England for the Service qf Ireland.
Bjfthe£ariqftXvDEUJ}AJLi. 8vo. pp. 50.
IX)RD LAUD£RDAL£ is an active if Adam Smith, was lost to the nation for
not an efficacious writer. Last year (III.
250) we noticed a considernble volume of
hii CTK|aines : we have now to ooounent
n addiUooal se^ of speculations.
Bauty-men should never blow into flame
file smoking discontents of ignorant sel-
fishness. By associating their cause with
nowise alterations, they create an impedi-
Bwit to their being employed, yrhen
Mr. Pitt's Irish pi'opositions were originally
Mrted in 1786, a mean jealousy was ex-
ited among the Ei^ish manufacturere,
^ meetings of delegates wens assembled
to express the hostility of the tradings
Worid against these projected regulations.
What was the result ? Mr. Pitt acquired
the gratitude of the tradesmen by giving
^y to dieir clamour : and a liberal mea-
*Qre, sanctioned by the approbation of
Adam Smith, was lost to the nation
ever.
We class these thoughts with that fac-
tious hostility. Does it matter whether
our manufactures flourish alone the Mer-
sey or the Liflfy, along the Humber or
the Shannon ? Does it matter whether our
rents are expended in Dublin or in Lon*
don ? Let it suffice that manufactures will
always thrive best where our rents are not
expended ; because it is A necessary con-
sequence of the expenditure of the luxu-
rious to enhance the price of labour. In
the absence of its absentees, and in the
depreciation of its money of exchange,
Irels^nd is Ending a vast premium for the
proitiotion of its manu&ctures and the in«
crease of its exports.
Again j does it matter whether money
U borrowed in Dnblin or in Lotid^ii^ pro-
294
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
vided it be borrowed at the lowest rate ?
Why ghould not the minister open a loan-
. office, and pay dividends on stock, not only
at Dublin, but in Jamaicai and at Cal-
cutta? Let every man in these places,
who chooses a slice of loan at the price of
the London market, be allowed to sab'
scribe there. Sabscriptions will not
abound, because money is worth more
tliere tlian in Iw<ondon. In this way i
more ditfusive stockhuld interest cooldbe
created.
Art. XXXVL — An Inquiry into tlte Causes md Effects ofEinicrationfrom the Ht^fdnk
and f^estem Islands qf Scotland^ with Observations on the Jiicansto he employed for fn-
venting it. By ALKXAiiDEK Irvive, Afifiister of J^anock. 8 vo. pp. 188.
A thousand years ago it was customary
among the northern nations of Europe,
whenever food became scarce, to decimate
the young people, and to compel the emi-
gration of the superfluous mouths. The
ancestors of the Swiss were thus dri\'en
from the wolds of Westphalia, and fought
their way to a territor}'- among the Alps.
Taught by ob^rvation, and not by book-
makers, the people could then perceive
that the condition of stayers is bettered by
the exportation of the unsettled and un-
provid^ for. The competition for neces-
saries and ibr labour being thereby di-
minished» food cheapens and wages rise:
and this facilitation of the means of main-
tenance incites speedily to new marriages,
until a fresh glut of population super-
venes. The mother, the sister, may
be allowed to weep, who takes leave of
an embarking colonist : but the magistrate
will say farewel with a nod of approba-
tion. He is aware that by thinning the
«tock of domestic populousness the le*
compense of domestic industiy will be
augmented ; that marriages will conse-
quently take place at an earlier age ; that
vicious intercourse and crippling disease
will be less frequent, and the orderly com*
forts more widely diffused. It is not
nierelylrratioual, but immoral, to dissuade
emigration j let the preacher applaud, let
the poet celebrate, the man who first fronl
the shore led an emigrating colony.
Against instigators of emigration our
author is ludicrously embittered. One
would think he had listened in his ram-
bling years to some foolish scheme of ex-
terested persons, who promote the fenoeot of
the people, and go about recruiting Cortfer
plantations with the usual ekiqnence of craifii
They generally gain belief from the dam* i
ter they assume, their subject, and the ^kf^
sttions of those whom they address. T1r|
mountebank elocution is wonderfully pan* -
lar, because suited to every capacity.' Tb^
exaggerations ami fictions work like a ta^
niHuN wand, or an electric shock. Thepa^*
and illiterate portion of the communitj tnt
taken it for granted tliat all foreien coimtiil
are different from their own, «no that erwO
traveller must have strange adventonsfi*
tell ; this more readily makes them Mipa§
to those wtnse interest it is to deceive thck
" Some instigators have lands in America
but tliey have no people to cuki\ate theo$
they must then try to supply this wantly
those measures which interest sugg^, li|
YaLrffc promises of prosperity, and by gay dfr
scriptions of the country. They run na risk
of detection till they have gained their ob»
ject, and theiv detection is less dangcroOr
At aiiy rate, they who are willing tobed^
ceivea take some tune to recover tieir secac^
and when they do recover, they are ashamed
to contess theur weakness, because ii is iwai'
bating.
" There is another species of instigatoB,
whose character is more detestable than ti««
above described ; they are those who vast
long and lucrative lease:? ; but the difficdiy
is, iKiw to dispose of those wlio m consemMSce
must be dispossessed. Proprietors, UKXigh
tempted by fai^e otters, are unwiHiMtodme
poor innocent creatures afloat upon the ment
•f the world, unless they choose to do <
thentoelves. If they do, no proprietor is war*
ranted, by his own authority, to detain thea
against their will.
" It is not difficult, however, to make thm
peasants tlie dupes of their own credulity.
pairiation, had been trying the profits of ^othis they fall a samlice; and when once
authorship on the Ohio, or to preach cal
*'inism under the tin steeples of Canada;
and liavitig discovered that the sun shines
no where so pleasantly as at Ranoch, was
returned a weary, tanned, and disappoint-
ed wanderer. Why should he else pursue
with an hostility so vhidictive the oral
geographer who happens to recount his
experience? We extract :
''The last cause (of emigration) which oc-
curs to me arises from the instigation of in*
the assent of one is gained, or one is removed,
the whole is unsettled, or more easily UTW#t
upon. The ground is cleared of smafl te*
nants, and the tacksman is profited by ius suc-
cess. ^
" I am told there is another class cl
prompters or instigators.
"Tliey praise emigration from vanity, to
show their superior knowledge or fcmas of
oratory. They are in no danger of intemip-'
tion. They probably liave tried cinigraiiw
themselves without success^ and finding wood
LJ^UDEBDALBS STATE OP THE CIBCULATION.
295
water, land and rocks, good and bad hi Ame-
ika, a» well as at home, thev returned ; but
tJiey rsttst have old saws, and sage sentences,
fsad siirewd nods, to please tlie rabble, who
aiedetenxiiued to be pleased with any thmg
tbat h oeMT. ,
^ ill success liaving so i red theh" temper, ac-
tuated by malice, or envy, or some vicious
;SKitjve, tney extol the advantages of America,
bid excite dissatisiaction, uneasiness, and tiir-
iMdence. Bridled by the restraints of law, or
Ifcarof punisliment, they dare not agitate sedi-
tw» aad commotions ;* they therefore wreak
{lieir rancour and spleen upon their mnocent
^ntrr in anollier M^y, and represent Ame-
jiio as'the land of liberty and pleasure. Tiiose
i^ listen to them, and are silly enough to be
itoodwinked, may be said to deserve any
fWHshment."
p In the next section the author begins to
ttfcalate what number of Highlanders
prat« annually. He apprehends they
ant to five thousand, which Is an in-
Scant number. He imagines that if
i five thousand had staid at home, and
childrens' children, Scotland would
^^vebeen more populous than at present.
^Bm reverse is the case. Dr. Franklin, in
I paper on the Increase of Mankind,
d Mr. Malthus in his Essay on Popula-
D, have completely and irreversibly de-
moastrated, that men multiply every
where with a rapidity proportioned to the
permanent and habitual demand ; and
that, where the ways of n^aintenance are
pre-occupied, a further increment does
not easily take place; marriage is post-
poned, promiscuous and barren intercourse
sets in, protracted celibacy, with all its
concomitant habits, become general, and
thus a voluntary accommodation of the
number generated and reared to the num-
ber in babiti^.al requisition takes place
from natural causes. A crammed popu-
lation always produces the habits of life
usual in large cities, which habits keep
down an increase tliat would there be in-
convenient. But by exporting the super-
numeraries to unsettled districts of the
earth, they multiply rapidly, and create a
demand among their descendants for tho
Inxuries remembered in tlieir mother-
country, and thus furnish employment for
an additional resident population there.
Scotland will find new resources of domes-
tic maintenance to result from the emi-
gration of her sons. In our third volume
(p. 3 10) this topic has already been di3«-
qussed at sufficient length.
-*-'
^A&T.XXXVII. — Thoughts (m the alarmimr State qf the Circulation, and on the Means of
\ redremRg the pecuniary Grievances in Ireland, By the Earl qfL^VBEKD alb, 8vo.
\- pp. 122.
f ONEof the grievances of Ireland here
[dfscuased is a want of small metallic
' donge, in consequence of which paper
fqvesentatives of minute values have been
jSHied, called sHver-^otes, The wear and
tear, tod loss of these petty notes, is con-
nlenible among the poor, and is become a
popolar topic of complaint. Hie only re-
medy seems to be an increased coinage of
^^^enoes, shillings, and half-crowns, suf-
identiy impure to escape melting, or ex-
portation.
Another of the grievances here discuss-
ed is die sute of the exchange. The Irish
treasury draws on London at llj. above
pv ; wberms the merchants^ lord Lau-
derdale diiaks (p. 92), would else draw at
I6jr above par. This interference with
the natural coarse of tilings is a great
(rierance; commerce cannot speculate
««ionally or confidently where a minister
^ the impertmence to fancy he under-
•toW the interests of tradesmen better
Aa» they do themselves, and has the mis-
cfaiermis power of employing the vast ca-
P*W« of the state to derange that natural
course of things. To whom does it sig-
nify whether the exchange is high or low >
If 100/. sterling is paid high in Ireland, at
1 16^. the moment is favourable for the
purchase of linens there 5 by the advance
of one hundred pounds in London, one
hundred and sixteen pounds worth of
goods can be obtained. Of course tlie
London merchants buy, and the Irish ina-
nufaciurers are full of work. But the
Irish absentee has to buy at a high rate
the money he wantiT to expend in London,
or Bath ; and tliis same state of exchange,
which benefits die most important branch
of commerce, encroaches on tlie luxury
of the non-resident land-owners and place-
men. This encroachment is exactly the
proper tax on absentees. But govern-
ment, indifferent to the manufactures,
and criminally accommodating to the
placemen and noblemen of Ireland, have
set about reversing this wholesome state
of things ', and instead of drawing in
pounds sterling on London, and selling
their drafts by a broker at the current rate
of exchange, have drawn at the specific
exchange of 111^/. Thus ^ve percent,
is struck oft' the profit of the English
296
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
buyer of »linens, who of course boys less
or not at all ; aad five per cent, is added
to the revenue of the non-resident 4nsh,
by which means more persons can afiWrd
to quit the country. Thus the prosperity
of vast manufacturing districts is nipped
10 the bud, and agriculture is retarded b/
offering a premium tor the non-residence
of proprietors. Such is the mischief of
meddlesome politicasters.
A third grievance here discussed is the
excessive issue of bank-paper. The re-
medy is simple. Withdraw the restric-
tion, as it is hypocritically called, on the
conversion of notes into cash. The pri-
vilege conceded to the banks of England
and Ireland^ of not paying in specie, di-
minishes the value oi eveiy man's capital
tliroughout both countries, by all the ef-
fect of tlie additional capital thus thrown
into circulation. The bank of Ireland
ought to have no other limitation imposed
on its issues than would result from this
simple act of justice. Private banks would
perhaps discount somewhat mote at six
per cent, and the monopoly bank some--
what less at five per cent. •, bat the sum
issued in discounting would not be very
diderent. Discounting can be performed
cheaper by great institutions than by indi-
viduals, whose capitals have a distinct ha-
bitual destination ; but it will always be
accomplished at one premium or other in
the degree in which it is necessary to the
wants of commerce* It is a mistake to
suppose, that the issue of bank-paper can,
ever diminish the scarcity <^ money^ as
has already been explained(vol. iii. p.298):
it does not create a new property, it only
renders a pre-existent fixed prc^rty cir-
culable. According to lord Lauderdale
(p. 101), the Irish bank-notes are at pre-
sent really at a discount of ten per cent. :
we do not assent to his method of calcu-
lation.
In 1796, Mr. Montagu, thenchancellor
of the exchequer, being called on in t^
house of commons to defend his ooodod
relative to recoining the dipt money, ^sid,
" It is better to do wronj than to do no-
thing." This vile deference for the wishei
and clainus of an agitated vulgar has fboni
successive imitators. We have still mink
sters of osier, who bend to every wind of
popular clamour from whatever quarter ft
may blow. Unequal to the effort of dnoki,
ing out what is right, they leave that W
the public, and endeavour to obey the 20^
rage instructions of the louder adviseq;-!
This is called governing by public opiiHfla|i
and has been the characteristic feature #!
British government these twenty
It is m fact a sacrifice of ultimate
batlon to present applause. It is tiie
of governing d&um to the people, and ^.
throwing away, at every oppcatqintjr, 1M
whole advantage of forwarder infbnnatw
and intellect 1
Rather let us consecrate the intern!
maxim : *' it is better to do nothing tfaa
to do wrong :" we have more cause to to
afraid of an awake than of an asleep wt
ministration. The rage for interference
regulation, and enactment, w^hether it n*
spects Scarcity of com, or scarcity of ms*
ney, is sure to increase the evil it profesiei
to remedy. Repeal the impediments «
circulation, the restrictions on issuing ca^
the arbitration of exchange, the linuli*
tions on interest, the untransportaUenttt
of specie, deliver us, ministers, from te
sliackles of youf predecessors, and pro^'
rity will soon return.
Of the late publkations of lend Laiukr-
dale, this appears to us considerably ti»
best It is written clearly and v^ell ar*
gued. It implies all his usual infofin^
tion, and displays the habitual anxietj d
his patriotism.
Art. XXXVIIL— CWflcffTwftc Anecdotes from, the History (f Rnssia, with Notes^f^
nologicd, biographical, asud explanatory ; forming a usrfiu Manual {^Russian Hidorf^
Translatedfrom the French qftlie Counsellor qf State, Ciausen. Byh^ Lambut. 8t«.
pp. 233.
ON the sources of Russian history we
spoke with some attention in our second
tolume, p. 280. The' author of this
sketch has recurred to those sources, and
has drawn from them an amusine selection
of anecdotes, which are well adapted- to
prepare for recollectk>n, the strange names
with which tliey are associated. _^ ^_^.__
Milton, one of the best secretaries of people for adopting an interest in tk
state known to our history, whose inibr- transactions, and an accommodatioD ta
miation and intellect chiefly dictated the the manners of the Russians. Since Mi^
admirable diplomatic politics of the pro*
tectorate,had the merit of perceiving odj
the importance of cultivating a political
friendship, and a commercial intercourse
with Russia. In his brief histoiy of Mus*
covy, he endeavoured the fusuH^ttnzmgfi
those leading facts which were best
adapted to prepare the statesman sod tht
j:.AMBBBT S RUSSIAN Al^£CDOTES«
2S7
ten^Tooke it the most distiogttished of
our viiten who have scattw ed iniportaut
UonQStioQ conoeraing the history of the
Bossjan empire.
It is well to call in theaidof the German
IlkoQirrs in this department of investiga-
foo. To Schloetzer, to Storch, distinct
nise is doe : to the one for his profound-
rkaraed historical researches concerning
Be national annals 9 to the other for his
jonpreheasive and instructing account of
bbaortiiem metropolis. Nor will this
tm extensive, but not less amusing,
mkk of the state-counsellor Clausen, be
ntiioat its share oi& popularity and circu-
hdoa. By selecting the more peculiar
Msodolet of the Russian, princes, ha
^bcks» is it were, the flowers of charac-
Ipr, ai^ preserves the beauties of history.
^' We cannot better enable the reader to
top^satft this performance thanbycul*
i^ in our turn, half-a-dozen anecdotea
Kom his anthology.
" Precepts qf Tokratiom.
f *' History, says the celebrated Bolii^broke^
»phiks3phY tau^t by example. Ontrac-
li the annals of all nations, on lookina round
mreflectrngupon the occurrences of every
t«e may be led to believe, that so many
M have been lost tosoeiety. The same
«Bon, the same species of frenzy, are renewed
wtbovt intemiptiwi. We find a people in
% tiuiteeath century, who, although de-
fnred of philosopbicil institutions, preacb-
« peace and tderati<Mi to their prince, while
1& Europe armed to embafk in the crusades,
Od while military expedttioiis were under-
An m Fhmce, m mt name of God, against
die Alhigeoses, twenty-thousand of whom pe-
niied, because they ptofiesaed other dogmas
cfKfijpon!
'< JaiQshf, prince of Novo^rod, demand-
ed amance from the inhabitants of Pleskof
^piait the city of Riga, lately built, which he
vrittd to attack and destroy. Having some
ilfcuKe with the menaced "people, they an-
gered the prince who endeavoured to per-
sittde them to join him:
" Thou art pnident ; thon knowest that all
va ire brothers ; cfaristkms and mfidds, we
'It allof the same fimiily. It is not necessary
to make war upon those who do not partici-
Wt ia oar creied, nor to assume to ourselves
(pe pui)isliment of their errors ; it is much
wser to live m peace with them. Then they
^ thetish our mildness and our virtues ;
ftey will be affected by them ; and from the
frieadship they will conceive, will pass to the
wveofour rdigUKL**
" Nobk Frtedm apprteUUed by Ixtm.
''Jerome Bowes was seftt by Elizabeth,
^MBof Eoahmd, inequality of mimster to
vbtTnrof Russia. To conform to the eti-
quette of the times, and the prerogatives of
his place, he remained cov^^ed at tlie fli-st au«
dieiice. Some one represented to him the
danger of such a conduct, and the mils he
miglit bring on himself by it " I am not ui>-
acquainted w.th them/'^said he, '* but I am
the ambassador of a queen who will revenge
any afiront oflered to her in the person of her
minister." The prince, far from being offend-
ed at such a declaration, presentea him to
the assembly, and recommended the boyars
to imitate his example. " Behold," saici lie
to them, " a brave man, who lias the courajje
to uphold the honour of his . sovereign wfth
dignity. Who among you would do as much
for me ?'*
"Simplicity qf Maimers in the Time qf
Alexis.
" A Russian author relates in his Notices, a
work which he compiled abroad, that diu*m$
tue reign of this pnnce, gold was as scarce aa
silver was common, and that consequently a
large sum could not be carried without incou*
venience : it was therefore the custom to pay
visits without money to stake at pky; but
such was the courtesy and sunpHcity of man-
ners, that in the respectable houses of Mos-
cow the masters gave the servant bags with
thousands of rubles, to distribute to th^e who
played The company being met, each o^
them demanded money during the evening ^
the contidential man, so that, in some me»>
ture, they played at the expence of the host ;
but the next niornmg they did not fail to return
him the value of what tliey had taken and*
lost.
I' These societies, contuiues the saniA
writer, were free from pomp and ceremooy ;
every one was at his ease, and loss or gain aid
not dissipate the general good-humnur/'
" UneTpected MediatioiL,
" Major-General Golitsin having gained a^
factory as much by his valour as by his pre-^
sence of mind and military knowledge, tlie|
emperor gave h'on permission to clioo^e hia^
own reward. He requested the pardon of
Repnm, who had been disgraced a short tune*
before. " How- !" replied the monarch, " ar^
you ignorant that ilepnin is your n^rtal;
enemy ?" " I know it," replied Golitsin,^
" and that is precisely the reason why I sup-
plicate your imperiar m^esty to grant hhn
his pardon." Peter the Gfreat then caused it
to be announced to Repnin, that yielding, to
the earnest solicitations ixGolStsln, he had re-
stored htm to his &vour ; but tlmddng it, at^
the same time, his duty to give an eminent -
mark.of his esteem tor such generosity, he-
conferred tlie order of St. Andrew ou the
victor ."
"Public Spirit of Peter L
" After the conquest of Estonia, and the
capture of the city of Revel, the emperor or-
dered the inclosures and fortifications of the-
piH't to be repaired, opposite to which he
7g^
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
erected a palace in the Italian taste, and plant-
ed a large pleasure garden. The Tzaf named
this chamiing spot the valley of Catliarine
CCatfierinen Thai) in lionour of his wife. He
knew that neither himself nOr his family could
derive much advantage from it, as he was un-
able to remain long there ; but his intention
was to pro\*id(? a place of recreation, where
the public might meet. Some years after,
when the whole was conioleted, he returned
witli the empress to Revel, and went t6 reside
at the castle. Surprised at not seeing any
person walking in the park, he asked a fenti-
Bel the reason. The sentinel said, " because
BO one of ^ny descrintion was permitted to
come in.^' " How !'* replied the emperor
«iiarply, " what blockhead gave that ot-der ?'*
" Our officers." " What stupidity ! did the
lools imagine that I had caused these extensive
walks to be made for myself l**
" Next morning it was proclaimed through
the city by beat of drum, that all the inhabi-
tants were allotted admission into Catherinen
Thai, and that every one might go there for.
amusement, the guards being only stationed
to prevent tumult, and to protect the trees
and other objects from being injured.**
•• Instance qfCmtrage and Humanity,
•' A younff officer of the police, wlio, at the
letting m of the winter, was stationed on the
quay at the Neva, to prevent any one from at-
tempting the passage of the river till it was
wfliciently frozen, discovered a person on the
kre who had escaped the notice of the guard on
the opposite side. Apprehensive of lus dai^
g»r, he called to him to return. Theothff
needless of his intr^tits and liis threats, k«^
advancing, tintil, suddenly, the ire gaveva
under his feet, and he sunk. The guarded
ed for assistance ; but perceiving iM qpoet
the spectators attempted to succour the ^
happy man, he tiirew oif his coat aod piiunj
in, regardless of his own danger, andbyS
strraglhand courage, brought the man to A
shore, who, two minutes later, must haTe* '
his life. The emperor Alexander, who
riding, arrived on the spot at this h
moment He addressed the officer n
most flattering terms, and, giving himai
from his fin^^r, promoted him to a
greatly superior to tlic one he filled." i
Not all the anecdotes here related «i
qatte trustworthy : some speeches are (g
cribed to Peter I. whidi tepott do ^
better authority than Vcdtaire and y
veqno; and some actions areafcrifaedf^
ronaanttc and haroic mottves^ whidi m
naore probably be accounted for oo ooaa
principles. A
This tnmslation is not made directb
from the original, but through a F^«aii
medium : it misbecomes us thus to av^j
the approbation oflHuris before we impartt
foreign work: this may be ascribed to |{
perverse habit in our reviewers, ofcrjw^
down every thing German, a pradka
wkich has much interfered with our o^
tional popularity on the continent.
Art. XKXlli,--'TTie Effects qf Civilization on the PcopkinEuropeanSt^ ^Chaslis
HALL,jlf.Z>. Svo.pp. 324.
NATURE seems to have intended man
for an eternal circle of conditions. From
the anarchy of savagism regular causes
every where draw him to the cohesion of
barbarism. In this state the bonds of re-
ligious and political discipline are drawn
tighter and tighter, until at length restraint
generates industry, domesticity, and the
elementary qualities of civilization. Dar-
ing the period of wealth and refinement
which succeeds, religions and political
coercion relaxes, education is diffused to
all, and confined to those exercises, mili-
tary and civil, which are required by all.
With the equality and military habits of
aavagism soon returns its. turbulence and
ferocity 5 warfare levels the cities, and
banishes the arts of trade ; a community
of women supervenes, each of whom lives
unmarried, and rears an offspring by vari-
ous fathers ; education is more and more
neglected, and the seats of culture resume
the rudest condition, in which any part of
the old world has yet been observed.
Much of this letrogradation has occorredia
France during our own tiities, an! will'
probably extend alternately to the other
European nations.
There are always certain minds in uni-
son with the coming age 3 an indisdaet
foresight of what must be, glimmers npos
the intelligent 3 some of whom invite, asmtf
and welcome the new order of sodetj.
Thus Rousseau, among tiie Freadi,nB-
dertook a systematic apology for the n-
Vage state, which he represented 9S the
most desirable side of the social wlieel:
and the great popularity of his work,
Against the Inequality ofCondiuonSt u«
strong proof, how sensibly the Frendi
felt they were sliding back to that stage of
society, whence their ancestorab^to
•merge under Charlemagne.
Mr. Hall has undertaken, in EogiisA/
a similar apology for savagism j and h«
endeavoured to show, tiat toiling ^
wealth is labour in Vafn ; that as much
comfort is possessed by the savage as 1^
ItAtL's E»FBCTS OF CIVILltAtlOtf.
299
^ ciTflixed; that happiness is more
IsqiBDy distributed^ atid l^s precariously
JwU in die ruder comibiitiities s aod that
a B ^il time to begin mafcbing beck to
like siaaiien and morals of the middle
It is improbable liiat his book will
,like that of Roasseauj because
not 3ret attained th<( acme or sum-
of civiliaatioa, and are therefore not
ready to listen to those who ^e for
mg us down the hill on the other side :
the time, no doubt, will come^ when
Hails and the Northmotfes shall be
as the meteorous harbingers of that
dawn, which, in some equiQpiof
mtc^, is to supersede the p(^r sum-
lar cf ear prosperity, and to illumine the
mmbiDg level of equality during the
fetry tibi&ight of a new dark age.
'Hiis treatise is written with talent : of
^irit an idea may be formed by the
s own recapitulation of hia afgu*
laving given, under different heads, the
s of civmaation on the mass of the peo|ile
^aMMtEt^pi^ansUtes; it may not be amiss
> diav the most material of them more
tog^ier, so as to bring them under
ehsveseea that a smaH number of people
thex states hsTe first got possession of the
' tbestodLon it, aa^ every thina that it
Kxs; and then, by tly means of these,
iTc obtaioed the command of the labour
khepeople.
•"Thh comparatively small part of the
beiiiff thus in possession of those
^r-*^ aod toe power connected with them,
BR fistuoUy desirous of securina those thdr
mfsA adr4a&ges over the rest of the^ people ;
%d to put it out (^ the reach of those people
ifo recover them. ,
^ " The power they are in die possession of
ji9^<shes them with the means c^ securing it-
I m, as well as the wealth wliich is the founda-
Lyiofit ToavailUiesnseWes of this power,
fy first itep is to take tlie right of making
I aan, exclusively of the^ people, but which
4all hiad die whole people mto their own
^ j^»L e. to assume the legislative power,
Thb they do by means of their wealth.
" Haviog gained this important point, the
*^ step was to make use of, ana exercise
«hle«>lative power, by enacting such laws
■ wwad efiectually secure to theni the oh-
jots io view, i. e. to enact laws to secure pro-
grty» The things of which the people are
||^|Kitfk, oamely, the land and its produce,
^QBgsoch tfaiogs as ace in a high degree ne-
2"^ to the comfort and very existence of
«e people--to enable the rich to retain these,
ttwt require strong aod severe laws. This
W find was done. The laws securing pro-
f^ in aiQst civilized nations are of the most
severe kind ; severe in the i)enalties and pu-
nishments inflicted ; severe in their long du-
ration; severe by their pain and torture; hor-
rid by the terrors and agonies by which the
mind of the imhappy sulferers are agitated
and distracted, for many months, under their
dreadful sentences.
'* These few, i. e. the aristocracy, bdag
possessed of the property of the whole people,
and having power of. claiming almost the
whole labour of them ; and having also, by
the means above mentioned, secured it firmly
to themselves ; their next consideration is to
make use of and apply this labour in such a
manner as that it shall produce such thiii^ at
wfll most gratify their desires and incUnatioiis,
and administer to their ease and pleasure.
This is donfe by the manufactures of vario^
kinds. These therefore are introduced, and
forced on the people by all tlie means that
artifice and power can furnish; notwithstand-
ing the employments are such as include every
thmg that Imman nature, till by long habk it
is broke to it, feels irksome, nauseous^ pain-
ful : and notwithstanding thKcy are unwhole-
some, debasing, and destructive of mind and
body, to such empk>yment8 nineteen-twenti-
eths of the men, their wives and infants, aae
ccMidemned, during all the years, months, and
days of their lives ; enjojins a very small
part .of what their labour yielck. These em-
pk>yments, together witli their poverty and
' waat^ occasion the miseries and mortality be-
fore stated*
** Most of the dviliaod states of Europe,
not content with bringing miseries on their
own people, extend their baneful influence to
nations, inhabitants of the remotest parts of
the earth. How many millions of the mo^
harmless and innocent race of people to he
found have been by a few avaricious traden
reduced to misery and famine ! How many
fixmi Africa have been brouffht to a worse con-
ditkm than our catde, by other sets of traders f
" The sum therefore of the effects of civi-
liaation, in most civilized states, is to enable
a few <^ mankind to atuin all possible ei^oy*
ments both of mind and body that their na*
ture is susceptible of; but at the expence,
and by depriving the bulk of mankind of the
necessaries and comforts of life, by which a
great proportion of them is destroyed, and the
remainder reduced both corporaUy and men-
tally far below the most savage and barbarous
state of man. All these things being brought
about in a regular, orderly, silent manner;
under specious forms, with the external ap*^
pearauce of liberty, and even of charity;
greater deprivations are submitted to by the
poor, and more oppression exercised over
them, by this cool, deliberate, systematic junc-
tion of art and force, than force alone was
ever known to accomplish.
" This, as we have said, is the actual state
of tilings in most civilized countries : but 1 by
no means assert that tiiis state was brought
about by the express design or the contrivance
of any set of people in these communities.
300
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
JJter the asiumption of the land in large par-
cels, and ^ inequality of other property,
which was the consequence of it, took place ;
It is probable that the Do\rer whidi followed,
in those that posieaea that property, over
the rest of the pec^le, was the sponianeous
aad almost necessary cause of the present sys-
tem in most dvilizea slates: but we are not,
en that arcmmt, to be less anxious for its
amettdmenf*
There would be injustice in not giving
la the autfaor^s remedy the same circula-
tion asto h]» suppositious disease ; for as a
yrinled grievance may turn out an epide-
mic, the specifie should also be withiii
caU.
''^ Having now stated the UDhap|>y sHuaticm
0f the mass of the people in most civilized na-
tions, and also assigned what I apprehend to
be the true cause of it, it now remains to pro-
pose a remedy for it: but
Hoc opus, hie labor.
''This, however, does not arise firoin any
difikidty m findicig an ajMwopnate remedy ;
§x wIkb the true canse (Ma oisease is disce-
weved, we are seldom at aloss for a cure. The
4ifficirity arises from the unwilFingness of
those who occasion the evil^ and who imagine
that itisfoC then* interest that it should cou-
teue, to permit the remedy to be applied^
** An s^ncieof physician says, that all changes
fcithe cofistitation, tfiough even from w6rse
to better,<iaght to be gradual. 1 believe the
same caution will stiH be more necessary in re-
gard to the political constitution : great disor-
3ere&d even convulsions are apt to be raised
m both constitutions, by a hasty and indiscreet
use of powerful remedies. Hut it has been
irond ay experience that the human constitu-
tion wfll bear, in large quantities, powerful
nedicfaies, if administered with skill and cau-
tion. The remedy I haye to propose in the
disease of civilised society is powerful, and a
Mferfttl one in this case seems to be required.
It is not, however, a dai]^erous one, and may
be nfely committed to the hands of such per-
sons as are dismterested and dispassionate.
To obtain such persons, they should be taken
not from the aggrieved party; for from that
spiuter they would not probably be cool and
tniiperate ; their feelings, from the pres!<ure
wludi they have undergone, would probably
fjrge them on too y wlently. On the contrary,
1^ neutral persons areharil to be found, they
should be taken from the affgrlevers^or the
aggrieving paity ; for, though we may be in-
clined to do justice, we are seldom so hasty
and violent in doing it to others, as we are to
have it done to ourselves. Such persons
might be safely entrusted with the manage-
ment of the most powerful means. It would
be better, tlierelore, that the redress of the
^rierances of the poor should originate from
theridithemsdyes.
" The cause of the evil having bc^n de-
monsliatcd to be the great inequality of
wealth, the remedy must necessarily h^
either to remove this inequality, or to cooit
eract and to prevent its efiects. A( to (h
first, I would only propose the abolitiotfj
the law of primogi^-nUure, which is tol
fonnd in most nations, and the anDolifafi
which, in the course of no long time, v ^
as has been beforeshown, havegreiter
than may be imagined. It is a practiceir||
to consider it in a private view, doesaotis
conducive to the happiness of the peo|i(
practice that makes beggars freqaeiitljq
the children but one; and, if the paraf
an cqnal affection for all of tfiem, n ica^
a kss grievance to hhn than to the yod
children. A pos^essor of a large estate I
this case but one, perhaps, of a km h
provided for; and to provide for niefl
m a way in any degree suitable to them
in which he has brought them u^ or
would be expected from him, he is a
rassed all his fife— and not one fat her in ti
has the conduct to effect it. A law
with these circumstances would not,
should seem, have been continued ssll
liad there not been some reason, not vtm
for it. A family with a hoid F^sedt^n
above the rest gives a miniature of mm
and has from that resemblance, aad
other reasonsv been supposed, inclinlk
support prerogative. Alas! howiiewvi^
tions in most states have the good of dw]
fie in view, eithef iat thdr origin or
ancef
**Asto the other mode; namely, fsj|
vent the effects c* wealth. It has bcai *
that the chief effect of the unequal
tion.of property is the drawing off the
«f the poor from producing tlie nccesasittj
life, and eniplojing it in producing ^
filled manufactures. The obvious res
thereforr?, is the prohibition, by law, of
refined manufactures, or the subjecting^
to such heavy taxes as would much ioB,
the production of . them. Tlie direct opc^
tion of this would be the preventipn of t«j
fects of tlie alleged cause : this would be '
ing the venom from the laws of the
and depriving him of the power d
tion : this would prove an dfectaal aire,
that in a manner safe, peaceable, and ca
tutional; liable to occasion no disorder
the constitution,' no convulsion in the stt(t«
and requires nothing to be put to execotiai
but a real desire in the rich of redressingAp
grievances of the poor. Neither is it a M^
tmtried method ; the enacfting sumptuajy 1^
having been the practice in many stales t|B
ages. Here, then, is the cure, not ^^toj^
but simple in its nature, eas}- in pnctice^M
certain m effect.
" The advantages of this method are (h-
yiotis. In the first place, the change mat bf
introduced by as slow degrees as shall bt
found requisite ; .so as not to throw artificot
out of employ, till labour b fiaund for thonii^
agriculture, and the arts subservient foSj
which wiU soon be the case, as the pp»
hall's EPf ECTS op CIVILIZATIOS.
3<H
K&mronplojed in the relined manufactures,
|0irl0&iB^<^fi)^^* ^^^ ^^ course be trans-
ferred to agriculture, &c.
• 'Aootber ctrcumstance that renders tins
e\k» exceptionable i% that it will aile-
fbe mnenes, and bring coiulbrts to the
^witboutin any pf oportion diminishing
i^catoi of t>e rKhmm. Will the
_ ^.»lesawann m a secord cloth than he
; is a superiine2 Will he sii easier in a
i than a plain chair? Will he sleep
in a silk than in a liiKjn bed? Will he
I less heartily, h'ls appetite unhurt by ex-
m, oB pl^o beef and mutton, than he
f does OQ high-seasoned dishes, unnatu-
uMVokiogit? The truth is, the pleasures
J the rich enjoy are by no means equal to
i mffeiaags the poor undergo, in the pre-
tijsteiii.
'k has been observed, that in every
inoe,the more thoroughly it is understood,
fcwCT and more simple are its principles
ipfa: hence the remedy proposed,
f e, and in its nature simple, carries
^pdon with it that the true cause of
I evil in question has been assigned."
I The mischievous effect of the privileges
j||nnu]geniture, and of the practice of
Kbib, are sufficiently obvious, ^itliout
if fast scaflR)lding provided by this author
»cdubit them in an unwelcome point of
The laws which distinguish be-
real and personil proijerty must
be reyiaed : and as the legac}'- taxes
I personal property approach nearer to
true value, than those ou real pro-
7, it is for the interest of the revenue
I make the change. The privilege of
bail, and that of q\iallfication to sit in
pntiainent, may next be limited to capi-
tal vested in the public funds. Heredi-
tey consequence should be confined to
ihose who stake Aeir property in the
hiads of their country ; not to those who
jpard tbor acres with an armed peasantry
.l^iiost their due proportion of taxation $
^0 pass corn-bills to indemnify them-
lelvtt, at die expence of the poor, for pre-
tended land-taxes 5 who pro^gately pro-
^ the plunder of a tenth of the funds
without ofiering at tlie same time a tenth
of their estates to the country; and who
We attached gresit political and consti-
tD^onal lights to a form of capital, which
the financier only knows by its niggardli*
VKSL
As to the second alterative prescribed
hj Mr. Hall, the enaction of sumptuary
lavs, we caoDot conceive his motive for
the proposal. Expence, luxury, extrava-
gance, profusion, these are tlie virtues of
opuieoce, the grand levelling causes, which
BStwe the expedient balance of property.
and tindo the folly of governments \n pa«
tronizing and promoting inequality* Enact
sumptuary laws, and the accumulations of
avarice, of rapacity, of monopoly, of vio-
lent plunder, will never wander back t»
the reservoirs whence they were pumped^
but endow a pampered greatness with in«
cessant superiority. Rather «nact Uiws to
compel the payment of gaming debts, and
the contracts of minors, to permit tho
breach of entails, and the violation of en-
dowments, and to promote the voluntary
descent of tlie children of prodigality into
the middle classes of society. Wealth
should be the reward of industry and ex-
ertion ; it shoHld escape from idleness,
from negligence, from rashness j and,
with it, nobility should expire, which is a
privilege too vast and too permanent for
the interests of emulation and the propor*
tion of recompense.
We recommend this book to pemsal,
not to confidence. It is one thing to
remove the legal impediments to equSity,
it is another to enact artificial provisions
for introducing it. The boldest inroad chi
huge possessions, which ia likel/ to be
executed, would be a legacy-tax on pro-*
perty descending directly, which should
increase with the amount bequeathed, so
as tojevy on small properties one per
cent 'j on larger, two -, on great proper-
ties, four 3 on vast, eight per cent In
this way every generation of the rich
would be sensibly impoverished, if the
arts of acquisition fall into neglect.
A heavy and proportionate tax on the
jointuj-es and settlements of heiresset
would diminish the motive for wedding
debility and overlooking beauty, which
endows a family with the best gift^ bodily
health and perfection.
Men breed down to a certain pitch of
misery 5 to a bwer in the rude than in
the luxurious nations. The savage races
therefore continue to multiply in a state
of privation and difficulty, which would
impose celibacy in a civilized conimunit^
The lowest classes of civilized life ari^
consequently better off than the commu-
nity in savage society. Whatever rise^
above the basest order is clear gain to
human happiness : it is so much plenty
and enjoyment, which in a savage state
would not have existed at all. 'Hiere all
are equal : all are fed, as in a workho\ise,
with the merest necessaries, and with the
least possible amusement of labour. With
every improvement in civilization, the suf-
fering classes become fewer, the enjoying
classes more numerous. Machines are
301
HISTORY, POUTICS, AND STATISTICS.
mrented, which dismiss wliole villages of
fhe miserable, and maintain the proprie-
tors and scatterers of their productiofts in
comfortable affluence. Not only the in-
tensity of human welfare is greatly increas-
ed on the whole by the social arts^ but the
numbers of those maintained in a given
district. Where s^vagism will feed ten,
civilization wiU feed a hundred. It is a
|)referable form of national e.%istence, not
only because nine-tenths of the commu*
nity are better provided for, but because
Bine-tenths of the community are super*
added to what would, else exist.
Whether civili;BatiQn is strictly the re-
mit, or the cause of the condensation of
populon$ness, has been occasionally dis-
puted. There seems to be a mixture of
action and reaction. Multiply, from what-
ever cause^ the people, and new divisions
of labour and arts of life are recnrrcd t%
nh approximate them to a more i^
condition. Thin the popnlatko^
from wliatever cause, and somevhli^ «(
the idleness, privation, and rudeness «C
savagtsm will return. The Nortli-AiBB-i
ricans wilder, as they disperse along dip
Ohio and the Mississippi -, and rectv^tx^^
as they collect in the Genessee coontrfy
and about the lakes. The expoisioa if
the Moors rebarbaris^d Spain -, the intni*
sion of the French would recivilize Egjnt.
The style of this work is clear and my
the argument ingenious, but sometimei^l
excursive : there is too much aboat t^i
detail of agricultural operations fbr »'
speculation which discusses other ag^
rian laws than those of the experiencei ^
former.
Art. XL. — Obseroations on the Poor Laws, and on the Mixnagement of the Poor, m Great
Britain, arising from a Consideration of the Returns now wfore Pariiament, By the
Right Hon. Gfioaos Hose, M. P, 8vo. pp, 44>
THE last thirty years have produced a
marked change in the condition and man-
uers of all ranks of society in Great
Britain. There has been a vast increase
both of wealth and people ; but there has
also been a grosser and a growing in-
equality in the distribution of the wealth
and in the comforts of the people. This
is chiefly to be ascribed to the perverse
legislation which has uniformly distin-
guished this period. Instead of breaking
up, as Adam Smith proposed in I776> the
commercial monoix)lies and great corpo-
rations, which always favour the concen-
tration of jobs, contracts, speculations, and
profits in iew hands, a comipt preference
has been shown, by our ministers and law-
givers, to the commercial aristocracy.
Kvefry tiling has been done to sacrifice the
numerous to the superior classes of trades-
men. Ilie charter of the India company
has been renewed: the bank has been
Cileged against legitimate demands : the
rests of our manuiiKtures, which main-
tain the poor, have been postponed to
chose of a colonial agriculture, where an
equal circulation of capital maintains but
a hundredth part of domestic industry.
Taxes on popular consumption have been
midtiplied beyond example: imposts on
the rents of houses, lands, and bonds, and
on conveyances and legacies, which justice
indicated as the first, were reserved for the
last resoiu-ces. Accordingly the higher
orders of the commercial world have
tliriven i but the middle class has sunken
step by step, until at length it is ledaced
to recruit the numbers of the poor. One-
eighth of the population of the countiy it
maintained by charitable contribution.
The poors rate is now more than trebfe
that of 1776, and more than double fbt
of 1785. Yet, as Mr. Rose too traly
observes (p. 4) "^1 may venture to say,
that those who lode most narrowly inta
the present situation of the poor will bo^
think it. on the whole advanced in point of
comfort beyond what it was thirty j^ean
ago."
Dr. Madarlan's Enquiries concemi/^
the Poor were first published in 1782j
they still constitute the best book v^
possess on the subject. They recommend,
witli Price and Acland, the institntion of
benefit-societies : they reprobate the con-
struction of houses of industry as less ex-
pedietit than domestic relief. Mr. Hose
has the high merit of having introduced to
parliament tliat bill for the encQurageiQent
of benefit-societies, which repeals tbe
law of settlement in favour of tbm
paupers who are members of such societ
tics. From this pamphlet it may be prc^
sumed that l^e also aspires (p. 33) to ac-
complish the abolition of work-housa«
The proper use of these edifices would be
to convert tliem ipto bospitories for tbe
aged poor : there must however be recep-
tacles for orphans, and for abandoned ptf*
sons, who are suddenly thrown on their
parishes for a maintenance.
One million and forty thousand person
80SS OK THE POOA LAWS.
3(»
in £s^d and Wales are stated to be in
the haLit of receiving relief. It would be
is uziiafe as inhuin.in to turn those people
loose upon the chance of voluntary bounty.
1^ Wlial is to be done ? Surely the wages of
rjrtxnir ought to maintain the workman.
' , Vbder the present system, the employers
'" pf the poor i:>sue less than the average
j Yalue of maintenance, and, in the form
J <»r nieal-mouey and winter allowances,
I assess the rest of the community to pay
i Ihe'iF workiuen. Encourage the rise of
the \«\]ges gf labour. This will promote
* the introduction of innchinery throughout
; oar uianutactures, ami render these less
L;..lvto migrate into t|^ cheap and pp-
. puiiiU:. icuaui^, Our agriculture enjoys
. a mciiupoiy oH the home-m^rkpt, qpd can
th^ji ^ioi(: asses:> tlie increased wages on the
j#r . 4 -c < >f produce. This rise of labour may
Lr^,-t bi^ promoted by a profuse exportation
or the poor. At the tirst peace^ let our
8lu;w of war be employed in transporting
g: itviitoasiy to our several colonies all
tii io who wish to emigrate. The number
.will be found very considerable of both
scxcii. The shattered constitutions of a
^ nietr^jpolitan poor will best bear removal
to the tropical oilonies. The hardy
mouiuaineers of Wales and Scotland are
fitted to succeed in Canada. The increase
of poverty is die sigrial of nature for dis-
per^'oii.
If we compare tliose countries of Eu-
rope which are placed under a presbyte-
rian hierarchy, witli those which are
placed under an episcopal hierarthy, it
will appear evident that tlie instruction,
and the morals of the poor, are far better
auendeil to by the presbyterian clergy.*
They are a remove less above the poor
than episcopalian clergymen : tliey habi-
tually condescend to visit the lowest of
their flock, they blush not to diffuse ele-
mentary histruction, they willingly share
tho^ loils of superintendance and account-
8^e which refinement scorns. Hence the
cheaper and superior management of the
Scottish poor, which is candidly acknow-
legcd by Mr. Rose.
" li has been much insisted upon, that in
other parts of the united kingdom, there are
DO compulsory rates for the maintenance of
the poor.
" ITiis assertion, though very confidently
ftuule, and very generally received in Eng-
land, is however, as far as regards Scotland at
least, altogether erroneous. For I am infbrm-
t^, fiom an authority on whi^h I can confi-
dently rely, that tlie poor there are supported
by collections at tlie church doors ; oy.cer-
im small fees on marriages, baptisms, and
ftmerals ; and by the interest of smns given or
bequeathed for that purpose ; and, when the
above are not sufficient^ by an assessment
laid on the parish by autliority of tlie heritors
or landholders ; and the kirk session, tliat »
the minister and elders of the parish. The
amount of this assessment, upon the whole,
is (as in fact it is in England) iji proportion
to the actual number of poor in the parish at
the time. The selection of objects to whose
relief this assessment is to be applied, is like-
wise vested in tlie kirk session, whose orcB-
nary innciions in this respect may, if tiiere is
any reason to suspect abuse, be controlled by
a meeting of the heritors. In England, the
selection is in the first instance in the over-
seers, but checked by tlie vestries, consisting
of the inhabitants who pay the rates, with an
appeal to magistrates, fiie imposition tliere<
fore and appropriation of this tax, in both
par^sof Gre;^t Britain, being lodged in the
naiids of the very persons who are to pay ft,
should give the fairest chance for such impo-
sition and appropriation being limited by the
necessity ot tlie case. But the chief distinc-
tion between l^n^and and Scotland with re-
gard to the poor, arises from the'superiar
management m the letter ; where they are as
etfectually provided for as in the foniier,
though at iniinitely less exncnce '« and ia
some degree at least to early ediwation.
There are few workhouses in Scotland, (none
except in a few great towns) nor is it usual to
send any persons there who can find places
of residence for tliemselyes ; infinite advan-
tage is likewise derived from the constant an^
active attention of the clergy, who are inva-
riably resident, and who have no mterest to
balance against their feelings of humanity.
Another essential difference in tlie mar^fiee-
ment of the poor in the two countries is, that
in Scotland there is no power, or at least
none that- is commonly exercised, of remov-
ing paupers from the parish in which they
have not acquired a settlement by residence,
to the parish wliere their right of settlement
is. The just apportionment of this burden
between the parishes may be, though it very
seldom is, I understand, a matter of legal dis-
cussion ; but it does not affect the perjjonal
freedom of the pauper, who may reside
where he pleases. VV hen di?i)utes arise con-
cerning the settlement of particular paupers,
which are not often carried to the extremity
of le$^l proceedings, if the parish where he
is resident at the time prevails, the parish
found liable niight perhaps insist on his com-
ing to reside there ; but in practice, 1 am as-
sured, the managers of the funds for relief Of
the poor in such parish always prefer paying
a compensation to the parish where he* re-
sides, from the cxpence of which the law lias
relieved it ; whkh saves to themselves, or to
the public, the charges of removing him;
and if he is able to do a little work in aid of
the public fund, it leaves him undisturbed in
the exercise of such industry or occupation.
" From the short account here given of the
ao4
HISTORY, POUTICS, AND STATISTICS.
' Sc6ttlfh laws and pnctrce relative to the sup-
port and employment of the poor, it will be
seen that, contrary to the supposition, too
hastily adopted, of onr English ^Titers on the
subject, the general principles of the system
very nearly resemble those of England ; the
dHlorence secnis, as before observed, to be in
the execution of the powers, which the legis-
lature has provided totattaining its object.
It is ruraoured that government vrza
projecting to take the management of the
poor into its own hands: we hope that
this scheme is sot to find warm patrons
amdng the newly-ccmstituted authorities.
The rage for governing too much must
•urely by this time have spent itself, and
must begin to look back with melancholy
regret on its labour in vain and its toilsome
injuries. Elective institutions alone re-
tain their vigour unimpaired : unless the
people appoint the overseers of the pocr*^
there will soon be oversight. It is tlpft J
elective character of a presbyterian
rarchy which is the cause of its ( ~
were government to appoint by its <
sive will the presbyterian ministers, i
would become, as in other estabii
indolent courtiers.
The slow progress of ins:ructioii
England is deeply to be lainented. Uor^'^
farlan wrote in 1782 : yet how
work house- bills have been passed \
that period : ovir philosophers thiok
vain; we are determined to leam
from our own experience.
This pamphlet contains manyc
facts, drawn from the reports laid
tiie house of commons, which arc
where else so cheaply accessible.
Art. XLI. — An Essay m the Principle and Origin cf Soverngn P&vxr, By a Di^\
iary (^ the Church^ Translated from the French, toiik a Fr^ace and Appendix, if^j
pp. 350.
THjS restoration of absolute monerchy
in France operates, as mfght be expected,
€n the literature of the country. The
cringelings of despotism are looking back
to th« ancient apologists of arbitrary power,
and are republishing the obsolete so-
phisms of their jetaitic predecessors, in
order to stabilitate the practical omnipo-
tence of their emperor by a correspond-
ing theoiy. Certainly these principles are
ncv^ so plausible as when urged in be-
lialf of a great sovereign 3 and never so
contagious as when the natural schools of
rej^tation aie reduced to the fewest pos-
sible number, England and Swedes^ are
the only fragments of the old world
which retain a trace of limited govern-
ment. " It is at no time easy to spread
among tbe people a passion for liberty -,
that require priinciple, self-denial, exer-
tion, disinterest, instruction, humanity,
patience, perseverance, justice. But in
all evils of the opposite kind the natural
inclinations are flattered : to obey accom-
modates the indolence ; to corrupt and be
corrupted, the avance and ambition of
men. We are now once more, as were
pur ancestors, in danger of being en-
fangkd by tlie example of France, in the
net of an hypocritical and relentless des-
potism."
With snch feelings, we have already
stated them in greater detail (Vol. II. p.
335 to 337), we cannot approve the need-
less importation of French principles in
politics : they are ohen enounced with
eloquence, and illustrated with klk^y
and when they profess to borrow, as it
the present instance, the aid of reHgiom,
doctrines common to both nati<His, tbqfj
are but too likely to find, even sunoogie*
spectable persons, a listening and a dodift*«
audience.
The first part of this work undertaker
a refutation of the hypothesis (so this
author calls it) of a state of nature antenor
to society.
It is an historical fact, that savs^psss
many ages in anarchy before theyunit?
under any form of government: whik
the means of maintenance are easy, wluk
the hunters can find game, and the gra-
ziers pasture, this anarchy mostly omd^
nnes peaceful : it degenerates into hoc*
tility when the scramble for food begins.
The necessity of concert, for the conduct
of efficient hostility, has every where
founded the first, rude, occasional, tran-
sient government, the elective roonarchf
of military chiefs. Not theory, but oh-
servatibn, contemplates a state of nature
as a state of war.
** Hobbes asserts (continues our author),
that the condition of man, in a state of natint,
supposes perpetual war&re, because all have
a right to all things, since each man eoda-
vours to establish this ri^t in liis own iiKiin'
dual fisivour, and claims it as an indiqpulaUe
privilege. Hobbes subjoins, that man, ftott
the necesaty of his natwe, is inclined to re»
linquish this state of misery, in which he cao'
not comply with the laws of nature; and be
K8SAT 027 THE OltlGIM OP SOTBREIGN POWER.
306
msthisroiidilslon; that fear induces him
J totCT into society.'
^ Wfat is, then, this alleged negessity in
lieiialiireofinan, Mrhic'h forces him to quit
teable of nature } and still £irthcr, what is
m^titeaf nature, in which the laws of na-
Ijtteself have no efficacy } all thisi appears,
mft Aot only contradictory, but absurd;
■ Frrnch jacobins have reasoned much
ller. In tKe midst of anarchy, they have
■BiaJgated revolutionary laws' These are,
mjt the natural laws of anarchy.
pThe object which Uobbes proposes, is to
nvar the origin and principle ot sovereign
mnty. Natural l^ws not operating, savs
■ philosopher, in the stiile of nature, tfie
■istneutai i^w is, the maintenance of p;'ace«
Kb, man caimot accomplish but by dele-
}0og his right to a representative body, to a
pile, or a single person, invested with the
ecign aulharity. From the moment he,
yields up his rights, the sovereiffn alone
n exercise all whicii man possessed in the
late of nature. No authority wliatever, can
t indcpejident of his. He is the arbiter of
||bt and wroug, and the only competent
w^ lo decide on all religious and political
Jfeioiis which arise in tlie state. Wo recourse
^■ibe had, and no reference can be made to
Iqr foreign, or other tribunal, not even in
Mers of religion ; because sue • appeal
|Mnkl produce a rivalship of power, anrl en-.
^Dga l«ie maintenance of peace. Since this
We of peace is tiie funclameiital law from
Ijttcli all olliers flow, it would be repugnant
l0tiie natural law, that there should subsist in
te »Ame society, two aulliorities independent
litach other.
•* Hobbes is not aware that the peace cn-
|aved onder the sanction of the laws of so-
cict)-, is necessary for the observance of na-
Iml law3» ^f whTch it is not the source : Ms
nataral, existed, prior to human laws. To
Wppo«c that mankind are, originally, in a
ibrte of warfare, and that the state of peace
•Wained by instituting government, is the
fondsLtion of natural law s, is, as Montesquieu
jartiv rtinarks, * to make virtue and vice de-
p€Qd on laws formed by men, and to sub-
Tert, with SphiDsa, all religion and all mo-
lalitv.'
" Man is bom with evil inclinations which
rrodtfr him hostile to his kind. This is the
trocpoation of the case. But, at the same
time, he is bom in society, and subject to an
aathority that restrains his passions, and af-
fords to reason time to' resume her sway.
i1]€9c are two fiicts which must not be scpa-
nted, as Hobbes has actually done, to sup-
port ius theory. He first produces man ex-
sfing in a state of war, and then, to secure
taertatc of, peace, he makes him stipulate
.with bii fellow-creatures, and agree to forta
wrictY.
"I? the system of Hobbes Is radically ab-
«M, it is not because he asserts that mett are
■orn naturaHy hostile to tach other ; U ii bc^
Asa.Rgt.VoulV.
cause he supposes that this state of anarchical
nature is anterior to the formation of society.
When We observe the will of man subjugated
by his vicious inclinations, we endtstvour to
trace the cause of a disorder whk;h is by no
means natural, and we discover that in the
bdginnmg, he has not passed from a state of
anarchy, to a state of society ; but from a per-
fect society, where by means of his innocence,
he held communication with his Maker, with
celcijtiai beings, with a company analogous to
liiMself, to a stale of degradation in which his
evil passions wonld have almost totally extin-
guished tlie liglit of reason, if for' the happi-
ness of society to which lie has been preserved,
God had not added the farther benefit of the
autliority which regulates it, and which it
caimot dispenw with,* at any period of ita
formation, or existence*''
The argument of Hobbes is here not
unfairly stated : but where is the pretend-
ed refutation ? Hobbes says that man
relinquislies the state of anarchy by that
necessity of iiis nature which inclines him
to avoid misery. Is this coiitradictorj'^, or
absurd ? But tlie author, having warped
the word jacobins into his first paragraph
of reply, thinks, like a true tbllower of
Burke and Barruel, that htt has won a
victory.
The second attempt at answer is given
in the language and under the slielter of
Montesquieu. But Montesquieu is him<^
self not correct in asserting that Hobbes
makes virtue and vice to depend wholly
on laws formed by men. Hobbes xe<*
cognizes, with Ulpian, a rule of right in-
herent ia animal nature. Let us turn to tho
treatise of commonwealtli : the twenty-
sixth chapter contains the tlieory of civil
laws: the doctrine there maintained is
tlius expressed. ' A law tliat obliges all
the subjects without eKception, and fs not
written, nor olherw^ise published in such
places as they may take notice thereof, is
a law of nature. For whatsoever men ar«
to take knowledge of for law, not upon
other men's words, but every one fx'om
his pwn reason, must be such as is agrees
able to the reason of 'all men; which no
law can be, but the law of nature. The
Jaws of nature therefore need not any pub-
lishing, nor proclamation, as being con-
tained in this one sentence approved by
all the world : Do not that to anofKar,
which thou ihinkcst unreasonable to br dene
hy another to thyself.*
This is founding equity on the interests
of all, and recognizing a principle inde*
pendent of accidinta] enactments so that
ncitlier Moiitesq}u«u> npr i{is copier, can
3d(^
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
justify their abusive astertion : and neither
of them have otfered any argument of ob-
jection.
The third attempt at reply is strangely
vague. It begins by saying, that man
is bom' with. €vil inclinations, which ren-
der him hostile t<Khi8 kind. To say.no-
tiling ' of the impiety of > ai>- hypo.tlwsisj
■which supposes the creation- of evil be-
ings ; • there is no foundation in experience
for supposing tliat the selfish inclinations,
■with which a man is born, operate, in the
majority of instances, inimically toward
©tlier • men ; the rfeverse is notorious :
and, with every progress in the social art,
tlie selhtih qualities of each are rendered
more and more conducive fo the welfere
of all. To be bom in society makes no
diiFerence in the* original propensity j but
tei\ds to restrain those forms of gratifica-
tion, which interfere with the interests of
others. It is incorrect to say tliat Hobbes
separates these facts, in order to support
a theory > and makes man stipulate with
his fellow-creatures, and agree to form
wxriety : as our autlior pretends, by whom
Hobbes is here unfairly described as tbund-
ing the rights of law exclusively on com-
pact. Hobbes diifers from other publi-
cists precisely in this, that he considers
(c. XV li.) sovereignty by acquisition (under
which denomination*- he comprehends vio-
lent conquest) as equally legitimate and
just with sovereignty by institution (iiinlfir
which denomination he classes all volun-
tarily formed government, all association .
by compact) j but Locke and Rousseau
consider only the latter as tolerable.
To attack 4:hi5 part of the theory of
Hobbes was in the advocate of Bonaparte
gross imprudence; but the fact is, he had
never read Hobbes at all ; he quotes him
at: second-hand, ind having called him ra-
dically absurd, he exhibits, like Caracalla,.
his British cockle-shells, and claims a
triumph as for the conquest of a province.
.It is in trn til presumption for- such a
puny arguer to break a ,spear with Hobbes.
Does he -know- with' whom* he entered the
lists^ Witiithe greatest metaphysician
efthat country, whose school of meta-
physical writers • ranks higher tlian any
rival' school, ancient -^ or modernb With
biro, who supplied- to Locke the whole
m^ss of tratlis in* ideology, which occa-
sionally adorn tlie essay on human under-
standing.. With him, who had precau-
• tickled the world against those sophisms of
Berkeley, that may. be- considered as a re-
ductiou iq absurdity ■ of •jihe'v^ystem of
Locke. With him, whom Hartley iso
only expand, and Hume- only cmbeliW
Yet his services to the metaphjsicsl
ideology fell short of those reQda«i|
the metaphysics of jurispmdeiice. HI
in this line the rival, perhaps the s
of Grotiufi. Hb reading, if less
prehensive, is ftiore select and as {
His illustrations, if few, are far-tetcbljl
fortunate. If he neglects tlie praMcl
copiousness and maxim-quoting, he atta
that of condensation and apposirc
liis principles, if built less on autl
aild testimony, repose more on oh
tion and experience 3 and» after the 1
competition of a century and half, arc I
quiring among publicists, a legis'
rank. His reasoning is of a bolder, c
more exhaustive, and more unprcp
cast than that of Grotius 5 and breal
untried .ground with tlie fearle&oies!
conscious right. Grotius coasts aloDgj
known shore, dropping the plomb
watching the land-marks : Hobbes s
fortli into die ocean, aware of his 1
and confident in his compass.
After i*aitting Hobbes our autliot j
cceds in like manner to attack Ma
quieu and Rousseau : respecting
men we contentedly abandon his
landP, to continentrd estimation or (
tempt. The appeal to revelation, 1
what revelation has not spoken ah
perpetual. The duty of obeyhig
porte is weakly hinged on prescnpj
riglit. When does prescription "
When was it first just to obey Bonap
The principles of the phibsopfaer ■:
Malmesbury alone supply a precise an-
swer : they are every where hostile to
anarchy, and friendly to order and »
justice.
*' Subjects who revolt aG:ain'5t the hM
authority which their tiithors have Ijuglit
ttiem to respect, are guilty of a rrimc UHJ!S»
tiJiable on iuiy grounds whatevtT. Sulr«i5
who acquiesce in usurpation, at the same
time that dicy hold it in abhorrence, bt<^»ne
its accoinplit'es and abettors, b\ tiieir weak-
ness. But tlie injustice is not equally aj/{)fc-
c iridic fo t!\e sucreeciing generations. IJJe
son of u rebellious subject is, in iii^nnr) an<l
youth, C(>m61etely subject to the p^renlal au-
thority, and on s entering into life, he is,fri'in
the hubits of educafion, submissive to ihc ^•
vereignreigniiig. As his n^hsoo uufoltU on)}'
gradually, his", mind ^'adily receive* cvitv
unpression stamped on it by his tutois. His
parents, unqucsliouably, abuse their i^a^
rity, and violate the eiigagenienistfat) «*^'
ed'^into " to direct- his aflecUoiiS towitftt ti»c
odoy's EUROPJBAK COtflCtXCfi.
807
IsQcmign, wiien they teach him t6 be-
t tlat the usurper ob the throne, is the
-~Tte pnac«. The heinous ccime of de-
J thus, resting with the parents, it fol-
llhat the child, necessarily, must rt»gard
|jBarper, as the legal king, as he cannot
I such efiect. The parents impose on
Dt, without depraving the minds
OS, by arming their prejudices
tthe goremmeiit they themselves have
red. llie unjust sentiments wliich
; crime and iuimorality in the parents,
B the children, but prejudice of education.
} are not incompatible with principles of
^ and justice. '^Fhus, as generations
each other, the tics that attach the
i the new government, become more
d, and consequently, more lawful. All
I and victims oif the revolution have
and the people have lost their
t habits, and those of former times, and
coiUncted new ones ^vourable to ex-
' circumstances. Their affections direct
p.*lre$, by a natural bias, towards the
T under whose protection they have been
, and vbvch, by the influence of its laws,
t tiiem a new political existence. ' This
1 to subordination and justice, operating
f reguidi' and successive aetwn of the
' ioid physical causes, that gqvem the
, becomes really the order established
; Almighlv ; and this is what we would
Ito be understood, in saying, that a go-
^-nt legalizes itself by prescription."
long notes are attached to' this
, tome of which, as the note J. com-
much theological matter : they
Uj coBtain historica] anecdotes and
«ory quotations, and are more a-
musing than the barren specnlations of th^
text J but are in places inconsistent With it.
The translator has not performed hii
task with suificient knowledge : tlius at
page. 296 mention is made of Kousseau in
these terms. • ' His moral romance, called
Emilia, was condemned In 1762 by die
French parliament.' Here the book on
education, called Emilias, is plainly in-
tended ', but the translator had never heard
of this most popular and celebrated book^
and therefore turns the hero into a he-
roine. So again in the pre&ce we read of
Marbly, where Mably is meant ; but this
may be an error of the press.
The preface is so long as to form a pro-
minent part of the book : it reviles Bona-
parte with that low virulence which the
late ministries condescended to patronize |
and constitutes an odd introduction for a
systematic homage to hh authority. The
translator tells us his autlior, a grand vi«
cqr, has for ever laid to sleep the doctrine
of the majesty of the peojjle : is he ig-
norant that the word majesty signifies
greatness 3 that it is employed with more
propriety of a people, than of an indivi-
dual; that it was currently applied at
Rome to the people before it was usurped
by the emperors j and that Louis XI. was
the first modem sovereign who u^- ad-
dressed as his majesty ? To talk of the
majesty of the people of. San Marino
woold be mbplaced flattery; but it is a
truism to- talk c^ the majesty of the peo-
ple of Great Britain.
XMl— £ifropcan Commeree ; shewing new and secure Channels of Trade xinth the
\nthurHt of Europe : xiith a s^entral Fiew qf the Trade, Navigalipn, ^c, qf Great Bni*
^nwd Inland. Bt/ }. Jeysov Oddy, Esq. 4to. pp.651.
THE qjost dangerous theoretical error
rhich prevails with respect to commerce
i this : that a country should endeavour
to sell more than it buys in any other given
^o^tTj. On.the.contraiy, withersoever
W send goods, it is -important thence to
Motrive articles of imporution- Else the
»ys incur a loss of back-freight : and
«« exchange between the two countries
touls to a par which is continually oppos-
ing fresh obstacles to our supplying that
"W^^et any longer. When the dem«tid
tt Peiersburgh for bills on London tran-
scends the natural supply of the Russian
ftpQrters who hare to draw on Londoji,
jpe bills liic i^j value, and thus an addi-
tjKul price must be given in Russia for
Jtt imports, which impedes the progress
a importation. Exportation and impor-
Btwo ate alike profitable. The nearer
^y approach equality, the stronger their
*""eDcy to continual increase. A ba*
lanqe, an equipoise, of <rade, is evezy
where desirable; not tl»e preponderauc^^^
of exportation over importation,
The,utility of euquiring into the {^o-
ductions of different countries is in nothiog
more sensible tliaain thcgnteat increase of
commercial intercourse, which usually re*
salts from such enquiry. If we caQ but
f^ud something to consume, no natter
what, were it 4. mischievous superfluity,
such as tobacco, we thereby make it tb«
interest of the people to consun^e sorne^
thing of ours in return.. The interchange
of the commodities is a profit to both par-
ties ; and new means of maintcnan.ce.4i9
opened to those who employ themselves
in the transportation of goods. Tl^e mo*
vers of wares, sailors, watermen, carriers,
form a most nun^erous body of meu, aod
are in rude countries the apostles of avi-
lization, and tlie' teac hers and intl'odocers
of new aits. To fetch and cany, be it
X2
30ft
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS.
but a fir-trw, or a block of stone, be-
comes a cauiie of roads, and tlieiice of
agriculture ; of machinery, and theuce of
iitiaufacture ; of reckoning and inter-
course, and thence of letters, figures, lan-
guages, and learning. We may blame
the child that cried for the moon : but to
covet the remote is to scatter benefits at a
distance.
Adam Smith defends the opinion that
commerce witli contiguous countries is
most advantageous. The returns, he says,
are quicker : and thus an equal capital
cau put more industry in motion. We
doubt the truth of this proposition. The
manufiicturer sells at the shortest credit,
not in tlie nearest but in the richest coun-
try. Where capital is of least value, it is
most frequently employed in discounting.
Holland aiKi Gernuny bought at a shorter
credit than France : so did Spain. The
returns arei quickest, where there is most
"wealtli. Not the contiguity, but the opu-
lence of a country determines the rapidity
of its returns. But quick returns at a small
profit are less advantageous to the trader,
than slow returns at a large profit. It is
better ^o return: a given capital once a year
at twenty per cent, profit, than four limes
a VBor at live percent, profit : three- fourths
of the labour of inspection and direction are
economized in the slow return. Capital
can be coined acojrJing to the wants of
the tniding world : it is not for want of
capktal,but of demand, that certain branch-
es of industry droop and wither.
We may therefore modify the doctrine
of Adam Smith, and lay it down as a
maxim, that comtnerc« is nK)st desirable
in those countries, where a given capital
is returned ia a given time witfi the largest
profit. Now this is alway*? the case in the
iude.<?t countries. Where the arts of com-
merce have long prevailed, where tiie
competition of dealers i^ great, wliere the
number of pers^as skilled in the objects of
interchange is become considerable, the
profits lessen. No advantage can there
be taken. EvcYy thing has its known va-
lue, its fixed price, Its iwbitaal quality, its
expected time of payment. Commerce is
become a machine, v/hicii provides every
thing, of the same known shapie, size,
and tale. The exclusion, therefore, which
this country is suffering from the tracked
and trite markets of tlie world, fe not to
be classed among' the misfortunes of its
commerce. Others will* be explored of a
more profitable nature : nor would the
heavy burdens of taxation, under which
our Qommerce labours, permit us to com-
pete with our ancient advantages io 4s
countries where profits are low. Of tiiM
new markets, Russia is oee of the nm/$
promismg j and the volume betore
expands in full magnitude its arailahi
Mr. Oddy seems to imaging chat "
constitutes not only aprommeat '
but a promiaent merit of Uteraiy
sition. His iuformatioD is varitjus and
rious ; but it is not select. Anti
anecdotes of the Anseatic cities mfg;fat
well have reposed in Anderson's
commerce, without being repeated
A few custona-house tarilis and table^j
imiiQcts aud exports were desirable,
would have been instructive) but,
three or four contiguous sea-ports
similar catalogues, some sught have
suppressed. The weights, the
the moneys of exchange, are not on^
be found in e\eTy merchantfs assistaoC
negotiatoi's magazine j but are here
faithfully chronicled, as if they were i
corded for the first time. ThegMett^
arc put m contribution, aad lists of
lYute places are given in alphabetic or4
but tiie rocid-books are unaccountably
gotten: in several places we wished
rain for information concerning the
tive distances. Mr. Oddy has made
book as he would iiave made an invoiop^y
every petty article, which it isjustifialM
to charge for, is pressed into jthe list d^
particulars; the olject is t<^ swell tfar!
sum total of value. Booksellers ngw-»**l
days like this : they will not; tcudi <ti
pamphlet, or an octa\'o, becanse it doer-
Dot pay the advertising : but a huge b^
of quartoes is a speculation worth opening |
an account for. i
An interesting map of Europe is prp-.|
iipxed to this volun-vc, in which the natinut !
boundarirs are omitted, but the rivcR ani
canals are all traced, by which means tie
main courses of produce are -visible at t
glance, and Uie natural conpunercial me-
tropolises present themselves It appeals !
that Riga is a nx>re adapted emporium for J
Russian trade than Pttersburghj and, af ;
it is more accessible firono^not being frofen
up so soon or so long, it will prolabljbe-
coitie eventually of more consequence thaa
Petersburgh. ' The very expensive quays
and custom-phouses made at Pfetersburgfi
form a motive wkh the government to
force intercourse into that direction: so
again at Odessa, which Is a still more per-
verse situation, government having there
constructed showy buildings will iiare
them made use of. This is a consido^-
tion beneath the eolightened mind d
ODl>T*S £X7fiOPBAia COMUBRCB.
309
kxsfidn. If trade naturally tends to
liga and Oczakow, he would do better to
aibier diither at once his patronage, and
ke the merit ot' creating a prosperity,
Hdi will strike root there, even in de-
0ce of his neglect. A valuable account
flven of the internal communications of
IBsia, of which v^^g shall borrow a frag-
nt:
•• The Wolga lias Already been described,
jpther with its junction with the Neva,
^meeting the Baltic and Caspiaji seas, and
n the route to Siberia and ChiDa, all of
mch are uaitcd by means of the canal of
Uiney Volotshok,'througli which tlie priii-
!■! part of the trade of the empirt* is cou-
L^ The nwnbcr of barges which passed
poogh the canal in 1776, amounted to L^ 3 37 ;
1 1777, to 2,641 ; and the average uuuiber
ms generally computed at aljout i.\350.
[^"Xhny elf those vessels or barks, (as they
be called) bring down from 160 to 400 tons
jfdi,a2tdfome lew more, partit^il-arly to Arch-
»H. Ihese barks are perfectly fla't-bottoni-
C'wl many of a great length : the largest
t phnks are selected for the purpose of
Hubff them ; the timbers and crooks are
nerauy selected from such trees as have
ttl* ol a proper shape. The depth of one
ftht'sc vessels is seldom more than four feet-,
teie (nv more: the sides are perpendicuhir,
id not much regard had to shaj)e : they load
bem to draw from tiventy to tnirty inches of
Btcr, or inore,*accordlng*to the season of tlie
IW and to the water they expect to lind in
fcor re>-peaivc navigations. I'iieir mckUir is
Ikjintree, liUe an war. In case of leakage,
pbtKKl of a pump, they put up a rough t ross
w, from which is slung, h v means ot a rofje,
^wiHxlifn scoop, with wliicli lliey tl*row out
I file naicr. 'these vessels arc rudely coii-
Iteucted, purposely for conveying only one
orgor thej- cost troin one hiuidred to' three
inadrid nlbles each ; and when they arrive
HAichan^, IMersburgh, or Kiga, and their
carfare discharged, tJiey are sold or broken
^ for fire-wood or other puiposes, st-Jdoin
feclttu^miirc than from twenty to fifty rubles,
"AUhoa«Th a gnat part of tlie products
»e brought do^i^ by water, while tlie navi-
^piiaa contiuues open, yet the great prcpara-
^ for the following year's business i:; du-
^ the prevums winter ; and great quan{ili«*s
w goods are conveyed by sledge-wavs, during
™* »asoii, not only to Archar)gel, Peters-
wrjh, and Riga, biit particularly to those
Jwta which have not the advantage of inter:- r
*ater conveyance. Hax and hemp come to
^l^ya, grain to Revel, tlax and grain to Riga,
■ ff^"'*^^" ^^the prices bappt-nto be high'^at
!«ctime. Ihe produce from all parts of the
Wj^r, whkJh have not the advantage of wa-
|w conveyance, is carried by sledge-ways to
"wneareij pristan, or place where the barks
•!« wiilt, from whence they are floated down
*^ the cuireat, so soon as tiie snow and ice
begin to melt : they arc p!revi«03ly loaded,
to be in readiness to take a«1vantage of the
water when it is high. The maicts'and heavy
timber are conve)ed^ut of the forests to the
nearest navigable oommimication, during tbo
winter, when it is that a great interior oom-
juerce prevails, particularly in the articles of
inip4Miation by the last arrived shigs, their
cargoes being carried by the sledge-roads to
tiie remotest parts of the empire, bo general
is this sort of communication, that, to and
from Mosco, merchapdiae has been conveyed
that distance freouenUy so low as ten copecks
iHir pood, tJie ordinary rate being from twenty
to tJiirty-li\'e cqpecks per pood, which is lifteen
shillings the lowest, the highest forty-five shiK
lin^s per ton, for a disUmce of between four
and live hundred miles ; certainly consider*
ably iltcaj)er than freights by. sea, for tliu
same distance, without r^ckpning the insu-
rance, and uncertain conveyance, while the
otlier is certain and expetiitious. The cheap
rate of land carriage, and still more reasonable
rate by water, though more tedious, is a fa-
vourable circumstance to forward the exter-
nal conunerce of this empire, as well as that
ainon(?st the interior provinces >Kith each
other, which is very considerable.**
Nor will a short account of the Russian
college of commerce be unwelcome to our
readers : we have boards of trade^ but
tltcy reiUize Adam Smith's idea of a per-
fect commcAfcial govcrmnoiit, and let
things alone.
*• it is no doubt of Importance to every go-
vernment wishing to promote any particular
oJjject, or carry iiito extKution more elfectu-
ally any particular view, to establish purposely
a Inxird, under its immediate protection and
sanction (dibtinct from other establbhments),
that more minute attention may be given, and
more prompt measures adopted. .
" On this prmciple the Russian^reinment
have, at Petersburgh, established a college of
commerce, or, properly speaking, a board of
trade, consisting of a certain number of di-
rectors, with a president, who lake into coa-
sideration, and under their direction, every
thing relating to the trade of the empire ; and
to that board applicatioas must at all times be
d irected. 1 1 has the controul of, t he bpack<TS,
brokers, and everydepartment cxjiinecled with
conunerce; in matters of dispute, it acts,
likeuise, in a judicial capacity ; and the only
appeal from its decision, in case of the dissatis-
taction of either paity, is to the senate, where
two hundred rubles must be deposited ; a cer-
tificate being produced from the secretary of
the senate, that the deposit is made, when the.
requisite documents are given from the rol- '
lege of commerce^ and proceedings (Commence
in the superior court
** It is through this college, that the Eng-
lish only have the privilege, specially pr(>-,
vided for by treaty, to appeal m cases of dis^
pute, or for redress Ifrom Uic Russian ^ibject;
and tiu'ou^h this channel only it is, that. the
native subject must ajYply for ledress against
3 ID
HISTORY, BOLinCS, AND STATISTICS.
the British merdiftiits ; aiiiongst\d)om, if any
disputes OF controversies arbe, the dinectors
of the college of commerce very wisely order
it for arbitration amon^the British merchants,
^ho are selected for that purpose.
" This is a sort of court of equity in com-
irterctal matters, — the decisions are prompt
aad attended with little cxpence, as the- im-
partiality of the judges is at least equal to
what could be found in the common courts of
law: it is attended with advantage. Here it
may not be bnproper to obscrvt, tlwit it is cer-
tainly of advantage in commercial matters,
thsLt differences should be decided speedily,
not only because witnesses are generally ready,
and the facts recent, and well remembered,
but that it prevents the interriiution and sus-
pension of business, which woula otherwise be
occasioned. Inferiw and prompt C9urts of
this sort may be always corrected by the power
of ai)peal, therefore they deserve approba-
tion.^*
We know not why Mr. Oddy should
have preferred to spell hacker instead of
broker, which is our usual form of writing
the word. If commerce is thus to natu-
ralize all the s)monyms of ker native terms,
and to incorporate thcna in the lingua
Franca of the counting-house, sir Herbert
Croft will not be^^ble to confine his sup-
plement for Johnsons dictionary to the
Toduplieation- which he has already an-
nounced. The progress toward a univer-
sal kngUage will ber 'Veiry rapid, when all
'the words of the earth are acknowledged
'to be English :" * but an Englishman will
then find it as difficult to learn to speak,
as a Chinese to learn to write.
The Holstein canal deserves notice,
praise, encouragement: froo) this de-
scription it does not appear that the Sound
'duties are levied on ships adopting this
course.
'* The Holstein caaal was begun m the
year 1 777, and was completely tinished on
the 4th of May, 1785, but op. ned in 1784.
^1ie whole undcrtamng cost. 2>5]t2,432 rix-
dollars. There are -six sluices, which cost
>0,006 rixdoUars each. ' - ■ ■
" This canal o|i tlic side of the Baltic com-
Qiences about three English miles north of
Jliel, at a place called Holtenau, where is a •
sluice, another. lit Knoop, and a third at Rath-
mapsdorff^ till it comes to the Flemhude l^e,
vhidti is the highest -point ; and from this
lake, on the side of Kendsbui^i, there are
thrcie other sluices, on^at Konigsfbrde> anor
ther at Kluvep9»ek, and the last at Rends<-
burgh ; these are on what iscalled the.Upper
£y(ler, and tho Lower £)!der ts. from Rends-
burgh to its mptith, nmping by Tonningen,
bdow which place it ws intO' the. sea, be-
twbct E)^ei8UKlt and Ditlimarschea. 1 he
difitooce is about one himdred English miles,
•Bd ves^Mist eitlMr saiior tiAek, or boiL;
whilst from Rendsbureh *o HoHenau,l_^
at the mouth of Kiel Bay, upon the Bakic^j
is only about twenty-live English miles, r*^"-*
can bi^ navigated in all weathers, cxcb
ring a strong frost, as horses can be i
required, at fix i»d rates. The vessels »ei
through a sluice in little more than eig^^
ten minutes each, for each of wb',chthey j^^
only four shillings Danish^ or about m i
pence English.
*' The surfece breadth of this c^pal i
hundred feet, and at the bottomfifty-l
Danish measure, and the depdi tea
throughout at the least. Vessels caa
through the sluices one hundred
length, tAvcnty-six feet in breadth, and f
feet four inches draught of water, Dai
measure ; and which, for the regtriati^n oTi
British merchant and ship-owner, ti wdJ^
the master, it must be olwerved, is in pni
lion of English measure for the \Tsse!s:
Length ... 95 feet, 4 inches.
Breadth . . . 24 §
Depth . . . 9
'* As tlus canal may in the pjcescnt stafe^^
Europe be greatly frequented, more gtnaf
and minute particular* are given for theif
formation and use of those wlio may avs **
it, and which here follows
" All ships, to whatever nation they i
belong, are allowed to pass through oa i
same conditions, without any excq>tk».
" No unloading or discharging of any!
reign goods and merchandize is permitted 1
any other place situated on this canal, thail
Holtenau -and Rcndsburgh ; but onlyir
produce, maiiuCaK.'tures,and timber, area
ed to b^ taken in and unloaded at the s*
at Knoop, Qros Konigsfbrde, and
siek, and l&ewise by the bridges at S
and Landwchr, ancl by the Tilekiln at laHf^
under the inspection of the officers of c^
toms. ]
**TIie masters of all sh^is and twdii
coming out of the Baltic, are to ^ve an iw
mediate notice of their arrival at the cuStood
house at Holtenau, and to de€)are their fte!
of destmation.
" As soon as a ship or vessel enters the c
nal, then the master of the same is to make I
general statement in the following fonu:
'I, A^. A', master of the sliip [brig,(
bark] called ,.lx>und from — tt
, witlia cargo of , [or with Wl ^
last] do hereby mention the arrival of liitj
same at the royal custam-housd atHc^^
tenau, the
" The custom-house officer at HoHcna^
then furnishes the master with a passport, afr
cording to the statement made ; with«ia»"
ht- may continue his voyage to Rcndsbut^
*' In case tlir cargo of a vessel arrivlBg ^
Holtenau is either disdiarged in thev^»
or in part, then the statement, ocamiuati^f •
and payment of duties of snch part of toe
cargo, is to be tsa^ wrconUBg XorMti ^Y^
CMTTfi EUROPBAVCOKMSRCBtf.
311
f noty
tbted &e>23d of November,
, an exception is made with re-
flo tbose transit goods and merchandize
k are landed and stored here.
The duties to be paid on inland j>rodiice,
'IxliiTes, and goods, loaded within tbe
of the canal, and not passing the limits
Kendsbuigh cusk>n>4iouse, are to be
at Uoltenan, when passing that place.
The masters of sliips and vessels, pro-
" ig from Keodsbiurgnto UoltcnaUj,are to
an Immediate xlcdaration on their arri-
the custom-bouse ofticer at that place,
will then, without any further eKaniina-
dknr them to continue their voyage, on
iKTJng the pasfiport they have received
thecuttora-house at Rendsburgh ; uoftkr-
stitemcnt in writing of tlic cargo tliey
in, will be necessary t«. be made, as the
on tiliose ships aiK( merchandize pass-
nmgb tlie canal by Bendsburgh nave
ly been paid at the custom-house there.
In case there should be any goods and
ochamlize on board of a vessel coming from
Sidsbui^ which are to be unloaded at
[ii<qiaii, tlum the note received from the
Mom-house at Kendsburgli is to be deFi*
to that at Hbltenau. The said goods
ri BKidandize may then be discharged and
nrcred according to the prescri)>ticg] of the
^ of November, 1778, and tiie custom*
e officer wilt inake out a particular pass-
for the rentfiunder of the cargo. The
i is done for those vessels coming from
tedifcorgh toiioltenaurin order lo complete
rir cargo, with wluch they are to proceed
other inland places. -
" Vestels which only take in ballast at Hol-
u are exempted from making any state-
it in writing.
"M ships and vessels arriving at Bends-
targh are to deliver as soon as they arrive
hat, the passports they have received from
bt cudoRHiottset^ither at Uoltcnau or 'i'on-
hgiMi to the custom-house at Rendsburgh,
ihdfe the duties arc to be paid on all goods
M inetdiandize passing through the canal.
" 'Hie masters of vessels wJnch liave taken
their cargoes at any foreign ports, must ne-
earily be provided with bills of lading and
iroices drawn up. in. a due and regular tbrm,
"taiaingthe quantity, quality, and value of
good'?; which doaiments,'the masters of
TRsHs are instantly to deliver up to the
in order to be signed: it is
necessary tliat such documents
be drawn up in as complete and plain
* nwnner as po8si!)le, in order to preveiil dc-
,ttv, vilucUwui otherwise take place. Those
«^s or vess<?ls which have taken in their car-
ifowat any Danish port, may be. exempted
•iwa making up a specified statement ol tlie
;»liroc,jon the masters delivering to the cu&-
*wn-hou5e at Kendsburch a passport in which
&e goods and merchandize lie has on boai'd
«^1"5 ship arc duly and plainly stated.
I " The misters of sudi ships and vessels as
I »Vi takenin their cargoes in any foreign port^
and are proceeding tlierewith to ajiy foreign
port, are allowed a premium of four per cent,
to be declucted from the amount of the duties
they are to pay, which is immediately deduct-
ed m the agcount of the canal duties.
** After tl>e duties and other expences tak^
ing place in passing through the canal have
been duly paid, a passport is granted to the
masters of the vessels for the further continu-
ation of the voyage.
" Although the master of a vessel may have
a cargp on board, which he is to discharge at
Rencisburgh, in order to remain within the
territories of his Danish majesty ; or if even
he takes in native produce and manufactures
in return, yet he is to pay the duties laid upon
such foreign or native goods and merchandize,
in the act of tlie 23d of May, 1778.
" The custom-house officers at Tonningen
arc to proceed in the dispatch of ships and
vessels sailing out of the canal, or entering
into the same, according to the prescription of
those at Holtenau. Those shipts and vessels
arrivmg from Rendsburgh at Holtenau,without
having passed through the canal, or likewise
those proceeding from the Elbe river and the
North Sea toRendsburgh, are to prepare thenii-
selves with respect to the payment of duties
according to the act of the 23d of May, 1 778.
'' Those re|;iilations sire general^ and there
are no exceptions.
" Payment of lastage in passing -through
the canal, is not demanded from vessels under
tlie following circumstances:
1. "Those passing tlmough withdut
k^ading or discharguig any goods or mer-
chandize in any part of the canal.
2.. "Those small vessels which only
ttaile m the canal, or on the Lower Ey-
der, from one place to another.
3. '* Those ships which do notJoad or
, di^ciiarge in any place -on the banks of
the canal, above the fourtli part of their
burthen- ;
4. " Those ships which, on account pf ^
damage or a Icat, received during the
voyage, are obliged to discharge tlie
caiigo.
5.' " llie packet boats regularly sail-
ing bet^veen Kiel and Coj^enhagen, if
they load or dischsrge in tlic canalV'
This author is somewhat timid s^fkd
courtly, in his commentaries. He has. oc-
casion to mention tlie blockade of the
Elbe and of the Weser, so ridiculously
undertaken in our own wrong j and he
mentions it without a word of censure.
It obliged English goods to take a circuit-
ous course, which greatly increased their
expence to tlie consumer, and did not tlie
least injury to die enemy. On tlie whole
this work is replete with fact; and gives
the newest and most authentic informa-
tion concerning the state of commerce, v.i
countries where its state has greatly alteio<I
of late years) so that it may be cor. >
SI2
HISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS,
dered as the only account extant which
approaches authenticity. Witli the su-
perfluity of detail we are dissati:,fied : one
forgets the leading fijcts ainid the multi-
plicity of particulars : one is annoyed, as
py a dnjggist's labeJs, with lists of what
ii sold but once in a twelvemonth.
Some theoretical passages occur toward
the conclusion of this valuable collection
of phenomena, from which the author
appears to think it of gre^t consequence
that we should grow at home every thing
we want. He complains that we do not
rear, but import from Spain, the fine curl-
fsd c]othier*s wool -, tliat we send to Swe-
den for pitch and tar, instead of planting
the highlands of Scotland j tliat we im-
port com, hemp, and various other com-
modities not incapable of being produced
at home. We recommend to the author
an attentive perusal of those chapters of
the fourth book of Adam Smith which re-
late to the choice of a market. He has
fully and irreversibly proved that it is for
the interest of a community, as well as of
an individual, to buy where it can buy
cheapest, without any attention to the p^-
tria of the produce. If corn can be fetclied
cheaper from Odessa, than it can be grown
in Norfolk, itouelit thtncetobe broi^i
and so with clodiier's wool, with piteig,^
^ud with hemp. To purchase of "
ers ftcilitates sale to tbreigners; and
by buying naval stores in- Russia,
d producing tliem, we enable the
sians to buy our manufactures, and
put into circulation between the two
tries a capital which would else lie
mant, we have done1>etter for oursdi'(
than if we had grown at home
stores. The greatest possible cin
is tlie ultimate end of tlie wisest
cial lawgiver : this end is best pr<
by not growing at home the raw
tions ot barbaric half-taught
The true art of increasing die
of Great Britain is to seek for distant
Can die produce of the butter-treei
Africa not be rendered a necessary at
breakfasts ? Can the candleberr)'*!©
not be allowed to furnish a cheaper
more beautiful sort of tapers than
now burnt on our card-tables? But
the duties on exports and imperts, a
sand experiments on foreign pn '
would be mad^, which would
expand the gratifications of luxuiy and
dominions of commerce.
Art. XLIII.— r^^ Conteniences, Principles and Method of keeping Accounts pdtk Basket
in the Country and in London ; with accurate Tables adapted to the calculating ofMertlk
Accounts with Easejmd Dispatch ; and to the discounting^ of Bills ofEichoit^e: c:Amsi
the Table of Merest for one Day is citendud to One Million Pounds, for cMiadatin^h
terest Accounts on the Principle adopted by the London Bankers. Also, other usefite^
extensive Tables. To which iSadded^a concise and practical Treatise on Bills of Ex^
change and Prom i^wn/ Notes, including Banker t^ Cash Notes and Checks j In T-xo Far'a^
By VV itLiAM Lowri'b, Sheffield. 8vo. pp. 294.
THIS author sets up for an instructor
of tradesmen : p. 6 he tells us that on both
aides of an account widi a banker die in-
terest is generally calculated at five per
pent. Th^e ^re few bankers who allow
more than three per cent for deposits, and
inany who allow nothing.
His interest- tables are less compendious,
"but more complete for five per cent, cal-
culations t}ian those already in use ; but
for interest at every other rate, the old
l)Ooks are ' seemingly more convenient.
>lere kkspection is perliaps an insufficient
ground of decision.
In 1786 Mr. l^homas Hurry, pf Great
yarmouth^ published tables of interest for
one day from one pound to fire hnndrai
millions ; in which the fractions of ifff
things are made integral in the leudcri
favour. That book appears to us betw
adapted than diis to abbreviate the laiAcai
of a banker's clerk, and to increase the
fit of his master.
Now that Great Britiip is becomC'
lending nation, and advances \'ast
to colonial non-residents and to
ers, it would be a public ad^-antage to
lei*ate the advance of legal interest "
five to six per ceiit. Pope Clement
cieclared the exaction of interest to
heretical : sucji heresy is useful at least
this world.
Art. XUV.— yAr/c/s of the Political State of pAirope in February, 1805.
iiyW . Hu ITTER, Esq. ^vo. pp. 2U5.
THE state of Em*opeis so much changed
Ip the short period of one year, that a
sKetcb of its condition in February, 1805,
is of ho more value than an old ahnanac.
A vast confederacy was dien forming ^^
set limits tp french. domination; it ^9
W^KBNNa's thoughts on the catholic CtBB&T.
313
note been dashed to pieces, and France
has acquired a transalpine Gaul.
Hiis sketch was intended as a sortef
inanilesto for that coofederacy. What-
r ever inveighs against the ambitious, en-
I craaching, restless violetice of the French
I sovereign, is in its place. Not so some
; other passages, llie antichristian sect do-
mineers in continental literature 5 and Bo-
, naparte is there hated for the restoration
of Catholicism. Instead of sighing over
: the xrreiigion and republicanism of the
Montesquteos and Rouiseaus, this writer
should have invoked the reprobation of
philosophy against the apostacy of the
coQverted slaves of Napoleon, and their
hypocntic adoration of Pius VII. Nor
! ought the assumption of a new imperial
title by Austria to have been blamed.
I The dissolution of the German empire
I vr^s at hand ; and, without the assumption
I of a new imperial title, the rank of Aus-
I tria would then appear to have declined.
i The flattery bestowed on the king of
I Sweden is sufficiently m its place : so is
\ the conciliatory language expended on
F jPmssia : but ministers ought to have been
awafe, though authors need ;)ot, that these
two friendships were nearly incompatible.
The king of Prussia coveted $tralsujid»
which we were paying Sweden to fortiiy
and defend. The lesser should have beea
. sacrificed to the greater object ; and Swe«
den neglected for the cabinet of Berlin.
Holland ought early m the suraroei' to
have been powerfiiUy invaded ; as well ia
order to detain, from the invasion of Aus-
tria, the Gallo-Batavian division of tbo
French army, as in order to have' a gift,
wherewith to allure tlie co-operation of
Prussia. The Russian troops lauded at
Naples might earlier have been landed at
Venice, and oflered to the archduke.
The confederacy has failed tlirough the
improvidence of man.
Of tlie Russian emperor Alexander
more civil things might have been said.
By founding such comprehensive institu-
tions of public instruction, by conceding
so great a liberty of the press, by limiting
so considerably the institutions of vassal-^
age, he has done much" already for the d*
vilization of Russia,
Art. XLV. — Thfmghts on the Civil Condition and delations of the Tlomnn Catholic Clergy,
Religion and People of Ireland, ii^ Theobald M'Kenna, Barrister-at-Law. .fivbu
pp. 193.
ascend to tliose higher points of view;
whence the statesman has to regard. In-
stead .of supporting the catholic case oa
the grand principles of justice and policy j
and of pointing to tlic usefiil glow of al- •
legiance which gratitude will inspire ; a
vast quantity of parisli information is given,
to shew that if tiie catholic priests have
farms allowed them, and little salaries
from the government, and the opportunity
of domestic, instead oi continental edu-
cation, they will become attached to a
patronising sovereii^n, and that they can
and will attach to liim a numerous igno-
rant savage multitude, of which they are
the expedient instructors. These remarks
ai*e well worth the attention of office j as,
even after the emancipation of the catho-
lics, some subordinate patronage may be
awhile necessary thoroughly to recover
aftections so harshly spurned aside. A
more expedient form of jyatronage than
the regium donv^m proposed by Mr.
M*Kenna, surely, would be a repeal of the
a^t of uniformity ; and the consequent
permission for catholic patrons to present
the livings of theif res|:)ective parishes to
catholic priests, Tiie Gothic king I'heo*
dalO^ said^ ^[ God keens many religious.
LIF£ is frail, and power more so. How
seldom the accidents qf birth confide in-
Jierited authority to the virtuous man !
how much more rarely does the wisdom
of society correct the lottery of nature !
It is, therefore, of high importance, and iu-
(umbeat duty, to seize> as soon as tlieyoc- «
cur, the opportunities oi political benefi-
oencec they are lent but rarely, and never
for k>ng. lliere are public services, which
to postpone is to endanger : of this class
is the catholic ep[jancipation ; which, op-
posed, as it always will be, by the personal
oeference of the sovereign for the church,
^n only be conceded by his prudence In
3 time of national calamity, as the price
of an union necessary to our safety.
This is a most instructive dissertation
conoendng the condition of the catholic
rfergy, and people of Ireland. It describes,
in curious detail, their manners, preju-
dices, ai^d reciprocal relations, a^d is well
^pted to remove the apprehensions of
the timorous, concerQing the probahle ef-
fects of withdrawing restriction. This
pamphlet, however, se«ms drawn up for
^instnictipnof a set of men of detail,
such as one may suppose the Addingtoa
ipjbtijr to liavi? been> who could wot
314
HJISTORY, POLITICS, AND STATISTICS,
wliy slK)uld not we ? " The present re-
VjCiMves of the hierarchy are amply suffi-
cient for endowing all the clergy who
ougbt to be paid by the state. The plan
Iiei;e su^^sted is thus sketched ;
*• The Catholic hierarchy iii Ireland con-
lists of twenty tmx prelates, and the warden
of Galway, a dignitary enjoying episcopal
Torisdiction. A moderate income ai^nexed
by gevernnieat to each of these stations, and
to a certain number of dignitaries in each
dioceg?, together with the offices and profess-
orships of the Ro^'al College already founded,
wonld,. I thinkv be found sufficient to induce
HoinanCatlKjlics, of good condition, to per-
mit their children, when so inclined, to en-
gage in the ministry ; and to prevaU on per-
fjons of pretensions, who have engaged, not
to abandon the original sphere of their duties.
'I'he advantage must be incalailable^ in
fcrniing the general character of the order,
if you can draw within it^^ and aftenvards re-
tain in the country, men of education and ta-
ints ; men who are accustomed to be re-
spected, and who have the feelings incidental
totliat habit; men, whose early or whose
Junig-continued impressions have been liberal.
** The number erf" Roman Catholic parish
priests in Ireland actually exceeds one thou-
sand ; it would probably be expedient, (for
tJie reasons and pur])oses already stated,) to
emveiise the number by an addition of about
l»nC'half.
" The expence of his peculiar worship; to
a tolerably substantial farmer or mechanic,
ia the most opulent and Roman Catholic
countries, amounts to about iive shillings
annually ; the conunon labourer is, in the
pcater nmnber of places, excused ; where he
K required to contribute, the accustomed rate
is one shilling ; this includes the contribution
of tlie entire family, and for this the priest is
iKMind to attend tHemwhcn^ sick, even at the
nio«t unseasonable lu)urs, and to administer
confession when they apply to him. He is
also to keq) his chapel in order, to celebrate
dlviiic service, and. preach on Sundays and
it^tivals. In what 1 have denominated the
Northern district, the emolimients of the Ca-
tho&c palish puest are on an average, as I
apprehend, from about thirty to lifty pounds
per year ; in the otlier parts of Ireland, these
enioUunents run from sixty to ninety pounds,
varying with the opulence or with the ciistoiny
of particular districts. In Munster the per-
quisites are highest, on account of a greater
liberality in paying for maniaajes, . whicl) fan-
memorial usage has established ; the towns
producxj from one hundred to one hundred
and twenty, or o«e himthed and thirty pounds
per annum; m some very few instances they
^o so higli as two hundred pounds. The
itisUops receive a small donation from every
iniirriage, and a vohmtary assessment of one
to tlxree guineas from each parish priest in
the diocese. Tlie bishop has always one pa-
risii ; in some instaucesj wliere ins receipts
are inadequate to his expences, he iiolds z
second by cojnniendam, which he adxninistefi
by a curate. The bishop usually visii^ ius
diocese in each year, and holds assemblies of
his clergy, called conferencesj, for the paiw
poses of communication, discipline and in-
struclion^ There is perliap^ a su^e xnsUooe
of a bishop, whose living exceeds four huB-
dred pounds ; in general the income of Uiis
class, iiicludii^ tlie parish, amounti to about
that sum in the best circumstanced dietrids.
In other places they recCive from three faas-
dred to three hundred and nfty pounds.
" The stipend levied for theparocJual dem
of the Catholics thus appears adequate to &
comfortable subsistence of a single man ; but
it is precarioa< ; it is obtained by mem sn&
citation ; it induces habits tnconsistetit vitii
any degree of iirmuess or elevation of Buad,
such as you would desire in the minister aad
magistrate of morality ; such as you uouid
emphatically desire, wiiere a rude and unre-
ttecting people are to be formed. to more-
tractable h^hits, to be guided and not iinfre^
quently resisted — it is not a necessitous,' but
a dependant and degraded order.
*' 'ITie towns are in a gQo<l measure to be
set apart from the present descripticAi. Theft
is a sort of regular as.sessment in these placet;
which, with tiie occasional dues for maikTia^
and christening, and the kind and generous
devotion of procuring and requiting pravcR.
for the deceased, renders the coikUtion oltbe
clergy tolerably reputable and commodious.
In tiie North ot Ireland, the Roman Cathofci
are, with inconsiderable exceptions, the poor-
est of the people ; this circumstance accounts
for tiie small recompence of the clerical func-
tion in tkit district, and for tiie greater diffi-
culty ui obtaining it. The main fund in the
North arises from a pitiable, and almost lucfl*
crous exhibition at funerals, which indtfcd
daily declines, but which ought alto-
gether to be removed, as an impediment fo
civilization. 1 cannot censu re the priest, vha
has no otlier means of subsistence ; but r^tiSSL
he lives by such means, no respect or credit
can be annexed to his character, especially
in this age, when we advance so rapimy after
our neighbours in the refinements or decen-
cies of life, and when we are so much accus-
tomed to confine our sentiments of resp«t
to tliose who are placed by their sitiiaf ion
above the appearance of neccssit)'. In Con-
naught there is a very considerame bo<ly tA
Roman Catholic gentlemen, and the lower
class are, with few or no exceptions, of the
same religion; but the former -are above at*
tending minutely fo the occasions of the
clerg)', and the latter are too poor, to be of
any assistance — the substantial peasant, wbo
labours and thrives by his industry, is not as
yet So common in that district. The gentle-
men, if the priest does not render Wm^f oJ>-
jectionable, are ready to give bim a liberal
and hospitable use of their nouses, and are. I
U'lieve, accustomed to mek^ presents ia ktti
^ the several articles pf a^cuUuial pcodyfi^
bote's n.AK FOR SUBPUCIKO VHS ^Q^e'S RATSt.
«i*
Wl-tii^ flre Teiy Httie formect to the notion
^ »sisDjn$ bim a pCQuniary aiid iiidepemieiit
lononeraUoiL
" Id the remaioder of the country, the
Uee of society does not vary essentiulIy-<^
the pfwalencevof agriculture in tliis tract
|eb formed a Tery numerous class of substan-
tial aad comfortable £inners;.they are not
prompt in their contributions — they re<}uir€
to be pressed, solicited, nay teazed ; it is,
JioweTer, in one shape or other obtained from
thesn ; and where the priest has a fiwrn, the
woiiiog people, by immemorial lisagc^ assign
hhu a day in each season, for the several ope-
XdUODs of husbandry ; this custom (which
|)oce va^ universal), as well as the donations
Df produce I have just noticed, have fallen
vefy much into diiiuse, since the demand for
jabour has encreaaed, and since tlie value,
Mtk of that and of articles of produce, has
ton enhanced considerably.
" I would simplv propose to introduce
into our Koman Cathouc eccLenastical system
the principle of lixcd property, and the prin-
ce of preferment. ■ I woulcf redu<.e the du-
ties U> a certain compass, and allow leisure to
lidfi] them ; some minor objects occur which
faay be turned to advantage in the correction
^ our people, and wluch therefore become
^Domentous.
" I have already noticed the huts or hovels
which occasionally- appear to be dedicated to
the worship of God, according to the forms
of the Roi|ian Catholic discipline. Indeed I
9ni given to understand, tliat in a few in-
stances the service is performed under a ditch,
without any other shelter. This humiliation
is not disgraceful to the people, it is their mis-
foitune ; but certainly there is neither honour
nor ornament to the country, nor is it credit-*
able to its gentry, that the worship of the
Ofid whom we all adore, upon principle in
whicb we are unanimous, and according to
rights not very foreiffn from those of the pre-
dominant or establisoed churchy should be,
, under all the circuaistances of ancient and
popular following, thus meanly and sliame-
fully conducted. I would abate those nui-
«nces-4hosc monuments of churlish imbe-
ci% and faction. I would substitute .decent
and comfortable edifices — I would do so, in
the. hope that ttue people who frequent those
i places of worship mignt be induced,, by tiie
' gicater «how of neatness and propriety, to
ai^ad their parish citapel in^ better ap{>arel.
i^ inferior Irish require to be led out of tlu:
I habits of ia|^ and filtii into li)ose oi a certain
I deFatioa of mind aud decency of appear?
anoe; they require to be initiated intbow
wants which would pifove a spur to their ex-
ertions, and give a more laudable dkec^on
to their expences.
** I'he new division of parishes would ini-
pose a neoes<dty of buildiiig sevenri chapels^
where the old ones are in tb^ coiKtitioo I have
described, it would be equally iucumbei^ t^
replace them. Hitherto t his charge has beat
leA to the wealthy Roman CatTLolics, antf
those Protestants (1 must say they have beea
man;^) who saw the propriety of making this
provision for the popular worship, and paying
this complunent to its followers. Those wlio
act so deserve praise, but I cannot sec that
the foundation of a national improvement
ought to come out of the pockets ot particular
descTiptions. It certainty is a matter ofa3
close Mrterest to a Protestant, as to a Roman
Catholic of property, to redeem the people
from diosipation ana nastiness ; it is a matter
of nearer interest, n^hen {he people to be a>
redeemed happen to stand to tlie former in
the relation of^ his ne^libour^ iiia tenantryj,
or dependants.
" When the Roqian Catholics of a parish
are not able to provide themselves with %
jnoderately neat and decent chapel, the
judges of as-iize migfit have power to orddir
the work to be done, and to du^ect the gnuid
jury to assess the expence, like our other local
improvements, by presentment. It would
add to the merit and utilKy of the measure,
if where there b a Protestant population, the
chapel could be placed^ contiguous to tht
church, so that the respective congregation^
at least at going to ana from Divine serviq^.
might mbw' and be blended together. '* [^
This is buying tlic catholic clergy ratlier
dear ; yet it is evidently better to hire
their allegiance than to set it at defiance.
The fouiidatkm of schools, the diffusioo
of tlie art (if reading, is the first and most
essential step toward tbe abolition of fana«
ticism : surely the catholics could be in-
duced to use a vernacular liturgy, whicli
converts at once every place oif worsliip
into a reading-school.
Th^re is a copiousness in Mr. M'Kenoa's
mode of writing, which at tintes iiitigues/}
but his information i.s con»plete, his prac-
tical good-sense highly worthy of ccmli-
dedce; his senttnneiUs lit>eral and gentle-
manly, and his eloquence polished and
splendid.
Ait. XLVI. — QutUne of a Plan, for reducing the Poor*s Rate, and amending the Condi^_
•lioa ojlke j4ged and tlt^Hunate ; including those of the Aavaland Mititanj Depart^
w^vUiiH a Letter to tbe R/glU Hon7urabie:G eorg e Rose, occasioti^d by /lis Obsjriations
oikike if^orLums, Sfc, ifyioHN Boa^e. 8vo. pp. 61.
THIS pamphlet, allbough. addressed to
^ fii^i iioQourahle George r«.o6e, is
wtt a reply to-Us ' Observations qsl tbe
Poor Laws,' or a perpetual commentary.
It noakcs a pretext of that .publication,
which circulates xnuch^ £oi intxoduciug
316
history; politics, and statistics;
aiMlogoQS topics to public attention. Mr.
Bone inclines to the opinion that poor
]aws might be laid aside, and that a sys-
tem of benefit-societies might be advan-
tageously substituted. One of his schemes
is to found a vast old-raan*s hospital, in
which all those sliould have a right to
spend their age, who would contribute in
early life towards its maintenance.
The plan merits diffusion.
** 1. That a subscription should be imme-
diately commenced, for the purpose of cs-
tablisliiiig an asylum, for the aged and infirm
of tivery description.
"2.. That the subscription should consist,
both of the voluntary subscriptions of the no-
bility and gentry who might chuse to pa-
trouize the iustitution, and of the contrihu-
tioos of those, ofw l^tever class, who might
diuse to provide for themselves iu the case
of age or infirmity.
" 3. That preparation should be made for
erecting very exteusive premise*, as near as
convenient to the metropolis, and of suthcient
extent, to accommodate all tiic contributors
who may be likely to require it.
" 4. That in tiie erection and contrivance
of such premises, jjarticular regard should be
paid to their being provided with suitable
accommodations and conveniences, to atiEord
every pleasure and comfort that can be ne-
cessary to soften the effects of age and mis»
fortuue.
•* 5. That each contributor to the fund
should be entitled, in case of necessity, to a
distinct and entire set of chambers, "for the
use of himself and £unily, which should be as
much their own, and for their own use,
•luring the remainder of their lives, as any
possession which they might have purchase!]
in any other way elseiwhere ; subject only to
such rules as the good order and tranquillity
of the uistitution might require.
" 6. That besides a dwelling, each should
be allowed an annuity, with certain indul-
gcnces, according to* the class in which he
snail have contributed, and which should be
divided in proportion to the sums paid.
*' 7. That those not chusing to become
residents, should receive their annuities at
tlieir own dwellings.
** 8. 1 hat voluntary subscribers should be
privileged to recommend poor persons,
whose poverty or misfortunes alone, have
disabled them from making any provision for
themselves ; with limitation, that no person
should be recommended who had omitted
contributing to the fuiid^ when the means
were in his power.
" 9. That all regular contributors should
be at liberty to send their children to be
educated and instructca in sdl the useful
arts.
'* 10. That books should be opened at the
office of tlie institution, to receive the appli-
cations of all persons in want of agents or
servants of any kind, and of all pcRoi
vanting places or situations ; and that as it
would be fair to arcue, that those who con-
tr&uted to the (una, were the most remark-
able for the sobriety and prudence d thdr
conduct, their applications should be atteoded
to first.
•* U . That rooms should be provided for
persons coming to the metropolis, (and iidt
iiaving acquaintances,) where they nugtt
continue for short intervals, until theyn^
find employment; in order to preserve tlma
from falling into the hands of the artfol aol
depraved.
" V2. Tliat cripples and disabled peran
should also be admitted, upon the recon*
mendation of subscribers, and be employed .
with due regard to their several infirmities.
*' 13. I^hat poor persons should be allww ;
ed, upon moderate terms, to send their chij» '
dren to be nursed and educated, who wobH
otherwise be obliged either to neclect tfwir
children, or the means by which they obUift
a livelihood.
" 14. That a bank should be opened tJ
receive the small savings or earnings of the
vouth of both sexes, who liave no d<.'pendcnc«
but their labour and economy, and to reterB
them on the day of their marriage, with the
interest and premimns proportioned to the
amount.
*' 1j. Tliat baths and conveniences shooU
be provided, to which itinerant dealers aiKl
wandering people might resort, towashbolii
themselves ana their clothes.
" 16. That the peculiar circumstances of
marine and military persons, not permiiting
them to contribute' regularly, like the odier
classes of the Community, sejjarate fiindi •
should be fomied for them, in which thr y
might deposit such sums as thfev might oc-
casionally spare, and which shoul(f be returned
to tliem in annuities, with proportionate pre-
miums, in cases of age or mfirmity.
"17. That the surpluses should be so di-
vided as to indemnify those who might «uV
scribe to the fund, without having dccasioi
to apply to it for aid through life.
" 18. That the institution should be under
the government of a president and twenty-
four directors, to be chosen by the subscriber}
of certain descriptions, from amongst thcui-
selves, and that certain great officers of state,
and representatives of public bodies for the
time being, sliould be members of IhecoiW.
The immediate management to be vested ii .
certain subordinate oflicers, who should be
responsible for the good conduct of the insti-
tution, and for the due observance of all iti
rules and regulations."
Instead of building this protestant mo-
nastery near the metropolis, where the
expence of founding and feeing sucli a^
institution is the greatest possible, why
not construct it in some romantic situation
of the cheapest provinces of tlie empire ?
Among the hills of iJevonshire, or M
CAPP£ OV CBAftXTY 8CSOOL9*
317
ttountauK of WaleB, structures of this
^iivj vould cost o'ne-bdlf less to die pa«
irvDi and inhabitants ', and would^ from
dieir e^ect in the landscape, be more
con^icuous and striking trophies of na-
tioQal beneficence. As tlie Jews had cities
of refuge, so we might liave cities of cha-
ritj-; in which dwellings for the insane,
ibr the blind, for the crippled, for tlie
ilged, for tbe foundling/ for tlie orpban,
for the penitent, niight be collected in
kautiful arrangement. A metropolis is
tbe very place in which to solicit fands
ibr sodi establishments ) but it is a need-
les sacrifice ef the health of the inmates,
and a needless waste of the contributions
of the subscribers, there ta rear the asy-
lums of helplessness. In some of those
fites which trafBc cannot pervade, such as
Ciaven hundred, in Yorkshire, a splendid
city might tlius be created by tlie concur-
lence of the eleemosynary virtues. Schools
of medicine, and of theolo^, might, with
»d\-antage to the sufferer, be domesticated
'. in the same situations. Every opportu-
nity should be seized of withdrawing the
! needless population of Ix)ndon, which be-
comes too vast for the healtli and the mo*
; tais ttf the people.
Ajiother plan of the author is to provide
baths for the poor ; which, in the sum-
mer-season, would no doubt be throngingly
frequented: they ought to be floating
baths, as nothmg but a running stream «aa
adequately supply numerous bathers. The
Greeks connected their public baths with
the places of military instruction ; and the
young people, after doing their exercise,
went into the water : in this climate, ppj-
bably, it would be necessary to invert the
order of application. It is highly expe-
dient that soldiers should be taught to swim;
highly expedient that all those engaged in
dirty occupations should be re^arly
rinsed: utility, health, comfort, wouW all
be consulted by the institution and free
use of popular baths. Riny says that pub-
lic baths were first introduced at ilonie lii
Pompey's time : but Agrippa was the great
purifier of the Romans j for, during faia
edileship, one hundred and seventy public
batlis were constructed. Vitnivius de-
scribes a bath-house as usually consisting
of seven apartments.
There are other benevolent plans ia
these pages, which merit discussion.
Akt. XLVII. — Observations on Charily Schools,. Female Friendly Societies, and other Suh-
jicts connected laith the fiexis of tlie Ladia^ Committee* By Ckthakivhs. Capps. 8vo.
pp. 177.
Mns. CAPPE (tbe widow of the cele-
brated Newcome Cappe, of York, the
ritjquence of A\hose fast-sermon, and the
learning of wliose scripture criticisn^ are
kmg to be remembered) has here laid be-
fore tlie Ladies' Committee of tlie Society
for Bettering the Condition of the Poor, a
series of observations concerning the edn-
catioQ and management of the feinalc
poor, \diich merit a general attention.
Il3e best analysis will be a transcription
df die table of contents :
•' 1. An inquirT respecting the manner in
wfakh children, wno have devolved upon the
pri5h, ought to be disposed of.
"2. On charity schools in general — ^first
fnDciples in their constitution, trom^vluch
liMte should be no deviation.
" 3. lnquiry,whether female charity schools,
of whatever denomination, ought not to be re-
gulated and superintended by ladies ? Also,
to what extent tlie hope may be entertained,
itwuld tfie foregomg reasoning be deemed sa-
tis^Ktory, that the various old-established
chanty schools tlvou^out the kingdom will
be new resulated on the general principles
Kcommenced bv it : also, how far the lauies'
committee may have thepuwer of pontributing
towards this moat desirable end }
" 4. Inquury respecting the description of
poor girls to whose benelit it would-be de-
sirable tliat our old-established charity school*
should principally be api.opriated.
•* 5. Inqwu-y by what means it would be
possible, so to proportion tJie various classes
oH private charity schools throughout the
kingdom to each other, as that the number
of young women educated in them, for ser-
vants of dilforent denominations, might be, in
some degree, suited to the probable demand
for those of each particular description : also,
how far the ladies' committee may have it in
their power to <jive assistance towards carry-
ing such a plan into trftect.
•' 6. Objections considered to the admission
in any case of the otlspring of illicit connex-
ions, or of profligate 4>arents, into private
cliarity schools ; wliether it would not tend
to the encouragement of vice? whether it
would not act as a. discouragement to virtu-
ous indu<^ry?
*' 7. Examination of the question whether
Uie female children of the honest, virtuous,
and industrious* poor, may not be better edu-
cated, under the paretital roof, more happily
fur themselves, and more acceptably to their
parents, than in tJie best regulated cliarity
school?
" 8. Inquiry what. would be the best. and
inost acceptable means of assisting the honest
ii9
HlSTORTf^ POLlTtCS, AND STATISTICS.
Aid industrious p<)6r> in the education of tbeir
cbiidren }
« 9. Examination of the question, ought
young leiiUileS) on leaving a charity school,
%o be bound apprentice ior their labor }
'^ 10. Inquiry in what manner young girls,
leaving a dianty school, might be €llgii>ly
disposed of,. if happily, the present met liod of
binding them out apprentices, should be abo-
lLst}ed>
** U. Objections conadered, agfainst "the
abolition of apprenticeships, taken fiom the
danger of leaving a young \n>man to the gui-
dance of her own discretion, at the age of
sixteen or seventeen years.
*« 12. On friendly societies or benefit clubs.
*' 13. Some account of a female benefit
club, instituted at Berwick in Elmet ui No-
vember, 1778. Errors and ombsions pointed
out, notwitlistanding its present flourishing
state.
" 14. Ohservdtions on the female benefit
club instituted at York, August, 1788 ; iU
present state ; annuity, fund superadded in
November 1800.
<* 15. Account of a female benefit club be-
gun at York, January 1, 1801, by the enrol-
ment of two hundred and forty honorary
i^iembers, and completed by the admission of
one hundred and ttfly general members, on
the 24th of the following June.
" 16. Observations on the above institu-
tion : necessity of its be'mg established on so
large a scale.
" \i. Sketch of a female benefit club in
the parish of Thomhill, in the West Riding
of tlus county, estabfisittd oft the 1st of Sep-
tember, 180)i
" 18. General observations on friendly so-
wcties. Principles essential to their answer-
ing the ends for whirii they are instituted, and
therefore considered by the author as funda-
mental m their formation.
" 19. On the great importance of the plan
of the ladies* committee : obstacles they will
have to encounter: considerations on the
best means of overcoming them.
** 20. Inciuiry how fskr some other parts of
the plaa of Ine ladigs' committee may be prac-
ticable, add by what meays some ifiScfttltiea^
which appear fonnidable, may at lengtk be :
overcome/'
• Of all these very interesting and in* j
^tnictive enquiries the most important, anf I
that vrhvch most requires legisbtive baa* i
ferenoe, is perliaps the case of iemale ^«f
prentices. ' They are too commonly ^0i
starvelings of parsimony, and the pumfti
ture victims of a niggardly liberttioflit
Why tolerate enduring contracts }■ ^Wl^
cannot every agreement be made hf"
year, and for the year ? The power is
cessive, and it is very frequently
which masters liave obtained orertUT
apprentices of both «exes. It woald
lish a great deal of household strife ii
cruelty to quash this legitimate despodsm^^
Apprenticeships are, for tlie' most pcn^
fraudulent contracts, in which the mastef
takes advantage of a child's ignorance,
of its parents' impatience of the vors
of adolescence, to purchase three or
years of lis labour at one-fourth below tl#
value.
Every part of tliis book is valuable :'tte-
appendix contains useful documents ftr
founding friendly societies of females
The civic duties of women form a new
branch of morality, which it is the nxrit
of the present age to ha\'e brought into
busier practice. The deaconesses of die
primitive church did indeed, in many re-
spects, render to the poor services uuio*
gous to those conferred by the su|)erinceod-
ants of our fiiendly societies, but ibeie vai
li^ss of wisdom and discrimination in ibe
end and direction of their courts. Tbe
Fabiola of Saint Jerome, who is^saidto
have founded the £r.st. hospital for the ii^
poor, does not appear to have given pK-
sonal attention to its management.
Aur.yi'LVVLl.—'ff^ar in Disguise; or,i}ie Frf^uds of Nevtral Fifths, 8vo. pp. 215.
THIS tract is ascribed to aU eminent
civiliaa, who wrote under the patronage
of his majesty's late ministers. It has
made that sort of impression which nsu*
ulty attends a pamphlet supposed to be
official : the merchant buys it, in order to
square his precautions accordingly : the
placemen all have it at your service : if
you meet a clergyman in company, he en*
ijuires wl»tb6r you have read it.
Yes, MFehftve read it, and read^ with
lorrow. It proposes to this nation tore-
tolceltBfoini eoftcessiofis, to dissdve into
t ii«8t Of piraMs, and to IMCOM Ike peit
of the seas, as France is.of tlie bnd. IC
tends to -bring on an immediate rupture'
with North America, anda ireidi combma-
tion of the Baltic powers, to cripple our
maritime ascendancy. The comuel it
dffers is doubly pernVioiis y very impo-
litic, and somewhat unjust.
^ The objections ought to pass into olrca-
lation 'y we shall therefore' be minute io
our criticism.
The author begins by barking at Ban-
parte. When, an £nglighman medima
conduct which he feels to'be unbecoming,
he sets about accusing the French of a»
U'AR IW DISGin«H.
fapns opprtession ; he secreHy intends
tbdr precedent both for an example^ and
an exteimation. Among the paragraphs
adipted to iTTitate our an ti-galHcan passions^
odien are interspersed, which pretend that
m has changed its character^ and is be*
cone a cause of opulence. JThis is igno-
1M7 ini'erred from the notorious circum-
Msce that« xkiring the anti-jacobin war,
feWest Indian trade of Britain flourished,
Akh arose from the devastation of S'an
luimigo, and some other seats of tropical
fricQltnre*; in consequence of which^
Itst additional lands could be cultivated by
1^ without- overstocking the European
rivket with produce. Produce sold dear,
ik because there was war, ' but because
ttoe was- scarcity. Unless missionaries
irere sent to make insurrections of slaves
n Cuba and Carolina, mere war would
ibt again raise the price of sugar, coffee,
ttrf cotton : the seats of cultuile have
kifted, but the produt^tion meets the
image demand. The argument from
lefesge, and the argument from cupidity,
19 bc^ a war against neutrals^ are feeble
Imitriness.
'Kelt comes the author's strong-hold:
^argument from the pretended princi-
|ks (rtimemational law.
According to the rule between nations, .
pemy*$ property found on board neutral
lessels 13 iawfiil prize. In the Consolato
W Mare, it is laid down as a rule, — Se la
■rr, 0 navilio, cite pigUato sarUy fusse di
und, c le mcrcttnzie, die ltd porterUy sa-
rteflo drmnuci, to amtniraglio della nave,
7 4el nauilio armdto, puoforzare e costrin^
fere quel patrone di quella nave, o di quel
mnlio, die lui pigliato avera, eke lui, con
fieUa sua itace, gli dcbha portare quello,
eke di suoi inimici sara. — I'hus not only
enemy's property found on board a neutral
u lawful prize j but tlie nearral is Com-
pellable to bring the property to "the port
indicated by the captor. He is, for tliis,
to be allowed fi-eight. Albericus Gen tills
idates a case where the Tuscans took the
tffects of the Turks, at tl)at time their
enemies, on board some En^ish vessels.
The case was tried j the Turkish goods
were determined to be legal prize j but
the captor was ordered to pay -the freight
to the English : it being a principle tliat
what belongs not to the enemy cannot be
•ciiuired by war.
Grotius is not explicit on this subject.
He countenances the opinion, that not
enemy's property in general, but only in-
ttruiuenis of hostility, arc seizable in neu-
tral botloms. The modern doctriueseenas
to derive froiil hitti, thAt' neutral shtpa
make neutral cargoes, with the exception
of what is caMed contraband of war. His
words are: Quarc quod did sokt ho&tiUn
censeri res in hoBtium navibus repertds, nan
ita accipi' debet quasi ca'ta sit juris gentUttn
lex (lib. iii. c. vi. } 6) ; where the word
kastium is plainly a slip of the pen for ^«i-
corum, the ships and cargoes of enemies
being of course confiscable, or condeion-
able : yet PulFendoi-f has not detected this
error of phrase, but comments tlic passage
as if it were conect.
Bynkershoek disinclines to this doctrii^e
of Grotius, that a neutral vessel neutral-
izes her cargo, and says expressly : — Ao»
turn qui videam, citr nan liceret capa'e res
hostiles quamvis in navi aoiicd r^pertas ; id
enim capio quOd hosiium€$t, quodque jure
belli victori cedit. So says also the FreucliK
naval ordinance of 1 68 1 .
The difhculty which Grotius fek in de-
fining what is enemy's property, wlicn
found in the ships of neutral count ries»
can only be eluded by liaming ceitmn
articles as illegal. Merchants are now st>
accustomed to provide proofs that tlxe jn-o-
perty of a given consignment vests in a
neutral house, tliat it is become the ob-
ject of a regular \)ei centage, to fiirnish a
vessers cargo with papers proving it to he
American. There is sometimes an lionejat,
there is oftener a mimic, transfer. This
is the fraud against \yhich our author in-
veighs with so much bitterness, whicJi he
represents as so usefiil to our enemies, find
so detrimental to us ; which he calls a wur
in disgiiise, and which lie^^^islies to punish
by the indiscriminate seizure atid con-
demnation of all neutral vessels whipii
have taken their cargoes in colonial port«,
' The Americans admittedly go to Port
au Prince in San Domingo, and receive on
board cargoes of cofiee, sug^r, and cot4on,
which are, in the ship's papers, specified
to belong to American merchants resident
in Charlestown. The vessels, on thejr
afriVal ia Ainerka, are often provided with
fresh papers, without being unloaded, and
come to Europe to deliver such cargoes
at "Bourdeaui ; thefresh papers still, spe-
cii^ng the property to be wholly Ameri-
can. So, from the Havannali, dollars, in-
digo, tobacco, are carried to Salem \, there
pi-ovided with fresh papers, and tliencc
carried to Bilbao or Cadiz. These vessels
are known to bring the produce of French
planters to French ports, and oi Spanish
planters to Spanish ports ; but if our
ci-uizers seiae the vessels, and bring them
bi(her for adjudication, the papers ar^ ^uch
320
HTSTORY, POtmCS, ANO STATlSTtCS.
tbat the court of Admiralty decides for a
release.
Why should this trade be interrupted >
1. It destroys both the French and the
l^anish nursery for sailors. While the
colonial intercourse was carried on» as in
former wars, under hostile flags, protected
occasionally by convoys, French sailors and
Spanish sailors were employed in every
Toyage to and fro. Now, all the sailors
employed are Americans.
2. It provides a nursery for British
iailors. At the breaking out of a war the
•English government presses from the mer-
chant service the men requisite to man
tFie navy: the mercliants immediately raise
their wages, and this tempts Danes and
Americans to come and assist in navigating
the merchantmen. Whate\'er increases
the number of Danish sailors, assists in
manning the mercliantmeri of the Eastern
coast ; whatever increases the number of
American sailors, assists in manning the
mercliant-mcn of the Western coast.
During the American war tliere was much
fraudulent neutralization, which the Danes
covered, and which they repaid by fur-
nishing our merchantmen witli sailors:
during the present war there is much frau-
dulent neutralization, which the Ameri-
cans cover 5 and which they would repay
in like manner, if we were now distressed
for sailors.
3. A large share of the profits of this
neutral trade centres in Great Britain.
The voyages are, almost without excep-
tion, insured at Lloyd's ; and the property
is there so well known to be of^n ene-
my's property, that written engagements
are exacted of the insurer, tliat he will
not, in case of loss, dispute the neutrality
of the property. In this form a per cent-
age of five or six in the hundred, is levied
on all the property so brought to Europe.
Of the vessels employed a great number
J)ave joint owners in Great Britain. When
the consignments are really purchased by
the American merchant, who, in this case,
ofren buys on half-accoufit with an English
house, they come consigned to London,
with a liberty in tlie connected house here
to change their destination, for Cadiz,
Bourdeaux, Hamburg, according to the
prices of each market The cargoes tlms
circumstanced leave not only a commis-
mon, and various charges to the British
merchant, but half the clear gain besides,
^very branch of this trade yields a tribute
to British prosperity.
But, it is contended, this neutral trans-
portation^ on accoufit of the cheap infiur*
ance, carries the produce of the Ficncii
and Spanish West Indies cheaper to Ant-
werp and Hamburg, than English trans-
portation. The continent buys, coase-
quently, in preference of the French and
Spanish settlements; whose agriculture
now thrives faster than that of the Engl^h
islands. The answer is :-j-Open the ports,
of tlie British islands to the same com-
merce : break up that suicidal monqwiy,
which retards, in all our islands, the settle-
ment of merchants, the progress of agd-
cuUure, tlie increase of reciprocal coo-
sumption, the demand for our msiabo' .
turcs, the variation of productions and
occupations, and the grpwth of eveiy.!
form of prosperity; a monopoly, whfcii^
ignorance devised, and tyranny perpe-'
tuates.
In order to find a pretence for destror.
ing a useful branch of trade, very profitaUe ■
to this country, and conducted in all tha|
acknowledged forms of licit intercoanJfe^^
our author is obliged to quit the la\s' of
nations, which, as we have she\^'n, sasc-
tions this trade, and to recur to what may
be called British cosmopolitical law j ta
those public rules which the British couitt;
of justice prescribe for our conduct toward
other countries. These rules are versatile
as our administrations ; tbr the Crown ]
claims and exercises a dispensing power, ,
(and a most mischievous prerogative itb,)
which, with the advice and concurrence
of the privy council, can at any time, and
frequently does, vary its directions to ont
admirals and cruizers, concerning the dcs-^
cripiion of vessels liable to seizure. The© ,
orders become, in the court of Admiralty,^
niles of adjucation : indeed they emanate
from a power to which an appeal lies from
the court of Admiralty : and thus oar
cosmopolitical law, or rule of intercour*
witli tto rest of tlie world, escapes tlie
proclamation of parliamentary discussion,
and the check of independant tribunals.
It is only in this sort of law, if law it [
may be called, arbitrary and despotic by its
nature, given perhaps by caprice, perhaps
by ignorance, never, we trust, by venallty'-
that something like a pretence canbefound
fur invading the security of this neutral
American shipping. In the war of 1756,all
the neutral ships which took in cargoes
in the French colonies were detained, and
the caigoes condemned as enemy's pro-
pertv. The fact of receiving a loading in
a colonial port which was, during peace,
shut to neutral commerce, was held suf-
ficient evidence of the cargo being hostite
property, A neutral, it was ^auiihljr
WAS III Dtsotisk.
321
crateoded, has no right to deliver a belli-
gerent fit)m the pressure of his enemy s
hostilities^ by trading with his colonies in
lime of war, in a ^^ay that was prohibited
Id time of peace.
It is admitted, however, even under
tB^Mi cosmopolitical law, that a neutral
Isa ri^t to carry on his accustomed
kide to die utmost extent of which that
fccosiomed trade is Ca{>^ble: Sir W.
loott so argues. Now it is notorious that
k French have been progressively re-
ttii^ their colonial monopoly ever since
D7B> when the disturbances in Korth
knierica became objects of their patronage.
Hnu in 17s 1 we seized and released the
1^ and Copenhagen, neuti^^ft trading to
|e Fie&ch West lilies. This relaxation
mcmopolous policy has been so rapidly
stematically progressive, that, be-
e antijacobin war, the colonial as-
of Guadaloupe, and soon after
;, the governor of the windward
i, qpened indiscriminately tlie ports
fflese Fn»)ch colonies to the American
The troubles of St. Domingo
I, less formally perhaps, the same
ITie Americans have ever since
this branch of traffic : io that,
on the principles of EngHsh cosmd«<
ical law, it is;a trade they have a pre-
* 'e right to pursue.
the treaty made bet^Tfen his Britan-
^m^estj and the emperor of Russia on
n7thJune, 1801, the third article de-
b what property shall be considered as
tad in these words : ** That the e'fFects
Anted on board neutral ships sliall be
Bi^ with the exception of contraband of
and of enemy*s property^.and it is
' not to comprise, under the deno-
of the ktter^ the noerch^idise of
P'^^duoe,. growth, or manufacture of
countries at war, which - should have
acquired by the subjects oftheneu-
»wer, and sbotdd be transported for
account, which merchandise cannot
lay case be excepted irom tlie freedom
iDted to the flag of the said power."
Here is a positive convention with Rus^
sia in support of the American practice ^
now the Americans are entitled by treaty
to be put on the footing of the most &-
VQured nation. If, therefore^ these con-*
cessions do impair the rule of the war
1756, (a rule never acceded to on the con-
tinent, for France * protested in 1758 at
Petersburg against it) the author is not jus-
tified in asserting that this country has
'never relinquistofed theprindple. A'vtfry
absurd relinquishment, we grant, because
the nature of the rule of the war 1 7^6 re-
. quired that to load in a colonial port, shut
during peace, should in a neutral be suf^
ficient evidence of the shipmemt of enemy's
property. But ministers, during the last
thirty years, seem netef Id have taken
the trouble of thinking over tlie operation
of a general principle : and now they pro*
pose to break tlieir agreements because
they find out they have made tli^ ilL '
We trust that the present ministers of
,his majesty are actuated by principle?
more liberal, and more consistent, than
thosfe wiiich hive so 6ftba oppressed coiii'-
merce under their unfortuctate predeces-
sors ', tliat they will place public justice'
and cosmopolitical virtue' in the destrut*
^ tion of monopolies ; in the repeal of th^
navigation' law») in the faci^taticm of
conunerce to the numerous rather than tp
tlie , incorporated orders of tradesmen j
and that in their future treaties tliey \f ill
propose to dbjure, on bbth sides, the right
of capturing merchant ships, atid thus x;e-r
concile a perpetual commercial peace;
with military, and even wi^ liiaval hosti-
lity.
Tlie separation of the American half of
the English nation frongt the British em-
pire ought no longer to be viewed with dis-
pleasure, but with approbation. It is
thus enabled to preserve neutrality duriE(9
the warfare of the belligerent half 5 an4
to lend the convenient aid of iti9flag| and
its privileges to conduct a common com-
merce, which is thus r^idered independ-
ant of the caprice of cabin«ts, and the pi-^
racy of aaval adventiurers.
^
* Jtiras this protest ^vMdl laid the foundation of the armed nditrality.
Aw.Eev.Vol.IV,
i 3« >
CHAPTER IV.
ANCIENT CLASSICS, CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES,
MYTHOLOGY, ^c.
tiASSICAL lAterafare, tLough much studied in England, and illustrated br J
few works of great and acknowledged eminence, yet is not a province in wlikk
English editors and writers have oflen chosen to exercise their taleots. Hence oat
catalogue of domestic publications under this head is as usual scanty, while our me-
tropolis and universities oonitnue to furnish an ample opening for the reception of
the never-failing productions of German industry and* les'nnig. Among tbese aa
edition of the poems, beaijng tlie name of Orpheus, by Herman, is distinguished
hy erudition, industry, and boldness sometimes approaching to temerity. In oui
own country, Mr, Walpole has edited some elegant specimens from the fiagmcnto
of the ancient Greek comic writers. He has also afforded us another proof of hit
industry, by a volume, consisting part}y of translations from the classics, bf oU
and neglected authorsj and partly of various copies of verses, the prodacticos of
his own pen, botli original and translated fiom various languages. Mr. Good, ni
his translation of Lucretius, has given a faithful and sphited representation of
great, and almost unrivalled, didactic poet, accompanied with a cemmeotaiydi
ing a cultivated taste, and uncommon variety of learning.
Art. I. — Orpfiica, am f^Mh ft. StEPrtANi, A. Chr. Esciteneachii, T. M. CTEssfi
Th. Tyrwhitti. Hecensuii Godqf'rcduk Htrmarmm, Lipsix, ld05. 8ro. pp. KBtf^J
THE fabrications, which l>ear the name
of Orpheus, collected in this ponderous
volume, are in themselves little interest-
ing to the reader of taste, and of little im-
portance to the cause fji soiuid literature.
We have, however, been induced to se-
lect them from tlie mass 4[>f German pub-
lications Xo which the latej like prect^ng
years, has given birth, by the celebrity of
the editor under whose name they appear,
and the curious nature and origiuai mat-
ter of the ample diss^tatioa which he hat
appended to them.
The pieces commonly denominated Or-
phic, and which, as they pass under that
title, though they seem to possess no
other species of connection, have usually
been published in conjunction with each
'otlier, are, 1st, a tedious poem of nearly
f«urteen hundred verses on the subject
Cf the argonautic expeditkn : 2ixOy, j
collection of mystic hymns, perb;ii» i
different agesj and some of them pre'
bly of considerable antiquity : azid, I
a poem on gemsi and their fabulous |
perties, mescal and magical. Tbe 1
of these poems includes no ns
Orpheus, and no evidence that thev
of it intended to ascribe it to that;
Editions oi these writings bave a
appeared in numbers safficientlyadtt
to tlieir merit. The first is ihzt of
rence, published by Junta in 1500, a v
of gr^at rarity) containing the s
and the hymns. These were n
by Aldus, at Venice, in 15]7,aloDgt
the poem, on the loves of Hero and U
der, and with the addition of theliti
To these succeeded several other e
XifiJiQ of which it is necessary to e
b)lf.HibA.
9M,
tKcnpt that 6f Gesnef, coxnprising the
coltoed works^ with the notes of pre->
ceding editors, and his own ; and those
of the Jitbics and argonautics separatei/,
b/ lyrwbitt and Sclmeider .
Tbe editions of Gesaer and Tyrwhitt>
with the exception of the Latin versions,
are embodied in this publioation. Many
notes aie also added by the present editor^
which display his ingenuity, and his very
extensive, and commonly accurate, know-
ledge of the Greek language, not without
some infusion of his customary bile. The
tersioD of the argonautics, by Cribellus^
is retained (as being made from a valu-
able manuscript, which we suppose is at
present either not extant, ornot accessibte),
Uoag with the curious traiislation of th^
hymns by Scaliger. Tlie various readings
have been collected by the collation of s<>-
vend MSS. (th^ most valuable are stated
to be those of Vossiusy Ruhukenius, and
Vienna)) and some ahtient edilions.
Hiese pieces, like most of the other
Ininor Greek poems, have descended to
lis in a very corrupt state. Tlie edftor
has, therelbre, taken considerable liberties
m refomiiiig them by conjectural emen-
dation. "Textum argouauricorum, hym*
norura, et lithic^rum,*' says he, •' ita ut
carrigeiidus mihi videbatur, relinxi. In
ailgo&auticis quidem, corrupto operc, si
qoid fbrtasstt audacius matatum videatur,
wjui lectores, non modo muJtitudinem
^tionim et magnitudinem repuiabunt,
led illud etiam rcoordabuntur, baud paullo
difficilius esse malum, quam bonum scrip-
turem emendare/' Many of his conjec-
tures aie certainly ingenious} but we
doubt the propriety of inserting them
"constandy, however violent, into the text.
We cannot but prefer the modesty of
Tjrrwhitt, who has made his notes the ve-
. hicles of many most ingenious emenda-
tions, but has cautiously abstained from
' introducing them, however probable, into
the text of his author. ,
On the argonautics and hymns we'
shaD not dwell ; as a minute enumeration
' of the various readings, by which tliey are
JQ^ed or defended, would perhaps be
tedious to our readers. With respect to
' the former we shall only observe, that tlie
editor appears to us to haxe introduced,
vidi mnch too great frequency, his fa-
' yoorite expletive 6t, for which, indeed, he
^ irtMns'to have sought a place wherever it
' vas possible duit it should exist. '
As we are indebted for the best edition
of the lithics to a very ingenious and
learned schobr of our own country^ that
poem is likely to have received in firtg-
land a greater share of attention than tlie
others by which it is usually accompanied*
"We shall, therefore, proceed to give a
faithful account of the various readiligs of
a considerable portion of the text befc^re
us, collated with that of Mr. Tyrwhitt.
Tlie only advantage of autliority which
the present editor appears lo have possess-
ed above his learned predecessor, is an
inedited exegesis of Tzet^es on the Iliad
of Homer, presennsd in a public library
at Leipsic, containing several verses of the
lithics, which are corrupt in the common
editions, in a correct state, and confirm-
ing the previous conjectures of Tyr\vhitt
and other critics.
Ver.5'. vYfirvrioi(n for vY^^rftrvtm is adopt-
ed from the Bo^e of Tyrwhitt.
7. ayoAAou^vaf from the conjecture of
the same critiCw
U. The ca:der of tlie words Kpovt^r^^
'Ta^oLW is changed, to remedy the short
syllable in cassiui.
14. For yjxip%rroLi is substituted, from
the emendation of Ruhnkenius,p<a/^50yrff^.
1 7. On account of the preceding oV y£y»
for «x<^74ik is read OLvwyr, by conjectiure.
18. «o-fA^5agv, fromlzetzes.
22. For 0LX.iy.ig, axiKug, which form is
also substituted in another instance, 140.
28. For avriKpvs, AvTix.pv,
35. For ^p'jcrerjv siri a£;)^»; at£v, is read
^*Xo; ai£¥ €i:i xpvTBi^y, to give a better
support to the short syllable in caesur^.
39v 'oA.*, necessary both to the sense
and the metre, is inserted from the con-
jecture of Tyrwhitt.
42. The final y is added to the word
'Tia-ao'i, to sustain the short syllable. Wo
mention this merely to denote the canon
of prosody, which is adopted on this sub-
ject by the professor, the application of
which occurs in several other instances.
43. in compliance with the epic fbrm^
for «.iy.s ^£Aij«, T., aw s^sK^grt, H.
53. Forcxar«iT., hi%<rrr,v,'H, Nei-
ther the commoi) nor the new ^reading is
free from difficulty : ixaroy can scarcely
be used for cuiquam, in which sense alone
it affords any meaning 3 and kKOLrr^y is
perfectly uimeoessary.
57. For oL^iKffeaiy from the conjecture
of Tyrwhitt, s^ixijrai ; for h% r , from tho
rules of the language, oV x'.
60. For aoiOtf, aoiiijf, a plausible con-
jecture.
62. In a verse indubitably corrupt, the
conjecture of Hermann, inserted in his
text, is perhaps the best which has been
oifered. Q,>Ja ce, irpec^sL ^a^^aoo'vyTj.
¥2
324
ANCIENT CLASSICS, kc.
67. Difficulties of prosody and gram-
mar are avoided by reading ^eovg eifovf^itisy
68. For avSpwif, aypcov^ihc conjectufe
of Ruhnkenius.
70—72 . JUie in^nious conjectures of
Tyr^'hitt are dej^rvedly adopted, with tliC
addition pf a necessar)' grammatical altera-
tion, rgyja'ci for rjufa^i. We shall not>
perhaps, be considei^.as digressing too
£]r from the ^ut^ject, if we take this op-
portunity of. raentioning a corrupt read-
ing, which maintaijis its place in all the
recent editions of Homer, Od/'Vi. 262^
aurxp sTrr,v gr^Puo; sjei^rjcopi^. This read*
ing is vicip^is, as. giving an intransitive
sense to a transitive verb, and as placing a
future indicative where an aorist subjunc-
tive is required, in this connection, by thd
preceding sxr^v, though, by the gramma-
tical figure Called systole, gin/Sijj'Ojw^fy n\ay
indeed be considered as the subjunctive
aorist. llie valuable. Ha rleian MS., 56J4,
in this passage read^, witliout ddubt justly,
gTrijSijoafy, which appears also in the Flo- *
rentine edition of 1489, and the Junti^ie of
1519, and probably ^in ^most MSS., and in
most printed editions previous to the pub-
lication of £ustathius, in whom the com-
mon reading is found. In Od. K. 334,
the common editions, by the same error;
read ^k^r^r^u^sv, the. Florentine and Jun-
tine, ttn^ijOfjLsv,
73. oLt^sp^ets, the conjecture of Tyr-
whitt, is adopted. .
77' ^o^sq-itM^pore, the conjectur« of
Gesner. ...
78. ^auiLx^fiiro, from Tyn^hitt.
82. For ejLL mff^vwjxoi, f af^sv rs'^i^xi,
tli6 former word from ed. Aid., and cod;
Par. ; the latter from conjecture, to re-
place a word not usual in the epic writers.
Homer, towever, uses Jiri(r;^OjM,a/in the
same, sense. The conjecture we think
not necessary, and ks admission inta the
text not warranted 5 it is, however, in it-*
self not improbable.
84. ^i^^au, from the conjecture of
Tyrwhitt, wJiose note has been by some
accident emitted. . "^ '
85. u^exoiyTfiroii', from Gesner, to pre-
serve tlie uniformity, of the mood.
Qd* e^speuyvi, for the same reason.
B^ For, o^jtaTTi'ffyref , certainly corrupt,
aiT^ti^Mvovrss b)** conjcctm-e, . tlie former
^Mord being considered as a gloss for the
latter. Yet the autlioritics adduced in tlie
index of Tyrwhitt, induce us to prefer
mva K^jvBvft^, the conjecture of Portus.
90. For fc/, cruv, to avoid the hiatus, in
a situation of the verse iu whichyhowever.
in our opinion, it is not wholly inadnus^
fiible.
107. r«aT^— BO Musgrave.
1()8. ose^aaevoy h ^oxevrd;; a good
conjecture of Portus, which we "wonder
that Tyrwhitt did not receive into his text.
110. The editor successfully vindicated
the common reading xey against the con-
jectu^ of T)'rwhitt. This power of «r;
though not uncommon, has not been
much noticed except by modem gram*
marians.
111. avr^s, according to the orthognpby
of the epic writers.
113. o^vre;, from Tyrwhitt.
116. For TfXEiu), is well read •r>^i<y.
118. ForaXaXijyro, A«Xiv/7*o. Though
the condmon* reading is doubtfiil, the con-
jecture is too hazardous to be inserted in
the text.-
119. ^iivtv,
120. ^JOLfv^at, from tlie conjecture of
Bernard.
123. otfl-fl-aro,
130. aoforav. " [
141. ad' dpa, from Tyrwhitt.
145. ^w jxeK eirso-avro, from the same..
147. Ao^fiv, frt)m th6 conjecture of the
editor, the reason for the preference ia£
ti'hich to that of Gestier; received by Tyr-
whitt, we do not discern. Either of diem
is adnussible, and one of them neoessaiy.
148- aifo. Tyr. and Musg.
149. syv^^as. T. and M.
159. KarioLi^i from Ruhnkenius.
172. oLihsi, by a probable conjecture.
: 173. 9ra/?a.
182. -raAai/gviff ;, fiomTyrwhitt's coo*
jecture. '
183. ^Xoyaf, from thesamD.
18d. ajuros, Gesner.
192. avaxri'njy.
- 195. ii $* apx, "an indubitable emenda-
tion.
200. ori, from Aldus.
207. tctpiiivKrj<rooyrai, In the preced-
ing line should probably be read xapacc-i
'tffr.s (II. xvii. 30.), as depending on «v.
• 209. Kvxyxvystoy, a conjecture prefer-
able to that of Tyrwhitt.
213. Ep^sv for spyi,
"' 214. yixpKO(popw,TyT,
217. ytroj, Gesner's conjecture, accom-
modated to the measifre.
218. Xijv, from Schneider.
226. This verse is silently, but justly,"
corrected by reading visa).
227. zr oLpoMv, Tyr.
228. r£rpr^'it£OL.
231. xsv for KOLi,
238. Where a conjecteire b necessaiy.
ORFHICA.
325
flat of Hennan^ xssx ^oio;, seems the
besL ' ..
246. fspsT^ rs, the corruption of the
passage is certain^ and the remedy not im-*
probable,
248. iVfTps» a grammaticfll correction
251, xp*uf', the certain emendation of
Aohnkenius.
265. /jffy.
267. 'r,cc yxp ' ar/ii. We should
prefer t^^ y^v — — ;- ayoi.
2J6s. The emendations of Tyn^hitt are
3dopt(»d.
273. This %'erse is well corrected, a,a-
. 274. ri'poc, from Tyrwhitt, *
282. czjcpv^G-i '/j^ti^£vo$, from Ber*
. 292, 3. From the emendations of Tyrr
jphitt,
|7> The correction of Musgrave is
>ted
300, This verse is. well corrected from
coDJectuTe, 0/ tcs > ^opawciv.
301, 2. Tlie punctuation, of these verses
is altered according to the observations of
Tyrwhitt. The latter of thjem, partly
from the conjectui^ of the. editor, and
partly from that of Tyrwhitt, is also read
dms :
Apiji.
303. tsXsLOTp, a grammatical emenda-
(JOIL
W. ayxY^^povsc, from Musgrave.
306. Pupet, Horn the same. •
309. itxXvYri,vid, 303.
310. vtsp^juLoio, from Dinnerus.
313. croofua, frona Pier^on 3 fvX(i<ro'Sh
325. The verse is supplied by the in-
sertion of ro<.
325. f^ey09jXA(, Mv j^' at^'a.
331. yap rot, from Tyrwhitt.
332. The emendations of .Tyrwhitt are
adopted.
335. hth^y, from the samet
339. ^y for rjy, a necessary emenjar
lion. * ' ■ ■
347. or«f x' axfiOiro. .
32(9. aptefusiririvy Ruhnkei^ius.
330. UoLp^s, Tyr, ..
We ha4 intended to .have continued,
.tbis coflaUoQ- .through the .poem > but as
the variatioiis-are so'inumerons, and many
of them lomiaate, we ,f^l th^t .it would
be abasing tl^e . patience of our readers to
pnxseed. The instances ; which we have
already given wiUbe sufficient' to frumish
' ■Pf™*'*' ^ tl» e*iioa.. *•
The most impcnant part of this Tohune
is the annexed dissertation, the purpose of
which is to ascertain, by argumeats of in*
ternal probability (e,speeially such as re-
late to the pros6dy), the age of the argo-
nautio poem.
The period when this poem was pro-
baJDly composed, has been, and continues
to be, a. subject of considerable doubt* It
furnishes an instance of literary imposture
which, in all ages of the Greek history,
.appears to have been pretty freqqent, and
to which the scarcity of books in these
ages was calculated to give great facilities.
And if the poems of RoiMley at one period
gained credit in England, and^imposed on
an enlightened age, it will not excite our
surprize if similar adventurers met witli
similar success in periods when the art of
criticism had been less cultivated, espe-
cially when they ^can^e forward under the
sanction of names consecrated by po-
pular superstition or enthusiasm. Ono^
macritus is perhaps one of the. earliest
of these falsifiers .whose names remain
upon record. He is mentioned by Hero-
dotus (vii. 6.) as banished from Athens by
Hipparchus, in consequence of having
been detected in the act of interpolating
^me supposed oracles of Mvisseus. He
•was afterwards reconciled to the family ot
the . Pisistratidae, and. contributed to en-
courage the expedition, of Xerxes into
.Greece by illusory predictions, adapted to
flatter the vanity of that jnoaareh. To
this worthy prototype of such as in subse-
quent ages have aoiused themselves, and
displayed their ingenuity in a similar way,
the ai^onautics have been by many, with
little probability, ascribed. Toop (£m.
in Suid. ii. 98.) is inclmed to consider
tliem as. the work of Cleon, a writer men-
tioned by the scholiast of Apollonius.
JRuhnkenius, - whose remarks ■ upon this
pprformance occur at considerable length
in his s^ond epistola criiica, without as-
signing an author, affirms its antiquity in
decisive terms, as at least not posterior to
the age of the Alexandrian poets. Valc-
kenaer, by an incidental expressran, seems
,to treat the. imposture with contempt, and
Schneider regards it a^tthe barbarous and
tasteless work of some ignorant Greek in
acpmparativrly recent age. *. •
c Tlie^.wKit. of external testimony lea\'es
the question to be determined -by argu-
ments of probability. It does not certainly
appear that this work is once quoted by
!any ancient writer. « Rubnkemus (and
'<who> is a more jcorapetent 'authority on
«8uch a'subject ?) allows the faet in general,
. though be attempts to make a few obscure
d26
ANCIEjyr CLASSICS, kc.
•xc^tions; his authorities, however,
vhicli are only two in number, appear to
fail him, as one cannot he shown to allude
to the work in question, and the antiquity
of the other is disputable. If the date,
thereibfe, of this poem is capable of being
fixed with any degree of probability > it
must be from the internal evidence to be
deduced frbm the investigation of the
work itself.
Some German critics, mentioned by
Hermann, have attempted to collect that
evidence from the geography of tlie poem :
the result is, however, too uncertain to
1)6 depended upou» A more probab]e
Ynode of approximation to tl>e, tmth, is
that adopted by tlie editor himself, who.
ilivideS'the epic poets into classes, accord-
ing to the styles of versitication prevalent
in diiFerent ages, by a comparison with
which he attempts to assign the place of
the author of the argonautics. If the
poet himself is of little importance, the
observations and researches to which he
gives occasion nv^y at least prove valuable.
The classes iMto which the epic writers
fnay be divided, according tq our author,
Are the following t
I. That of Homer aiid Hesiod, which
)ic considers as immediately subsequent
to tho origin of poetry among the Greeks,
the distinctive character* of which are,
oTtain liberies practised with rersjject to
the quantity of syllables in the middle of
words, the lengtliening of short syllables
4n caesur«^, the admission of the hiatus,
and the use of tlie digamrua.
II. The age of the Homeridae, or rhap-
$odL((ts, comprizing parts of the Iliad and
Odyssey j most of the IJomaric hymns j
and the shield of Hercules, ascribed to
.Hesiod. Tlwse writers, says the editor,
retiin th© power of the caesurll ; they ad-
mit tho hiatus, but with much less fre-
quency than was allowed in the Homeric
age, while they abstain from other li-
cences; they preserve the use of th^
iEolic letter.
III. The age which succeeded the dis*
use of the djgamma, admitting the hiatus
only in phrases borrowed from tlie ancient
poets, in which it was often occasioned
by the omissk>n of the obsolete letter.
The power of the csesur^ is supposed to
be the same as. in the precediDg* age, and
to this period is refermd tt^ ^ytw to Merr*
eury.
IV. The writers who are eomprized
within tills period ^xtend from Aratus to
Manetho, including the poets of the Alex-
Andrian scLooL Ti^if pumbers ar^ sup-
posed to be more polished, and more re>
stricted to sule, than those of the preced*
ing periods 9 the very knowledge of the
digamma, as employed in heroic rene,
was obliterated ; die licences of the power
of the csE^sural pause, and the hiatus, were
admitted only in phrases and heroisticbt
borrowed from Homer and Hesiod Yet
the digamma in on^ case (the use of the
pronoims qi and I) uniforinly ax4 remark-
ably preserves its force.
V. The last age is supposed to hare det
clined gradually to negligence and baiin-
rism of numbers, fi^m which it was re-
scued by Nonnus, or «oroe other writer,
who established a system of heroic vers*
fication, di^ering iq some respects from
that of any of his predecessors, and sub-
ject to strict laws. The writers of this
school employ, with much greater fre-
quency than the preceding poetSj^ the tro-
chaic caesura in the third foot j the)' smi-
pulously abstain fi-om th^ same cssuri m
the fourth foot, which is indeed little used
by the poets of any class j tlie sylJahte
preceding a mute- and liquid is always
made long } the hiatus is only admitted
in a few forms taken from Homer, and
the power of the caesura, in lengthening
tiie short a}'llable on which it Ma, 'n
wholly abrogated.
The following circumjitances are a«5gnr
ed, by M. Hermann, as fiirnishiD| tiie chief
dihtinctious in the structure ot the epic
verse as employed by tlie poets of dilTereirf
ages and classes -, the situation and nature
of the caesural pause 5 the degree of etf-
cacy which that pause is permitted to exert 1
in susfciiuing a short svllable j the admis- j
sion qr rejection of tlie hiatus : aod riw 1
iiifluence of a mute and liquid on a pre- '
ceding short vowel. The rules laid down
on tl^ese subjects are applied to dje prac-
tice of the principal writers of heroic
verse", from Theocritus till the latest agef
of Greek poetry, and many passages of
tlieir worki examined by a reference to
Uiem.
I. In I^tin, the principal casural din-
sion of the heroic verse is formed by a
long syllable succeeding the second foot,
In Homer, the same pause is emplo)'«l
with great frequency: there is, ho^cxtr,
another pause, which is used by ^^ J^
with almost equal familiarity, ibnqpdbf
a trochaic division of the third foot, as a
th^ second verso of the Iliad,
The use of this caesura sceips gradffll^
And glmost regubtrijr-to have asm^ P
OftFBlCA.
32J^
itfjpency through the subsequent ages of
<Jre«k poetry. I n the Alexandrian writers
it begins to be predominant f in most of
the authors subsequent to the christian
sera it aboojiils ; and in Nonnus, and some
very bte wrifers, the use of it becomes
almost general. ITie usage of a poet, in
this department of versification, n\ay af-
ibrd some iadicdtion (though not to be
Tciied on witliout other circumstances of
confirmatbn) respecting the age in which
be lived. We may here, observe that the
tensitiun ^om the ancient to the recent
practice does not apj^ear to have been so
niarfied and sudden as M. Hermann seems
to imagine, but to have been accomplish-
ed by several intervening steps, as may be
collected tirom the writers who flourished
between the ages of Homer and Nonnus.
The practice of the pseudo Orpheus, in
this respect, sufficieiitly accords with the
supposition that he flourished in an age
♦ubiequent to the christian aera, but pre-
ceding that of Nonnus.
It is remarked by M. Hermann, and
apparently with justice, tku the heroic
poets of all a«e8 seem cautiously to have
ibstaioed from a trochaic division of the
fourth foot. This remark \»ill admit of
•ome practical application in the division
of words. In the 5th verse of the Iliadi
Heyne, to preserve the Ionic form of tlie
imperfect, reads ^£ rsASisr^ ; ^ ers\sisr5
« requii>i|(e4 ^^ ^^ ^^^( preferable, for the
\CBiiication.
II. It is well known to every reader
who is ill any degree versed in the writings
of Homer, tliat a short sylhble in cacsurA
tt frequently made long by the force which
that situation of the verse is calculated to
throw nppa it, though generally perhaps
not without some support from die suc-
cwdiog syllable. And even in Homer,
where the necessity of recurrence to this
licence could be avoided by the insertion
of the paragogtc letter, or by any other
meaivi, Sttc^ atssistaoce seems to have been
i^dopted.- In subsequent writers the ad-
missioQ of this liberty seems to have been
confined to Homeric forms and phrases,
lOd at length to have becm totally disused.
In estimatiag the age of ^n autlmr, this is,
thetefute, a circumstance wliich deserves
*^d. TIk3 author of the argonauticg
tdopts the practice of the poets preceding
^ ^ of Nonnu«.
Ur la the present editions of Homer
^ hiatus appears to recur perpetually.
If is, however, commonly remedied by
A^ insertion of the digamma; and in the
IMfioiciBg io^tafic^i ;^e adousbioj) of it
appears to have been, g^tv^Hy at leasts
regulated by certain rules. One of the
places in which it is admissible,, though
unnoticed by Hermann, seems to hav»
been established by Mr. Wakeheld, ad
succeeding the trochaic csosurft in the
third loot If this remark is well-founded,
several verses which M. Hemaaon is dis*
posed to correct, will not Stand in need of
the remedy which he oilers ; for instanee.
Hymn, in Marc, 440^
of which the following porifectiion is pro^
posed,
n$ ill fA»i YfV «rrtK> &c,
• As, in the former case, subsequent
writers have admitted the hiatus princi-
pally in forms borrowed from Homer^ the
most recent poets have rejected it alto^
gether.
IV. With respect to the influence of a
mute and liquid oU a preceding vowel, in
rendering the syllable long, the practice of
the earliest and latest writers seems nearly
to have coincided. The versifiers of some
of the intervening ages, particularly Quin^
tus Calaber, and others who appear to be
nearly his contemporaries, frequently make
the vowel, preceding the combination of
such letters, short, while Nonnus rigor-
ously adopted the ancient usage. In Or-
pheus the instances of this licence are re-
markably numerous, a circumstance which
may have some weight in determining hia
age.
These observations are greatly dilated
by our author, and applied to a vast va-
riety of instances extracted from tlie works
of the poets, and interspersed with various
incidental remarks, relative to the versifi-
cation of the epic writers. The conclu-
sion derived from the whole is, that tlie
autlior of the argonautics has adopted
tliat style of versification, which was pre-
valent a few centuries afler tlie christian
sera, and which preceded the age of Non«
nus.
His diction is the next subject of exa-
mination. The following observations are
ingenious : " Antiquorum propria sunt ill
primis hsec dvio, simplicitas orationis etiam
in summq omatu 5 grandis autem, elata,
metaphoris spleudens dictk)^ non nisi- in re
actuosa et plena commotion is animorum^
quails Guidem dictio ab eptci carminis na-
tura abhorret. Contra, recentem setatem,
oorruptumque venu&tatis sensum, arguit
oratio molesta, qus&sita, omnlno gravior
quam pro rei tractatae conditione. Multo
»utem r^centiorfemagisque comiptas seliH
828
AKCIENa: CLASSICS^ &c.
fiB iadmam en dictio est/ Iq. qua qai est
on^iusl vim suam et virtutem qiinio usu
jam amisi^se. intelli^t^. CagDosGituj:'
jioc ita, si -Gipiiptor^ prsesertim.alieni^^ a
Jyanp oniatQ, exqiiisit*B vej^bpraai. /ormun
laa ibji.adhibet, ubi non \'olait^on)arB 91^
.tiohem ; ubi autem grabdiore ,_ dictigue
opU8.est> m abstinet. . ]LJt'e:iemplo ren^
jllust^i^m, molesta 4ictione usi sunt Cdl-
}im^U5>J^icaudcr^ Lycopjiron, ^d per*
petuo^ ut pateat gra^iam hinc sojptis si^ip
qussivisse. Multo post idem fecit Non-
nus. Hie, pariter atque iDi, habuit imi- .
tator^ 5U0s,'qui, quae isti multo usu vul-
garia reddiderant, pro vulgatis adsciverunt
Quo fieri non potest quin seniores aetate
^e esse prodanc. Sic igitur etiam Orpheus.
Hie jiiiniipe fa^uhdo praedltus ingenjo,
quumi bre^itatem et si^plicitatem magis
necessitate quam . consiUp consectaretur,
multa tamen Eabet, quae quia altius. assur-
gere .vldentur, ita sunt ap hujus oratipne
liliena/Winanife^tum .sit, iis temporibus
scripta eftle, quibus jam erant;^\algaria."
— P 772.
, TliQ use of. ^e ^i:onpun o*,. necessarily
eccupies a conspicuoiis pla(;e jn a disserta-*
ttiou on, the language of Orpheus. The
nietrioal power of this word, \vitli its act
cusative Sy IS also .treated more largely a^id
accurately tli^ .^e remen\ber; to have
seeii it elsewhere' considered. . The pas-
sages pf tl^e ancient writers, which violate
tlie metrical canon on t|iis subject, are C9*
pipusly.investigated, andemendatipps pro-
posed, of the truth of many of which wq
fntertaiQ no doubt 5^ but our.., limits will
jxoi permit ^9 to enlarge.. .The -grammar
tical emplpyment of the word 01 by ou.k-
' poet is most pipgular. It seems, on vari-.
. cus occasions, to answer tp alpiost -every .
case, personal and number, and frequently
' to be use.d.as a mere ej^pletive. Its vari-,
9US employpients are diligently . enume-i
rated by M. Hermann, but he. should not
^ve quoted his pwn corrections as ei^i
amples of iiis rules.. Vestiges, of ^ similar
usage are found in Quintus Calaber>whencQ
U is inferred that the pseudo Orpheus
flourished subsequently to the age of that
poet, (£tuintus being considered as the pro-
tot)rpe> as deviating less, f£t)m ancient and
established custom.
6n the whple, much learning and ii^
jkuity are manifosted ,in this dissertatioQ ;
and thoygh none of the arguments sqa-
.rately tabsn are sufBcient to detemnoe
the point in question, yet, by a con^lica-
tiqn of probabilities, M. Hernaann seems
to have f>ucceed(^ in eylQcing the tmth of
ills position, that the miknoy/n author of
the argopautics flourished in a late perioj
,qf Greek poetry, probably subsequent to
,C^uintus Caliber, bu t^alrnqst certainly prior
.to the age of Npnnus.
Among the addenda . to the lithics, aif
some various readings from. Tzetzes, ooe
of which would liave deserved insertioii
in the text, had the editor been earlicT 30
quaiiited with it 3 v. 11. rq^yzr^v vttp m-
^spx for rKvaov. M. Hermann, 00 tkit
p^^casipn, finds /eason to condemn his owe
conjecture, which he has insert^a^ ia tk
^ext, supplying a proo^ of the injudicious-
ness of the hasty reoeptio^ of an emeoda*
tion, though not improbable, which th»
6r$t . inspection of a valuable copy msf
iram^iatQly pvertlirow.
. Among ti^e Harleiau MSS» is^pfiesemj
a copy pf.the argonautics,. the coUatioa
of, w;hich4oes ^ot appe^. to baye been yet
pommuqicated to the . public, liioo^
.. not a {lis. of very apcientjiiatQ^ it app^
to have been taken from a valuable or^«
nal, the readings which it supplies be^
pommonly coincident with those of tiie
MSS. of Vossjus, V^ienna, . ap^ ^^''^^
nius. It ^equently possesses ■ the exple*
tive oi where it is obliterated in the coin* J
inon copies. One reading it fiiraisJW|2
W'liich,. though very obvious,, has .not 1
peared in any printed, edition till the p|i;l
sent, in which, it is inserted firom . the coiiil
jecture of Ge^er in the indexy«a»d whidi
does not seein tp ewst, in ^my of the ooi* *
l^t^ed copies, ^cc/ofa^y rfpr Jwor^Wi
V. 3l7>.ed. Herm.
Art. IL-^omicomm Grac&rum Fragmenta qrutdam. CuraioH et Ndta^'addidU-^o^UTXii
VValpole, a. B, Trin. Coll, Camh, 8vo. pp. 116.
THE remains of ancient literature,
tl^ough comprizing, without doubt, many,
of tlifi jnost valuable productions of the
best age^ of Greece and Rome> yet form
but a wreok pf tli^ vast collection of their
taste and scioace. . The liiere catalogue of
j^uthoxs yrho^e nam^ only remam, pf
worbl vb969. titl^ alone bavf ^univ^
the injuries of time^ which doubtless bear
but 9 spiall prppoctipp to those of whidi
the very memory has irretrievabiy perisA-
^, would- perhaps fpiTO- a volume of no
ijiconsiderable bulk, Xo ' collect an eiji
tensive library was in4eed a woA of royal
magnificence 5 Jbut^^W:^ may jttsdy be in^
^Aed tQ wonder^, ppusi^eriog .tjaie <M«
valI^ole's scabcb translations.
329
«vaBtap»Desa]tiog from the difficulty of
nmkipljing copks, anA the obstacles and
nlttCDongeineiit which this circumstance
must have caused to literary exertion, that
tiK Ibfination of large libraries, and much
more of those iinmense repositories of
books whose existence is recorded, shovdd
We been within the limits of possibility.
The wtxks of theextmit wnters have,
however, preserved to us considerable
fi:^ineDt»af many of-those which are lost;
'die ooUection of whidi, arranged under
their. several heads, though a difficult,
would be a very meritorious service to the
cause of literature. Such a pr^ect Bent-
l^ejCksaid at one time to havi^ entertained i
ioiLa monument of his skill and diligence
isestmt in the fragments of Callimachus,
which be has explored, though not with-
«Qt leavmg some gleaning* to the care of
succeeding critics. In no department,
however, have the scattered relics of
gleaming moie employed the attention of
'sdiolars Aan in that of the drama. This
species of composition among the Greeks
k peculiarly interesting : partly from its
JBtrinsic merit, and the specimens which
itlihfdsof that Attic elegance which has
been the admiration of all ages ; and partly
becaitoe we are able to triice it with greater
esKtness than most of the oth^ establish-
cd'ifomis of writing, from its rude origin
tbnmgh its various stages of progress to
^ nkiinate pedection whicb it acquired.
At is computed that in the age of Alex-
ander about three thousand dramatic pieces
[of various descriptions were extant, of
^^hich some kind of memorial remains.
t is to be regretted, that of the comic
risers, Aristophanes is the only author of
' om any entire work is preserved. The
Its however of Menander and Phj-
lamentable relics as they are of
ted fame iind genius, still amount,
I their due proportion of commentary,
> a comiderable volume. The names of
t most eminent comic writers of Greece
taste, and illustrated by die learning, of
Mr. Walpole, are comprized in the little
volume which forms tlie subject of this
article. The authors are Cratinus, Eupolis,
Rato, Pherecrates, Alexis, Antiplianes,
Anaxandrides, Aristophon, Ephippus,Epi-
crates, Eubulus, Phoenicides, Philetaerus^
Timocles, Mnesimachus, Xenarchus, Ma-
cho, Theophilus, Menander, PhilemoiJ,
Diphilus. These fragments are elegantly
printed, and we believe more correct m
their readings than they have hitherto ap-
peared . We wish that to each article Mr,
Walpole had annexed the name of the
author in wliom it is to bcfound.
Peculiar value will be attached to this
volumi?, in consequence of some emenda-
tions which it contains from the masterly
hand of professoif Porson, some of which
weshall transcribe. In a fragmentof the A»*
sentatoresof Euix)lis,for o-x^jx/^aya/? urcf^
£?^B$, is read, o'KUfiJLy.x yap ivn' acfiXygf,
an emendation which may be classed with
that of Alexander Aetolus, by Casaubou,
celebrated by Valckenar (Dietr. 279). A
humorous fragment of Epicrates (p. 18).
has the benelit of the same criticism bocU
in the reading and the metre. P. 99, wo^
have the following note: which contains
tlie first application of the celtjbrated MS,
of Plato, recently brought to this country,
to the purposes of criticism, that we re-
ipember to have seen) we wish that it
'might be speedily followed by many si-
milar instances, ' Philetaeri, Venatrice.
Quicunque accurate Suidam in vocibua
^iPiEfoupdi^ et NtxQ9rpa'i'^5' lectitaverit, is
liquido dejerare posset ista duo uomina ad
tiniam eandemqu& personam respicere.
Hanc Porsoni conjecturam extra omnem
dubitaUopis aleam ppnit scholion quanti-
vis pretii, quod. Uteris prae vetustate obtu-
tum oculorum pane fugientibus, ex MS.
Platonis Dialogoi-um nobiscum perbenigpe
communicavit vir eruditisslnius, p. 47.
•For trop rwjtu, Hoty «caro»« st^ Bitjotrrrai,
the corrapt reading of a vef se of JVIenan*
fhave been rendered familiar to English' der, we bive the following em^idaiion—
'"""'" i^ jS/oJ; en, an improvement on tliat of
Toup, and doubtless tlie genuine reading.
Translations of many of the firagnients
from Grotius and Cumberland are added.
The whole is creditable to the taste and
industry of Mr. Walpole, and we hope
^khat it is the precctrsor of -fii^ure exertions.
! leaders by Mr. Cumberland, in the inter-
esting sketch of their works which he has
given in the Observer; and his own
masterly translations convey no inadequate
lepresentation of the elegance of .their re-
mains.
Some of the most interesting- frag-*
ttems of the c<xnedian$, ^elected by the
Mt. m.^Speeimeru of $carce Transhiions qf the seventeenth Century from the l^ftin
Potts, To which are added miseeUwueoy^ Translations from the Greek, Spanislh Italian,
ifc. By KoiBEKrWAhvoi.B, Esq. B. A, qf Trinity College, Cambridge. l2mo. pp. 164.
OUE early English trandatora have long servile £detity, which is true indeed only
laboured under the imputation of that to the words of Uie author^ while his spirit
930
ANCIENT CLASSICS/&C.'
is suffered wholly to evaporate, and leaves
behind little more than a lifeless form.
Yet a few Uiere are, whom even the se-
"verest ctwisurer will except from tills ac-
cusation. It is the objeot of Mr. WaJpole,
by the specimens collected in this volume,
to give his readers a more favourable idea
than is usuidly formed of several of our
early writers, *' ia this species of comjx>-
sitibn, with whose productions tlie general
|nas5 of readers is but little acquainted,
from the rarity of the books in which they
ar« contained.'* The best perhaps is tliat
£rom GalKis by Cotton, but we are doubt-
fi>l whether any of them merit revival
from the oblivion into which they have
sank. Tliey certainly do not in e\ ery in-
stance correspond to the former part of
the panegyric of Mr. Walpole, tJiat " fide^
lity has been scarcely ever sacrificed to
paraphrase, and in many passages pecu-
liar felicity has been displayed by them."
ILlie latter of the following lines is auda-
ciously inserted by Oldham in his transla-
tion of the story of Byblis a\yd Caunus.
^ AKw« ni press, tiH breath inpra/rs be lost,
Jind alter come, a kind beseeching ghost.*'
F. 33.
He thus ampli^ three lines of the
original:
*' Dixit, et (iocert^ tanta est dlscordia
mentis)
Cmn pigeat teatasse, libet tentarc ; modura-
quc
Exit, et infelix cammittit sxpc rcpelli.'*
^ She spoke: b«t such is her unsettled mind,
)t »Uil'tii U'oax thought to tiiought lil^e vcenog
wind.
Now to this point, and now to that inclin^d^
'^Vliat she could wish had unattempted been,
f^he strait is eager to atti-mpt again;
Vibiii she repents, she acts ; and now lets
loose
The reins to love, nor any bound allows ;
Bepulse upon repulse unmov'd she bears,
• And still «ues on, while she her suit despairs."
We know nqt what specimen we can
select with greater propriety, than part
of the story of I^ucretia from Ovid^ by
Creech.
'' This art prevailed; she fiear'd an iujur'4
name.
And liv'd and suifered to secure her fame.
AVhy dost thou smile, triumphant ravisher }
This shameful victory shall cost thee dear \
Thy ruin pay for this thy forc'd delight :
Hq w ^real a prlc^ ! a kingdom for a night \
'^ The guilty night was gone ;— the day ap«
pears;
She blutfht and rose, and double mournJi^
wears;
As for her only son, she sits in tears.
And for lier Anther and her huUjaiid bcnds.
Each quickly hears the message, awd attends.
But when tlley came and saw her drovb'd ia
tears,
Aniaz'd they ask'd the cause, — ^What violeat
fears,
What real ill did wound her tender nmd?
What iiriend was dead^ for whom ttim grirf
designed?
But slie sale silent still, still sadly cried.
And hid her blushiug ^e, and wept and
sigh'd.
Both strive to comfort, both lament her &te^
And fear some d«*adiy ill they know not whi'
llirice she would speak, tlurice btopp^d ; agaa
she tries.
To speak her wrong, yet durst not raise her
ej'es :
* This too on Tarquin s score/ she crieG^ '1
place ;
I'll speak, ril speak, ah mo! my own dis
grace ;— *
And what they could her modest words ec-
prest;
Hie last remained, her Mashes spoke the rcit
Both weep, and botli the forced oSkofX te»
give:
' In vam you pardon me, I can*t receive
Tlie pity you bestow: nor can I live.*
This said, Uer fatal dagger pierc'd her side,
^d at her father's feet she fell and died*
Several Ftencli translations from the
Xatin poets are also contained in this col*
lection.
Tlie second |iart of this volume is en-
titled Miscellaneous Translations, con-
taining versions in Greek, I^tin, anj-
English, from originals in Spanish, Portuv
guese, Italian, French, Greek, and Latia,
Two Greek poems are original : an epi*
taph on Mr, Tweddell, who died at Athens;, !
and an ode, honoured witli a prize, on the I
surrender of Malta to the English arms, I
Tlie former of these poems, as it is shorty
^e may \^ permitted to transcribe.
" ^uhis Iv f Sz/xgySioT /xinjy Zaf ii;* dp i?*
^Avfca, xal ars vs-)v M**vc* I ^1X15^5 uAm^,
'AXXa /Urivov ro yl cra;;3t,a ro yijr/sy aii^i*
xaXtlrrgj
Ti;/^?of ih' ^^x^y ou/?avo; ii"^^ sysu
MvifLa f iXc fro riifxs x^P^» oovpovisiA,
'H^3 y' J'^wf xa) rBpKvoy Syjiif roW irrtif^
Adam's wctionaht of the latw tongub.
i^i
- Hk Greek compositions prove Mr.
WaJpoIe to be well Versed in the works
of the lyric and dramatic writers. The
use of the tenses is not always nicely ac-
curate. The following line contains an
ikngKcism :
"Cum mortis almus composuit sopor."
The sense requires, though the metre
will not admit, composuerit : suvatreis
(p, 133) would b^ more accurately suvacn/j.
The optative following rrpiy has a difier*
entjpower.
The translations 'from the Greek arc
jiMKtly of amator}'' poems. The foUow-
jDg sp^men is among the best :
** Fraught with the nectar*d sweets of early
sprii^,
Mark where die Zephyr speeds bis destin'd
way.
And seeks upborne aloft on balmy wini^
Eacli tiower tliat glitters in tiie morning*a
ray.
Onward he hastes ; and views with glad de^
liglit.
Where gemmM with dew the blushing rosea
bloom;
There ling'ring checks awhile his eager
flight.
And sighing o*er inhales the soft perfiime.
Still as ho Aies, the fragrance which he
sips
He breathes around, and scatters through the
air.
Till lix*d at length he rests on Julia's lipt,
An(l» minglijig with each tender accoit
there.
Sighs with the sigh which from her bosom
flows.
And scents with bahny dew the kisses sh^
bestows,"
hvi.W.^ A Compendious Dictionary (tf the LaJlinTnntpke : for the Use of public Seminarief^
end qf private Students. By Alexander Adam, LL. /), Rector ^tkc High School rf
Edinlmrgh, ,8vo. pp. 911,
THE writer of this work is well known
I to the public as the author of several emi-
I imtJy U!ieliil performances tending to
I ladlitate the acquisition of classica] learn«
ing; an4 in common with his former pub^
; licatioDs, the present volum? bearj ample
testimony to his accurate erudition. In
; loany respects it certainly pM[)ssess^ a de-
: dded advantage above every similar work
\ jateodedfor the use o( the JSoglish learner,
I The examples have been sele(;ted with
I gnat care, and commonly present the
[ iDOit striking passages, qx those which
I most retjuire* illustration, in tlie authors
Mrom T* hom the \\-ofds are t^ei^.
I "In order to connect the knowled^ of
f *«rds ami things together, whenever a beau?
f6A moral sentiment occurred, or an alhision
Amade to a reniarkable custom, to an historic
cal tct, or the like, the w bole ^eiUence is
tnnscribed, and if difficult, explained. NN'hen
the ixampie refers to any thing of great im-
putaoce, it is farther illustrated by quoting
wnibr pa&«ige^ firom various authors, On
iim part of the work thv compiler has bestow?
ttlthe utmost attention, antl hopes it will be
Iwincl useful to readers of every description.
Auy oue, who takes the trouble of examining
only a 6'w of the words^ on whicl^ he has ^n-
Lirired, and of comparing them with those in
Aiuswoitfa, or indeed in any other dictionary
tbf compiler has met witli, will perceive the
paios he has taken, and how much still re^
maios to be done, to fadl^tate (h^ p^ry^ial of
the Latin classic authors."
It is no unimportant advantage, that
far the authcjT.ties quoted, the best edi-
tos, 9i tbQse of £rn%iti^ G^&necj Prar
kenborch, &c. have been commonly*
consulted. ITie typography also, an es-
sential circumstance, though till lately
much neglecttid, in a work intended for
the use of young per6ons^ has been care«
fully superintended.
The authorities to which Dr. Adam ac«
knowledges himself principally indebted^
are Cooper and ^insworth, Gesner's edi-
tion of the Latin thesaurus of R. Stepha-
hus, Faccnilati^ the indices of fiurman^
Iirnesti, &c.
It is mentioned that a few names of
gems, plants, and insects, which rarely
occur, are omitted. This we regret ; as
they a^e few, the insertion of Uiom would
not have sensibly increased tbo bulk of
the volume.
In one respect this work appears under
a disadvantageous form, Tlie former part
of it is an abridgment of a larger work }
while in the latter part the articles are iri«
fierted without curtailment, and conse-
quently appear on a much larger scale.
Tlie circumstance is thus accounted for*
The author, being prevented from execut-
ing the design of publihhing his larger
work by the high price of printing and
paper, resolved in the mean time to pub-
lish an abridgment for the use of learners |
interminglirig, for the service of more
advanced students, a fuller explication qf
such wqrds as appeared mqst important
or difficult; but perceiving as he proceed-
ed, the utility of mor^ copious illustrations,
he i^tterwards introduced them more free?
\y, ifliU in tbs latter part of the \)6ok hat
3S9
ANCIENT CLASSICS, kc.
(enlarged on er^ry v^oti in proportion, to
its importance^ on several oi them, nearly
as much as he proposed in his larger work.
'*" Derivatives, and compound wordsj ex-
cept in the case of words compounded
with prepositions, are commonly inserted
under their lespcctive radicals. We doubt
whether this method, tliough more satis-
£ictoiy to the advanced student, be so
ivell adapted for the use of the very young
scholar, who has difficulties enough to con-
tend with in the acquisition of a complex
|ang«age. But we suppose that this die*
tionary is only intended for the use of tfcose
who have made some proficiency beyoad
the elements of the Latin tongue*
We gladly avail ourselves of this oppor*
tunity of expressing our sense of the use*
ful and meritorious labours of Dr. Adaa»
in his preceding publications ; along with
our hope, that the success of the present
volume will be' sudi as to justify him ia
shortly communicating to the public the
larger work of which it maybe coDsidere^.
as a specimen.
A»T. V. — Greek Exercises, in Si/ntax, EUipsiSy Dialects, Prosody, and Metapkrasis : t9
tvkich is prefixed a concise, but comprekctmve Syntax, By ihg Reverend ViuAum
Neilsok. 8vo. pp. 162.
THE practice of exercises, though fa«
iniliar in tlie Latin, and of great import-
ance in the acquisition of any language,
has been strangely neglected in the Greek,
fit least till the publication of Dr. Hunt-
' ingford's uselul work. Tlie motives which
have induced the publication of the present
late the third ])art of each cbapter, vihkk
consists of Latia sentences, with no cor*
respond ing G reek.
" As there are many ellioticai expcessioDs^
which cannot be comprenecided under aif
general rules of syntax* a selection of thr
most important examples has been waidK
from Bos*s excellent work on dlip^ The
vdume, after the appearand of that of scholar b to supply the words omKied;
Dr. Huntingford's^ are not explained.
Perhaps the latter has not been much nsed
in Ireland. We shall not enter into a
comparison of the two works. Eacli pos-
sesses its advantages. That of Mr. Neil-
ion, from the greater minuteness and va-
jiety of the rules, imd 1^ complexity of
the sentences, is perhaps better adapted
ibr the use ofyoia^ scholars. It possesses
also some important additions.- The fbl.
lowing extract from the preface of the
author will sufficiently explain his plan ;
it is only our duty to add that it has been
carefully and successfully executed.
** The sentences are all, except in one or
two unavoidable instances, in Attic prose ;
lor it is evidently improper to distract the
karaer's attention from syntax, to poeti<p li-
censes, or variefy of dialects.
" Each chapter is divided into tliree parts.
The first contains plain sentences, rarely an-
ticipating any subsecjucnt rule; these ought
to be all rendered mto correct Greek, bor
fore the other parts of the diapters are at*
tempted. The second contains more variety
of expression, and exemplifies the rules pro-
auscuously, as well as the particular one pre-
ixed to each clmter: (Jiis part is f^om f to
the* end of the English sentences. Having
finished these sientences, in all the chapters
on syntax, the student will be able to trans-
he will do with ease and pleasure, being
abled, by the translation, to fin4 them, an^
directed, by the blank spaces in the Crmir
page, where they ought to be placed. Tht-
Latin language was preferred to Kng^igK, m
these, in the sentences to be translated at tim
end of each chapter, and in the chapter o%
metaphrasis, as we have no Engli^i-Ciredt.
lexicon.
. " In order to ^ve a knowledge of the tf
lerent dialects, quotations froyi Ionic, Dorie^
and £oUc writers, and Homer, are iBiserted^
which are to be rendered into the oaomm
Attic Greek. The student will thus kam
every thing of unportance in each, with raadk^
more ease and pleasure, than by commitfii^i
a number of rules to memory.
" The lines reduced to prosaic order, aai
to be returned into metre, are intended li
form a taste for the melody of Greek poetry.
And, to impress upon the mind the dtsdnc*
tion between a poetic and prosaic style, it if
recommended to exercise learners m paifr^
phrasing, or imitating in jMrose, select pas-
sages of the Greek poets. This ks mnflr
called metaphraisis. A short spectmenofit
is given in the last chapter. It was thoogfit
unnecessary to insert more pieces of this kind*
as any poet will furnish suflicient exetdses."*
The rule prefixed to dmp. rii. oo tho
use of the particles ay, iav, &c. is not aif*
ficiently aocomte and distioct.
Art. VI.— TJtf Nature ofThncs : a Didactic Poem. Translafedfrom the Latin qfTttns
Lucretius Cams, accompanied with tfte original text, and illustrtfted xnih Natct pldhb-^
gical and explanatory. By Jobs Mason Good. In Tivo yolumes. 4to,
SEVERAL causes seem to have eon- cretius, that degree of poftafariCy and es-
spii-edto withdraw from the poem of l^u* teem to wliich it is jurtly entiUed> and
good's K&rURB OP THIllGd#
lAkh it has always enjoyed wkh a few
liiKriininating men of^^letters, Theab-
^tniseoes of Us subjects) the irreligion
■id Jioentionsness which have beeti attri-
hited, the former perhaps justly, the lat-
er certainly with great' injustice, U> the
mets of Epicurus ; have operated to its
Bodice ; nor is it every reader on whom
lirapiicity, and in some passages rug-
^dness of the style, will not at first ope-
He nnfavoarably. On the otlier hand,
le skill with which the argument is treat-
d, but more especially the exquisite pic-
ures and descriptioos, the frequent strokes
if sublimity and pathos with which the
nliject is varied and adorned, will ever
Bcure for this poet a high degree of esti-
Dition with readers of real taste, and
iBtiy place him in the foremost rank of
koman genius.
Though the circumstances which have
ken mentioned have almost necessarily
glided this writer lirom the enjoyment
W eitensive popularity, yet many modern
IrAersand readers of taste have been no
KriDgers to his merits, and there gre few
itathors of whom imitations may more
|b|Qaidy be traced in the works of sue*
mAog poet!. Thus our own Spenser, a
Mier imkxsd intimately cooversant with
tt great performances, of antiquity, has
iDMKt translated the introduction of the
En in a long pass^e, which does ample
ce to the original. The modem li-
tttie of the most polished nations of
Boix^, and that of our own country in
Wttcuiar, possesses also various transla-
■oos of this writer, though in few in-
ItaDces capable of affording any adequate
iMtsentation of his beauties. That of
lurdietti perhaps alone presents an ex-
ttption to this remark. The French, as
• partial
Irhich our ewn country has afforded,
knw in most instances been long and
^eimedly disregafded.
It has been tl^ fate of this poet to have
nftred m die original almost as much
^bm the licentiousness of his editors, as,
la modem languages, from the inadequacy
^ big translations. The publication of a
9len4id edition of the Latin text in this
country by Mr. Wakefield, in which many
passages have been restored to a state of
"^(^ty* by the aid of manuscripts and
cW editions, in consequence of which the
attention of the public has perhaps been
^irtcted in a greater degree to the work
sf this foet, scorned to yficr a fevourabie
period for a translation, of merit com-
mensurate to the claims of English lite-
rature, and the just reputation of the au-
tiior. This office has been undertaken by
Mr. Good 3 honourably, we think, to
himself, and beneficially to the cause of
learning.
The elegant poetical talents, and tie
various learning of Mr. Good, are already
well known to the public ^ and these are
qualities which it is requisite for a transla-
tion of Lucretius to combine in no ordU
nary degree.
The preface contains, at considerable
length, an account of preceding versions
which have come to the knowledge of the
translator, as well as of the views with
which his own translation was undertaken,
and the principles upon which it has been
conducted. On this subject tho writer
may properly speak for himsel£
*' Contrary to the example afforded by
my predecessors, 1 have preferred blank
verse to rhyme ; not, however, from any
dread of superior labour, but from a persua-
sion that, ui mixed 3ubjects of description
and scientitic precept, it possesses a decisive ad-
vantage otcr the couplet. It bends more rea-
dily to the topics mtroduced, it exhibks more
dignity from its unshackled freedom, and 619-
plays more haraiony from its greater variety
of cadence. I have also attempt^ what
ought, indeed, to be the attempt of eveiy
translator, to give the manner, as well as the
matter, of the original, to catch its characte-
ristic style, and delineate its terms of ex-
pression.
" The translation is acoompaaied with a
perpetual commentary, in the fonn of sub-
joined notes, and a correct copy of the Latin
text. With respect to the propriety or ad^
vantage of the latter, I was for some time
doubUul. Mr. Wakelield was the first who
proposed it to me ; the plan was ^ifterwards
strenuously advised by many other literary
friends of the first eminence, and I at lengtn
resolved to adopt it. In tlie choice of art
edition, I found no difficulty : the intrinsut
excellence, and pre-emiriehce of Mr. Wake-
field's own, precluding all hesitation upon the
subject 1 nave at present, howenjer, a mo^
tive for reprinting tnis edition,' of which, t
could not, at first, be aware ; for almost^all
its copies were unfortunately consumed by
the fire that, about two years ago, destroyed
Mr. Hamilton's print! ng-ofiices. To this
edition, nevertheless, I have not, in every ^iip-
stance, adhered in my translation ; on some
few occasions preferring the lection of prk>r
expositors, and in t^Vo or three casps suggest?
ing emendations of my own : ye^t, not choos-
ing to break in upon* the integrity of Mr.
Wakefield's text, l.liave merely pomted'out,
and defended, such variations in the com'
mentary. * • * * * . -^
9d4
** itis cpnmientary is composed of dotes of
diOferent aescription^, wiiich will, in general,
be found eaiialty original in their design and
' materials. It consists of parallel passages, or
obvious imitations of Lucretius by otlier poets,
whetlier Latin, French, Italian, German, ispa-
nish, Portuguezc, or Englidi ; togellier with
original passages from Greek writers, to which
our po«t has liiinself occasionally referred, or
from which he has manifestly borrowed. It
consists, likewise, of casual observations on
the dlAerent vci^ions of Lucretius m our o\m,
as well as foreign langirages ; and comparisons
of the doctrines elucidated or animadverted
upon in the course of the poem, with others of
a similar tendency, which have been advanced
or maintained by more modem philosophers.
As I chieH^ design this publication for the
use of the Lngiish reader, I have, moreover,
been punctilious uisubfixiug translations of
all the passages from foreign writers, whose
works I have found it necessary to quote. In
cases where wc have already adequate trans-
lations of such works in out own language, I
Lave readily availed myself of such assist-
ance : but in all other instances, as also where
the version in common use is not sufriciently
close to the original autiior to answer the
purpose of the quotation, I have taken the li-
terty of giving a version myself. This, as
will be obvious, lias largely augmented my
labours, but it was a trouble that seemed im-
periously demanded."
Mr. Good however has not confined his
lesearches to the writers of ancient or mo-
dem Europe : be is an oriental scholar^
of no mean accomplishment ; and has in
various instances rendered tlie muses of
the east, tributary to those of the west.
.From some instanoes of coincidence, he
Is not ifiifeed uuinclined to concede some
probability to a suppositioa of the abbe
de St. Pierre, which he allows to be only
a conjecture, that Lucretius . was not ig-
norant of the poetic books of the Jewish
scriptures. Virgil, he obser\'es, was in-
disputably acquainted with the prophecies
of Isaiah. We cannot say that the coinci-'
deuces which are supposed to exist be-
tween some passages o£ the poet, and the
writings of the prophet, appear to us suf-
ficient to establish the fact. Had tlie li-
terati of Greece and Rom^ been acquaint-
ed with the Jewish scriptures more than
by reputation, the references to them>
and the mention made of them, would,
we conceive, have been more frequent.
The preface is followed by a life of Lu-
^tius^ The materials are indeed scan^ :
they appear however to have been glean-
ed with great itidustry by the biographer.
Lucretius appears not to have ix>sscssed
any public station. It is not therefore
tutprisbg ttet the Incidents of his life oc-
ANClENt CLASSICS^ fee;
cupy a small space in the annals of RosM^
history. How liule is iudeed known of
the lives of Virgil and Horace berai
what is incidentally recorded by then*
Delves, or a few of tlieir cooteoiporaikii
similar to themselves in taste and punoitsl!
The name of Lucretius is traced La variaai|
periods of Roman history from the csc
pulsion of the Tarquins. But thoiwkj
several persons occur^ memorable on wU
ferent^coountSi who bore this mme, tm
documents remain which enable us m\
trace the line of the poet's descenti 19^
work however forms a ndbler and sosm'
durable monument to his fame, than mf
honours of lineage and ancestry by whkVi
he may have been distinguished.
Whatever were the parentage of La»|
cretins, as his talents were eminent, |^
education appears to have been tbe mgitf
liberal that tlie age was papable csf aSM^
ing. The polite arts, as well as tl^ sereni
studies of philosophy, had now made coa*
siderable progress in Rome. At noie«
mote period the language, manners, aai
literature of the Greeks, had been tbe ob«
jcct of abhorrence or contempt to tlit
stern patriots of the republic 5 who hdd
no acquisition in estimation but that of
militaxy glor)', and feared no danger but
tlie introduction of such principles,- taster
and pursuits, as tended, in their opiuiaa^
to enervate the martial spirit of their
countrymen. The voice of the philno-
pher was regarded as tlie song of the
syren, ciiarming indeed, but only cakulat-^
ed to lull men into inactivity and e&oai-
nacy. Yet when the severe Cato oooid
so far prevail over the inveteracy of kit
prejudices, as in an advanced period of fail <
life to become a student of^ the Grak \
language, it is not suprizing that the par*
suits of literature, ot whidi Greece was
the only accessible source, gradually gain-
ed ground, till that native tongue of poetrf
and science became a necessary part of tbe
education of every Roman youth disdu-
guisbed by rajik, fortune, and praaiisiDg
t4lents.
It is evident from his writings that La*
cretins must have appHfd himself with
great ardour to the acquisition of thus Gre-
cian philosophy. His poem disph^s aU
most as mucli learning as genius, Tbe
sect under whose banners he enrolled
himself, was that of Epicurus ; whose
philosophy, however imperfect, wh«i
compared with that of tbe modems, aad
however chargeable with some great sid
important errors, was perhaps on tbe
whole tbe most rational system, at least ol^
M(yrf& KATUAfi 6F i*Bmos«
03S
yS^phs, £aIectiC8, and m6rals> which had
Tbca been introduced. The schooU of
this pJiibsophj were at ihn^ time distin-
S^isbed by some of the most eminent
I flames of which the age could boast.
I To explain the principles of this sys-
-^em in the Latin languagie, in the form
-mf a didlctic poem« was an undertake
-Hig' at onre novel and arduous. A
.'iiidactic poem was perhaps a prodoction
'fttcberto unknown in the Latin tongue ;
^tad the prose writers, who had applied
I fheniselres to the illastration of phiioso-
^ t^y» ^3^ altogether failed of success.
t< Ciceio treats ^ith contempt, with respect
^ mt ieast to their style and acsangement,
tbe philosof liical treatises which had pre-
h ceded his own writings in that branch of
f' jcience. Greece indeed abounded with
escamples of this species of composition,.
^ vhicfa it wouM be a rain attempt to num-
I* ber, and comparaih-ely few of which
p bavcsunived the ravages of time. Some
f«f the eider ph'dosophers, as £mpedocles»
and Pannenides, had also presented tlieir
* ay^stems under a poetic garb ; and in a
' subseqaeot age didactic poe^ had re-
ceived from such writers as Nicander and
Aratus, a more polished language, and ap-
fonopriate tone. With respect however
to the state of Roman literature. Lucre-
tiss might justly indulge the boast :
* Juvetquc novas deceqwre (lore?,
In^gnemque nieo capiti petere ihdecoroiiam,
Uode prius null! vclarint tempera Musx.'
The Latin language was undoubtedJy
Bmch less tractable than the Greek to the
employment either of the poet or philo-
•Qfjier. Cicero frequently complains of
the difficulty of conveying philosophical
ideas by means of a language not yet dis-
tiplined to the admission of teinis corre-
fpondeot to them, and he appears to have
been frequently reduced to the neceffity
of inventing terms for the purpose of ex-
pressing his Greek original. Liicretius
had a atiU greater reason to complain of
the hardship of accommodating philo-
ik)pfaical ideas at once to a language, to
tvhich tiiey were hitherto unknown, and
to the tdechanical structure of verse, and
laws of poetical description ; a diiBculty
which he does not fail to point out to the
friend to whom his work is inscribed.
' Nee me anuni fallit, Graiorum obscura ro«
perta
i)ifficile inlustrare Latinis versibuscsse;
Muha novis verbis pncsertim quom sit a-
gaodum
ropter cgesUtem fincuaOy et rerum novita-
tim'
Another difficulty which Lucretius
hinrself mentions as incident to his work,
was the necessity which it imposed ou.
him of combating the popular prejudice*
of his age, and the imputation of impiety
to which it was likely to subject him.
Yet we caniK>t help thinking that this dif-
ficulty is overrated by Mr. Good, when
he says, ' rt ts impossible to conceive
that any man couW, without personal
danger, encounter tlie animosity of so
numerous and powerful a body as thos«
religious orders must liave formed, by th»
propagation of doctiines avowedly subver-
sive of their entire constitution.' Tim
hold of the pagan system of tbec^ogy oo
the minds of men was already much re-
laxed in tlie age of Lucretius ; men of
education, among whom atone his poem
was likely to be circulated^ were com-
monly unbelievers in it ; and many of th^
pontiii^s who per^rmed in public the so-
lemnities of their religion, in private ri«
diculed its absurdities without resenre*
Having satisfactorily defended the doc-
trines of Epicurtrs, and the philosophic
poet his disciple, from the charge of im-
morality and licentiousness, which ha»
been thrown upon them by the ignorant or
tlie disingenuous, Mr. Good next cnteu
upon a more arduous task, that of clear-
ing the £ptcurean system from tlie impu.
tation of atheism, which has in every a^
been affixed to it. The undertaking 14
bold, and ingeniously supported ; we can^
not say that ft appears to us equally suc-
cessful. Our limits permit us to extract
only a small part of Mr, Good's apo-
logy.
He first shews, what indeed no one will
deny, that Epicurua allowed tlie existence
of intelligent beings superior to man in
happiness and dignity of nature. In som*
passages Mr. Good imagines that he dis-
covers the mention of one supreme intel-
ligence, of incomprehensible majesty, who
by his inscrutable decrees governs thti
universe, and regulates the tenor of
events.
'* This magnificent and tremendous Being
he no where attempts to describe : but, to
prove his existence, he adverts, in a variety
of places, to those arbitrary and mysterious
e\'cnt8 which areperpetually recurring through
all nature, baffling the expectations of tiie
most prudent, and elevating us to the god-
templation of a Divinity, supreme, indm-
dual, and omnipotent :
" So, from ilia awful shades, some Power
UftiSEfiN
Overturns all human greatness ; treads to
diist
d3S
ANCIENT CLASMCS, ten.
lods en^giiB» crowoB» the proudest pomps
o€ 8tate»
'Aad laughs at all the mockery of man.
" ITie umeoh ineomprehemible, or uify*-
ttrious Pow£R» is a phrase not unfrequently-
appUed to the Dbinity m most laDguages> but
m noncy perhaps, with so much approuriation
as the Latin, in which the term Vis, or
Power, even witliout an adjunct, is put iii
apposition with Numen, Mens Divina, or
the PRESENT God, and often u^ synoni-
oiously for tiiese appellations. Thus the au-
thor of the Panegync to Con^anttne Augu9>
fiB: 'Osupseme Creator i whose names are
as numerous as thou hast willed there should
be languages among the nations : whom, for
thou authorisest it to be said, it is impossible
for us4o itmiti^— dwells not ui thee that cer-
tain Power, and divine Mind^ which is
lliflused through the whole world?* The
writer has sdected the very words of Lucre-
tins, Vis aujKDAM, but has, at the same
time, omitted his truly elegant and appro-
jiriateet>tthet of abdita, uiseen, inscrutable,
or mysterious;— Vis ABDiTA QU^DAM. Ci-
cero, in his Mtlonian oration, hasa.passage
still more to tlie point : .* Nor can any one,'
says h^ * think otherwise, unless he disbelieve
that there exists a Power or divine Ener-
gy. But thm does, th^ does exist this
Power ; nor is it possible that a some-
thing, wMch perceives and actuates, should
be present in these bodies, even in the midst
of their infirmities, and not be present in so
grand, so eTfcellent a movement of ns^re :
unless, indeed, sttfdi a Power be to be denied
for the sole reason that it is iwCscen, or per-
ceived; as tboudi we were able to behold
this mind of ouno^ which we determine, by
which we focesee, by which, at this moment,
I mysdf act, and speak, or could plainly as-
certain of what it cdhsists, or where it resides.
This, this, then, is the Fower that has so
often fovoured this city with an incredible
piosperity and happiness/ Let net, there-
fofe, the theism of Lucretius be wspected,.
because, in conjunctioa with his countrymen
in general, he represents thcf great author
and arbiter of aU things as an unseen or in-
scrutable Power, t^ven in the present
age of the world, we only know him from his
attributes,— from his wotd and from his Works,
for no man /^M hifbeito Mcen Ood, or can see
Mm. The sacred scriphires are full of the
some representation. Thus, Moses, m the
very midst of an intercourse with which lie
was fevoured by the Almighty, inquires what
b hit name, that he mi^ inform the Israelites
of it. To the saune efiect, Zophal', in his
interview with Job :
'' Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou completely find out the Akftigbty ?
" With which, the following sub!tm(* apos-'
tiophe of Job himself is in pmeci Wkvsom
" O that I knew where I might find htm : —
Behold ! t go forwards^ bat he- is Jiot thefe ;
And backwards, but I cannot perceive hiin :
On the Idt hand I feel ibr kini, Jmt tiapelh I
not.
He eosiiroudetli th^ right hand» and I cttixf
see him»
" So the devout Asaph :
*' In the sea is thy way.
And thy path in Uie deep waters.
And thy footsteps are not known.
" And hence the Athenkms in futureiKe^ ;
erected an altar to this same inscnitaUeaid i
MYSTERIOUS PowER, and iosaibed it i
ArNftlTft eta, *' To THR UNKMOW* ,
God." St. Paul remarked the inscriptifla '
in his visit to this city, and particularly &liwle§
to it in his address to the Athenians : ' wtioni,
therefore,' says he, • ye is;norantly woiship,
him declare I unto you/ Itwss aboatac«iH '
tury before 3t. PauKs visit to Athens, tlm
Lucretius was stiidying[ in the same.soloC i
philosophy and superstitioa : and, as tber^
can be little doubt that this altar was at tkt
time in existence, it is no extravagant conjec-
ture that our poet himself had rep«atedl v no-'
ticed it, and had its inscrtpticm in nis recalkc'
tion when composmg the passage before ns.*
The passage^ on which Mr. Good hjk
this stress, runs thns^ in the original :
'< l^sque adeo res humanas vis abditaquy
dam
Obferit ;. et puKhioB &sccs, acevasque tf .
. cures, i
Proculcare. ac ludilnio sibi habere vidctur .",
V. im
"We imagine that few readers of Lu-
cretius will discover in this descripdoir
any thing more tlian the power of chance,
to use popular language, or, speaking
more strictly, the agency of causes re-
specting which we possess too little expe-
rience to be able to foresee their time and.
extent of operation.
Afr. Gotxi next represents the atomic
{>hilO!3ophy of Epicums as* subordinate
to # system of theism, dnd in support of
this supposition quotes 'a few passages.
from Diogenes Laertius.* We can only
observe that in none of these passage,
or in the whole circle of the ancient Epi-
curean doctrine respecting first causes,
does there appear to us to be any meDtion,
direct or implied, of intelligence. It is
indeed the whole scope of their system
of physics, to shew that matter is formed
into systems of order by the operation of
powers eternally and independantly inie-
rertt in itself. In the translation of cnc
of the passages to which we have referred,
it must be observed, that' the woftl 'im-
mediate,' printed in Italics, is inserted,
ai^ tliat the vyord rendered ' creation,'
implies only origination or birth, or cos*
G0<>D*6 VATVRB OF THINSS.'
td9
Mkotioo, if with some editions^ we read
llie ii)peQdlx to the life contains a
DooipBTiion of the Epicur^ui philosophy^
irith other ancient systems^ axul a history
if its rarious revolatioos in ancient and
Dodem times.
We now proceed to thfe translation i
nd the extracts which we shall giv^,
|8tly from the more strictly didactic and
igumentative, and partly froni tlie dl-
naiive and more ornamented passages of
bepoem, will enable our readers to form
keir ju<%nient of its merits.
The invocation to Venus, as the repre-
entative of nature, and parent of the Ro-^
nan race, with which the poem commen*
xsi is a passage of celebrated beauty,
nd is well known to the English reader,
vf the translations and imitations of it,
vhich are to be found in the works of oar
Bvn poets.
** Parent of Rome ! by gods and men be^
br'd,
Be&ignaDt Vekus \ thou ! the saO-clad Main,
Aod fruitful Earthy as round the Seasons
rofl,
iThh life who swellest, for by thee all live,
ilod, living, hail the cheerful light 6f day : —
Thee, Goddess, at thy glad approach, the
winds.
The Icinpe5t3 fly : dedalian Elarth to tliee
Fours fcwth her sweetest flowerets: Ocean
laughs,
Aod the blue Heavens in cloudless splendour
dcckU
For, when the Spring first opes her frolick
And genial Zephyrs long locked up respire,
Thee, Goddws, then, th* aerial birds confess,
To rapture -stung tliroagh every shiv'ring
plume :
Hiee, the wild herds ; hence, o'er tlic joyous
glebe
lounding at large ; or, with undaunted chest,
Stemming the torrent tides. Through all,
thatlim '
So, by thy cliarms, thy blandishments o'er-
power'd.
Springs the warm wish thv footsteps to pur-
sue:
Till through the seas, the mountains, and the
ftowfc,
The verdant meads, and woodlands filled with
long,
^vin'd by desire each palpitating tribe
Hastes, at thy s&rine, to plant the future
race.
Since, then, with universal sway thou
nd'st, . ^
And thoa alone ; nor aught without thee
. springs,
Aoghtgayorlovdy; thee 1 woo to guide
Aririii my flowing song, that aims to paint
A.VS. KSv. Vol. rV'.
To Memmius' view the sssbKces of
things:
•MfeMMius> my friend, by thee, from earliest
youth,
O Lroddess ! led, and trainM to every grace.
Then, O, voucl^fc thy favotir, power di-
vine !
Aud with immortal eloquence inspire.
Quell, tod^ the fUry of the hostile woricl.
And lull to peace; that all thd strain may
. hear.
For peace is thuie : on thy Foft bosom he.
The warlike field who sways, almighty Mars,
Struck by triumphiat Love's etcmaf wound.
Reclines full freciuent : with uplifted gaze
On thee he feeds his Idnging, lingering ej'es.
And all his soul hangs qtiiv'rmg irom thf
lips.
O ! while thine? arms in fond embraces clasp
His panting members, sovereign of the heart !
Ope thy bland voice, aud intercede for Rome.
For, while th* unsheathckl swbrd is brandish'd,
vain
And all imequal is the poet's song ;
And vain th* attempt to claim hi
ear."
his patron's
If we be not mistakeiij this passage
will be considered as a favourable speci-
men of Mr. Good*s talents as a traiisla*
tor of Lucretius- The original, as we
have before mentioned, has been imitated
by Spenser > it was also translated by
Dr}'den.
This introduction, beautiful as it con-
fessedly is, presents, at first view, a kind
of incongruity with the object of the
work, which is to account for tJie nature
of tilings ' by the operation Of their own
laws, and consequently to disprove the
popular system of mythology. A poet
is not to be bound by laws so strict , and
when he takes advantiige of the mythology
of his country, as the foundiition of some
beautiful poetical description, he is not
necessarily to be considered as subscribing
to the creed which he adopts. The ob-
jection has, however, been urged by several
writers, and especially by Hnme. * Lu-
cretius,' he says, ' was plainly seduced by
the strong appearance of allegory which
is observable in the pagan fictions. He
first addresses himself to Venus, as to
that power, which animates, renews, and
beautifies the miiverse j but is soon be-
trayed by the mythology ioto incoheren-
cies, while he prays to tliat allegorical per-
sonage to appease the furies of her lover.
Mars ; an idea not»drawn from allegory,
but from the popular religion, aud whicji
Lucretius, as an epicurean, could not con-
sistently admit of.' Effectually to defend
the poet, some writers ha\'^ contended
that tiie whole description is allegorical^
Z
im
ATCCTETCT dASStCS, trt.
. and In support of (his suppio&ition, (he
barpn des Cdutures advdnces.an abstru^
philosophical hypothesis, too remote how-
ever to- permhiis to conceive that it^h-
tered into the mind of the atithor* The
solution which Mr. Good projx)ses* thougli
perhaps ndt necessary, }s however much
more obvious 'and probable. ^ ,.
*' Nov, allo5k'iDg thijt the solution of T>e
Coutures is somewhat too recondite, I can bj
^no miejios perceive the incohercncy complain-
ed of by Mr. Hume. The character of Mars
is, in I be present instance, alto^ther as alle-
goric as that of Venus ; and the liction of their
union as correct and consistent with tlie thic
spirit of allegory, as any liction that was ever
'inyented. \ enus is the poetic type of all fe-
male grace and excellence: Mars, of all tlic
qualities of the hero : the one the gofldess of
beauty; the other the genius of war. What
is there theri bcoliereut in the loves of such
ideal personages ; in tlielr ntutual embraces ;
and the triomph of the (ormer over the latter }>
Tlje same fact is realized every day in tlie na-
tural urorld. It is the very type of the con-
nexion between Alexander ana Tliais, Marc
Antony and Cleopatra, our own Edward and
Eleonora. That such an allegory was conso-
laant with the mythology- of the Grecian people,
•IS creditable to the consistency of tliatm) tholo-
E itself. But, surely, Lucretius was not to i^
quish a beauty of this description, merely
because it comcided with the popular faith of
his coontiymen, or might even bo fdmided
U)X)n it. In luy mind, it was an additional
;|notive for. his having recourse to it; and
nothing can, in a greater degree, demonstrate
^he deh'^mcy of his taste, or the correctness of
his judgmeitt.
** It is tfue> he is commencing a poetical
essay, with the etpress purpose of confuting
the popular niytholog}' of both Greece ana
Rome. Be aisert* rei>eatedly that the whole
system is fictitious, and totally unwcNthy c(f
credit; but he asserts at the same time, that
JO long as it is regarded as mere tiction^ ne
evil con ensue, and that its beauties are nn-
juui'Qus and apposite :
*' Call, if thou chuse it, the resounding deep
'Nepti;ne, and Ceres term the golden
grain, ,
fie Bacchus wme, its vulgar-source forgot,
Add e'en this globe of senseless Earth de-
fine
PAREift OF Gods: no harm ensues; but
. mark,
Tis ficticw al], by vital facts disproved"
. Few passages have been more frequently
or more justly applauded than the fine per-
sohiiication of superstition, which the
:poet employs in defence of his own phi-
'l6sophy. We are tempted> in this instazice,
to quote the original :
•• Humana ante ocnios tefc qtal#l)i
ceret
In tenis, ebpMcsa gravi sub IteligioDe,
Que caput .a csii rogionUius (AiHaMM, ■
HorribilL super adspeciu mOTtalibiH imtani]
f rtmum Graius honio niortakis adtoM
contra ^
Est oculos ausus iMimusqiie obsistcfe cam
Quein nc<|ue fana deum, nee fiihniia,li
roinitanti ' ^
Murmure, compresaaft caiihim; 9tAmwlfi
acrem
InritM atiimi virtufii, inftMyrctf^ate
Nature prunns ^^ortaHWi dausti* copint
Ergo vivida visanimi peiyictt, et extn
Processit (onge damiviaDtiainaeiiiaifniifi
At^ue omne inunenstini peragravit oMj
animoque :
t^nde refert nobis ^icfor quid po«tt cm, ^
Quid ne(}ueat ; finita poteMas deBiqneeoid||
QuSinani sit ratione, atqoe idle tendal
herens.
Qua T^ Kclf^io, pedsfaos aiAjeda, Tina*
Ob teritnr. nos exxqnat victoria cslo." .^
I. dMI
" f>^ tlius Mankind, tliemlonglhetj^
power
Of Superstition 8Way"*4, npSiftedpw^
her head to heaven, and wIto horraic M|
Brooding o*er ^earth ; UU he, the m 4
Greece,
Auspicions rose, who fiTst the caitM, da'l
And broke in twain the mons^s irwi nL
No thunder him, no fell revenge pHrtfifS
«()f heaven incens*d„or ddties in anns. .
Urg'd rather, lieucc, wHh more dderm
soul.
To btirst through Nattire's portal^ 6w «
crowd « ^
With jc;Ao\is <:antion dos'd ; the faalB|
walk
Of heaven to scale, and dart fais daoiflBft;
e>'e,
Tiirthe ^^st whole beaci^h iriin jtood »
play'd.
Hence taught be us, triompteit,wbaftii^
Ani what forbear : what powers inteat
• hirk.
And where thear bounds, and issues. As^r
hence, we.
Triumphant, too, o'er SurERSTitroS «»
Contemn her terrc^rs, and nafofd tbe kO«
vens."
In this passage the picture of jSapfr*
atitiou is ^rhapis scaroety given wiA a«v
racy.. In the original she is repreaSited,
not as lifting her JieAd to hearcU, !wt«
residing in the sk!^s enveloped h^*^^^
*and displaying only her h«id and Wnfic
featured to the ai^-\gh^ mltituds be-
neath. The addition of the foUtfW?
words * from the crowd %vith'jeafoasii»'
tion closed,' rather tends also, wetWaki
to weaken the elfect of the <Jc«^^^jP^
Moi»*s N^ru^t e»p tkiifi^s.
339
iftaM \>t tncMfe nedanie. W^ ckMilyt
irhfdMr cbe additionai chrcumstance, * and
brolD? in twaid the liionsrer's iron rod,* •
\ftpi6E3ble. In other respects the trahs^
btWD is good.
, The fallowing passage contains one of
||e alMard peculiarities of ^corean doc-
^md, the declination of atoms. It is
nrf accurately, skilfully, and soicoesBfully .
matd by Mr. Good.
" TUs^too-, regard intent { that primal seedS)
Whetk down direct Iheir potent path they
htime tmcerlain, and uncertain spaJbe,
Sk from, the eight dedine-^et so .minut)^
efT tlH?}-, no fancy less can ^'er-conceiTTe.
^ilkout iMs dcriottft curve primordial seedi
KoahldrDp successive, like thecrystal showV)
void of all contest, all rc-active bloW,
Wkeoce oatnre sole her world of trondei^
I* H Iha, th^re W, \i4io deem' the seeds of
thii^
iiore poDdYous, as their rectinnear course ^
Speeds thixwgh the void, the lighter soon may
)mtA thus mti repercnssive \*-ar commence,-^
bFir err thgr from the truth, for though,
vhenurrd
tkough uie pure air, or ckaf translucent
.wave,
Doubtte^ aS pbntfrdlrt fbriWs more swift'
descend;.
^ J»i, from fte varisiftce of rfeslstapce sole,
flows, bv such fluids Ibmi'd, 'gaiubt things
i mfike,'
The grosser quick-o*cipow*rittg. But pure
I spice^
Jsevety part, in evfe|y hour the same,
i rawf9wutr«*^ not, the demanded path
bidding submissive. Hence, in equal tinie>
Throu^ die bhiik void, unequal weights
descend
^ every fended variance i and hence, too.
;^
grosier ne'er the lighter urg*d beloW
^ gab, triumphant ; or the cfontest rouse
Whence spring ueW motions, and aU nature
< lives.
* Ileucc dctahly flows it why the seeds of
from the right decline ; yet, in de-
-.8^'
2Je least cwccptiWy, lest vfc ,sh<Aild deem
Tm fme oWique which nature ne'er assumes.
. fOr nought more obsious, as the sight con*
finns •'...•
Jhan that dl weights, their downward course
"'atwtil
peering, cbnqiiely never can.^cend ;
oW what keen sight of man can prove pre-
W the s%Ht cadence ne'er dfecrrocs tttaU>
. a«?H one motion Uniform, Uienew
' tif^^'^^ ^^^^^^^ copying, if throughout
jT^rdial seeds det fin'd not, rousing hence
»xe* spring of Qctiofi, potent to subvert
Th^ bonds of fate, and break the rigid diain
Of cause on cause, eternal,— whence, re-
solve,
Flows through the world this freedom of the
. miml^
This tfower to act, though fate the deed for-
bicC
Ur^d by the will alone ? The free-bom muid
Acts, or forbears, spontaneous ; ii^ own time.
Its place, allHe imcertain : these the will.
Doubtless, alone determines, and, atXMice,
Flies the tieet motion through the assenting
frame.
Dost thou not see, as down the barrier
. dnKps
That reins the raCer, instant though he dart.
Not half so instant dscrts he as his sdul
Ambitious covets ? Deep thiough all his
frame
Th' elastic nerves must first tlie wish con*
fey
l^K yetthe consentaneous flight succeed,
ilence, obvious, springs aU' motion from th^
heart,
RoQs'd by tJie mind's resolve, and idstant
ufg'd
Through every nerVe, through every quive-
ring llmba
A force far diflferent this than e'er prevails'
When aught without coerces. Passive, then,
fiends all the frame th' extrinsic power be-
neath.
Borne down reluctant ; till th^ awakening
will
Unchcuns each meniber, and resumes her
right.
Kor ott; though foreign fwcc, with tyrant
sway.
Rule us, resistless, headlong hurrying down-
Say ^^ lurks no ad\-erse soiiietning' m the
breast . . , .
Ptoud to witlistand? M oft, at whose cai>-
tro!, .
Swifi dows the nervous tide fVom luttb to
limb.
Bursting each bond — and, oft, as swift, re-
tires?
Hence firm maintain We primal seeds some
^ cause . .
Must feel of rising motion unbestow'd
By weigji^, or blow re-active, whence alone
Upsprings thir secret power by nuin possest :
Nought forming nought, as reason proves
precipe*
Forweiight forbids the credence that alone
Thmgs by re-aetiou ihove ; yet, lest tlie
m'md
fiend to n stern necessity within,
And, like a slave, determine but by fo«ce, —
Though Urg'd by weight, in time, in pluce
untixt, '
Each primal atom trivial still declines.*'
The conchi^on of the third book, a^
gainst the fear of death, is one of tlio
eminently beautiful passages of thg
poem^ our Knrits- forbid us to extract
the whole»
za
340
ANaENT CLASSICS, &c.
** But thy dear home shall never greet thee
more!
No more the best of wives! — ^thy babes be-
tov'd,
Whose haste half-met thee, emulous to snatch
. The dulcet luss that roused thy secret soul, .
A^in shall never hasten ! — ^nor thine arm,
With deed heroic, guard thy country's weal ! —
O mournful, mournful fate!" thy 'friends ex-
claim,
•* One enyiou!^ hour of these invalucd jovs
Robs thee for ever !" — But they 4idd.ju)t here,
*' It robs thee, too, of all desire of joy :**
A truth, once uttcr'd, that the inind would free
From every dread, and <trouble. *' Thou art
safe!
The sleep of death protects thee I and secures
From all the unnumbered woes of mortal life !.
While we, alas! tiie sacreil urn around
That holds thine ashtis, shall insatiate weep.
Nor time destroy th' eternal grief we feel !**
What then has death, if death be mere repose,
And quiet only in a peaceful grave,
What has it thus to niar this lite of man?
" Yet mar it does. E'en o'er the festive
board.
The glass while grasping, and, with garlands
crown'd.
The thoughtless maniacs oft indignant roar,
•• How sliort the joys of wine ! — c*en while we
drink
Life ceases, and to-morrow ne'er returns!"
As if, in death, the worst such wretches fi-ar'd
Were thirst un^uenched, parching cv'r)- ner\-e,
Or dcem'd their passions would punue tliem
still. .
Kot anxious, thus, mankind the world resign
At ^entnc hour when soul and bo<ly rest ;
Nor would they though that rest were ne'er
to end:
Nor thus the day's desire pursues their dreams j
Though then the seeds of sense not wander far
From sensile movements, scarcely, oft, al-
lay'd.
And quick resum'd Vhen starts the soul at
tnom.
Of much less moment, then, should death be
• held
Than sleep, if aught can less thnn that which
nc er
Moment excites whatever ; for the crowd
Of sea^le swds arc wider here di<;perst;
Nor wakes he e*er to action, and the day,
Whose frame once feels the chilling pause of
life.
" W*rc then the Nature of created tilings
To rise abrupt, and thus repining man
Address — '< O mortal ! whence these usdM
fears?
This weak, superfluous sonoW ? why th* np*
. proach
Dread'st thou of death.*? For if the tim«
elaps*d
Have siilird propitious, and not all Us gifts«
As though adventur'd in & leaky vase,
Been idlr wasted, profitless, anJi vain—
Why quit'st tliou iiot| thou fool! the feast of
life
Fili'd, — and with nund all pantiog for r^iast>
But if thysi.*lf have squandtar'd every liooh^
And of the past grown weary^-why demand
More days to kill, more biasings to pervert, ;
Nor rather headlong liasten to tntne end? ^
For nothing further can ray powers devise
To please thee ; — ^things for ever suct-eed
Uncliang*d, — and would do, thoogU revoivng
. years
Should spare Ihy vigour, and thy brittW frame
Xive o*er all time: e^en ampler would'it then
then
Mark liow unvaried all creation xaavc^^ *
Were Nature thus t' address us, could ve tf :
To fuel the justice of her keen rebuke?
So true, t J le picture, the advice so- sage!
'^ But to the wretch who moans tfa'ap-^
proach of death
With grief immeasufd, louder migbt she nee
l^er voice severe — ** Vilecovvara! drj- \isM
<'yes — ' .
Hence with thy sniv'Uing sorrannv ^nid de-
part !"
Should he, moroo'iT, have past man'&nad- ^
day hour —
" What! thou lament? already who bait ,
reap*d
An ample harvest ? Rj* desiring thus .
llie past once more, the pix>sent thou ab- •
hor*st.
And life tlies on imperfect, unenjoyed.
And ilcath untimely meets thee, ere thy seal,
CloyM with the banquet, is prepared to rise.
Leave, Uien, to others bliss thy jean» ^houkt
shun ;
Come cheerful leave it, since still leave thou
miisL"
Justly 1 deem might Nature thus reprove:
For, through creation, old to young re^lg&s,
And this from that matures ; nor aught ue-
scends
To the dread gulphs, the fancied sliadesof
hell.
The mass material must survive entire
To feed suct^edhi^ ages, which, in turn.
Like thee shall tiourish, and like thee f^baO
die;
Nor more the present ruins tlian the past,
lliu^ things from things ascend; anu.lile a-
isls
To none a freehold, but a use to all.
• ** Reflect, moreo'er, hew less ihaunougiit
tous •
Weighs the long portkm of eternal time
Fled ere our birtn : «i>, too, thefutiu^ wdgks
When death dissolves us. What of horror,
then,
Dwtlls there in death? what gloomy, vbat
. austere?
Can there be dsewhere -sluniber half «
sotmd?"
An extract from the fifth book, which
forms part of the description of the pro-
gress ttf men towards civilization, must
close oar specimens of the poetical de-
partment of this work.
6oOD*8 NATVSE OF THINGS.
341
« TTien, too', new cultnres tried tlicy, and,
'd the boon earth, by ceaseless care ca-
Ladi barbarous fhiHage sM-eeten and subdue.
0 loftier still, and loftier up the hilU,
ho\'e thev the woodlands dailv, broadening
thus ' .
ht culturM foreground, that the sight might
trace
[«i(k, conr-ii^tdsj rivers, lakes, and vine-
yanli gay,
fr hills 'afid mountains 'thrown; while
thmugh the dali*s,
be do\¥iiH, the slo|>t*s, rati lavish and distinct
he purple realm of olives: as with hues
distinct, though various, ^ill the landscape
sveU»
Ticre blooms the dulcet apple, mid the tufts
f trees diverse that blend their ioyous shades.
And from the liquid wamluigs of the
bird*.
eani*d they their first rude liotes, ere music
0 the rapt ear had tun'd the measnrVl verse ;
sd Zephyr, \vhisp*ring through the hollow
reeds,
aufi;ht the first 9\viuns the lK>ilow reeds to
5ouDd:
I'iwice woke they soon those tender-trem-
bling tones
Thich the sweet pipe, when by the fingers
prwt,
aun o'er the bills, the \'ales, -and woodlands
uild.
of kioe shepherds, and the rural gods.
0 g^owbg tunc points, ceaseless^ something
* ni-w,
And human skill evolves it into day. . .
" Thus soothed they everj' care with mil-
jiCji thus,
CMd every meal, for rests the hdsom then.
And oft tliey threw them on the velvet grass,
Near gfidmg slreems, by shadow)* trees o'er-
• axthd,
And void of costly wealth found still the
• means
To gladdefi life. But <liief vhi^n genial spring
Led forth her laughing Iralo, and. the young
y«;ar *
Painted the meads with roscat flowers pro-
Then mirth, and wit, and wiles, and frolic,
chief,
fVWd from tile heart; for tlten the rustic
mtee
Wannest iaspir*d tliem : then lascivious sport
'Taught loimd their heads, their shoukfcrs,
tauglit to twine
'Fofagc, and flowers, and garlands richly
To loose, innumVous time their limbs to move,
And beat,' with sturdy foot, maternal earth ;
Vk hUe many a smfle and mauy a laughter loud.
Told all yf7& new, and wohd'rous much
esteem'd.
^»w wakeful fiVd they, cheating of its rest
toQ drowsy midiught ; with the J,octtiid dance
MLving gav converse, madrisals, and strains
Run o'er the reeds with broad recumbent lip :
As, wakeful still, our revellers through nig^
Lead on their defter dance to time precise;
Yet cuJl not costlier sweets, with all their art.
Than the rude offspring earth in woodlanc^
bore.
'* Thus what first strikes us, while oiirsdves
as yet
Know nought superior, every charm com-
. bines.
But when aught else of ampler boast succeeds
We slight the former, every wish transferred.
Thus acorns soon disgusted ; the coarse couch
Of herbs and leaves was banisli*d, and the
hides
Of savage beasts decm'd barbarous, and im-
couth.
Yet the vast envy sucli these first inspired
Tiieir earliest wearer by the faithless crowd
{Fell, and tlie garb, ferocious fought for still.
.Kent into tatters, pcrish'd void of use.
" Then man for skins contended : purple
now
And gold for ever pliini^e him into war ;
Far slendVer pretext ! tor, such skins witliout.
The naked throngs had dreaded every blatrl:
But us no ills can menace, though depriv*d
OCpurple woof brocaded stiff with p>ld«
While humbler vests still proffer tbeir4efence«
Yet vainly, vainly toil carth*s restless tribes.
With fruitless cares corroding every hour ;
Untaught the lust of wishing where to bound.
And ^here true pleasure ceases; rendering
• time
One joyless main, where sail they, void of
helm.
Courting for ever tumults, storms, and strife^**
The choice which Mr. Good has made
of blank verse for the translation of Lu-
cretius appears fo us very judicious. Ser
vera! classical,, didnctic, and descriptive
poems in our own languagb, seem almost
to have consecrated this species of verse
to the use of tiicbe departments 'Of poetry.
The greater liberty of phraseology, and
simplicity and antique cast of diction, which
it admits, peculiarly adapt it to the cha-
racter of Lucretius, and affbrij' indeed thp
only means w hich the English possesses
of imitating, witU success, the nervous
and severe style of tlie philosophic poet,
wliich borrows no ornaments^ but froppt
tiie ideas and sentiments v/hich it conveys,
and the pictures which it represeats. Be*
specting the qualifications ot Mr. Grood as
a translator, little is requisite to be said.
He has not only studied the work of his
author witli diligence, but sipems to have
availed himself of every source of infoj:-
mation whicli now remains for the illus-
tration of the philosopbical tenets which
the poet inculcates. With the power of
his owtt language be is wpU 90i^u^iptp4*
£42
ANCIENT CL/^JCS> «a
and can appfy its ridges with rfadioess ixA
propriety to the ornansent of the sut^ect
which he treats. His poetical taste has
beert highly cultivated by the cnrefal
jtudy of tlic best works in that Jjranch of
literature, in a great variety of languages,
ancieot and oiodeni} ^d to eruiditjonend
taste he adds that scientific kuQwled^
vrhich qualittes him for bectuniog the iii-
terpreter of that poet, whose thenoe is
*' the nature oi thiqgs/*
The preisent version is remarkably clds^
and faitl^, being comprized in a number
of verses not greatly exceeding thQ^'e of
the origioal. This advantage is ia a gi^t
degree owing to the species of yerse "^Sxich
has been adopted, nqr do we re<joltect that
it has q^en boen pirchased by* any aacp-
iice of perspfcoity, fidelity, or requisite
qrnament. A few instances, perhaps, ocr
casionaliy occur of phraseology either in?
<:orr^ct or unportical, but mey .^re fer
frpui being nuuierous. • Among these we
panuot but pjiject to the use of the y^osd
linger, ii>r the verb, to loog :
i* CMi|d teriipt then) <mc^ to linger for a
change, r-v, 177,
Bor)'for dewy (vA7g), is scarcely a word
<)f authoi:ity j rascid from the Latin acytxj-
\ire, would be better. " Her fuU-bJown
lamp/' applied to the mopu, is an expiis^s-
^Qa not ver}' perspipiQu^ j neVd^ dq wie
well know why the moon is described as
rushing ¥ ramj^jm.- (v. 773) But enough
-respecting iitxie bleipishes, where excels
lence is so predominant.
The copious notes by which the transla-
tion is accompanied, tbrm a part of the
\vork of too much consequence to be
]>assed over without observation. Bpside^
their merit as illustrative of tlie ^u^hor,
they comprise a collection of facts, poeti-
cal extracts, tlieories, ai^ arguments,
vhtch furnish a h.fglily ejitertwning mis*
cellany. l^i^y pre, for the most pari,
cither phijiiogipd, relative to subjects of
taste, and poetical diction and ornament
(or as the Germans wpuld say, aesthetic),
philosophical, and mythological. One or
Jwo specijniens it is incumbent on ^ to
produce.
The following pote very well illustrate
^ ^hat bold, but not uncommon metaphor,
* by which the scenes and objects of nature^
when presented under their most beauti-
ful and joyful appearances, are ^aid tQ
laugJv
" In tlie original, * rident jtquora ponti.'*
Creech, as 1 ha\e already noticed, lias trans*
^tcd the verb ridv2d by the lungliih terxa
smih; 9b ^ve ako Evdlyn^ D^de^avl
even Guemier in his prose venv^i. Bit
why this moce feeble tenn should be adqph
ed, instead of the true jmd forcible synojivm,
ii^ki I ani at a ]q&^ to determiiie. £!vei
Marchetti, of whqin I have not spoken ii tibii
pr^&ce with more approbation than lie merii9»'
has failed in this bold and beautiful figmeJ
Tii^se are his wof^s:
'< Tu rassereni i giorni foschi' erencli
Col dolce sgiuir4Q U mar dkfora e tranqidStfi
^^ Metastaslp, however, has compenfUeit
for the coldne^ and injustice of his cmattj^
man. He has copied this passage of ucff*,
tiu8 into the version I hav(; just spokes <j^
a^Ki iV>* 'c<^°K<l It c^viplet^ ac|d siiin^-
^< ^ tefiariscono
• GYi erbosi prati
E iflidti ridono
Nel mar placati.
. *' To thpc the fi.ekls so gay
Ii) sweetest flow' rets blow ;
iMMgh the huMi*(l winds, aad plaj
1 ne placid deep below.
*^ Chaucer has happily imitated the sm
nervous metaphov, but bas a^iplied kUitiKd
sun. Cant. Kaighfs Tale l49i.
f' And fierie Phebus rysith upsolaigli^
- That all the orient lau^hMh at the siglu.
^^ l\, is the moFeextraordinary thatDrjxiPn,
in his translation of X-ucfetius, sttould, 18y^
Creecli, have emplgyed the tamer epiijji^
of smift, because, in his borrowing the ibow
passage from (ihaiicer, He has very joMly »• ,
tained the more manly expression of botH
Chaucer and Lucretius. P^lamon aud Afrite^
b, ii. ' '
f ' Th« mc^ming kiA, the mess^njer of ^j,
Saluted, with her song, tlie roorniqg gray;
AikI SOU) the suii arose uHJibeaiMs so hri§^t
That ?ill th* horizon laugh'd to sec tiejojrouii'
^ight. •
" Thus, too, in the Bcrralhr^ of Ossiap:
♦When thou comest forth in lhymiWD«s,
the gale of the mominc is near tliy coww^:
the sun laugl^ in, his blue iields ; the ff^y
stream winds in its vale,'
" 'I'besame niapner, Gesner. inhb ' Death
of Abel,' b, 1 . Sey uns gegnist da Mnck
sonue! du giessest ferb' und anmuth Aavh
die natur, und je<le schonlicit luc^t vciiaiigt
uns wiccler eutgt'gen. * Mclci^nieonceuwr^
fHou lovely sun! thou cJTest coIouR aad
graces to aH naliffe ; and ever)' beavjT hn^
with renew^yoi|th around us.* *
*' But the boldi^t copy 1 liaveOTet;«i»«
this image.of L^ci:ejius, is b v the SpaDiik poet
Lope dtr\>ga, m his Hermosuiru dc ADgt^
cant. xiii.
t' Mueve U&hqj^de Us^lvj.el^'i«?!^
Y la visa del agua fugitiva,
Conciectase con ellas de tal modo
QdOD'S- NATUBX OS TJtlSGS^
343
^ Ncnr Aakes t}ie groves gi^eo foliage to tUe
breeze,
l^i laughter shakes the strcam^s perpetual
Is Oaniionv throu^oiit ; smd earth and seas
'M$mi;p ttfloudj'eslivity unile.
i «' These vena haveali the force of Oriental
and are, perhaps, only exceeded
r the foilaw ing energetic and parallel pd»-
^of the I^aknisl:
[Let tbc sea shput, and all its ftilnes^;
I wpdd, and all iU iiihabitanti ;
L the flooils clap their lifinds,
d the mountains unite in cxtacy,
t the presence of Jeliovah who approacheth.'*
Of the philosophical notes ve have se-
:ted the fbllo\^'ing specimen, though we
ot but regard it as rather fauciiul.
Good's aJmiiation of his autlior (aa
uiration which in some re^ipects it is dif.
' t to carry too far) has, we think, some-
fimes seduced him into too high an esti-
late of his philosophy ; and led him to
iiscover in it affinities to modern and
urate science, which exist only in
iflnagioation o£ the commentator."^
i note to wiiich we allude is the fol-
" And here, the first thing I shall notice is
: poulian of Lucretius, that the hotly de-
lves the whole of its elementary heat,' now
nninated caloric, iitiivocally with his own
itYi/or, from respirable, or atmo-spheric
bir. The cause of aninial heat was never
■fcliy or scientilically developed, till the cele-
brated treatisu of ttie late l>r. Crawford ap-
peared tip this subject, about litteeii ye*r>
ago. Prior to tlua xn,,\t yas attempted to
be awtxNoited' for in. various, and indeed con-
Ua&torv ways: some attributbig it. to the
reciprocal friction of the difleront particles of
blofid; oth'.'rs,to their friction against the sides
of tiii-ir Vessels: some rf#mng it to the ac-
twi of the solid;: of the body against the so^
licU; others, again» to fenneutations, su}>poscd
to be peqietnally occurring thron§^ the
«hde ^yAcm. Hut none of these soJiutions
were satisfactory, and every one in turn yield-
ed to the rest ' The expeiuuents, howevA,-r^
of Dr. Craw£ord, hut mow especiallv those .
nl Lrvoisier, iho has perfet ted Ibis, tbeor),
white they confute the conicctures ha/^irded
by every fonncr philofopher from Hippo-
crates to Cullen, establish, u|>on the firmest
baSs, the hyixithesis advanced by our poet ;
and resQiveme phauioiiienoni of animal heat
int»atn«Dsrpheric air, inlialed in the act of n>
fphatipn, and cliemicallv decomgoujuiijed in
Uk pastagc tbrouch tlie lungs.
" 'Che atmosjJiere is a^vastjatoratbry, in .
»lwch uwimMrable processes of analysis sue
lution, precinitation, and conjbinatton, ate
wcetsantly fiking placfe; The air iUelf is a
owftised n\isture of particles ejected frw^
aninial, vegetable, and mineral substances^
and' more eipecially from water, either entity
or decomposed, dirou^h which the fluids* of-
light, heat, and electricity, as well as an ijift-'
nitude of otlicr gasses, arc continually passjing
and rq)a8sing. , Vapour, tlierefbre, 61 s6me
kind 6r other, rnust, at all times,' copstitute
an essential part of atmospheric air, yet the
.portion it constitutes is but small,- seldom, in
general, exceeding a hundredth part of the-
whole : the rest consisting of elementiirj' heit^
or caloric, a most active and volatile sub-i
stance, . largely difftised through all nature, of
azotic gas^ ormeph}iis,aiidaf amostreconaitfe
fluid, which it is tne' boast of modern chehiistry
to have discovered characteristically ; which^
when separated, is found to be three or fout
times purer than atmospheric air in the flp*08s^
* and will hence preserve combustion aha ani*
nial life tliree or four times as long; This
mysterious gas, though suspected by moderd
. chemists, from the era of Viau Helmont, wal
by no means, fully traced, Or its propertiei
feirly specificnted, till the expcriments-of Dr.
Priestley gave it * a local habitation and * '
mane:' for he obtained it from a variety of
substances in a pure and uncombined state,
and dttiominated li dtpJdogislicated ,m \ -fid*
verting, in this appellation, to a system of his
ou'n fcxmding, and known by the phrase of
the phlogistic system. It soon, however, be-
came a matter of great doubt, among con-
temporary chemists, wliether there were any
such thing as pldoffiston in nature; and hcnc«
JLavoisier banished the name altogetlier frpm ,
the French sdiool of chemistry, and jne-de^jio-
minated tJie newl^' disco veredaura,^ yital Jpr,
or oxygen. Oxygen, in its state of purify,
and freed from every other substance, is never
VbTatile, but remains fixed to the body it m-
habits; yet, combined with the elementary
beat or caloric of the atmosplierc, it is volan
tiii^ed instantaneously, and exhibits itself by;
a thousand magnilicent and stupendous pro-
perties. It is this, indeed, tliat gives life and
sj)irit to^ the whole atmosphere ; for," whenr
Once abstracted; atmospheric air becomes to-
tally unfit for the purposes of respiration, ve-
gel^ion, or combustion. . It occupies about
a fourth part of the codunon aur of the atmo-
sphere : the remainder of whicli, as incapabla
of supporting the phxnomeoa of animal life,
is (Ipnominated mephvtis, or azotic gas: anc^
which, as liiling nearly three quarters of the
atmosphere, may be weB entitled to the z^
pt Ilatfon. of afr alone.
** Respiration^ then, is an' action *conttibu4>»
ing to tne renovation of life by the comnm«»
nication. of atmosplieric air to the- pnccordia ;: -
tiie air bV:Coinmuiitcatedj • ina ni<inner to>he:
present moment undetermined^ . becomips^
hert^by decomposed or scparatcxl ijito four, or .
perhaps a gi:eater number of simpler gasses,
of \^)ich ^ach contributips, in a gn*ater of less-
degree, to the presentation of life and lefisa-
f ion ; and especially ' the calo: ic, which seemtf
to aRbrd that cbntinuat supply ol heat- that w
ab^Qhilelroecetforr/ton the frcL^kiDt .witb
3i4
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
\fHich crary mdividiial member parts with its
beat to circumjacent and external substances;
gnd more especially still, the oxygeD, uhich,
b^ Spallaiuani and Girtanner, U supposed to
stiniuUtc the heart itself into action, and to be
.the immediate cause of all muscular irritabi-
lity, uud consequently of vitality itself. A
wnali portion, however, of this important gas,
we detect relum'mg from th^ lungs in ihe act
of expiration, combined with a substance ge-
nerated in the blood ;. and which, from itsVc:
semblance to various properties bf cliarcoal,
the i'Vench chemists have named carbon;
the iluid produced from this union, and dis-
charged in exi^iration, is denominated car-
bonic acid f^as..
"1 pFt^tcnd not to affirm what was the im-
jnediate aura unders^tood by Lucretius as the
iburth and most important substance in the
composition of the animal spirit ; and which,
|te tells us, was so recondite as to be inca-
pable of Ixiing traced othenvibe than by its
etiects. To the oxygenous and the ^alvaniO
gas it has an .ecjual and an astonishhigly
^' Respirable air of Lucretius contains
Calor;
Vapor;
Mr;
Unnamed ; but which is of far more import:
ance than all the rest to the n-newal and
prolont^ation of anin^al life, eluding all sen*
• «ible investigation, and only traced from
its elects.
Tliis comparison 19 no doubt conducted
tritll ingenuity j this minute parallel with
modem chemistry will however, at first
view, be deemed by the cautious reader liable
to suspicion ; and it is necessary to pbscrve
Uiat, whatever be the case with respect to
the chemical analysis, the analysis of tiie
Lucretian and Epicurean philosophy is
not in tins instance perfectly accurate : for
liucretius is s;)e:ik!ng, not of respirable
air, which has sensible weight, but of the
S041I, which has no sensible weight. His
division of substances, moreover, is not
calor, vapos, aer, et quarta quaedam na-
tura, nominis expers ; but tenuis aura, ca-
lor, aer, and the unknown cause of sensi-
bility, calor and vapcr being in this pas-
sage terms perfectly synonymous, as M'ill
be evidciit to any oT>e who peruses the
briginat pissagc, dnd as they are inter-
preted by- Ltmibinus' and Wakefield. So
also riutafch, iq a passiige quoted by Mr.
Oood> describes the soul, according to tlie
Epictn^an doctrine, as njio^ob ex Ts^capufVt
striking resemblance. If we suppose (
WKi intended something like the fonner,i
though he has not given it its modem i
.he has described the very thing itself, «]
ed it with its characteristic properties,
serted its entire supremacy, and establishfdl
in its immediate seat of empire, the heart aij
lung?. Pie has given us, indeed, wheti)eri(
allow this to be a fact or not, as corapldrf
statement of the gasses of which tbe anid
breath cr spirit consists, as if he had liTed|
the ptescuit day. And what is more est
diriary stilt, -though be enumerates the i
substances of heat, air, and vapour, ss fid
rejected m the act of expiration, he makes I
mention of the return of thb fourth, aiid,|
bis era, unnamed substance ; while, 1
It'si, as already observed, he deems it the 11
powerful agent iji the composite spirit inhail
iind the sensorial faculty engendered. Ti
tbl lowing table of the Epicurean and LaTc|
crian analysis of respirable air, will still i
clearly point out the resemblance '
them :
" Kespirablc air of Lavoisier contain
Caloric ;
Vapour,— exhalation from water, and <
substances ;
Azote, occupying three-fourths of the 1
atmosphere^ an?i hence, n^ore properl} tj
any other simple fluid, denominated o
Oxvgen, without which it is imposnbte I
life to subsist: the boast of modem d
mistry, and which was totally devoid )
name and generic chju-acter till thep '
era."
plac. phil. iv. 3. Part of this passage 1
thus strangely rendered by the inte
ter, " ex quatuor qualitatibus,
aerea, aquea.**
Amidst the mjuUiforions mass of
tcrials which constitute tlie notes of th^
present volumes, it will not be surprising
if a few trifling errors have insinuatd
themselves, chiefly of kuch a nature a\
humana parum cavit natnra, and which
will be obvious to the author on a ic-pe-
rusal of h is work. Such i s i Jjp chronologi-
cal lapse of referring a sentiment .in Lu-
cretius to Isidorus, a ciu-istian faf/ier
(1,180), of representing the age of Hip-
pocrutes as antecedent, by Hiye penlurics,
to that of Epicurus ( 1 1 , 1 96) : Tlic epithet
of IxA'es Lucae, npplied to elephants, is not
derived from Lugano, a town of tbe Mi-
lanese, but from Lucania, a southern pro-
yince of Italy, It does not appear tliat
Pyrrl^us, in whose army the Romans firit
saw Repliants, was ever in the north of
Italyj ' The true explication of fcrro ma^
mact#, applied to these beasts^ is uot ferro
10HSS8 eRAHMAR OF THB GREBK TONGUB.
345
^umi€, but ferro maje hahitct, as is
jnstl/ remarked bjr Mr. Wakefield. The
'pderence on tjhis subject to that editor
niust hare proceeded from too ha&tj an
Inspection of his note.
We take our leave of this translation
yr'wh much admiratipa of its general me-
rits^ and much respect for tlie ingenni^^
learnings and taste of the translator, nm
has executed his ]abour in a manner highly
reputable to himself, and filled a place
which was vacant in the catalogue of ^pg«
}ish lttprat)u:e.
A&T. VII.— .'/ Grammar of the Greek Tongue, on a new and improved Plan. By Johw
JoNES^ Member of the Philologicai Society at Manchester. 8vo. pp. 360.
THOUGH the Greek language has
been iissiduously cultivated in the learned
part of Europe for upwards of three cen-
turies, jet such is the copiousaess and
ridiDess of that tongue, combined with
the disailrantages arising from its having
ceased to be in oral use, that we have as
*|vt no lexicon or grammar of it which can
be deemed complete. To obviate the ]at«
ter of these dehciencies, or at least to fa-
cilitate the acquisition of tlie Greek lan-
gttage> and to illustrate its rules^ by die
i|>pUcation of philosophical principles to
its granvnar, has been the object of Mr.
^ones In the work lyhich he has here pre-
sented to the public,
* 'Hlie principles, vhich distinguish this
CfamnuHr, are such as were suggested by a
•tady of the oriental toi^gues^ especially of the
Hebrew. The latter language is known by
|l competent judges to be the mother »of the
Cfeek. It cannot therefore be deemed sur-
JRiaDg, that the origin of those qualities
which characterise the child can be found
VaJ in the constitution of the parent Pro-
CMing on this ground the writer, conform-
ably to the system of the ffreat ijrammarian of
par age, l^s traced the oefinitives, the prer
foaitions, ^nd many of the particles, to lie-
hew nouos or verbs : and troni those roots
)ias deduced a primary si^rnincation, into
which are resolvable all their figurative or
secondary senses, however numerous and
Complicated.
'* By Considering the Greek terms asex-
kiMmthdr primitives, and before they were
JKxafitdby Greek terminations, the author
ai, moreover, been abje to ascertain the
uct meaning f^'M<rcrtfef;- and the appll-
ilion of their meaning, thus ascertained, to
ae syntax of the language, forms another
«cultar featuie in the ciiaracter of thb gram-
Bar.
"The Hebrew tongue, on t^ccountqf its
li^ anticjuity, holds tprth to tie philosophical
aquircr into the origin of language, the seye-
al steps which the numan mind adopted' in
he fonnation of speech. Among these steps
be foll6w'uig is worthy of notice. Words,
Iraoting active qualities^ i. e. those ideas;
|hich the mind acquires by reflectuog qu its
rtions ift given circwnitances, are no
the names of the Mubject and ag^nt
U)c sauic circum^^taucesy cojubincd iut9 oae
term ; in other vetljs are the names of sensi*
hie objects with the perfional pronouns aiw
nexed to them.
" This pruiciple, sjiiggested by the Hebrew;
is applied to the Oriiek : and 'hence all the
variety of terminations belonging to tlie Greek
verb, which, by their vast number load tlie
memory, and retard the eflbrts of the learner,
are reduced to six pronouns. I'he siUue
principle has enabled the author to resolve
the two classeit of verbs, iii p and in ^i, into
one common form ; to account for the origin
of the active, passive, and middle voices, and
to assign to the two last tlie cause pf then* pe-
culiar si|pii/ication.
** This principle, eminently useful in a
grammatical light, is yet more so in another
point of view. Terms, dciK>ting active or
abstract qualities, as having no prototype cof-
respondins to them in nature, a reference to
which mi^it serve to define and perpetuate
their siguiiicatiou, are liable to endless lluctua-
tionsand misconceptions. But this is not the
case with the names of sensible objects. These,
continuing much the same in all ages and
cotmtrics, convey, when impresseil on the or-
gans of sense, accurate ideas of themselves ;
and thus in general render the meaning of
their terms correct and invariable, though
transfused from one language to another, in
order then t(J fix the priinary sense of a verb,
it is only necessary to have recourse to the
noun whence it is derived ; and what cannot
be established by this mean, is likely to be ef-
fected byrecurnng to the primitive term, as
existing m one of the oriental dialects."
In the execution of this plan Mr. Jones
has displayed much learning and ingenui-
ty. It is manifest, however, that in a
practical grammar of any language, it is
requisite to pay as much attention to its
peculiarities and idioms, as to the general
philosophical principles on which it is con-
structed. With much knowledge of abs*
tract principles, and much facility in tra-
cing them, we suspect that ^/r. Jones does
i>ot combine alf diat minute accuracy in
the historical and idiomatical part of lan-
guage which its importance merits. P. s,
\h& contraction jr of the diphthong u/, is
of far subsequent date to the formation of
the Latin character j^, and of power wide-
ly difFcrent. Whenever there is occasion
to express the dlphlliong in Latin, it is re-
SA§
ANCIENT CLASSICS^ %c.
prcs«at<ed, not by 5^ hujb hf ^4 a& ui the
vord llithyia.
F. 12. The Attic form cf the second
dEicleasipQ exteuUed ooly to particular
'voxxb, hioce we do Qot Uud such £oraiB 46
}^or/x'Sf'i£pxy, &c.
^ P. 12t). The word so'Txat has ho ap-
pearance of a primitive fonn. Tlie ge-
nuifie root is, doubtless, aw.-, lo-o-.aaijy.with
a reduplicated sigma, is for fica/^ijv, the
jegular first aorist middle of la;.
F. 127. The rule r^specring condrae-
imi » toot getieraL <* ^4// contraction,
wbetlier simple or compounded, is the
coalition of two short v(*wels,'* Tlie attic
contractioo ey^qx, for instance; is fbrmed
' hy the coaJitioii of a lung vo\»^ witb a
i^phthong.
F« 325. (OS ra^vf luTi^au Auovoui. We
imaf^nc that few persons will coincide
vith My. Jones*» aualysis of thH passage-^
g^w navr^v [usrcL Xv(rtraiY, or hesitate to
concur with that interpretation of Mr.
PbrsoD, which our author condemns a?
manifestly ewxiOQX^t iii^auiam sauk&te
]VIr. J. appears to w, 10 some iostaocei^
to isely oa the hypothetical priuciples
which he advances, witbrdthec mofe con-
Ikdetica tlian is warranted^ by their evN
dence, and to be sometimes unduly influ-^
cnced in his analysis oi tlie Greek lan-
ipurge by Hi?»paitiality focoriental literature,
"Qy the extract wliidi we have givea
firiNtt the pro&oe, ^ur r«8der3 will perceive
tbai^ lie ho6 adopted the aystemof Lenoep
«Hlr ScheidiuA, who. conatder the verbs as
^med through all their inflections by
the corarbinatiott of a radical term with
the various pronouns. This scheme, to a
certain, extent, is indeed not iiuprobable»
and it is caanieiianced. by tbe oriental
tongues. Jt however accounts ooly. for
the |»cr«oiis, not for the tenses or moeds,
and it is ervcecdingly diX^cult, if not ini<^
posdihle, tu trace it through the ^'arious
changes of the Greek vecb. Vk is.abo 1^
be observed, that soiae languagies, tiic
German ^r instance, and cue own, posr
«es9 varieties of tecminatioo indicative d
die person, while the addition of thepr^f
noun is still ieqai#ite.
' Mr. Jones seems also to coD$ider the ona
too exclusively as the primitive part of
speech. Hence in the chapter, entitled
nouns ccmverted into verbs^ it is reqainte
sometimes to change the order of his de-
rivation, Sijuciii, imago^ is eTidenlly £ii&-
ed from ^ixut, siuftilis aum, not ^ vffc
from the substantive.
But it is on the subject of e^rmolog^
that Mr. Jones vp^eax^ to us to espott
himself moftt to objection. He haaadi^
widiout reserve the hy^besis, moor op
nion by no saeans i^nlly established, of
the derivation of the Gredc hoax theB^
brew language, and accordingi]^ new
seems to be at a loss for the cedicd dmf
term. But who can rest wiiik 9ssfiXBtk
dience on such deri\;atioQ8 as the fbUawiqg)
^vKsp from "^Si^ a wtn^ af^r, fiow S%
a round stone. There are indeed priad^
pics by which any language aay be dat
rived fhom anf oUier, biit v«e; juich dmbt
whether the detst instBOoee of coiacideaM
between the Gi^eek and Hebraw bbsH
exceed an hundsed, if djey even vfi
that nuniber. Sonje very just remnlf
on a similar street ooi^y be seen is m
of the appendices xs^ the skewedtlifletf
Jkuce's TraveU, Vol. 1^ No. 41. F-4fl7*
Impartiality' lias compiled us tenaki
afewdeditodona on lbs gooiind sf iip*
curacy, which the author h^poself indetd
candidly acknowled^9, irera thegnod
merit of this yolVirae. . We cannot taM
our- leave of it without remarking that it .
exhibits many proofs of ingenuity apdixt
tensive researcn, of a mind acuieaD4««
gorous, and*liflbitual)y,.and o6ep »wc«s-
iuliy, ^mplc^ed i|i philosophical'
gaUons,
iiiBrr. Vf'H. — Tilt Tomb of Jlirander^mA DissertaHon on the SarenphagUM brau^fia
McMiJuiriai, and ima in the HrHish Museum, By Edwaud Daniel ClaekEi^^
Jt'\ Uoxc of J€9UJi CoUeg0, Ctunbrii^e. 4to. pp. 161.
Ttt*E fond regard widi which tpanktnd
have ever viewed ,the relics of departed
greatness needs not to be enlarged pn liere.
Alexander himself viewed ti^e tomb of
Gyrus with singular respect : he bestowed
a crown and phiced his signet ou it ; and
.showed it similar honours to tho^e which
Augustus afterward bestowed on his.
Yet surelj, in these times, when the revo-
Jntiuivi ©t siatcs^ feav? b«?u vmx^ fre<jue<|t
than in fanner ages, and when traditiw
ha\'e been fess coherently preserved, th
authenticity of such a relic should be •
certained' witli matbi&ni:\tical exactne^sbc
fore it is^^dmltted. So Uteiy ^'^ H
die of the hist qeutury but ar«, tha *^
\taf of th» supposed tnoib of MotiSh H
tovm fgat«heods^ ioL the. valley of >M
Nebo; iHled the face ofEmof^'^
»Hj
cxABj^s'^ toKa or ailbxj^nabi.
947
^ si|«lqfai£ in qaestion to haye conta'us-
ffd the body of a Moses long subsequent to
^who was interred there by the minlf-
,tiy of angels.
Dr. .Clarke aiid . his friends have taken
po ordinary pains to prove the curious
i:best, which is now at the British Mu-
scura, to be the actual depository of the
Macedonian hero ; and they have brougl^t
ff^edier ^ bcxfy of materials, which ceN
lauily does credit to tlieir learning : they
iiav« arranged their evidence to tSe very
best advantage j they have both studied
and etdaiged on every point 'that cooUl
bear, however iieaiotc)y> on the <iu)eistioar;
,md they bave adde^ to it all the emhdl-
jifhrneots with which tba arts of printing
mdeagniviQg could assist them. Hg^
^ these exertions have been snocesafol
lemains to be enquired. Even failuK- in
this instance is entitled to respect.
. In the iotroductioo> araong many, ob-
KTations on tlie portrait of Alexander,
pr.. CWke «adeavour« to prove, that in
^racioas'bofD^^ that was paid to him
lie vat vorshipped as an figypianGod-,
fiAthe typ»of bt» apotheosis, he observes,
"lie Ammonian horn, appears, in almost
pvj instance, where his portrait is re-
■ irescnted, particularly on the medals of
^l^smachus. And this typical represents
nihe considers to IxftaiMr confirmed by
4k nHUutrul evki^ndf qf the hiwoglj/pbik:
i^ma&en infieridsd on the 'tarcepht^ta iu
"mtttUm : 3 consideration which to us
iieiDspren^ure; because it is necessary
.•Art hs connection with Alexander's bocfy
^KmM be first establi^ed.
The cheat at tlie Museum, it appears,
.1^ iffi early period after the uivnsiono/
#£ypt, was shQwa to Denon and Dolo-
fttiea in the n^osqy^of St. Athanasius, at
Alexandria, wh^r^ tt had been preserved
^ joenturies within a small enclosuve,
^'JiHch few but Mahometans. were allowed
to enter. From the account wbich the
fomier gave however, they do not seem tq
have been ^ware that it was the reputed
tomb; they only considered it as one of
the best spoils of antiquity tliat .Egypt
pould be plundered of, and as exhibiting a
finera^d n^ore. numerous assepbiage. of
Jweruglyphic figures Ihjm any monument
jo their possesion. 1'he <?ntUusia^m will)
which it is mentioned by Dpnqu sec^ns
f9iiim«rpreted by Pr. Clarke, who thiujcs.
-^ Wiqus to observe wf th what caption the
: ^voller has Uiuched upon the subject.
I 1 His words/ he says^ ' like the hierogly-
1 * ** Inscr^tion on the Kosetta stone, in honour of Ptolemy F4>ipl>anets ^
! pyphic cl^acter subseaitcnt to the time oi. i^klexanvlcc tjic Qi;\^(t' -
' ghics which so much engaged his atten-
tion, coiuaina meaning beyond tlieir com-
mon acceptation, reserved, doubtless, &r
th^ initiated. Tl^ ton^b is no long#r a
theo^ Qt- trinmiidi to bis countrymeai. '
Enough h^ b«en said toctmviuce -them «f
its impomnce^and the rest may be re*
served till the moment arrives, when, ac«*
cording to their inoderatc expectations, the
mv^^lon. and conquest of this country «hall .
hav^ restored the p^cious rellcr to their
hands.' But we have beea aswred^ and
Uiat iippfi the best authority, that the
JFrencb si^vans w«ca unaUe tp trace tfae
.most vagpe tradition in tbe.CQuntiy, aa Id
' the history of this ^arcoj^iagus,. tboi^k j».
,peated etl^ts v^erprtnade of the besi ift-
ibrmed periions ^ and oltltough thet mone '.
cunning of th« natives aii^ always readpr .
to invent any ptqiy which mayhumow^
the iamy of a ^r^d^kms-tcaveiler, not one.
.even djrc^^dft hint oi A]#xatider*s tomb.
Dr. Ciark^ assents too, that whea (afaoi ■
iroox the little chapel in which it had bete
heptj it was born^ awayannd the howling.
•»nd bmeutati^n of its worsbippess ^ .that it
excited insuirQctiaa a^aoug tb». people.;
and jhattiilc^i: its removal th« mostcaiH
tious me&si^res were used to coocaid.k.
from obtiervntiou. Bill i£ we may^bo al-
lowe^ to j udge from D.r.\VUtawa's wxwla, - .
.there certainly were travellers who, pcq-
vi^o«i0 to \X^ 4iemoval aboard the Fveoch
vessel ^1 the ha^ur j saw >t lying quicdjr
with odier antique remains at the &<3fietta
j;atc of iVIexandria. Wiien. ijt was s^
.mov^d on board llie vessel to be co;aveyed
to luiiglaiul, tho natives, we believe^ uaecely
showed it tiiat honiage wiiich they are. ac^-
custon^ed to pay the tiner monumiettta .of
their country, iu;icribed with hi/er^lyphk
charactt»-8 j th<?y touched it with their
hands, and. kissed it.
Atter the assertions we liave mentiour
ed Dr. Clarke becomes ,a \Ht>phjit, ^xid.
furo tells the vicissjitudes that would liave .
marked its history had it been renaoved to
France.
" Other vieissiludes aiwaited this remark-
able nion\ini«iit. A Krittsh anny came to give
lite aiul liberty to the oppressed inhabitants
of Egypt ; and the tomb of the greatest con-
queror the worltl ever knew devolved; b/
right of cofKjuesl, to their victorious arms;
Had it k>«?en conveyed to the metropolis of
France, instead of the sil«Ke which is now so
cautiously obi^erved re*pe<*ting it, Europe
would Iiave. beep told, tnjit an hieroglyphfc? ^
']ni»cription having recorded tlie adioiw of 9i
Ptolemy,* the Ale^JAjhiaa sarcophagus, 'm
dt^(Eiah».tbej^^'
«4S
' ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
the same language, mig,ht also relate the than this (in comparison vith his descnp*
expeditions, the coiiqiiesti, and the glories of tion) poor sarcophagus : ten feet in kfigdi,
Alexander. A prodigious temple Nvould have fire feet and a Aa(f inwidth, and.fwff fm
•betn erected in the midst ot Paris; where,
to complete the mockery of Buonaparte's
knitatioQ of the son of Philip, the same tomb
that had once inclosed the body of that hero
would bave been reserved for tiie bonui of
his muuic."
H«nving introduced a narrative of the
means by which • it was found and reco-
«xrfid from the French, he endeavours to
chow that the uniform tradition of the in-
habitants of the country, supported by his-
torical evidence, clearly proves this in-
teresting nu>nument to be the tomb of
Alexander tiie Great. But at the very
outlet of these observations a remark oc-
eur^f in which we cannot persuade our-
selves to acquiesce. It will be necessary,
WB are told, to examine with particular
attention the account given of the deih-
.cation of Alexander, and the means used
to preserve his body ; as the notion of a
. gold and glass coffin has involved the his-
- toi-y of his interment in some error, by
.being confounded with tlie sarcoph/v-
GUfi which Ptolemy, according to tlie
custom both of Greeks and Egyptians,
prepared for its reception. But this is a
.most gratuitous admission. It is a fyd
given to us upon the authority of no one
writer of antiquity. T^r^f^ the word
used by Diodorus SiculMFmeans a sacred
inclosure, and applies iiftre to the immc-
<iiate building that contained the body,
than to any sarcophagus or outer chest.
Coaduorium, the term Suetonius uses,
though n(»t equally extensive, cannot be
translated a sarcophagus, and it is also the
expression used by Pliny. But let us here,
once for all, canvass the meaning of tlie
sentence in Diodorus Siculus that is al-
luded to. It simply states, that the sacred
repository prepared for Alexander's corpse,
both in magnitude and workmanship (y.xrx
rs MEFEGOS y.7.) ksctcl ty^v v,OLrcc<ry.T\rr,v)
was worthy the greatness and the glory
pt* Alexander. Ami will any one siip|wrt
die idea, for a single moment, tliat Dio-
dorus Siculus had nothing more in view
* "Instance have occurred in our own times of sovereigns who appropriated to theirw
use extraordinary products of tJie mineral kingdoii^i. I'he late empress of liussia collecu^
that beautiful substance called tlie Amazonian slope, or green $it>erian feldspar ; vrbicb
since her death, has found its way into the other qdbinets of Europe.'*
t /* The inhabitants both of Greece and Eg}!:^ attribute the prodigious works Iheybfhf*
to the afjency of supernatural beings. Moce-eulightened nations affect to ridiVulc Ihesinw
plicity of their minds ; yet it may be true that the combined talents of all tlie artists in £»
xope> stimulated by the patronage of all its sovereigns, could not equal tJie tomb ofAlcxarrficl.
X KarsTKsij aasv oyv rau-tvo^ xxroL tq y.ey£^os r.x) y.7,rx rr^v x,xr7.7KEvr^v rr^; 'AA?ri>«^:
ffii} ^o'^iif afiov. ' Quapropter dolubrum, cum magniludine, turn itrucluri, majestate cC
gloria Alexandri diguuin, iUt lecit.* Lib. xviii. c. *8,
high ? But Dr. Clarke builds much upon
tliese M'ords, as may be shewn from va-
rious parts of his book, but particularly
in the instances we here quote. Ihc
£rst is in the abbe Winkelman*s fkxvt^
tion of the breccia of Egypt.
" Le vert est !a eouleur donumnte de
cette pierre; eouleur dans laqoelle ooit^
niaixjue des degres et des nuances inliDfei;
de sorte que je suis persuade que J.\>fAiS
PEINTRE xVI TEINm:^RIER N'EN A
PRODUIT DE PAREILLES : le milage
dccescouleurs DOIT PAROITRKMEI.
VEILLEUX (agreeing cxarihf uiVi &
toords qf Dtodoru9 respecthtg the tomh) nt
yeux des obser%'ateurs attentifs des pnMte*
tions de la nature."
Again,inp. 43.
'• AVe have thus a proof that the stone wrf
in this sarcopha^s was of a rarity and price
equal to that of the most precious niatercb l(
ancient art.* The expence of workrugit
could be undertaken only by sovereigiis^vrb
might procure, among the renownea aitis<B
of those times, talents and persererasce ad^
equate to the achievement of such a suxpnii*
' iiiffwork. In the^e day^, the substanreit'
self, and the process by which it was wrought
being unknown, a notion of* superwitiBil
affenc7 is excited in unenlightened lotnds;!
while the retlned part of manktml exprm
• their astonishment. If, at any period <rt Iks
history of the antient world, a woikof Ihii
nature particularly corresponded with tl»
^Miius of tlie age and ihe wishes oC the pcopk^
it must have been at that important crai^
when the body of the deiiied Alexander va
rrceivfd by Ptolemy, to be enshrinwl as the
'son of Amraon, by the priests of E^r^*
That the construction of the tomb woulTw^
mand ever>- thinpf admirable in materiab
in workmanship cannot be disputed;
upon this subject we have suflicicnt pw
from the testimony of antient historians, Di
dorus, whose description of tlie funeral poiB
seems to convi'v an adequate idea of ti
magnificence with which it was cflebrafa
rcpri'scnts it,t in magnitude and worAfPM
ship, worthy ilie greatnesi and glory of Aka
ander."
CLiKKX'g TOMB OP AtSXATffDBt«.
U9
Ei«a in the discovery of this curions
tomb (i/a square chest can be CQtitled to
the appeiiation) there ia an ais of mystery
and reserve that is inexplicable. Nor
after all is it quite clear that he was told
eirea at CairOf where he affirms that he
first henrd of \t, that it was the tomb nf
Aicxandcr, His v^'ords are these :
" In tbe course of my raquh'ies respecting
the Ilosetta stone, which I was very anxious
to bave included amoos the articles to be.
surrendered, and of which, at tliat time, we
had coined but a £iint and imperfect his-.
tory^ It was made known to me, that another
itooe, of much larger dimensions, was in the
possession of the French, guarded with the
gnsatest secresy, and concerning which they.
caEteftatned the most lively apprehensions:
deeming it even of more imponaucc than the
stone tbuud at Rosetta. The persons who
gave me this infonnalion, and whose names it
certainly would not be prudent to make
laK>wn,Vhtle there IS even a chance of their
iccovinK another visit from the French, fur-
rier added, that this stone, which they de-
srribeil to be of an astonishing «ze, and a
bcaulitul given colour, was somewhere con-
ttilecl m Alexandria.
"* With this inteingence I set out from Cairo
fardie British camp, at that time stationed on
the heights they had retained after the action
; if the 21st of March, 1801 ; and took the
I oriiest opportunity of ,seeingthecommand-
; tr m chiet. The distance was great, ajid
the capitiibtion daily expected to^e place.'
k b to the situation of Alexandria and Cairo*
with respect to each other, that tiie want of
yiconoa must be, attributed which appears
mdw account given of the monument in the
htterdty.''
In page 44, Dr. Clarke opens the series
if testimonies which respect tbe actual
toinh, with the death of Alescander in the
I S23d rear pre\'ioas to the christian sera.
I Bat lest the reader should forget the
nhagus at the Museum, it is . intro-
again. And in a few sentences he
; traverses the principal countries of the ha-
; ktable globe, among whose rites of se*
' ^tore sarcophagi appear to have been
i Vied; but in none does he pay, any atten-
tion to chronology. This mode of in-
teneat, he says, belonged to persons of
ti^ highest rank, and as an illustration
(ives thisnote:
"So Joseph Aed . . . . ; andthey cm^/m-
frf Am, and he was put in a cq^A lo^Egypt.'?
Cen. chap. I ver. 26.
Now Ais ought certainly to have been
a key to Dr. Clarke, and to :^ve informed
^ that the few sarcophagi, whiih it is
ttthisdayin the power of Egypt to pro-
^ can only be a^ribed t« the earliest
ages of its Hiatory, The cma probandi im
still his own : and we will venture to as-*
sert, that he is incapable of bringing for-
ward one single proof that such saroo-
pha^i as those which are now preserved .
at the British Museum were used in Egypt
for sepulchral purposes in the days of Al-
exander. The practice had gone by even
when Herodotus wrote, or he would ne-
ver have told us that die Egyptian?
were accustomed to inclose their dead in
wooden cases, and that they deposited
them reguLirly in an uprighiposture. How
inconsistent Dr. Clarke is with himself,,
we shall show in one single instance. He
here acknowledges , that Joseph was put.
into a coiHn of like form, and that similar
sarcophagi are tbund in other countries,,
but in p. 75, he says,
"Let it also be remarked, that the Alex-
andrian sarcopha^s bidsdedancc to thearts^
at any other period than that of Ptolemy,
and in any other country than tliat of Egypjl".
•After various remarks on the deifica-
tion of Alexander, Dr. Clarke appears to
take it for granted, tliat nothing Greek
could possibly be expected to distinguisl^
the place of his deposit. For that with
the Egyptians, under such circumstances,
it could not pretend to be the tomb of
Alexander. ' For if the tomb of an Egj'p-
tiaugod should exhibit tlie letters of the
Greek alphabet, instead of an inscription.
EN'IEPOrs: rPAMMAXIN, it woulA
thereby contradict all our knowledge of
history and of ancient Eg)rpt.* But tliere is
one fact, and it is a fact recorded by Pau-
aanias, that militates very forcibly against
these remarks. It is a fact too, which
"Dt, Clarke in the testimonies, and Mr.
Henley in the additional remarks, have
kept entirely from the reader's view. It
is that Alexander was buried,. not accord-
ing to the funeral rites of Eg^/pt, but v^aw
Twy Mx/,sciov'jt:v, tvith Grccianritcs, Why
was tlie following passage omitied in the
testimonies ?—^ Hat Mcoahvjjv ro'j^ ray"
Ssyra^rov KXi^xv^pv vsKpov s;A.iyizg xsjuc(-
fsiv aysTTsKTsv' a'jruj Trasa^yjvctt, kaj rov
juifv NOMXlTIiN MAKEAONiiN aSxtrew
Bv MetjLi^si, Yet, says Dr. Clarke, p. 49,
' We ha\'e sufiicient proof of the indispen^
wbie necessrtjf of hieroglyphic characters.*
^ But once more we resume the testimo-
nies. The iutieral procession, conducted
from Babylon by Pprdicca:*, was met on
the contines of S}Tia by Ptolemy j its des-
tination was changed ; till a sumptuous
shrine could be prepared for its reception,
it was conveyed to Memphis y and, ultii
i
Zfsb
AStlKKT CLASSICS, «?;
ttrMf, bhmgirt to Aiexaodtia. Ptdlethy
Lagtte, by tvtxom tlic shilne badbc&n pre^
^ared, placed H in a cofSn Of gold, in
^t^h cnttdition it apj^^rs to have rtf main-
ed rirthiir mtyfe l!han- t«-o hundred and
ftljycitrs, \^*hen the gold coffin tra^ ex-
'ehanged fw a glasi one!)^' Ptoiemy C^Jo^
iUL'tes. That thwe ^af ati tinter comn of
rt)artjle,as'DT. Clarke isserts, (p. 55) "^e
hare no authority forsaking or supposing.
,'inie itttpetia! visiW Avhich the tomb,
from time to time, recetted, enable us to
trace its history for about three centuries
morcix'itli tolerable certaint)'; tfae^rst updtl
Record was Caesar s, and the interest it ex-
cited in his mind >}ras Well described by
Ivucan. But Dr. Clai"ke*s Tueution of the
circumst^ce is slight. He h:H ifot quoted
a single fine from the poet. That was re-
served for Mr. Henley, who has quoted
hi in in a mulilateHi form. ITil* three first
of the failov^ log lines are 4^iai1y omitud in
p. |8. i^^dX, we aneiokl,
'* Nulla capitur dulccdinc rcrunv
Koii auro, ciiltuquo I}t?mn. iion m^iibiw urbis^
Kiros5umtuniulis,rz//j/'fft' dtsccudil in antrum.
Mc IVUari pro!es TT.'una ttrilippi
Felix prtedo jacct :** —
LucAH, Lib. 10.
. The Idea of a «ailJterrnneous vault also
Was given two bonkn before ki the line
" Cuin tibi sacrato MACEDON senetuf
inanlroJ*
And if we cMtpam ttoe (intlie fbitiier
of wbifcli llie flepaiohres of tte Ptoiemiek
jie afterward indttiled) with the fellow-
kig note in page 54> we siudl'probaMy see
llie reason boUi of the cmiasion and the
WiUtilatioo*
** An accoiut of ^xtraordinarY subtem^
sean excavations, westward of. Alexandria,
fnay be expected from the French, in whose
hands 1 saw very accurate and beautiful
drati-ings of them. They were regarded by
tome as the sepulchres ot thePtoleinies."
I'hey who regarded these excavattoos
as ihc sepulchre of the Ftolemiu never
xo^ld have looked for Alexander s tomb
in the mosque of St. Athanasius. The
authorities which Dr. Clarke has himaelf
brought togetl)er, prove Alexander and
the Ptolemies to have besiL iutenr«d is tbe
6ame depositary.
Abotrt flriity yean berord the h3rtii k
CbH^sr; Ak^mtus vi^ted the tomb. Re
ik^, says Dio^onis Sictdus, the body ii
Al\exandcT,tind touched 1^ ^ * so that a nait
of the nosC/ as they reiate> was brocea
oC - Stietohlus, mictr^er^ jc^ates the y^
neratkm with which he viewed theae^
puldire. When the txxiy was takes fram
it (Dr. Clarke nynfrom ike mrecftm^t
such ii hkf transUtion afprolatmm c pcng^
imli)^ he placed a goMen crown and scat-
tered flowers npon iL And when tie
priests asked iiitn if he would not a!a> see
the bodies of the Ptolemies, and die
slmne of Apis, hi»veply was, that be c
to aee a king* not tlie bodies of the <
moQ dead ; a»d that iu respect %j Afk^
he had been accustoniod to worship gm,
not oxen.
Rather more thi^i two htttidred and
thirty years had elapsed from die visit of
Augustus> wheti Septimus Seventh came lt»
Alexandria, lliough in the iiRerval Cm*
ligula had obtained the breasfe-plate, mui
wore it in hift pantumioiic tritHnpha.
'* Sevems^ nrhose thirst of knowledge, aid
enterpriemg cnriosity, caused him to pcnr-
trate into all parts *of Uie country, and Is
Ti5k whatever might illustrate the policy ani
literatuK of l^g>'pt, collected, aecoffdiii| l»
Dio Casiius, the sacred vohlnl^s, cootainof
the wrkiagsoftheflrie^aDd theexpiaaaM
of their hiero^yf^s ; and having deiPoMtad
them in the toniK^AiexaDder,* caused the
■lonamentto be shut ; th^ the people nii|^
not, through tiieir inflneace, be excited feast^
dition; and that for the future no pcnai
should have access to the shrinc^f
Lastly^ among the classical auihoritkij
cptnes the visit of Caittcalla«
" Caracalla, ivhose fondness for the
and ensigns of Alexander is still preserved oo
the iTiedals of that emperor, made fcs vene-
ration for him, and his d^^sireto consult a
God so much rrs'erenced by the inlKMsms,
the pretext for his visit to Alexandria. He*
rodtan ielates,t that the ms(gnUiceiit pre-
rtionsto, receive hini were gmtcrtiiai
any former eitiperor. They pict Ina
«'ith the livelier demonstrations of joy, sftr*
ing neithei'exijence nor toil to reiuler faii re-
ception splendid and- hodourible. * As sooo
as he arrived within the city, he enleMtlie
tcn^, inanolataig victtans, and keapw in^
ctaBc upon the altars. He then viuMte
** * At that time the whole of the Perib6lus» called Soi^ by Strabo, bore the name of
the tomb ef Aiaca^ftder."
t " DioCassiiis, Mb. bocv. c. 17. A rtost etctraordhiaty error appears in Stiidas, where
Ihisact is attributed to Severus tiie Sofihiflt (see LeKieon, vok iii^ p. S94. £ii^^^) . His coaH
meBtatpF,4u naticiliir the mi^ke,justineslJM; author, by observmg that the name «f the Ss*
pbist hfis been inserted m a .part oi the teat belonging to Severus the ejojperor/* .
. f *• Herodiaai Hist. lib. iv. ediU Hiiton Rpm, Script. H. Ste^U._ I56».** '
«l'A«Kfi^« t«Kl 01^ ALetAKOfta.
nn
(JIT/^) of JQexAiider, and ibUow, are supped hy Df. (3lflitl^e •onlf
Itkiceil upeo the Ibflib {tn t»p{p) a ptirpte to contnist the/oJf/en digmty of tke tomb
i^itt the veneration paid to th^ sepul-
chres of the niaityrs j but whh ns,.if Uief
mean any thing, they kiiply that the tomb
of Alexander was in tlie tiioe «f Cluysos-
toiB no longer to be •seen.
Otiier amials, we are next tokl^ not leas
lespectable, nor less entitled to attention,
preserve the memory of Alexandeu^'s tombl
Tliese are the oriental hi&torians. fiiit
Dr. Clarke has not found a single original
writer from whom he could even glean a
solitary sentence. Tlie Arabian, the Per-
sic, and the Turkish wiiters, who liavo
recorded the couquests and the actions of
Alexander, are carefully enumerated ;
but Dr. Clarke has ♦very wisely given ua
ho history of tlieir contents. For they sajr
notliii^ of the tomb. lie only observes
at the close,
*' The Arabiaiis had a^ecnto •claifnlii> tbe
kafi'T^iedge of Ale.\aoder. It is recorded by
Arnaii,^ tiut he had endeavoured to hold the
third pla^e iu the list of their gods ; and avnoiig
the sorprizlng revolutions of empire and ojxi-
hion, tliey were ultiiniitdy destined to be**
come the guardians of liis toiub."
Tlie mvasion of the Saracens, and tb&
conquest of Alexandria, in the year 640,
forms the next object of attention.
** With 4:be entranceof tlie Arabs w« look
once more to the tomb of Alexander ; and
we find that almost one of their fii-st measures,
upon gaining possession of the city, connects
itself witli the sarcophagus. The per.bohis
which indosed tMs irtomrmeut, together wKh
the tombs of the Ptolemitts, had been con-
verted, at the downial of pagantsno^to a chris-
tian diurch, bearing the name of St. Atha*
itasiuB. Tiie same building, at tlK conquest
of the Arabs, once more clianged its nature^
and became a mosque ; but the name of the
s^ttt to whn!h it was dedicated by the cliris-
tians was 'still annexed to it by the maliome-
ians, and it was^ caUetl the fiiosque of St.
A tluuiasius; § By Uiis fortu nat e circumstance
* 'CL$ is siTr^yjxirBv bI$ ry^y'troXiy civ ravrirw crp^r.rwj ifpukov.s]; roy ve^'v dveK^ivyp
AX«5ayJ^y"MNHMA,r^y rs p^Xaaioa y si^s^v dXSYfpyr^a ^a}Li'v}do'JS rrs q?^ e7;^£ /.Ibwv
rmon, Xfotrrr^pcif ft Y.Oi\ fTn 'TToXurfXt,- e^sfs, <KSfts>,(^y BOLvrou, iTreSijx.e rz ix£lyov SOPXil.
^' Sed ubi in urbem jam pervenit, primb qnidem teinplum ingressus est, inifUiique victimis
immolatB, ac thtire cumuiatis altaribus, ad A\exsmdn Monimentum se coutulit, paludamon-
tooKpc parpurtmra, 'ct clurif speciosisque genimis aiiulos conspicuos, balteiuirque et siqua
ila mtlbat degaiitkna, dempia sibi, tun illus in^x>suit tumuio. lierodiani Jllst. lib. iv\
t«Ibii*^ ' ^ , , , . ", , ,
lOjvAvir aaem^toSy, ^a^ avw fphr^v iv yoiuffKfyaj mcl^ 'AoiiSwf 9s6f. " Quapropter
>o»^bidieDapiccgpBebat^> qui prptertioP^ apud Arabas hiiberetur.* Arrian. Gronovii.
J*Batl704,^Ub. vn-D-aoo." ^ ; • .
& " The n^fioue of St. Sophia, m Constantinople, is another nistainceT>f the s5me kind ;
m other dsrisiutft chttfcjiis m Tiukey preier^^ their originai tiame, .thoujjh co;iVerted to
fe*, to^the^ \\^ splendid Tmes^ct wifh
^aaMt brStittift genls, a rich girdle, and va-
lidBi cihdr xmAf •fiferings.* ^ Tlie Alexan-
4d|k, Aipedikv 4i8 livpoarivy, and bolieviw
tbedtfiue wkii^ Us iawer h»d ck»ed would
W JgMn Mpcn to theiT adoration, as well as
Mtocted by tlieir esx^ror, gave way to tHe
Bo^'fxtravacantjoy, and passed whole nfghis
and dax-s & &livity ; not knowing, says the
histonao^f the vindictive madanatiobs of
tkldo^.''
The Tflserable f^ecords £roni which evU
4eow-is thttia far obtained, now j^il us«
The toe was approadiisig when a revo.
fcitiaB, prodwciair a total change of re) igi-
Ms^eotioienfts i^ AJexandria^ ositeriaUy
aftded the ssfety of (lie <omb. In can*
wffnce af tjb^ m/akts which llieoohilmt
ate tfaon £AoA Ibe aix^episcopal throne^
efend to Hie pii^aii teoiples, the greatest
diifBder tnak fJaoe m the city. An ap«
fBil vainade toTheodosius to decide the
ywirrl ^tween the heatbens .and the
chnstesk ted tifae o^asofyeace was aa
OBpenal anotoe in the year 360 for the
dfttfmrtiflH of the/ idols of Alexandria.
The idob tliemselves, 8a)rs Dr. Clarke,
wett tpeedify demolished ; and, doubt-
less, dc bodj of Alexander was not spared
4^0a the stat«ie of Serapis was destroyed.
Bat if liie aCatue of &rapM was destix>yed,
what KtsoD kaii^ we to suppose that the
IMii^fif AiJkXA)nDBa wkmld besiaffered lo
pumii ? lode^ we have something more
than anmferenoe to produce that it must
have been destroyed ; lor eight years af-
ler» viwi ChrysostoDt ref>roved the peo-
ple afAnlfoch for weariag the image of
fbe «>]| of Ammon, he triumphantly cx-
dmed, " Where is bow. the tomb qf
Ajomkr? afaow me !'*. tiie words are re*
bmA aide.— Hot; yap tite /xoi to £HMA
llua piOsage, with ihe words that
352
ANCIENT CLASSICS, fcc.
wc arc enaljlecl to ke^p our \ier^ faithfully
directed, in all the periods of its history, to
the particular building in which the body of
Alexander was placed; and, having found
the tomb stationed exactly as historians have
described it, meet with an uU'unate consum-
mation of the evidence in the tradition and
records of the Arabs ; who, while they profg-
trated themselves to do it homage, declared
it to be the tomb of Alexander, the founder
of the city of Alexandria/'
But where are the authorities for all
thes« strong assertions? Let the reader
only turn to the view of tlie great court of
the mosque tliat is copied from Denon,
and he will see in one moment that the
acibesque colonnade that surrounds it is
of a period very long subsequent indeed
to the conquest of Alexandria in 640. We
doubt if it has stood four hundred years.
Benjamin of Tudela, a .Jewish travel-
ler of the twelfth century, is the next
testimony that is brought ; and he, it ap-
pears, saw a large sarcophagus upon the
margin of the sea. It was engraved with
the figures of animals and hieroglyphic
, characters ; and was conjectured to have
contained the body of some king before
the deluge. Its breadth was six, and its
length fifleeij spans; and Dr. Clarke,
without enterii>g into any inquiry as to tlie
nature of the span, though at tlie same
time aware of tlie general coincidence of
the sarcophagus with tliat at .the Museum,
conjectures it to liave been one of tlie
tombs of the Ptolemies removed frpm the
SOMA to the sea-shore, and neglected
among the ruins.
Tlien we have the authority of Ix;o Af-
rican u.«, who visited Alexandria in I4pi ,
and whose text is literally translated in
^ these words.
** Neither ought it to be omitted, that in
the midst of the ruins, of Aiesandria, tliere
still remains a small edifice, built like a
chapel, worthy of notice on account of a re-,
mankable tomb, held in high honour by the
niahomttans; io which sepulchre, they as-
sert, is pi*eserved the body of Alexandt-r tlie
Cre;U, an eminent prophet and kinjr, as they
r< ad in their kgran. An immense crow d of
strangers comes thither, even from distant
coqniries, for the sake of worshipping and
doing lK>mag^ to the tomb ; ou which', like-
wise, they trequeiitly bestow consitkrable
donations/*
Marmol the Spaniard gives a similar
account 5 but ;ilmost in the % ery words of
lieox and innnedrateiy afterwards we
have an extract from the TJictioimaire
from a Persian writer of the ajiteeOlh
century, a fact which even Dr. Clarke'i
ingenuity cannot reconcile with Ids other
testunonies. For it is there aaaerted, that
the coffin of gold was excha^ed by Alex^
anders mother for one made of Egyptum
marble; and this even in the life-time of
Ptolemy Lagus, who had built the shiine.
But; on this incoherent evidence. Dr.
Clarke does not condescend to oflfer a
single observation.
Sandys, who went to Eg}'pt in iCli,
nicntions the tomb as reported to be in
the possession of the musselmen, but is
such a way that he has been ahrewtfy
conjectured to have borrowed his remarb
from Leo. Their coincidence indeed ii
great; for they both speak of Alexandei^
body being preserved there : but, in Dr.
ClarkeN mind, tin's part of their evideoM
is immaterial. He takes what coooemi
the tomP^ but leaves the body; hariog
considered thiat that was probably deoKH
lished with the idols in 389 - 7^ *^J
their testimonies must be as good upoo '
one feet as upon the other. All tfaisooly
' ser\'es to show that Dr. Clarke must him-
self have found insuperable difficoltks
in the compilation of lu3 Memoir.
■I'he principal of the modem travelfcra
are next cited. They form a sort of
chronological cavalcade 3 and follow eadi
oilier for no better purpose than to swdl
the pomp of seeming * testimony :' 6r
thoTigh the quotations from the diifecent
vo^'ages, during a course of seventy yean,
from Pocockc to Deiidn, occupy just
twelve quarto pages, yet not one altords a
single iota, either of evidence or oonjec*
ture, that tlie sarcophagus which tbnns
the subject of the dissertation, and wbkli
was seen and minutely described by sere-
ral of them, had any relation to the tomb
of Alexander. The greater part of these
travellers, with one or two more who
have been omitted, expressly tell us that,
though they made every inquir}'- possible
about tlie real tomb, not even the wredt
of a tradition could be discovered in tlw
( ountr)' that might relate to it. Yet does
Dr. Clarke assert, at the close of his in-
troduction, in tlie words of Gibbon, that 1
" The guardians qf the most koiti^fdict
vould rejoice if they were able to yrodscc
9uch a chain of evidence as may be alUgtd
vpon this occasion ;" a sentence which
strongly reminds us of what we once
heard in the court of chancery. A coun-
sel had addressed the lord chancellor on
the subject of a legacy for an hour and
tea loinQtes, without making out ereu
A DB8CR1PTI027 OF LATIT7M.
$53
hi alu&nr of a case. On the side of the
loestioahe supported^ he liad six or seven
11:^31017 affidavits : aiid, in the wanuth
ff wifldmg up bis speech^ he said^ " in
faorr, my lord, I feel mysdif supported
f such a cloud of witnesses^ that I am
one yoar lordship wiU be convinced I
td as confident as if I had Moses and
be prophets to support me."
Throughout the work we cannot but
bierve that Dr. Clarke shifts his ground
90 frequently. When, it suits his pur-
ose, the^^rcopfaagus may be as old as the
ime of Joseph. (See p. 47, note t.)
ihea it bids defiance to the arts at any
ither period tlian that of Ptolemy (p. 75.) •
od, in (he very next page, after mention-
og the gold coffin, he speaks of the sar-
nphagus as being ^i^trntrar^b constructed :
ad in a fourth place (p. 81.)^ it is referred
h Oljmpias, Alexander's mother. All
liese little incoherencies may pass very
veil with superficial readers; but never
&an be expected to elude the discrimina-
tkn of scholars. His testinoonies, in tliis
p)iDtof view, are too frequently deficient.
The mius of Sais, which form so long
md so irrelative a digression, never were
dtber lost or doubted ) so tliat the disco-
Art. IX. — A Deter ipiioft qf Latium;
EVERY scholar and reader of taste
must have experienced the great addi-
liooal pleasure which is^ in many instances,
communicated to the perusal of the an-
cient writers, by an accurate knowledge
of the historical facts to which they al-
fade, and particularly of the objects of na-
ture which they describe. Without this
tlie impression made by many of their
finest passages is vague, unsatisfactory, and
feeble. The works of Vir^l and Horace
are early put into our hands ; they are
employed to form and refine our taste,
and repeated study has rendered us fami •
fiar with their contents. But we deprive
wnelves of one great source of satisfac-
tioa in reading their poems, if we have
not familiarizol ourselves, in imagination
at least, with the scenes to which they
perpetually refer, from which their works
receive their colouring, and without some
knowWIge of which many passages are
indeedfcarcely intelligible.
No spot on the fiice of the earth can be
nwre interesting fi-om ancient recollections
^ assodations than the immediate en«
nrons of Rome. Some trace of those
pkaAigfeblcs, or those splendid histories,
^ aopiaintance with which is coincident
with the first exercises of the mind^ is im«
A*ii.IUv,Yoj..lV.
xery of them ranks \nth that of the
Vieniia manuscript in the £rst number of
the appetidix, which, as it had been print-»
ed more than once. Dr. Clarke needed not
to have eone so far to find.
Mr. Henley's Remarks on the Sarco-
phagusjin a great measure, contain a repe-
tition of the facts we have already noticed*
Still, however, they are curious, and are
intiiled to the reader's attention.
Professor Hailstone's letter is very mi-
nute in regard to the composition of the
stone of which the sarcophagus is formed i
We can only say that, if it had been
shorter, it Would have pleased us more.
These are the ' testimonies,* on the
strength oi* the weakness of which we
are called to decide. The sarcophagus
which forins tlie subject of the work we
readily adtnire 5 its beauty and its work-
manship are exqi^isite 5 and we must own
we should be better pleased could we sub-
scribe to Dr. Clarke's hypothesis : but
that, upon the evidence whicli he has
brought together, it is impossible to do.
The words of Chrysostom are as applicable
at the present day, as when they wert
first spoken to the me;i of Antioch.
drj la Cantpagna di Roman. 4to. pp. 268,
pressed on almost every object. Romd
still retains her empire. Her sovereigni
indeed fio longer sway the sceptre of th«
world ; her pontiffs no long^ give law to
sovereigns themselves ; but she is still tht^
centre to which a great part of tlie his-
tory of mankind tends, her name is re-
peated with enthusiasm in every quarter
of the globe, and the most distant travel-^
ler who arrives on that classic ground,
treads the seven hills with the feelings of a
citizen, and views the majestic ruins, ih6
monuments of ancient fame, with mingled
feelings of awe and delight.
The author of the work before us, whom
we understand to be Miss Knight, authojf
of Dinarbas and Marcus Flaminiu3, justly
remarks, tliat however satisfactory and.
complete may bQ the accounts given by
difierent authors of the city of Home, and
its more immediate environs^ little hog
been said on a subject scarcely less inter^
esting in any point of vielv, and Undoubt^
ediy in a peculiar manner grateful to th^
classical scholar, no less than to the paint*
er and antiquary.
'' TheCampagnadi Roma, or ancient La^
tium, comprises cities, towns, and villaaes,
which date their existence from the ear&es^
periods of histpry : maoj of them may yet
Aar ' ' ''■
354
ANaEKT CLASSICS, &c.
boast, in addition to the dianns of situation,
objects highlv disserving the observation of
traveU<?rs, altBouojh many of our own nation;
who visit Italy wiih a dosire of treading tiiat
earth which tiieir early studies have taught
Uicni to love and respect, eitlier fmni
\vant of time, or from not being sulllciently
apprised , of the scviies still yorthy their at-
tention, leave the country without having seen
more than two or three of tiie little touiis at
a short distance from the capital ; and per-
haps, having passed only a few honrs m each,
have not had an opportunity of viewing e\'en
Uiebe with advantage."
' Tlie object, therefore, of the present
work, is to give an account of the present
appearance of the Campagna, of it-* an-
cient state so far as it is deducible from
tlie remaining monuments of its former
greatness, compared willi the descriptions
of the Latin writers j interspersed with
many anecdotes of history connected witli
tlie subject, chiefly relative to the ancient
and middle ages.
The topographical part of the work is
preceded by an introduction, containing
a description of tlie situation and climate
of tlie Campagna ; an account, so far as
can be collected from the dark and uncer-
tain traditions which have descende4 to us,
of the original itihabitants and early colo-
nists of L^rium ; and the cities, roads, and
villas, of the ancients. The following is
tlie description of the rural amusemeuts of
tlie present Homans, during their annual
absence from the capital in the season of
autumn, and especially in tlie month of
October.
" Most of the nobility, and in<!eed all who
are in easy circumstances, eith<*r possess or
hire houses for tiiis month, at one or other of
the little towns within ten or twenty miles of
tlie capital. This is called going into vilieg-
^iatnra; and it forms one of the principal
pleasures of their existence. Tiie}- esteem it
not only nece:i>;ary t<>r their health, but es<en-
tial to their makinir a tespcctable appearance
In society; jukI individuiils who have not the
advantage of i>o*es.sing a tvtsino, hire lotlff-
higs in convents or private houses, for as niwA
of the ihontli of October as their tiiiances will
allow,
'* Ecclesiastics, lawyers, pliysicians, and
others who iress as abati, iu black, with short
hiantles over thtnr shoulders, for the rest of
the year, wear coloured coats durbig tiiis
fiwnth ; and even crirdiijals change their usual
httbh\ tor -a -purple frock. Towards the end
of September everj' Roman appears with a
couiitenjuice eiijivejiefl by the expectation of
in agre»!jble vilUg^iutura, except the few
ulioni busine*?s or waht of money detains in
the metropolis ; and these endeavour to con-
Bbh; themselves, "by wcai*uig the habit of til*
Irgsianfi, and walking in tlie beautiful viS»
ai»d vineyards wliich suiTouud the ctty. |
" Noiic, however, anticipate w'rtii <» nradi
ardour, or enjoy with bo miKh avidity, tk
pleasures of tiic month of Octdlwr, 'as tiv
scholars, and we may avW tlie masters, 4rf the
diilercnt coIU i^es and s^-niinahcN iu \^fak^,
llome aboundv. Each of Uii^se hou<^ mt
da.iijio at or near one of the ca*:rUi, as the
little towns are usually denominated. Ojit&
happy day appointed' for tlie rhang<» of habi-
tatioii, a "long tra'ui of coaches con-.^j-j tic
youtlilul viilvggianti to the 5c*one of ddigfae^
where, xxndav tne eye of then* pnHreptor.lJKy
jo'm in all the amusements which the ccuirf
affords. Their studies are not, ho«e\er,t»',
tally neglected ; for, besides the lc>?ous tb^
receive on mineralogy and botanv duiia|
their excui-sions, it is 'remarked, ifiLt sosat'
of their best exercisi-s arc compo* d ^j«<* •
neously at tliesc seasons of Tccn ation.
*' The time of vilieiigintura is indeed ^sott,
but that very reason contrihutos to remlal'
more delightful. The mornings arc u^olf
employed in walks or friendly visits ; in tk
evening, those who hive carria^s take aa
airing ; and afterwards, all ass4*ml>le at one «
other of the hoii>cs, where convere^jtioii aod
music for the young, and cards for thp eMff,
enguc;e their 'iittnitlon. On these ocra^oai
tiie nobility sometimes mix with thojeof aft
inferior ckiss, particuUtrly wliere balls or ccn-
certs are given. Racci, and other amuap*
riu»nts appropriate to the country, fonn aUa
part of their pleasures."
De\'iating slightly in one or two in-
stances from the order obscn'cd by the
author, we shc'.ll prot^ced to give an am-
lysis of the contents of this work under
six principal heads.
1 . The Appian way, and the adjoinir^
objects. This celebrated road, one of the'
most remarkable monuments of Roman
grandeur, in a species of public works ia
the construction of w hich they exccikd
all nations ancient or modem, extend
from Rome towards the south. OiiCcif
the first objects which occurs, is the Mcall
temple of Forluna Muliebris, at the dis-
tance of four miles from Rome ; said to
haN e been erected in honour of Veturia
tlie mother of Coriolanus, and the Ronan
matrons who accompanied. Ler, w lieu by
her entreaties she previiiled (ui her son to
desist from the enterprize wlilcli^e bJ
undertaken at the head of the rbhci^
armies, against his native city. It Is nov
in ruins, but considerable fragments of it"
remain. At die seventh mile, die Clau-
dian aciueduct crosses tlie way. In a vioe-
yard at Castel Gandolfo, is an aiicieHt
tomb, which tradition assigns to Tullia,
the daughter of Cicero.
^ The 'Alban lake Ls situated a little to the
A DlfiCXI^TlOX Of I.ATIUtf.
959
left of tbeApptaa road. Its modem name
is lago di Ca^tello. The £mist>ario^ if its
nti^iiicy is sufiicieotly aacfrtuined^ must
be one of the most remarkable objects
wiudi have been saved from the ravages
tf time. It is said to have been erected
Ibfee hundred and ninety-seven years be-
luK the Christian aera^ and is still in per-
fect presiorvation.
" Tliis truly interesting monumenf of an-
ttqutty was cbnatrucled, as is we.ll koown,
duriog the celebrated siege of Veii, for tjjo
QQbisioQ ofthesupcriliious waters ot this lui;e
*rhicii bad risen to an ui»louishing height, whpji
the country was afilicted M'ith un iinconiniou
vaut of raio^ ^*hich occasioiied a failure of al-
most all I be lesser streams. The oracle of
Ddp.t*)s and those of Etruria having also de*
daitu that Veii eould not be taken tiU the
^t«fs of the lake were carried o^ into the
ieliis, and tiien confined into rivulets ; th<r
VQr& was joon term mated, and Veii was takev.
" This ' Emhsario' presents an arch ,of
comi'Jenibl^ height, seven feet in diameter,
Comi>'>«d of large square stones. It lorms
the ciAHUicc of a cliaonel which conveys ihe
%ater under the bill on whicli Castel Gaiidolfo
Hands, aiiout three hundred feet above the
level 01 the lake.
• "Taia ciiinnel is a mile and a half in
Vn^lh, and terminates in the fields near M-
kwo, where is a mill for grinding corn, aiid
tljL* water atlcn'TTcls nuis into the TibtT, at a
£ico called * Aque Salvie.* There are some-
its five feet of water, and at others only
Wo: hs placing a lighti^ taper on a boara,
and letting it swiin through tiie arch, tiu* t^e
can follow the streani to a verj' considerable
ikUnce, an^ ti»e board fioats along tht* chan-
^ tin it makes its appv'arance at the mill.*'
The present town of Albano, situated
war die lake, derives its name, though its
' iiie is different, from the ancient city of
Alba, a naiue closely connected with the
• prigiQ of l^ome :
^ Albaoique patres, attJUe altae meenia Roma*.'
Among the numerous villas erected in
ttie nei^bourhood of Albano by the Ro-
' mans, the most conspicuous was that -of
. ^Hnpej', of which considerable vestiges
we siill *m being. '* The remains of an-
l^ttitj near Albano in aU directions are
wry jftmerous. In a vineyard aboat a
fcile distant from tlie nortl)ern gate are
. vestiges of walls, which appear td have
^ bujh during the time of the repub-
JKi or during the reign of die fiist Caesars.
Six rooms with b^otiful mosaic pave-
i°<^ vere discovert bwe some years
^ «maU town of Palaszolo. on the
cast of die lake^ astd «C the foot of the
Alban mountaiti, Is sbptJoseJ to preseiit
the site of the ancient Alba I/jnga. It i|
marked by some insignificant luins.
Lancia, on the >V4>pian road, about a
mile from Albano, is tlie Aricia of anti**
qtiity, the seal of an Italian fable, beauti-
fully described by ViigU, -^n. vii* 7^1
—732. .
" Ibat ct Hippolyti proles pulchftrima hello
Virbius, ind^Tnem quern mater Aricia mi-
sit,;* &c'.
This town appears to be distinguished
by tlie beauty of its situation j and eon-
taiiJs a fine modem iialacc, possessed by
the family oi Chigi. .
Tiie small lake of Nemi, .about four
miles in circumference, succeeds, that of
Albano at a short distance, lying also on
ijie l^ft of the Appian way. Gensano,
said to be corrupted 4rom Cyntljianum,
preserves the inemor)' of the worship of
Diana, celebrated in tliis territory, which
was peculiarly consecrated to that god-
dess.
** In the principal street, which is not in-
considerjii>le, is auoually |>crformed an exer-
cise entitled il Sarm\ no. This takes place
on the ar^niversarj' of their tutel-ir saint, and
follows a race of Barbary horses, which is pre-
viously exliil>ited in tlie avenue before the
palace. A long space of gruund is enclosed
by pales, ornamented witii bianc hes of trees ;
at one exircunity is a tigure representing a
Moor in armour, with a sprig of laurel in his
hand, and a silver star on his torehead. The
maejist rates place tliemselves on a ecaflold
erected for the purpose, and adorned with
crimson damask frin^d witli gold. They sit
as judges of the game.
" \ oung/inen on l>orseback, attended cgch*
by a running footman holding theij lanc^
enter the li:^ts, and, after making tlieir obeir
sance to the magistrates and spectators, run
full speed at tlio Saracen's head; and he
whose lance «Tikes the star, or comes nearest
to it, gai!)s the prlzf^, which is a silver knife,
fork, ana spoon, titd with red ribbanda.
This game was introduced- by the S«*wefia>
and is ):ractised in otli^ part$ of Italy: i^
gives some idea of the warlike ai9useme&ts
of tlie Aiabs, as described in the jilstpry of
Granada, and other works translated troni
then- ftinguage ; but the traces of their maj-
niiicence a?\d chivalry are Aill mprfe viable tt
the Sicilian festirals.^
The iiame of Nemi has dstoended fxiom^
Nemus Aricinum; a grov^ vnf gveat oile«
brity, dedicated Ip Diana; 4n a situation of
singular 'beauty. Kaval- combats wen
exfaAbitcd by the .emperor Claudius cm tba
lake; at the bpttqiD of 'which, io the £(£•
teentb ceatvoy, b J^oiQao vessel wm ^mm
Aa2
i
3^4
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
boast, in addition to the charms of situation,
obj»?cti highly dt^erving the oljservation of
travellers, altBOUgh many of our own nation',
who visit Italy with a de.sire of treading tJiat
earth which lliieir early studies have taught
tiicm to love aiid respect, either from
want of time, or from not being su^Ucieiitly
apprised , of the sconus still worthy their at-
tention, leave tho country without having seen
more than two or three of tlie little toMiis at
a sliort distance from the capital ; and per-
haps, having jiassed only a few luniTR in eacii,
have not hm «n opportunity of viewuig even
Uie&e with advantage."
' Tlie object, therefore, of the present
work, is to give an account of the present
appearance of the Campagua, of itf an-
cient state so far as it is deducible from
tlie remaining monuments of its former
greatness, compared with the descriptions
of the Latin writers j interspersed with
many anecdotes of history connected witli
tlie subject, chiefly relative to the ancient
and middle ages.
The topographical part of the work js
preceded by an introduction, containing
a description of tlie situation and climate
of tlie Campagna j an account, so far as
can be collected from the dark and uncer-
tain traditions which have dcscende4 to us,
of the original hi habitants 'and early colo-
nists of I/atiura ; and the cities, roads, and
villas, of the ancients. The following is
tlie description of the rural amusements of
tlie prcfjcnt Romans, during their annual
absence from the capital in tlie season of
autumn, and especially in the month of
October.
•' Most of the nol)ility, and indeed all who
are in easy circumstances, either jxjssess or
hire houses for this riionth, at one or other of
tlie little towns within ten or twenty miles of
tlic capital. This is called going into •oilieg-
gialura; and it forms one of the principal
})lcasures of their e\i!»lence. The*}' esteem it
not only necessary tor their health, but essen-
tial to their niakinir a fispcctable appearance
In society; jukI individuals who have not the
advaiitage oV po*c8s!ng a ■casino; hire lotlff-
ings in convents or private houses, for as much
of the ihontli of October as tiieir linances will
allow.
'* Ecclesiastics, lawyers, physicians, and
others who iress as alfati, in black, with short
mantles over 'their shoulders, for the rest of
the year, wear coloured coats during this
month ; and even cardiuals change their usual
bttbh>v tor a -purple frock. Towards the end
of September ever>' llonian appears with a
couiiten^ice eniiveiiecl by the expectation of
mi agreejble viUt^iidtira, except the few
whom business or watit of money tletains in
the metropolis; and these endeavour to con-
sole themselves, "by wcai'ing the habit of ri7-
legsianH, and w^alking in tlie beauttfnl vUlfll
ana vineyards which surround the city. {
" None, however, anticipate willi -i) mad
ardour, or enjoy with «> imtch avidity, tai
pleasures of iiic month of Ocloljer. "as
scliolars, and we may add tljc masters, d t|
ditlercnt coIUijes and s<fnanarie^ iu s.ik
Rome abounds. Each of these houses lias
da^^nio at or near one of the ca\icUif as i
little towns are usually denoniinuled. On
happy day appointed* for the change? of hal
tation, a long train of coaches coir.T\"5 1|
youftliftjl viHv^ianti to the scpne of deli
where, under tne eye of their jweceptor,!
join in all the amusements which tlie coa
atlords. Their studies are not, h«iev«,
tally neglected ; for, besides the Ic^soo-?
receive on mineralogy and botany doi
their excursions, it is remarked, x\\zi
of their best cxercisirs arc conipo««:d Np
neously at these seasons of recr^-ation.
**The WmQofviilcggMtura is indeed
but that very reason contributes to rt
more delightful. The moruii^ arc
employed in walks or friendly visits; in
evening, those who have carriag<*s take
airing ; and afterwards, all assirmble at
other of the houses, where converiatioa
music for the young, and cards for the eW
engage their attention. On thejjc ocrai
tlie nobility sometimes mix with thwc of
inferior class, particularly wliere balls or
certs are given. Racci, and other
riients ajTi)ropriate to tlie country, fonn a]
part of their pleasures."
Deviating slightly in one or two
stances from the order observed by
author, we shall proceed to give ac ;
lysis of the contents of this work
six principal heads.
1 . The Appian wa)% and the adjoinl
objects. This celebrated road, one of
most remarkable monuments of R*
grandeur, in a s[>ecies of public worJa
the construction of v\ hich they excel
all niitioiis ancient or modem, extel
from Rome towards the south. One
the first objects which occurs, is the
temple of Fortuna Muliebris, at dit d
tance of four miles from Rome ; said
have been erected in honoiu* of Veti
the mother of Coriolanus, and the Ron
matrons who accompanied - her, wliai
her entreaties she prevailed on her sua
desist from the enterprize whichiie h
undertaken at the head of the Volad
armies, against his native city. It is
in ruins, but considerable fragments rf
remaui. At tlie seventh mile, liie CI
dian aqueduct crosses the way. In a
yard at Castel Gaiidolfo, is an aaci
tomb, which tradition assigns to Td|
the daughter of Cicero.
^ The 'Alban lake Li situated a
A tUCZtPriOV OF LATIUM.
95$
left of die Appian road. Its modem name
u U§o di Castello. The £mi5sario^ if its
anti^oitjr is sufiiciently zscwru'med, must
be one of the most remarkable objecU
friiich have been saved from the ravages
•f dioe. It is said to have been erecU'd
ikree hundred' and ni;iety-8even years be-
:iK Che Chrisdan aera^ and is still in per-
ftct pregiorvalion.
f "This truly interesting monument of an-
nuity xn$ constructed, as is well known,
4wiiig the celebrated siege of Wni, for t.'je
iCBU*ion of the superiluous waters oV this lake
* *:ii had risen to an astouishiug height, when
country was afiiictcd with an uncommon
' of rain, which occasioned a failure of al-
al! I he le?ser streams. The oracle of
^AiH and those of Etruna having also de*
a that Vcii eouid not be taken till the
of the lake were carried off into the
bU^, and tiien confined into rivulets; tiie
tn was soon term mated, and Veil was take*.
" This ' £mr:sario' presents an arch .of
wsideraolc height, seven feet m diameter,
ipi>>ed of large square stones. It forms
ciitrarice of a channel which convevs the
Kbt under the hill on which Castel Gaijdolfo
ndi, about three huudred feet above the
Tela the lak^'.
•This? cii-tnnel is a mile and a half in
a^ and ternimates in tb.e fields near Al-
IfiD, where is a mili for grinding corn, aiid
«\rater aftenyards nuis into the Tiber, at a
ico called ' Aque Saivie.' There are some-
^ Jive feet of water, and at others only
: by placing a lighted taper on a board,
id tetfing it swim througl; tlie arch, the eye
IB Wlo^ the stream to a verj- consideiuGle
lAaixe, and i\^ board floats along tht* chan-
lUM it makes its appearance at the mill."
Ihe present town of Albano, situated
the lake, derives its name, though its
ii different, from the ancient city of
^, a name cloj>ely connected with the
nginof Home:
Albanique patres, attjlie altae momiaRomae.'
Among the numerous vHlas erected in
t neighbourhood of Albano by the Ro-
i, the most conspicuous was that ^f
Dpej', of which considerable vestiges
still m being. " The remains of an-
.Htynear Albano in all directions are
if fliimerous. In a vineyacd about a
MB distant froFd the Rortl)ern gate are
tefgjes of walls, whicli appear td hav«
BpA built during the time of the repub-
fc or during the reign of die fiist Cssara.
Bp gpoms with b^ntifiil mosaic pave*
^niwere discovered here some years
Alban mountalti, is supposed to present
the site of the ancient Alba I>onga. it i$
marked by some insignificant luins.
Lancia, on the A^ian road, about a
mile irom All)ano, is tlie Aricia of antir
quity, the seal of an Italian fable, beaut;*
fully described by Virgil, JEu, viL 7^^
—782.
" fbat ct Hippolyti proles pulcHerrima bello
Virbiiis, insignem quern mater Aricia mi-
sit,;' &c.
This town appears to be distinguished
by tlie benuty of its situation ; aiid eon-
taiiis a hne modem palace, possessed by
Ihc family ofChigi. .
Tj)e small lake of Nemi, about fonr
miles in circumference, pucceed^. that of
Albano at a short distance, lying also on
the Mft pf the Appian way. Gensano,
said to be corrupted 4rom Cytitliianum,
pieser\'es the memory of tlie worship of
Diana, celebrated in this territory, which
was peculiarly consecrated to that god-
dess.
•* In th? principal street, which is not in-
consideraijir, is aunually p::normed an exer-
cise entitled il Sarac. in. This takes place
on the 2rT«niversar\' of their tuteUr saint, and
follows a race oi ftaruary ror-v^, whii.h is pre-
viously e>:Li!>lted in the avenu*^ before the
palace. A \*x:;> ^p-c<: of ^^-'^ui.J is inclosed
by pales, orLxjr.'aacd witli bian. L*:s of trees ;
at one exa ^-/.ly i« a Lq-ire rrpre-riit'.ng a
Moor m ^nn*^vs', ui :* j: ^ jr./ .,f laurel in his •
hand, and a silver <ar or. *h ? , ro.'-irhead. The
magLs(rdtt>s place tlit^,<^A\e% on a scaffold
erected for ti^e pcrr»^, and adonicd with
crimson damask trai^d with gokL They «it
as j'udijes of the k irr»e.
" \ oun^jDien ^^r a.^rseback, attended eack
by a n:n.'jirj.:: f> ••.;!, >n hom-jig ihetr laoc^
enter the IL- >, an i, a:*.*^ majkiHg thar obei-
sance to til.* tt.jc:. u..if^ and sj^.-ctcton, rvn
full speed at t.-.e Sarac^s hcid; and he
whose lance <tU.« the <2/. or cnmti nean^
to it, gains ti.e i^nz-, uijch '» a *river kufiev
fork, ana spooa, utd with red nblwidt.
This game va, lotrtiducfid by the ^^amxm
and k piacliscd iu other paru of itaJy: 't
gives some idea of the var^ike iaf7t'ffi^Tnt«**
of the Arabs, as described ia the |^:torr rf
Orranada, acd other works t:aft/.«ted ivm
then- Mnguage ; but tLe traces of teir mar
miicoicf a^d cbiralij are «iii mo!t ti*k ^
the bi^ciiiaafeitivak.^
The «amc of Xenu k» UB»«
Nemus Arichiiifli, a gro«^ ^ {
brity, dedicated ip Diana, 4
singular -beamy, KataJ cm
exhibited by tiie empov CL'w^
356
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
covet ed. The fountain of Egeria remains
under the name Fonte Gerulo.
Ardea, the papital of Tumus, is on the
right of the Appian road, not far distant
from the sea. It is frequeutljr mentioned
in Romiaa histoiy; but appears in the
flourishing ages of. the. republic to have
been deserted, and is now very thinly in-
habited, on account of the insalubrity of
Xlie air.
Civlta Lavinia is the ancient Lanuviuro,
of which Milo was dictator. " The toT^Ti
is very intere'sting, every thing bearing
marks of the most remote antiquity.
Many beautiful fragments of ornamental
sculpture in stone and marble, lie scat-
tered about jn the streets j and in most
of the walls are stuck pieces of cornices
or columns."
Velitrse is the last-mentioned town in
this route,- lying on the modern road to
Naples, twenty-six miles distant from
Rome. It is celebrated for the birth, or
at least the education, of Augustus 5 but
appears to be more distinguishe4 by its
modern palaces, than its remains of an-
rient edifices. The Pontine marshes are
in its vicinity.
2. Towns and objects on the coast.
At the mouth of the Tiber are situated
Porto and Ostia ; the former on its right,
the latter on its left bank. These places
retain some traces, though not very con-
siderable, of their former maritime im-
portance. The remains of the ancient
ClaUdian port are visible under water on
a calm day. The magnitude of this work
may be estimated from the descriptions of
Juvenal and Suetonius.
Torre di San Lorenzo, about seven
miles to the south of Ostia, is conjectured
to represent Laurentum, the city of La-
tinus. Of the villa of the younger Pliny,
situated near this town,' it does not ap-
pear that any remains are extant. Heyne,
in his third Excursus on tlie seventh book
of. the -ffineid, controverts the claims of
San Lorenzo to the honours of ancient
Laurentum J he concurs with Cluverius
and Fabretti m fixing it at Torre di Pa-
tcrno.v Lavinium, the first seat of the
supposed monarchy of /Eneas in Italy, is
supposed to have stood ,on a little emi-
nence at the source of the river Numi-^
cusi about, three miles from the sea.
The vicinity of Antium is still interest-
ing. The ancient name is preserved in
the present Porto ,d'iNiizo-j while the ad-
jacent ,n;ariiime tuwn of Nettuno gives- ,
t^^stimpny to tbe'tem^Jfe" and worship of
Uie^ijuy of the sea, by which this place
was celebrated. Antium was the eaptd
of the Volscians, and was not reduced, tifi
after many contests, under the powder of
Rome. Under the empire it was dbtin-
guished by tlie splendour of its buildiogi;
Among its public edifices, the tempfei of
Neptune, jIBsculapius, and Fortune, wen
eminent. To the latter Horace albdei
in the well-known ode which headdresses
to the mutable goddess :
" O Diva, gratum quae regis Antium !**
Some of the master-pieces of sculpture,
particularly the Belvedere Apollo, woe
discovered among the ruins of this dtj. ,
Monte Circelb, a bold eminence, piov
jectlng into the sea, and connected witk
the continent by a low and narrow neck
of land, is the ancient JEa, or island of
Circe. It is not improbable that, in re-
mote ages, it may have been actually se*
parated from the shore. Classic supersd-
tion points out the tomb of Elpenor with
as much exactness, as in Palestine religi-
ous superstition assigns the situatioD of
every remarkable event connected wid>
the origin of Christianity. •
3. Tusculum, with the surrounding
country. No name can be dearer thaa
this, to the admirers of ancient genius and
learning. It was to this favoiuite retreat
that Cicero withdrew from the businesj
and turbulence of Rome, to enjoy tbe
elegant pursuits and calm satis&ctions of
literature and philosophy, in secret stadr,
or in the society of friends of taste and
attainments similar to his own. From
some remains of antiquity which ha\ie
been there discovered, it is conjectured,
though rather precariously, that the mo-
nastery of Grotta ^errata presents tbe
exact site of Cicero's villa. The modem
name of Tusculum is Frascati. The an^
cient city was on an eminence, at the foot
of which the present town is builL The
nominal cardinal of York is bishop of tfail
diocese, in which he usually resides.
Luculhis possessed a splendid viiia \A
the vicinity of Tusculum. *' Consider-
able vestiges of porticos, grottos, and
other buildings, in which inscnptioas
witli the name of LucuUus have been
found, occur frequently between Mari-
no and Monte Porzio, above Frascati;
but it is impossible to distinguish bov
much of these buDdings belong to La-
cuUus, or to discover how many other
dwellings were erected on the miBS of
his villas, or near them^ during (he WSS^
of so many centuries.**
•4 DESCRIPTEON OF LATIVM.
«$f
The montstery of Grotta Ferrata is-re^
mariable for the use of the Greek ritual.
" Tlie service is performed in Greek ; and
the Miss^ and book of Psalms, printed in
tiiat language with accents, are read and sung
br the monks according to the modem pio-
jmndatioa. They are chiefly Calabrians of
resectable families ; their hospitality is great ;
and on the 8th of September, the day of the
Madonna, when a £ur is held under the elms
before the abbey, they entertain some of the
first nobility of Rome with great propriety.
lu the court of the monastery are then erected
shops aud booths, where linen, shoes, ians^
and tiinkels are sold: little arbours are form-
ed of branches of trees (ui which art the
neople of Fiascati excel), and others, of a
va^ dimension, for dinner-parties in th<^
meadow: horses, oxen, and indeed cattle of
all descriptions, are brought hither to be sold ;
and the meadow is filled with compajiy of all
lanki, whose various dresses, with the pic-
turesque appearance of tlie place m general,
compose a scene of the most agreeable and
cfactifui nature. Music is always introduced
€B these occasions, and at night the lamps,
pbced on the ditferent tables where the
people are assembled in convivial parties,
^laille between the trees, and giV^ an ap-
pearance of festivity which is truly delightful,
feween ten and eleven in the morning of the
great day (for most of the people assemble on
the eve), high-mass is sung m Latin, as well
as Greek, by the re^lar father abbot of the
BWKiastcry with a mitre and crosier, which he
has the right of wearing on this occasion : his
dress, and those of the other officiating priests,
an; magnificent. The abbey is in the dio-'
ccie of cardinal York, as bishop of Frascati."
4. The description of the Alban moun-
tain we present entire,
"MpNTE Cavo, Mons Albanus.
'* Ascending from this place to the summit
of Motdc C'flTO, anciently Mons Albanus, ' at
the distance of little more than a mile, the
travnlltr follows a most difficult path over
rocks, whence the views are surprisincjl v ex-
tensive and beautiful ; the lake of Albano ap-
"pearinz at his feet. • Above La Rocca are the
nnnsof some Gothic buildings, and (he pea-
Bants suppose them to have been once a for-
lfe«; vfcch is hichly probable, from the
"Bnyadvantages of the situation. ITie road
■ow opens into a large plain nearly enclosed
Dv.^ circular chain of mountains, amongst*
Jrach the most remarkable is Mount Aliri-
WW. This place bears the name of the plains
^fjonnibal, as it is imagined- to be the spot
J™e that general pointed out to liis anny
w ki^ °^ ^J'^^i and promised to his officers,
wthe ensaing evehing; a supper in the capi-
„ ^CTs place it lower.
" From this plain we ascend a most en-
chMtiiig road doded by a variety of trees,
and particularly by oaks aud laurels. It leads
wiudmg up to tlie sununit of tlie mountain,
'i'his road is of the time of the republic, and
near the iummit is in perfect ureservation : it
commences round tliat partoi tiie hill nearest
Albano, and is composed of large Hat stones,
supported on each side by a pavement about
a foot higher : it is broad, enough for the pas-
sage of a modem carnage : in many parts
of it are seen engraved the two letters V. and
N., which antiquaries interpret /'7a A'u/itinw
(the road of the deity).
" Hither the Roman conquerors used tp
come a few days after their triumph, to ofler
up a sacrifice of tlianks in the temple of Jitr
pittr Latialis; and those who, after having
gained a victory, could not obtain from the
senate the decree which entitled them to the
honour of a triumph, often made one at their
own expence in this place, followed by their
army, with a pomp equal to that of Rome.
'' This temple of Jupiter was the object of
general veneration : in the first times of the
republk: the different states of I^tium sent
annually hither deputies to renew their league
of amity, and offer up a sacrifice to Jupiter.
On a stated day the>» met in this place, and
each deputy partook of the victim. The
Romans considered it as the chief object of
their devotion after the capitol : and prodi-*
gies supposed to happen here were expiated
with the most rigorous superstition. That
siuj^Iar appearances should strengtlien their
belief in such wonders is not astonishing^
when we consider the volcanic nature of this
celebrated mountain. Tlie Alban lake was
the cratw of a volcano ; and the accounts
given by Livy, and other historians, of its
having rahied stones, and other similar phe-
nomena, on Mount Albano, are as easy to be
explained by naturalists, as the death of Acis
^ntl otlier mythological events, the scene of
which was the neighbourhood of Mount Etna.
" Arriving at the summit of Monte Cavo,
it 15 impossible not to experience sensations
at once awful and delightftil ; the recollec-
tion of the important events which led the
masters of the world to offer up at. this place
their homage to the Deity, is assisted- by
the great quantity of kmrels still growing .
here.
" It if a small plain belong'mR to an order
of friars called Passionisii, wlio subsist well
on the charity of the circumjacent towns and
villages. Their dress b black, with a large
red cross on their breast, and they are utider
the protection of cardinal York, who assisted
them m building a new church in the year
1784. Their convent is a building of consi-
derable size, and opposite to it is a stone,
table shaded by two fine chesnut-trees ; this
b supposed to have been the place of the
altar of Jupiter, as it b in tlie centre of the •
plain, ai^d ^eat part of a circular wall of
some extent is yet vbible, and was, no tloubt,
that of the ancient temple. On the ground
were seen several fragments of cornices of good
sculpture ; and, whoi we were on tlie hill«
3.5d
ANCIENT 'CLASSICS, Sa;
the inasons wert ftnploy^<! m mat^n^ a shfH
for holy %?citcr out 6t part csf an antique altar.
*' 1 nere are tvv6 moments in which this
spot is niore peculiarly interesting. One,, on
a elear day, when the eye can enjoy tlie most
extensive and tlie siiblimest view that is
known in the papal dominions. It takes in a
vast tr<vct of country, and ft lara[e portion of ,
Jthe Mediterran^nm, with the various dyectg
which render this scene one of the noblest itt
tlie world. It almost extends U) the Adriatic,
and comprehends part of the Neapolitan ter-
ritory, with a long chain of the Appenines.
** The other inoment, though not so .
beautiful, has in it something extraordinary
aind awful that is truly desei*ving of obser\'a-
ti6n. It is, however, frequently a great dis-
appointment to many travellers. A mist
cover^ th*i whole of the prospect below, and
the cfrcular plain alon^ is visible to the per*
son who has ascended the hill in search of the
view. It ha* then the appearance of an island
in the midbt of an immense lake, or of an
ediiice seated on the clouds. Tliis mist
scarcely ever extends its influence to a great
distance . it apptiars, when seen from Al-
bano, or any othc» town on the borders of tiie
laKe, in tiie' form of a cloud wliich cuts across
the upper part of the mountain, and is an in*
cFication of fliture rain. Tins gives rise to
the expression, ' Monte cava ha if aqteHch-^
piovera:' — • Tlie mountain has put oiv his
Jiut — it will rain:' an expresswn^hich, pro-
baoly, comes from the ancient Romans, as
there is a inountairt in France corrupted ly
called Afont Ptia^ from Mons Pilmtus, the
lloman nam<» giv n to it on account of its
frefjueMly Jippearing with this cloud across
or above tJic sunynit. •
** An excursion to Monte Cavo is not only
pleasing to the painter and antiquary, but
atlords specimens of manY curious vokahic
productions to the mineralogist.
" The^irif* Latinfe were annual meetings
of the btates of I^itium with the Romans,
Ilernici, anrl Voiscians, established by l*ir-
quin thf Proud, who was desirgus, by this ar-
rangement, to make himself master of these
several nations, and was too good a politician
rot to understand the use of festivals a^d
banquets.
** 1* orly-seven cities partook of this f^ast,
and each contributed J ts portion, by sending
lambb', chr^eses, milk, or other piovlKJons.
I'Ue common victim was an ox, a portion of
which was given to tire c^puty of ciit h tow]i,
the Romans presiding at the sstcrifice.
** Only two communities of the Vqlscians,
the Aiitiaies and the Eclietraai, consented to
. join this assembly.
y The name otferi€p, which properly im-
plies liolitiays, bai remained to public meet-
mgb of a diiierent nature, ^^ilkd by the Ita-
lians fiere, arid by us fai r.s\
** As there was not space sufficient for so
nxnnerousta company on ttie sumniit of Moimt
Albano, it is probable theseyir/rt? were Iteld
in the s{)acious pUia above itcscribcd, imder
the name of thtflehU /ff Ham^e^tl^iJaiti^
the buU mi^ht be sacrliiced at tlie ten^e of
Jupiter Latialis, and the fortv-»seven fli?piiti«
might partake of it there. The plain is ahout
tiiree miles in circumference, and produces
excellent pasturagei tiie mountains encir-
cling it are covered with trees, and the oaks
are some of the finest in this country.
'* On the side of the Alban mountain stood
a temple of Juno Moneta, erected by Caiia
Cicereius, in. consequence of a vowhemailt
in Corsica, where he ^ined a consideriile '
victory in the year of Rome, 578, destroyiag^
7000 of the enemy, and taking ITOOprBoo-'
ers. This temple was completed m 583,
and was afterwards supposed miracuk>usly to
turn from the east to the north. Itw^'iut !
large, but appears to have been held in great
veneration.' ,
5. Praeneste. This town, now called- 1
Palestrina, is distinguished by its antiquitj, i
and by various circumstances of its his- |
tory. The salubrity of its air, and thft
beauty of its situation, rendered it a ft*
vourite residence of the wealthy Bomaos.
One of its naost remarkable edifices ra
the temple of the goddess Fortana, said
ib have occupied nearly the whole of the
ground on which the present town rf
Palestrina stands, erected by Sylla on the
scene of his greatest victory, in honour of
the goddess by whose protection and re-
gard he considered himself as peculiarly
distinguished. The finest building of the
modern city, is the castle or palace of its
prince.
" The chief object of curiosity is tli€ pa^
lace of the prince, in the highest'part (^ the
city, to which there is an ascent by an exc^-
leiit coach-road to the right, by die Capucia
convent, without entering the narrow street
Before it is a level space of considerable
length, which formed the highest pbtfortn of
the temple of Fortune.
•* Two tiiglits of steps lead to an amphi-
theatre, or semicircular staircase, b excrfieat
preservation, which is the ^ame that led to
the sanctuary of the temf^e, on the fouwfa*
tion of which the palace is built: in the
middle of the semicircle is a well ^ each step
is about a foot and a half hi^ (like the an-
cient steps of the capitol which led to the
church of Ara Cocli, at Rome). Anodier
short liight conducts to the hall ofentia««,
where are seen four elegant bronze canooos,
a douWe staurcase, and a recess, closed by
iron grates, which contains the celebrated an-
tique pavement, of which Pliny speaks in the
following terms :
" Tfiejine mosaic qf sTnall stones, plaai
hy Sylla as a pavement in the ttnak (^ /^
tune at Praeueste^ was the first &vig(ifl^
kind seen in Italy,
" There does not seem to be the smiM
n)om to doubt of thtf bdag the ^euoiae i9tt*
VINCEKT 9 PEHIPtWS.
35.9
air he inrotioc)5<: it *is in excellent preserva-
lion, aoil appi-ars to be about twenty twt by
sixtevn. It was found in the saniJ cellar of
the aeminarj-, where is still Hie altar of For-:
tuar, and may be c<Ni5)idered as one of the
noit iincivstin^ relics of aatiquity.
" 1 o^-arda tiie upper part of it are moiui*
aiiis, uiih negro savages hunting wild beasts;
i&^ial> of dlfif rent sorts, witb their namt^s in
t>retk vkritieu below thein — such as rhinoce-
VK, crocodili", and lynx. Lower down are
seen bouses of various forms, teuij^les, vessels
i>f ditrert:ut constructions, particularly a gal-
ley of 3'i oars, matuied with amied' blades,
lad conniiaDded by a white man ; a tent with
ioldters, a palm-tree, tioJBvers, a collation in
Bi arbour, an altar of Anubis ; ia short, al^
iDou e»ery ciK^tfustaoce iniaginiible in. life.
TLe see lie apparently lies in Eg>pt. The
figures are well drawn, the liglit and sliadows
B^pily di>pOhed, and the colouring liamio-
mous. The stones which compose this very
CBTiuus pavtment are remarkably small, which
Nsrlers the eit'ect peculiarly pleasing from the
■otoess ei its appearance.
" This immense and magnificent build-
ing has not been inhabited for many years,
and indeed it is much too large for the
nejent modes of life. The lengtli of it
IS 0/2 feet."
The towns of Gabii, Pedum, and Scap-'
tia,with others iii the vicinityof Praeneste,
do not appear to be much distinguished
by any traces of ancient splendour.
d Tibnr, now called Tivoli, is well
Inofwn- as one of the most delightful situa-
tions in the environs of Rome, celebrated
by its ancient poets, and the chosen re-
•prt of many of its most eminent citizens.
Iq no place are the remains of aucient
viJlas no numerous. One of i.ts most
beautiful objects is the celebrated cascade.
" From tliis place there is a steep desceat
*o a ffTQlto near the great cascade, the beauty
ci' wmh ballU^ all ae^:ription. It is called
la Groita di NcUuno^ On the uay aret^
be seen ditVerent jiet refactions,
" Besides the great cascade, which is near
the s}birs teuipfe, there are smaller ones
callfd la cascntc'lla graude, and le Cdscatdlc
piccalc; the host are near the villa of Meca?nas^
2ad the other Is at the extremity of tl4« val-
Lqr. and, at .'. certain ho:u*, forms a beautiful
KUiUKw ! near it is a natural grotto, in which
are thfee compartments ; a little garden be-
^re it leails dowu to the cascatella. The
liglit spray of tlic waU-r, which tlie inhabitant
call/t {Utst of' the cascades, keeps up a dc;-
lig^tful cQokiess Ihtlie valley; and is very be-
neticial to the variety of flowers and shrubs
which grow wdcl on the bunks of die Teve-
rone; the majestic and interesting ruins, th^
various trees, and verdure of the grass, the
murnmr of the watere, and the subliniity of
the sheltering hills, give a mingled sensation
of awe and delight, wluch it is unpossible to
describe.'
Among the villas of distinguished Ro-
mans are enumerated those of Centronius,
Piso, Cassius, Adrian, the Caesonian &-
mily, Mecanas, Varus, V'entidius Bassus,
Munatius Plancus, Rubeliius, Horace, and
Catullus. Tibur also afforded a retreat
to two royal captives, Syphax and Zeiw-
bia. Of the villa of Adrian, a building of
great extent and sumptuous magniiicence«
considerable ruins are still remaining.
Near Vicovqro, at the distance of six
xmlfiB frcxn TLvoit, is San Cosimato, " a
large convent of- reformed Franciscans,
in the most romantic situation imaginable,
and highly celebrated for die beauty of
its prospects." It stands on the banks of
the Teverone, tlie ancient Anio. ^' On
the opposite side is a steep ascent to a
wood which covers th^ $4imaut of a hill :
the friars rarely venture to walk in it, as
they know it is infesled by wolves of an
enormous size, descciKicd no doubt 'from
t^ose diascribed by Horace ; and as they
are not allowed to divert dieir fears by
musing on the attiacdons of a Lcdage,
they prud&tTy confine themselves to the
safer bank of tlie Teverone, r*nd count
their beads to the hoarse murmur of itg
waves, ifi one of the wildest ^ts that is
to be seen in this part of Italy.*^
This volume is very creditable to the
taste and diligence of the author, and will
be found useful in impardng to the clas-
sical scholar disdnet and accurate ideas of
the natural features and the antiquities of
a countr}' rendered interesting to him by
its connection with the objects of his
studies. The ortliography of due word
Filostrafus leads us to suspect an Italian
origin for some of the infoi^mation con-
veyed. The materials have, however,
been well employed, and evidjendy direct-
ed by personal observation. The work is
illustratedby twenty etchings, delineating
the most remarkable objects whieh it der
scribes.
Art. \,^t}i€'P€Tiplus qftk^ Erythrem Sea. Part the Second : containing an A^eoimt ^
the Navigation of tiie Ancicnis^Jrom tite Gufph of Elana, in the Red Sea, to (he Inland of
Ceylon, ikiih Dinner tidions. By W'illiaM Vincent, D. D, 4to. pp. 65(T.
WE are ^appy to congratulate the
sUic and the author on the appearance
pf the secoiid and concludiQg volume of
this valuable aod labork)us work.
S(»
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
Arabia and India are the subjects of the
third and fourth books. The unkno^vn
author of the Periplus of the Eiythrean
Sea, prmted among the minor Greek geo-
craphers, furnishes the text, which is il-
Justrated by a great variety of geographi-
cai and commercial information, collected
by the learned author from numerous
■ources both ancient and modern.
"The commerce of the ancients between
j!.g}T>t and the -coast of Africa, with ail that
concerns their discoveries to the south, lias
peen traced m the preceding pages ; and we
pow return again to Egypt, in order to take
ill ^^Pf tH»"e» and prosecute our inquiries
till we reach their final boundary on the east.
iHe present book will comprize all that con-
cerns the commerce of Arabia, boUi in the
interior, and on the coast.
*' The Periplus is still to form the baas of
pur mvestigauon ; but as the object proposed
M to give a general account of the communis
cation with il]e east, no apology is requisite
oetajping the reader from the immediate
conteihplation of the work itself. A variety
f>f scattered materials, all centring at the same
pomt, are to be collected, before a compre-
Hensive view can be presented, q.- an accu-
se judgment formecf; and if this task can
|>e executed with the fidelity and attention
which the nature of the subject requires, the
general result will be preferable to the detail
pt a smgle voyage, in the same propcatjon ai
a whole is supenor to its parts,
" The commencement, then, of this second
voyage is again from Berenik^, and fi-om this
port Uicre were two routes practised in the
age of theairthor ; one, doviTi the giilph to
Moozaawd Okfelis direct, and the other, first
up to Myos Hormus, and then across the
I Kulph by the promontory Pharan, or Cape
Mahomed, to Leuk^ Kom^ in Arabia. This
latter route is the unmedi
consideration.''
unmediate object of our
The first position discussed is that of
Leuk^ Kome, or the white village. Leukc
• Komfe was one of the marts (established
by tb^ ancients for the trade of the Red
Sea. The following is the account given
of it by the ancient gec^apher. " It was
the point of communication with Petra,
the capital of the country, the residence
of Malicjias the king of the Nabataeans.
Lcuk^ Kpmfc itself had the rai^k of a mart
With respect to the ^mall vessels which
obtained their cargoes in Arabia j for
which reasoa there was a garrison p)aced
in it, under the comn^and pf a centurion,
t)oth for the purpose of protection, aqd in
order to collect a dijty of twepty-fiye m
the hundred.'" '
Such is the account given of the state
bf commerce in fhis place under the Sqr
mans. At an earlier period, when tl-e
communication with Egypt was in the
hands of the Arabians themselves. Dr.
Vincent conceives it to have been mod
more flourishing; as Petra, the inland ca-
pital, was the centre of a trade, branching
in every direction, to Egypt, Palestine,
and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tpt^
Jerusalem, and Damascus, Arabia being
at a very early age the common chaund
of oriental commerce.
Petra the metropolis, of which LenkJ
Kom^ was the port, appears to have beeg
the point to which all the Arabian traffic
tended. To this mart is to be refemd
all tliat we hear of the conamercc of tie
Ishmaelites, of Idumea, Nabatea, or Ara-
bia Petraea. Several traces of the mer-
cantile wealtii of this district occur in the
Scriptures. " In the reign of David,
Hadad, tlie prince of £dom, \i'as driven
out, and Hebrew garrisons were placed
In Elathand Ezion Geber, where Prideaux
supposes tliat David commenced ihetrads
of Ophir, which was afterwards canied
to its height by Solomon/*
Dr. Vincent takes this opportunity of
briefly stating his opinion respecting the
much agitated question of the situatiuo of
Ophir, the source of Jewish wealth Ufldei
the properous reign of iiolomon,
'f And here, perhaps, it will he expcdcd
that the trade to Ophir should be examined,
which has so much divided the opiuiqp^ o(
mankind, from the time of Jerom to theprei
sent moment ; but as I have nothing dea>rpc
to offer upon the question, I shall only state
my reasons for acceding to the opinion of
Prideaux and GosseUin, who conlme it to
Sab^a.
" Fpr I neither carry Ophir to Peniwifli
Arias Montanus, or to Malacca with Jos^
phus, or to Ceylon with Bochart, because!
consider all these suppositions as founded
upon no better evidence tlwin the finding of
gold in those countries ; but our choke most
fie between the coast of Africa and Sibea.
Montesquieu, Bruce, and d'Anville, havede-
tern^ined in favour of Africa, principally, I
think, because gold has always been an ex*
port from that country, while the predous
metals were usually carried to Sabea, to pur-
chase the commodities of the east. 1 allov
rt weight to this argument, and I admit
probability of d'Anville's supposition,
that the Oi>bir of Arabia might naturally pro-
duce an Ophir on the c<3ast of Africa, which
should, by an easy etymology, pass iflto So-
phir, Sbphar, Sopharan el i^nge, or tiophalr:
but 1 by no means subscribe to the system
of Bruc»e, which he has displayed with so
much learning ^xnd ingenuity ; and which iie
thinks established by the discovery of an m-
laalo^s monsoon prev^Ung fiom So&ia 'fa^
VINCBNT S F£RIPLT7t.
301
>VeTi&da. A sensible writer has denied the
existence of any such irregularity, and ap-
peals to Halley^ Parkinson, and Forrest;
and i the irregular monsoon is annihilated,
noCiftJng remains in feyour of his hypothesis
bvt the duration of the voyage. The dura-
6an it should seem easy to account for, upon
ft ditiereut principle ; tor the navigators were
Pheuktans, and we learn from Homer their
ncChod of conductmg business in a foreign
^rt. Hiey had no factors to whom they
could coDsign a cargo in the gross, or who
eouid furnish theip, on the emergence, with
ft lading in return ; but they ancliored m a
harbour, where they were their own brokers,
and disposed of their cargoes by retail. This
mig^t detain tliem for a twelvemonth, as it
did in the instance to wluch I allude ; and if
Ae Phenicians traded on the Eastern Ocean,
ft& they did in the Mediterranean, we may
Irom ma cause assign any duration to the
Toyage which the history requires.
^ But my reasons for adhering to the opi*
Bions of Ftideaux and Gossellm are, Arst,
'that Ophir b mentioned with llavilah and
Jobab, ail three sons of Joktan : and all of
them, as well as Joktan, have their residence
, Ib Arabia Felix, most probably beyond the
Straits ; and secondly, because the voyage to
Ophir seems in consequence of the visit of
; the queen of Sheba to Jerusalem : it is im-
! jpediately subjoined to it in the same chapter;
and Sh^a is Sabea, or Arabia Felix, as we
\cam With certamty from Ezekiel. Jt is par-
ticularly added, that the royal visitant brought
a present of spices : " there were no such
I ^ices as the queen of Sheba gave to Solo-
jnon."
' " f do not wish to conceal an objection to
thb supposition ; which is, though they are
taxfd, inat spices are never mentioned as an
article of importation from Ophir. The pro-
jiuce of the voyage is gold, silver, ivory, al-
mug-trees, apes, peacocks, and precious stones.
But as on the one hand this failure in the in-
voke will argut; much more forcibly against
any of the more distant Ophirs which have
Uiea assumed; so on the other, it is no
proof against Sab^a, that several of these
atticies are not native ; for tliese, and many
more than are enumerated, would certainly
be found in Sab^a, if the Arabians were na-
vigators m that age, as we have every reason
to sij)po5e they were.
'* The evidence that Solomon obtained
Ijold from Arabia is express ; and as our early
authorities notice %o)A as a native produce
among the.Debx of Hejaz, so may we con-
clude tliat the gold of Africa always foimd its
vay into Yemen through Abyssinia, as it
does at this day. The import of gold, there-
fott, we carry up as high as the reign of So-
lomoQ, and bring it doyn tu the time of Pto-
Itany Philadelphus, king of Egypt ; for we
Iwm, from the testimony of tzekiel and
Aristeas^ that spices, precious stones, and
Kold, were brought by the Arabians into
;udea. 1 4o not wiiii^ to lay more stress upon
this testimony than it will bear'; but it is rait
unreasonable to suppose, tliat the circum*
stances of this conunerce ^yere similar, in an
early aae, to those of a later period. The
remov^ of these difficulties will shew the in-
ducement which persuades me to Join in opi-
nion with Prid^auK and Gossellin, xipon ft
question that has been more embarrassed by
hypothesis, and distracted by erudition, than
any other which concerns the commerce of
the ancients."
A catalogue of the sovereigns of Idumea
is collected from Josephus, from the year
309 B. C, till 36 after the christian sera-
The period when a Roman garrison was
introduced into Leuk^ Kom^ is uncertain.
Petrea was reduced into the form of a
Roman province under the reign of Tra-
jan. The capture of Hagjr, probably the
Hagar of the Hebrews, and Petra of the'
Greeks, was " tlie first successful attempt
of the Mahonietans beyond ihe limits of
the Hejaz, and the prelude to the conquest
of Syria by tlie immediate successor of the
Prophet."
The fourth section specifies §ix difierent
courses of the ancients in the Erytlu'ean
sea, mentioned by their historians or geo-
graphers*
" I. The first is the voyage, described in
the two previous books, down the coast of
Africa to Rliaptum ; shewing tliat the Ara-
bians had settlements in that country, before
it was visited by the Greeks from Egypt
" U. Secondly, we are informed of tiie tw©
distinct courses within the gulph : one from
Myos Hormus, across the head of the gulph to
Leuk^ Kom^, and tlience down the Arabiaa
coast to Mooza ; and another, from Berenik^
to the same port direct.
'* III. Na\t to this, we collect a voyage
from the mouth of the straits alone the sou&-
em coast of Arabia into the gulph of Persia,
extenduig afterwards to Bahrein, £1 Katif,
and Oboleh, in tlie Shat-el-Arab.
" IV, Then follows a passage from the
straits to India by three did'erent routes : the
first, by adhering to the coasts of Arabia,
Karminia, Gadrbsia, and Scmdi, to the gulph
of Cambay ; the second, from Cape Fartaque,
or from Ra&-el-had, on the Arabian side; and
the third, from Cape Garde&n, on tJie Afri-
can side, both across the ocean by tlic mon-
soon to Muziris, on the coast of Malabar.
" V. After this, we must allow of a similar
voyage performed by the Indians to Arabia,
or/ by the Arabians to India, previous to the
perfornunce of it by the Greeks ; because
the Greeks, as late as the reign of Philome-
ter, met this coimnerce in Sab?a.
** VI. And lastly, we obtain an incidental
knowledge of a voyage which confirms all
that has been advanced concerning tlyi early
commerce of the Aiabiaas, previoysj in all
362
ANCJLENT CLASSICS, Sx.
appearance, to efvcry account we receive
from the Greeks, aim conducted, certainly,
by the nionsoon, long before Hippalus in-
troduced tiie knowledge of tiiat wmU to the.
Roman world.
** It is tlie voyage between the opposite
coasts of India and Africa, connectal cer-
tainly with Ihe^annmerce of Arabia, but still
capable of being considered ui the abstract,
and proving, in my opinion at least, the pos-
sible existence of this ihtercourse in ages an-
tecedent to all that history can reach. If it
could be believed that the natives of India
had been navi'^ators in ai;y age, we might
more readily adinit tln^ir claim in this instance
than in any other; fur the author mentions,
that the imports into Africa are the produc-
tion of the interior, from Banig^za and
Ariak^; that is, from the corst of Cambay
aad Concan : and the articles specified con-
fkvm the truth erf his assertion ; lor the}' are,
rice, gh*'e, oil of sesammn, cotton, muslins,
sashes, and susar: these commodities, he
adds, are brought son\etimes in vessels dcbtin-
ed expressly lov the a)ast of Africa ; at other
times, they ore only a j>art of the cargo out
ot vessels which are proceeding to another
port. Thus we have manifestly two methods
of conducting this coinmerce, peri'ectly dis-
tinct : one to Africa direct ; and another; by
touching on this coast, with a final destination
to Arabia. 1 his is precisely the same trade
as the Portuguese found at Melmda and
Quiloa, and die same connection with Ara-
bia; and this is the reason that the Greeks
found cinnamon, and the produce of India,
on this coast, when they first ventured to
pass the straits, in order to seek a cheaper
. market than Sab(^a. Still it must be doubled,
trhelhcr this commerce was conducted by
natives of India, or Arabians ; for Arabians
there were on the coast of Malabar, and in
such numbers at Ceylon, that Pliny repre-
Ffnts them as meters of the coast, like the
Europeans of the present day, who have con-
fined the native sovereigns to the country
above the Ghauts, and have posse<5sed them-
jielvcs of the level towards the. sea ; such also
wa^ their situation, though under the name of
M(K)rs, or Mahometan:^, when the modern
Europeans met with them again upOn their
arrival at Calicut, where their influence over
rl:e native government long counteracted a^I
the power of the Portuguese.*'
If Arabia presented, at an early period,
the principal channel of communication
l>€t\veen the eastern and western worlds,
it is natural to suppose that It must have
participated in that wealtli which has .al-
ways been the attendant of Indian com-i
merce. The fact is, that the wealth of
Anibia is proverbhl among the ancient
writers. A remarkable circumstance by
which the disposal of their riches was dis-
tinguished, is thus considered by Dr. Vin*
cent.
" But ther« is sUll one poiat 'm which tbs
Arabians are essentially distin^lshed iVon
all the surrounding oaCions, which, throidk
their means, partook in tlie comraerce of the
east; which is, tJiat however ostentatJwa ,
their neiglibours might be, tlie riches of tiie| ^
Arabians were all applied to their pn>-atc^ ]
luxury and indulgence, lu Persia, ana Chal- '
dea, tliose vast public works and e^Hlices^
arose, which istouished the travellers erf \hl^^
ancient world ; and in K^pt> tiie loius o{
the Thebaid are an equid cause of amastexneoi;^
at the present hour. In a secondary rank,
Tvre, Jerusalem, Baalbecky aiul Painnn,
surprize us witli their magMiJicence ; while
in Arabia, liistory speaks only ol one pubfc
work, which was'theTank at M;ifitba; aad'
when the head ot diat oiicq failed, li fre nefcr
was sufficient industry or public spirit in \Mt .[
country to restore it.
** No adeciuate cause is assigni^ble for lla|^
national disrinclion, but that spini of indis j
pendence which broke the bo ty o: the peopW I
ml=o parts too minut<t for a combination of in- ^
tei'ests, and too diffuse for co-operation. Th*
spirit was never counteracted but for a ^Kwt
time by enthusiasm ; and no sooner was that
exhauitt-d by" evaporation, than they retuni-
ed again to the btate in which they are <le-
scril>ed by tlie ancients. They are still a na*
tion of merchants and marauders, incapabte
of subjection, not less from their temper and
habits than from the nature of their country;
rarely formidable in a body, firom their mu-
tual jealousy and distrust; indifferent ^V
diers, but dangerous partizans.
" No other reason is discoverable, vrhj t
nation that at one tune possessed almost ex-
clusively the corHinerce of the east, never ar-
rived at a character of dignity and respect;
and' no other cause can I trace, why IdumH
became so easy a conquest to the rlebrevvs,
Tynans, Babylonians, and Romans. It i*
the influence ovei* their government, and the
possession of their harbours on the Red Sea
oy the Romans, which is now to be investi-
gated ; and if the command of the conunerce
obtained by this power continued witft little
interruption till the time of Justinian, and^yas
not annihilated till the irruption of the .Ma- .
homedans, it is a duration of this commerce
in one channel, longer than has falleu to the
lot of any other people in whose hands it hai
been placed."
Leukc Kom&, as we have before men-
tioned, was tlie port of Petra. Its situa-
tion is differently fixed by different writer.
D'Anville places it at Haur, about three
hundred miles from the bead of the Eh-
nitic gulph. To this it is objected by
Gosselin, that Haiir, at tlie distance of.
three hundred and fifty miles from Fetta,
would not afford a ready communicatioo
with that capital, and could Bot be ^thin
the limits of Petrea.
M. Gosselin fixes upoaMialah^inlat
Fiircxirrs PBKifurs*
aes
iys^,*^taf which he is pwbaps nrore
particiibrlj directed, by finding a name
rf noconety, in a situation that is pro-
bftbie." A fact mentioned by Agatharchi-
ia, which may be considered as decisive
if ibsA author be accurate, induces Dr.
ViDcent to piuce Leuk^ Kome at the
BVnth Qf the bay of Acaba, tiie Elanitic
iHlpii of the ancients^ a situation which
Ipees with that </ Moilah in several
« This author, at the entrance of the Ela-
^k e:u!pii, has three islands : one, sacred to
h^; and the t\TO othen called Sookab6a anci
Svd(j. These islands, after having been lost
Weotv centuries, have been restored to
l^ogniphy by M. Irwin. He is the only
lojfager, as &r as I can discover, who has
Iter entered tliis bay ; and if his chart may be
Jepended upon, he went up itrive-and-twf nty
iuei*. in consequence of this he saw liifse
ptods, and has named them TirAn, Sananr,
tad Badcan. 1 have never seen them in any
;lhrt, previous to his, arranged in the same
ifrder; bat (hev bear such testimony to the
idefoy of A^'barchides, that he 'deserves
icwdit'when he add*, that ' ihcy cover several
llwbourson the Arabian shore' fas the Zalia-
[Idai Isbods protect tlie port of Myos Hor-
nus] ; and one of these harbours,! conchide,
[test be the Leukfe Komfe of the Periplus;
librheadds, *to these islands succeeds the
I lockv coast of the Thamudeni, where, for
(iDore than a thousand stadii, there is no liar-
I kwr, no road where a vessel can anchor, no
I lay to afford protection, n# aciap of a pro-
; iociins point, to which the mariner can fiy
I vfi uKUige in a moment of distress/
' "However the colouring of this picture may
\ bchei^ened, the general description is true,
I «mav be seen by a reference to M. Irwin's
loamal, fnmi the'ssd of June to the 9th of
July; \yhere we have exevy day islets, break*
ers', shoali, sands, and sunken rocks, with the
' mcntioii of only one cove where tlie shore
ciHrid be approached. ITie refuge his Ara-
bian boat found, was «jenerally uudc^r islets ;
but a navigator who did not dare approach
tl\e %hore, miglit woll paint it in the same co-
lour as Agatfiarchides has done. Invin car-
ries Moilah fifty niiies'more to the north than
it appears in other charts, and witlun 'the
ElamickGulph: ifthfebe true, my conclu-
sioa is perfectly in correspondence with that
rfM. Gowelfoi; and if, by taking different
mfthods, we both arrive at the same conclu-
ft<a, it must be a strong coniiruiation that the
point we bave both iixed on is right ; for a
afe anchorage at Moilah, covered by the
islands, and the unapproachable nature of the
coast below, fix Moilah to a certainty' for the
Leubft Kom^ of the ancients.**
From Leuke Komt to the mouth of
the straits, a course of more than a thou-
•aod miles, only two places are mentionod^
Ujc Burnt island and Moosa. W* liave
here an anal}'sis of the UD£)ttiuaate expe-
diliou of £liu.% Gall us, on w(uch howeveir
our luiuC3 will not permit us to dwelL
' The passage from Leukd Kome to the
Burnt island, vrsts conducted with a view
of avoidUig the coast throughout.' Gebei
Tar, which now presents volcanic appear*
ances, is marked in the chart as probjibiy
corresponding with the Katakekaumene
of the ancients. Mooza was the mart o£
the southern tribes of Arabia, on tht5
shores of the Red Sea. The martof Yemea
at present is at Mokha. * Twenty niileft
inland from Mocha, Niebuhr discovered a
Moosa still CKisting, which he with great
probability supposes to be the ancient
mart, now earned inhuid to this distance
by the accretion of the coast.' A curious
conamercial table of the imports and ex-
ports at Moosa is extracted Irom the Pe-
riplus.
OkeJis is situated on the straits .3 it«
present name is Ghella.
We now reach the straits of Babelman-.
del. The author here inserts a tabulated
arrangement of the position^ afforded bjr
Ptolemy for the eastern side of the Ara-
bian gulph, compared with Agatharciden,
Diodorus, Strabo, D'Anville, Gosselin,
and tiie author of tlie Periplus.
The first station occurring on the south-
ern shpre beyond the straits, is a VfUagc^
to wliicli the provincial naoEie of Arabia
Felix is applied. This, firom the circum-
stances of the description, is mpposed !»
be represented by the modern Aden.
Tlie prii>cipal c'Urcumstance on which
the arrangement of the geography of the
Arabian coast on the ocean depends, is the
position, of Syagros. In th& map of
D' Anville, Syagros represents the modern
Raselhad, the most eastern promontory
of Arabia. With thb common hypothe-
sis. Dr. Vincent formerly coincided, * and
50 much is there,* says he, ' to induce
this opinion, that I abandoned it W'ilh
great reluctance, and shall perhaps find'
great difficulty in persuading others that
it is erroneofus.
•' The PeripWs notices SyAgrosas pointing
to the east, and as the greatest promontory in
the world. Omana liUewise is mentioned wilii
it, answering to the present Oniaa; and
Mosclia, seemingly identified with Maskat,
the principal port of that provice. Under
the iniUieuce of these resemblances and pro-
babilities, if I had joined in the coirrmon suf-
frage, and called Syagros Ras-^Wiad in my
fornw^r ]niblicationsli whererer it occurred, it
is conviction^alone, and the abandonment of
system for ftnth, whidi compels ine to recall
the error, and acknowledge that Sy^ros is
not llas-el-had, but Fartaque.
S6i
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
'•This is a concession not made for Ae
purpose of particular accommodation^ but
grounded on a general analysis of all the posi^
tioQs on the coast, on a combination of all the
circumstances relative to thf division of the
provmces; and upon a paiii^l re-considera-
tion of all that was to be undone, and unset-
tled, after I had fixed my opinions upon the
authority of the best writers, who had pre-
ceded me on the subject.
" The reader will expect pro<^s ; and the
proofs are, that tlie islands round the whole
extent of the coart on the ocean will no\T fall
naturally into their places, whicli cannot be
effected by any other arrangement. The
islands in Ptolemy will become relatively con-
sistent with those of the Periplus ; and tlie
Bay Sachalites, which Ptolemy has been ac-:.
cused of transposing from the west to* the east
of Syigros, is reduced to the different appli-
cation of a name,, instead of a difference in
point of sit\iation.
" Sachalites is universally allowed to be
the Greek form of expressing the Arabic
Sahar. Now there are two Sahara on the
coast of Arabia: one that is almost centrical
between Aden and Fartaque ; and another
that lies to the east of Fartauue, between that
cape and Cape Mocebat or Merbat. In the
first of these there is little variation of ortho-
. craphy; but the other b written Scha:hr,
Schahr, Shahar, Cheer, and Seger. They
are both frequented as places of trade to this'
day. And it we suppose that the first Sahar
is the Sachalites of the Periplus, and the second
Shahar the Sachalites of Ptolemy, the Sydgros
of Ptolemy will answer to Fartaque, as well
as the Sydfl;ros of the Periplus, and the two
authors wul be in harmony with each other J*
Tlie port which succeeds Aden is that
of Kan^, at the distance of two thousand
stadia or more. Kane is probably the
modern Cava Canira.
In Section xiv, entitled. The Bay Sa-
chalitesy some fvesh proofs are adduced of
the identity of Syagros and Fartaque, par-
ticularly the relation of that promontory
to the island Dioscorida, or Socotra, which
appears to be a decisive circumstance.
The only difficulty which encumbers
the position of Syagrosat Fartaque, arises
irom the following passage of the Periplus.
* Adjoining to Syagros, there is a bay
which runs deep into the mainland of
Chnana, six hundred stadia in width}'
after' this, there are high mountainous
rocks, steep, and inhabited by a [wild]
race, that live in caverns and hollows of
the cliff". This appearance of tlie coast
continues for five hundred stadia more, at
the termination of which lies a harbour
called Moskha, much frequented on ac-
count of the Sachalitic incense which is
imported tliere/
' ^t is the mention of Moskha and Ona.
na, observes Dr. Vincent here, that neces-
sarily Suggests the idea of Ma&kat, whick
is in Oman, and the principal p(»tof tiadi
in that province ; the descriptioo of At
mountainous <K>a8t is characteristic, aal
the distance, supposing Ras-e!-had to U
Syagros, not incongruous. The onlei^
however, in which Moskha occurs in &m
Periplus, is perfectly Inconsistent with t^
situation of Maskat. There does not t^
pear to. be any other trace of a (tisthcti
named Omaoa in the vicinity of Fartaqpn^
The difficulty which arises from the oeft*
tion of these two names. Dr. Vincent gqh*:
fesses himself unable satisfactoinly tasal«^
while fresh and incontrovertible proofi^
arise with the progress of the xoy^aj
that Syagros and Fartaque denote tfaesuai
object. The Muiiklia of the PeriplMk.
therefore conjectured to be Seger.
At the distance of iifteen hm^dred stjk
dia, says the writer of the Periplus, am
seven islands almost in a line, called ^
islands of Zenobius, at the termtnatioQ aC
the district called Asikho. Four islijods^
corresponding in distance with these, i
described by Al Edrissi ; and represoitet
in modem charts, in the bay of Osnf^
Muria, Hasek being still the name of
the principal town on the bay. The com-
putation of seven, it is conjeetured, maf
have arisen from some rocky or deseited
islets attached to them.
At the distance of two thousand stadkt
from tlie islands of Zenobius, ocean an
island of considerable magnitude, callei
Sarapis, identified with JVIazeira. D'Aa-
ville, in acknowledging this coincideocc,
exposes his inconsistency in fixing Sjagnx
at Bas-el-had.
Leaving the promontory of Ras-cl-had,
the islands of Kalaius are next mentionec^
corresponding with those of Suadi, oat
the entrance of the Persian guiph. At
the moutli of that gulph are the islands of
Papias and the fair mountain.
Within this gulpli the ancient gech
grapher mentions only two particuhis;
the existence of a pearl-fisher}', and a
town called Apologas, which our audioc
agrees with D'Anville in fixing at Obolefa.
This book concludes with a dear and judi-
cious, though brief account of the nxo-^
lution of oriental commerce, for which
we must refer to tlie work itself.
The Indian geography of the feipfos
is the subject of the fourth book, intro-
duced by ^ome general remadcs on die
commerce of that celebrated country.*
The following reflections, applkable to
YXNCENT a PBRlPtUa.
Z^
he state of our own dozninlon there^ we
raosaibe with pleasure.
"It is a political consideration, awful to
DDtcDiplate, and difficult to discuss, but still
lecessary to keep constantly in view, when
f€ Tdkd how deeply all the interests of our
poDtiy are concerned in the continuance of
be pre-eminence we at present enjoy. Our
iMsessions in India are almost become a part
f our existence as a nation : to abandon them
i impossible ; to maintain them— a perpetual
ttusgle with the native powers, and the
Nwen of Eiirope to support them. It re-
ms all the vigilance of government, and
Sthe vigour of the controuling power, to
ske care that the natives should not be dis-
tonteottd under our empire ; and that the
tttioDs of Europe should not be outraged by
nr appnjach to monopoly. ITiese considera-
faos, however, sffc totally distinct from the
CiHimercc itself, and toUU}^ foreign to tlie
etmct of the present work: I touch them
only as they arise, and return with pleasure
|»the humbler oiixce of a commentator on
ikPeriplus."
The narrative of the voyager is less dis-
tfnct and. accorate from the entrance of
Ijle Persian gulph to the mottth of the
lidos, than m the rest of the route which
le describes ; in consequence of which
Dr. Vincent supposes that he did not per-
sonally visit this part of the coast, but
proceeded at once from Arabia^ either to
the Indus, or Barugaza. Omana b»
places tn Persis, which other geographers
assign to Carmania or Gedrosia, and which
must of necessity belong to one or other
of these two provinces, according to the
limit which is supposed to divide them.
Omana is followed by the bay of the
Terabdi, answering to the Facagon of
Ptolemy. There however appears to be
no bay upon the coast. Adjoinbg to this
supposed bay is a port named Oraia, stand-
ing by a small river, the situation of which
it is difHcult to decide.
Nothing remarkable occurs on the re-
mainder of this coast before our- arrival at
Scindj, called Scythia by the writer of the
Peripl^s, and Indo-scythia by Ftolevtiyn
The marts on the Indus in the age of the
Peripl^s, were two 5 one near its issue
called Barbarikd, tlie o^er within the
country named vMinnagara. The latter
was the capital of the countr)'. Barba*
rik^ is said to be situated on the middle
channel of the Indus. The following is
the list of its imports and exports :
" The articles hnported at Barbarik^ are.
KfrmiyATOL, ' ^»
*Oioyio»,
• Clothing, plain^ and in considerable quan*^
tity.
- Clothing, mixed.
• Cloth^ larger m the warp than tlie woof«
• Topazes.
- Coral,
- Storax. ^
- Frankincense.
• Ghiss vessels.
- Plate.
- Specie.
. Wine.
' The Exports are,
• Costus. A spice.
- Bdellium. A gum. .
• Yellow dye.
• Spikenard.
■ - Emeralds, or green stones.
• Sapphires.
- Hides from China.
^ Cottons.
-. Silk Thread.
• Indigo, or Indian ink ?"
Ihe first ren^kable object on leaving
the Indus^ is the bay of Cutch, called
Camhi bjr Ptolemy, and £irinon in the
fwipMB. The description of the voyager
sppean to be on die whole accurate. The
next bay is that of Barugaza on the east <Jf
the Guzerat, of which a very clear ac-
count is given. The tide at Barugaza
flews With remarkable violence and sud-
denness.
366
ANCIENT CLASSICS, kc.
"The drcumsktnc€ of the tides isnotpe-
cuitar to this. place, though tlwy are more
vit>!e!it here tlism clse^^lieve ; kw' aJiiiotrt: all
'the rivets cff Iiuiia are large, aiid have both
ike tiax aiHi reilux oi extdordlnar}' stretigtii,
confoi'iniiig with (lie moon^ new aad fuil, as
well as far tiiyiin days after each, and falluig
off agJi'.n ii>ithe intermetliaLe space; but at
Rinigi/"a this violence is iiiore reniai'kable, so
thiit vviiliotit warning you see the bottom laid
bare, aiul tlic sidt-s next the cotist, whcTC re.s-
seis weiv sailinaj but jus. before, left my as it
were in an instant ; as^ain, upon the access ci
tfae flood-tide, the wiiole body (7f the sea is
driven in with such vioLenoe, that the stream
is impelled upwards for a gi^at number of
miles, with a force that is ineglatible. This
makes the navi^dtiou very unsafe for (Jiose
that are iinacquanited with the gulph, or enter
It for (he first time. No anchors are a secu-
rity; for when the vehemence of the tide
commences, there is no intermission, no re-
tciijt : large vessels cau^iit in it are hurried
IBvay by the inipetuosity of the cnrrent, and
tiirowu'au their side«, or wrecked upon the
shoals ; while the snialler ont>s aic conipletfly
overset. Many also that have tak«in refug'e
ID the CTeeks,' unless they have foiluniUj^y
chaiigetl tJieir place in duo time, (which it js
very difliciiH to do, on account of t!ie instan-
taneous fall of the watt*r,) upon the retnrn of
the tide are filled with I lie very lirst head of
the dood, and sunk. But all these circum-
stances united concur more especially, if tlie
new xttoon &lls in conjunction with tfie night
tide ; for then, if voii have Ixen prepared to
enter upon the first of the Hood, and when
the ^ea appeared pei'fccUy calm, you sluUl
hear, in a moment, a rushing^ somrd like the
tamult of battle, and the water driving for-
ward with the utmost impottiosity, covers the
whole of the bare shoals in an inj^tant.
** It will immediat*.'ly appear, that this de-
scription relates to that sort of tide which is
called the Bore, and is common to uiany
placos in Europe as well as India. On the
coa?t of Iv; ypt, or in tlu^ Ktd Sea, the autlior
could havv? seen nothing that resembled it,
and he dwells upon it, Iht-rcfore, with mwc
minuteness than a niodtmi observer would
employ ; but from this vci-y caui^e it is that
we liave a picture which caniKit deceive tis,
and a conviction that the au.thorirclales what
he had himself experienced."
Of that part of the Peripliis which re-
lates to Barugaza, and the objects erf* the
surrounding country with which it is
connected, Dr. Yiuccut observes that
tliere is reason, after irncing these several
connections, to allow that there is no
Specimen of ancient geography so corn*
pktoly satisfactory, or so consonant to
truth, (^ the portion uow under contein-
pUtion. T^e principal relative Eltuatious
are those t)f Ozene, Piithnnn, and Tagnra,
concluded, by lieuteuaut Wilford, and our
author, to be Ougein, Pultanah, aal
Desghir. The latter place, adjtnning fo
Ekjre, and near the modern Aiirung^bad,
is fitill distinguished by sur^.zing ruia,
spreading oi^r a surface of two leaguei m
ealctit. Barugaza is without doubt &«»
roach, now po.isessed by the £iigiish.
Prom Baruga^ the Peripi6s procrofc
southward along the western shore of thfti
peninsula of Hindostan. The division rf"
tliis tract of country into six proviitces,
both in ancient and modem times, is re*:
markable. The modern names are Cs»-
bay or Guzerat, Concam, Dekban, CaQ3% i
IVIalahar, and Travancqre : tlie ancieata^
pellations in the Peripius, are Bamgasi^
Ariake, Limurik^, the kingxiom of Pas*'
dion, Paralia, and the Pearl-fishery.
llie province of Ariak^, though lepi^,
sented by tlie author of the Peripliis a$ ex*
tending seven thou&and staiia to the sooiii
of Barugaza, is .supposed by modem ges*!
graphers to have been ne^trly conteimi*!
nous with the present district of ConcaaJ
The first places mentioned are Akabaroos, I
Oopara, and Kaliiena. ' In regard tvj
Kalliena, aW suifi*ages are united to tixit!
in tiie neighbourhood of Bombay; fbr'
Bombay is upon an island, close to whfdi» ;
on the main, was xa ancient ciiy calledl
Gallian,' the ruins of which stili remain, |
Oopai-a is thought to be the Soopara cf i
Ptolemy, which was long a city of notc^
and supposed to hare been situated in the \
neighlx>urhood of Surat; The sitaatioii<if '
Akabaroos is undetermined.
On the succeeding part of -the coast,
our author finds reason, "apparently wi4 i
justice, to differ from D'Anville; vhs :
seems to confound tlie provinces, and tfa(
order of the positions given by the Pea*
plus, for the sake of findmg modem
names, somewhat similar in soimd to d*
aiicient.
Tiie termination of the Ariakc, tltt
Concam or Pirate-coast of the modems,
Dr. Vincent considers as defined by the
Sesekreienai' of the Periplus, which are
probably the Burnt islands off Vingorb,
notdistinctly described till cf late.* The
island of the Aegidii is commonly sup-
posed to be represented by the Angedives.
Our author, with greaffer probability, as-
signs it to Goa, as more conformable with
tlie description, and more consistent wiA
the divisions of the coast. He supposes
Leuk^, or the white island, tp denote the
chief of the Angedi^es.
In the proviuce of Limuriti, which,
though supposed by D'Anville to beCun-
cam, is demonstrated to be the moiiera
TINCENTS rERIVLUS.
s(5;
Caiwrn, only thuee places are nxentioned,
Kstoorij I'lmdis, and Mooziris. The only
etna for the position of these places af-
fbrdeJ by the Peripiiis, arise from that of
K^eikunda, though in a different pro-
" For th^ positioD of Nelkuoda, I am
iMl^ed to Hiajor Ri»nell, who is the iirst
Mograpiier, as far as I have learnt, ^lio ha$
mxi^d it at Kelisuram. That he is conect iii
thli, I ani persuaded, admits not of presunip-
tive proof only, but denionstmtiou :
** i'or we may first observe, that Ne^isuram
is net on!y a mart it^'df, but gi\«es name to o
districL 'ITus district is not in Canara, but
Malabar: thr frontier of Malabar, the boun-
^mry wall uliich nins from the st^a to the foot
<jf ttit? Ghauts, is at Dckly, or t)ckully,-hn-
^L-xIiattly nurlii of Nt Usui am. This wall U
Jtill vi^i!/le ; and this in a peculiar manner
l&i«kes it correspond with Kclkunda, which
Was thv: lifhi porl in tin* kii\gdom of Pandion.
" *2. A second proof may be derived from
$hc name il^elf, which Omie writes Neilea-
ieram. Nella, accordii>g to Paoliuo, signifies
tier, and Ceram a country; and if Nella-
eeiam be the countr>' of Nella, Nelkunda
inu^ be the fori of JJella, resembling Gol-
conda, inna<onda, or Conda-jioor, on tills
identical coast of Canara.
^ 3. Uut the last aod best testimony is that
•f major Rennell himself, who mentions ' a
laree river, named Cangerecora, whose course
is honi the N. £. and w hich falls in about four
miles to the nortli of n^mt Dilla ; preNaous
|3 which its course is pu^iUel to the sea-coast
ix about eleven miles, being separated only
b>- a ^it of land, llie forts of Nelisuram,
lUnidiUy, and Matteloy, are situated on this
river, uhich is joined by several others tliat
descend from the Ghaut mountain^ which in
thi5 partaj^roach witiiin twenty-M7» wiles of
the coa;it. I caimot hci^^-considering this Ne-
iUuram, which is situated twelve m'nes up the
rivi^r, vt the place meant by Neicyn<£i or
MeliTjttda, by Pliny, and Ptolemy — a place
vlftked by the' Eg}'ptian and Ronrtan sh^js.'
" Let us tiien observe, tltat the Nelkunda
of the Periplits lies actually the same twelve
miles up the river ; and after tius ask, whet her
all ti)e>e circum&taBces can be accidental r for
if the cornspondence is evident, it is but
iraionabie to assume tills proof as a demon-
siratiotL"
Naoora is the first -port of Limurike,
and Mooziris the bst. The Periplfts
pbces Mooziris fifty Qilles to thcnorth of
Nelkunda, Tundis iifty m'dcs north of
Mooziris, and a third fifty north, are as*
iomed to Naoora. These positions agree
with Maogaloor, Barceloor, and Onoor.
H^ese stations are certainly assigned with
jnnch greater probability than those adopt-
ed by former geographers.
The kir^dom of PaudioB agrees with
Malabar. Its principal port was Nolknncia,
the situation of which was before discuss-
ed. Its trade appears to have been nearly ■
of the same nature with that of Calicut,
the present niart of tlie province. The
regular course of the commerce with the
western world is supposed to have ended
here.
An interesting di<;quisition occurs on
this occasion respecting tlie discovery of
the monsoon by Ilippalus, and its influ-
ence on tlie conunerce of the ancients, to
which we reter the curious reader.
The name of the southern promontory
has descended to lis almost unchanged,
being known to the ancients under the
name of Coraar. The following is tlie
description of it by Paolino.
*' Notliing can be more enchanting to tlie
CA'e, or delicious to the senses, than is expe-
rienced m a voyage near the extremity of
the peninsula. At three or four h»agucs from
the coa5rt, the countrv of Malabar appears
like a theatre of verdure : here a grove of
cocoa-trees, and there a beautiful river pour-
hi^ its tribute into the ocean, tlirough a valley
irrigated and fertilized by its waters, hi one
place a group of fishing-vessel , in another a
whhe church, peering through the verdure
of the groves ; while the gentle land-breeze
of the morning wafts the fragrance exhaled
from the pepper, cardamum^ betel, and other
aromatics, to a great distance from the shore,
and pertiimes the vessel on her voyage with
their odours; tow ards noon succeeds the sea-
breeze, of which we took advantage to speed
the beautiful Calypso towards tlie port ot her
destination."
Kolkhi and the Pearl-fishery are con-
netted by Ptolemy and the Periplfts, and
placed to the eastward of Cape Coaoriu.
Tlie account given by the ancient geo-
grapher of the situation of Ceylon is \ery
inaccurate. Dr. Vincent however makes
us amends, by collecting with great dili-
gence and accuracy all the hiformation
which the ancients have left us respecting
this celebrated island. Tiiey ia gener^
Strangely mijcalcidated its situation and
magnitude. The writer of the PeripKi^
supposes it tp stretch across the In^n
sea, nearly to tlie coast of Africa. Pto-
lemy represents its circumference as twQ
thousand four 'handled and fifty miles,'
and carries its extreipe southern point
more than two degrees south of the equa-t
tor. Yet the accuracy of his information
with respect to ©orne prtieular objects,
according to ifaeibUowing aocouiit, is ro*
mariubk.
''And yet, m the midst of tliis "darkness.
ANCIENT CLASSICS, &c.
Ffolemy's mfonnatioir was such as, in one in*
•taiice, to continn the rank which he so de-
servedly holds in preference to others ; for he
gives tKe names of places more correctly, and
more conformably to modem intelliience,
than appear in any otlier author, Greek, Latin,
or Arabian. This is a merit peculiar to him,
not only here, but in the remotest and least
known regions of the world : it proves that
lus inquiries were made at Alexandria of
merchants or mariners, who had actually visit-
ed the countries he describes; but that they
bad not tlie means of giving true positions,
because they had neither instruments for
observation, or the compass to mark their
course. The north polar star was not visible ;
and if they sailed by the Canopus in the
southern hemisphere, as Ptolemy asserts they
did, that star is not within fifteen degrees of
.the i>ole» and would give occasion to a variety
of mistakes. Still, under all these disadvan-
tages, it is something to liave procured namos
that we can recognize ; and these names at
once put an end to the dispute formerly agi-
tated among the learned, whether the Tapro*
bana of the ancients wture Ceylon or Sumatra.
They prove likewise, that some men:hants,
or travellers, had reached the capital and in-
terior of the island. By them the capital was
found where Candy now is, and called Maa-
grammum, the sreat city, or metropolis,
which was placea on the river Ganges, still
called the Ganga, Gonga, or Ma-vali-gonc;a,
the great river qf Bali, which flows to Tnn-
Gomalee. I'he Hamallel moim tains, among
which is the Pike of Adam, are likewise laid
down relatively in their proper position, and
called Mul^, the Sanscreet term for moun-
tains; and above all, Anurod-giamraum is pre-
served in Anurod-borro, or Anurod-gurro, a
ruin found* by Knox, while he was escaping
to the coast; which, he says, lies ninety
miles north-west from Candy, and in a posi-
tion correspondent with the account of Pto-
Jemy. He found here three stone bridges ;
the remains of a pagoda or temple, !;ucn as
no modeni Ceylonese could build ; and many
pillars, with stone-wharfs on the river Maf-
vatouMKL Sindocarida: is another name, ex**
pressing the mountains of the Hingoos, the
name by which the natives call themselves ;
and HingO-dagul is their name for Candy ; for
Candi is a hill or fortress on a mountain ; and
Hingpo-dagul, the city ^f the Hingoos, per-
verted by corruption into Chmgoo-lees, by
which name they are at present known to the
Europeans settled on thp coast."
The iDformation of Cosmas Indico-
pleustes, who did not however visit the
island, is considerably more correct than
that of his predecessors.
The remainder of the narrative of the
iPeriplCis, as appearing to have been col-
lected by the author from report, is given
ia a translation, accompanied by notes.
Ibree dissertations connected with
the subject of the PerlpKts follow tbs
work.
Tlie first is on the Sins, the Seres, azid
the tennination of ancient geography on
the east ; in which the author attempts to
prove, and in our opinion with great pro*
babili^^ that the Thins of the Peripltaw
the Stnae of most writers, the Tzinistae of
Cosmas, the Seres or producers of silk, all
describe the same object, that is. Chin*
and its inhabitants^ or rather the nortbem
part of that great empire. The deductioiii
of the a\ithor may be best expressed, witb*
in a sliort compass, by his own words.
"In the course of this investigation, ibta,
we have learnt from ancient authorities, that
the S^res are the Thinae of Erat6»tbenes--tlr^
Sins of the Periplus; that their country fioTi
between Tarlary, on the nortii, and Inttt;
extra Gangem, on the soutn; that it is tkft'
remotest region towards the east ; that it is
bounded on its eastern front by the ocean;
tliat the ocean extends (in tiieir opinion),
without interruption, on the same paralld to
the coast of Spain ; and that Jlk was brought
from this country, where it was originalfy
found, to India, and out of india, by the Red
Sea, into Egypt, and from thence to Eu-
rope."
The traffic with the Seres over land is
rendered indisputably certain, and traced
with *as much precision as can be ex-
pected.
** Cosmas, as £3ir as I can discover, is the
first author tJiat fully asserts the intercourse
by sea between India' and China ; for he mcft-
tions that the Tzinista: brougtit to Ceylon silk,
ak>es, cloves, and sandal-wood. The artido'
themselves are the specific exports of China
still ; and that the Tzinista are Chinese, can-
not be questioned ; for he expressly luentbas
their coflntry, not merely as exporting, but
producmg silk; and specifies me distance
from it by land as much shorter, compared
with the voyace by sea. Tliis circumstance
can accord wim no other coimtry, at the ej:-
tremity of the east, but China ; tor no other
country is so situated as to liave this double
commumcatiOD, consequently his Tzinistz are
Chinese : they have tne same attributes as
^ S^res— tbiey are the same people ; £ist,
by tlie means of approach ; and, secondly,
because they are surrounded by the ocean on
the east, ana because that beyond them there
is no navigation or habitation. This is the
one point, above dl others, which I have la-
boured to establish by this disquiatioD; and
though I obtain not mv proof till the sixth
century, the evidence is consistent in all its
parts, and complete. The inference b justi-
fiable, that the same intercourse existed by
sea, as well as by land, in ages much eariierj,
tliough the account had not reached Europe,
aud though the proof i^ dcfectivCr It is in
VINCENTS PERIPLUi.
vain tiat I haye searched for any intelligence
qf thb sort previous to Ptolemy^ though I
was very desirous to find it, and prepossessed
in &vour of its existence.''
To the evidence collected on this sub*
|ecf, may be added that (referred to by
GftboDj II. 141, 8vo.) of the national
iMtorian of Anneoia, Moses Chorenseogis,
iiio flourished in the fifth century. ' In
Ae Annenian history^ as well as geogra-
tf, China, is^called Zenia or Zenistan.
is characterized by the production of
ft, by the opulence of the natives, and
by thnr lore of peace, above all the other
MticQs of the earths* '
The second dissertatian is a oommen-
lury on the twenty-seventh chapter of
llK>i|ilj coatttnlng a pr^hecy against
wftt> and ioriiiihing a caricnos and valiv
iNe zecocd of ancient conunerce.
The third •dissertation is by the earl of
Macartney, on the navigation and compass
of the Chinese.
The appendix is very learned and valu-
able, containing a catalogue of the articles
of commerce mentioned in the digest of
the Roman law, compared with tliose in
the Periplfts of the JErythrean sea, sug-
gested by a recommendation in the Indian
Disquisitions of Dr. Robertson. The ar-
ticle on cinnamon we should be tempted
to extract, did it not exceed our limits.
This work bears honourable testimony
to the learning and talents of its respect-
able aoihar. The subject which he has
treated he seems almost to have exhaust-
ed, and he has certainly thrown much
li^t on the obscuHties of the ancient ori«
ental geography.
AxVrKBTiVM4V#^
Mb
< 370 )
CHAFFER V,
MODERN LANGUAGES.
An Et9tt^ om thr Ett^iA Elementtf Accents^ and Prosody : respectively dtrirrdjroml
ciplti common to roery Language, wiciait and modern, 8vo. pp. :203.
TTIE vocal [lart ofl angaage, the great
instrumeat of that noUe faculty, which
had kjng remained in undeseired neglect,
has of late years begun to experience that
attention which its importance merits.
The result has been a clearer arrange*
ment of the elements of speech, the ac-
knowledgment of the barbarous but incor-
rigible capriciousness of our own and
some other modem alphabets, and the es-
tablishment of just and natural distinc-
tions between the several accidents of vo-
cal language, which had been strangely
confounded by the inattention of gram-
marians. In no instance has this inatten-
tion been more ponspicuous, than in the
disputes which have been agitated re.
specting the proper mode of pronouncing
the Greek language. The different parti-
zans in this question were divided into
the advocates for accent, and those for
quantity; strangely forgetting that each of
these qualities is incident to every word
that is uttered j and that, when properly
understood, there is not the least incon-
sistency between the modes of pronuncia-
tion which they require. The advocates
for quantity Ifowever, as they termed
them«elves, fell into the greatest absurdi-
ties ; for the whole amount of the retbr-
mation which they proposed, and in a great
degree accomplished, is tliat of transfer-
ing to the Greek language the rules of La-
tin accentuation, while they continued in
many iikffances, equally with their adver-
saries, to violate the laws of quantity.
This subject was so little understood,
even by grammarians of the greatest §hii-
nence, that even Valckenacr, while his
learning did not permit him to doubt
the genuineness of the Greek accen-
tual marks transmitted to us, yet asserta,
that not a single verse of a poet, not a
tingle sentence of an orator^ is to be pro-
nounced accordlfig XQ tb^Oit lu olir pre^
sent ignorance of the true pro
of antiquity, this rule ^iiay perb
adnVittcd ; as applied to ancieat ]
it is manifestly erroneous.
Tlie author of the present tract, t
we feel ourselves compelled in some i
spects to differ firom him, has, oaj
whole, treated his subject with acute
and ingenuit}'. His book is distrib
into three parts : the first treating on <
mentary sounds } tlie second, i» ;
die tliird, on prosody ; chiefly that of i
English language, but illustrated byf
quent references to those of antiquity.
The following is the introduction to 1
first of these divisions.
" 1. The vocal and articulate sound^l
which all human speech is composed, are F
nature limited to a small number. To i
]y«c a language, therefore, and asctTtain i
elementary sounds, which, by various <
bunt ions, constitute the whofe of its "
bulary, would seem to be no very "
uncleftiiking. It is certain, however, that|
have yet no pcrft.-ct analysis of our own)
guage ; of which the investigation is i
ed by our very imperfect and irregular ^
ing.
" 2. Vowels, di]^hthongs, and con«j
are names by which sometimes letters i
meant, and sometimes the sounds of >
those letters arc respectively the arbit
signs. But, surely, tilings in their natuitl
essentially different ought to have distinct J
pellations. For die present, I beg leave!
use these nami?s constantly in one sense, r
signify not letters, but sounds oulv, vhicbsl
the elements of speech ; and tie prin "
reason of our present uncertainty i
those elements, m onr own language,
that We have endeavoured to ascertain 1
by tracing the various powcn of the lett^
which we read, instead of comptriog :
classing the sounds which we hear.
" 3. The vowels, in Eng^h, are
.sented sometimes by single letters, and ohl
by two or more letters combined ; "
MlieUicj: jyigle or oombified, the same^
B8SAT ON THE EK6LISB BLEMBNTS, PROSODY^ ScC.
371
en frequcDfly represent different rowels,
kit, hotrcver represented, every vowel in
or hngtage, except one, is subject to the
Btinction of long and $hort, independently
f tiie other accidents of totie and emphasU.
§n, for instance, is a short syllable, and
■Bf a long one ; and hence tne iirst has
ea considered as an example of the short,
id the second an example of the long toyifd
; iw at;o men and mentj moli and molcy
Kmpnfy what have been called the short
ri fong TtKsels e and o. Let the words, .
wevcr, be compared, not as written charac-
R, but as audible soimds ; and if men and
UK be alternately pronouiKed with at ten-
l^thev wUl. be found to ditfer in notlrinff
tthefaigrA of the vowel. So also molT,
" 5 on y lengthened in ' sound, becomes
i; and by the same proces*, the short •
ble bam is drawn into kilm; bin into
* 4. Bv this simple experiment we shall -
Ltfaat, however differently represented, by
e letten,or otherwise, the vourls (always
' ig the vocal soimds) in every word or
eof the same class, in the following list,
\ constantly the same, excepting only the .
^^ce of qvumtitt/y which is marked iii the
ittoner.
qf Words classed according to their
respective f^awcls,
f. 1. B6t, bou^t ; c5ll, call ; d5n^ dawn ;
Laot, naught; &c.
|1 P&n, pahn ; l^p, laugh ; rilt, raft ;
Shn, psalm; pSipa ; &c.
]t Ken, bane; d^ll, dale; wren, rain;
ftc
A Bin, bean ; dim, deem ; d^eive ; rS-
lieeiB, reveal ; &c*
5i N6, known ; j6r^osc, morose ; &c.
(0. Bd6k, boon ; pyll, p5oi ; loose, lo^ ; .
,dfi,do6m; &c.
J7. But, bun, ddne, son, &c. always short.
'** Of these vowels, the ' last has been
bns^t peculiar to the English tongue. It
Lin one respect, an imnertect vowel, as it is
Capable of being prolonged, or forming a
"" s\llable. It is, however, verjr nearly the
!^ith tbe Italian o chinso, which is pro-
[y the same with the ancient o/uuxpot ; nor
\ it differ sensibly from the somid of e
the French monosyllables je, me, te, se,
ta^le, &(*. and in the final syllables of the
P<Dras'gbtri$, ^ictoir^. Sec. Sec. when they oc-
(tt in Jwetical composition See, onthissub-
^ a letter from Voltaire, subjoined to the
jWi tfOtivet's Prosodie Francoise.*'
, The aathor docs not appear to us to be
fAt accurate in sevend of the sounds
pto be here classes under the seventh
Nwrf; tbe o in ven^m, the e in thun-
fefri the u in bdt, all seeming, to our
nnat least, to be distinguished i3y shades
tf perceptible difference, though too nai-
lute ^ttaps for classification.
Ikaoaiysift ofxb& diphthong I (p. 13),
as composed of the seventh, very rapidly^
melted into the fourth of the precedin.
vowel sounds, is not to us satisfactoryg
It appears rather to result from the com-
bination of the second and fourth, the
fomier element passing rapidly uito the
latter.
From vowels the author passes to diph-
thongs and triphthongs j of the former of
which he enumerates eighteen, of the lat-
ter three, in bur language. Under the
former of these heads, &e question re-
specting the power of the characters w aud
y is largely treated, and their vowel sound
is very satisfactorily maintained.
jThe diitinctiofL between the sounds of
the word thdt, as emphatic or unempha-
tic, gives occasion to a gnimmatical dis*
quisition on tlie force and propriety of
that word when employed as a relative.
Its necessity, as subservient to any discri-
miuations of sense, we do not perceive ;
to its use for the purposes of euphony and
variety, we al^ ready to subscribe.
Accent is the subject of the second
part of this work ; by which term the au-
thor understands not emphasis, but into-
nation, some mode of which accompanies
every syllable that we pronounce. The
hypothesis which he adopts, is that of Mr.
Steele, explained in a work entitled ' Pro-
sodia rationalis,' not, we believe, generally
known, but in many respects deserving
of attention.
The use of the Greek accentual marks
our anonymous author gives up, as wholly
lost, and incapable of being retrieved.
Tlie exact power, once lost, cannot cer-
tainly be restored. Two circumstances,
Tiowever, seem strongly to imply that
they were intended to denote the empha-
tic syllables of wdrds ; one, their appli-
cation only to single syllables in each
Mord ; and the other, the uniformity of
that application to a particular syllable.
The slides of Mr. Steele and our author
are perpetually Atirying, with the variation
of circumstances and connection in which
tlie words to- which they are applied
occuf.
The remaining subject of this little vo-
lume is English proS(xly. The meaning
of the word prosody is simply accent, and
in this sense it was originallr employed.
It ha^ however been gradually deflected
by custom from that signification, and is
now used to denpte the laws by which
syllables are arranged in metzical compo-
sitions.
Tbe author first shews that the Eng^
li&h, like tiie ancient l^guam^ and iu all
Bb 2 X
Uf2
MoCEftN LANGUAGES.
probability, like every otlier langnage
that has ever been spoken « possesses dis-
tinction^ of qaautity in the s)'llables of
which it is <:onBtructed. For practical
. purposes this distinction is denoted with
sufficient accuracy by £he ratio of two to
one, and tl>e ear of every one will enable
him to decide that it exists in our own
language.
Rhythmus, the Greek writers tell us,
lias its essence in arsis and thesis, or in
plain words/ in time-bcafing. What cir-
cumstance then is to determine the pulsa-
tions which distinguish it } Not tlie mere
quantity of the syllables, answers our ano-
nymous autlior, for verses occur in Greek,
and may occur in other languages, com-
posed altogetlier of syllables of equal
length, and which tlierefore contain no
indication of the rhythmus to which they
are intended to be subject. The division
of the words may however aflford some
indication ; and it is at all events to be re-
membered, that tlie occurrence of ihese
verses is so rare, that it is scarcely admis-
sible to build any tlieory of prosodv' upon
them. To such verses may be applied
the observation of Henuan, ' isti oniues
Humeri, quum certis ibrmis car(?aiit, ki
singulis poctanrai locis adnotandi sunt.*
De metr. Grjcc. p. 3/0.
If the principle of rhythmus is not to
I>e found in quantity, it can only depend,
our author argues, on emphatic impulse.
' It is tlier«fore manifest,' he concludes,
' that what has bt;en hitherto commonly
considered as a great defect, and a strik-
ing mark of inferiority, and even barba-
rism, in modern languages, has at all times
,been alike inherent in every language,
namely, that in oiir versiiication, the
rhythmus depends on emphatic impulse.*
To establiiU more fully tlie similarity
between the ancient and modern systems
of metre, he endeavours to show that tlie
distinctions of short and long syllables
were far from being so accurate as is
commonly imagined. The ancient wri-
ters indeed tell us that of short syllables,
fiome were shorter, of long syllables,
some longer^ than others. But the cir-
cumstance from which our author princi-
pally argiiesi is the law by which a short
Syllable in position is considered as a long
one. ' It were absurd,* ke says, ' to sap->
pose that any real augmentation was e\'er
^ectkd' by the siaiple collision of mut«
consonants.' jfeut this statement don t
appear to us to be accurate. Even 1
sius, in his examples of ^o$, f ^c>f , r&
and arpo^osy allows that some addkico^
time accrdes in consequence of the s
mulation of cotfsonants, thbugh-nots
cient to change the denommaiten ofl
syllable. But if this change resalts (Hi
consonants preceding k short vowel,^
will certainly result in a greater i
from their arrangement after that i
in consequence of the -greater
which, in that situation^ they n
tered. 'Every one must be sensil
the sylbble ex is properly long,"'
ciation ot tlie consonant reqnti
least an 'equal tone with that of the i
The first four letters of the wordf
are the «ame with those of tlie'
^^a/3,r*a^, yet who does not
gi'eater l^n^th of time,, 'vrhich, ]
ililference of their arrangement, ^
site in the latter case for their otte
This subject is well illustrated
IVntford, in his * inquiry into the |
pies of harmony in language.* P« 41.
*rhe groat clitVereuce whieh subsistrl
twecn the ancient and mtx?era i
M'stcms, apj^ears to usperfecdyi
In the ancient Languages, not only jffel
and short sylhibles distinguished
sufficient accuracy from each other,' I
the laws by which they are anangsil
the several species of!' verse «re < '
certained, and the 'licences which i
tain cases are admitted, are
withm determinate bounds, tdule 1
tuation of the accent (or eropbaf
ble) remains in^'Mios/ Instances,
matter of indifference. On die
hand, in modem versification,
long ami short syllables may be
distinguished from each other, yet no i
can be devised for their re^dar i
rencc -, while the ei»|>hatic syllables ;
sess their determinate place in eveiy i
with the iidmission of a few kjiown 1
ties. In other words, the modem 1
niical ictus is coincident with the i
tic syllables, and determines their:
tion ; in the ancient languages, the rb^
mical ictus is comn^only iiHlepesdant i
tlie syllabic enapkasis ; and the only i
formity observable in tlie versificatf
those languages, is in the etnp'
and arraQgement of syllables s
their qaaatity.
< m )
CHAPTER VT.
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
.OUR antiquarian ^nd toppgraphical list is of the usual kogth and of the average
kbe. Alv^ch labour and time, as appears to ug, is, if not absolutely lost, at l^ast very
ply employed, in what are called top(^raphical researches. The only modem folios
iBCOoaty histories, which a^e ej^ecu^cd fpv the most part with such tedious minute-
as to render ihera to the last degree wearisome and unprofitable ; and the writer*
them, in their eager ambition after the praise of research, have, in too many in«
entii'ply lost sight of a qunlity to the full as necessary and meritorious ; we
judgment ia selection. At tlie hazard therefore of incurring the charge of
odoxy, we shall mte the liberty of stating what appear to us to be the prominent
^t charact^ize the topographical histories of tl^e present day. It may be said
general that the gr^nd feature of all these work? is prolixity, and that a rigorous
io|i may bp introduced into every departnient with i?iuch advantage ;
to particul^, we should in the fir^t place wish tlie ages of barbarism, and
few relics that they have left behind, to be dispatched in a very summary man-
; circles of stones, barrows, places of encaippment, whether British, Roman^
1, or Danish, have already received much more than their legitimate share of in-
festigatioD, and may be abandoned without reluctance to oblivion and the plough-
■ace. Nor does it seem absolutely nooessary to describe every old castle with tl^
pinateness of a sur\'eyor, or to relate in full detail every plunderipg expedrtion which
iftieat forth or resisted. England being the country in which that species of archifec-
ibire, vulgarly called Gothic, has been brought to its highest perfection, and thero
hoDg nou' no probability of its ^nin recovering from the disuse into which it has
ij^en, no liberal critic will blame the topographer if he lingers with ibnd reluctance
>itbia the consecrated walls of our cathedrals, and describes at length tlioa^ venerable
Iftnictures. which, whether we consider the sublimity of their general effect, or tlia
i lichness and fantastic variety of their minute decorations, may proudly .and success-
; Jjfly enter into competition with the chaster but less impressive efforts of Greek and
I AanoD genius. A similar indulgence will he conceded to tlie topographer while de-
KT%\ng the remains of our monastic edifices : as architectural fragments, and as ptctu-
s^stjp& objects, many of them are entitled to high pcaise j but surely there is no ne«
cnn^ to dwell long on their former inhabitants 5 to investigate with scrupulous at-
teotioQ the local peculiarities of their government ; to write critical dissertations cfti the
JBiccesaiou of their abbots and priors 5 aud to rescue from merited neglect their
ipjeodtd impositiqps, their gaudy mununeries, by which the reign of ignorance, of
ibrery, and superstition, was so long upheld. For a pTote$iani ecclesiastic to
dilate with comphu^ncy on these topics, argues something more than bad taste.
374 BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUITfES.
The general reader would no doubt be pleased and benefited if the greater \k
of the genealogies, and what comes under the denomination of family and maaaor
history, was greatly compressed ; but as the principal patronage of county histpfiev
and tlie chief part of tlie readers, are to be expected from among the residents in lie
district described, a deviation from the usiial practice in these particulars would i4
are afraid materially affect the encouragement which is required in so arduous 4i
undertaking. A more restricted use of the church-registers, and a more select nJ
sortmei^t of monumental inscriptions, might however be introduced without anr <Bij
advantage, and greatly to tlie beaefit of tlie literary character of the work : the i
cession of parish-priests, clerks, and church- wardens ; carpenters', giazierj*, i
plumbers' bills, and circumstances of similar importance -, are in their proper j
among the manuscript archives of each parish ; but when occupying page after f
of a county history, constitute more "waste paper.
But if our topographers are liable to the charge of prolixity on the abore-n
tinned topics, tliere are others, and those of no small importance, of w^hich the i
may justly complain fyr tlieir mortifying conciseness. Such is the case in ]
with all the branches of natural history. Sometimes a bare catalogue of ^ ^
birds, and fishes^ is thrast into some bye-comer of the book, accompanied by a £v
mineralogical details collected a century ago; but of real science and personal obseiu|
vation there is for the most pait a total deficiency. The various and important toM
comprehended under the general terra statistics, are also treated of very unsatisfacl(k1
rily J and in short every thing relating to the present state of the country 3 tbeMa^\
mation requisite for this purpose being not to be had by consulting written documeot^l
but by laborious personal enquiry. Lastly, a greater accuracy both of plates arfj
maps might be obtained at no great additional trouble, and with a very manifest gan'
both qf beauty and usefulness. .
*
Art. I. — The History of ifie Orkney Islands : in v^iiich is comprehended an Jcanod tf i
th^ir present as xvell as their ancient State ; together ziith the Advantages theypoam
for several Brandies qf Industry, and the Means bt/ zvhich they may be improved Ihs-
trated with an accurate and extensive Map qf' the zvhote Islands, and with Plates of tarn \
€f the most interesting Objects they contain. By the Rev, George Bar&t, D, D. Mi-
nister of Shapinsfmy. 4to.' pp. 509.
THE present volume furnishes much tions, or commercial consequence: so that
important information concerning a por- if we except Torfaus, who has giren t
tion of the British dominions which historj-, and Wallace, who, about a cen-
has hitherto been but little known, tnry past, furnished a description, ewsy
We shall therefore indulge ourselves, and thing tliat relates to these isles most be
at the same time, we presume, gratify our sought for in writers who have profe^isedlf
readers, by a copious account of -the written upon other subjects :' and iorfim
work, and of the islaHds it professes to purpose tlieir detached accounts must be
describ^^ collected and arranged. This Dr. Bffiy
Situated on the nortli of Scotland, sur* professes to have done 5 ' his inteDticQ
rounded by a tempestuous sea, and inter- being,' according to his own stateaient,
sected by dangerous friths, the public at- ' to look back to early times, and, bjmeuis
tention has been seldom directed to this of those feeble and scattered rays of light,
part of tiie British isles. While her legi- furnished occasionally by ancient writers,
tiniate sister,, tiie Hebrides, can boast of to point out who were their first inhabil-
a Johnson, a Pennant, and a Banks, as ants;' and. ' having thus taken an ex-
philosophic visitors ; Orkney has been in- tensive view from Uiat period, and fix)m
ilcbted chigfjy to residents for any publish- facts traced the various change* they have
ed descriptions of her scenery, produc- undergone^ and die e&cts of such cbogesj
BABRT S HZSTOBT OF THB OSEVEY ISLANDS.
3T5
0 the time when they were granted tin-
edeeuuble to a subject who sold them^
ad they finally became a part of the
Town o£ Scotland,* Dr. Barry then ad-
orts to their present state, lliis part of
OS plan he ccHisiders of the greatest im-
nrtmoe, and as such he states^ ' that he
■I taken moie than ordinary pains to
pfe the fairest statements^ and place evejy
■it in the clearest and most interesting
«bt of Tiew/ But to tlie end that these
hjtcisnaj be accomplished, he proposes
ft give a particular description of the
mds which compose the grouf . The
■story thus considered, he observes, na-
■rally divides, itself into three books. —
ilt. Contains a general view of the islands,
ritha geographical description of each,
kc— 2d, An account cjf the early inlia-
ikants ', transactions dnd character of the
fpjple who conquered them ; n^onuments
gf antiquity; and subsequent history. —
kL Includes a statistical account ef their
feonrable situation, and the advantages
Id be derived hoia them. Such is the
tof the work as laid down by the au-
. How far he has succeeded in its
tocomplishment, we shall ^ideavour to
Mkw: by giving a faithful analysis^ point-,
i^ oat its excellences and defects ; and,
wle we notice valuable statements, en- .
deavour to detect er;:ors, and correct in-
accuracies.
We have thought it necessary to state
thus much of Dr. B^rry\s plan -, but in
jjQstice to ourselves and our readers, we
nmst observe, that there appears a want
of tlie *' lucidus ordo," so necessary to
poduce perspicuity and prevent tautology.
Thus, in the particular description of each
island, the Dr. anticipates what he again
repeals in his general views. Frequent
tepetitiqas of vegetables, minerals, birds,
and fishes, occur throughout. The stones.
<if Steunts, and tlie dwariic stone, might
hxn bcea left to the chapter on monuments
^mkqnty/^ and the account of the an-
cient language might liave been referred
to the description of the origitial inha-
bitants. Chap. VI. of Book IL surely
ou^t to have followed immediately after
the fourth chapter, or have been incorpo-
rated. Some additions also might have
been mode to the historic part, of a highly,
interesting nature ; which would have
ictulered the present body of information
still more valuable, without much in-
creasing the size of the work.
The Orkney islands, justly denominated'
the archipelago of tlie northern sea, lie
^><irth of Duncansby Head^ the Cape
Orcas of the aneients, betwi«n 56 ikg,
45 min. and 59 deg. 23 min. zMArth lati*
tude, and 2 deg. 10 min. east, aiid 2 deg.
47 mii^. west, from the meridian of Green-
wich, according to the map here copied
from that of Mr. Mackenzie ; who, in bb '
sur%'^ey, places his first meridian through
the town of Kirkwall, io the island of
Mainland. Other maps, considered ac*
curate, .state the .latitude and longitude
a little diiferent.
As to their number, writers hare di^
fered^ from the earliest accoonts to the
present time.^ By the ancient writers A^
were reckoned from thirty to forty : IVnn* .
ponius Mela, the most to be depended ,
upon among them, enumerates thirty:
and it is probable bot!\ he and others took-
their accounts from tlie principal of them
in point of size, whether inhabited or not»
Gyraldus mentions them under the title
of Orchades and Leuchades; but he does
not say he ever visited tliem. He quotes^
for authority, Orosius and Isiodorns ; who
observe there were thirteen inhabited* and
twenty desert; which account^ at the
time tliey wrote, was probably correct*
Dr. Barry derives his Information, not
from his own observations, but from a
sun-e}' made about half a century ago, at
the instance of the JBoard of Admiralty, •
by Mr. Murdo Mackenzie ; the accuracy
of which h^s been confirmed by subse*
quent observations. In addition to these^
however, any remarks of Dr. Barry's from
personal knowledge would have been a-
desirable acquisition. . , According to this
survey, the number is fifty-seven j twe^nty-
nine only of which are inhabited, and
the remaining twenty-eight, denominated
holmes, are used for depasturing, cattle. ,
Besides which, there are numerous rocks^
not devoid of herbage, called skerries.
The etymon of the name has no less,
perplexed the minds of antiquaries : the
question is, whether the cape took its name
from the islands, or * tlie islands from the
cape ? In the former case the name is of,
Gothic origin; but in tlie latter of British,
Those who side with tlie first, derive it
from the Gothic Ork strength, the cape
braving. the violence of the waves; and
thence deduce, by the addition of anotlier
Gothic word Ey, signifying an island,
Orcadeys, i. e. tlie islands of Ork, or Ork*
ney. Those who oppose this observe, that
the Romans, at a very early period, no-
ticed this cape, under the name Orcadium^
and the opposite cape of Dunnet-head by
that of Tarvediumj and assert their ety-
mology to be really British: — ^thus Orcad^
3r«
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHT AND ANTIQUITIES.
without the Bomaii' ending, comes from
Or, a boundary or ]imit> and Cadw to pre*
Berve, i. e. the defensive boundary: while
ThiTcdutn, rejecting the urn, is equally de-
rived from Teifyn, a limit, and — to bel-
low 5 Ironi the noise the sea make& round
this headland^ i. e. Clamorous Cape. Should
these be thought unsatisfactory, they are
3t least as probable as the Scandinavian
side of the question.
Dr. Barry commences the Subject with,
ro< R trcnernl reiV.a;ks on the geological
r;pi)v i: ^!h cs of the islands , which tend to
Bh:\y •'•i <:■ r.-ial direction of elevated and
dtM V ; 1 : ma. in this kingdom, and that
inc I le of depression is uniformly to-
wards the north-east.
Tlie climate, according to our author,
|s much hetter than has been represented,
or than might be expected from the geo-
graphical situation of the islands. But no
regular and accurate register having bten
kept of the weather, no just comparison
can be made. It may here be observed,
that we are very generally, if not always,
pavtinl to our own country respecting wea-
ther j and though a royal author (Charles
II.), who had travelled the continent,
could assert, and perhaps with trutli,
'* that there were more days in which a
person could go out with comfort in Great
Britain, during the course of a year, than
in any country in Europe j" yet no one
who has travelled would thence conclude
tliat the climate or weather of Great Bri-
tain W9S superior to tliat of France or
Italy. .
^ The south-west winds are observed to
be more prevalent tlian any otlier ; and
the weather, though rarely boisterous, is
seldom calm : yet if we can judge from
die statement of the quantity of rain, said
on the average to fall annually (twent}'-six
inches), wet weather must be much less
fi'equent than in some parts of our islands.
The coldest weather is in the advanced part
of our jtpriiig ; and the month of Jwie h
represented as generally the coldest of am/.
This, Dr. Barry supposes, arises from tlie
dissolving of ihe immense bodies of ice at
tnig time in the northern ocean.
It is a very airious fact, that though
tiiese islands are situate so far north, yet
the climate is peculiarly mild ; and when
compared with a similar latitude on the
eastern or western continent, extraordi-
narily so. The \yeather is neither severe
hor. tinpleasant . Tl le 1 opgest day, accord-
ing to Wallace, Is about eighteen hours,
§nd the shortest about six> It has.Iieeh
taid, that iron) th<^ hill of Hoy, the high*
est land of the whole, the body of the ua
may be seen at midmght: which prbboblf ,
gave rise to the accounts we find in So-
linus and others, that there was do ni^
It is however true, that ia dear wea&r,
for nearly two months, during sammer,
the twilight is sufficientl^r strong for ai&» .
nary sight to see to read throogh tkl .
whole night. The heat in sdmnier, ov»
ing to the obliqueness of thie sdn^i xa^ !
and other causes, is not sa great as wM-
us$ and from the sea breezes, thecpUij
in winter is seldom so intense. *'TM I
extent of heat.and cold,** the Dr. obserrei^
"is on the average from 25 dieg. to;5 1
deg. of Fahrenheit's thermometer, lis'i
spring is severe, the summer modetate, j
and the autumn mild: the range of te]
barometer is about three inches. A striidn|''
peculiarity is, that thunder and ligbnnitt.i
which in most other countries occur ga»^-|
rally duririff the heat of summer or tUbf ;
sultry nights of autumn, are here DKNti
frequent in the winter inoiit!is : and that.;
attended with wind and xain, hail or tsicm l
Though thus situated, they fireqaendy ca»
joy an imclouded sky; aqd the mistai*
valours, so often imagined to exist byl^
reigners or sttangers, are bat of short do-
ration : for the land may be often deioi*
ed, even in the night, at ten leagaa ifo-
tance."
But this is frequeritly owibg to the »
rora borealisy which is here seen to tht
greatest advantage ; and though not coih
iincd to these hi?h northern latitudes, a
the southern equally enjoy them, yet arci
under Providence, an inestimable biesanfi
Tlie author gives a pleasing account of
them as they fq>pejir on tiie coast bf Oti-
ney.
" This Is the aurora borcafis, now very lift"
j>Voperly denominated the northern Itefe|
since, by late discoA't^rKN, tfrey have fei
found to belong equally to both faeinrtplicrfs.
Here they happity appear, botli m^re fre-
quently and with greater splendour, than jb
most olhpr regions ; for during the harvet,
winTer, and spring months, they arisie almat
cvei-y undoiided niglit, and often sliihe with
the most niagnlJiccnt brilliancy.
" The liglit of the moon at her qnadn-
tures, somi'times, on such occasions, fcan-ely
etjuals them, in niuminatinig'tlie friths andtfte
islands. Between the setting of the ^ atd
the cloflc di the twilight, .\l|ey cdmmoirfy
make their first appearance in the nort/i„ Is-
suing for the mobt part from bdund the
qlouds, lilLe a fountain of pale liglit,.tljc f<jnn
pf wliich IS undefined, an3 co.idniie in this
sta'tea littte piboye the horlzpn, aom^fliwS
dhfy for a shortperiod, djid set otiier times w
the s|>ace of several hours, iirithout any iitQt
iiitY*i ritSTa'af or tot dmtww istiw*!.
a?7
tioo flat can be discov<^red'. Tliey fbm
Ihatt^lTCs pn« whit^ hito xH arch, th^ height
eftHiIdi k a&otit 6iirty de^ees, and its
htaUh abbflt sect y ; aha the pillars on which
it h supported scvttaJ times broader thafri the
cdobdw ; and so kxng as they retain this
ifaipe, they afire w^thouft .any sensible mo-
tioiL .At another time they extend farther
•fcf the heavens, rise muth higher, assume a
fleater variety oi shapes, and discover a
inky hue, with a motion that is slow, but
percepticle. .Very often they cxfrib'rt an ap-
pferan requite difTercnt, and spread them-
Khrtt o^t^ the \Vf*d!fe h^vetts,- dmli^tng every
%A^ i sarjjris-ng degree of light, and ex-
falhiti&g the most beacfifb! Jjhenomtnbn.
"Their motion, in this case, is in various
<&f>ction«, e>:tremely swift, and, as it >*crc,
ia separate columns, resembling somewhat the
•volutioos ot a great army. Their lowest
^remifies are di^tinc^ly defined, and deeply
tiufed <vlth the colours of the rainbow ; but
tiWr upper ones are tai^erin^ and fainter. In
•eferal place- at once thev kindle into a bhze,
dirt ifong Iti a»iTiost all directions, for some
setoBtisata tiihe, and then, as if by tlie
Htcngth of their exertions they had spent
thdr force, they are extinguished in a liio-
iieiit, leaving a brown track in the <ky behind
«cni. i^ear the place where they disap-
&fe(Lin ashc>rt tilile the<' flash oiit anew,
m ♦fth c^\h\ rapidity trace the same pdlh
fiiimilirrti6tibrt4, And again expire in the
«mertiamer. THIS Ihcy dftcn contmtfe for
•vend hmirt together, to the great satiftfac-
tiim audamusenient of the spectators on land,
ipd advantage of the mariner, when they gra-
dwlly die away, and leave throuffh the whole
heavens^ a colour i^sembling that of brass.
5 tBe m^t be uncommonly still, and theilr
lotion very rapid, a whizzing hoise has been
woglit to have been distinct] v. heard fVom
rttt at \'aTioa3 mter\'aK ^VhU beautiful
cfemiscation, whicfl has nevteryet been satis-
ft<*<mly explained, is teid to Save aj)i>cared
much sddomer eighty eft ninety ytars ago
toi it does at present. It ajipears now,
however, yerjr often, and seems \(^ occupy
ttet space lu tlie heavens which is T)etween
tKe n^ion of the clouds and the srimmit of
Cie atinoiphere, as fhe clmids m motion ne-
^ feii to eclijise it ; and a«? it cannot "be
*wi from two places "greUtly distant from
<fe another at bhce, nor yet in conjunction
w^lh the same fished stars, it evidchtly has no
|reat degree of cleVarUon,"
The names of the present inhabited
nlMs are gixeii in a note, as enumerated
by Torfieus and Buchannan, tlie princi-
pW of which is Pomona, or Mainland. Its
greatest length from east to west is thirty
wfles J and of various breadth, owing to
its maritime indentations, from two to
t^\t: though both Wallace and Mac-
kenzie ^ve q consi^^rtblv Im w^neasure*
The ftUovring' plecnmg Asdl^plk»i' df
th6 isnrfece, may serv^ i& a speciD^a of
th% auAor's desci^iptivel sfy 16" :
*' A ridge of hills, pf no great height, rises
to\\Tards its eastern e^ttreinity, which stretches
w^tward aioiig tlie north side ^ the parish
of Holm, Suffer^ anr rntetf upfton at (lie bay dt
Scalpa, is cont'ni'.ed a.^aib through sr consi-
derable part 6f the pnrish - of Orphtr (where
the direction is JliuHonl)' changed (o>vard the
north at nearly a ricrht angle), and cxtcndt
throi'.gh the p'rHlbhc' of Frith and Hendai, sfat
miles distant fro:>i, ;ni:l in a line nearly paral^
lei to, the western bo rmdai'it'S of the island.
ITiroui^h this whole e^^t^iisrve tract tlie hiihr
are generally ^olmi oh ihc sides, many part«
of which are very prodnctive when cult!-"
vated ; and the tops are covered With sncJt
an excellent mixtufc of variotis kinds of grass
and heath, as afTofds almost constantly a se-
cure haunt for nmltitudes of moor-fowl, ai
well as pasture for sh^ep, and black tattle,
and horses, It*? breadth is by no means sO
considerable ; for though it reaches nearly
sixteen miles on the «Acst side, the oast ^oe<
not extend to abovo five or mx ; and near
tiie middle it is so nai row a^s to form a m»ck
of land, which comprehciids liule more thAii
a mile m lenj^tfi, dividbi^ the inland into two '
peninsuUs. "'I'Jie spacious and bvautiful ba/.
of Scalpa bounds the ont; side of this isthmus,
and the bay of Kirkwall tlie other ; and ti^
ground that lies between them is at once so
nal, so damp, ahd, ih othtr Respects, of sxirh
a nature, as to rend<*r it probable that tlie
sea some time or oth^r has occupied the
whole space betw^n theln. ITie ancient
town of Kirkwall stands On tht» liortln ide of
this tract of land, tbwards th\e soiith-ieast s&te
of the bav of the same name; and by a little
rivulet wliich runs through the middle ef tte
town (over whidi a stone bridgi^ofone arch
hjis bfeen built, for the convenience of (he in-
haWtants) is divfded Ir.to th<i old town, \hat
bends along the bav, and the wew tkat
St i etches ^ cOnsfderfllite way to the sotith=-
ward.^'
iThe town of tvlrkwnll bears stronfr
marks of high antiquity, and many aficient
bnildiiigs, now in ruins, remind us oi its
former greatness. (>f these islands tlic T^y,
gives us aTurther plexising description ; 3n4
if we coold realize descriptions, we should
almost be inclined to think, that this, and
tlie circumjacent i«Ics,wcre the Fortunate
ones described by tlie Roman poets, in the
vjcinity of which, both the Elysium and
Tartarus oT the ancients were supposed to
exist. A circumstance Dr. Barry how-
ever records, in his account of tlie village
of Stromness, which, while it evinces a
spirit still existing, arduous for emancipa-
tion from the rod of oppression, demon*,
striates the impolicy of all undue restraints
gn ihi? energy or propmjr ctf Iqan^ Hnd
37B
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUITIES.
tlie wisdom of abolishing all exclusive
rights in a free country^ and for ever
crushing the petty tyranny of corporate
bodies. .
** By means of several acts of parliament,
enact wi when the principles of commerce
were" but little attended to, and as little un-
derstood, the royal burd)s had assumed the
right of taxing the lianiiets and villages that
mere m their neighbourhood in an arbitrary
proportion of the bunlens which they them-
selves were bound in law to sustain. Strom-
ness suilered, or at least tliought so, from
the exercise of this right claimed by the
neighlwuring burgh, and therefore long mur-
mured under ai>urden which was represented
as dksproportioned to her trade ana her abi-
lity ; and at length, after n^peatcd remon-
itrances, reiu^ed to bear it any longer. The
method of compulsion was instantly adopted,
by a rcfcrciice of the point in question to the
Supreme Court, who pronounced this judg-
ment: 'That there was no sufficient right
in tlie borough of Kirkwall to assess the vil-
iageof Stromncss^, but that the said village
j»Llould be quit thereof, and ftee therefrom,
iu all tune coming.' This sentence, which .
ixai every appearance of being founded in
justice, no less than in law, was, in the spirit
ef litiffalion, appealed from, but happily con-
firmed in the house of lords. Thus a paltry
Tillage m tlxe remote regions of the north, was
at that period enlightened enough to know
its own rights, and had spirit suihcient to re-
claiu\ tbehi; while others of great conse-
cpMmce tamely submitted to tlie yoke, till,
emancipated by this memoral)le decision,
tliey reaped the fruit of her spirited exertions.
From that time Stromness became a place of
iDore uotcj in conscouence of the freedom she
had ol^tained ; and ner trade, as trade always
«houkl be, neither curbed by alwurd regua-
tiow, nor shackled by the coii^oration spirit,
will ^jrobably soon enable her in her turn to
acquire an ascendant over, and prescribe
laws to, her former lordly superior."
In speaking of the island of Svumnv,
lying in the middle of Pentland frith,
•which separates tlie Orkneys from Scot-
land; the anthor observes, that "3,300
ships used to pass annually through tfiis
St nit, previous to the erection of the
lighthouse, and many more must probably
have passed since that improvement to its
navisjation.'*
Wc arer decided, though Buchanan
has conjured up an imaginaf}' being, call-
ed Pentheifs^ to give name to this strait,
tliat it took its name from Uie people who
first crossed it, the Picts, i. e. PictlandT
frith. Long was this strait, through
wludi the RomaijJT under Julius Agricola-
sailed when th^ snrreycd the whole n»-
ritirae coast of Britain, famed for its gof- '
gons and it& hydras, its currents and its
whirlpools : but these phantoms of igno-
rance have'disappeared) and so little dag-
ger is th<*re now in navigating it, that
small boats p&ss «kI repass to Caftbness
with perfect safety; and by the assistance
of the lighthouse erected on Pentkod
Skerr)',* a rock in the mouth of the frith,
even at the dead of night.
The Dr. thinks the original inhabitants
\vtxe some of the ancient Gaulish tribes,
which settled in Scandinavian but ma-
terially fails m what he calls a proof k£
this position. Nothing can feirly be
stated from the present names oi persons
or places, many of which are of a mixed
nature: tiie majority appear of Gothic
origin; probably given and imposed by
the invaders, as tlie jnames in South Bii-
tain were chnnged by the successfol Sax-
ons. The difficulty becomes greater en
extending our inquiries ^ because fiom
very early accounts we have of navigation
and commerce, these islands are men*
tioned as inhabited. It appears from gcxxl
authority that they were known to the en-
terprising people of Tyre : and even Thie,
whetiier it be the Fula of the Orkneys or
the Mainland of Shetland, is not unno-
ticed : and from them the knowledge is
derived U> the Gieeks and Romans. Hus'
fiimiahes a strong argument from analogy,
that they were peopled from Brkaki; and
with the Britons had one common Celtic
origin, afterwards denonuuated Pigkt$ or
Pici» by the Romans : not fran tbdr
painting their bodies, which has been ab-
surdly supposed; but, as Whitaker has
plainly demonstrated, firom theh" Ijiag
withont the pale qf the Raman province «•
Britain : from the British xoard vict or
PICT, as the Pictoriei% in Gaul, and the Pit^
iuriancs in Caledonia. And it is not im*
probable that this term, which signifies
Secedcrs, might have been given them by
their countrymen, who submitted to jh^
Roman yoke. By this name they were
recognized, when they made their mtxp-
tions to the south ; and by this name they,
were distinguished by the Britons of the
west. They are represented as a tall, feir,
comely, lighting people } and so were the
Britons. Their language was lost after
they ceased to be a distinct people, though
still a little of it is preserved in the an-
cient Erse or Norse: and Dr. Barry ob-
* Anotlier lighthouse is now erecting in Sandcy, on the Start point, one hondred feet
above the bta, iiaving revolving reflectors.
^AltXT S BISTORT OF THE ORKNEY ISLA VB8.
«i:vM dwt there are villages yet, wbich
speak a languiage not nnderstobd by the
prewsit inkibitants of other places. This
origin is confinaied by various monuments
similar to thf><;e visible in manjr parts of
England and Wales j and more especially
by those denominated Pighi or Picts-
housei, found by the northern hordes on
Ihcir invasion ,• which stDl remain, thougn
the present inhabitants are unable to ac-
count for their designation. If still further
proof were necessary, the similar customs*
4>f thePicts and Britons would be sufficient;
panicularly the striking one mentioned
by C««iar, and alluded to byTacims, o.
CffmrnuMiiy, as loell as a plurality of wives.
The Dr. allows that the Picts of North
Britain and the isles were the same ; and
though separated as they were finora the
seat of govetnmentr^il^ mi^kt at times
^tisk and attempt to throw off tlie yoke ; yet
there is testimony to shew, that they were
tributary to the Pictish kings, till the'
onion took place under Kenneth lifacal-
pine. That these, islands were early in-
Ittbited, appears' from whatTafcitus speaks
ef their having been subdued by Agricola;
Aoogh Pblydbre says this was effected by
Claodian. And Torfaeus's account might
he right, who informs us they were dis-
cofwed 400, and inhabited 260, years be-
fore the Christian afcra. The progress
ftom families to tribes, and from tribes to
communities, is in early population rapid j
snd under some able chieftain quickly
leads to the establishment o£ monarchy.
Tbatdiey had a govemmenf, v^hether re-
pl or not. is evident ; and that they con-
tamed under their princes, whether tri-
toaTy or not, till the subversion of the
Pictish kingdom by the prowess of Ken-
elm II., is equally clear. And though
httJe can be depended upon till after the
conversion of the inhabitants to Christi-
toityj yet from that period considerable
«ght is furnished on the subject : and
«rae confidence may be ])laced in the ac-
counts we have of those times from the
«ordant testimony of collateral history.
We are informed by Adamnan, that they
▼ere converted to the Christian faith by
njeans of Columba, a monk of Irish ex-
^ction, who resided in St. Kilda. After
fortbering the extension of the gospel in
*J«land, be turned his attention to the
^Kneys; and sent Cormac, one of his a\-
tenilaiit preachers, to accompany tli.- prince
9T9
of Orkney, then at Luckness, the palace
of Brude king of the Picts, making siA-
mission and giving hostages for bis fcituro '
fidelity : who enjoined him, on his leaving
the court, to be kind to the Christian mlt-
sionary. Dr. Bairy however asserts^
that *' this event did not take place ttil
after the Norwegian ara, under the g/i^
vemment of Sigurd II., earl of Oikney;**
and the mode in which it was effected,
strongly reminds us of that adopted by
the Spaniards for christianizing the inha-*
bitants of South America.
*" Christianity, some years before this pe-
riod, had become the religion of Norway, by ^
means of Obus Friguesson, who then iilled
the throne. This celebrated prince, being m
his youth converted in England, seems ta-
have besto>ved on it such attention, as ena-
bled him to perceive its excellence; and he
soon became inspired with all the zeal of a
new convert, to spread its pinciples through
distant lands. For this end he p;epared iive
or six ships, on board of wiiich he lAvited such
wise and learned metiashe deemed beslquar
fiiied to diillise the knowledge of his favourite-
system ; and sailed directly for Ireland, with
which iiis country had then an intimate con-
nexion. His transactions there are foreign
to our purpose j; but on his return, he brought
his squadron to anchor in one of the harbours
of South Ronaldsay, where the earl then was,
in readiness for some expedition. Sigurd was
of an open and unsuspicious temper, whick
arose from confidence in the strength of hit
amis, and in the magnitude of his mne. He
beheld, therefore, the' Norwegian fleet witlH
out apprehension ; nor did he hesitate to ^
on board as soon as he received the king's in-
vitation, as he dreaded no harm, and sup<^
posed, perhaps, that a conference only was-
wanted, respecting some military enterprise,
in which tlie interest of both of '^Uiem might
be equally concerned. The king's conduct,
however, soon convinced him of his mistake ;
for scarcely had they met togetlier, when
Glaus, JiHsuming an air of anxious dignity,
opened his design iji tiie following tenns:
* It cannot have escaped you, that, as heir to
Harold llarfager, I have an undoubted right
to the sovereignty of these islands, over which '
you preside : and you must, moreover, be
sensible that both you yourself, and your for-
tune, are now in iny power: but I am so for
from wishing to avail myself of these circum-
stances, tliat I am inclined to promote your
best interest, and to unite you and myseff to-
gether in still finner bonds. For this end,
my proposal is, tliat you, and all your people,
shall instantly adopt the C-llristian religion,
receive the holy rite of baptism, and acknow-
ledge me as your liege lord : and, on condi-
^Br, Bany has taken his view of the manners of this people from writers who have pro-
SwL^^" ^ different nations: and thus from Tacitus and Landanon Bok, Gildas, and
^weaej, formed a motley robe that is neither appropriated to the Picts nor Scandinaviaiii,
3fKf
BRITISH. TOPOGBAPHY AND ANTWtUmES.
timi that ytn comply Miith this intyposal; yoa
shall secure my friendship ever atter^^aitis ;
au<l, what is of £ar more censequeiice, the
everlasting friendship of the sovereign of hea-
wh. But if you and your people refuse com-
pliance, I am determined to desoiate your
country, and hifiict on all of ybu the jjunish-
itient of death ; and you will have just cause
Uf expect, hereafter, a punishment infinitely
more dreadful, from the hand .of an jofiended
God.'
" The earl, though confounded at this un-
expected overture, and still more at the me-
naces with which it was attended in case of
refusal, yet retained his recollection, and
made this nrm and spirited reply : * I cannot,
O king, tulfer myself to renounce that reli-
gion which ha& heeii sanctioned by custom,
and which I received from ray ancestors, as I
consider njyself as no \Viser than they; aud
no reasons have as yet been offered to con-
rinre me, that the religion which you thus re-
commend for my adoption, is. m any respect
better than my own.'
** l^he king had neither time nor iiKlii^-
^on to produce any other argiunents than
tho:ie he had used, on similar occasions, in his
own country; the arguments of intolerant
seal and despotic power. He therefore drr*w
his f;word ; aud, laying hold of the earl's son,
Hundius, whom his ^lier had carried on
board with him, declared, in the most detcr-
miAcd manner, that he would instantW plunge
it into the youth's bosom, if his father hesi-
tated any lonser ; and at the s^me time add-
ed, that his ate should only be tlie forerun-
ner of wh&t all those should suHer, who re-
fused to adopt the principles of this religion
which he himself professed. Convinced that
an absolute refusal, or even any longer hesi-
tation or delay, would have been the certain
mean? of invohnng himself, his family and
cotintry, in one common ruin, Sigurd yielded
to the imperious dictates of Oiaus, whom he
now ackiKywledged as liis sovcreii^n ; publicly
profes»:d his christian f*i;th, and received bap-
tism; and the people foltowod the example
of th;4?ir cari, with o»ie accord. The kinc^, ex-
ulting in die success of his pioiis entt'rprize,
now peluruod home, carrying Hundius alon^
with hiiY) as an hosta^ ; and on his dcpai*-
ture left Horae ieanied men to instruct the in-
KcMartto in the nature of thiU religion whidi
be h^d Ihus plaiited with tiie point of tbe
8W»rd. lii8Kltu6 foon after died, while he
SIS yet lan inwtaf«5' ; and the earl, considering
i8*evieittasdifi8i[jlvin«;-ciilirely his connexion
Vfth ti^ monarch, contcacted an alliance in
another quarter, b^ marrying, as his ^tx-ood
iMfe, a daughter of Mfabolm, king of Scot-
land."
Here there appears a chasm, which we
tinnk the Dir. might haye tilled up from
unquestionable authorities j and the ac-
count of tbe aDuexation of the Orkneys to
the crown of Scotland under Xeiielm, wb6
daove^Hmbetsjof i;heJ'icteof titt?Mmn*>
l«id to take shelter ia tbe icles, and them
pursued them, would have been mteiest-
iug information, l^is^ would prooedj
have l«d to the introduction of t^ei Scan*
dinaviaa dynasty ; and illustrated the on-
just irruption, and coi^^equent seizure^ by
Harold IlaKfager. Tbe Picts and Scots
had long, as neighbours, been in league ^
and intermarriages had frequently okea
place between various branches of the two
regal families^ But what is inieixdedto
strengthen the bond of union amoi^ na-
tions, is often seen to weaken it^ and the
root of alliance not unirequently produos
the germ of discord. The Scottish King
Achaius had married pargu$ia, sister to
Hungus the Pictish king. By her he had
a son, Alpiu» who on tlio death of Doruo-
log)is aud £c^gan, the two sons of Huqgas,
without i«sue, lay claim to the Pictish
crown, by virtue of liis maternal title:
and Buchanan himself allows, '' dtat both
by old law and right he laid it justly, beii^
by consanguinity the nearest heir." Tbe
Picts long re&isted the Scpttiah daim of
succession ; and they had taken the lint
claimant', Alpin, prisoner^ and cut off Ids
head. His son Ivennetlx pursued his 6-
ther's track : but lie met witii nomamqs
obstacles in his way^ and many bloady
contests took place between huu aud the
Picts : nor was it till after a ten years mi-
litary struggle, that he could get his tide
established, and obtain possession of tk
Pictish crown. However, baving pre-
vailed by force of arms> he took his seat;
and neailv at tlic same time, after die
death of Dungullus^ ascended tiie Scotlbh
throne. The obslicate resistance th^
had made, irritated t)ie victors, and aa-
meco^is were the cruelties and exaaioos
exercised towards the \^nqiushed : mm
of tiiem fled, and took refuge among Um^
allies in Orkney 3 which still opposed the
title of Kennedi. After be Jiad seized on
Fife, Ix^thian, and other Pictish territori«,
and placed garrisons for their security, be
turned his arms agaUisL the. islauids, which
hMoon subdued, aud added tliem to ks
Jber dominions, A. D. 840. After lie
Scots had obtained ihe prevaleocy, it
would be natural for them to cast con-
tempt upon a nation that had so Jong been
their rival in inartial prowess 3 and the/
would readily countenaooe eveiy thing
tcndh^ to diminish the glory of the coa-
quered Picts. But, noi» itlwtaudiiig what
is founcl in the Scottish wTiters, the Picu
were certainly an ancient and brave
people; and from* the few mooupaents
jfwoaiaing, they ^ppcaTj ^rft/er thqr 90^
JIAMVb tUBTfOMY Ot THK OKXKST .ZBLANlMc
Ml
%efliof^ to liiire beeaas pioos ^ndpnnt-
toal in their religious observatiG«s as their
accusing neigHbours. The period at which
the Dr. commences the history, is from
the arrival of the Scandiuavians under Ha-
roid ike Juir-haired BJd } and .this was
probahiy the first time the race of. Odin
had ever<any fooling, in the isles. On his
landiDghe fottlnd tvio digtmct people, under
the names of Peii and Fapa : respecting
the first, our author finds no difficulty, as
the Scandinavians call the Picts Ptti ; but
is at a loss for the latter denomination.
Nor does the idea of Finkerton, that tliey
were /mA/rrifi^, appear more satisfactory
to him than to tis. The islanders had
been long, we have seen, converted to
Christianity ; and previous to the period
of which, we speak, the church of Rome
had made large strides towards absolute
dominion. She iqsisted that the new ca-
lendar, lonsore, and observance of Easter,
«hoiikl be adopted by all the western
dtorches. Many, however, objected, and
lesittedtfae bolb, and a consequent divi-
*fion took place between those whocom-
I pBed, and those who refused compliance,
lliese would be distinguished by appro-
priate names ; Peti or Picts would allude
to the old sort ; and Pap^ or Papists to
the new : like pretbyteriam and seceders. in
the madam kirk. After many hard and
desperate stmggles, 4hn}agh die bliad po-
licy of Donald Bain, it became, in the
' reign of Olaus, " tributary to Norway.
Thus a country naturally calculated to de-
fend the north of Scotland, and add greatly
to Its maritime strength, was ceded to a
northern neighbour j which afterwards
enabled him to become a formidable, and
often successful rival. Boethius makes
this cession to have taken place A. D.
1098 : if so, the contest must have been
sharp and long; and proves that the
islanders did not tamely resign their rights
to a foreigner.
This part of the history is merely, the
Dr. confesses, abridged from Toifirus, with
occasional remarks from some few other
writers: and as-Torfaeus had the me^us
of ihfbnnation, his account, allowing for
the bias towards the court in which he
was historiographer, Dermiark, may be re-
lied oft as tolerably authentic.
The next sra treats of the transactions
in the islands ' fh>m that time till they be-
came subject to the crown of Scotland.
Here it is obvious," if- the Dr. i>e not pre-
jodioed, be has been grossly misled -, when
hfi observes, " thopgh. Rodolphiis is cer-
tainly mentioned as a bishop of Orkney in
ihe neign of David; yet the title was then
ostentatious only ; and William was the
iirst bishop of 'the see.*' This assertion
however appears jto be without the small-
est shadow of authority. For if, as he ob-
serves, bishq)s.had been appointed by the
archbishop of York, it is presumed that
they still existed in that character. That
they* did not reside does not annul their
authority ; and various drcumstances
arising out of the times might often occa-
sion non*residence. Nfi^r, if there existed
bishops on the Mainland in the reign of
Alacalpine, is it not as reasonable to con-
clude, that Orkney, then a distinct go-
vernment, had, if not bishops, at least orie
diocesan, subject, doubtless, to the arcli-
bishopric tli^n removed to St, Andrews >
Indeed we think the Dr. sliould have paid
a more pointed attention to the ecclesias-
tical affairs of the islands, so intimately
connected with the real state of a counts}',
and the character xof a peq>le. Tlie wri-
ters of the Scottish a£^s in the time of
Alexander, give us a different account.
They state, Siat not only the Isle of Man,
and the Hebridee, but also tlie Orkneys
were, on the death of Haco, ceded by his
son.-Magnus to the crown of Scotland,/ in
a treaty between the two monarchs, lOjCia ;
for which cession Scotland was to pay
Norway and Denmark J 000 marks -tter-
Kng, and 100 marks annually, in compen-
sation for the advantages Ihey had re-
ceived. Subsequent failure of the annual
stipulation occasioned the future context-
tions, which often subsisted between the
northern courts: till the Danes finally and
formally relinquished all claim and pre-
tension to tlie sovereignty of Orimey.
From this period Torfseus appears to have
possessed but. few documents, respecting
the future transactions in the isles: owing
probably to tlie. public records, being now
diverted to another channel* and finding a
place in the archives, of Scotland, luie
aathor therefore, gives us merely a brief
t^onicle of tiie failure of the -maic line of
the ancient earls of Orknejr, in the person
of Magnus V.
We have before stated the very imper-
fect account of ecclesiastical sifiairs, at
which the reverend author only occaaipn-
ally glances. We regret this the more,
because he, &om education^ habits of life^
and station, must have been eminently
qualified to give such account ;.. and. fix)m
his candour in other investigations, >we
might have Qxpected a considerable degree
of impartiality. However confused the
state of the times may have be«x.preYioiM
382
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUmES,
forms, srre to be coosidCTed as iatended to
serve the double purpose of temples and
coorts of justice, or plao;^ for assembling
large bodies of people for various ends; aiid
tliey are plainly to be ascribed to those oa*
tions that were of Gothic origin, lliou^
their form is- similar, they are veij- diiTercat
in their dimensions, according to the purpose
for which thej' were designed. In the largest
class we may certainly rauk Stonehenge in
England, which is unq;uestionablY the mo^
suberb and maniiiiceut object of the luod ;
and which, if it be not the burial-place of the
celebrated Saxon, as the name seems to im-
port, might have been the place for the mect-
mg of their national assembly, as tiiey met
in the open air.|| To the saniccks* may be
reiierred that noWe cirde of Claaeemis in the
Lewes,^ which may have been 5fc court-houaei
in which alTairs ot' importance might have
been transacted, relative to the interest of the
community. xHieir kings and chiefs woe
also sometimes elected in these large cirries;
while the lesser ones were used as tempk^ ii
the inferior gods, and not unfreqiiently as fa-
mily burning-places, f It might have btrn
jiaturally Expected, tliaf some such object*
wo^rid havu existed here, as the countr) had
been so kjng occupied by the same ixx>|»ie
wlu> iiad erected and used them in otber
places. And accordingly' in many places are
seen small circles, but without stones around
them now, whatever might have been for*
merly; and the islands possess also their
Classemis, and even tlicir StorK'henge, which,
though often \'isited, and someiunes d^cribcd,
is still but little known."
Aniong these monuments, tliat called
the stones of S^e7t7U5 claims tlie princi-
pal attention. It coosists of a semicircle
nearly 100 feet in diameter* «irround-
ed by a mpund of earth ; with sh^le stones
standing erect in the interior, and is situ-
ated on the eastern side of the loch Stec-
nis. On the w'eistern side is a complete
circle 300 feet in diameter, surrounded bj
a ditch twenty. feet broad, anjc^ twelve
deep J and on the inside, by a rtmge of
standing stones twelve and fourteen fi^
high, and four broad. . llieso are accom-
panied by four barrows of considerable
magnitude, and other erect stones on the
margin of the lake. ^' Of the flat stone
lying in the centie of the siemicircle, there
can be no doubt as to its use ;" and ths
Dr. thinks, " the round hole discoverable
iQ one, whose edges are worn, as with
rope, was "for the purpose of binding the
victim, usually, we suppose^ hnmolated
on this very altar.''
This is certainly a very curious monu-
* Tacitus t So Mr. Thorkelin told Mr'. Pinkcrton. J Islands Landnania BoL
K TacUus. § Martiii, Western lt>ies. H AVormius, Obus Magnus, a&4 Dalberg Succia ant.
ctl^ ^ . *
to 1500, subsequent to that time, till the
onion of tlie two kingdoms ift the reign of
Anne, three aeras were formed by events
in m'hich Oikney must have materially
shared : — the Reformation, — ^the r^-estafen
lishment of episcopacy, — and the means
which led to establish the kirk j and to
make the episcopal, a dissenting, chiirch
ID Scotland. Information on this subject,
connected with the isles, would have been
gratifv'hig.
In Book II. Chap. V. Dr. Barry treats
€>f some monuments of antiqmty. *' Over
the islands," lie says, " are dispersed many
single stones, rude as out of the quarry -,
in two places triads, and in one instance
with one of the stones tlwown down."
These he allows to be the most ancient
of this countiy ; but he attributes them to
a Scandinavian origin.
The circular and semicirCtdar monu-
ments, many of which are still to be seen,
he supposes of mrtch later date: and con-
trary to the generally received opinion,
terms them Gafhic striidtures: on tliis sub-
ject, he says :
"They have indeed been considered as
drutdical temples^, according to a fashion -
which, for halt a' century past, has prevailed,
to iucribe ahnost every monument of anti-
guity to tliat extraordinary order of man.
but had these iK-en the autliors of such nio-
Buraents,. history would not liavc been silent
4)n the subject; which constantly meri tions
their having no temples whatever, and wor-
siiipplng the deity in groves only. Besides,
had they been places of worship necoliar to
ttiat celebratetl people, the)^ wouUl naturally
have shared the same fate with themselves,
and been razed to the foundation, as soon as
the ptiests that had ofticiated in them were
destroyed. That this had not been the case,
is evident; for, in the south, as well as in the
north, tliey remain still entire; and liad they
tlien existed, and had any connexion with that
pet^ple, Tacitus, wlien he mentions the de-
struction pf their groves, would not have fail-
ed to have taken some notice of them also.*
The very date of some of them in Scandina-
via is moreover well known ;t and the use of
them pouitixl out by the writers of that coun-
try, who mform us, that tlicy are denomi>
Bated, in popular language, tings, or courts;
and tliat tJiey are places appropriated for the
administrdtion of justice, and the oblation of
sacrifices. ' A judicial circle stands there,
where men were doomed to sacrifice.' —
• I'here Thorder Galler erected a court for
one quarter, by the consent of all the men of
that quarteri't These circles and S'jinicircles,
tlicrdbre, or .the utones erected mto these
BAR£Y*S BISTOKT OF TBB OKKNEY ISLANDS.
383
Bseot, sDd from its .form evidently coeval
with similar ones found in England and
Wales? as Stonehenge in Wiltshire; Rol-
rich ID Oxfordshire 5 Bvardi Arthur in
Caermartfaenshire, &c. &C.5 if not with
the stupendous and venerable temple at
Avcbitfy in Wiltshire. But when our au-
thor asserts that these, which liave bten
supposed Dnadical, must belong to tlie
same people from whom all things else re-
specting this country are derived, i. e. the
Scandinavians, we think he completely
begs the -question. For he allows, " that
till centuries after the Christian aera, little
of a certainty is, known of tlie Orkneys."
Had we known more, perhaps we might
have found, that these Celtic priests, Jthe
Dnddi, Lad footing in these, at weli a;t ail
odurpojts qf the British isles. There is
notiiin^r contrary to such i suppositioii 3
aud it is rendered liiglily probable by tlie
existence of similar monuments in those
parts, where thvy have been acknowledged
as residiiu^. We can have no objection to .
join the Dr. in supposing them Taiags, or
CoHTls (if Judicature, though not exclu-
«vely so : for we find in the early history
of almost every people, that the sacrificial,
legislative, and judicial characters, were,
often vested in the same persons. Long
Were the two last united, nor was it till
veiy lately, that the government of this
free country arrived at ^ that rational sys-
tem, where the enacting and executing
jwwers were separated. Nothing can be
justly inferred from the observ'atien that
the d^-uids worshipped in groves ', for
these temples might have stood in exten-
sive groves, before the country was de-.
prived of wood : or, what is more pro- .
bable is, that, terrified by the sword of the
invaders, the peaceable ministeis of reli-
gion retired into the fastnesses of the fo-
rests; both for the security of their per-
sons, »bieh were threatened, and for the
purpose of quietly performmg their devo-
tions, and delivering their instructions.
" But if they had been Druidical," Dr.
Barry observes, •' history would not have
been silent.*' Has it then been silent, be-
cause th^ were Scandinavian ? Not only
. on this, but on many other important
points lelative to early manners and cus-
toms, we have found history silent, or very
imperfect in its details. Even the Dr.
finds it will not furnish him with one
single document to prove that they were
. mi the works or temples of the Druids.
. Udd any thing of this kind been adduced
which might have emitted one ray of
i^ht on this obscure subject^ we should
have felt highly gratified. The matter
is still lis sub judice : and though, alter
reading both sides of tlie question, and
examining many of the monuments in di<>-
pute ourselves, we are of opinion, tliat
analogical circmnstanccs are in favour of
the British origin : yet we liold ourselves
still open to conviction : and solicit the
lovers of truth not to be weaiy of investi-
gating this early and interestihg part of our
history. That the temples must have shared
the fate of the priests who administered in
them, is absurd ; because it is contrary to
facts recorded in history on similar occa-
sions: and because, if the objection be
allowed, it will equally apply against their
Scandinavian, as well as druidical origin :
our author admits they were religious
temples, for '* sacrifices were o^ered op
in them J " and we suppose by priests,
whatever tlieir origin or denomination-
Various tumuli or barrows are found In
many of tlie Islands, in which, when open-
ed, have been discovered bones, urns, stooit
coffins, &c« These are of a mixed na-
ture, and probably belonging to more than
one people ; this being a mode of borial
in early times, whether of jersons slain in
battle or not. Stone coffins were not pe-
culiar to the Britons ; nor urn btirial to
the Gre^s and Romans.
The Pight or PictJiQuses, as they are
termed, are more curious still, as they shew
that the persons, to whom they must be
attributed, were probably the original in-
habitants, who were a race unlqiowjti to
the people of tiie north. These zre nu^
merous, and are found on the holmes iii
tlie midst of loclis, with a stony ford or
causeway attached, as a passage to them ;
on the points of very high lands 5 or on
strands on the sea-shore, more especially
near places adapted for landing with faci-*
lity. Their situation points out their in-
tention : they w«re evidently the bar-
racks or habitations of. those apj^iointed
for the defence of the isles ajgainst inva-
sion, or the depredatory waifare of their
roving jieighbours ; and what confirms
this is, that they stretch in a regular chain
from one headland to another, in a fuU
view of tlie adjacent harbours, and distant
ocean. Though many of them have been
demolished, yet sufficient still remain to
shew the nature of their structure, and
demonstrate their use. As these ancient
jremains have been so little understood,
and are Angularly different from those ob-
jects which have principally easaged tho
attention of antiquaries^ we sn^ give
Pr. Barry's description of a J^ge oqe (ftir
^
briiis;h topography and antiauities.
they vary in sise) lately discovered at
Auanteme8&.
" As works of Uiat nature have ne\''er been
dearly understood, though they liave excited
nmch curiosity in men who take pleasure in
Ktudyingc the progress of the human mind,
by looking back to early ages, the utniost at-
tttntion^has been given- to examine that Picts-
iiouse with care, to measure its dimensions ac-
curately, askd to delineate ^he form of all ils
,parts with pr<xi ion. Situated on a gentle
Jleclivity, uuder the brow pf the hill ofWide-
iford, it looks toward the north Isles ; has a
full view of the bay of Frith, and the pleasant
little island of Danscv, from which it is not
far distant, and lies fittle more than a mile
•w«st from tbe road or harbour of Kirkwall.
like tlie rest it bears externally the ^rm of
a truncated cone, the height of which is about
, louileen feet, and the circuiuference at the
base three hundred and eighty.-four ; but whe-
ther, like tliem also, it be surrounded by one
■ of two circular walls, the quantity of rubbish
prevented us from discovering, thougli, that
it is so, is very probable. Ift one respect it
differs, from most of them, as it stands alone,
and at a distance from the shore ; whereas -in
1 general, they are situated on the shores of tlie
, sea, and sev'eral of them at no. great distance
from, and in fiiU view of. one. another, as if
they were ^othe way or otlier connected, or
ima been int^^aded £pr mutual coinmunica-
tion.
*' I^ternally it consists of several cells or
apartments, tlie princijjal one of which is in
the centre, twenty-one feet six inches long,
six feet six indies' broad, and eleven feet six
inches high, built, without any cement, with
iairgejilat ^ones, the one i^nraediately above
projected over that below, so as gradually to
contract the 3pace witl^n as the biiilding
rises, till the opposite walls meet at the top,
where they are bound together "by ferge stones
laid acTQss, to .serve as it, were for key-stones.
Six other apartments uf an exactly sunilar
.form, constructed with the same sort of ma-
terials, and united in the same manner, but
:,of little inbre*than half the dimensions, com-
(jnuniqate. with this in. the .centre, each by a
passage, about two feet square, on a level
..with the floor ; and the whole may be consi-
dered as connected together by a passage of
nearly the samq extent from without, which
leads into this chief apartment. So &r as can
7 now be discovered^ there does not x^^pear ever
• to have been, in any part of tlie building,
•^either chink or hole for, the adii^ssipn of, air
,^or. tight ;.ai)dtthisvcircMinstance alone is suf-
rli^igut to ^ew tjiat it had not been destined
[ffiir jiie. abode of pien. .Tie contents were
■r^PP9f diugly spch as might have been naturally
.^ expected in $uch a gloomy maniiion. None
• 'oi those things whlcii have been disco vered
,111 siimlar places, were found here *,. hut the.
•'eartl^at.-tbe bott^-of.the cells,, as deep as it
' 9^ul«M3« dHff , Tiasof a ^rk colour, of ^ gi easy
^^clwftK^^Ca i^tid.^ur,^p!4^it^ .
mmgled with bones, some of which were al-
most entirely .consumed ; and othen habd, in
defiance of iame, remained so entire, as to
.shew that they wete the bones oi men, of
birds, and of some domestic animab. 1^
tliough many of them had nearly mouldofd
into (lust, they exhibited no mails of having
been burnt ; nor \\ ere ashes of any kind 'to
be seen within any part of the buikiiiig. In
one of the apartments, an entire buman ske-
leton, in a prone attitude, was i)mid; but lo
the others, the bones were not oi^y separated ;
from one another, )>ut divkkd into raj '
snxall fragments."
A ground-plan accompanies the descr^
tion, with admeasurements of the seven
^ipartments.
In the natural history of the Orkneys,
Dr. Barry observes,— i-*' There would ^ht
no great difBculty in .giving a fiill and
complete statement of the various produc-
tions \h^t are to be ibund in the animsal,
v^etable, and mineral kingdom." TTie
public n^y lament that the ^Dt,, as )m
found the task so easy, has not performed
it : for there cannot he a qgiestioii, that
next to tlie history of ^man, a descripcion
of the surface of the planet be inhab^,
and its multifarious productions, must be
cpiisidered of importance : and if the i>
count would not have amused the qidi-
nary reader, it would have augmented tfa»
stock of natural knowledge. Fpr we are
not, and probably otliers will not be, ooo^
vinced, tiiat " if persons well skilled ift
the.knowledge of natural history v?ere to
examine these islands, t|iey would have
soon to conclude, that little new was to
be expected from this coi^ntry.'* Tins
may he an apology for his declining to in-
vestigate such subjects, because thejma^
a{^)ear to him uninteresting; but we miBt
object to this illegitimate mode of closii]^
the book of science, this mode of damp-
ing the.ar.dour of the more scientific and
indefatigable traveller.
Dr. Barry s mine^^logy of tbe blaods
is.an abridgment of Jameson's account of
the mineralo^ of the Siietland and Ork-
ney Islands.
Next follows a list of Indigenous plants,
with their English ;iames : but without
even classical arrangement. Tbe index is
confused indj^,. and seems furnished bf
some .other ha^cij as the trivial nazpes
differ. .The JBnglisii nappes.. which bdor^
to partictilar species, are fre(][uently placed
opposite the genera. .Tils must tecKito
mislead persons not^yrell skilled in botany.
Thus Deyil's-bit is put opposite to. Scabi*
osa, thoi3gh it b^ongs /exclusivoiy to 'S«-
j^uccvsa i PrloBu^pse to Priqu^, tb^^ it
BABBT*S HI8T0BT OF THB OBKNBT ISLANDS.
3d5
applies oiii;^ to P. Vtma, 8cc. Beta ma«
ritima is boe called vulgaris, though grow-
ing oo cbe sea-sbofe. In the list of plants
wehnd none but what are described in
the Flora Scotlca of Lightfoot^ unless
Fluitago unlilora, and Gallium montanum,
Buy be considered exceptions. The Ha-r
bitats are general, except a few particu*
brized in the island #f H07. They how*
Bver appear in some instances, different
&oai those generally known to botanists,
nz. the Habitat of Alcheniilla vulgaris is
pvcn — " Banks of Rivulets ;*' Sagina pro-
nimbeos, " Houses and Walls 5" Hedera
HeUx, " Banks of Rivulets ;" Spergula
inrensis, '< Marshy 5" and Thaljctrum
mions, " Sandy Places/* If . these are
bom actual observation, they are valuable
bionnation ; if not, ihey are without au-
ibority. Tbe Doctor professes " to leave
nch discoveries to those who liave more
tiine and leisure for such researches."
I Our author's zoological remarks com-
BKDce with the finny tribes^ and, as might
be expected from the situation of the isles
in the northern ocean, the grand store-
mxse offish, it is a prolific list. But we
w not notice one in the enumeration^
rt'dj has not been described by the la-
fcorious Pennant in his British Zoology.
Jn the references to names,^ the Doctor
ipmetimes quotes the British Pliny, and at
Other times resorts to the system of Lin-
asos: a motley mode of elucidation we
canoot account for*
From the surface as well as the situa«
■fion of the country, abounding with
marshy lands, lochs, &c. and accompanied
1^ desolate holmes and skerries, mari-
time, emigr^ng, and rapacious birds, are
rcry numerous. But .in this list we find
not a single non-descript : all are equally
^ell described in Pennant : a few haants
}«culiar to Orkney are all that is new on
this subject.
Theii>lands abound with rabbits, though
destitute of hares : and the Doctor supposes
^^ might have been deer formerly, be-
cause the boms of that animal have been
dug up in peat grounds. They are luimo-
*sted by the ravenous wolf, and subtle
lox: aool except the poor calumniated
<oad, no venomous animal finds an asyhun
» the Orkneys.
^^JiH»g domestic animals the hog claims
we first place. He is represented as very
afferent from tlie ordinary race of pigs j
•odthou^ agly in appearance, and in-
jwioui in his habits, yet he fully compea-
"*e» for these imperfections, by the fla-
vour of his flesh, and the utility of his
A«».Rbv.Vox,.IV.
hide. His bristles are Hiade into ropes,
which are applied to different purposes.
The sheep of tlie Orkneys are similar to
those of the Shetland isles; and though
they are suffered to mn wild, subject to
the haemj^erancc of a cold climate, yet
their wool is tolerably fine ; but the flesh
is indifferent. They are prolific, bring-
ing forth two, and sometimes three, lambs
at a time : and they prove the fallacy of tlie
theoretical and unfounded assertion of
Buffon, that tliis animal cannot live with-
out the fostering care, or even the protec-
tion, of man. — No more attention is paid to
tlie young than to the full-grown animals :
for while many of them are 'suffered to be-
come the prey of birds in the distant
holmes, those nearer home are not made
the most of. They ndver wash th^ sheep
previous to shearing, but take die wool
from the animal by rowing j which Dr.
Barry considers as a cruel custom 5 and it
is still practised in Orkney as well as in
Iceland. Dr. Anderson, however, con-
siders *' this as a most rational method
for thij breed of sheep ; which, he says,
is the most uncontaminated race of wool-
bearing sheep he lias yet met with : the
wool rising so entirely from the skin about
the beginning of June, as to render the
shearing of the^ sheep imnccessar)'. For
it may be plucked oft' at that time with- *
out occasioning the animal the smallest
uneasiness : us it will fall off' of itself, if
not taken away ; ^tbe young wool spring-
ing up beneath it like a newly shorn fleece." '
Bath Soc. Papers, vol. viii. Though the
wool is fitue, the fleece is very light, even
when compared with the diminutive size
of the animal; seldom reaching, and never
exceeding, one pound and ahalf per fleece j
and when washed, little more than one
pound. Most of it is manufactured in
the islands into coarse cloths, stockings,
&c. principally for domestic Uses, with
some little for exportation.
The oxen are small, tliough use^l foi
labour -, and their cows, though poor, ar«
yreW milched. When fatted, an ox sel-
dom exceeds 6olb., and a cow seldono.
reaches 45 lb. per quarter.
Horses were formerly all purchased
from Scotland, and the injurious practice
still in part continues : whereby quaotlties
of ready money are drained ttom the
islands, so requisite for necessary improve-
ments j while they have so much cheap
land which cannot at present pay so weU
as by de^iasturing breeding-catUe.
If the accounts of levies for armies b^
a just criterion of the numbers of a people
9o9
BUnOI T0F06BAPHY AMD ANTiaUJXIES.
in any country, the pc^lation of Orkney
in ancient times must liave far exceeded
the present. If thtsjr conkl furnish 10,00p
fighrtng men, the present number of in-
faiibitauts, 24,000 fiora actual survey, is a
diniinislied populatit>n indeed. However*
from |)resent appearances in tlie islands,
and a retrospect of former enumerations!
tliere is reason to suppose the accounts
have not been sreatlyexaggerated. Though
Dr. Barry thinks the population has been
for centuries stationary, y^ he invalidates
imtT)ediately his o^ti position, by obsen^-
ing that emigration has for many years
been increasing, and is at this period veiy
great ; not less than from 400 to 500 of
the youth annually quitting the country.
*• If this were notj the case, the popula-
iion, instead of being stationary or retro*
gr^de, might ihcrejbe to 40 or 50,000 in
the course of a few generations.'' Why,
wc may ask the Doctor, this might not have
been the case at the time wh^n the inha-
|>itants lived under tlie^ fostering care of a
Irjce of earls, who, being resident among
tliem, were destfoos of tlieir weHxue ;
under an equitable constitution^ at home,
by which they enjoyed a lucrative com-
merce, and protected by the most potent
monarchy then existing in tlie nortli > Nay,
Dr. Barry's oracle, Torfaeus, informs us,
that tiiey not only had the advantage of a
free commerce with most nations; but
that they were enabled to build se^'erol
Jarge ships, and to pursue an extensive
trade for themselves.! Our author cLisses
the present inhabitants in three divisions :
gendemcn; tradesmen and shop-keepers j
and cultivators of tlic soil, with their at-
tendant cottars or cottagers. The first,
he thinks, do not pay su$cient attention
either to cherish a spirit of industry in tlie
lower and mtddliug classes, or to set a
profitable example." llie ladies of the
Orkneys, ho^'ever, receive a high, and,
we floubt not, a just encomium for their
dompfitio virtues and exemplary piety. Of
the secondK^la^s, he observes, they are ofi
ten acctised of exorbitancy in their de-
mands, and dishonesty in their dealings J
yet to an impartial observer they will b^
Ibund iii the general as respectable a»^most
in the same line of Hfe.. The cultivators
of the soil, vcho make about eigiit-tenths
of the people, are represehtcd as very poor,
6nd possessed of but littb. stock, and f eweiT
^eans of increasing it. If idlenps3 should
be prevalent, and agi:ipultare at a very
low ebb, it must cease to be matter of
surprize ; for it is the . possessij(^ as well
«s the-hope of wealth that ii a stimulus l6
labour, and' die great encoordgeiiKiit f|
industry. While the greater part of til
money is drawn away ifrom the iskmds hf
the g^t propnetors, or spent in uideb*
luxury by those resident, much amdiou^.
lion, either of tlie soil or the coiKfitioQcIt
the people, caniH)t be expected. Ib eoa^
naerating the obstacles to impro\'eBia%
the Doctor adverts to the toudal Me«|
which, though it perhaps never |M«vaii|
here to its fail extent, yet a remaindertf i
it is still visible in rents being paid lij
kind, and labour obtained as sn^M
and the ancient and long - sanctiM'
usage of stiet-bow, tliat is, a qiianti^
stock delivered by the landlord for ^^
of the occupier of the fatm On lu$co#,
Ing on it, which, on qiiitting, he is boQgl'
to restore, seems to conlimi die sariliL
And if feudal tenures were only bwif;
aAer the lleformatiou, either hiit orM'
Scotland, wiiat is the meaning of dKcS
tract of a charter of Robert I. quoted
Nisbet, in which Adam Adarason and
four sons are declared free ? Nay, ta
very hour. Dr. Batry as.sures us, the
santry are the slaves of their mssterisi
not by feudal, yet by prescriptive
Tlie tenures predous to this
were udal, and the proprietors were
udallers, which the author derhes ink
two Gothic words, signifying anci«ot n||
pcrty. Hut may it not rather come fni
the British words udd lard or master al
all, meaning the whole, i. e. con^ikl^
proprietors ? Buchaban mentions thoiif
the Proceres Orcadium, the Nobles if
Orkney. Uhe progress of feudal tenran^
if it commenced at the Refonnatioo, nusl
have been rapid ; for udal or aHodsl
estates are almost obliterated, nearly tb
whole of tlicm being now in ^ or feu.*
I'he farms of Orkmy are small; sel-
dom exceeding for^y acres, and often ka
tluin ten, with a [wrlion of waste grouwl
for pasture, 'i'heir instruments of w^
culture are extremely aukwartl, 4or
mode of ploughing bad, and their Defect
of manures notorious.
The custom of berrying, tliatis, jieri^
off the sward from tlie grass lands to tnix
with sea- weed fol* mahure, id^«%ari*i
tnjurimis custom : tpr, after ail the \sM
and expence of .the husbandman, tiie da-
mage to tlie grazing part of the ftnn is
more than ei^mifalent to the advanflp de^
rived to tiie iirabie lands.
A morfe rational, husbandry has, bffw^
ever, been pprtially introduce ; sewnl
new siirts ^ ijci*d have b^en ttied ; «d
turnips hav/g wcceeded beyond expert*^
feA^M^tf mit-oHT ov vm otKfrtr ntiirbs .
W
ttoo* A etPiaas fiki, \a here alto stated^
" tint neither the black fly, nor any other
destriKtive insect, nor the aubery, is
laoirD, nor do they seetrn liable to any
^ther disiemper." Flax is but partially
knldraced; and hemp has hitherto been
iHally neglected. Though we remark
iliny defecto ih the agriculture of the
pkid, yet we felt iiappy in being in]forni-
ilf '* that die anno^ produce is more
pn ttkqtiate to the consumption ; and
iongfa, fom failure of crops^ grain has in
mat jears be^ imported^ yet on the
bn^ of yean the knportation has never
MD equal to the exportation: and if
pi lands were properly cultivated, it
UtoM be adequate to fourfold its present
banlttioQ/'
p If its agriculture be at a low cbb^ its
fcimfii riire and commerce are still more
p: for except linen-yarn^ the dax for
liftidi is principally imported, and the
iing of sea-weed for kelp, there is
i deserving the appellation. A pleas-
^ description of the latter manufacture
ghvn by Dr. BtLrry, p. 3/ 1. ITieir ex«
and imports, tliough few^ have been
theae last thirty years.
Qnr author closes his account with the
which, in common with other
I, he describes as most miserably. ne*
llus must be the more regret*
iciuse the encouragement of tli^m
not only call forth the latent ener*
Mss, and produce considerable wealth*
■Bt become an admirable nursery for the
idvafk of Britain, her extensive com*
•nee and her formidable navy. The si-
toation of the islands is peculiarly adapted
Ar sQch an escablishment upon the most
tatensire scale : and nothii>g can so
«iQcb.OQiitribQte to tlie welfiire of a coun*
tiy as the encouragement of such branches
at'tmde as soe best adaptmi for the situa*
tion of its component parts. To this wise
|alicy was it owing, in a great measure,
tat the Dotjch, with a territory neither
■qis nor naturally rich, raised Uiemselves
to a degree of coDsequence, which long
iWtered them an object of wonder and
9A9J to the surrounding nations. Though
•Kt of the plans Dr. Barry pointsout sa
toades of amelioration have been sug-
fated before, particularly in that iovalu* .
lUe tmrk, The Political Survey of Qre^t
Britain, yet they are urge<] with additional
fixce fay the accompanying vemarks. Nor
gp theie be a doi^, that if they were
•^■ptod, and all ranks anywise con*
■ttied^di the oooiftry were to coacnr
^ U» oNawrei^ a Verf ^eaeral and e«*
tensive improveihent tvonid icxm* take
phice : we should behold with pleasure a
more interesting order of things j agri-
culture, trade, commerce, and havigatioA»
would he rivalling each otlier ; the inhabit-
ants would become more numerous, more
industrious, and more happy ; and Orkney,"
instead of an useless province, become a
valuable portion of the British empire.
Dr; Barry*s language is generally good^
and his style, though not energetic, toler-
ably perspicuous. A few quaint expresr
sions, sudi as, ** both one aixi the other'*
Ibr boA— *• two weeks'* for a fortnight-^
" in time coming" for in future — '* ope-
rated these changes'* for effected thes»
dianges-—*' as fast as they could" for
with haste, disfigure the style ; and tho
recurrence of such w ords as tbUow de^
strcnr the purity of language : feued for
held in fee — tannery for tanyard — advices
for opinion — transference for transfier-^
contentment for content — ^pendiclis for 9
rocky isle separated from anotherby some
supposed convulsion of nature* Astricted
can never properly explain the provincial
term thirled, meaning tlie law by whick
so many farms are bound to support a
mill. Thejte arc, however, trifling ble-
mishes, which in a future edition may
easily be removed. We notice themi be-
cause the authority of such a writer might
sanction their use.
On the whole we must observe,, diat
the author in this work has brought to^
^etlier much useful information, on a subi>
ject but little known 5 and where we l?nv«
not been instructed, we have been genor
rally pleased. Notwithstanding we hav^
been under the necessity of objecting t^
several of his opinior«. and^of decidedly
refusing to acquiesce in referring everir
thing to Scandinavian origin, yet wa
think he possesses great merit ; and tha
History of^ the Orkneys may be ranked
among the many valuable acquisitions to-
pography has received within these feW*
years.
We have just beard the uftwelcomc in*
telligooce that the h«rued auihor, while
the work was making its appearance, paid
the debt of nature: and therefbre any
iurther elucidation of the hiattors^and pre^
seat state of this interesting port or tha
empire must \^ looked for to anoth^
quarter. We fbA -indebted to Dt. fiarr/
Tot vrhaX b^ has done» ardently vrislillf hf
had passetaed more time .to have ibralsha4
the vorld with fturihar Ifiimialki^i aai
'Cci
tn$
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIOUITIES.
while we regret that his must now be mi ly will be materially benefited by-te
posthumous fame, we hope that his fa- indefatigable labours.
JUt. tL-^Tkc ArchitecturalJniiquities of Great Britain, displayed in aieriet. €^ Seled^
Eugravinfrjt, rtpnsentim^ the most beautiful, curious, and interesting ancient Edijlcn of
this Cnuntrtj, n^iih aii historical and descriptive Account qf' each Subject. By J6h*
Britton-. /^aris 1, 2, and 3. 4to.
#
• UPON the subject of English architect Europe ; and is as strongly marked iir tfa»
ture, tliough much has been already writ- more ancient churches of Italyv a^*™ *^
ten, still more is left to be explained. . older parts of the Moorish palace of Al»
hambra.. After the arrival of the Nor»
mans an enlarged style was introdiiced|
the lirst instance of which had before^
peared in the abbey church of Weatmift*
ster, constructed by Edward the Confe*
But to elucidate the history of pur ancient or : in a short period it attained the beig^,
structures, more knowledge tlian- the ar- of its perfection, and ^'as suddenly r—*
The ob.ser\ation of Quintilian, however,
is not applicable here. It was his remark,
.' Felices cssent artes, si de illis soli Artifices
judicarint.'
'chitect possesses is. required, The task of
investigation demands the antiquary's aid;
and goes much farther tlian the mere
principles of mechanism on which the
ceeded by a style essentially difterent kf
every leading feature ; the earliest and
the best specimens of which, in nil its p0*
riods, are only to be seen in Engl».
buildings, however simple, were con- The arch, instead of lound, became ipe^s^
sd-ucted, ' '" ' t-i. .1 u^£. .1 «^
The history of the art begins with us
bur at a late period. Of its existence
among the aboriginal Britons we can say
but little with exactness. "With the ex-
ception of Stonehenge, and a few huts in
part built of* stone, though raised entirely
without the use of mortar, we have no
remains which evince to us either tlie effi-
cacy or extent of their mechanic powers :
and though a new and a surprising change
ensued on the arrival of tlie Romans, we
have reason to believe that few of their
best work^ were ever erected in their
provinces. Indeed, tlie specimens of Ro-
man art witli which this country was
adorned, could not have been. extremely
numerous, unless we suppose the subse-
quent inhabitants to have exterminated
every relic which might have marked
tlieir subjection at a former period : and
of this it does not appear that we have
proof. For instances occur, in various
parts of the kingdom-, where the Roman
style and manner have not only been co-
pied by the Saxons, bat their very mate-
rials adopted, £|nd worked sometimes
. into the old, aiid .sometimes into a new
form.
• Bur a systematic and progressive view
cf- Englrsli architectiu*e, formed upon
correct data, can only begin witli the more
regular eCVuctnres of the Saxons. To
spe;ik of these however, as built in a style
peculiar to the Saxons, is \\Tong : for
though* a few of their mouldings' may
have a character appropriate to tlicmselves,
tlie outline of the- style was, at that day,
' Ap9«;£^miuon arciutecture ^ the whok oi
ed like a lancet, while the shaft that sup-
ported it was slender: in some cases ti»;
column became octangular ; and in othcfl^
its massive form was gi'adually chang^!
into a cluster of small ones. Practice ai4 1
refinement appear to have given new^
beauties to tlie style we have described;,
and in the course of two centurie^ it art ;
rived at the summit of its perfection as a
science. The introduction of stained ^u$
coalesced in the production of efied,
and gave new and extended modificatimt ^
to many of \Xs parts ; till profusicKi of orr "
nament, detracting rather than adding Id
its real character, it dcH:lined : and in tbi
reign of Henry tlie eighth the Greek styfe
was introduced.
Such, and so ample, is the field ia
which Mr. Britton has engaged to exer-
cise his talents 5 and if we may judge
from the specimens he has already given,
a curious and a valuable work will beal ,
length produced; formed upon certain
data, and uninfluenced by theoretic bias.
He sets out witli no favourite system ta
support, nor does he yet pretend to pre-
sent the reader with any thing like a pro*
gressive view of our architecmral antiqui-
ties. Detached specimens are taken from
dilferent p*eriods, and the exact times both
of their original erections and subsequent
alterations are correctly ascertained. Tbt
more interesting parts, as well as the tout
ensemble of the building, are given in dis-
tinct-plates 5 and each description lef^ U]^
paged, either to suit tlie convenience of
the amateur, or to combine more easily
with the general history, which vi^ pre*
fltmti wUl heroftfoff form the j>ncraia6ii
BftlTTON S ARCHITECTURAL JlMTiaUITXBS OF GREAT BRITAIN.
»»
. The buildings already selected are as
cxediubie to tiie talents of the author as
lu die graver of the artist^ and we cannot •
ipeak in terms too strong to do justice to
Uieir mt-rits.
The lirst part opens with several views
of the priory of St. Botolph, Colchester ;
I Structure in itself .aiionaalous : since in
Uie inidht of Roman materials it exhibits
^«Dgular deviation from the general spe-
qmens both of the Roman and the Saxon
p^ks. Mr. Britton refers its erection
brevioiis to the reign of Henry tlie tirst j
Bough the priory was founded about tlie
eRar IIO:^. The selection in this instance
ms our strongest approbation^ as the sub-
^ forms a complete study of itself, not
y to the auti(}uary but the curious art-
The priory at Dunstaple, in Bedford-
kJUre, forms another specimen; and its
lithitectural history we believe has never
jkfore received so much elucidation. Its
iDost curious feature is the western front ;
ich may be considered, Mr. Britton
es, as ' one of tliose architectural
idoxes bequeatlied by our ancestors to
zle modem antiquaries. In tlie lower
of the building is a grand arch, ac-
ledged to be of the time of Henry the
, which merits attention not more for
antiquity than its enrichments. An
* ing door-way is evidently of the
leenih century -, and Mr. Britton fixes
date at 12/3. The columns, arches,
^j^edestals f{>r scatues, mouldings, and or-
fODeats composing the decorations of fhe
Ipttresses, recesses> and gallery of the
•xlerior, are of the earliest pointeil style,
« are tlic ornaments at the base of the
^belfry tower : while tlie tower itself,
with its variegated raasonr}*, and the bat-
dements on the boily of the churcli, indi-
cate the mode of building peculiar to the
wxteenth century. The tiiird specimen
exhibits the tower gate-wriy of Layer
Ifanicr Hall in Essex, and shews tlie
?tate of domestic architecture in the reign
cir Henry the eighth ;* whtni the dissolu-
tion of the monniterios occasioned an ex-
traordinary change in the features of the
tiine. The rc\il ca-iiellated ch:iracter of a
broiiial mansion was now no longer seen,
though a tew of its peculiarities were re-
tained. The gate-way, with two octago-
nal projecting towers, above seventy feet
in height is now the principal relic of
liajrer Marooy mansion. It is of red
brick with chequered compartments of
flint J and,. like the gate-way which till.
btely remained in the same county, at
Reiher Hill^ di-piayed much grandeur
and external dignity. Tlie last speciraea
in the first number is tlie church of St.
Nicholas at Abingdon, supposed to have
been built about 1300 by abbot Nicholas
de Coleham. The circular door-way,
however, at tlie west end, with zig-zag
ornaments, is supposed by Mr. Lysons, in
his Magna Britannia, to be of a much ear-
lier age.
The second part of Mr. Britton's work
is entirely devoted to King's College chapel
at Cambridge : it is illustrated with a plan,
sections, and views ; and from the nature
of its details, will be as acceptable to the
professional enquirer as to the antiquary.
*' It was ob-^erved by Dr. Henry, tliat
there is a ccrtiiin perfei tion in art to which
human genius may aspire with success, but
beyond wliich, it is the apprehension of many,
tliat improvement degenerates into fol^e taste
and 4Hiitastic reiinemcut. This axiom is
amply exemplilied in the history of ancient
archiiecture. The heavy simplicity of the
Saxon was supplanted, in the tsvelfth cen-
tur}', bv the lofty magnificence of tlie foivted
style : tut three centuries after, nnguiticence
itself was exliausted, and the chapel of Kind's
College is, perliaps, the only specimen vn
which the n^rftcUon and dtxline of what
has been aljsurdly termed the Gothic style
miiy be completely seen. In the eastern
part of the structure, we liave the most ele-
gant and pure example of the art. Here de-
coration is sufficient, without profusion ; and
the greater and smaller members are judi-
ciously proportioned to produce that archi-
tectural symmetr}' which at once pleases the
eye and satisfies the mind. Th^ weblern part
of the building, though executed in the same
style, is rather too iiuich encumbered with
ornament ; and the wood-work skreen which
separates the chapel into two parts, serves
only to show tliat the good taste which guid-
ed the original architect, a century before,
had departed in the days of Henry the eighth. ^
This displays the Italian or Melange style of
buildUig, which was prbcipally brought into
fiishion by Hans Holbein and John of I'adua.
" Henry the sixth, who all writers seem ta
have allowed would have made a better iigiire
ill a cloister . than a court, was only uine
months old at his accession to the throne. In
his natural disposition he was weak and duc-
tile, though, at the same time, more deeply
tinctured with devotion tlian was common,
even to the general complexion of the tiiucs.
The kings, his prcdinessors, who were less
pious than himself, liad \jeen liberal, even to
extravagance, in the erection and endow-
ment of religious houses ; and Henry, \%ho,
to a piety which was little encumbered wkh
state transactions, added the zeal and gener-
osity peculiar to youth, endeavoured, in the
present work, to eclipse their et!brts. His
liist design for building was upoa a smal^
^
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND AWnaUITIES.
scale, yet afterwards he extended it so largely
that Henry himself foretaw it could not pos-
sibly be iinished in his life-time. He left in-
iftructloiis^ therefore, witli a view to its com-
pletion, in his will ; and detailed a plan which
while it reflects the highest credit, at least on
the grandeur of his devotional ideas, evinces
tlut, though the architects of those times were
uuguidcd oy the cold rules of proportion,
they still worked upon acknowleagea princi-
ples: and reconciled solidity and lightness
with a better gratse than the best artists of
^hat may be tcsmied the classic xra. It is
<)&ough to say they understood eject, and
^lat iu their elforts to attain it, they never
weakened the builduigs they eiocted. '
"Henry's first foimdaiion, in 1441, was
fpr a rector ajid twelve scholars only ; but his
second was for a provost ^indseveuti/ scholars,
who, owing to the incomplelion of tlui mo-
narch's designs, N5rerf long confined to the
fpw and incoiivejiient apartments provided
for the smaller society. The pfan which
Henry had projected in the second insfaiice,
was proportionable to the number of people
forwhoiie maintenance he liad made provi-
sion: but a pai't of the chofel only, which
formed tJic north side of an intended quad-
rangle, was all that tiie troubles of his n*ign
allo\ycd him to etect. According to Henr\'*8
will, the chapel itself was to contain, in lengthy
twohundreu and eighty-eicht feet of * assize,*
without ailes ; and all of tlie width of forty
f<pet. The walls were to be ninety feet in
height, embattled, vaulted, and *chare-rofled,*
sullicientlv buttressed, and every buttress
finisiied with purfled pinnacles or little spires
with flower- work. Ihe window at thew^st
f nd was to have * niti^ doj/f,* and the win-
ilows in the sides five days : betwixt everv
l>uttress in th^ body of tlie church;^ on both
^ides, were to be * closets,* or small side cha-
pels, with altars ; they were to be in length
twenty, and in breadth ten feet, and the pave-
ment of the choir was to be a foot and a half
a^pVe the pavement of the churdu
** How hx this building yras advanced pre-
vious to Henry *s death is not satis^ctorily as-
pertained, though it is generally admitted that
the eastern end was i-aised some feet above the
ground, and a small portion of the north and
south warts were built. The rest was left for
his sutccssois, though the whole was not en-
tirely finished till after the )«ear 1530.'
The eicpences of the undertaking are
next dciaued : but as they were in part
printed by Maldea, \ve shall not extract
* ** Mo!»es|pose early in tlie morning, and buikled an altar under the hill, and tvxke
pHiftr*.'* Eato^V^^ ciuip. xxiv. v! 4. l^ee also the first \*?51iime of King's Munime nta Ani^
qua^ where th^ avthor has described, and referred to, numerous stone circles, or tenipl«.
t StonthfHget I believe, is tlic only example in Britain, where the stones have been sffnar-
ed, ^ shf^ed witUjoois i whence the Welsh antiquaries inter that it is not a purely iru-
idical st^^cture,
X Stukely wrote a dksertatipn on it, which he published in a folio volume, with numerous
plate9i in i74% ; but as this work is scarce and dear, it is only to be found in the libmet of
the curious, aiid consequently is only read by a few persons.
them here. The sttms aceoonted for he«
tween 1479 and ^515, amount to no les
than 13,624/. 4tf. 3f^. exclonve of tbe
painted ^lass and the fitting op of the in-
terior ot the chapel. The gronnd-pbn,
with the froming of the roof, forms om
of the most curious illustrations in did
plates } and the view of the interior from
the screen, does great credit to the a^
who engraved it. The appendix contaim
inch parts of die will of Henry tbev
venth, as tlirow light upon thetestoryop
the structure, with the indentures rdatiaj
to the building.
The last which we shall here notice^
and pei'haps the best, is the third pait;
in which we have an * «ssay toward tJki-
history of temples and round churches.'
" Among the most ancient (if not iwllydi|.
very first) species of circular tempkst w«»
those rude piles of stones, which arc uw^
denominated druidical.* TJie^e are aLw4
uniformly disposed in a circle, and con^Urf
one, two, or four concentric row 5 of uprigit
umvroHi^ht stones.f Several of these, of iff
rious diihensions and figures, are still renairh
ing in Wales, Cornwall, Cumberiand, Scot-
land, Ireland, and other parts of the MiA
islands ; also in Brittany, Denmark, &c te
tiie most considerable iii :ft£e, and popular ia
ci^tttnation, are those of Stonehenge, ami
^v<f6ary, in Wiltshire. The fonner las ob-
tained extraordinary celebrity ; but the tofl-
pie at the latter place, thoijgh upon a md
lUore stunendous scale, and surprising plan, »
seldom aihided to by antiquaries, and scanrdr
known e\'en to Englishmen.} Its centre cai
slsteil of a circular range of immeBW sSoms,
one hundred in number, with j^f<r other cir-
cUs within the area. The whole was enviiwi-
ed with a deep ditch, and high bai^ Di»fi^
ging from this were two avenues^ or double
rows of upright stones, which cxienW »
mile each way from the centre, and at the ex-
tremity of one of these avenues, were t«^
oval ranges of jupright stones."
After this Mr. Britten briefly notices i
few of the temples in other countrio,
which were built upon the circular plan i
and particular-ly points out to notice those
which were erected by the Romans, lie
most popular of these, he observes, wa
the Pantheon, commonly supposed to baft
BRITTX)R*8 AmCHITSCTVirAJi AMTIAIJITIBS OT dMAT mpAIK.
?«*;
that this sacrecl structure was built bv He-,
lend, the motJitT of Constantine the Ureat ;!
but, uiifortuiiatcly, none of these writers have ,
ideutiiicd tlie part then built, or dL'sccibed its
size, character, or style of architecturc. Be-
sides, we ai-e informed tliaf Charloipapie^
(A. D. 813.) rebuilt this veiieraled evince.
< yhe east end,' observes Ntr. Essex, ^I
take to be of his buildiug, contaiiiiog the se-
micircular tribune: but the intermediate part«
between it and the sepulchre, is more njo-
dem, and might be rebuilt when the church
was restored, in the year 1049, after it was
defaced by the Saracens towards the end of
the tenth century/f^ Bede, speaking of (hi3
structure, describes it as a targe rajma church,
with three waiU and t^'eive pillars ; but tlie
precise disposition of these Aialts and piUan \s
not specified.:!: ''llic round part of the pre-
sent buildiiW materially dill'evs from this de*
srription. It coiisi:>ts of a semicircular wall,
which altadies to i large mass of buildhigs
on the east, and a little withm the wall is a
circular cokninade, oonsisttng of sixteeacor«.
luroas and piers, with an i^en space for four
otiiers, towards the east.§ The circular part
of the buildii3i|p is 6f RomaU archiieciurey
and its roof, winch is mostly oi cedar, gi^du^
ally diminishes from its Ijase upwards, k^
terminates with a rouiul aperture. • Tnis
skipe is ratlier singular, as it differs from the
usual form and construction of domes, or cu-
polas. The ot her pai-ts of the building con^ist
of several chapels, oratories, passages, towers,
&c. and on the soiitli sid^ is displayed several
examples of pointed arched doors and ^in*
dows, with corresponding clustered columns,
Sandys,. Le ikuyn, and ^lauadrell, who have
all visited tliis place, are so extremely vague
aud unsiitisfactory in their respecUve ac-
counts, (I carmot apply tlie term of hiffon/^
or dcscripHoHt) that they prove more tanta-
lizing tJian gratifyhig to our curiosity.
" This sacr(?d structure was revered, by
the holy knights, above all earthly objects;
tiieir enthuMasm had endowed its every stone
with marvellous qualities ; aiid they foolitilily
fencied it a seiure passport to heaven, if they
lost their lives in defence of the building. M
it was their province to protect Christian pily
grims against the Saracens, and as they were
originally instituted and stationed at tlie churdi
of the Holy Sepulchre, it seems extreniely
probable that they would imitate thtil stViu-
tiire, when they were aftenvards tii»?tributrtl
in companies over Kurope, and when they
had occasion to erect a new church. Thfs
appears actually to have been the case with
those that settled ui £ugland ; for we have
iM afectedbj^ M. Agrippa; though P^*
|Co is of opinipn, thnt the body, or cir-
ilv part, was buik io the time oC the re-
pUiCy and ch« portico only added by
kvippa. It. was repaired A. D. 607,
I dedicated to the 31^^^^ Virgio, by
? BoDilace IV. 5 and, iu tl^ee years
', \i \%'as ugiiiii dedicated to all the
:§ b/ po^ Gregory IV. From these
BrittOQ proceeds to the round cJutrches
^^laod, which oot only constitute a
gular and rare class of aiicient editices,
are equiiiafitly iuleresting to the archi*
' amiqaary.
' The origin of round churclies, in Eng-
I, has been generally attributed to the
This opinion was very pre^dent id
brid^, till Mr. Esvsx corrected it by
I hi^toricai obserx'ations, which were pub-
'^^ in the sixth volume of the Arclueologia.
»r temple at Jerusalem,' he observes,,
loot of the circular fonn, neither was the
cle of ^lo9es ; nor do we fmd the mo-
1 Jews affect that figure in building their
gegueit. If has, however, been generally
nidy that the round church at Carn-
ey that at Northampton, aud some otiiers,
Mk» hr syua^ues, by the Jews,
th^ were permitted to dwell in those
( ; but as uq probable reason can be as-
1 for this supposition, and I tiiink it is
certain that the Jews, wlio were settled
uaObtic^e, had their synagogue, and pro-
h dwelfed together, in a part of the town
r called tlie Jewry, so we ngay reasonably
ii*lu4^t ^^ couu<l churches we find iu other
s of this kingdom were not built by tiic
i, for synagogues, whatever the places
iy te called iu wliich they stand.' As these
chtts are eviilently not of Roman archi-
tftii aud as ibey were not erected by the
, we are natumUy curious to ascertain
_ n, atul by whom, they were built. Theref
»pev to fc four perfect examples of these
md^tings in England : St Sepulchre's church
at C^mbridg^, St. Sepulchre's church at
Northampton, the Tiinple church London,
and a «uall church at Little Maplested, Es-
lex. All these, with one that was at Temple
Bm^r, and one at Astackly', Lincoltishit^ are
ynerally attributed to the'knights Templars,*
"ring their pouer and prosperity in Eng-
httd. This inneitlar religious order of
* Itnigtito-cinuit' majned thcsr organization
iad Ume in the iricinity of the church of tiie
pofy-Sppulchse at Jenisalem.
** H IS the gcner^ opinion of writers,
* TheTen»plars had numerous other j)laces of residence m England, where thc7 eslali*
?sh«i pieci'ptories,.&c. In Stry»e's edition of StoNv, 1720, Vol. I. p;5?70, it is said th?t
tfa«) had kfupivs at London, .Cainbridge, Bristol, Canterbury, Dover, Warwick, &c.
t A«:h»<iloj5ia. VI. p. 169.
♦ Resurrectioiiis Dominirx* rotitnda ecclesia tribus crocta parietibus, duodecim coluinnii
•ttstentatttT. (De Jjods Sanctis, Cap. 2.)
{ Si% the gcoilnd-plan in Sandys s Travels. I have also been fovomred with a view of a
s^l of this churc^ now in tlic iH)ssessk>n of the learned autlior of Muninienta Antiqua.
092
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUItlES.
already seen that they had circular churches
at several places,* and some of these were
dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre, or Sanctum
Sepulchrum. Perhaps the most ancient of
these is tliat at .Cambridge, which 1 now pro-
ceed to describe."
The first of the churches engraved, evi-
dently the oldest of the form in England,
is that of St. Sepillchrc at Cambridge,
built in the reign of Henry tlie first. The
lippcr story of the tower^ ho >» ever, is of
tlie time of Edward the se<:ond ; and the
east end, or chancel, with a northern aile
(marked in the groimd-plan by a lighter
colouring), is of the date of 1313. St.
Sepulchre's church, Nortliampton, forms
tiie second subject; the circular part of
^hich is attributed by Mr. Britton to the
close of the twelfth or beginning of the
thirteenth century, about tiie tinae
the use of die pointed arch became fint
prevalent. The third is the Tero^
church in London ; the exterior wall 4f
the circular part of which, with the ffo^
western door, Mr. Britton considers as te^
remains of the original building of 1 iS5|:
but the six clustered cokunns witlg%<
with tlie incumbent arches, and the wfaoli
of the square church, he seems jusi^'
to attribute to the reign of Heury tii-
third. *
Here, for tlic present, we leave tit
' architettural antiquities y their accuiaq^
and their elegance will at least do p«-
mancnt honour to the talents of their Mr*
thor. The iniblic must decide in regapl
to their encouragefiaeat.
Art. llL-^Thc Hiatcmj and Aniinuitiet of Doncasier and its yiciiubj^ with Anecdotes ^
eminent Men. iiy Ed Ward Miller, A/m** D- 4to. pp. 443.
THE county of York, though the most
extensive of any division in England, and
comprehending within its boundaries al-
most every subject that can engage and
inteiest the topographer, antiquary, and
natural historian, has never yet been ho-
noured with a complete local history. A
few works have been published relating
to particular .towns and districts in the
county : among these the present publi-
cation now claims our attention j and de-
mands from us such an analysis and ac-
count as will enable our readers to appre-
ciate its character and the abilities of ^e
author. In discharging this duty, we shall
endeavour to gratify tiie expectations of
the former, and render strict justice to the
latter.
Dr.. Miller, in a dedication to the noayor
and Corporation of Doncaster, observes,
that he has no^c enjoyed an appointment
under them for nearly iialf a century. He
must, therefore, be far advanced in years.
and from so long a readence in the towB»
must, or ought to be, well acqumnted witfc
its local history and characteristics ; and
we are entitled to expect ample and weB-
authenticated accounts of all the principal
events which are directly or coUateraUj
connected with his primary subject. In
the introduction ho developes his plan, and
furnishes us witli something like a clue to
judge of the work,
" Tills history of iDoncastcr," hcobM3T«,
" with the principal tbwns and villages in its
vicinity, it is hoped will afford the reader both
entertaining ana uscftil inforinarion.
" The receptacles of the dead are here ex-
plored— their virtues, Uieir charities, their
geniuses recorded.— The learned divine—
the brave warrior — ^the renowned statesmen—
the ingenious artist, aiuliudustrious fiarmcr,
all claim a place in these pas^e^;.
" The country within th\s district is prc-
turesque and delightful ; it contains so many
beauties of nature and vestigts of art, tliat tii
description may atford ample scope both for
* ''The Grerman writer of "Voyage en Sicile & dans la Grande Gr^e, adress^
k TAbbe WinckHman, Lausanne, 8vo. 1773/ gives this description of a church of St
Sepulclire at Brindisi, the ancient Brundusium. ^ On donne rEgltse du St. Sepulcre
pour \m temple antique; c*^oit une rotonde; cet edifice n*est ix)int du- bon tenis
de Tarchitecture : sa fomie n est pas parfaitement circulaife, & il n'y a point de por-
tique a Tentr^e, et il dtoit un dcmi-cercle ditlerent, <|m ne (ait point corps aveclereste
du batinient ; ce qui lui donne une irregularity clesagr^ble. L'on reconnoit aussi Ic
mauvaia gout du tems de la d^adeuoe des arts aux oruemens de Taucienne porte qui est
mur6e aujourd'hui. Cet edifice est voute, U soutenu enti^rement par des colonnes de
inarbre/
" This person, who was over head and ears in Roman and Grecian antiquities, would
not liave thought it worth his while to have taken notice of an ancient Chnstian temple,
as this is no doubt, had he not mistaken it for a pagan one. The description answers ex-
actly to our church of the Holy Sepulchre at Cambridge.*' British Museum, Cole's MiSJ.
Vol. II. p. 4(5r
lULLBR^S BISTOST Ot OOSICASTIR.
d9S
yiegoilHSoflhepoet, and ibe researches of
tkeuAfJzry.
" Thr amfior, well aware that he is neither
M5S' &xd of tuvcntioii reciiiisite fur one cha-
(SKteTy nor of sdentilic kiiowle<li?e for the
riSier, would not have presumed to otVer this
iork to the public, had lie not bt«n favoured
Mk the kind assistance of many learned
iMsdftin tbe neighbouriiood. 1 heircommur
■cations have extricated him ottt. of many
tflictiJties, which might iAht'rwise have
pjDved iasunnountable ; and tlieir Iciiidiicis
Bod approbation have not only encouraged
hkn to pei^evere in this undertaking, but to
pursue it with gratification and delight.
" Should it be asked why this work Mras
Kst ctxMgned to abler hands } the answer is,
ttithors ot' i^enius will rarely submit to the
Arodger}' ot compU'mi; ; and, perhaps, tliete
ii no species of coinpositicxi which rei^uires
more zeal in inquin', or more labour in pro-
cvriog and arranging the materials, than in
wocks similar to this now otTered to the public.
'* To accomplish his purpose, the author
ias not been satisfied with mere verbal intel-
iM^cnce, nor relied entirely on the kind com-
iBunicatious of friends ; but has also found it
IftBce^ary to visit every church, town, and
ullage, of whkh he lias given a description.''
\ After a few- more introductory remarks^
ykii acknowlcdgnaents to gentlemen who
[ieisted him xi'Itli infomiation, i^c. the
■ totbor coramences his regular history, by
a few observations on the west riding of
the county of York in general. As Doa-
OKter, and the other towns desciibed in
ftis volume, arc all situated in this division
^ ijfibe county, tlie Doctor, in a very con-
cise Bianner, notices its boundaries, diraen-*
lions, divisions^ rivers^ &c. ancl proceeds
ID his fiecond section, to the ' Natural
Ht&tory of DcHicoster, and its vicinity/—
The second section treats of the climate,
situation, air, water, soil, vegetables, mi-
nerals, and othei" traits of natural history,
i*'hich, according to our author, belong to
Doncaster, and its vicinity : but the greater
partof thttic are not alone peculiar to this
neighbourhood, or even to Yorkshire j
they arc very general throughout England,
la a confined work like tliis, which relates
to a single district of a county, we think
it wrong to extend its pages, and enhance
its price, by * Biography,' as it is absurdly
leniied, of the hedgehog, badger, and
various species of birds and beasts, which
«re Teiy common in almost every part of
^ kingdom. ITje practice of tlius mul-
tiplying books, without adding to tlie stock
ot literiiry information, is among the grow-
ing cviU of the times.
^ gener^ state of agricultiure, of
VQods^ and plantafeioos^ is the subject of
section III. ; in which are tntrodnced some
observations on cropping trees, andplaot'
ing hedges. The latter siibject is descanted
on in. an extract fjum the Gentleman**
Magazine.
Having, in the next section, slightlj
touched on the di^erent names axid ety*
roologies of Doncaster, die author^ in sec-
tion v., treats of its ancient state and aa«
dquities, with a description of Doncaster*
cross, {of which a wood-cut is given,^
and a Roman altar, discovered in i78i.
I'he latter is mintitely described and de-
lineated *m a print The sixth section con-
tains a chronological series of ' pabrKi and
private grants, and ptlier historical ei'cnts/
relative fo tbts ancient, state of Doncaster^
In this, tlie author has detailed a particular
account of Aske's rebellion, (temp- Hen.
VIII.) which is mostly extracted from
Rnpin*s History of England. The follow-
ing section is devoted to the church, and
its antiquities. A well-executed plate is
given of the former, which is a large ele-
gant pile of building, and displays the
highly 'ornamented style of architecture
which characterised the sacred edifices of
the iifteenth century. Such^ at least, we
are induced to conclude from the print.
The soutli side of the church, here repre-
sented, displays nearly an uniform style
of architecture, and hence we are led to
infer that so mQch of it was biiilt at one
period. ITie author, however, deuies this,
and endeavoiurs to prove that the east end
was raised '* in the iifUi year of William
the Conqueror, who began his reign 1066."
-— " As for the present elegant tower," be
continues, " its architecture shews it to
be of a later period ; and it was most pro-
bably built during the reign of Henry III.
when a great number of our prpeut
churches were built." The only autho-
rity adduced to justify this opinion is a
stone, inscribed 1071, which Doctor Mill-
er possesses, and wliich he says was takea
out of the east end of the wall, about sue
years ago. Concerning the date of tlie
tower he merely gives us conjecture, which
appears to be equally fallacious with the
inscription :' both are doubtful j for the
style of windows, &c. at tlie soutli-east
end exactly correspond with those. of tJie
west, (at liiast, they are so represented'in
the print,) and the tower ■ is evidently of
a much later date than what the Dbctor
chooses to assign to it. If he will exa-
mine some of the churches of Lincolnshire,
with their history, he will be likely to find
a better criterion to judge of the date of
this building, than iu the writings of Mr.
aji-
BRITISH TOPOGRABHY AND ANIMXHTIES.
Baatall, t^hofie aentiinBots ht qootes.
Tbaogb the author is extxetnt^j ctiodse
tnd unaatigfictory in his histcry ci tber
chi]icb> be is trifttngly copious upon the
tombs, epitaphs, organ, and arms, belong-
ing to it : tbe99 are all visible objects, aud
epitaphs are tasify transcribed. As cod-
Bected with the cbuxeh sen'ice, though
Bot p^piiiarly apposite to the present hu»
lory, the autbar kifcnns us that he has
** selected, adapted, and composed/* some
music for the Psalms of David : vhich has
ebtnined most extraordinary celebrity ; and
*' th^ utility qf which i$ evidtai,*" Had
there been less egotism, we should havc^
been better pieasad with bis remarks on
psaknody, and on tht caricature singecs
el' couBtry cof^regatbns ta genend.
** The psahnody in tins cfmrch,* he ob-
lefve^, " 'till the >ear 1790, was conducted
upon the same plan as tliat of othtrr parochial
diurches in tiiis kingdom ; whore* the parish
clerk had tlie choice both of tjie words of a
psafm, mid the t\ine fo be sung. His custom
was to slikI the organist, not ihc words, but
•iiW the name of tnetune, ahd how often it
«a9to1ierq>eated. Strange ahsnrdity f Ho#
could the organ^ placed in this degrading
situation, properly perkmn his part of the
dwrch servicer Not knowing tlie word^ it
was iuipossiblc £pr him to ucooininodate his
|nu»ic to the various seotlinents contained in
ditlereDt stanzas ; con.^iiuently, his must be
K mere random peffomiance, and frequently
pHxhicinghnproper effects.
'« The Lite viraf of I )on«Btef , the Rer;
©ewgc Hay D/iimmond, abollt the above
perioa, obtserfn^.onc 8ahbath-day, that his
€Wi% had chusen- both the wonh and tune ot
a psahn so improperly as to occasion laughter
in some, part of the cojigrcgatioa, ti>ld me,
t^at in order to remedy sucli an abuse in fu-
tore, he would inimc<^!iitelY employ himself
in seVcling the best iitan/as in each psalm
|mm the' version of Tati» ami firady, and ar-
fange tiirtn i6r every Siu^dftv and testi\-a!
Uifoughout th^ year, *provide«f I \\o«lcl adapt
thrtn to proper music. I was instantly struck
with tlie idea, and in performing my part, ge-
nerally made choice of the most popular of
OUT ofd and venerable melodien long used in*
lh« cslablislied chiirch of Miii^land : wlien the
trork wa^ linUlied, I had great encouragement
to publish it, fromitji' behii?, I believe, the
jhrsi arrangement of psalms, with tune;? an-
nejtedto them, and aa'aptWlfor rvery Sunday
ttiroiighout the year, that bad been made
since the Refoftnation in the reign of £dward
VI.
" His present maieety was graciously
pleased to patronize this work; as did also
the archbishops, the bishops, and a great num-
bw of the inferior clergy. The nnmes of sub-
stTibcrs, with the nuimSer of copies for which
tliey bubacribed^ amounted to nearly 5i)00;
and laMt iQobaiily beibretlfai tfane^ no anHi*
cal publication intliis kingdom had prodQced
90 large a Issf of subscribers.
'' Tiie utility ot this woik is evident. The
choice, both of the words and music of a
nsahn, is no longer left to an igoocant cleik,
in every church where this book is wxd^ the
erg&nbt has both the wottrdsand music of tte
pMlm before him, attd it nuist behis ovw tmaUt
It be do not make » judicious use G|the«, hf
ebaerving the ditferent sentiments uawTydt
in didercnt stanza^ and by not overpowerinS'
the voices by the iffe of too many stops in Iv
•fgan.
* * No encouragement is given in thfs chords
to a detached set of singers, who are so fite-
quently permitted in our villages to btaictque
nauiCf by squectin^ MrmofA tkrvr mua
compositions, which they c^Jit^^geg^ totb»
amazement and «ierisiof| of tlie seswble, mk^
emplo}*ed part of the congregation.
" in parochialjpsahnody,no dilBet^ brmq
ought to be used. The tune shotrtd be f#
simole and easy, thai aO the congregstioa may
readilT^n in this essential part of tlK'ir dvtfy \
and ins, according to the srrytcnesy tfairy
ought to do standing. Many there are, par*
ticalajdy those of raiik apd emineiioe, nim 6m
not joiii at ali in (hii» ht|;h art ddcvotmi, m
do it with lh<* utmost indtlTemioe, ' imve*
rently »ki'm^, while thl'y address their God
with tlie voice of supplication, praLae, 09
tiianksgiving, as if they sang onlr for their
amusement, or to pjs> awaj a fc\v idle uuautes^
while the miniiter ascends the pulpiu' "
l^rom tlie subject of singing, the author
immediately adverts to the organ ; after
describing which^ he observes, that
" The reader may suppose what eflfert this
fine inslroraent had on the parishioners, when
erected in the year \739, astlieKev. Mr.
Faukes, at that time curau*, thon^Ait neccs%
sar)' to preach an appropriate semion ea 'tbi
befy g opeiititl. J udge of the subrunity of itia
discourse by tiie foilowiiig specimen: after
having wound up his imagination to the high*
e^t pitch in praise of churrh-miisic, speaiktns
of th«» organ, he s;il<l, ' But O w&t I— u
what l-'wtwt shall I call thee by ? tiiou dhrine
box of sounds V "
llie remnining part of this section is oc-
cupied by a long itKienture, relmhig to a
library established in tlie chorrh ; with a
catalogue of its books j and a li>t of livings,
chantries^ &<:. iii tbe dcoiir)' of Doiicas-
ter.
FVom what the author properly calif
the " diryi and generally uninteresting
matter^ contained in part of the last sec*
tion," the reader is led, in the ftrtiowing,
to the contemplation of eminent men born
Ml Douc^ster, or residing in its neighbour*
hood, llieiiiostoonspicuoaaQf theie^^
iiiLtEE*6 nit^BY ov JxnrcAiTVK*
- de Ro Aerfain, drcKhidHni of
rork (tem^. Edv. IV.); Admiral Sir
t4ar6n Frobisher (temp. Eliz.) } Sir Phi-
l^llonckton, md Sir KalphKn'^ht, wbo
rece both diatiDgul$bc.d iii the civil war.
iCCKairles the First i the former an ad-
yceoi to the kiDg» die latter to the par-
I— mi. The memfMTB of these twp gen*
Ekneii aTe giTeti at considefabte length,
tf rekte to iome memorable events of
itet period : those of Sir Philip are chiefly
EOpied from his own hand-writing, and dc-
\i^ mm)' sJcirmishes and battles that were
bight m th^ ciYil war, in which be took
kverf active port.
Hi^ pnB9eni state of Donoaster. ia the
Mbfect of aectiua IX.> which treats of tfa»
ptpiilatiofi, corporation, public ediiiee»,
firith plates of the m^itsiou-hoqse, towH-
IM, tneatre, and grand stand,) jaaricets,
tf^ bridges, cha|)cis, hospital,, dispensary,
|por-house, scbuola^ and manufactories,
i&h a plate of a patent machine (Mr,
SHiaore'<i) for cutting stiaw* A deserip*
te<tf tlw theatse intrediapes vfaiit'nwBe^
|4dIu of thecekbratedG. A. Stevena, with
\im firilowmg charaetemttc letter, which
;iite s4dressed by that eccentric genitis to
Ift. Miller:
'• Deaf »r, *' Yarmouth gad.
** \Vhm 1 paorted from you, at l^oncaster,
JJaa^ned, long before tins, to have ituft with
wot oddities worth ac4uainling you. wilW
Jis grown a fasbioa of late to write lives: 1
p^ye now, and for a long liaie have liad leisure
tttoudi to Undertake mine ; but want niate-.
riftls Rir the latter part of it : for my cxistcnre
I pfi^ cannot properly be caffcd IK'ing, but
ii^ the painters caH stiiHiiie ; having ever
flbce Fteiary 13, beenr confined in thialown
SMBlforg London debt.
" A» a.hHBtedp bate is alwajis shunned by
uakip^ herd, so am I deserted Jay the
c<Httpany,* niy ^hare taken oft and no sup*
port left me, save what my wl^can spare uie
wttofter's.
** Deserted in my utmost need,
'* ^ those my former bounty fed. —
" Wita an economy, winch 'till now 1 waa
astraoger to, I hav« made sh^ hitherto to
VKiiialmy Uttlegan-isaii; but then itivts been
^itti the aid of m^* gpjpd frienda and allies-*
iDY clothes. This week's eating finishes my
hst H-ai^tcoat : the next I must atone for my
errors ob bread and water.
•* 'ITiemLstodes had so many towns to ftfr-
TOn hb table, and a whok'city bore the charge
Jt ha meohi k some respects I am like him,
t« 1 am fimiished by theiaboors oEa muiti*'
mt. Awighasfedmctwodays— the trim-
^^gof a jftaibtcoat as lopg— a pair of velvet
™w»es )iaidmy washerwoman, and a ruiUed
JJjJthajftHuidme in shaving. Mv coats I swal-
wrejlbydqpees: tJit sleeves 1 breakfasted
* ^Norwich
tipon for weeks-^the body, skirts, &c. s^ved
me for dmner twomontlw*— my silk stockingt
have paid my lodgings«^and two pair of nevr
gumps enabled me to smoke several pipes,
i is mcredible how my appetite (barometer-
like) rises m proportion as my necessitiea
maae their terrible advances. 1 here could
say something droll about a ^Dod stomach ;
but it is ill jesting with ed|re tools, and 1 aoa
sure that is the siiarpest timig about me.
" You may think 1 can have no seuise, that
while I am thus wretched i should ofter 9it
ridicule ; but, sir, people constituted like me,
with a disproportionate levity of sphits, are
always n)ost merry when they are most mi^
seraliile; and quicken, like the ejes ^yftbo
consumptive, which are always bru;Me)it,tW
nearer a patient approaehes lo dissohilionu
However, to sbfF yon I am not entirely Im^
to all reAectbHl, I think mvsetf poof enough
to want a favour, aiid huuv»le enough to ash
it here. Sir, I might make an enepmium 4m
your good-nature and himianil^, &c. butf
shall not pay so bad a complhnent to yvuf
undentandiag, a« to endeavour, by a paiad»
of phrases, to win it over to my iulcnsit If
you coukl, any night at a concept, make a
sniali collection for n|r, it might be a mt^aoa:
oif obtaining my libevty; and you well kiMiir^.
sir, the lirst p.eople ot rank, abroad, wiU per*
form the most fneiidW oi^ces far the wck : be
not, tlufrefore, oifenued at the request of m
poor, though a deservedly punishei deb^*
** G.A.STav£Ks.
'^ George Alexander (»(eveiis be^n iiit
caceer on tiie stage at Norwich, dunng my
early years in that city (being my native
place) : he met with so much applause there,,
that he became ambitious to try Ins fortaoe
in London ; wliere he made his iirst attempl
in the character of Hamlet .Tiiere was sgroe^
thing in the m^mer of his actings so unusual
and strange to a London ai^ence, that, dur-
ing tl>e iirst act, they sitiipended their judg-
ment ; biit in the second, they began to hiss
violent iy ; on which he came forward, and
addreas;ing himst^lf to the audience, ' \Vl)at/
said he, * you don't like it 1 iind !— »\veily
oome — ril give ft you in a new taste.' iha
thenbegfin to burlesque the character in such^
a manner as drew from tlie audience repeaAed;
barsts oC laugltfcer and applause,"
Thia secl^n contains a list of the mayors
of DofHaster, from 14^3 to the present
time ; accompanied with a series of the
most remarkable public events during that
period ; and concludes witii a Fibt of the
principal persons residing near the town^
in the yeiui» 1^3 and 1804. The fellow.'
ing anecdotes of Doctor Herachel, thr
eminent asttnooiiiar, at Slough, 8M now
u> oss and, we preimae, will be amxising'
to our readers : they, at the same time,
iiirnish a iair specimen of the autlior^a
style.
company.
3gff
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY ANI> ANTlOUmES.
** As an account of this cf IcbratM astrono-
mer has lately appeared in the volmmi of
Ihibiic Characters, for 1 802, perhaps the com-
piler of that work, had he known them, would
have made some use of the following parti-
ejlars :
" It will ever be a gratifying reflection to
ine^.that I was the lirst person by whose n^ans
this extraordinary genius Was 'dra\ni from a
state of obscurity. About the year 1760, as
I wa& dining with the officers of'the Durham
militia, at rontefract, one of tbeni informed
mc, that they had a young Gorman In their
band as a performer on the hautboy-, who had
«ily been a few months in this country, and
yet spoke English almost as well as a native :
that, exclusive of the hautbby, he was an ex-
cellent performer on the violm, and if 1 chose
to rejMiir to another room, he should Entertain ^
me with a solo. I did so, and Mr. Herschel*
executed a solo of Giai*dini*s, in a manner
that surprized me. Afterwards, 1 took an op-
portunity to have a little prirate conversation
irkb hini, and requested to know if he had
engaged himself to the Dnrham militia for
any long period ? He answered, * No, only
f-om month to month.' * I^^ve them then,'
«aid I, * and come and live with me. I am a
sincle man, and think we shall be happy to
jjether ; doubtless your merit will soon entitle
you to a more eligible situation/ He con-
tented to my request, and crnne to Doncaster.
It \^ true,, at that time, my humble mansion,
consisted but of two rooms. However, poor
as I was, my cuttage contained a small library
<M woU-chosen books ; and it must app^r
SDgular, that a young German, who had been
so short a time in England, should understand
evcMi the peculiarities of our language so w^W
a» to adoj>t I)can Swift for his lavonrite au-
thor. I took an early opportunity of intro-
ducing him at Mr. Copley's concert ; and he
presoiitlvbr^nin
'* I'^iitwtsting all the chains that tie '
** The hlddeji soul of harmony.
For ncvt-r before had wt; hoard the concertos
of Corelli, Geniiniani, and Avison, or the
overtures of I Jandel, performed more chaste-
K, or more accordino; to the original intention
fif the composer'^, tfian by Mr. Herschel. I
^OoQ lost my companion — ^his fume was pre-
w*ntly spread abroad — he liad the ofi'cr of
schokirs, and wa- solicited to lead the public
cjwicerts both at Wakciield and Halitax.
" AI)out this time u-now or^u for llie parish
chtirrh of Halitax, was built by Snetzler;
nhirh wa^ opcnvd with an oratorio by the
txtc welf-knovvn Joah Bates. Mr. Her*;rhol
and ^i\ others wore cimdidales for the organ-
ist'i pTare. They drew lota how they were to
pertaiu>in rotation. My friend Herschel drr-w
tlie third lot— the second jjerformer was Mr.
Wumwrigiit, at)tci*\vards Doctor Wainwright,
of MaiurTit;st<'v, wlK>se finger was so rapid
tliat old JSiK:t/.ler, tlw^orgajv-Uuilder, ran about
tlu' cluirvli, i\<lLinung» * tc teid.tc trccl, he
ruu ()\\ r tc kfti like one caty he zi'ill not t^ive
My pilches room J hv io ilipfak* During Mr.
Wainwright's performaiice I W4< ^Un^ineriA
tj^e middle aisle with Herschel. * Wnal
chance have you,' said I, * to follow thKman }'
He replied; ' I don't know ; I am surefiiigea
will not do.' On which he asrendird the
organ-loft, and produced from the organ ^
uncommon a fulntes— «iuch a volume ci^siow
solemn lurmony, that I could, by no mastg,
account for tlie' effect. After this short ex-
tempore dfusion, he finished with tbe old
hundredth psalm tune, which be played brt-
ter than his opponent.—' Aye, aye,* cried aid
Snetzler, ' tish is very goal, very goat inde<t;
I vil li{f tish man, for he ^ivesmifpijA^
room for to shpeak.' Having, afterwarcfe,
asked Mr. Hbrschel by what means, in the
beginning of his perfonnance, he produced »
uncommon an effect ? He rcphed, * I toH
you fingers would not do,* and producing tvo
pieces of lead firom Iws waistcoat pocket,
' One of these/ said he, ' I placed on Uie
lowest key of the organ, and the other upon
the octave aboa-e : tlvus, by accommodatinj
the harmony, I produced the effect of foar
hands instead of two. However, as my lad-
ing the concert on the violm, is their princ^
object, the>* will give me the place m prefer-
ence to a better performer on the organ ; but
I shall not stay lon^ here, for I have the cSer
of a superior situation at Bath, whkh oSa 1
shall accept' "
Nearly half this volume is appropriated
to the history and description of places b
the vicinity of Doncaster. The Xih sec-
tion embraces an extent of country about
six miles in diameter, or witJun three miles
from Doncaster, the central station. The
Xlth section is appropriated to those town^
villages, &c. which are between three and
six miles of Doncaster. .llie principal
places .in this division are the totnis d
Tickhill and Conisbrough, whh their
castles : of the latter a circumstantial de-
scription IS given, in the words of Mr.
Mackley Browne, from the Gentleroau's
Mngaziiic : engravings of this castje, and
its connected antiquities, are also intro-
duced, fn section XII., the description
is extended from six to ten miles ; ar.d
includes brief accounts of several villages,
and a few town?. Ilie principal subjects
are — tlie parish church and abWyof Roch,
with monuments of the Mexborougb ia-
milies; the school, and female frieudlj
society, established by tlie Miss Franks,
at Askron, are particularly described, airf
strongly rerommeiuled to tlie notice and
imilatioi> of ladies. Several enterrainfjig
anecdotes of tlie follo\\ing i>erspni are re-
lated : Mr. Stauiforth* Henry Binglejr,
and two eminent antiqiwiries, Roger DckLj-
worth, and John Burton, M.D., Thisi*-
tion i* embellished .with plates of ^^
^lJLLftft*t HISTORY OF DONCAiXSX.
3fl7
flibbej, md Lady Galway^s menagwie, at
hawiiy. The following anecdotes of the
-Idte Jonathan Scaniforth^ Esq. of Firbeck,
hk aatiquated sister^ and Handel^ are
amusing :
*'The late Mr. Stanifortli was a very wor-
thy, but singular cliaracter. Having been
deprived by a law-suit, of the prolit resulting
frwa hii patent for a ploughing machine, lie
diverted his thoughts entirdy tVom mechanics
to music It is now more than forty vears
•iace I lirst paid him a visit at Firbeck. \ was
iutruduced into a room, where was sitting a
thio, meagre old gentleman, upwards of
Ceventv years of age, playing on tlie violin.
He had a lone time lived seauestered from
tJie worid, and dedicated not less than eight
hours in the day to the practice of music.
Hisshnink shanks were twisted in a peculiar
Ibmi, by the constant posture in which he sat ;
aad so indilTefent was he about the goodness
of his instrument, that, to my astonishment,
be always played un a common Dutch licUlle,
tbe original price of which could not have
Ven more than lialf-a-guinea : the stritigs
were bad, and the whole instrument dirty and
««\'ered with robin. With this humble cumpa-
aion, be used to work hard every morning on
^ oid 3<rfos of Vivaldi, Tessarini, Corelli,
and other ancient composers. The evening
^•as reserved for mere amusement, in act!om-
pwiying an ancient sister, who sung most of
the feivourKe songs from Handel's old Italian
operas, which he composed soon after his ar-
rival iji EnglaauL These operas she had heard
M their first representation in I^ondon ; con*
«queiit]yher performance, to me, was an
(iocomiiroa treat. 1 had an opportunity of
•(>inparing the ditferent manner of singing in
tlie beginning of the last century, to tiiat
•liicb Iliad iMien accustomed to hear. * And
indeed the style was so dilferent that, musi-
«H>* considered, it might truly be called a
diiltrent language. None of the present
•mbelljshnients or graces in music were used.
—No apozituras— no unadorned sustaining,
w welling long notes ; they were warbled
bv a continual tremulous accent from begin-
uiiJgtoend; and when she arrived at the
jM^riod of an air, the brother's violin became
ai«te, and she raising her eyes to tJie top of
{he room, and stretching out her throat, e.\-
eoited her extempore cadence in a succes-
fiwiofnotes perfectly original, and concluded
viib a long sliake, something resembling the
bleating of a bmb. .
"About live years afterwards, I had an
Ofjportunity of surprising tliis ancient pair as
rouch as they bad surprised me. I took Mr,.
Brett with xnc, who fohueriy sung at Drury-
mc ilieatrc. He had, naturally, a good
^aK)r vtMce, but was fund of singuag in a fid-
««llo, or feigned one.
/' Brett had an unrazored chin, a fair com-
plexioD, and a ladv-like ^ce. When he be-
gaa to ling, the old bachelor appeared sur-
|M ; but the old maidiA teemed petrihed
. with astonishment, and regarded hii^ with an
unfavourable and .wertedeye.
*' From these circumstances I naturally-
concluded that, in men, she neitner liked
ladi/Alke ^es, nor ladi/Aike voices.
" However, our benevolent hosts not only
entertained us with more aucient melotlies;,
but with rational conversation, good cheer^
and good acconunodations for the night.
'* Being on the subiect of music, the reader
will pardon a short digression in my relating
the tollowing anecdote :
" During the latter part of Handel's life,
when a bov, I used to perform on the Ger-
man Hute fn ]London, at his oratorios, ^hout
the year 1753, in the Lent season, a minor
canon, from the catliedral of Gloucester, o^
fered his service to Mr. Handel to sing. His
otTer was accepted, and he was cmploved in
the chonisses. Not satisfied with tins depart-
ment, he requested leave to sing a soloatr,
that his voice might appear to more advan-
tage, lliis request also was granted ; hut he
executed his solo so little to' the satis^tion
of the audience, that he was, to his great
mortification, violently hissed. When the
performance was over, oy way of consobtion,
Handel made him the followmg speech : ' I
am sorry, very sorry, for you indeed, my
dear sir! but j^ you back to your church in
de country: God will forgive you for your
bad singing ; dese wicked people in Loudon
dey will not forgive you.' *'
The towns and villages situated upwards
of ten miles from Doncaster, are the sub-
jects of the Xnirh section : the principal
of these, with their connected objects sire;
Rotherham, and its church (with a plate) ^
the iron- works at Masborough, with anec-
dotes of Mr. Samuel Walker j the Rother-
ham Independent academy j the township
of W'entworth; Wentworth-house^ Mau-*
soleum of tlie Marquis of Rockingham,
with his character delineated by the mas-
terly * pen^ of Mr. Burke 5 the town of
Barhsley 3 tlie village, mansion, and church
of fiadsworth, with the melancholy anec-
dotes pf the seven sons and a daughter of
John Pate Neville, Esq. The work con-
diides with a circumstantial history of th^
town and castle ot** Pontefract j in which
is comprehended, the ancient state of the
castle, its successive possessors, a chrono-
logical detail of memorable events oon«
nected with it, particularly during the
civil war (temp. Cha. L), and the conse-
quent demolition of the castle. This ig
succeeded by a description of AU Saints' .
church,, in Pontefract ; a list of mayors,
from the grant of the charter ia 14S4, to
1733 ', the present state of tl^e town, and
the new church of St. Giles.
The appeD<]^ conuias tbe several char -
»(fi
BRlTIsa TOPOGRAPHV AMD ANTWaUlTIES.
ters and grants of the successive kin^s of
Engknd^ from Richard I. toJame« if, to
the town and borou|^ of Doncaster ; with
theprivate grants, petitions, decrees, &c.
•— lliese are extracted from the records of
the corporation.
Such is Dr. MUlcr's History of I>on-
csftter and its Vicinity. If not the most
profound and intere^ng among this class
of books, it certainly contains much use-
M and amnsittg information; and we
leadtiyand cheerfully recommend it to
the perusal and patronage ef all lovera of
topography. Thmigh we perceive some
errors of judgment and carelessiicsa of tr-
jyogra^y ; a^id though we could wish tne
volume to have been more copious in some
pl^oea, and less (m-oUx in others ; we should
becaosidered fvtidiously severe, were we
to enlarge onr animadversions on these
^MiHs, afler readkig the very humble and
modest sentiments, with which the author
concludes his volume. He jnstly censures
that illiberal spirit, which withholds docu-
nuKnt from the public ; and miserly shuts
up in private recesses, that information
^which» if properly developed, would pro-
4Mhlf materially improve the historical
annab of our cotmtry. There in scarcely
any species of selfishness, more truly re-
prehensible, or criminal in the court of
literature, than this : and it becomes the
duty of every author to reprobate and dis*
countenance the conduct of such persons.
The county historian has ample trouble
and di^iculties to encounter, even when
^u-nisbed with every attainable document;
but thote difficnities become more and
Bwre augmented, as these are withheld .
irom his examination
*' I have now ^bhed a irMc,* sart tti
l>octor, '' whicfa in collectite the maiamk
has cost me much paim and Itboar. I ««
and lament tliat the accoant of aiaay placci
is too short and defective. Compressed, ae^
cording to my propoi»a1s, within Uk conipaas
of a single volume, of course only the moat
material circumslantTs of an extensive ^
trict could be inserted. As I kneir thai va*
rious manuscripts, the labour of tngentoai
men in former times, were vet presore^
relative to that part of the West Kidb^lne '.
described, 1 flattered myself in finding easr i
access to these sources of inibrmatioo, ani |
tliat the owners of them, partaking of fJm !
liberal spirit for which the present ^p? is m !
justly celebrated, would even rqwce la cat .
operating with my weH-meant efforts It
amuse or uiibrro the public. I am focryU
say, that these pleasing hopes have not beet
realized to the extent which was at fintiiF|
pected. On the other liand, I acknowVeJi^
with the most lively latitude, liax-ing mdt'
with gentlf^nen of a different descriptioQ, «('
more enlarge<l minds ; who have kindly ia^
terested themselves in my behalf^ and'6iN^<
rally given me every assistance in their pot^
to bestow.
'^ Candid reader ! pardon the many defaclK
which may be discovered in this work ! If,
was written under the pressure of dedaki
years and increasing intinnities, as tbe W
tribute of gratitude affd aflectioa to nnf
dear friends.
*' Under these eiraimstances It k hafH
UiQ critic will be disarmed of hia scrcntcf
and that my laliours will obtato^ if not Aa
approbation, at least the indulgence of a good-
natured and generous public."
Wanting an Index, this, like raanyodtft
volutins, b vetj defective.
Art. lV.-T-77*c HUtcry and Anliquutie^ cf the Cotmty of Leicester, fir/ Johm ?Jtchoi%
F. S» A. Siiniiiri^ and Perth, f^oL UL Part IL Containing IFcst Giucotc Hundni
Ma. NICttOLS has long been known
to the topographer and antiquar)^ by his
voluminous history of *l>icester J by the
Qontlemana Magazine, which, he has
prinied ifor mat^ years $ and by a number
of otW ^ks that have been edited and
publishad by him. Indeed his house ha$
be»9ioFB noted for this species of Litera-
liirt.thmi any^ottiidr. printing-office In Loa-
4ou~ Flfwpenaona are more intimateiy
a£j^itty#e4uith the arf:ana of Buglish^ta-
yegiofbyand antiquity, and scarcely any
^fift p^wi^ has vnittto so mach on those
aubjecU, Whatevier may be the real
n^rl$ crf;W% wjitingSi he is at least er\ti.
tied to the thanks and gratitude of his con-
tefnporaries, and of posterity; *and tboia;fc
these aredetects in bis ati-le aod modeof
aelecting and arranging hia^ambjocts ti>(«
are more to be attributed to the lasfaioii rf
tlie4:imesxi'hen he commenced his liteniiy
career, than to any vrdnt of genius snii
talents iu the writer. The volnmr now
^^or coiisiilcratlon being only a contioua-
tton of 9 v«r>: large iKock^. we shall toit
oorsclveift taabrtcf analysis of tti contest^
and j^«er^ ^ a .£ituBe pedod our opi-
nions of the dhrnractetisHc -menis and i»
merits of the vork. The piesent is, 'tis
nutjior Infbtm? us; ' only a* actoad p»t <f
the third volotno/ and i3 Almost vhoj
appropriated to the hislbry'and a&ti(tt2itW
thtnQt%H siSToitr or xsi<^srrsi»
^BJ»
0f W^aeOosooto kuidred. It meat oem-
ieifaesl)/ be presumed, that this small
fOrtMoakn oovtntyy either contains 'many
Mere^itift^ subjects, famishes much ca*
imis historical matter, or that the author
► very prolix on every subject that en-
yigges his attention^ To iiil four or five
pne §c^6 volumes with tlie topograpbi-
bl iiistory of a single county may appear
h many persons extraragantly disuse ;
fttt it i^ proper to inform them that- Mr.
IMirJs contrives to accumulate and com-
sQch a mass of carious information^
adduces so much original document>
we cah easily excuse tlic extent of
volumes for the sake of the informa-
t2»ey contain. From the fbUowing
rsis we hope the reader who is not
liately acquainted with Mr. Ni-
is's Hislory of Leicester, wiH be ena-
' to ju<^ of, and appreciate, its pecu-
■ character.
. Itt recording the history of the town of
i^U^de la Zoi^h, the author particular*
Res me names, and narrates many biogra-
■ traits, of the successive lords rf the
among whom, William loi^
and his descendants the earls of
1, are particularly noticed ; and
nni H gn^not the elegant screen be-
the montunent, erected to William
Hasdogs, in St.* Geoi^^s ch^l at
A print \s also giveti of the
jngs |n lord Hastings's chapel^ and
t are particularly described.
I Among tke corioas anbiects belonging
^ Asfaby-castle k the koiat^d kook;
%Udi appears to have been written in the
|tiar IdOg, Its contents, which are here
frioled, serve to illustrate the customs pe-^
CQliar to great mansions at that periixl,
mi a&rd a curious contny^ to a noble-
&m's establishment at the present tiipe.
It contains particular directions to the dif-
ferent servants, and specifies the respec*
fevie occupations of each. These were-*
jftiestuamde — gentleman usshor — gentle-
Im of the horsse — clerke of the kitchen
•f»€ouke— uidior ofhall — almoner— yoman
If the pantrye — ^yonian of the buttry&«->
I fottcr-— yomaa ei tlie wardopp— jomaa
^tbe gnuinary&-^*baber and brewer.
, The following instructions to the al-
i iMfeer will explain the nature of this bode,
; "The ainMMier's^lBce.-.Item, that b^'
Mb^no in«ate from the <diuA», but that '
I mwt the same in the pli^ impoint^ ftur
I itj^Qore^ whkji pbce or veaieAs he shaD aU
Jwkeqj sweei ^and'cleaoe; and that 4^
Jni'lke said abnes, with theciRnscpt and
m^ theudMuf thii m;9f^,»9m, n
Buche as are aged, poore, «n«( In wimt, and
not to stout r^^s aiKl idle persons^ Item,
tJiat he sJiall every morning by seven of tim
clockc in sommer, and by eight in .wyntcr,
sweepe the hall and placi4 nitare adjoymiig,
and make cleanc the boardcs, bench wfan^
fourmcs thereof. Item, tliat hee ijhatl keepe
abookeor skoareof all the wood and coll
that is brought into the wood-yard ; and shai
see the same d<^vered forth to tlie fewttler,
kytcheu boyes, or oUivr^, accordii^ to the
directions wliicl^ he siviH r<;ceive Smkitm
head-oiUcers."
Tlje castle, cturch, and momiments it
Aaliby, are particulariy Jcso-ibed, aad aif
.most every epitaph and insrrlption on th#
latter k printed. Bicgrapiucal accounts
are next ^ven.of jUI the public chacactei*^
that wer^either bora here or resided ioi^
in tiie town. Th» most emment of these
is bishop Hall, that " nliiror and arm-
meutpf the times," according to thequaiiit
phraseology of Fuller. The villj^ offish-
ton next comes under consideration : and
the ancient and respectable fimily of Ver«
don was of such considetable consequetsoe
in the county, that the author k induced
to give a particular account of it. .
The church/ monuments, au»d inacrip^
tions, are fully described j and eagrafviiigf
given of tlu^ni, also .of sev^al arniofi^
bearings, &c. ' I'he nunnery of Grace-
dieu, situated in tlais parish, is ^e pair
ticularized, and its liistory amply uanaledL
A^icouiUB of the Beaumont iamiJy, vitk
several long elegies and otljer poems, at«
here introduced j many curious paitkur
lars are recorded of Francis BeaumiBit.
the 'poet, and F. Beaumont, the tiramatii;
writer, of whom two portraits are giveor
Bradgate-manor, park, and mansion, M-e
now described J and a long account is giveu
of tlie Grey family^ lady Jane Grey b^\g ^
a native of this place ; our author intco^
duces mihy biographical particulafs of
her, some of which are novel aiid mteieflt^
ing. PedigL^es, plates of ^ church and
castle, with various fragments oif and-
quity, aip introdooed to jSuatcat^ tW oar*
xative.
Hie history, ire. of Breden, a eoosido-^
able- village on the verge of the county^
occupies several subsequent pages : ici&A
course of which, Mr, Nichols embraced
an accoimt of the priory and laf(iship<]i'
Stanton Harold. Vajrious records ai)d W
digrees relating to the Shirley family are
lecordedf and, under the suhj^nf C^j|L
orton, the autlior tal^es ocQs^on to i3d
several additiooal particulars of tj^e.Seau-
xnoDts. Thf^viUs^e ofDi^eWprti^ being
^
BRITISH TOPOGfiAPHY AND ANnQUITIES.
Ae tnrth-plaoe of William lill^, indaces
(Kir historian to print a long account of
bis life, and a list of his works. The me-
iiiotrs of this dreainer are strongly con-
traaleti by tliose of Mr. Bakewell, the ce-
lebrated experimental agriculturalist and
breeder. One teazed himself by his clii-
iDerical reveries^ and propagated by hi9
writings folly and nonsense ; whilst the
other judicioasly eiKleavoored to benefit
bis cooBtry and himself by improving the
breed of sheep, cattle, &c* Many inter-
esting particulars are here related con-
fcemfng Mr. Bakewell s farms and cattle j
the most material of whidi are selected
from the writings of Young, Marshall,
Throsby, and Monk. ITie village of Cas-
lle Doniugton, with tlxe park, come next
under review ; and the latter, the seat of
the eanri of Moira, is represented in four
pbte». 6arendon-baIl, the sesit of Tho-
snaft Mardi Phillips, Esq. furnishes matter
ftc several pages of description, and is il-
A«T- V- — The History of Deromhlre, Chapter the Srcond; containing the Roman Brift^^]
Fi'tiod. folio,pp. from 177 to 329
Ittstrated by foor plates. Long extcacts
from the register or chartulary of Geroo-
don-abbey are next printed, and a verr
detailed account is given of this ancient
monastic cstabnshment. A short zitd-
moir, with a well engraved portrait, of Dr.
Richard Pultency, are given in the course
of the author s account of Hathcrn pansb j
though it appears that the doctor was a
pative of Loughborough, wheie he wm
bom A. D. 1/30. The remaining part of
the volume comprises, among other places^
historical acoounts of the following :-«.
the villages of Kegecarth, Henniiigt«^
Woodthorpe, Osgatliorne, PackiQgt(%
Snibstoii, Raveiiston, Rothley, Gaddealy,
Grimston, Keanie, &c. also the iowa»«C
Loughborough and Swepstoii. This to»
lume is replete with biographical and as^
quartan anecdotes; and contains a v^'
quantity of prints^ some of which aiecQ^
rious.
THE strangely irregular mode of pub-
IrcaticMi adopted by Mr. Polwhele, in this
Histoiy of Devonshire, must be higlily in-
kinoixs to his interest, and must subject
bim to many unpleasant occurrences. The
present is only a scrap of a larger waik|(i
and being intimately connected with tb^,
preceding and the future portions, w^l
must wiiLhold our remarks till the whal|J
M completed;
Aht. VI.— ^ ffalk tfirough Southampton. By Sir HenryC. Englefield, Bart.F, J?.<.
mnd F. A, S, Second Edition^ comtiderahhj augmented ; to which is added, some Accatai-
qfthe RofnanStation, Clau$enttm, 8vo. pp. 1 47.
IN tlie first volume of bur Review, p.
502, we noticed the former edition of this
work in terms of commendation, and as
the present volume is uKiterially improved
and enlarged, our to^wgraphical readers
may wish to know the nature of such
addenda et corrigenda. This information
» furnished by llie author in his adver-
tisement to the present edition, wherein
he states that
" Tlie few changes which have taken place
in the toiwi are noticed ; and I thought it
bttfer to mention th<nn lu the forrt of notes
than to alter tlie original account. A more
extensive descriptioii of the curious edifice
m Portcrs*-lanc U added, itom tho account of
it 'ptest'nted to the Society of Aiitiquaries ;
and I have given some fltirings of its princi-
pal parts. I'ht; account of mnains of anti-
quity discovered at Diiteni, in. consequence
of building the bridge and iurming the road
therd; is reprinted from my paper inserted _
the second volume of the Hampshire Repa»
tory, with some additions. It is hoped tfaatl
this second eflition inav meet tlie sanie fevo« I
wliicli was experienced by tlie imi/*
The additions above referred to are con- ^
siderable, an J tend to give interest to the
volume, as they apply more particulariy
to tlie pursuits of the antiquaiy and histo*
rian« The plates, which demonstrate the
taste of. the author, exhibit some curious
specimens of Roman sculpture and an-
cient architecture. We must ^gain re»
mark^ that a well-engraved plan of the
town is a necessary requisite in a local
work like tlie present; for the reader
who is not previously acquainted with the
geography of th^ pjace, must, be at a ]o>5
to understaud somo parts of the authofi
description.
Art. VII- — Collections towards (lie Nisfort/ and Antiquities of the County (^ Hertford. ^
John Dui4c v m b. A, M, Fol: L with Maps and ritvjs, 4to. pp. 604.
IN the preface to the present volume, sources of his informaikm, briefly notieed
the reverend author iias unfolded the theehamctefi^ucift of Uie^jouotyA and ftofll
1>UNCUMB*8 HISTORY OF HiK£F0&D8BI££*
401
* odted in onr minds a lively cario-
sit)', and much anxknis expectation. For
ia a ooantj ihat affords so much local in-
terest, and where such powerful patronage
uobmotA, we are entitled to expect a to-
pogiapbical book approa<5faing perfection.
Mr. Doncumb ob5er\'es in his preface^
'*Thc coanty of Hereford, although rc-
\ylete with a variety of materials to attract the
''.feieirches of the antiquary and the historian,
^ has hitherto so Car escaped Uieir notice, tliat
• Ao regular account of it has ever been sub-
; aritteu to the public. As the ground on which
fCanictacus and the brave Silures so nobly
/^n^fpro arisetfocis, against the Roman
liiraders,and as the frontier, during the long
^antiaued wars bcHween England and Wales,
•kpresents an iinportant series of national oc-
Srences ; whiUt as a province, distinguish-
from the earliest dates of civilized society,
the residence of ancient and lionourabje
lilies, holding their possessions by various
'jnd peculiar tenures ; as a district'fertile in
|ib produce, and abounding in scenery of the
■Sw beautiful description ; it contains a fund
fiofonnatlon, which, if properly collected
1 arranged, could not £iil to be generally
L ** buch considerations, and the interest na-
% excited by long connection with the
nty, and by extensive property acquired
I marriage with the heiress of the family of
^damore, of Home Lacy, have induced the
ke of Norfolk to make several purchases,
^ a view towurcls a publication of this kind.
. f idi these materials, with ver}' considerable
§froro the stores of the British Museum,
Aagroentatioo-ofiice, and the 1 bwer in
idon; the Bodleian Library in Oxford;
if, S. collections of Thomas Blount, Esq.
~ x>rleton, aiid of James VValwyn, Esq. of
jMJngworth ; tJie usual printed authorities ;
wkI the obliging communications of the gen-
jflcmenand clergv of the countv, and of Wif-
plm Bray, Esq. George Nayler, Esq. and the
Wer. Jaiiies I>allaway, the. ioliowing colieC-
|fcw» have been arranged in their present
|ivin.
'. " The compiler is well aware that many
^perfections will be discernable ; some from
We difficulties unavoidably incident to the un-
flBrtaking, and more from l^s own inability to
l^juitice to a work which embraces subjects
{'if oxisiderable variety, and involves persons
jMid property 'of so nigh importance. The
K, however, have now an opportunity of
^Dg fortlieuisclves ; aad, with the utn'iost
crence, these coUections are submitted fo
eir accustomed candour/'
This volume ia divided into eWen chap-
L Jm, of which the first seven f<»rni a gene-
E-mI inticduction to the history of tlie
Muity : the other four oornprise tha mi-
litary, civil, and ecclesiastical hiitory of
AfiN.air.Yot.lV.
the city. To furnish oiir renders with an
ample account of it, and thereby display
its merits and defects, we shall briefly
analyze every chapter separately, and tlien
make a few observations on each, as tliey
arise out of the subject.
The first chapter professes to comprise
a general account of this part of Britain
before, and after, the Roman invasion ;
the character of the ancient inhabitants
is delineated^ vestiges, civil and military,
are referred to ; the op^tions (rfthe Ro-
mans are detailed 3 the bravery and defeat
of Caractacus are recorded ; and ' a gene-
ra] review is taken of Roman remains,
roads, and stations, belonging to the
county.
The present county* of Hereford, M^^
Duncumb asserts, formed part of the
country inhabited by the Silures, but ad-
duces no document to prove this. If,
with Pinkerton, Silures be considered a
generic term, then it might have compre-
liended the wTiolc t!^ South Wales, how-
ever subdivided ; also tlie district of coun-
try between the rivers Temc, Severn, and
Wye. From the concorrent testimony
of the early Roman writers 6n the affairs
of Britain, this appears highly probable,
and that Venta, Dimetar, &:c. were subor-
dinate divisions of what went under the
general nameof SiJuria. However, there
are various opinions on this subject, and
Mr. Duncumb takes up the usual one,
that it included no more, than the coun-
ties of Hereford, Monmouth, and Brecon.
When tlie Silures were threatened with
invasion by Ostorius, to counteract Jiis de-
sign, Tacitus says, the Iceni had recourse
to hostilities. But Mr. Duncumb observes,
" from tlieir local situation the Iceni could
be little affected by any invasion of the
Silures." The Roman Annalist describes
them as a powerful naticm unsubdued, tut
in alliance with tlie Romans ^ consequent-
ly when an hostile army was put in luo-
tion, and must pass through their countr)'-
to the scen«of its intended operations, they
could not, consisteiUly witli tlieir own in-
terest, remain silent spectators j rightly
judging, that if more of the bordering
countries were roused or subdued, their
own might become tlie seat of war. Be-
sides, it appears that the people styled Co-
ritani were sometimes called Iceni, and
were probably a subordinate division of
that powerful people ** gens valida.** And
this is conlirmed by the observation con-
tained in the 12th book of the Annals, that
after subduing the Ice^i he marched his
army against Uie Cstfigi/ situate iu Cheshire^
Dd
402
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY ANH ANnGftJITIES.
and encamped near the Irish Sea. *' Quod
liiberniani insiilam spectat."
The site where the ever-memorable
battle was fought, in which the noble
Caractaeus was made a captive to the
Romans, Mr. Duncumb, wkh general
Roy, thinks must have been Coxwall-
Knoll, near DowntoH, on tlie northern
borders of Herefordshire ; aixl seems to
rest the proof on wliat the historian says,
that the war did not originate in tlie
county of the Ordovices, ** Transfert hel-
ium in Ortk)vices." True, but it terminated
tliere on the total defeat of the British
army, and the capture of tlVeir chief. Va-
rious opinions have been propagated on
this point : but after all that has been said
from Camden to Roy, we think the site
fixed upon by the autlior of the Brftannia
the least liable to objection. The situation
of Caer Caradoc, ift Shropshire, agrees
much better wkh the British mode of
warfare^ and the description of the posi-
tion which was taken by the British chief.
Vid. Annal. 1. xii. 31. j aixl the observa-
tion, that, previous to the battle, Caractaeus
moved by forced and private maiclies into
the country of the Ordoviccsr Cox wall
is situated in Siluria; is an insulated hrll
on a plain, only calculated for an adv^anced
post J while Caer Caradoc rises on a
tongue of land formed by tlie conflux of
the rivers Colun and Teme, where tj>e
fords in flood-time would be impassable,
and having the mountainous tract which
ianges froiii Montgomery by Bishop's
Castle in the back ground, of wjiich this
hill forms one of tlie feot. Coxwall-hill
might have been previously occupied by
I he' British forces while the Romans were
advancing towards Brandon.
Mr. Duncumb next adverts to the Ro-
man statbns, of which two principal
ones were in this county, Magiia and Ari-
conium. The former has been variously
placed by antiquarian ' geographers 5 but
Mr. Duncumb adopts tlie opinion of
Horsley, who fixes it at Ceu or Ken -Ches-
ter, near Hereford : the name is obviously
deri\ ed from the British word cen, great
or conspicuous, and casira a camp, i. e.
the great or notable camp. We must, of
tuurse, look for Ariconium in some other
place, and the distances mentioned in the
luiK'fary concur to point out some spot
near4lie present kavu of Ross, between
Glcvi. U/uuctstn\ and Gobaunjnm, -/^kr-
vjii'dW)/. In tracing the M^itJing- street
rood, whicli c.'itiTS tlie northern part of
the county alter iilea^c* V/roxeWr^ there
appears an error in making Bravifiium soli
Branegium the same place.
In the second chapter Mr. Duncumlr
I>roeeeds to lake into consideratioa tbfe his-
tory of the Silurian Britons, after the Re^
man legions were withdravtTi from tbe \
i^sland. In tlie course of this, he details »
few particulars of Uther Pendragon and
his son Arthur, of whose tomb some ac-
count is given. Tlie state of tliis partcf
the island during the Saxon heptarchy ir:
next considered ; and a lii'i, with biogn.-
phical sketches, of the successive kings rf"
Mercia, to the conquest of that kingdov
by Egbert, are detailed. A general im
is then taken of the principal occuncnn
under the Saxon and Danish monarclueiii
this leads to the consideration of the 1mi
customs, coins, judiciary proceedings, ari
architecture, of the Saxons, and of tij
changes introduced by tlie Norman cm
queror^ The chapter closes with a rat(
the divisions, subcBvisions, lands, Ion
ships, and proprietors, of HereferdsUq
as recorder' in Domesday book.
Under the Saxon dynasty, fwinded \
Crida, there is little new in Mr.Dod
eumb's account ; and he appears to pbi
too implicit ftiith in the relations of 01
English historians. Hume, it is w
known, is not the most impartial vrita
and much credit can seldom be attached
Polyilore Virgil. As the palace of (A
was at Sutton, three miles from thep
sent city of Hereford, and this couH
formed part of his dominions, we exped
ed a more detailed and particular accoa
of the Mercian king and his operatbns.
The Marches, of which this axiDl
formed a considerable pait, Mr.Dujicotf
observes, were of indefinite extent ; ami
as being tlie disputed frontiers belwrt
the English and die Welsh, e%^er vaijrn
with the succes3 of either party. Thl
civilization was rather impeded than pn>
moted by the first Saxon in\'adcrs is to
obvious to be denied : for as their or^
intention was principally plunder, thd
after regulations were highly tincture
with a similar spirit.
We were rather surprised at Mr. Du»
cumb's observation on the work ralkt
Domesday, made at the command of W
Norman conqueror, " that it was an ni^
dertaking which proves his extcfnsive ge*
nius, and does honour to his memory.
That a survey, intended to lay with nwrt
facility the heaviest burthens on a $ubJl^
gated country, and the lev}'ing them placea
in the hands of foreigners, possessing n^
tSXfUCXJlAB*i HISTORY dP fiEIlSFOjtDSHIftB.
40d
preteAflion but power, nor right but that
of cooqaest, should be deemed an honour-
tibk ac^^ appears to us very strange. As a
vahubJe document reiatire to tlie state of
propertj at the time the survey was made,
ve accede to its merits 3 and we hope it
vill ever remain among our mostvaluabJe
in^rds, to show to what a humiliating
ooodition this or any other nation must
lie reduced, whenever* it fails to have
fipiiit to resist usurpation or repel inva-
\mm.
Proceeding regularly with our author^
us DOW accompany him through his
d chapter^ which professes to take a
iral view of occurrences in Hereford-
, from the Norman conquest to the
jfaath of Henry the ^venth : and includes
■e list of knights* fees assessed to the aid
utleary I. on the marriage of his daugh-
pr Maud ; the introduction of a new
^le of architecture into England ; the
fnt of Magna Charta by John -, the in-
Hion of England by Llewelin, prince of
faks', the subjugation of that princi-
0j by Edward I. ; the knights of this
Rmty (with their armorial bearings)
ho served under that monarch ) some ac-
Mnt of the laws anc\ customs which pre-
Hed in the marches of Wales ) a list of
le lord»-presidents of the marches ; the
Imes aiid arms of the nobles, knights^
li esquires (connected with this county),
k attended Edward III. at the siege of
dais; the insurrection of Glendour
iwnp. Henry IV.) ; the battle of Agin-
Wrt (Henry V.); the names of the
podpal inhabitRDts of Herefordshire re-
toed by the conuni^sioners in the sur-
}ff, 12 Henry VI. / and the wars be-
Kvcen^ and unieo-of^ the houses of York
IKI Lancaster.
The feudal established rights gave Henry
first an early topportunity of laying a
Nvy coQtribution on the country to ap-
MoQ his daughter Maud on her mar-
Pge with the emperor. Three shillings
to every hide of land throughout tlie
ji^dom were levied. ' The number of
tods was 300,000, and the sum tlius
lued equal to about 13S,000/. sterling of
Epreaent money. The return made by
barons for this county are here given,
accounts of the lord^ marchers is
iRKipaily taken from a small pamphlet,
*Bfid the History of Ludlow Castle.
^ could Mr. Duncumb lind no better,
l^atleast have had recourse to no more
IMhentic sources of information ? As this
•oily was often the seat of warfare be-
k'eea the Eogligh and Welsh ia tj^^if
le fir
last struggle for independance, during
what is termed the ipsurrection of
Glyndwr, we expected a more detailed
narrative, and more decided history. Soma
account of the latter part of his life, and
circumstances of his death, might have
been gleaned from the vicinity of Man-
nington, or from femilies connected with
that part of the country. Edward the
second was taken in the abbey of Neath,
in Glamorganshire ^ and not at Llanste-
phen, in Caermarthenshire. The chap-^
ter concludes with a decisive opinion in
favour of the house of York against the
I^ancastrian usurpation.
I'he general occurrences of the county,
from the time of Henry the eighth, are
brought down to the present period in
chapter iv. which is principally occupied
by observations on tiie incorporation of
the marches with the adjacent counties of
England. The suppression of the lesset'
and greater monasteries is concisely no-^
ticed) and the commissioners of the
peace for the county (temp. Eliz.) are
particularly named. In the perilous reign
of Charles the first, this county, with se-^
veral others, was burthened with a heavy
tax, for '' the shipping money j" the par-
ticular sums assessed on every parish and
townsliip in Herefordshire are specified,
and a copy of the sheritf s letter which ac-
companied the return is printed. The
city and county of Hereford must neces-
sarily participate in the subsequent civil
wars ) this induces Mr. Duncumb to no-*
tice the character of Cromwell, and the
restoration of monarchy. He gives a list
of tlie names and estates of tlie principal
inhabitants of this county (temp. Charles
11.)^ and another list of the names of the
commissioners of the peace, A. D. 1800 j,
terminates the chapter. The uniting
Wales with England by Henry the eighth,
and the consequent conclusion of the go»
vemmentof the matches, occasioned con-
siderable changes in this county. ' At the
dissolution of the monasteries there were
twenty-one monastic instimtions in Here*
fordshire j and during tlie reign of Mary,
most of the prhicipal families espoused
her .cause. There still exist more persons
of the catholic persuasion in this and the
adjoining county of Monmouth than per-
haps in any district of tlie kingdom of an
equal extent.
The titles of honour derived from
Herefordshire are the subject of the fifth
chapter, which contains a list, with some
account of the successive dukes, earls, and
viscounts of Hereford, firona the reiaocest
l>d2.
404
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUITIES.
antiquitj^ to the present time ; the names
oftiie sheriffs., from 1154 to 1803; the
knights of the shire from 18 Edward I. to
42 George II L j and lord-lieutenants since
the revolution. In this, as in several other
parts of the volume, we regret to see so
many pages occupied with long lists of
names. When necessary, they should he
printed in a smaller type, and arranged in
a manner to (xrcupy as little space as pos-
sible : but here they extend to several
pages, are printed in large letter, and
spaced wide. Indeed, the whole arrange-
ment of the book evidently proves, that
the author was more eager to extend the
numbef than the size of his pages. Al-
tliough a quarto book, one of our pages
will include above three of Mr. Dun-
cumb's. Tlie catalogue of mere names of
sheriffs and members for the county oc-
cupies almost tlie whole of nineteen suc-
cessive pages. It is really sacrificing too
much gof)d paper, and encroaching too
much on the reader's rights. In the very
commencement of this chapter, die author,
commits a veiy palpable error, by con-
founding Craddocke Fraich fris, son of
Ceilwg Mwyn-grydd; aod ancestor of
Tydyr Trevor, earl of Hereford, who lived
in the reign of Hywell Dha, with a per-
son of the same name, a grandson of Bry-
chan lord of Gloucester, cotemporary with-
king Arthur, and said to hzve been one of
t])e knights of the round table, and lord of
the dolorous tower. Neitiier of the ac-
counts resj-j^cting the death of Mahel,
earl of Hereford, is correct. For Gyral-
dus calls tlie castle Brendlais j which his
annotator, Pov/et, explains Brunllys now
written Branllys, situated within half a
mile of Talgarth, in the county of Brecon,
whence Gyraldus was evidently writing
tvhen he alluded to the circumstances.
Both Inland and Dugdale state tiie Clif-
fords to have been the lords of this castle.
The anecdote related of Humphry, earl of
Hereford, in company with Roger, earl of
Norfolk; is variously stafed. That '^ this
affair was compromised without further
violence,*' may suit an historian who
wonld sacrifice truth for the nirn of a pe-
riod, but will by no means accord witli tlie
atatement of facts. For on the king me-
nacing them for contempt of his autliority,
they withdrew froni court, summoned
their followers, took up arms, and pro-
ceeded to hostile measures. Yet such
^aslhe posture of public affairs, the king
, soon found it an act of prudence rather to
aubmit ithan revenge the aflVonta The-
«Mi of Herefw4 afieirwards rose iu-^ffcac©.
of the people resisting the tax ofererr
eitrkihpeimy of property j and was for tbii
offence suspended from hi? oflF.cc of lord
high constable, and his estates were ccn-
iiscQted. Mr. D. says he resigned them*
Still undaunted, Iwwever, he continued
to oj^posc every attempt at encroachmem
on the part of the crown, and at last died i
martyr to the liberty of the people. We
have made this remark, because we do
not think Hume a satisfactory aatbority
for such family secrets ; for such tbeyaw,
when garbled or incorrectly staled Tbe \
county of Hereford had sherifft prcviflBi
to the conquest, styled vicecomites, vii*
counts being a title of dignity from d»
time of Henry VI.
Under tlie head of the natural historraf;
the county, to which th« "sixth chapter K'
devoted, die author embraces acomnfsef
the principal rivers and strean>s, partial-
larly their rise, course, navigation, pros;
duce, and general character 3 and the al«
mon fishery of tlie-Wye is particuiaily den-
ser ibed. The formation and bent^iicial e^'
fccf s of the navigable canals are nolicftk'
The soil, sub-soil, agriculture, cattle, ani
sheep, are severally treated of; a listol
the rare plants is subjoined ; the cultiw*
tion of orchanls, tlie varieties of applet
and pears, and the manufacture of c}der
and perry, occupy the remainder of thK^
chapter.
The next is appropriated to the geoerd
description of the county ; in its bo«D-
darics, extent, divisions, populatioi^ rh-
litia, castles, forests, chases, and parki*
Some local customs are explained; ant
a glossary given of ifce provincial worda,
phrases, weights, and measures.
In the enumeration of rivers snd
streams, whose courses are- illustrated by
a chart, the Wye, as the chief, forms the
most distinguishing feature. This, in the
time of Athelstan, formed a natural and
political boundary between the Britoof
and the Saxons ; and, for many subsequent
centuries, its banks were the theatre <fl>
which were displayed the most sanguinaiy
scenes, till llie tatal stab was gwen ta
Welsh independance hi tlie death of Lle-
welyn. This gallant jMince was itot slain
by Mortimer, as here stated^ but by on*
Walter de Franckton, acting under Moni*
mer, who found Llewelyn alone in a so-
litary dingle, attempting to escape, called
cwm Llewelya near Pont y coed. TKa
river, which is navigaWe by small baige*
from Hereford to Chester, exhibitr tl»
alow advances, notwithstanding our Taunt*
ingy ^ai w« bam bitberto jaad»m itti
DUNCOMB's history op HEREFORDSHIRE,
405
science or tucful knowledge. It abounds
wiih irequ^^nt shoals which impede the
j}3v;|^jtioa daring dry reasons ; and is
suhiect to floods equally obstructive in
ijiii:i^ weather : and tliough repeated acts
of parliainent have been obtained, and
iarge sum.-; raised for the improvement of
ihe navigation, nothing has hitherto been
ciFected that can be considered of very
et»«ieutial iiiiprovement We agree with
Air. Duncumb, that inland navigation by
canals is beneficial to any particular dis^
trict, in proportion as the country may
have heavy articles either to import or
^ exprjrt. Preambles to canal acts generally
*late the inculcuiMe advantat^cs to be ob-
, lained botli to the proprietors,, as well as
to tlxe country at large, which often prove
as fallacious to hope, as they are iinfound-
I ed in truth. For, however some may at-
tempt to prove that the country may ht
benefited, though the proprietors may lose,
it should be recollected that no concern
can Jong be supported where mutual pro-
fits do not accrue. In treating of the
fishery of the Wye, more accurate and
j ample information might easily have been
\ furnished. The botcher, suin, and sal-
mon, are distinct species ; and the salmon,
which the bailiffs of Gloucester were re-
cjuested to obtain for kuig Edward, did not
. imply such as answer to our idea of crivip^
ness'^ they m,'^i& found in a particular
reach of the river above the IVtare called
CoU-wart or Colder, and were peculiarly
fuued for their delicious flavour. Our
author obsenes, that the prevailing system
of agriculmre does not stand high in the
comparative list, although a numerous
sot-iety was instituted for its amelioration
ill this county in 1/97. Inveterate pre-
judices are not quickly rooted out : diey
must gradually subside. Improvement is
a plant of very slow, and sometimes -of
uiKertain, growth. Orcharding did not
become a considerable branch of rural
economy till the time of Henry the eighth
in this kingdom, nor in Herefordshire till
ll«at of Charles tiie first, when it was in-
troduced under the patronage of the pa-
triotic lord Srudamore. Various remarks
on this important subject are extracted
from a valuable treatise already before the
publjc, " on the Apple and Pear, by T.
A. Kjiight, Esq." Plantations of hops,
vvliich have been greatly increasing of
laic years^ and are the staple commodity
of a Herefordshire farm, especially in
that part of the county bordering oa
^V orcestershire, Mr. Duncumb just glances
at^ obscning thqr w^re introduced intft
Eiigland in the year 1524. A long list of
the plantne rariores, indigenous to this
county, is here given, \o which many
more might have been added j for per-
haps few districts of equal extent furnish
so many 4 but their respective habitat*
would have been a valuable addition.^
Having, in tiie preceding analysis, at-
tended tlie author through that part of his
volimie which he calls a general introducr
tion J we now proceed to the other divir
sion of his book which relates to the city
of Hereford. In treating of its mihtary
history, die subject of tlie first chapter,
our ajtention is principblly directed to its
etymology and date of foundation j it3
consequence as a principal town of Merr
ciaj its pillage by the XVelsh in 1055 j
its capture by king Stephen, 1141 3 it^
^surrender to the parliamentary force.s,
.1643 J and its siege by tlie Scottisli army,
1645. In the course of this history the
author gives a description of the ancient
castle, with a detail of events relative t9
it. He also fturnishes several autlientic
d(x:uments : viz. a copious narrative, by
sir Richard Cave, of the siirrender of tlie
town to sir William Waller, with th^
terms of the capitulation j copies of let-
ters from lord Scudamoreand sir William
Waller j and an order fi-om prince Rupert,
with a fac- simile of liis signature j copies
of the letters which . passed, during tlie
sieg«, between the earl of Leven and the
parliamentary commissioners, and Barna-
bas Scud am ore, esq. the governor ; a nar-
rative of the siege, in a letter from Mr.
Scudamore to lord Di^by ; an e^^tnict
from " a continuation ot tlie raarcljes and '
actions of the royal army, by Ridiard Sy-
nionds j" and a " survey of the scyte and
materials of tlie niinous castle of Here-
ford," by tlie commissioners in l652.
After the retreat of the Romans from
England, the city of Hereford arose put of
Magna, as Shrewsbury did out of J^ico*
nium. Its name has in vain been sought
for amongst Saxon lore — Jar, in British,
signifies long ; smdjord, a ford or passage
across a river, i. e. Long-ford-, and tlii»
agrees with the situation. A bird's-eye
view of the castle is given 3 but if Leland**
description, wlio saiv it. be exact, this 19
far from accurate. He describes the keep
(vid. Itin.) as having tea circular towers;
and as being the largest, fairest, and
strongest, castle in England. As a fortress
on the frontiers of Wales, it met for cen-
turies with repeated vicissitudes r but the
most interesting pa^t of its history, as more
intimately connected Avith our own titues^
400
BRITfSH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
is that during the civil wars. The city
and county are described at the com-
mencement as being well affected to the
royal cause, and yet, on thq appearance of
sir William Waller, the city and castle
were almost instantly given up, without
the loss of a man, or an attempt to strike
a single blow. This does not appear to us
^^ to be from surprise," nor to be " one
of those effects which skilful commanders
seldom fail to effect from a decisive vic-
tory." From the account of the surren-
der, the letters of lord ScuJamore, and
the court-martial held after on the gover-
nor sir Richard Cave, knight, it was evi-
dently treachery. This is itill farther coD"
firmed by the noble defence it soon after-
wards made under Barnabas Scudamore,
esq. against the whole Scottish army which
besieged it under the earl of Leven. The
conduct and narrative of this brave man
form a fine contrast to the dastardly con-
duct of Cave. These letters breathe the
most nobl© and pious sentiments. Mr.
Dimcumb notices an error of Clarendon
respecting the route of the royal army
for the relief of tlie place. From a MS.
of Richard Symonds, m the Harleian col-
lection, it appears to have been from Wor-
cester^ pnd not, as stated, from Ragland
castle, A further account is taken from
the^Iter Carolinum, published in the Col-
lectanea Curiosa. " Since this, Hereford
has ceased to be the scene of military
events J and may the desolating scourge^
of war never violate again its tranquil
borders !" We heartily join in the wish :
»— we extend it to our farthest shores- — to
earth's utmost verge !
In reviewing and narrating the civij
history of the city in chapter ii, the au-
thor particularizes tlie ancient forms of
judicature as established generally by Al-
fred; and notices the respective jurisdic-
tion of the bishops and' bailifrs. The
charters from several jnonarchs relating
to the city, and the establishment of St.
Ethelbert's fair, are briefly detailed 3 and
the contest for power between tlie mem-
bers of the church and the inliabitants is
linimad verted on. The customs and pri-
vileges of the city, as recorded in Denies-
day Book, and as naqre fully ascertained
(1 Heniy II.) in a book, intitled, *' A
tx)oke of the priviledges and boundes of
the cittie of Hereford, extracted out of an
ancient booke of record,'* are fully ex-
plained. This chapter also contains the
priginal incorporation charter of the city
t)y Henry III.; with confirmations, and
l^d^itippal grants by succeeding sovereigas;
to which are subjoined lists -of the repre-
sentatives in parliament from 1295 to the
present time ; of the common coundl in
1620 5 of the members of the corporatioa
in 1682 and 1698 ; of the chief srewardi
from 1620 J and of the mayors from 1382
to the present time. Here we have naorc
long lists of names occupying several
^ages,
Mr. Duncumb observes, according to
the jurisdiction established by Alfred, and
which prevailed till after the Norman con-
quest, tliat a civil and ecclesiastical sope*
rior presided with emial authority intlsQ
county courts ; and tnat this practice was
derived from the Druids. Wc do not
consider this altogether accurate. Tha^
the earl and bishop presided in the coum
termed shire-motes and gcre-motes is cer-
tain; but then it appears tlie bishop was
only an associate for the purposes of at-
tending to any thing which concerned the
church, and for administering oaths with
greater solemnity, lliese courts were
held twice in the year, spring and au-
tumn ; in tlie former of which, the pcapte
came to swear fealty, and civil causes were
tried; on this account, as hining the
largest attendance, it was called /o/c-ffwtf;
that in autumn was principally for eccle-
siastical causes, though the earl attended
on the part of the king, and to assist with
the arm of the civil power. This divi-
sion of parts of the year for special pur-
poses, led, after the conquest, to afiaiher
division, and two distinct tribunals were
erected under the name of civil and eccU-
siastical courts. Nor does it appear that
the powers once possessed by the bouses
qf convocation were at all derived from
this : their having outlived iliem proves it,
Equally erroneous is i he statement, "that
the bishops of Hereford liave hi^nce re-
tained a more than common share of civtl
authority iji tlie city of Hereford.** This
is confounding things which are evidently
as distinct as jwssible, county and baronial
courts : at least the sources whence thdr
respective powers are derived. As seized
with baronies, bishops had the same pri-
vileges conferred on them as other barons
of the realm, and under these possessed
thos^ rights Mr. Duncumb supposes to
have originated in ecclesiastical influence.
Thus possessed of numerous fees within
the city, when their privileges were cur-
tailed by graifting charters to a corporate
body, it would naturally follow that fre-
quent disputes about rights would pccur^
which in one instance must have been in-
vaded to confer tliem pn another; ao^
DXraCUMB'^S HISTORY OP HERETORDSHIHE.
407
^r»2 find this the case more or less ichcrever
baronial pauvr has been diniinished hf cot'
poratc pririicges. Th i s occdsioiied the va -
rious charters descriptive of episcopal and
burg^age rights td! tlie iiicoq>oration of the
city m the reign of Henry IJJ., 1218, and
the subsequent reserves in the differeitt
coniSrmatioQs of tlie cliarter of the city in
fatiire reigns.
The description of the city, in its an-
ient and aiodern state, is the principal
Bibject of the next chapter, which in-
cludes memoirs of Nell Gw)aine, with
biographic^ sketches of other celebrated
Datives, and eminent persons connected
with the city. The author offers some
oonjectures respecting the origin of the
White Cross, an ancient moniiment in
the viciaity of the city 3 and next gives
historical accounts of the endowments -of
the, religious houses, hospitals, and oilier
public baildkigs.
Hereford, iti the time of Leland, con-
teined a space within the walls about a
mile in compass. The walls were demo-
lished in 1645. This city possesses few
engaging features to the passing stronger,
and tewer inducements to genteel resi-
dents: and except a little glove -making,
it is destitute of manufactures. A be-
quest of lord Scudamore, 1^88, for the
kudable purpose of employing the poor
inlubitants, having been funded and in-
crea8ed.by voluntary subscription, unav»iil-
iHg attempts were made to intnxluce some
kind of useful trade. An enquiry into
the causes of the failure of these attempts,
widi such aa ample fund for putting the
^desirable scheme into execution, would
have been proper here, and means of fur-
thering the imdertaking might have been
pfiinted out ; instead oi! which ii> given a
biographical sketch of a character high
00 the scale of infamy, Mrs. Eleanor
fnvyiine, better known by the name of
AW/ GwynjK, the celebrated favourite of
Charles 11. It might have been accom-
jxiiiied by that of another native of tlie
uty, a similar, though less successful cha-
racter, Rosainunda Clifford, the unfortu-
i^te mistress of Henry IJ. Garrick, as
appears from the register of All Saints,
vas born here ^ his father, a French re-
fisget?, and a lieutenant m a troop of ca-
valry, was quartered at the Angel-inn at
the lime of his birth. Since that time Here-
f'jrd has furnished a variety of votaries to
Tliespis ; and some of the most celebrated
actors on the London theatres at the pre-
vail lime derived their birth^ aud received
the first rudiments of their education,
here. The numerous hospitals, and other
charities, shew that Hereford has possessed
a very considttrable share of attention
from friends eminently distinguished for
benevolence and liberality. Among other
religious houses the knights hospitallers
had one here^ and the privileges annexed
sliew that they ix)ssessed that of sanctuary
in civil as well as criminal cases. On the
site is now a comfortable retreat for the
worn-out soldier and superannuated ser-
vant of unshaken fidelity, founded by sir
Thomas Conningsby ; and a very interest-
ing account is given in page 404 of this
singular institution, which doubtless arose
out of the regulations belonging to the
military order of St. John of Jerusalem. *
Hereford, however, though still a dull
place, has within a few years experienced
many improvements. Some of the streets
have been widened ; a large inn and hotel
has been built ; an infirmary supported by
voluntary contribution; a liew county
gaol on Howard's plan of solitary confine-
ment J an asylum for the reception of lu-
natics, &:c. &:c. These, and many others,
concur to shew the munificent spirit of
the present patron, and that the other no-
bility, clergy, and gentry, fre not back-
ward in the support of his beneficent
plans.
The ecclesiastical history of Hereford
occupies chap, iv., and relatQs principally
to the episcopal*jurisdiction, i\2venues, and
patronage of the see : concise memoirs of
the bishops, and some, account of the
member* of the catholic church, with
their resj^ctive endowments, are given.
A copious history and description of thtt
cathedral follows, in which the author has
endeavoured to ascertain the period of its
foundation and successive additions. He
also attempts to discriminate the various
styles of architecture which arc displayed
in this structure 5 and gives some account
of the ornaraeiits, painted glass, shrines,
monimients, and other sepulchral memo-
rials. The choir, library, chapter-house,
and grammar-school, are particularly no-
ticed : and the volume concludes with a
description of tlie parish churches of All
Saints, St. Peter, and St. Nicholas.
If Hereford was not a bishopric in the
lime of tlie Britons, it was created one
very soon after tlie conversion of the
Saxons to Christianity — Putta the first
bishop being consecrated in 676 or 0*80 j
and at a synod probably held at tliis time,
it was decreed that the province of Mer-
40S
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUDTiES.
cia, wliich then constituted one see, should
be divided into two; and hence it was
thai Sexulph, bishop of Litchfield, who
perlbrmed the ceremony of consecration,
is styled * Jiishop of the Mercians on the
east of tlie Severn/ The revenues of the
bishopric are stated} how. accurately, we
leave those to judge who are more inter-
ested in the sUtement. They have cer-
tainly at various periods been greatly di-
minished; especially in the tinie of the
professed patroness of the churcli of Eng-
land, &uem EUzabclh. The present clear
aiuiual value is placed at two thousand
pounds. A considerable patronage is an-
nexed to tJje see ; and the jurisdiction ex-
tends over the county of Hereford, except
six parishes, parts of Salop, Monmoutli,
Radnor, Montgomery, and Worcester.
The succession of prelates, comnaencing
"w ith Putla, is set down, with bic^raphical
anecdotes tjf eac^. The dean and chap-
ter, and the various offices of the cathedral,
are next nientionod ; and the revenues of
the church as related inDoniesda}% which
Mr. Duncunib snys nearly correspond with
thase of tiie present day. But liow is this
to be reconciled with tlie obser\-ation naade
on episcopal revenues, p. 444, where he
says, ' That those of tlie bishop and chwch
were so infcrmixcd as not to.he well .ascer-
tained f
llierc appears to have been a catliedral
church at Hereford as*- early as the reign
ofOfi:!; proljfibly, like many of the. Saxon
churches of that period, built of wood:
as the church erected afterwards in ho-
nour of the memory of Ethelbert is, in
contradistinction, termed structura lapidea,
i. e. tlie stone edifice. This, which was
built in 82.'), was in two centuries com-
pletely dilapidated. Athelstan rebuilt the
whole, in 1012. That this was adorned
witli towers, there is not even room for
conjecture, as it was entirely destroyed on
the eruption of the Welsh chieftain Gryf-
fydd, and Aig.ir earl of Chester, A. j3.
1055. The present building was begun
by Robert L()zci)i>;e in the latter tnd of
the reign of Wjlliam the Conqueror ; and
the central part exhibits the style of that
age. Ai'rdiuotjs and alterations made in
subsejjueut reigns exhibit various styles,
according to tlie pitjvailing taste .of the
respective litnes. So tliat Mr. Duncumb
thinks this bivlding alone may furni.^ii
spr-cimens of tlie various changes which
took p]«jce in architecture during the dif-
ferent periods of English history : espe-
cially if iiie poi ts of the ej^teriuii and ia«. .
temal structure with aepulcbnl deoon»
tipns be taken into the comparison, Aa,
elaborate description is given of the m^
rior ; and every lover of the arts will tbaok
the author for his miuuteoess and aocu.
racy of detail. The tower, having lost itt
spire, is no longer attractive. A plate ej^-.
hibits two curious miniature shrines : tba
one of the mart)T Ethelbert, and the oUier.
of bishop Cantalupe. They are formed
of a peculiar species of enamel, done on
copper-plates supported by a 6^aie of oak«.
and were, with numerous other simils
reliques, th^ work of certain itlDeraoK
Grecian artists, who came o^'er to fiog.
land for this jiurpose of making shruia, k
the reign of Henry III. > an art wbkfa,
variously modified, is said to have existai
in their coimtry previous to the christian !
era. The silver shrines for the g^eat god^ i
dess Diana must be familiar tp aU. Tb^
obit of Ethelbert was, we are informed, ,
celebrated on the fifth of the kaknds of ^
May : and a copy of curious Latin leoo*. i
ine verses is given. Tlie chapter-bouse,
M:hich was an elegant decagooal boiidfog,,
syiifered much during the civil wars -, aod
what its enemies began, itfv friends accQQ>-
pitched. Bishop Bisse appropriated, two
of its beautiful windows to adorn the |B-
lace ', aod its total demolition quickly kl*
lowed. Nothing appears to come amiss to
the rapacious hand of man ! Even the most
sacred edifices cannot escape! The vfiy
utensiU of the sanctuary, goo^s bequeath-
ed-and dedicated to the most ^lemn cihosi
of religion, must administer to his avarice!
A regulation is mentioned cespc-ctiog the
^ammar-school that does cr^it to dw
judgment of tlie Uien dean and chapter,
and is worthy the imitation of the timteef
and feoifees of other similarly endoyei
schools.
Thus have we, with considerable plea*
sure and profit, accompanied Mr. Duo*
cunib through the first volume of his
history of Herefordshire : and though we
lament with him the penury of authentic
documents, owing to the civil wacs aul
other causeJs, which have dispersed nsaaj
and destroyed more j yet we hope he will
meet with increasing assistance, and that
tlie future part of the work will he. still
more full and interesting.
.Presuming that Mr. Duncumb is pn)*
ceeding with his history, we eannot take
leave of this specimen volume withoat re-
questing liis attention to two or three
things whidi \^^ presume will enhanoB
the value of the suhsequeitf parts. The
J0NBS*8 aiSTOftT OP THE COtJKTT OF B&^CKKOCK- '
409
■per is' fine and good ; the maps and
liots are well engraved; biit the draw-*
}gs for the latter are tasteless^ aiid evi-
eatij wiy imc^rrect : and the maps and
Eans are estremely meagre in names of
\mx$, &€. and come without aoy author
tf. In an original book« and particu^
irly one which emanates from the liberal
Cranage of the duke of Norfolk^ the best
artists should be employed m each de^
paitment $ and every branch ef the work
sliouJd evince taste^ learning, and science.
Ixmg extracts from other works are gene-
rally objectionable ; as they impeach the
taste and industry of the author : and very
prolix lists ^ names^ ^c. arc e^ktrenieijr
tiresome. *
JIT. VIII. — 44 History <ffthe County of Brecknock. InTxsio Volumes, VoL I. contaiain^.
the Chorograpl^, B;cncral History, Jttligiort, Laius, CnMoms, J^'/oMners, Umguutge, and
System 0/ Agriculture used in that County. By 'I heophjlus Jones^ Deputy Jtegistrttr
if tkcyirchMaconry of Brecon, 4lo. pp. 42<),
THE routine of plan in county histo-
les is generally the same — bituation,
QDodarieSj division into hundreds^ pa-
ibes : then follows a list of lords whe-
igr baronial <»: manorial^ principal fami-
», knights, esquires, petty proprietors,
onoQi appointed under various commis*
ion he taxation, lists of slueri^s.
epresentatives^ justices, mayors, k^.
jlhops, deans^ chapters -, and the subs^-
|Mot account extended through evci|)r
Inish with little more than the name,
Wets, a quotation from Domesday re-
jecting feudal property, the church, and
jlho lies buried there, witliout a ray of
Wbniiation to enliven the dreary scene.
Ire now and then an extraordinary epi-
hpli, which intimates the flattery of the
Inng or the superstition of the dead.
Ibcse, when fidtlifully copied, may be
Mil as future records, and furnish the
|Rnrincial antiquary with information,
iHjich otherwise, from the distance of
jiaces where sndi records are deposited,
Bid the difficulty and expence of procur-
ing copies of them, he might be tor ever
l^ived of. But to the general or scien-
ce reader, tliey can neither atford intel-
l^nce nor excite pleasure.
The volume now before us, however,
Nan agreeable exception to the common
hile, and combines both arausemei>t and
bitractioQ. Tlie author is a writer of no
nean talents. He appears possessed of
in energetic mind and independant prin-
cipies ; and though sometimes he may be-
Mrricd away into fairy land, adopting
Ittsty opinions which mature deliberation
•wld have corrected, and language which
ftflection wOold have tended to moderate,
jet in the distant view we discover genius j ,
,ind throughout the whole, extensive ob-
lervation.
The following judicious remarks £rom
the preface deserve the «ttentk)n of to*
pographers in general.
'* It would ill become me to expatiate on
the merits or demerits of this work as it pro-
ceeds ; on these f he public must decide*. Au-
t^lors are generally too fond of their own pro-
ductions, and, like many other parents, too
lenient to tlie defects ot their offspring to act
as impartial judges, but [ have adopted tumy
progress one niw which I will venture to re- \
conuneud to all, who, like myself, are infected
with the cacoetfies scribendi: ibis rule is,
never to quote from a quotation, extract, or
copy, w hen access can be had to tlie original:
all will admit its propriety, but tlie public are
hardly aware how fe\V writers attend to, and
what mischiefs and errors ensue from, the nc;
gleet of it. 8onie instances will be found in
this volume, as when we arc told by those who
quote the autliority of Caesar as to the origin
of Drui(li:>ra, ' that'Ca^sar afhrnis that the doc-
trine of the Druids was.iirst found, in Britain^
and a{l<;rwanls propagated in Gaul.' Caesar
makes no affirmation as to this doctrine, but
merely gix-tis a report which had reached iiis
ears as to its rise. Again, ^'arrington refers
to lord Lyttleton's life of Henry 11. as to the
n^arvellous expedition of Mik) Fitiswalter into'
Cardigaubhire, to rcUevc the besieged coimt-
ess of Clare ; lord Lyttleton quotes Giralduc
Cambrcnsis, who says not a word of the ex-
ploit, though he twice or thrice mentions the
name of MiloFitzwalter, and though he lived
soon after this event is supposed to have oc-
curred : at last the anecdote is traced by the
indefatigable historian Carte to an anonymous
chronicle of dubious credit : as to the mis-
takes of names, like tliat of liech-y-crou for
IJechi7d^ in the deferent eiUtions of Powell,
1 could give you inuumerable instances of
these inaccuracies, and I have only to entreat
that the reader who doubts the correctness of
my assertion, when I venture to fix an impi*
tation of this kind upon authors who stand
higiily in the opinion of the worid, will take
the trouble of comparing the titles, substances,
and dates of the meetings and adjournments
of pariiametit, as given by Hume and tSmok
4tO
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUITIES.
lett, with the recorcls themselves in the vo-
lumes of statutes at large, the acta regla and
the documents in the public offices, and he
will be astonisiied at the inatteution of even
Uiese respectable historians/'
. The present volu\ne is divided into
eleven chapters, which comprehend the
provincial history. The first commences
with the ancient and present appellations
of the county; and according to our author,
Brecknockshire was fbrmeriy called Gar-
mathrin,* i. e. Foxhold^ from tlie number
of foxes which, previous to its cultivation,
used to find a safe retreat in this moun-
tainous district: and Brecknock from
Breichin, a prince or regulus, who ruled
here about the year, of Christ 400, and
€iivg or awe, which in British ' gives to
names a local habitation^' i. e. the terri-
tory of Breichin. In ascertoining the
country to which this district belonged,
^Ir. Jones is exceedingly severe in liis
remarks npon some of our most celebrated
antiquaries j nor does he spare tlie lead-
ing writers among his own countrymen ;
and that in manners not the most courte-
ous, nor in the nlost polished language.
He rcfu'^cs to admit that this county was a
part of Siluria, and tliough he cannot satis-
factorily find a site for the Lorentium of
Ptolemy consistent witli its relation to
Maridiuium, yet he is decidedly of opi-
nion it originally formed a parcel of Di-
inetia, but few will be inclined to con-
rider the quotation from the laws of Hy-
wel Dha as sufficient evidence, because it
not unfrequently happened that a diocese
at that perifxl contained both patronage
and possessions in difterent territories and .
hostile seignories. We tind tiiat Ystiadiw
and Ewyas, part of this county, long con-
stituted a portion of the diocese of Llan-
dalF, and were held and governed by the
regulus of Morganwyj tliis tlierefore
proves nothing certain on the subject.
The boundaries of this county are then
given in, detail, and the inaccuracies of
former surveys pointed out j particularly
llieTevvthag is here said to be surrounded
by Monmouthshire ; although, as part of
Herefordshire, in all our maps hitherto
published, it is laid down as encircled
by Brecon. The number of inhabitants
appears to have increased since tlie return .
made to the court of arches in XOJS,
more than in a double ratio.
The most considerable river U the
l^ye, which runs in a north-easterly 6-
rection through this county, to the extent
of thirty-four miles. Some facts are here
stated, in speaking of the fbh prodooed
in this and other smaller streams, whicb
will be interesting to the sport^^man sod
epicure as well as to the ichthjologlst
" The trout of the Wye are found to be
of a white or pale colour, and tlieir flesh
flabby, while those of the Uske are of %
fine red, tiieir flesh crimp and of a deK-.
cious flavour. The era y^^, or fresh -v^-ater
lobster, is found in many brooks runnio^.
into the Wye, but seldom if ever in those;
running into the Noke or Enxjn. ll*;
sewin is not seen in any ri\er ninnii^
from east to. west, but in all those flow*j
ing in a contrary direction.^* Tlie authorj
laments the frequency of poaching, aod^
tlie pernicious and destructive practice <£
taking the fish by throwing into streaia^
unslaked lime, which stupitles the oi({
ones, but destroys the spawn. He tl
adds many appropriate remarks on the ex«
isting laws relative to what is denoj
tlie fights qfjishery.
In chapter ii. he comprises the histosy
of the county from the in\'asion of \k^
Romans till the death of Br}xhan, A. D.'
450. Here he again adverts to territo-
rial distinction, and adopts the opinioD of
Pinkerton, that SiUu-ia was a generic tcm^'
and generally, when mentioned by ihaf!
Roman writers, comprehended the whotel
of Delieurbarth, or the present Soulk^
Wales. The decisive engagement be*'
tween the Roman general Ostorius and
the British chief Caradoc, or Caractacuj, '
is adverted to, with remarks on the sup*'
posed site of the battle, the route of il
Roman army, and its suh^c^nent retrta
after ineffectually attempting to subjug:
the county.
On Roman Stations the learned ar.thf
of tlie Munimenta Antiqua falls niids
Mr. Jones's animadversions. Mahem
derived from the British Moel-y-vani, i.
the high court of judgment or place oiih
legislative assembly, where the dniida iix
to instruct the peqple in their threerbl
capacity, of judges, priests*, and lawgiver
Speaking of early British foriiricaiians
lie derives Dinas from Dan pronounce
Dene, signifying a lofty strong- hold, o
elevated fortification. HorsKy's etyino
* Carmarthen perhaps may be derived fiom the same source rather than from Miul^
Emrjs, whose locality, if not existence, Jiai been pften doulHeU.
JONES S HISTOKT OF THB tJOUNTT OF BRECKITOCIC.
411
logies are objected to and refuted. The
mat military road« called Julia Strata^
which oar author avers took its name^
^om Jalius Frontinus, the Roman con-
mepor of Siluiia^ does not end, as both
Ime and Williams, in their histories of
ioamoQthshire, assert, at Lougher ; but
inxeeded into Carmarthenshire, returned
iothe south side of the river Uske to the
iss of Rhyd y Bhriew, where it was
inble some time ago ; thence proceeded
9 Goer, where it was crossed by anotlier
hnoan road called Sam Helen, leading
Rxn Nedd or Neath to Chester. From
iter it extended to Abergavenny, Usk,
$d Caerieon, where the links again
IKted and proceeded eastward to Aquae
loib or Bath. Mr. Jones states that he
|m discovered traces of several vicinal or
im reads running through this county,
|K|QeQtly intersecting the great and direct
iBitaiy roads, which may h^ve often dl-
pned the attention of antiquarian re-
Mrcb, and led to erroneous . conclusion.
Be author is frequently singular in his
^moos. He rejects the usual deriva-
ha of Sarn Helen, i. e. Helen's Way,
Inn Helen daughter of king Coel, (whose
& existence he doubts,) and wife of
intine the Great, * Caer-Uean,
p observes, is derived, from a British
lieftain of the name of Ueon; and
k road leading from the station Ni-
^ or Neath to it, was thence called by
he Britons Sam Uean, and afterwards ro-
Ittiized into Strata Leona, which by cor-'
ifption became Via Jlelem^**
■ Quitting the Ronnaos at the time they
^mqaished Britain, tiie author proceeds
If^ivean account of the affairs in this
■rt of die principality from the earliest
eriod. " For information," he justly
iwerves, " he is obliged to have recourse
> die M.SS. of the Arwyddsfeirdd, or
eralds of the countr}' 5 and as the priuci-
il duty and employment i)f these public
fficers vere to record the pedigrees and
iploits of the nobility and heroes, though
beir accounts may not be implicitly re-
led on, they are, from their very nature,
Otided to a considerable share of atten-
ion,** especially as " they are the only
bcaments respecting the history of Bre-
m; imperious necessity has obliged the
other to avail himsejf of die light they
jfford, or leave the subject where he
bond it, in prqfound obscurity*' From
iniilar records the history is continued in
ibap. iii, from the. death of Brychan till
b^ {ime of Cradoc-Fraich-Fras. Here
we are entertained with some account of
different saints, not registered in the Ro-
mish kalendar, who appear to have been
really of genuine Britisk origin. Nume«
rons cliurches dirough this part of Britain
are dediciated, as it is usually but errone^
ously styled, to persons whose very name*
have nearly been buried in utter oblivion.
But from the most unexceptionable testi-
mony it will appear, that churches were in
early times dedicated to the Holy Drinity:
and afterwards, when superstition gained
the ascendancy, to the Blessed Virgin^
The names they now bear were cither
those of their first founders, or of those
holy men who usually attended divins
offices in them, and preached the gospel
in their vicinity* The story of Keyna or
St. Cenai, with the stones which she
turned into serpents, found at Keynsham,
between Bath and Bristol, scarcely de-
ser\'es repetition since th^ time of Cam-
den : because the extraneous fossil al«
luded to lias been discovered in so many
other places, especially la horizontal lime*
stone strata, that it ceases to be a curio-
sity. The legitimate line of Biychan,
though it tends to throw considerable
light on this portion of British history,
and miist be highly gratifying to those fa-
milies descended from liim, will probably
be considered by tlie English reader as
totally irrelevant : and the numerous,
names, though *' neitlier uncouth in
sound nor disgusting to tlie eye*' of a-
CambrO'Briton, are ill calculated to afford
him either protit or pleasure.
In chapter iv. the historic part is fur-
tlier detailed from the death of Cradoc-
Fraich-Fris, to the conquest of Breck-
nockshire by Bernard de Newmarch. It
is natural for a native of this country to
feel indignant while reading or relating
the events of this period 5 and to be justly
incensed at the unjust usurpation and con- -
sequent oppressions exercised by the Eng-
lish marauders. But, however the consta-
ble of a castle-keep may have frefjuently
been, in tliese days of absolute power, an
officer of injustice, and a minister of
cruelty, we do not consider the expression
• head turnkey' an appropriate terra j be-
cause in usual langiiage a turnkey denotes
an officer inferior to a gaoler : and were
it strictly appropriate, such language is be
neath the dignity of rational history. At
page seventy-one, in a note, is a very ju-
dicious observation respecting the term
camo, which Pennant tliinks almost always
denotes the scene \vhere a battle has b^eq
4%%
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
f>i^bt ; anil the 'dlfcordaot accoymis of
tuinuli are here reconciled.
* The Gwentiaiu w«re i:emarkable for
long hair,- and equal perfidy> says Mr.
iones. We wooid ask 19 there any natiirai
cause for such a combination ? The men
of G^'ent do not appear at'this period to
kave been more corrupt, or degenerate,
than those of Brecbetnic^, either by Saxon,
Danish, Norman^ oi* any other foreign
mUture. The encomium here passed
on the great legislator Hywel Dlia is as
agreeable to historic truth as it juust be
grate&l to the feel'uigs of the country for
wluch his code was beneficially intended.
Nor oau there exist a doubt on comparing
tlie JHt^htatioas of Alfined with those (^the
Cambrian monarch, that tliey were deri\r-
cd at least from the same source.
Severe animadversions through this and
the succeeding chaptera are made on
I^m^el's history of Wales, as the translator
ofCaradoc y Llancacvan. We have not
the original by us, but suppose they must
be just ; .and if so, they reflect disgrace
instead of credit on him, tliat, acquainted
with the language as he was, and possess-
JDg the' means of infnmiation, he should
venture for a moment to mislead the pub-
lic ¥oc the work of liancarvan is a most
kivrduaUe document, and his authority
JuLs ever been considered as equal to his
actiquityt
Cliapter r. proceed? from the con-^
qpest by Bernard de Newniarch, till the
acceasion of the barony by Hum][4wy de
Bohun. At page -ninety ^one we tliink-
Mr. J. accuses £e historian of Somerset
withont reason. Collinson quotes Dug-
dale as- his authority', jind it is supposed by
analogy ; for Bernard de Newmarch held
a manor in Haddington previously to the
fvceiviiig the grant of the barony of
Brecknock, ^ad which, with others in
Gloucestershire, Wilts, &c. he left to his
fivouiite ikbbey of Battle, in Sussex. The
pkice of Bernard's sepulture is uncertain :
Brecknock and Gloucester both have pre-
icTTed a claim, and ^cnight for honour from
the body of a man whose conduct they
roost both have reason to deteat. Mr.
Jones indignantly turns aside from the
triflii^ enquiry to trace the pedigrees of fa-
milies supposed lineally descended fnDm
the hvjured and insulted regulus> Bledd-
in ap M^enarch.
Tl)e history is continued in the sixth
chapter till the lapsing of the barony to
the crown, and the subsequent -grant of it
to the Stafi^brd family. In tliis we find
little interesting, except a circumstance
relatcjd'of the last -Llewelyn, wk>, afia'
his a^irs became de:iperare,eudeai'(njn2^
to escape the pursuit of the eaemy,*.
dopted a measuoe similar to what las beei
asserted of Charles II. when prince J
Wales, ' that of reversing his hanei:
shoes.* Adam de Francton or Framptoa
appears to have been the foruinate a^]
of the prince $ and a cc^y.of tiie fiuaij^
arms is given from a tomb, supp(»ed t0b||
his, at Wyburtoa church in lioodnsiuiKJ
In the subsequent unavailing strng^n 6r|
independance, David Llewelyn, alias Ga^j
is introduced to our notice as the damk]
ter Shakspeaie intended by his Welsh Fbl
ellin. A most mortifying lecord for kw
man pride occurs p. 161 > andaneodan
of Glyndwrs rebeUioa conclude M
chapter. 1
In the seventli chapter, Mr. Jones ad
mad verts on both Carte and Buck, m
have strained every nerve, and brareda
the pkiinest natters of fact in their pm
ality to the house of York. In page IIU
Mr. J. agrees with the author cSf bistou
doubts, in supposing that Perkin Warbaa
was the real duke of York, thongb diif ■
contrary to the united testixaonjr oi m
principal Englijih historians. There doei
not ap})ear, however, sufficient evideooe if
prove the validity of thi&extraordtnar)rdih{
oovery~**^id- if anch did exist, we also 'ai|
astonished the world should have beeQ4*|
long and sogenerally misled on the qus*!
tioo.' The chapter ends with a brief ac**!
count c^ the civil war i«i this district. Ail
only four persons compounded for \M
^estates in consequence of their attaduaetj
to Charles the first, we may feiriy conclwb
that the politics of die county attbatp^j
riod were not strongly on the side ofrojH
alty ; and if they received no very mark-
ed dttention after the restoration, tfaejhut;
less reason than any others to coiiiplaiD. •
- In chapter- VIII. which is devoted toa
view of religion, the origin and nature cf
Druidism is investigated and dispkiyed.
The author adopts the opinioD of Mallet'
i-egpocting the tenets of the Druids ^
repels the idea of their offering up buma*
sacrifices. Borlase appears to have beoi
his guide ; and collateral evidence ii
brouglit from tlie Bardic Trevedd. In-
deed, if the doctrine of transmigration ^ns
one of their leading opinions, nothing
could be more foreign to their faith, and,
we slwuld Iwpe, their practice, than any
species of cn-uelty, much more that of * sa-
crificing their own species.' In opposi-
tion to the author of- Mona Antiqua, h^
asserts, and with much probability, that
' ^oirss^r RiSTOSt optrk county op brscknook.
413
JPnudism was derived from Gaul to Bh-
tiiiii ; and that, from the researches of
sir William Jones and others, it was not
utilise the religious system of the east ^
mid that the Druids were a similar order
of priests to the ancient Ghauri of Persia,
aod the Brahmins of Indostan. Mr. Jones
ildopts the old derivation of the name
i^om Pezron, derjo an oak, and htld en-
ic^ntmcnt ; alid rejects that of Baxter,
iavydd wise men 3 and the more mo-
idem one of the leanied Owen, dar-gwydd,
ioe who has knowledge. An account of
Ihe first or highest order in the druidical
church is given -, and Borlase's opinion re-
^peclingthe use of Crwmlecheu is adopt-
W. The character and offices of the se-
cond order, bards ; and of the third,
o^aies, tl>en follow. In tlie account of
this subject we find scarcely any thing
inore than what has been given by. tlie
fcamed historian of the antiquities of Curn-
vall. Mr. Johes, however, opposes the
iecei^^d opmiou of the massacre of the
'\ai6s by order of Edward I. and obser^ es,
'*lt rests merely upon the testimony of
jR^ynue, an "autlior who lived centuries
^^bsequent to the event.' But we are
ijhliged to ask, has not. the horrid measure
Tfcen alluded to in bardic authors, who
wrote soon after it was said to have hap-
^ned? For the sake of humanity, as
veil as the character of Edward, we wish
bur author raay be found correct. That
Christianity was introduced very early into
this island Is highly probable -, but that
the tenets of druicfism, more especially
the metempsychosis,' were calculated 'to
fecilitate its reception, we suppose, will
not be considered SL conclusive argument
lu treating on its progress, Mr. J. thinks
\i untnily stated, that the Cambrian chur-
ches preserved their independance of tha
sec of Rome till after the massacre of the
(DOiiks of Bangor ; but no proof to coun-
tenance such an assertion is here offered
If the statement contained in the Latin
Dote, given froai a MS. preserved in the
librai}' of Linflolh college, Oxford, be true^
the state of the church of England must
have been a^ that period dreadfully cor-
rupt indeed. Some curious anecdotes are
wailed of die learned monk Gyraldus
Cambrensis, which leave but a veiy un-
brourable . Impression on the mind re^
tpecling either the religious or moral cha-
ttcter of tjie archdeacon of St. David s.
At page 221 is an account of a cotpplalnt
niade to th^ pope in the time of lie welyn,
^ idflce the atx}iition of his supremacy
msnifii U) the EngliJi mon^ch^, re;qpect-
ing the appointment of Englishmen to
Welsh sees. We are surorized to find
tills policy defended by a Cambrian : nor
do we think his countrymen will thank
him for stating his reasons on this occa-
sioh. During tlie seizure of church pre-
ferments in the reign of Henry .Vlil.
Brecknock equally suffered with, the rest
of South Wales, * so tliat the bishop of
the see, the only proper patron of church
preferment, out of fifty-two benefices hfW
only seven left/ A, petition, presented to
parliament, states the distressed sijtuatioa
to which the church and countxy was re-
duced by the. pretended zeal of fanati-
cism for the cause of Christ ; and the hy-
pocrisy and sell- interest apparent. on tJie
one hand, and the integrity and disinter-
estedness on the other, fornix a striking
contrast. A letter signed by tl^ee clergy-
men, to the commissioners apppinted un-
der a pretence for ' propagating the gospel/
exhibits, the folly, tyranny, and. cruelty,
.of these professedly strenuous advocates
for liberty of conscience.
Chapter ix. treats of the laws from the
time of Dyfnwal Moel, or, as he is by
some termed, Molmutius, (ill the union of
Wales with the crown of England. From
him it is said, and we think witli oaoie
than probability, chat Alfred borrowed
many of his wise regulations,, which form-
ed the basis. of our present enviable con-
stitution. The code of this great legisla-
tor Hywel Dha is justly, coftimended j the
general' chaoiactenstic of whose system
was ' a reparation of injuries and wrongs/
by the aggressors being obliged to maJw
ample compensation to the aggrieved in.
monev, cattle, or other valuable effects :
iand though ipauy of these mulcts may to
us, from, the great change of ouinaerf ,
which has taken place in &$ couniiy, ap-
pear bc^dering upon the ridiculous, yet
perhaps stronger sanctions in those timet
could rfot have been enacted; for they;
acted in terroirw, white they afiRjrded sa^
tisfactitjn to the injured party. And if
we look at tlie English laws at that time,
and even lower down, we/shall have can fie
to blush. rather Chan Ui trinmph. Th»
origin and nature of. gavdkii^ a teoiutt
%vhiich at length prov^ the losscf Welsk
independance, is desctibed^ end the term
which has puzzled so many genilemen of
the long robe, appeslrs obviously derived
from the British garfeUu to hold* and
gyiU aaciently, i. ei ^moieat ceau2«u it
^M natural to expect chat the author
trould fed himself ^eompeteul io enter ask
thii part of the suibject ; £uid he has^ w^
414
fiRinSH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUmES.
think, acquitted himself in an able man-
ner, both on thi|, and the subject of
lords marchers. But is not Mr. J. in-
correct in charging Powel with an error
respecting the untavourable conduct of
Henry VIL ? It is true, very few statutes of
any sort were passed in that reign 5 yet
three of them referred favourably to
Wales J and it is well known, that many
of an obno^cious kind, which had passed
in former reigns, in this became obsolete.
Nor do we think, from a Welshman, the
phrase '. the cold-blooded Richmond,*
cither generous or just.
The tenth chapter consists of miscella-
neous subjects, language, popular preju-
dices, customs, trade, projects, turnpikes,
and canals. Under the first, Mr. Jones
states the impropriety of the English in
accusing the Welsh of lingual blunders
which do not exist; and by comparing
the dilFerent idioms of the two languages,
points cot such as really do. lb the te^
nacious partiality of the Welsh for their
vernacular tongue, he ascribes the pecu-
liarity of national character, still visible
in Wales.
The following portrait of the Welsh
appears to be drawn and coloured with
great accuracy, though many of the fea-
tures are rather too strongly marked, and
the resident Cambrian will be apt to pro-
nounce the whole a caricature.
'* The Welsh are (I fear) proud, irascible,
abnipt in address, has^y in their delivery,
and sometimes in llieir conclusions ; they are
jthrewd in argument, persevering and iiidcta-
tigablein pursuit of a favourite ))oiut, cautious
and artfiil in tlieir endeavoiirs to conceal their
. object from the party from whom it is sought,
and too fond of obtaining it by fraud or arti-
fice: indeed, the diftereiic^ between wisdom
and cunning does not seem to be tliorbughly
understood by all the inhabitants of this
coiintr . A victory in a court of law (and
they have rather a litigious spirit) is thought
more valuable, and the lawyer better esteem-
ed, by a certain descriptiim, when it is ob-
tainca by manoeuvre or chicaner)^ than when
it follows the weight of evidence, or the fair
merits of the case, for the EnglUli tliey
have long entertained an habitual and ahnost
inveterate aversion ; and, tliough it is now
wearing off very fast, it is but too evident in
their dealings and in their manner of speaking
oftitem.
*' Sais yw of ayn.
" He is a Saxon, beware," is still fre-
quently heard, when one of the natives of
Wales perceives his countryman in treaty
with an Englishman ; and it is said that for-
merly the" articles of consumption, esteemed
as the greatest luxuries in toe principality.
were ' Caws wedi bobi, a ssus wedi grogi/ ^
* toasted cheese and hung Saxon.'"
Without having recourse to railing, the
author might more profitably have em-
ployed a few pages in endeavouring to ac-
count for the existence of the characte-
ristic traits, by tracing such effects tip to
their obvious causes. Hospitality has
ever been considered as one branch of
charity : we cannot therefore recondle
what the author denies p. 283, with what
he asserts p. 284. Respecting supenb-
tiun, his remarks are partially comxt:
but still where any people have but little
intercourse with others rmsbackled with
such chains, their own will become more
Armly rivetted ; and the comparison heie
formed, between the accounts of Malkl
and Edward Jones, furnishes a confirma-
tion. Mr. J. however admits, ' that
they I'etain very obstinate partialities, ape
averse to all innovations, tenacious to a
Suit of ancient opinions, and entertain an
unconquerable disl'tke to the use or eves
acknowledgment of surnafikes.' To ob-
viate what, with the many, heoonsideri
as a reflection on the mode of living, k
observes, ' tlie Welsh shew a particalat
fondness for the meilhonen, or trdbD j*
called among the Irish, who wear it on St.
Patrick's day, in honour of that holy man,
shamrock. But is it not as reasonable to,
suppose, that St, David, to whose honour,
to the present hour, the leek is worn bf
the Welsh, might, hkc St. Patrick, havd
made use of a plant to illustrate the mys-
tery of the Trinity, to a people corner-*
sant with the productions of natinne r
mode to such far more convincing thad
abstract reasonings ! Mr. Jones gives sd
account, p. 29 1, of a peculiar method ol
reckoning used by the Welsh, similar tdl
one in use among some eastern nations]
With tlie author, we lament that M
manufactures have hitherto been success^
fully introduced to support and encouragj
the agriculture of this county, while ii
neighbour, Glamorgan, has set them a
example. At p. 2^4 is an account whid
would almost induce us to think that thi
present national blessing of tun)pike-t
roads originated in times of tyranny, and
that the arbitrary tolls of pontage and
pannage indirectly led to comfort and
safety. Fifty years ago this part of the
principality was impassable for carriages,
and now a regular mail-coach runs threcr
times a week through it. The back-
wardness of famers to perfonn statute la-
bour is loudly complained of. This was
certainly- previous to the roads being pat
JOiTEs's HISTORY OP THB COUNTY OP BRECKNOClt.
4f5
jnnder commission, a necessary and in-
cumbent duty 5 but since a power has
been given to raise money on tlie public
by tolls sufficiently adequate for the pur-
pose, this tax upon the industry of the
district is paitial and oppressive. The
awtom ought long since to have been
abolished, for it is a base and unnecessary
j€\ic of feudal iyraTtny. With respect to
canals, out of one hundred and fifty pub-
lic acts which have passed the legislature,
besides private ones, for inland navigation,
in the course of the last forty years, not
half are yet completed. Such effects
prove, beyond a doubt, that this mode of
improvement has risen far above its level.
The Brecknock canal does not, nor is it
likely to, form an exception to tlie rule.
The original estimate was 100,000/.:
and after going to parliament for new
powers, and expending 150,000/. ten
miles qf the line is not meirii/ unfinished,
hut untouched I
Cliapter xi. commences with an ac-
count of an agricultural society, formed
so early as March 1 755, and is therefore
the first institute of tliis nature establish-
ed in the kingdom. The pati'iotic inten-
tions of those gentlemen who formed the
first committees, and the subsequent re-
solutions adopted, do equal credit to their
understaiidings and their hearts. We are
iony to be informed that tlieir attempts
to introduce manufactures have finally
failed. That the making of yarn, and
the market established for the sale of it,
soon ceased, is not matter of surprize.
Fur in any district where a mauufactor}' is
set up of spinning wool or any other arti-
cle, the weaving process should be estab-
lished at the same time, and, if possible,
some portion of the factoring business in-
troduced. After tliis failure, the attention
of the society was directcil principally to
tlie agriculture of the county. Mr. J.
thinks that Mr. Clarke, who drew up the
report relating to this county, for the na-
tional board, has been too partial in his
observations, especially with respect to
irrigation. If the statement be accurate,
• that the produce of the country be not
sutficlent, rich as its^ vales are, for the sup-
port of its present population,' we must,
knowing the nature of the country, sub-
scribe, however reluctajuly, to the justness
of this renurk, ' that the Brecknockshire
farmer must gain by desolation, and lose
by improvement.' P. 31/, Mr. Jones
give> us a new and ingenious mode of
getting rid of noxious weeds ; but still
pcfhaps hand- weeding in broadcast, and
horse-hoeing in drill-husbandry, are far
more successful preventives. The mode
of cutting wheat with a guarded scythe
has been long known here, though pomp*
ously brought into notice lately as a valu-
able discovery imported from Italy. And
what is still more extraordinary, the Ro-
mans, Gyraldus informs us, learned tlie
use of this very scythe from the Britons.
Some observations here occur which might
have been very profitably extended, nv
specting the ancient and present state of
laud-measure in Wales : but the state*'
ment here given of the two words for
our acre, cyfar and ci-w, is different from
that given by other writers. In the enu-
meration of beasts of burden, we looked
in vain tor an account of a very singular,
and wc believe in Britain unique^ breed of
asses : numbers of which are annually
bred and reared in this county. Tliey are
produced from £nglrsii she-asses aiKl Spa-
nish males or stallions, which ^re im-
ported for that purpose. They are from
twelve to fourteen hands high, sell from
ten to thirty pounds each, and are em-
ployed in carrying coal, iron, and other
heavy goods, between Brecknock and
Aberga\enny, from the difiereut worka
in the vicinity.
Mr. Jones's observations on sheep are
new ; and after what he says on this sub-
ject, p. 320, we hope our un travelled gen-^
try will cease to smile at the accounts of
some learned tourists, relating to the j)e-»
culiar nature, habits, and instinct, of this
breed of sheep.
Some pertinent remarks occur respect-
ing the dilTercnt kinds of manures j and
the nortliom doctors, Anderson and Hun-
ter, are set in array against each other,-
respecting that baneful practice of tlie
"NV elsh farmer, the indiscriminate use of
lime : late haning up, as it is termed, and
delaying cutting hay till the sap is gone,
are justly condemned. To which are
added, others equally just on the price of
grain, scarcity, poor-rates, and the price
of labour. On this subject we cordially
adopt e lang\iage of tlie author.
" It will always be safest to leave labour
to itseli, and in every situation it will iiml its
level ; thai Is, it will probably submit to such
prices as plenty or searcity bhall continually
impose : but legislative iaterterence will ever
be found not only impolitic but ineflicient.
The exertion of authority only serves to
create disgust ; and, by cramping industry,
increases ratiier than mitigates the evil.*'
The appendix contains eighteen papers,
whichliave been properly kept out of the
4X5
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
bady df the work, where they are re-
ferred to : aud a copious index is an-
nexed.
We sincerely wish Mr. Jones health to
finish the work -, and tliat lie may be ans^
l^y remunerated for the labour be rauit
have taken in collecting and arraDg;lng the
vidluable materials* of which it is coni|[x>»-
ed» The few plates that are given, mi^.
with much propriety, have been omitted;
as they tend to enhance the price of the
• volume without adding to its value. It is
time that mere slight picturesque views,
as they are termed, should be exploded
from county histories. In the maaner
they are generally drawn and executed,
they are completely useless.
AjiT. IX. — ^n Essmj Uwardi a Topographical Mt9iori/ oftlie Countj/ qf NorfaUc, contain-
ing a Dascription of the Tovjm, FiUages, and Hamlch, witk the Foundations o/Monastt-
rics. Churches, Chapek, Chantries , aitd other religions Buildings; also tin Accautitqfihe
anciefU andpresaU State ofalllhc Rectories, ricarages, Donutives, and Impropriatim,
ifk'ir former and present Patrons and Tncuinlents, with their several yaiualiom in tk
Kin^s Books, zvftetker. discharged or not: likewise an historical Account qf the Castldy
SeatSy and Alanors, their present attd ancient Owners ; together with the Epitupk, 1a-
scr'fptionsy and Arms in ail tfie Parish Churcltes and Cliapefs ; mth several Drmigki of
Churches, Montiments, Arms, ancient Ruins, and otfier Relics of Antiquity. CoUcctd
cui of Ledger-books, Registers, Records t Evideftces, Deeds, Court-rolls, and other aaika-
tic Memorials. By Francis IkjOMEFiEU), Rector of Fersfield, in Norfolk^ FoL I. IL
, and 111. royal 8vo.
THIS is said by the editor to be the Je-'
tmd edition of a work, which being out of
print, the publisher (Mr. W. Miller, who
rars to be particularly connected with
county) tlionght it adviseable to re-
print, and promises to continue tliis'* Es^
•ay,* in two additional volumes.
* The intrinsic excellence/ he observes,
•of the original work, and the extended
and deserv^ rieputation it had long esta-
blished, left little risk and danger to be
i^rehended in offering a new edition/
AlLT. X.— TA<r History of CormcaU, citiF, miUtcertf, religions, architectural, agricA-
iural, commercial, biographical^ and miscellancoas. hy the Rev. R. PoLWHEtE,of
Polwliele, and FicarofManaccun, FoL HI. 4to,
Sanctioned therefore by particular patron-
age in the county, he has issued three out
of ten volumes, and promises to produce
the remainder with all possible expedition.
It rarely happens that second editions of
county histories answer the expectation
of the publisher, or remunerate him for
his exjx^nces. Hoping that Mr. Miller
will experience better encouragement, we
shall suspend any remarks on the intrinsic
merit of the work till it be completed.
IN the setond volume of our work, p.
3p8, we noticed, and gave some account
of the tint and second parts of Mr. Pol-
whele's history of Cornwall. As the pre-
sent is a continuation of those, and execut-
ed CTtactly in tlie same style ^and manner,
we need only refer our readers to that vo-
lume for our sentiments concerning this
author s historical and antiquarian produc-
tions. Tlie present, like the former, con-
sists more of miscellaneous dissertations,
extracts, and remarks, than of historical
narrative. It may be considered rather as
Kollectiom towards a work than as a ge-
nuine, perfect history. Yet, though very
defective in this respect, the author occa-
fionally calls into action that genius and
tbose talents which he certainly possesses^ .
^nd which, if actively and decidedly ap«
plied to the work, would render it highly
amusiog, and estremely attractive. For
the coimty of Cornwall is very dissimilar
la any other part of diis Island. h& 04*
turat, -civil, commercial, and topographi-
cal characteristics are singular ; aod, if
properly displayed, would become emi-
nently interesting. Situated in the midst
of such a district, Mr. Polwhele has many
local advantages, and his patrons, or read-
ers, are entitled to expect that he will
faithfully embrace those, and apply them
to his work. The present volunia con-
tains only 156 pages, the last gQ of which
are from the pen of Mr. Whitaker, the
bishop of Qoyne, and two or three other
gentlemen, who communicated dieir writ-
ings to the author. Hie principal subject*
treated of are, chap. 1. — on •' die pas-
turage, agriculture, gardens, and parks,"
of the county, " from tlie tinie of Vorti-
gern, to the reign of K'dward the first"
To this period the author professes to con-
fine, himself, and in the subsequent chap^
ters notices a few circumstances relatiaj
to tlie "mining, commerce, }aflguag«»
literajLure^ and lilerary characien^ ; {k^*
|iat!s RxcnrOAT ov CHXCHBrrEs.
4ir
Jation, health, stfeogth^ disea^s; man-
tmn, diversions^ and superstitions of the
people." Though Mr. Polwhele has ad-
duced some curious information on these
fttbjectSy yet we expected much more.
Instead of filling his pages with long ex-
tracts from the pablisfaed works of Bor-
!ase, Piryce, Hals, &c. he should give his
own opin>oQis in his own language. To
descend to the office of a mere conpHei' is
degrading to his talents, and unworthy of
the author of the <^ 0^<i Emgliah Oetule-
Above half of the present volume is de-
nominated " a supplement to the first and
second books of the history of Cornwall/*
«itd contains '* remarks on St. Michaers
Mount, Penzance^ the Land's-^end, and the
Sylleh isles/' by the historianof Manches-
ter.
This latter part of the volume contains
nmch interesting and much eccentric dis-
odsitjon. £rer hunting ibr novelty, Mr.
Whitaker occasionally rouses us to a dnii-
ntioD, and then lulb) us to indifference.
The avidity with which he grasps at a new
snfajcct, the energy of language he em-
ploys, and the ze:il he evinces^ at once
excite jOur curiosity, and warm our feel-
ings j bat by pursuing ti)e.narcative too
ftr, and detailing all its connecting and
collateral events, his own spirits appear
sometimes ta flag, and the reader becomes
tired. In the following extract the style
and philosophy of this writer are fairly
displayed.
" This mount (St. Michael's) diootmg up
conically from a broad base to a narrow sum-
mit> ana forming a peak of TenerifTe in mi-
niature, will naturally seem to cverv eye that
traces the resemblance, equally witn tnat the
production of a volcano. Standing too witli-
in the sea, when it certainly stood once upon
the shore, and surveyinjjfrom its eminence a
large scene of desolation, wrought by the
ocean around; it naturally combines this
scene with that aspect in the mind of a re-
ilector, and suggests the desolation to have
been the effect of tlie volcano. So reasoning,
however, we should argue with much of pro-
bability, but little of truth. Nature has rear-
ed her xx>nical hills, as she has sunk her round-
ing craters, without using the aid of a volcano.
Tlie castle-hill of Launoeston, in our own
rounty, and probably a thousand lulls beside,
in the other counties of the island, are exist-
ing proofs for the truth of the former asser-
tion ; as what is vulgarly called The Devil's
Punch Bowl, an . mnd-nead, in Surry, is an
eoual proof for the justness of the latter.*
We contract too rigidly the plastic powers of
natare, in confining their operations to a sin-
gle mode only. We shew a creeping poverty
iof thought unworthy of Proviaence, when
we ought to expand our ideas, and let loose
our imaginations, in an eagle's fiisht after
God. We suflfer philosophy to hind up our
wings, and to cliam down our feet, rather
tlian" take a free range with theology and ju-
diciousness in the air, to catch the dtversificd
appearances of the working hand divine.
And, as the mount has at no period exhibited
any symptoms of a volcano m itself, so is its
form seen in history, just what it appears, at
piesent, ages before the desolatk)n.''
•Art. X\.-^The Htsiory qf Chichester, interMpereed xxnfh-tarious Notes mid Observations
onihe tarly and preeent' State qfthe City, the most remarkable Places in its f^icimty, and
the Countif of Sussex in general; xvith an Appendix, Src, ^c. By Alexanj>sr HaV»
ji-M.Ficar qflfisborough Green; and Chaplain qf St, Mortis Chapel in this City,
.pp.630.
THE author, who ,is a venerable cler-
gyman, about twenty years ago published
a Chichester Guide, which has passed
through several editions, and the reason
he assigns for erectingon that tjase the pre-
sent superstructure, was, that he flattered
himself the information he had collected
in the course of several years was 6{ some
ioaportance, and he was unwilling it should
be entirely lost. During the execution of
such an undertaking, he remarks, he
^s not mistaken in expecting to meet
widi various obstacles and difficulties in
the way 5 " for they," says bs, *' have
not been inconsiderable, cither in their
nature or their number." How far he lias
overcome the one and surmounted the
other, the candid reader must be left to
judge.
The contents of this volume, according
to Mr. Hay's statement, are the gleanings
of many years before he thougMt of laying
them before tlie public, so that we sup-
pose he previously adopted the weU«
known advice of Horace : and we wish
he had Also atteiMed to this maxim from
the same wrrtpr —
" Jiamite materiam vcsbris^ ^oi-^sci'ibitiSy
•sequam
'Vffibus.'*
The various information here cblleeted
is but ill arranged, ;and 'for want of doe
** ''This enter is Uttleknown ^^ *^ i^i^AX^^ r"*^^^> ^"*^r'*'*V**frfr r^^^'}^"'.! frThprttr
tftxtniouth, about the ibr^y-ihifd niitof^tofie.*' \
Ahw . R«v. Voi. IV, Eo
418
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
perspicuity in tlie method, repetitions of
tHe same subjects frequently occur ; and
as it principally consists of observations
from other writers, the author does not
uniformly appear consistent with himself.
The style from the same cause is very un-
equal, the language frequently confused,
the idioms quaint, and the terms obsolete.
The author, however, i? sensible that his
style ** is far from being highly ornament-
ed j'* but then he enters a strong cav.eat
against any verbal criticism. " I never,
he says, approved of Jlowety periods m tliis
kind of writing, and now, on the verge of
seventy years of age, am not more fond
4>f them.'* The allusion in the latter part
of the sentence, joined with some that fol-
low, have smoothed our foreheads, and
we sincerely lament, that literary men,
after a lon^ Ji^ so spent, should be un-
der the necessity of still labouring for the
necessaries of life ; when their station and
public productions should justly entitle
them to competence and ease.
^ The work is di\ided into chapters, and
commences with a topographical descrip-
tion of the site of the city, and the nature
of the surrounding country. An attempt
is then made to trace the original founders
of this Ancient place, the. capital of tlie
Regni, though it is not stated to be the
Regnum of the itinerary -, nor is any allu-
sion made to the remains of the Roman
road, which formed its connection with
the Venta Belgarum, now Winchester.
The state of the inhabitiants is adverted to
during the stay of the Romans in this
island. But nothing is observed here
which has not often been observed before.
.The invasion of this country by the Saxons
is next described. Ella is said to be the
first leader who landed in Sussex, and his
son Cissa gave the present name of Chi-
chester to tlie city. The author then goes
back in chapter V. to tlie state of society
in Sussex, previous to the lime of the
Saxons ^ and the Celtse are a second time
introduced to notice. Then the Saxons
are mentioned again, and their ignorance
.and ferocioas cruelty depicted. Chap. VII.
;the Citnbri are said to be the original in-
habitants of tliis isle, and the nature of
. . druidism is canvassed. The account of
their offering human sacrifices is doiibted,
allowed, and then denied. ^ Stonehenge
is called the most remarkable dniidical
temple liow lA Eugland ; and the druids
and their ireligioh are said to have been en-
vt-:: ^Tir^ly extirpated on tlikQ 4eathof Boadicea,
"queen of tlie Iceni; A.D. 6l, ' What be-
comes then of the accounts of Tacitus re^
specting the affairs in Britain, at a period
long subsequent to this, especially the one
so distinguished on the reduction of Mona^
Whether Christianity was planted in this
island by the apostle Paul, certainly may
admit of doubt ; but that, " after prerail-
ing five centuries both it and its profess*
ors were expelled from hence by the vie-
toiious Saxons,*' cannot be accurate.
Some of them fled to Armorica, but othen
maintained their rights and freedom in the
south-western part, in the north, and long
retained nearly the entire country to the
west of the Severn.
The general massacre of the Danes Mr.
Hay is not inclined to admit, though stated
as a fact by almost all our historians j be-
cause it was foreign to the humane cha-
racter of Ethelred. p. 115. In the next
page are some just reflections on war.
If, as here stated, the people, previous
to the coming of Wilfred, were ignorant
of the art of catching fish, we may jasdy
conclude^ that their knowledge was ex-
tremely bounded. Yet skill in music and
poetry generally includes the idea of re-
finement rather than ferocity. A frag-
ment of Creation, a poem, ^Titten by
•Caedmon, a South-Saxon poet, and trans-
lated into English by Ar. H. " perhaps
Arthur Hall," who lived in the reign of
Henry the 7th, or Henry the 8th, is cari-
ous, as showing the orthography of our
language at the time j though it may not
justify the unqualified eulogium here paid
to the Saxon bard. p. 140, notes.
In chapters XIII. and XIV. the author
is very severe in his animadversions upon
the unjust invasion, and subsequent op-
pressions of William the Conqueror ] and
the kingdom at that unhappy time is de-
scribed " as half depopiilatwl, and the re-
mainder of the people as Is^ooring under
unspeakable and unmerited suffering j"
'' tliat not only tlie thanes and othw" pro-
prietors of lands were driven from thence,
but even the earls ejected from their pos-
■sessions with ngour and mi feeling barba-
rity : and that in the short space of nine
years after the conquest, of all the ancient
English nobility there was not one of them
left in it." That badge of slavery, the
curfew, Mr. Hay acquits William from
the guilt of having introduced, and thinks
it was a previous necessary custom from
the style of timber-building in those times.
The state of Chichester is given froni
Doomsday-book ; Montgomery was its
first lord under that survey, who built the
castle, and Stigand its first Norman bishop.
Among the changes which took place ia
BAY*8 BISTORT OF CHICRE8TER.
419
lli6 manners of the people, we are inform-
bd, among numerous other evils, the Nor-
mans introdaced fadissimutn ^oipnue scc^
lusi
In the reiga of Henry VII. some strange
ielerogeneous remarks on architecture
tccur. p. 295. The Saxon is here styled
the real Gothic, which was supplanted by
the ornamental Gotliic, and the elegant
specimen in Henry the Vllth*s chapel in
Westminster Abbey is said to be disgust-
ing, and a proof of degeneracy in archi-
tectural science.
In enumerating religious houses much
• information is withheld, because Mr.
Clarke observes, that there xanst have
been great mistakes in the charters con-
tained in Dugdale. But might not these
have been rectified by referring to other
works, especially the Notitia Monastica
of Tanner, edited by Nasralth, or even
Speed ? We are informed, in treating of
the civil war, that one William Cawley,
but not the one who belonged to the cor-
poration, was the regicide who beheaded
the unfortunate Charles the first. This
distinguished act has been attributed to
s«*eral, by different writers, but our au-
thor relates a story from a celebrated
French writer, M. Amaud, which, if au-
thentic, puu the matter beyond all furthelr .
doubt.
" After the battle of Dettingon the carl of
5 too freely exposed the injudicious con-
duct of tiie commander in chief of the British
forces there, which gave hun great offence,
for which teason the earl retired from court
Maisj[ust, and was preparing to go to his es-
TO in Scotland, and there abide. A few
days before his intended departure, he re-
ccived a letter from an unknown hand, re-
qucstmg an interview with him at a specified
mae and place— and the day after another
tetter, more pressing tiian the former. ITiis
wastoo singular to be wholly neglected ; he
therefore went to tlie place appointed, one of
those bye-places in London that most com-
^nly indicate poverty and wretchedness,
iliere, m a mean garret, by the help of a
glimmenng light he perceived a man lying on
a btfd, with every appearance of old age. "Be
Jcated, my lord, (said he) you have nothing
w tear from a man an hundred arid twenty-
■ve years old. Have you not occasion for
certain writings (mentioning them) that re-
nte to your family and fortune r" On lord
7,' answering in the affirmative, " tliere
tnev are (said he) deposited in that casket /'
St the same time giving him the key. " To
»hom (said the other) am I indebted for this
rotavour?" If he was much surprised to
learn that the miserable object before him
was his great-grandfather, he was still more
astonished when he told limi that he was the
masked executioner of king Charles I.
*' A cursed spirit of revenge (continued he)
impelled me to tliis foul deed. I liad been
treated, as I supposed, with indignity by my
sovereign. I suspected him of having se-
duced my sister, and was determined to be
revenged for this imagined injury. I en-
tered into, and forwarded, all the designs of
Cromwell ; and to compleat the measure of
my wickedness, 1 solicited him to let me be
the executioner. The vengeance of heaven
has pursued me ever since. I have been a
wretched wanderer in Europe and Asia ; and
remoi-se has accompanied me in every place,
while heaven has protracted my miserable life
beyond the ordinary term of nature. That
casket contains the remains of my fortune. I
came hither to end my wretdied days. I
had heard of your disgrace at court, the very
reverse of what your virtues merited ; and 1
wished, before I quitted this scene, t« contri-
bute thus to your welfare. All the return I
request is, that you will leave me to myself,
and shed a tear to the memory^ of one whose
long, long repentance, may at last expiate his
crimes. Lord S earnestly pressed hit
hoary ancestor to retire with him to Scotland,
and there, under a fictitious name, pass the re-
mainder of his days. He long withstood all
his intreaties, till wearied out by importunity
he consented, or seemed to consent. The
next day, however, when his lordship return-
ed, he had quitted the spot ; and notwith-
standing all the researches he made, his fete
remams a mystery to tliis day."*
An account is given of the siege of Chi-
chester, if siege be as proper a term as
surrender, and the mischiefs which after-
wards befel the city are attributed to the
exertions of loyalty. After the seizure (by
the writ of quo warranto) ofthe corporate
charters during the reign of Charles II. a
new observation occurs, which asserts,
that those which appear to have been re-
turned before the abdication of the crown
by James II. were misdated for pbvious
reasons, and were not actually returned
till the prince of Orange had prepared to
land in England. Chichester is said to
have once been famous for its needle
manufacture, which is now lost, its staple
being malting, and the number of houses
and its population have but little increased
for the last century. It appears a quiet
goi^l retreat rather than a trading-
plainr; and the principal improvements
in its buildings have been made since the
year 1730. At p. 370 is a description of
a handsome stone crosa^ which fyx beaut/
* Vide Supplement to Uniyersal Magazine, lUM;
£e9
"420
BRITISIi ItoPOGRAPHY AND ANTTQUmES.
is said to exceed tlie celebrated one at
Coven trj. P. 3d4, is a description of its
noble cathedral, whicii Mr. Hay supposes
to have been built by SefFrid II. tile se-
venth bishop of the see, and consecrated
A. D. 1 199. The dimensions here given
differ materially from those in Essays on
Gothic Architecture, published by J.
Taylor, 1 802. Mr. Hay n^w pays attenr
•tion to other parts of the city, and gives
the limits of the port and the key (qiiatf)
' does belonging to the corporation, and a
table of these dues follows. In the
XXVIth chapter he revert:, again to the
church, and gives an account of the pic-
tures and paintings in the soutlieru tran-
' sept oi the cathedral. To this is added, a
copy of the antiquities of the cathedral,
left in manuscript by the late Rev. Mr.
Clarke, which Mr. Hay says is little more
than the echo of Dr. Lyttleton*s observa-
tions on the subject. Some animadver-
sions on its contents appear to us to par-
take too much of il liberality, A^hen it is
evident that Mr. Hay has borrowed so
much from tliat very learned antiquary's
researches. Nor does it appear impos*
sible, nor even improbable, tliat bishop
Ralph built tlie present ediiice, although
bishop Seifrii '* did consecrate it." It
might not be sufficiently completed for
tJie celebration of divine service on tlie
demise of Ralph, and even " in the time
of SefFrid every thing belonging to it as a
catiiedral church was not tlioroughly
finished, A. D. 1204," It is therefore not
impossible that the spire, perhaps tlie
last thing tiiiished, might have been the
work of the same itrchitect who built the
similar, but higher one at Salisbury. On
a comparison of the arguments, we think
Mr. Clarke's statements the most entitled
to attention. Chapter XXVII. contains a
fiJiort account of the martyrs of the city
and county, tlie bishops of Selsea and
Chichester, copied from Magna Britan-
nia, and a list of deans. Chapter XXVIII.
contains an account of several eminent
persons, who were either natives of the
county, or who had been long residents
in it. Among these is Collins the poet,
who, lies buried in Chichester cathedral,
where a beautiful and classical monument
has been raised to hi« Inemory. This
was executed by that eminent sculptor,
Jolm Flaxman, R. A.* on which
" The poet is represented as iust recover-
o<l tioiii a at of phrenzy, to which he was un-
happily subject, and in a calm'and fecltoiiiy
posture, seeking reftige from his misfortune
m the consolations of Ihe gospel, while lis
lyre and one of his first poems lie neglected
on the ground. Above are two b^uti^
figures of love and pity entwmed ioeadi
other's arms. The workmansliip is most ex-
quisite ; and if any thing can ecjual the ex-
pressive sweetness of the sculpture, it is tbc
toltowing excellent epitaph", written by Wil-
liam Hayley and John Sargent, esquires.
" Ye, who the merits of the dead revere,
Who hold misfortune sacred, genius dear,
Regard this tomb, where CoU i ns* hapless Dame
Solicits kindness with a double claim,
llio* nature gave him, and tho' science taught
The fire of fancy, and the readi of diought,
Severely doomed to penury's extreme,
Hepast ininad*iungpain Ufc*s feverish dream;
AVhile ravs of genius only served to show
The thicK'ning horror, and exalt his woe.
Ye wsl\\%, tliat echo'd to his frantic moan,
Guard the due record of this grateful stone ;
Strangers to him, enamour'tl of his lays.
This fond memorial to liis talents rai^e ;
For this the ashes of a bard rei|uirc
Who touched tiie lenderest notes of pity'f
lyre.
Who joined pure faith to strong poetic
powers,
WTio, in reviving reason's lurid hours,
Sought on one book his troubled mind to rest,
Ana rightly deemed the book of God tbe
best!"
Chapter XXIX. includes a brief ac*
count of some of the towns, villages, &c.
in the vicinity of Chichester, which might
have been considerably extended, with-
out much deviation from tlie plan r for
tlie work here, as in various other places,
partakes more of the nature of a local
guide than a topographical history. At
p. 589 is 3t^ interesting account of the
vestiges of a large Roman camp on the
Broilc near the city. Midhiirst, the
Midae of the Romans, is represented a^
being now held principally by a bui]ga^
tenure of a singular nature. '* lljere are
some stones in tlie place which are num-
bered 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. which gave a right
to the holders of them to vote at elec-
trons.*' And that this important business
is sometimes transacted by an echo, and
other '' equally ridiculous means, mtist
create a smile while it excites our indigna-
tion, at the farcical state to which bur-
gage franchise is at length systematically
reduced." Then follows a list of sheritls,
a partial one of representatives, mayors,
&:c. &c.
' See a print of thie monunxeut in a new edition -of Collm^'s Poems by Sharpe.
^ILUKGWATER's account of, ST. BDMUNp's ^VRIT'
421
Hie author concludes with a hope^ if \ye
Iiavc been w'eary of our guide in travelling
with him over a very extensive, and some-
times sterile plain, he shall indjuce us to
imile at parting, by caUtng our attention
to an admired epigram, written by the late
canon-residentiary Clarke, upon the Latin
words, dnmus ultima, inscribed on the
family-vault of Richmond, in the cathe-
dral;
" Did he who thus iniicrib'd the wall
Not read, or not believe, Saint Paul ?
Who says there is, wherever it stands,
. Another house not built with hands.
Or may we ^ther from these words.
That house is not a house of lords ? "
PVom the preceding obsen'ntions and
references it will be seen, that the His-
tory of Chichester contains a great variety
of matter, and treats of a multiplicity of
subjects : and if the remarks are not^ al-
ways apposite, they may frequently in-
struct, or at least amuse. The author has
taken a wide range of prospect j and if the
country over which he traverses happens
to be Darren of incident, he does not fail
to endeavour to fertilize it, by streams
diverted from their usual channels, and
derived from the most distant sources.
The mind is incessantly taken away,
and brought back Xo the spot ; and though
this is not strictly the mode a judi-
cious topographer should adopt, yot per-
haps the general reader will be as well
pleased by being informed when glass was
nrst used in England, as when the spire
of this cathedral was struck by lightning ;
and when tlie first anchors were forged in
Britain, as when the best needles were
made at Chichester.
Art.XIT. — An Historical and Descriptive Account of St, Edmunds Bun/, in the County
of Suffolk : comprising an ample Detail of the Origin, DiJtsolutipii, and venerable He
mains nf th? Ahfw/, and other Places of Antiquitif m that ancient Town, By JETdmvnd
GiLLiNGWAT£R, ttuthor of the History qf Lowestoft, SfC, 12mo. pp. 311.
THIS is a small volume, and insignifi-
cant in form ; but from the closeness of
the type, accompanied by numerous and
long notes in a diminutive letter, it com-
prises a considerable quantity of matter,
and furnishes much useful information.
The author appears an observant in<in,
and, as far as relates to the town and its
antiquities, well acquainted w^h his sub-
ject. But though he keeps closer to his
title and professed object than many of his
•coDtemporaries in this department, yet he
.thinks it necessary to commence his his-
tory before he allows tiiat the town of
Bury was in existence, and to illustrate
his pages by some extraneous collec-
tions.
He begins by observing, that '* Bury is
esteemed the Montpelier ofEmrland ;" we
Boppose he must mean of Suffolk, other-
wi«; his favourite autlior, AbU Floriacen-
jis, will strongly oppose him ; who de-
scribes East Anglia as nearly en\ ironed
with waters, and the flat country on the
banks of the Ou.se, and the slow-nuining
rivers flowing into it, cannot be so salu-
brious as where the streams are rapid, and
tlje country more varied.
The town of Bury has been con^-idered
by some as tlje site of tlie villa Faitsiini of
Antoninus, and the Saxon name of Bco-
deric-Weard means the same, i. e. happi-
ness and pros|^rity. But this is mere
etymological nug?e. There was a villa
Faustini at Baia near Rome : th^re were
two consuls of the name of Faiuftinus ; and
Vfherever the Angl^Romao station was
situated, it doubtless derived its name as
being a place appertaining to a Roman of
that name.
The autiior is decided it ^'as not at Bury^
and adduces his reasons in a note (page 3,
&c.):
" Burgf now Bury, is derived from Burgh,
which meant a sodality or counnunity, who
were mutually pledges for each other ; and
hence we derive the name and nature of our
prescriptive norough ; and it is not to be con-
founded with Berig, the Saxon appellation
for dist'mguishine a British stroug-huld from
the Roman cast rum, by them cajled Ceastn,*
The history of the Iccni, brief as it is, at
best is irrelevant, and we are not satisfied
with the etymon of the name.
l^e most prominent bl>ject of antiquity
in this town is its venerable abbey, which
is said here to have been founded by Si-
gebert, fifth king of the East Angles. It is
also related that tiie bones of king Edmund ^
who was cruelly slain by the Danes, were
removed from Hoxne to this place j
whence it obtained its present name of St,
Ednurnds Bury. An account of this royal
martyr is given from tlje poetry of Lidgaie,
who is here called one of the monks of
Bury. He was certainly born at Lidgate,
a small vilhige in tliis county; but others,
among which is Hay, assert he was a monk
of Hadfield-Broad-'Oak, Essex. Many ri-'
diculous stories of the juggling^tricks play-
»ed by the ecclesiastics of the time are
here related, and which are ridiculed with
considerable hmuour, by this early Eng-
lish poet.
422
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES,
Page 51, in a note, is a story which has
been detailed in larger works, (see Dun-
cumb's Hereford, &c.) but which we think
not only improbable, but ridiculous, re-
specting the origin and design of th^ fan-
tastic ornaments observable about many
sacred buildings. .
The present abbey, of which some
crumbling remains ai'e still to be seen,
particularly its noble gateway, was built
of stone, brought from Bemack in North-
amptonshire, by abbot BMvryn, who
died 1021. Leland, who saw it previous
to the dissolution, says, " a more magni-
ficent building the sun never saw." The
ruins of the conventiiiil church, now
proudly pre-eminent, may, for ages, yet
remain a monument of its former splen-
dour. The dimensions of its various parts
are subjoined, as taken in 1790. A list of
its abbots is given, and some refiectit»is at
pspje 99 are very appropriate.
The list of relics, more especially the
ceremony of the White Bull, (page 142,)
shew to what a degraded state the noblest
faculties of man may be, and have been,
reduced by the depresshig power of super-
stition.
The author next gives an account of the
municipal government, ecclesiastical edi-
fices, charitable foundations, &c. of the
town. The distinction between ecclesitu-
tical and commercial guilds, if not conclu-
sive, is ingenious, and the account of
witch'IutrUing, (page 187^) must excite
in the bosom of humanity, indignation
and regret.
This town has, from its earliest state,
been a place of great distinction ; maoy
of our monarchs, from devotion, and other
causes, honouring it with their presence,
- and conferring on it distinguished favours.
Several parliaments were holden here ia
different reigns. It had four gates, which
were standing in 17^6, but these have
since been taken down. The houses have
been gi'eatly improved, handsome public
buddings erected, and the population has
rapidly increased. The charitable bequests
have been extremely numerous : the fairs
are large, and die mai'kets well supplied ;
so that when the situation, present state,
respectable inhabitants, and the handsome
seats of the nobility and gentry in its en-
virons are taken into the view, St. Ed-
mund*s Bury may be ranked among the
number of places affording a pjeasing and
genteel residence.
A list of plants growing in the vicinity,,
with their habitats, is annexed. — Four
miserable emgravings accompany this work.
We should have been more particuia j
in our observations respecting this ancient ■
and interesting to^^'^n, and have entered ;
fiirther into detail relating to its once mag-
nificent abbey, had not a larger work on
the same subject, by Mr. Yates, just raa,de
its appearance j to which our duty, as wel
as inclination, will mcline us to pay partis
cular attention in our next volume.
Art. XIII. — J Selection of Views in the Counti/ of Lincoln ; comprizing the principd
Towns and Churches, the Remains of Castles and relipous Houses, and the Seats of tile
Nobility and Gentry ; with topograplacal and historical Accounts of each Ficw, £ih
graved by Bartholomew Howlett. 4to.
THE principal feature of this volume is
its " pretty pictures.*' The accompany-
ing descriptions are very subordinate, and
contain but little to interest the topogra-
phical reader. A few of the prints fi^om
drawings, by Turner and Girtin, are plea-
sing and beautiful ; but these are rather
injudiciously introduced, as they make the
remaining subjects appear more insipid
and tasteless by contrast. To engrave and
publish every scene that presents itself, and
views of almost every house, in a county,
is giving too much consequence to trifles,
and taxing public curiosity at too high a
rate. This is very apparent in the pre-
sent volume, which contains seventy-live
prints, full plates and vignettes ; but oct
of these there are not above twenty that
have beauty, elegance, or antiquity to re-
commend them. This is the more to be
regretted, as the county of Lincoln abounds
with fine churches, and curious remains
of antiquity. On the whole, this can only
be considered aa a miscellaneous volume
of prints with short accounts : for, as a
book, it has neither prefece nor index,
beginning nor end.
Art. XIV. — TfieTraveUti-^s Guide : or, English Itinerary : containing accurate and ori-
ginal Descriptions of all the Counties, Cities, Toxims, Villages, Hamlets, SfC- andthdr
exact Distances from London : together with the Cathedrals, Char dies. Hospitals, Gentle'
meris Seats (with ilie Names o/" tlieir present Possessors), Manufactures, Harbours,
Bax/s, Ri'oers, Canals, Bridges,Lakes, salt and medicinal Springs, Vales, HiUs,MountmnSj
Mines, Castles, Curiosities, Market-days, lairs. Inns for Post-horses, 4'C. The If 'hole
comprizing a complete Topography of England and fVales, To which are prefued, gene-
HAI.COLM'8 LONDINUH RBDXVIVUM.
423
fat Ohtc^ymtions on Great Britain; including a correct Itinerary from Londrni to the
sntral IFatcring arid Sea-bathing Places; .Lists of Inns in London; Mail Coaches;
K'karfs; Packet-koais ; Rates qf Porterage ; Postage of Letter^s ; and every oilier usefiA
Information^ equally calculated for the Man qf Business tmd the inquisitive Traveller. '
Bfi W. C. OuLTON, Eso. Illustrated mtJk Sixty-six correct picturesque FiexvSy and a
trhok-sheet coloured M<q> qf England and H^aMs. In two Volumes. ISmo. pp. 825,
aod944.
WE would recommend to this same
Mr. Oalton a little more modesty in his
title-page, or a little more care in avoid-
ing such palpable blunders as the follow-
ing:
Of Axminster, Devon, the "first mar-
ket-town in this county,'' the compiler
says: " It takes one part of its name itom
Ihc river Axe, on which it stands j and
the other from a minster now standing,
erected here by king Athelstan." The
present church of Axminster is modem ;
and the town is neither the first, nor is. its
<narket the.^r*/, in the county. '* Battle-
field (Shropshire) village, distant from
fihrewsbuiy five miles. It is governed by
ar constable, and consists of about 400'
houses,. and 1400 inhabitants. It has a
large church, and one long street paved j '
but no manufectory." Here is a host of
errors— for this place is merely a hamlet
in the vicinity of Shrewsbury, consisting
of only twelve houses, and those not
ranged in a paved street, but scattered y
and instead of n^ar 1400 inhabitants, there
were only 83 in the year 1801.
The castle of Caerfily is described of
*' admirable structure and vast extent,
concluded by most to have been a Roman
garrison, and to have been built about 400
years btfore the birth qf Christ "
Art. XV. — Londinum Redivivum ; or, an ancient History and modem Description qf
London. Compiled from parochial Records, Archives of various Foundations, the Har*
leian MSS, and otiter authentic Sources, By James Feller Malcolm. Vol. II. 4to,
pp. 610; and vol. 111. pp. 586.
IN our review of the first volume of
diis work (vide Ann. Rev. vol. i. p. 471)
we gave a favourable account of it, from
a wish to encourage the compiler in his
pursuits, and to make him still more assi-
duous in his researches. Desirous of see-
ing an useful and complete histo y of the
British metropoUs, we urged him to con-
dense all the material points of informa-
tion relating to each paristi into a small
compass ; ai^d to avoid filling his pages
with useless and uninteresting matter.
In reading over the present volumes, and
comparing tliem with tlie former, we per-r
ceive, with regret, that the author has
exercised but little discretion in the ad-,
mission of bis materials j for here, as be-r
fore, we find page after page filled with
dull lists of " births, marriages, and
deaths," rectors' names, and irrelevant quo-
tations. Among numerous other instances
we' refer to p. 397, &c. of vol. ii., where
six pages and a half sre occupied by an
extract from a poem by Lidgate, descrip-
tive of Henry the Sixtli's entry into tlie
metropolis from France. Forbearing any
further animadversions al present, we shall
lay before our readers a concise view of
the contents of these volumes 5 reserving
to ourselves the privilege of. entering
more minutely into a critical examination
of the whole work when it is completed :
as then we can better appreciate the inten-
tions and execution of the writer 5 and
can more fully display his merits by what
he has done, and his defects by what he ,
has left undone, or injudiciously performed.
Among other subordinate subjects which
are noticed or described in the second vo-
lume are the following. The parishes of
Allhallows, Bread - street ,- Allhallows,
Staining ; Allhallows, London Wall ; St.
Augustine's Papey ; St. Anne's, Lime-
house 3 .St. Augustine's, Farringdon With-
in ; St. Faith ; St. Mary, Alderm'anbury ;
Allhallows, Honey-lane, and St. Pancras,
Soper-lane, united with St.Mary-le-Bow j
St. Andrew's, Holborn j 'St. George the
Martyr 3 St. Alban's, Wood-street ; Ab-
church, St. Mary 5 Aldermary, St. Mary;
St. Anne, Westminster 5 St. Anthony's ;
St. Andrew's, Baynard-castle j St. Anne
and St. Agnes3 Allhallows,' Barking; 'St.
Bartliolomewi Broad- street Ward; St. .
Benedict, Fink; St. Benedict, Paul's-
wharf ; St. George, Bloomsbury ; St. Bo-
tolph, Aldgate ; St. Botolph, Aldersgate ••
and St. Catherine, Colman.
In this alphabetical arrangement of paT
rishes,,it will be seen, that the same saint
has been chosen to pationize, and give
name to, two or ' three parishes in- the
same city : hence it becomes necessary to
discriminate the place by some additional
appellation as above specified. Many mis-
takesj. and erroneous statements^ have
424'
BRITISH- TCFPOGBaaWT' AND ANTIQUITIES.
arisen &6m this circumstance; and some
of our inattentive topographers* hare, not
unfi-equently^ confounded places, by at-
taching certain events to one parish^ which
properly belcog to another, of. the same
name. By giving an account of the au-
thors mode of writing what he calU ' the.
history' of one gr two parishes, die read-
er will easily be enabled to judge of the
present work 3 smd see how far it is calcu-
lated to supersede preceding histories, and
nained withoot one - for a cnilui j. IiIimU
ttither imagine BeaamoDt must hare raDaind*
and iir some measure' refounded, lifards
chapel. I do not find that «ith«r of the abo? ic
persons founded chaatrtes ; and yet I thiok
tfaey xntist have been pfayedfop in AUhalkm.
The parisliioners, or the Salters* coHapany,to
whoin fiefiumiojit was a j;reat hene^Ktor, ereri->
ed what is calltd a ' tail' window iaaug hb
marble tomb, in wluch they placed a portrait
of him in cok>ured glass, 161^
" The appellation of Saiters'> chapd m
possibly subsequent to the reformation.
how fsLY it may prove useful to the fiature -,-,.-• . »
Allhallows Bread-street; and the follow- ^^^41^ ;,ig„Vf Heary vin..ZpTO«H
ing extract mrmshes a fau- specimen of =>.... y . , -«- .
the work.
" Allhallows, Bread-street, is a rectory in
the gift of the archbishops of Canterbury, to
whom it came bv conveyance from the prior
and chapter of Christ Church, Canterbury,
in the year 1505.
« The fire of 1666 hath reduced me to the
unuleasant alternative of either writing very
■ little concerning this church and pansh, or to
have recourse to authors who have preceded
xne. Dr. Morice and the churchwiurdens in-
dulged me, without hesitation, with the inspec-
tion of tlie registers and books extant ; but
unfortunately they produce nothing retrospec-
tive. I am therefore compelled to glean Stow,
lihewcourt, the New View of London, and the
Parish Clerks' Survey, of London, tor facts
previous to 1666.
" In the king's books Allhallows is rated at
37/. 13v. 9d, ISishop Tonstall has not vdued
this living.
" A M.S. In St. PauFs muniment room
says the value before the fire was 107/. 6j. Sd.
per annum. It is now 1 40/. in lieu of tithes.
" 1349, May 6, Edward ui. granted a
licence to Jolih de Hurley, Walter dc T\i*
field, and Mathew de Barbour, permitting
them to convey apiece of ground, contiguous
to the chancel, to N icholas de Rothweli. rector
(27 feet in length, and 13 in breadth), and
his successors, for ever. ^
'* 1340, Feb. 20, WiUismde Ifford obtain*
cd the king's licence for convejing to tlie
rector and his successors anotlier piece of
land, 20 feet by 11, for the site of a chapel.
Possibly this might have been that known by
the name of tlic Sailer^; and more probably,
as the king's highway, is mentionc^d in the first
grant, tvliich is on the north side of the pre*
st^ut church. Thomas Beaumont, salter, who
served the office of sheritf with Richard Nor*
den, in themayoralty of John Aderiey^ 1442,
and died August 1*4* 1457, is said. to liave
founded tlie chapel on the south side of the
chancel ; bat it seems barely credible tliat the
ground granted for a chapel should have re-
gate priests quarreiled in the church, foog^
and even shed their blood in-the contest U
consequence divine service was suspeaded
for a month ; and the priests did penance ia
procession through thepeighbouringstrectt.
" 1559, September 5, the stone spire of
the church, and the iron of the vane, attracted
a flash of lightning during a storm, whidi,
from the effects produced, must have beoi
but an inconsiderable stream, far not niore
than ten feet of tlie stone^work was throvn
down. A man liad a narrow escape near th:
base of the steeple ; but a dog at play vith
him was killed. The spire was taken dova
soon after, to save the expence of repairing
it."
Such is the whole history of this parish :
next follow notices* with names, kcd
what theeditortenns *' Interment of emi-
nent persons:'* among whom are Henrf
Sucley, sheriff ; Richard Reade, alderman j
and Robert House, sheriff. Of these a»*
nent characters, however, there is not a
word mor« than their names. The num-
ber of persons buried in six difi^erent yean
is statcii fiom the registers, Under tba
next head, baptisms, is related that of Joha
Milton. '* The 20th day of Dec. l608,
was baptized John the sonne of John
Mylton, scrivener." In transcribing diis
record, Mr. M. exclaims :
** Long; very long, will Britons hail tHi
day immortalized by the birth of Miltoa
Not less honoured would the house have been
in whicii the breath of life w as first giveu him ;
but its site is unknown : yet the street whcrp-
in it stood hath been recorded, and /will re*
peat the name of Hread-street.
'* The most ^<quisite enOTving of him I
have seen is that in Birch*s Lives, engraved
by Houbraken, from a picture in possessioa
of the speaker of tlie nousc of commonsr
Onslow.
" Every man of candour would wsh to
* " On the same side is 9alters'-hall, wHh six alms-houses in number, builded for poor de-
cayed brethren of that company. This hall was burned in the year 1539, and again it-
cdified.** Strype, book iii. p. 201.
' It was not rebuilt after 1666 m the parish."
4
%lALCOtM*S LOKDIKOM EBX>iyiVUM«
40$,
btget dietuihappj period during which Mil-
ton ilour^ed ; the times were as contagious
M the air of I6i55 ; and that was a strotigmind
indeed whicii escaped the infection. Let his
deprivation of sight be a shield against every
dbodvaotageous recollection/'
The Mowing entries also relate to the
Hylton or Milton family :
" 1612, July 15. Sarah, the daughter of:
Mm Myiton, scrivener.
*' l6l3,Jaa.30. Tabitha, daughter of Mr,.
Mm Myiton.
'* The ui&at i&rah was buried, according
to the register, twenty-two days after her
iE^tism, in the church.
" Tabitha died at the age of two years and
pe moHths.
" 1615, Dec. 5. Christopher the son of
lolui^Mylton of this parish, scrivener/'
To diis succeeds a transcript from the
Baarriage raster, an account of the popu-
ktion of the parish, and a description of
Ae church, with a few " roemorials of
Ihe dead," and the names of rectors, and
thus terminates tUe whole of the particu*
hn or history of this parish.
Similar accounts, under similar heads,
ire repeated concerning each parish. Thus
the phncipal ^ture of the present work
Is a transcript of registers, with a few re-
Wks by the writer. Some of the for-
loer are curious and interesting 3 and will
cause the book to be a repository of useful
.docaiDents : but the great part of it^con-
lijts of very unimportant and very trivial
materials. Such remarks as the following
are certainly beneath the dignity of his-
lory, especially when introduced among
the principal matter of the work.
" The archives of Ironmongers'-hall have
been open to me; and every decree of infor-
luation required for a perfect history of the
company afforded, through the introduction
by Mr. Nichols, to Mr. Reeve of Ludgate-
hill^ who again introduced me to their worthy
clerk, Mr. Summer, to whom I shall always
consider myself indebted for a degree of po-
liteness and attention worthy of an enlightened
man, who conceives it possiUe researches
may be made for other purposes than to iind
fkiws in titles, defective leases, or 1 know not
wliat idle fiuicie9-«'Which l^ve been supposed
to be my oBjept in requesting to examine
court-books not many imles from MercersV
h^l."
« In narrating the account of the parish
of AUhallows, Staining, the editor relates
many partiailars of the Ironmongers* com-
pany, the history of which, being very
similar to that of many other companies
and halls^ the author says, *' I shall not
hesitate to enlarge so far on my subject
that fixture deficiencies may be less oh*
served."
The parish books of St. Mary, Aiders
maubury, contain some entries relatiiig td
Edmund Calamy, of whom Mr. Malcolm
gives a long memoir, which he concliUkft
in the following strain :
** I have entered the more fuHy into this
subject, to shew, by past experience, how ex-
tremely weak it is for individuals, whose edu«
cation has been directed to one pursuit, to
interfere with subjects they have never
studied; cxertingtheir influence in disturbmg
tiiose things which, upon deep examination^
they would know to be founded upon the
soundest principles, and wliich, by tnorough
study, would prove their own theories impro-
per in the extreme. Who can deny that
Edmund Calamy's life was a war of passion
against principle ? This vehemence of tcnn
per closed his mortal career : while the gene-
rality of men wept over the horron of 1666^
Mr. Calainy broke his heart, and died but
little more tnan a month alter tlie destruction
of London. As no epitaph points out the
spot where he lies, I will venture to say.
** In this vault are deposited the remams of
^ Edmund Calamy.
Had he lived in those peaceful days
when the pastor conlined his cares to the eternal welfitf e of his flock,
and when temporal government glided smoothly down the stream of time,
how useful and how sublime would have been his efforts!
But, unhappily, the state wantmg amendment,
he auued at uniting the opposite professions of
9 muiister of the peace of God which passeth ail understanding,
and that of the politician,
which deprived each (by being divided)
of the benefit of his superior talents,
and rendered his works as a priest imperfect,
as a politician mischievous."
Tlon^ we have given our opinion gladly bear testimony also to its utility j
Vith freedom of what appear to us to be for, in transcribing the registers, and othet
ihaierial defects in Mr. Malcolm's JjondU books of some parishes, he has given pub-
^hm Redimum, as he. texxot it|. j^et W9 licity to many curious and interesting
42S
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
anecdotes and facts, which otherwise
would there lie concealed, and perhaps
be for ever lost. In the tliird volume,
among various other particulars, are some
useful notices and records relating (o St.
Paul's cathedral and St. Paul's school;
also tlie parish and priory of Clerkenwell ;
though, in the 'account pf the latter, we
regret the admission of so much unimpor-
tant disquisition on the merits of turabiers
and dancers, 4t Sadler's Wells. Among
the marriages of St. Giles, Cripplegate, is
recorded fliat of Oliver CroaiA-ell and
Elizabeth Boucher, Aug. 22, 1620. The
account of this parish contains many in-
teresting particulars : and that of Christ's
Church hospital, commonly called (b*
Blue-coat school, at the time it aftbrdsw
information, communicates much deliglit
to the heart. Several etchings, by Mr,
Malcolm, are introduced into these vo-
lumes, and two or three extremely derer
ones by Pouncy are here reprinte(L C(h
pious indexes are added to each voluiue.
The third terminates rather abnaptly; as
the author has only appropriated seven or
eight lines to the excise - otfice. Sonw-
account of this great national estabU^h- '
raeut, and extensive mass of offices, iij
wanting j and Mr. Malcolm's reader will j
no doubt expect to see the deficiency su{t*. I
plied in his iiext volutpe.
Art. XVI. — Tho Beauties qf England and ffaks ; or, Delineation^^ topographical t ^«*^
rical, and descriptive, of eacli Couniy. EmheUishtd with Engravings. By EdwuiC'^
Wedlake Braylpv arid John Bhitton. Vol. VI. 8vo. pp. 624.
IT is with mnch pleasure that we'ob-
terve the unabated progress of this interests
ing publication towards its completion,
and that, contrary to what is iftually the
case, its merit both with regard to style
and matter is very perceptibly advancing ;
let tiie aulliors restrain tlieir ambition
witliin no narrower limits than the pro-
duction of a work worthy of beinir ranked
among the permanent classics of the coun-
try, and we shall have no doubt of their
ultimate success.
The present volume comprehends
Hampshire, with the Isle of Wight, and
Herefordshire 3 both of which are inter-
esting districts in various points of view.
Winchester, from its former importance,
as having been the favourite residence of
KO many of our kings, and from the splen •
dour of its ecclesiastical establishments,
deserved, and has obtained, a particular
and elaborate description ; for a great part
of which the authors acknowledge their
obligations to the history of this city by
the reverend J. Milner. The descHption
of Southampton will also be penised with
much satisfaction j though minute enough
for the antiquary, it will not be considered
as too long even by the general reader.
The account of the New Forest appears
to be the most oiigiunl article in the vo-
lume. It begins by a successful vindica-
tion of Willinm the Norman firom the
charges of sacrilege and dexastation that
have been brought agains-t him by the
monkish writers, in forming, or more
prolmbly in enlarging the original bounds
of, the forest.
" It is peculiarly remarkable that the author
of the latter part of the Saxon Clironicle, who
was indisputably contemporary with \ViDiaBi«
-. and who seems to have viewed his vices witk
a severe eye, should not take the least notiotJ
of the afforestation^ nor of the cruelties said tf
be inflicted on its inliabitants in conseijuence
of it. Every other memorable event of thi|.
reign he particularly relates ; tiie total devas-
tation of Northumberland ; the compilation of
the Domesday Book ; the universal and fop* ,
mal introduction of the feudal system inlotln,'
kingdom ; and the fearful famine and pe5tis
lence, which other monkish writers have coa>
verted into an inlliction frqm heaven as tie i
punishment of William's supposed acts cf ;
tyranny. These are all circumstantially mrii- ;
tioned, but not a hint occurs relative to the ;
formation of the New Forest. What is sti ;
more singular, he paints the conqueror's pa^ !
sion for the chace in the warmest co!oi«v
and condemns it with the greatest severiiy, ^
lamenting the excesses which tiie indulfi;er»(t,i
of it led him to commit ; in the enumefatiaa I
of which, he would most assure<llv liave «r j
eluded the remarkable one of the cfevastalio|r
in Hampshire, if the circumstance had rfach* i
ed his knowledge. May we noi thentVtfiy :
infer, from the silence of this accurate and iffr i
partial writer, that the ajrorestation, wikK
from the authority of the Doomsday Rouk,
was iiicontrovtTtibly made by William, «»
effected with such little iujurj' to tlic subject,
and such little disturbance of social icter-
course, tliat it was scarcely, perhaps entirely,
unnoticed beyond tlie iiniiieaiate scene of iB
occurrence?'
The limits and extent of the forest, »
ascertained bylhe various perambulations,
are then noticed ; the crown rights, the
peculiar jurisdiction to which it is subjtTt,
the quantity of timber which it has fur-
nished at various periods to the use (^thc
navy, and its present stale, are described,
to which is added a pictunssque accouac
IBJlYLeVs AND BRITTOm's BEAIWIE8 OF ENGLAND AND WALB9.
427
if the scenery that it affords, chiefly on
the authority of Mr. Gilpin. Of tliis ex-
»lient and accomplished man we should
lave been pleased to have found a few
liojrapfaical notices annexed to the ac-
jounl of Boldre : nor ought the village of
Whorue to have been passed over without
I limiJar tribute to the memor)' of the
ererend Gilbert White, who spent a long
od blameless life as priest -"f his native
ilhge, enlivening the intervals of his duty
J the study of natural history, of which
le was an unwearied and highly success-
id cuhh'ator, as his valuable " History of
clb(BT)e" most amply evinces.
Gosport and Portsmouth furnish an ex-
remeJ/ entertaining article, and which,
tthe present momentous crisis, cannot
nt convince the most timid and appre-
ensive, that the country which has had
he spirit and activity to bring to perfec-
fOQ such immense naval establishments,
rill ne\er permit the trident of the ocean
» be wrested out of her vigorous grasp.
The description of the Isle of Wight
Bitaias abundance of interesting matter:
9f particularize which would he to give
kl Kialysis of the whole. The disastrous
tent of a military expedition, undertaken
^ the inliabitants of this little island^ is
los related.
" Sir Edward Widville was, in the first pf
fcnrr the Seventh, made captain of the Isle
f UT^ht ; and about three years afterwards,
I ingratiate hiniself in the king's favour, by
bmoting wliat he conceivetl to be his wishes,
it convened the inhabitants, and persuaded
itm lo undertake an expedition to France,
laid of the duke of Brittany, who was then
i arms against the French monarch. From
^ numbers tijat flocked ti> his standard, he
dected about forty gentlemen, and 400 of
ke comnionatty, aJicT embarked with them
n Brittany in four vessels. Tiiese auxiliaries
to clothed in white coats, with red crosses ;
fed, to make them appt^ar the more numer-
», they were united to 1500 of the duke's
Utes, arrayed in the same uniform. Victory,
owever, proved unpropitious ; and in a battle
Night at St. Aubin's, sir Edward, and all the
iiglish, were slain, except one boy, who
ttehed home with the nielanclioly tidings,
ffcere was scarcely a family in th.*' Isle who
Bt not some relation or other on this mourn-
il occasion. To encourage an increase of
upulation, an act was soon afterwards passed,
whibiting any of tlie inhabitants from hold-
Bg lands, farms, or tithes, above ihv. annual
cut of ten marks."
The splendid mansion of the late sir R.
^orsley, at Appuldurcombe, is noticed
pth the minateness that it deserves ; and
lie ^wmt of his vineyard, the only one
we believe in the British European domi-
nions, we are tempted to transcribe for
the entertainment of our readers. We
must premise, however, that the under-
taking has not been attended with the
success tliat it deserved.
*' About two miles directly south from Ap^
puldurcombe park, on the sea-shore, in one
of the most beautiful parts of tlie island, near
the church of St. Lawrence, is an elegant
cottage, built a few years ago by sir Richard
Worsley, and surrounded by grounds of j\n ex-
tremely* romantic and picturesque character.
Bold fragments of juttins rocks, hregular
lawns, a crystal rivulet, and uatucal groups of
fine ehns, combine to give interest to the
scenery ; and still more to attract attention,
on this spot is found the only vineyard iii
England. This has been nii.sed'by sir llichard
under the inspection of a French vigneron,
who commenced his operations in the year
1792, and the plants were put in the March
following : it consists of two plantations, oc-
cupying about three acres of ground, slielter-
ed from ail unfriendly blasts by a iiigh range
pt rocky hills. The vines, which are of the
white Muscadine and Plant \'erd sorts, are
planted in beds twelve feet wide ; being so
arranged as to leave a foot and a half bctvs con
each plant. The stems are about eight inches
high, with two shoots on each stem, which are
regularlv cut off every spring, and their places
SLippliecf by other young ones ; the shoots are
kept at the length of two feet, or two feet and
a half: a light white wine is made fVom tlie
grapes. The novelty of this plantation, and
the peculiar beauty of the coast, liave at-
tracted numerous visitants to this part of tiie
island."
One more quotation the authors must
permit us to make, of an anecdote truly
charatteristic of the daring courage of
British seamen.
" Bonchurch was the birth-place -of the
gallant admiral Hobson, who having beeii lift
an orphan at a very early age, was aj^pren-
ticed to a taylor ; but dislikuig his situation,
and inspired" by the sight of a squadron of
men of war coming round Dun-nose, he sud-
denly quitted his work, ran to the beach,
junipea into the fii^t boat he saw, and plied
his oars so skilfully, that he quickly reached
tjje admiral's ship, where he entered as a sea-
boy. Witiiin a day or tw'O aftenvards, tJiey
met a French squauiron; and durinp; the ac-
tion that ensued, while the admiral and his an-
tagonist were engaged yard-arm and yard-
arm, young Hobson contrived to get on
board the enemy's ship unpcrreived, and
struck and carried oft' the French tlag : 'A the
moment when he regained his own vessel, the
British tars shouted ' victor}',' witliout any
other cause than that the enemy's colours h«;d
disappeared. The French crew, thrown into
contusion by this event, van from their guns.
428
BEmSH TOPOGRAPHy AND ANTIQUrnES.
and while the officers were inefiectually en-
deavouring to rally them, the British seamen
boarded ueir ship^ and forced them to sur-
render. At this juncture, Hobson descended
from the shrouds with the French tiag wrap-
ped round his arm; and^ after trhimphantly
exhibiting his prize to the seamen on the
main deck, he was ordered to the quarter-
deck, wiiere the admiral complimented hifti
on his bravery, and assured him of his pro-
tection/'
In the general account of Hereford-
riiire, advantage is very properly taken of
the county agricultural report, Mr. Mar-
shall's rural economy^ and other respect-
able authorities, in order to furnish a cu-
rious and particular account of the two
leading products of the county, apples and
hops. The description of Hereford is ra-
tlier proportioned to its ancient conse-
quence as a frontier station to overawe
.the Welsh, than to its present importance:
the relation of its siege by tlie Scottish
arnay under the earl of Leven in the civil
wars is interesting, as displaying the gal-
lant loyalty of its inhabitants, and the
wondrous want of skill in tlie besiegers.
The architectiiral details respecting the
cathedral, and various other ancient build-
ings, will be considered as somewhat tedi-
ous by all but professional men and tho-
rough-paced antiquaries;, nor will the ge-
neral reader be greatly inclined to ac-
quiesce in the cliarges of Vandalism and
Gothic barbarity, wluch are urged wilb ]
truly ludicrous seriousness against bi^
Egerton for destroying a " ruinoos a4
useless** Saxon chapel. If an indi^idial,
or society, find it expedient to levd vsj
tottering ruin with the ground, or to coo-
vert the site of any ancient camp iiuoa
corn-field, all the deference thai the nut
rigid etiquette can demand oo such occa»
sions, is tliat due notice be sent to tbeaa^
tiquarian society, in order that the/ wf
have an opportunity, if they please, 4
making drawing and plaas before the de^
molition takes place; and that the r^
of pre-emption be conceded to them, %
they wish to purchase at a fair estimate
any part of the rubbish.
It is impossible that an inland coaDtjfy
which possiisses no manufacture, and j
simply an agricultural district, sbgdil
offer much that is very interesting to tJ(|
niodem "Statist : a paucity of informatkul
of tliis kind cannot therefore be reasonahU
urged as reflecting upon the industo'dj
the present writers : on the contrary, tbeyl
aie entitled to credit fi^r their good I
in supplying this deficiency, by enlai
more than usual on the picturesque I
ties in which this county is peculia
abundant, and tlius producing an agr^.
able intermixture of die records and n^
liciues of past ages, with pleasing desoipt!
tions of rural scenery.
Art. XVII.— rAc ancient Cathedral of Cornwall, hlsforicaUy sarvn/ed. By hv%
Whitaker, B. D. Rector of Ruan-Lunghonte, CorivufllL In Tiio P'ohtmes, 4ta. pjw
348, 434.
THE hand which, almost half a cen-
tury ago, was employed to write that ex-
traordinary, topographical, historical, cri-
tical, and antiquarian book — the history of
^Manchester — has again directed the pen ;
and under the above strange title has pro-
duced one of tliose eccentric literary
works, which sets at defiance every at-
tempt at systematic analysis, or connected
criticism. In both these works, as well
as in some others by this learned author,
the reader is often dazzled with his elo-
quence, astonished at his rare and pro-
found erudition, and surprised at his pal-
pable absurdities. The character of tiie
former work is pretty generally known to
that class of the literati, who delight in
topographical and antiquarian lore; and
like all works of great originality and no-
velty, it has provoked the unqualified
censure of plodding critics ; though the
enlightened and discriminating have fairly
appreciated its real value, and classed it
among those books, that may be red:
witli much advantage, if read virh f»
tion. The present work, as might b5
naturally expected, carries with it a farailf
likeness, and partakes of many peculiav
ties which characterized its predecessor.
It must be known to many pf our read-
ers that tliere is no cathedral in Connwll,
and they must consequently be surprised
at the appearance of two quarto volamw
closely printed, upon a non-eutity. Lil»
the *' Utopia" of sir Thomas M(Mne,di8
subject seems therefore to be merely ima-
ginary, and- adopted by the author as a
title for a dissertation. Withput preface,
introduction, table of contents, or apy
sort of explanatory narrative, Mr. Wt*
aker commences the present work wiiJ a
far-strained allegory, in which be compare*
tlie history of the world and of man to a
colossal statue of antiquity without t
head J but according tohim^tliis mostcv
sential part of the body is provided, or
WBITAKBR'S cathedral op CORNWALL.
'4«
(esloial, by " divine liistofy.- He then
MiQceeds to descent on the ''darktiess"
wl "nncertamty" of that part of pn>-
Ine history, which is called ancient:
nd thence «Jverts to the early annals of
DomwaU. Of this county and its inha-
kifiaoti, the most ancient accounts that
esD be collected, must be from the aniials
Df the Saxon invaders. In tliesamo strain
tf metaphorical language, he tiius pro-
Deeds:
" By this kind of moonlight I mean to di-
tfd my course in making my survey of the
mcient catliedral of Comwatl. Yet I hope
io collect the beams so carefully into one
bcus, as to lind them combining into some
li^rec of Ittstre, and lighting me with truth
ikNig tJie winding path to my point. In that
hepe, therefore, i ser out ; expecting, 1k)W-
pr«rr, not to iind my point wilhin the petty
diric of any one parish, or even the ample
pri)it of a whole county, but to trace it steadily
icross the whok- ishnwl, and to pursue it oc-
casionally int<5 the continent."
Such are the terms in which our author
•qilains his plan ; and with this explana-
IWD only we are left to conjecture the ob-
ject of the work, and the intention of the
Rrriter. in section the first he cakes a
short review of the Saxon invasion^ nar*
ntes the establishment of the heptarchy,
«iKi describes its reduction into one king-
dom, when Winchester became the me-
tropolis ci England . Cornwall, however,
BBiutained its mdependance. The ex-
|doiu of AUieistan are next described -,
his subjugation of Northumbria, his de-
fat of tbs Scots, his victories over the
^nces of Wales, and lastly his successes
against the Cornish under khig Howel,
iDd the coDsequent annexation of Com-
irall and the " Sylley isles" to the king-
dom of £ngland. iiere our author set-
lies according to his own plan, the ety-
ttiology of Cornwall, and explains tlie
ntimate connection of- many names; he
then narrates some historical circum-
stances relating to the opposite coast of
Bietagne, as dicing the Saxon heptarchy
that part of the continent was particularly
oonnected with the British islands. '
" The Damnonian Britons of Dcronshiri*
and their region Damncnia, as called in the
middle ages, were answered by the region
Dojftwmee in the nortli of Bretagne. I'he
ssunts of Cornwall were by the Armortcans
adopted for their saii|ts, and assumed for thelr
countrym<;n.* Even particular appellations
of places are exactly the same in both iregions.
The commtiracation between Bretagne and
our Cornwall, appears to have been great in
the sixth century,t to have bec-n continuitl
for se vend centuries afterwards,! and to lia\1ff
lasted as late as the middle of the sixteenth ;§
even (I suppose) till the incoqjoration oif
Bretagne into the realm of France in 1532,
annihilated eventually all provincial connex-
ions, and ubsorbeci tlicm in the general inter-
ests of national policy. That, however,, did
not (as may be presumed by liiose who never
contemplate more tiian a single grain of sand
at a time, who therefore do not ever consider
it as in union with the wliole mass) ii;tnerate
the identity of names in tlie two regions, hilt
continue them ; did not unite with the iden-
tity of language, just as wonderfully preser\'«l
,in Bretagne as iu Cornwall, by tlie long de-
tachment of both from the rest of the country,
to cretiiCy but to trufismit, local appellation';
exactly the same in both. Just m ^his very
manner we see at or about the conclud'uig
residence of the Romans u!3on the isle, CV«-
bri in Cornwall, Ct/mro in \Vale8, and Cmnbti
in Cumberland ;| I Carnabii or Camahii m
Cornwall ; Dumniior Dwnnonii in Scotland ;
Damnii in Ireland ; Dtwitiojiii, Domnonii, or
Damnonii in Devonshire.^ .So clearly was
all this coincidence of appellations derived,
not as nodding criticism or dreaming tradi-
tion would willingly surmise, from the succes-
sive propagation of colonies, but, as all the
fects unite to attest, from the same circum-
stances attracting the same appellations '»\
tiie same language ! The last name in all it«
variations originates from a circumstauce stilt
existing univei>ally among the natives; tl^
practice of fixing their houses in the bottoms,
to shelier Iheniselves from the winds, tliat
beat with uncommon violence upon this ex-
posed point of the island, a practice fomiliar
to this, with other regions of the isle at first,
but preser\"ed still iu tfiis because Of tliat vio-
lence. In tlie other rc*gions, the wild ele-
ments of the isle have been tamed, by the
excision of those woods or forest:, and hy tjie
draining of those mai'shes, mosses, or lakes*
which were continually engeiKU'ring cold and
wmd ; while the protrusion of ih^ iuud in oaii
* Ui<itoire de Bretagne, i. 9.
f I'sher, i»90.
t Tsher, 293.
JLeland'sltin. ii. 114.
II Iu hlavareh H&u, a bard of Cumberland, but a refugee in Powis, we have- the btttt:
coiuitry called ' Powis paraduys Gyniri/ (Lhuyd, 259.)
^ Ptolemv, "Richard, and Solinus. 'j'hese and other variations of the last name, as Donii,
Duranani, bumninfii, in Ravennas and Autoninu-?, serve to evince thut Danmonii, as it has
ke«n ivcently afifitrted to be read, aiid as Richard's map actually reads it, is only a false ibr*
autiottoftkcvrord. " /
430
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUTTiES.
long but gradually contracted prominence
from Somersetshire and Dorsetshire, to meet
the extended waves of the vast Atlantic, and
to encounter the storms of the stormiest part
of it, the bay of Biscay, is a geogra])hical par-
ticular which must remain for ever.''
At the commencement of section lii,
Mr. Whitaker comes to the subject which
gives title to bis dissertation ; and begins
an argument to ascertain whether tlie
Cornish bishopric was first settled at
" St. German's or Bodmin, before or
tinder this new supremacy of England.
Gross mistakes have been made upon the
Bubject, but 1 hope to rectify them. The
study of antiquarian literature is yet in its
infancy only amang us j and the manly
deduction of inferences from premises ju-
diciously stated, has been little practised
hitherto by our antiquaries." Many his-
torical facts are adduced to prove that it
was not at Bodmin, in opposition to *' the
blunders" of Mulmcsbury, and to Dr. Bor-
la^'s " mass of conjectures, all pleading
a false probability of reason against a posi-
tive assertion of history, all founded upon
a fctlse assumption, and all tending to a
false conclusion." Even Malmesbury
himself is brought as an evidence to prove,
from some subsequent observations, the
fallacy of his former reasoning. " The
author [Malmesbury] thus shews us the
original impression made upon his tnind
from the records of history : the oblite-
ration made unwarily of it, by some false
notices immediately before him then^
and tlie return of his judgment at last, to
what he bad nearly lost in the crowd of
notices which had pressed upon him
since j a return as partial as his recollec-
tion, but carrying a plain tendency to his
positive opinion at first. He set out on
his historical journey, over an open coun-
try ; saw the hill to which he was travel-
ling, all drest out in full sunshine before
him; but immediately entered a forest
that intenened, lost his object in the
woods around him, and when he reached
it at last, had a view not half so distinct as
his former one, catching only a gleam
from recollection of that vision, \vhich
had shone so bright to his eyes before."
Authorities are cited to prove that Bod-
min, at tlie period in question " bad no
existence as a town, none even as a vil-
lage, but merely as a hermitage." The
aum of the evidence is tiiat " Bodmin
then could no^ possibly be, what it has
been invariably supposed to the present
moment, the primary seat of our Cornish
apiscopate^ -and the sole seat till 98 1. la
614, when a news^t was formed eqiuft/
for the episcopate, and for the royalty,
Bodmin was only a hermitage, fiodmk
continued a hermitage only to the year
936 ; and no episcopate could possibly be
fixed at it, even so late as diis very year."
" Having divested Bodmin of its pre-
tensionsi" sect. it. is employed to prove^
from a very difiiise view of the ancieDt
history of Cornwall ^ that St. Germans
was the original episcopate : and the «••
rors of other writers who differ from Mr.
Whitaker in opinion are freely pointed
out : the chapter concludes with a de«
tailed account of Bodmiu;
In addition to tlie reports of history, tbe
author proceeds [chap. 11. sect. i],"toi
new kind of testimony** in favour of the
same point : the ** very church of St
Germans*' itself. This new testimony ii
supported by a very minute description of
the present fabric, and its coustituoit
parts 3 together uiih an account of the
various insignia of episcopacy which, ac-
cording to Mr. Whitaker, are yet ajjpa-
rent. These he denominates the bisix^'s
throne — the stall of the chaplain or chan-
cellor— the bishop's entrance— and the
tomb of the bishops. When a man zeal-
ously argues from &lse data, he is sure \o
bewilder himself, and must equally coo-
fuse his readers. This is forcibly exem-
plified in the portion of the book now
under examination : where our kaiwd
annotator considers certain objects asos^
belonging to a cathedral, and then de-
scribes such objects in the present church.
If he had not however been strangely bias-
sed in favour of his hypothesis, he might
have found that tiiany parochial churcba
have all the Teattues which are said to be
peculiar to this and other cathedrals. What
he so minutely describes as " the bishop's
thronfe/' is merely a small niche in the
wall : and " the stall of the chaplain" ii
another similar niche, whicli was formerly
appropriated to a piscina, or a crucilix.
Such niches of various sizes, shapes, and
ornaments, are remaining in many smill
churches, which were nei'er cathednbi
and which even the eloquent sophistry of
this gentleman could not easily prove to
have been such even in the Anglo-Saxon
dynasty.
A ring having been found near St
Germans church, occasions our author ts
write a long dissertation on the subject.
He animadverts on episcopal and ropl
rings : and endeavours to explode the as-
sertion of some antiquaries, particularly
doan Lyttleton, who have renariwd dal
VHITAKEli*S CATHBDkAL^O^ CORK\YAtt..
431
ttcre were andentiy parish wedding-rings
kept for general use. We present the
itader with a few of the autlior's observa-
tions on tills subject : because they serve
to characterire the style, manner, &c. of
our zealous antiquary.
" Ring* are derived to us from a custom,
as universal as the love of ornament among
the nations of the earth, and coimnon to the
Konians, (he Gauls, or the Britons ; while
tiki mode of wearing them is whollv Roman
among us at present, and has always been so
since tiie Roman conrjuest. Tliis wt* may
collect from several circumstance's little in
thrtiisi^lves, indept-ndcnt ot each other, but
un.ting in one testimony. I'he Romans wore
nogs even so familiarly upon their thumbs,
that, among many evidences of the bodily
hugeness ot the euiperor Maximiub the elder,
his thumb is recorded to have been so large
as to bear upon it his queen's right liand
braelttfor a ring.* We correspondenily
find, ' upon rebuifdlng the abbey-church- of
St Peter, Westminster, bv king "Henrv III.'
Uiat 'the sepulchre of Sebert, kin^ of the
East Angles, was opened, iind therein was
found part of his royal rob.% and his thuvih-
nfl^, in which was set a ruby of great value.'
nealso know * an alderman's ihumh-riiig'
to liave been an object familiar to tJie eyes
of Shakespeare. t This practice continued
araonj5U8 long after the days of Shakespeare ;
an alderman's thumb-ring' continuing to be
l»ticedfor its siimilarity as late as the middle
-^ the seventeentli century. { But the Ro-
iiians also placed the ring upon one of their
^«<crjr, the large statues in bronze of emperors
and empresses at Portici, having each of them
* ring upon the fourth linger; and Pliny in-
fornnng us, that * tlie custom was originally
to wear it upon the linger next to the least,
as »c see in the statues of Nmna and Servius
1 ulliiis.§' The custom of the kings wa*^ thus
revived by the emperors, and continued very
late. But in the interval between the revived
and the original custom, the ring was put by
the Romans on the fore-^Hngtr ; * Uie very
unages of the gods,' says Pliny, * carrying it
on the finger next to the tliumb |l */ and a
Roman monument remaining, in which a man
sipjjears actually putting a ring upon the fore-
finger of a woman, in the act of marr}ing
her. II We accordingly, tise rings upon ijolh
these fingers at present. But we denoininate
the fourlli particularly, just as the Romaus
and Saxons did, the rin'^-jin^cr, a-; being that
on which the ring is placed in marriaires ; ** ♦
while tlie native Britous, like the Gauls, wore
the ring upon t lie 7/izW/t' nnger alone, the very
finj^er which alone was exc-eplcd by the Ro-
mans, ff "^rhus, in lOri, on removing the
bones of Dunstan at Canterbury by four men
who had been the depositors of 1 1 is body be-
fore, in what is called a mau>oleum, and who
now opened it ; * th;^y found the bt»iies mere
valuable than gold and topazes, tlie tlesh
havhig been consumed by length of time ;
and recognised*.7h'.'/ riin; j5ut upon hhjinircr
when he was committecl to the grave, winch
he himself is reported to have made in I lis
tender years. J {* i he bones were then trans-
ferred to Glastonbury, and 1 72 yt»ars after-
ward again found tlicre ; the explorers com-
ing to * a coj/in of zi'oodf bound lirinly with
iron at all the joints,' opening tliis, teeing the
bones within, * with his ring upon a particu-
lar bone of h\s Jinger ; and to take aw-ay all
semblance of douot, discoverinu; his pfc/wre
within the coflm, tiie letter S, with a glory on
the right side of the coffin, the letter D, with
a glory, on the left.§§' 'Fhe ring was put upon
the linger of a bishop at his burial, because a
|)ishop always wore a ring in his life ; and be-
cause he wore it, as (jueen Elizabeth wore one
through life with the same reference to her
kingdom, in token of his marriage to his dio-
cese." &c. &:c.
The *' riches, elegance, and dimen-
sions" of Saxon churches, form the lead-
• HisL Aug. Scriptores, 606, Capitolinus. *' Pollice ita vasto, ut uxoris dextrocherio
uteretur pro annulo." ,
t Arch. iii. 390, sir Joseph Ayloffe, and Shakespeare's part i. of Henry IV. act II. scene
IV. ** When I was about thy years, Hal, I was not an eagle's talon in the waist ; I could
•bave crept into any alderman's //»f/n^r/Me."
J '* -Aji alderman's thumb-ring is mentioned by Brome in the Antipodes, 1640 — : again in
.the Northern Lass, 1632 — ; again iu Wit in a Constable, 1 640." (Jolinson's and Steevens's
edition, 1793, vol. viii. 468.)
§ Pliny, xxxiii. 1. " Singulis prim6 digitis geri mos fuerat, qui sunt minimis proxuni;
sic in Nums et ServiiTuUii statuis videmus."
!l Ibid. ibid. ** Pof^ea [diuito] pollici proximo indu&rfe ; etiam deorum simulachris."
^ Montfaucon, iiL part ist. ii.. 17. I refer to the translation by Huniphrevs, 1721, as
more within the reach of a country clergjTnan's purse, than the original, with its I'rench and
Latin expensively doubling one over the other. 1 so refer generally, though 1 occasionally
Jcite tlie oriffinai as consulted by my friends for me."
* * " Rubric to our marriage service, directs tlie ring to be put upon tlie fourth finger
•f the woman's left hand."
ft Plinv, xxxiii. 1. , ' '
:t Mahne^bury, Gale 1, 302.
§§ Ibid. Gale 1, 304.
4Si
IBRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUrnE3*
tng 8ul]ject8 of consideration and descrip-
tion in die third section -, and are continued
in the following, wherein the author en-
deavours to prove tlie church of St. Ger-
mans to be a Saxon building. This^ how-
ever, he apprehends to be a difficulty, as
the architectural antiquary will look for
some peculiar style in the building, and
those marking features which are supposed
to characterise the sacred edifices of tlie
Saxons. Mr. Whitaker anticipates some
objectibns of this kind, and attempts to
answer them. He next investigates the
•mbject of square door-ways, which he re-
marks are of gi^eat antiquity. Nobody,
who has studied the subject, we presume
will doubt this : for all die ancient Egyp-
tian and Grecian buildings have this dia-
lacteristic. * It is therefore superfluous to
argue on a subject which is universally
admitted. Settion i, of chapter in, is
crhieBy occupied by the consideration of
undercrofts or confessionals ; and the sa-
crilegious ravages of the dissc^ution are
feprobated in warm terms. The ancient
liabits of the officiating clergy, and the
great antiquity of episcopal £rones, cro-
siers, and mitres, are the subjects of sec-
tion II. The next is employed to prove
the antiquity of the game of chess, of
teiselated or mosaic pavements, and of ar-
morial bearings. This leads our learned
author to a particular description of the
celebrated historical tapestry of queen
Matilda at Bayeux. An account of thi^
curious relic with prints is to be found
in Ducarel's Anglo-Norman antiquities.
Chapter iv. is devoted to prove the very
early establislunent of Christianity in Corn-
wall. The history of St. Germanus- is
next given, from his arrival in Britain
where he was specially invited by the
clergy to check die growth of the Bela-
gian heresy ; though in section ii. he is
said to have been brought over to convert
the natives from ^paganisni, or druidism.
The facts and observations of Dr. Boriace
in favovLT of the long -existence of druid-
ism, are examined and confuted in sect.
III. Historical deductions to the contrary
^cupy the remainder of the chapter,
whid^ concludes with > a dissertation .on
druidical relics.
In chap. II. sect. ii. tlie author attempts
to confute a. long-established opinion con-
cerning the antiquity of the pointed arch,
• Dk)bdx, 1159, Relmer. .
t Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. iv. 8. Reading.
1 Ptolemy, iv. 5. P. 131. Bcrtius.
I Poco€ke, i. 73.
but his data are completdy tsfSgAtovf, tf
his arguments are mere sophistry. Hw
ecclesustical architecture of this countiy
Has generally been referred to particolar
ej?as, according to the style which prevaib
in the most ancient part of the &bric. By
this criterion antiquaries have endeavoured
to identify the age of buildings; and as
the style continued to vary from tbe Nor-
man invasion till die time of Heary the
£ighth, this has commonly proved satis-
fectory evidence : Mr. Whitaker pro-
nounces this false, *' however, echoed
backwards and forwards by antiquaries -^
and Mr. Bentham, who endeavoored to
establish this point, is described as a vom
" who had not vigour of intellect to tlunk
freely for himself, and is cmly paciog
therefore we may be sure, in the ve7
harness, or with the very bells, of the
common stagers on the it)ad.'' The point-
ed arch is said by Mr. Whitaker to be of
much greater antiquity than is generally
supposol. He carries it back toaveiy
remote period, and declares that it b to
be found in Eg^'JJt, Rome, aid Britain. A
Roman triumphal arch at Antinopolis, m
Egypt, is described and represented, to
substantiate this novel hypothesis. Hi
thus urges the subject :
" About the year of Christ 132," lemwfa
an author very happily, and very judiciouslj,
ainid many assertions ingenious, but arn-
trary, and some conclusions reiined but er-
roneous, " Antinous, the favorite of the em-
peror Adrian, was drowned in the Nile. Tfe
prince, to perpetuate his memory, founded *
city in Egypt," at the point of the Nile wbere
he was drowned, " and called it atter be
name." As this incident is the foiuidalion d
the whole reasoning, I here estabhsh it on Ae
authority of Dio, whosajs Adrian ''re-erect«l
m Egypt tiiat city, which was deilominated
from Antinous * ; and again, upon the bdiiT
testimony of a writer, nearly cotemporaif
with Adrian, who adds that Adiian 'bailt
the city bearing Antinous's appellatHjn.f
lliis city is. mentioned bv Ptol«ny 9
Avfivoft UoXi$, or Antiuopolis, tlie capital
of a district, lying along the eastern bank ij
and has transn'iitted its remains under thetith
of Ensinck to the present tinies.§ * Ptrt
^emat made drawings of its ruins, whidi
are in the third tome of Montfeiucon's anti-
quiUes ; among t/utn U ihe pointed arch,* in
a line old gateway fonnetl after th^ uswl
fashion of triumphal arches among the Ro-
mans^ as having one lofty avenue 4biuugh it
WHITARER S CATHEDRA^ OF CORNWALL.
433
in (he centre, and a lower upon each side,
but te^inating all three in a ptakcd arrh
abovef This, how ever, is ' not perfectly
Gothic, but tliat calk-d constrasted,* and vei v
i sharp in the peak.* ' Another constnisUd
?vh appear* in the Syriac MS/ of the evan-
lists at FiorcBcc, written A. D. 586, and
lullof fSictures exhibited in twenty-six leaves.
And, 'in a very curious manuscript which
I was once fovoured with a sight of,' says
another writer who happily harmonizes with
both these evidences betbre, a manuscript
* containing an account of tiie late earl of
Strathaore*s travels through Spain, mention
is made of a singularity ; for in the aqueduct
nearSegovia, which was undoubtedly built in
the time of Trajan,' an empecpr, the imme-
diate successor of Adrian, uTiere are some
pointed flrcAtf J.' "f
Tboagh the judicious antiquary is not
likelv to be misled, or deceived, by this
account, yet there are many who may be
imposed on by the eloquent powers of our
author. We will therefore examine this
arch, on which the '* whole reasoning*' is
turned, llie print which accompanies
the description is so false in drawing and
perspective, tliat it is unwortliy of com-
ment. It is neither a geometrical eleva-
tion, perspective view, nor section : and
That is called the sweep of the arch is so
constructed, that the stones must inevit-
ably fiill in, as soon as the centre oiiframe
was removed on which the arch wa^orm-
cd. It is copied from Montfaucon, ^ * -^re
it is equally incorrect. Hence we may
perceive how dangerous it is to describe
from old prints, and to build hypotliescs
upon such precarious foundatioas. Much
has been written, and long disputes have
been promoted, concerning tlie origin and
antiquity of the pointed arch^ but this
can never be ascertained in the closet,
and is only likely to be found in exaram-
ing the liistory, and comparing the build-
ings of ditfcrent ages, and of various coim-
tries. So extremely questionable arc the
objects here adduced, both by Mr. Whit-
iiker and Dr. Ledwich, that we are still of
opinion, the true pointed'arch will not be
loimd anterior to the Norman conquest :
and we are also inclined to believe, if it
did not really originate in England, that
the system was brought to perfection in
this country.
An arch and a column are very differ-
ent words, and stand for different objects.
The one is a vaulted aperture, and t!ie
other a solid substance. Our nuthor how-
ever, detcnnined in his pursuit, and ob-
stinate in argvimcnt. next has recourse to
the Roman allars, some of w hich he refers
to as examples of poinlcHl arches j but
how greatly were we surprised to find, on
examining Horsley's Brh.uinJa Koinana,
that instead of arches wfe found solid blocks
consisting of square bases, with pynnnit!;il
tops ! When liypothesis is thus raised on
such deceitful fuund.it ions, the finil breeze
of argument shakes the fabric to destruc-
tion. After answering the vague n^.ode
of reference used by Dr. Ledwich, and
exultingly pointing out " no less than
eleven" examples in Horsley of this sort
of pointed arch, Mr. Vv^'hi taker says, " }et
on these instances, however numerous, we
can hardly ground any rca.-onings concern-
ing the use of/he pointed arch in buildiiigs
here, but we have one stone in Horsley
which exhibits the pointed arch in so re-
gular a form of an arch, and with accom-
paniments so purely Gotliic, in their very
aspect, as arrested my eye more than thirty
years ago^ as must arrest every eye tJiat
views it, and loudly tells what so many
years ago I resolved some time or other
to proclaim from it, tlie use of the pointed
arch in the Roman buildings of Britain.
It is his No. 14 of Scotland." JMr. Hors-
ley remarks, that this stone is '* somewhat
p^uliar," and has accordinj^ly drawn it in
hi? peculiar manner, but this is so com-
pletely unintelligible, that we should be
very reluctant to write any dt'scription
from such imperfect represeutiuioh, Mr.
Whitaker, with his usual sagacity, and
undaunted prowess, tlius beasts of tlie
one, and exercibcs tlie otlier.
" So little did the sight of the origira!, so
little did the v. ry delineation of it carry to
the mrad of this excellent antiiiuiry," (liors-
ley) " what it so obviously carries to evtfy
reflecting mind, the impression . of an arcii
truly Gothic, upon a monument certainly
Roman; tlmt he only noticed something pe-
culiar in the shape oVthe stone at top ! 'Ihe
strongestlightof evidence shines in vain upon
any mind that is not in the general habit of
opening its eyes to evidence, and is not also
disposed by some previous considerations to
receive the particular evidence at the mo-
ment."
♦ ReA-erend Mr. Ledwich of Dublin, in Archa^ologia, vlU. 132. The reference to Mont-
iaicon should be, as Mr. I^edwich vecy obliginglv mlormc»d me by letter m answermg my
enquiry, to the third tome of the supplement, p. 55, pa^e 156, Paris 17i4; there v;tj have
thii description in Latin.
t " See Mr. ledwich in Arch. 170, for th» date of this MS."
Ahm. REY.V01..IV. . Ff
43^
BRITISH TOPOGRAIE^HY AND AKTIQUTTIES.
This great discovery is ronsidercct so
highly important by Mr. Whitaker, that
lie is tcinj)ted to comment on it very
Lirgdy 3 though how he denominates a
single block of^tone a pointed .arch, we
are at a loss to comprehend. From Bri-
tain he darts across to Jerusalem, where
he iinds the holy §epulchre, and discovers
in it some pointed arches. These he says
were built by* the empress Helena, and
deiuonstratively prove that.thi y were in-
troduced at that period by the Romans.
AVhen we recollect that the city of Jeru-
«iilem was repeatedly besieged after the
reign of Constantine, and that the *' Turks
and other infidels" directed their ven-
' giMuce against that building, we cannot
easily |>ersuade ourselves that it remains
as left by the architects of Helena —
The pointed arclies were more pro-
bably introduced in tliose iidditions to the
building tliat were made aft A the crusa-
ders took possession of tlie iuAy city.
The reverend author introduces hi& se-
cond volume ill the following style of
strained metaphor : this figure of rhetoric
seems to be so peculiarly his favourite, that
he introduces it iiuo almost evsry page.
" I have now brushed a^^-ay those grains of
dnst in the telescope, which p^revented Dr.
Borlabe from beholding the bright constella-
tion of stars, that was dartbg its united ef-
fusion of radiance upon the Christianity of
CoriiNvall. 1 have pointed out the stars b^
name to my readers, and entered them in
form upon my catalogue. Yet I have not
named all : others remain, provoking my at-
tention, and challenging my admiration. To
some of these ) now direct my telescope ;
anti(iuarinnism, like astronomy, continually
opening a new world upon the eye, and so
carrying on the range of vision to the ver}
e.%tr'enufy of tlio system."
This tcltscqpic view presents to our
mind's eye a variety of sauus, male and fe-
njale, who were early settlers in Corn-
wall, whose identity is ascertained by re- '
ferenci^s to historical facts, and illustrated
by the derivative appellation of certain
churches and parishes in that county.
In descanting on thi4 subject, our author
has I'lkcn an extensive range, and ulti-
mately endeavours to establish his great
object : — tiic early triiunph of Christianity
over druidism This is urged with consi-
derable warmth, in contradiction to tJie
tca<;onings and conjectures of Dr. Boriase,
who is charged with ignorance of some of
these saints, and v.iih having perverted th,e
history of others : yet though tlie poor
d(jctor is sovcrcly reprimanded lor ignor-
ance of saintish biography, Mr. WMtaker
is obliged to confess tlrat ^
*' Oup notices roncfming^all, however, are
very short, little more tlian sufficient ti link •
thfin into the great chain that caiw chlrge4
with siich a ([uaiiiity of electrical lire from
Hrdven,and that di^pr'H^ixl it in suchpl«ising
elfusions of light, f hroiigli a country fullv pre^
pared by her ov. n ciiristianity to retain as well
as to receive it.""
Witli such desultory wTiting upoa such
fancied subjects, our author contrives to
fill tliirty-two-pages, which are terminated
in the followlA^ strain ;
" I have tlnis carried my chain of eridcnce
toa suflicient lengdi for tue present; I have
|>articularlv pointed out that richcmbarkalioi
of saints which came over fi-om Ireland into
Cornwall about the year 460. All these saint?
existed, we should now remember, in ihat
very period of onr Cornish history', in ubich
Dr.' iWlase dreatns he ' finds many Iwly
nn»n employed to convert the Combh to the
christian i-eligion ;' when the Cornish appear
already converted, already cbristiaas and
having their kmgs, their nobles, their clergy,
their monks, or their hermits, all happily
imited in Christianity together."
In the next section (ii.) the subject is
continued, and the names, residence, and
bistori^ of other saints are introduced to
our notice. Tliese are adduced as further
proofs of the early establishment of clms-
lianity. The Cornish language is now
completely exterminated ; which is not
surprising, if the following account is un-
equivocally correct.
** Boriase, in his Nat. IKst. 315, remarks,
that the English liturgy was first ust^d in Mfo-
hynnet. But what must have been the rrli*
gious distress of the Cornish in the long inter-
val l>etween tlie proscription of tlic ancient
liturgy, and the establishment of tlie new ia
the tnglish language? llie English, too, was
not desired bv the Cornish, as vulgar history |
says, and as fir. Boriase avers (ibid.); but, as
the case shews itself plainly to be,Jbrctd upoa
the Cornish by th^ tyranny of England, at 1
time when the English kngQage was yet un-
known in Cornwall. 'I1iis act of tyranny ^ns
at onco^ gross barliarity to the Corni>h people,
and a death-blow to the Corukh languaj^.
llad the liturgy been translated into Cornish,
as it was into* Welsh, that language wouli
have been equally preserved with ms to the
present momenta But this ff^aies in a cori^r
had not consequence enough in itself to se^
cure it that proper attention of humanity and
of religioii, eciually with the extensive princi-
pality of North and South Wales ; for sa^-age
indeed are tliose t\j\\s& who, for tlie sake of ^
petty advantage in politics, seuteacc a whole* ;
WH1TAKBR*5 CATHEDRAL OP CORNWALL.
435
j^enevfion of men to liv6 without the benefit
^fpubiic worsliio; as was in our own days
aiediuted etnialiy to be done, according to
hel^ Dr. Johnson's information personally
p?en t(^ Ac, against tlie Scotch of the High-
andSjty low wretcliL's who could not lift up
heir souls above the sulfocatiDg vapour of
In section iii. Mr. Whitaker takes a
Ijin^excursion to Italy, and descants on
he ten years persecution under Diodesian,
ffhich extended to Britain, and in which
reie martyred Albanus at iTemlara, Ju-
ius and Aaron at Caerleon,^nd Columba
n Cornwall. The martyrdom of these
aints he endeavours to prove from the
iedication of churches to their memon%
Ofmn ancient records and memorials.
Leaviig the saints, our author adverts to
I new subject, and particularly describes
the Coyt, Cromlech, or Barrow, in the
parish of St. Columb. From this he is
led to the consideration of other similar
moDuments which are remaining in vari-
oos parts of Britain, and again returning
to (^wall, describes the appearance and
CQocents of die ' one barrow' on the downs
cf St Austle : this memorial of ancient
CDstoms w§s levelled in the year 1001 ;
and its size, formation, and contents, are
Eiculariy noticed. The observations of
W. on this subject^ and on the Crom-
iKbeo, &c. are the most valuable of any
inhis'book, and certa'mly.tetti to explain
inae of the mysterious customs of the an-
Dent British. The remainder of this sec-
&» IS occupied with brief memoirs of
twenty-ibur sons and daughters of
' a, a ' little king in Wales.' These,
ording to Mr. Whitaker, were all mar-
lor confessors in Devonshire and Corn-
» and their memories are yearly cele-
* in the parish-feasts of those coun-
Moit of them were Irish, many of them
but some CcMHish; holy men, holy
sons or daughters offings ; devout
f reli^ous prelates, even pious kin^s
ivcs; renouncing the world for reli-
resigning their lives for their faith, and
og earth for heaven ; but so rejecting
resigning merely at the finishing period
otion, and so rcnouncinff untler the
nent of Christianity m the isle as a
f the empire, tboush a*coupie of cen-
afterwards. That happy leaven oT the
i, ckrisUaoit y, was long struggl'uig to fer-
t the mass oi the empire, bv slow degrees
bed a part of its natural ncavincss, but
stdifKised her quickening iniiuence very
CMfi% thro^ the whole."
lany desultory particulars are nwct in-
troduced relating to St Kayne, and the
wonderful well which bears her name.
Here, as in several other places, the
" Druidical Antiquary** of Cornwall, Dr.
Borlase, is reprobated. Retummg to the
history *of Germanus, Mr. Whitaker, at
tlie commencement of his sixth chapter^
critically investigates the et)toology of tho
principal houses in the parish of St. Ger-
mans, and thence endeavours to ascertain
which was the probable residence of that
saint. An image (of which a print is an-
nexed) st'dl kept in the jniorj/i, or rather
Port Eliot, the seat of lord Eliot, and re-
ported to be the effigy of a late prior, ia
pronounced, by our keen-sighted anti*
quary, to be that of the patron saint of the
church. The arguments adduced in proof
of tliis, are combined in a long dissertation
on the clerical habits at different periods.
This pompous display of erudition strongly
reftiinds us of Swift's dissertation on a
broom-stick. From remarks on the an-
cient parochial church of St. Germans (on
tlie site of which the cathedral vi'as built),
and some vestiges of its rectorial house»
our author diverts tlie attention of hi^
reader to tiie consideration of parsonage-
houses in general, with theh: coUegiatp
and scholastic appendages ; in the course
of which he particularly alludes to, and
describes tliat of St. Columb, in its ancient
and" subsequent states. Bells, and bell-
towers, are the chief subjects of the next
section ; the remote,antiquity of the for-
mer is strongly urged, and their introduc-
tion into christian phurches is declared to
be several centuries prior to the aera fixed
by Mr. Bentham, in his " History of Ely."
This respectable author is pronounced, by
Mr. Whitaker, to be '* grossly erroneous
in all his observations on this subjfct ;" and
again, " His very progress of improve-
ment is retr(^rade in itself; while his
coerse, either retrograde or progressive, is
all an aberration from the truth."
The cathedrals of Canterbury and Whit-
em are produced to establish the fyct-,
which is thus further exemplified.
" Yet there is one instance more to beno«
ticed by me, one which is not buried in its
own remoteness, and lost in its own soUtavIr
ness of position, but overlooked from its very
familiarity, unseen from its vcrv brightness,
and therefore sure to appear still more asto-
nisliing to my readers. VVe liave yet a church
of the Britons existing ahnost entire near
London, existtug unrecocnized by our anti-
quaries, even bv its very historian, yet shew-
ing a British beil-to\^^r and a British cross at
the present moment. This is the abbey'*
church of St, Albans."
Ff 2 '
4iQ
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTiaUITIES.
tlier harshly, all other writers who have
-treated on the same subject which he un-
dertakes. Thus, p. 24, vol. ii., Hals is
said to have written a " bedlamite account
of Penryn." Poor Borlase's writings are
pronounced " dreams,'* and " that vision-
ary kind of history, whicli still haunts the
scene of reality at times." He is said also
to be lost in the " wild whirl of his ideas.'*
Again, he is said to " betray such a debi-
lity qf intellect, as would bend to any force
qf hypothesis, and such a ductility qf faith,
as would ply with amf impulse qf tempta^
iion.** His mind was " coloured over
mth the tincture qf druidism ; and viewing
obfects through a druidical spectre-glass^
leholds all nature under a wonderful trans-
figuration,** Sec. p. 281, vol. i.
^ This kind of language occurs continu-
ally 5 and almost every page contains so^ne
critical castigations. The whole work
may be considered rather as a severe com-
mentary on tbe writings of otlier authors,
than a history of one place, one county,
or one subject. With a mind singularly
alert, a fancy always eager, and a disposi-
tion to diverge from the plain even path,
into every tield that skirts the road; Mr,
Whitaker takes a long time to get o\Tra
little ground : and though his readers may
wish to accompany him to tbe end of his
journey, they are tired witli his excessi>'9
wanderings, and his incessant garmlily.
We cannot better characterise this author
and his writings than in the following
terms, which were written by himself
many years ago, as part of a critique on
Gibbon's Roman History. Speaking of
tlie various sj^ecies of historical composir
tion, he observes, that as '* we advance
in the ornamental, vfB are receding from
the solid and necessary, we lose in vera-
city what we gain in embellishments j
and the authenticity of the narration fades
and sinks away, in tlie lustre of die phi-
losophy surrounding it. The mind otthc
writer, bent upon tlie beautiful and su-
blime in history, does not descend to per-
form the task of accuracy, and to stoop to
tlie dmdg^ of faithfulness. The minw
is finely polished, and elegantly decorated;
but it no longer reflects\lie real featrnw
of the times. The sun shines out indeed
witli a striking eflulgence, but it is an
effulgence of glare, and not a radiatiouof
usefulness.'*
Art. XVIII.— -4n Excursion to the Hisrhlands of Scotland and the English Lakes; zkk
Recollections, Descriptions, and ifeferences to historical Facts, 8vo. pp. 291.
Mh. MAWMAN, the' autlior of the
volume before us, is a respectable London
bookseller, the successor of Mr. Dilly. In
company with his friend Mr. Salte, he
left London in the month of July 1804,
and proceeded by rapid journeys through
York to Edinburgh. Hence he went
northwards, following the usual route
of tourists through the nearer highland
district of Scotland, and re-entering Eng-
land at Carlisle, returned to the metro-
i)oli6 through Chester and Birmingham j
having accomplished in a month a tour of
about a thousand miles. The two friends
were no doubt highly gratified by tl>eir ^
excursion, and the idea Mould naturally
occur to Mr. Mawman, that it would be
a polite attention and elegant compliment
to Mr. Salte to print an account of Xhek
common tour, and inscribe it to his friend
and companion. In this work Mr, Maw-
man evinces that though he seUs books,
he reads them ; and displays a very owfit-
able aptness at quotation from our £ogiidi
classics ; but something more is wanting
to merit the name of a good writer j iw
can the requisite course of study be gone
through, or the habitual facility be ac-
quired, without a greater expence of fane
thanv can be spared fifom the superior
claims of a large business. We have do
objection, however, to admit Mr. Maw*
man as an honorary member of the cor-
poration of authors, and trust that in con-
sequence he will consider it as a duty to
uphold on all occasions the dignity and
claims of men of literature.
es of Scotland, contaiyiing a clear and full Account of ike Agrk^
f, and ManijfactwrcM ; ^ the Popuiatton, Citieh Towns, rui^ct,
Art. XIX.— 77« Beauties
ture, Commerce, Mines^
4*c. of each County, 8vo. Fo/. 1.
THE author, or proprietors of this take notice of before, we proceed any
work, have condescended to employ some further,
fiisingenuoua artifices, which we shall The only possible reasou'for adopting so
THE BEAVTIES OF SCOTLAND.
439
preposterous a title sis Beauties of Scot-
Jaiid, is obvioasly an endeavour to intro-
duce the present work to the notice of the
public, by taking advantage of the deserv-
edly popular •• Beauties of England and
Wales," by Messrs. Britton and Brayley.
In pursuance of thi.s.schen3e, the title-page
and name of tlie author Mr. Thomas For-
syth, are itnioved from their proper place
tlie first half volume, to the beginning of
die iccond : and in order to favour ihe
deceit (for we can call it by no softer
Dame) we are informed on the cover of
the second half volume that this work Is
au " extension of the Beauties of Eng-^
land and Wales/' In what sense this
assertion can be considered as true, we are-
whoUy at a loss to conceive, except a si-
milarity in title, in type, and form, can
entitle it to this apjiellation. The ar-
rangement of the two differs very mate-
rially, and in our opinion to die disiid-
vant3ge of Mr. Forsyth's book. In the
" Beauties of England* there is a profuse
reference to authorities,, at the bottom of
the pages, and a very valuable list of
books and maps terminates die description
of every county : whereas in the Beauues
of Scotland there are no references, not
even U) sir John Sinclair's statistical sur-
vey, to which the- author has been so
materially indebted. The prominent ex-
cellence of die " Beauties of England'* is
the minute accuracy of its architectural
details, and the copious diough select an-
tiquarian information that it evinces. In
the''* Beauties of Scotland," on the odier
hand, there is usually a profound silence,
and sometimes a profound ignorance on
subjects of architecture and archaeology.
Both works display a considerable nun)-
ber of engraviiigs ; so iar they resemble
^ach other, but iu merit of execudon they
differ \ery widely : those in the Beauties
of Scotland are much smaller than neces-
sary, and have every appearance of im-
pressions from old plates retouched; a
iuspiciou which is strengthened by no
name appearing, either of draftsman or
engraver.
We should be sorr)% however, if from
the comparison which Mr. Forsyth's book
has provoked, our readers were to ima-
gine that it is a publication of much pro-
mise and litde performance : on die con-
trary, we are disposed to think very highly
pf it, and are persuaded that it ne^ed no
other passport to public favour than its
own merit. It professes to giv^ a clear
and full account of the agriculture, com-
i»erce, mines, manufactures, and popula*
tion of each county in North Britain ; and
this promise, as far as the work has
hitherto proceeded, is faithfully perform-
ed. There are also various anecdotes and
historical luid biographical notices inter-
spersed, by which tlie. proper statistical
part is agreeably relieved and enlivened.
The style, if not brilliant, is thoroughly
jx?rspicuous, and by no means dull : and
Mr. Forsydi, when he shall have finished
his undertaking, may congratulate him-
self on having made a very valuable addi-
tion to the statistical topography of his
native countr}\
The work begins with a detailed ac-
count of Edinburgh and Ixjith, which if
estimated by the number of pages that it
occupies (240), may be regarded as long;
yet when we consider that diis city is not
only the metropolis of Scotland, but the
seat of an university, which may rank
among the very first in Europe for active
usefidness, and of various odier learned
and scientific institutions, the notice which
it here receives will by no means be con-
sidered as disproportionate. The anti*
quary, and indeed the man of general li-
terature, may wish diat more attention
had heen paid to die curious remains of
antiquity, within die circuit and in the
imniediate vicinity of this noble city, but
Mr. Forsyth is not one of diose who
much " regret the destrucdon of the re-
mains or vestiges of ancient magnificence,'*
and the rapid manner in which he men-
tions the " Gothic ruiais*' of the chapel of
Holyrood abbey, and that exquisitely
beautiful and nearly perfect specimen of
ancient architecture, the chapel at Roslin
casde, will but litde tend to reconcile our
episcopalian archaeologists to presbyterian
topographers. For our own parts, how-
ever, we are at all times glad to be ex-
cused from exploring dmup and ruinous
vaults, and diink that it is much better to
have too little dian too much of andqua-
rian Ipre. Tlie following account of the
university of Edinburgh will probably be
interesting to our readers :
7 Among the literary establishments of
Edinburgh die university naturally takes the
lead. Having been instituted after the Re-
formation, amonj a frugal people that ha<l no
lovefor ecclesiastical dignities, it (liilere great Iv
from the wealdiy foundations which retteive
the name of universities and collegi's in Eng-
land, or in the catholic countries of tlie conu-
nent of Europe. 1 he uiiiversitv of FAin-
burgb consists of a single college, which <*njovs
the privilege of cqnferruig degrees. It con-
sists of a principal, with a salary of 111/. 2. 01,
whose oifice is in a great measure noiiiiniii,
440
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
32 10 0
52 4 5i
ariH of a professor in each of the following dc-
piirtincnis :
Faculty of Theology.
Salaries.
PVinity - - ^161 2 Oj
Clnirch History - joo 0 0
Of icntal Languages - 119 12 8
Faculty of Lav:.
Jjiw of Nature and Nations. — Sa-
lai-y variabic, but always above 300 0 0
Civil faw - ' - 100 0 0
Sfot^ Law - - 100 0 0
Civil History and An iqiiitios 100 0 0
Faculty ofXlcdlcine.
Anatomy and Surgei-y - 50 0 0
l*racticc of Mtdicine -
.IV.tany - - 77 15 63.
Materia Mt>dica -> - ^
Chen-i/iLiy - • - - -
''I'hfory of Medicine - r
MdwiVcry - - -
ISaturul riibtory -
Faculty of Arts.
Moral Philo«opIiy - 102 4 54
IvlKtoric and belles Let' res 70 0 0
Groek; - - 52 4 5|.
Lat:n
N:Uurnl PhiIos<^phy
Mathematics - - 113 6 8'
I'nu'tical A^lronomy - - loO 0 0
Logic . . 52 4^ 54
Ajnculture - ., 50 (f 0
• ^
" Of lliesp, the professors of church history
and natural history, astronomy, law of nature
and nations, and riietjric, av*c in tiie gift of
th': crown . I'he protl-ssor 0. a aricullufe was
noininatedby sir William Pulteii-vjounderof
the i.i>titutioii. The remainini^ chairs are in
the gilt of the town-council of Edinburgh.
Besides these classes here enumerated, the
medical profcsios alternately give clinical
lecUirts upon the case^of the patients in the
Joyal iidirniarV' of Kdinburgu ; an institution
to 1)0 afi erwarcfs noticed.
" All the proi-ss(»rs, excepthig the profess-
or of divinity, receive fees from their stu-
dents. The prolestorsof the Greek and I^Uh
languaj^es Iiave each two classes of more or
less advanced students, and attend each class
diiring two hours each day. Each of tjie pro-
fes'?oi-s of the dirt'erent branches of science dv-
livers to his students a daily lecture, which
occupies father ie..s tiian an hour, but the pn>-
fchsor oi anatomy's I cture lasts about an hoar
ai)d a half. 'J1ie session of college endures
annually from the beginning of November till
the month of April ; and each professor dis-
misses his students separately for the session
-wiit-n hiscoui-scot lecturois linishcd; so that
0ne class is sometimc^s dismissed a few weeks
More an )ther. 'Hie nr«fe^for3 have no ne-
|^»iiry intercourse Mitht;ieir students, antl
usually have no personal knowledge of them.
-Tncre' are here no public examinations or
disputations; because Scotchmen disregard
degrees, excepting the degree of doctor ia
medicine: and to obtain it, nothing more is
necessary than to be able to undergo a feir
trial^ the essential part of which is privately
gone about, and the professors make no in-
quiry about the personal history' or connec-
tions of the student. The whole students,
during their attendance at the uniTersity, re-
side with tlieir relations if they are natives of
the city ; and if they come from a distance,
they procure for themselves such lodgiiig> 29
their cu'cumstances alTord. The pmfessors
in the university of Edinburgh, havuig only %
small salary, or none at all, are under the ike'
cessii y of attracting students by their literary
indiistry alone, or by the reputation of th«r
talents."^ 1 he students, on the other hand,
have no other inducement to attend any par-
ticular cla<s than th.' hnprovenicnt v/niciitoer
are seii?>il)le they derive irom it. Long at-
tendance is not ex^)ected ; and even the me-
dical dejTree. whii h is most valued, can beal^
taiiied in three years.
** Th;^ negliytMit mode of education, m
which no s >ri ni'^^jithority or discipline is ex-.
erted by the pro:esb'jrs over their studenls,
and in which every student is allowed to live
as he finds convenient while attending the
university, witliout incurring iartlier expence
than the professors fees, which for the highest
class is only three guineas, is w^ell suited to the
character and situation of the Scottish nation.
Fn this way gr j?at numbers of yomig persons
of a spiiitefl and active character, by eropktj^
ing their time vith industry, are enabled to
attain such a portion of literature 2& is effi-
cient for enabling them* to assume a respect-
able character in the busy departments of life.
Their pursuits of fortune are not dela>ed by
a tedious academical course of study ;' whik,
at the same time, if at any future period of
life they attain to aflluence and leisure, they
find their original slock of letters sufficient to
enable them to prosecute any branch of
science with success. At all events, durio|
life, thoy remain impressed with a sense of
(he valqe of intellectual accomplislnnents.
They endeavour to give the best education to
thi^ir children; and in the possession 01 rick^
they are not likely to assume those selt-sutfi-
cient and purse-proud manners which fonn
the most disgusting elfect of sudden and un-
expected opulence.
** In the meanwhile, it is evident that this
kind of education is only suited to young men
ot' limited pmsjxjcts, who know that their
success in lire depepds upon their industr}'.
Accordingly, now that riches and luxur)'liave
bcgim to abound in Scotland, the sons d
men of fortune, unless bred to the profe?siMi
of the law, are sinking fast, with regard to li^
terature, below the character of their fon**
fothers, among whom learning was very ge-
neral. To accjuire a respectable share of it,
SMid to bcsU»y u^>o(i it aue eocouragcfn^i.
DONOYaVs EXCVBSION THROUOH 80CTH WALES.
441
were fonnerly consiidcred as essential- duties
of every man of rank.
" Upon the whole, students at the univer-
sity of Edinburgh may be said in a great de-
gree to educate themselves and eucli other,
llic celebrity of the medical professors, and
oi the men of letters whom Edinburgh once
produced and still contains, has here excited
among young persons a powerful spirit of
literary emulation or ambition, which has not
vet duninished. The students form thera-
beivcs into clubs or societies for mutual im-
prorejnent in medicine, natural history, and
generjl literature. Some of these societies
have existed for a considerable tim«, have
obtained royal charters, and number amone
their members many of the most distinguished
literary cjiaracters. The members write es-
says, ^ hich are publicly read, aiid the senti-
ments tiit'y conta-n dist:ussed at their weekly
m€cti»g5. In some societies, in which elo-
cution 16 accounted of importance, particular
tjuestions are discu.>se4 »" those branches of
science for the investigation of wliich the so-
cieU' has been instituted; and very eager,
ami sometimci eltHjuent, di wates occur. As
the science of medicine is that on account of
which this university is most celebrated, the
societies of students in this department are
Bifist numerous.
** Some of tlie most eminent professors are
said to have disapproved of these societies, as
having a tendency to withdraw the students
from laborious and patient study, to generate
a presumptuous disrespect for their teachers,
and to render them superficial reasoners, at-
tached to the particular systems of Brown,
Cullen, or whatever else is' in vogue, rather
tlian able physicians and modest inquirers
after truth. There is perhaps some truth in
thLi censure. At the same time, from the
dKlinguished character which men bred at
the university of Edinburgh maintain, in all
Quarters of the globe, it seems probable that
the energy of sjiirit, and the freedom of in-
vp4igation, to which this mode of education
gives rise, greatly overbalance the inconve-
niences attending it. In this world, good
and evil, like light and darkness, are apt to
tread extremely close upon the footstep of
each other; and we must l-emain satisfied
with what is good, or at least with what is
tolerable, witnout always requiring what v^
best.
** Thi? university, which is now attended
by from 1200 to l4oO students, and consists
of the classes already enumerated, arose
slowly to its present importance. At first,
in 1593, only one professor was appointed,
Mr. Robert Uollock; but afterwards it was
made to consist of a principal, a professor of
divinity, four teachers of philosophy, and a
professor of Latin, called Humanity. On->
ginally each professor continued to teach the
same students till they left the university ;
but the improved plan was soon adopted of
confining each professor to one particular
branch. By de^ees the various other prO'
fes«orbhips were mstituted which have been
already enumerated. I'he medical school
was instituted in the course of the late ceii^
tury. Dr. Monro senior, leaving given lec-
tures privately with great success upon ana-
tomy, was invited by the magistrates of the
city to assume tli* character of a professor in
the university. Other professorships in this
branch of science were instituted in a similar
manner, in consequence of the previous suc-
ces*of the first professors in the character of
private lecturers. It may be remarked also,
that in another department, the chair of liie-
toric and belles lettrc-s was not instituted till
tlie late celebrated Dr. Hugh Blair had firs*
bees able to secure the attendance, in his own
house, of a considerable number of student*
upon his course of lectures."
Tlie remainder of the volume describes
the counties of Mid and East Lothian and
Berwickshire.
We shall resume our account of this
valuable aqd interesting work in our next
volume,
Aet. W.— Descriptive Excursions through South Jfales and Monmmilishire, in ike Year
IJ504, and the four prtctding Sutnmtrs, By E. Donovan, F, L, S, 8vo. TvioJ^oiumcs^
and Thirty-one coloured Plates.
TWO more volumes on South Wales !
exclaimed we, as opening one of onr
b<x)kscllcr's huge parcels we laid our hands
on die work before us. Whut in the name
of wonder can be found respecting Mon-
mouthshire and South Wvales, that has
not been said over and over again, usque
nd nameum ? Has not every cranny in
every eld wall been examined with mi-
croscopical attention, and its length and
breadtli and depth ascerlainetl to a tenth
of an inch? Has not every genealogy, in
t\\ its various rapiifications, been traced
upwards ;ind downwards and sideways^ so
that we are now as well acquainted with
the stock and progeny of all the Welsh
princes, as with our own great-grand-
mothers ? Has not every monumental
hicjacet been transcribed with most me-
ritorious fidelity? and ai*e not all the
great and little men who hav» had the
honour of being born or even of residing
within this selected territory, already bio-
graphized, and hung round with rags and
tatters of anecdote like any scarecrow ?
What that is worth gathering can be ex-
pected from so exhausted a soil ? for who
in thcs« days of antiquariapism vcmlck «lft^
442
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES.
viatc from the straight Romau high-road,
mto the wild paths of nature, or conde-
scend to inspect a thronged manufactory
after a solitary moonlight ramble through
the roofless echoing aisles of a ruined
abbey ? So thought we on opening the
present book ; but finding that it is written
by a gentleman who last year came under
our notice as a naturalist, and tliat it is the
result of five annual visits, we took cou-
rage, cut the leaves open, and, thqugh we
were alarmed now and then, in the early
part of the work, by the red faces of Ro-
man bricks and potsherds, persevered to
the end, and shall be well inclined to em-
ploy our first leisiirc in reperusing a book
from whicli we have derived more plea-
sure and more information than fi'om any
publication of its class that has fiillen
under our notice for a long time past.. We
shall proceed therefore to give a summary
analysis of its contents.
Ciiapter i. carries Mr. D. and his readers
fi-om London into Monmoutlishire, by the
way of Bristol. The extraneous fossils in
the limestone strata of St. Vincent's rocks,
near the latter place, give occasion to a
short bat unsatisfactory discussion con-
cerning the cause or c^uies which have
filled the beds of Floetz and secondary
limestone with these indibputablc remains
of organized bodies.
In the second chapter the author gives
a particular account of tlie Roman re-
mains of Vcnta Silurum, now Cacr
Gwent, in which various errors and in-
congmities of former describers are cor-
rected and explained.
Chapter in. is, for the most part, de-
voted to Caerleon. This place, first re-
markable as a permanent station of the
Homans, and afterwards still more re-
nowned as the princely residence of Ar-
thur and his valiant knights, was after-
wards the scene of various bloody conten-
tions between die Welsli and Saxons and
Normans, and at length, together witli
the rest of the principality, became a part
iDf the English dominions, under the tri-
umphant and vigorous reign of Edward
the first Since that period it has remain-
ed in safe but inglorious obscurity, and
has dwindled to a small, straggling, thinly
inhabited country town.
♦' Ruins of Roman buildines, pillars, pave-
ments, bricks, monumental stones, urns,
sarcoj^agi, and cQins, must have once been
numerous here beyond all coiKeption ; since,
after an .interval of fourteen iiiuidred years,
during which they have beencertainl}- Juught
after, and applied to various purposes, the
store appears inexhauttible. Some few of
the more industrious among the laboiirin|v
p(x>r, find every winter a profitable employ-
nient, in digging at a venture for the stones
and even bricks and tiles ; many, if not the
far greater number of small houses about tiie
place, have been a]«;o built, and are kept m
X*r with the materials purloincsd from thesr
jrrancous resource^. ThCTe is no kind
of restriction upon the iuhabitanb, lopnnent
their digginff for these materials in the broad-
way, which has hitlicrto furnished them with
plenty. The space enclosed within the \i-*Us,
if examined with the like unceasing perseve-
rance, would ])crhaps be no less productrrc.
Last winter, in clearing the bear-nouse field,
opposite to that in which Arthur's table is
contained, in order to set potatoes, a vart
number of large and small stones were found,
more than a dozen of which were estimated
at little kss than half a ton, or a ton weight
each ; and some much more. The expence
of raising these stones out of the ground is
trifling, rarely exceedhig sixpence or nine-
pence per ton, except for the largest ; the
discovery of these was of some consequence
to Mr. rlughes, who has a lease of the fieki,
tlie whole being of fine free-stone."
After describing -with the zeal, but
without the usual tediousness of an anti-
quary, the remains of old Caerleon, Mr.
Donovan proceeds to mention its preient
state. Caerleon stands upon the Usk. and
is celebrated it seems for the firmness and
flavour of its salmon, for wliich it is in a
considerable degree indebted to the fal-
lowing peculiarity in the mode of cook*
ing:
*' TTic fish is no sooner caught in the ad-
jacent river, than it is conveyed to tlie town;
and if sold, the purchaser,' after cutting ie
into pieces of a convenient size, parboiU it
in spring water. Ai^er this, the pieces arc
allowed to cool, and when required for the
table, they are boiled in the former llqwr.
Thb mode of dressing salmon has evidentiy
the ascendancy over any otiier that can bi
devised, in towns and other places remote
fh)m the haunts of this useful fish ; the ilesh
acquirme by tliat means a degree of firmness
ana delicious flavour, very feu* superior to
what might be conceived.
" The fish, it appears, must be parfaoikd
immediately after it is taken; or at the 6r-
thest before the tide returns ; aiul imless this
precaution can be taken, they tell jwi, * the
salmon is good for nothing."'
" Newport and its vicinity furnish the
principal materials of the next chapter,
and diese consist, for the most part, of
antiquarian details. The fiflh chapter i<
de\ oted to a description of Cardlfi^, once
celebrated for the strength of its fordfica-
tionSj but now rising into conuneirial
DONOVA!?*9 KXCCKSIOK TttJlOUGH SOUTH WAj.eS.
443
"importaiicc in consequence of a recently
execQted cmal, by '«'iiich it communicates
mith the vast manufactories of Mertliyr
Tydvil, and Aberdare. The sewen, a
l|)ecie3 of salmon commonly supposed to
^ almost peculiar to South Wales, is
MBught here in considerable abundance ; a
(circumstance that iifForded Mr. Donovan
;fn opportunity of minutely examining^
«nd of ascertaining it to be no other than
the grey of Ray and Willughby, the sal-
mo eriox of Linnaeus. Though most
abundant in the Severn and British chan-
.ne], it is by no means unfrequent in the
bay of Beaumaris, and occurs, though
rarely, in the rivers of the southern coun-
ties of England. The following clear de-
icription of this hitherto obscure fish
will, we doubt not, be gratifying to our
readers.
" From the common salmon (sahno saiar)
thL'?e\('en diiTersMn various particulars that
viU not M to strike tlie eye of tlie judicious
naturalist. The geiieral contour of the whole
fish is slightly dissHmiiar: the bead is shorter
and more sloping ; whUe the lower jaw cx-
t(»d$ rather beyond the upper one, the pre-
cise cODtrary of which is ooservabie iu the
oomuion salmon. The back is of a pale grey-
ish colour, glossed with blue, and by no
means to dark as in the common salmon;
tius greyish colour prevails under the scales
from the back to the lateral line, beneath
vhloh the whole fish is of the brightest silver.
Both on the back and sides, above and be-
low the lateral Hne, the body is marked with
duskv purple spots of a roundish shape, which
on close mspeotion appear to be sooiewhat
cmcifionn : the lateral line is straight, and
placed rather lower than in the generality of
fishes. The tail b slightly forked, but not
semi-lonated as in the camnion salmon:
when the flesh is cut, it is of a pale red, and
k point of size the sewen rarely exceeds
tvdve or fifteen inches, weighing finom one
to two pounds each.
' The three next chapters describe Llan-
daff, Cowbridjge, Penline castle, Llantwit
Major, the village of Newtown, and vari-
ous other objects which our limits will not
aUow us to particularize. In the account
of Newtown is some valuable matter for
the naturalist respecting the vegetable and
animal marine productions of the vicinity.
Mr. Donovan employed the fishermen of
the village to cast their nets in the bay $
and, among other interesting specimens
procured by this means, the sepia media,
a small species of cottk-fish, whose ex-
quisitely beautifiil and evanescent colours
acquured for it, among the ancient natural-
ttts, the ffipdUition of the sea chamaeleon,
and which is descdbed by Mr. Donovan
with the eloqueAre of Buffbn^and the ac-
curacy of Linnaeus.
" \Vhen first caught, the eyes, whkh are
large and prominent, glistened with the lustre
oi the pearl, or rather of the emerald, whose
luminous transparency- they seem to emulate.
The pupil is a fine bkick, and above each eye
ts a semilunar mark of the richest garnet.
The body nearly transparent, or of a pellucid
green, h glossed with all the ^'ariety of pris-
matic tints, and thickly dotted vnth brown.
At almost evei7 eftbrt of respiration, the
little creature tossed its amis in ap|)arent
agony, and clung more fiimly to the linger,
wiiile the dark-brow n spots upon the body,
alternately faded and revived, duninisliing m
size till they were scarcely perceptible, and
then again appearing as large as peas, crowd-
ing, and becoming confluent nearly all over
the body. At length the anhnal, being de-
tained too long fi"ora its native element, be-
came enfeebled, the colours &ded, the spots
decreased In size, and all its pristine beauty
vanislied ^ ith the last gasp of life.**
In the tenth chapter is a \Try pleasing
description of the village of Margam, the
ruins of its fine abbey, and the park and
gardens^ which, till lately, incfosed au
antique mansion-house belonging to th©
Mansel family: an excellent rhyming
Latin epitaph on a huntsman in tlic saiu»
family, is aWo introduced in a note.
Swansea and its neighbourhood fumi^•h ,
a very entertaining miscellaneous chapter :
from which, however, we shall cnly quote
a humane and judicious regulation respect-
ing tlie debtors confined in the castle, as
we are persuaded that it might be adopted
with the happiest effects in many other
places.
" An indulgence extends to every debtor
confined in tjie prison of Swansea castle, by
virtue of which ^they have an opportunity,
if their debts be small, with a little exertion,
prudence, and economy, to liberate them-
selves from the horrors of a )i\W. Having ob-
tained this indulgence, which on proper re*
presentation it is in the power of the high
bailiif to grant, they are allowed to eK}x>sc
whatever articles their slender funds may n>-
able them to muster, for sale in the opc.t
street, on that side of the maricet-place next
to the castle, llie limits of this bailiwick is
distinctly pointed but by a range of snial!
stones down the high->*'ay, and within this
boundary the debtors are as secure from ihe
noolestation of their creditors, as thouirh they
were confined to their dismal cells withiu the
walk of the castle."
The peninsula of Gower is next noticed,
and the peculiarities that yet cl)aracteriz#
its inhabitants^ said to be descended frofli
444
BRITISH TOPOGfiAPHY AND ANTiaiJniES.
« colony of Tlemings^ settled here by
Henry the first in the twelfth ceattiry.
At the conclusion of the chapter the au-
thor returns to Swansea, and descfibe<;, at
some length, the large and flourishing
pottery established there.
Kidwelly, Caermarthen, and that gal-
lant warrior sir Rhys ap Thomas, mus»t
IK^t be allowed to detain us ^ neither am
we do more than barely notice a remark-
ably good account of a tin-plate manufac-
tory in the same chapter.
The ancient and modem state of Pem-
broke furnishes materials for a distinct
chapter j and the two concluding ones of
the work are devoted to Tenby. Of these,
if we were to quote the whole of what is
particularly interesting^ we might save
ourselves the trouble of selecting, and
transcribe them entire ; but this is incon-
sistent with oar plan, and would be at the
«nne time unjust towards the autlior.
We trust, however, that he will take in
good part our concluding this article with
|be following extract
" In the sea round Caldy island, we cap-
tured many of the Medusa: in the trawl net
that had been previously fastened to the end
of the boat by the fishermen. One of tliese,
a remarkable, though not uncommon species,
m. Medusa purpurea; a sort disttngiiished by
having a light purple cross in the center of
the bcdy, with a horse-shoe mark of the same
colour, only darker, between each of the
iKirs. Another kind, captured in the sanie
manner, has a milk-white cross upon the
body, a characteristic mark, by means of
which the species cruciata is discriminated.
As the creatures of this tribe rove about in
search of food along the surface of the sea,
they shine with uncomirton spleiubur, es-
pecially when the sun strikes directly on
them, or in the ni^ht time when it is very
<lark, appearing in liie latter instance highly
JumiiJDUs and |)nosphoric. I'hesc, with a va-
ricHy of other marine vermes, and fi^h of a
small size, are the principal food of the cor-
vorants, gulls, and a hoNt of other soa-fowl
that haunt the rocky upon this coast.
" Shaping our coui*se to the south-west of
Caldy island, we soon arrived upon the oyster-
fx'd described on a former oeeasion. 1 lie
dredging tarkle beii>g inconijjlete, we were
content to take a few only of the oysters from
the bed. These' are of a larger size thas an
I ever saw before on otlier parts of the ui
tish coasts by nearly one hal£ Some of ti
largest I liad the curiosity to measure, one of
which proved to be no less than nmdefn
inches ii\ the exterior circumference of the
shell. The lish we tasted; it has astroi^
llavour, and is by no means tomymirMiss
pleasant, or so palatable, as that of thessttUer
kinds of oyster when eaten raw, akboughfor
culinary purposes iliey may be equally good,
or, as many e^teem them, very far superior.
" 1 was astonished at the number of astp-
rias, echini, and other ofiensive creatures thst
infest the oyst'?r-beds. These pnwl about
to the great annoyance of the oysters; tbt
asterias, or star-rish in particular," which an
highly injurious to them. Wlien these era*
tures lind an oyster open, or gaping to t^f
its food, tliey instantly beize upon il by thruib
ing one of their long straggling anns iiit«
them, and killing the animal belore it b abS
to close tlie shell, in which case one of thf
star-*ish enters the oyster, and remains in jh"*
feet security to devour tlw contents. (Jl
ihould the oyster be apprised in time of tl|
inmiinent danger to wtuch it is exposed, tli
moment the arm of the star-fish is inserted
it sna{>s the shcH close, and the asterias, ui
less very dexterous, is compelled to retrej
with the loss of the ann, or ray so offenc"
a mutilation of the less importance to
animal, since time will repair the mischand
by producing another ann, though sonie«h|
of a smaller size, m lieu of tliat which til
oyster has deprived it of. 'Hie echini a
more destructive to the young spat of tl
oyster, whose tender sliells they bruise vii
those formidable spines with which their bo*
dies are completely covered, or macerate
tliem with tJieir teeth ; the firi^ gtasp d
which their tender shells are unable to resisL
The species most injurious is the edible one.
cscultntu^, which crows here to a hnie
size. The latter is known upon must of cur
sea coasts by the name of tea-tg^s, sra kid^'
h<*gs, and various other local c])ilhets. In
former tunes they were esteemed dainties for
the tables of the' great, and even now when
boded are eaten by some people."
As the high and various merit of thii
work cannot but be apparent from tlid
si)ecimens that \V9 have cited, we may
safely commit it without further rerojiX
to tlic public patronage.
Art. X\I. — Sfkct rieive of Ijyndott and its Enxirojis; containing o Collection f»f hi^hftf
finishi d Engravings Jrom original Paintings and Drawings ; accompanied by copious
' J jt tier 'press Descriptions of such Subjects in the Metropolis and the surrounding Conntrir,
as are most remarkable for Antiquity , architectuml Grandeur, or picturesque Btam^-
Vol. il.4to.
AT the conclusion of the fiftli chapter
fifoiu" labt volume^ we gave £ome account
of the first part of this work j and inti*
iu^t«d that the engravers proposied to makt
SELECT VIEWS OF LONDON AND ITft ENTISONS.
449'
w^me alteratioDS id their second and last
part. This is now completed ; and, upon
comparing it with the former, we are
glad to acknowledge that it bears some
niaits of improvwnen t. It stiU , however,
falls for short of the title, and is therefore a
work likely to disappoint the expectations
of those who order it from that circum-
stance. Some of the plates in this second .
Tolume, from drawings by Powd, are exe-
cuted with much taste ; but if we consider
them as historical or antiquarian subjects,
ther are trifling indeed. Several of the
etdkiags of fragments, tombs^ kc. are thd
most useful plates in the work : because
tliey afford that kind of infonnation which
the man of science and taste can dwell
upon with gratification and advantage.
The accompanying descriptions are evi-
dently written with careless haste; aad
Ae replete with vulgarisms and false syn-
tax. On the whole, these " select" views
may serve to gratify those indiscriminate
collectors, who think it necessary to have
every print that is published, to illustrate
otj^r books; but it can never be ranked 9%
a useful or complete work \a itself.
( 446 )
CHAPTER Vn.«
CPOQRAPHY.
Akt. l^^^^ofp^aphical Delineations ; or a compendious View of the natural and poUtiedl
State qf' all parts ofttk; Globe. By J. Aikin, J/. D. 2 vols. 8vo. ■
THE happy application oi^ clear dnd
precise description, judicious selection,
and graceful plainness of style to the illus-
tration of geography, has already beea
left and approved by tlie public in Dr.
Aikin*s '' England^ieUDeated." Nor will
tliese geographical delineadoasy whicli at
present demand our attention, be found
in any respect unworthy of their autlKMr.
Diifering materially as to its object, both
fmm t& elemmtafy treatises, and the
more complete systems ct tfak important
and interesting branch of general science^
this work may be con.sidered as occupying
a newly discovered station^ whence young
persons of both sexes may rc\'iew with
pleasure and advantage the real extent and
bearings of their former studies. They
may also hence probably acquire a clearer
idea of the characteristic features and re-
lative importance of the various countries
of the globe, with their inhabitants, than
they are likely to gain while their imdi-
Tidcd attention is required to those mi-
nuter, and^ in some degree, topogr^hi-
cal branches of enquiry, which, however,
are essential to solid and really useful geo-
graphical knowledge.
In arranging and proportioning the va-
rious information concerning each coun-
try. Dr. Aikin has adopted for his two
leading considerations^ the characters thaf
are impressed upon it by nature, and those
which it derives from its human inhabi-
tants. Hence his primary divisions are
not always coincident with the present
political distribution. Thus the extinct
kingdom of Poland, and Hungary with
Transylvania, have been each considered
as entitled to a separate description, while
Prussia and Austria, from their connec-
tions with the oiiicr states of the empire
by similarity of language, form only sub-
divisions under tli« general title of Ger-
many. In like manner Switzerland^ Hol-
land, and the CatholiclN^etherlands, l.._
detached from France and described apart J
A somewhat minute attention has been
very properly paid to the boundaries ofi
the countries, the course of the riven,
and die direction of the principal moBD-
tainous chains, so as to render frequent
reference to a good map, both intefcstiog
and indispensable.
TheL principal materials of this work.
Dr. Aikkx observes, are '' necessarily com-
piled from otktr books;" but a ver)* pleas-
mg part of it, tl» delineation <3^ natiooal
cfaancters, is original; and the strong
tincture of liberal moderation diffused
through the wbotet together with the uni
form good taste and simplicity of the st}'ie,
give to it a certain charm that is easier
felt than described.
For the gratification of our readen,
and as a fair specimen of the work, we
shall select part of the chapter descriptive
of Holland.
** Under the name of Holland is compre-
hended the state of the So'en united Pio-
vinces of the Netheriands, of which that pro-
vince is the principal. Situated on the noitb-
M'Ctitem angle of^ Germany, it is separated
from it, not so much hv a precise natural
boundary, ashy a general diversity of a^ ec
and local circiuustances. It constitutes the
Low-country of tlie German continent, a rc^
gion m which land and water hold divided
dominion; broken into peninsulas and is-
lands, intersected with rivers and canak, and
rescued, as it were, from the gra^ of the
ocean by the unremittijig efforts of human in-
dustry.
" Methinks her patient sons before me stand.
Where the braaa ocean leans a^inst the land.
And, sedulous to Stop the coniing tide,
lift the tall rampire^ artiikiai pride.
Onward, metliinks, and diliaeutly slow,
The firm connected bulwark seems to grow ;
Spreads its long arms amidst the watery roar,
Spoops out an empire, and usurps the shore.
GOLDSUITB.
AIKl!f S G£OGRAI>HIC\L DBtmSATIOKS,
447
*' The Seven Provinces are bounded to the
north and iht West by the German s(*a ; to
the eait by Geniany ; to the south by those
provinces which have usually borne the name
of the Catholic Netherlands, lliat part of
tt which fronts the sea exhibits strong marks
of those encroachments made upon it by the
detnictive element, which history records.
A sweep of low islands to the north gives ad-
mij^ion through narrow channels to an ex-
jflihe of salt watrr called the Zuyder-Zev,
«liich occupies the place of a large tract of
land, the liatavinn isle of the Romans. The
waters of this gulf have a communication with
(hi»eof the Haarlem Meer, wJiich la«?t is sepa-
rated only by a narrow slip of bnd from the
German sta.' The southern part of the const
is torn into a number of islands, whicli con-
stitute the province of Z(?eland. The whole
nmge of coast presents only land almost level
with the sur&ce of the water, or, indeed, he-
math it, and defended b^' artificial banks, or
by a line of low sand-hilU, from the ijicur-
flon of the tides.
** The Dutch Provinces (for fhat is one of
their appellations) lie between the latitudes
51.30. and 53. 30. From east to west their
extent is less ; and in the whole they are esti-
mated to contain only about 10,000 scpiare
miles. The face of the country is, for the
BXHt part, an umraried level ; but it gradu-
ally swells into gentle risings on approaching
the German border. Its compass is too nar-
row, and its surface too flat, to give ^birth to
any considerable river, but it is the drain and
Wirt of several from other countries.
"The Rhine, on arriving at its south-east-
ern boundary in the province of Gdderland,
divides into two main branches, of which the
more southern, under the name of the Wahal,
g«^> to j<mi tlie Maes ; the more northern
soon forms two more brandies: one, the
Leek, flows due west to join the Maes, not
far from its entrance into the Genjian sea ;
the other, under the name of the Issel, runs
northwards to the Zuyder-Zee. A diminu-
tive stream detached firom the first of these
branches, and passing by Utrecht and Ley-
dcn, alone bears the name of Rhine to the sea.
"The Maes, or Meuse, coming out of the
Catholic Netherlands, reaches the Dutch
border a little southward of the entrance of
fte Rhine, and, tummg westward, forms the
imiit between Dutch Brabant and the United
Ppoyinces. After the junction of the Walxal,
it divides into several channels, forming is-
lands belonging tg South Holland. One of
Its channels, joined by the I^eck, passes Rot-
terdam, to which it ^ives a fine harbour, and
at length di:icharges itself into the German sea
Wow the to%vn of Briel. The Scheld, which
Hlikewisearivcr of the Catholic Netherlands,
parses near the termination of its course, be-
tween Dutch Flanders and Zeeland, thus
pving to the United Provinces the possession
M the keys of its navigation to the sea.
" That part of Holland which is the bed of
Qte Rhine and Maes, and their branches, is
naturally a fen or morass, rendered habitable
only by numerous drains and canals, pro-
tected by embankments, which yet scarcely
secure it from inundations. A large lake-like
expanse of water near Dordrecht indicates
the site of numerous villages, which, near four
centuries ago, were suddenly overwhelmed
by a sea breach^ with a prodigious loss of lives
and property. TJie lake or meer of Haarlem
has already been mentioned, which, with its
conunimicating branch, the Ye, and other
meers in North Holland, prove the k)w and
wattrj surtace of that district. The province
of Frfseland, on the eastern side of the Zuy-
der-Zee, is almost crossed bv a Kne of meers ;
and several of the like kind are met with in
the adjoining province of Groningen.
** I'iom this sketch of the country it will
not be expected to aiford much scenery at-
tractive to the k)ver of the picturesque, nor
even to abound in the comm<m charms of
rural landscape. I'he provisKo of Uticekft
and Overyssel alome present some of the
agreeable interchange of hill and dale ; the
hrtter, however, near the German border, is
deformed by wide naked heaths, which are
. continuous with tliose of Westphalia. The
same features mark the eastern parts of Frise-
land and Gronin^n.
** Th<; climate is not more inviting than the
face of the country. Its characteristic is
moisture, with its concomitants of fbs and
mist, firequently enveloping both land and
sea. The winters are often attended with
severe cold, so as to freeze not onlv the rivers
and hkes, but even the shallow Zuyder-Zee«
l*he summers, however, are sufficiently warm
and constant to bring to ^perfection the ordi*
nary products of the latitude, llie m^nl^y
exiialations and chill damps are prejudioal to
health, and few European countries are less
favourable to longevity. . ^
"'I'he soil is chiefly sand, or thcmud^de-
^ position from rivers, with frt»quent intermix-
* ture of turf or pcafefthe fuel of tlie country.
When properly drained and manured'it af«
fords excellent pasturage, on which domestic
animals arrive at a great size. The cows of
Holland are remarkable for their produce of
milk, whence butter and cheese are the prin-
cipal objects of rural economy. On theught
sandy soils, duly cultivated, abundant crops
of green vegetables are grown. Some arti-
cles are brought to greater peiiBictkMr m Hoi-
kmd tfaaK ia most other countries, of which
are madder and other dying drugs. To-
bacco is successfully planted on the richer
soils. For horticulture the Dutch have long
been famous, and their florists supply the cu-
rious in that brancli throughout Europe with,
the choicest flower-roots,
" Nature affords so little in this' country tor
engage the attention, that a survev of it must
almost solely be occupied with tfie works of
art Man, and (he operations of his iudustr>',
can no where be contemplated with more aci-
vantagc and interest than in Holland. The
people of thr-^e provincttJ, anciently celebrat**
44d
GEOGRAPHY.
«d for valour and the love of freedom, weie
rendered laborious, hardy, and frugal, bv the
necessities of tJieir situation. Tlie clirnate
further contributed to fix their character,
which was marked by phlegmatic patience
and slow diligence. lilted to undertake
tasks of great toil and extent, and not easily
(iisheartened by casualties or feilures, they
accomplished the arduous enterprise of fii*st
conquering their country from the ocean, and
then rendering it a comfortable abode.
" These provinces had acquired a larj^e po-
{>uIation and moderate opulence under the
imited sovereignty of the house of Austria,
when, in the l6tii centurv, the tyranny of
Philip IL <rf Spain impelled them to a revolt,
u hich, after many years of bloody and dubi-
ous contest, terminated in their being ac-
knowledged an independ^it state. luna-
tion ever purchased liberty by" more heroic
and persevering efforts ; for the cool phleg-
matic character, when once sufficiently ex-
cited by great passions, is most to bel-elied
upon tor carrying its aims into full effect.
Ihe coincidence ot zeal for religious with tJiat
for political reformation, infused double vi-
gour into their exertions, and they at the
same time fireed themselves from the fetters
of Spanish despotism, and from the chains of
papal authority.
** Their losses by land in the earlier part of
the struggle induced them to seek an indem-
nification in Uie other element, to which they
were already habituated by means of their
fislieries and' their traQjc in the neighbouring
teas. They assaulted the Spanish trade and
settlements (then also ijickiding the Portu-
gese) in both Indies, and laid tl)e founda-
tion of that vast system of foreign commerce
and colonization whicli raised liieni to tiie
rank of one of the great powers of Kurope.
Th^* opened an asvlum for the op})ressea of
all countries: their cities were iillcd with
fkilfnl and industrk)us artisans; their ports
wcr« crowdett with shipping; and Holland be-
came the grand depu^itorv and mail for the
richest products of all quarters of the globe,
'i'heir population augmented far beyond the
sustenance afforded by their native land;
but they drew great resources from tlie ocean,
and the harvests of all the neighbouring coun-
tries were theirs through the medium o( com-
merce.
"The form of government established by
the Dutch, when become independent, wu
that of a federal republic, in which each of
tl^e seven provinces retained a domestic so-
vereignty, while affairs of common concern
were managed by the states-general, cc«n-
posed of deputies from every province. In
times of particular danser a capt^iin-geoeral
had been appointed under the title of Stadt-
holder, which office at Icngtli became heredi-
tary in tiie house of Orange, and gave to the
fiK>vemment a kind of monarchical mixtoie.
The ecclesiastical establi>lunent was of the
calvinistical form, and adherence to it wa« re-
quired irom all persons in public trusts ; hut
a free toleration was granted to all religious
sects, wliich accordingly existed in greater
variety in Holland tlianiA any other Euro-
pean country, England perhaps excepted.
This liberal policy proved of the greatei ad-
vantage to the state.
" 1 he French conquest of Holland in the
late revolutionary war has subverted its an-
cient constitution, and destroyed its indepen-
dence ; and it can at present "be regardwi m
no other ligiit than as a dependency of tlukt
overgrown and usurping power, obliged to
adopt its friendship and enmities, and to ac-
cept whatever new form of government may
be imposed upon it. The stadtholderale hU
been abolished, together with the jurisdiction
of the provuicial states, and the :>upremc
power is nominally vested in a Bata^ian re-
public. I^ew changes, however, are Je-
pendlng, anvl it ii impossible to conjoLture to
what degree they may Ix^ carried, or li<»w
long the separate exi>tence oi a Dutch i*a-
tionmay be pirimUtcd.*'
( 449 >
CHAPTER VIIX.
BIOGRAPHY.
WE tfe 'glad to iSnd that a temporaty stop, at least, has been put to that laty,
prolix, aad indecorous method of composixig biography, by printing, without selection
or reserve, the correspondence of the person to be celebrated 3 and tlius, as the phrase
is, making hkn his own biographer. The " Correspondence of the Countess of Hart-*
ford" is the only . specimen of tliis idle common-place chit-chat that the last year
hat produoed. The laigest and most valuable portion of the present chapter is oc-^
copied by works relating to foreigners of eminence, either originally composed in
Eiu^lish, or translated from the French and German. Of these Mr. Roscoe's Leo X.
unquestionably occupies tlie foremost rank ; and for liberal impartiality, and accuracy
of reseaxcb, claims our entire approbation. The auto-biography of Marmontel, and
ITbaoll's Anecdotes of Frederic of Prussia, cannot fail of being interesting to extxj
class of readers ; and tlie Liuuaean school of naturalists has reason to be thankful to
Dr* Alaton, for the new and enlarged form which he has given to Dr. Pultney*s ac-
coQDtof their illustrious master. Of domestic biography the Memoirs of General
Thomas, an Indian adventurer, are wortliy of being particularized, as throwing light
on the politics, manners, and state of society among tie native princes of India. Mr.
Caylej's Life of Sir Walter Ralegh is a valuable addition to the mass of our lilera-
toze I and Mr. Cumberland's. Life, from his own pen, closes with dignity our annual
list
MTA.^The Life and ParUificaleqfleotlie Tenth, 5y Wrra.iAM RoscoE.* 4 vols. 4ta
A HISTORY of Leo X. has long been , had the greatest influence 'on hiunan affairs :
one of the wwrks most wanted in 1 iterature. such as the discovery of the West Indies by
Collins had meditated ?uch a history, and ' ^^ Spaniards, and of a passage to the East by
« said to have published ^roposab for it. J^*= Portugjjese ; the invention of prmtmg ;
'^ . the reformation of religion; with many other*,
aD of which will be insisted upon at lai:ge, and
" Among the friends of Collins, who seem their consequences displayed.' As the essay
to have shared his confidence and his studios, . which contains this passage was first pub*
was Mr. Thomas Warton, by wiiom the de- . lishedin 1756, the same year m which Col*
sign of giving a history of the restoration of luis died, it is possible that this notice was
l^ersifl Europe was continued, or revived, intended to refer to, his undertaking; but it
Ia the excellent essay of his brollier Dr. is also certain,, that on his death the design
Warton, on the life and writings of Pope, was not abandoned by his survivina friends.
is Uie following passage. * Concerning the in a conversation which I had the pleasure of
particular encouragement given by Leo X. enjoying with Dr. Warton, in the year 1797,
to Uteiaturc and Uie fine arts, I forb.ar to en- the progress made in an undertak'uig wh:cli
large, because a friend of mine is at present , had been so long announced to the public,
ei^agedin ymtiag the Historv of tlic Aac of became an object of my inquiry. By hun. X
Leo the Tenth: It is a noble period, and full was informed that it had been the mteiition of
of >th6se most important events which have himself, his brother, and several of thtir iit»*
A»j*. Rsv. Vol. IV. Gg
450
BIOGRAPHY.
wry frirads to give a lustory of the revival
ot ielters, not only m Italy, but in all the
priixipal roiintrics of Europe ; and that the
ni<:tory of English )x>etry, oy Mr^Tljomas
Wartw, was only a part of this great desif^n.
"VVhcii vre advert to the various and excellent
critical prodactioii^ of these lil>eral ami learn-
ed brothers, ami consider tJiat among, the
njMTicis of their coadjutors, vould probably
have been found those of West, of Walpole,
of Mason, and of Gray, we cannot fsuflicient-
ly lament the want of public encouragement,
which was, in all probability, the diief cause
that prevented this noble and t^xtensive un-
dertaking from being carried into complete
execution.**
llie want of public cncoiinigement for
worthy undertakings is always to be la-
mented ', in this instance, however, it has
rather been beneficial to literature than
injurious -, for highly as we respect the
great names which have been thus men-
tioned, we cannot but feel that the history
of Leo could not have been in better hands
. than in those of Mr. Roscoe. By writing
the life of Lorenzo de Medici, lie had fully
prepared himself for the task ; that work
htts received the stamp of approbation, in
the country where its merits can most
truly be appreciated, and die name of
Potior Gu^liehno Roscoe stands as high ki
Italy as in England.
, It is well known what rare and valuable
documents 'this writer had the good for-
tune to procure for his former work— 4ie
lias not been less tort unate in his researches
for the present. By t he <assiAtanee of Lord
Holland, and Mr. Penrose, and the libe-
rality of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, tlie
archives of Florence were opened to him,
from whence two volumes of imj)ortant
papers were transcribed. Mr. Joimson,
i^ Jike manner, collected materials from
.the Vatican} and while Mr. Roscoe. was
thus indebted to the truly praiseworthy
assistance of his countrymen, lie was like-
•wise favoured with communications from *
many of the most learned men in Italy.
Mr. Shepherd, tlie biographer of Poggio,
examined for him the unpublislied jiart of
the diary df Paris de Grassis, in the na-
tional library at Paris. The public libra-
ries in" England .were diligently explored,
sjnd private collection* opened to him witli
that liberality ;phicli, we rejoice to say,
characterises the present age. — Having
acknowledged tlicse various sources of as-
sistance, Mr. Roscoe speaks of the work it-
f el f w,itli tlwtmanlinesfl and candour which *
io honourably dtstinguisli hisyritings.
" With respea to the cxfxzution of the fol-
l\^whig y\'oA, X cauAot but be well awire.
that ^^Kiry circumstaures and charactcn vil
be io):» -n.-presfnted in a light somenhat
ditferent from that in whkrii thej* hax-c gene-
rally been vlinved, and that I nay probably
be aecused of having suffered myself to be
induced by the force of prejudice, or the af-
ff^tation of noveltj', to remove wliat ha^-c
hitherto been considered as the land-marks
of hist or}'. To imputations of tliis kind, I
feel the most perfect indifference. Tnitb
alone has betTi my guide, and whenever she
}ia<y faeadily diffused her 1i;^ht, 1 hare endea-
voured to cl(^neale the objects in their real
fbmi and colour. History is the record of
the i»xperience of mankind in their nKKt im-
portant concerns. If it be impossible fot hu-
man sagacity to estimate the consequences of
a tilsehood' in private \\k, it is equally ioh
pofisiblc to estimate the cohseauences of a
false or partial representation of the everts
of former times. ITic conduct of the pmcat
is regulated by the experience of the pa^t.
The circumstances which have led the way to
4he pnosperity or destruction «f states, will
lead tJie way to the pro^peritv or destruction
of states in all future ages. If those in hig^
authority be better infonned than others it
is fr^m this source that their informatioamust
be d^a^^ n ; and fo pollute it, is therefore to
'poi^»n the only clidmnel tkrau^h which ne
can derive that' knowledge which, if it can he
obtained pure and unadulterated, cannot fell
in thrte to mirify the Intelkect, «\|amd the
liowen;, ana improre the condition «f tk
numan race.
' ** Icannot deliver this Trtirk to thepubBc
without a most pain6i^ convkttqn Ihat, n«t- <
withstanding my utmost endeavours, and tbe i
most sedulous attention which it hashceiti
my power t(9 bestow npoa it» ntaay dcieds
wfll still be discoverable, not only from the
omission of nuich inipo'rttmt hiforniafiou^ |
which may not have occurred to my in-
quiries, but from an erraneous or im-
perfect use of such as I may have had the
good fortune to obtain. Yet 1 trust dat,
when theextent4>f the work, and the great
varietv of subjects whidi it comprehends, are
considered, the candid, and jmlicious will i
make due allowance for those inaccnracies j
aJ^aiiist which no vicilance can at all tinw
eiiectually guard. With this publicatk»al
finally relinquish all btention of prof^utiog,
with a view to Ac public, niv reseaabcsinta ^
tlie history and literature of Italy. That I
Iiave devoted to its completion a conflderable
portion of time. aitft of labour will suiiiciently
appear from the petusaUof the following pages,
and it mav therefore be presumed tittt I <^c-
not be in Jilfcrent to its success, liut what-
ever inducements I may have found in tbc
hope of conciliating the indulgence, 6r the fe- ^
vour of the public/I must linaHy be p€mutte<t '
to avow, that motived of a'diffeVent, &ai per; j
haps of a more laudable nature, Iia^ocoh <
sionally concurred to induce me topersev«rff
in the present undertaking. Among Iheic
V» an ^ar^est desJTti to .q.\hUiit tothepn^^
KOSCOE's life of LEO THE TENTH.
451
times an aiu>lrious pc'riod of society ; to re-
call tiie public attention to llicse standanis
of excellence to wbich Europe Ms been in-
df bti>(I fur nu inconsiderable portioii of her
subsi*qufnt Iiupiovement ; to unfold the ever
^l\c eii'»ut ot moral causes on the acqujre-
tnetits and titc lia{))}iness of a people ; and to
mise a barrier, as far as such cfForis can avail,
against rfiat torrent of a corrupt and vitiated
tertc, which, if not continually opposed, may
wee more ovenvhelra the oiltivated nations
of Europe In barbarism and degradation. To
Ibcse great and desirable ainis, I could wish
to addotliers, yi-t move exalted and com-
Dcndibie ; to S^nnoDstrate the fatal coiise-
{ticnct'S of an ill-ciirecte(l anibitioji,. and to
leducofrom the unperverted pn^esof historj-,
hose maxims of true hunianit v, sound wisdom,
ad political fidelity, whicir have been too
nucL nei^ltcteil in a'll ages, but which are the
inly solid foundations of the repose, the dig-
lity, and the happmess of niaukiud."
Giovanni, af>erward5 Ii«> X.^ second
OB of Ijorenzo-de Medici, wns bom at
notence, 14/5, the year of jubilee. Va-
wos motives indnced his father to destine
Hn to the chiirch. As politics became
nore systematized, princes were desirous
♦ procuring a seat in the college of cardi-
als for tbetr relatives, us a necessary step
>the papa) chair. No person had stronger
Wsmis to form such apian than Lorenzo,
k had fuftered severefy from the enmity
r the papah Bee, and he knew no other
leans u-hich could so eftcctually secure
isfemily in the possession of tlich* usurped
9wn, Accordingly Giovanni received
« tonsure* when only seven years old,
id was declared capable of ecclesiastical
^ferment. The abbey of Fonte-dolce
w given him bv the king of France, and
wn tbencefbrth he was called Messire
bvanni. The next year came a courier
opi the same king, to say that he had
nferrtd upon him the ardhbisbopric' of
1|^. the Pope itiade some objection to
i on account of his yoiith ; but it soon
pcared that there was aii objection vrhkh
to not so easily to be removed as his
Bi»sh'g scruples, for tlie ncatt news was
It the archbishop. was not dead. Some
feiipfiUsati<Hi for this disappointment was
m made by the pope, who|;avehirti the
h abbe)' of Passignano. " It would not
'difficult," says the historian, *' to de-
lim against tie corruptions of the Roman
f>.apd the absurdity of conferring eccle-
lUcal preferments upon a cbUd ; bi^ in
t estimatioti of m imparti4l observer. It
is a matter of little moment whether such
preferment be bestowed upon an infant
who is unable, or an adult who is unwill-
ing, to perform the duties of his t>ffice j
and who, in Tact, at tl^e time of his ap-
pointment, neither intends nor is expected
. ever to bestow upon them any share of
his attention."
But the purple was the important ob-
ject.— ^The history of Giovanni's advance-
ment to this dignity is given from Lo-
renzo's confidential correspondence, with
amusing minuteness. In the articles signed
by Innocent, on his election, he bad so^
lemnly promised not to raise any person
to the rank of cardinal x^iio had not at-
tained thirty years of age ; but thif diffi-
culty, as well as all others, yielded to the
persevering policy of Lorenzo. His first
step was tO' induce the pope to make a
promotion of cardinals ; a design which
the infirm and inactive old man delayed
frbrv time to time to execute. "This
event," says he, in a letter to his emoy at
Rome, " ought not to be delayed longef
than can possibly be avoided : for when
his holiness has completed it, he will be
another pope than he has hitlierto been j
because he is yet a h<^ad without limbs,
surrounded by the creatures of others,
whereas he will then be surrounded by
his own.*' — ^WTiile he tlius makes it rppear
to be the pope's interest to take this step,
he merely add^, concerning his own ob-
ject, " he may also gratify me, if he thinks
proper." B\it when the pro.motion was
positively detetmined on, his solicitations
became more pressing." He wrote to the
pope himself, saying tliat ** he most ear-
nestly intreats, if he is ever to receive any
benefit from his holiness, that it may be
conceded to him on this occasion j" re-
questing his favour with no less fer^*ency
than he would request from God the sal-
vation of his soul ! To one of tlie cardi-
nals who espoused his cause, he says ** he
considers the favour in no other light than
as if he were raised from death to life.**
No candidate ever canvassed more assjdu-
ously, even at an election in England i
what other electioneering arguments wero
applied, we are left to conjecture j what-
ever they may have been they were suc-
cessfiil, and Giovanni, at the age of thir-
teen, was made a cardinal, under the litl^
of S, Maria in Doraenica. The day after
he had received the welcome tidings, Lo-
renzo sent the measure of his son's staturp
* Mr. Ro£coc used the I^tin word tonsura. This sheiild not he done ^^a w^ b^ve 3
IWQ&dcst ^'ord in our ^sl bnguago*
• Ggt
ASl
BIOGRAPHY.
to Rome ; " but in my cye^," he adds,
•* he seems to have grown since yesterday."
tolitianOj partaking Iris patron's joy, bad
even the folly or the assurance to conipli-
tnent the pope upon the wisdom of his
choice. " Allow roe," he says ui t,his cut
rious epistle, *' to congratulate your holi-
ness, that by tJiis exertion of your own
di^icrirainating judgment, you have added
immortal honour to your other great dis^
tinctions : our young cardinal has had
the happiness to be so bom and consti-
tuted by nature, so educated and directed
as to hia manners; so instituted and taught,
as to his literary acquirements, that in his
genius he iti inferior to no one) neither is
he surpassed by any of those of his own
time of life, in industry ; by his preceptors,
;n learning j or by mature age,. n\ gra\ ity
;ind seriousness of deportment. From his
cradle he has meditated on the sacred of-
fices of the church j and such was the spe-
cimen which he |iad given, while yet ^
^hild, of his virtues aixd taleuLs, that the
Reputation of tliem induced that most wise
and most pious king, Louis XL, to judge
him not unwortljy of tlie lijgh dignity of
an archbishop. Doubt not but he uill
fill the august purple. He will not faint
under the weight of tlie hat, nor be daz-
.iled by the splendour that surrounds him :
you will find in hiu), a person not un-
qualified for- such a .state, nor unequal to
such a burtlien. Already he appears in
full majesty, and seems to exceed his
usaal stature."
Lorenzo had too much good sense to
approve of ftuch a letter, and there is rea-
son to suppose tliat it was suppressed.
Politiano designed it to be read in the
consistory, and printed it in tlie collection
of his epistles ! The pope, in conferring
this dignity upona boy, had decency enough
to stipulate that he should not assume the
insignia of his rank, nor be received as a
member of tlie college, for the space of
three years ; restrictions witli which Lo-
renzo could never uiduce him to dis-
pense.
Whether it is advisable to unite general
history with individual biography, as in the
present work, has .fre(juently been dis-
puted J we have no hesitiition in saymg
.were men who afterwards became conspi-
<;uous in the hirtory oi Europe. Rode-
rigo Hdr^a, tlie famous or inlamous Alex*
ander \'L, was the eldest meniber of fhc
college ; bad as he was, his memury has
been blackened! In sketching his cia-
racter at this time, Mr. Roi»rne ol>senTs,
tiiat his attachment lo his mistress Vanozia
appears to have been sincere and unifonn,
and dxat lie regarded her as a legitimate
wite. Francesco Piccolomini, nephew of
Pius IL, and ailerwards Pius III., iiis
anotlier member; his character was hi^
and unblemished. A third was Grioltup
della Rovere, the restless Julius IL Tl»e^
distinguished men are briefly, hot aWf
introduced, chap. ii. The state of litera-;
ture in Italy is tlien^ examined. A fev
members of tliat academy at Ronie^wlud
the brutal and ignorant Paul IL hadper-
licculed, were still living. Pompoeiiii
LoBtus was the diief of these old scbobcL
Callimachus £xperiens, his associflte, bai
taken sh<ilter in Poland, wliere he €«»'
posed llfs excellent history of the sSam
of Hungary. Paolo Cortese had fbmW
a new society in the capital of the chri*
tian world. Literature however was ii«
in a iiourishing state at Ronie^ itprospem
more at Florence, at Naples,, at Msncn^
at Milan, and above all at Ferrara, «lial
Ariosto was now succeeding to Bocard^
Tliis second chapter coocludes utith 4
actount of Aldo Mauuzio, the great bm^
factor of learning. Pico of Mirahdola VJI
one of his most intimate friends ; aod \
was iii his conversa turns with him, m
with Alberto Pio, lord of Carpi, that AUJ
formtsd the idea of bis great uDileftakij^
to which, in all probability, tbey 001091
buted their pecuniary assistance.
. . " The place which lie choee for Ins istii
lishment was Venice, already the mostd't4ii^
giiished city in Italy ^t the alU-ntion W^%
tlie art, and where' it was mo«t probaUc tid
he might meet with those materials and ^
sistants which were nect^sarj' for his purptHl
•In making the preparations rwfui^ite for rod
mencing his work, he was inddatigahle ; d
the more particular object of his wishes «j
the dis<»ovtjry of Some method by which 1
might give to his publications a qreatcr di-gij
of correcljiess tlian had bet'O attained bj al
preceding artist. To this end he inTitcJj
his assistance a i^reat number of cP '' " *^'
^ we
that it was ab;iolutely necessary here. The
life of Leo, in his early years, was so mate- ., ., , . y
riaJly affected by the politics of Italy, then 'scholars, whoni he prevailed u^^
thereat th Jre of contention b^^^^^^^^^^ ';^:^J^^i^Zt^'^'^^
Jrance and Spain, tliat it could not be Residence at Venice. ITiat h«midit*aiiai
fairly understood, . imfess the history ot ^^.^1 still more, to the place, aaJ to r«
those transactions were related at large. other, he proposed the eslabli»*jnmt ^
^lauyof the young: Qordinal's colleagues literary association, or academy, ihir chi
HOSCOB*S LIFE OF LEO THE TENTH.
4^a
: «b$cct of ^lich was to be the correctmg the
^ works of the aaci«^t aulbars, with a view to
:* tiieir publication iii as correct a manner as
* jK)>ibfe. Of this aradcnny Marcus Musuriis,
• rictfo BtrmiM>, Angelo Oa'brietli, Andrea Na-
' vagero, Danielle Kinieri, Marino Sanuto,
! Rniedetto Kambertt, IkUtista Kg.iaziu, uiiU
V GtaniiiattHtt Kanni$io» were the ))riiu*i)>ul
cnnments. aud will be entitled to our iiui.re
notice. For liie more etrcctiial e»tahlisliinent
of this institution, it was his cuniest \vi^h lo
have obtained an inii>erial dij)!6nia ; b\it in
this nspcct he was disappointed ; and the
Venetian acoJemy, whicia ought to have bet*n
«n objoct at national or iiniverMl uiunilicemv,
was Idt to depend upcm Uk; induhlry and
bounty of a private individual, undi^r wiiose
iaspices it subsisted during inany ^ears in
great credit, and eliixtcd, in a very cont^ider-
5bie degree, the beneticiul purposes which its
fuuiidcr had in view.
" Such were thefeotives, and such the pre-
parations for tbi^ great undertaking ; but its
execution surpaiised all the <.*xpectalbns that
its mofst bungume promoters rouid have form-
ed of it. 1 he firrt work produrctl from the
I Atdinc pres>, was the poirm of Hero and La-
ander, of Musanis, in the year 14(^4; from
I wbi<h ttine, for the s|)ace of u|)wards i )f t^^ en t y
( years, during whicJi Aldo continued his la-
Dours, there is scarcely an ancimit autiior,
I Cnjt-k or l^tin, of whom he did not givi* a
cppk)n:> edition, besides publishinf; a consider-
' ri)!e number of books m tht; Italian tonc^iie.
In the accpiisition ot the niost authentic co-
' pies of the ancient aiUhors, whether inanu-
' icript or printed, he s})ar»ifl neither lalx)ur nor
i rxpetiee ; and such was the opinion entvr-
taiued of his talents and assiduity by the ce-
lebrated Krannus, wiio occai»ionally assisted
him iu revising the ancient writers, that he
, has endeavoured to do justice to his merits,
by asserting in his Adni^a, * thjit if some tu-
twary deity had nromotetl the views" Of Aldo,
the learned worla Vould shortly have been iu
posftfiion, not only of all tbe Oreek and Ijx-
tin authors, btit even of the ilebrew and
Chaldaic ; insomtKh, that nothing could have
been wanting, in this respect, to their wi^ies.
1 hat it was an enterprize of royal muniticence,
tp re-establish polite letters, then ahmist ex-
tinct ; to discover what was hidden ; to sup-
ply what was wanting ; and tt» correct vlllit
was defective.* By the same ruiinent 'x:ho-
lar we arc also assured, that whiUt Atdo pro-
iiwled the interests of tlie learned, th<f Karn*
ed ipive him, in return, their b(*st assMance ;
and tliat even the Hungarians and the Toles
s«it then: works to his press, and ac^onjpa-
i)ied them by liberal presents, ilow these
great objects coukl be nccompU<hed by the
elforts of an mdividualwiil apfxar extraordi-
narv; e^peciaily when it is couiiiilercd, thot
AJjo was a nr.^fessed teacher of the (5reek
language in Venice ; that he diligently attend-
ed the meetings of the academy ;" that he
raamtained a trec^uent eorrespondt nee with
(he learned in all countries ; that the prefaces
6
aiwi dedications of the books whkJ) be. pub-
Kshed weie often of his own conipoaition ;
that tlie works them-^'lvcs were occa>ionally
illustrated by his criticisms and observation ;
and that he s^Muetimes printed his own \vorks:
an in^taixco of which uj>pears in his Latiu
grannnar, publishi-d ni the )ear 1507. 'I'he
s(»lu(ion ot this diOlcuUy niay however, in
home degree, be obtained, by piTitsini^ the in-
scription placed by Atdo over the door of his.
sUuly, in which he requests iiis visitors to
dispatch their business with Iiim, as e\'pedi«
tiously as possible, and be-rone ; unless the y
tt)mei as llercides rame to Atlas, with a
view of rej:dering a«i>.istance ; in which ca^e
there would be sufficient cm;>loyment, both
fo * tiirm, and us many otbcn as might rejKiir
thitlier." .
Chnptcr IIT. Tbe tranquillity of the
country was nov/ ta be disturbed. While
the young cardinal was tiiking hiii seat in
the consistory, L<3renzo died j Innoc<;nt
VIII. died also within a few months, aud
Alexander VI. was elected bis successor,
to the disgrace of the Romish church, and
the misfortune of Italy. He had pun^iiosed
the papacy as openly 'as Didius JuliamiSy
in old times, had purchased tbe empire ;
and lie employed his power as ill as he
had obtained it. Tbe cardinal was one of
the five mecnbers of the conclave who did
not sell their votes upon this occasion i on
other accounts lie w as inimical to Alex*
ander, and lie now thought it prudent tcf
retire to Flore: »ce. I'he storm overtook
him there. Lodovico Sforzn, for the snkff
of usurping the dukedom of Milan, and
the pope, with a view to the aggrandize-
ment of his children, formed a lengue
with the \'enetians against NapJes. Piero
de Medici united with the king of Naples
to oppose them; means were found to
make the pojxj chan^^e his party, and Sfor-
asa invited Charles Vlll. of France tjuo
Italy. This meninrabie expt^dition was
one of the hinorical subjects which (iib-
bon meditated, l)efore he fixed upon a
better thtj^me. It is not a hnppy subject ;
tie expedition, though most importi'.nt lu
its after-coiisequcnces, was in all its cir-
cnmsxances i| significant. A profligate
find cowardly kin^ blundered into Italy at
the head of a line army ; obtained his ob-
ject, because the misconduct of his oppo-
nents Wdh even greater than his own \ and
at the first iipproach of any real danger,
blundered honje agaiii ; leaving, as the
oilects of his conquest, long and obstinate
>»ars to France and Spain, and Italy ; and
to the rest of Europe, the mo^t tremeadoua
disease that has ever yet bejn dispensed
to man as the punLduuent of hi» vices.
45i
BIOGRAPHY.
It is a hisiory which holds out no splendid
event to the admiration, no rirtuous clia-
racter to the love of mankind. There has
perhaps never been an age of such moral
turpitude, and political villainy, as that of
Ferdinand, the catholic king, Charles
VIII., and Alexander VI.
Of this expedition we have here, for
the first time in our language, a full ac-
• count. Its coasequences to the Medici
family were disastrous j and to Piero, tlie
head of that family, they were ruinous.
As he was in alliance with. Naples^ tlie
French marched towards Fkjrence. The
popular party,* ne longer restrained by the
authority, nor conciliated by tlie rirtues of
Lorenzo, regarded Picro as the cause of
their danger, and 'thwarted him in all the
measures which he would have taken to
guard against it. He himself had not ta-
lents to contend with the dilBcullies of
bis situation, and unhappily iniitating the
example of his father, though the circum-
stances were so different, went to tlie
French camp, and put all the places of
Btrengtli and importance into tlie invaders'
hands. In consequence, as soon as he re-
turned to the city, an insurrection took
place ; from which he and his brethren
with difficulty escaped. His errors did
not terminate here. Had he claimed the
protection of Charles at this juncture, it
would have been granted him ; instead of
tills, he fled to Bologna, and a popular go-
veniment was established at Florence,
under the auspices of France.
In' tlie fourtli and fifth c)iapters the far-
ther progress of the French arms is re-
lated J and the return of Charles to France j
his death ; and three unsuccessful attempts
of the Medici to regain tlieir authority in
l^lerence.
Qliapter VI. Tlie internal commotions
which the first irruption of the French
had occasioned in Italy had' not subsided
before a second was planned, and by an
enemy far more 'formidable than tlie de-
bauched and pusillanimous Charles. The
pope and the Venetians once more allied
themselves with France. The carduial,
who iiad now been five years an exile from
his nativp city, disheartened by so many
fruitless attempts to return, and foreseeing
what new troubles were about to arise,
^visely resolved to withdraw from so lu-
jnoltaous a scene. Rome ought to have
bt*en his safe residence, but Alexander
was his enemy. He therefore, with his
cousin Giulio di Medici, formed a party
of twelve friends, and travelled incognito
through tlie principal kingdoms of Europe^
waiting for better times. He wished to
have crossed from Flanders into Engiand,
but his companions dissuaded him, for
they were " terrific J at tlie waves of that
. vast and profoundest sea 1 " When tliey
returned to Italy they found the cardioid
Guiliano delle Rovere at Savoua, where
he had fled from his enemy Alexander :
— a singular meeting j — three retiigeej
sitting at one table, each of whom W3s
afterwards pope. From Savona he went
to Genoa, and remailied a while with hit
' sister. Great events mean time had taken
place in Italy. Lout's XII. had seized
Milan, aikl cast Lodovico Stprza into that
prison, where the punishment of his ab-
nifold crimes commenced : helanguisihed
there ten years in solitary confinement,
till his death. Cxsar Borgia, to whose
aggrandizement all the gchcuies of Alei-
ander tended, was pursuing his career In
Romagna. In the midst of these commo-
tions the cardinal hoped that something
might occur to restore liis familyj and he
accordingly went to Rome, to be in the
very centre of the intrigues of Italy. Alex-
ander treated him with respect, and appa-
rent intimacy, because he was desiroui
it should be berie%'ed tliat a man so re-
spectable was his friend. Tlieir political
views also now concurred 3 the Medici
hoped, by Borgia's ^ssis.tarice, to be re-.
instated in Florence, and .he probab!) was
willing, under their name, to obtJun pos-
session of the Tascan state forhimsdf.
But Louis peremptorily intrrfcied, aiid
this fourth attempt also proved in vain.
Tlie infamous secret treaty between
France and Spain, for tlie partition of
Naples, was now formed, and carried into
effect :-r." a plan," says Mr. Roscoe,
*' which lias ser\ed as, a model on subse-
quent occasions, and which, if tlie moal
sense of mankind be not extinguished by
the subsequent repetition of such enor-
mities, will consign the memory of dicsc
royal plunderers to merited execration.'
Borgia too, by one of the most nieiuorable
instances of pei-fidious murder which is
uponrecor<l, for the shame of the human
race, had rid himself of those persoos
whose opposition he most feared, and
seized upon their territories. All Ro%
magna was in his possession ; his eye was
upon Pisa and Siena, and Florence 5 aiid
Ale^^ander had already proposed to the
college of cardinals, to bestow upon him
the title of king of Romagna and Umbna.
Italy perhaps has reason to regret diat diese
ambitious hopes were disappointed; for
Borgia might have coosoliduted such i<
KOSCOE's LTPE of LEO THE TENTH.
455
kingdom as wodd have defied tiie attempts
of foreign powe»j and secured the peace
of the country. But at the very time
when he fieemcd certainly to have nttained
hisobijetH, the death of iiis father deprived
him of oery thing ; and all his intrigues,
and all his crimes^ were rendered useless. ^
Mr- Roscoe has summed up the character
of Alexander VI. with his usu^il ability
and candour, and fair judgment ; abomi- -
naUe as he was, his- crimes have been
highly OTercharged. The incestuous in-
tercourse with his daughter, which has
been jmputed to him, is satisfactorily dis-
proved in an appended dissertation on
Lncretia Borgia, which effectually clears
her from the charge 3 and Caesar BorgJ3 is
as dearly acquitted oi the murder of his
brotnen
Chapter VII. The royal robbers soon
qoarreUed concerning the division of the
apoil, and Ferdinand, bj means of tl)e
great Gonsalvo, secured the whole to him-
self. This completed tlie ruin of Borgia.
Julias II., the new pope, was the old
enemy of his family ; Borgia had credu- -
kusly listened to his fair progiises, when
he was soliciting the papacy, and assisted
him in o>btatning it. Machiavelli has enu-
merated this as one of the few mistakes of
his political hfe, and the mistake was fa-
tal. Julius had no sooner obtained the
papal throne than he seized upon him,
and did not- liberate him till many of his
fortresses iu Romagna were delivered up.
Borgia expected aid from the Spaniards 3
they had promised it ; and Gonsalvo hod
given him a safe-conduct : but this great,
and otherwise excellent man, had not yet
learnt that the duties bet^'een man and'
man are of a higher-nature than those be-
tween subject and sovereign 3 and that
when a sovereign*^ commands are inii]ui-
tons, it becomes tlie duty of tlie subject
to refuse obedienee. By Ferdinand's or-
der he violated his pledged word, and sent -
Borgia prisoner to Spain. He remained-
two years a prisoner at Medina del Cam-^
po ; and having escaped from thence, en-
tered the service of Jean d'Albret, his
brother-in-law, and was killed under the
walls of Viana.
"Of (his extraordinary character- it may •
Vitb truth be obs<.M'ved, that his activity,
courage, and perseverance^ were equal to the '
jl^catest attempts. In the pursuit of his ob-
jccl he overlooked or overleaped all other
con^derations ; when forci^ was inelTectual he
Tesorted to fraud ; and whether he tliundered
m open hostility at the gates of a city, or en-
deavoured 4^ cdcct his purpose by negotiation
and trcachcrv, he was equally invsistibJc. If
we may con^de in the narrative of Gukciar-
dini> cfuelty> rapine, hijustii'e,.aD4 lustp are
onl\ ]iarticular features in the conipositigi) qf «
this inuustcr; yet it is diflicult to coi^ve, •
that a man so totally ubrcdeemed by a single .
virtue, should have' been cnabK-d toniaintain
himsi^lf at tlie head of. a poweiful anny ; to *
engage in so eminent a degree tlie favour of *
the people com[ncrcd ; to form alliances with
the first sovereigns of Europe ; to destroy or '
overturn the most powerful families of Italy ; *
aiul to lay. Uie foundations of a dominion, 'of
whicli i! is acknowledged that the short dura- f
tionh to be attributed rather to his ill-fortune,
and the treachery of others, tlian either to
his errors or his crimes. If, however, he lias
been too indiscriminately condemned by one
historian, he has in another met with as zea-
lous and powered an ciicomia<it, and the •
maxims of the )x>litician are only the faithful
record of the transactions of his hero. On the
nrinciples of Machiavelli, Borgia was the
greatest man of the age. Nor was he, in fact, .
without qualities, which in some degree coih- .
pensated for liisdcmerits. Courageous, nm-
niticent, eloquent, and accomplished in all
the exercises of arts and arms, he raised an
admiration of his endowments, which kept
pace with, and counterbalanced the abhoi^
rence excited by his crunes. I'hat even
these crunes have been exaggerated, is higlily .
]}robabIe. ills enemies were numerous, and
the certainty of his guilt, in some instances,
gave credibility to every imputation that .
could be devised to throw his character into ',
deeper shade. That he retained, even aAer
he had survived his prosperity, no inconsider- '
able share of public estiniatioii, is evident from
the fidelity and attachment shew^n him on
many occ^ions.' After his dcatli, his memory . .
and achievements were celebrated by one .
of the most eleG;ant Latin poets that Italy has
produced. The language of poetry is not
indeed always that of truth ; b'ut we may aff
least give rrcdit to the account of the personal '
accumpUshuieiits and wai'likc talents of Bor-
gia ; althoufi^ we may indignantly reject the ■
spurious praise, which represents all Olym-
pus as interested in his fate, and places him
among the heroes of antiquit}', and at the sum-
mit of fame."
Caesar Borgia, as well as his father, fiail
been calumnfatedV He was* the Bonaparto '
of his age;— as able^ as ambitious, as trea-
cherous, as cruel, only not as fortunate ; '
if each be tried by the standard of morality
in his own age, the comparison will be ii\ ,
favour of Borgia. To expect honour or ,/
honesty in an Italian statesman of tj^e %
sixteenth century, !s as ridiculous as it
would be to look for chastity in Otaheite^
or a fair complexion in Negroland. ?ior-
gia was only a more able gamester than '
. the gamesters whom he cheated ; tiiey*^
whom be deceived and assassinat:ed v^cie
456
BIOGRAPHY.
I traitors and assassins themselves. Far
more nefarious in the sight of God aod
man, is he who renews these crinaes, when
wisdom, and religion, and morality, had
succeeded in making even statesmen re-
spect the common decencies of life. The
seizure of the English travellers, the im-
prisonment of Toussaint, the assassination
of Pichegru, and the murder of the Duke
d'Enghien^ are actions as much more fla-
gitious than the crimes of Borgia, as the
nmeteienth century is more advanced than
the age of Alexander VI.
The success of the Spaniards proved fa-
tal also to Piero de Medici j flying on
board a galley to Gaeta, he perished by
shipwreck, after ten years of exile and dis-
appointment. A far more eminent cha-
racter was also about to with(kaw from
t)ie stage. Ferdinand and Louis were re-
conciled, and met at Savona, where they
passed four days in secret and important
conferences. " The superstition of man-
* kind/'says Mr. Roscoe, ''has sought for the
prognostics of future evils, in &e threat-
ening as()ects and conjunctions of the pla-
nets i but a conjunction of this kind is a
much more certain indication of approach-
ing coaimotions." The league of Cam-
bray is referred to this interuew. Gon-
salvo was on tliis occasion treated with dis-
tinguished honour,, and permitted to sit at
the same table with the two kings.
Chapters VIII. IX. X. The league of
Cambray brought tlie cardinal de Medici
iito a more conspicuous situation. When
Julius found it his interest to desert his
allies, and league with the Venetians
against them^ he determined to restore the
Medici: the cardinal was appointed his le-
gate, and in that character was present at
the battle of Bavenna, and there made
prisoner. When the French would have
carried him with them in their retreat out
of Italy, be eflected his escape. Ihe tide
had now turned in favour of his family.
The pope and the Sj;^iaids threatened
the Florentines; the friends of the old ty-
ranny took arms in th^ city, and seized
Soderini, the gonfaloniere. In this man-
ner were the sons of Lorenso restored.
£oderini escaped into the Tuikish domi-
Dtons ; the friend who had assisted him
m his escape was tortured so cruelly by
the pope, to make him discover th^ place
of his retreat, that he died in a few days.
The popular government of Florence was
destroyed; and the people were amused
with pageants, and with the institution of
two orders of merit, to make them forget
theur liberties. On this occasion the car*
dinal took a yoke for his emblem, with the
scriptural motto, *' My yojce is easy and
my burthen light." The pious or hypo-
critical moderation of the mot^, did not
atone for the insolence of the emblem* A
conspiracy was formed .against the Medici
by Boseoli and Capponi, men worthy sf a
better fate, and of a wider theatre of ac-
tion, that their fame might have been
equal to their merits. Among ether emi-
nent men, Machiavelli was engaged in the
plot : it Med by the common and incs-
cusable imprudence of making a list of the
conspirators. But before the cardiial
could thoroughly investigate the business,
he was sumnK>ned to Rome, in cousequenoe
of the death of Julius, and elected to suc-
ceed him.
Leo X., as henceforth we must call
him, conducted himself towards his Fkh
rentine enemies with a moderation, which
the cruelty of his predecessors rendoped
more remarkable. Boseoli and Capponi
had already been beheaded, or it was sop-
posed he would have pardoned them, ss
he did the others who had been condemn-
ed to perpetual imprisonment. He in-
vited Soderini io Rome, treated him with
favour, and connected the two families bf
marriage. 1 1 was Leo's wi sh to preser> e the
peace of Christendom, but he was destined
to struggle with the same difficulties as
his predecessors^ Louis. XII. again at-
tacked the Milanese^ and by the activs
measures of Uie pope, who kept an army
of Swiss in pay, was once more expelled.
Louis was now in sufHcient danger: the
Swiss on one side, and Henry VIIL on
the other, attacked France, botli acting in
concert with the pope. He found it ne-
cessary to make peace, and submit him-
self to the see, whose authority he had
opposed, and Leo was now for a while at
leisure to attend to tlie interest^ of liters*
ture.
The eleventh chapter relates the founda-
tion of the Greek Institute at Rome ; the
establishment of a Greek press there by
Agesteno Chigi, a merchant, dcsening of
the gratef^^l praise of all lovers of learn-
ing; the progress of Greek literature under
Leo's patronage^ and the rise of the study
of oriental literature.
Chapters XII. XIII. XIV. If Leo had
more good qualities, and more professional
decorum than his two predecessws, he
was equally devoted to the aggrandise-
ment of his family. This was his first ob-
ject} to preserve die mdependence of Italy
was only the second. While, dierefore,
there appeared some fickleness in his pub-
ROSCOE^S LIFE OF LEO TBt TftKTH.
457
coodact, as he was at one time form-
F^Raoces to prevent Louis from at-
^dbg the Milanese^ and at another in-
'" 'him to make the attack, still the
king in view was the aggrandise-
;,of the Medici. He wanted Naples
p brother Guiliano, whose better and
r JDind would have been well content*
i the enjo)rments of literature. He
I also to xmite Ferrara and Urbino
(State of Tuscany, and he purchased
for the papacy. The death of
rtjianged the situation of public af-
■J Leo's part became now more diffi-
; ^xe Jate king's ambition had 3])ent
I while he was indulging himself in
urea, or attending to the internal
r of his kingdom, it might have been
and perhaps easy, to render his
olitics favourable to the views of
lici. But it v.as otherwise with
'monarch, Francis I., too young
restless to let his projects l^
I by anotlier. Immediately on his
L he assumed the title of duke of
i this capacity he had a claim to
I of Parma and Piacenza j in vain
ope exert all his cunning and all
accede to treaties which he
: to observe, and form alli-
lich he designed to adhere to no
[^than it slx>uld suit his interest;
-ing on different sides, and
i systematic insincerity notorious
rid, lie was obliged to submit to
Faf tbesc states. After l\\s recon-
with .Francis they had an inter-
iwhicb the Pragmatic Sanction was
, and the Concordat established in
^ a measure by which the right of
clei^' and the claims of tlie
e bought and sold. If these
> did little honour to the cha-
Lao, the death of his brotlker
» occasioned others far more dis*
He had designed the duchy
for him; but Guiliano had
there during his exile, and
of gratitude and honour, and
to hav^ been expected in
^ibe Medici, would zu>t have ac-
'•of the spoils of his benefactor.
, the nephew of the pope, and
liobiect of his hopes, had no such ,
[5 lie lias even been accused of
[ Guiliano to make way for
promotion; but accusations of
says Mr. Roscoe, whicli rest
fctk presumption, deserve no credit,
gc is not probable ; want of mu-
iioa was uot the vice of th^'ia^* .
On the fir^ oessMion of llostiiities, Le6
excommunicated the duke of Urbino, oa
{>reteuces too shallow to impose upon anf
one, and seized his states. Ifae duke, col<r
lectiug an army of the various disbanded
troops, recovered them ; but Leo, sacri-
ficing every thing to the aggrandizement of
his nephew, exerted all his influence as
pope, and lavished his treasures once
more to eject him. The forces of the con-
tending powers were nearly equal, when
the duke sent his secretary and a SpaniiJi
olHcer, under a safe-conduct, to propose
that the diiFerence should be decided, by
an equal number of soldiers on eadi side,
from four to four rhoosaiKJ, or by single
combat between himself and hiscompetit9r.
Lorenzo, in violation of the common laws
of war, seized the messenger, and sent the
secretary to Rome, where Leo piU J^im to
the torture, to make him divulge tlie se-
crets of his master. Mr. Roscoe does not
f-dd to speak with due abhorrence of this
atrocity. No single instance of duplicity
or injustice m the pope escapes his repre-
hension 3 but he seems only to consider
them singly, and to forget them in his g^
neral feeling of partiality to the great per-
sonage of his history.
During tills war a conspiracy was form-
ed among the cardinals against Leo, pro-
voked by his ingratitude and injustice to-
wards the Petrucci hmiiy; but be the
motive what it may, it does not justify the
means. The plan was to apply a /^isoned
dressing to a fistula with M4dch lie was
troubl^; and nothing bur a fortunate and
foolish delicacy, which made him in the
absence of his own surgeon refuse to be
diest by a stranger, saved him. Tlie plot
was discovered, cardinal Petrucci strangled
in prison, and two of the inferioi: agents
executed widi a cruelty which made Leo
almost as criminal as themselves. Tliis
danger induced him to make a new pro-
motion of cardinals, for his own security,
and in ooe day he created thirty-one.
Some were promoted for their merit, some
for tlieir attachment to him, some for tJieir
rank, and many, jt is asserted, purchased
the honour at a high price, a charge which
Mr. Roscoe considers as probable. Leo
had exhausted the treasury by the villain*
ous war of Urbino, and by his extrava-
gance as well as his Ijberality, and he was
not over-scrupulous as to the means of
replenishing it.
Chapter XV. This necessity led the
way to *' that schism," says the historian,
" which has now for nearly three centuries
divided the christian worlds and atitnH
«t
BIOGRAPHY.
dated new caoses ot alieoatioDy cBscord,
^Eul persecution^ among the pcofessorA ok'
tbat Teligiot»> which was intended to in-
culcate oniversal peace, charity, and good-
will/* The history of tlie Reformatitxi
6tiould have been introduced with a hap-
pier feeling. Imperfect as tliat reforma-
tion has been^ and as we feel it to- be^
tlKingh war aiKi perse<;ation were its im-
luedtate effects, though it has every wliere
injured the arts, and in some |^aces anni-
lulated them, and though in some places
atm^the twilight of popery- has been suc-
, ceeded by the total darkness of Calvinism,
still it is to the Reformation that we are
indebted for our civil and religious liber-*
ties f and dogmatist as he was, there faalh
Dot livied so great a beneftictor to the hu-
man race as Martin Lather, with reve-
rence be it spokeD> since Christ himself.
Weliave never iseen the commencement
cf the.Reformatiou so ably and so dtsp^s-
aionately lelated ds in these volumes. To
fill his exhausted treasury, Leo had recourse
to the sale of indulgences. Mr. Roscoe
asserts, in contradiction to Guicciardioi
and Fra Paolo> that a portion o^' the pro-
fits hadnot bee» granted by this poatilf to
his sister, because the Roman prelate Fe^
lice 'Gontelori, who had the keeping of
tlie papal archives, could discover no me-
morial whatever of the donation. But
any buch memorial might easily have been
destroyed, and would have been as soon as
the circumstance was considered .of im-
portance. But whatever were the cavses *
whii;h had dndoed the treasury, and how-
ever thesup^ies thus raised were applied,
the ways and means to wliidi Leo resort-
ed^ aA^irard, as lirs historian concedes, nc>
proof of that prudence and that sagacity
'A iiich alUpcrsons have so liberally allowed
to him. f /Ct the pop\:Uar faith be what it
would, there can be ix> quefftion that Leo
tlui not believe his own infallibility, or the
riticacy of tl)i.^ precious commodity which
Jie was maniitiactHring for sale ; and how-
ever •>veil disposed he was to contuiue the
jngirle which his predecessors, had found
*() L;:iiiiinl, lie ought to have known that
It was time to exhibit some new tricks ;
tor the old oues were going out of fashion.
The hrst tidings of Lutber*s opposition
exriicd but little sensation at Rome; I.«eo
could not a^^prehend much from such an
o{)p<)nent, and might perhaps be amused
by ilic violonrc of the disputations.
As iho al^air became more serious, the
charge of reconciling Luther to the church
WiiS entrn^Tcd to the cardinal of Gacta, a
niau oi ukiitij aiul ol' mudcrallon.
*' Lather, on hn first visit, was raceived not
only with kiadness,. but aiiuost with respect,
by tiie cardiiialy who being uawiiliug to enter
iiito any discus^on, proposed to him thai he
sivould retract lus erroneous propositioi^ and
slkould in future refrain from as^prtiog such
doctrines, or any otiiers, in o|>pO!«itioa to the
authority' of the church. To this Luther «?-
plied, thftt he was not conscious of any errors ;
and requested to he informed in what they
were supposed to consijit. It might at th»
juncture have occurred to the cardinal, that
between an open opposition to authority, sad
a misconception of its decisions, there is a
verj' evident distinction. The answer of La-
ther migiit have been considered as apph-
cable only to the latter; and the can^aal
might have been justified in infening* tlist
Luther was an obedient son of the church,
although he had mititaken its precepts; an er-
ror wliich he uii^ht have left to hi!» own judg-
ment, or to the tuture decisions of the cnuicb
to correct. By this conduct, the great poinl
of supremacy and iufekUibility wouldbave been
secured ; and the construction of the voluini-
nous and contradictory dogmas of acriptuics,
and- fathers, and councils, and popes» would
have been referred to ^turedecisioii, m wUdb
tlie church might have availed itself <rfa tfaoo-
saitd resources to retain as much of iu satial
induence as the spirit of the times wouU faove
allowed. Incautiously, however, the canfi-
nal construed the answer of Luther, not ioto
a submission to the church, but into a shA
cation of his own doctrines, and inunefUatriy
objected to hhn fwo points on which he hai
advanced erroneous opinions, llie first ^
these was, < that the spiritual treasore <d the
chiircli which it distributed in indulgenrestt
not consist of the merits of Cluist and hcS'
sauits.' llie second, ' that in order to oh>
tain the benefit of the sacrament^ it was re>
quisite to have an absolute £uth m its «£•
cacy.'
*' What further could remain to be said m
this od:a^on^ Wete the contendii^ paitid
to try the weapons of controvers}', aud op
pose'authority to authority, through the im
mense mass of all that related, or did not ft
late, to the subject ? And at last, who was to h
the umpire between them ? Or what could pic;
vent either of the parties from claiming ihi
honour of the victor)- ? The legate wa-i not
howe\'er, aware of his error ; but having cited
on his part, the decisions of the church, and
iu particular, one of theextravajants, or de
. cretals, of Clement VI . called Umgenitus, La
. ther answered him with such full kttxrled<^
both of the tenor of tlie decree, and the era
mentariiN upon it, as to convince him that
thing was to be obtained by a iurther contra
versy. He therefore encU*avouied to rtcu
vcr the ground wliich he had lost; and viU
a condescending smile told Liuher, that i
was not his intention to enter into a dispute
with him, but paternally to ^hort liim to ds
avow his errois, and submit hinwdf to xhn
judgment of the church. Luther had
aoscoE'i Liri d? tuo i-ift t£xth.
459
feH his niperiontr, ftnd was 1«8 indtned to
ODinply with ihn VequeA, thiin before the in*
lemeir began. JNot dioosing, bo^TCver, and
perJiuis not thiiikio<^ it safe» to avow an ubso*
Ittte olsseut, he Requested further time to de-
liberate, with whicn the cardinal having cam-
^icd, he took hij leave."
In lo bad 1 cause as that of the Ro-
mish cfaorch, the only mode ot suppressing
hereby is by fire and «\vord. Luther
might have been silenced as John Huss
and Jerome of Prague had been silenced
befbrc hUn -, lliere was no other nictlK)d.
Leori^soived to put his sincerity to the
tcstj and issued a. bull, declaring in ex-
press tanus that the pope, as the successor
of St. Peter atxi vicar of GhrLst upon earth,
hath an indisputable power of graiitTng in-
dnlgenoes, which will avail as well the
livtQg as the dead in purgatory, and that
the doctrhie is necessary to be embraced
byall. vho are in communion with tlie
ehurdi. Upon tliis Luifier boldly ap-
pealed from the pope to a ^general coun-
cfl, which was openty declaring war.. The
polidcal state of £urope occupied more of.
Leo*9 attention at this time, and tlie lea-
vtn of reformation was sutiered to work.
Two drcumstances greatly contributed .
to the success of Luther ; he combined
bis cause with that of the promoters of li-
terature, whidi the barbarous ignoraiK:e
fif his tot opponents enabled him easily
to do ; and he appealed to reasou and the
KtipCifres.
" Tliis conduct on the jjart of Luther, at
6k nine time tliat it coiuirmed the attach*
ment of his friends, depressed and injured tlie
caibe of his opponents ; ^vho, by declining the
diallcQge, gave^ rise to suspicions that tiiey
•ere uiiahle to. defend by reason, those docr
taaoi which they wishetf to enforce by vio-
leo6c aad by tlircats. Plaifeiblc, liowevcr, as
p conduct may a]>pear on the part of Lu>
^, it must be conSesscd, that its. success was
idi beyond what niiglit reasonably have
en expaled from it; and tliat it was, in
t, little inon? than a veil thrown ov«t the
ei both of hin enemies and hi» friends.
lUi parties might, without any extraordinary
lanty, have perceived, that' bet wetn an en-
t oUxlience to the decrees of the Koniish
liich, and a direct opposition to ihem, there
JDO medium. To doubt the suprcii«e au-
ity of the holv >ec in matters ot faith— to
upon her to (lefend her doctrmes by ar-
lents — to question the altitude of tiiose
ions which have been silently and re-
spectfully assented to (or ages— ^ assert those^
of a contrary tenoc— -to €n&>rce them, not
only by reiuon and scripture, but by sarcasm
and abuser-and iinally, to impeach the ao- •
thority oi tlie church itself, by rc»qiiiring the
dispute to be heard by impartial judges, i^o
throw off all obedience, and to appear in opca
rebtiUion. Could tlic supreme pontitr liy
aside his infallibility, and surrounded by tlie-
venerable college of cardinals, enter into a
dispute with a German monk, on questioiiB'
which involved both the spiritual and tempo*
ral autliority of the holy seer Could the s^
cessor of St. Peter belniy the interests of hii
high oDice, and consent to submit tiie deci-
sion of points ot fiiilli to any inferior tribunal ?
Was' It to be tdlerated, that au obscure indi-
vidual should be aUowed to range at large
through the holy scriptures, 'the deckious of
councils, and the decretals and balls of iw6
hundred successive pontUl's, in order to con*
vict the church itseU of erior, and to combat
hi;r witii her own weapons ? If it had been
possible that the poiitil)'^ and his advisex^
could have stooped to this humiliatioU; lie
must hav(? appeared to the world as a sdf- *
convicted impostor, and the tritimph of 1-jd-
ther would have been complete* But al-
though the pope and his adherents were in no-
flingerof disgracing themselves, by submit-,
ting their cause to the test of reason and.
scripture, yet they imprudently suffered
tiiemseh es to be discount*»nauccd and re-
pulsed bv the bold attitude '•nd daring ap-
proach of their adversary; andLutlier, indi-*
vidually, for a king time, balanced tlie scale
against' the whole Christian world, and at
length broke the beam which he could not
wholly iiKline m his favour. W arndy as the
pfotestant -writers have inveiglied against tlie
arrogance and unbending pride of the cardi-.
nal of Gacta, and the other opponents of Lu-
ther,* it is sufllcieiitly clear, that the cause of
the clnirch was rather injured by the conde-
scension and moderation which he' experi-*
enced, as well tis by the writers who entered
with him intodlscnissionson contested dogmas,
and intricate noiiUs of faith. The ftrst nioa-- •
sure adopted by Luther in the publication of *
Ids proiKJsitions at Wittembcrg^ was sufft-,
ciently hostfle to have justified the pontiff in
calling upon him for an unqualiiied submis-
sion,-andT in case of refusal or hesitation, to
h ive separaterl him, as an infected limb, from -
the body ol*tlie church. Of the feeble con-
duct of the Uoman s<^e, both on this, and on •
other occasions, Luther was well aware; and
had employed his. time to such advantage!,
that before Leo assailed him with the thun-
ders of the Vatican, he was already prepared
to obviate their elfects ; to retort violence for
violence, and abuse for abuse. Tliroughout
all his writings, tliis great reformer has repre-
* " It is sufficient Iwrely to mention the measures taken by Cajctanf^ says the learned
m^tor of Mositeim, vol. li. p. 21., ** to draw Luilier anew under the papal* yoke, liecause •
»e measures were indeed nothing more tlian the wild suggestions of superstition aud ty»
By» ma'mtaiiwd and avowed with the most/rotitlcts impudence." . •
460
BIOGRAPHY.
•cntfd his cwn cause as th^ cau^e of truth,
of religion, of justice, and or iound learning;
and by the skiltul niana^rtneiit oe these to-
pics, Ills efforts were, m a "rat degree,
ccowacd with mcccss. Being thus aware of
th*! weaponi to which he owed his victory, he
vas eiwblcd, att*»r he had once establ^hcd
himself in the public opinion, to di-frnd him-
wlf against tho!:<^ who prestinitn! to diflR'r
trom liiin, as he ha J before di(ltTe<l from the
ehun:h of Wonw. ; and i\u\ ^oiidiit t of Liithcr,
in enforcini; hh own pi^rnliar dogmas, and
lilencing those who opi.Oi»«xl his tenets, may
justify the a^<ertion, tIi:U if he liad been pof>e
uisteaJ of Ijio X. he would have defended
the churdi ugaintst a much more formidable
idyersar)' thaii the motik of Witteniberg."
ClKtplcr XVI. Thw chapter relates to
the Italian poets of Ixh/s age ; the. gay
tfilx*, says Mr. Roscoe, tiiat exist only in
the sunshine of prosperity. The meta-
plior is erroncoiLs ; lie lias been listening
to die toni-tits that twitter in the garden,
• and tlte canary-birds that whistle taught
tbnes in gilt cages, and has lost sight of
the eagles. Poets of secondary roerit are
Articles of which the supply will always be
equal to the demand ^ the honey of pa-
troiiaffe attracts swarms of these fine-wea-
tlier flies : but ihe great and lasting works
df the art hai^e been produced in sorrow
mud in suffering, in poverty, in exUe, and
Unmerited disgrace.
The list commences with Sanazzaro,
wliose reputation would probably have
boeu more ]^rmanent if the success of
Piotro R* inbo had not disconragcd him
trmu h<ilian poetrv, and induced him to
whio iu I Jtin. Xcxi ore noticed in suc-
cession Tebaldeo, Accolti of Arezzo,
known by the lume of L' Unico 4f^ino,
who was rewarded with a duchy for his
talents, ^nd Beinbo, whose merits are thus
ably appreciated.
• *' In estimatmg with impartiality the talr^ts
of Bcmbo, and ascertaininq^ the si-fvices which
be rendered to the procresik of ta>tc, it y^iW he
necestar>- to make a distinction between the
advancenieni of Italian poetry, and the im-
provement of the Italian language; between
tlie etfi)rL<of i^nitis and the result of industry.
'ITic poetical works of Bcmbo consist chi«niy
i^SMdti and Citnzoni^ in the style of Petrau j,
and an^ fkv<iuentty more correct and cha>V,
but at the same time more imimpaj»k>neii and
cold, tlian th<* model on which tiiey are fiinn-
r«l. In the perusal of these pieci-s we piT-
teive nothini; of that j^^itr.ine feelini;, which
proceeding from the heart <4 the atithor,
makes a direct and irresiftibU' appeal to-Jiat
nf the leader; and but iiule even of that se-
condary cliaractefistic of ginuj<, which fcixa-
n«tes in the reckms of Uocy, a^d by its \\\\d
and rapid ixaagci^' dcligUu the u«;.i^ia;itiaa.
On the contrary, whM these piebes stand sk.
]f>raved to our deliberate jn<l^nni*nt» we feel a
conviction tliat'any person, of good taste and
extensive reading might » by a due |iorti<w oC
labour, produce woiks of ecpial merit, lint
this conviction is welUfouuded is proved in
no unequivocal manniT, by the' imiameraUe
throng of writers who have imitated the man-
n«*r ot Hembo ; and whOi, av^Ulmg themsehres
oi tlie example of this scholastic style of com-
poiikion, have immdated Italy wtih writinp
wliich seklom exhibit any cfistioctioB eithrr
of character or of merit. That the iulrodnc-
tiou of this manner of writini; was fatal to the
hidber productions of genius caimot be dcHA»t>
edT Ijiternal worth was sacrificed K> nneisal
oraameot. llie vehidewas gilt and pofished t»
the highest degree, but it c<mtaioed oolhim[o(
any value; and the whole attentioB of tiie»
writers,wa5 empb]^, not in disrovetint; siot
should be said, but how it should be said,"
After Beazzatio and the prc^igate 'SUA-
za, comes the great name of Ariosto, ibt
only poet, truly speaking, of tke a^e. An
interesting account is given of Mttoria
Colonna, a woman not nnwortby to be the
wife of Pescara, and the firiefid of Mkhd-
agiiolo. Many ether femnle laiiten d
the same age are noticed, bat »ll £r m^
rior to this distinguisbed and escefieot
person. A race of writers videlT dicr-
ent is next inti'oduced : that of £be kcr-
lesque poets, men whose ^nne wfli be-
come infamy, as the worid *wc«mm^i> bet-
ter. Bemi, the leader of this rlaas^kaika
a singular character of himself.
** Such was his aversion to a sUbe (tf seni-
tude, if we may credit the humomos
in which he has proiessedh* drava
character, that he no sooner rrcerred a
mand from his patron, than he Itrlt ac x&fn-'
cible reluctance to execute it. He ^^■^■ijb'rf
not in music, dancing, gamim^ or h
his sole pleasure consisting; in liaTiBC
to do, and stretching hini>etf at fcA "
his bed . His chief exercise was tn rat a
and then compoe;e himsdf to ilfirp^
^le4\) to eat again. He ofaserra*
nor abnanacks ; and his seivaut^
to tiring him no news, whether goad or kni
Teofilo Fulengi, better knirani W
assumed name of Meriiao Cooo^n, tl
inventor of macaronic verse, ik a ■aflse ii
tere<ting man. His talents muig m
higJier order, though eqoal}^
In hislatter workf he seeias tD 1
bib?d some of the ofHuions cC
fijrmors which he did iH»t dM l
and, like Rabelais, lo hnve
meaning; with ribsWry and
Last come those wTiters wIid i
classics ; Trissino at thek hta^ ^Ik
e^ of all dull TTTsifiers, wlio
studied Horner onhr to
xoscoK*s IrrE op^tEd thb tenth.
4tJl
^ which appenr in his imitations like ver-
min in a solar microscppe. He is pro-
bably the oaly heroic poet who was ever
fo accnnkte ia his dates as to specify the
day of the week and of the month.
Aocioy che voi diman, piacendu a Dio>
Cht JwrJ A f arte a viatedue i* Aprilc
Partir pos^iate.
Mr. Roscoe prefers th« versi seioiti for
works of length to eit^ierthe ierza ritna or
the oHitra stoma. This metre however
is far inferior to our blanlc verse, on ac-
count of its monotonous trocliak: te'rmina-
(ion.
The ode and the sonnet have been car-
ried to higher perfection in Italy in later
tiaies^ so also has 'heix>ic poetry ^ for if
Tasso has not exceeded Ariosto in execu-
tion he certainly has in det>ig^i. The sa-
tires of Leo*s age have not beea equalled,
the blank verse uoC' improved. Tragic
poetry is that braocii of the art which has
^ioce been cultivated wifli mo^t advan-
tage by Mafi^^i and Metastasio, and in our
' own days by AlEeri and Monti ; but these
UrTiten, and more especially the two lat-
ter, have been rated above tbeir merits.
Tragedy thrives best in our northeai cli-
mates* After Shakspeare^ whose excelf
iencB will for ever 'remain unapproach-
. i^ie, no writer is to be compared with
Schiller. The Italians stand in the scale
only above t^e French, who. are below 0.
Chapter XVII. The Latin poets pass
•■ here in review: Sadoleti^ Bembo once
\ more ; Augurelli, to whom, in return for
" Lis poem on the airt of making gold, Leo
■i ti>pfopriateIy presented an empty purse;
f Sanazzaro, who has lei^ decisive proofs of
ilabonr atid learning, and execrable taste^
in his poem Dc Purtu Virginia : profane-
. > aess is not to be imputed to him» for hlas-
. \: pbemy has never been f>o daring as the
,.jt p«^ of catholic poets. We could adduce
.^ ample mid almost incredible proofs of this,
:. Were this the place. • Vida's reputation is
^ better founded ^ his life was respectable^
., VSL estraordsnary circumstance in those
"^^ * titoes for a dignified ecclesiastic, and his
'i Jl^Y sincere/ Of Fracastord it is said,
1^ fthat wliea he was bom his lips adhered
;' ' together in siich a manner that it was ncs
'*. lAiSiaiy to separate them by a surgical
'' kiipeiatioB. His iu£incy was marked by a
^ w laare awful events his mother was
^ struck dead b/ lightning while cairyin^
^ ^Jum in her anns. Sfava^o receives his
- i^Qo pndse^ it Is not mentioned that he was
^ [the oocaiioii of iotrodvcing the Italian
^Mt0iafbetr|ruitoSpakL MarcAntoxub
' namingo cTo^sUus iiiustrious list> the
sweetest poet that ever wrotie in Latin,.
without any exception, antient or mo-
dern.
** It would be unjust to the eharacters of
the illustrious scholars before-mentioned, and
particularly of Fracastoro, Flaminio, Nava-
gero, and Vida, to close tliis brief account,
vithout adverting to some circumstances wliich
apply to them in common, and which confer
the highest honour on their Tnemon% Al-
thouj^h they devoted their talents to the cot^ "*
tivation of the same department of literuturey
yet so far were they from being tainted tp the
slightest degree with that envv which has
too often iaferted men of learning, and led
them to regard the productions of their con-
temporaries witJi a jaundiced eye, that they
not only passed their lives in habits of th#
strictest* fneiuLsliip, but admired wA enjoyed
the literary protkictions of each other, with
A warmth anil a sincerity which wefe at once
a proof of the correctness of their judsmeot,^
and of the liberality of tlieir minds. M^ ad-
miration they we(e not more ready to feel,
than to express; and tlieir works abound
with passages devoted to tlu! cominehioration
of their fricndsliip, and to tlie mutual com-
mendation of their talents and writings.
This example extended to their eodtempo-
rarie^j and numanized and nun roved tlie cni-
racter of the a^e ; insomuch (mt the scholan
of the time of Leo* X. were not more supeckr
to those of the iiiteenth century, in the- pro-
ficiency made in libejal btudii^s, than m tl^
urbanity of their Diann«rs, tlie candour of
tlieir judgment, and tlie generous de:»ire of
promotinij the literary reputation of each
other. Hence it is further to be observed,
that these authors have never dipped their
pens in the gall of satire, or deeded tlieif
.genius by combining its efforts with those d
malignity, of jealousy, of arrogance, or of
spleen. Not confining their taients to the
cloistered recesses of learned indolence, tliey
obtained by their conduct in public life tlie
esteem and confidence of th^ir fellow-citi-
zens ; whilst their hours of leisure were dtt-
Toted to the culttvation of the leveaT sci-
ences, and enlivened by those poetk^l efftl-
sions to which they are nowiifdebted for the
chief part of their^ iame. i'he inUwsic merit
and classical purity of their writmgs are reifc-
dered yet more estimable by the strict atten-
tion to decency and moral proprietv, ^"hich
they un\forml]j display; andwluch, add: J to
the consideration of the ease' and simplicity
with which- they arc written, might justly en-
title them to a prefi^rence even tothercfnaim
of many of the antient atitiiors, in promoting
the education of youth.'' •
After afew other names of less celebrity
the Latin improitkator^ are introda^ecU
"who amused I*cp by their talents or their
Ifuffoonery : Brandolitu and Morone> jpaen
of real erudition, and Querno the arch*
poet, or coilrt-fuol tmder a new title.
:^
BTOGR^VPHY.
Snmcthkig like the absurd and nopardon-
al)le extiavagance of the old Roman epi-
' cnres. seems to have revived in this age of
kirory,' if it be true that Leo used to re-
"gnle 1ms jesters wFth peacock sausages, and
fiiat Ajostino Chigi had -parrots' tongues
served up at hi* table !
. Chapter XVII f. Italy was now in
.feace> but not in security, for the Ma-
liomraedan power, while its progress was
«tDpt in Asia by AJbocjuerque, had be-
come more formidable tJian ever t6 Ku-
vGpe. Sclim the Ottoman, after clearing
hi» waj to the throne by the murder of his
•f ither, hi.? brother, and his brother's chil-
;dren, h^d overthrown the labt saltan of the
,iaameluke», and added E<jypt to his em-
pire. The histories of Alexander and
CUssar were liis ^ourite study, and it was
kb ambition to tread in their steps. Thus,
say* Mr. Rpscoe, is the world destined to
fay the pejialfy of its blind adJT>irntion of
those %vikom it dignities with the name of
licroes. Where he m'ight next tarn his
arms was nncertain ; Italy had most rea-
son to be alarmed j for it was not forty
years shice Otranto had been captured by
the TiH-ks, and it was that pari of Clu'ist-
codom where, from the weakness of all
ite sf^amte states, the enemy could with
least^difficulty hope to keep what he
^riiotiU conquer. The pope liad even per-
sonal motives for fear; lie had once him-
self very narnowly escaped firom an at-
tempt of ^oiTie corsairs to carry him off.
It is femarkablc that about this very time
a jfAan h^ been Ibnned by the gisat
'iumAnoi tbt Fbrtiigiiese empire in Asn»
to carry oflF the bod)' of Mahommed from
Medina t if both attempts had succeeded,
k wpuld have b^n an odd anecdote for
tfie j^storian to rect)rd tlie exciiange of a
£ving pope for a dead pn>phet.
'. The Ottoman empire was in. fu)I
strength, yet perhnps tjtere nevfer was a
ttme at Which it chight l^ave be^n attacked
from 90: many quairters, and with such
pibbabrlity of ^success. The Persians
wopl(i b«ye attacked it bii their {?ide, and
Ijave fejight as inypterately for the honour
<lf AUi^and the turban of Ismacl Sofi, as
.the. Christians for t^ cross; a Portugueze
ibi'ce woiUd ha?e. iiioded from tlie Red
jS^% ^od the Gieeks a^ at all times ready
to rise a^nst their oppressors, if they cooid
but i3^nd Vfj[iprf, as^si^tance: \ JLea di^l a]i
that heooold do to forni^a generid alli-
ance against tbis;common ciiemy: he pub-
lished a truc^for fivxj ycai:s, stil)jcGting^
such princes and states as should contta-
1^013^ it, tp ^)Q ^Q«|lties of ^xcoxumuuica*
tion. . But the age of crusading wa«; orjer;
and in qll ages princes and states have Ucn
as little disposed to forego tlieir plans of
ambition for the fear of God, as for the
love of man. The truce was accepted
with apparent cheerfulness, and the sove-
reigns of Europe all promised much and
did notliing, except Emamiel of Portu^zl,
by whom, if the actions of great men. are
to be attributed to those who happta to
be tlieir sovereigns, a final stop was put
to tliC progress uf the Mahommedaii re-
ligion. Leo's agents, if they could not
-effect the object of their mission, rai'^gl
heavy taxes for their master; and, by till-
ing liis treasury, perhaps consoled him Ibr
the di.^appointmcnt of his great and hud-
able project. The cardinal de Bibbiena
also negotiated a marriage between^
renzo, the usurper of Urbinn, asd Made-
la ine de la Tour; an unhappy alliauce,
which occasioned that connection between
the royal families of France and the Me-
dici, so disgraceful in its consequences to
both, and so disastrous to humanity. The
infamous and accursed Catharine was the
daughter of this marriage. Her mother
died in child -bed, and Loren/.o- sor-
vived his wife but a few days, tlic victim
of his debaucheries. His death was re-
garded with satisfaction by the true friends
of Leo, wh<^ had beheld with sorrow the
prodigality of tlie pope towards his ne-
phew, and tlic wicked means by which he
had procured his advancement. I.eo was
now the only legitimate surviving mnle
of the elder branch: the illegitimate ones,
on whom hii? affection descended, were
c^ildreo^ be anited Urbino to the. terri-
tory of the church, and sent the cardinal
de Medici to govern. Florence. Macliia-
velli, who was called upon for his advice,
endeavoured to persuade him how gloricKS
it would be to restore the liberties of bib
native place, but in vain.
Chapter XIX. Tlie emperor Maximi-
lian "was dead, and during the intriguei
occasioned by the election of his succes-
sor, the court of Rome had been too busy
to attend to Luther, and the work of le-
formation had rpjMdly advanced. BiH
when Leo was at leisure to think of what
had happened, tho danger was felt to
be formidable.^ Hi* buB had, been an-
swered by an appeal to a general counci^
but jLeo, perhaps unwilling to persecute,
and probably afntrd to provoke^ftrther dis-
cussion^ beoftise he -knew the weakness of
his own cause, resolved to try coiKfliatoiy
measures.' Mlltitz, a Saxon noblemaa,
who had secT^d him for some years ia^
B.OSCOS'S LUe OF L£0 1|U TENT'll.
Biflifaij capacity, and now held the office
of couosellof and apostolic chamberlain,
vras f otmsted with . this diificuU commis-
sion, which a secular envoy was likely to
lraiM9ct better than an ecclesiastic. To
avoid the appearance of seadiiig expressly
to trfat wittt Luther, he was charged with
tlie consecrated rose for the elector of
Saxooy. The elector had already im-
bibed so mueh of the reforming spirit,
tbat he received this special mark of £i^
Toiir with coldness or contempt. Miltitz
-however found Luther in a tractable
moud, and by his seeming candour, and
«iotber letter to Leo X., vhtch in its pur«
port may be considered as one of the most
singular, and in its consequences as one of
the most important, tliat ever the pen of
an individual 'produced. Under tlie pre-
text of obedience, respect, and even af*-
fecuon for the pontiff, he has conveyed
.Che most determined opposition, the most
bitter satire^ and the most macjked cou^
•tempt, insomuch that it is scanaely pos- .
sible to conceive a compositioii- more re-*
plete with insult and offence than that
Axhich Luther' affected to allow himself lo
_^ ^ „ , be prevailed on to write by the represen-
h)r (be public censure which he passed ^tions of his own fratenu^/* Pr^testanH
vpsn Tetzel, as the cause of all tliis dissen*
sion, by his misconduct and violence, he
influenced him soon to write to hco in a
pacific. and obedient tone. Leo replied
in the same temper ; and here, pei^ps,
Kfte Reformation might have been nipt in
^ bud, if the champions of the cimrcli
woold have imitated the prudenoe o£ tlie
pope. But Eccius mean time was iropru-
deiit enough to agree publicly to dispute
vith Carkntadt upon the opinions of Lu-
ther. The great question which Cariostadt
raaintaiped was, that the human will had
DO operation in the pecformance of good
irorks, but was merely passive to the
pcmer of divine gr2u:e. £ccias perhaps
npeeted a suie.vkAory, because the.com-
laon sense and coxamon feeling of man-
kind contradicted this absurdity -, bnt his
>wn feligion ought to have taught him
Ibat those doctrines wliich most impn-
kndy set both at defiance, have usually
nep the most eagerly adc^ed, and the
Host obstinately believed. Lu^er oould
lot keep fnom the lists : in the beat of ar-
[umeot, he advanced teither tlian he had
9t done, and asfierted that purgatory
onld not be proved by scripture, and that
he primacy of the pope was supported -by
Bman, not hy divine aothority. Still
leltitz persisted in his ooncilialovy mea-
mes, confessing the corruptions of the
kmao court, and . bearing testimony to
he laleDU and virtues of Luther, with
nptndent candour, in thehope of sooth-
writers have either aiiected not to p^pceins
the bitter irony of this letter, or have k^
impudently passed cyver it in sUerwe. The
passages v^k^i Mr. Roscoehas introdiwod
amply justify the character of it whtch b6
has given. It was i mpossibSe to afiect hf^
ther moderation after so decided, and it
uiay be added, so unprovoked an insult,
^aud accordingly the bull of coocfemnatkm
was fulminated agsiinst the ofieuder'
This bidl Luther poblicfy burnt.
Leo iww called upon the seodar. am,
and Luther appeared ^before the didL
This most important trial, if so it ma}' be
called, is well related, and an excellent
abstract given of that memorable speech
which Lutlier concluded by saying, in i^s
own language. Here I tabe'my stand— ^I
can do tio odier^-iGfld.be jDf : help!f--*
Amen.
Happy had it been for Chxnta)dom!if
Charles had now inoltned tpwaah those
opinions which he is supposed ^o have eor
tevtainod in his iatter days. It/.is suit to
be woiMieced at *tbat he ohoseia heoome
the do^nder of xthe catholic £uth$..k^
might have see»-^t whan the main nil*
iaiB of autltority were ahsriceu \xy so aoks^xtf,
aiiaad, if the temple of Dagon feU, donm
would come ''the lords and the Piuiis-
tines.'' jMttRt was ondensd to quit tke
imperial. doaoinions witfain twenty <^n.j
and a month after, this decaee^aootber. was
issued, whereby idi-^tersons veieooqnired
to seuse htm aiid his adfaeneots. . Theekc-
ig fti opponent whom he saw it^was. jai^ tor of Saxony edbctually conceal^ J^m
tseShUe to intimidate. Finduig these
■am fillip he reopiested the Augustine
ianlcs to send a depotation to their errijig
pulher, for the purpose of recalling him
^8 aeoae iof his 4^^- Luther listened
meantime in the castle of Waotbarg,aBd
in^his Patmasiasiie caUedit^hejemaiisnl
till thedea^ioflfo. ... ' . .•
Tike character of. Luther is saianaed^
widi strict imjjoriialiljT: as the opponetit
ich apparent satis^ion at tins mark of <of the papal powei^is praisfi^ashe de*
insect, and promised to wriie^igaAi to the serves ;. as'the ibimdei: ofa^nei^Gfafifch*
ipe, in ^jpixiaikia -of bk «OfiducL labooru)gtoe6eiUtsh.4iiew.4)aaniiy4ntll^
Avs^'m^ iaimself therefore of the op- ni^ioe of thai whkh he had a?6dfciaw%
otuai^'^^q^ the iHttociaarbo addie^Kltd he is agjusd/ce^fuied^.
^
BIOGRAPHt.
** Winfst he mas engaged m his opposition
ti> the chufcti of Kdm^ he asserted tlic ri^ht
of private judgment h^ niattcm of f^ith \^itb
the contkktnce and cottnge of a xnait^ r ; but
BO sooner liad tie freed \us folLjM'en from ibe
chains of papal domination, than he forged
othersy in many respects eqiiaUy intolerable,
and it was the employment of his latter year*,
to counteract the betieficial eflfect& produced
1r^ hi^ ibmier labours. The great example
ot freedom which he had exhibited, could not,
however^ be so soon forgottai; and many who
had Uirown off the auSiority of the Itomish
see,, refused to submit their conscience* to
tlie contioul of a monk, ivho had arrogated to
ftimself the sole riglit of expounding those
•iTiptures which hehad^conteiided were open
to all. The moderation and candour of Me-
iincthon m «oroe degree mitigated the se-
verity of hb doctrmes; bat the example of
Iittlier descended to his followers, and the
uncharitable spirit evinced by tiic Lutheran
doctors^ in prescribing tJic articles of their
faltli, lias often been tfie subject of just and
se\'ere reprehension. Happy indeed had it
been tor mankind, had tliis great refonner
dlscf jvcred, that between perfect freedom and
perfect obedience, thete can be no mediuin ;
that he who rejects one kind nf human aotho-
jity io matters of religion, is not likely to sub-
mit to another ; and tliat there camiot be a
more danserous nor a more odious encroach-
ment on the rights of an indiTidual, than offi-
ciously and unsolicited to interfere with the
ncrca fntercoui^se that subsists between him
and Us God."
Did oar limits permit as we should will-
ingly copy the whole of this passage, and
nttke fother exfracU from the concluding
remarks apon the eftects of the Refornia-
tibo, and the intolerance of the reformers.
Sooie dreadful particulars are given, in a
aute, of the martyrdom of Servetus. An
essay was published last year by one of
the united Calvinist preachers upon the
conduct of Calvin in that atrbcious mur^
der^ to show that Melancthon, the mildest
q£ the reformers, not only approved tiie
4leed» but was astonished that any person
should disapprove it, and to jusdfy the
•actioQ. We noticed it at the time,* and
we repeat the notice here, that it mity be
Known what are the principles of these
cnen, and what would be their prac-
tice, if their power were but according
to their inclinaticm. in our last volume
we said that if the Devil were to die,
St. Domingo would have better claims to
succeed him than any other soul in his do-
minions-^we beg John Calvin's pardon for
foi^ttiilg him upon the occasion— he
might certainly contest the election. It
. is to-be wished thiat moit of the history of
the BefommUtflgi had ialleu w!\fim the
bounds of Mr. Roscoc's subject;- Jie bar
treated it not with' the asperity axui dis*
lione^ty which' (perhajxs with the sojilaiy
exception of Ilobert Hobiubon) all eccle-
siastical historians, papists and protestants,
alike haye displayed; not with the cold-
hearted and mischievous indifference ot
in^elity, like Hume ; but as one alive to
all honourable and ennobling fetdlogs,
zealous for the best interests of humaa
kind, and convinced that those interali
are most certainly promoted by an in-
flexible adherence to the great afid per*
manent pruiciples of morality. Had his-
tory always been WTittea in this spixit^ the
world would not have been in its prescK
state of oppression and ignorance. Vts*
secutors and conquerors have done les
evil than the writers who kave justifiei
and extolled them.
0\'er the two next chapters -we mint
hurry with unwilling rapidity :«— the cm
relates to the metaphysics, and the natmal
and moral philosophy 6f the age ; theodier
to the establisluneutof the Laurenteum anil
Vatican libraries, and to the coDtemponuy
Italian historian?.
Chapter XXII. We now ccmie to coa-
sider Leo as the patron of the line aiti^]
unquestionably the most favourable l^d
in which his character can be viewed
. His predecessors had prepared the wtjSd
him; more especially Julius it. wm^l
he could have changed places with MniN
milian, would have recovered Coostat*
. nople, and built a new tower of Babel tW
on a larger scale, in monument of his ooo^
quest. With three svich arttsU at to^
mante, Michelagnolo, and Rafiaello, ^A
would not such a man have ^.tcli^J|l]ifi^^^
had he but found an Adept for his OHJ
surer ! Bramante died, during tlie paitf<
ficate of Leo. Michelagnolo owes Im
nothing ; he called o^* this great man 6
tlie tomb of Julius, his favourite task, I
sent him to work at Florence upoBl
marble: they quarrelled — ^tlie artist ;
tractable, and the pope was less disposal
conciliate tlian even Julius had bem, wi
as his mind was of a higher character, I
a truer, reverence for genius ; and dm
Leo's administration, the gixatestofi
dem artists was unemployed. It bBa
ello who is the glory of tliis pontifia
Mr. Roscoe discovers much taste, |
much penetration, in. pommentii^
the pictures of this wonderful roaa^
. explaining their political allegories.
Chapters XXIIL XXIV. ITie
matnder of Leo's life, was ^di^raced
. aaion of perfidy which equals any cc|
♦ VoL III. page 587.
mosco£*Y 't»i tt tnh ^uz TjLitru.
4U
V Bapa of his fether. Oian-Piolo Bm-
lione gcn^eroed the cfty of I>5nig)a :— ne
is represented as an iinpioiu and cruel nian»
and perhaps was so ; at l^ast if he t^ere
not, be was unlike most other statesmen
Tof his age and country. This, however,
is certain, that he never could have com-
mitted a more deliberate villainy than that
whi^b Leo nlade use of to destroy him.
Ihe pope piet^ded that he wished to con-
salt with him upon afiairs of import*
•nee, and invited him to Rome. iBag-
liane affected sickness, and sent his son to
^uGo\'er the intentions of the pontiff, whom
Leo treated with the greatest kindness, and
Jifier some time sent back with a safe-Con-
dhct for Ills fatlier. Baglione, being a little
aorereign himself, ought to have known
'at what value oatiisand safe-cohducts pass-
ed current among j}rinces : he went to
*tome, and had the honour to kiss the
pope's feet j and the next day was tortur-
' ed, till he had confessed crimes which were
made a pretext for beheading him. Leo ^
^trized his states, and proceeded to clear
the maxdi of Ancona of its petty tyrants ;
the particulars are not related, but enough
ksaid to show that they were little ho-
i^mmrable to bis character. A conspiracy
t^ich he ibmied against the dominions
m( the iake of Ferrara, if not against his
|*fc, was discovered and defeated.
While Leo was thus recovering the
Holies of the church, he was plannhig
«ies for the delivery of Italy from
! French and Spaniards ; a great design,
liy of Juliuft IL whose merits as a
ipiaiy atone upon earth for his mis-
as pope. He succeeded so far as to
Ter Parma and Piacenza, and to ex-
tbc French from Milan. Never had
I political prospects promised so fairlv.
at it was his intention to keep the IVli-
■''e is certain : those territories, united
Tuscany and the jwpal states, and
jftth the help of the Swiss, would have
abled him to attack, and probably to
quer, Naples j but at this very time
was seized with his death-sickness.
re can be little doubt that he was
»ned: vengeance |iad overtaken him
llast.
Mrs. Hannah l^Iore has well noticed
. Nd>Ic's curious eulogium upon
house of the Medici. *^ Their Hav-
Dg restored knowledge and elegance,*
I this getitle&an, 'will in time oblite-
taBie their *£ialt9« l^eir uaurpaHcm, fjfian*
Wil, pride»pafidy, vindictive &ueltjf, pdrri-
mdes, md inctti, will b^ rem^mjered no
aioie. Fitiiare ttgUtPttl forget iheir'atrb*
AjiM.iUT.Vojt. IV.
tUm crittet ifijfbnd amirt^ion ! ^ Excel-
lent moralist ! Mr. Roscoe is too inti*
nlate with the Medici family not to feel
greater affection for tliem tlian a stranger
will do, but he is not blttid to then:
vicesb
. " It Is impossible iliSit the conduct of Leo
X. 89 a temponl prince, am either be justi^ed
or extebuated. If a soverelgu expects to
meet with fidelity in his alLes, or obedience
in his subjects, he ought to consider his owa
en^agemeuts as sacred, and his promises as
inviolable. In condescending to make use of
treachery a^punst his adversaries, he sets an
example which shakes the foundations of his
'own authority, and endangers his own safety ;
and it is by no means improbable, that tne
untimely death of tlie pontiS" wa^ the conse-
qyence of an act of revenge. The sonie mis-
conduct which probably shortened his days,
has also been injurious to hts fame ; an(l the
certainty, that he on many occasions resorted
to indirect and treacherous means to circum^
vent or de^oy.his adversaries, lias caused
him to be acaised oi CTimes which are not
only unsupported by any poiitiv« evidence,
but are in the higlicst degree ijiiproii»able.
He has, Aowever, sutificient to answer for in
this respecti without being charsed with con-
jectural ofTfinces. Undi^r tiie plea of freeing
the territory of the church from the domuibn
of its usurpers, he became an usurper him-
self; and on the pretext of punishing the
guilt of others, was himself j^uilty of great
atrecities. If the example of tiie crimes of
One could justify those ot another, Uie world
would soon become only a great theatre <4
treachery, uf rapine, and of blood; and the
human race would excel the buitc creation
only m the superior talents displayed in pro-
moting their mutual destruction."
His ecclesiastical character stands trial
better. Catholics accuse him of want of
vigour : tliey blame him for not nippiiig
the Reformation in the bud ; that is, fur
not being a persecutor. Tlie censure
which protestant writers bestow upon
him, falls rather upon his rank than him*
self. Undoubtedly, he who accepts the
situation of pope, acts in vibiation of the
express words of Qmst ; there can be as
litUe doubt that to believe in Christ, and
knowingly to disobey his precepts, is sin*
ful> but^*it must hot be forgotten ho^
easily we are deluded, how easily we de-
lude ourselves, and how few are entitle4
to throw the first stone at such as offender.
To accuse him i6r being pope is ridicu«
lous ; in that station of life to which ho
w^f called, no man could havi& acted bet-
ter ;• he proipoted learfting ; he restored
de6€toejr^ m a court from whence it had
' long beea banished j andbedidhbttHno^
496
BIOGRAPHY.
•to establish peace m Christeadom, and to
•arm Christendom against the Turks.
The tales of his impiety rest on no bet-
ter autliority than Jolm Bale and Luilier,
>vitnesi»es altogether unwortliy pf credit
upon such a subject. That he \v^s an in-
ftdel is very probable, but it is by no
means probable that he himself should
have said so ; he had no want of prudence.
PauUus Jovias has slandered his moral
character by the foulest of all imputa-
tions ; Paullus Jovius \vas a liar, who in-
vented facta like Vertot and Raynal, and
made calunmy his trade as systematically
as if he had served his apprenticeship to a
ministerial news-editor in England. The
slander is confuted by abundant evidence ;
and it is indisputable that I^o's conduct
exhibited, ' not only in his early years,
but also after his elevation to tlie ponti-
ficate, an example of chastity and deco-
rum, the more remarkable, as it was the
ln6re unusual in tlie age in which lie
lived.' He was more tond of cards, of
bufFooneiy, and of hunting, than beseem-
ed his station. ^Ir. Roscoe concludes by
Examining what are his claims to the
gratitude of after-times, as a munificent
cncourager of literature and the arts.
No contemporary rivalled hirti, for the
summer days of Naples were over*
" lliat an astonishing proficiency in the
improvenicat of tlie human intellect oecurred
during the poiititirate of I^eo X; is umver-^
sally alloi^'cd. Thai sucii pn>lidency is prin-
cipally to be attributed to the exertions of
tlvit poiitifl, vill now perhajys be thought
eqlially indifputable. Of thr predominating
influence of a powerful, an accomplished, or
a tortiinate individual; on the character and
inaniicrs oi the aj?e, the history of mankind
furuisli^*s innumerable instances*; and happy
i-i it for the world, when the pursuits of slich
iiidividuvils, instead of being devott^d, through
blind ambition, to the stibju^utton or destruc-
tion Of tlie human racrc, are directed toward*
•those beneficent and generous ends, which,
amid>t all his avocations, I>eo the Tenth ap^
pears to iiave kept continually in view**'
We hjlve analysed this Work at length,
.a«? its magnitude and importance required.
3\rr. lioscoe had surprized the world by
.liis history of Lq;imizo de Medici y hjs re-
putation, as was said of h\t John Den-
ham, broke «ut like the Irish rebellion,
.eighty tiiousaiid strong. The life of Leo
..was eagerly called fpr by the ^ut)lic, .and
i^agQriy expected, and .such high- raised ex-
pectatioiiii always alicct a work luifavour-
ably, be it ever so excellent. I'he public
kucw not what it was w Iiich they ought
to have 'expected. Because the age of
Leo X. was the golden, age of Italy aod
the fine arts, it was supposed to be a
splendid subject for blsiory ; a straogp
mistake, which a school-boy's experieooe
of history might have corrected. Tlje
reign of Augustas is the splendid age of
Rome, and the least interesting period dl
its whole annals. Poets and painters sop-
ply matter for the critic, and sometimes
.anecdotes for the biographer, bnt they are
poor personages in the htstoiy of kiag-
doms and revolutions : pageants, and pic-
tures, and processions, are as dull ind^
scription as they are brilliant in realitj; a
feast is better than a fray ; but every wader
is curious to see ' bloody news from
abroad' in the newspapers, while noboi^
cai^s tor an account of the lord-im)-ori
dinner.
What we have said of the expediuoncf
Charles VllL applies to the whole ageof
Leo, except that little part which relaw
to the commencement of the RefomiatioD,
which is of a higher character. Gieit
changes were pr^uced by mean caasa
and unworthy agents. We feel no intcf*
est for any of tlie contending partiesi
nothing in which man is concerned is at
stake) the point in dispute always is, «•!»
, shi^ll be master of tiiat to whk:h neiiliet
claimant has any other right than thehr |
of the strongest. To feel a hope or a ietf '
for the issue of such contests, is as inipoi*
sible as it would be to shed tean at tk
beggar's Oi)era, if it were turned intotn-
gedy, and Maciieath were hung in gofli
earnest. For these reasons Mr. Rixcoe'f i
book will disappoint common curios^,.
but it >^ill satisfy, and iiilly satisfy, tb«|
who knew what they ought to expect, aad;
it will please better upon a second penifll ,
than a first. Nor is the period the tea ;
important ; the system of European poll-
tics then first began to settle into that,
form in which it has xetnained tillottf
own eventful days.
Perhaps tlie appendix b too copiwis. It
is desira^e that rare documents soopUl*
adduced, but it should be remembeodto
how very small a proportion .of rcaden
' tliey are of any value, and how materidif
they increase the bulk and die price of tti
book. Withuur these documenta ite
. work might have been comprized in two
volumes, of no inconvenient wagaitak*
. The prevalent fashion of thin vdumcs ii
. to be reprobated fot this reason aoioog
otliers, that it so heavily increases ili^
heavy expence of binding. There ii an*
other point of nearer interest whttb ^'
kATOK ON ini WfttTXKlSd DP tivufMvn.
46T
Xbon maj iSiid it their advantage to take
into consideration. Mr. Godwin has in-
foimed us, on the authority of his book-
seJJer, that two quarto volumes were as
miich 39 Chaucet woiiKl bear, ahd we
know Chaucer was made to bear as much
as lie could. This seetns to be ^ limit
be^oad which an author in these days of
ti iodolence must not venture. Let
tts not deceive ourselves : this is a reac*-
iog ^y hat it is an age of such read-
tog as ndgbt a^ well be left alone.
The main motive which induces the
iuajority of readers to take die trouble
of perusing a hew book, (old ones they
acver lock into—' ymy thing new V is the
«]aestion at the bookseJler's, as it is at t jl^
lailliner's) the inain motive is, that tliey
may have the pleasure of criticising it in
conversatibk) ; and to give them much
towUc ^ the ftuh of ell others .which
iiiiejare feast willing to.forgive. Brevity
Is the humour of the times 5 a tragedy
liuut not exceed fifteen hundred lines, a
^Bhkmable preacher must not trespass
ibove fifteen minutes upon his congrega-
to. We have ^hott waistcoats arid sliort
teipaigns; every thing must be short ex-
-ttfit law-suits, qieecbes in parhament> and
te-tables.
- Thus macfa as td what might have been
iapedieat for the sake of immediate po*-
#ifety; it is of more consequence to
in^re if any alteration-eottl'd advantage-
^% be made in the form of a work
%Uch is destined to hold a permanent
fuk m English literature. It might, we
jimik, have been better> if Mr. Rostoe
«ad divided it into two parts, keeping the
J^itical and tlie literary histories distinct
worn each 6ther. The arrangement of
^ chapters upon literature is capricious,
poi in that necesciacy sequence which or-
jjer requires: they come in like music
between the acta of the play, and inter-
rupt the series of events. Mr. Roscoe
adheres to the original orthography in his
French and Italian names y he should
have done the same with the Spanish;
and if he had extended this very desirable
improvement to tlie names of places also^
such an innovation would have derived
great weight from his authority. If a
&ing so trifling deserves to be mentioned,
we may notice tliat the literary biographies
fipre introduced with too much of a rov
^aitay^ittiuvog formality, and it is too
I^uently said that a particular account of
such an author ' cannot but be interest-*
ing,* or ' cannot be uninteresting.*
Industry is the first great and indispen«
sable requisite in an historian, and in this
bur English writers have usually been de-
ficient ) the want of industry in this case
is want of honesty. Hume is chargeable
with this fault) and Robertson in a far
greater d^ee> beyond any other writer
of eminence, not even excepting the abb6
Rajoxd. The present work discovers a
wide and well-directed range of research.
Mr. Roscoe has sought for materials in the
whole contemporary literature of Italy.
His style is easy and perspicuous, and
with the public this is the one thing need-
ful. The school of Chesterfield predo-
minates in letters as well as in life, and
books make their way by style, as men by
manners, with little reference to the real
merits of either. But the peculiar excel-
lence of Mr. Roscoe's work, is the admi-
rable rectitude of mind which it every
where and always evinces, and which dis-
tinguishes him above all other histo-
rians.
We must not close our account with-
out noticing the wooden vignettes. I'hey
would not have disgraced the best age of
Italy.
w,\[.^Aeeittral rit^ cf the Ifntzngs cf Unnaus, by Richard Pultekey, ilf. D.
>./?. •y. Ttu second Edition, tviih Corrections, considerable Additions, and Mtjnjirs
of the Author, by William George Maton, J/. D, F, /?. S. F. S, A. Feilow. of the
Hotfol College rf Phffsicians^ and a f^ice-prcsident qf' the liniiean Society, 4to. pp. 600.'
THK first edition of Ihis work was
Jwhlished in 178I j And although it was
Jo fevounbly received, as, in the technical
language of booksellers, to be cut qf
fnnt at the end of the year 1/85, it was
>ot republished by its author, who lived
till l^iOl. A Writer who had uniformly
Stehiftited a warm regard to the interests
of natand science, and who, by his un-
wearied exertions, had actually coutri-
bated much to the diffusion aad accept-
ance of the Linnaean system in England,
might huVc been expected to have speed-
ily gratified the public with a new edition.
It seems probable tljat he was induced to
delay it by the hope of obtaining a^ldi-
tional materials, and of rendering it ""^'-'^'^•■^.\1^^
interesting and useful. He had originallyj^ ' 1^^^^%
comniitted it to the press, not as a com- " i
plete life of Linnaus, for which ho A> ^ -^
knowledged his sources of intelligri.it*.
were not sufficiently copious^ but ai u'sl-
Hh 2
468
BIOGRAPHY.
oeral review, and in some cases* anAym
of his prirfted works, for the purpose of
making them more generally known, and
rendering the study of them more easy :
and for this he was eminently qualified.
From an early period of his lifie he had
diligently examined the productions of
the great Swedish nataralist, as they suc-
cessively appeared, and had observed with
a penetrating eye the gradual improve-
ment of the system. Of the earlier tracts
he professed to give only a cursory ac-
count, and directed his chief attention to
the Systema Naturae, the grand object to
which they all tended, and in which they
were finally broi^ht to their projected
<iompletion.
Asi enlarged edition from the hand of
the author would doubtless have been ,
hi^y acceptable ; but, as that gratiika-
tion has not been obtained, the lovers of
vcienoe have reason to rejoice that the task
has devolved on one of the able authors
of the historical view of testaceolqgical
writers, lately published in the seventh
Tolume of the Linnean Transactions, who
had long been the intimate firiend of Dr.
Pnlteney, and to whom he bequeathed
his botanical manuscripts. The grand
work, and general composition of the
whole, is of course Dr. Pulteney'a. But
Dr. Maton, having obtained posaession of
documents to which his deceased friend
bad not access, in particular of an import-
ant manuscript which he rather improper-
ly calls the diary of Lirinseus, and having
moreover the advanti^ of writing twenty
years later, has made iso many additions
and improvements, as in some degi'ee to
entitle this new edition to the rank of an
original publication, it was his first in-
tention ' to subjoin all the additional mat-
ter in the form of notes -, but finding as
he proceeded, that many connections and
alterations of arrangement in .the text be-
came necessary, he at length resolved to
remodel spme part of the substance of
the work, in preference to perplexing the
reader witli a multitude of annotations.'
fie has accordingly not scrupled to take
liberties with the original text, which are
not usually hazarded by editors. Where
the language appeared ti)o diffuse,' he has
compressed it into a narrower compass.
Where the information of his author was
imperfect, he has supplied the defect
without formally robtruding himself on
the notice of the reader, or making an
ostentatious parade of superior know-
ledge : and In a tew cases, where ^t was
ef roueous^ he has tiikntly expunged Ihe
passage.^ To the biography of Limuesof
he has made many valuable addtttoiLi, and
has not onlj^ given a fiiller account of se-
veral of his works, but has also annexed a
suHunary view of the editions whidi have
been published since his death, and of
the changes which have been introduced
into several parts of the system by some
of the editors, ' seeming,* as he ^xpreis^
it, ' to render the volume as comj^e a
view of the existing state of Linnaean li-
terature as his opportunities of infonna-
tion would admit'
The earliest compdsltion of Linnxus,
known to be preserved, is a nranuscript
catalogue of hb botanical observations,
now in the possession of Dr. Smith, under
the title of Spolia Botank:a, sive namx
rariores per Smolandiam, Scaniam k
Roslagiam observatae & enumeiats a
Carolo LinuKo, Smoland. Med. BotrSr
Zopl. cult. Stipend, reg. (Upsal. 1729,
pp. 36.) It is arranged after the syslcm
of Tournefort, This system he had be^
gun to study, by the advioe of I>r. Ron*
uann, in the year 1726, before he re*
moved from the gymnasium at Wexio tf
the university '<^ Lund: and, as he him- *
self tells us in tlie diary, was never easy
till he could reter every plahtHie bad col-
lected to its proper place, aooordii^totfae
arrangement of that celebrated botanist.
At that early period' he had peoetiaEticNi
enough to discover its defects, andvas
involved in great perplexity by severd
plants which he could not reduce to its
rules. He particularly mentioos Conaa
herbacea, Lobelia Dortmanna, Eiatioe Hy-
dropiper, Peplis Portula, Liaum Badiob,
Pluiitago Monanthos, afterwards calkd
Littorella lacustris, Isoetis lacusdn, Nar-
thecium ossifragum, Aphanes arvensis,
Trientalis Europxa, Scheutzeria palustie^
Andromeda polyfolia, Caltha palustris,
Stratiottfs AlQides,.and Utricvlaria vulga-
ris. .This interesting circumstance is fillly
stated in tl)^ diary, but has been over-
looked by.Dr^ Maton in his narrative.
It has-been conjectured that LimuBiis
received the tirst idea of the .seiuial sys-
tem from the writings either of Jungios
or Burkliard : but we now learn £gsA
hinisclf, tliat during his residence at tfao
university of Upsala, to which he reooov-
ed from Lund in 1/28, his curiosity was
excited to a dose investigation of the
stamina and pistiUa, by tlie perusal of a
review of Vaillant*s Treatise on the Sexes
of Plants, published in the Leipsic com-
mentaries ; and that finding these parts
of a plant of essential importance^ a&da»
11
MATOK OV THE WRITINGS OF LINKJBVt.
4*
TomUe as tfae petals^ he formed a design
of coostitating a new sexual method. A
dissertation de Nuptils Plaqtarum hap-^,
pening at that time to. be published at
(Jpsaia, Linnaeus, having no opportu-
nity of publicly opposing it, drew up in
writing a little treatise on the subject, and
shewed it to Dr. Celsius^ who put it into
the lands of Dr. Rudbeck, by whom it
was honofured with the highest appro-
bation.
Dr. Pulteney having mentioned with,
r^et that the public are deprived of tlie
expectation of ever seeing the Lache.^is
Lq^ponica, or full account of the botani-
cal expedition whkh gave rise to the Flora
Lapponica, we have the satisfaction to be
informed by Dr. Maton^ that the manu*
script of this work, written in the Swed-
ish language, is in the poss^tesion of Dr.
Smith, and that an English translation of
it will soon be presented to the pul^ic.
These particulars appeared to us of too
much importance to be passed over in
silence 5 but as it is not passible, within
our prescribed limits, to mention all the
numerous additions to the original edition
which occur in the present, we shall
kencefbrward notice only those which
have been made t0 the synoptic views of
the principal works. An epitome of the
Genera Morbomm Occupies a conspicuous
place in Dr. Pulteney's book, but the
Materia Medica did not receive from him
the same attention. The omission is sup-
plied |by Dr. Maton, and the classification
of that work is now exhibited conformably
with the plffli adopted in respect to die
fbraier. Abstracts from the Systema Na-
turae were given only partially before } in
the present edition there is a conspectus
of all the grand divisions of that incom-
parable performance. The first fou^
dasses of the animal kingdom stand nearly
as they did in th^ original edition . with
afight notices of the additions and altera-
tions in the arrangement, which have been
made by'Gmelin, Pennant, Shaw, Schre*
her, Erxleben, and Latham. Of the other
two nothing had been given, besides the
characters of the order and the names of
me rf the genera : Dr. M<1ton, by add-
ing the abbreviated characters of all the
genera, h^ made the whole an uniform
and elegant developement of this part of
the system.
In the vegetable kingdom. Dr. Pulteney
prescribed to himself a similar brevity,
and annexed to the description of the
classes only some examples of plants
(broughout all the classes ao^ orders^
with tlie number of genera under each
order, and of species in each class. This
he comprized in little more than five oc-
tavo pages. Dr. Maton's conspectus ex-
tends to fifly-one quarto pages, and con-
tains the names of all the genera, with
some of the most resoarkable species^, and
the number in each genus: but as h^
thought the genera too numerous to admit,
the insertion of the abbreviated generie
characters, he has not only broken in upoa
the uniformity which he had before pre-
served, but has presented his readers witk
near thirteen sb^ts of what appears to ua
to be little better than waste paper. For,
with all due deference to so excellent s
naturalist and able a writer, we cannot
conceive what advantage can possibly be
obtained, either by the student or the
proficient in. the science, from a mere ca-
talogue of names. The worthy autlior^
we trust, will excuse our freedom : wo
esteem ourselves bound by our duty. to
the public to speak, though with reluc-
tance, our real sentiments ^ and it is the
same strict regard to the unbiassed deci-
sions of our own judgment which enablea
us to enjoy the satis&ction pf expressing,
with equal iinnkness, the pleasure and in-
struction we have received from all the
other parts of the work.
The view[ of the vegetable kingdom is
brought down to the present time by a
brief account of the changes which have
been made by Sehrebec and Gmelin ia
their respective editions ; the one of the
Genera Plantarum, the other of tbe.Sys«
tema Nature. With respect to the new
edition of the Species Plantarum, now
publisliing at Berlin by Willdenow> Dn
Alaton observes, that as the work is not
advatKed beyond the class ^oigenesia, it
does not yet appear how fiir he intends to
adhere to the original system, excepting
that, in agreement witji almost all bota-
nists of the present day, he excludes from
that class the whole order MonQgynia, and
distributes its genera in the monogynious
order of Pentandria : but a moment's con*
sideration will make it evident that as
none of the plants in Gynandria, Monte*
cia, Dicccia, and Polygamia, are removed
to any of the preceding classes, he has not
adopted any of the supposed improvements
inade bv Thunberg and Gmelin ; and tliat»
as he has not placed Valantia crucbita,
kcm under Galium, he intends, in oppo
sition to mo6t modern botanists, to pre^
serve the class Polygamia in all its Idn^
naean integrity.
In addkioQ to Dr. Pulteney'g analysis
470
BIOGRAPHY.
eighth 5 hut has done little, more thaq
copy the titles of those in the ninth anj
tenth, as Linnsus is not known to have
comniunicated any part of them to the
respective respondents.
The character of Linnaeus, drawn op
by Dr. Pulteney, is retained without any
material alteration j but the conclusion is
chiefly from tlxe pen of Dr. Maton, aod
will alTprd a pleasing specimea of hiistjk
a^d manner,'
*^ Thqsc who feel a revwence for the rae*
mory and merits of IJnnxus will naturally ei-
pcrience soiiie gratilicaliun in fonning an idea
of his person* habits, and manners. In sta?
ture he is described as having been rather
short tlian tall, yet hfs limbs were muscuhr,
and he was of tnoilerate corpulency, llij
head was large, with a ver>' sttxiug gibbosity
of the occiput or hack part of it. Ilts fe^
tures were agreeable, ai^d his countenance
animated, the eyes, which were brown, betxig
remarki^bly bright, ardent, s^d piercing; he
speaks of having enjoyed excellent sight.
His hair, iii infimc}', was as w^hite as spov^
but it became brown when lie ^w up, and,
in advanced age, hoary ; at whrch la<t period
many large wnnkles appeared on hts foreiiead.
His teeth were weak, and ver>' early became
carious, in consequence of an hereditary toatih
9che;- to which he was subject in his yontL
in temper he was- quick and irritable, yet
easily appeased ; he po&iessed 4 natural
cheerfulness*, and even in old age exhibitecl
nothing like torpor or inactivity. He did not
appear to take much interest in the fine arts,
nor was liis ear sensible to music. Wlwfly
devoid of .pride, and valuing his honours
and titles only as they marked his scientific
greatness, he was alu'ays atlabie and cour-
teous, and his style of living had notlui^ in
it either of ostentation or luxury ; on the
contrary, his establishment was so moderate,
ihat he sometimes incurred the imputation of
avarice. From the e^ytremc difficulties, of a
pecuniary nature, which he experience*! in
the eariy part of life, it is not improbable
tliat he ac({uired habits of very strict oecooo-
my and frugality ; but tljat the love of ridics
wis not #1 passion with him, is proved br his
acknowledged liberality respecting fees from
his pupils, and by the scanty profitsf with
which he \\'as content from his publications.
lAunxus\Jhitfle (if it be necessary to record
it) was his love of fame, wl\ich must be cot-
fe-;sed to liave • been boundless, and it i:> i©
wiiere more apparent thaii in the pages of his
own diary. 1 et who will cliar^ inis great
* Mr. DryanUer informs me, that Linnaus would oftpn make up dancc^; for his family and
pupils, at Halnmarby, where, witl) imatifected and amiable gaiety of mind, lie used to lodwim,
^nd even to derive anuisement froni th^se \i{[\e domttstic festivities. (Editor).
t ^^ is understood to have never received more thau a ducat a sheet for any of his vrif-r
inffs, which, from the time of his beujg settled in Sweden, were' purchaseil by Laurence
Salvius, of btockhohu, who for many yeirs made large exportatioiis of- books to thcDu^cA
of the mineral kingdom, as it is displayed
in the last edition of the Systema Naturae,
published by Linnaeus> Dr. Maton has
given a similar analysis of the same, as it
appears in Gmelin s edition, where it is so
modified and modernized^ as to be in fact
the system of Wenier, ratlier than that
of Linnaeus, which, from the present im-
proved state of mineralc^ical knowledge,
Kas ceased to be of any utility > any farther
than as it marks the progress of the
science, and constitutes an important link
in tlie chain of literary history.
As we doubt not tiiat Dr, Maton's work
will soon come to a second edition^ we
will venture to intimate a wish that he
may be induoed to gi\^ a particqlar ac-
count of the alterations and additions
which occur in the successive editions of
the Systema Naturas^ from the first, which
consists of only fourteen pages, to the
twelfth and last from the hand of the au-
thor. An analysis oi that in which tlie
Cete were first arranged imder the order
Mammalia, and the Chondopterigii de-
tached from the Pisces, has been drawn up
by Dr. Pulteney himself, and published in
the 2()th and 35th volumes of the Gentle*
man s Magazme, which, with a few cor-
rections and additions, is worthy of being
extracted from tliat miscellany, and ad-
mitted to an honomrable place in the Oei-
neral View of the Writings of I^mnaeus.
Such an analysis would be highly curious
and instructive y aad would be the more
valuable, as very few naturalists are in pos-
session, or can obtain a sight, of all tlie
earlier editions. It is probable that Dr.
Pulteney had not the means of making his
work thus complete. But the extensive
library of sir Joseph Banks is liberally
open to tlie researches of all who wish to
consult it \ and that of Linnaeus himself,
now the property of Dr. Smith, who, with
equal pi^blic spirit, is rpady to contribute
all in his power towards the advancement
of nati|ral science, would furnish ample
materials for the purpose.
Only ^vcn vqlumes of the Amoenltates
Academical were publislied before the
year 1 78 1 . Dr. Puiteney> brief account
of the dissji?rtations in each, qf course, ex-^
tends no farther. Dr. Maton has given a
similar view pf ^lose contaiue4 in tl^e
HATOK ON TBB 'WKITIKGS OP UKrSMVS.
471
man with having arrogated to himself merit
that did not justly belong to him, or with
having disfAited the pretensions of others, be-
cau?<eUiPv interfered with his own t — He ever
showed the uio^t sacred regard for tniUi. All
ins actions and emplevments. were regulated
by the bti'ictest order. He never deterred
any thing; and whatever fact came to his
knowled^ he made a poiiit of noting unme-
diately, m its proper place, never trusting to
his memory.
" So exact was he in the distribution of his
time, that he always proportioned the dura-
tion of bis repose to the season of the yi'ar,
keeping in the winter from 9 hi the evening
(0 b In the morning, and in the summer only
irom 10 to 3 ; but he never extended his ap-
plication of nitnd beyoml the moment at
n'hicli he felt fatigue, nor did he disdain social
enjoyments when his faculties were unfitted
for exertion. In fart, it was by such ma-
nagement akme, that he could have accom-
plisht^ those extraorduiary labours which it
nas been our businc-ss to record ; and not-
withstanding his regulated rehixation from in-
tellectual exertion, so intensely had iiis me-
Hjory been exercised, tliat its powers very
obviously declined many years b«*fore his
death, aind liad at last ahuost wiioUy descri-
ed him."
The diary to which Dr. Maton refers as
1 proof thai the pronuuent foible of Lin-
xuEos was a boundless love of fame, is
annexed to the work, translated into Eng-
lish by a Swedish gentleman, resident in
London. It is a real curiosity, and well
worthy of being preserved j though some
passages in it certainly manifest a degree
of ?anity which may be expected to dis-
guat the squeamiiih delicacy of modern
fefinement. But as dean Swift said of
over-cleanly people, that they have a larger
portion of dirty ideas than their neigh-
bours ; SO we are sometimes inclined to
think of those weak*nerved minds which
are shocked at the appearance of self-ex-
ultation, that, conscious a|* being at least,
as vain as other men, they attempt to con-
ceal it under an alii«:ted humility. We
?rc not ashamed to acknowledge ^that we
can read the honest boastings of a Cicero
without thinking worse of him as a ma-
gistrate, a philosopher, or a man. Of all
literary productions, those in which the
authors are tlieir own biographers, aftbrd
iw the greatesj pleasure, especially when
the ^Titers record their actual sentiments
with sincerity and frankpess, and permit
us to look mto the inmost recesses of their
bosoms. All of them, though not in
pttcisely tlie same manner, giveabundiint
indications of ^ anity : but flu y are not
on that account the lesi* amiable j nor if,'
like Cicero and Liiin^TU-}, they possessed
great talents and great virtues, is this real
dignity at all degraded j it is only when
they boast without reason, and, as is some-
times the case, attribute to themselves
qualifications in which tliey are palpably
deficient, that they render themselves con-
temptible and ridiculous. It is seldom,
indeed, that any of them wish to make
the public acquainted with ail they think
of their own merits. Most of tliem tell
more than they intend, and give us a
knowledge of their character by inadver»
tent expressions from which they do not
suspect that the tyue conclusion will be
drawn. Nor is there reas(Mi to believe
that Linnaeus himself, notwithstanding
the remarkable simplicity of his character
and frankness of his disposition, and how-
ever he might express to the friend of his
youth, all his thoughts and all his feel-
ings, without concealment or disguise, de-
signed to lay himself ojTen, with as little
reserve, to the world at large. The con-
trary, we apprehend, may be fairly infer-
red from his K tt<?r to Dr. Menander, co-
pied in tlie editor's preface.
" I have here draw*n up my own paneg)^-
ric, and found tliat propria lavs sordtt. I
should never have shown it to an\ body in
the world, if not to the only one of all my
friends, who has been unahefably such, troni
times when 1 was in less advantageous circum-
stances, if you should be pleased to extract
any thing from it, my dear friend, it would
attract notice, when coming from such a pen
as yours. I am quite ashamed to lay it be-
fore you, and should never have done so, had
I not been convinced of your friendship and
uniform sincerity.**
But whatever may have been the wish
of Linnaeus, we rejoice tliat so important
a memorial has been preserved, and pity
the man who can read the followingpassage
Without interest and without admiration.
" Over the door of his room he caused
this seiUence to be inscTibed :
** INKOCUF.* VIVITO— NUMEN ADEST 1
** He always entertained \eniTafinn and
admiration for" his Creator, and endeavoured
to trace his science to it"« .Author.
'< Til dtcns omne Tuis, postquam Tc fata
(fifcrc- Virgil.
<*' Ui^ving h<^n broucht to the point of
de;»th l>y the guut, in tht^ year 17:>0, hut cur-
ed by eating wood-straw berries, he ate every
seusuuas much of thi< fruit u> ht* could, anii
as h'v^ stomach would bear ; b> which mea!?s
he not only escaped the gout entirely, but
also from so doing derived more bs-neht than
others from driukmi; mineral waters, and cot
rid of the scurvy wnich every year reudtn^d
him heavy.
4tr
iiOGRArar.
'' The Lord hinuelf hath led him with hit
ovm Almighty hand.
" He hfth caused hun to spring from a
trunk without root, and planted
him again in a distant and more
deli^htfiit spot, and caused him
to nsc up to a considerable tree.
inspired him \vith an inclination for
science so passionate as to be*
come the ipost gratifying of all
^ otlipi-s.
given him all the means he could
either wish for or enioy, of at-
taining, the objects ht had in
view,
favoured him in such a' manner,
that even the not obtaining of
vhat he wished for, ultimately
turned out to his great advantage,
caused him to be received intoorr
vour by the Maccnates Scienti-
arum"; oy the greatest men in the
kingdojn ; and by tiie Royal
Family.
fl^Vijfi him an advantageous and
honourable post, the very one
that, above all others in the
world, he had wished for.
' given him tlie wife for whom he
most wished, and who managed
his household alTairs whilst he
^ was engaged in laborious studies,
given him children who. have tnm-
^ ed out good and virtuous,
given him a son hr his successor in
office,
given him the largest collection of
plants that ever existed in the
world, and his greatest delight.
given him lands and other property,
so that though there iias been
nothing superauous, nothing has
he wanted.
hoooQred hbn with the titles of
^rchiater,
Knickt,
Nobtanaa^ and with
Distinction in the learned world,
protected him from fire,
preserved his life above 60 years.
pennitted him to visit his secret
council-chambers,
permitted him to see more of the
creation than any mortal before
him.
given him greater knowledge of na-
tural history than any one had
hitherto acquired.
»' Tlie Lsfd liath -been with him whithttv
soever he hath walked, and hath cut off ail
hi; enemies from before him, and hath made
him a name, like the name of the great meQ
that are in the eartli. 1 Chron. xvii. 8.
" No person ever acquitted himself of th^
duties of his professorship with
greater zeal, or had a larger au-
aience at our university.
was more coavefsant witu^or mftde
move dkoorenes m, tttOfattK.
tory,
** No. person has ever had a moit sou
knowledge of Hitt the thnx kJof
doms of nature,
proved hhnself a greater ^oUnist
or zoologist,
formed so good a plano( or viitla
so well on, the natinal ^stoy of
his coantry, its Flora, and Fniio,
and Travels,
written more ^orks in a more pit-
ciae and methodical manner, is4
from his own observatioa.
so comf^efceiy refonned a wbnk
science, and created thoeii. t
new sera,
arranged 9II the productions of n*
ture with so much pexspiciittT.
had so exten:»ive a correspanJeDoe
all over the world,
sent his pupils to so many parts of
the glooe.
given names to a greater number «f
vegetables, insects, and, id short,
to all parts of nature.
seen so many of the worb of tk
creator, with so much esactoea,
Jiecome so celebrated all over tiie
world,
cowed m anv academkal garden s>
many seeds,
discovered so manv ammdi (tt
hct, he discovered as many as sB
preceding naturalists put tof^
ther).
was ever chotep into a greateriuiD-
ber of scientific soctdua."
It has long been known that the mh
conunoD talents of Linnaeus were in daih
ger of iieing confined to some mechanic
profession : but the particulars, we be*
lieve, were never before distinctly relat-
ed. As the passage is curious, and affoidi
a striking instance of that narroxiness of
intellect which can discover noexcelleaoe
beyond its own dinaensions, and out of its
own direction, we shall lay it before oar
readers.
" 1726. The fiither came to Wexio, hop-
ing to hear from the preceptors a very itt<T-
uig account of his beloved son's progress io
his studies and morals. But things bappeocd
quite otherwise ; for, though every bocfjr ww
willing to allow how tinexceptionable his mo-
ral conduct was, yet on the other hand, it
was thought right to advise the father to put
the youth an apprentice to sometayloror
shoemaker, or some other manual employ
ment, in preference to incurring any further
expence towards giving him a kame(i edua*
tion, for which he was evidently unfit. Tbt
old clergyman, sieved at having thus lost his
labour, and at having sup|iorted his son at
school for twelve jeaw (his drcumstances,
iOQ, very iU admittin|p of aupartiuous a«
nvSlCtLiyi'$ MBMOlBtf 09 GBfTEEJU. THOXAt*
47%.
** 1727. He went to complete ld» educa-
tion at the uniyersit)'. But the rector (that
year) of the gi^mnanum, NiU Krok, \rorded
his testunonium in this manner — riz. Yontk
at school might be compared to shrubs in a
garden, vbicb will sometimes, though rarely,
elude all the ca^e of the gatdener, but» if
transpUnted into a dilterent soil, may become
fhiitiul trees« With this viev tbcimfore, and
no other, the bearer tvas.seot' to Ahe univex^
sity, where it was |>ossIb1e that he might meet
with a climate propitious to his progress.
'* Provided with this, not very creditabk^
certificate, he set out tor the unirerety of
Lund, where his old preceptor Hjdk^ keep*
ing it back, pre&eiitedf him to the rector and
dean, as his private pupil, andprocucediai
matriculation.*'
We ought not to omit that Dr. Maton
has prefix^^to the work, concise memmci
of the original ^thor^ who was as amia*.
ble -in his private manners, as he was wor-
thy to be imitated in his public energies.
They will be lead with pleasure by ewcrf
friciuX to science a&d mankind,
fMiCtt} lo no purpofe, wen<|to the provincial
^yflctto, who was aho lecturer in physics,
jJr. Notfuoatm, tp consult him re^ctin^ a
compbiiit undev which he had sunered tor
some wrecks. In the course of conversation,
he Ukewise made known to the Doctor bis suf-
ferii^ of mind, on the score of his son's fai*
htt ffi his studies. Rothmanu intimated that
he found himself equal to the cure of both
ooawlunts, remarking thtat correct as migtit
be the optnioo of hb colleagues with respect
to the bay's inaptitude for those tlieoloffical
studies to which his &tber had destined nim,
so much stronger ground was there for hop-
ing tiiat he would distmguish himself in the
profession of medicine, and for expecting
iiiin to accomplish great things in the pursuit
of natural history. These remarks alforded
so much the more comfort to the old clergy*
nan, as tliey were advanced confidently and
decidedly by Rolhmann, who at the same
^le handsomely offered, in case the blither's
drcuimtances or inclination did not admit of
Ms son boioe maintained in that course of
studies, to tiuce him into his own house, and
to give him board and mstruction during the
jm that it would be necessary tor him to re*
0aaa longer in the gynmasiutn.
A»T. \\\.-^MHitary Memoirs qf Mr. Gtor^Tliomas^ lyRo, hy extraordinary Talenisawi
Etderprizty rose^firom an obscure Situation, to the rank of a General j in the Service <^
tkt native Powers in Hie North U^est qf India. Through the fFork are interspersed, Geo^'
graphical and Statistical Accounts qf' several of the States, composing the iTU^rior of the
rmnsula, especially the Countries ofJypoor, Joadpoor, and Oudipoor, by Geogm^err
dnominated Rajpootaneh, tfie' Seiks qfPuihJaub, the territory qf Beykuneer, and tk^
Country adjoining the great Desert to the JVestward ef Hurrianeh. Compiled and arran^
'^edfirom Mr, Tfioma^s original Documents, By William Franckuk, Captain qf Jnr
Jun nj ; Member qf the Asiatic Socitty; Author qfa Tour to Persia^ add the History ^
SktihAulum,
Ma. GEORGE THOMAS was a nar
lire of Tipperary in Ireland. The cir-
cumstances which led to his embarkation
are unknown ; but he arrived in India, on
board a Britbh ship of war, in the year
VJ%2, being then a quartermaster. Shortly
after landing in the vicinity of Madras, he
determined to quit the ship, and seek his
fcrtune in the interior. His first service
was among tlie Polygars of the Deccan.
He next traversed the central part of tlie
peninsula, and about the year \7^7> ar-
lived at Delhi. Here he received a com-
mission in the service of ilie iiegum Sum-
wo. He had a commanding figure, be-
ing upwards of six feet high, and though
vnedocated, had noble manners and strong
natural talents. The Begum, who had ail
tbe discrimination and some of the frailties
of iier sex, eagerly promoted him in her
•crviccj he became the commander of her
^nx)ps, and the companion of her plea-
*re». In Mr. Francklin*s history of Shah
Anhun, is narrated one of the more con-
ipCQOtts Ktiou conducted by Mr. Tho«
mas, durinff his service with the Begum;
but the affair ought here to have been re-
peated : it Ibmiis an essential part of this
biography.
After a stay of abeut'six yean^ Mr«
Thomas found himself supplanted in the
Begum's favour, by one Levasso, who
eventually obtained her hand in marriage.
He withdrew to Anopshire, a frontier sta-
tion of the Britisli army, in the expecta-
tion of receiving overtures frpm some of
tlie native powers. Nor was he disap*
pointed. In 1 r93 he entered into the em-
ployment of Appa-kandarow, a Mahratta
chiefs formerly in the service of Scindia,
but at that time in rebellion against him,
Mr. Thomas had with him two.liuhdred
and ^Y cavalry, chosen men of tried va*
lour.
Huge empires have usually terminated
in feudal auairhy. The great land-owners
lend one another a siJi^nt protection against
the sovereign, which at length reduces
him to insignilkance ; each nobleman then
finds fatmsdf sovereign in his own village ^
474
BIOGRAPHY.
the squires coalesce umler peers; and pro-
vincial wars of wajxjntake against Wapen-
take, and shire against shire, extirpate ma-
iiu£u:tares, desolate fields, level cities,
and quench instruction. Such was tlie
ooiidhioD of Europe, on the cessation of
the Roman empire : a condition distinctly
retained in modem Italy, even under the
pontificate of Leo X. When every city
must defend itself as it can against the
f^uoderings of the neighbour gentry, a race
of amdottieri naturally grow up, captains
of small bands of troops, who are invited
to the successive scenes of hostility,
and whose hired assistance commonly
tan» the scale in the skirm'sh of the mo-
ment Into this state of feudal anarchy
the empire of the Moguls was disserved :
and Mr. Thomas was become* one of the
eminent condotticri of the Punjab. The
property he had acquired in the service of
the Begum was ihvested for the pay and
maintenance of a troop of horse, the wages
of whose transterablealKance were to re-
placc, with a large profit, the cs^ital ad-
vanced for keeping them together. By
tlie direction of Appa-kandaro w Mr. Tho-
mas increased his horsemen by one hun-
chred, and raised one thousand in^try:
Ibr the maintenance of which the pergun-
nahs of Tbajara, Tbopookara, and Feroze-
poor, were assigned : but these districts
were in irregular subjection, and were to
be reduced before tliey could be amerced.
One of tliese predatory incursions will
give an idea of a long series of similar ad-
tentures.
" In. the march towards liis districts, Mr.
Tboinas retaliated upon the Begimi Sumroo,
ifhoni l)e now considered his bitter enemy,
laying under coiitribuiion that part of her
country which came witliiii his route.
** Arriving at Goorath, a large and popu-
lous village, "he imposed heavy contrij)ulions.
Tht^e amounted to a considerable sum. H%
found here aiso, an ample supply of buk
locks and forage.
** Continuiiig his march, after a long and
tedious da\'*s journey, he encamped near the
town of Tejora, a place in the centre of the
Mewattee district. The night was dark and
rainy. This and the extreme fatigue of the
soldiers conspired to render successful an at-
tempt which the Mewattys made, and they
carried off a horse from the vei*y centre of
the camp.
** In the morning a party was detached to
discover the village to whu'h the horse had
been conveyed. I'he party liad not proceed-
«1 far, when thev were attacked, and obliged
to retreat. Orders were thei^ given for tlie
cavalry to advanre, and ^o^e^ the detach-
ment. ^\iid M r^ Thomas himself lead iiJg the
iniantr}*, hastily marched, and with h;s o^
lected force, attacked the enemy at the vil-
lage, to whicli, it appears, t^ horse badbcfn
carried. By this time thev had assembled
and became formid^le. Tfie centre di^Tsion
of Mr. Thomas's troops, is a short time, set
fire to the village, and there seemed ao doubt*
of a complete vfctory, when the divisions on
the right and left givu^ way, fled with preti-
pitatk>n. The wounded left on the fidd, were
even at this crisis of tlie action cut to pieces
by the enemy.
' " The centre division, under the special
command of Mr. Thomas, now follow log the
example of their brethren, left him irf \m
troops only a dozen infantry and a fev ca-
valry.
•• ITius discomfited and ve#ed by the un-
steadiness of his troops, Mr. Tliomas, as i
last resort, encouraged his small party to ex-
ert themselves in extricating a nine-pmmdrr>
which unfortunately, previouslv to the battle,
had stuck in the bed of a nullah. Id this Ik
had just succeedefl, when tlie enemy, as cff-
tain of victor)', recommenced a fiiinow at-
tack, and endeavoured to seize the gnn.
** The commandant of ca\'alry, a manif
distinguished bravery, still adhered to Mr.
Thomas, and despeiatdy w ith a few othen,
tlu-ew hunself between the gun and tbcese-
my. They were cut to pieces, but the gal-
lant eifort afforded time to remount and op-
pose a well directed fire of crape from tie
nine-pounder. This saved Mr. ITiomasaKi
the brave few of his surviving party. For,
after the discharge of a few rounds, tKeeoeay
retired to the surrounding ravines.
" Mr. Thomas now coUected the fugitive,
wIk), with his veteran party, formed a (fc-
tachment of about tlvee hundred men.—
With tlM*sc he unconcernedly challenged the
enemy to a renewal of the" combat, which
tliey, now, as cautiously declined.
** In its lirst view so disastrous, this adioa,
by the dread it spread among the cocmT,
proved hishly fortunate. Great as wa^i N(r.
rhomas*s loss of brave and attached soldi*^
that of the Mewattys was iniinitcly mxc
considerable. The immediate oMisequfnce
was an overture, on the part of their c IH
of terms whicli shortly led to an aroi^-able ad-
justment. They agreed to pay Mr. Thoma*
a year*s pent, and to restore to him ihc pro*
perty that had been stolen. 'ITic |ierfi^rroanrt
of these artKles was guaranteed by seco-
rities.
" The punishment of tliis \ilUge, the
stronpjest in the whole di»tri< t, and its iiihabii-
ants the most refractory, was highly fiivour-
able to Mr. Thomas's ijuerest; the' muK 53
as in a preccduig campaign, the vliole force
of Hoffinn Sunuoo Iwa been in vai» t^s^ried
to recHice it. Mr. Thomas next i^pan-il to
march against tlie remaining districts «hich
were still in rebellion ; and having recruited'
his force for this purpose, he was ordered by
Appa-kandarow to a.v>ist tlic coliei:lor of tfaie<
district of Kisluiagluir.
yilA)fCKLIN*S MBMO1B0 ^* «»»N1RAL THOHAft
47s
*' Coovinctfd by experience that vigorous
i^casiirts could alone ensure success, Mr.
Thomas marched t^warcjs the refractor)' v^-
kges, of which having gained possession, they
were quickly consumeu by fire.
" Aa example so severe, deterred others
(rom pursuing a similar conduct. Of these,
tlie most considerable was the town of Jyjur;
which, however, submitting on the approach
of die troops, opposition was at an cud, and
Mr. Thomas returned to Tejara."
After the death of Appa, who, being
afflicted with a painful and incurable dis-
ease, announced and executed the deter-
mination to drown himself in a sacred ri-
ver, M^. Thomas passed into the service
of his nephew, Vavan Row ; but having
been disappointed of tlie agreed disburse-
ments, he determined to set up a sove-
reignty of his own. He fixed on Hurria-
i€h, which was the quarry of rival chief-
tiins, and which comprehended a district,
eighty coss in diameter, situate oa tlie left
hank of the Cugger, west or north-west
<£ Delhi. Hansi was the name of his
^letropolis. This province for a long
time submitted to his sway, and enjoyed
Us protection, o^til a French condoUieri^
named Perron, of whom much mention is
made in marquis Wellesley's notes on the
^Mratta war, (see Aui>ual Review, vol.
iii. p. 186) succeeded in dispossessing
^im. Mr. Thonrias retifed tq the terri-
tories of tlie India company, to which he
transferred Jiis rights, and the care of their
ymdication. He died before be cquld ob-
tain the requisite assistance. His charac-
ter waa formed for command, and in cir-
nirastances the most difficult asserted its
natural supremacy. It was not exempt
from faults J his conviviality often dege-
nerated into intemj^erance, and his anger
into ferocity. His allegiance was too
much at the service of tlie highest bidder 5
ktt generosity too much proportioned to
bii occasional means. Adversity has no
K«)urce when jwrty fidelity is neglected ;
power has no prop when the means of re-
compenceare not reserved.
This biography is valuable, not merely
pn its own accomit, but for the many no-
tices it contains, geographical, historical,
and statistical, of the provinces in which
its hero glittered. The description of
Delhi Is accompanied with a good engrav-
ing of the Cootub Minar, a conical tower
of marble, embossed with sculpture, and
cbnuelled with inscriptions. The mau-
^leum of Humaioon, and die sepulchre
•f klian Khanan, are also noticed : the
proprietors arc selling for a paltry consi-
fiefaiion th^ marble of ^ese magnificent
remains of departed greatness. Panniput
is explored, its mosques and its tqmbs.
The canal of Ali Merdan khan is out of
repair, and the paradisial range of coundy
it had created, is withered into a desert.
A good account of the Seiksoccurs at p. TO,
" llie Seiks, though united, have never
made any considerable opposition against the
force of Zemaun Shah who lias freciuently at-
tacked them, but it may be urged, that a
great difference is to be expected from a far-
niidal)}e anny of sixty thousand men, led on
by the Sliah ui person and the princes of the
blood, compared with the detached bodies al-
ready described. Hence it would appear that
tliis nation is not so formidable as they have
been rejjrescnted, and in all iMrobability they
never will be formidable when opposed by
regular troops.
• ' The Sefics are armed with a spear, match-
lock and scymetar : theh method of fightings
as described by Mr. Thomas, is singular; af-
ter perfonnini the requisite duties of their
relifijion by ablution and prayer, they comb
their hair and beards with peculiar care, theii
mounting their horses, ride forth towards the
enemy, with whom they engage in a continued
skirmish advancing and retrtiting, until man
and horse become eqiially fetigued; they
tlien draw off to some distance from the ene-
my, and, meeting with cultivated ground,
tliey permit thcur horses to graze of their own
accord, while they parch a little gram for
themselves, and after satisfying nature by this
frugal repast, if the enemy'be near, they re-
new the skirmishing ; should he have retreat-
ed, they provide forage for their cattle, and
endeavour to procure a meal for themselves.
*' Seldom indulging in the comfoits of a
tent, whilst in the enemy's country, the re-
past of a Seik cannot be supposed to be eitlier
sumptuous, or elegant. Seated on the ground
with a mat spreacl before them, a Bramin ap-
pointed for the purpose, serves out a portion
of food to each individual, the cakes of flour
which they eat during the meal serving them
in the room of dishes and plates.
" The Seiks are remarkably fond of the
flesh of the jungle hog, which they kill in the
chace, this food is allowable by their law.
They likewise cat of mutton and fish, but
these being deemed unlawful, the Bramins
will not partake, leaving those who chuse te
transgress their institutes to answer for them-
selves. In the city or in tlie iield the Seiks
never smoke tobacco; they are not however
averse to drinkuig spirituous liquor:*, in which
they soni«?times indulge to an mimoderate
excess ; and they likewise freely take opium,
bant;, and other intoxicating drugs. In their
convivial parties each man is compelled to
drink out of his own vessel.
", Accustomed from their earliest infancy
to a life of hardship and difficulty, the Seili
despise the comibrts of a tent ; in lieu of this,
eacn liorseman is fitrnished with two blankets,
one for himself and the other for his horse.
47ff
-MQGRAPHT.
These blankets, which are placed beneath the
saddle^ with a gram bag and heel ropes, com-
prize, m time of war, the baggage of a Seik.
Their cooking utensils are carried on tattoos.
Cpusidering this mode of life, and the extra-
ordinary rapidity of their movements, it can-
not pe matter of wonder if they petforin
marches, which to those who are only ac-
customed to European warfare, must appear
'^ almost incredible.
** The Seiks, among other customs singu-
lar in their nature, never sutler their hair, or
beards, to be cut, consequently, when moimt-
ed on horseback, their black flowing locks,
'and half naked bodies, which are formed in
Che stoutest and most athletic mould, the glit-
ttring of their arms, and the size and speed of
their horses, render their appearance impo-
sing and formidable, and superior to most of
the cavalry in Hindoostan.
** In the use of their anus, e^ecially the
matchiock, and sabre, they are uncofhmonly
I expert, some use bows ana arrows. In addi-
•, tlon to the articles of dress which have been
described m recent publications* of the times,
Mr. Thomas mentions that the arms and
wrists of the Seiks are decorated with bangles
cfvgold, silver, brass and iron, according to
the circimistances of the wearers, but among
the chiefs of the respective tribes, the horse
ftimiture, in which they t^e the greatest
pride, (and which, with the exception of the
mlaymgof their fire-arms, is their only luxury)
is uncommonly splendid, for, though a Seik
wip scruple to expend the most trrfling sum
on his food, or clothing, he will spare no ex-
pence in endeavouring to excel his comrades
in the furniture of his horse and in the rich-
ness and brightness of his armour, a circum-
stance, which appears to bear no inconsider-
able resemblance to the customs of the ancient
^)partans.t
*' Considerable similarity in their general
customs may be traced with those of the
Jauts; though these, in some districts, appa-
rently vary, the ditlercnce is not material,
and their permitting an interchange of mar-
riages with the Jauts of the Dooab and Hur-
Tianeh amounts almost to a conclusive proof
of their affinity of origin.
** The Seiks allow tbreigDers of ever}' de-
5cription to join their standard, to sit in their
company, and to shave their beards, but ex-
ceptir)^5 m the instance of the Jauts, they will
not consent to intermarriages, nor will they
rat or drink from the hands of an alien, except
he be a Bramin, and for this cast they always
profess the highest veneration.
" If indeed some recnlations which are in
their nature purely military, and which were
introduced by their founder Nanick, be except-
ed, it will be foimd, that the Seiks are neither
more or less than. Jauts in their primitive state.
<* Thus feir, says Mr. Thomas, we have
seen the feiir side of the plctiure ; let us now
consider the re Verse.* Ine Seiks are faAsa,
sanguinary and ii»;tWe?s, iK»y arc addicted to
plunder, and the acquirement «C w«ahh %
any means, however ndarious; instaacti
have occurred of a chSd^ arm being raised
against his parent, and of brothers destroyinj^
each other.
" Women amongst them, are held in ftfle
estimation, and thou^ ill treated by tbeir
husbands, and prohibited from accompMyiag
them in their wars, these unhappy feiml«o^
vertheless attend to their domestic coBceru
with a diligence and sedulousness desernngof
a better fete !
*' Instances indeed, have not aiifrequesilj
occurred, in which they have actually taioea
up arms to defend their habitations, mm Ae
desultory attacks of the enemy, and through
out the contest, behaved themselves with a
intrepidity of n>irit highly praise-worthy.
** Jn the SeiK army the modes of jfsjmsA
are various, but themoct common b attbe
time of harvest, when every seedier recdtes
the aniount of his pay in grain and otberir-
ticles, the produce of the country ; to some
is given money in small sums, and to otbA
lands are allotted for their mainteiaiKf.
Three-fifths of the horses in the Fuojab «e
the property of the different duefbuns;1»
rema'maer lielong to the peasantry who ittfc
become settlers.
*' A Seik soldier has i^ his portioiiof tiie
plunder acquired in the course (tf a campiip:
this is set aside as a reward for his sernoe^
and in addition to it, he somethnes incmns
his gains, by secretii^' part of the public pks^
der.
" The nature of the Setk govemneBt il
singular, and probably had its origin iafte
unsettled state of the tribe, when first «**'
lished in their possessions. Within hbon
domains each chief is lord paramouit. fle
exerts an exclusive authority over hisvaab,
even to the power of life and death, aadtt I
encreate the population of his districte,I« |
protfers a ready and hospitaUe asylum to fit; I
gidves from al^parts of India. Hence, io Hie
Seik territories, though the government be ir-
bitrary, there exists much less cause for oppw-
sion, than in many of the nei^hbourinff stoitn,
and, hence likewise, the cultivator otthesoi
being liable to freouent change of masters, by
the numerous revolutions that are perpetuiiiy
occurring, may be considered as one of tli«
causes of the fluctuation of the nadBoal
tbrce.**
The map of Hurrianeh and the conti-
guous country is accompanied with im-
portant and new geographical matter.
Of Rajpootana much additional know-
ledge is communicated j of the country oi
the Batries, and of Beykaneer : but \k
curious in Asiatic geography roust consult
die work itself.
Mr. Francklin has executed his task in
♦ Consult the history of Shah Aulum. + See Cornelius Nepos, and Pausawas.
CAYLET 8 LIFB OF SIR W<AR RAtEGR.
A1^
i maimer wUch deserves high encomium.
He mij somewhat ^rget Uie actors f ot
Xhft sceiuaj, and the hero for the con-
quest; bat he has. made a remarkable life
subservient to varioiis instruction, aiid has
carefully preserved thaC information which
is most likely to be useful to the govern-
Jaent of Hindostaa. For European read-
ers a glossary is sometimes desirable : a
mdlak we'presume to be a torrent, a river
which occasionally dries up ; but the word
U used as familiarly as if it was univer-
sally understood in Great Britain. We
are pleased to see the productions of the
Calcutta press multiply ; they attest the
growth of an intellectual culture, which
they will stabilitate and diffuse. One
/painful obser\^ation, however, must ac-
company the perusal of them. How ra-
pidly the ^English language is becoming
in the east a distinct dialect ! The vast .
numbers of oriental words, which have no
parallel terms in Europeaa diction, com-
pel, no doubt, the use of a macaronic
style, in which every twentieth wofd
nearly is alien. By degrees the forms of
combination will approximate the Tamul
phraseology j the poets of Calcutta, like
those of Edinburgh, will begin to com-
pose in the local jargon ; and a book-lan-
guage will at length be got up in a greaj;
degree unintelligible at London.
Art. IV.^77ie life of Sir fVoUer Ralegh^ Knty, By Arthur Catlev, Jun. Eso,
Two Vols. 4to. pp. 920 and 333.
A TAYLOR who has no objection to
wear motley, may certainly make himself
«»t coat with half a yard of his own
', by eking it out with cabbage from
*veiy piece which comes in his way -, and
tfter this manner two quarto volumes
fi;ht be filled with a Life of. Sir Walter
egh, as well as with a Life of Geoffrey
pbaucer. The first minute's inspection of
the book before us dispelled this mijust,
but not unreasonable suspicion. The Vo*
. lames are very thin, though with a fairer
^ipportion of type to margin than is usual
fn this age of quartos. There is an ap-
; Jpcfidiz of considerable extent, and the
oii^xial narratives of Sir Waltefs voyages
Jce given at length. After the whole was
printed, Mr.-Gi^'ley became apprehensive
tbat it might have been better to have gi*
veo the condensed sabfttance of these ac-
coQuts in the text, and to have inserted
Ue whole of the originals in the appendix.
ph this point, he adds, I have now onjy
to listen to the voice of candid criticism,
;u»d should the work reach a second im-
fvesstoQy shall be ready to alter the pre-
tent plan, if objected to. We have sel-
dom seen so modest or so prepossessing a
j^re&oe*
Balegh, for so he wrote the name hini-
ielf, was bom upon a farm called Hayes,
in die parish of Budley, Devonshire, near
the mouth of the river Otter, that ' wild
.streamlet of the west,' upon whose banks
10, many distinguished men have been
boiQ. flis &.tha: had only the remainder
of a lease of die estate ; Sir Walter in his
*pMperigrvisbed tobav^ purchased it;
' for the natural disposition I have to the
.place,' he says in his letter upon the sub--
}ea, * bnpg bom in that bouse^ I had ra-*
ther seat myself tliere than any where
else.' " He was bom in 1552, a year,'*
says an old astrologer treating of his nati-
vity, *' remarkable in our chronicles; first,
for that strange shoal of tlie largest sea
fishes, which, quitting tlieir native waters
for fresh and untasted streams, wandered
up the Thames so high, mitil the river no
longer retained any brackisjuiess ; and,
secondly, for that it is thought to have
been somewhat stained in our annals, with
the blood of the noble Seymer, duke of
Somerset; events surprisingly analogous
both to the life of this adventurous voy-
ager. Sir Walter Balegh, whose deliglit
was in the hazardous discovery of unfre-
quented coasts; and also to his unfortu-
nate death."
He entered at Oriel, but was never, as
has been asserted, a student in the Middle
Temple ; for in his reply to the attorney-
general on his arraignment, he lays a
heavy imprecation on himself^ if ever he
read a word qf law or statutes, brfore be
was a prisoner in the Tower. He served
some years with the Hugonots in France,
and, as is surmised, took refuge with Phi-
lip Sidney, on the night of the massacre,
in the English ambassador's house ; after-
wards he bore a part with sir John Norria
in defeating don John of Austria. On his
return home in 157p, he sailed on a voya^
of discovery with his uterine brother sir
Humphrey Gilbert. The expedition was
unfortunate ; a weaker fleet than had beea
designed put to sea, they met with a Spa-
nish force, and were obliged to return
with the loss of one ship. Balegh had
now past ten years of severe apprentice-
ship to war and enferprize ; the pains
^^Virhich he took meantime to improve him*
478
BlOGRAPliY.
fc\£ were surprising j by never sleeping
more than five houis of the night, he w^
able to employ four regularly in study.
After this he fought in the Irish wars un-
der lord Grey ; this wdS no pleasant sbP-
Vice^ it was his misfortune tb see the Spa-
nish prisoners it Smerwick fort put to the
sword by lord Grey's orders. In a letter
to Leicester, he says, " I hare spent some
time here under the deputy, in suth poor
place arid charge, as were it not fbr that t
knew him to be as if yours, t would dis-
dain it as much as to kedp sheep* I will
Bot trouble your honour with the basiness
of tills lost land ; for that sir Warram
Sentleger can best of any man deliver unto
your lordship, the good, tiie bad, tlie mis-
chiefs, the means to mend, and all in all,
of this common-wealthy or rather oom^
XDon-woe."
After his return he was noticed at coiirt,
and employed to escort Simier to France,
and the duke of Anjou to Antwerp. He
fitted out A ship to send with sir Hun:i
phrey Gilbert on a second expedition, even
more unhappy than the first, for sir Huiii:
phrey, with two of his ships, was lost on
their return. This loss did not dishearten
him ^ he obtained letters patent for him-
feelf, his heirs and assigns, to discover and
hold such remote heathen and barbarous
lands as were not actually possessed by
any christian prince, and with tlie help of
his friends sent ottt two ship$ on the ex-
pedition. They discovered Virginia, and
three attempts were made to colonize it,
'ivhich were ruined partly by the ill con-
duct of the settlers toward tlie natives.
After having expended 40,000/. upon the
project,. he assigned over his patent to a
company of gentlemen and merchants, re-
serving to himself the fifth part of all gold
'and silver ore.
One important consequence resulted
from these voyages. On the 27th of July,
J 586, some Of the returning settlers first
brought tobacco into England. Those
who lov€ smoaking and snuif> are of opi-
nion that sir Walter Ralegh's name should
be written In red letters against that day
in the calendai*, and that he should ha\'e
a statue made of pipe-inaker*s clay in St.
Paul's. If the Persian king offered a re-
ward for the discovery of one new plea-
sure, surely these honours would be well
bestowed upon the man >vho taught us
'two. There is a good anecdote of sir
Walter connected with the pipe.
" Queen Elizabeth one day conversing
with Ralegh on the virtues and properties
•f the new plant, he happened to obscrvt^
X
tiiat he was so well acrjuainted with it, ^
he knew the exact weight of the aiioke whkfi
Would be produced by any «?ea qumiiij'.
Her majcst^r dwelling on the idea of boundkiii
the! smoke in a balance, sibpected tlat te
was playing the traveller, and laid him a iragcr
he could not make good his wordb. Rakg|i
weighed the tobacco, smoked it, and thta
weighed the ashcis. llie qui^en did not deoj,
tliat the difference Had evaporated in smoke ;
and added, many labouren in ike fare tun
gold into smoke, you kave tutned satoktvii^
gold/"
Ralegh xtieantime Waft advancing in fih
\*our at court; He had a patent granted
biin for licensing the venders of wine
throughout ihei kingdom; wluch was after-
wards augmented l^ a tonnage and {yoooit
age : he had also a grant of 12,000 aoes
from the forfeited e^tes in the coumiei
of Cork and Waterford, which he sold to
Richard Boyle, afterwards earl of Cori, a
purchase which was the foundation of thtf
family's fortune. He was knighted, oi
inconsiderable honour in that ilhisbiili
hjigtl;
*' It has been justly rcmaiked of mea
Elisabeth, that she keut the temple oi ho-
nour closely shut, ana bestowed,^ titb ftt
fni^lity and great discriminaiion. An in-
telligent observer of her reign has mnaiied,
that ' No prince then extant took ao aaO^
estimate of her subjects* abilities to senc her,
or made li dee]ier iitspectk)ii into their ^
tude, nature, and humours, to wbkh, mi
rare dexterity, she fitted her favours and thtf
eniployments ; as may be instanced in i
i^rancis Vefej a man nobly descended, ^
Walter Ralegh, exactly Qualified, itith inast
others set apart in her juagmenti for miiiQij
services, whose titles sne never raised aboie
knighthood, saymg, when importuned to duU
general Vere a baron, that in his propff
sphere, and in her estimation, h^ was abort
it already; therefore, all could be expeded
from such an addition would be the eotooh'
ing of the spirit of a brave soldier, in the
corpse of a less si^hdy courtier; and by
tempting him from his charge, hazard thatrc
pute upon a carpet, his valour had d^
pwchaspfi him in the field.* "
He was also 'appointed captain bfthe |
guard to the queen, and lieutenant-gwenl
of the county of Cornwall ; and Babing-
ton's lands were granted him. Will it bfc
misplaced td mention here that Babingtoa
is the hero of the best novel in its kind iii
our language, the merit of which is n(jt
didy known? Our female readeft vw
thank us for adding that it is called TM
Jesuit: \ f . »
He borehis part in the ^feftipasap^J*
the armada, and afterwards joined the
ejLpedition under lir Francis Po^ ^
CAtLCir^S LIf M OF SIS WA&tSR SALSGB.
.4;{9
nr Jolrn Norxis^ which was undertaken
to cooquer Portugal for Antonio^ the
prior of Crato, but coded in a mere priva-
teering adventure upon a large scale.
Above half the men perished by sickness^
£maine^ or the sword : of eleven hundred
gentlemen (and the most adventurous spi-
rits would have been of the number) only
thiee hundred and fifty returned. A fa-
tality seems to have attended our expedi-
tions since the days of the Plantagenets.
Shortly afterwards Ralegh fell into dis-
grace^ and was sent, or banished^ to Ire-
'bnd; the cause is not ascertained^ tliopgh
the jeabusy of £s8ex had some share in
it The event is important in literary his*>
toiy; for ftalegh visited Spenser at Kil-
colokan. Hear how beautifully that visit
has been recorded to all posterity !
•* Ojic day, quoth he, I sat, as was my trade,
Under the foot of Mole, that mountain hoar,
Eeepingray sheep among the coolv shade
Of the green alders, by the MulJa*s shore :
^^H^ere a strai^ shepherd chancM to find me
, out;
Whether alhired with my pipe's delight,
Whose pleasine sound yshrilled far about.
Or thither led by chance, I know not right.
Whom when I asked from wliat place he came,
• And hofw he hight, himself he did yclep
•The shepherd of the ocean by name ;
And said he came fir from the main sea
deep.
He, sitting me beside, in that same shade.
Provoked me loplay some pleasant fit:
And when he heard the music which I made.
He found himself fitll gresftlv pleas'd at it.
Vet, emul'ing my pipe, he took m hand
My pipe before that emuled of many.
And played thereon, for well tliat skill he con'd.
Himself as skilful in that art as any.
He pip'd, I sung ; and when he sun^, I pip'd ;
By change of turns each makmg other
merry;
Neither envying other, nor cn^ed.
So piped ^e until we both were weary."
Farther on we have
practising the surest ijieans of winning £i-
vour wiUi £lizabeth, who had as much
sexual vanity and folly an the weakest of
Eve's daughters. This disgrace, whatever
may have been the cause, was of no long
continuance ; he returned to court, taking
Spenser with him, whom he recommend-
ed to the queen*s notice, and who, noW
under Ralegh*s immediate patronage, pub-^
lished the three first books of his divina
poem, a poem never to be named without
love and reverence by poet or lover of
poetry.
But theTimias of tlie Faiiy Qoeen ere
long incurred a heavier disgrace. While
he paid his court to Elizabeth, he intrigued
with a fairer Elizabeth, one of her maids
of honour, and daughter to sir Nichcias
Throckmorton $ the consequences of this
attachment became apparent, and botk
parties, I know not by what law, were
confined to the Tower. How admirable
a wife the lady proved we shall nee in
the course of this ^stract Sir Walter*
however he fell upon evil days in his latter
life, was well adapted 'for tlie age of Eli«
^abeth. He had the fittle eyes and tfar
long head, the talents and the cunaii]^
which characterised the statesmen ef the
time. £v«i while he was under confine-
ment for this marriage, he acted the gross
part recorded in the foUowmg letter bjf
fir Arthur Gorges.
«' Honourable SiA I
'' I cannot chuse but advertise you of a
strange tragedy that this day liad like to hare
fidlen out between the captain of the ffuard
and the lieutenant of the ordnance, if I iad
not by gt^eat chance come at the ven* instant
to have turned it into a comedy, for upon
the report of her majesty's being at Sir George
Carye's, Sir Waltijr Ealegh haviftg gazcd'^ind
sighed a Ions time at his sti^y-windov,
from whence he might discern the barges and
boats about the Blackfriars^-stairs, siiddenly
he brake ou^ into a great disti^mper, and
sware that his enemies had on purpose brought
her majesty thither to break his "gall in sunder
with Tantalus' •toni>ent, that when she went
away he miglit see his death before his eyes ;
with many such-like conceits. And as a man
transported with passion, he sware to Sir
George Carew, that he would disguise' him<»
self, and get into a pair of oars, to case liis
mind but with a sight of the queen, or elsi; he
proteslec^ his heart would break, fiut the
trusty jailor would none of tliat, for displeas-
ing the higher powers as he said, which ho
more respected than the iioeding of hishii^
" His song was all a lamentable lay
Of great unkindness and of usage hard,
t)f Cynthia, the lady of the sea,
Whkrh, from her presence, &ultless him
debarr'd.
And ever and anon, with singuhs rife,*
He ciled out to make his imdersong,
Ah 1 my love's queen and goddess of my life !
Who shall me pity when thou dost me
wrong-J^t
It is evident enough from these lines,
wvl from a curious document which we
shall presently adduce, that Ralegh was
* Abundant sighi.
tlfve could doubt it before, this line clearly ]^v«i that quten Eliaabath was the Cya-
uaoftheso^g.
4M
nOGAAPBf.
pKjQTf ana s0 dmSx wiwwl tD |9cnnif him.
Btit, in condwtcm tipoii this £<ipiite, they Ml
§at cot to cholenc outngeous woftb, wkfa
strafniogaBd stnifgliiig at the doon, that all
bmciiesft wa» torgoiten, and in tbe fury of' the
conflict^ the jailor he hail hk ne\r periwig toni
eff his czowii, and yet here the battle ended
soty for at last they had gottcti out their dag-
«er»; which wlien'l law, I played the stickh?r
pctween ^icm, and s^ purchased such a rap
OD the knuckles, that I wished both their pates
broken; and sa with mij'^h ado they stayed
their bexwl to tee my bloodv fingen. At the
Ihrst I was ready to break wih laughing to «ee
Ihetn two scratnbk* and bcawl like niulmen,
VDtil I saw the iron walkings and then I did
my best to appease the ftiry. As yet f can-
not reconcile ihcni by any persuasions, for
t)ir Waltetjswears, tliat he shall hate him for
fo restraining him fi-um the sight of his mis-
tre», while he lives; for that he knows not
(air he said) whether ever he shall see her
a^n,' when she Is gone tlie progress. And
Sir George, on his side, swears tJiat he had
failles he ^lould lose his lougi:^ than that
be would draw on him her majesty's displea-
fare by such liberty. Thus tltey continue in
Inaikc' and snarling, bot I am sure all the
smart ngbtcd on me. I cannot tell whether
I should more allow of tiie passionate lover^
«r the trusty jailor. But if yourself had seen
it a$ I did,' you would have been as heartily
■Mrry and forry« as evet you were in all your
life for fo short a tune. I pray you pardon
my hasty written narration, which I acquaint
ou with, hoping you will be the peace-maker,
lut, good Sir, let nobody know thereof, for I
fear Sir Walter Ralegh will shortly s^row to
be Orlando Furio^o, if the bright Angelic^
' persevere against him a little longer.
^ Your honoar*s, humbly to be commanded,
*' A. GORGES.
** London, in haste, this H'ednesdwj.
*' dn a sUp of paper, fadened with wax to
ike letter, is the following postscript :
" If you let the Q. Majesty know hereof,
01 yott mmk good be it; but otherwise, good
Sir, keep it secret for their credits: for they
* know not 6f my discourse, which 1 could wisn
iMr majesty knew/'
It is evident that this fiirce, gross as it
Was, was acted by Ralegh ibr the queen,
mod we may bp sure it was not too gross
Ibr her. In a letter written about this
time, and evidently designed to be shewn
to her, be says, " My lieart was never
broken till this day, that. I hear that the
queen g.oes away so far off, whom I have
xollowed so many years with so great love
and desire in so many journeys, and am -
.Aow left behlud her in a dark prison, all
alone. While she was yet near at hand,
that 1 might hear of her once in two or
•tiM^ee days, my sorrows wane the less;
Vut cvea now my heart is cast into the
resiiii
depth of ail nnsery; I datwsYwttd
heboid her riding like Akxsider, bsi.
iog Jike Diana, waikicg like Vemt, ife
gentle wind blowing her Cur her ifaot
her pare cheeks, lUte a nymph, faafoi
sitting in the shade like a goddess, soai^;
time singing like an an^l, somenme|i|»;
ing like Orpbeos j — bdiold the sonnri
this world ! Once amiss hath booNl
me of all.'* Which is the mostsW^
able, the tolly of the queen, or the '^^
dcnce of the courtier I
Upon his release, he did notfioilH^;
self restored so completely to the i^
favour as he had expected, and lMa|
in the hope that time .wookl ksses I
queen's displeasure, or good fortooeavi
his adventure with glory, he ttM\
search of £1 Dorado. His own acoBfl
of tlie voyage is given at full Jeoglhl
these volumes. Mr. Cayky vin&iB,^
but to us it appears as it did to
little honourable to the veracity,
ment, or the morality of its author*
tells us of headless oien with eyes mi
breast, declaring, indeed, th^ he faadi
seen them himself, but believing d
who said they had. Probably he i
heard the tale in the country, as tfael
bary Moors persisted m their stnyof
petrified city to Bruce till they got
it : but how could sir Walter b|
them ? He had seen no monsters m
country, and the vice of his mind was
.credulity on other subjects. One ik
he asserts wLIch is certainly false : " il
gave me a lieast, called by the S]
armadilia, which they call ca
which seemeth to be all barred over
small plates, somewhat like to arifl*^
ccros, tcith a white horn grtnrwj ««•
hinder parts, as big (U a great knnti^k^
iohich tliejf use to tvind instead qf air»
pet. Monardus writeth that a little •
the powder of that horn put into the
cureth deafness.- The fable is taken fnj
Dr. Monardus, but sir Walter says M
had the beast, and ate it. There is aw
strong reason for suspecting that this off-
rative contains other fiJsehoods. "^ «?^
know that no sxich city as Manoa exaft*
i^ it possible then that all the lo^
should have assured him it did? ^^**^
it is in the maps of that age, but the b>
tion did not come from the savages*
Oronoco. it wj4s the lie of a SpaniA »•
venturer, and so palpable ^ ^.^f
reasoning man ought to have bdicw A
A brother of the Inca flying fr«° w
destruction of Pew, had buUt a d^^
days journey ia length I y(hstijff M*
CATLET'8 LIFE OF SIR TVALT^K RALEGH.
481
leReved in the existence of the empire or
lot, he certainly believed there were gold
nines in tJie country, and may have re-
»eated the&e fables to entice adventurers.
le makes no secret of his own wishes to
md in tlie steps of Cortes and Pizarro,
dlile he inveighs against tlie Spaniards,
ttd concludes by expressing his hope in
W, that He ^^'ho is Lord of lords, will
tt it in her heart who is Lady of ladies,
> conquer the coontiy.
Key mi » coninianded the second expe-
ition to Gniaoa> which ultimately cost
idegh hiiJ life. The third was entrusted
taptain Leonard Berrie: in all three no-
fog was done but to ascertain the course
I the rivers, and to prepare the natives
F throw otJ' the Spanish yoke. A colony
i^^ successfully have been established
te, but our age of colonization was not
srhed.
ring these latter expeditions Sir
I rising in favour at eourt. In
of Cadiz he had greatly dis-
l himself, and greatly contributed
1 success of the day. He had now
with Cecil against Kssex, occa-
Jly courting the good-will of Essex
elf, and acting as mediator between
I and Cecil, as served to promote his
im interests. But in his heart Ralegh
pled Essex, perhaps riie more before he
Itooce envied and despi>>ed him. Essex
bs greatly and every way his hiferior in
Dts; but he was an open, friendly, g^*
honest-hearted man : more po-
• than his abilities deserved, but en-
to general love by his noble nature.
Wegh was never popular, with all his
fc»ts, his enterprize, and his courage j he
iCver deserved to be popular, his heart
fss not in the right place. Cecil would
iwe spared Essex, but Ralegh instigated
urn not to spare, and went to see .his exe-
ntion. He stood near the scaffold that
B might answer for himself should Essex
bjectitny thing to him at his deatli) but
ome persons ascribing his presence to a
l»7e of revenge, he retired into the ar-
Boury, and beheld it trom thence. He
iW indeed upou his own scaffold, that he
hed tears when Essex died ; it may be
bathe did; but he said also that he knew
fc would be worse' with him when Essex
•as gone, implying that he grieved for his
fcadi; and the letter which he wrote
iipog Cecil not to spare is in existence.
Ijtde did he think, when itc stood by
b behold the death of his rival, that he
^ one dav to drink of the same cup . El i-
Bhethdld not Ipng* survive tJje executiofi^
Asy.IUt, Vox, IV.
of her favourite, a crime which embittered
her last hours j and before three months
had elapsed after tlie arrival of king James,
Ralegh was arrested upon a ch:ir§e of
high treason. A trial for high tre-iion is
not unfi'equently a conspiracy against the
prisoner, who has little chance against su-
borned witnesses, {wpular loyalty even
more blind. than popular faitli, the desire
of the crown to take his Jife, and the dis-
position of the' judge to oblige it.. The
conspiracy of which Ralegh was accused
is a state-riddle which has never been ex-
plained; that he had any the slightest
share in it is exceedingly improbable, that
he was illegally, unjustly and iniquitously
^ condemned is certain. His trial is dis-
graceful to every person concerned in it ex-
cept himself. Never had he appeared so
superior to his enemies ; one person said
to the king, that never any man spoke so'
well in times past, nor would do in the
world to come; and another said that
whereas when he saw him first, he was so
led with the common hatred, that he
would liave gone a hundred miles to have*
seen him hanged, he v/ould^ ere he parted^
have gone a thousand to liave saved his
life.
Af^er sentence was past, Ralegh wrote
the following admirable letter to his wif«:
'^ Sir Walter to Lady Raxegh.
" You shall now receive, my dear wifc,^
my last words in these my last lines. My
love I send you, that you may k(?ep it when £
am dead ; and mv counsel, that you may re-
member it when I am no more. I would not,
by my will, present you with sorrows, dear
l^ess ; — ^let them go into the grave with me,
and be buried in the dust. And seeing it is^
not the will of God that ever I shall ?ee you
more in this life, bear it patiently, and with a
heart like thyself. ^
" First, I send you all the* thanks which my
heart can conceive, or my words can exprcs-',-
for your many travails and care taken for me ;
which tiiough they have not taken elfect as
vou wished, yet my debt to you is not the
less. But })ay it I never shall in this world.
" Secondly, I beseech you for the love- you
bear me living, do not hide yourself many
days after my^leath. But, by your travails,
seek to help your miserabh; fortunes, and th«
right of your poor cl.ild. Thy moum'mpi
cannot avail me, I am but ckist. .
''Thirdly, you shall undcr:?tand that my
Inml was conveyed bona Jldc to my childf.
The writings were drawn at midsunnner was
t\\ elvemontns. My honest cousin^Brett, can
testify so much, ancl Dalberrie, too, can re-
member somewhat therein. And I trust my
blood will quench their malice that have thus
cruelly murdtered ofie, aM tbat tbey wiU sot
4^2
BIOGRAPHY.
seek also to kil! thee and thine with extreme
poverty. 'I'o what friend to diicct thee I
know not, for all mine have left me in the true
time of trial, and I plainly perceive that my
d«ith was deteniiined from the first day.
Most Sony I am, God knows, that, being
thus Surprised with death, I can leave you in
na better estate. God is my witness I meant
\ou all my office of wines, or all that I Could
have purchased by selling it ; half my stutT
and all my jewels, but some one for tlie boy.
But God'hath prevented all my rcsolutjons,
even tliat Great God tliat ruleth all in ail.
But if you can live free fvom want, care for no
more; the rest is but vanity. Love God,
and begin betimes to ret)ose yoursi'lf on him I
and therein shall you tind true and lasting
riches, and endless comtbrt. For the rest,
when you have travailed, ahd wearied your
thoughts over all sorts of worldly cogitation,
vou shall but sit down by sorrow ia the end.
Teach your son also to' love and fear God,
while lie is yet young, that the fear of God
may grow up with him. And then God will
be a husbaud to you, and a father to him ; a
husband and a ^tlier which caiuiot be taken
from you.
" Bayly oweth me 200A and Adrian Gil-
bert fioW. In Jersey, also, I have much mo-
ney ovfins me. Beside, the arrearages of the
wines will pay my debts; and, howsoever
you do, for my soul's sake, pay all poor men.
" When I am gone, no doubt you shall be
sought to by many, for the world thinks that
I was very rich. But take heed of the pre-
tences of men, and tlte'ir afiectiona. For they
last not, but in honest and v^'orthy men ; and
no greater misery can bc£al you in this life,
than to become a prey, and aften\'ard to be
despised. I sj)cak not this, God kno^s, to
dissuade you troni marriage ; for it will be
best for you, both in respect of the world and
of God. As for me, 1 am no more yours,
nor you mine. Death has cut us asunder;
and God hath divided me from the world,
and vou from me.
• *' llemember your poor child, for his fa-
t]ier*s sake, who chose you and loved you in
his happiest time. Gel those lettei*8, if it be
possible, which I writ to the lords, wherein I
sued for my life. God is my witness, it was
for you anci yours that I desired life. But it
is true that I disdain myself for begging it ;
for, know it, dear wife, that your son is the
son of a true man, and one wlio, in his own
; respect, despiseth death, and all liis mishapen
ana ugly forms.
" I cannot write nuich. God, he knoweth,
bow hardly I steal tliis time while others sleep.
And it Is also high time that I should separate
my thoughts from the world. Beg my dead
boidy, which, living, was denied thee. And
either lay it at Sherborne, if the land conti-
nue, or in Exeter church, by my father and
pother* I can say itfMuOire^tiine and death
c^meaway^ '\
*^The cvcrh^linff, powerful, inlinitp, and
omniiK>teut God, who is gm^duess itself, the
true life and true light, keep thee and thine,
iiavc mercy on me, and teach me to forgive
my persecutors and accusers, and send us
to meet in his glorious kingdom. My dKir
wife, farewell ! Bless my poor boy, pray for
me, and let my good God hold you both in
his arms !
" Written witli the dying hand of, some-
time tljy husband, but now, alas! over-
thrown,
" Your's tljat was, but now not ray own,
" WALTER RALEGH.-*
The feeling expressed by the people
when Grey and Cobham were pardoned
upon the scafibld, is worthy of notice.
' There was then no need,* says a by-stand-
er, ' to beg a plaudite of the audience, iw it
was given with such hues and cries, that
it went from the castle into the town,
and tliere began afresh, as if there had
been some such like acrident. And thh
experience was made of the difference of
examples of justice and mercy; that'iQ
this last no man could cry loud enough
God save the king 5 and at the holding up
of Brooke's head, wlien the executioner
began the same cry, he was not seconded
by the voice of any one man but the ^-
riff.' History seems to have been written
in vain for the rulers of mankind.
Twelve years Ralegh remained in the
Tower ; twelve years king James kept tJm
bird in a cage ! They were the best-em-
ployed years of his life ; for during this
captivity he composed the greater part rf
his works. His estate meantime was
taken from him by a trick ; it deserves do
better name. A flaw was found in ite
conveyance, tlie error of the C3nre3rancer,
and the ' minioii-kissing king' took ad-
vantage of this to make a grant of it to his
infamous favourite Somerset. At length
he obtained his liberty, by means as hitie
honourable to the nation, if a nation gsb
be disgraced by the conduct of its govera-
ors, as his condemnation and confinement
had been* Fifteen hwidred pounds weie
given to sir William St. JoJin, and sir
Edward ViDiers, to use their influence
with Budcingham*ft nephew, to make his
uncle intercede with the king !
Happy had it been for Ralegh if he had
devoted the remainder of his lite to tho^e
studies whicli had been the consolatitm of
his captivity. But Guiana was still in his
thoughts, his fortunes were mined, and
the hope of restoring them may iia\'e beesy
♦ ^ the Harkian and other CoUcctions, and Birch't Works of Rale§^ IL 383.
CATLEY*S LIFS eF SIR WALTER RALEGH.
4»
a more powerfol motive oow than ambi-
^n or the love of adventure. The issue
h but too well known. His fion was
filled, the enterprize failed, and on his
return he was sacriticcd to the Spaniards.
J^xecution was granted upon tli/old sen-
teDce of fifteen years standing, and Ra*
I(^h was brought ip the block. He ob-
served to his friends that the world ^tse|f
' is but a larger prison, out of which some
are daily selected for execution. The dean
of Westminster took sooe pains to make
him fear death, but that was not in ^Ra-
legh's nature. ' He was vej-y cheerful,'
says the dean, ' that morning he died, eat
bb breakliasit heartily, and took tobacco,
and made no more of his death than if he
had been to take a jourrjey/ This was
the fearlessness of a brave man, tlie ealrp-
ness of philosophy, not insensibility. He
died like a man. Thp deap says, '' this
was the news a week sinoe, but now it is
■. -* blown over and he almost forgotten."
Bat these things are npt foi^otten either
by God or man.
A fate so little deserved has been fortu- •
nate for Ralegh's ^-eputation. We should
diiitk more of his court- intrigues, and of
his conduct towards Essex, if all other
feelings were not absorbed in indignation
against the perfidy and meaiv.iess with
which he was sacrificed to Gondomar.
Ralegh, too, has a fairer cla'un to fame as
a man of letters than as a statesman. His
prose writings are full of thought, and
some of his poetry exceedingly beautiful.
There is some difficulty in ascertaining
«'hat is his ^ but the best pieces are those
concerning which there is the least dpubt^
Tlut which he wrote the night preceding
his execution we shall copy. U is not in
his usual style, and we should almost
doubt its authenticity, yet there is a trou-
bled wildness of thought and expression
which may be admitted as strong e:^ternal
evidences in its favour.
."MY PII/^RUUGE.
" Give me my scallop-shell df quiet.
My staff of 'faith to walk upon,
M V sVrip of joy, immortal diet.
My bottle o!" salvation,
My gowii of glory, hope's true gage.
And thus I'll take my pilgrimage.
Bloocl must be my body's balmer,
While my soul, like quiet palmer,
Trav'leth towVd the hmd of hcuren ;
No other balm will here be given.
0\f>r the silver mountains
)Vhcrc ijpring ihc nee tar -fountains.
There will I kiss
The bowl of bliss,
And dri^ mine everlasting fJl
Upon every milken hill ;
My soul will be a- dry before,
Botafler, it will thirst no more.
ni take them first.
To quench mv thirst.
And taste of nectars sockets
At those dear wells
Where sweetness dwells.
Drawn up by saints in crystal buckets.
Then, by that hapjiy biestful day.
More peaceful pilgrims I shall see
lliat have cast oft their racs of clay.
And walk apparcU'd fresK like me,
A;id when our bodies ao^all we
Are fiird with im^i^ortalify,
I'hen the bless'd paths we'll travel,
6trew'd with nibies tliick as gravd,
Cielings of diamond, sapphire flowers.
High walls of coral, pearly bowers.
From thence to heaven*s bribeless haU^
"VVhere no corrupted voices brawl,
N^o coauMcnce molten Into gdld.
No forged accuser bought or suld.
No cause deferred, no vain-spent journey,
For there Clurist is the King's attorney;
Who pleads for all without degrees.
And he hath angels, but no fees.
And when the t\velve grand million jury
Of our sins, with direful fury
Against our souls black verdicts give,
Christ pleads his de^th, and then we live.
3e thou my speaker, taintless pleader!
Unblotted lau yer I true procecuer !
Thou wouldst salvation e'en for alms.
Not with a bribed lawyer's palms.
And this is mine eternal plea
1 o him tliat made heav'n, earth, and sea ;
That, since my flesh must die so soon.
And want a head to dine next noon,
Just at the stroke, when my veins start and
spread.
Set on my soul an everlasting head !
^Then am I readv, like a palmer lit,
'To trend those bless'd paths >\hich before
I writ.
Of death and judgment, heav'n and liH),
Who oft doth think, must needs die wcH.'*
The letter to prince Hejiry, which Steele
first printed, is palpably fictitious. Not
only the thoughts but the turn of language
is modem.
Mr. Cayley would do well to make tha
whole narrative his own, and remove the
originals to the appendix. He merits
praise for the diligence with which be has
sought out new documents, and tlie im-
partiality with which be ba» adduced
them. •
112
KOGiAlSr.
In^T^JEr^kMitf <4r£^ ^ Or
THIS T<:«saK va
CMTWTi.nrf to de iasass a^rv ^2^ be^
ttred da€S, Jed i^^ecizcjf ^rrr^ram luea
THIS H a T^ry z^^r^'-j^ wcscsrZ^zTi
Mr. Cr^k/t Tr» hi liibr.i -X '— — acr wi:
bem dead tliiT|r jcan^ and k2> ^ifVKlaisd
liuf chancttT a» an acti^, 2& zj,\i^jr, and a
noD, vhA sreat 6irK-i We cooM ^^^^
ipar^d fr>aie r/f tfae bc^G-XDoa, bai ve thii^
that Mr. Cooke hat exectned bis ta^ veiL
Aaeodcices of maar cociesnporarf chanc-
teti are iotrpdxKCcC ^n^i ore of the iH-faied
Dr. Dodd, whkfa, fcr iu angrilaritj^ «e
jBe teoipied to traosaibe.
^ Beidre we nebaqiudi this aocooot af Dr.
Doddy it may perhaps be tii«M ia othn^ te-
flpects besidei the oKre purpaics of bio^a-
' jr, to relate the ioLo-^ring aoecdxe, vtocfa
5;. 3731^ 'Oli' SCr.i^
ti^ hu^aeai I wtz xr ^€«i
pk^srarr cf M%eB£^ ^aov
Koct ia tf^ basics <t tbe
aad t^eanicii
50% aa
■kene
JS
neirer ret been madir public : —
^ The <fatT after tha Doctor wascopvicted
at the Old Bailey of the cnmefcr which he a^
tetwaidf foflered (a criaie wfaicfa, he anit
have koowD, caa nerer aflbrd eren a hope
lor the fOfal mercj in thts ooaoierdal ooao-
try), heteot a note to the late Mr. WnB'am
^ oodtiil, the original printer of the M om-
mg Chronicle, requesting the £inrar of speak-
ing to him on a %'ery partictdar wDject.
Tnis 0tua have been a distressing fomraons
to any one, b\A mart particiilarly to a man of
tVoodfall's humanitv: not to go would be un-
kind ; to go would be iocarring a scene of
distrets pain^ to his iieelings. fiat \\ ood-
iiW couki n«;ver hesitate on a question of ac-
tive and disinterested frifvdship : and he has-
tened to Ne\» gate on the very nxmiing of re-
ceiving the invitation.
*' On entering the apartment where the
Doctor tat, he found it imposible to avoid
taking somf notice of his unhappy situation ;^
but as he was commiserating it ui an embar-'
niHed tjinpatliizing manner, the Doctor, with
a picTnrw fespea a
jadjiae^ k tbo^ r rTer> ; aaid ca tas x-
cxxi^a 1th AwccLz beo£ scae^scnrea
Bic.' Here &c ctaer oi£p?i2« ks ci^Sco,
th? Doctor pfooecoed. * Yoc cnft ksov,
then, that bang ia m' earher day?, Bx
Tooridf, a loTcf or ibe ^azaa. iaxtchedait
acooKdv,thehaitof whxh i tookiraaliit
ftoryof hk Eager «ie Catexfey in tbeds>x^
tator. This pkce 1 hare catdxd aocear
rckidflDce in >e«]^e ; and if too wil bess
good as to revise a, aad give me your irterftf
with the manager^ I sb^ fieci fia^idi mad
obliged to you.'
•« Mr. WoadM, finding faimsdr nlierfd
by the coderenoe taking so dxffermt and on-
expected a tarn, mstaady acceded to tiiii
propoad* took the maaascripl avay vitb
him, su^ested soiae akeratious, wiucfatk
Doctor readily complied witii, aad afttrvs ^
corresponded with him on this subject Ul tiw
week before his execution.
** Such is the anecdote which is here givw
on the authority of Woodtall himself ; a iiun
of unquestionable iTracity."
The three dramatic pieces which are
now given to the public for the first time
in print, like all Footes farces, hare a
deal of humour, and it wouki be strange
indeed if they were destitute of pen>oii-
alily.
Aat. V\t-'M('iHf>irs 6f Marmnntrl, urittcn by himself: containing his literary and jx^-
tical Life, and ^ntcdoies of the principal CharacUrs (fftke eiglUoeiuh Ceniury. lu 4 vab.
fvo.
WERE onr readers to judge by the of approbation as a bit^phical perfonn-
ipace we have aJ Kitted to the notice of ance. Yet our brevity is occasioned bf
tne«e busy and various little volumes, they sensations the very rexerse, which con-
niitjht conclude them to have excited in vincedus, during the perusal, that it wotw
Us Tittle cither of interest aj» un bbiory, or be impossible so to extract and coococi
MSMOlKS OF U&RMONTEL.
48Sr
le Aihifaxtse of this treat, in i6 satisfy tht
ppetice and please the palate of an epi-
lie in Jiierary Roecdote. We therefore
^ liiro to his entertainment, s!iarp-.set
id &ting, in expectation that his plea-
t^t like oar own, will be enhanced, by
$ koowix^ of what the various courses
# to coasUt, till they are placed under
teye,
Sbongb men who have lived the lives
lidi they undertake to write, and who
I. someiiines be almost suspected to
lived those lives for the purpose of
tt^ them, labour uhder a certain de-
toi suspicion ) )et we consider the in-
::Minto the minuter passages of indivi-
-tdiaracter resulting from die pnKtice,
than couuterbuiancUig all probable
against the rigid law of impar-
We may well suppose the hero
own tale to sacr;li< e alternately to
aod prejudice; but he generally
^ an acute reader with a touch-
by which to bring to the lest of
(•hoih tiie errors of which Ijc is un-
1.^^ aiHl (he deceptions he has la-
lo establish. There have of late
?n tJirust upon the public, in snr-
j abundance, many petty lives of in-
characters, who might never have
biographers, had they not provi-
\ secured their annalists in their own
Tbi6 coinrse has occasioned the
soniewliat to contract its faiih in
flelf-accredi'ted narratives. At the
5 it omst be acknowledged, that
I the believers of the doctrine m:>y
into a narrower compass, the
tat the pageiint are nearly as eager
Jllomnerous as ever,
tlbowever, the right of men in public
call our attention to their own
as delineated by tlieniselves,
i on the space they iiave hlied in
al or Hteraiy canvas, the claims
ntel must be regarded at once
Dpiacence and respect. The man
a acknowledged to bane embel-
^tbe literary circles of the French
lis, at a period when Paris divided
supreoiacy in science with
, and gave the tone to us in taste,
s, and refinement, may be exj^cted
ate a witle and lively interest. 71iis
ation will not be disaj^ointeil. We
I trace all the characteristic features
elineation : the nature of rlie in-
and perhaps the maniicr of th^r
ction, savunrs of a mind which had
itself to ivmantic compo^kiiion or
moral fiction. The scene Is gay, the pic-
tures are interesting : their originals are
already known through the best cl)annela
of literary and courtly anecdote. Neither
has the author deviated from 'the charac-.
ter of a semimental writer, in which he
has so long been received with favour
throughout Europe. Whcilier he intro-
duces us to the retirement of poverty, or
carries us witli him into the mysterious
recesses of the Bastille ; whetl)er we fol-
low him into the cabinets of princes,
through the ofHces of ministers, or be-
hind the scenes, at rehearsal, and coteries;
in tlie midst of scenes too warm for the
rigid purity of the present age, as well as
in the simplicity of youth and rustic
life, tve discover every where a deh'cale,
retined, and moral turn of mind, llie
actor in scenes of dissipation and licenti*
ousness retains enough of his early im-
pressions and temjxjrament, to soften
down liis orgies and apologize f«)r his
aberrations. His pen, if not his heart,
abjured the principles and pas>ions, on
which his imagination and memory have
descariicd with a degree of warmth dan-
gerous to his own lame, and to the morals
of his readers. Tliis work, in point of
composition, is not without its faults;
and they are characteristic of its author.
They are, however, of a kind ratlier me-
retricious and seductive, than offensive
or disgusting. In short, they partake the
nioral tenor of the narrative, ^^ hich will
be loudly censured and luiiversally read,
because it will entertain more tlum it will
instruct, because it will rather initiate the
iiv*xperienced in the slippery patlis of the
world, than depute their prosj)ects and
direct their course beyond lbei>i.
But though we have disclaimed at-
tempting any thing like an abstract of
these memoirs, it will be expected that
we give a specimen or two from 'thoje
insulated parts, which will not trench on
tlie continuity and interei>t of the story.
As the conductors of a }>eriodical publica-
tion, we may naturally be supported {xir*
tial to our own trade; and shall tran-
scribe the account of tlie manner in which
^iarmontel professed to amduct the Mer-
cure after it came under his diiT-ciion.
• " Tf the Mercurc knd been only a simple
literary journal, 1 sh'n.ld have lia'd, in (om-
posing It, but one imcleavour to iullil, and but
one route to pursue. But, formed of (iiitVr-
ent elements, and colcutal(Hl to enibr».ce %
vast variety of objci ts^ it was ne<*f^sur;> ttiat
m all its relations it should fullil lt^fu.lctiol:> ;
485
BTOGRAPHY.
thnt, according to th^ various tastes of the
stibscribers, it should supply the place of
lieNvspapers to the bvers ol news; tliiit it
sh-niid render an account ot the theatres, to
those wlio took pleaaUi-e in the drama; that
It should give a just idva of litejary produc-
tions, to ti)c«e who, sflfcl in thvir reading,
wished to be instructed, or amused; that, to
the sane and prudent part of the public, who
• cJelipht in tlie progress and discoveries of the
useful and salutary arts, it should conum:-
fijcate the attempts at improvement and
iiappy invt^ntions of the time ; tliat, to the
overs of the line arts, it should announce new
productions, and sainetinjes the writings of
^uthars. The popular parts of science, which
• might present objects of curiosity to the pub-
Jic, were also a part of its domain. But, above
all, it was requisite that it sliould hayea local
and social interest, for the provincial sub-
scribers, and that the poetic talent of this or
that city of the kin^b.n should tiiere find in*
scrted, from iivnv to time, its cni^a, its ma-
drigal. Of its epistle : this part of the Alercme,
in appearance the most fiivolous, was the
piost lucrative.
" It would have been cliflVult to imagine
a periodical work u;ore diversified, more at^
tractive, and more abundant in resouices.
!N!y work w'as announced : and it wj-i well
seconded. The moment was fuvoiirahlc. A
lii^^ht of younj^ poets began to try their w i:!!:^s ;
l)ut while I pleaded the cause of n^en of. let-
tcrs I <Jid not fail to mix with tempeiate
})filfses, a tolerably severe, but iunocert cri-
ticism, and in tlie -^an: » tone that a friend
■ mould iuve assume I w:;li his friend. Pv con-
rll latino: tiie favour of young men of letters
in thi.-* spirit of benevolence and ecjiiity, I
had tlieni almost all .or co-operators." •
The following accoui:t of his triumph
at the Floral Garnea will furnish an inte-
resting portraiture of a youlliful mind,
flashed with vanity and fired by ambition,
before either of those passions hne a^-
pumed a deatiuctive or degrading aspect.
'* The whole hall, in the form of an Jimphi-
thv-^.itre, was fill'jil witli tl.e principal inhabi-
tants of the toAji, r»ad the most bciutifnl
M'omen. The briliia.'it youth ci' the univer-
sity occupied th(.' spiiee round the arudemic
circle : the luil!, which v\'as very spacioiH, w.is
decorated with le.^toons of (lowci-s and laurel,
and the trumpets of the city, as each pri.-io
was given, nude the f4p;t.il resou:.4 with the
signal of victory. .
** \ had tiiat year sent five pieces to the
^ademy : one ode, two pojms, and two id) Is.
The ode failed : the prize was not given, Tb
two poems were supposed to have ajw
merit : one of them obtained the prize for epi
poelrv, and the other a prose prize that haj
penetl to be vacant. One of the two idyl
obtained the prize of pastoral poetr}-, andih
other an inferior honour. '1 Ims the thre
prizes, and the only three the academy va
going to distribute, irere adjudged to mc: i
was 1 who was to receive them all. 1 iralko
to the hall with such consummate \'aDhy, tb
I could never recollect it since without n»
fusion, nor without pity for my youth. Ii
was still much wort^e when 1 waj» loaded witl
my flowers and my crowns. But where is th<
pott of tweity whose head would not bav«
turned with such honours?
*' An attentive silence reigns in the haH,
and after the eulogy of Ctemcnce Isawt^
foundress of tho Floral Games, aeiik)gy ion^
haustible, and pronounced eA'ery yearwitk
becoming devotion at the foot of her stotue,
comes the distribution of the prizes. The
judges announce, that the prize for thcodeii
reserved. It was well known that I bad «(
an ode to the academy; it was known tn^
that I was the author of an idyl tliat had vA
beei| crov.ned: I was pitied, and I smiled
their pity. The poem is then named aj-
to V. hicll the prize is adjudged ; and at ti
words, lit till' author (idvatice: I rise,
proach, and reccivtf the j rize. 1 am appi
cil as usual, and I hear whispered ai
r..e : ' 1 le has lost two, but he gets the thinis
he has i-nore than one string to his buw, vA
nore than one arrow to shoot.' 1 retire ts
seat myself modesti\ , amid the sound of tit
trumpets. Hut soon the second poem baa*
nbunced, to which, the academy, ther ar,
has thonght ])ropcr to adjudge the prize i
eloqueuce, ratiiif tlian to reserve it. T
author is called^ and again it is I whora
The applauses redoubh', and the readiog
this poem' is listened to with the <«amefeva
ar.d indulj^ence as that of the lirsi. lis
again taken mv place, \vhen the idyl was pr
claimed, and tlie author inVited (ocomeac
receive the prize. I rist? tot the third dm
'i'hen, if I iiad written Cm jial Athalie, aa
Zaire, I could not hav« been^nore ap|ii«
ed. The interest I excited was exti««
TJie men bore mc thrgugh the cro\vc| cothd
arnis ; the womeii embraced mt.*'
We have made these extracts froml
new e^iition of the translation, just J
into our hands, in which the tr.msLiI
has bestowed laudable pains ia con'tctia
tlie f»mlts of the fir^t edjitiou.
Art. VIII. — Thf Life of Eraamu^, with an Account of his JP'ritin?:^^ reducfdfrom thrhup
If'ork nj Dr, John J or tin, by A. Laycey, F^sq. 8vo. pp. 394.
A^ this publication is professedly only cnjinent author, which has long b^l
au abiiJgiui-m of a larger work by an known to the literary part of ihei^ut^l.c
LACYBJ'S LIFE OF EBASMUS.
487
•or conrem with it extends no further
than to observe, that the editor appears to
have execated his undertaking widi accu-
racy, and has extracted from the work of
his predecessor an interesting, connected,
and for the generality of readers, snfli-
ciently copious narrative. The literary
character of Erasmus, and the services
Tendered by him to the .cause of learning,
exceed our praise j and he ceitainiy forms
one of the most interesting objects in an
age, distinguished by the number of emi-
jnmt persons to whom it gave birtli, and
most important to posterity by its religi-
ous and political e\ ents, as well as by its
influence upon literature and sciezice.
The object of the editor is explained in
the following advertisement.
*^ While Le Clcrc was publishing his edi-
tion of the works of Erasmus, he drew up his
life in French, collected principally from his
iettei's, and published it in the Bibliotheque
,€hoisie. Our late celebrated countryman.
Dr. Jolm Jortin, taking (as he has himself in-
formed us) this for a grouml-work to build
UDon, translated it, not siiperstitiously and
• (fosdy, but with more attention to things
; than words ; making contmual additions, not
"* only with relation to the history of those
' daifs, but to the life of Erasmus.
"The learned doctor*s taste, however,
^ kd him to distribute a large (juantity of Latin
• among his copious notes, which, as he seems
tohave been aware, did not recommend his
• work to the generality of readers ; and these
Botes, with his large appendix and other ad-
ditions, sweQed his book to two bulk^ quartos,
which l»ve never been reprinted since tlieir
first publicatton in 1 758 and 1 760.
"The present volume, it is hoped, em-
braces every thing material relative to the
life of Erasmus, which is to be found in the
doctor's work, and is offered as a moderate
tubstitate in size to such readers as make the
' foregoing objection to his plan. No authori-
iies aie subjoined, but the editor here pledges
binisdf once for all, that not a fact is adduced
which fiaiH be found unsupported by Dr.
Jortin*s sanction."
One specimen of the narrative must
suffice.
• f < About tl|is time Jjuldier wrote a letter to
Erasmus. It was not in the most elegant
style, but full of life, fire, and spirit, and
vexed him not a little. He begins in the
apostolical manner, Grace and peace to i/ou
from the Lard Jevn.
"' I shall not (he says) complain of you
fer having behaved as one estranged firom-
tu, to keep fair witli the papists, my enemies ;
nor was I much offended ttiat in your printed
\wkif to gain their fevour or soften then:
^S^ you censured as with, too i^uch ach*
mony. We saw the Lord had not conferred
on you the disccnmient and Resolution to
join us and openly opiK)se those monsters,
tiicrefore dared not exact from you what
greatly surpa.sseth your ^tren^h aiid capa-
city. We have even borne with your weak*
nr^s, and honoured that portion of tiie gift of
God which is in you.*
** Then, having bestowed on him his due
praise, as the reviver of good literature, by
which mean the scriptures liad been read and
examined in the originals, he proceeds, •
" ' I never wished that, neglecting your
appropriate* talents, yo^i should enter our
cluip. You might indeed have favoured us
not a little by your wit and eloquence ; but,
forasmuch as you have not the requisite cou-
rage, it is safer to serve the liord iu your own
way. Our only fear was, tliat our adversa-
ries should entice you to write against us,
and necessity then constrain us to oppose
you to your face. We have withheld some
among us who were disposed and prepared
to attack you ; and 1 could have wished that
the Complaint of Hutten, and still more your
Spongia, in answer to it, had never been pub-
Itslied. By which you nuy see, and feel at
present if I mbtake not, how easy it is to say
fine things of the duties of modesty and mo-
deration, and to accuse Luther of wanting
them, and how diHicult and even impossible
it is to be really modest and moderate with«
but a particular gift of the Holy Spirit. Be-
lieve me, or believe me not, Christ is my
witness, I am concerned as well as you that
the re:u?ntnient of so many eminent persons
(of the Lutheran party) hath been excited
against you ; this 1 must suppose gives you
no small uneasmess, for virtue like yours,
mere human virtue, cannot raise a man above
being affected by such trials. To tell you
freely what I thiuK, there are persons (among
us) who liaving this weakness also about them,
cannot bear as they ought your acrimony
and dissimulation, which you want to pass
off for prudence and modesty ; these men
have cause to be offended, yet would not be
so had they more greatness of spirit. Though
I also am u-ascible, and have been often pro*
voked to sharpness of style, I never acted
thus save to hardened and incurable repror
bates. I have restrained myself thou^ you
have provoked me, and promised in letters to
my friends, which you have seen, to continue
to do so unless you appeared openly against
us. For thougn you arq n#t m our senti-
ments, and many pious doctrines are con-
demned by you with irreligion or dissimula*
tiou, or treated in a sceptical manner, I never
can nor will ascribe a stubborn perverseness
to you.
•' * What can I do now ? Things are exas-
perated on both sides, and I could wish, if it
were possible, to act the mediator, that they
mieht cease toattack you with such animosity,
and suffer your old age to rest hi peace in
the Lord : and thus they would act, in my
opinion! if they either ooosidered your weak*
48S
BIOGilAPHY,
pcss, or tho i^«»ntness of the controverted
cause, \vhi<*h* iiath been long smce beyond
your ta?eut3. '^J hey would bhew their* mo-
deration the more,' since our atFairs are ar-
rived at that p^)int, that our cause is in no
{)eril though even BraMiuis attack it with all
lis migiit ; so far arc we from fearing some
of his strokes and stritiures. On the other
liand, my dear Erasmus, if you duly reflect
on your own imbec ility, you will abstain from
tlw'^e sharp and spiteful* ligures ot rhetork:;
and if you cannot or will not defend our sen-
timents, \ou will let them alone, and treat of
subjects which suit \ou bette;. Our friends,
pveu in your own judgment, have some cause
of anxiety al heiru^ h^hed by you, became
human iiilinnit^- thinks of the authoriiT sud
reputation ot Erasmus, and fears it. ludtfil
there is much difference between hira aivi liic*
rest of tlie papists ; he is a more fonniuable
adversary than all of them tmiteJ.'
" Thus Luther exhorts him to be ratlier a
spectator than actor in the tlragedy, an<i f)
bear with others as he expected Xhnj >boulil
bear with hnn. This letter was «TiUeo be*,
fore the Diatribe of Erasmus a^inst IjAher
was published. He wrote au answer tu it,
which is not in tlie collection of hi* Ept^l^;
but Sedcendorf hath given us air accoODi of
it, with some extracts.
Art. IX. — Orivrinal Anecdotes of Frederic the Second, King of Prussia, and of ki$ Fa-
miltjy his Court, his Ah'nisters, his ^Icadcmies, and his literary Fritnds : colUcted during
fl familiar InUrcourse qf' Tzicnti/ Years uith that Prince, Translated from the French of
UiEUDONNE Thiebault, Profssor of Belles Lettres in Hie Royal AcatLmy of Lcrk.x,
Li Two Voliunes. 8vo.
I SOLEMXLY declare, says Mr. Thie-
bault, no single word appears in this work
' which has not my entire belief. We pe-
ruse a book with much more satisfaction
after such an assertion in the preface, and
we fully believe M. Thiebault. Though
a French philosopher, and as such sent for
to Berlin by Frederic, there is not a single
passage in his volumes offensive either to
inorals or religion.
These very interesting anecdotes are
divided into five parts. The first is
«ii^ply entitled Frederic die Great, and
begins by con.^idering Frederic in his ordi-
nary comcrsation ; the work thas natu-
rally opening with an account of the au-
thor's first interview witli him. M. Thie-
bault arrived at Berlin in 1/65, with let-
ters from D'Alembert: he was admitted
the next evening to tlie king'3 presence 5
but M. le Catt, reader, or secretary of or-
ders to tlie king, could not induce liim to
conform to the usual ceremony of kissing
the flnp of the king'* coat. The inter-
riew was characteristic, Frederic talked
much, and hardly allowed time for an an-
swer ; he spoke of French literature, and
called Rousseau a madman. The cause
is curious : not many moutiis before he
had written to U'mw ia tliesp terms: — >
* Come, dear Kousscau, 1 offer you a
house, a penai(in, and liberty.* Jean
Jac ques replied with less prudence than
honesty, aad less civiUty than prudence :
' Your nir.jcsty oifers me an asylum, and
promises me liberty j but you have a
sword, and you are a king. You offer a
pciiiioii to me wIk; never did you a ser-
vice J but hive you bestowed one on each
of the bra\'e men who have lost eitlier a
leg or an arm ia doing you service Y No
wonder that Frederic should call him a
madman. The king made M. ITiicbauIt
give him his word of honour that be wq-M
not attempt to learn German : tlie luppy
consequences to German literature, of tiij
foolish predilection for the French iao«
guage on the part of Frederic, are now
well known, and his impolicy may bow
be fully appreciated.
Frederic was a tyrant in his convena-
tion 3 he liked to seem to forget lliat \»
was a king, but he liked that others should
remember it, and he dealt about personal
insults which would have broken up all
bonds of friendship between man aDd
man ; but which tlie friends ef hi^ ma-
jesty dared not resist, and were comi'»elled
to suffer. Rousseau was right. The* poor
flog who liies iii the lion's den in d»
Tower is tolerably well fed, but he cannot
get out 5 it is a great proof of affection in
his royal playfellow not to eat him up,
but he would be far happier tnniii^ a
spit, and fighting for" a bone when his work
was over. Frederic's literary fiiends had
just such a life as this.
M. TJhuebault thinks that he iiad a ftf!-
ing heart J but that he considered it bis
duty as a king to have no feeling. It is
indeed evident fi"om his actions that he
thought himself exempted from all ordi-
nary obligations of justice of hunianit)%
These notions make tyrants, and tyrants
make ' republicans J the evil ultiiitatriy
producing its own remedy. He spoke
with derision of aerostation ; the author
. is of opinion tliat he did not speak sin-
cerely, but tliat he dreaded tlie niiscLie-
vous purposes to whicli such a new power
would be applied. M. Thiebault himself
seeois to believe tliat Montgolfier hsd ^
THIRBAULT*S ANECDOTES OF FBEDERIC THE GHE^.
48§
'^mvetcA aa infaltiblcf method '6f guiding
baUooas in any weather not absoluteiy
tempestuous, wlijch \Vas kept secret by
the government J. and he agrees with Fre-
deric and M, de Calonne in his fears of
the discovefy. New iX)wcrs, like new me-
dicines, are always hurifiil *t firat from
tbeir misapplicatioD ^ but in like mani^r
become beneiicial at last. No donbt the
fir^it people who worked iron applied it to
conquer their neighbours. That we shall"
crer be invaded in balloons is not very
probable ; the mode of warfare, if prac-
ticable, would be too perilous. If ever
the art of war be brought to that perlec-
ticn, that no twx) ships, for ins txince, could
£ag2ge without tlic certain destruction of
i)och, war would be necessarily at an end.
Aerial battles are tor \hh reason impos-
<iblei were there no other. As for M,
Thiebault's apprehensions, that balloons
may furnish criminals with the meails of
escaping from the vigilance of govern-
ments and the vengeance of tlie law ; he
seems to forget that, wlienever that shall
be the case^ the constable may travel the
same way.
Fredtric in his youth. Such characters
as William the First of Prussia are still to
be found in private fife 5, but there neitlier
ire, nor will be any more such sovereigns.
Though wickedness and fatuity may never
be considered as disqualiiications for a
throne, brutality will not be suffered. If
a man pass muster as a human being by
the report of Jiis nurse and the midwife,
Jie may live oat the length of his days j
but an emperor majr be sniothered for a
paonster at full age, and no questions
jisked. We shall see no more such princes
?& Charles Xli. of Sweden, or the falher
of Frederic. William hated his son : he
thought him a coxcomb, as he was, and
did not perceive the indications of those
higher qualities which a searching eye
even then might have discovered. The
daughter of a tradesman at Potzdam had
suffered the prince to accompany her at her
music ; for this offence, as it was called,
by the king's command, she was whipped
publicly through the streets by the corti-
jfnon haugman. Fredesic bestowed a pen-
sion on her when he succeeded to tlie
crown. A match had been concluded
iipon between Frederic and the ^princcss-
royal of England j it was broken off by
the rascally intrigues of the Austrian mi-
nisters at I^ndon and Berlin. The queen-
mother arranged a plan that tlie prince
should coake his escape to Eng^nd, marry
his betrothed, and - remain tlfcre till ills
father were appeased or dead. Over-cauT
tipn in the arrangement of this led to «
discovery : Frederic was seized at the mo**
naent of setting of^-V^^pelled to be a
spectator of the e.\(j(*(fttqn of his dearest
friend> and in. danger Xjf d(^ath himself;
for William,, like Peter', tlie preat, was
ambitious of. liaving his son., beheaded.
'■ He will always be a viUain,*^«aid lie ^ the
prognosis was not altogether wrong 5 btife
William did not Suspect that his son's vil^
laihy would be of that sort which lie and
tiui world call heroic'. The Austrian am*
bassador saved him, by declaring tliat tha
p<jrsoii of the heir to the throne of Prussia
was under the safeguard of the Germanic
empire.' He wa«, however, rigorously
confined for some time; his greatest in*
dulgence, during this imprisonment, was a
connivance on the part of the commandant
to let him pass his evenings at a neigh-
bouring castle belonging "to die baron of
Wreck. Here he enjoyed the society of
an accomplished family, who supplied
hirii with all the comforts which he could
not else have^ procured, and even lent him
nioney to the atnount of six thousand rix-
dollars, This debt he never paid, and the
fainily was considered as under a cloud
during his reign. He regarded them as
criminal, in having disobeyed his father
to please him, and took advantage of the
law which prohibited the lending monej
to any of the royal family. An exempli*,
tication this of his favourite distinction be-
tween the diKies of a king and a man ;
but had he not possessed a thankless and
a bad heart, he never could so have ex-
emplified such a maxin ; to speak raor^
truly, he could have had no such maxitns.
M. Thiebault acquits him of that odious
vice of which he has been accused ; the
indecent phrases of wit, which gave occa-
sion to the calumny, are to be attributed
to his want of all respect for morals or re-
ligion. • • .
Frederic in his private end domestic Itfc,
The same order, and the same despotism,
distinguished his private as his public sys-
tem. All who were in his confidence
were slaves for life, , and tlierQ vi'as no re-
fusing an appointment. Among his pecu-
• liarities it may be noticed, tliat he was
<(ispo<$ed to dislike such persons as his dogs
barked at angrily : he thought these ani-
njals could discover, by their scent and in-
stinct, whetlierthey who approached had
any sort of sympathy witli his cliaracter.
These little greyhound bitches^ of which
II
4ga
BIOGRAPHY.
lie was very fond, he used to Cdil his
norchionesses de Tompadour, observing
that tliey cost less money.
" ^VTien he travelled, and even when he
JiPas engaged in war, he generally took with
him one oi' the gre}'bounds, which he earned
cither in his arms or inside hi» waistcoat. It
bas been affirmed that, in one of his waw,
having set out for the purpose of reconnoit; pig
the eieniy's armv, and being so closely pw*-
soed by the Austrians as to risk being taken^
be hid liimself under one of the arches of a
bridge which suddtnlv presented itself to Jus
\iew as he was descending a hiH, which the
enemy passed and repassed over his head
fithout once suspecting his stratagem : all
this time the little greyhound, who was com-
ii»»|ychiirjish, had scarcely breathed, any
mare than his horse ; and what rendered the
rircurostance particularly interesting to the
king was> that his piiacipal fear \f^d been that
Ihs greyhound would discover him* by her
baikmc. Tiiis it is said, is the reason of the
' creat atiWction Krederic ever "after bore her;
and of his erecting a tomb, with an epitaph
ID iw aise of her qualities, to her meniory in
the gardens of Sans-Soiici."
In general Frederic was sufpciently li-
lier^ to all those whom he invited to
Berlin ; but, in one instance, he was nei-
jlher generous nor just. A French sculp-
tor who forsook his service, never could
get his fcfir demands paid ; and, in his an-
ger, he vrrote tlie king a letter couched in
piain straight-forward language. He said,
that to have had to do with pickpockets
pad highw^ynaen, would, in comparison,
liave been advantageous to him, fpr agamst
them tliere were means of reparation md
«f ^-engeance, Frederic treated the letter
with contempt ; it is some merit that he
did not seek to destroy the writer. Leger,
m French architect, left him, because he
would mar one of Leger s plans by some
preposterous alterations, and the architect
preferred his art to his interest.
•' When Bcainnarchals purchased the ma-
«!ii9cripts of Voltaire after his death, he liad a
copy taken of the article this celebrated au-
thor had comi)osed under the title of his xvill,
for tht' purpose of describing, in his own
way, his dispute with Frederic at the time of
his* leaving Berlin to return to t'rance, toge-
ther wUii the arrest of both himself and ma-
«lame Denis his niece, on their arrival in
Franklart. r»caiiraarchais sent tliis copy to
the king of Pnib-U, accompanied with a lett^,
in which hr dc'^crib^d tl^is composition as
better calculated than any other to excite the
curio;>itv of reader^ ; hut'added, that he con-
ceived it to be his duty not to publish it till
he had laid it before htS inajesty, and tfwt tir
was ready to suppress it entirdv if such woe
the wish of his majesty, though it could not ;
be doubted that the said artkk woujd havtt '
been a principal iiiean» of remuner^iqg him !
the sum he had paid for the whole manuspr^ {
The king iest back his manuscript, thankta^ |
him for his offer, but at the same tiroe assuring
hhn that he had bis roost hearty wishes for the
sale of every p*rt of the parchase. Bcsih
marchais, mortified Qo doubt at not haTiag
SHcceeded in obtaining from Frederic a m
pf money for withholding wha^ at some tine
or other would infallibly be puldisM, mm'
4iately printed this production in a 9qa|ai|t*
edition, and put it mto ciixrutatioQ thraiigl^
out Europe. Samuel Pitra, the booksdkr, .
having received five-and-twcnty copies of if,
consulted riie whether he shonla ventuie«
selling them or send them lAck. I accor*
ingly dictated a letter which he sent to tht
king, together with a copy of the work, re
questing to know his majesW*s comoi2Dd>Qt
tiie subject. The king repficd, fee might «i
the books, provided there was nothiag iiih
proper m his nianner of annoiundiig ttem,
The whole were bopght in less tSin tro
days," ,
This feet !» ^uite characteristic dF Fre-
derics good sense. He knew the satiit
would be published at last, and was tw
wise tp purchase a temporary suppresionj
and he knew also that, to have prohibit^
it at Berlin, would have excited a gipatff
demand for it.
Old age, iiffirmiifs, and death qf Fw-
deric. H<J seems to have amsidered hiffl-
self as a sort of stage-player, and to ha^
kept up the character to the last. If he
thought himself pale, he put on rouge:
if he felt his mind flag, secretly conytyd
a lozenge of some stimulating materials tt
his mouth. It has been said that, at tht
last, he repented of his infidelity: tfiisi|
a pious falsehood. Frederic never fcand
death, and met it with perfect composme.
He had not feeling enough-=rhis httrtwa
not good enough — to have any hope in
death, but his imnd was never influenced
by fear.
Pan the second. Frederic tie Great eai
his Famly. Some curious anecdotes oc-
cur of his father and grandfather. Va-
nity was th^ predominant feature in Fre-
deric the First's character : his wife, Sopha-
Charlotte, sister of our George I., wasof
a better nature. When she wasin kr
last ilbess, some one endeavoured to pw-
suade her that the king would be in i«
deepest despair for her loss. ' As tor tto
king,' she replied, ' I need not make
myself uneasy 3 thecareof procnrii«iB»
V • :•'
.TII1EBAVZ.T 9 AKECDDT^S OF FREDEBTC TIITI CHEAT.
491
m th<> middle of the uoradp; and- drawing hii
pistols from bis sadcilc, im said, ' Sire, yoa
have dishoDoured me^ mid I mii^i havt; satis-
faction.* At the same nioment ha iired one
Mgnificent funeral will be sure to di-
f Jus grief; an<J shotdd every thing of
sort happen agreeably to his wishes,
m need m other consolation/ WiU ^^ ,^.^ .^^^ ^^^^ ^j,^. ^^.^ ^^^ ^^^^^^
fcp a more complex character -, coarse, - ^j{-,^ ■, y^^ , '1 hen aiming the oUier
||l^ tyraumcaL -•._....
Icing extremely fond of extrcising himr
S the art of painting, or rather daubing,
ally devoted one or two hour?; every
er dinner, to Uiat employment ; that
! enea^ a poor pauUer'with a large
f of children to prepare his colours, to
liie paid a ilorin tor every sitting ; that
Sui^ect to extreme sleepiness alter eat-
i dinner, it more than once happened
I on these oc*casiotis tO'draw his paint-
i ht)m the toji to the bottom of his
pii» so as to disni^iire his subject ; and
ion awaking, antf perceivijig Mh4t had
none, he pretended that tiie poor pauiter
■byed hhn this trick from jealousy, and
hio'^lybe did not f;iil in his fury to add
f hearty kicks or blows witii his stick to
pnerable florin.
intoxicated with the fruits of his genius,
xhP.>ited them to his courtiers, inviting
\ to declare their opmion of them : but
^voukluot liave endured the most tri*.
n, he was sure to receive nothing
es of their excellence. ' Well,
one day to one of these flatterers,
ished the most extravagant encomiums
of his pictures,^ * for how much do
^ine it could be sold if it were sent
k market?' — ' For a hundred ducats,
wl the picture would at last be given
'— ' Take it, then, 1 will sell it you for
because I see you are a gootl judge, and
|dad of the opportunity to do vou a
^ The poor courtier, compelled ta
te daubing, and to pay so high a price
* resolved to take good care how he
ended in future. I have seen one of
lug's pictures that prince Henry liad
Nw : nothing can be worse executed.
Bnce himself was of the same opinion,
pkept it merely because it was a faith-
irtseutaiion of the inside of his father's
Bg-room, and had in it some fij»ures
PJore a perfect resemblance to their ori-
W»me adventures he met with, however,
k a certain degree of impres'^ion on his
i and succeedetl in inducing him to
l^e his conduct as much as a sovereign
a character could be made to correct
I will mention one of them, after
he wa$ never known to strike an officer
anny. Irritated at tlie imperfect nian-
whifh some troops were executing a
p^^Tc, he ran at full parad<? up to the
r^ho commanded them, and gave him
W blows with his stick. I'his brave of-
^ already advanced in years, and much
*^ by the army, followed the king,
»pea hij, horse before that of his majesty
at himself, he cried, ThU hfor me I and shot
himself through the head."
Though Frederic never lived with hi«
queen, he treated her uniformly with re-
spect, and seenis to have liad a due esteem
for her good quidities. When she waf
ill, he wrote with his awn hand to his
physician, beseeching him to be especial I7
attentive, apd to recollect that she was the
person most beloved and most necessarf
to the state, to the poor, and to himselfl
His conduct to his eldest brother was per-
fectly brutal ; it was a part of his detest^
able system of king-craft. Prince Hemj
was better treated j but all his relations
were slaves, and all felt, the full weight of
their chains.
One very remarkable circamstance is
the superstition of tlie court of Berlin,
notwithstanding its ayoWed infidelity — ^we
say remarkable and not extraordmary, be-
cause superstition and infidelity often co-
exist. The queen of Sweden believed 10
Swedenburgs supernatural communica-
tions, if aiiy of tlie New Jerusalem
church should be among our readers, the/
will be edified by the anecdote.
"I know not on what occasion it was that»
conversing one day wiUi the queen on the
subject jof the celebrated visionary Sweden-
burg, we expressed a desire, particularly M.
Merian and myself to know what opmion
was entertained of him in Sweden. I on my
part related what had been told me respect^
ing him by chamberlain d'llaraon, who %vas
still alive, and w1k> had been auibassador
from Prussia both to Holland and 1" Vance, it
was that his brother-in-law, ambassador from
Holland to Stockhobn, havuig died suddenly,
a shopkeeper demanded of his widow tfie
payment m a bill fur some articles of drapery,
M'hicii she remembered had been paid in her
husband's life-time ; that the widow not being
able tt) iind the shopkeeper's receipt, had bceu
advised to consult with Swedcnburg, who she
was told could converse with the dead when-
ever he pleasfxi ; that she accordingly adopt-
ed this advice, though she did so less from
credulity than curiosity ; and that at the end
of a few days Sweden burg informed her that
her deceased husband had taken the shop-
keeper's receipt for the money on such a day,
art<l at such an hour, as he was readina such
an article in Bayle in his cabinet ; that nis at-
tention being called immediately afterward to
some other concern, he had put the receipt
into the book to mark the place at which he
Icil ol(, where m fact il was found at the page
4^'
^!0©RAJ]Uy.
ilr.-fcribpd. Thi^f^^vpfiqi replied, " that lliQUgfj,^
she was biit little iisjpospd to believe m *>ii<^b.
ws^ming miracles, she bad nevertheless' fcen
Wining t6 put the pc^vner'df 'M*. SwcdotUUi ?,
with TvlifHU she was a^'qittin*«ti, to th<j proof>'
that the anecdote I had related slie was pre-
vifKisly aa^uaintedwith, and was one of those
tliat had most excited her astonishment,
though ^\e had never taken the pains to as-
csejlaiu its truth ; thjit M. Swodenburg having
cimie one evening to her court, she had taken
fcim a>jide, and begj:fed hhn to inl'onn hirtisdf
«*' her deceased brother the prince royal of
Pni*^<ia, what he said to lier at the moment of
h.'T taking leave ot him for the court of Stock-
liolin : she added, that what he hiid said was
ot a nature to render it impossible that the
prince could have repeated it to any one, nor
had it ever escaped her own Hps ; that some
ciaj'S after Swedenbiirg returned, when she
va.s seated at cards, and requested she would
grant him a pri\'ate «udirnce ; to which she
replied, he miglit communicate what he had
to say before ti>e company, birt that Sweden-
burg assured her he could Jiot declare his er-
r«ind in the presence of witnesses \ that in
consequence of this intimation the queen be*
came agitated, gave her cards to another
lady, and retjueited M. de Schwerin, who was
also pr«sent wiien she related us the story, to
ac*con>pany her ; that they accordingly went
together into another apartment, where she
posted M. de Schwerin at the door, and ad-
^faiK-ed toward its furthest extremity with
Swi'denburg, who said to her, * ^'ou t^ok,
anadam, your last leave of the prince of Prus-
sia, yoiu-* late and august brother, at Charlot-
lenhurg, on jyuch a day and at such an l>Our
of the afternoon : as you were passing after-
▼ards through the long gallery, in the castle
oi Cliarlottenburg, you met him a^aiu ; he
then took Tou by the hand, ind led you to
such a wiiKiow, where you could not be over-
hyavd, and thn said to ybu these words.'
The queen did not repeat the words, but
protfsird to us they were the very same as
ler brother had pronounced, and that she re-
tauwd of Uiom the most ptrtect recollection:
shif addi'd^ that siie had nearly fainted with
the slio< k s!te experienced, and called on M.
dc b<h\V('rin to answer for the truth of what
jiie had '^aid, who, in hit laconic style, con-
ti'iilr'cL him^tir with saying, * All you have
said, inadani. is perfectly true, at least as far
a> 1 ain concerned.'"
The princess Amelia used to consul^ for-
tune-i(-ilcrs when her brother w as at war,
and ?»})cm whole days in having cards drawn
to divine fbrliim, regularly transmitting to
him I lie restdts. A number of persons of
tlie first distinction at his court were
duped by a fellow who pretended he knew
how t6 make the devil reveal all the hid-
den treasure;^ in Germany. They, per-
formed all the necessary rites to the devil j
aiid, among others^ the sacrij&ce of a he
goat, every hafr of which was Uack. v^
for which, when found yrith infinite difts
CQltj^r ;his vjejgbt ;in gold was paid. Ow
Qf these advemurers was a canon of Bi»
denbargh ; L know not wliether his deh,
tal- profession j/iBhould prevent me (bs^
saying, tliat of all these worshippers of tl|
devil, lliere wms probably not a single^
who believed in the existcnee of aGni 'j
Pcu^ the Third, Frederic the Great A^j
his Court. This part contains some
amusing anecdotes. M. Hiiebault s
very unfavourably of Jlaynal and L-,._
upon wliich the translator (if indeedit I
not translated by a female hand, as vea
induced to suupect by some petty inaaa
racies) has thought proper to remark lb
he speaks contemptuously of these ma
and of such as these, not because be k
spises them, but because it is thefasbja
so to do. The translator may think ^
and say so j but he ought not to ha^ sif
pressed any expressk)n of the author, bi
cause his opinion of these worthies h^
pened to be different. Nor do we see tk
slightest reason for accusing M.Thiebml
of this ungenerous accommodation toti
spirit of the times. He wrote like an Ik
pest man, never affecting to disguise I
own opinions, but never offensively fl|
truding them. Nor is it- for didr o^
nioiTs that he speaks unfavourably ot'S^
nal and Diderot, but for their condart
both were rf^ues, and we see no real
why intidelity should be allowed chari^
prerogative, of covering the multitude (
tiieir sins.
The various ambassadors at Berlia pfl
iirider M. Thiebault's review. Diploma^
like every thing else, has since those tiiaa
undergone a revolution ; the office of aai
bttssador was then thought a high sita^
tion, which required matured judgmrtl
and soimd talents — ^it is now considerrfi
an apprenticeship to the trade of politidi
at Iiome. We have not fotmd die ndxwi
tages of the alteration. Two English mi-
nisters, sir Andrew Mitchel, and Mr.
Elliot, are liiglily spoken of in these me^
moirs j of the latter thers is some singuitf ^
seciet history much to his honour. i
Part the Fourth. Frederic and his G«- 1
vemnient civil and militaiy. Mediodical|
detail is not to be looked for in sudiij
work as this j the anecdotes, however, by j
which these heads are illustrated, arc no* j
merous and curious. Higldy as }d. Thie-
bault ranks the king of Prussia, he is bf
no means disposed to palliate or coaccd
the hideous despotism of his government j
the rigour of the military system ia par-
I'HIEfiAIM.T S ASECDOTES OF MtEDKBIC TSE fiaSAT.
*s»
rcular excites his indignation. William
t was who estabiifthed or enforced the
iw which raakes e\'ery man in Prussia of
he lower orders a soldier, if tlie inspect-
nf^ol^cers chase to take him-r-a, slavery
iPorse than the old feudal system. When
his was first put into execution, m5ny
riio lived upon tlie Irontiers emigrated,
fid many mutilated themselves 3 but it is
ihe nature of man to accommodate him-
plf to every thing, and the Prussians now
|iK>k upon tlieiuselves as regularly born to
idlitai}^ service, as the Turks do to cir-
Kimcision. Of the dangerous effects of
sruel discipline some important examples
jR related. One general had so .tyran-
^ed over his regiment, that they swore
bairn tlieir In-st cartridges at him wlien*
pet they should be called out to face the
pcmy, he knew this, and had no re-
(Bedy : th«y went into battle, 'and, in the
JKt discharge, he wi pierced witlj lifty
feoDets. The following story is more cx-
faordinary, and might furnish some (^er-
^an dramatist with no uninteresting sub-
ilbct.
"A short time after this v^tlt, a priynte in
iwgiment in garrison at Neiss, in Silesia,
Briicd considerabl** attention: he -was a na-
ire of France, extremely handsome in per-
lbD,and appeared to have received ^n- ex-
oBent education, while he af the same
pie refused to satisfy llie. curiosity and in-
iBwt his appearance had excited. His
Jenisting to gh'e no particular accoimt of
llHelf oflfeiKfcd his officers; be was treat-
ji with severity, and resolved to revenge
Kmself. He liad witli him a young woman
toarkablc for her beauty, and of no less
dRolution and discretion than hiniiielf. She,
fegcther with some other women belong-
bg to the soldiers, engaged in a trafiic of
•Wraband goods; and every time she went
•ktto Bohemia on thh account, she brought
kd a small supplv of bullets and giinpoivder,
Mich she concealed with the otmost care.
Ii the uiean while her husband gamed some
Hhcr scddien to his interests ; but this with
i pjuch caution, tliat eacli sokUer believed
fteself the only person contided in; at length
Jehad sufficient accomplices to strike the
Amible blow he had premeditated . He fixed
fbe day and hour for attacking and disarming
Jlltiie sentries on the different sides o< the
ttown at the same moment. He chose for
.limsdf the corps de gardt at the gate lead-
^ to Bohemia ; his accomplices loitered un-
ited Deaf the euard, white he himself was
letting a wouQ-cutter's axe upon a stone
nt happtued to be near tlie sentinel. At
first stroke of the hour af fvp^Jye lie
J upon tde-sefitipel, cleaved down his
f and seized lus arms t at the same 4n-
: tlurtf acoon^tioet prvc^itatcd tliem*
selves among the guards, seized all the muv
kets that fell in their way, loaded them, atdi
nwrched straight to the gate.
* *f A sentinel under the archway madea*
attempt to let down the portcullis ; the chief
of4he rebels ran .up to him, and at a ijingie %
stroke of hid a.ve «ut otF liis hand at the wrist.
The i^uards without the gate tlien endeavour-
ed to im]>ede their iliglit ; but the former ri red
upon them and killed seven or cigiit, while
the re§t ran to hide themselves. Our un-
knpwji soldier bad with liim tiiirty men, and
the^ he marched with the utmost speed tiv
ward the frontier, a long league distant fr«n»
the town. • What saved the garrison w as, that
the clocjis varied in point of time: tliat by
which our hero conducted his mea'^re*
proved to be a quarter of an hour before the
others, which gave time for beating the geiie-
rdl and putting the regiments wider arras.
In consequence, tlie soldiers who were to at-
tack the other corps of sentries w-cre oblicjedi
te enter the ranics, and were tlius i>revf nteJ
from executing their project ; a circumstian^e
that at the same time secured them from de-
led ion and even frOm suspicion.
*' Some troops of cavalry were hastily dis-
patched after the thirty fugitives ; but the
latter opposed them with "SO much bravery
and skill, tliat they killed the greatest partiif
themand jnit the Vest to flight : the escape,
• however, of the thirty was relanled by this
eiKounter, and gave time for a battaUou \x>
overtake them when they were within a quar-
ter of a leacue of the frontier, where Uie
Auslvians, stiltliere and others, were waiting
for them. Tlie female smuggltTs were hast-
ening with a new supply of powder and bul-
lets, when the battalion surrounded the fugi-
tives, all of whom, like the soldiers of Cati-
line, fought desperately till they were either'
killed or wonndtd: they would even have
made a longer resistance^ and slaughtered a
greater number of their enemies, but that
^ they had exhausted their stock of cartrid^rcs.
** A singular circumstance was, that their
leader was tlie laU man who was taken, and
that not till his thigh had been broken in ilir'
contei:ti he had still a load of powder litlt^
but no bullets, the want of which he auppHed
by one of his coat-buttons ; and thus, silliiig
on the ground, he killed the^ officer who liiibt
attempted to- seize his per<:oii. He va^
brouglu back to Neiss, together with a small
number of the remaining survivors, wTio, hk^
hunselfi were wounded ; they were unmedi-
ately conducted to a council of war.
*' Their leader was tirst asked what wai
his true name, his family, and country. * Alt
tins does not concern you,' replied he; * d»
not wab'te your time in putting to rae inter*
rogations I shall never answer.. The quesiioa
at "present is to send t"<i to the scaftbld; of
what importance, therefore^ can it be to know
• who I am?' — * How manv accomplice^ have
vou, and who are they'r — ' On this j)oint it
is also useless for you to mlake xiiquiries, for
th^ jBeicret 19 ii/ fio breast but juiae^ ami n*
\
494
BIOGRAPHY,
power on earth sball wrest it from mc, or
make me Uis<.:over a single iiulividnai of them.
I)o «ot, thiirefore, torture my unfortunate
oompauiouH in tJiis respect, for Ihey are not
m possession of my secret. I have teen my-
teit'thecoiiiideut of alt» taken individually,
and none among them has b^^en the confident
of inotiier. Jji my breast alone is this secret
▼ested, and witli ine it shall descend ti> the
^ve inviolate/—* What motive induced
you to- conceive, plan^ and execute so hor*
lible a crime ?' — ' Vour baibarity ! You are
all tyrants, monsters thirsting for blood, tigers;
and courage, not justice, is wanting to your
fictims to purify the eartli of both you' and
the deeds you execute !'
" As he pronounced the>e words, his cap-
tain advanced ^riously toward him, and gave
¥entto the most extravacpmt invectives, at
ilie same time strikins him a blow on the
breast ; tbe soldier, >^ilii the rapiditv of light-
ning, seized the l>a>onet of one of the guards
who supported hiiii, and plunged it into tlie
heart ot his captain, saying as he did it, ' Take
this, mpnster ! I shalfnow enjoy the consola-
tion of sendmg thee to -hell before 1 die!'
Then addressing himself to the council in ge-
neral, he said, * Of what ser\'ice is it to de*
fer my .execution ? If, however, you wish me
to revcfal any thmg, let me be ftirnished with
materiak for writing to the king. I will tell
him ever^' thing, provided no one sees my
letter ; tbiat I stall be allowed to seal it with
my own hands, and give it into those of the
postmaster in the presence of several per-
sons.' The members of the council, fearing
Ibe would prove some serious accusation
against theia^ refused his proposal,
** When rrcderic came to Neiss, at the
time of the next reviews, he reproached the
fiiperior ofiicers of the garrison, in the seve-
rest tenns, fpr having rejected the proi>osal
knarde by this cruuiual of writir.s; to the king:
he decliared plainly, that nothing but their
accusing consciences iiad actuated their con-
•IttcV'
A ffmilar conspiracy was once formed
at Berlin, These facts were bushed up,
that the people niiglit remain in ignorance
of their danger, and the army of their
strength. Frederic himself one day when
reriewing his troops, expressed his admi-
^tion to the prince d'Anhalt, that, in the
midst of such au army, they should be in
perfect safety. Here, said he, are sixty
thousand men, who are all iiTeconcilable
enemies to both yon and myself; not one
among them that is not a man of more
strength and better armed than either, yet
they all tremble at our presence ! The
story of the officer, shot for keeping a
light in his tent in disobiedience of his or-
ders wh'de he wrote to his wife, is without
the slightest foundation.
The l^story of barctt. TreQcI& appears Vj^
this part of the work : an intrigue uiii
the princess Amelia was his real offence.
They who over-value the advantages d
wealth and rank, may beUe^e it a happy
thing to bti a prince ; but there can be do
doubt that it is a ver}' nnliappy tliiog to be
a princess. The history is exceedinglj
afllfcting. No people seem to indulge in
such extravagance of feeling as tbe Ger-
mans ; the best religion for them would
be quakerism.
Part the Jtjth. Frederic, hii Acadmj,
his Schools, and his Friends liurary and
pkilosophicaL In tlie commencement rf
this part we meet with a sad instance o(
hterary anger. M. Pothe had wriiico m
account of all tbe books which had erer
been published upon chemistrj', in chro-
nological order j and had made extrrcH
from them of all tlie discoveries or ia-
provemeuts which they contained, scrih
pulously preserving tlie original teiu q
eveiy instance. ITiis most valuable aid
most laborious work he threw into tk
fire, because another person was nak
professor of natural philosophy in ll»
academy of Berlin, an honour which te
himself had expected \
At the commencement of his le^
Frederic had formed the singular cb^
of building a huge pantheon, to senesf
temple for all religions* in which ewi?
sect might come at its separate hoor^sil
exercise its own form of worship. He
thought by this means to induce a sfiiit
of toleration, and no doubt he thcugk
also, by thus accommodating all religioii-
equally, to shew his equal contempt ofaB,
Counsellor Jordan dissuaded him ^in tla
foolish plan. It i.s to- this person, 7I0;
seems to have been the best of Frcderic'i,
friends, that Berlin is indebted for iii^
Hoksenkop, an institution which rcigli,
with great advantage be imitated in Lod*
don. It is a large building to which ii£
vagabonds are conducted, till it u \amv
who they are j where their wants are a^
plied, but where the)', are compelled ■
work. We wish the detail of thu sdew
had been fuller. ^
Voltaire has, of course, an articfe 4
some length devoted to his Prussbn ad*
ventures. He makes a better figure ia
the history than the kiag : bat it is < h^
tory not verj' much to the honour
either. The marqnis d^Aigens is a
more interesting character; for ooli
Voltaire, ail his errprs- were enof^ of t
understanding only.
Frederic l^haved with his usual tjn
xry, and oot hi* usual generosity^ to t
Stark's BiocaAPHiA scotica.
49s
marquis ; who did not Consent to put him-
tel( into the lion^s den^ ^vithout making a
special treaty that he should be at liberty
to quit his majesty's service \* hen he had
reached die age of seventy. He hnd a
brother in France who dearly loved him j
the tics of blood grow stronger as we grow
older: as the time of his enaancipatiou
i()proached, his brotlier built him a house^
laid oat his gardens for hun, and expected
him with eagerness, that they might pass
tiie few years which remained of life to-
jether. But Frederic, though he had
Ceased to regard the marquis with friend*
liiip, or to treat him with kindness, could
not bear to part with a man whom he was
in the habit of insulting : his sex'enlieth
rear arrived, he did not dare demand his
Release, because he knew it would be re-
used, and he only ventured to request a
bve of absence tor six months to visit his
kodier, whidi tlie tyrant would not grant
to he had given his Word of honour to re**
pn at the time appointed- The marquis
6wt lus word, but fell ill upon his return.
ppederic was indignant at the delay, and
lot knowing the cause, suspected tliat the
M philosopher paid as little respect to his
' promise, as he himself had done to the
terms stipulated when he invited him to
Berlin,- and immediately he gave ordera
tliat his pension sliOuld be stopped, A
friend of the marquis very properly sent
him notice of what had been done, by a
traveller who was exhorted to hnd him
out, and who succeeded. His feelings
were such as tlicy ought to be, feelings of
anger not of sorrow : he -wrote to the king,
in a style which may easily be conjectured^
and returned to his brother. Frederic or-
dered him a marble monument when h© ,
died ', there was some decency in this,
but it will not prevent evehy reader frooi
thinking him an ungrateful and ungcnc;*
xous tyrant.
These volumes abound with interesting
matter. M. Thiebauit appears to be a
very faithful^ as well as a very intelligent
writer : he writes so impartially, lhat
though he evidendy regards Frederic in a
favourable light, his book leaves an un*
favourable impression upon the reader.
The king of Prussia appears as a worso
brother, a worse friend, and a worse man,
than we had before supposed him.
IfcT. X.— -BtfligrapAfa Scotica ; or Scottish biographical Dictionanf : containing a short Ae^
* etnaUoftke Lives and Writings qf'tf^ most eminent Persons, ond reviarkablt Characters^
^^'ativcsof Scotland^ from t& earliest ylgcs to the present Timts. i/^ J. Stark. En^
Mished tdth Portraits. 18mo.
: A USEFUL book of reference, so far
I the dates are concerned^ of births, mar-
bges, deaths, and the publication of
teres. We have before stated our ge-
pal objection against such meagre me-
|oiis; but in justice to Mr. Stark, we
^ happy to allow tliat although the po:*-
jBits 1^ has drawn are mere sketches,
iere are many of them likenesses. The
Wines might be tilled up with advan-
tland has produced her full propor-
of genius, talent, and ehterprize: we
iot like to see them compressed within
Dompass of a nut-shell. If tliis should
e as the nucleus to a larger work, we
ilmost dispo9ed to advise the omission
ill royal personages. To delineate
r character is the office of history : in
ttk of tlus kind, particularly on a small
'* they must necessarily occupy a dis-
Wkmate share of room, and after all
ery imperfecdy podrtrayed.
Ruddiigan (Thomas), was bom in the
ot Boyndie, Banflkhire, in October
lie W4S initiated in grsunmar at the
parish school of Boyndie, and liavina:, in No-
vember 1690, gone'to Aberdeen, he obtained
a bursar}' in thiit university. In June 1694,
he obtained the degree of master of arts. He
was now engaged by Robert Young of Auld-
bar to assist the studies of his son. While 'm.
this situation, hearinflr, in February 1695, of
tlie decease of Patrick Bellie, the school-
master of I-aurcnce-kirk, in the Mearns, he
obtained his place, partly by the reconnnen-
datk>n of his present patron, though perhaps
as much by his own reputation for diligence
aud learning. Here he remained for three
years s^nd a half, till towards the end of I699,
that an Occident opened new prospects to his
view* Tiie celebrated Dr. Pitcairnc being
detained by violence of weather at tliis incon-
siderable hamlet, which had not yet a library
at the inn, fek the misery of liayiug nothing
tv do. Wanting societV) ho inquired if t here
was no person in the village who could inter-
change conversation, and would partake of,
his dinner* The hostess informed him, tliat
the schoohnaster, though young, was said to
be learned, and though modest^ she was sure
could talk. Thus met Pitcairnc, at the ag«
of forty-seven, with Kuddinian,at twonty-tive.
Their hterature, their politics, apd their ge-
neral cast of mind, were mutually pleasing to
each other. Pitcairne invited Uuddimantu
496 .
BIOGRAPHY.
Etiinburgli, offered him his patronage, and
pcrfonned in the eDd, what is not always ex-
pcrenced, us much as he originally promised.
Itiiddiman aicordinglv came to tiiatcity in
1700; and on the second of May 1702, he
was appointed assistant librarian to the Advo-
cates* Libmr} . hi 1709, he published ' John-
stojji CanticfSolomonis paraphrasispoetica.'
To an edition of the translation of Virgirs
Jtlndd by Gavin Dong'as, ].ubli5hed in 1710,
Mr. Ruddiman ^TOte the ' Urge glossary,
explaining the difficult \va.rds, ana serving for
a dictionary to the old Scottish language.' A
vacancy happening soon after, in the grammar-
school ot Dundee, the magistrates invited our
grammarian to fill the ouice of Rector ; but
!e Faculty of Advocates, unwilling to part
with him, voluntarily gave him an addition to
his annual salary, to induce him to continue
in their service. In 1714, Ruddimao pub-
lh;hed 'The Rudiments of the Latin Tonffue ;'
a work which will traiifniil his naoie wHh ce-
lebrity to everv age, as lon^ as the language
of Rome shall be taugjht m the schoob of
Scotland. An entire edition of the works of
Diichanan, with notes by our author, made its
appearance in 1715, in two volumes folio. In
tlie same year he commenced printer, in co-
partnerslnp with his brother Walter; and the
tirst production of their press was the second
volume of * AbercrombyS Martial Atdiieve-
meiits.' In 1725 he published the first part
of his ' Grammatics Latins Institiitiones,'
and the second ])art was delivered to the learn-
ed world in 1721. Mr. Ruddiman engaged
as the printer of a newspaper, * I'he Caledo-
nian Morcury,' in 1724, and in 1729 accjuired
the propertv of the paper, which contmued
in his iamify to the year 1772. In 1737,
when he was upon a visit at London, Ruddi<«
man engaged to edit the ' Diplomata et
Numisniata Scc^a/ a work left imperfect by
the death of the author, Mr. James Ander-
son. Mr. Ruddiman's preface to that work
is a masterpiece of its kind. After tliis great
performance, he ceased for a while from his
labours, at the age of sixty^five. The * Di-
plomata,' which added more to his •reoo\i'n
than to his fortune, was the last book of any
magnitude which his diligence edited. lii
1745, however, he wrote a 'Vindication of
Buchanan's version of the Psalms,' in opposi-
tion to a learned English gentleman, who had
preferred the version of Dr. Johnson, f n this
elal>orate book, which is a standard of criti-
rism, Mr. Ruddiman shews his unbiassed re-
ffiird to truth and merit ; for though he imd
ditfered from Buchanan as a historian, he
would maintain his superioiity as a poet. Du-
ring the calamitous summer of 1745, Ruddi-
m<m retired from the 'disturbed scenes of
Edinburgh to the se(|uesteied quiet of tlie
c<iuritry. Here he diverted the dreary days
of rebellion, b^r pursuing his accustomed stu-
dies. It was in the retirement of a farmer's
dwelltne that he wrote, -without any pnrpose
of publication, ' Critical Obflervatk>ns onBur-
man'j Commentary upon Lucan's Pharsalia,*
which tliat eminent scholar had published at
Le)'den in 1740. After this time, be puh
lisKed several small treatises on disputo
parts of the Scottish hislory, to wliirh bewa
called by some \\ho had attacked him witi
abundance of scurrility and abusive language
He preser\'ed die dignity of a scholar and:
christian. M hi Ic he mamtaiued tlie troth, h
kept his temper; shewed he had the grot
ness to pity, and the charity to forgive; aec
was as far superior to his opponeuts in good
breeding as in real knowledge. His priad
pies were formed upon mature refiectiga;
but once convinced they were right, be wu
very steady to them, though at the same tioK
he could make great aliowances forUiosevlu
did not think ashe did. In October 1751, si
the age of sevent v-stven, he ips obliged ts
ask the aid of pnysicians for ntreservhig bb
si&;bt, which, however, they aid not ^kd
Yet this misfortune, which to a sdiolarcsB-
fiOt be easily supplied, did not preveM In
from doing sood acts to his relalkais, md
contlnuinj^ his correspondence with kii
friends; bom pursuing nis studies, and pro-
ducing, meantmie, hb edition of Livy, wfa^
Uarwood declares is- one of the most accoiaie
that e\'er was published. Glasmyw had to
boast of the spotless perfection of nerHona^
in 1744; Edmburgh had reason, sakl thU
able critic, to triumph in the immansbtepi*
rity of Riiddiman's Livy, in 1751. Tkts^
privation of sight brought with it other Iqms
besides the retardation of his usual labom^
and the hindrance of his aocuslnBed vafti^
Ruddunan had a spirit too cooscientkNB ai,
too independent to hold aa office which k;
could no longer execute. And, on the nfcl
of January 1752, he g^ve in a resignatioB Hj
the Faculty of Advocates of hb charge w
their librarian, which he had di^gently evi
cuted for almost half a centurf . His ktttf^
of resignation he wrote in Enriwih,<
his gratitude for their many nivour8,'ao4i
feriiig Ws prayers for their future
When the late Dr. Johnson was told m \
kittguage ouF gi^mmarian bad relh .
hb trust, and expressed his thankfulnesi^ 1
said, < That such a letter from such a f
ought to have been in Latin.' Yet of I
diman Johnson declared, ' That hb 1
is not his hishest^excellence;' and i
as a maikouus kmduess, a copy of the I
bier, when it was republished at "* " "
Ruddiman, howev<a-, had outlived hb
ties ; and the bwyers of Scotland were J
learn, that their Irbrarian could m-rite Tui
language with TuUv's purity. RuddimaBfi
at Edinburgh on Wednes^y the Idth J
ixrj 1 757, when be had advanced into the 8
3-ear of his age. He Iiad lived for seven y
under the afflittku of bodily dbeases crt
rious kinds ; but his mojitd powers rcmsi
unshaken to the end He had been long
dieted by the strangury; he had been i
what stupified bv dcafoe«s; and at the ss
time tliat the si^t olf one of bis e\<s was U
the vision of the other was ahnost extingui
ed. He was buried in the cemctcrr of 1
Gi-ey-friars church. "
PILKINGT0N*8 I>ICTI011A$Y OF JAINTEK8*
4§7
Ait. XIII.— ^ Dictumartf of Painters^ from the Revival qfthc Art to the present Perfod ;
by the tivv, M. Pii.KiNGTON» A- M. A tu-w Edition, xvith considerable AUeraHoMi
Additions, an Appendix, and an Index, by Henry Fuseii, It. A. 4to. pp. 693;i
WE have been rather doubtful what
portiou of our pages, we ought to bestow
00 this volume. As a republication, it
would have been entitled only to a slender
notice, liad it hot been for the high cha-
lacter of the present editor. But when
ws consider tlie quantity of original matter
sow brought forward, in the shape either
cf alterations, critical notes, or additional
lives, we feel it a duty to pay more than
ordinary attention to a work which has
been so reformed.
Our principal object in the following
Rnurks will be to point out some of the
priudpal novelties, whether in biography
or criticism, introduced for the drst time
into this edition. We shall also advert to
a few instances. In which, ^according to
4tar ideas, there are still wanting some
touches from the pen of a master, to give
life and zest to the judicious but cold and
.iDaainiate compilations of Pilkington.
Ur. Fuseli, as an original and competent
observer, should have suffered n6 artist pf
feal or reputed excellence to pass by with-
out some testimony to his merits^ or re-
prehension of his defects*
Coasidering tliat Giovanni Cimabue,
bora at Florence so* early as tlie year 1240,
was the first person who revived painting
after its unfortunate extirpation, it is im-
possible not to regret the slender notice
he has obtained. .After retrenching the
testimony of Vaaari, and the circumstance
recorded by the commentator on Dante,
Mr. Fuseli contents himself with simply
telling us in a note, that " Dante men-
tions him in the eleventh canto of his
purgatory, as one who considered himself
without a rival till Giotto appeared."
Mr. Fuseli has corrected the date of
Hasaccio's birth, and. has consequently
fuppfessed the secondhand astonishment
of Pilkington, at tjie prematuce " genius,
judgment, talent, and execution," of a
roan who died at the age of twenty-six.
^e real ground of admiration ^s the
Eveliness with which he imitated nature.
His skill in perspective has been bom-
liiended by Vasari. The present editor
has given, in the room of what he has
«nutted, a. short oote pf his own. It fur-:
niihes a compendious but coBiprehensive
character of a painter, who was accou2ited
ihechlef of the second age, and therefore
£aim& an important' link in ih» chain of
modern artr
Am.iLEv.VouIV.
'< Masacciq was a genius and the head ctf
an epoch in the art. He is^y be cpusidered
as the precursor of Raphael, who imitated his
principles, and iioniethnei transcribed hi$
figures. He had seen what could be seen of
the antique, at his tune, at Itome, but his most
perfect work are the frescos of S. Pietro al
Carmmeati<lorence; where vigour of con-
ception, truth and viN-acity of expression, ^eoT'
rectness of design and breadth of manner, ar«
supported by uu^ sdid surprising harilKN^
of colour.**
The manner u^ which Raphael strugglel
from his rude essays under the gnidancs
of Pietro Pemgino, till ho reached the
triumphant height of his later and im«
mortal compositions, is well deiBcribed in
Pilkington s article. But Mr. Fuseii'a
note is so cliaracteristic and discriniina-
tive, as to throw^the criticisms of his pre-
decessor altogether into the shade. H«
does not seem to allow Raphael tliose
qualities which would have entitled him
to the appellation of ** divine," in the
literal . sense of the word. He tells ut^
and with apparent truth, tliat " the painter
of humanity not often wielded with suc-
cess superhuman weapons. His godg
never rose above prophetic or patriarchal
forms. The softness of his airs, so at-
tractive to common observers, is censur^
ed on the score of defective character*
Roundness, mildness, sanctimony, and
insipidity, compose in g^eneral tb(^atui«i
and airs of his Madonnas, transcripts of
the nursery, or some favourite face." But
the felicity and propriety of hiajudgmofl^
in the dramatic dq>artment of his srt^
whetlier we consider it in respect to b\B
" invention in the choice of the moment
his composition in the arrangement of tha
actors, or his expression in the delineatioa
of their emotions," the critic considers i»
unrivalled. The connoisseur, and the un-
tutored gazer, will join in their assent to
the following panegyric on his Magdalenii,
and other characters of conflicting passion.
^* The character of Mary Magdalen met
his, it was the character of a passion. JtT
is evident from every picture or design^
at every period of iiis art, in which she
had a part, tiiat he supposed her enamour-
ed. When she follows the hodyef the
Saviour to the tomb, pr throws Jbersef
dishevelled over his figxu, or addisesseshim
when he be£tf^ hift cross, the cast of hvx
ieaturesj Jber inode, her action, a» tho
498
BIOGRAPHV.
ckfracterof love in iagonv. When' the
dranul Inspired ftafFaiello^ nis * women be-
iCflme.definttionsof ^ace arid- pathos at
boce; ^ So6h ts Uie t^xqaisite line bnd turn
*of the averted faalf-kneeling female with
two chfUren, anfong the spettafors of tlie
' {iqniiih'meat inflicted on Heliodorus 3 her
' att'tfude, the turn of her neck, supplies all
face> and intin^tes more than he ever ex-
pressed", by features." We conceive Mr.
. r useli*^^ reoiacks on the dramatic turns of
. attrtude-atid-of £tce, in Raphael's compo-
sitions) to be particularly exemplified by
the cartoon of St. Paul and Barnabas at
Lystra. Neither would the critic venture
to speak of his ** excursions into tlie pure
epic or sublime/' as becoming inadequate
to the majesty and grace of the occasion,
f, while he was contemphting his picture of
- the resurrection of Christ.
The labour of Vinci to produce tlie
. stroke of iifei>y the imitation of nature,
even to the hairs of the eye-brows and
the {lores of the skin^ is curiously illus*
• ttated in the text by the portrait of Mona
Liaa, which Mr. Funelf) in his leanK?d
• note; te^cnta the third period of this
tftisC. Neither can lee too strongly re-
. commend to the m^iderns this painters
diffidence of bis own powers^ whose eye
. kept his liantd nnder restraint, by compar-
ing the Ktual performances of \he latter
with the excellence of the original con«
. peptions. Mt, Puseli*s character of Vinci
is among the mtist eloquent of his pas-
.*' Lionardl^da Vinci broke forth witli
: a spleT^'our-wbicheclipsed all his predo-
-.4»*^rjii made op of all the elements of
genius, favoured by fbrifi, ^ucation, and
.^ircaiTjurfauces, all ear,«ll eye, all grasp,
.,pa|nt«rj.pc«t,.jculptor, anatomist, archi-
. tpct^ engineer^ chemist> machinist, musi-
^ciaih'Philosopiier^ and sometimes empi-
.iric, he laid hold <>f ^very beauty in the
enchanted circle, but without exclusive
..attachment to. one, dismissed in her turn
.each. Fitter to scatter hinte tlian to teacli
<])y example, he waited life insatiate in ex-
.^pRffenent To a- capacity which at once
{)«neLrAted. tlie principle and real aim of
:.|he art« ihcL joined an inequalit)' of fancy
\ /tbat'rat one moment lent himvVins:<? for
• .riiQ.pursnit^f beauty, and the next thing
Million the gtouini to crawl after defor-
;.*>iityi ■' We .owe lo him chiarosctiro with
all its magic, but , character Mras hk iavon-
rite «itudx ; xharacter he has often raised
f^om-Aii individuai to a »(>ec}e4, i(tid 9%
often depressed to a monster from an in-
4i\ iduaL His notion of the most elabo*
rate finish, and hts want of perseverance,
were at least equal. Want of persever-
ance alone could make him abandon bii
cartoon designed for the great council-
chamber at Florence, of which the cele-
brated contest of horsemen was but one
group ; for to him who could organize
diat composition, Michael Angelo hiimelf
■might be an object of emulation, but
could not be one of fear. His line vai
free from meagreness, and hts forau pre-
sented beauties, but he appears not to
hare ever been much acquainted, or to
have sedulously sought much aequaiot-
* anoe, witli the antique* The strength of
his conception lay in the delineation of
male heads; those of his females o«e
nearly all their charms to chiaroKunv
they are iieldom more discriminated dm
the children tliey fondk^ they aie sisien
of one family."
One of the leading articles which Mr.
Fuseli has written over ^ain, is die lift
of Correggio. It is selected, to be girai
entire, as an' impartial specimen of fab
. biograi^ical and critical powers. Was it
* within our limits, we sliuuld insert FIft*
ijigtons article by its side, as the finrnt
criterion of either work ; but we must rs j
<]uest the reader, who wishes to cxxnpon
die two, to consult the lirst edition.
*' Antonio Allegri, cek'hrated by the name I
of Correggio, *he gri-at master ot'haniKHiT,
according to the most authentic eonjectw, '
for warly all, relative to his life, is co«j«t^
til re, was l>orn in 14&4 at Correggio or aoi
it. Of fcHS parentage iu>tliing i> knunn: «e
onlv. Know, tliat he was uuimed tvi«e, sod ,
, had children by each wife ; a sun, Pompooigk
" b} the lir^t at Correggio ; and by ihe sccori ^
'tiiree daughters iit Parnia.
'• There are doubts likewise, about the pre* ,
cisc time of his death: it* is Iwwever, waily ]
certain, that he died the 5tJi of March, 133i ^
at tiiu- ugi? of 40. Some rejx^rt hira to hxt
been of low extracfuNi, ana exirciiiely poor;
otliers make hbn noble and rich : for either
assertion there are no amhentic. du:unid)l«.
Considering the district in whicfi iie iirctl;
the little money in circulation there; thf i
public works in which he was employ ctl ; the
prices he wfts paid for ihein, compared with
the meiropoliian prices of Kaphael hiras*^;
the solidity, tineness, exceUi-ncr of the paa-
neU; cUnvasses, and colours which heusd, ft
is probable that his circum>laiM:es kept pace
tv riU his llune, thai he was nearer to opulcoce
tlan want. .
' , */ 'J'hv: variety of the powers which inav be
traced, or are (ft^liayetfin the worka.of Cor*
reggio, have occasioned au many conjeduits
concerning his education. "Not content with
niakin§[ hnn leam therudiments-nf hi«artrf
Bianchi and Wiumri, they prolong the lifcaf
^ILKINOTON*S DtCTtONA&V Oi" rAlKTCHS.
499
lanlcgnd, to form bh nist<^ and tiirif his co-'
Mir ; ilwy tnstrui'thini in geometry, archi-
rtun;, oculpturc, and at la^st send' him to
)owt:, to inspect the antique, and th< works
r Mi^-lucl Angcluy.and, Raphael. .
" That Correggio modelled himself, an^
ia(le use of the iiiodeis of Antcwio Begarelli/
jf best sculptor of Ix>uibard)-, }$ partly cer-
im, partly j>robabl<.*. 'fhat study aloije,
iiTjiied by such a genius, will nearly account
c ait the wonders of fore-shbiteiiing, and
iJarosGuro, which astonish us in the fres-
fr uf liH cupolas at Piinna.
" In the cupola, the lunette, and the gal-
ry ot the church of St. Giovanni, Correg-
o ivpre^ieated the ascension of 'Christ, aiid
le iDmnatioQ of the Virgin, attended 1>> the
lOitlcs, evangelirsts, and doctors of the
with. To enlarge the choir, the nionks .
molishcd ih- gallfry, ami replaced the* ori-
nal fresco by a copv of Ca»sar Arclusi, from
tO|)y of Aiinibale taracci. The principal
tW|i, however, wa> cut from tho vi-all, and
pftN«Tvcd in the library' of the duke of
Uiiia ;as some angels' heads, likewhse sa^-ed
MR clestructiun in the palace of the Mar-
r$e lioixJaiaiQi, at Rome. '
'* The octangidar cupob of the cathedral
I^inna, in wlikh Correggio represented
t^ Sb^jujuplion of the Viriiin, is of all cupo-
t, painted before or after, the most sub-
De; though, begrimed with smoke and
ariy obliterated, it scarcely shews more
90 (lie ruins of its former grandeur.
*• Of Correjggio's best oil-pictures, Italy
i bi'en deprived by purchase or by spoil,
ftsden possesses the celebrated night or
llKr daun, the Magdalen reading, and a
9 more of less.exceUVnci*, or less authentic
■ractHr. The two allej^oric pictures, called
sfa aad Danae, once in tJie possession of
nei'n Christina, migrated to Trance, and
thtlie picture of lo, weie mangled or de-
t)>ed by bigotrv. A duplicate of the lo,
da rApe of (la^ymede, are at Vienna,
•^in Dossesses Christ praying in tlie garden,
d Mercury teaching Cupiil to read in the
e<eoceof Venus. To the Spofaliwa of St.
tfherlnc, which France possessed before, tlw
«l4 of the revglution have added the St.
rwne wiih the Magdalen, tlie Madoniia
ft«S*odella, the di-scent from the cross,
«l tlie martyrdom of St. Plactdo, from
Una.
" Correggio was one of the four great lu-
wrii^s of the art at its supreme establish-
»it in the sixtCiMUh century. H e estab]i>h-
Ijamimiy on light and shade. 'I'he bland
fttral lii^Ht of a globe^ imperceptibly glid-
t througli lucid demi- tints into rich retlect-
shades, i^ the element of his style, and
ualhr penadcs his work:*, from the vast-
» of hk cujjolas to the smallest of his oil-
1«r»*s. This inspires hi» figures with grace ;
tbb their grace i$ sulxirdinate ; the most
propriate, the most ele^nt attitudes were
t^ptixl, rcjetted, perhaps s^icriliced to the
»t awkward ones, m compliance with this
perious prin^iplt. The salt transUioDs
fitmthe convex to the confeavc line, which
'connect power with lightness, form the style
of his design. He is the master of that fore-
shortening^ which Uie Italians distingxiish by
' the name of * di sot to in su,' and the father
of machinists. Past6se like Giorgione's,
and often true like Titian's, his colour has
a suavity^ and a breadth superior to either.^'
Mr. Puseli omits noticing the warmth ^
of Correggio's imagination, which Mr.
Pilkington couplvd with its acknowledged
sublimity! in the cupola of the cathedral at
Parma. Aniple justice is done to this ar-
tist's practice of the clear-obscure.
The life of GiulioPippi is likewise writ-
ten again, with many novel touches of
characteristic energy. We are told tliat,
" Whilst a pupil he followed less his mas-
ter's delicacy than energy of character, and
chiefly signalized himselt' in subjects of vrar
and battles, which he represented with equal
spirit and enulition. As a designer, he coni-*
mands the whole mechanism of th<i human
body, and witliout fear of error, turns and
winds it about to serve his puqioses, hut
sometimes cy\*ersteps the modtrsty of nature*
Vasari prefers his drawings to bis pctures, as
fuller of that original fire which datinguislies
his conception, and was aut to evaporate in
the longer process of finisli: some bave.witli
better evidence objected to the character of
his physiognomies, us more salacious than
enamoured, kss simple than vulgar, and often
dismal and horrid without being terrible. In
colour, whether fresco or oil, his Irand was as
expeditious, and his touch, especiallv in the
former, as decided as his c)e and chofcewere
ungenial ; bricky lights, 'violet demi-tints,
black shades, compose in general the raw^
opaque tone of his oil-pictures, farditferent
trom that characteristic asperity which sig-
nalizes die battle of Conslautiiie, and was by
N. Poussin admired as the uroper tone of the
subject. The style of his drftperies is classic,
but the arrangement of the fohb generally ar-
bitrary and mannered ; the hair and head-
dresses ol' his women are always fanciful and
luxurious, but not always arranged by taste,
whilst those of tiie men hec^ucntly l)order ou
the, grotesque.
** He came to Mantua/ and there found
-antique treasures, of which the statuts, busts,
basso-relievos at present in the academy, arc
but iosignilicant remains. To the stores of
the Gonzagiri he added his own, rich in dc*
signs of Raphael, and studies and plans from
tlie antique ; for jk> de^^ igner ever |>o;tf tfssed
such industry with so much tire, so mi^ch con-
sideration with such fecundity, or c/>mbini;d
with equal rapidity s-uch correctness, and
with great recondite kuowledge li) mytholo*
gy and • hlstorv, that popularity :md ease in
treating it. T'he increased pmctk-e, and the
authority derived from the supermtendance
of tlie Horkjt left uniinishitd by \m maftcTt
established his reliance on hiiniielf, and the
call of the Cionzachi routed ^at ioiiiocbs of
Kk2
4KX)
BIOGRAPHY/
coDceptton, ^nd gave lurth to those tnagni-
fKent plai». from which Mantua and tlie >von-
dersot the palace del T. as from enchant-
ment rose, . •
'* The palace del T. furnishes speriiiufns
in every class of picturesque imagery. What-
ever be the dimennon, the subject, or the
scenery,; minute or colossal, simple or com-
plex, terrible or pleasing, we trace a mind
pent to surproe or to dazzle by poetic splen-
dor; but sure to strike by the originality of
his conception, he often neglects propriety in
the conduct of his subjects considered as a se-
ries, and in the arrangement or choice of the
connecting parts, hurried into extremes by
the torrent of a faiKy more lyric than epic,
he di^da'ms to fill the intermediate chasms,
and too often leaves the task of connexion to
the spectator.
*' The altar-pieces of Giulio are not nu-
mtfrous. He did not live to finish tliose
wbkrh he had begun for the cathedral of Man-
tua."
. Tlie following account of this gi-eat
painters scholars and assistants, will be
found both interesting and useful. We
may indeed observe in general, bow very
superior are the professional knowledge
and well-directed enquiries of the present
editor, to the borrowed lights and trans-
lated criticisms of his predecessor.
" Of Giulio's scholars and assistants, the
most celebrated were Francesco Priaia-
ticcio, chiefly employed in the stuccoes
and ornaments of die Palace del T. ; Be-
nedetto. Pagni oi Pescia^ who accompanied
Giulio from Rome to Mantua 5 and Ri-
naldo Mantovano, the most expert of the
three, and in the opinion of Vasari, who
laments the shortness of his life, the
greatest painter whom Mantua ever pro-
duced. The altar-piece of St. Agostino alia
Trinita, has a grandeur of style abox-e his
age, and hence has, by tome, been sus-
pected to be the design of Giulio. To
these may be added Fermo Guisoniy who
coloured in the cathedral the call of St.
Peter and St. Andrew, from the roost
studied and most beautiful cartoon of the
master j and Teodoro Ghigi, or, as he
subscribes himself, Teodoro Mantovanp,
a great designer, and so practised in the
iityle of Giulio, lliat after his death he
W3S selected by the prince to lii\t«h several
of his works.'' Of Raffaello Pippi, the
son of Giulio, nothing remains but the
tradition that he possessed talents worthy
of his father. — He died in f 5 60;, at tlie
age of 30. ,
Michael Angelo Buonaroti, '* the
great restorer of epic design,** has fur-
nished > an opportunity for one of the
most luminoutf substilutioDs ia this
interesting volume. We
ingly inhert it at Wngth, buti
ourselves with the follovring i
ticism.
" Sublimity of con<^eptiOT, J
form, and breidth of mannr
elements of Mich^^el Angelos 1
their principles he selected or 1
objects of iniitilion. iVs paisf
tor, as architect, he atterop
any other man succeeded, 101
nificence of plan, and emlltti4
subordindte parts, with the i
city and bieadth. His linei
grand. Cliaracter and
milted only as far as they i
subsenient to grandeur. Tle|
female, meanness, deformity, |
him indiscriminately stan
deur. A beggar rose tirom 1
patriarch of pciverty; the \
dwarf is imprci^sed with (
women are moulds of gen
fants teem with the man )
race of giants. This is
Via,* hinted at by Agostino (
give the most perfect «
roost perplexing difficulty, '
clusi ve power of Michael Ai
the inventor of epic iiaintin
lime compartments of the f
He has persouiiied motion i
of the cartoon of Pi«a ; en
ment on the monuments of \
unravelled the features rf 1
his pro{jhe(s and sibyls ; zb^\
judgment, with every attitudp.f
the human 1)ody, traced tter
of ever}' passion that sways I
heart. Neither as painter at 1
ever submitted to copy ift i
Julio II. only excepted, and in I
presented the reigning pas^ioftf"
the man. In painting he ( '^
self with a negative colour,
painter of mankind, rcjeclcS 1
cious ornament. The fabric*'
scattered iiiio infinity of ]3
his predecessors, he cooa
pended. the cupola, attd lo thel
plex ^ave the air of the «n(»t J
edihces. Such, take hUn aBi
MiclMLeLAngdo, tW ^alt of
times tie, nb doubt, bad 11
perliaps periods -of dcrelictkHi^
into manner, or perplexed 4^""
of his forms with futile and c
anatomy : both met wtlh
ists, and it has been his fate to I
and still to be censured lor t
Thcliie of lltian is letaixxd 1
PILKIWT^TOn's DICTldJCAiRY OF PAINTERS.
501
ous and characteristic note. We cannot
iwever avoid objecting, in this price, to
e work in general, as well as to the pre-
ht article, that it wants the relief aiid
iiQUtion of personal and literary auec-
ites, iutecspersed at proper intervals. If
be true that tliere is something congenial
Itveen the spirit which guides the pen-
!, and that which tunes the lyre ^ it is
^ually so, that tlie social concourse of tlieir
ipective professors, unites the history
(he fine arts with that of general liter-
ire; nor should this connection ever be
oken. The merit of Titian led to for-
pe as well as to fame. He was created
ont Palatme by Cbarles V. and itiost in-
oately acquainted with Ariosto, Are-
le, and the other writers of his age.
ime notices of private character and ha-
ts might surely ha\'e been gleaned
un the nuinerous memoirs of the time.
It the want of life is iu a great measure
mpcnsat^ by such critic^ remarks as
e Mowing.
" Ifis tone springs out of his subject,
ave, solemn, gay, minacious, or soothing,
is eye tinged iiatiire wjtb gold, without
jpairing her freshness. She dictated his
cnery. Landscape, whether it be con-
fcred as the transcript of a siK)t, or the
ai combination -of congeniiil objects, or
the scehe of a phenomenon^ as subject
Jl as back-ground, dales, if not its ori-
i its real value from hin). He is tlie
per of portrait-paiutiug;, of resemblance
111 forth, character wltli dignity, grace
)& simplicity, and costume with taste.'
j(t is very rarely, it may be said to be
It once jn a thousand years, that a Titian
ikes his appearance in the world of art;
k imitators ha^'e been many ; but they
jrebeea so far misled by appearances, as
I Imagine those eliects to have been pro-
loed by freedom and rapidity,, which in
fity rcsnked from correctness of hand,
^gnard against this seductive error, we
Wd recommend to the attention of the
tdent, the remark in the original article,
K 'Titian took abundance of pains ta
Mt up his pictures to so high a degree
{wfection ; and the freedom that ap-
tttf in the liandling was entirely effected
^-a skilful combination (^f labour and
Hgment.*
fte life of Paulo is re-written by Mr.
fceli, with great advantage to the rciider,
point botli of critical .acumen and con-
hsation. The following cliiracter will
i found interesting both to the student
nJ the connoisseur.
* No painkr ever was hurried along by a
greater torrent of commissions, and no
painter ever exerted himself with greater
CHiualitY of execution. Ligiit grounds and
virgin tints have contributed to preserve the
fresluicss of his pictures : tlie family of Da-
rius presented to Alexander in tlie Pisani pa-
lace at Venice, and the S. (veorgb once at
Verona, now in the Louvre, have, witliout
the smallest loss of tlie bloom that tones
tliem, received from time that mellowness
only^ tliat sober hue, which time alone can
give. More fixed in a system, and conse-
quently nearer the maimer tJiau 1 itiaii, with
less purity and delicacy ; greyer, not so
warm, so sanguine, or ^ Juicy as Tintoretto,
he excels both in fascinating breadth of bland
and lucid demitmts; and in his convivial
scenes, though throni^ed with pomp, gor-
gtous attire, and endless ornament, never
once forgets that tliey w*ere admitted to shew
and not to eclipse the actors. The actors
were not, iiidet;u, those of the historian, no
more than the costume that of the times, or
tlie ornaments and architecture those of. the
country. Tiie ostentation of ornamental
painting is not to be arraigned at the tribu-
nal of serious history. Tne humble guests
of Cana, tiie Publican forsaking his till,
Magdalen at the fi*et of Christ, travestied
into Venetian patriarchs, belles or nobles,
were only called upon to lend their names,
and by their authority to palliate or flatter
the reigning taste or vice of a debauched
and opulent public.**
The lives of the Caracci are retained,
with some retrenchment ; but Mr. Fuseli
differs both from his predecessors and
from the common opinion, in his estimate
of their rank in the scale of merit.
' Annibale Caracci, superior to his cou-
sin and brother in p6w;er of execution and
academic prowess, was inferior to either
in taste, and sensibility, and judgment 9
of this, the first proof that can be addu-
ced, is his master-work, that on which he
rests his fame, the Famese Gallery ; a
work whose uniform vigour of execution
nothing can equal 1>ut its imbecility and
incongruity of conception : if impropriety
of ornament were, to be fixed by defini-
tion,^ tlie subjects of that gallery might be
quoted as the most decisive instances. The
artist may admire the splendour, the ex-
uberance,' the concentration of powers
displayed by Annibale Caracci, but the
man of sense must lament their misappli-
cation in the Farnese Gallery,*
Subjoined to Piikington's article on
Rubens, there is an admirable note,
which we recommend tothe attention of
the reader, as a sample of the editor's best
powers as a writer.
Among the principal advantages of the
present eolition, is the conipresMun of so-
7
502
BIOOBAPHY.
condary lives. Pilkington's article on
Giuseppe Ribera, called Spaniolet from
tlie country of his nativity, is unnecessa-
'x'\\y prolix. Mr. Fuseli has therefore
substituted a shorter one of his own, and
thus characterised that distinguished vo**
tary of Jiorrid images, and Promethean re-
{.:o,s(-'nt;Uions.
' The studies he had pursued enabled
lii.v. i: JO biyond Caravaggio in invention,
ci* :- c, ai:d design. In emulation of him
'i-' i** vinied that grand deposition from the
ero.'s at the Certosa, a work, by the ver-
dict of Giordano, alone able to form the
greatest painter 5 the martyrdom of St.
Gennaro, in the Royal Chapel, and the
S. Jerom of the Trinita, excel his usual
style, and possess Titianesque beauties.
S. Jerom was one of his darling subjects ;
he painted, Jie etched him, in numerous
repetitions, in whole lengtiis and half
figures. He delighted in the representa-
tion of hermits, anchorets, prophets, apos-
tles, perhaps less to impress the mind
with gra\ ity of chairacter, and the vener-
able looks of age, than to strike the eye
with tJie incidental deformities attendant
on decrenitude, and the picturesque dis-
play of bone,' vein, and tendons, athwart
emaciated muselo. As in design he court-
ed excrescence or meagreiiess, so hi the
choice of historic subjects he preferred to
tlie terrors of ebullient passions, features
of horror, cool assassination, and tortures
metliodized, the spasms of Ixion, and
St. Bartliolomew under the butcher's
knife.*
The following remark, which concludes
the note on Poussin, well desenes the at-
tention of the historical painter.
\ 'The excellence of Poussin in land-
scape is universallv acknowledged, and
when it is the chief object of his pictures,
precludes all censure : but considered as
tlie scene or back-ground of a historic sub-
ject, die ease with which he executed, the
predilection which be had for it, often
made him give it aq im^Tortance which
It ought not to have ; it divides our atten«-
tion, and from an acoeiKiary becomes a
principal parrf
We have hitherto devoted our atten-
tion almost exclusively to Mr. Fuseli's
animadversions on historical painters. —
While oh the subject of landscape, we can-
not better exemplify the turn and current
of his criticism, than by transcribing a
part of his note on Salvator Rosa.
' In landscape he was a genius. His
choice is tlie original sCenery of Abruzzo,
which he made often, though not always
a vehicle of terror : be delights in idea
of desojation, solitude, and danger, impe-
netrable forests, rocky or sfomi-bslied
sliores; in lonely dells leacting to de&s
and cavern* of banditti, alpine ridges, trees
blasted by lightning or sapped by time, or
stretchiujg their extravagant arms atbwvt
a murky sky, louring or thundering
clouds, and suns shorn of their beains.
His figures are wandering shephenis, for-
lorn travellers, wrecked mariners, banditti
lurking for their prey, or dividing their
spoils. But this genuine vein of sublimity
or terror forsook him in the pursuit of
witcheries, apparitions, and sjiecircsj here
he is only grotesque or capricious. H»
celebrated witch of Endor is a hag, and
cauldron, skeletons, bats, toads, and herih,;
are vainly accumulnted to palliate the «^.
of dignity and pathos in Saul, and of subli-
mity in the apparition/
This last criticism is in diametrical <^
position to Pilkington's cliaracter of tk
same, piece.
For lord Orford's anecdotes of Jen?!,
including his exclamation of 'poorliitfe
Tit !' and what Pilkington had suppRfi-.
ed, his compari.son of lady Kridgeu^tery
ear with his own, Mr. Fuseli subiititutev
with just contempt, the following Dfe,]
comprised in two sentences. Yet we
think that iri this, and otlier instanor^'
lord Orford*s pleasant and characterisDc"
anecdotes would occasionally have ent^
vened and relieved the intense gravity ao4
uniform severe tenor of the prolessor'sifr.
vestigations. ,
** lliis flimsy artist, wliom even Vertift
scarcely deigned to notice, vwuld not be
named hen?, if his pupil Pope bad not kift
his name ailoat by the verses which he ad-
dressed to him. He was an IriJuiiau, tk
disciple of Kneller, and act^uired a fortuoft
by marriage."
We cannot help thinking the raeowiy
of the late Mr. Mortimer rather unfciiriy
treated, llie artist who could paint tuo
such pictures as tliat of king John delner-
ing Magna Charta to the barons, and that
tine one, though not generally enunie-
rated among his larger works, of Maritis
sitting on the ruins of Canhage, could «ct
deserve a negligent memorial of six lint^,
with such a sweeping censure tcked to it
as the following.
** In the prolix account of Mortimer at
an artist antl a man, inserted in tfae^ sup-
plement to (he former edition of Um
work, 'it is said tliat ' his knowledge of
anatomy was such, that at any tinie, i«
PILKINGTON S DICTIOKABY OP PAINTERS.
593
«muse his firiends lie would draw with a .
coiumun pen and ink, and with the most
critical exactness, the human skeleton in .
any attitude; and afteiyards, with a dif-
ferent-coloured ink, clotiie it with mus-
cles; and that every ohject in nature im-*
pressed itself ^ strongly on his imagiiia- ^
tion« that he never used nor had occasion .
for an archetype, and that he rivalled na-
ture in every department of imitation
irom bis imagination only/
" Tbe same writer further adds, that ' he .
ii>r[ned himself on tlie antique, and that,
br a judicious union of its i<leid with his
ooservations on living nature, he ga\e
such nobleness, truth, and iuexhausti|^le
vivacity to tlie countenances of h'vi figures, '
that in all his numerous paintings and ,
drawings tlicre never appciu-ed two that
were not cJi*terent.*
*? If tbia strain of asserting would be
scarcely allowable, were it applied to the '
power of Raphael, or Michael Angelo liim-
nslf, it must provoke our merriment or iii-
digiiation, to find it lavished on capacities
fariniehorto those of Pic tro Testa, or Sal- .
rator Rosa. It is difficult to say what he
would have excelled iq at a more ad van- .
ccd period, who was unrivalled in nothing .
H the ' meridian of his powers/ The '
•tvle of Mortimer s design was neither
iiKal, nor that of genial nature, tiiongh he
ms not deficient in anatomical knowledge,
and had studied or at least copied the an-
tique. On hifi colour no encomiast of his
ever chose to dwell loi^ ; and if it be aU
k)wed something of a negative character,
it is suivly as much as it can pretend to.
The rersatility which he possessed is sd-
don^ a companion of genius, nor will it
serpen him from the imputation of man-
per, He grouped rather than conii>osed,
and from any claim to expression, the
beadt which lie etched on a considerable
aeak, (if some of Shakspeare's most cele-
brated characters, must exclude him w^hilst
they last. Mortimer was the Hayman
* hformatq* of his day/'
It must indeed be confessed, that the
pflneg)Tic above quoted was sufficiently
extravagant to provoke hostility ; but
surely tlie revenge is carried too far^ We
scarcely consider eight-and-tlnrty as the
meridian of an artist's practices {''rom
the powers of inaaginatioii he had already
displayed^ there surely was , something,
like a promise, notwithstanding Mr. Fu-
selis implied doubt, that he might have
attained a still higher degree of excellence
iq his professi^u. He was at least inge^
nious ; and ought, by well*directed ap*
plication, have been great.
. As a, contrast to Uie harshness of. the .
preceding article, we subjoin the follow*
mg tribute to the iherit of that celebrated
'artist Mr. Wilson, and honest indignation •
at the pohdnunous justice to w^ich its *
acknowledgment has been ^deferred.
* Wilson is now numbered with the ^
classics of die art, though little more than
the fifth part of a century ebpsed since
death relievted him froni the apathy of
cognoscenti,, the envy of rltals, and the '
neglect of a tasteless public / for Wilson,
whose* works will soon Command prices as
great as those of Claude, PUussiti, or
Elzheimer, resembled the last must in
his fate, lived and died nearer to indi-
gence than ease ; and as an asylum* froni
the severest wants incident to'age ancl de*
cay of powers, was rednced to solicit the *
librariai/s place in tlie academy, of which
he was one of the brightest ornaments/ .[ *
The life given in tlie snpplemient to tliet *
former work is here curtalleil of tU absurd '
. parallel, as well as other exininebus, and, '
in some respects, improper matter. '
There are several' new articles from the '.
. pen of the editor,* relating ' to artisls who .
were either omitted through error iii the
former edition, of living at the time of its *
publication. Of these we ' shall content
ourselves with noticing tlie Iffe of Rom- *
ney, which' is neatly and compendiously
written. The following critique on his ]
professional' character may be considered
• as rigorous, But we are inclined to think *
that, the partialities of friendship and
fashion having subsided, competent and *
unbiassed readers will not condemn it as
' unjust. '
** To RumHcy as a porti^t-painter the .
public have bore ample te<>tinK>ny ; he \ias t
made for the tinHis and the tinifs for him. If '
he had not genius to lead, he liad too much
- originality to follow, and whimever he chose
was nearer to .the lirit tiiaA'tO'the last^ his'
competitors. Practice had given him rapi-
dity of execution/ and I'latiue an eve sufti- .
cieutly iust for form and not uu^eniau for co-
lour, jlis M^oHien have oA^n mutetCy some-
limes elegance with an ai'tless bl^otn and
fresl\ne.ss of tint. His men in geueral have
mcn-e spirit ibau dignity,, and more of pre-
tence tliau reality of character. Wlien iie
attempts to pro<Juce effects by opposition of
colour without decided nm>ses t)t light and
■ sfiade, he is not always happy in the tolancc,
* he ber-omes livid without lri*«Shness, and foxy *
wit iiout glow. Those who wish to form an idea '
I of liis historic powers may consult the pictures ^
of thesiofin from the Tempest, the Cassandra •
5M
BIOGRAPHY.
from Trinhn and Crewida, and the Infent
Sliaks)>eare of the Boydell galtory. Roni-
BCjr, as artist and as man, is entitled to, com-
in«Klation and esteem, but his life furnishes^
a si^l proof of the futility of the idea that
fenius is a passive quality, and may be laid
y or taken up aii a roan pleases.*'
, Among the desiderata of the present
'edition, we could have wished some addi«
tional lustre to have been tlirown round
the name of Vandyke, from the cliaracte-
ristic pen of Mr. Fuseli.
If C.A. Da Fresnoy was of too little
c6nsequeDce as a French planter to en-
pige our editofs attention, as the author
of, the well-known Latin poem, De Arte
Graphica, he might have been lK>Qoured
Vith a cursory memorial in addition
to the jejune and unsatisfactory account
of Filkington.
Claude . Lorrain would have afforded
icope for more extended observ-ation,
than has been incidentally bestowed on
him in the article- Wilson. After all the
parallels that can be drawn, -we conceive
the capital picture of the morning, in
which the artist introduces himself draw«
ing an antique temple on tlie banks of the
Tyber, to place Claude Lorrain above all
competition asalandscape-pahiter.
As a great artist ot his own school,
though not of the best school, we could
huve wished for a short note on Le Bran,
had it been only for tlie sake of characte-
tftrizing. his Alexander in tlie tent of
Darius. ^
If there was little to be corrected in
the fixed judgment of the public and the
eonnoisseors, respecting three artists so
reputable to our own country,- as Thorn-
hill, Hogarth, and sir Joshua Reynolds,
the two latter giants in their respective
lines, yet the discrimination of the *editor,
exercised on such subjects, could not but
have struck out something additional of
value, however well satisfied the reader
may be with Mr. Walpole's character of
Hogarth, in his anecdotes of painting, or
with the account sir Joshua Reynolds has
lefl us of his own studies and progress.
The merit of the latter in histor}-, is rather
highly estimated in the article under re-
view J but we should like to have known
the editor's opiniony whether the £n^ish
artist has not triumphantly sustained die
fdrce of the Italian poet's description, in
his excellent picture of count Ugolino and
his children in the dungeon. Neither
would a casual notice af sir Joshtia Rey-
nolds's discourses have come with a bod
grace from one, who lias discoursed n
ably in his turn.
But what apjxfars most extraordinary is,
tliat in such a work no mention sliould be
made of Mr. Hodges, whose beautiful
landscapes must be well reniembered bj
those who were in the habit of attendii^
the Royal Academy when he was an ex-
hibitor. Tliere are two large picaures of
his at Hafod, taken in different parts of
the newly-discovered islands, when he at-
tended captain Cook, in one of his voyages.
These alone would be sufficient to fix bit
reputation as an artist, and give him a dis-
tinguished place in a dictionary of painters.
But it is time we sliould take our lean
with observing^ tliat, as a whole, this la-
borious work will be found high!/ usefiii
to the student, whether as a book cif ei>-
tertaininent . or of refereiKe, and at llw
sanoe time creditable to the acknowle^^
qualifications of tht: editor.
Some peculiarities of style sand inacoo-
racles of idiom, which are sulficiently ob-
vious in the preceding extracts, to pre-
clude the necessity of our pointing them
out, if they discover the foreign birth and
education of the writer, are at the same
time, from the rarity of their occurrence^
very striking proo£» of his literary ahi*
hties.
Art. XlV.^^Memmrsnfd Picture; {r)ntaining tht Advc^Uttres of mam/ cowspicutmt Cte-
racters, ^c. ifc. ; including a genuine biographical Sketch qfumt celebratcdj original^
and eccentric Genius, the kUe Mr. George M or land. ByVfu^i^^ Cojlliks. \2mx
3 vols.
ONE scarcely knows which most to ad-
mire, the confidence, qr the ingenuity of
chis imposition on the public : die second
of these three volumes is exclusively oc-
cupied by memoirs of that extraordinary
character, and admirable artist, Morland j
the iirst and third volumes are unconnect-
cd-«totally and oompletely uncouneded
with it. No matter t they must either
swim, or sink together ; and the memoirs
of Morland are now doomed to buoy np
these dead weights which are hookcxl to
themi Mr. Collins was the firiend c£
Morland, and demands attention to the
namtive of his life, on the score of twenty
years* intimacy with him, his fiimily, and
COLUirs's MBMQIR8 OF A PICTURJB.
MS
coaoeetioQi. If thui U the ^wqr lie treats
his ihends, tve should be cuapous to know
whst ponishmi^ he has in storo&r his
FnxBtfaexneoioirsof Mortoid^.^ich de-
miean ezdusiTe intevest from the subject
of them, we learn that this ill-fated genius
was bom Jane U6, 17^3 : his father was
an aitirt of considerable talent, and more-
over a pkuat'dealer, Mr. Collins says
tint he was respected by all who knew
him for his libenlity and g^emanly ad-
dress : yet witliin half a dozen pages we
are told, that several instances are upon
record (one amongst the legal records of
a trial at Westminster-hail) of his having
sold as originalsf copies painted by his son,
after pictures of Ruysdale, Hobbima, and
others. This must have been a very re-
spectable gentleman, no doubt ! Almost
ID his in^cy, George Morland displayed
ataknt for drawing, which presaged future
excellence : these auspicious indications
did not escape tlie penetrating judgment
of his tatlier; who placed before him
chalks, water-coluurs, pencils, &c. leaving
him, for several months, to sketch what-
efer objects came across his fency. He
was afterwards employed to copy from a
set of prints, engraved for Gay's Fables.
His'improvenient '^^inA so . rapid, that in a
Terjr short time he copied plaister casts,
and the finest models, with an astonishing
accuracy. He was admitted, at a very
early age, as a student in Somerset-house ;
and after having spent some years at the
Academy, his ^ther procured him select
productions of the Dutch and Flemish
tchods, as well as the best drawings of
the celebrated masters of Italy. His bio-
grapher says, that ** although it is well
known to many artists and judges of pic-
tures, still living, that George Morland
coaW draw, when sober, the human, qr
any other ^gure with the utmost accu-
racy, yet he neglected the Roman school,
to which he was indebted for his know-
kdge. The colouring of Hobbima, the
spirit and freedom of Ruysdale, and tlie
neatness of pencil peculiar to Potter, Cuyp,
CSrl du Jardin, and Adrian Vandevelde,
seem at times to have engrossed his at-
tention ; and they certainly were, as he
always declared them to be, his favourites.**
The remark too often forces itself on
our elMervatton, that the greatest geniuses
are skives to the most ignoble vices : is it
that the miod flags, after vigorous and ex-
hausting flights, and in reposing, falls an
Cdsy victim to the seductions of pleasure ?
Morland had the -deadly mUfortuoe in
very early life to become acqcntnted wUh
some loose and vulgar students at the Aca-
demy much older than himself: the con-
tamination was fiital — ^the spot with whicb
he was tirst tainted spread over him liko
a ieprosy^ these fellow-stadents, in their
way to and from the Academy, enticed
him to frequent a gin-shop jiear Exeter
Change, and he became a sot ! The ni^
ebriety of Bums was encouraged by th^
conviviality of his disposition 3 it was in-
dulged in the unguarded hours of hilaritf
and mirth. Morland required the solitaij
stimulus of ardent spirits } they were the
oblivious antidote which he m'uilstered t9
a mind diseased: he brooded over the
liiisfortunes which he had brought xxpoak
himself in lonely wretchedness^ audap*
plied, with a shattered frame and palsied
hand^ the treacherotis reinedy which hal
already brought him to despair; whick
had destr0}^ the vigour of his .consti|;u-
tion, and deadened tl^ fire of his genioa.
In early life, his excesses at the dram-shop
led to others which his companions «»-
couraged and partook of: the consequence
was, that he iiad recourse to his pencil -foe
the supply of his extravagances. The
success exceeded his expectations, and he
was led to the delineation of such sul^ec(s
as best promoted the pecuniary views 4q£
his companions.
" The mode of carrying on .this sod ^
contraband trade was something cunous ;
namely, the subject, size, and price of the
picture or drawing being previously tigreei
upon between the young artist and his em-
ployer, the latter of whom was always per-
fectly aware of i\\c fairness of the contract;
nothing farther remained, but to get the af-
tide safely out of the &Uter's house, withocdt
his suspecting any thing of the business. Thtt
seeming diniculty« however, was sunnountel
in the following manner. One of the lar^it
drawers of a very complete colour -bot»
bought for him by his fother, served at onoe
for a depository for his pictures. in their pro-
gress towards finishing, and a safe conveynac%
when done, to the customer. So that M'hett*
ever he heard his father^s foot, nobody, eise
being sutTcTcd to enter the paintine-room, he
would dexterously^ slip the smuggled piptnie
or drawing into this drawer andloMckit. But
when it was ready for delivery^ which w^
commonly at night, or very early in the
morning, 'the party, who haa always notice
given huu, came walking by the douT ; and
either by a cough, or some other signal, the
'window of the painting-room was opened,
and the useful drawer was let down by whip*
cord, ill which, with the Ace ^wards, the
picture was sure to be foa^d. The two aides
and ends of the dmwer having a small haUk
505
BIOGRAPHY,
in each, making ibur parts^ z piece of M'htp*
cord wasi put through, which «ras tii?d iii the
middle, so that it hunj lik«; a scale, frcmi the
centre of which, a piece ot lay-cord let it
wfely down.**
Morland was apprenticed to his father,
and left hist patern4 tocf at about th^ age
of twenty : he then resided at the bouse
of Mr. VVtlliam Ward, a capital mezzo*
tinto engraver, where he proiluced the
first pair of pictures which brought his
iwme and merit fairly before the public :
tliese pictures were the Idle and Indus-
trious Merhanics, painted for Mr. Smith,
of Oxford- {street, who engraved and pub-
lihhed them, with profit to himself and
honour to the artist whom he had em-
ployed. ^.'orland fell in love with AVard s
«»is>ter, and Ward with Morland's sister :
the two couples were married within about
a mouth of each other.
Morland rose rapidly into repute, but
the rapidity of his pencil could not keep
pace with hii» extravagance: his income
was at this time (1 /S/) above a thousand
a year 5 but lie had emerged from his ob-
s»curity Into a large and expenstre house,
where he entertained parties at his table,
vcr>' few of whom, in the hour of disti'ess,
remembered his hospitality. Mr. Collins,
t}\ti author of thi» memoir, appears to
have been a very honourable exception,
and often warned hb friend agaimt tlie
ruin into iiluch his imprudences were
harrying him. Morland, however, could
never bear a lecture of this sort, and to
a^o'd it,' has frequently burst from his
home, hired a hor^e, and returned so com-
pletely intoxicated as to luive been unfit
for any professional exertion on the mor-
row. So high was hisrepute at this time,
that he had no difftculty in procuring
credit upon his note of hand, or a bill
drawn at a negotiable date. When these
bills became due, however, it often hap-
pened tliat he was unprovided with the
means of answering them: the ruinous
expedient he adopted on these occasions
was-^to paint a picture for extension of
the date !
It i* a singular circumstance, and not.
uMwi^rtliy ot iu>tic<», that many of Mor-
land\.con)pani(>n-pictures, and some of the
hciyi of them, ha\e for their subjects the
o,)posite constHjuences 'of extravagance
and industry : amidst all his tlioaghtlesji-
ne^.s and dissipativin, it seems as if grave
and .* .ious reflections pn the course of
life he was leading perpetually forced
themselves upon his mind; and, as his
canvass was the passive, unreproving friend
to which he commanictted all his tboo^its
and feelings, here it was tint he embcxiied
the fn^rhi^I spectres which haunted his
imagination, hoping, perhap, by making
himself fmAhax with thetr appearance,
that he might half disarm them al' tbetr -
terrors.
Conlinensent to his easel iB suited the
restless spirit of Moirbnd : he had thrtnvii
himself into* low society, and acqtiiicd
vulgar habits. He was fiever happier
than on a Hampstead or H'lghgate sni^&*
coaeh-box.
** Another singular whim took possesion
o{ hnn at this critical junrture, namdy, to
be made a constable or headbofougii ; aud
bccausf he was not regularly chosen to till so
very important ;m oilicc, actually gave one
of his neighbours, who was duly apixMnted^
Jive guineas,' and a supper for 'four or live
frtentis for being pernutted the honour 01 -
serving the ofltce as hi^ sitbstKute. Hut the
reason he asiu^cd for iUA «trange proceed-
ing» to liis friends,, was the, gratification It
would afford him, by lia> uig it in his poMrer,
by virtue of tlie said oiilcx*, to plague aU the
neighfjouring publicani» who had occasignally j
alfronteil him: and this whimsicaf fe\'enge \
he certainly indulged to the utmost eTcttiit of \
his power, by billetting as nianv soUUers as 1
he possibly could upon tliose wlio h^c^ pro-
voked him. But the number of petty scrapes^
and frequent litigation, iu whkh this abuse xi
power fretjuently involved him, Induc-ed him,
tliough reluctantly, to resign the staft* of civic
annoyance into tlie hands of his principal,
who K'ceivcd another treat for taking it bad^
again/'
In order to extricate this waywatrd cliiid
of genius from his embarrassments, vari-
ous expedients were devised, but most of
them were irustrated by tlie wild spirit of
Morland, which could brook no guidance
or restriction. Reluctantly did he at length
affix a higlier ■ price to his pictures, msd
seemed astonished to find that the avidity
of tlie public to possess them proportion-
ally encreased. But all would not do :
his creditors were assembled by a friend
and professional * gentleman, Mr. \Vedd,
who made the best terras he could, and
procured for Morland the benefit of the
rules of the Umrd of green cloth. Ditr*
ing his abode here he was umisually in-
dustrious ; but on his libenition> the hojies
•which his friends were beginning to in-
dulge, tliat temjionin' confiuemeut hstd
etR'Ctcd an amendment in his habits, were
most bitterly disappointed; for his pn>i
fusion and debaucheries nmv becmiue more
and more fixed and intense. He asso*
elated with boxers^ bought horses and
COlitIKS*S MB1I0IB8 OF A flCTURB.
S07
6og$9 and was hanted by bailiffs from
hoase to house^ from hole to hole, and
oblt'eed to |>aint in his'ovvb hay-^lofl. He'
had ihe/utniost lH>itor of a' jail V every un-
expected ibfStstep or sf rffligt^ Yoice threw'
him into ag)bhfes ; and/hr^rtriends 'actually
feared that*, he would lose' his senses; or'
put an end to bis eiisteiVce, before be
shoidd have been foOr-and-twenty hours
in a prison.
A memorable circumstance occurred to
him during bis retreat to Hackney, and
altogether an unfortunate one ; for, in his
retirement here, he applied closely to his
profession, remained singularly sober, and
seemed about to recover that composure
and serenity of mind fo which he had long
been a stranger. All the pictures sent
from his ea.sel whilst at Hackney are very
carefully finished j his drawings also evin-
ced a minuteness of attention which was
^'auting in many others produced under
the' pressure of immediate necessities.
His works, in consequence of this great
and dbvfoils improvement, now rose very
highly in value 3 and although, tlirough
the craft of picture-dealers, the artist hini-
SL-lf derived from liis paintings a small
part 'only of th6 ^rice which they pro-
duced, stiK-jVloHand^ received "such sums
oi money tk his extreme privacy, as ex-
cited' susfjicten ^at he . was connected
with a gang of criiners or forgfers! Infor-
mation was accordingly cbrtimunicated to
the baiik of England; and a party of Bow-
street otticcrs was dispatched to the harm -
less dwelling of poor Morland, in order* to
secure the suspected crimiiial. He had
notice of Iheir approach, and having no
doubt that ihey were coming to arrest
him for debt, made his escape over thef
garden-wall, and eftected his retreat uh-
discovered into London. The oiKcers;
alter rummaging all his boxes, drawers,
2tc. disco\ered their error, and the direc-
tors, w hen the affiiir was represented to*
then*, seiit the terrified artist, as an in-
demnification for the inconveiiience he
had suHered. a paltry present of tu^enty
guineas. Tlie mischief to Morland, how-
ever, was irreparable : the spot which had
;iffbrded him an asylum was no longer se-
cure, and tlie tranquillity he liad begun to
enjoy was destroyed. He t(xjk shelter at
a c*ar\erand gilder's in Leadenhall -street;
thence he wandered from place to place
ill dreadful apprehension of discovery, till
he received au invitation from Mr. Lynn
to pai»s a few weeks witli him at his hou-se
at Cowcs, in the Isle of Wight. His re-
treat was discovered within three days,
and he fled to Yarmouth, accompanied by
a faithful friend, his servant George
Sympson. * » . ,
*' They had not remained many days at
the latter place, where they were enjaying
themselves, and laughing at the disappoint-
menl and ex[)ences ttieir enemies would have
to comfort themselves under, all the way back
to town; when one morning at. breakfa^^t,
as Klob was pouring out the tea, a lieutenant
of the Dorset militia, and six soldiers,, with
bayonets Axed, allof wliom, in a very expert
military stjle, grounded their arras at tlW
ollicer's command, in the room where the
travellers were at breakfast. The lieutenant
told ihem he came by ordcTs from general
Don, conunander of the district, to arrest
them all three as spies; the painter, whowas^
ever, upon any suclden attack where his per-
sonal liberty appeared in danger, extrenn^ly
timid and confiised, ujjon this occasion be-
trayed so much agitation, as convinced the
ortuer he must at all events be guilty. As
to Klob, he was too keen and penetrating to
be alarmed at the harmless suspicions of ge-
neral Don, or the consc(|uences that could
arise from them ; and as tor honest George
Sympson, the painter's man, he scratcheil his
head, and hoped as how they'd let a fellow-
eat . his breakfast before they sent him to
quod.
" The lieutenant civilly enough remhided
them of the necessity he was under of put-
ting his order:* into' hnmediate execution :
this inducted Klob to enter into a serious re-
monstrati^Hi with him ; and, in order to con-
vince him of the absurdity of such ground-
less suspicions, produce*! several drawings^
which \Nere done by lus brother at Cowes.
This proccedmg, hbwexer, only served to
conlinn the lieutenant in tJie sagacity of his
general's ^opinion, that tJiey were, in tact, no-
thing but spies. So that one tine drawing in
particular, although it was only of a spaniel-
dog in a lundKcape, was construed bv the
honest lieutenant into a plan of the islaad,
and the dog he was conticlent represented the-
very part of it upon \yhich the enemy >vere
to land. But tlie mystery of an oil-paiiUing
nc:irly tinished, which they shewed him, was
still more ingeniously decyphered. Thi> p'lc-*
ture, whi( h has since been engraved, is the
celebrated one of the farmer holding his
purse, a** if confiderlng what he should give
the hostler, who stands with hii> hat in one
hand, and the bridle of a white horse over
i\U ami. We believe it is now in the posses-
sion of K. Harrison, est;, of Widemore, near
Rronilev, in Kent. The white horse, ready
bridled "and saddled in the stable, he saidre-
t)resented the plan of all the coa.^t of Eng-
and, yfhkrh latter place clearly was the stable ;
th*^ hostler meant the spy or drafbman, who
would not give up his work till the en' niy
paid him. 1 he farmer could be no other biit
the French agent, who was now in the C'an-
nei, rellccling upau the risk he runs oi' e<^-
510
fiiofctiAMiY.
pojied to have been written when he was
etgliteen : but after he wa.%^appointed pre-
ceptor to the chiFdrcn of liorenzo de >Ie-
<lici, he aeems to have considered verna*
fJular poetry as an unworthy pursuit, and
to ha^'e devoted himself to claiihical lite-
rature, lie ^^'ds made professor of the
t^'o classical languages in the academy of
^orence, being The first animig the mo-
derns, dot of Grecian extraction, who pro-
cessed tlie Greek tongue* Mis nanie was
now known whenever the dawn of htera-
ture h^d feached, and schoLirs even from
Bristol and Dover repaired to Florence to
profit by his lessons. Weallh too, as well
as reputation, was in those da>'s tlie re-
ivard of learning. Polittan held a secuhir
Jwiory ; and, taking orders for the sake of
the good things of tjie church, was ap-
pointed canon in the catliedral of Florence.
Authors are not less vain now tlian they
were in old times y but they artect a \ ir-
toe tliough tliey have it not. Politiau and
his contemporaries were more honest.
When he published his Miscellancii, he
asserted tliat a thorough and intimate
knowledge of tlie philosophers, civilians,
naturalists, dialecticians, critics of anti-
quity, and, in short, with the whole circle
of sciences, was requisite for his arduous
* • undertaking. He tells us, that having
taken shelter in a shop at Verona from a
shower of rain, he explained, in a single
lecture, the whole of Catullus, to a learn-
ed audience casually collected, so admi-
rably, that they reixnitedly exclaimed,
' DemUsum cMtus Angtliim Mi, qui poe-
tarn conterraneum inierpntaretufV About
•k : his Greek epigrams, he .syys, many flat-
!tei:ed him it would conduce to the glory
. not only of his country, but of the :i^e it-
self, if a native of Iialy should be the oc-
xMsion of interrupting the long slumlKTs
.of tlie Grecian muse. liis letter to king
" Mattliias of Hungary is a i-orious speci-
men of this confidence.
" Who am I, or what d«'grec of eminrnce
i possess^nmoiig the k*arn«*d, raotlesty inthk't's
^le to wish your majesty should Icacn from
*the information gf others, rather than from
myself.. Suflice it to say, tliat bv the kind-
ness and liberalilvof Ix)rcnzo de' Medici, a
person distinguished for his superlative ta-
lents, and amont? the wanne.t admirers of
^yuur yirtue&,v I have been raised from an ob-
'scure birth, and htiiuble furtune, to tlie degree
' of rank and distinction ! now enjoy ; \\ itiiout
' any other reconinienchitioh than my Hteriir)'
<li&litications; 1 have tor a series of year*,'
miblicly taug(ht~ at Flort^ce, not onfy the
Latin langua^ with universal applause', but
likewise the Greek, with a reputation eqyal
to that of the faatives of Greece; which t
may venture to aflinn ha> been the ca-H- with
nouthcrof the Italian^, ^r a tiiousaud yea»
past. My pen Ikis been ciupk)yed on a va-
riety of subjects; and, if 1 may be pemiitted
the 'mention of a fact generally known, tm
procured me the cumtncndations of almost
all the learned of the age. ^Iliui, presiun-
iug on your royal indulj^ence, [ venture to
state my pretensions witli a ftunkness that ut
unusual,' aiul may po^'sibly subject ine to ci-ii-
sure ; but nevertheless with that truth whiii
a}on<- can apok)gize for my ir(?edom. \i this
tendei" of my services meet with -ju-cepiance,
I shaU be proud to exert what aiHlitie9>I pos-
sess, ill any wav your wiiidoiu may condc-
scemi to presirriW; and with a zeal which 1
Hatter myseU' may entitU* me to your, royal
&vour. Deign then to. put my obedience to
the tiNt, by lioDoiinng me with y«iur eoin-
in;inds ; or at least cxmd«scend to achnit of my
voluntary e\ertioiis, on such topics as my
own fency may divm moi»t agreeable to you.
^'*Mir ma]e>ty 'is at present vngageU in ibunti-
ing a libraf)-, at oni*e magntticent, and richly
^rnisiied with books: I can, as occasion may
reqiiive, eni]>loy my |)en in translations froiii
the Gnvk language into tlie I^tin : or ia
original con i|>o:>it ions, which hiay not prore
unworthy the attention of ino» of letters.
You are erecting a palace of umt|tBlled
grandeur; and adomnu; your capital vitk
sUauis of brass and marble. The iiMi!»t ciui>
pejit artists are continually eu^ged iu j^upph-
tng you with c\iiul>ite paintings, and odiif
worlis of art. 'rhest\ tlie muse of Politiaa
can celebnite, if it be \our royal plea-vm*,
in numbers not unwonhy of such subjects,
flc Halters himself he is not unN.k'ille<i hi tlw
art of transmitting to tuture :iges, the eveiit^
of >our nuye>t)'s reign, iu war or peace, by
the uell-t'onnected page ot' history: and ib
the languaue oi Greece or Rome: in thf
iloMinu; periods oi prose; or the subliiiK* dk>
tion o{ nnnioital song; of recocding your
praise io the late>t poster ily."
One other extract we shall' make from
this portion of the >oirime. It is an ac-
CMHiiU of an extraordinary boy %\ bom Riil-
let has not enumerated among bis cele-
brated children, though he wcUdesenesa
place iunong them.
** Angeius PolUiantt^to Picux ofMimnduk,
** I sincerely wish \ou had beifi*Of our
party to-day, al the table «»t Paulns I'r^inui;
who'i*i a g«i>llenian not only of di^inguished
military celebrity, ,but {>aftial to letters and
.Iherary sociity. He has a child of the.Da.Tie
of Fabiu^Vf a youth .of eleven years of a^', c^
kiui^ular beauty and rnduwrnent'?! His n'lic
aiiburn hair fal!^ grateful ly on his l^houl^erj.
He has an eye s]nirklin.£r with intelligence, an
open Oounteiianee, a p<!rson ele^anllv thnued,
and ii m:*l graceful "camaaje, which incUiw»< a
little to the military. When the party bad
taken tlieir seats^ this child was desired iu as*
CllB4WfeLL*8 MBMOIRS OF AN^El!uS ?OLITIANVS> &C«
511
;coiitpany ^om^ p^mms of 4;UI, in fijigiiig se-
vtTal airs srt to niiisic; which tic did with so
mWricHoiifi a voir^, iiiat for* my own psirt I
iistenfd with exiasy. He afterw^irds recited
an hifoic poriu- ia praise «f my pupil Picfo
dr* Medici, of his own contposin; ; for that
it rraUy wa^ so, and not the work of another
(a^ I at ttHt suHpccted), I had alterward^ an
oppoftunity of ascertaining by indubitalile
fvidenn*. And what kind of a compusilitm
«ki ytiu think it was? Rc*aUy such an o;^ as' 1
myself should not need to be ashamed of. His
toi'ie» wTere not merely those proptT to read-
bg, nor altogether modulated as in singing ;
but formed by a pleasing Inllcctton of voire
bi»t»'wii both! As the siibjeit retjuired, they
«eie noiiorm or varied, witli exact regard to
coimeiiion and pause ; acute or grave ; easy
er rin|>hatir3il ; qnidw or skm", Avt al^avs
ootrect* always distinct, al^^ays'agreeabfe.
Uis action was neither indoieiit aiid unaoi-
mated, nor yet JmiW and forward. You winild
have vowed' another little Ro<(cius stood be-
fon* vou. He was suddenly nHptestcd to
turn tW vtTse into prorte, and repeiit the same
thoughts iiiMxinlined by measure. Accord-
inglvj after a short interval of oonsideratkx),
he wh^n again in a manner perfei-tly unas-
suming ; and 4 was astonished to hear from
hU youthtul lips, a. ttow </ expression so se-
lect and appropriate, as tlie pcu $(*ldom sup-
e». Are you already surprized > You will
ftiil more so with what follov^^ed. The boy
had completed his task, and was ordered to
take his Ibod^ standing ; for such is his con-
Mant custom. After the-lirst remove, I was
rrque<«ted to propose subjwts to him for epis-
toktr\' composition; as many as I pleased:
(HI « liich he was to dictale^ extem{X)n!, to
ifverat amanut-uses at once. I mentioned
aoly live^ not \% HMng to bear too hard upon
the'cblkl, though he engagingly. insist eo'dn
mre. liut the subjects which i selected on
his ocraaion w«re of a nature so various and
kivH, and some of them so ludicrous, that I
ini (tjtivinced hir could not have been pre-
riouilx prejiartnl for them. imnHnliately Jive
mMtki, with pens^ ink, and paper, placed
factnselve;$ in order to write as he should die-
ate. The boy, standing in a conspicuons
iluatit>n, tixi'*i his eyes modestW upon the
Toimd, and pauses a' moment; then raiding
lis head, dxrtattrs a few words to the jierson
rho sit^ highest ; makes a sign to the second,
nd gives him instructk>ns on a dilferent snb*
tt-t ; and |jrocei*ds in like manner witii the
i»t, down to the lowest: tiRui returiung to
he Ijrst, >o lil!s up every chasm, and connects
be suspeiMled tliread of hi^i argument, that
ttdlin^ .ip|)earM discordant or disjointed ; and
1 the aanie> instant, w^ho would havellu>ught
Id he linisliea the five letter^."
Tliese memoirs terminate ('abruptly, re-
Ptbo reader tor utlier purticuiars to
:oscoe*s Life of Loreazo« It is
btated^ that Politiaii died in his
irst year« and that there Is no good
dtlthority fef crediting the unsatisfactory
and ridiculous causes >¥hich have been
assigned for his death.
Memoirs of Joannes PicuB of Mirnndula^
These memo'n-s, published for tfce lirst
time in tliis edition of Mr. GrcswelPs
work, form tlie most interesting, and
• most valuable part of the volume. .
Of this ver)' extraordinary man thiere is
• no account extant so full, so impartial,
^nd so discriminating, as the present.
'Giovanni, son of Giova?? Francesco Pico,
"prince of Mirandula and Concordi-j, was
bom at Mirandula, February 24, 146:J :
his father died when he was yet very
-young, and the care of his eilucation de-
volved upon his moilier. Able nia-^tcrs
were set over him, and his progress ^^'as
what might lie expected from grtnit afr-
plicatioii, joined ^vith the utmotit quick-
ness of apprehension, and the most asto-
nishing !nemory. He could repeat a poem,
if he iKMTd it once recnted, with {lerfivt
accuracy, and even hxite the words in re-
trograde order ; but whrrt is vno^i remark-
able is, that the other faculties ofhis mind
appear to have been equally powerful.
At the age of fourteen lie \va:s seacfailo-
- Jogna to study the canon-law ; . in ttie
course of two vears he composed a digest
of the decretals which Would have doiie
honour to th«J most learned professor.
Having maiitere4 tliis^ he Iffl Bologna,
and visited all the most celebrated schools
and colleges of France and Italy, sougHt
out every individual scholar of disiinctiou^
and strengthened or sliarpencd hw . imel«
lect by discussibns with tliem^^o ttiar^
before he had attained the age oi' maft-
h<x)d, he was every where known tbr hjs
admirable knowledge in srhblastk- fheo-
log}' and philosophy. Meantime lie dii-
tiuguished hiuiself by Latin aud ItaJivUi
verses, all of which at a later period he
destroyed ; they were sacritiqed to rijjer
judgment, pure moraU, and a ju'stl):-scru-
Eulous religion. ** Tliese ■ prcxlnctions of
is juvenile pen," .says • Mr. Greswell,
'* had they experienced- the fortune to
siurive ' to the present times, would [yev-
haps have been perused with greater in-
terest, than those profouncl and abstru,4e
Speculations of his matur^jr yttirs, \\ hich
still remain ; and his classical aud accuie-
mical-etFusioils would havL^ invited the cu-
riosity which his scholastic • and cabalistic
-writings serve only to intimidate- and
deter. • This is true :' it is also- true, tliat
whatever might have ^beeu Ahe-lftlTary
merit of these productions, they would
have done liim inlinitcly less honour than
SiZ
•BIOGRAPHY.
tfie ^zxse of duty towards God atkl man
which induced him to destroy thein.
Picas wos now connected with the most
cmin^t literary men of his country^
with Folitian and Lorenzo de' Medici he
became particularly intimate^ and wrote a
criticism upon the poems of the latter,
which discovers more zeal for his friend
than judgment. He compares him with
Fetrarca and with Dante, and gives hiip
die preference; with Petrarca he naay
perhaps be compared ;* but to bring Dante
into the comparison, was comparing a
flower-garden to a forest, a spouting foun-
tain to the mountain cataract.
He commenced the study of the orien-
ts languages during a temporary retire-
sient \JO escape the plague. In one of his
letters it ^fppcars that, after a month of
sightly as well as daily application to the
'Hebrew^ he could dictate a letter in it,
tfaoQgh not with elegance^ yet without
grunmatical inaccuracies. A letter wot*
ten at this time to one of his friends, ex-
plains his truly wise and honourable state
cf iflind.
** Yott exhort me- to an active ahd pubtic
Vk ; observing tint so. leiig a course of phi-
losophicai studies will be far Jfrom reflecting
.cither glory or credit on, your friend, if he
does not at length consent to quit his set lu-
sionj atui act a conspicuous part on the t>usy
theatre of the vroAd. But in reality, "iv
Andreas, I should then consider niy vxsm
and labours thrown away, when disposed to
agree in opinion with you on tliis point. I
gnat, aaotion gpneralfy prevails, but it is ah
noltttund and fataLtxie, Uiat persons of rank
ought either entirely to neglect philosophical
fpeculations, or at must content tht mselves
with such a superficial tincture as demands
little efi'ort, and seivii^ only to heighten the
feke glitter of wit, confers no solid improve-
waent on the mind. With them; the maxim
«f Neoptolemus has the force of a law, < ant
mil pkitoiophandMn out paucis* "Hicy re*
gara as fialse and futile, the apothegms of the
wise, which teach that solid and genuine feli-
city counsts in the possessions of the mind ;
and that tilings extraneous and fortuitous, and
which respect the body merely, are those with
which we have, 1» reality, little or no con-
cern. You will say, I wish you so to em-
brace the province of Martha, as ui the mean
time not to relinouish Mark's part^ Thus
&r I partly admit tne fiiimess of your reason-
ing, and wfll not take upon me to criminate
those who act accordingly. But although
there may be no impropriety in passing from
a contemplative to an active me, yet is it
ndther cruninal nor blanicable in any decree,
to adhere to a life of contemplation , what !
4mU he be charged with miscondvct, who.
seckii^ viitue fiyr her ova sake, and set^
nothing extraneous to her, nnakcs her tiie per-
petual object of his desires and pursuits?
who, joying in an abstraction from the norid,
which enables him to penetrate motr «ie«ply
into the mystenes of God and of naturr, cao
both neglept and conlemn those goods vhidi
are deemed capable oC liiUng the \v%iA
wishes of their votaries? Shall it be pio-
nounced illiberal, and imbecoming a pern
of f^lity, to adfect the study of wisdom «•
connectecl witli mercenary considcfa&ai*
^ho can patiently endure or listta to such
assertions > Uow false is his philosophy, vbo
has therefore philosophized, that he am or
may not philosophize, at pleasure! Hii'are
tlie maiLuns of a tradennan, not of a ptsb-
sopher.
*' You observe that it is hightnnel stmU
pay my devoir&'lo one or other of tiie nost
powerful Italian princes. You are nat yrt, h
s<'ems, aware hew propdh' phikMophenm-
son. Esteeming themselv^, acconfisg fe
the Horatian phrase, * kings of kiag^,' iIkt
cannot fom Uieir manners to criafpn; mt-
viUty. Familiamed with aolitudr tod sd'
converse, and satisded with the tranqnillitytf
their own minds, they find thcretn a prnot
and never-faihnjr rewurce, and therefore «d
nothing extrinJc. What tlie viil^ <keB
honourable, thenr consider a^ disgraced;
and the things which 'human ciiptdhv tinli
after, or to which ambition aspires, (key »
gleet and despise. If these stetioieoli b^
come every phUosopher, they ougjit nof
especially to mfiuence those who, (nwd
with the e^ctraordinarv gifts of katwHt^
sess the means of living not merely in oft
and afllnence, but in splendour. 'HOOO0
and fortune doubtless raise their poseiMi
to a height of conspicuous ostenUtioo; H
too diflben, like a mettlesome and lotiR
charger, eiUier shake the rider fiooi his se^
or fret and gall, instead.of carr>'bgbiiBatlft
ease. Grant me that hap}^ inediocritft
which, like a docile steed, bears a man qmr
equably ; and obedient to the rein, is ^
verned rather than governs. Tnie tbttjli
these sentiments, I prefer my solitude, d*
studies, tlie delights Of reading, the peacee:
my own mind, to the palaces of priscvS) ^
bustle of politics, and all the wiles and hva
of a court. Nor do I desire, as tbcfriA
my literary leisure, to be whelmed and
tated in|he tide and tumult of public scei
biit to bring at length to the birth the(
spring whidi I have conceivec^ and tog>
in a propitious hour to public view, si
»\vorks as,' however devoid of goiias or leu
ing, may attest at least the iiidustry of tk
author. To convmce you that the bttera
mits of na remission, I have by assiduoiKa
intense application attained to the knowM
of the Hebrew and^Chaldaic langu
am at present struggling with the
of the Arabic^'
Kcus, however, had not yet weD 19?
ftRF8WELL*S MlilOltS OF ANOELlTS POLITIARUS, kc.
lis
feffd his ambition f5>r literary distinction*
In 1480 he v^eut U> Rome, and there
" published bis * Condusones ;* consist-
ing of nine hundred propositions^ or subjects
4/( discufisioa, in almost every science tliat
could exercise the specuhtion or ingoiiUity 6i
mm : asd which, extraordinary and super-
^uotis as manj^ of them appear to a reader of
the present times, certainly furnish a more
adequate idea of the boundless extent of his
eniditioQ and research than any words can
describe. 'Jliese he promised publicly to
naiiitain against all opi>oneiits whatsoever;
&iui that time might be Allowed for the circu-
iikioo of bis ' Couclusiones,' through the va-
tious uutrersities of Italy, in all ot which he
oused them to be publistied, notice was given
Ibt the public di^usslon of them Mas not in*
Knded 16 take place till after the feast of tlie
Bjpiphany next ensuing. A fuither object of
tils delav was to allbrd to all scholars, even
km the remotest of these seats of learning,
%bo were desirous to be present, and to assii*t
^hii disputations, an opportunity of repair-
Ijjg^ to Rome for such a purpose. '60 desirous
IBS Pk Its of attracting thither, on this occa-
m, all the united wit, ingenuity, and erudi-
9m, that Italy could boubt ; that he engaged
to de&ay,-oui of his own purse, the charges
tfiU scholars from whatever part, who should
ttdettake the journey to Rome for the pui>
^ of disputing publicly with him on the
VlbJ9iii proposed.'^
There had been many previous dispu-
nts de omnisclhile, and many since ; but
ine ever elicited such hostility as Picus..
fe theses which he proposed evinced so
a circle of knowledge, gnd many of
km displayed such singular habits of
(ought, that envy instead of competition
hjljs provoked. It was in vain to h()p« to
^tend with such erudition and such
ovens of intellect $ and the Roman scho-
III and divines, whose reputation wa$
tare immediately at stake, having tried
^ effect of lampoons and pasquinades in
Id, chat^^ed him with lieresy. Some
fcli«4 him of yanity, not without rea-
m-, otiiers of presumption in under-
|u]g what was beyond his powers ; but
fj undervalued Ui is wonderful young
iVL The bigots observed, that as Adam
» ttrust out of Paradise for alfecting,
f the knowledge of good and evil, to»
Ube bim.^elf like Grod, so those equally
^CTftd to be exteiTninated' from the
Ifrch of Christ who seek to know more
|p tl)ey ought > and the professor.f of
ftoiogy exclaimed against him 4s an Im-
ous w retch, a new heresioich, and a ma-
ciau ! Innocent Vill., though little dis-
ced to such measures, was constrained
yield to this clamour 3 aad to ii»sue an
Axx. Ret, Vol. IV.
ftpostolic brief, appointing a commission to
enquire into the obnoxious propositions,
and make a report concerning them.
Picus meanwhile found it prudent to re-
tire, and withdrew to Florence under the
protection of his fi-iend I^renzo, where
he composed an apology for his under-
taking, defending those tlieses which were
accused, and explaining tliem, but in all
things submitting himsslf 4:0 the authority
of the holy see. Thi.» apology also was
prohibited, though Innocent fully acquit-
ted Picus of all pravity of intention. The
subjects were too dangerous to be dis-
cussed. He himself soon coincided ia
opinion with the pope, and acknowledged
afterwards that the malevolence of his
enemies, under the direction of Provi-
dence, had been the means of curing him
of vain-glory.
ThoM enemies were not yet satisfied :
they made the pope summon him to au«
swer for his apology, affirming that t>y
the very act of discussing therein the ob-
noxious questions, he had contravened hi«
solenm engagement not to anticipate the
decisions of the holy see. Lorenzo par-«
ried this blow, and when Picus was on
his way to Rome, obtained for him an ex-^i
press indulgence, which permitted him td
reside at Florence. Butt he afla i r was not
finally concluded till the next pontificate*
when Alexander VI. by a bull released
him fi'om this complicated, charge of he-
resy and perjury, and fxx>m all the inqui«
sitorial prosecutioas^ pains, and penalties,
annexed to diese crimes.
Meantime Lorerrzo assigned him a r^'*
t^eat at Fiesole, where his company and
that of Politian and Ficinus, and tlie mag^
nificent library of the abbey, left Picas
little to wish for. In 14S9 he published
his Heptaplus, the same year in which*
the Miscellanea of Politian appeared. It
canscarcely be productive, says Mr. Gres*
well, of any valnable purpose, vefy mi4
nutely to enquire into the merit of a work
which tha tacit consent of posterity has
consigned to almost total oblivion: tlie
very slight notice which is taken seems*
rather to be forrned from the opinions of
others, thaja from the work itself. We
regret this -, Picons is accused of fntermix-
ing too much Platonism, and tc^ many
c^b^Utic reveries with his theology j if
modern tlafonism be ever intelligible, it
is to be supposed that he would make it
so ; but we know from the oration with
which h$ designed to open his public d^g
potation, and which was published after
his death, that it was one of his favourite
LI
514 , BIOGRAPHY.
-.t.' ■• ■• • ••
opinions how the same great truths were
Jaught in all mythologies, however in-
volved in fable ; and a succinct and per-
spicuous account of his j>hilosoph y, as far
as it could be collected from . this his
greatest work, would form a fit, \ye may
say, sliould have formed an indisixinsable
part of these memoirs.
He next employed himself upon a com-
mentary on the l^alras (whether it were
ever cumpleted is uncertain), and upon
his favourite scheixie of reconciling Plato
and Ari«>totle. To tiiis work, says he, I
daily devote the whole of my morning
hours J the afternoon I give to the society
of friends, those relaxations which are re-
quisite for the preservation of health, and
occasionally to the poets and orators, and
similar studies of a lighter kind ; my
nights are divided betwixt sleep, and tlie
perusal of the holy scriptures. And he
declares that he considered his time and
his studies as happily employed, only in
proportion as they were rendered condu-
cive to his own moral improvement.
About the year 14QI he complete4 his
treatise De ErUe Sf Uno, a work which
Mr. Greswell praises instead of analyzing.
In the ensuing year Lorenzo died. Picus
upon this grievous loss, for a while left
Florence for Ferrara.
*' A short time previou<:ly to this period,
Picus willing to exonerate r»iin>elt" from ilie
weight of secular digniti<;s and cares, had tor
a very inadequate consideration, transferred
to. his nephew, Giovan-Frances'.o, all his ter-
ritories and otiier rights and possfssions in
Mirandula and Concordia, comprehending
one-third part of the patrimonial inheritance :
and the emperor Maximilian himself, whom
tliese cities recognised as their superior so-
vereign, had been induced to confirm the
grant. The sums arising from this transfer,
ricus employed partly in the purchase of
lands, to secure an annual revenue for the
due support of his household, and partly in
charitable donations. To the latter purpose
the produce of a great part of his rich furni-
ture and. plate was appropriated : although
while all undue luxuries were banlshetl from
his table, a reasofiable portion of the silver
utensils and other valuable movoablt's was
preserved, to keep up some appearance of
his former rank and splendour."
Many men with far inferior gifts have
rendered greater services to maiildnd than
Picus of. Mirandula, and built up for
themselves statelier monuments ; bxit I
k^iow not whether a character so interest-
ing, so truly ^excellent, and so worthy of
tl^e love and admiration of good nien, is
t« be found in xlie. whole lii^tory of litera-
ture. Two sovereigns urged him to
enter into holy orders, promismg high ec*
clesiastical dignities and emoluments-, j
third tempted him to his court by the
offer of the most honourable and lucrative
state-employments. He replied tliat
wealtli and 'honours were not the objetti
of his desire : he had willingly sacrificed
them to religious considerations, and did
uninterrupted liberty of prosecuting his
studies. His friends held out to hlni the
certainty of obtaining a cardinal's hit :—
Picus answered, non sunt cogitationci met
cofritationes vestra. His attention was now
entirely devoted to theological studici.
No man could be more pure from all \
common vices and all common weakness- ]
es 5 were it not for one single exception
he might be called truly wise : but it is
said he was in die habit of inflicting upon
himself those painful penances which
seem, with other corruptions, to have in-
fected the catholic church from the east
Pliilosophists will deride, and philosopher
pity the weakness, but far better is it to
throw off tlie vices of our age and retain
tlie superstition, than to reject the super-
stition and retain the vices.
One extract more we must make from
the^e very interesting memoirs, for it*
substance cannot be abbreviated, and it
were idle to alfect to give it in our oun
worlds rather than in tlie author's.
" His most elaborate un'lertakmg was i
work 'Adverb-US llfn^tcs Fxxlc^ii-,' in wliid
he proposed to refute, I. * The avowed aal
open enemies of Christianity: II. AthtiaU
and those who reject every religious system,.
upon their own mode of reasonisig : I II. The
Jews, from the books of the OlclTestankiil
and their own writers : IV. Tlie followers of*
Mahomet from the Koran: V.Idolatonairf
such as are atldlcted to any superstitiouisd-
ence, anw)ngst whom, he particularly dimrtitl
the artiiU*ry of his .arguments a^inst the
partizurts of judicial a^irology: VJ. Those,
who, perverting tlie doctrines 'ofdiristhnitT,
or denyiDg due obedience to the church, axe
compr.^i leaded under the goneral naine of '
heretics, whom he distinguished into no fei»er
tiian t\^ c) hundix'd species, mtending to make
thein<o many distinct subjects of his ajiiinad-
version: Vfl. Those christians i^bo'bokJ
the truth in unrighteoiuioess, and disrredit,
and coirtradict their profession by their wac-
tice.* Of all these and otiier undertakings
of his, so vast in project, scarce any now ro-.
main except his work ' Contra Astrolc^iaa
pivii4atricem,'and a few * Opuscula.' pKrus,
it appt*ars, by the constant practice oi hastily '',
comiuittlng to paper the thoughts \vhich oc- /
curred in Vapid succession in a mind fruitful •
and teeming like his, and by the use i>f ar- .
GRESWBI.L*S MEMOIRS 01^ ANOELVS FOLITIANUS^ &C.
Six
tifidal characters invented for the purpose of
brevity, as well as by frequent blots and in-
terlineations, had so deformed and obscured
his vfiting, which in his youth had been re-
loaiiably fair and beautiful, that of the iin-
Diense mass of manuscripts and confused pa-
pers found after his decease few could be de-
cyphcred or methodized. By great pains
ana labour his nephew, however, was enabled
to transcribe that portion of his voluminous
work which was levelled against judicial as-
trologj', and which proved to be in a more
£nished state than tiie rest. It was afterwards
published in various collections of his works
under the title of * De Astrologi^ Disputa-
tionum Libri Xll.' and has entitled Picus to
the praise of havmg been the first who boldly^
and successfully exposed the fallacy of this
^)edes of superstition.^'
The style of Picus, intimately conver-
sant as he was with scholastic language, is
as copious, classical, and correct^ as that
of almost any writer of his age. On the
cither hand, he set a due value upon the
schoolmen, the old birds of wisdom whom
the torn- tits of the day were chattering
at; men who if they have been unduly
citoUed in one age, have been more un-
duly depreciated in another, the majority
of writers ridiculing them without read-
jog them, and the few who have read
joining in the ridicule because they have
pilteied firom them what little of truth or
yalue there is in their own works. Aqui-
nas was the one whom he most valued,
ttd whom he was accustomed to call
SpkndoT Theologue. He himself is de-
8cribe() as having combined in his own
nethod'of disputation all those qualifica-
tions by which the schoolmen were indi-
ladually distinguished. But for disputa-
tion he had formed^ long before his death,
% settled distaste^ aware that h admini-
•tered provocatives to vanity which needs
aooe, and that there are few who will not
in such discussions rather win the victory
bf the help of falsehood, than submit to
tnitfa. This most extraordinary man was
deeply skilled in- the theory and practice
of music; he had studied such of the an-
ocnt works upon tfie subject as were ex-
teit, and his own compositions were held
by competent judges in the highest esti-
Uition for their excellence and Jiarmony.
i^us died the 17th of November i4g4,
^months after Politian, the last of his
Biost illustrious friends. He displayed in
^ illness true christian courage, philoso-
phy, and faith. His body was invested
with the Dominican habit by Savonarola ;
this, if it were by his own injunctions, is
his greatest proof of weakness, but it may
be that he was desirous by every external
mark of religion to remove all imputation
of impiety from his memory. Savona-
rola, who was his confessor, possessed
more influence over him than might have
been expected from his own powers 6f
mind^ and the characters of his most inti-
mate associates. It is said that at one
time he had resolved to sell all that he
had, and give unto the poor, and go bare-
footed from city to city preaching the
gospel ; and that he laid aside this design
at his confessor's instance, for that of pro-
fessing among the Dominicans.
Memoirs of Sannazarius. These me-
moirs have one great deficiency; they
contain no account of the Arcadia, the
most famous of all this author's works.
More also should have been said of his
poem De Partu Virginis. The remaining '
memoirs of cardinal Bcmbo, Fracastorius,
Marcus Antonius Flaminius, and the A-
malthei, are all better fitted by tlieir bre-
vity for a biographical dictionary than for
the present work, in which indeed some
longer sketches than this last appear in
the notes. ' There is a life of St. Domingo
written by some Antonius Flaminius ; is
this the poet ?
A good epigram has been written upon
the modern Latin poets of Italy, which
will do for tlie modern Latin poets of any
other country.
'' Vatibus hie mos est Italls, ut mille sma-
ragdos,
Ut mille intexant versibus astra suis ;
Nil-pneter flores, auruni, marmorque loqutm-
tur.
Nil radios praeter lunave solve tuos.
Deniquc versiculis in Tuscis omnia beHa
K\cipias ipsos si modo versiculoa.*'
The satire is good but too indiscrimi-
nate. There are no sweeter poems in
the Latin language than those of Flami-
nius. Mr. Greswell has not selected the
best specimens^from this delightful writer^
nor is he happy in translation. In a sub-
sequent editibn of his work we should
wish that tlie smaller articles should either
be extended or thrown into the notes j
.but more particularly that the life of
Picus should be enlarged by a careful ana-
lysis of his greater woiKj.
Xla
tia
BlOG&APHl?.
Art. X\Vi,-^The Ufa of Profrssor Oclkrt : tcith a Course o/'^ fatal Lessnm, delivered hf
him in the Universittf at Leipsick ; taken from a French Translalion of the on's^nal Gcr^
man. By Mrs. Douglas. 3 vols. 8vo.
THE works of Gellert, collectM id
five octavo yoluines, ^d edited by bimself*
were print^ in 1769, foif Weidmann of
Leipzig. Soon after the appearance of
that edition the author died. His heirs
afterwards published from among his pa-
pers two volumes more^ which contain^n
edifying journal of bis conscientious oc-
cupations, a selection from his correspond*
euce, and a series of exhortations to piety,
loitering ftoax sermons only in not being
provided with texts* Several of these
posthumoua works are here translated
i^>art, through the medium of a French
version, and pr<$:eded by a diftose bio-
graphy.
Christian Furchtm>tt Gellert was born
July 4, 1715, at Ifcynicben, where his
father was clerg>'man. He was educated
hi tb6 free-school at Meissen -, there he
formed a friendship with Rabener, which
continued dur'mg th^r Mves. In 1/34,
h^enteiwl on his tbeok^gicil studies at
the universitY of Leipzig, and was ordain-
ed at the end of the ust:^ three years. In
1739 he became tutor to a young man of
Dresden, whom he accompanied to Leip-
zig ; and finding th» academic life more
consonant with his inclinations than tlie
pulpit, he by degrees left off preaching,
took, in 1 744, a master of arts degree, and
accepted a professorship. His health,
which had always been uifirm, declined so
sensibly about the year ijSl, that an ex-
traordinary professorship was created for
Gellert, in order tp relie^'e him from tlie
duties of ofHpe witlK>ut injury to his cir^
cumstances 6r disparagement to his rank.
One symptom of his disorder was a deep
depression of -mind, and an anxious alarm
for tlie future state of his soul ; although
he excelled in meekness, continence, for-
givingness, piety, resignation, secret alms-
givuig, and all those qualitiei which may
emphatically be denominated the christian
virtues. Constipations and painful ob-
structions put an end to his existence on
th!p 13th December, 1769. His pupils
erected a monument to his memory in-
scribed with these words : ** He taught
reli^n and virtue by his lessons and by
his example."
All the works of Gellert are of second-
ary, or rather of tertiary vahie. The first
sw^me consists of fables versified in the
most ordinary^ fiat, and ituiuteresting
manner. The second volume coiU^.in#
i^noral fmd religious poems, wluch, op a^c-
count of the self-denial of the task, k
ought to pass for a spirUual merit to have
re^. Tibe third v^iune coatains sev^a
plays : 1 . The Affectionate Sisters, a sen-
timental comedy, which neither dxaiw*
langhter nor tears: 2. The Oracb;, a
rhymed translation from the Frencli : 3.
\V^idow prayerbook, (and not, as r^soi^Kd
in the General Biography, the Mjgndiduit
Nun), a satire on tlie grimace of reli^^or
sity, which is the best of Gellert^s come-
dies, but which he felt remorse for hsHv-
ing written : 4. The Prize, a long, dull,
orderly pby of the comic class : 5. Syhria^
a rhymed pastoral drama : 6. Th^ Sick
Wife, an afterpiece: and, 7- The RjIn
band, another pastoral drama also In rhyme.
All these plays dp houour to the ptirity
and morality of Gcllert's intentioos ; he
wished the stage to corroborate the infiu-
ence pf the ^pit; bbt they aie not
lively. In the fourth volonne are on*
tained modds for vulgar letter-vriting,
analogous to some specimens provided
for tills country by Ricliardson, and a te-
dious novel, also in his manner, entitled
the Swedish Countess. Tbe fifth volume
comprehend^ Thoughts on Religion, aod
some other of the exhortator)' discoaivs
included ia^this collection*
It was wi)ie lo select for tcanslation the
devotional writings of Gellert : his other
works woukl not be heeded in Kngiwid;
The religious public are not veiy nice;
Provided their books abound wkh piom
aspiratioas and conscientious apprehea*
sious, tliey care little how trivial the tru-
isms, how feeble the eloauence, how
mystical and unintelligible the sweeps of
pretended argumentation with winch the
pages are co\-ered. lliey i'mpoise tbe
reading of sermons as a moral disci |>lrQe,
and would think it of the nature of sin to
take delight in them as coinpr>sttions. Ac-
customed to strike at die niciinest capaci-
ties, their teacher-s naturally adop^ a form
of address which culture may fiiierate
from deference for its utility, but to which
it can ran^y listen without a conscious-
ness of humiUalion* Their favourites,
being appreciated by the quantity not the
quality of their proselytes, must of course
adapt their exertions to the rode edu-
cation of the numerous classes^ and fo
HAfiTf OAD*S AND foUfl£Vt*9 OOllRBSPONDBNCBr
517
tlieignofnit Emptiness of vulgar minds.
Hence, in an age of intellect, it coaimon-
]/ iuip^ns that popular religious instruc-
tion id in a great degree abandoned by the
ihale writers, as below their dignity 5 and
posses into the hands of a sex, whose par-
tial information and tiraid feelings fit them
£}r tlie a{)propriaCe duties. To this class
of writers this coim(ry has of late been
aittply mdebred for a supply of plebeian
theology. Mrs. Douglas deserves a high
nnk in the list, both for the extent and
die relative elegance of her evangelical
ttertionir.
It will be more equitable to the repu-
tation of Gellert to make a selection from
one o{ those pioa* diatribes which he him-
self edited^ than from any of those post-
luimous papers which may l>e supposed
yet to have awaited the Unishirig embel-
iisbments.
" In Tain I endeavour to conceive an uni-
verse withou£*a.lirst cause; I revolt from the
Ha, and my heart opposes it with invincible
resistance. Buf if thou art the author of (he
Bhmah race,' an^ of all that exists, if I ani thy
creature, and if I derive from thee cver\' aci-
lantagel poteess, canst tliou have abandoned
BK to myself? Hast thou left me to be my
own master; can 1 be at Hberty to make what
ifecl please of tlie fecuUies of my body and
Bttiiid? I can direct thein iii divers manners :
<au tlie ufse I niake of thein be' indilUrent,
lather it ten&s to the happiness or misery of
wybitM.hr'eit, to makeme nappy or iniserafiie ?
Whetf I impose silenVe on my passions, l'
bear a 'voice' which cries out to me, this is
just, this IS uiQust. . Whence comes this voice ?
fip matter, 1 will follow its doctrines ; if J err,
k will be on the antliority- of reason. But no ;
tils hngiiage is too diyme to be that of error:
it tilUs me'that tJie Ahiiighly^ to whoiii I owe
mVeJ^stence, should be tehred and venerated
aJioVcaBVeing^; and that it is on'doiui^ this
ttef corfsists all my ditty and my hapjiiness.
Ixbmoh revelatiob ; it conprms this orade,
and chenges the too feeble gttmmeHng'of
nsmn'into a bright and luminous day-light,
ud allows me to perceive aS many rays of
tiic Supreme Majesty, as iny timid si^Iit can
pehnit nie to endure. Therein 1. discover
what God is, and 1 loam' what 1 am. Love,
niercT, powtT," justice,' holiness, and wndom,.
constitute' h*r essence. And what are men ?
One of the Ml6«S of his hands, created to imi-
tate his perfections as fai- as tlieir nature will
allow, and to enjoy the happiness of God him-
self, p mortal I co^ksult revel^itipn ; contem-
plate the Divmity in this feithfuj mirror, and
thou wilt find whatever ir necessaffv to thy
happiness, if tliou considerest itwilnan at-
tentive eye. Thod wert created for cter-
nfty ; this life is a preparation for !l. The
world thou inhabitest is a rtate of trial. The
years of th^ pilgrimage, are years of that obe-
dience which thou art called upon to pay to!
tliy Creator, in order to become worthy cC
tlie glory he has designed for thee, a{id has
airquired for thee at the price of the merits,
riglitepusness, and bJood^of thy divine Savi-*
our, his only Son. Clouds still hahj ovd* the
divine mivsteries d this revelation ; but let
not this alarm thee, aiid do not form the nn^
wish of dispelling them. How, indeed,"
couldst thou do it? By the help of reason?
Go, and renounce the idea of fathoming ther
impenetrable, and eternal dei3t*cs of Divine
Wisdom. Who art thou, who dare to under*:
take it ? Think on thy insigiiiiicance, and
adore the plans of mercy. The mysteries o£
faith are above thy reason, to comprehend ;
thou art not obliged to comprehend, in ordeir
to beli<^ve them ; it is enough if thou under-'
standest the proofs on which they are founded^
and that tiiey teadi thee that these are oif di-:
vine origin."
We can fot^see but one probable in-
convenience from th^e ciroulatio'n of this'
respectable book. It is the production of
a man notoriously low-spirited, and it.
abou^ids with the hypochondriac wailings
of religious solicitude. Now it is an 'ob^.'
servable fact, that in like manner asreadi
ing about bodily aches, and topical symp-
toms of disease; pbints the attenfion to
thos€5 unsound parts, increases theit ptfr-
ceptivity, and thtis produces the very
pains described, by* inflaming and magni-
fying tli^ feintest analogous feelings;
so, by reading about spiritual anxieties,
and compunctfous visi tings of conscience,
the moral scrupulosity becomes irritated
into morbid puncJtiliousness, the most ve-
nM peccadilloes dilate into enormity, our
ideas soon learn to copy the march of
those'with which we become familiarized,
and riiiscry of mind is diliused with con-
tagious fatality. Woritis that never die^
coif, like the snakes of Laocoon, about tiie
patient devotee, break the limbs of his
energy, and triumph in the writhmgs of
his woe.
Art. XIV.— CorrryrwiA^crfte^a:re« Frances, Countess of Hartford, (afierzivrds Dnchess'
f Somerset), and Hcnnetla Louisa, Countess of Pomfret, bettoecn ike Years 17 3% and
1/41. 3 vols. l2mo.
IF die fashion of publishing, " corre, an unfavourable influence on epistol-rnr
ipondeuces" continues much longer in style: to say nothing aboutthe very qiies-
\ogue. It may be anticipated to produce tionable delicacy and propriety of ransacb-
5\S
BIOGRAPHY.
ing the escritoires of deceased persons,
with a view to bring before the public
eye the private letters which they may
have written or received; we cannot but
augur that th^ ease, almost to carelessness,
which fives such grace to familiar and
confidential correspondence, will soon be
exchanged for a stiflfnes^ and formality,
"heartless, uninteresting, and repulsive.
Letters, instead of being, as they were for-
merly, channels of *' the soft intercourse
from soul to soul," will be rival specimens
of composition ; every antithesis will be
pointed with accuracy, every sentence
rounded off and polished with care, in
order that at some future period, if un-
folded to tlie world, they may be prepared
against the severity of verbal criticism.
In stating this, as not one of the least
among many objections wiiich may be
urged against violating tlie confidence
which is implied in the interchange of
private letters between distant friends,
we are nevertheless extremely ready to
acknowledge the gratification, and even
the instruction, to be derived from reading
the letters of some illustrious persons,
which have recently been laid before die
public. The mask which it may be pru-
dent to assume before the world, is in the
hour of retirement thrown aside : in un-
bosoming to a friend, the great man is
careless to conceal his weaknesses, and often
in domestic scenes appears that tenderness
or heroism in conduct, for which the
world, perhaps, would have been ill-dis-
posed to give the individual credit.
The letters which we liave just been
reading, are written by two ladies of dis-
tinguished rank in the court of George
the Second : and, strange as it may seem,
the warm artd virtuous friendship which
tliey long cultivated with each other was
conceived witliin the walls of St. James's.
From the brief biographical memoirs
which Mr.Bingley(the editor) has prefixed
to tliese volumes, we Jearn that Frances,
countess of Hartford, and afterwards
duchess of Somerset, was the eldest of
the two daughters and co-heirs of the
hon. Henry Thynne. She was married
about the year 1713 to Algernon lord.
Hartford, eldest son of Charles, then duke
of Somerset: not long after tliis period
she became one of the ladies of the bed-
chamter to Caroline, queen of George
the Second, then princess of Wales. She
continued in tliis office till the death of
the queen, in 1/37 ; when both slie and
the countess of Pomfret, also of the bed-
chamber^ retired from the bustle aud jeaii
lousies of the court to enjo^ the riKire'
tranquil pleasures of domestic life. Lady-
Hartford was persoually acquainted -with
some of the first literary chavacters of her-
age, and is well known for her successftil
interference in favour of the unfortunale
Savage against the diabolical macbinatic»is
of that nK>n8ter c^ a motlier, the countess
of Macclesfield ; of that wretch^ to use
the words of Di*. Johnson, who had with-
out scruple proclaimed herself an adul-
tress, aud who had first endeavoured to
starve her son, then to transport him, and
afterwards to hang him. Savs^^e had*
perished on the scatfoid by the evidence
of a bawd, a strumpet, and his mothes,
had it not been for the compassionate in*
terpositioirof the countess of Hartford-
In the death of her son, George Scy-
mour, viscount Beaucharop, who was
taken off by the small-pox at Bologne, oo
the evening of his twentieth birth-day,
liady Hartford suffered very severely, and
still more so when she lost her husband in
1750. From this period she lived almost
wholly secluded froni the fashionable.
world at her seat of Percy Lodge, near
Colnbrooke. Here this amiable and ac-
complished lady closed her life, July 1754.:
Henrietta Louisai countess ef PonciSfret,
was the only sur\nving child of John lord
Jefferys, of Wem, and lady Charlotte
Herbert, daughtpr of Philip, earl of B?m-
broke and Mpntgomer}'. Her ^rand6-
ther was tliat Jeffreys of inhuman noto-
riety, who lived to disgrace two .reigns.
She married, in 1730, Thomas Fermor,
lord Lempster, .who in the subsequent
year was created earl of Pomfiret. Soon
after the death of tlie queen, lord Pomfiret
and his family left England to re&ide on the
continent : the letters which are now be-
fore us passed between these illu^trioos
ladies during the interval of lady Poinfret's
absence from her country and connections.
The first of die collection is dated MonU,
near Paris, in the beginning of September
1738, where the family continued some
montlis, whence they proceeded to Sienna '
in Italy. Here they remained about half
a year, and then went to Florence, where .
they inhabited, during a twelvemonth, the
Palazzo Ridolfi, once tlie residence of
Bianca Capello. They afterwards pro-
ceeded to Rome, where they continued a.
few months, and returned to England in
October 1741. Lord Pomfret died in
1753. Apart of the Arundelian marbles
having been purchased by his lordsliip's
father, sir William Fermor, it was given
by lady Pomfret, in the year 1758^ to tiae
HART^ORD*S ANDPOMFRET's CORRESPONDENCE.
519
unirersity of Oxford. Her ladyship died
in 1761, leaving four sons and six daugh^
ten.
From specimens of the correspondence
between these dislingiiished personages
which we shall lay before our readers, we
are disposed to believe they will join us in
opinion, that rank was not the only cir-
cumstance which separated them from the
mass of society j that they were scarcely
more elevated by situation than by accom-
plishment. In tlie admirable letters of
lady^Mary Wortley Montague there is,
perhaps, fess prattle than Ln any otlier
collection which it has been our for-
tune to peruse : she clearly wrote with
a view to distant publication j if she had
felt tlie propensity, therefore, to have in-
dulged it -would have been unpardonable.
But thrown as she was among a people
vith whose manners and customs . we
were at thgt time but very little acquaint-
ed, she had too rapid a succession of novel
and striking circumstances continualjy
rising up before her, and attracting her at-
tention, not to have rendered in her own
eyes the detail of common chit-chat in-
sufterably rapid. Lady Hartford and lady
Pomfret, in all human probability, little
thought that the unlaboured letters which
tliey wrote to each other in tlieir hours of
leisure and retirement, would ever have
been submitted to the profane eyes of a
reviewer: there is a good deal of prattle
in them, but it is tlie agreeable prattle
or' women of fashion and sense. Retired
from the intrigues and jealousies of a
court, these ladies had learned to despise
them : tales of scandal were no music for
their ear, and they took more pleasure in
the discovery of a virtue tlian in the de-
tection of a w eakness.
Ihe topics touchevt upon in these letters
are various : the countess of Hartford
de>cril)cs the route and tlie objects which
engage her attention j anecdotes are oc-
casionally Related 01^ both sides j" pieces
of poetry are interspersed, and criticiiims
on.worksof art and imagination. These
ladies were in the hal^it of sending to each
•other tiieir remarks on books which they
' had respectively read: they oft eii times
evince an acuteness of discrimination and
cr)rrectiiess of taste. The countess of
Hartford's well-merited eulog)'^on Brooke's
GuslamsVasa, calls forth a censure fn)m
the correspondent on dramatists of that
day, which those of our time may profit
by:
" 1 am very sorry that so rare a thing as a
(ooU pl'iiy iu tiie^ days should meet with
any discouragement, or indeed depend on
such a creature's will as Mr. Fleetwood.
This is certainly the most perfect kind of
entertainment, when well perfonrttd, that
ever was contrived: the fancy is amused^
the manners are informed, and thejnind is
instructed, at the same time ; andy by an
agreeable conceit, we are brought' into the
company of those persons, the reading of
whose iive?.<> and actions had before excited
our admiration or disdain, omr love or*
anger, and most commonly our curiosity-to
know more of them than tlie book could
tell us. Brooke's choosing his hero out of
modern history, is, ir> my mind, no small
recommendation of his performance; since
besides that tlie ancients afford no story
that is not, by oflcu telling, grown tiresome,
the world has been so chan^^ed by the extir-
pation of tire pagan theology, and the intro-
duction of tlic Gothic government (from'
which all the modem nations derive theirs),
tliat we are rendered ahnost another species ;
and doubtless the customs, actions, and for- •
tunes, that most resemble our own, nmst
be the mo>t interesfme to us. On tii is ac-
count it is that 1 Iiave often wondered why so
mariy of our English heroes should lie for-
gotten, when we have had such a number of
knglish poets capable of doing justice to their
memories; for, except Shakespear, 1 know
of none that deserve that title who have
attempted any part of our history, subscauent
to the Conqu(!st, which he left untouched ;
and surely there is ample field in the period
before his' plays commence. What iastance
of conjugal love can exceed that of Edward
the First and his queen ? What bravery, that
of Ca*ur de Lion? What poliey and wisdom,
that of Jolin.of Gaunt- in iJpain ? And what
politeness, love, courage, honour, j^nd filial
affection, that of the Hlack Prince? besides
' innumerable other subjects full of cntertaiii'
ing incidents, and various turns of fate.
And I cannot help being out of patience with
Mr.' T)r>den, who, next to Shakcspear,
pleases nre best, to see him hunt the ex-
tremest corners of the earth for his heroes ;
and though neither ^he inhabitants of As]:?,
Africa, Europe, nor America are excluded his
notice, yet he has not b(*stowed one scene on
Engianfi, except his opera of King Artliur,
whose htory is almo.st as ifabulous as the spi-
rits he has' raised to adorn it. Mr. Kmve is
indeed an exception -to wliat I at fn^t said,
well meriting the name of botli a poet and an
Englishman."
'* J-propos of Gustavus," say:< lady Hart--
ford in repK to this letter: " I'must tell vt)a :
a particular'of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden,/
which I had from sir William Wyndhani,
jind which I think is not mentioViedln a!n"of
the accounts of 1ms life. He dreamed 'o^u?'
night that he wtis upon a large plain, about" die *
middle of which'there v^'as an extremely h!!?;h
hill, of around form — its ascent prodigior.^ly
difficulty being almost' perpendicular; antl at'
Uic top of it was a rock €scaq)^c of gieat
520
BIOGRAPHY.
height. 'Whilst he was looking upoQ this, he
saw a man climbing up it, wliom he knew to
be Gustarus Vasa: this person got to tlie
top of the hill, but then disappeared, with-
out getting upon the rock. He then saw
a second nian, who not only climbed up the
bill, but jgot a little way upon the rock;
when hlmot slipt and he fell to the bottom :
the king went nearer, and tound him to be
Charles Vasa; a third person came, and got
up the hiU, and very near to tlie top of the
rock ; but he likewise, missing his foot, fell
down: the king knew thi^ to be Gu^tavus
Adolphus. Surprised at the ill success of
these three heroes, be resolved to try whether
he could not himself have belter fortime.
lie accordingly attehipted it, and not only
climbed up ttie"^ hill, but to tho very summit
of the rock, where he plaint ed the standard of
Sweden.
" 1 own that this sounds very like a vision
invented'^ pfaisir; but sir W'illLim Wynd-
ham assures me that he was told it by a
person whom he knew very welt, and who
was a very unlikely nun to contrive such a
fifption: this person says that Charles con-
stantly aflinuedit.''
Rnnning through these volanaes with a
rapidity which is natural where a lively
interest is excited, we had noted down
with our pencil a lirt of the passages to
haTe extracted for the amusement of our
readers : on referring to them we find a
difficulty in making the selection, llie
merit lies occasionally in the sentiment,
occasionally in the language : oftentimes
in the indication of those amiable afiec-
tipDs and domestic virtues which each of
those ladies cultivated with peculiar care.
As compositions tiiese letters may not bear
a comparison with those of lady Mary
Wortley Montague : we admire the viva-
city and wit of tiiat lady, whilst succeed-
ing travellers have borne testimony of the
fidelity of the narration, and the accuracy
of her descriptions. But she does not
attach us to her by the fine feelings of tlie
heart: she is cold, contemptuous, and
sarcastic : here the afTections are engaged,
and we love the individual when we read
the effusions of warm personal friendship
and general benevolence. Such passages
as tlie following, if we mistake not, evince
good feeling as well as good sense : after
describing some alterations about his
grounds, which lord Hartford had been
making, lady Hartford says :
" Now, if you laugh at me for endeavour-
ing to entertain you with tl^e triHing beauties
that phrase me, whilst you are smrounded
with all tiie mao^niiicence of Italy, I shall not
te^l mvself incUued to be at ail afifrontcd,
whilst i am convinced that you would have
a sincere concern for any misfortune thit
might befal me, and be grieved if tou tlioug^
me capable of a guilty action. This is a styte
of thinkihs that the'great ladies with whoQi
you and 1 have been acquainted, do uot
always enter u)to ; ^ut no natter ; — as you
very justly observe, their good-natured re-
presentations cannot alter me real state <rf
things; and tliere is an intrinsic value in
home-felt pcact», from a sense of having acted
rightly, thiit all the erandeur and pomp upon
earth cannot boa»t.'^
Lady Hartfiird, in one of her letters
dated in the autumn, says :
" The weather has confined ine a good deal
to my bow-window, since 1 came hiiher : bnt
our environs liave not yet lost their beauty j
and though they have laid aside the gay ccy-
lours which adorned them iii tbe sprjig/thi-y
retain great charms for mc in the 3i>ber array
of the present season; which perliap« is
agreeable, from its being more nearly aiW
to my own time of life; and which' seems
in allthe progress of its declme, to represent
what 1 fed witliin myself."
In reply to this letter, lady Fomfm
says:
" How charminff is kindness from tIios«.
we love — and love for such qualities as lady
Hartford possesses ! You have not only the.
goodness to think of me at this terrible dis-
tahce (for I confess I feel it so e\x»rv (by
more and more), but you hare tiie clianty
too, to let mc know, liow hap}>y my idea i^,
in attending you in your state at ■ Marlbo-
rough, your retreat at Windsor, and tour
masquerade in London ; for tliere (at fcast,
at one place there) some sort of ma^ is ab-
solutely necessacy for every one. Those
who, liKe you, have no faults to hide, imbt
hide their virtues ; that they may pursue
their own way in peace, and, atler a jpy
spring, enjoy the serenity of that autuma
which you say best pleases youi Indeed it is the
time of fruits and harvest : May delights the
eye, but August brings us nourishroeni;
youth pursia^ happiness, but it is our riper
age that enjoys it. When truth, by axpt-
ritaicc, has unveiled tlie mysterk's that ig-
norance and pafision mad<% then all our little
piques and emulations are no more : we $^
virtue, and we k>ve it ; we are enabled by
observation to make reJlexions, and from r>
tlexion know the value of a taithful friend.
Such are you, and such 1 hope always Iq
appear to you."
Tlie first series of letters from lady
Pomfret is dated Monts : in her way to
Sienna she passed a fortnight at Genoa :
the following story is related, which will
have interest to many of our readers.
*' Amongst the.maids of honour attending
RARTFOBD S AKD SOMFHI^X 8.CJDRSB9PONDBNCB,
S2l
Ihe electress, sister to the last grand-duke of.
Hie bouse of Medici, there was one named
TeiYsa Gbcconiini. Hiis lady, though not
Ijambome, engaged the aifections of a youth
vkoK merit aiKJ quality were not equalled by
hs fortune; being a younger bsotlicr anci'
p9^ of honour in the 'same court. As the
maids of honour abroad are on a dilfercnt
fpoting ftom ours in li^ngland; and are rather
a mixture of lady of the bedchamber and
bfdcliamber-wonian together, the prihcessc^s
tliey sen'e live in a sort of £imiliarity with
thein. This gave the eL'ctress an op^oi tunity
of oiMerving the inclinations of the two yoimg
persons ; and, not approving of theni, she
«ot the young man from court. After he
was gone, though many couMderablc oilers
were made to her, the lady would never hear
«f matrimony; byt, in op|)ositioa to all the
mtrtaties and tears of her relations, who.
4oatetl on her, she resolved to retire into a
cpnvent. Three years passe*! in this contest ;
md the electresSy with whom she was a f4-
Tourite, began to unagine that her wish to
tike ihc veil would wear out: tliis piqued her
to such a degree, that, liaving at last oUam-
ejl, or ratJier extorted, her mother's coiisont,
ihe would not wait for a vacancy in the rou-
vfots of Florence, but went to tienoa, to be
professed there, and she arrived some few
diys before me. As she was recommended
to a partii;ular friend of la signora Brignola,
njy protectress, we always met at the same
CMTcrjfatiom ; where she played at cards,
tad seemed as well diverted as any person
present. After a week, of these amusements,
iHjicli is the custom before a nun takes tlie
tahit, the day for licr receiving It was fixed.
\h the company she had been amongst went
iosee tJie ceremony, except my friend l)u-
'uai ; who told me, that ii s*he was not very .
nuch mistaken hi me, i ha<l better not make
»e in the party : my daucrhters, how«v<*r,
jislied to be pK*sent, and l attended thenu
she was richly drest ; much in the manner
bat ve dress at thu roj'al weddings, but with
jold and colours : and entered the church
ritli a cheerful and a:«8ured look, though
0 disordered withui,. as to tremble from
lead to foot. This slie strove to hide,
akijij^ leave of every one with as much re-
oliition and grace,' as if she thought the
Iwrtress was looking on ; and surelv slic
ujped it would he report^ed to her. When
he n»8s was over, we all conducted her to
he door of the cloister: where, turning
ound, she returned us thanks, aiul iiddcd,
' yidjo, a rivcdcrh in Parudim ;'' then,
ntering^he door, was encompassed by cna-
ures all covered witii black veils, each hoi*!-
^ a lighted taper : the door then sluit her
1 for ever. I own to you tliat my resolution
ras much weaker tiian hers ; and, though
be was an entire stranger to me, [ could not
>ii)ear siieddins; some tears at her unhai^^y,
Temediable mistake' — that retirement and
liougln would banish from her heart a pas-
UQ liiat M ottea produced, and alv.'ays i^i\,
by them: indeed alt the disorders of the
mind are more f rfectually dispersed, or laid,
asleep, by motion and variety, tlian by solir
tude and meditation ; for whenever pleasing
thoughts are wanting, unpleasing ones will
always introduce theiiiseives. But to i6nish
my story : — the order to which she belongs is
so strict, that henceforth she can be seen by
nobwly, except three times a year: she is not
permitW to eat meat, nor to wear either
linen or shoes. * Her new dress, meeting
mth^ body of strength unequal to her mind,
drew •some involuntary tears, wheii she felt
the pain of the hair-cloth; yet, far, from
being intimidated, she immedratelv turned to
the company, and said tiiat she did not doubi
that in a day or two she should be sufHcicntly
used to it, no longer to feel the pain : aiul
that sIk! already found herself perfectly happy
IQ .hucli good company ; although she' did not
Jvnow one of them, even by name;, before shis
came to (ienoa, nor had she so much as seui
the convent bi fore she was received info it.
1 cannot conclude this history, long as it is,
without informing you, that the absent cause
of thit? sacrifice was thrown into the utmost
despair at hearing of it ; and he immediately
resolved to follow the example, and become. .
himself a friar."
At Sienna the acconioiodations were^
not so good or so agreeable as was ex-
pected, and lady Hartford proceeded to
Florence, where nwterials * rich and.
abundant presented themselves for a se-
ries of interesting, letters : we are better
acquainted with the treasures of the Flo-
rentine gallery now tlian at the time thi^se'
letters were written i nor shall? we. tran-*
scribe tlie description of palaces, cathe-
drals, convents, or other public buildings.
A few sketches of manners and amuse-
ments may have more novelty in theai.
What would the gentlemen of New-,
market say to a Floreuiine horse-race I
" This amusement is performed in a very
dirt'erent manner here from what it is in Euiir
land. Our English races are in the coun-
try ; those of Florence, in the citv. Our
horses a re^ ridden by men practised to the •
exercise ; whilst, on' the cxmtrary, the Ho-
rentine horses have no ridej-s at ail. They
are let loose all at once, from a certain L
stand, \vh!i little thi bells hangiuj? at their '
sides (by strings thrt)wn across tlieir back**) '
to prick them, and make a noise.- 'ITiey run *
in aUVight through a great part of the town ;
which is on that occasion so fuU of people,
that it is impossible for the poor hearts to
run out of tneir course, even if they wished *
it. The prize is, a ^rt»at <iiiantity of gold
brocade and velvet, gjwu by the great-duke.
And thcM" /W//o*,.a8 they are called, were
inritituted lor an annual amusement," in me-. *
mory of some gn»at victory or civil ?»U(i< i^iof '
the kale. The present prince always takes
522
BIOGRAPHY.
care to win' his own prizes ; so that the sie^ht
h all the lienelit his people r6ap from >\Tiat
(in fonn only) he maintains of the magnifi-
cence of his predecessors. This year he has
taken away even that, in regard to one insti-
tuted in renierabrance of the Florentines'
conquest of Sienna.^ pefore the race begins,
all the company drive in full dress, in their
carriages, up and down the streets destined
for it This' part of the city is called the
Corso."
From Rome we have a variety of fively
descriptiona : from her hi^h rank, )ady
Pomfret had the opporttinity of seeing
e\T.ry thing in the most favourable man-
ner; her curiosity was always on the
alert, and slie describes what she saw
whilst the impression on iier mind was
warm and vivid.
** After I hail sealed my letter to your
ladyship, I was conducted by tlw signpra
Ceiici through the streets for near three
miles. All the way we went, wherever there
happened to be pizzicaroli shops (that is,
where lianis, tongues, and oilier salted meats,
are sold) they were set out with greens,
flowers, and paintings of landscapes in per-
spective, one room behind another, and little
glass lamps burning in every part. They
made the prettiest scene imaguiable, and re-
called Vauxhall to my memory; which seem-,
ed to have been cut in pieces and sent liere^
This ceremony is to welcome-hi Easter,
when the trad^ begins to be again flourishing.
1 was told tiiat the confectioners do the same
by their sliops at Christmas. The place we
went to see was la Trinita del Pelegrini — a
communitv first settled in the time of pope
Julius the 'I'hird. They have a cardinal pro-
tector, a prelate^ a guardian, and a numerous
brotherhood of all deerees, out of wliom are
deputed the upper omcers. These are most
of them noble, and, as well as the other, wear
a red glaaed linen froek over their clothes,
and a white short apron tied about their
waists, when thev are performing any part
of their duty in the house, or when 'they at-
tend procesbions. For die latter, every one-
receives a sixpence, and a wa^-torch of four
pounds weight. All this goes to th<"ir public
•txpence ; but thry have, beside^, great fixed
re\''enues, and almost daily donations that are
left or given to tjjem. Here are received, the
whole yjcar round, all pilgrims who can bring
a patent from the bishop of their diocese, or
the pope s nuncio, to ceitify that devotion
is the occasion of their jouriK^y, and that forty
miles is the shprtest distance they have come.
Wlien we arrived, a person in the dress I
before described, attended by two others that
held torches, gave me his hand to cjet out of
the roach ; and I, not then knowing that the
nobility for mortification occasionally ex^r-
^ cised th(»se employments in person, wa? sur-
prisrd to. find it the hui^band of the lady who
trought me. She overlooked, for that eveo*
ipg, the apartment of the women, y^hcn ire
were first conducted. We entereil a rery'
large room^ with lonpj tables on eatrh side,
which this niglit was to entertain two hundrai
and sixty; for always in Passion-week tbe
number is greatest. ' Tlie manntT in which
they are served is this : — a sallad is placed in
tiie'middle, round which are five otlier disho
well filled, and prettily garnished ; and next
to thes<% four white jugs, with as many vhiie
bowls to drink out of, that cover <hem; thm
the sallad and five dishes again, and then
otlicr white jugs ; and so alteniatdy, firaii
one end of the table to the other, ficnrlw
are placed on each side : and there are ibnr
people to each mess ; each having, alio, a
plate of soup and a wooden spoon. M th<?Y
leave is their own ; and they are entertsiDeS
thre^ nights (but no more) with supper and
lodging. Wlien we entered, the room \m
full of people well dressed, that, by mr of
penance, came to wait on tlit^se poor beggars,
who all attended in an adjoining room ti
their meal was in order. I looked in; b«t
cannot describe the dirt, the noise, and odd-
ness of the crew, that ha4 arrived trojn t&
paits of the known world. When tlicj- w«f
placed, the prelate (m tlie same red ftrxl)
gave the benediction, and they began to et
heartily. As I went down the room, one of
their attendants, who waited witli great d3i-
gence (as they all did), stole so raurh tkoe
from her office as to turn about and. tell ree
that she intended, as soon as this week of de-
votion was over, to make me a visit I was
so much amazed, that I did not know wtet
to answer, when the signora Cenci whisptred
me, that it was tlie duchess St. Martino, aed
added (smiling), " This is nothing : we 2II
CQme by turns: and wash their feet «i
other nights ; but, as thev have made a pro-
cession to-day to St. Peter's, there is Bst
time." I said, 'M- hoped their feet were
washed by themselves first?" " No, indeed,"
(said she) : " last niglit I am sure they were
not, for I performed that oftire jin-seiL*
The place where they sleep is a long mnii,
and wide enough to admit of two beds on
each side, one at the *)0t of the otfierj
through all these' I walked, to the bottom,
where is aq altar, and upon it a cnicilix, for
their devotions. Two people lie b each bed,
and they have clean sheets twice a-week.
Having seen this, we went ne?^t to the roea's
apartn>ent (but I must not forget to teilyoa,
that men are only pennitted to see the raen,
and women, the women ; unless by a particu-
lar prder)^ which is much larger and nuire
handsome ; they have tu'o rooms to eat ra,
and two to sleep in. The crowd of pilgrem
and others tliat came to see them was so 0^ •
fensive to my nose, that I could wrth great
difiiculty support the walking through them,
to see the place where tiicy wash their fett.
It is a s(juare room, with raised benrhes on
all sides, and lower benches under for their
feet to rest on ; with little tubs, and two cocks
of water, oae hot and Uw other a>ld,to cack
GBAKGER*f COKHESFONbENCB.
523
pefsofl. To nty great comfort, there was a
door to get <to our coaches >^ltiiout rctuniiiig
if^Aa, to the seven hundred and sixty pii-
grkns ; for that number ^ as feasted to-night,
besides the ladies I saw «bove, llie order,
tlic plenty, the cleanness, and I riiay say
elegance, in which they are served, is prodi-
gi6us,"
• This delicate ceremony ' of washing the
feet, it is unnecessary to say, is a hypocri-
tical and oifensive altectation of the real
humility of our Saviour, when he xvashed
the feet of his apostles. Lady Pomfret
describes the ceremony of the pope's
washing the feet of tlurteen pilgrims at
the church of St. Peter's ; at the upper
end of the room was a throne erected for
his hoiiness, who was brought tliere in an
open chairin ail his robes. ' Of these he
divests himselt' in the sight of the people ;
and having taken off his xriple crown, de-
scends in a white Uuen vestment, attended
by the prelates,who carry what is necessary
for the office he is about to perfonn. On
one side are seated the tliirteen pilgrims,
drest in close woollen habits, with square
Art. XV. — Letters behjseen tlie Rev, James Granger, M. A^ Rector rf Skiplake, and
** many qf the most eminent literary Men of his Time : composing a copious Histqryand
JHuxtration of the Biographical History of£ngland, with Miscellanies and Notes ^ Tours
in France, Holland, and Spain,** By the same Gentleman. Edited by J. P. Malcolm, 8vo.
pp.534.
caps of the same : their feet rest on aiMH.
tlier raised bench, between which and^hs
rail, covered with scarjet cloth, there .is
room for the pope and his attendants lo
pass. One of the latter carries a silver
gilt vessel- of water, in which the pop©
puts the pilgrim's feet, one by one : then
takes a towel from another of hisi prelates,
wipes them, kisses them, and having re-
ceived a palm from a third, gives it into
the hand of the poor iwiest, m sign of
peace, and passes on to the next.
Since these letters were written, th«
public has had too many tours on the
continent, and too many descriptions
of the various works of art, ancient and
modem, which Italy once contained^ to
make it allowable for us still fartlier to
extend this article by extracts, lady
Pomfret*s descriptions have all the appear-
ance of accuracy : her remarks are saga-
cious and acute when men, manners, and
superstitions, are the subject of them, and
denote a cultivated taste when applied to
w^orks of genius and art.
WHEN men who have filled the more
important stations of life leave a character
behind tliem eitlier for abilities or
eminence, the posthumous publication of
their letters may be useful. Under other
circamstances tlie utility of such a publi-
cation may be fairly questioned.
Mr. Granger wrote a ' Biographical
History of England :' and his friends,
and such among tlie literati of his day as
were inchned to encourage him in the
prosecution of it, transmitted scraps of
iutdiigence. Some answered frivolous
inquiries, and others were so kind as to
correct mistakes for him when the work
appeared. Of such materials the voJuipe
flow before us is composed, A large por-
tion of it is occupied by the letters of ^Ir.
Thonias Davies, his bookseller, of which,
icarce any one appears to have been
Worthy preservation. The subjects of
tlieiu are of a nature botli private and .
uniiitercsting. One blames him for not
correcting sheets on a Sunday 5 two or
three more invite liim to dinfier 5 anotlier
raises the purchase-money of the work ;
and a sixth gives bishop Warburtons
opinion of it. Others are about its sale,
the chance of a ficcoud edition^ or tlie
support or discouragement the work had
met with. Surely these are not ingre-
dients for literary history. Biit there is
one sentence which may perhaps be
worth recording. Mr. Granger, it seems,
in 1 776 had published a suigle. sermon,
on which occasion his bookseller write*
thus to him : * If you think proper, v>e
can cancel the title-pages of ihc third erfi-
tion, and print neu) ones, and call it the
fourth : and so add your advertisement, of
which I greatly approve.'
At p. 78 we have the following anec*
dote of Mr. Granger:
" It appears from many circumstances,
that Mr. Granger was very anxious to obtain '
a living withiii a tenable distance of Shipbke,
and not under the ann\ial value of 200?.
One of his friends, in 1775, seut him a list o£
64 of the bishop of V^'inchcster^s protcrnit^nts
with -their value in the king's books, and the
names of the then incumbents; and hopc«
that some or other of them mirt* come iiito
liis possession, through the intiiience of his
noble patron with the bishop ; though he
expresbcs a doubt of his success if he retained
S.uplake. ^ I^ug lists of the chancelloi-'s gitts>
and m'»nioranda, to enquire the names and
agits of the incumbents, and a * quero if any
hving (not less than iiOO/. a year) within— -
524
BIOGHAPBY^
miles of Reading nr fl«nlcy, and in the gift
of the crown, be like to be vacant soon, by
the removal or age of the incumbent;* ar«
proofs of a strong deare to succeed in this-
piirsuit/'
In a subsequent page is one df Dr.
Johnson's letters. There are others from
Messrs. Thomas Waiton, M+ison, and
Beunanty of as little- consequence: and
thirty-rone pages in another part of the'-
ivork are occupied bf a number of bishop
Burnet's letters, because bishop Burnet
WAS' coiuieotod' with thefamily of one of
Mr. Granger's correspondebtft.
Ihe two most curiods letters in the
ct>}lection, we believe, are Mr. Penn's
(p; Ut>) about fXDtector Somerset, and
the short one of Horace Walpole on Mr.
Granger's death. A part of the former
Vie trattscribe.
'* I have been lately looking into all sneh
of our histories of Kngli?nd, and lives of great
nn&n, as I could procure, to see what charac-
ter, upoirthc wliole vie\v of tliem, miglit fair-
ly be affixed to protector Somerset. The
result is, I do not thiok they liave done him
ju.>t)ce; most indeed aliour him many good
qualities, but there comes a conntcrbakance of*
various ciiarges of extravagance aqd mal-
a4ii\inislration, warranted iuoeed by the ac-
cMsafrions of his enombes, bxit 1 bvlieve littJe
dt'jerved by the duke.
'* Tlit?reasott Iiindertook-the search wan thist-
looking over soma old and throwii-astde
^Tilings, I tbund a roll, which upon cxamina>
tioii proved to be the dukeof Somersft's cof-
ferer s account of all jnoneys by him received
and disbursed to I he '^ aid d\rke*s use, from
iVpril 1, 154S, 2 Kd. V{. to Oct. 7, 15>.M,
S-Kd. \L The lengdi of that part of the
Ti>llr which relates to the receipts is about'
cii^kt feet and a lialf ; of that which contains
the disbursemuiits 32 fet»t ; the who!« length
31 feet and a half; breadtii one foot four
iilches.
"I am thus particular, to shew you Iio^v
much it contains ; it is written iu a fair law-
hand, and was drawni up by an order, dated
Au. 5, 1 5 j2, * from H) chard Saekvyle, knight,
chancellor of the cpurtc of the augmentations
and revenues of his higlmes Crowne, and sir
A\'altcr Mildmaye, kiit. one of the general
purveiors of th^'said rourte.' it is examined
and sip;[ied by both of them.
'* It contaiusniunberless curious particifbvs,
from wliich nvany striking traits of his grace's
character ini^lit," !)y an ingenious pen, be in
some measure truly delineated ; to give you
an abstractor it, is impossible: twill give
you the sums total, and would if I could <.\o
n)ore, as I know you are fond of such private
bit»tories.
Within thetiA^ oftlie adb^nnlt
(three years and a half) wcrt
receivM - - . 56,7» ilf
Withm the same time were dis-
bursed • - - . 50,9n 13 af
I^ue to the said "fcofferer liJft 10 7f
With many other articles
whicli cost - - 734 17 0|.
■■ ■ .«
X 9^ It
"Thfe sinii at the date rf the acwont
May 18, 1553, 7 Ed. VI. wa^^setb thesalf
cotferer, tor which be, atid aftttvKiMr lutf^
wido^y petitioned queen M»ry hr the pi^
ment, but I believe without siicceSs.
*' The headi of the dL>bursements are thne
which follow:
Xr i.t
'* Housdiold charges of all
khids - - - is;en a 4
" Apparel, liveries, wage*, fees,
annuities, alms, rewards,
&c. - - - - 10,063* a <f
** Works> buildings, and repar
-rations - - - , 17,17§ ^ 1
*' Moneys delivered to divers-
persoi'is, &c.' - - 5,058' 4 10}
•£.50,911 13 Ji-
_" Amongst the accounts of huiWings
Some^^et-h(}use is -very particulariy nmr
tiontsd; there islheexpenceofevervartidcV
the whole cost 10,091/. 9«. 2t/. W v?$
not completed at the dukes death; bad it'
been so, more artists' names might probiblf
have beei\ added to Mr. Walpule's caU*
logue.
•' Thomas Magnus, prcbendarT (aftftC
wards 1 su|>|X>se the gerat doctor),' wai rfr*
tained by tiie duke in 1548, at an annuity of'
15/. I \s' 2d. as his chaplani.* I believe *t»o
other derks are inentioucti the next jwrit'
larger salaries.
" There was exj^ended on Syoihhoa*,
within the time of the abov« account, 5,34ii'>
18.t, lOi.
*' I beg you would never delay akftcf fee
want of a trank ; the ottener 1 fiave postage
to pay, the greater tlie pleasure to your'
very obliged^ &c.
"John Fjkh."
Mr. Walpole* s was the following.
*' Arlington-street, April 16, 1776.
'* You will be concerned, my good sir, far
what I have this minute heard from his? uc^
phew, tlut poor Mr, Gningt»r was seized '4
the communion-table on Sunday with aeapfr'
plexv, anddiefl vesterdav moruinij at ^ff .
** \ have answered tlie'lctter, with a u«nJ-
of advice about his MSS. that ihevmay^J
fall into the hands of buoksellen.' He b^i ,
dBANGBR'-d COMtSFOyDSKCE.
1»
W&toklby idle people 9o-mtLny gossiping
MaruSf iksk it-woulJ hurl Inta and living
perioiu, if ail liis collections were to be
nrinie^ ; (or, »s he was incapable of telting
ao untruth himself, he siuspectird nu^ody
tlsc; tuo great goodiiess ip '4 biographer !
*' Yours, &c.
** iiORACE WaLPOLE."*
The correspondence relating to the
^ histpry," ends witfe p. 420. k it fol-
lowed by 8QQi^ lettej:s upon olher subjects,
and afterwards by miscellanies, sonie
of vhii3harebelicv«d not to itave bteen
im prjoduce of Mr. Qnuiiger\i p€4i.
The notes of tours are meagre. The
hat ace peiiiaps those which relate to
the juucBey firotn Bajooae toward Ma-
dnd.'
^ luly the 9th, we left Bayonnp, and en-
tered upon 9ur jourpcy towards Madrid ;
kiviog sent two of' our men before with the
chaise towards PanipilttnaL IV0 or three
^99^ ^QttA Hayoaoa^^a began to mount tlie
l^<liir.9 ; vc travelled about tL'u or twelve
kjagitf!^ the tirst day, an4 c^iue tu a very
^^ FccQch inn at ui^iL, where v^e found our
nei) \^'hu:h we had scut before. Wc had a
French wonyan ii| company with us, who was
etenuUy gay, and seemed to outdo the gaiety
eien of the French themselves. She was the
ttae after the most fatiguing day's journey,
udeven without resting at night. Though
M^me b> Uiree, four, and Hve in the morn-
i^ior witlmut having rested the whole lught,
^. ^ Mj^ ^^une spirits reniaiiting. b)ie
^i aii instance of the freedom of ti>e French
^^ifo^'s h^haviqiur, whidi had no reserve, no
•tslraipl froin ui.o(te«ty ; but she seemed to
Jnakc it a niaxim to say whatever she thought,
aud do whatever her inclination prompted
her to.
"Onourscrond day's journey, Mr. Boyle
and 1 mounted 4b« chaise^ which had two
DHjre vheeb put' on s^t a distance from those
h$biud, tu break the jolt«, and keep it iix>tn
overturning. It was drawn by six oxen,
^'^^ g9 slow and sure over tijose steep
mountaiDs, and had three nvn to. drive it ;
«nd tiMs*. dreadkil ways retiuire both skill
ttkicase inAhe drivem. 'We took some bread
«%l w'iii», hy way ofhseakfast, at a little
hqui^ in tiw? Pyreunee^ whqre the queen of
%^ loJ^ in the year 39» as we were inft^nn-
fti by an iascri^uon oyer tfee door. 'Hie inn
wvcame to tlqs night was akogeUicr in the
&xuush way ; we entered into our cbamber
tnruogh the Spanish, >* hith leads likewise to
the kiichtrii, &c. It was so cold here (as it;
» almost ttii the year in tlte Pyrennees) that
^» were fofcedto have a-fiie iMade* though
mihcoMntliofiune.
*' I «W>mU h^'e reip9rkfid>^r» thai we.
«)l«n4oii t^ &{>ai^(| tep»tori<Q this day.
Jhichliaxe notlijpg rem^kabje by wa5^of
houodaiy but a .stuau fbuQijtaiTL Just by ifi^jy
ihewed Us a 'little rUiiig groundi where- the'
dauphin of France was nmrriefl to the Infanta
in a twit erected for that purpose. The
Pyrennees, with ail their frightful precipices,
have greater beauties in them than 1 savr
besides in Frano: and Math-id. They are
covered with a line verdin-e, are full of tret^,
luive several corn-tields on the sides of tliem ;
aud the valleys are interspersed with pretty
villages, which, togt*ther w.th the distant
prospect of the mountains appearing oi>t5
above another, made a charmiug roma/ilic
scene.
" 1 happened once to iall aleep in die
diaise in jMssing over the manntahis; and
wak.iig all on a sudden where the f«iad wat
wry uatTow, on tiie brink of tl>c highest
precipkx; I saw on those moootakis, I Vrokod
down on the valley bi-neath, which seeiUL-d at
least Iialf a mile dibtaiiL ironi tiie U>|>, and
immediately concL-ivcd sucli a horror ait I
never know before ; fw, being %o uear tl)»
edge ot^ a precipice, though in no diuiger of
faliUig, \t immediately raises the idea ol it.
** i he third day at night we came to Pam-
piluna, which is tne tirst toivn in the Spanish
doixunmns, ami llie onlv one worth remark^
ing wliich we nset With on our journey t^
Madrki; It is | rettv well fortitied, and lociks
pretty enough at a distance, hut lias but liitltf
elt^iice in its streets or houses when you
come to examine them. Upon our coining
hither, we seemed to be in a new world ; the
habits, the aspect, tlie language of die people,
bein^ ail new to us ; and when we came to
our mn, the furniture, &c. seemed to be in
the fashion of the last century.
" The day wc came hitli^ was but hro
d^ys after a buU-feast ; and was on one of the
days of tiie fair, which is kept here f(,r*sevc*
ral days after tlie feast. Here we bouglit u»
a case, with a knife, fork, and spooa, wiiich
we were informed we should have occasion
for on the road; there behig no such thiirgs lo "
be found in the Spanish inns : and, indeed, i£
it had not been for the |>rei!autionot our mtf
leteer, who took care, where any thing was *
tobe^got, to carry a little tlesh or fowl with
him, we should have wanted even necessary
provisions ; as we were in several of those
houses where they had only a littb bread and
nasty wine.
** It was odd enough, when wc ca»ne life
into some of our urns, to sec thetmil«ieer{» Ai '
lying along askep, u|Aon the clotlis belongr
ing. to their mules* (as these 'people ne>xT li«
in a bed), and tlie people ot tiie inn rujming; •
about almost naked to put things in ord^'r for
us,^ and perha]>s half a do^eii people dis-
patched to several, parts of the jJu'.f, some '
for provision, olhets fortii*th?, which in the
Spanish innf are mattrasse^ laid iijwn-a bag of
straw; though sometimes I have beeii fonred-
to take uj) with a. blanket - th£o«ca ov«r thu-
latter for a bed:
" Wc met with few llungs worthy- of ob*
servation, and as few beauties either nalural^
or artilicial as it is. possible, 1 believe, any
where again in the waoI<rw6rIdlo^me«lwitb
52a
BIOGRAPHY.
ux going over a tract of land of l>etwixt two
and three hundre4 miles. A botanist might
perhaps have met with amusement, as tliere
are a great many aromatic plants, which
grow upon this otherwise barren country, and
lome olive trees^ which at a distance iiave ex-
actly the appearance of the willow.
" About the middle of our journey we
crossed the river Eire, which runs about six
hundred miles in Jength ; and about t«ro afte#
that the fiuerog, which niui quite to Por-
tugal."
Upon the whole we agree wth Mr.
Malcolm, (200) that ' this work is cuo-
fessedly a thing of shreds and patches,
and beyond the art of man to noethodize/
AaT. XVI. — Memoirs, of the life and Achierements of the Right Hon. Horatio byrd
Fucount Nelson, By a Captain of the British Navy. Svo. pp. 1 16.
THIS biography was so generally read
at the close of the last year, while the
death of the individoal whom it comme-
ztiorates, balanced in the public mind the
joy diffused by the victory off Trafalgar,
that any detailed account i^ superfluous.
Lord Nelson Was born 29tli September
1758, at Bumham Thorpe, in Norfolk;
was sent first to the free school at Nor-
wich, and next to Northwalsham, whence,
at the early age of twelve, his uncle, cap-
tain Suckling, took him to sea in the Rai-
Bonnable.
He was afterwards intended for the
merchant-service, and went away to the
West indies. In 17/3 a northerly voyage
of discovery, was undertaken by captain
Phipps : this was a cruise adapted to tlie.
ambitious curiosity of the lad Nelson ; he
offered himself as cockswain to captain
Lutwidge, and was suffered to go.
He next obtained a birth in the Sea-
horse, and sailed in it with a squadron
to the East Indies, where his health suf-
fered much. He recovered in his native
climate ; became second lieutenant of the
Lpwestoffe in 1777* ^^^ post-captain in
^TyO' of the Hinchinbroke. He div
played great gallantry in the rcductioa of
fort Juan.
In Januaiy 1793 he was appointed to
the Agamemnon of sixty-four guns, and
placed under lord Hood in the Mediter-
ranean. He lost an eye in the successfiil
attack on Corsica.
In February 1797» commodore Ndsoo
joined admiral sir John Jervis, who in-
stantly discerned, and was eager to elevate
his merit. Since that period the achieve-
ments of lord Nelson have been briiiiaDt
and incessant beyond all former prece-"
dents of naval greatness. At cape St.
Vincent, at Aboukir, at Trafalgar, prodi-
gies were performed which epic poetry
cannot embellish. He fell 15 th October
1805.
By endowing' his family, by employing
the -best artists about his monument,
Gneat Britain may acquire tlie honour cf
being grateful to heroism.
We understand that a more extensiw
biography has' been confided by lord Nel-
son s .representatives to the care of Mr.
Harrison.
Art.- XVII.— 3/einmr5 of Richard Cumberland. U^rltten by himself. Containing an Ac-
count ofkis Life and IVritings, interspersed with Anecdotes and Cluir.acttrs 4^ several nf
ike most distinguished Persons qf his Time, withu^kom lie. has had Inttrcoui'st and Con-
mexion^ 4to. pp. 533.
WHEN a man of long-standing and
considerable rank in the republic of let- .
ters undertakes to be his own biographer,
the public feel some gratitude towards the
donor, as well 33 a lively interest in the
present. With respect to tlie mode in
which such communications are best
xnade, whether by deed of gift or by le-
gacy, we shall be content to she! tec the
authority of our critical tribunal under
the sapient and saving remark, tliat mugh
xnay be said on both sides. Mr. Cumber-
lanad judgment on this point seems to
have been at variance witii his practice.
He professes' to have been of opinion,
that he should bettef have consulted his
'#wii6me, by leaving hi^ materials to the
' 7 '
poslhumpus discretion of his friends. \Ve
should hesitate about sacrificing the por-
trait of the inmost 'aund» either for the
. regularity of historic composition, or the
warmest colouring of friendly paneg}nc
But whatever may be tjie general jnerits
of the question, it was decided in the pre-
sent case, on motives purely personal aod
closely pi*essing. On this fubgect i*-*
shall liave occasion to speak hereaft^.
The narration sets out. .with sooae bio-
graphical sketches of the author's antoes^-
tors. It is scarcely necessary to inform
our readers, that he "ranks on the Tene-
rable list, bishop Cnmberlatid, who wrote
De Le'gibii?' Ncttura, apd the great; Dr.
Beatify.'. Could h$ have co^pnui^ to
CUMBEKLAKD's MSMOIRS.
427
tmbellish his pedigree with such themes,
we wdold have forgiven him for tracing
back bis genealogy to the first Olympiad,
or the Trojan war,
. Our author, in the course of these me-
moirs, informs us of what it was impossible
not to have observed long ago ; that in
searching out characters for his dramas,
it was his con:>tant eudea\x)ur to retrieve
the credit of tiiose classes, against whom
the public prejudice had been longest and
most obstinately levelled. An impulse
like diis seems to have directed him in
the choice of his episodes on the pi^sent
occasbn: fo^ he has maintained, appa—
really on good grounds, the ' urbanity of
Bentley, and the politick as well as per-
sonal virtues of lord Sack ville.
The anecdotes of Bentley will be read
with some surprize by those, who, greedily
swallowing all sort of personal titde-tattle
about literary men, had formed their
opinion of this great scholar from the
hostile and envi<jus representations of the
wits. To such eaves-droppers of the mu-
ses, this rare comet of the critical sphere
is now presented in a fairer and more in-
vidng aspect. The facts, resting as they
do on the authority of so near a connec-
tion, are scarcely to be doubted in common
candour, however repugnant to the gene-
ral prepossession. Their domestic nature,
and sometimes even their puerility, tend
rather to corroborate than weaken the in-
fenence designed to be drawn from them.
Bat our limits will not allow us to dwell
on extraneous matter. We must tlieretbre
hasten to the opening of the main sub-
ject, with the birth of Richard Cumber-
land, in the lodge of Trinity-college,
Cambridge, on the 19th February, 1732.
Our hero has no sooner landed himself
safe in this lying and vain-glorious world,
than he greets the reader with strong and
voiuminoas assurances of truth and im-
partiality. These affidavits are repeated
in the progress of the work, till their
credit is in danger of being worn out by
frecjuent use. There seems a want of*
taste in these bald asseverations : neither
is there good'policy in labouring a point,
which was likely to liave., been conceded
as a matter of course. Mr. Cumberland,
as a gentleman in every sense of the word,
roust of necessity be supposed invulner-
able on the side of veracity. With resj^ect
to. the other claim, we ieel no hesitatioh
in admitting it, as far as the fallible na-
ture of man, when sitting in judgment
«D himself, will warrant its assumption.
Ji<aaing rather to whet than satiate
the appetite of the reader, we shall not
follow oar autiior tlirough tlie schools of
Bury St. Edmund's and Westminster,
though the anecdotes with which his pro-
gress is accompanied are amusing, and hi$
remarks useful. We cannot however'
omit the following passage, describing
the manner in which the daughter of
Bentley taught the author of tlie We«c
Indian to read Shakespcar.
" It was iu these intervals from school that
my mother began to form both my taste and
my ear for poetry, by employing me every
evening to read to her, of a\ hic-h art she was
a very ablie mistress. Our readings were with
very few exceptions coniined to the choseu
plavs of Shakespear, whom she both admired
and understood in the true spirit and sense of
the author. Under her instruction I became
passionately fond of these our evening enter-
tainments ; in the mean time she was atten-
tive t6 model my recitation, and correct ray
manner witli exact precision. Her comments
and illustrations were sudi aids and instruc-
tions to a pupil in )>oetry, as few could have
given. AVhat I could not else have under-
stood she could aptly explaui, i»nd wiiat I
ought to admire and teel, nobody could more
happily select and recommeml! I well re-
member the care she took to mark out for /
my observation the j>eciiUar excellence of
that unrivalled poet in the consistency and
preservation of his characters, and wherever
instances occurred amongst the starts and
sallies of his unfettered fancy of the extrava-
gant and false sublime, her discernment on:ei>-
times prevented me from being so dazzled by
the glitter of the period a$ to misapply my
admiration, . and betray my wiuit of taste.
With all her father's .critical acumen, she
could trace and teach me to Unravel aU the
meanders of his metaphor, and point out
where it illuminated, or where it only loaded
and obscured the meanmg; these were happy
hours and interesting lectures to me, whilst
my bulbved father, ever placid and compla-
cent, sate beside us, and took part in oui*
amusement ; his voice was never heard but
in the tone of apprpbation ; his countenance
never marked but with the natural traces of
his indelible and hereditary benevolence.*' ,
As for the specimens of poetry inter*
spersed through these memoirs, whether
juvenile or of a mature age, we«hall de-
cline any examination of them for two
reasons. First, because the author has
himself been before us in the task; and
secondly, because we could not with a safe
conscience speak better of them than he
has done.
At tlie early age of fourteen, young •
Cumberland was admitted of Trinlty-
collegey Cambridge, fie seems to have '
been received witli thoje happy omens ■
52d
kcXjRAPHY.
which might sfretl await tfa^ gratidsqti of
Bentley . We shall not follow him through
tlie detail of a collie life. He ^jxpivsses
himself in terras oi' commendable gnitt-
lude to his tutors, and with entire confi-
dence in the superiority of pnblic ednca-
ti*>n over private. His strictures deserve-
attention : but it does not at present come
within our province to give an opinion on
fo dithcult and momentous a subject.
Our author had no sooner taken his
bachelor's degree^ tfian he began a conri«
of study, preparatory to the examination .
' Ibr fe]lowshi{>s. At this tlrae it was, and
apparently with a view to this individual,
that the master and seniors rescinded the
regulation, by which all but the bachelors
of the third year were excluded. At tlje
tame period he had an invitation £^om
lord Hafifax, to be his confidential secre-
tary. This occurrence fixed the colour
of his future litb. Instead of pursuing
the line chalked out by the destinies of
his ancestors, he now became a subaltern
in the ranks of politics and diplomacy.
Tlie change seems neither to have been
agreeable to his inclinations^ nor benefi-
cial to his interests.
Lord Halifax's character is prominent
through a great part of these memoirs.
It is well drawn, though with an air of
mystery, afiecting to suppress more than
it reveals.
Mr. Cumberland's new appointment
did not prevent him from attending the
coHege-ezamination, which he passed, to
his own credit and the satisfaction of the
seniors. He and master Orde were the
first fellows of Trinity elected in their
second year.
While attending his patron in the me-
troix>lis, our author liecame aa]uaiutod
with the celebrated Mr. D(xlington. He
has added some entertaining anecdotes of
that gentleman, to what are already in
circulation, llie merits of his ehanicter
seem on die whole to be fairly and ably
adjudged.
Our author's first legitimate drama was
the Banishment of Cicero. It was pro-
bably inspired ^ by his late residence in
that mansion, where, to usethis own words,
*' the muse of Young had dictated his
tragedy of the Kevenge, and which the
genius of Voltaire h»tl honoured with a
risit: here Glover had courted inspira--
-iitxa, and Thomson caught it," He is
eware that the subject was not happy, and
candidly admits the faults of the -execu-
tion.
In tlie year 17 5g, Mr. Cumberland,
4
having previmisly bbtained the office of
crown-agent fdr the province of Nofi'
• Scotia, married his cousin, miss Ridge.
In consequence of tliis event, he vacated
the la}'-fel1ow^hlp, to Which the societf
of Trinity had not long before elected^
him.
On lord Halifax's appoinftment as lord-
lieutenant of Ireland, our author accom-
panied him on the establishment. Tbii
seems to barve been almost the only un.
clouded interval of his political lite. H'4
conduct was at once cJeaD-handcd wilh
respect to himself) and kind to others:
for without improving his own priraii
fortune, he occasioned several of his rela-
tions to be promoted in tlieir respcctiw
professions, and his father to be elevated
to an Irish mitre, llie picture ot* society
in Dublin is interesting ; and the anec-
dotes of George Faulkner humorous.
Tlie manner in which the connecdoa
with lord Halifhx was diss<>lved, ariJ our
author degraded to a clerkship at the
board of trade, fort?ibly exhibits the pnp-
carious tenure of court- friendships. Dsan
otiice was, however, so far favourahle, as
it allowed him leisure for addressing him-
self to other smdies, and becoming an ap-
proved writer. We shall not trace hioi
tlirough the long list of his dramatic la-
bours, most of which have long since
passed the ordeal of crilicisiu. His lira
production was an open, called tlie Sum-
mer's Tale; and his first coniedj the
Brothers. To the elegant and unexpected
Cf»mpliment in the epilogue, he was in-
debted for his acquaintance ^xith "the
immortal actor,*' whose early prejudices
had not been in his liivour.
I'he first i^erformance of the West In-
dian was the decisive era in our author*!
dramatic life. We therefore give tbi
circumstances whicli attended it in hii
own wwds.
" ITic production of a new play was ii
those days a» ev*;nl of imich greater attrac
tion than frum its frcquoiy. y it is now beo^aa,
so thiU t!»e hou>e wiis tal-uli lo the back ro«i
of the front boxes for scverid nights iu sue:
cession before thai of its repre-eniatiou ; }et
in this interval 1 otlered lo give its produce
to Garrick for a piclore. that hnng overiiii
chinine\ -piece in Southamuton-streer, and
was only a copy from a llofy FamilyofAfr
drea def SartO: be woild have cloitlviti
me upon the bargain, but tlot the picture had
been a present to him from lord BaliiiTwrf.
My e\pcct:>tions did not run very higli when
I made this oiler.
" Arunmnf had gone about, that the f ha*
racter^ ^^iuch gave its UUe to ^ omucJ/i
CUMBERLAND 8 MEMOIRS.
^2d
was satirical; of course the genllenien, who
came under that description, went down to
the tlieatre in great strength, very naturally
disposed to chastise the author for his malig-
nity, and their phalanx w as not a little formi-
dible. Mrs. Cumberland and I sate with
Mr. and Mrs. Garrick iii tiieir private box.
When tiie prologu<»-speakcr had gone the
length of the four first lines the tumult was
excessive, and the interruption held so long,
thatii seemed doubtful if tne prologue would
be sulfered to proceed. Garrick was much
agitated ; he observed to me that the appear-
ance of the house, particularly in the pii, was
more hostile than he Jiad ever seen it. it so
happened that I did not at that moment feel
the danger, which he seemed to apprehend,
and remarked to him that the very lirst word,
which discovered BeIcour*s character to be
friendly, would turn the clamour for us, and
»fer 1 regarded the impetuosity of the au-
dience as a symptom in our fivoqr. Whilst
this was passing Detwct!n us, order was loudly
issued for the prolocue to begin again, and
in the delivery of a icw lines more tlian they
lad already heard they seemed reconciled to
wak the developement of a character, from
which they were told to expect
' Some emanations of a noble mind.'
"Their acquiescence however was not set
off with much applause ; it was a suspicious
truce, a sullen kind of civility, that did not
promise more favour than we could earn ; but
when the prologue came to touch upon the
wajor, and told his countrvmen in tlio gal-
ienes, that
— 'Ilis heart can never trip—'
they, honest souls, who had hitherto been
bvatedwilh little else but stage kicLs and
ruffs for their entertainment, sent up such a
hearty crack, as plainly told us Wjp had not
indeed little cherubs, but lusty champions,
u;/jo tate up alnjh
** Of the subsequent success of this lucky
romedy there is no occasion for me to spLuk';
njht-and-tweniy successive niglits it went
without the buttress of an afterpiece, which
«^as not tlicn the practice of allaching to a
>cw play. Such w"as the good fortune of an
Ulthor, wlio liapptnicd to strike upon a po-
pular and taking plan, for ctjrtainly the moral
rfTlie West Indian is not quite uuexception-
*le, neither is the dialogue above tlie level
>f oUw-rs of the same author, which have been
nuch less favoured. The snarlers snapped
•fit, but they never set tlieir teeth into the
ight place ; 'I don't think I urn very vain
•^hen I say that 1 could have taught them
jetter. Carrick was extremely kmd, and
hrew' his shield before me more than once,
» the St. James's evening paper could have
ntnessed. My proj^erty m the piece was
Kcrved for me with the greatest exactness ;
he charge of the house upon the author's
lights was then only sixty pounds, «nd when
Akk.Kev.Vol. IV.
Mr. Evans the treasurer came to my housei
in Queen- Ann -street in a hackney coach w ith
a huge bag of money, he spread it all in gold
upon my table, and seemed to contemplate
it .with a kind of ecstasy, that was extremely
droll ; and when I tenclered hun his custom-
ary fee, he peromptorily refused it, saying he
had never paid an author so much before, I
had fairly earnt it, and he would not lessen
it a single shilling, not even his coach-hire,
and in that humour he departed. He ha4
no sooner left the rwm than one entered it,
who was not quite so scnipulous, but quite .
as welcome ; my beloved wife took twenty
guineas from the heap, and instantly bestow-
ed them on the faitliful servant, wJio had at-
tended on our children ; a tribute justly due .
to her unwearied diligence and exemplary
conduct.
" I sold the copy-right to Griffin in Ca-
therine-street for' 150/. and if he told the
truth when he boasted of having vended
12,000 copies, he did not make a bad bar-
gain ; and if he made a good one, which it is
pretty clear he did, it is not quite so clear that
he deserved it : he was a sorry fellow.
" I paid respectful attention'to all the float-
ing criticisms tnat came within my reach, but
I found no opportunities of profiling by their
remarks, and very little cau^e to complain of
their personalities ; in short I had more praise
than I merited, and less cavilling than I ex-
pected One morning when 1 called upon
Mr. Garrick I found him with the St. James's
evening paper in his hand, which he began to
read witn a voice and action of surprise, most
admirably counterfeited, as if he nad disco-
vered a mine under my feet, and a train to
blow me up to destruction — * Here, here/
he cried, ' if your skin is less thick than a
rhinoceros's hide, egad, here is that will cut
you to the bone. '1 nis is a terrible fellow ; i
wonder who it can be." — He began to siug .
out his libel in a high declamatory tone, with
a most comic countenance, and paushjg at
the end of the first sentence, which seemed .
to favour his contrivance for a little ingenious
toruicntin^, when he found he had hooked
me, he laid down the paper, and began to
comment upon tlie cnielty of newspapers,
and moan over me with a great deal of mali-
cious fun ftnd good humour — * Confound
these fellows, tliey spare nobody. I dare say
this is Bickerstaft again ; but you don't mind
him : no, no, I see you don t mind him ! a
little galled, but not much hurt: you may
stop his mouth with a golden gag, but we'll
sec* how he gctes on.' — If e then resumed his
reading, cheering me all the way as it began
to soften, till winding up in the most protest
faneg)'ric, of which he was hmiself the writer,
found my friend had had his joke, and I .
had enjoyed his praise, seasoned and set off,
in his inimitable manner, which to be com-
prehended must have been seen.
" It was t4ie remark of lord Lyttelton upon
this comedy, when . speaking of it to me one
evening at Mrs. Montagu's, that had it not
&30
BIOGRAPHY.
been for the incident of OTIaherty's hiding
himself behind the screen, wh«n he overhears
the lawyer's sohloquy, he sliould have pro
noiincea it a faultless composition. This liat-
tery his lordship surely added against the
conviction of his betcer judgment merely as
a sweetener to qualify his criticism, and by
so doing convinced me that he suspected me
of being less amenable to fair correction than
I really am and over have been. Rut be this
as it may, a criticism from' lord Lyttclton
must always be worth recording, and this es-
pecially, as it not only applies to my comedy
m particular, bxit is general to alL
" * I consider list i'li big* said He, ' as are-
source never to be allow ed in any pure drama,
nor ought any good author to make use of
it.' This nositioa being laid down bv autho-
rity so higli, and audibly delivered, drew tlie
attention of the company assembled for con-
versation, and all were sdent. ' It is in fact,'
he added, * a violation of those rules, which
original authorities have established for the
constitution of the comic drama.' After all
due acknowlc(];^nients for the favour of his
remark, I replied that if I had trespassed
against any rule laid down by classical autho-
rity in the case alluded to, I had done it inad-
vertently, for 1 really did not know where
any such rule was to be found.' "
The story of the reverend Decimus.
Reynolds is highly creditable to Mr. Cum-
berland : but being of considerable length,
and merely personal, our limits compel
us to do violence to our inclinations in
'passing it over.
Our autlior*s next comedy was the
Fashionable Lover. He prefers it in point
of composition to the West Indian ; and
we feel flattered by this coincidence with
our previous opinion. We have always
thought the Fasliionable Lover a nearly
perfect specimen of genteel comedy.
There is no lucky hit in respect to novel-
ty, as in the character of Belconr : bi>t it
is " a drama of a moral, grave, nnd ten-
der cast, with sentiments laudably di-
rected against national prejudice, breach
of trust, seduction, gamingf and general
dissipation." This play may probably be
revived, at the revival of dramatic taste.
It was however very severely handled by
the diunial critics of that period, who
practised so grievously on the author's sen-
sibility, that Garrick wrs induced to call
bini the man without a skin.. On this cir-
cumstance we find tJie following remark :
*' There was a filthy nest of vipers at tliat
time in league against every name, to which
any degree of c»:rrebrity wa;> attached. They,
were well known, and I am sorry to say some
mer^ whose minds should have been superior
to any terrors they could hold out, male suit
to them for ^vour^ nay evea coiubiutd with
them on son>c occasions, and were niea
enough to enrol themselves under their des-
picable banners. It i* to the honour of the
present time, and infinitely to the-repo!« of
tlie pn^eiit writers for the ?:tage, thst all these
dirty doings are completely done a\vay, and
an era of candour aud hilinaii kiudn«*haf
succeeded to one, that was scandalously its
ojjposite."
We quote tliis passage for the sake of
observing, that we have rarely met with
an instance of an elderly man, so little in-
clined to extol the days of hb youth,
merely because they \^'ere sucL We
truit his compliment in the present case
is not undesened ; and gratitude compels
us to return it : for while this veteran as-
sociate of the party introduces us tothi
circle of Johnson and of Garrick, and al-
most makes us wish ourselves old enough
to have partaken of the feast in person, h%
is uniformly just to the present age, ia
which, though there seems to be less wit,
there is certainly at least as much good
sense, and more good temper. We most
suppose our author to have dressed ool
bis own character in its best moral arra?:
yet, making allowance for this, we think
his personal disposition will be reputed
more favourably by the public, for beii^
seen through the medium of thesa me-
moirs. It has been generally suspected
that he sat for sir Fretful Plagiary ; and
that the likeness, though inveterate, wa
faithftil. That severe satire has also been
considered as a retaliation for an attackon
the School for. Scandal ,• but the supposed
offender hns proved an alibi . Our conclu-
sion, from the general tenor of tl^is work,
must be, that if the author's temperwas for-
merly so peevish and envious, it has, coa-
trai}' to the general character of spleen and
envy, grown more mild and candid in old
age. Ingredients have from time to time
been mixed in Mr. Cumberland's cup of
life, suf%:iently acid to have wrinkled the
smootliest brow : but he speaks, tlitough-
out these pagc^, with resigiution of past
disappointments, with candour of past con-
troversies, and with a christian s[Mnt oC
extinguished enmities. His remarks on
contemporary wrkers exhibit indeed the
reverse of that faint praise, so generally
imputed to him. The following chanic-
ter of Goldsmith's prose, while we »ih-
scribe most cordially to its justice', give*
us an' opportunity of submitting to wir
readers Ae most comprehensive criticism
ia a very narrow compass.
" There is somethijig in Goldsmith's prose;
that to my ear i;» uncomuKmly sweet anu ^'
CUMBERXANDS MEM0IE9.
531
nonious; it is clear, simple, ea$j^ to be un-
derstood ; wc never want to read his ptriod
twice over, e.sccjit for the pleasure it be-
stows; obscurity never calls us back to a re-
petition ot il." «f
He has also duly characterised John-
ion's three gradations of style j but John-
son's stjle, from first to last, has been so
fiiljy can\assed, that nothing new can be
cid upon it.'
The success of a new play was in those
days a matter of some import in the lite-
rary world. The stage is no longer in
the hand« of literary men ; so that literary
men concern themselves b.it little about
the stage. The efforts made by the John-
wnian phahnx, in favour of Goldsrnith's
eccentric comedy. She Stoops to Conquei*,
were highly whimsical, and shew how
much the manners of the theatre are
changed before the curtain.
** We were not ovor-sang\jine of success,
tat perfectly detennined to struggle hard fof
our author: we accordingly assembled our
strength at the Shakeapear tavern in a consi-
derable body for an early dinner, where
Samuel Johnson took the chair at the head of
a long table, and was the life and soul of the
corps: the poet look post silently by his side
vkh tlie Burkes, sir Joshua Reynolds, Fitz-
herbert, Caleb AVhitt'foorcl, and* a phalanx of
North-Britii;!! predetermintKl applauders, un-
der the banner of major Mills, all good men
aixltrue. Our illustrious president was in
^inimitable glee, and poor Goldsmith that day
took all bis raillery as patiently and compla-
ceutlv as my friend Boswell would have done
any day, or every day of his life. In the
mean Ume -we did not forget our dutv, and
though we had a better comi'dy goinc:, ^^
which Johnson was chief actor, we betook
ourselves in good fune to our separate and al-
lotted posts, and waited theaw^ul dnjwing up
of the curtain. As our stations were pre-con-
certed, so were our signals for plaudits arrang-
ed aad determined upon in a manner, that
gave ever)' one his cue where to look for
them, and how to follow them up.
"We had amongst us a very worthy and
efficient member, lon^ since lost to his friends
ind tlie world at large, Adarii Drummond, of
amiable memory, who was gifted by nature
with the hiost sonorous, and at the same time
the most contagious, laugh, that ever echoed
from the human lungs. The neighing of the
horse of thdaon of Hystaspes was a whisper
to it \ tiie vj'hole thuncier of the theatre could
not drown it. This kind and mgenuous friend
feiriy fore-warned us that he knew no more
when to giv.e his lire than the cannon did,
that was planted on a battery. He desired
therefore to "have a flapper at his elbow, and I
had the honour to be oeputed to that office.
1 planted him in an upper box, pretty nearly
over the stage, m fuLi vicn^f the pit and gal'*
Jeries, and perfectly well situated to give the
echo ail its play through the hollows and re-
cesses of the theatre. The success of our
manoeuvres was complete. All eyes were
upon Johnson, who sate in a front row of ^
side-box, and when he laughed every body
thought themselves warranted to roar. In
the mean time my friend followed signals with
a rattle so irresistibly comic, tliij^ when he
had repeated it several times, the attentioa
of the spectators was so engrossed by his per-
son and perfonnances, that the progress of
the play seemed likely to become a second-
ary object, and I founcl it pnident to insinuate
to'him that he might halt his music without
any prejudice to the author ; but alas, it was
now too late to rein him in ; he had laughed
upon my signal where he found no joke, and
now unluckily he fancied that he found a
joke in almost every thin^ that was said; so
that nothing in nature could be more mal-a-
propos than some of his bursts every now and
then were. These were dangerous moments,
for the pit began to take umbrage ; bujt we
carried our play thiough, and triumphed not
only over Colman's judgment^ but our own.''
Mr. Cumberland had the merit of first
introducing Henderson to Garrick, though
Garrick did not secure tp himself the
credit, as he should have done, of patron-
ising the claims of .so respectable a suc-
cessor. But Gvarrick lived, though not
long after his retu^ment, long enough to
see Henderson take possession of the pub-
lic favour, unaided by his covmtenance ox -
recommendation.
After the death of lord Halifax, our
author became attached to the interests
of lord George Germain, afterwards lord
Sack vi lie, under cbcumstances high!/
creditable to both parties. He introduce*
several interesting particiilars of his lord-
ship J and among the rest the foUowinff
trait of character, which we should *
scarcely have expected to meet in a man .
so circumstanced. It is seldom that a
rusticated courtier retains or retrieves so
much of a natural and as it were anti-
quated simplicity.
" To Ills religious duties this eood man
was not only regularly but respectiully atten-
tive : on the Sunday morning he appeared in
eala, as if he was dressed for a drawing-room :
he marched'out his whole family in grand
cavalcade to his parish church, leaving ojily
a centinel to watch the fires at home, and
^ mount guard upon the spits. His deport-
ment in the house of prayer was exemplary,
and more in character of times, past tlian of
time present: he had a way of standing up
in sermon-time for the purpose of revie^jing
the congregation, and awing the idlers into
• decorum, that never failed to remind me of
sir Roger de Cov«rley at cbujrcb) som«Uin««
M m2
532
mOGBATllY.
wfi-Ti he h-i^ !y»en ^t rude with pa«?i^?« in the
tiiMiour^^, ^ihich he 'ari-rjH to |Ki'.ni a»it to
the zudi'^ce a? n:;e> lor nioral prac^tice
worthy to be noticed, he w^i'la mark his ap-
probation of thtrm V ith vuch che^Tina oods
and 5!:;-".aIs of as^nit to ti»e pre?.r her. as were
arien more than my mn?cle-coi!ia Withnand;
bat when to tlie total o%prt!irow of all grj-
vity, in h^i zeal to eiKour.-je the eiTorts of a
rery young decbimer in i.ie pulpit, 1 heard
hhn cry out to tlie reverend Sir. Henry
>Laiotrin the roidiUe of hi-i ser.non, * Well
done, Harry!* it was irrt*>;^tib!e: suppres-
^on v\a» oat of my power: wiut maile it
more ii!»oI;»;abiy count: wa?, the unjnoved
sincerity of hi* manner, an'l his surprise to
iind that any thing had irassed that could pro-
voke a lauah so out of time and place. He
had nur^i"'! up wiiii no smuU care and cost in
each of his parish churche- a corps of rustic
psalm-singers, to whose performaiKCs he paid
the ffTpatevi attention, rising iip, aiid with his
eyes directed to the ^Inj^tv^ crr.llerv, marking
time, which was not always rigicfly adhered
to ; and once, waf'n his ear, which was verv
correct, had been tortured by a tone most
glarinsjly discordant, he set his mark upon
the culprit by calling out to him by name,
and loudly saving, * Out of tune, Tom
UaLer!'"
About the year 1/80, Mr. Cuml)erland,
in consequence of intelligence which he
had an opportunity of procuring, found
Limself committed to a personal negotia-
tion with the Spanish minister Florida
Blanca. On this business he repaired to
Spain. The narrative of his jouniey, re-
ception, and conduct in tlic prosecution
o/ this delicate affair, are perhaps on the
whole the most interesting part of this
very agreeable volume, llie prolix de-
scription of tiie voyage m nautical terms
might however as well hue been spared.
TTie circanistancvs of his residence in
Spain are "detailed with tcj much ni'mute-
ness, to be a:!mittcd within our limits j
and their gpirit aud odour would evaporate
by compression. The several anecdotes
of Spanish graiidc^es, of count Kaunitz,
and of tlie Tiranna, will be re>.pectively
interestnig to the lovers of courtly or
thpatrieal history. !VIr. Cuniberlnnd's mis-
sion was terminated abruptly, on gniunds
of displeasure at Iiohk*, which, according
to l\is relation of ihein, seem rather to
have been sought out invidiously, tlian
to have presented tliemselves of necessity
out of his conduct. At this distaix'e of
time, we have no materials for deciding
on the politics of die ministry, at the close
ot tv.' American war: nor, were they in
cur po^s^ssion, should we be called upon
to ^i^[)\y them in the perfornuuce of our
10
present duty. But the manner in whkh,
to use the words of count Florida Bbnca,
** he was abandoned and deceived on tbs
score of hi^ e^jpences," was highly disre-
pLit2j!e to his eniplovers. The acccmfil
our author gives of this a&ir is as foi-
lows :
*' How it came to pass that my circiim-
staiKcs should be so wdl knoun to couul
Ho; Ida LUnra is eaaihr accounted for, wiwi
the d;-honoiirin!^ofmv bills by Mr. l)e\Tsrae
at Lisbon, throu^ who>e hands the 5parash
banker pas^txl tliem, was notorious to more
than hah Mailrid, and coukl not be unknown
to the minister. The liact i<, that I bad come
into Spain without any other » curity tha
tlie good faith of govemroenl upon pronusf,
pledged to me througl^ Mr. Robinson, secpc-
tan.- of the irea^ur}-, that all bills draun bj
me' upon my banker in Pall Mali, should bi
imtantly replaced to my credit, upon ray ac-
company iiig them with a letter of ad^-icc to
the saidsetrctar) Robinson. This Mtrt of
advice 1 regularly attached to every draft I
made ujwn Mcs'rs. Crofts, De\'ayms, aaf
Co., but from th«? day that I left LriKlon ta
the day that I retumeti to it, including a pe-
riod of fourtcch months, not a single siilirog
was rej)laced to my acvount with my banktTa,
w.'io persisted in ad\ancing to ftiyoccasioas
witli a liberality and conlidencc in mv honour,
that 1 must ever reiletl upon with tliewirm-
e.->t gratitude. I solemnly aver that I hadth«
positive pledge of treasury through -Mr. Ro-
oinsou lor replacing every draft I shoiild
make upon my Ijanker, and a very largf sicn
was named, a'? applicable at my discretioB,
if the ser\'ice should retjuirc it. I had one
thousand pounds advanced to me upon si-
ting out ; my private credit supplied evert
farthing beyond that."
Such are the circurostancej to whidi
we owe the production 6f tliesc memoin
during the life of the writer. He tells as
that l\e ** embracevl ruin in his own coun-
try, to preserve Ids honour as a subject i<
it ', selling every acre? of hi< hereditary
estate, joiutured on his wife by nMrrija^Ji
settlement, wdio generously concurred ia
tlie sacrilice, wliich his improvideat re-
liance on the iaitli o( government conv
pclled liluT to n^ke." Why they ought
in prudence and propriety to have beeo
withheld, till the decease of tlxs audwr
had consigned theni into other hands, we
do not altogether comprehend.- We do
indeed regret, that at the close of a long
and honourable life, jjecuniary considera-
tions should thus avowedly have been thd
cause of their coming, before the pubJic
But tlie discredit of tliis avowal rests not
widx him who made it, but to those vbo«
breach of faith gaye the occajuoo. H^
CUMBEKLAND S MEMOIKS.
533
total neglect of Mr. Cumberland's just
and press iiijj claims did not prevent him
^om seeking lord North's acquaintance in
private. The candid and prepossessing
character given of his lordbhip as a gen-
tleman and a man of accomplishment, re-
flects the h'ghest honour on our author,
coDsiciering what grounds of complaint he
bad against him as a minister.
" When in process of time I saw and knew
lord North in his retircnieiit from all public
affairs, pitient, collected, resigned to an af-
flicting visitation of the severest sort, \\hen
all Irat his illuminated mind was dark around
hitu, I contemplated an alTectinc; and an edi-
ting object, that claimed my admiration and
fsteem; a man, who when divested of that
incidental greatness, which high office for a
time can give, setf-dignitied and independ-
eut, rose to real greatness of his ov»n creat-
ing, which no time can lake away ; whose
genius gave a gjace to every thing hL* said,
and whose benignity shed a lustre upon every
thing he did ; so richly was his memory storedf,
and so lively was his imagination in applying
what he remembered, that after the great
source of information was shut against him-
f^, be still possessed a boun<lU^s fund of
ioformatiou iur the instruction and deligiit
ef others. Some hours (and those not few)
(^his society he was kind in bestowing upon
mc: I eagerly courted, and very highly
prizetl them."
The last sentence reminds us of an anec-
dote, not furnisiied by our author, but by
ooe well acquainted with the noble hu-
mourist. Should its fidelity be denied,
the inventor must at least obtain credit for
having happily fallen in with lord North's
peculiar vein of pleasantry. Once on' a
time, Mr. Cumberland invited himself to
read to his lordship, and tlie ladies of tlie
family, a piece he had been preparing for
the stage. Lord North parried the pro-
posal, as long as it was consistent with
good manners so to do. An author's cha-
rity, in communicating such pleasure, as
hi^owii works arc capable of affording, is
Dot easily to be frustrated. An evening
was fixed, and the reading commenced.
My lord availed himself of his constitu-
tion.-il infirmity, to drop asleep j but ii woke
almost instantaneously, with a profusion
of courtly excuses, and many a dire ana.-
theraa against his lethargic tendency.
Tlie poet admitted the plea, himself in
turn apologizing for tlie mere explanatory
dulncss of a first act. Yet he could not
ielp flattering himself that the attention
of the company would be awakened, and
their interest excited, by tlie progi'ess and
developement of the plot. The drowsy
fit still returned at interval : but uufortu^
najtcly, in one of the most importaht
scenes, on which the whole seemed to
hinge, his lordship took it into his head
to dream. He fancied himself in KiS
place in the house ; and most provokingly
vociferated, *' Question, Question, Ques-
tion !" with such pertinacity and strength
of lungs, as completely to overpower the
argument of the play, and the gravity of
tlie little audience.
The list of unpublished dramas is very
, Jong ; and some of them are promised to
public curiosity. The author professes
never to have^ written any^ piece so mucli
to his own satifaction, as his tragedy rtti
the subject of the elder Brutus. We re-
collect to have seen some parts of THe
False Demetrius, while it was in rehearsal
four or five years ago at Dmry I^ane.
Whether theinterior politics of the tlieatre,
or an unfavourable opinion of the piece,
stopped it in its progress, we are not iri-
formed5 ^"t our own opinion of what
we saw and heard was not strongly in its
favour. Of all our author's tragic efforts,
I'he Carmelite has left the most pleasinjg
impression on our minds, llien, how-
ever, Mrs. Siddons not only exhibited
those transcendent powers of understanding
and execution, which never for a moment
have been eclipsed even by the interven-
tion of ill health, but wore the charm of
novelty. We cannot tlierefore at this
distance determine, in what proportions
our tlianks should have been divided be-
tween the poet and the actress. The men-
tion of this play leads Mr. Cumberland
to express his just contempt for the fri-
volous taste of admiring boyish actors.
The Mysterious Husband is a well de-
vised and well written tragedy of its pe-
culiar species. The character of lord
Davenant is strongly, and tliat of lady Da-
venant affectingly drawn. We rather
wonder that the concluding scene should
have produced such strong agitations as
the autlior has described ; for we consider
the catastrophe as feebly worked up. The
situations are evidently copied from the
last scene of the Gamester ; but the pa-
tiios is far less mo\'ing, and shrinks from
a comparison witli that natural and 5f<-
fecting tragedy.
Our author dilates largely on his epic
poem of Calvary, and appears highly
pleased with the success of his effort. . We
do not consider the present as a fit occa-
sion for entering copiously into the merits
of his literary labours, widi the exception
of that immediately uader review. We
therefore leave it to our readers^ to form
Sd4
filOGRAPHY.
their own judgment, how fer he has qua-
lified himself for the delicate office of ex-
amining his own pretensions. He seems
often to value most what the public has
relished least. After aU, he will probably
Tide down to posterity, on the shoulders
of his West Indian and his Obsen'er.
The last character in which this veteran
'servant of the public appears, is that of
Major Commandaut of the Tunbridge
Volunteers. Like a Lotliario of seventy-
three, he is armed for eitlier field : Mars
and the Muses alternately tak^ possession
of tiis vigorous old age^ and claim him far
their own.
The narrative ends rather abruptly J but
we have the pleasure of learning, that the
selection and arrangement of our author's
posthumous works is undertaken by Sir
James Bland Burges, Mr. Rogers, and
Mr. Richard Sharpe. The task could
not have been consigned to better hands,
cither for tlie fame of the author, or the
gratification of the public.
On a review of the whole work, we
can promise to the reader much entertain-
ing, and much interesting matter. Whe-
ther it will entirely answer the expecta-
tions, which the world was entitled to form
of it as a literary performance, we should
feel more hesitation in deciding. We
cannot easily forgive such a laxity of style,
iri a writer who aspires to be a classic.
Whole pages are bestowed on trite argtj'
mentations and common-place morali^,
which had been better filled with literaiy
anecdote and histor}% The sentences are
often put of all measure, harmony, a'
equilibrium j nor should such words as
reconciliatary, accreditation, ignoramiaa
for ignorant persons, and one or two others,
have proceeded from the pen of Mr.
Cumberland. We feel it the more in-
cumbent on us to notice these aberraticKis
from the line of classical usage, because
the delinquent is of sufficieur crt-riu and
standing to be quoted as an authoritj.
The general habits of writing in our lan-
guage are much improved ot late years ;
but we deprecate tliat negligence into
which many men of high repute have al-
most affectedly fallen, as if a correct and
elegant style was no longer an object of
ambition, because it is become more com-
mon. At the same time, tliese censures,
not affecting the vitals of the biographical ;
interest, are conceived in the pure love of
truth and critical precision. Thoi^h ele-
vated by our office to preside in an aagust
tribunal, our feelings towards Mr. Cun>- ,
berland are like those of a newly created
judge towards a veteran barrister : wc in- j
terpose our authority in court, with a stem i
and supercilious regard, but in our closet, ;
we stand in awe of the knowledge \m
long practice has acquired, and of the ete*
quence his variouspleadingshave displayecL
C 535 )
CHAPTER IX.
POETRY.
OUR poetical list is this year unusually copious^ aiid amidst a large quantity of
trash will, we believe, be found to contain a very respectable proportion of works of
merit. The art of versification, like most other arts, keeps pace with the progressive
advances of luxury and civilization. "When from the feebleness and languor of the
social macliine it is requisite that all the forms of intercourse should be -highly polished,
in. order to diminish a friction which in its more vigorous state was imperceptible, a
correspondent taste in poetry is sure to spring up -, the rules of versification are made
more strict, and tlie Graces and muses are not thought worthy of being admitted into
fishionable company unjess they have been under the tuition of a French dancing-
master. Hence sound usurps the place of sense ; and a delicate perception of the
mere sensual pleasure of musFcal cadence, comes to be confounded with a taste for and
judgment in poetry. In England this change has been rapidly going on of late years j
wad on comparing our modern verse-writers with tliose who lived a century ago, it is
impossible not to be struck with the vast superiority of the former over the latter in
all that relates to the mechanical and musical part of poetical composition. This, as
far as it goes, is, no doubt, a very material improvement 3 but in numerous instances
that might be cited, it has been acquired at the e^pence of more valuable' qualities ;
or, what is equally bad, has cheated the public into the opinion that harmony will
atone for the absence of all the other qualifications for poetry, especially when sea-
soned with a little licentiousness, or conjoined with that nauseous whining sentimenta*
lity, the bane of every vigorous exertion and every high attainment in literature or
morals. A just disdain of the affectation of this sect gave birth to another, which
running into the opposite extravagance of simplicity, or to speak mor« properly, of
discord in versification and baldness of expression, for a time divided the suffrage of
the public; fortunately, however, each presented a broad mark for satire j and though
we by no means justify the bitterness with which they were assailed, yet we may be
allowed to rejoice that the excesses pf each have nearly passed away^ and that English
poetry may now safely acknowledge her obligations to both. In our opinion, no age
of British literaiture has been so fevourable to the production of excellent poetry as the
present is: the degree of encouragement is greater than at any former period, and both
writers and readers are more fully aware tliat splendour of versification, high-wrought
hut consistent imagery, natural manners, and propriety of sentiment, are not merely
compatibly, but are the indispensable characteristics of such poetry as will delight not
merely on a first perusal, but long after the glow of novelty is gone j 215 will surviva
M merely a few years^ but be coeval with the language itsejf.
580
POETRY.
Art. I.— r.y/>fC2m^w nf earh; English Metrical Romances, fhirfty ivritten during the eerfy
Part of tlie fourteenth Ccntimj; to which is pn Jived un hislorical Introduction, intmdtd
to illustrate llie Rise and Progress of rofnantic Compmition in France and EngUad.
By George Ellis, Esa. In three Volumes, 8vo. pp. 387, 404, and 419.
''THESE volumes," says the author,
'' arc intended to supply a chasm in the
Spcdiniens of Early English Poets, by ex-
plaining more fully the progress of our
poetry and language, from the latter part
of tlie thirteenth, to the middle of the
fourteenth century, and to exhibit a gene-
ral view of our romances of chivalry in
tlieir earliest and simplest form.'*
Mr. Ellis begins his introduction by
tracing the history of the romance lan-
guage, which in its most extensive sense
comprises all the dialects of which Latin
vas the basis } in this country, however,
it originally meant that dialect of t^e
French which the Normang introduced ;
it then applied to all works composed
in that dia{{ ct, and finally appropriated to
tales of chivalry, tlie delight of our an-
cestors, and the great boast of thw.'ir litera-
ture, if so it may be called. Tlie oldest
specimen of this laiiguage is the oath of
Louis le Germanique, addressed, in 842,
to the French army of his brother Charles
le Chauve. Mr. EDis inters tliat this was
the general language of France, and not a
southern dialect, ^because Aquitainc and
Neustria were the original dominions of
Charles, and great part of his army came
from those provinces. This uniformity
was broken by the invasions and settle-
ment of the Normans.
" From these invasions ultimately resulted
the division of the romance language into
an almost iniinite number of dialects, which
subsisted during the greater part of the tenth
century. It is not meant that the Nonnans
materially contributed to this change, by im-
porting into tlie conquered country a barba^
rous jan^on composed of foreign and discord-
imt materials; because it is evident that their
iiiliuence in this respect must have been con-
lined to the territory within ^\hich they form-
ed their establishment. But uniformity of
speech thiwighout a large extent of country
can only arise from an easy and constant in-
tcTCourse between its inhabitants; and the in-
terruption oiWhis intercourse must give birth
to a diversity of dialects. I'he prevalence of
the I^tin h^d resulted froni the extent and
stiibilily of the Roman ewibire ; an<t tlie pu^
rity of the romance could only have been
preserved by the permanence of'that of Char-
lemapine. Hisjuirtition-ifff'Ms extensive ter-
ritory, and the disputes amongst his knrte-
diate successors, enervated die strength of the
French. monarchy, and laid open the c^ounfry
to the ravages of the nQrther^ invaders;'
whose triumphs were less pernicious from the
miser)' they immediately produced, than
from the example of successful usurpatioo
vhich they held out to private ambition.
France was parcelled out amongst a numba*
of petty tyrants, always in arms against each
other, or against their sovereign; aud the vul-
gar tongue, not yet subjected to the rules of
grammar, or fixed by any just models of com-
position, was al>andonea to all the innora-
tions which might arise either from the igno-
rance or from the mixed races of tlie inlibi-
tants, in the several independent districts mto
which the country was divided."
This reasoning seems to make it doubt-
ful whether any uniformity of speech had
subsisted before in the country ; for the
times when the intercourse between its
inhabitants could be easy and constant,
were few and short in comparison \iith
those of warHire. Be this as it may,
the Normans were the great improvers of
the Roman or French language. Tlie
earliest work of northern French litera-
ture of which any remembrance remains,
is a metrical life of Wandril and certain
other saints, translated from the Latin, by
Thibaut de Vernan, canon of Rouen.
about vhe middle, probably, of the eleventh
centuiy . Of this only the name has been
preserved. The oldest existing specim^in,
or rather tlie oldest which has been dis-
covered, is the Liber de'Creataris of Phi-
lip de Than, a French metrical treatise on !
chronolo:^', written soon after the year ,
11 00. It appears, therefore, as far ai !
present d(x:uments enable us to judge, I
that the northern Romance, or Nonnan i
French, was not employed as a ^Tittea
language till very near the time of d^s •
conquest; and it is certain that till the ac-
cession of Henry U., in 1154, all the
principal compositions in that language |
were either devotional and moral tracts,
lives of saints, scientific treatises, or chm»
nicies, .all metrical, and probably all trans-
lations. Songs and ballads there were w
abundance ; but Mr. Ellis says, '* it may
be safely affirmed that no trace of a jhu-
fessed work of iiction, no semblance of an
epic fable, in short no specimen of what
we should now ^l a rom^ce, is to le
found b^fQi*« the mi44ie of the twelfdi
century."
Till? Nbrmans had joculars or minstrels j
this is undeniably proved by Doomsdav-
book, in whicl^a certain Bertie, posstsa^
SLLIS^S SPECIMBKS OF BAftLY EKGtISB METRICAL ROMANCES.*
537
of a large tract of land in Gloucestershire,
*is si)ledjoculator regis,
"The register, of course, does not explain
the talents of this joculator, or jougleur ; but
it may be fairly assumed tliat they were suni-
lar to those of the minstrel Taillefer, who, as
Wace informs us, * moult bien chantout,'
and who preceded the duke of Normandy at
the battle of Hastings ' singing about Charle-
magne, and BoUand, and OllvLer, and the vas-
sals who died at Roncesvalles.' We arc fur-
ther informed by G^imar, that he performed
many roarvelious feats of dexterity : throwing
his lance into the air as if it were a small stick ;
catching it by the point before he cast it
against the enemy; and repeating the sime
operation with his sword, so that they who be-
held him considered him as a conjurer-—
L*un dit k Valtre ki co veit,
Ke CO esteil enchantement,
Ke cil fesait devant l*^ gent.
Quant, &c.
*' Now, unless it could be proved that the
Noimans adopted the profession of minstrelsy
from the French, of which there is no evi-
dence, it must follow that they carried it with
them from Denmark; and as bishop Percy
has shown that a character nearly analogous
existed amongst the Danes as well as the
Anglo-Saxons, the derivation of the minstrels
from the Scaids and Glee-men of the north, as
established in the essay prefixed to the * Re-
liques of Ancient English Poetry,' seems to
rest upon as fair historical testimony as can be
retjuired in confinnation of such an opinion.
" U may, therefore, be reasonably admit-
ted that Rollo carried with him his aomestic,
bards, who, when their native idiom began to
fall uito disuse, would have been compelled
to exercise their talents in the newly-aclopted
language; but still the success of their poeti-
cal elforts must have depended on the state
in which they found this language, to the per-
fection of which they could not, from their
want of learning, materially contribute."
The song of Taillefer (we fully agree
with Mr. Ellis that William of Malmsr
bury's words will justify no other inter-
pretation) was a French song, and of a
French champion, and tliis fact would
tend to prove that the Normans had
adopted tlie profession of minstrelsy from
the French. If the Norman minstrels
were the successors of the Scalds, it is ex-
traordinary that they should have adopted
llie heroes of tie conquered people with
their language, almost to the exclusion of
their own. The theories respecting the
origin of the minstrels, like those respect-
ing the origin of romance, appear to us to
he too exciusive. Poetry exists ai^ong
many savage nations, sM in all barbarops
ones. The manners of tlie Gothic swariQs
differed little from each other. Saxons
and Franks, Danes and Normans, would
each bring with them their poets or harp-
ers, whose fashion would be modified by
the circumstances of the country in which
they settled. They would bring with
them songs of war, and learn hynms and
legends. More settled courts and more
permanent patronage encouraged moia
elaborate works. The Anglo-Saxons had
certainly their metrical romances, if the
term may be applied to poems for which
there was, or was believed to be, histori-
cal foundation. Such are the History of
Judith and that of Beowulf.* If indeed
any country can be said to have given
birth to chivalry and to romance it is this.
The history of Beowulf is the oldest epic
poem which has yet been produced in the ■
vernacular languages of Europe, and the
rudiments of chivalry, as has been shewn
by Mr.* Turner, certainly existed here be-
fore the .Norman conquest. But any ex-
clusive hypothesis upon these subjects is
absurd. Poetry is almost as universal as
language, and the first poets are story-
tellers ; and with respect tp knighthood,
all barbarians have some kind of military
nobility ; it was found not only in the
well organized kingdom of Mexico, but
also among the wild tribes on the Oroo-
noco. /
Another objection to the Scandinavian
origin of the minstrels may be deduce4
firom Mr. Ellis's introduction. " The ear-
liest existing French compositions are
translations, and since tlieir authors," he
says, '^ when not distinguished by any ec-
clesiastical title, usually qualify themselve*
by tlie appellation of clercf, a name ex-
pressive of their pretensions to some eru-
dition, it seems unreasonable to assign,
without any authority, to an unlearned
class of men, the anterior invention of
works of fiction."
*' The following may perhaps be accepted
as a tolerable suimnary of the history of the
minstrels. It appears likely that they were
carried by Rofto into France, where th^y
probably Introduced a certain number of their
native traditions ; those, for instance, relating
to Ogier Ic Danois, and other northern he-
roes, who were afterwards enlisted into the
tales of chivalry ; but that, being deprived of
the mythology of their original religion, and
cramped perhaps, as well by the sooer spirit
of Christianity, as by the iniperfection of a
* It is greatly to be wished that Mr, Turner would faYour m$ wiUi an ttUiion of this vexy
fortous pocui, '
s$s
JOETRY.
language whose lameness was utterly inappli-
cable to the sublime obscurity of their native
poetry, they were obliged to adopt various
mode's of amusing, and to unite the talents of
the mimic and the juggler, as a compensation
for the defects of tmi musician and poet.
Their musical skill, however, if we may jwige
from the number of their instruments, of
which very formidable catalogues are to be
found in every description of a royal festi-
Tal, may not have been contemptible ; and
their poetry, even though confined to short
compositions, was not likely to be void of in-
terest to their hearers, while ennjloYcd on the
topics of flattery or satire. I'helr rewards
were certainly, in some cases, enormous, and
prove the esteem in which they were held ;
though this may be partly ascribed to the ge-
neral thirst after amusement, and the diinT
culty experienced by the creat m dissipating
the tediousness of life : so that the gift or three
parishes in Gloucestershire, assigned by Wil-
Ram the Conqueror for the support of his
joculator, may perhaps be a less accurate
measure of the minstreFs accomplishments
than of the monarch's power and of the insi-
pidity of his court.
" To the talents already enumerated the
jninstrels added, soon after the birth of
French literature, the important occupation
•of the di'seur or declaimer. Perhaps tne de-
clamation of metrical compositions mi^ht
have required, durinc their first state of im-
perfection, some kind of chant, and even the
assistance of some musical instruments, to
supply the deficiencies of the measure ; per-
haps the aids of gesture and pantomime* may
have been necessary to relieve the monotony
of a long recitation: byit at all events it is
evident, that an author who wrote for the
public at lari^e, during the eleventh, twelfth,
and thirteenth centuries, was not less de-
pendent for his success on the minstrels, than
« modem w^riter of tragedy or comedy on
tlie players of the present day. A copyist
might multiply manuscripts for the supply
of convent libraries ; but while ecclesiastics
•lone were able to read, there was no access
to the ears of a military nobility, without the
intervention of a body of men who travelled
in every direction, and who were everywhere •
welcomed as the promoters of mirth and con-
Tivlality.
" The next step was easy. Being com-
pelled to a frequent exercise' of their talent
Ki extem|')oraneous compositions, the min-
strels were probably, like the improvisntori
of Italy, at least ecjiial, if not superior, to
more learned writers, in the merely mcchaiiiral
parts of poetry ; the}' were also b(*tter judges
of the public taste". By the propjress of
translation thev became the depositaries of
wearly all the knowledge of tlie age, w^ich
was conunitted to their memory: jt was ia»
tural, therefore, that they should form a va-
riety of new combinations from the numeroos
materials in their possession ; and it viU be
shown hereafter, that many of our most po-
pular romances were most probably brought
by their efforts to the state in wbidi we now
see them. This was the most splendid xol
of their history, and seems to have compr^
hended the latter part of tlie twelfth, and
perhaps the whole of the tliirteenth century.
After that time, from the general progres& ol
instruction, the number of readers began to
increase ; and the metrical romances were in-
sensibly supplanted by romances in prose,
whose monotony neither required nor cooM
derive much assistance from the art of dedi-
mation. l^he visits of the minstrek had been
only periodical, and generally -confined to the
great festivals of tlie year ; hut the resources*
such as they were, of the ponderous pmse
legend were always accessible. Thus began
the decUne of a body of men, whose complete
degradation seems to have been the subse-
quent result of their own vices. During the
period of their success they had most im-
pudently abused the credufitj- of Ae pub-
lic; but it is a whimsical net, that the
same £&bles wliich were discredited while iv
vers«; were again, on their transfusion into
prose, received without suspicion. It should
seem that falsehood is generally safe from de«
tection, when concealed under a soffideot
cloak of duUiess."
Id his second section Mr. Ellis enqtdnes
into the origin of romantic fiction, and
agi'ces with us that none of tbe sources
which have been exclusively assigned can
be exclusively the right one, but that all
have contributed. It is ridiculous to trace
such a body of waters to any single foun-
tain as its well-spring. We perceive wiib
pleasure that in another point also Mr.
Ellis accords with us, in attributing some
influence upon early European liieraturc
to the Jews.f
The first French romances were writ*
ten in England : tliis the abbe de la Rue
has proved incontrovertibly. The Welsh
herpes soon became the favourite j>erson-
agers of the Anglo-Norman poets. As a
necessary preface to the romances lAiiich
follow, analyses are given of Geoffrey of
Monmouth's History, and of his Life of
the Caledonian Merlin, a Latin poem
which has never yet been published. It
is remarkable that Geoffrey should have
confounded this Merddin Wyllt with Mer-
lin the bard of Ambrosius, and the same
♦ The minstrels are not unfrequently called viimi. Ordericus Vilalis, describing a coo-
temporary character, says, " Erat eolm in militia promptus, in dandonimis prodigus, gam
dens ludis ct luxibus, mimis, equis, rt canihusy nliisijue Mmmodi vunitatilfus, p.
t See our last Volume, p. 4l2,
59S«
BLLIS'S SPECIMENS OF EASILY EK6X.ISH METEIQAL EOMANCES«.
539
confusion is to be fband in Fordun^ who
^ainlj identifies the two Merlins. Mr.
Ellis might have added the chapter from
the Scotichronicon as a supplement to
Geoffrey's account. Did not the Triads
f peak of both Merlins^ we should suspect
the vizard to be like his own Arthur^ a
being purely ideal. The introduction is
coodttded by an enquiry into the intimate
connection between the Welsh and the
Normans^ and the influence of this con-
nection on romance; and by a brief state-
ment of Mrl Scott's arguments,. which
prove that some original, and many trans-
lated romances were the work of Scotch
poets. As the southern minstrels derived
their .tales from Wales or Armorica, so
did the northern ones from the Britons of
Strathclyde and Cambria, and our oldest
and finest fictions are of Cymbric origin.
The ap],xjndix to this introduction con-
tains an analysis by Mr. Douce, of a col-
lection of tales, entitled Alphonsus dc
Clerical] Disciplina, compiled in Latin, by
Pedro Alonao, a converted Jew of Arra-
goo, physician and godson to Alonzo I.,
who was baptized at Osea, 110(). In this
very curious work many tales occur which
are to be found in Le Grand's Fabliaux,
in the Gesta Romanorura, Boccacio, and
the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. The
appendix also contains an abstract of Ma-
rie's lays, «^- perhaps the most amusing
part of the work. Mr. Ritson denied the
Amiorican origin of these lays. " It , is
quite needless,'* says Mr. Ellis, " to dis-
cuss his opinions concerning a work which
he had manifestly neglected to read, or
was unable to understand." This unhap-
py man, excellent antiquarian as he was,
was frequently committing the fault which
he so bitterly condemned in others 3 that
of delivering positive opinions upon sub-
jects with which he was little acquainted.
Marie herself fxpressly asserts that the
stories are Armorican.
The strange tale of the Bisclaveret is
founded upon a superstidon as widely dif-
fused as it is extraordinary, and as old as
the tale of Lycaon and Herodotus. The
Irish had also anodier superstition akin
to the tale of Nebuchadnezzar. They
believed " that he who in the barbarous
acclamation and outcry of the soldiers,
wbich they use with great forcing and
straining of their voyces when they join
battel, doth not showte and make a noise
as the rest doe, whSn they utter the word
pharroh, is suddenly caught from tlie
groimd, and carried, as it were, flying in
\i» vft^f \si\fi 6om9 desert vaUies^ (tbo
vale of Kerry, another account says) whev»
h« feedeth upon grasse, drinketh water,
hath some use of reason, but not of speech,
is ignorant of the present condition ho
stands in whether good or bad, yet at
length shall be brought to his own home,
being caught with the heipe of hounds
and hunters."
The first romances In this series of spe-
cimens are those relating to Arthur, of
which few have been preserved, except
such as are in the form of ballads. They
were early converted into prose, and may
thus have perished when disused) but
though few in number they are by no
means inconsiderable in length: the frag^
ment of the St. Graal is said to consist of
40,000 lines. The romances upon this
subject are so celebrated, and some of
them so truly beautiful, that we wish Mr.
Ellis had in this place given a catalogue of
all that exist, whether in prose ov meti^
The abstract of Merlin, with which the
specimens begin, is made from two MSS.,
one in the library of Lincoln's Inn, ih»
other in the invaluable Auchinleck MSS.
The two parts, though connected in order
of time so that one is the continuation of
the other, are of very different merit.
The story of the first is complete in itself
and has no other absurdities than such as
are inseparable from tlie use of machinery:
It is the history of Vortigern from hitf
usurpation till his death. After having
obtained the crown by the murder of
ConsUntine Le Moine, he resolved to build
a strong castle upon Salisbury Plain, to
secure himself against Aurelius Ambro-
sius and Utlier Pendragon, brothers of the
dead king, if they should attempt to re-
venge his death. But whatever the work-
men did in tlie day was overthrown in the
night, and Vortigern's wise men consult-
ing the stars to discover the cause of this
prodigy, can only find out tiiat a boy had
been born five years ago without a human
fatlier, and that the foundations would
stand if besmeared with his blood. Mer-
lin is this boy. He owed his birth to the
desire of the evil spirits to engender a
semi-devil, who should counteract the
work of redemption.
"There was at that time in England a rich
man, blessed with an affectionate wife, a du-
tifiil son, and three chaste and beautiful
daughters. The happiness of this family watf
become proverbial among their neighbours ;
but the hend liaving discovered, in the wife,
an irritability of temper which had hitherto
escaped the notice of her husband and chil-
drePj he applied Juinself to encourage this
B4^
VOETKt.
infinnity; and with such stiecess^ that the
p>od lady ; having been betrayed into a tiifl-
iDg dispute with her son, sudctenly burst into
transports of rage ; imprecated the most lior-
jid curses on his head; and finally consigned
him, with all possible solemnity, to the devil.
The fiend lost no time in seizing his newly-ac-
^lired property, but strangled the young
man in his sleep: the mother, stung with re-
morse, instantly hung herself; and her hus-
band, overpowered by this sudden calamity,
^ed of grief, without confession or absolu-
tion.
" Among the spectators of this tragedy
was a neighbouring hermit, the holy Blaise,
who, on considering all the circumstances of
6ie case, plainly discovered that it was owing
to the intervention of the fiend. Feeling a
fetherly affection for the three orphan sistcre,
lie extorted them to scrutinize severely all the
thoughts and actions of their past life ; receiv-
ed their confessions ; iinp<wea on each a pro-
per penance; gave them his holy absolution;
and then retired."
Selden and Drayton difFek- from this ac-
ctMint of his birth, and make him of a bet-
ter f^nily by the mother's side. His mo-
ther therefore, according to the former,
^a» Matilda, a nun, daughter to Pubidi^;is
king of Mathraval, and they both represent
ker as neduug loth ! According however
t& this more authentic romatice, she reso-
lutely asserted her innocence notwith-
■tanding appearances; and Blaise, to whom
;Ae had related in confession all her fears,
obtained for her a respite till the truth
•hould appear in due course of time. He
iKid exactly calculated it, and was in wait-
ing at the foot of tlie tower wherein she
was confined; he received the little denl-
ing in a basket, who was completely covered
with black hair, carried him off in triumph
and christened' him Merlin, to tlie utter
^dfscomiitore of the demon's scheme.
Some of the subsequent circumstances,
m Merlin's propensit}- to latfghter, and. the
explanations which hegives, resemble Geof-
Irey's history of Merddyn Wyllt. He is
found and carried to Vortigern, to whom
he explains the -reason why the foundations
of bis castle will not stand. Immedwtely
below the soil, he said, were two deep
pools of water ; below the water two huge
stones, and below tJie stones two cnc^rmous
serpents, who slept during tlie day^ but
quarrelled ever}^ night, and by their battles
occasioned an earthquake which destroyed
his buildings. There is a tale hea:ing
some resemblance to this in ecclesiastical
history, when it pleased Zachariah the pro-
phet that his relics should be invented : he
gave directions where to find his body,
and added) that near the coffin was a glass
vessel full of water, and by it two serpents
so harmless and gentle that theym'TghtBe
handled. "When Merlin's prediction was
proved true, he explained the meaning d
the mystery, and prophesied the destrac-
tion of Vortigern, which Aurelius and
Uther accomplished. |
The second part has much of Boiardos
extravagance, and of its worst kind ; the
multiplication of armies, the size of tte
Saracen giants, and the lacility with which
they are destroyed. Ft is likdy iliat tte
author of Amadis had seen this romance
in some shape. The following is the pas-
sage which leads us to suppose so :
''Among the knights who distinguished
themselves in this terrible day was one whoa
the author js particularly desirous to rccoia-
mend to the grateful remembrance of K%
hearers. This was Nacien, a knigbt rf
great prowess and merit, and allied to manj
of the most renowned heroes of chi\-a!iy.
His mother was Hamignes, sister to }o^
a knigbt of grace, through whom he was cousin
to the noble Pertival. His father was Ebron,
who had sixteen more sons, aU knights of grnt
virtue ; and throuc^h him Nacien was cousia
to Celidoine the rich, son of Nacien of Be*
tica, which Celidoine (irst saw all the merrai
of the San Gr^. Nacien was also sibbc (I
e. related) to king Pelles of Listoneis,
" And sith then hadde Launcebt
In his ward almost a yer.
So the Romauns so'th elles where:
This Naciens, of whom y write,
Sith then bicom eremite;
Ajid lette knightschippe and al thin^
And bicome preste, messe to sing.
Virgin of his bodi lie was,
\yhoni sith then the holi Codes gract
Bavist into the thridde heven.
Where he herde angels^ steven ;
And seighe Fader, Son, and holi gh(Bt,
In on substaunce, hi on acosi.
This gave sith theu the riche cooseil
To the king Arthour, saunfeule,
Tho he was in gret peril
To lese his londes, and ben exil,
Ogaines tlje king Galahos,
The geauntes sone, of gret los,
- That gaf king Arthour batailnig, Slc^
Is this the Nasciano who took Esplan-
dian from the lioness ? Tlie romances of
the Round Table are more than once al-
luded to in Amadis 5 and the tale that tlw
hermit was sometimes regaled with hea-
venly food tallies with these lines in the
Tilcriin.
<* Morte Arthur, Sir Lancelot du Lake is
the iiero of this romance,
the truest knight
That ever loved fair lady."
It relates hisaitoours with queen Gaenci-er,
and their disastrous consequences. The
ILLIS'S SPECIMENS Of lAHLT BNGLlSfl MEf RXCAt HOMANCES.
tale of Troy divine is not more familiar to
the scholar than this deliglitfal story to the
lovers of romance.
Though Arthur has been so often in
later times chosen as the poet's hero, the
old traditions respecting him, beautiful as
djey are, h|^'e been always rejected. It
has been his fortune to be celebrated by
the best and the worst English poets, as
well as by others of the middle rank, yet
each has taken only the name of Arthur,
and applied it to a creature of his own
imagination. In the Fairy Queen, in Dry-
den s dramatic pageant, m the two poems
of Sir Richard Blackmore, and lastly in
Mr. Hole's romance, we are alike disap-
pointed by finding a stranger instead of an
oM friend. The reason must be that the
Arthur of the minstrels, like the Charle-
magne, has been sacrificed to his-knightsj
and as the fame of the latter is surpassed
by dje Madines, so is that of the fowner
by sir Gawaine, sir Tristram, and sir Lan-
celot. Nor is it likely that the knights of
the Round Table will ever have their
Ariosto : the state of morals is too much
improTed, and their characters are inde-
lible.
Two romances are classed as Saxon,
Gay of Warwick and sir Bcvis of Hamp-
town, Mr. Ellis conceiving that as the
heroes are Saxon the Anglo-NOrman min-
strels may have taken up the old traditions
of the. country. Tliey are the worst of
^r kmd, though both have been exceed-
in^y popular. The story of sir Thierry's
^^^^ (p. 67) is thus told yrith finer cir-
cumstances of Guntrum king of the Franks.
" One day he lost himself when hunting
hi die woods: one faithful servant was with
him, upon whose knees he laid his head
being tired, and fell asleep by the side of
a litde runnell. The servant saw a little
creatore creep out of. his master's moutli
ttdgo to the runnell, which it tried to cross
but could not. Upon this the man drew
his sword and laid it across the water, over
which the litde creature then crost easily,
«nd went into a hole in a mountain on the
<*^ side ; in about an hour's time it
■wne out again, recrost by the sword, and
fftpt into the king's mouth. Guntrum
wnmediately awoke and told his compa-
awnhow^e had dreamt that he came to
w immense river, and crost over a bridge
w iron, and went into the cave of a moun-
«jD wherein he had seen a great treasure.
-"« servant hearing this related all that
ie had seen, and they both went to tlie
j.|. , ,, * reached him.
Titshou dseem by this that it was usual with tooth-drawers to weara chain • ornmhanc «
*« of chaplet composed of teeth which they had extracted.. ' or pcihaps t^
341
mountain, and digging by the crevice dis-
rovered a great quantitjr of gold, which
the king applied to religious purposes."
This is related by historians, not ro-
mancers, and is one proof of ten tiious^nd
which miglu be adduced tliat romances
were no more intended to outstrip credi-
bility than modem noveld are.
Richard Coeur de Lion is the only Anglo-
Norman romance, and a very striking ono
It IS, in spite of all its absurdities. The
poet gives him thirteen vessels laden with
bee-hives, which he threw from his en^
gmes into the besieged town, instruments
of ottence, says the editor, little known
to mo<^em warfare : they were however
used as such in the middle ages, though
not by ship-loads, and probably .only by
toe besieged. The pots of serpents which
Comehus Nepos mentions woiUd do ad-
mirably well in romance. Our Richard
Lion-heart has not had his due* fame
from the poets, though of all our kings he
IS the only one, except Alfred, whom a
poet could select for his hero. The mo-
dem epic in which he is made the cham-
pion of anti-jacobinism will stand in no-
body's way.
Romances relating to Charlemagne. These
are three in number, Roland and Ferragus,
sir Otuel,and sir Ferumbras, none of which
has ever been printed : the morals of the
last are the most atrocious we ever re-
member j the heroine betrays her fether,
which indeed it is not very uncommon for
heroines to do, pushes her governess im©
the sea, knocks out the brains of a jailer,
and stands by applauding while one of her
father's knights is held down witli a/re-
fork upon the hearth till he is burnt to
death.
A passage occurs in sir Otuel which we
shall quote.
" Otuel, for wrath, anon
Ari-»iglit * him on the cheek-bone ;
All the fell oft' that was there.
And made his teeth all bare.
Tho Otuel saw his check-bone.
He gave Clarel a scom anon.
And said, * ClarL-l i so mote thou the
' Why shewcst tliou thy teetli to me ?'
' In* am no tooth -drawerc!
' Thou ne seest me no chain f bear,' .
Clarcl feeled him wounded sore* '
And was niauned for evei:more';
And smote to Otuel with all his might.
And Otuei; that doughty knight.
With his sword kept tlie dent
That Clarel him had v-meant.
And yet the dint slode adown,
And smote Otuel upon tlie crown.
lu
POETRY.
Qiiath Otuel, ' By Godis ore,
* Sai-acen, thou smitest full sore !
- SHh then thy beard wag y-shave,
• Thou art woxen a strong knave !'
Otuel smote Clarel the
O stroke, and no mo,
That never eft word he ne spake, &c.V
We have given the whole extract for its
characteristic merit. The editor*snote re-
specting the chain is confirmed by a tra-
veller in Portugal, who says, " 1 met a
tooth-drawQr yesterday who wore a small
brass chainacross his shoulder, ornamented
Vfith rotten teeth at equal distances j per-
liaps his professional full dress."
Romances of ojiental origin. A curious
and erudite introduction is given to the
analysis of tlie Seven Wise Masters, a
atory-booV which is certainly traced to the
Heeiopades. In the English Thevenot's
by Warton. The first part of sir Isumbn^
seems borrowed from the beginn'mg cf
Job ; the circumstance of his gold being
carried oft' by an. eagle and atierwards
found in the bird's nest, occurs in the
Arabian Nights' Entertainments. The wcdc
wants references to these parali^ls.of whick
Mr. Ellis could doubtless have pouited out
many more than, have occurred to us. The
story of the dpg in sir Triaraoor wouW
have been very beautiful in the handi of i
true poet.
" The good grey-hound, for weal ne wo.
Would not fro the knight go ;
But lay and licked his woimd ;
He weened to have healed hini again.
And thereto lie did his pain ;
Lo, such love is in a hound!
He even scraped a pit for the dead body;
covered it with moss and leaves, and ^usrdia
it with constant attention, except dunng the
Travels the Arabic version of this book _ _ ^ ^ ^
is curiously mistranslated the fables of times when he was employed in securing \m
damned Kalile j the translator perhaps own subsistence.'
thinking tliat though the epithet was ra-
ther singular, it could not be misapplied
upon a Mohammedan. Many of tliese sto-
ries are to be found elsewhere. Tiiat of
the knight and his greyhound differs fiora
• the traditional tele of Llewelyn and his dog
" As his prey din-lnislied, tlie length of li
chase gradually increased ; and, at the cbsc
of the seventh year, at the festi\'al of Christ-
mas, he suddenly appeared, gaunt v^ith hun-
ger, an unexpected visitor in the hall of tiie
king of Arragon. Such an apparition esrited
Gellert, only as tlie dog in the one is sub- general surprise, and particularly attncted
stituted for tlie serpent in the other. The. " -^ - » . - «i ■ _ . _^i.
lather murdered by his son is part of the
very amvising story in Herodotus, book 2. j
and " the widow who was comforted" is
theEphcsian matron. The line in this
last tale when the woman, as she cuts open
the head of her dead husband, says, she
shall lead him
Hoxv Godis grame came to town,
rony perhaps allude to the birth of Minerva,
though how she should be called by this
strange title we do not4)rctend to explain.
We now come to the miscellaneous rq-
mances, the last and most amusing di; ision
of the work. Florice and Blauncheflour is
tlie first. Is l^essan accurate in speaking
of the Spanish version as metrical .^ we
hav«; never seen the book, but are strongly
hiclint'd to think it is in prose. Ihe
Auchinleck MSS. of this ii>tcre.>tiag tale
behig imperfect, Mr. Eilis has supplied tiio
beginning from Tressan's Compeudium,
with which the remaining half e.xaclly
acrrces. But Trc^san is evidently as un-
faithful as usual, and by the introduction
of tiie names of Omar, and Caled, and
Averroes, hi s given a sort of modern air
of propriety to the story not to be found in
any work of ao early a date. ■
Robert of Cysille is compressed as much
as poisibkj having been aheady analysed
the attention of Aradas : but the animal, ^
a gentleness of deneanour which bc&d \k
savage appearance, made tlie round of tbe
tables and disappeared. He returned on da
second day ; again surveved the comj-an],
received liis pittance, and retreated. Tne
king now recollected the dog ; and cave «•
ders to lns.Lliend;mts tliat, if he should rvtura,
they should follow him without loss of linv,
in the c/onfideuce that he would lead tlioato'
the place where sir Ro^cr and the Qceen
were secreten. On the tiiird day of the i©-
tival, the hali was iiUed at an early hour.acd
sir Marrock, for tJie fust time, took his ast
among the gutNts. The gre\ -lior.acl t^-o tlia
not fail to repeat hts visit, antl with tho t»-
pidity of lightning, instantly sprang iijwn t«
murdtrcr of his master."
'* He took the steward by tlie Awat,
And asunder he it bote ;
Rut then he would not 'bitlc :
For to this grave he ran.
'i'here followed him many a man,
Some on hori-e, and (^)nic beside.
And when he came whore his mailer «^
He laid him down upon the grass,
And barked at tlie men again. • ■
'* The crowd who had followed him, b^
unable to drive him from the six>t, retunw
with the tidings to the king, who instairiY
co^nprehended the whole mystery. He di-
reclfd them to dig for the bbriy, >*hich they
readily found, aud \>hich had been mirani-
loi'.sly preserved in such a^ state of pert'ccli^
as lObe easily recognized.' It was then buried
XlUfi's SPECIMENS OF EAKLT EH6U%H METBICAL ROMANCES.
512
10 holy ground with all due solemnity, and
the ftithml dog sbortly after expired on the
tomb u'hich was i*ai&ed in memory of his
master." *
The Life of IpomydoH, This is one of
the most original and most amusing of the
roniaoces. Ipomydon, who is sou to the
king of Apulia, hearing that tlie king of
Calabria is dead^ and had left his throne to
an only daughter of exceeding beauty,
who had determined to marry none but the
best knight in Christendom, conceives a
stroDg passion for the princess on the re-
port of her charms, and at lengtli sets out
with bis foster-father sir Tholomeo and a
itDsIl retinue to ^isit her incognito. They
anlTejust as tbe princess has taken her
teat at table, and sSre admitted into tbe hall,
when Ipomydon kneels to her and begs to
be received into her service. The princess
struck by his fine person^ and surprised at
the splendour of his appearance, makes
bim her cup-bearer. When he takes the
cop from the butler he lets fall his rich
msntle and gives it him, an act of genero-
Kty which still more increases the suspi-
doQS of the princess. The mystery of his
conduct, and the secresy with which his
tome is concealed, heighten her curiosity,
and this curiosity produces its natural ef-
fya. She falls in love with the stranger,
sad bids him sit at table with her cousin
Jason, thinking to look at him more at her
ease. Ipomydon being quite certain tliat
be WHS not indifferent to her, took the li-
berty to look at her in return a little too
boldly J by finding fault with Jason for a
•imibr conduct towards one of her damsels
she indirectly reproved himj but he who
chose to tyrannize over the heart which he
bad won, as soon as dinner was over re-
quested permission to resign his office and
return into his own country, from which
be would not be dissuaded by his friend
iasoD. He leaves however a trusty servant
at the court, who sends him word that her
council have applied to his uncle Meleager
to insist upon her marrying, that a tourna-
ment is appointed, and the victor is to be
rewarded with her hand. Ipomydon and
sir Tholomeo again set off, tliey go to Me-
icager's court, andtlie adventurer requests
to be admitted into his service, with some
singular stipulations.
" Ipomydon said, * I shall you tell,
At this covenant would I dwell.
Full fiun I would be ready boun.
To kad your queen, both up and down.
Fro her chamber to her hall.
And my leman I would her calL
My maiden, that is of honoiir.
Shall dwell in the queenys bower.
At every tiun that 1 her lead,
A ki«8 of the queen shall be my meed;
I will no more for my service.'
** Meleager surveyecl him with some sur-
prise ; but justly concluding, from this strange
pro})osal and from the splendour of his ap-
pearance, that the stranger knight was a man
of great opulence, who wished to reside at
his court for some mysterious reason, and
not with any view to seduce the queen, re-
plied tllat he accepted the bargain ; and, the
chase being concluded, conducted the newi
chamberlain to her majesty, who saw nothing
in the person of Ipomydon which could lead,
her to refuse the whunsical salaiy annexed
to his service. Thus was he naturally placed
ou a footinff of fJEuniliarity with t6e royal, cou-
ple, which ne well knew now to improve ; and
his wealth and generosity soon secured the
aifection of their courtiers, so that he shortly
became tlie universal favourite.'*
Als the time fixed for the tournament
approached, Ipomydon is the only person
who seems to feel no concern; he declares
that he is not used to such rough amuse**
ments, tliat they afford him no entertain-
ment, and that he shall go hunting the first
day. Every body regrets that so handsome
a knight should be such a coward. He
however sets off before daybreak, sounds
his horn under the windows, and bidding
sir Tholomeo hunt his white greyhound*
and wait for him at a place appointed with
the game, enters the lists in white armour,
on a white horse, and bears away the ho-
nour of tlie first day 5 then discbvering
himself in secret to Jason, he bids him
commend him to his lady, and tell her that
he had done thus much for her, but was
now compelled to retiu"n to his own coun-
try. The next day^ while I'holomeo hunts
his red greyhound, he wins the honour in
red armour, on a bay horse, and again re-
peats the same story to Jason 3 and on tlie
third day qpnquers in black, still obsti-
nately refusing to take possession of the
kingdom and console the princess by bis
presence, as Jason beseeches him. He
now departs in earnest, but sends his three
horses and tliree suits of armour, one to
Meleager, one to the queen, and one to
sir Campanys, the bravest of liis compe-
titors> declaring himself.the victor.
Ipomydon on his return finds his father
dead : his mother now tells him that be-
fore her marriage she had met with an ac-
cident, which was by no means uncommon, .
Nel secol prisco, in quella bella etate
Ch' era d'ogni virtute il mondo adorno :
Bernardo Tasso.
inconsequence of which* accident he had
3U
POETRY.
an elder brother who had sent her a ring
to give him, that if ever they met they
might know each other. Ipomydon takes
the ring and resolves to seek him ; but at
this time his trusty servant sends him intel-
ligence from Calabria that duke Geron ha^
taken arms to compel the princess to marry
him. Immediately he sets out to her suc-
cour, but as usual, instead of appearing in
his own character, goes in masquerade, in
ru^ty armour, with a crooked spear, and
shaved like a fool. In this trim he enters
Meleager's hall, and demands as a boon
the first adventure which may offer. This
king was probably sufficiently sorry that
he had gran^d it, when a damsel and a
dwarf came in and demanded help for Ills
niece tlie princess, now besieged in her
citadel by duke Geron. The fool how-
ever displays his prowess on the way by
discomfiting sundry knights, the last of
"whom was Geron' s brother, whose armour
he puts on, as better than his own. In
this armour he encounters Geron himself
at last, and compels him to cry for mercy;
but the princess, when she sees him about
to enter tlie gate, mistakes him for an ene-
my by his arms, escapes at another gate,
and embarks on board a ship in the river.
She is met on the way by sir Campanys,
ivho is coming to her succour, he encou-
rages her to reiurn, and engages in battle
with Ipomydon. Ipomydon's gauntlet is
struck off, the ring is recognized by Cam-
paiiys, who then embraces him as his bro-
ther ; the mistake is cleared up, and the
mar^age takes place at last.
Sir Eglamour of Artoys is less original
and less interesting. Lay le Fraine, a
translation from the French of Marie,
seems misplaced amoftg tales of chivaliy.
• Sir Eger, sir Grahame, and sir Sray^
Steel, This is one of the last metrical
romances which has been printed for po-
pular sale : tlie copy which Mr. Ellis has '
made use of bears date 1 7 1 1 ; but the
printer had evidently followed a very im-
perfect manuscript, and most likely cor- |
rupted it still farther himself. Roswal and
Lillian appears to ha\*e been printed aboat
the same time, and also at some provincial
press. The kingdom of Bealm is men-
tioned in both these poems : in the first k
is not easy to fix its situation, it mun be
at no great distance from Galloi^-a)'; in
the latter it is not very far from Naples.
They appear to be of much the same age,
and neither of any great antiquity. Sir
Degore, and Amys and Amylion, are both
very ojd, being in tlie Auchinleck MSS.
Of the last, which concludes the work,
Mr. Scott has given an account in his notes
to sir Tristram.
Such are the contents of these interest- •
ing volumes. The analyses are written
w'Uh a levity which we have heard chh j
sured. It is perhaps too frequently ap^
rent, but it is difficult to relate absurdipes
without seeming to i^erceive them. We
should however have liked the abstracts
better had tliey been written more in the
manner of an old chronicler tlian of a
modern.
English literature is much indebted t»
Mr. Ellis. We hope the success of las
present work m^y induce him to extend
it. Doubtless it would be far better that
tlie poems themselves should be publish-
ed ', but it' the age will not afford encou-
ragenient for this, it is desirable tliat we
should ha^e abstracts of all, especially
from one who knows so well to select
whatever is valuable.
Art. II. — The Wo^ks qf Edmund Spenser, [n eight rolumes. With the principal IiluMr»-
tioiis (if various CojnmtiUators. * To whuh are adiltd, Aotes, so?tte Account of the Lffc
qf' Spenser, and a gtossdrial, and other Indexes, By the Rcv. Hexry John Todd,
Af.J, F,A,S. 8vo. 8 \oh.
IT was well remarked in the best of our
magazines, when a new general collec-
tion of British poets was announced, that
such collections were not desirable j that
to the good writers there should be mote
comment, and of the indifferent ones less
text; that the great poets ought to be •
edited withaccura(?y, labour, and learning,
and the Utile ones cut dpwn into antholo-
gies. Engliih literature is greatly indebted
to Mr; Todd ■ fbr his learned, laborious,
and accurate- edition of Miltuii, and cot '
less 6o for the present work. *
If there be any truth in physiognomy,
tlie portrait pretixed to this edition is not
the portrait of Edmund Spenser. It is the
face of a short-sighted man wrinkling up
his under eye- lids because he sees dimly;
neither feeling nor genius, nor strong in-
tellect, nor moral purity, are discoverk!^
in any of its features j and that Spenser
should have been without the outward
and visible signs of any or all of these
qualities, widi which heaven had so richly
endowed him, is not to be believed.
What is the history of the original pictun: ?
TODD*S .WORKS OF fiDMtND SPENS»S.
545
modem editors have introduced, and tell-
ing the reader what he is to admire, and
what he is not ; it is a custom more ho-
noured iu tiie br^ch than in the observ-
ance.
Spenser was born in London, in East
Sraithlield, by tlxe Tower, about the year
.1553 : he was descended from the an-
cicpt and honourable hm'ily of Spenser,
as bis writings satisfactorily prove ^ and
is himself the greatest houoiu: of which
that family can boast. ' The nobility of the
Spensers, says Gibbon^ has been illustrat-
ed and enriched by the trophies of Marl-
borough ; but I exhort them to consider
the Faerie Queen as the most precious
jewel of their coronet.* The circumstances
of his parents must however have been
humble, since he was admitted at Pem-
broke-hall, Cambridge, as a sizer< iThere
is no truth in the story that he contended
unsuccessfully against Andre ws,after wards
the bishop, for a fellowship; but there
seems to be no doubt that some disagree-
ment took place between him and the
master or tutor of the hall. The fault la
not likely to have been on Spenser's side,
if there be one spark of truth in the cha-
racter which his friend Harvey has given
of Dr.. Feme.
** Aad vfU you needes have niy testini^-
niall of your c old carUrolUrs new behaviour I
A busy and dizy heade; a brazen fore-
head ; a ledden braine ; a woodden wit ; a cop-
per face ;* a stony breast ; a factious «rid
elvish hearte ; a founder of novelties ; a con-
founder of his owne and hi« friends good
gifts ; a morning bookeworm ; an aiternoorie
maltw^onn ; a right juggkjr, as ful of his
sleijghtB, wyles, tetehes, ca^ of legerdi^
maine, toy'es to mbcke apes withal, o^cjo
shiites, and knavish jiractizes, as his skiu capk
holde.' He then proceeds to refjrobate the
circumstance of ' many pupils, jackeniatea
and hayie-fellowes-wel-niet with their tutors ;
and, by your leave, some too, because for-
sooth they be gentlemen or great heires or »
litde neater and gayer than their ieiioins,
(shall I say it for shSime I beleere me, tis too
true,) their vtrt/ own tutors /' 1 o the notice
of this abuse m academical instmction he
subjoins a copious list of Latin redections,
full of indignation at its existence ; one pf
which seems to point at the disagreement al-
* "This quotation certainly exhibits a choice example of Harvey's talent in tl\e language
of abuse; and Nash foils not to remind him of his * singular liberalitie andbountie inbestoiv-
ing this beautiful! encomium upon DoctourPeme,'in Iiis tbure letters confuted, 15^. Sign. E<
2. The author of the Life ot Spenser, in the Biographia Britannica, has suftered a singular
error of the press, in tltis passj^ of Harvey's letter, to pass unnoticed ; by whk:hf however, I
mnt, the severity of Harvey is somewhat softened, viz. ' a copper tace ; asattin breast, &c.*
The same ludicrous mistake occurs in the Life of Spe^er, whi«h fe given i^ th« Suppl«xn^t
to the Universat Magazine, vol. xUx. p. 33, &C.
AmRsv.VoL.lV. ' : N» "
the name may have been affixed to give
a value to the portrait of some forgotten
person, or it may have been another Spen-
ser, like the whole-length portrait of some
Chaucer given at the end of Mr. God-
win's work, which certainly is not tlie.
likeness of oW Geoffrey. If in tliis case
it cannot be incoutestably autheuticated,
we hope* it will not be a^pied in any fu-
ture edition ; it is a libel upon the most
delightful of ^H poets.
Tlie present edition is in many respects
the best which has ever appeared ; it is
the first to which the illustrations of vari-
ous commentators have been subjoined,
and what is of greater importanqi^', jhe text
has been carefully collated with the
editions published during the author's life-
time. The original spelling is retained :
on this subject we shall copy what the
editor says.
" 'It is sufficient,' if I may apply to.tliis
circumstance the just observation of Dr.
Johnson respecting the distinction of Shak-
Seare, ' that tlie xuords are Spenser^s. If
raseology is to be changed as words grow
Qtacouth by disuse, or gross by vulgarity, the
history of every language will be lost ; we
fibill tio longer have tlie words of any author;
and, as these alterations will be often unskil-
iiilly made, we shall in tune have very little
of his meaning.' And indeed if the text of
Spenser, in the progress of English literature,
had been ccnstaniljj examined ; I may be
pcmiitted, I hope, respectfully to observe
that, in the invaluable dictionary of Johnson
himself, some words could not have been
admitted as the words of Spenser ; that, in
the remarks of Dr. Jortin, some conjtctures
.would have been found needless ; and tliat,
in the observations even of VVarton, a censure
or two would never have appeared."
' I h^ve also added, says the editor, a
Tety humble account of the life of Spenser,
drawn from authentic records ; the curio-
sity and importance of which will, I trust,
be admitted by the liberal and candid, as
an apology for the want of biographical
elegance.' Mr. Todd need not have apo-
logized \ he has diligently collected many
*fkts which had escaped former biogra-
phers ; and as for the custom of sitting
in judgment upon their authors, which
^
540
POETRY.
ready mentioued : * Cartf ra fert ut olim :
beUum inter capita ct tnembra continuatum/ "
There is some reason to suppose that
•ome of Spenser's verses were published
so early as 1569, the ^ear in which he en-
tered at Cambridge. Mr. Todd has dis-
covered in a little volume, entitled, a
Theatre for Worldlings, &c. six of the
visions of Petrarch, differing only in a
few corrections from those which are
printed among his works. In the same
yolume also there are eleven of the vi-
sions of Bellay, in blank verse, yet ac-
cording so nearly with the rhymed ver-
sions which Spenser after\vards published,
as to shew that his versions were made
from them, many whole lines being the
same. Mr. Todd on these grounds, and
on a passage in one of Harvey's letters,
inwhich he praises his D;vam«,thinks that
thcfie early translations are his. We were
at first inclined to the same opinion, but
on re-examination tind reason to doubt, or
to disbelieve. In the Theatre, the visions
of Petrarch are said to be translated out qf
the Brabants speech, and those of iBellay
out qf Dutch. It is not likely that Spen-
ser ever understood Dutch, and very un-
likely that he should have understood it
mt the age of sixteen, which roust have
been his age witliin a year or two when
the Theatre was published. Harvey s
letter strengthens us in this opinion. " I
dare saye, be says, ypu wyll hold your
selfe reasonably wel satisfied, if your
Dreameshe but as well esteemed of in Eng-
land as Petrmxhes Visions be in Italy.**
This would liardly have been said if Pe-
trarch*sVisious were the very poems allud-
' ed to; TLTiese visions are said, in the edi-
tion which the bopkseller published when
Spenser was in Ireland, to have been/or-
mcrfy translated; it is not stated by whom.
But it IS more likelv that Spenser or the
bookseller added them to complete the
fubject and .fill the voluoie, than that he
should liave^translated from the Dutch at
the a^ of sixteen. There remains then
a charge of plagiarism with respect to tlie
Visions of BcHay, but it is of no very serious
Hamre. He needed not, as Mr. T(xld ob-
ten^es, tpi borrow siich petty aids, to fame.
lliey may have beea originally written by
one of his friends who gave them to him
to remodel.
A6er havii^ taken his last degree in
arts; Spenser, as it is supposed, left Cam-
b.idge, atid went to teside with some rela-
tions in the north (W England; in 45/8
be v%ntured; by Harvey's adwe, to Lctt-
don. He had before this time written hk
Dreams, which are probably the other
translations from Bellay ; the Lq^cndx and
Court qfCtqnd, which seem to ha\c lx?en
interwoven into the Faerie Queen ; his
Siombcr, his Djfing PellicaHe,mvd his Sinw-
mata DutUeiana, of which nothing is
known $ his Epitkalamian Tkamesis^ also
in the Faerie Queen 5 add a discourse un-
der the title of the English Poet, wiucfa
he purposed then to publish, but I'uldUed
not his intention.
In a singular and excellent book en-
titled, France painted t6 the Ufe,of which
the second edition was printed in 1(^7»
a poeni of Spenser s is mentioned, or ra-
ther meant to be mentioned, which is not
now to be found among his works. The
passage is as follows : the writer is de-
scribing his fellow-travellers in the coach
from Orleans to Paris : •' — ^and so I am
come to the old woman, which -was tlie
last of our goodly companions ; a wcunaa
so old, tliat 1 am not at this day fully rc-
8oh-ed. whether she were ever young or
no : it was well I had read tlu3 acnptnres,
otherwise I might have been piuoe to
have thought her one of the fir^t pieces rf
the creation, and that by some mischance
slie had escaped the Flood : her fiace was
for all the world like unto that of S^biikt
Eiythrcea in some old print, or tliat of one
of So];#mon*s two harlots iu the painted
cloth ; you would not but have iuiaginod
her one of the relikes of the lunrt a^
ai>er the building of Babel, for her very
complexion was a confusion more dreadfiitt
tlian that of languages : as yet I am uor
certain whether the poem of our «rci»
poet Spenser entitled
was not purposely intended on her ^ sun
I am it is very applicable in the Ikie.'* p.
30(>. In tlie book before us a l^ank is
unluckily left where tlie name of thir poeai
should liave been $ whether it be the samt
in other copies we know not; but wa
have noticed the page tliat Mr. Todd may
examine, it' he shcmld think there is axsj
hope of recovering the poem by this due.
On his arrival in London Harvey xaiio-
duced him to sir Philip Sidney. It has
been of late years the fashion to depredajte
the gei)ius of this most adiuirable man i
and Mr. Todd, who, in matters of taste,
exercises more ^th than reason, joins in
theconmion oeasure. Horace WaJpole,
we believe, was the first person who ha-
zarded this opinion, and we all know how
opinions are taken ready-made upon sucii
authority. Much of the praise whic(i
Sidney received during his lil'e ma^ bai%
a4r
^0nD*4 WORRt X>T EOMtJMD SfBIf fSS.
«47
teen ps^d to his rank -, It mny have been
Hattery as to its motive^ but in its natter
h was no more than the praise to which
he was entitled. Nobody, it has been
•aid, reads Ae Arcadia. We have known
very many persons who have read it, nien>
women, and children, and never knew one
who read it without deep interest, and an
admiration at the genius of the writer,
gieatin proportion as they were capable
of appreciating it. The verses are very
bad, not that he was a iiad poet, (on the
contrary, mrch of his poetry is of high
merit,) but because he was then versify mg
upon an impracticable system. Let the
reader pass over all the eclogues, as dull
interludes unconnected -with the drama,
and if he do not delight in the story itself,
in the skill with which the incidents are
woven together and unravelled, and in tlie
Shakspearian power and character of lan-
guage with which they are painted ; let
him be assured tlie feult is in himseli'and
Dot in the book.
Biography, like history, has been too
often made up of falsehoods 5 the first
thing which he discovers, who conscien-
ffousiy sets about to write either, is, that
they who have gone before him have
either been deficient m research, or in ve-
racity, or in both. Scarcely any of the
anecdotes which have been related of
Spenser are true. His introduction to
Sidney was not by ipeans of the stanzas
describing despair 5 it is liot true that he
sent to the queen the lines about rhyme
and reason, complaining that her intend-
ed bounty was withheld from him 5 it is
not true that his merit was neglected and
unrewarded ; it is not true that he perished
in the streets of Dublin. Mr. Todd says
he was probably employed at Penshurst
in some literary service; and at least assist-
ed, we may suppose, the Platonic and
chivalrous-studies of the gallant and learn-
ed youth, who had so kindly noticed him.
This is conjecuire only ; but whetlier he
acted as tutor or not, the conversation of
infch a. man must have been of infinite
advantage to Sidney 5 and there is proof
enongh that Sj^nscr on his part was a
learner also. He became a convert to the
scheme of introducuig the classical metres.
On tfai&sobjeQt be thus expresses himself
In his letters to Harvey.
"As for the twoo worthy gentlemen,
master Sidney, and master Dyer, they have
me, I thanke theni, m some use of familianty :
of whom, and to whoniP, what<«peache passcth
^ryoure credite and estimatior, I leave your
•elk to Qonceive, having always so weU coa-
ceived of my un&aned affectibft, and scale
towardes you. And ftowe they have proclaim^
ed in their dpeiwfffotfyw a general surceasing
and silence of bolde rymers, and also of the
verie beste to : in steade whereof, they have^
by authoritie of their whole senate, prescribed
certaine lawes and rules of quantities of Eng-
lish siUables, for English verse; having had
thereof already great uractise, and drawen
mee to their faction. Newe bookes I heare
of none, but only of one that writing a cer-
taine booke, called Th€ Schoole qf Abiuf^
and dedicating it to maister Sidney, M'as for
hys labor scorned ; if at leaste it be in the
^oodnesse of that nature to scorae. . Such
tollie is. it, not to regarde aforehande the in-
clination and qualitie of him, to whome wee
dedicate oure bookes. Suche mighte I hap-
pily incurre, entituling ^fy Slomber, and the
other pamphlets, unto his honor. I meant
them rather to maister Dyer But I am, of
late, more in love wyth my Enriishe versify-
uig, than with rj-ming: whvche 1 should have
done long siiKe, if I woulcl tlien have follow-
ed your counc«.ll Sed te solum iam tmm
9uspicahar cum Aschamo wpere ; fumc Ait"
lam video egregios alcre Poetas Anglicos,'^*
" Truste me, your verses I like passingly
well, and envye your hidden paines in this
kinde, or rather maligne and gi'udge at your
selfe, that woulde not once imparte so much*
to me. But, once or twice, you make a
breache in niaister Draut^s rules: quod tamen
CQfidominmus tafUa Poetcfy tuaa tpsius max*
ima in his rebus autorituti, Y ou shall see,
when we meete in London, (whiche, when it
shall be, certifye us) howe fast I have follow-
ed after you in that course : beware, leaste *
in time 1 overtake you-. Vcnintamtii tt so-
Itim sequar, (ut sapenumerh sum prnfessus^)
nunquam sami assequar,dum vivam**
The specimen of iambics in this letter
is surely misprinted: ' ihotighf should eiia
the second line, instead of beginning the
third.
This scheme of versification, however
once, says Mr. Todd, the favourite em-
ployment of our poets in the age of Eliza-
beth, will be always too repulsive to gain
many admirers or imitators j requiring, as
it generally retjuires, a pronunciation most
dismal, most unmu«rical, or most ridicu-
lous ; and in a note he quotes the follow-
ing passage from Nash, which as applied
to tfiat scheme of hexameter, has both
truth and humonr. ** The heicaniiter
verse I graunt to be a gentleman of an
auncient house, (so is many an English
beggar,) yet this clyme cff 6urs hee cannot
thrive in j our speech is too craggy tbr
him to set his plough in j bee goes twitch-
ing and hopping in* our language like a
man nmning upon quagraicrs, up the hiU
Nb2
<4S
ftOETRY.
i0oDe syllable^and doim the dale in ano^
ther; retaining no part of that stately
praoofh gate, which be vaunts himselfe
witR amongst the Greeks andLatins.*' Mr.
Todd has added also a quotation from
bishop Hall's Satires ; bnt he is not aware
Ihat the satire there is particular and not
general j it applies to Stanihurst's four
lirst books of the jEneid, than which cer-
tainly nothing can be more extraordinary
' jior more ridiculous.
The attempt failed, because it could
hot have succeeded unless the pronuncia-
tion of "the language had been altered. If
they had written by accent instead of quan-
tity, they might have been successful.
Spenser felt the inconvenience, as appears
by a subsequent letter to his firiend.
" * I like your late Englishe Hexameters
so exceedingly well, that I also enure my
penne sometime in thatkinde: wh}xlic I fynd
indeede, as I have heard you often defende
itr worde, neither so harde nor so liarshe,
tliat it will easily and fairely yeeldc it selfe to
' oure moot her tongue, tor the onely, or
chiefest hardnesse, whyche seemeth, is in the
accente ; wliyche sometime gapeth, and as it
were yawiieth ilfevouredly ; comming shorte
of that it should, and sometime excced'uig the
measure of the number : as in Carpenter, the
middle sillable being used shorte m speache,
when it shall be read long in verse, sQemeth
like a lame g9sling, tliat draweth one legge
after hir : and Heaven, beeing used shorte as
one sillable wiien it is in verse, ttretchcd out
"With a diastole, is like a lame dogge tJiat
'iholdes up one lesge. But it is to be wonne
#ith custome, aid rougli words must be sub-
dued with use. For, why a God's name niay
not we, as * else the Greekes, have the king-
dome of our owne language, and measure
our accentes by the sounde, reserving the
ifuaiititic to the verse ? — Ijog here I let you
bt*e my olde use of toying in rymes, turned
into your artificial straightnessc of verse by
• thrs tdrasticon. I beseech you tell me your
iancie; without parcialitle. '
• <* See yee the blindefoulded pretie god, that
feathered archer.
Of lovers miseries whkh maketh his
bloodiegame? ^
Wote ye why,. his moqther with a veale
hath covered his face?
Truste me, loust he my loove happely
ciiauhce to beholde.'"
. , If Spenser, as lie felt tl)e inconvenience,
iad perceived the remedy as well, he
>'ould have naturalized the hexameter in
9ur language, and naturalized sooner or later
k will be here as in Gennanj. Goldsmith
says that Sidney's '*. miscarriage was no
more thaa that of ikiliug in aii attempt to
introduce a new feshion." The failttr» "WW
n'bt owing to any defect or irnpt^Tfectiofi
in the scheme, bat to the want o£ tast.c^
to the irresolution and ignorance of ^be
public. Goldsmith had probalrty ne^f^
looked at Sir Philip's metres, or he could
Doty^have been so egregiou^ly mist^MD.
What he says of the metres theoiselv^ is
better founded, and a poefs opinioii tijKM^
such a subject should have the samt
weight as that of one of the judges iu law.
' It is generally supposed, says he, taat
the genius of the English language will
not admit of Greek or Latin KDeasme;
but tills, we apprehend, is a mistake owmg
to tlie prejudice of education. It 15 im-
possible tliat the same measure, compose!
of the same tunes, should have a good d^
feet upon the ear in one laxsguaee, and a
bad effect in another. The truth is, we
have been accustomed from our infan^
to the numbers of English poetry, and the
very sound and signification of the words
disposes the ear to receive them m a cer-
tain manner ^ so that its disappointmeDl
must be attended with a disagreeably
sensation. In imbibing the first nadi*
ments of education, we acquire, as it wcnt^
another ear for the numbers of the Gredi
and Latin poetry ; and this t>eis^ res&red
etitirely for the sounds and significatiooi
of the words that constitute those dead
languages, will not easily accommcKkte
itself to the sounds of our vernacular
tongue, though conveyed in the same lime
and measure, in a word, J..atHi smd
Greek have anne^^ed to them the ideas qf
the ancient measure from which they 2s%
not easily disjoined. But we will vepture
•to say, tliis difficulty might be surmounted
by an effort of attention and a little prac-
tice 'j and in that case we should, va time,
be as well pleased with Enghsh as witii
Latin hexameters. We have seen several
late specimens of English hexameters and
Sapphics, so happily composed, that by at-
taching them to the idea of ancient mear
sure, we found them in all respects aa me-
lodious and agreeable to the ear, as tfa^
works of Virgil and Anacreon^ or Ife-
race.'
Itwas not possible that Spenser, the most
harmonious of all our poets, could loo^
continue 10 write verses upon the rules of
Latin prosody. He now b^an Hs Faerie
Queen, and had writen his nine come-
dies, which were certainly dramas, not
Teares of the Muses,as has been supposed,
for Harvey compares them to ths come«
* Eke is perhaps a mlspriat ifxaU or gito^
TODD's works 0> feDMUND SPENSER.
'^549
dies of Ariosto, to which. Jie 'says they
♦ came nearer for the fineness of plausible
elocution, and the bareness of poetical in-
vention, than that elvish queen doth to
his Q[iando Furiosoj which, notwith-
standing^^T'ou wil needes seeme to emu-
late, and hope to overgo, as you flatly pro-
fessed yourself in one of your last letters.*
These pbys could not have been without
treat merit, being Spenser's ; but Harvey
Old not understand the genius of his friend,
when he dissuaded him from the prosecu-
tion of his greater work. " If so be the
Paerie Queen bt fairer in your eye than
. the Nine Muses, (after whom the come-
dies are named) and Hobgoblin runue
aw-ay with the garland from Apollo j
raarke what I saye, and yet I will not say
that 1 thought; but there an end for this
once, and fere you well till God, or some
good angell, putte you wi a better mind"'
This sneering mention of Hobgoblin is in
the spirit of the cardinal's famous speech to
Ariosto.
Spenser was not long without promo-
tion. Leicester patronized him, and in
1580 he went to Ireland as secretary to
Ardrnr lord Grey, tlie lord-lieutenant. In
<m evil hour was his lot assigned in the
most barbarous and miserable country in
Europe ! He obtained a, grant in 158(> of
above aaTO acres, out of the forfeited lands
of the earl of Desmond, and a heavy price
did he ultimately pay for them. His resi-
dence, for he was obliged by the patent to
cultivate tlie land assigned to him, wa^ at
.Kilcolman castle, two miles north-west of
Doneraile, in the coiuity of Cork.
"The castle is now almost level with th^
Itound. It was situated on the north side o^
a fine lake, in the midst of a vast plain, ter
minated to the east by the county of M'ater-
fcrd mountains; Bally -howTa hilJs to the
north, or, as Spenser terms them, the moun-
tains of Mole; Naglc moimtains to the soutli;
and the moimtains of Keny to the west. 1 1
commanded a view of above half of the
i^readth oC Ireland ; and must have been,
when the adjacent uplands were wooded, a
mo!^ pleasant and romantic situation ; from
whence, no doubt, Spenser drew soveral parts
of the scenery of his poem . The river M u ! i :i,
which he more than once has introduced in
his poems, ran through his grounds. Here
indeed the poet has described himself, a^ =sexi« impcnsis) 8epclit[ur.]' Henry Capdl
views of this scenery had been given in
the present edition !.
In Ireland he became acquainted with
Ralegh, and encouraged by him, published
fhe three 'first books of his great poem.
With Ralegh he came to England, and was
by him imroduced at court; Elizabeth soon
granting him a pension of i^^iy pounds a
year as laureat, though he is not styled sd
in the patent. This was but a visit to the
mother-country 5 his destiny was to be
Ireland, unhappily for himself and fot
English hterature, and there, in 15^4^ he
married. The epithalamiura on his own
marriage is one of the very finest poems
which ever was written j were but a few
parts oniitted, it might be pronounced per-
fect. In 159(5 the three remaining books
of the Fairy Queen were published, his
smaller poems having been published since
the former three. He came to England
in this year, and presented, as Mr. Todd
fairly infers, his View of the^ State oflrelani
to the queen. As this truly admirable per-
formance deserved some high reward, so
it is likely tliat it would have received it,
had he lived longer. Mr. Malone has dis-
covered a letter from Elizabeth to the Irish
government, dated the last day of Septem-
ber 15()8, recommending him to be sheritf
of Cork. But in the next month Tyrone's
rebellion broke out : S^xfuser was obliged
to fly from the rebels, who burnt his house>
his papers, and one of his children j he
arrived in England wiili a broken iieart,
and died in tlie January following.
" The date of Spenser's death, together
with some circiunstances a*. tending it, has
often been mis-stated. The precise day of
his ileath is now assorted, for the first tmie,
on the following authority communicated by
the learned and reverencl John Brand, secre-
tary of the Society of Antiquaries ; which
exists in the title-page of the second edition
of the Fm ric Quecnt, now in bis possession,
and which appears to have belonged originally
to Henry Capcll ; after whose autograph,, the
date of i59S is added. After .the name of Ed.
Spenser in the title-page, tlie following invar
liiablc anecdote is preser\'ed: * Qui obut apud
diver jorium in platca regi^, a])ud Westnion-
asteiium iuxta London, 16 . die* Jainiarij
1598^ Juxta(i; GelfereuM Chaucer, in pad(m
ecclesia supradict. (honoralissinii roinitis'Es-
keepbg bis flock under the foot of the moun-
tain Mole, amongst the cooly shades of green
alders by the shore of Mulla ; and charming
his oaten pipe (as his custom was) to bis fel-
low-shepherd swains."
How very much do we wish that some
* Cibbcr's Lives of the Poets. Wart.on*s Observ. on Spenser, vol. ii. p. 23 i
edition of Phillips's Theatrum Poet. Anglic, p. 156, &c.
%
has ^ddca apiid diver 9ortmn in the jialer ink
with which his own name is writttMi. Itap
pears then that the testimony of Camden, in
xegard to the place of Spenser's death, is cor-
rect: which was in King-street, Westmin-
ster, as he relates ; and not, as * others .n
Brydges'^
S)si6
POETRY.
opposition to his authority have reported,
in King-street Dublin. It appears also
that he died at an inn or locfginff-house,
' apud diversoriiun/ in which he and
his tamily had probably been fixed from the
tune of tneir arrival in England. 1 1 is remark-
able that Mr. Capell should have omitted to
notice a single circumstance of tlie extreme
poverty in which Spenser is said to have died,
if the bitterest circumstances of that kind had
really attended his death. The burial having
been ordered at the charce of the earl of Es-
sex, may surely be considered as a mark of
that nob'leman's respect for the poet, without
proving that the poet was starved. Of the
man who had thus perished a remarkable fti-
neral might seem almost mcHrkcry ; and yet
the pall was held up by some of tnc poets of
the time.
" But Camden has said, that Spenser re-
turned to England poor ; ' in Andiam inops
r.'versus.* Deprived, by a general calamity.
" JUcrations qfSpfnscr.
* 1. Spencer Redivivus, containing the Gts£
book of the Fairy Queen ; his etsential de-
sign pre.^erv'd, but his obsolete language
and manner of verse totally laid a^ide. De-
livei-'d in heroic nnmbi.»rs. By a per on of
quality. Lond. 1687. 8vo. — ^This persop
of Quality complains that Si>enser*s style »
no less imintelligible than the obsoletest ci
our English or iSaxon dialect, and that to
the politely judicious he presents the port
as ^ ue ought to have been, iuvtead of utiat
is to be found in himself.' 1 must coolest
however, that such an exhibition of Speoctf
Redivivus,however politely intended, bean
no very llattcring lestunony to the judg-
ment of tills reformer. Jjet him speak for
himself. The revived jxiem thus opens:
' A worthy knight was riding on the plain.
In armour clad, which richly did contaia
The gj'llant marks of man v battels foueht.
Thr*' Urn. Iw.C .- *! • . -. iP. *.
of his property m the proymce of Munstcr ; yho' he before no martial habit soueht, &c.
he was, if wc contrast hts situation with better Yet wita his comely looks appeared W.
davs, undoubtedly poor. \ei was he not Without the sign of fearor beiiig bad-
Near to his side an ass, - -
snow,
more white tiot
MSthout the certiii'nty of at least a decent sub-
sistence ; and, I ampersuadetl, was not with-
out friends. His annual pension of fifty A lovefy'hdys weight did undereo "—
|>ounds, granted him by tJie queen, was ^e- . -^ ° ^'^^^ *
yond the reach ofthebarbarous kerns of Mun- y" their approach to the cave of Errow,
stcr; a sum bv no means inconsiderable in ^Iie Dwarf is represented
those davs. ^ And we may at least believe, 'Begging that instant thev'd for safety fiv
Since his soul, tho* in his small balk, cbu&d
spy-
not pass unnoticed by the government, either
in regard to a permanent compensation, or to
immediate relief if requisite. But the nume-
rous narrators of Spenser's death, both * in
prose and rhyme,' have determined to give an
Unbounded meaning to Camden's inops; and
have accordingly repre^entcd the jytt as dy-
ing in extreme indigence and want of bread."
Some particulars respecting the children
and descendants of Spenser have also been
discovered by Mr. Todd. They recovered
as much of their ancestor's lands after tlie
Restoration as could be proved to be his ;
but forfeited them by adhering to James II.
One branch however followed the better
party, and a daughter of that branch is
notfv living. An original portrait of the.
poet is said to be in her possession ; hut
Mr. Todd has not been successful in his
enquiries concerning it. As he mentions
ano Jijr, reported to be at Castle Saftron,
in ihj neighbourhood of Kilcolman, the
scat of John Loor, esq. we hope that by
one or other of these the present portrait
may be disproved.
After the life follow lists of the editions,
and imitations, and criticii>ms on Spenser,
as also of tlic alterations of Spenser. We
copy the accomit of two of these literary
curiosities.
Vast mischiefs did within th^t cave abscond.
And must, if sought, best human straurthcoih
found.' ^*
And this is the dress forsooth in ^hich poor
Spenser ought to have appeared ! !
"2. Spenser's Fairy Queen attempted in bbii
verse, with notes, critical and explatntorr.
Lond. 1783. 8vo. The copy, which Ilafe
seen, proceeds no further Uianto the end of
thefourth canto of the first book. And I be-
lieve, no more was publislied. 'ITie mtro-
duction relates that ' The following cwtm
are presented for the approbation of tlx
publick, m which case they \nil be follovcd
by the remainder of tlie poem. Ihefo
of these cantos w^ publislied some vean
1^, and the transi>oser has since ackkd
some notes from the best writers on the
8ul)ject, kc. &c.— The whole of this woit
will bL- Comprised in sixteen numbers, M
will be published withal! convenient speed,
^uld this first number meet with a mo-
derate »hare of encouragement. A «hat
account of the life of Spenser will be ^ulh
joined to the last number.' The four fest
iines will be a suilicient specimen oi' tiss
alteration.
«' ' No more my muse her shepherd's weeds
sliall wear.
But change her oaten pipe for trumpets hud.
And sing of noble deeds wlsch long htre
slept;
TODll'^S WORKS OF EDKUMD 9PE17SER.
551
Ficrcf wars and fiiithful loves sliall grace my " Ver. 53.— —checkmate.] The move-
ment on the chcss-boayd, says t)r. Johnson »
that kills the opposite men or hinders them
from moving. But, according to Mr. Tyr-
whitt, chejcemate, or simply mate, is a term
Used at chess, when the kuig is actualtv made
prisoner, and the game iinished. Gloss, to
Chaucer. The word is repeatedly used by
Chaucer; and by Skelton, in tliesame sense :
see Skeltou's Poems, edit. 1736, p. 153.
* Set vp ye wretche ou hye
In a trone triumphantly ;
Make him a great est<:te.
And he wil play check mate
M'ith royall maiestee, &c.'
In the same poems, we find the participlt
check-mated, p. 258.
* Oure days be datyd.
To be chek matvd
Witli drawtt) s of deth, &c.* Todd."
It is amusing to see Johnson and Tyr-
whit referred to for the explanation of a
term known to every chess-player in the
kingdom, and wrongly explained by both !
and Skelton quoted' for a word ever}' day
in use.
The remarks of various critics upon the
Shepheard's Calender are mi.splaced ; tliey
should have been after tlie epilogue, not
after the last eclogue.
Much preliniuiary matter is affixed to
tlie Faery Queen : the remarks of Hughes,
Spence, Warton, Upton, and Hurd, with
notes and additional remarks by the present
editor.
Vol. II. p. civ. Mr^Todd traces the en-
chanted chamber of Cupid to the eighth
book of Amadis of Gaul, or rather the se-
cond part of Amadis of Greece. But the
procession or mask of Gupid is to be found
in the same work, cap. 1 18. ft\ 210. of tlie
original Spanish.
P, cxxv. An edition of Bernard's Ijile
of Man was printed at Bristol three or
four years ago. It is dull, because tlie al-
legory is ' according to the lawes of Eng-
land.* But, as Mr. Todd observes, it very
probably occasioned tlie Pilgrim's. Pro-
gress. Bunydn's other allegory, tlie Holy
War, is not mentioned in this list. How
can Mr. Todd praise Henr}' More*s plato-
tonic Song of the Soul as ** often present-
ing as just an allegory and as sweet a
stanza as the original which it professes to
follow?'* The stanz.a, if our memory does
not deceive us, is the same in stmcture---
but as for any other res^niblaiice, they who
seek it will seek it in vain : nothing can
be more obscure, iiiharmoniousji unpocti-
cal, and unreadable.
P. clxi. The Alexandrine will be found
in the History of B^rj'u, printed with th^
TTie commendatory verses on Spenser
might well have been omitted. Where ilie
auftor himself, according to old custom,
hai affixed them,they ought to be retained,
being tlien materials for literary history ;
but there is no end of stringing together
paiiiiages from modern poets in praise of
the gi-eat masters of the art, imd no use
in it.
The poems are printed in the order of
their first publication, except that those
which appeal* between the two parts of the
Faer}' Queen are placed after it. To the
Shepheard's Calender, the glosse or scholion
of Speuiierls friend E. K. to whom the care
of editing it was intrusted, is properly re-
tained. Hughes first omitted it, in which
all the subsequent editions have followed
him. On Mr. Todd's annotations we shall
make such remarks as haveoccuned in an
attentive perusal of this the first good edi-
tion of our favourite poet.
Vol. I. p. 3:i. " Perke as a peacocke. Pert
or brisk. This word Dr. Johnson observes
is obsolete j but I believe it is yet in use
among the vulgar. Todd.*' We have
often heard both the adjective and the verb
in the west of England. An amusing ex-
ample may be cited from the translarion
of Hans Engelbrecht's Visions by Francis
Okely, formerly of St. John's, Cambridge,
1780. Hans having been expressly order-
ed by an angel to write his visions dowa
and get them printed, says, ** Now this
was my motive for gett'uig up very early
this morning at four o'clock to begin 5 and
therefore do I exhort you all ye men in the
world who get the reading of tliis narra-
tive into your hands, to be sure never to
suffer yoiir rea^n to perk up, and be dic-
tating therein; but believe you this simply
JQst as I have written it down. "'
P. 139. The song of which Mr. Todd
•ays every seventh verse is an echo to the
preceding is a regular sextine, a foolish
species of trifling, common in Italian and
Spanish poetry. Mr.Todd has not under-
stood it. The final words of each line
must be the same in every stanza ; but the
kist termlDatioQ of rhe first stanza becomes
the first of the second, the first second, tlie
second third, and so on, till the six changes
have been rung, -and the whole is cx^nclud-
ed by a tercet' of the second, third, and
sixth termination of the first stanza. Of
the many foolish tricks which have l^en
tried upon vereification, there have been
few more foolish than this, for it has no-
l)mog but its 4iiHcalty to recommend it.
552
POETRY.
Canterbury Tates of Chauocr, Sir Tho-
mas Wiat may perhaps first bave used
it as a final line.
P. cxcix. The poem signed R. S. can-
pot be by Robert Southwell. Southwell
was a Jesuit, and would never have com-
plimented Elizabeth. The " Epistle of
Connor t^** addressed by this gooq man to
the suffering catholics> is a tridy beautiful
work, He himself at last was a martyr
in the cause.
Mr. Todd has marked in the text all
such syllables as he conceives to be ac*>
cented differently from the present pro-i
nunciation '-. but this is not always done to
the advantage of the metre. He seems
to proceed upon an assumption that the
verse must be iambic; an opinion very pre-
valent among gentlemen who review mo-
dern verses, but whieh ougTit not to ap-
j)ear in one who is editing old jioetry. The
followipg lines, for instance, read better
according to the natural accentuation^
than by Mr. Todd's accent.
f Soon as that uncouth light upon them shone.
AU clean dismayed to see so uncouth sight."
tiacouth is one of the very few words in
our language which are pure spondees.
^* Who now is left to keepe the fdriome
maid ?"
If thte editor's accent bo followed, it
inakes a molossus at the end of the line.
It is needless to multiply instances. The
principle upon which he proceeds is
wrong. The followmg note is a glaring
instance of the tame common error, dif-*
ferently apphed.
" Of proud Lucifer', as one of the traine :]
So the first quarto : the 2d, " Of oroud Lu-
cifera' as one of the traine." Wnich is no
verse: So too the folios. But Mr. Hughes
from his conjecture, '* of proud Lucifera as
one o' th' traine." That the reading vhich I
liave given is Spenser*s own, appears not only
from the authority of his own edition ; but
likewise from his usual elision in such like pro-
per names : Thus, in F. Q. i. iv. 2.
' Called Fidess*, and so suppos'd to be.'
Again, St. 15.
* But to Duess* each one himselfc did payne.*
See also F. Q. i. vi. 2. xiL Ul. iii. ii'. Z2.
Upton.'*
Mr. Upton, and Mr. Todd after him,
have not perceived, that tp make this a
verse as they have printed it, as and of
inust be made long syllables, whereas ac-
cording to the folios and tlie second quar-
to^ n^ other licence U takep than that of
accounting two short syllables as one long
one, of which instances may be found in
every page of every good poet. The ex-
amples adduced as autliority are not in
point: the elision, in both cases, is ine-
vitable, and the lines can no more be read
without it, than this can with it.
Vol. II. 85. A humorous example of
the notion, that a lion will offer no injury
to a true virgin and of royal blood, ocean
in the Mad Lover of Beaumont and Flet-
cher. When the old general Memnoa
has run mad for the love of the princess,
they think to impose upon him by bring-
ing him a whore under her name.
" Afemnon. Come hither once more :
The princess smells like' moniing*s breath.
pure amber,
Beyond the courted Indies in her spices.
Stih a dead rat by heaven ! — ^tliou art a piin-
cess.
f* Eiuncn. What a dull whore is this !
" Mtmn. ril tell ye presently ;
For if she be a princess, as she may be.
And yet stink too and strongly, I shall nnd her;
Fetch the Numidian lyon f brought over.
If she be sprung from royal blood^ the lyoo
He'll do ye reverence— ebe — **
Vol. III. 65. Best musicke breeds (Might
in loathing eare. DisUke shoaid bave
been in tha text What Dr. Ijcyden says
in his excellent edition of the Conipla}^!
of Scotland, should be remembered by' all
editors. *' With all his respect for an-
cient authors, the editor has never ceased
to recollect, that no ancient of thera ail,
is so old as common sense; and he h
ready to admit, that the preservation- of an
obvious typographical error, has always
appeared to him as flagrant a violation of
common sense, as the preservation of an
inverted word or letter : a species of in-
acquracy which the most rigid antiquary
does not hesitate to correct.'*
P. 90. Griede is rightly restored to the
text instead of grisly, whicli the delicacy
of modem editors had substituted.
" As eagle, fresh out of the ocean ware,]
See Psalm clii. 5. ' Thy youth is reiiei* ed
like the eagle/ The interpreters tell us, thai
every tux yeare the. eagle soars into the fiCTV
region, froin thence plunges hineelf into the
sea, wjiere, moulting his old feathers, he ac-
quires new. To this opiuiou Spenser visibly
alludes. Upton."
Upon this passage a good commentary
is to be (bund ia the old translation cf
Bartholomeo Glantville's bock^ De
Proprietatibus Rerum, by Stephen Rat-
man, profcssour in divinitie, " .^ustia
A 9
TODU'S WORKS OF EDMVND SPENSEK.
553
saith, and Plinie also, that In age tbe eagle
hath darknesse and dimnesse in eieo, and
faevinesse in wings^ and against this dis"
^vantage she is taught by kinde to seeke
a ^-ell of springing water 5 and then she
iytth up into the aire as for as she may,
till she be full hot by heat of tlie aire, and
bv travaile of flight, and so then by heate
tie pores • be opened, * and the feathers
chafed, and she ^leth sodetnglye into the
we]], and thtre the feathers be chaunged,
tad the dimnesse of her eien is wiped
away and purged^ and she taketh againe
htr might and strength."
Was it with reference to this poem that
Btlegh called one of the rivers which he
entered in Guiana, the River of the Red
Dross ?--■*' ourselves," he says, " being
the first christians that ever came therein."
PigcSOO.
" Is D6t enough fowre quarters of a man ,
Withouten sword or sliield, an hoste to
qua'yle?**
There is a fine story in the Edgeworths'
Essay on Bulls, which makes us believe
jiat Spenser caught tlie expression in Ire-
tond.
P. 348. Church's emendation should
me been adopted in the text. Spenser
jever introduces the Alexandrine out of
(5 place in his 'stanza. Excepting his he-
Distichs, there is but one instance of irre-
[iilarity throughout the whole of the
mm, which is in the arrangement of a
hyme, and even that is probably an error
if the printer.
Vol. IV. p. 8. llie verb to cowrc is by
10 means obsolete. We have heard it in
ommoQ use in many parts of the king-
lorn.
P. 200. Spenser mentions among
'* the nation of unfortunate
And fatall birds—
ll)e whistler shri]), that whoso heares doth
dy.'
What is thii ? the line requires a note.
P. 350.
Lwig time ye both in amies shall beare
great s^vay.
Till thv womb^ burcien thee from tliem do
call;
And his la^t fate him from thee take away ;
Too rathe cut otTby practise ciiminall
Of secrete foes,that nim shall make in secret
faU.**
The imitation of Ariosto is not noticed
ere. It is the more rerfiarkable, because
»ere seems to be no reason for leaV-j hg so
ipleasant'a prophecy either upon Brito-
lart or the reader
P. 416. There is an oversight In this
part of the story which all the commen-
tators have overloolced. Flori mell's D vvarf
Dony says that his mistress left the court
upon the rumour of Marinell's being slain;
but in the poem, Guyon, and prince Ar-
thur, and Britomart, are separated by
Florimell's flight, the two knights pursue
her ; the Errant-damsel proceeds on her
Way, and coming the next day to the sea-
shore encounters Marinell*, and gives him
his dangerous wound.
P. 228.
" Vore subtle web Arachne cannot spin ;
Nor the line nets, which oft we woven setf
Of scorched deaw, do not in ayre more
lightly flee."
What then was the gossamer supposed
to be?
Vol. V. p. 139. The emendation pro-
posed by Church should have been adopt*
ed. So also p. 22 J , quiet age is nonsense
as it stands there, quietage, just such a
word as Spenser would have made when
he wanted it.
Vol. VI. p. 77.
** And all his face deformed with infiunic.*
This passage requires a note. Scarify-
ing the face was one of tlie Gothic punish-
ments, but to what oKivalrouscusU>m doci
tills allude ?
P. 299. St. (51. In this stanza the irre-
gularity of rhyme occurs. Church pro-
poses the easy alteration of hire instead of
meed j but Mr. Todd says, the stanza ok-
hibits three triads of rhymes, and no al-
teration seems requisite. Did he not rfr.
collect that it is tiie only stanza In the
poem which has tliree triads? We maf
here observe that Upton has mistaken the
metre of the arguments ; he says that the
poet intended Siey should be metre, but
humbled down to the lowest prose 5 ,aod
therefore split his words, as thus :
** I'he witch creates a snowy La-
dy like to Florimell."
The fact is, that tlie two lines were con-«
sidered as one in metre, and only printed
otherwise on account of the length of
line. The common ballad stanza was a
couplet 3 and when written thus has a
greater variety of pauses, as in this very
instance, than in its modem form.
1 know not whether it has been observ-
ed that Spenser becomes less alliterativre
as his poem proceeds.
The notes which Mr. Todd has retained
^r? more numerous tlian useful. Many,
554
POETRY.
indeed, aie utterly worthless. Why diould
good paper be tilled with such word-hunt-
ing inanity as in tliese instances ?
«« In simhright annes,] The epithet s\\n-
bright is certailUv, as Mr. Upton has observ-
ed, a very happy one. But 1 doubt whether
Spenser may be pronounced the original franier
ot'it. In Greene's Arcadia, 1589, it is thus
emijloyed : " Sunnebright Venus." Fairtax,
Milton, and llenrv More, all ardent admirers
of Sj)enscr, have adopted this compound. Da-
vies also in his Scourge of Folly, 1 61 1. p. 44,
■' has " his sun-bright glory. Todd."
** They for us fight, they watch and duly
ward.
And their bright squadrons round about us
plant ;j 'I'he guardianship of angels
is a fevourite theme of Spenser and of iMiitoii.
It is difficult to pronounce which of tliem has
decorated the subject with greater elegance
and sensibility. Spcisf r probably might I lere
remember tHe following Imes of llesiod, Op.
et Dies, vcr. 121.
Italian poetry, I should observe, delights in
dcscribuig angelic squadrons. See my note
on Milton's Par. Lost, b. iv. 977. Milton,
Indeetl, before he had become dt»eply versed
in Italian literature, borrowed from his favour-
ite Sjienser, this disposition of the heavenly
host mto sijuadrons bright. See his Ode N;>-
tiv. V. 21. •' And all the spangled host keep
watch in squadrons bright.*' VVe may there-
fore no loiiger suppose that Milton could ht:re
be much indebted to Sylvester's ♦' heaven's
glorious host in nimble squatlrons," Du Bart,
p. 13. Scv Considerations on Milton's early
Keading, 1800, p. 4l>. The fiict is, that Svl-
vester otten plunders Spenser, but ofteu also
accommo<iates the thett to his purpose <\ ith
litti/B taste or judgment. Todd.'*
" They courteous conge took.] It may be
remarked' that this phrase otten occurs iii ro-
mance. Thus, in IHistoin- du Chevalier iiux
armeesdoree, 4to. Paris, bl. I. s.d. Sign. G. iii.
^ Comme le Cheuallieraux annes doree print
conge de la bonne dame pour aller poursu yure
le roy de Noruegue.' Again, Sign. L. i. * 1^
Cheualler print conge du seiijneur du cha.steau
engage leijuel luy list bailler chevaux & ar-
nu-urw.' And, in ITlistoire & plaisant Cro-
nlcque du petit Jelwn de Saint re, 4to, bl. 1. s.
d. lol. X. b. * ICt <juant il fut hors de la chambre
& eut prins son piteux congie, &c.' Again,
fol. xxvii. ' Apres que Saintre eut pring conge
des iKirons, &c.' See also F. Q. ii. iii. 2, ii. xi.
17, &c. Todd."
A most stnpid note of Upton's is retiiined
vol. VI. p. 151. A character in tlie poem
is called Dolon, and the sagacious corn-
same person ! Upton's note& are in genera!
the worst, except indeed a few political
ones, which might Iwve been very pretty
articles to carry to m»Trket ten years ago,
but are now somewhat stale. A few of
the present editor's, and but few, contain
some curious matter. We shall quote the
best.
" And many-folded shield3 Aft Idea of
the many-folded shields, which were torraerly
in use, may be gathered from a cnirious writer
on the subject. •' Our Saxon anceslDcx''
says he, " vsed shields of skin, amoii^ wheia
for that the arliticer put slieep-fells to tut
purpose, the great Athtlstan, kingof £ng^,
vtterly forbad by a lawe such deceit, a&'ui ti»
printed bookc of Saxon lawes is extant to bee
seenc. Willi this vsage of agglewing or tin-
ning hard tanned hides for dbefciise, agrtfi
their etymologic, who derive scutztm, tiie
I>atin of a sh^ield, from tlie Gretrke word
SKYTOS, a skimwi^-^AnA presently aftfr
Uie writer describes the inany-toldcd s&U of
iha Duke of I^ncaster, hung up in oM St.
Paul's cathedral ; " It is very convex tovani
the bearer, wheilierby warpmg through age,
or as made of purixise*. It hatti in dimeosJOB
more then three quarters of a yeard of ^gi^
and aboue half a yeard in breadtli. Next to
the body is a canuas glew'd to a l>oord ; \ffm
that thiii boord are broad thin axicles, s^^
or plates of home, naUd f<ist ; and a^aise
ouer them twenly and sixe thicke peeces oC
the like, meeting or centring about a roosd '
plate of the same size as the naucil of the
sheild ; and ouer all is a leatJicrclozedfotto
them with glew or otlier holding steSif,
vppon which his annones were [sainted, &£."
Bolton's Klemcnts of Annorle^» 4io. 1619^
pp. ()<)-70. Todd.*'
" AVhich by that new rencounter Sic]
Rencounter is an accitlental combat or ad\i*
tuie.. ¥r. Rtncanire. It istlius ex|)lain(*cS,ii
contradislinclion to duelling. Duvinng Ibt-
ing been fonnerly prohibited in Fraucc, *■»
all air of honour was decided but by the w
of Rencontre ; a word invented to escape ti
congnizance of the law. By the term J?fi-
com re is meant, that, if a gentlnnan eiibcr
covertly or o verily aR'ronts aiiother, the UA
opportunity, out of the reach of witness, a
takcH, by either or both, to appoint a sJtiwt
or a road in which they are to meet to a mo-
ment ; and, either on foot, on hoT^sefaail, ct
in thifir carriage, occasion some kind of jc^
ling or sudden scuttle, as they should hm
agreed on beforeiiaiul, to be looked tipaii ii
the sense of whatever spectators may be ac6-
dentally present, as an vinforesev-ni antl iassjih
taneous event, and by no means thectibrtof
any former provocation, since \%hirh (faff
might liave had tune to reflect and growcool?
See M. Goustard de Massi's History of Dth
meniator tells us thai Dolon is mentioned ' ell'mg transL Lond. 1770. F. iu SecC Ii,
by Homer, and goes on as if this were tlie *' '1 odd*'*
UOXTGdMiKViTOEMS.
55S
Thfe treatise on the state of Ireland, it
appears, has not beeo published without
mutilation. In some MSS. says Mr. Todd,
which I haveseeu, the severitj of Spenser,
as well in respect to certain nmiiies as to
the nation in general, is considerably am-
plified. But I have not thought it neces-
sary to floecify every particular of dormant,
and perhaps not justifiable harshness. It
wuuld be difficult to conceive any degree
at* harshness which would not have been
justifiable from Spenser in those times^
snd we cannot but wish tliis admirable
treads had been printed entire.
The smaller poems have received some
valuable additions. The original transla-
tions of Bellay are added in a note ; and
four sonnets by Spenser, collected from
Oie original publications in which they ap-
peared. Thejr are however wrongly placed
at the end of^his other sonnets, which they
might better have preceded, for they iu-
temipt the connection with the eplthala-
mium.
It is singnlar that Spenser, who possess-
ed tixsiinest ear of all our poets without
any exception, shouldpimformly end hia
sonnets with a couplet, th« worst possible
termination for tliat form of poem.
The.editor hasnotdone rightly in retaining
Britain's Ida, which Is universally acknow-
ledged not to be Spenser's. Its licentious-
ness would be proof enough were there n»
other. Spenser had a perfectly pure mind ;
in the whole of his works there is but one
stanza reprehensible for indecency.
This edition is assuredly a very valuable
one, and tlie public are greatly indebted to
Mr. Todd for his fidelity and labour. We
wish the book were handsomer; handsome
it is as fnr as regards qualitj^of paper, form
of letter, and colour of ink ; but every page
is deformed by the abominable custom of
splitting a verse because the page is too
narrow. There are two ways of remedy-
ing this ofieasive unsightliness : by using a
stnaller type suited to tlie page, or restor-
ing the foolscap quarto ; the size univer-
sally preferred for poetry.over all Europe
two cenmries ago, in tlie best age of print-
ing, and certainly the best adapted for iL
AaT.III.^TAtf a^anderer qf Switperland, and other Poems.
smailSvo, pp. 175.
By James Montgome&t.
IF tlie reader will take the trouble to
lefer to the critiques on the first, second,
and third volumes of the Poetical Register,
in the respective volumes of the Annual
Beview, he will find in every one a warm
commendation of the pieces there given
under the signature of Alcaeus, some of
which are quoted in confirmation of the
opinion expressed, and ' as^neuccurage-
nient to bashful merit.'
ITiis Alcajus, as it now appears, is Mr.
Moutgoniery, and it must naturally give
us tlie most lively satisfaction to learn
from his preface, ' that the favour which a
few of his pieces anonymously obtained,
gave birth to the present volume.'
Oh! wh«n tlie lyre ofsucli a |M)er, like
the harp ot Memnon, which he has so
beautifully apostrophized in one of his
odes, was waiting only to beamed uix)n to
^'ake into life and harmony, who could
have forgiven the niggard churlishness of
that criticism which should liavc refused
. to iUumine his retirement with the bright-
est smile of welcome?
H Harp of Meiunon ! sweetly strung
To the music ol Iho spheres,
While the hero's dirge is sung.
Breathe enchantment to our eu*.
"As the sun's descending beam?.
Glancing o'er thy feeling wht.
Kindle every chord, that gleams
like a ray of heavenly fire !
Bf^Ue qf Alexandria J*
The first and longest of these poem%
entitled 'The Wanderer of Switzerlandr*
commemorates, in equal strains, charac-
ters and events wortliy to live for ever ui
the memory of patriots and the song of
bards — it commemorates the heroes of tlie
democratic cantons of Switzerland, and re-
lates that gallant resistance and final de-
struction of tlieir country by the over-
whelming power of France, which hat
crowned the tombs of tlie vanquished with
immortal honour, and branded the fore-
head of their conqueror with everlasting
disgrace. The form and manner of this
piece is very singular. It is divided into
parts, and several interlocutors are brought
forward — the Swiss wanderer, his wife
and daughter, and a shepherd who hospi-
tably euteriaius tlicm on their way. The
wanderer relates his country's story and
his own, and the other speakers only re-
lieve the narrative occasionally. The au-
thor lias, we think,been unfortunate in tiie
choice of his measure, which is the irc-
chaic of seven syllables: we have per-
haps none so ill adapted to dialogue or pre*
longed narration, for none admits of so
little latitudi^ in its structure. The first
556
rOETRY.
Syllable should al Ay 9 be decidedly long •
a point very dtlj^ult to accomplish in our
language, where so targe a proportion ar6
either short or common -, a considerable
stress should likewise fall on the third and
fifth syllables, and this very abundance of
emphasis, which gives the measure so
striking an effect in short pieces on to-
pics requiring energy and spirit, renders it
fatiguing in longer ones, which embrace a
Tariety of tone and sentiment. But the
hand of genius, whatever tool it may em-
ploy, is still inimitable in its touches.
** While the lingering moon delay'd
in the wilderness of night,
£re the mom awoke tlie siiade
Into loveliness and light :
" Gallia's tigers, wild for blood.
Darted on our sleeping fold ;
Down the mountains, o*er tiie flood, «
Dark as thunder-clouds they roli'd.
*' By the trumpet's voice alans'd.
All the valley burst awake ;
All were in a moment ami'd
From the barriers to the lake.
". *' In tliat valley, on that shore.
When the graves give up their dead.
At the trumpet's voice once more
Shall tliose,slumberers quit their bed {
" For the glen that gave them birth
Hides their ashes in its womb :
< )h, 'tis venerable earth,
Freedom's cradle. Freedom's tomb !'*
*' Then in agony I rose.
And with horror looked around,
Where- embracing, friends and foes.
Dead and dying, strewed the ground.
*' Many a \Vidow fixed her eye.
Weeding, where her husband bled,
Heealess, though her babe was by
Prattling to his father dead.
" Many a moUier, in despair,
Turnmg up the ghastly slain.
Sought her son, her hero there,
W'Jiom she long'd to seek in vain !
" Dark the evening shadows roird
On tlie eye that glearnM in death ;
And the evening-dews fell cold
On the lip that gasp d for breath."
We know not wh« Strain this admira-
ble minstrel awakes in the highest per-
fection— ^whether* .tlie trumpet-note that
sounds the glory of Britain, and calls her
sons to raHy round their tombs and their
altars, or the organ-stop of devotion that
wafts the ennobled soul to purer and to
happier worlds than this, or the wild flute-
breathings of poetic fancy and deep me-
lancholy feeling. His ' Ode to the Vo-
iunfeers* we haVC former] v copifcdfrbm
the ' Poetical Register.' Hi* * verses t#
the memory of Joseph Brown,' are wonl^
of an^ martyr to conscience and religioB,
end there is not a piece in the volume jiat
does not bear the stamp of superior ti.
lents. How rich in various beaaty i&
the following passage firom die Bm*
drop !
'* Winter's gloomy night withdrawn,
Lo ! the young romantic Hours
Search the hill, the dale, the lawn.
To behold tlie Snow-drop white
Start to light.
And shine in Flora's desart bowen^
Beneatii the vernal dawn.
The Morning Star of Flowers I
*' Oh welcome to our Isle,*
Thou Messenger of Peace !
At whose bewitching smile
The embattled tempests cease :
Emblem of Innocence and truth!
Firstborn of Nature's womb.
When strong in renovated youth.
She bursts from Winter's tomb ;
Thy Parent's eye hath shed
A precious dew-drop on thine head^
Frail as a Mother's tear
Upon her infant s face.
When ardent hope to tender fe:T,.
And anxious love, gives place.
But lo ! the dew-drop falls away.
The Sim salutes tiiee witli a iay»
Warm as a Mothers kiss
Upon her Infant'^heek,
"W lien the heart bounds with Wiss,
And joy that cannot speak !
" When I meet thee by the way.
Like a pretty, sportive child,
On the winter-wasted wild,
AVith thy darling breeze at play.
Opening to the radiant sky
All the sweetness of thine eye ;
— Or bright with sim-beams, finesh vil
showers,
O thou Fairy-queen of flowen !
Watch thee o'er the plain advance
At the head of Flora's dance ;
Simple Snow-drop ! then in thee
All thy sister train I see :
Every brilliant bud that blo^^^,
From the blue-beU to the rose ;
All the beauties that appear
On the bosom of the S ear ;
All tiiat wreathe the locks of ^risg^
Summer's ardent breath pfrfume.
Or on the lap of Autumn bloom.
All to thee their tribute bring,
Exliale their incense at thy slirine,
Their hues, their odours all are tlu»e!
For while thy humble form I view,
The Muse's keen prophetic sight
Brihg^ fair Futurity lo light,
And Fancy's magic makes the Tision trw.
•' There is a Wnter in my soul,
The Wiatct of despair;
MONTOOMWV** >OBMS.
Oh viten shall Spring its rage controiil ?
Uhen sliall the SNOw-oioF blosmi
there?
Cd!d gleams of comfort spmetimes dart
A d» n of glory on my beajt.
But quickly pass away :
pus Northern-lights Itlus gloom adorn.
And give the promi^re of a mora^
That never turns to day •
" B«t hArk I methinks I hear
A small still whisper in mine ear ;
" Rash Youth! repent:
AiBictions from above.
Are Angels sent
On embassies of love.
A fiery Legion, at thy birth.
Of chastening Woes were given.
To Mck thy flowers of Hope from earth.
And plant them high
OVr yonder sky,
Transfon^i'd to' star5,—and iix'd in hea-
ven,"
We shall now cite some stapzas which
appear to us to possess the property which
• French writer well remarks as characte-
pstic of a work of genius— that of seem-
ing easy and being inimitable. They are
»ot unlike some of the happiest eftbrts
^Cowper.
'fi^
*' Tfte Common Lot
•Once m the flight of ages past^
. There lived a Man :— and who was He?
Mortal! howe*er thylot be cast,
That Man resembletl Thee.
"Unknown the reoon of his birth,
J ne land in whick he died unknown ;
His name hath perish'd from the earth,
Inis truth survives alone :
!li2?y*^ and gri^, and hope and fear,
fuiemat^ tnumph'd ui his breasi ;
• aS^ and woe,— a smile, a tear I
ObUvion hides the rest.
" The boundmg pulse, the languid limb,
nie danging sbirits' rise and fall ;
we taiow that these were idt by hiHu
for these arc felt by all ^
^^Sir'^^ ^ delights are fled ;
-Wfces^r^insfcesajedea^
^^L^^'"^** whom he loved the
mth lost in ito unconsckws wonib:
uJt^ ^ J--butnougM <?ouki lave
»« beauty from the tombT
JrJ^^^^^i*^^' *^y and night
g^mpon and stars, the eartfi aifd m
maux.
• Scajboro' Castle*
*^ He saw wlialeve^thou bast teen.
Encountered all that troubles thee ;
He was—whatever thou hast been ;
He is— what thou shalt be.'
^ The clouds and sunbeams, o'er his eye.
That once their shades and glory threw,
Have left in yonder silent sky,
- No vestige where they flew.
^ The annals of the human race.
Their niins, since the world began.
Of HIM aflbrd no other trace
Tlian this,— tHERE lived a man !?»
But Ae master-piece of our author is
the poem called ' Ocean/ it displays,
in happy union, a vividness and novelty
of descnpUon, a majesty, a spirit, and i
pathos, which very few indeed, even of
the favourite productioifs of die muses,
can boast— in short, we doubt nof that it
WiU come to be considered among the lo-
vers of the art, as a noble addition to the
store of first-rate EnglUh poetry. We
trust that the author will not consider our
selection of a hw stanzas as a robbery.
'' AH haU to the rains*, the wcks and the
snores!
Thou wide-roUinjr Ocean, all hail '
Now brilliant with sun-beams, and dimpled
with oars, '^
Now-dark witli the fresh-blowmg gale.
While soft o'er thy bosom the cbud^hadowt
Aajd the slhrer^ing'd sea-fowlon high,*
1-ike meteors bespangle the sky.
Or dive m the gulph, or triumphantly ride,
lake foam on the surges, the swans of the
tide.
** From tbe.twiuk and moke of the city see
With eager and awful delight,
^ ^^ ^'^ °^ ^ mountain I gaze upon
I gaze,— and am changed at the sight ;
*or niine eye is iUummed, my Genius takea
flight.
My soul, like the sun, with agl^ce
£i^Faces the boundless expanse.
And moves en thy waters, wherever they
roU, . "'
Froni the day-darting zone to the nieht-brood-
ingpole. o. -v^
** .^y Spirit descends where the day^ring
IS oorn.
Where the billows ?re rubies on fire,
And the breezes that rock the light cradle o£
mom
Are sweet as the Phtenix's pyre :
O regions of beauty, of love, ^d desbe I
U gardens of Eden ! in vam
Placed fStf on the fiithomlesi mm.
$5B
tOtTRY.
Where Nature witli Innocence dwelt m her
youth,
\\'ben pure was her heart, and unbroken her
truth.
•* But now tlie fair rivers of Paradise wind
Through countries and kingdoms oVrthrown ;
Where the Giaut of tyranny crushes man-
kind.
Where he reigns, — and will soon reign alone.
For wide and more wide o*er tlie suu beam-
ing zone.
He stretches his hundred-fold anns,
Despoiling, destroying its cliarms ; '
Beneath his broaa footstep tlie Gauges b
dry.
And the mountains recoil from the flasli of
his eye."
*' As homeward my weary-wingM Fancy
- €\teuds
Her jstar-lighted course through the skic»s.
High •vcr the mighty Atlantic ascends.
And turns upon Lurope her eyes ;
Ah me ! wliat new prospects, new horrors
arise !
I see the war-tempested flood
AU foaming, and pantuigwith blood ;
The panic^truck Ocean in agonv roars.
Rebounds from the battle, and flies to his
shores.
•* For Britannia is wielding her trident to-
day,
Consiuning her foes in her ire.
And hurl'mg her tiiuuder with absolute sway
From her wave-ruling chariots of fire.
She triumphs; the winds and the waters
conspire
To spread her invincible name ;
Tlie universe rings with her fame ;.
But the cries of tlie &tlierless mix with her
praise.
And the tears of the widow are shed on her
bays!
** O Britain ! dear Britain ! the bud of my
birth;
O Isle, most encliantingly fair !
Thou Ftarl of -Uie Ocean!. Thou Gem
the Earth I
Art. IV.-^Scitct Icehmdic Poetrtf, transhted
UAM HCHBERT.
BUTLER tells us that when the waters
lif Hipprocene are brewed into ale or
porter, ibof 4iiake men scribble without
akill—
^'' Inspire a poet, spite of ftie.
And teach all people to translate ;
Thp' out of languages, in which
lliey miderstand no part of speech,"
And certainly of tliese inspired transla-t
tions and gilts of tongues we have lately,
jseen instances, which put our Frendi and
German teachers m danger of passing for
naturairbpm,
4
O my Mother ? my ^f otiier ! bcwaff :
For wealth is a phantom, and rmnirea snare
Oh let not thy birth-right be sold
For reprobate glory and gold :
Thv KM-eigQ cbuiinions like wQd graftinf
shoot,
They weigh down thy trunk,— they will te:
up thy root :
" The root of thine oak, O my Countij
that stands
Hock-planted, and flourishing free; •
It^ br. ttclies are stretcb'd over £v-di!ta
lands.
And its shadow eclipses the sea :
The blood of our Ancestors nourishM tb
tree ;
From their tombs, from their ashes ilspmag
Its boughs with th«ir trophies arc hung :
Their spirit dwells in it : and had ! for i
Kp«ke;
The. voice of our Fathers ascends from tbei
oak."
This is surely the ' new AIcarasiiiiDCT'
blest,' this the free and lofty strain afta
which the fine mind of Collins seetoed
to feel prophetic longings ! It caiuxitb
matter of regret that he has rather cboia
to cdebtate die glorious martyrs of Swiu
than those of TbenQopylsB--<he M 4
Abercrombie tlian the death of Epaoi-
nondas — ^that his voice inspires the vol»
titers of Britain, instead of soothing Ai
manes of the victors of Marathon, it
tunes like these, *
** When the wel&re of millions b kng ii
the scale.
And the balance yet trembles with bJUt,"
away with the cold pedantry of Greek
and Roman allusions : let the songs of c0
bards ' come home to our businesses i^
bosoms,* let them rouse the unconqq
able spirit of our forofathersf; and let f
tain, recollecting berimes in tvhoK n
it is that she is strong, free, and [ '
clasp with rapture to her bosom
child of liberty, of virtue, ^nd dieaai
from tlie Originals; with Notes. ^H
Svo. pp. 1200.
, Mr. Herbert, the author rf the vol
before us, is a splendid exoeption to |
prevailing taste in interpretatioiL
Knows the language fronj which be ui
takes to make his versions. Heh^l
quii'ed, and with so much commaBd»J
compose verse ui it, the modern T
and he has studied the .mcientk
of tlie north widi an attention and a |
netration, which tlie Danish inici
of tlie Edda have reasen to envy,
the o,uilandish half of his t:«k, heis^
lihed in 4 rare and sitpcrior nunoer*
f^KBBKT^S ICELANDIC POETRT,
icqoipwnents are not confined to the Scan-
Itnavian dialects: he has studied books as
wtH as vftiTds : his reading embraces the
tfhok range of tile original MTiters on
Northern paleosophy, the sagas of the
Jtaltl, tlie dironicles of the historian, and
he speculations of tiie antiquary. He
mnounces in his prefece, and may he
qpecdiiy realize the promise ! an account
jf tiie ancient history and poetiy of Ice-
bnd. Like the radiations of the boreal
lawn, he is adapted, and he aspires, to il-
iamine these irost-bound regions, and
toskier segments of the literary horizon.
Whether Mr. Herbert's versification
nd phrabeology be so well fitted to secure
um rank as a pl»et, as his learning and
idelity to secure him confidence as a
ivislator, may be quesiioiied. Among
lis readers there is already a di\nsion of
Dpinion. Some think that our language
5^
To any such imitative form of metre,
Mr. Herbert preferably substitutes the
ibllowing.
" Wrath waxed Thor, when his sleep wa«
tlowu, '^ ^
And he found his trusty liaminer gone ;
lie smote his brow, his beard he sJiook,
1 he son of eartli gan rouud huu look ;
And this the iirst word, tiiat lie spoke ;
'Now listen what I tell thee, Uke ;
V| hich neither on earth below is known,
^^r m Heaven above, my lianuuer's aonej*
llieir way to Freyia's bow(.T they look.
And this the first word, that he spoke ;
* Tliou, Freyia, must lend a whiged rob^
To seek my hammer round the globe."
" Freyia sung,
** That shouWst thou have, though 'twere
Of ffold.
And that, though twerc of silver, hold,*
Away Jlew Loke ; the wing*d robe solmds,
l!-re he has left the Asgard grounds.
-,,.« — ™^ «..Mx* wjov vui wugimgc '^'Ac lie nas leii I ueAsgarU grounds.
Ban bear the mixture of iambic and ana- And ere he has reath'dthc/otunheim boujids^
frstic feet in the same line, without
tanndiog altogetlier discordant and barba-
Iwist others think that it cannot. If
nefa a method of versification were that
If die original sagas, there would be suf-
Icient excuse for returning to tlie pri-
meval but exploded rhythms of our fore-
fehers. The form of verse is an impor-
■Dt part of the characteristic featui^s of
■nny poems ; it belongs much to the
awtume of the composition : an Iliad in
dme sounds unnaturally 5 so would an
Orlando Furioso in blank verse. But
rime is a Cimbric* not a Gothic in-
rationj we owe it to our Welsh not
to our Scandinaviafi ancestors; we dis^.
Ipire the poetry of the bard by omitting,
Bod of the 9k9ld by introducing, iL It is
taie that the Thryms Quida begins with
i rimed quatrain, or stanza :
J^ Reidr war tha viog Thor er hao vacQadi-
wsinshanuirsum sacnadi:"
bat this is accidental, and is the only part
w the poem m which any rhyme occurs :
» that its real alliterative metre might
^be imitated, neglecting however the
wort syllable which ought to terminate
pe alternate lines.
"Wrath was king Thor
When he awoke,
AikI for his hanmier
^ HiecUround;
He shook his beard.
He brusb'd bis brow ;
The son of earth
vrrop'd every where,**
High on a mountl in haughtv state
Thrym the king of the Thursi sate ;
For his dogs lie was twisting collars of cold.
And trimming the manes of his oouj^
bold.
*' Thri/m snng.
" How fere the Asi? the Alii how ?
Wliy coni*st thou alone to Jotuuheim now?^
*' Lpkc sung,
I* 111 fare the Asi ; the Alfi mourn ; '
Thor*s hammer from him thou hast torn.*
" Thri/msung,
« I have the Thunderer^s hammer bound.
Fathoms eight beneath the ground ;
With it shall no one liomeward tread.
Tin he hnnt me Freyia to shs^^e m v bed"
Away flew Loke ; the wingM robe'soiinds.
Ere he has left the Jotunheim bounds.
And ere he Iras reached the Asgard grounds^
At Midgard Thor met crafty lx)ke,
And this the first word that he spoke;
" Have you your errand and labor don«?
Tell from alott the course, vou run.
For, setting oft the stor}*ul^
And lying oft the lie prevails*"
" Lokesvng,
" My labor is past, mine errand I bring;
Thrym has tliiue liamrner, the giant king: ..
W'ith it shall no one homeward tread,
Till he bear him Freyia to sliare iiis bed." '
Their way to lovely freyia th«y took,
And this the first word, that he spoke ;
*'' Now, Freyia, busk, as a bboniiug l»ridc-; .
Together, we mw t, to Jotyuheim ride.*'
"Wrath waxed Freyia with ireful look ;
All A-^gard's 1^1 with wonder shook ;
Her great bright nei-klace started wide.
'** Well may ye vail me a wanton bride.
If I with ye to Jotunheim ri^.*
* Siihm i, for making Cimbr i hito a Qothic word, and for derivtog it from Ki*mper, itriver.
«3d
POETRY.
The Asi did all to council crowd,
The Asin'ue aU talk'd fast aiKl loud ;
This they debated, and this they sought.
How the hammer of Thor sliould home be
brought.
ftUp then and spoke Heimdallcr free.
Like the Vani, wise was he ;
*' Now busk we Tiwr, as a bride so fair ;
JLut hun that great bright necklace wear ;
Round him let ring the spousal keys.
And a maiden kirtle huhg to his knees,
-And on his bosom jewels rare ;
And high and quaintl}^ braid his hair."
Wrath waxed I'h'or with eodlike pride ;
•• Well may the Asi me deride.
If I let me dight, as a blooming bride.**
Then up spoke Loke, Laufeyia's son ;
'* Now hush thee, Thor; this must be done:
The giants will strait in Asgard reign.
If thou th'uie hammer dost not regain."
Then busk'd they Thor, as a bride so fair.
And the great bright necklace gave him to
W<?ar;
Hound him let ring the spousal keys.
And a maiden kirtle liang to lus knees.
And on his bdsom jewt4s rare ;
And high and quaintly braided his h^ir*
iTp tlieii arose the crafty Loke,
Laufeyia's son, and thus he spoke ;
•* A servant 1 thy steps will tend.
Together we mUbt to Jotunheim wend."
Kow home the goats together hie ;
Yoked to the axle they swittly fly.
The mountains shook, "the-eartli burn'd red.
As Odin's son to Jotunheim sped.
1'hen Thrym tfee king of the 1 hursi said ;
** Giants, stand up ; let the s«ats be spread :
Bring Freyia Niordef s daughter down
To share my bed liom Noatun.
With horns all gilt each coal-black beast '
Is Led to deck the giant's feast ;
Large wealth and jewels have I stored ;
1 lack but Freyia to grace my board.''
Betimes at evening they approach'd.
And tike mantling ale the giants liroacliM.
The spouse of Sifia ate aknie
Eight salmon:*, and an ox full-grownj
And all the cates, on which women feed ;
And drank three hrkins of sparkling mead.
Then Thrym the king of the 1 hurbi said ;
" Where have ye beheld such a hungry
maid ?
Ne'er taw I bride so keenly fi^ed.
Nor drink so deep of the sparkling mead."
Then forward lent the crafty Loke,
And thus the giant he bespoke ;
" Nought has she eat for eight long nights.
So did she long for the nuptial rites."
He stoop'd beneath her veil to kiss,
But he started the length of tlie hall, I wiss.
" Why. are the looks of Freyia so dire ?
It seeiiisj as her eyeballs glistcn'd with lire."
Then forward lent the crafty Loke^ •
And thus the giant hq bespoke ;
" Nought has she slept for eight long mghte.
So did she lon^w the nuptial rites.**.
Then in the giant's sister came.
Who dared a bridal gift la claiin;
" Those rings of gold from thee I ctave^
If thou wilt all my fondness have.
All my love and fondness have."
'i'hen riirjTn the king of the Thura said;
" Bear in the hammer to plight the maid;
Upon Jier lap the bruizer lay,
And ^.rmly plight our hands* and fay."
The Thunderer's soui smiled in his breast,
When the hammer hard on hislap was placed;
Thrym fust the king of the Thursi he sle»,
And slaughtered all the giant cre^'.
He slew that giant's sister old.
Who pray'd for bridal gifts so bold.
Instead of money and rings, I wot,
The hammers bruises were her lot.
Thus Odin's son his hammer got."
For our parts we are well satisfied lilh
tills method of translation, and should
think it a great acquisition to our litea-
ture, if the principal mythological sags
of the Scandinavians were thus tobera-
sified ; so that we might exactly kwf
what sort of divinities were those of tiv
Goths in ' their own estimation, and ac-
corduig to their native legends. Ik
commentaries of antiquaries have mod
disfigured the heathenism of the nodbi
by endeavouring to find a counterpart ii
Grecian mythology for every Gothic god:
they thus rub out what is peculiar, sd
home-born ; and foist Corinthian capitsit:
upon the faggot-shafts of northern arci^i
tecture. Tliere are passages insoiHciai^i
clear in this version; such aretbetfii
lines :
" For setting oft the story foils.
And lying, oft tlie lie prevails :**
which in .the notes are said to signl^,tliil
he, who sits down to drink, forgets ii
message : and tliat he, who lies dowc »
sleep, uivents. another. Such a rnasa
might be reduced to a proverbial toraiii
English, e. g. A sipper is a tripper, aadi
a napper is a rapper : or
" Who tells.after ale.
Forgets half his tale :
Who tells after bed.
Knows more than was said."
But this is not a truth of nature; it'rf
therefore not the meaning of SamnBdi
the saycr ; it is contradictory to e^«n*
ence ; for wine makes eloqu^ent, hut slef
refreshes the memory. W^e suspect tk
interpretation to be incorrect ; and dst
the spirit of the proverb is that cTca i
short stay affords time for eajkbellkbuM
and a long rest for thorough misreprweap!
tation and fajsehood ; on*which accoen
it is better to receive a mess^, or a re*
Utiovij before the time for indul^ace.
Herbert's Icelandic, poetry.
961
A sip wets truth ; and a draught drowns
her. The siMin3i.aiid l>ing of the text
are not opposevi as food to rest ; but as
diiter^nt degrees of the s ime gratitication,
as a short bait to a, loug one. The words
arc
'' Opt sitianda saugor'um fallaz^
Ok Uggiaudi lygi um bdlir."
Dft from the sitter tales falls about ; and
fnMn the recumbent, lies. So Uiat the
meaning would be represented by some
luch words as these :
" Who sits down alters,
Who lies do>^ii faulteri."
Or thus :
'* A pint paints,
And a quart taiuts.'*
prdias:
" A mug makes ^ hif^h-flier,
A tankai'd makes a liar :*'
t wise saw likely enough to merit the
attention of the. tippling divinities of Val-
halla. The men in buckram always mul-
tiply between glass and glass ; the modest
hero becomes a Rodomonte 5 and Rodo-
monte an epic poet.
The second poem is less striking : it is
tttilled the Battle of Haiur's-bay. The
third contitins merely the introduction,
which Gray left untranslated, to the de-
•cent of Odin. The fourth is the dying
•ong of Asbiorn. The fifth is Gunlang
and ftafenj a short song, of which the
notes contain a very interesting story.
The sixth Is the combat of Hialraar'and
Oddur, a singular mixture of prose and
verse, admirably annotated. The seventh
is the song of Htokc the black. The
eighth is the ^eath of Hacon, by Evind
SkaldaspiUer. It is one of the finest odes
extant in any language, and deservedly
passes for tlie triumph of Gothic song.
Percy had already given a prose translation
of it at page 63 of his five pieces of Runic
poetry. The new version of Herbert
roosthus:
** Gondul and Skogul swiftly flew,
To chusc from Yugva's boasted blood
What king should wend, with heroeb slain
To dwell in Odin's rich abode.
•' Unmaird beneath his banner bright
They saw Biorn*s valiant brothei- stind ;
l]hc javelins flew ; the foeufeti fell ;
The stonn of war gan' shake the laud.
*' The amiy's lord had warn'd the isles ;
The bane of earls, stout Df nmark^s d^ead*
With gallaut suite of northmen buid
High rear'd his eagU^aested head.
JU»,Kzv.Vat.lV.
*' The king of men (before he hied
To stir the >\ar with fearless might)
To ground his iron mail had cast.
The cumbrous harness of tiie tight.
" He sported with his noble train,
Whiln roused to guard his native laud;
Joyful beneath the golden helm
Now did the dauntless monarch stand.
*' His glitterinj brand the hauberks clove.
As if it fell on liquid waves ;
'rhe falchions clashed, the bucklers broke ;
'I'he amiour sung beneath the glaives.
** Keen burn'd the swords in bleeding
wounds ;
Long axes bow'd the struggling host ;
luoud echoing rang tin; bossy sliiekls ;
Fast rain'd the darts on Storda's coast.
*' Behind the buckler warriors bledj
In light tlicy joy'd from thirst of gold :
Hot tiowM "the blood in Odin's storm;
T'he stream of blades whelm'd soldiers
bold.
*' With helmets cleft, and actons pierced.
The ami*d chiefs rested on the plain ;
Ah ! little tliought that valiant host
To reach the palace of the slain.
'* Couching her lance quoth Gondul fair ;
" The crew of be ^vcn be now encreas*d ;
Stout Hacon with his countless host
is bidden hence to Odin's feast."
^ The monarch heard the fatal words.
The steel-clad maids of slaughter bore ; . •
All thoughtful on their steeds they sate.
And held their glittering shields l>efore.
«* Why thus" (he said) " the war decide?
From* Heaven we merit victory !*'
« Thv force" (quotli Skogul) we up-
held,
We bade thy mighty focmen fly.
" Fair sisters," (cried the virgin bright)
Kide we to heaven's irainortal domt»s i
llear, Odin ! Ixt, to grace Ihy court
The king of men, the victor comes."
" Haste, Braga, and Hermoder, haste !
To meet the dVifti*^ <quoth Odin) " go !
Hither he wends, whose sturdy arm
Has wrought full many a champion woe.^
" From warTcluni'd, the battle won,
His limbs slied fa^t a gory stream ;
" Odiii," (he cried) " liercie Lord of de&tk^
Thy fell decrees full savage seem !"
" The peace of heroes shalt^thou have ;
Quair with ihc Gods the sparkling beer !
Proud bane of earU," (great liraga said)
*' Eight vaFLint brotheri hast thou here***
« Our amis'' (the generous king replied)
<* These war-worn hands siiall never yield ;
Helmet and mail be well preserved :
lis good the trtiity Wade to widd,*'
Co
5Qi
POETRy.
*' Then was it known, tha( Hacon's hand
Due offerings to each Power had giv^n ;
Who to their blissful seats was hail'd
By all the glorious host of heav'n.
'* Hallow'd the day, arid famed thcye^r.
That bore a king so largely loved !
His memory be for ever saved,
And bless*d the land, on which he raoVd !
. *' Fenris the wolf from Hell unchain'd
On mortiils s/iall his fury pour.
Ere monarch (fveai and good, as he, '
Visit this desolated shore.
** W€aUh perishes, and kindred die ;
I>e«5ert grows every hill and dale :
With heathen gods let Hacon sit.
And melancholy swains bewail !*'
In the first qiurtrain of tJie fca-egoing
translation, it would haVe bexfn vyell, tor
tlie sake of euphony, to employ the name
Gondula, which is already familiarized to
yiie English ear in Richard's Odin. The
idea, expressed in the original, that the
two Valkries were sent by Tyr, the god
of battle, is omitted botJi by Percy and
by Herbert,
In the second quatrain Percy introduces
die brother of fiioru with his mail ; Her-
1)ert unraailed They read the text dif-
ferently 5 but the sequel proves Herbert
^ have chosen the true reading.
In the third quatrain Herbert gives
■* eagle-crested head/ In this case tlie
text wouU surely have been written und
ara hialmi, mot und ar hialmi. It might
be rendered first, stood first under his hel-
met, put on first that piece of Hrmour.
Yet we rather susjwct it to be a mere end-
ing of the preposition undar hialmi, \m6^T
helmet.
Thts rendering is not oppoJ5ed by tfae
repetition in the lifth cpatrain, ' itood
under his helmet of gold,' where the ter-
mination may be cut -off to make room for
tlie new epithet.
After tlie twenly-fourth line a sranra
occurs in Percy, wherein he ignorantly in-
troduces a wholly imagmarytfeily, najued
by him fiauga, of whom no trace oc-
.curs in the Iklda, nor in any northern
j)oetry. Mr. Herbert very lexmiedly pro-
poses a probable reading and interpicta-
lion; and very modestly avoids to insert it
in his text: his reading however will not
9can. It is with difHdence th|it we ofl^r
trigr hint after Mr. Herbert : yet there
Would. surely b« less violence done to die
original by reading feigr Tys, the death-
doomed of Tyr, instead of tlie extant
fyrir Ti^, YfbXQh WOUld giVQ 19 Aq text
thji fpnn.
" Trauddo2 tanrgo^
Ffiigr I'ys ok bjuga
Ili^la Iiardfotoin
Haasi Nordmamia.* 1
* Down trod the shields of the death-
doomed of Tyr, and their rings, tl)e heek
of the hard-ft)otcd head of the Norman?/
By the rings is probably n>eant those spiral
twists of thick gold wire, which the aortii*
em chieftains wore round the arm, sad
of which fliey broke ofTa piece more ca-
less valuable, in proportion as th<^ wiibed
to recomijeilse a follower, lliis was in
tact a form in which they carried money.
The concluding quatrain appears to l$
to have suffered in both interpreiatioQs:
but it is again with the most hesitating de-
terfence that we venture to disagree wiik
Mr. Herbert.
' Wealth perishes, and friends die:
land and people decay : but Hacon shaQ
sit with tiie Heathen gods, until the mora*
ing whea the trumpet shall aoiind.' Th\$
means, sMTdy, until Heimdal shall souod
the brazen trump, which is to annouoce
tiie twilight of the gods. A far nohltf
conclusion to a sublime ode, than Mr,
Herbert's. ' And melancholy swains be^
wail,' and, as seems to us, a far closer and
more obvious rendering of tke arigioil
text.
Ilie BiarkamaU a short fragment of
overrated antiquity, conclnties this fcam- ;
edly commented selection. We regret
that the fear of fatiguing an4 tbe desire of
sujiplying novelty should in general haw ',
induced Mr. Herbeit to contvie his ver* i
sions to short and inodit/nl pieces. If lift |
would give us a complete £d^a, interpret- i
ing anew the often mi siuterpreted pasiSa§L%
and annotating, witii the iong-arnied
power of his arctic erudition, ihewhuk '
scheme of Scandiaaviau mythology, hg
would supfJy, tp the historian ^ tb»
aiUiquary, a knowledge hi tlieito very iiD- ,
pci lent of the antient religiou of our«fofe-
fathers; aini, to the poet^ tiiett;prrect basil
of that machinery, which he fao^ om
day employ to decorate tte romontk: en-
terprizes of tlie heroes of the north. It
Would require loss eftbrt to supersede thao
to correct the northeru aUtiqtiities df
Percy. . :
A cultivation of these studies urill be
found tq contribute to higher inta:«st$ th«a ]
those ot" archaeologic curiosity j and to
prepare the bonds of c«runercial aod drii
iriendship between the nation .^ho once
bowed to the name of Qdio, aod whostiU
partake the Gothic ton^e. The investigi*
tioQ,of septORtrioaaL aAtiquitioi oo^ iei
BfiSE8FORX>*8 SOKG OF THE SUN.
$6$
Und brlnge die Gdttimi zum Bade des einsa«
men Sees.
" Es vereine Lovna, vol! Nossa's Reizen,
imd Viira,
Wie Sail' und Gesang, die Lieb' und die
£he ! firaga tone.
" Vom Schwert, gegen deii Eroberer ge-
zuckt ; und That
Des Friedcns auch, und Gerechtigkeit
Iclii"* euch Wodan."
to repoie wholly on continental industry :
to die praise wonhy names of Grater, of
Rozen, apd of Nyerup, we trust that
Great Britain will ere long have that of
Herbert to oppose.
** 1st Achaa der Tbuiskoncn Vaferland ?
Unter des wei:^en Teppichs Hiillcn
Ruh auf dem Friedenswagen H^rtba !
Im blumenbestreuteiy Haiue \\'alle der Wa-
gen hm.
Art. v.— 77ie Song of the Suri; a Poem of the Eleventh Century; from the more
oRcirnt Icelandic Collection called t/ie Edda. Imitated by the Be». Jambs BjskbI-
FORD, A. M. Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. With a Preface, Notes, and short
Account of the Author. 8vo. pp. lOtJ.
song of Hacon is a fine ode t but so is the
bard of Gray. The tragedies of Schiller,
tlae fabliaux of Wieland, were composed
at the very close of tlie eighteenth cen-
tury j just before the French revolutiou
liad biuuted the acme of human refine-
ment. The proportion of good specimens
of poetiy produced in rude times is rtfy
small.
Mr. Beresford, no doubt, consideiv the
song of the sun, as among these specimens.
It forms one rhapsody of the Saemundino
Edda, which was composed, or compiled
in Iceland, about tl)e close of the eleventh
century, and re-edited at Copenhagen in
1 78/. Saemund, the author, was a son of
Sigfusar, a pagan priest, and of Thorcyar
but having been taken to Rome, by Jonas^
the christian bishop of Hola, he embraced
the religion of the south, and came homo
'to propagate it. He seems to have met
wiih the gospel of Nicodemus, and witk
other legendary books of that kind j for
he introduces many descriptions, which
Dante, and other early poets, also selected
from the same sources. He did not prac*
tise celil^acy, but married Gudruna, and
lived to see his grandchildren eminent*
He is praised for preventing a civil war
between tJie chieftains Thorgil and Haf-
lldj and for composing, or collecting;
not only these mythological, but other
historical, sagas. He died at the a|pe of
eighty.
This poem describes the death and de-
scent to the nether world of the writer,
who professes to have dictated it from the
THE preface to this metrical transla-
lion begins with a melancholy dirge on
the declensioii of English poetry : asserts,
that in the greener periods of society, the
best poetry is produced ; that our poets
are bom an age too late j and that the
bloom of English poetry will soon be past
for ever.
We deny the fact j we contest the sys-
tem. We maintain that the poets, who
tave Nourished during the reign of George
the third, have produced bs great a quan-
tity of lasting poetry, as those who flou-
rished during the reign of Elizabeth, or
during any other half-century of the Bri-
tkh annals. The tragedies of that age
live; so will the comedies of ours. Our
chorus-dramas, and our ballads, arc decid-
edly superior to those of our ancestors : so
ire our elegies, and songs, and odes. One
gM translation, Fairfax's Tasso,has been
bequeathed to us from tlie times of Eliza-
l)eth : we have Sotheby's Oberou, and se-
veral other master-pieces, who^e collec-
tive weight makes a counterpoise.
^od why should a rude age be favour-
ible to the production of good poetry ?
Rudeness implies a public of bad critics j
in Ignorance of histoiy, of antiquities,, of
he limits of nature, likely to tolerate the
thsurdest violations of truth, costume,
JBography, and probability. Accordingly,
he poets of rude ages, who are neither
uore nor less likely than others to ha^ e
?Bniu«, commonly oiFend by want of taste :
nd'thi» frequently in so great a degree, as
0 condemn their works to be refashioned ;
0 which case, the modemizer runs awuy gra^^e. We transcribe the most striking
Hth the praise. Homer indeed originat- portion.
d early, but was probably corrected by a _^ " 36.
jood critic, in an age of taste. Tasso,
*o has produced the next best poem to
femer, flourished in the autumn, not
w spring, of Italian culture. Virgil
Jpomedln an age of refinement, and
'laudiau Vf9i^ a poet, Tl» funeral
" Then came Disease.— liong time with lan-
guish*dJiead,
Bow'd down, I sat ;— yet ceas'd not life to
crave ; —
But The All-Potent with his pow'r pre*
vail'd : —
Swift are the las>t approaches t<^tlie grave.
Oo^
S64
POETRY.
37.
And now, the heavy chains of death, put on,
M'erc to ray sides, with iron grasp, tight-
bound ;
To burst them I essay'd — but firm they
held :—
None, laden sore, steps lightly o*er the ground
38.
I felt — past thought! — ^what strength Vmg
press of pains
From ev'ry pore WTUng agonizing foam !
While, with each nighrs return, the maids of
death
Invited me in horror to their home!
39.
I saw the sun, all faithful star of day,
Mournful, -and wau, amidst the' sounding
spheres: /
I heard, far-off oppos'd, the gates of hell
Groan heavily, and harshly, through mine
ears!
40.
I saw the siui, with bloody lines drawn o'er —
While verging to my nil firom this terrene :
Ten-thousaud-fold, mcthought, more fieix:e
he stood,
Than, from my hour of birth, thcie eyes had
seen !
41.
I saw the sun ; — some Deity august
He seem'd, as I beheld in trance sublime ?
Him, bent in veneration, I ador*d —
My last orisons, in the world of time.
42.
I saw the sun; — but, in such kind 1ic shone.
That all was dream !— I hark'd ! and-secm'd
to know
Where Gilvar's flood, outrageous boiling
down,
Thunder'd — ^with mingling tides of blood —
below !
43,
I saw tlic sun — ^but saw with reeling eyes ;—
Fi11*d up with horror ! stifl*'ninq as i lay 1
While more — and ever)' moiiient more — my
heart.
In the last languors ling'r'mg, cbb'd away.
44.
I saw tlie sun — ^more damp at heart ne'er
saw! —
Now trembling to my fall from upper ground :
My tongue — a lifeless log it seeni'd to lie,
Wliere death's chill gripe had froze all parts
around.
45.
I saw the sun — ^but saw the sun no more.
Beyond the twilight of that doleful day :
To me, the dewy vault of heav'n was clos'd ;
And I was gone — firom sprrows caU'd away.**
A little flirther on, the poet introduces,
into his infernal regions, lignres from the
northeni mythology : this is not more out
•f costume than Dante's placing Charon*
and Virgil iu the ciurLitiaa hell, and ought
not to have been Mippressed by the traa?.
lator. Instead of the following six stanzas,
Mr. Bcreford gives only ibre«.
75. Mighty father.
Greater son,
I loly spirit of heaveoi
I pray thee,
VV ho hast created us.
To take us from our woes.
70, Crooked and cunning
Arc the maids tiiat sit
By the <loots of the harsh one •
On steady stools ;
Iron ttfars
Fall o'er their noses.
Waking hatred among the Wr'u^
77. The wife of Odin
RowTs in her earth- ship.
Mightily, merrily ;
Late shall she furl
'Ilie rope^propt sail.
78. Heir, thy father
Only has strayed
With the sons of sunshine,
And breathed through the hart's hoi
(or speaking-tniinpeij^
Which the wisebJiumier of battles
Litts from the tomb.
79. These are the words
Which tliey wrote,
The nine cfaughters of Xiard;
Bend-forth is the eUiebt,
Creep-forth is the younj;est.
And their sibtcrs are seven.
80. Every where
Thev abate
Cold aud Hamc; (Sualr ok soafir-kgi)
Blood they staunch.
Wounds they suck.
And smooth the waves like oil.
To these six stanzas ^Ir. BeresM ak-
stitutes the following three.
" Father Oninipdtcat ! I^uissant Son!
All-Jioly Spirit !— hear thy ^c^vaJit prav !
'J'o thee I pray, who gavost man to be.
Take uj,— O take from miseries all away!
78.
These healing strains, my son, f,SQte(rf mc
M'iih those tliatin the sun's bright courts tot
bred.
Have leani*d for thy behoof; to me, arfW,
Brought by my sage instructor fium tiic ^at*,
79.
By the nine tlaughters to Niardar boni
Was plougli'd in leaves of brass my (fcalMca
lore ;
The first-boni skill'd to bend thesoul; the W
Queen of swet-t song ;— with those scv'n asttfl
wore.
CLARK S RUSTIC.
66s
. Of tbwe three, the seventy-eighth ap-
pears to us to have been misunderstood.
The poet means to say : My heir, thy fa-
ther alone is one, who has i'requented the
sons of light (literature) ; though dead,
he vet speaketh j the shunner of battles,
who is wise, is still heard from the tomb.
• We invite the readers of Dante to com-
pare this nor^ern skald with the Italian
poet. Tliere is so much analog)*^ in the
plan of tlieir compositions, that we are
persuaded some monkish legend will yet
be discovered, of which both the writers
hid availed, themselves. If the northern
rhymer has too much abridged, the south-
em has too much expanded his tlieme ; so
that one may be allowed to fiesitate which
guide to prefer into the infernal regions.
If Sa-nnind has nothing very striking to
exhibit, Dante is so talkative a showman^
that he makes even of a striking a tedious
exliibition. We believe, however, that
he has so much more force, fancy, and in-
vention, than his Icehndish competitor,
that readers and critics will on the whole
prefer his hell, and inscribe over it.
Per mS si va nella citU dolente :
Per 7n6 si va nell' eterno dolerc:
Per m^ a va tra la perduta gente.
But we do not quit all hope, that tbos*
who enter on such perusals may yet find
a superior guide,
Mr. Beresford has executed a meritori-.
ous task with considerable elegance: he
does not possess the learning of Herbert
in tlie nortliem languages : but he displays
the reading, the taste, and acccomplish-
ment, of an educated and travelled man.
Ajit. VL-^Poems and Plajfs., Bij Witi.iam Richardson, A, M, Professor qf Humanity
in the Unix'crsiiy of Gla^^i^ozv. H vols. 12ino. A new Edition.
Mn. PJCHARDSON has collected,
into t%va elegant pocket- volumes, the scat-
tered productions of his muse. Three
liule poems only are inserted which have
never before made their appearance j tliey
are not very interesting, and certainly we
feel not the slightest inducement on the
present occasion to deviate from our ori-
ginal determination, only to notice the
new edition of a work when it urges a
claim to attention by additional matter.
Art.^YII. — Fugitive Poems. By Mrs. Bayfield, lUmo, pp. 19^^
MANY of these poems are addressed
by the author toiler children and her hus-
Inad, whose duty as an olHcer in the army
called him upi)n a foreign service \ -and do
credit to the feelings of the auUior as a
mother and a wife. They are introduced
by a numerous and a respectable list of
subscribers, who have no reason to blusU
at this extension of their patronage.
. Aai. YIII. — f^'alU Crifcis Abbey; or the Vision of the Vale, a Poem. 12mo. pp. 160.
IN these lines we find a larger portion of politics than of poetry.
Art. IX. — The Rustic : a Poem in four Cantos. By Ewan Clark. IQmo. pp. 1 19;
" SING we Man's life through each pro-
gressive stage.
From litpiug infancy to silver'd age.
But chiet wc pahit tiie niauncrs oi liie plain.
Where joy and healtii, and hunc^t labour
reign."
• Snch is the subject of this poem :»Mr.
Ewan Clark has * seen his seventieth year,*
and- very innocently employed his hours
of retirement and repf>se in describing the
rustic festivities which he had witnessed,
and perhaps participated, in his earlier
days. It would be unreasonable to ex-
pect froDA old age all the fancy of youtii ;
nor are we disposed to be censorious, and
claim much from him whose pretensions
are humble :
" My muse for lofty pitches shall not roam.
But iioinely pip<»r of her native home.'*
This IS Mr. Clark's motto, and a veiy
^ unassuming and appropriate one it is. Hi*
descriptions of rustic sports are, we dare
say, very faithful, and some of them are
not destitute of animation : particularly
that of bluid-man's huff, the dance of t^<Q
lads and lasses in the barn^ &:c.
dw
POETRY.
Art. JL-^Buth a sacred Eclogue; and Tobit, a Form. With two sdect mmdTdfi,
tranHatcdJrotn the Work, and preceded htj the Life ojM, de Florian, Member oj'tke
Academies qf France^ Madrid, and Ftarcnce. My S. Maxey. ISmo. pp. i2S. Wiik £jt
gravingi.
THE writings of this elegant moralist
ftnd anoiiable man arc dear to all those who
have at heart the interest of virtue and
humanity. Many of M. Florian's tales
and novels Iiave been translated into' our
language, and they cannot be too stroi;gly
recommended to young persons : ** Ruth"
and *' Tobit,** however, can no where be
read with so much effect as in the simple
language of the Bible. Mr. Maxey's trans-
lations are very bald : this fault probably
arises from an over-anxious desire not to
deviate from the simplicity of his origin
nal. " The Spanish Courser,** and " The
French Pullet,*' are the two tales which
he has selected from the miscellaneous
works of Florian, together with a '* Hrnm
to Friendship/' addressed by tlie author to
Boissy d'Anglas, who, in thehour of peril,
when his friend was under the proscrip-
tion of Robespierre, lirigeritig -in the Coo-
ciergeric, and waiting death, had the (m-
rage to stand forward in his defence, and
to plead, with imdannted persercrance,
for his liberation. This event, hoviwer,
would probably have not taken face but
for the ninth of Thermidor, which ridded
France of the sanguinary monster. Boisny
d'Anglas at length succeeded, and Florian
retired to the Pare de Sceanx, Mfhcre he
soon afterwards died in the 39th year of
hh age.
AftT. XI. — Half an ITour^a Lounge : or PoeiM% by Eicrmal Mangit all- iSrao. pp. W.
TH£ dedication is as unassuming as
the title-page : " To my own family, these
trifles are inscribed by aa afiectionate sis-
ter and fnend." 'Tis true they are only
trifles J but we have ofren lounged away
a half-hour much less agreeably than io
company with this incognita, who, ^
suspect, has concealed her real name with-
in the mystery of an diagram.
Ajlt. XII. — Fatal Curiosity; or the Vision ofSyhester : a Poem in three Books* J^Jo*
SEPH BouNOEN. 12mo. pp. 112.
WOE to the ^ight whose " fatal curio-
sity*' leads him to cut open these lethargic
leaves ! His heavy slumbers will certainly
be uiiblest by the genius of poetry.
Art. XIU.— 77«<r Battle qf Largs:
a Gothic Poem,
12mo. pp- 76.
With several misceUaneous Pieces^
BELOW the rank of great poets who
have united, in a considerable degree, al-
most aU the different requisites of tlieir
art, there exists a class of writers who oc-
casion no small trouble and perplexity to
us periodical critics. We mean those in
whom some genuine poetic lineaments ap-
pear so meanly clothwl or ill-accomi)anied,
that we are more than half-ashnmed to ac*
knowledge them. To apportion to each
of these his due share of applause and
censure, encouragement and reproof; to
discriminate between the rude vigour of
untutored genius, and the cold extrava-
gance of labouring mediocrity; between
lively ignorance which seeks to learn, and
dull conceit that never can be taught — is
certainly no easy task. Each individual
reader will determine for himself what
qualities he most requires in verse, or best
can do without ; and however particular
criticisms may be approved as jast, no ge-
lieral verdict caa b^ expected to mget Uie
full assent of one poetic jud^ in ten.
These obsen'ations have alnlo^t unavoid-
ably arisen from thS work bctore iw, wfeich
we proceed more closely to examine. Tbc
battle fought at Largs, in Airrsliire, A.D.
1263, was that in which Alexander the
Third of Scotland, after a blrxxiy and ob-
stinate conflict, totally defeated Halio
king of Norway, who, ha\ing sflbdoed
the^ isles of Bute and Arran, had landed
on t^e coast of Cunningham. The baffled
inviulers fled for refuge to their ships, and
a storm ensuing, many of them ^cre
wrecked. King Hako reached the Ork-
neys in safety, whei^ he lauded ; butsooo
after died, as is said, of a broken bc*n.
At tlie present period, many circumstaccn
would unite in giving an interest to diis
ancient tale if narrated with spirit and
distinctness. But our author hasunibr*
tunately fellen into several essential fiiulis,
In tlie first place, he has encumbered hii
little poem with a niost uncouth loat
THE BATTIB OP LARGS.
$6T
cbineiy. The thr«» fatal sisters of north-
ern mythology open with an ^ddrei3S to
Lok, and after\yards hold several conver-
sations among themselves, all highly fla-
voured from the dregs of Shakspeare's
witch-cauldron. Secondly, the narrative
is often impeded by sentences of turgid
bombast, delivered in lines so harsh and
tuneless, that it is hard to say whether it
will be found more difficult to understand
or to read them : and, thirdly^ tfie poem
ends in a most abrupt and unsatisfactory
maimer. The autlior has evidently, in
his principal poem, aimed at more than he
is at present equal to -, but from parts of
It, and from some of the 'smaller pieces,
we are inclined to augur well of his fu-
ture proficiency, provided he will take
pains to refine his style, and leani that
coarseness is not strengtli, nor strangeness
sublimily. For the description of natural
objects he appears to have considerable
talent.
" With shrill short shrieks the pctterels past
Before the howling hurrying blast ;
Bold h\r6i, that o er the desert deep
On vague adventures swiftly sweep ;
When ridgy waves the clouds assail.
They skim'^along the dreadful vale,
And oft and ere the dangers gloom.
To warn a feted vessel's cbom.
They flock her hanging stern benealh, ,
And'churming chaunt the dirge of death.
The beniacle, that wary fly, .
The marine sport^ian's aiming eye,
(Of fabulous birth, a plumy brood,
Brrtl by the sea in porous wood).
Whirl a in the volleys of the storm,
Flew thick arourtd, nor dreaded harm.
With circling flight the murmuring gulls
Of tusky rocks arid shelving shoals
Appriz'a the pilots, while the shore,
\S ith drizzly mist impervious hoar.
Alarms their breasts with throbb'mg fears
As on the rushing navy ncars."
The following passage, with many
faults, has most of thoi^e excellences
which seem to mark out the author for a
youth indeed, but a youth of some genius.
" As o'er the main an isle of ice
Comes with its crystal precipice.
And silv'ry spires, and dazzling streams.
All orient in the summer beams ;
Awhile the seaman pleas'd surveys
The glorious pageant's distant bla2e ;
But as it nears, tlic freezing air
Turns his delight to chill despair ;
And oft he strives, and strives in vain*
The open rippling sea to gain.
Till shipwieckt on the coast he lies.
And more by fear than suffering dies \
80 Ay afar, so dreadful near,
Um> twld SuathccD ia £^t appevs
His milkwhite charger pranc'd along.
And champing, neigh*d the Danes among;
Where faint and languid DrakolT breathed,
His visor up, his falchion sheath'd, —
Stralhern his truncheon wav*d and pass'd—
But Buchan, nithless as the blast.
That lien; el Y besoms all the plain,
And whelms the tree where many a swalg
Beneath its calm embowery shacfo.
The vow of guileless passion made.
And children held their mirthful sporty
'^rhc chartered retlbreasfs old resort.
Forward nish'd, high whirls his brand.
And Drakoflf welters on the strand.
* O slianie,* a hundred voices call,
' Kevenge, revenge, our fathei-s fall/
The Danes are rous*d, the battle burns.
The Scots recoil, and hope returns ;
Enormous carnage swells beneath.
Gorged witli the revelries of Death.
As when the clouds, by tempests driveij
Confus'd along the fields of neaven.
Hurl darkly wild, on every side
Before the eddyinc battle's tide ;
The Scots retire, tor now the Djyics
(As o'er the trim Batavian plains.
When roused by storms, tlie billows roar
Through the torn barriers of the shore;
And on the deluge, raving loose,
I^ides Ruin multitudinous)
Poird bloody, and beliind them spread
In heaps tlie dying and tlie dead.**
To point out more minutely the ble«
mishes of this work, as bad rhymes, im-
perfect sentences, distorted phrases, re^
duiidant ornaments, and violent meta-
phors, would be loss of time to us an4
our readers : as for the author, if he has
good sense, he will in time amend him-
self; if not, our criticism cannot amend
him. With^ne of his elegant trifles wt
conclude.
" Deride me not, but softly tell
What is this dear delicious spell,
Tliat nuikes mv soul in absence see.
No form but tKine, no thought but the(^
Thee I haite met with fond surprise
In many a stranger's azure eyes ;
In many a lovely stranger's mien.
All present ! thee I oft have seen.
When round the social board I sit^
A\"hcre Fancy sparkles into Wit,
Whatever is pohsh'd, keen, or gay.
Reminds me of thy sprightly play.
And if scdater groupes I ioin.
Their wisdom dimly shadows thine ;
And IjOTc tiie baldpate only seena
The dull rellector of thy beams.
Even in the solemn scenes of woe.
Where sympathetic sorrows flow,
Mv wand' ring thoughts unconscious trae#
Of thee some tead^ peowre gwe»
566
POETRY.
Deride me not, but ioflly tell
'What is the dear delicious spell,
Art. XIV. — The Sjjirit of Di^cnvert/; or the
\ l/i Notes, liistorical and illustrative. By
" I NEED not perhaps inform the reader,"
says Mr. Bowles, *' tliat 1 had before written
a canto on the subject of this poem ; but I
was dissatisfied with the mt'tre, and tult the
nt'^es5ity oi som. connecting idea that might
give it a' degree of unity and coherence.
" This (iiiiiiu)ly I c(Ml^ide^ed as ahnost in-
separable from IJie subject; 1 tlierefore rc-
linquisJied tin,' desi.m ot niakino; an extinried
poem on events, which, though hifrlily inte-
resting and poetical, were too unconuectLd
with each other to unite pr(jj)crly in one re-
gular whole. But on b-iiig kindly pennilled
to peruse the sheets of Mr. ClarkVb \'aluable
work on t!ie History of Xavir^ation, 1 con-
ceived (without supposinfT histr.ncaU>f with
him that all ideas of navi-^ution were derived
from the ark of Noali) that I mii^ht adopt the
circumstance potticullf/, as capable of hirnish-
ing an unity of desigu ; besides which it had
the advantage of giving a more serious cast
and character t j the whole."
We did not peruse this paragraph with-
out surprize. The work whicli Mr.
Bowles praises, is, in our judgment, cue
of the very worst compilations uix)n which
good paper was ever wasted ; and as lor
Xoah's ark, liow it was to give unity of
design to a loilg poem upon any other
subject thr.n the deluge, appeared inex-
plicable. The poet is Liinseif apprehen-
sive lest his readers, upon an inattentive
survey, niiglit imagine there was any rare-
lossness of arrangeiHcnt, and he Jias tliere-
fore prefixed a general analysis of the se-
veral books. " I'm sure tlie design's good }
that cannot be denied. Besides^ sir, I
have printed above a hundred sheets of
paper to insinuate the plot into the boxes.*'
Except Bums and Cowper, no poet of
the present reign has been so generally
admired as Mr. Bowles. * It Vill be found,
we believe, on a reference to tl»e old re-
views, that few on none of the poems
which they have highly praised have ever
become popular j and that they have usu-
ally noticed, witli censure or scorn, those
which have been fairly received into the
funds of English literature. This we well
remember was the case with Mr. Bowles's
first publications. The critical dancing-
masters of the public attended to nothing
but his feet ; he did not move to the old
tune of te-te te-iuni, which was the tune
they had been taught, and they did not
like his new steps. Foreigners, therefore,
who form their opinions from the English
7
That make^ my soul irt abseiK* see
No ibrni but tliine, no tiioughtbut thee.'
Conqit^st ff Ocean. J Poem, in five Booh:
ihsRcr. \Vm. I.ISLE Bowles. 8vo. pp. 250.
journals, knew not the name of Bowies,
while his poems were winning their way
in a manner of all other most gratifying to
tlieixjtt; they were treasured up in tie
memory oi young readers, re j seated io
company by lovers of poetry, and imitated
by young poets. 1 he beautiful iinagety,
and the natural feeling, with which tkjr
aboinid, had found their way to the hcurt
of those for whom poetry is written; dse
reviewers' had overlooked their excel-
lences ; their prai>e was re&en'ed for
Delia Crusca and poor Mrs. Robinson.
It i-s now twelve years since Mr. Bowles
first Ci)llected his separate poems into a
volume 5 from that tinxe his repntatioa
has been progressive : not that his subse-
quent pieces have been better than liis
first, but they have had the same charac-
teristic beauties, and l;)eauties of a liigber
kind were not required for such subjects as
he had usually chosen. But comiug for-
ward at present on other ground, and with
loftier claims, he feels and expresses a
diffidence of success.
" But after all, at a tune so unfavourable to
long poems, I doubt whether the readtr pill
have patience to'acconiijany me to the itmIc^
my circum-navii^ation. It he do, and it tli^
much larger poetical work than I Jtavew^r
attempted, should be as favourably recehed
as what I have befure published lias be«a,l
shall sincerely rejoice.
" At all events, in an age which I thisk
has produced genuine poetry, if I canact aj
' Ed Io, anchi, sono pittorc ;' it wiiJ beaccir
solation to me to re.tiect,'that I have no other-
wise courted the niuse, but as the consoler cf
sorrpw, the painter of scenes romantic aiid
interesting, the hand-maid of good siwe, un-
adulterated feelings, and religious hope.
" It was at firi>t intended that the poem
should consist of six books ; one book beicg
assigned to Da Gama, ajid another to Coivm-
bus. These have been compressed ; which I
was the more inclined to do, as the great sub-
ject of the discover)- of Anierica is in the
hands of such poets as Mr. Southey acd Mr.
Bocers.
** There are some inaccuracies and verfai
errors, which the author need rn^t p- iiitouL
lie lias, however, no objection to the strictest
inv litigation of tlu^ faults of this poem, if it be
pursued in the spirit oi fair rr/Z/rJAW, anti
the opinions conveyed m the laitguat^ of <i
gentleman r
The introductory lines allude to the
author's early poems.
BOWftEs's gl'lllITOTDlSCOVEBY.
^§9
** A\Take a Icrnder aud a l6ftier strain !
l^IovetJ harp, wijoae tones have oft beguiPd
My solitarv sorrows, when 1 left
TKV ^cenc of iiappief hours, and wandor'd.far,
A pale and drooping stranger ; 1 ha\c sat
(\^ hile evenu»g listened to the convent's bell)
On tlie wild margin of the Khioe, and woo'd
Thy sympathies, ' a- weary: of the world.'
An'd 1 have found with thee sad fellowship,
Yc't aUvays swreet, whene'er my languid hand
PassM carelesslj^ oVr the responsive \s ires,
WliiJL* umnnbitioiis of the laureli'd meed
That crowns tlie fitted bard, I only ask'd
Some sieaiing melodies the heart might love,
Aiid a brief ^ouuct to beguile my tears !
*' But I had hope that one day I mijjht walie
riiy itrrngs to higher utterance; and now
Kiddiiig adieu to glens, and woods, and streams,
Aail turning where, magiiilicont and .vast,
\iaia Oceau burst* upon my sight, I strike, —
Rapt in the theme on w'hicA 1 long have
niusVl, —
Strike tiie loud lyre, and as the blue waves
rocJv,
svell to their solemn roar the deep'nhig chords.
" Lift thy indignant billows high, proclaim
rhy terrors, Spint of the hoary seas !
I *5ing ihy dread dominion, amid wrecks,
Andstoims, and howling soliludes, to Man
Submitted: awful shade of Camocns
Bend from the clouds of Heav'n I
" By the bold tones
pf minstreln-, that o'er tlie unknown surge
iJVlit^A' never daring sail before was spread)
5cho'd, and startled from liis long repose
Hi' iudif^nanl phantom of the stormy Cape ;
)li let sa • thhik now in the winds I near
Ihy animating tone?, whiht I pursue
ft ith ardent hope-j, like thee, niy vent'rous
i\av,
liid bid tlie seas resound my song ! And thou,
•'alhtjr of -LVJbioa's streams, majestic Thames,
bud the glilt'riug scene, wliose long-drawn
\\ave
^Oi's noiseless, vet with conscious pride, be-
neatli
The thronging vessels' shadows (nor through
sceu<?s
kfjre fair, the yellow Tagus, or the Xife,
iim ancient' river,' winds), liiou to the
rtrain
►bait haply listen, that records the might
n Oct-au, like a giant at thy feet
•anquiiii d, and yielding to' thy gentler state
^ho uiicient sceptre of hts dread domain !"
Cainoens is wrongly accented in^these
ines ; it should be CaniOens ; the word is
tiampliibrachtjs. The note upon his not
iiling with Gama * might have been
initied. The idea for which it apologizes
fiould not have been perceived without it,
ttd does not deserve to be jx^iiited out.
The p!f>em opens Vith the resting of tlie
ark upon Ararat : t|» part of the whole ii
bettdr executed (|r more impressive than
this ', but it woidd have been as well if
the author had trusted his reader to iind
out tlie mnrv striking expressions, w Ab-
out marking thein in capitals.
'* All was one waste op waves, that
bury'd deep
Earth and its multitudes: the ark alone.
High on the cbudy van of Ararat,
Rested ; for now the death-commission'd storm
Sinks silent, and the eye of day looks out
Dim through tlie iiaze, whili^siiort successirc
gleams . . .
Flit o'er the face of deluge as it shrinks;
Or the transparent rain-Jrops, falling few.
Distinct and larger glisten. So the Ark
Itests upon Ararat ; but nought around
Its inmates can behold, save oVr th' expanse
Of boimdless waters, tlie Sun's orient orb
Str^tcJiingthe hull's long shadow, orthe Moon
In silence, through thebilver-cincturMolouds^
Sailings as she herself were lost,.aud left
In Xatuke's loneliness !
But oh, sweet Hope,
Thou bidst a tear of Jioly extacy
Htart to their eye-lids, wiien at night the Dove,
Weary, returns, and lo ! an olive leaf
Wet in her bill: again she is put forth.
When the sev'nth mom shines on the hoar
abyss : —
Due ev'ning comes: her wings are heard
NO more !
The oawn awakes, not coldxmd dripping sad.
But cJi(?er'd with lovelier sunshine ; iar away
The dark-red mountains slow their naked
peaks
Upheave above tlie waste : Imaus gleams :
Fiune the huge torrents on his desert sidest
Till at the awful voice of Him who rule^
The storm, the ancient Father and his trai*
On the dry land descend.
Here let us pausc-~
No noise hi the vast circuit of the globe
Is heard; no sound of human stirring ; none
Of piisturing herds, or wandering flocks ; jior
song
Of birds that sojace the forsaken woods
From morn till evu ; save in that spot that
holds
The sacred Ark: there the dad ««Dnnds ascend.
And Nature listens to the breath of Lifie.
The fleet horse bounds, high-neighing to the
w ind
That lifts his streaming mane; thi- heifer lows;
Loud sings the lark amid the rainbow Imes;
The lioji lifts him mutteiing: Man comet
forth—
He kneels uj>on the earth — lie kisses it ;
And to the GOD who strelch'd tlic radiant
bow,
He lifts his trembling transports.
* Mr. Bowh»s ^xTites the name Da Gama improperly :
iOanu at fi:ll length.
it should qjither be Oauia» or Va.sco
i70
POETRY,
Th6 present slate of the inhabited world
is now contrasted with its melancholj ap*
pearance immediately after the flood : in
this there are some very happy lines ^ but
it is too episodical, and interrupts the or-
der of a poem which is of itself too de-
sultory. After the sacrifice, the angel of
destruction appears to Noah in a dream ;
his s|)eech aims at sublimity without suc-
cess. He says
"My hall
l)eep in the centre of the scjkj received
{'lie victims as they sunk ! Then with dark joy
sat amid ten thousand carcases
That weltered at my feet*
Ther6 is nothing sublime in this : wliat
follows is better. He denounces ftiture
mi^ries to mankind occasioned by that
very ark, which has now been the means
of their preservation 5 and he sets before
him, in vision, the conduct of the Spa-
niards in America, and the wretchedness
occasioned by the slave-trade. Mrs. More
has said of the poets, with an illiberality
more congenial to her sect than to her own
better nature, that whenever any mischief
was to be done, they, to do them justice,
had never been backward in furthering it*
She might mofe truly have said, that
whenever the interests of humanity were
concerned, the poets have been ready and
dtsinterested advocates; and the Slave
Trade, her own subject, should hat'e oc-
cuiTed to her recollection.
In this part of his poem Mr. Bowles
calls the native Americans sable: we
know not whetlier this be one of the in-
accuracies for which he has taken out a
licence in his preface. The bloody charac-
ter of the Peruvians should not have been
insisted upon in the notes : tliat of tlie
Mexicans may be said indeed to
" Justify the ways of God to man."
Whoever is well acquainted with the su-
perstition of that people, the most bloody
which ever was established, must regard
the overthrow of tlie Mexican empire,
horrible as its circumstances were, as one
of tlie' happiest events, as well as one of
tlie most splendid, in the history of man-
kind.
Waking from this vision Noah ascends
Mount Ararat (which the author conceives
to be the Indian Caucasus) led by an angel,
who, purging his mortal sight, spreads out
the world below him in prospect. We
are reminded of Milton by this Pisgah
▼iew, and bj^ the geographical picture;
and Whaps th^re is nothing in which
Milton can so sstte^f be imitated. The
angel describes the situation of &llcn man,
the rise of superstition, the system of re-
dtflnption, and the spread of the gospel,
by means of navigation, which, whatever
temporary evil it may occafiion, is thu
subservient to the great sysCein of opd-
mism.
'' Let it suffice.
He hath permitted evil for awhile
To mingle its deep hues and sable shades
Ainkl iite's fair perspective, as thou sanr'st
Of late the blackening clouds ; but in the end
All these shall roll away, and evening still
Come smilingly, while the great sun kx^
down
On the illumin'd scene. So Charity
Shall sniile on all the earth, and' Natoe^s
G<jd
Look down upon his works ; and while faro^
The shrieking night-fiends fiy, one voijesbafl
rise
From shore to shore, from isle to €a.rthest isfc.
Glory to God on high, and on earth peace.
Peace and good-will to men.
" Thou rest in hoipt.
And Him with meekness and wiUi trust adore f
" He said, and spreacHng bright his ampls
wing.
Flew to the heaVn of heavens ; the medk osa
bow*d
Adoring, and, with pensive thoughts res!gB*d,
Bent from the aching height his lonely waj *
Thus far there has been a personage ia
the poem, to whom every thing refers :
but he disappears here at the end of the
£rst book. The second is judiciously
opened by a reference to his prc^etic
view of fiiturity : the progress of socteSy*
and the rise of coomieree, is then detaiSed
npon the historical hypothesis of Bnxe.
Tyre leads to an eidogium of England,
and the book closes with an Ode upcm the
siege of Acre. This digression, the aa-
thor says, appeared to him not only na-
, tural, but in some measure necessar}% lo
break the uniformity of the subject. Tha
is fairly confessing that the subject is lad.
The ode is in every respect avefypoor
composition. In the notes to this book
some reasons are oflfered for supposii^
Ava to be the Ophir of scripture. In one
fact, however, Mr. Bowles is mistaken :
he says there is no appearance of ancteat
magnificence in Sofala, no marks of ^-
mer arts and civilization. This is cer-
tainly erroneous: there were, ti^hen tbft :
country was first discovered by the Por«
tugueze (and probably still ane), hrg^
ruins resembling those in Upper JEgjpt.
The third book opens beautilbllj, ia
Mr. Bowles s peculiar manner.
BOWLES 8 SPIRIT OT PISCOVERT*
571
My hrart has sigh'd m.8ecret9 when. I
thought
t the dcrk tide of time might one day
close,
land, o'er thee, as long since it has cIos*d
^^^vjit and on IVre : \l\al ages hence,
u tlie Pacifick's billow v ioneliness^
>sc tract thy daring search reveard, some
isle ■
ht rise in green-haired bea\ity cmment,
[ike a goddess, glittering from the deepj
eafter sway the sceptre of domain
ft pole to pole ; and such as now thou ari,
apa New Holland be. For who sliall say
It the Omnipotent Eternal One,
i made tiie world, Iiath purposed?
'I hough ts like these,
Dgh visionary, rise ; and sometimes move
Dment s sadness, when ( think of thee,
country, of tliy gieatness, and thy name,
ms the nations; and thy character,
Migh ?ome few spots be on tliy flowing
robe)
prelie^ki beauty : I have never pass'd
lugh thy green hamlets on a sununcr^s
mom,
heard thy sweet bells ring, or saw the
L youths
wniling maidens of the ^illagery
ip» tiicir Sunday tiri^ but I have said,
I passing tenderness, < Live, happy land,
\ft the poor peasant, filets, his shed Uiough
small,
■dependence and a pride> tluit fill
ppMiest h'-art with joy—joy such as they
' crowd the mart of men may never feel.*
England, is tliy boast: When J have
heard
of Ocean bursting round thy rocks,
^ a thousand throusine masts aspire,
the e J e coukl reacn, from every port
' nation, streaming with their flags
still mirror of the conscious Thames.
* felt a proud emotion swell
s British- born; that 1 had liv*d
of thy glory, my most lovM
ur'd country ; and a silent pray'r
rise to Heav'n, that tame and peace,
and love
y, would walk thy vales, and sing
Itolv hymns; whilst thy brave arm rc-
pcird'
it¥, e'en as thy gtiardian rocks
f|be dash of Ocean; which now calls
iHg'ring fondly on the river's side,
»jny destin'd voyage ; by the shores
|h|, and the wreck of cities old,
fet wi* burst into the wilder deep
Oama ; or tlie huge Atlantic waste
loldCohimbus stem ; or view the bounds
M4' e, stretchmg to the southern pole,
lUiee, benevolent, but hapless Cook !"
\ history of the empires succeeding
1 here touched on : the fall of Baby-
s, and Alexander. Thisconquerorj
|career, " proceeds to the last river
Panjab^ the |Iyphasis^ which de«
scends bto the Indus, the sources of which
are near tlie mountains of Caucasus^
Inhere the Ajck rested." In this manner
does^the author, like Mr. Bayes, insinuate
his plot into the reader. A Bramin meets
him, aud sings an ode describing the Hin-
doo account of tlie deluge, and prophesy-
ing his conquest of the seas. The Hindoo
mythology is too little understood as yet
to be fit for many practical allusions.
Commerce is represented as standing
on the Pharos of Alexandria, and calling to
all nations. But a wider scene opens, and
the poet at once passes to the commeno6«
ment of modem discoveries by prmce
Henry, and relates the romance of Robert
a Machin and Anna d'Arfct. ITiis story,
which Mr. Clark has rekted as sober his^
tory, is not well managed. The. lovers-
are thus described in the island.
** Now evenmg, breathing richer odonn
sweet.
Came down : a softer sound the circlkig seas,-
The ancient woods resounded, while the dove^
Her murmurs intcrposmg, tenderness
Awak'd, yet more endearing, in the hearts
Of those who, sever'd fcir from human land.
Woman and man, by vows sincere bettoth'd.
Heard but the voice of Nature. The sdll
moon
Arose — the)' saw it not— cheek was to cheek
Inclin'd, and unawares a stealing te^r
Witnessed how blissful was that hour, that-
seem'd
Not of the hours that time could count. A kiss
Stole on the list'ning silence ; never yet
Here heard: they trembled, e'en as if tlie
PoVr
Tliat made the world, that planted the first pait
In Paradise, amid the garden walk'd —
This since the fairest garden that the world
Has witnessed, by the fabling sons of Greece
Hesperian nam'd, who feign'd the watchful
guard
Of the scal'd dragon, and the golden fruit.'*
It is not very clear who trembled at the*
first kiss which was ever given in^ the
island of. Madeira : if the woods be meant,
it is the most injudicious imitation we
ever remember. The lines upon the
lady's tomb have been admired, and we
shall therefore copy them, without feeling
any admiration ourselves.
INSCRIPTION. ANNA d'ARFET.
" O'er my poor Anna's lowly grave
No dirge shalif sound, no knell shall ring;
But angels, as the high pines wave,
llieir half-heard * miscrer^ sing !
No flow'rs of transient bloom at eve
The maidens on the turf shall strew;
Nor sigh, as the sad spot they leav^
Sweets t9 the sweet ! alongadie^!
<73
KinfiiY:'
But ill Uiis wildomcss profound,
iYer her the dove shall build her nest.
Ami Ocean swell with softer sound
A requiem lo her dreams of rest 1
Ah ? when sliall I as quiet he.
When not a friend, or human eve.
Shall mark beneath the mobsy tree
'Ilie spot where we torgoiu-n lie >
To ki^s her niinic on the cold stone,
h ah tliat now on earth I crave;
For in tills world I am alone—
Oh lay me with her in the i^ravc.**
** Robert a Machin, ISAA. --Miserere nch
his, Domn€.'*
The poem passes on to the voyaged of
Gama, Columbu?, and Magalhaens. Thus
far only the triiunphs of discovery have
l^ceii described ; the last book speaks of
its evils. The slave-trade is again noticed,
the conquest of Mexico and Peru, the buc-
caneers, and the tiiuu>plis of destruction
by sea, how many perished by shipwreck
or by savages, yhich leads to the fate of
Magalhaens, Perouse, and Cook. The ad-
vantages resulting from Cook*s vo)ages
are then staled j and, as he tirst ascer-
tained the proximity of America to Asia,
tlii^ circumstance leads us Ixick from the
point whence we set out, the ark of
KQAji, atid hence we are partly enabled
to solve, wliat has been for so many ages
unknown, the di^culty respect'mg the
earth's being i>eopled from one family.
The poem havii^ thus gahied a middle
and end, tlie conclnsjon of tlie whole rs,
that as thus uncertainty in the physical
world lias been by discovery cleared up,
fo all die apparent contradictions in. the
moa-al world sliall be reconciled. We
have yet many existing evils to deplore :
but when the suriEHs disposer's plan
shall liave been completed, then the
lARTH, which has been explored and en-
lightened by discovery and knowledge,
rfiall be destroyed ; but tlie mind of man,
retrdered at iast perfect, shall endure
through all ages, and justify his ways
ritOM WHOM IT sprung.
At the conclusion of the poem is this
fipostufettoii addressed to Englnr.d, which
we copy, willing to turn from a plan so
truly ill -contrived;, to notice the merit of
the execution.
*' But hast thou no deep killings, that might
turn
Thy thoughts within thyself? Ask, for the sun
■Jlut hhines in heaven liatli seen it, hath iJiy
power
XiVt scattered sorrow over cristant liinds ?
A>k of the East, have nt'ver thy proud t?ail»
Borne |ftundef from clismembeVVl provinces.
Leaving ' the groans of miserabTe incA*
Behind ! And tree thyself, and lifting hi^
The charter of thy freedom, bought witk
blood.
Hast thou not stood, in patieBt apathy,
A witness of the tortun-s and the rbauia
That Afric's injur'd sous have kuouii ? Staad
up—
Yes, thou hast visited the cavcs»and chea'd
The gloomy haunts of sorrow ; thou ha4 sbei
A bt-am ot comfort and of rightef/usncj^
On isles remote- hast bid ttie bread-frurt
shade
The Hesperian repons and ha<;t softcndmuA
M'ith bland am*»liorat;on, and with charais
Of social 8weetne«?, the hard lot of man.
But weigh'd in truth's finn balance, ask, if sS
Be even : Do not crimes of ranker gruuih
Batten amid thy citict, whose loudoia,
From fiabhinf^ and coi.Kiidin^ cars, ascendi.
Till morn ? Enchanting, as it aiighl so wift
Xe*er faded, do thy daughters vearthewet^
Of calm domestic peace and weddod lore ;
Or turn, with beautiftd disdain, to dash
Gay Pleasure's poison'd chalice frwn their 5p
rnta?tfd? Hath not sullen atlieism,
Weaving gay riow'rs of poesy, so socjrht
'I o hide the'darkness of his withered brow
With faded and fantastic gallantry
Of roses, thus to win the thoughtless smile
Of youthful ignorance ? Hast thou vith aw
.LookM up to Hun whose pow*r is in the
cloud?.
Who bids the storm rush, and it sfswps ti
earth
The nations that offend, and they aregrtie,
I:.ike Tyre and Babylon ? Well weigh th)5cC-
Then stialt thou rise undaunted in the inigtt
Of thy Protector, and the gathered hate
Of hostile hands shall be but as tht^ saad
Blown on the evefiasting pj ramW.*
To see Dn Darwin's Loves of the Plait*
and Temple of Nature coupled with il»
Slave Trade as a national sin, is some^i'h]!
curious f
As tlie poem contains litfle more thai
two thousand lines, the author iiieed not
have been apprehensive that its iMgtk
would be a hindrance to its success. Ill
failure is imputable to its plan, tlian which
nothing can be clumsier. It is extraordi-
nary that Mr. Bowles did not recollectti*
fate of I'homson's Liberty, a case pit*
cisel)^ in point. Thomson was a true poetj
his subject admitted of splendid p.b;
but he \\ orked upon a bad plan, and ibe
poem has added nothing to his reputaiitin*
The be«t parts of this spirit of discouiy
are tliose which are most in the aciiwr*
original manner, and in this style ot viit-
ing he is not likely to be excelled. Tho
odes arc tlie worst 5 he has no ear for fflen
f/ical music. The blank verse, where it;
imitates Milton, imitates him vilbM*
xnent, and is- as little unhappy a^ anj suet
LONDON CUES.
5j;t
imitation can be ; but occasionally, as must
Lave been perceived in our extracts, tliere
h a sad falling oft Yet, on the whole, if
Mr, Bowles gat us uo tame by (he present
attempt, as little sbould lie lose any .; tfi
bis own style he still remains nnrivaHed,
and to that he should confine himself^ i9
excel in one thing is sufficient prai »(».
AiLT XV. — The poetical H'orkt qf the Author of the Heroic Epistle to Sir inUiam Clxuu^
bers. 8vo. pp. 11*7.
WE should have commeridetl the re-
publication of tlicse pieces, it* the little
lolume in which I hey are comprized had
not been made very unreasonably dear.
The author, whoever he was, was a man
of extraordinary wit ; but it may be re-
marked that, of his six publications, each is
progressively interior to the former one.
He seems rairly to have been burnt out.
Nothing can be better in its kind than
these fines in the Heroic Epistle.
** Now to our lawns qf dalliance and delight.
Join we the groves ot norror and aflVighl ;
This to atchicve uo foreign aids we try.
Thy gibbets, Bagshot! shall our wants sxipply;
HounsloM', whose heatli sublimer terror tills,
Shail with her gibbets lead her powder mills.
Here too, O King of Vengeance, in thy lane,
Ti€iQeadou» Wilkes shall rattle his gold
chain ;
Aud roufid tliat fane on many a Tybnm tre^
Hang fragments dire of Newgale-history ;
Ondtis shall Holland's dyins speech be read^
Here Bute's confession, and nis wooden head";
While all the minor plunderers of the age
n^oo numerous far tor this contracted j)a?e)
The Rigbys, Calcrafts, Dysons, Bcadsiiaws
liiCTf,
lu strav-stuil elTigy, shall kick the air.
But say, ye powers, wlio come when fency
Where shaft our mimic London rear her walls ?
Tkit Easiero f<;ature. Art must next produce,
Th<#' not for present v^t for future use
<)«r SOBS some slave oi greatness may behold,
Cut in the genuine Asiatic mould:
Who of three realms siiall condescend to
know
No more than he can spy from Windsor's brow ;
For Him that blessiiig of a better lime,
The Muse shall deal awhile in brick and lime;
Suroass the bold AAEA*I in design.
Ana o'er the Thames lihig one stupendous
tine
Of niariile arches, in a bridge, that aits
From Hichiaond terry slant to Brentford
BuUs.
Brootford with London's ckurms will we
adorn ;
BrtDlfurd, the bishopric of parson Home.
There at one glance, the roN-al eye sSall nie..*t
Each varied beauty of St. Jaines'Vstreet;
Stout lalbot there shall ply with hackney
cliair
And |)atriot Iktty fix. her frijit-shop there.
Like distant thunder, now Uie coach of stite
llolls o'er the bridge, tliat groans beneath its
weight.
The court liath crost the stream ; the 5i)orts
begin ;
Now Noel, preaches of reliellion's sin :
And as the poweis of his strong pathos rt.se»
Lo, brazen tears fall frcuu :»jr FlctohePs
eyes.
While skulking round the pc«ws, tliat babe of
grace,
W^ho ne*er before at sermon shew'd his face.
See Jemmy Twitchcr shambles ; stou I stop
thief!
He's stol'n the earl of Deaibigh's tendkerchief.
Let Barrin^on arrest him in mock fury.
And Mmsheld hang the knave without a jurv.
But l»rk tiic voire of battle shmits from far,-
The Jews and maccaroni's are at \v*ir:
The Jews prevail, and, thundVing froj« the
stocks,
They seize, they bind, they circumcise Charks
Fox.
Fair Schwellenbergcn smiles the sport to «je%
And all the maids of hont^ur cry te ! he )
Be these the rural pastimes tliai atteixl
Great Brun&v.ick's leisure: these «iall bcsl
unbeud-
His royal mind, whene'er, from state mMk
drawn,
PJt» treads the relvet of his Richmond Uwn;
These shall prolong his Asiiitic dream,
Tho' Europe's balance trembles on its beam.*
Mr. Almon, the editor, obsen^es that
the Heroic l4)istle and Gray*s Elegy W'enov
the two most popular short poems pub-
lislied in the last century. He had for*
fottcn tlie Deserted Village ; yet it is so
nearly tme, as to be a disgrace to a cen-
tury in which mere personal satire coidil
obtain snch npp^ause. Wc have had much
of this during the present reign, and <»f
much merit j but how iufcrior to Dry den!
Aai. X'VL— .Zowrff)/! Grie^ ; or, Pktnrei of Tn mult and Distress: a Poem. To 'u^hich it
added, the Hall i^' Peduntry, ffitk AVo*. 8vo. pp. 87.
THE London Cries is an ill-chosen from door to door: one finds pictures of
tide. One expects a poetical catalogue of distress, beggary, and prostitution: yel
(lie pedlars^ who hawk their I'arioui wares these melaiKholy j>ct^nes occupy but a
^r*
tOETRY.
fraall portion of the satire, which begins
with the history and antiquities^ and ends
with the present state of the ' metropolis.
The plan of the poem is too comprehen-
iive, disconnected, and desultory.
The third satire of Boileau has beeti ad-
mirably Imitated by Groldsmitli in his
Haunch of Venison. This poem is not
an equally successful imitation of the sixth
^tire : if that may be called an imitation,
which perhaps owes its occasional resem*
falance to the common consultation of
, Horace and Juvenal. The French poet is
more felicitous in the invention of cir-^
cumfitance, and more picturesque in the
description of object. We shall transcribe
some parallelisms^ that we may not be
thought to award the preference without
examination.
•* Here, vnth Sahnonean dim and desp'rate
force.
Contending chariots urge their thund'ring
course:
Dull pride of birth, reclin'd in brilliant coach,
^ ffaio al the vulgar hackne/s bold approacii :
Hie sturdy nikr cf the botter'd car
Joys painted Fashios^s gikt'riug pomp to mar.
'So. chevaux attel^ h ce fordeau pcsant,
Ont peine k T^ouvoir sur le pav6 glissant.
J)\mcaro8se en toumant U accroche uiie roue ;
Et d'un choc le renverse dans un grand tas
deboue.
Quand un autre k Tinstant, s^efTorgant de
passer,
pons le m^e embarras se vient embarasser.
^re Death's di^ waggon move§ in black
parade.
If be plumy pageantry of Mouraing*s trade.
I^ d*un enterrcment la fun^bre ordonnance,
D'un pas lugubre et lent vers I'^glise s'avance.
^d drag^d in creakiog chains, the fofest^s
pride,
^ormous trunks the car-borue ranks divide.
Uk sur une charrotte une poutre branlante
"Vient nienagant de loin la foule qu'elie aug-
mente.
)[Iurr}'in^ where crackling .flames asc^d on
. high,
^oA roll red volumes through the lurid sky.
Car le feu, dont la flamme en ondes se deploie.
Fait de notre quartie^ une seconde Troie.
«• IJiTow droves, of bleating^ sheep the ebbing
throng
Confound, and ^dedoxen plunge along :
The staring, frighted beast, with rattling;
toourge,
Aqd ja^ed glubs^ th^ stijding droven trget
Strang varying sights and sounds hissenii
scare,
Unlike the calm repose in pastures fair.
Et pour siircroit de maux', un sort nulla
contrVux
Conduit en cet endroit un grand troapeande
boeu&:
Chacun pretend passer; Vun mu(pt, faoiie
jure,
Des mulcts en sonnant augmenteat k mar-
mure."
This writer has Icam to make vena
His rhymes are generally correct, tboogh
common : his structure of line is sasj,
natural, and various, in a higher degvoe
than is usual with young artists. J^oct
couplet- makers are content with \h» few
forms of line employed by Pope, and 19-
peat, like Darwin, to satiety the gddco
verses and hackneyed cadences of their
master 5 as Cowper says, eveiy warhler
has his tune'by Iieart. It is some meiit
Uo have an original note; and iiot,liketlie
bullfinch, to have learnt xme whole sqd|
from the hand^organ.
In order to mi^ poetry, a fiirtber 1^
prenticeship is necessary. Much ndus-
dance must be thrown aside. The pic-
tures, or descriptions, must be connected
and grouped : there must be some motire,
some reason, for tlieir occurrence. If to
teaves were separated and shuiEed, liiejr
might be reprinted in any new accidenti!
order with nearly equal propriety. No
one leading emotion, as in Boileau, pro-
vokes the recapitulation of tlie objects.
Here are topics jbr three distinct satiiei.
The first, on the change of the manners ot
London from ancient rucjeiiess to owdera
refinement,, which tlie ape of iuTeoal
would consider as a change for the van&
The second, on the erabarrassmMti d
thronged places, which Boile;?u has 50 at
mirably condemed. Tlie tliird, on the
distress of the unfortunate but ntci^saiy
portion of the populktiou of a greal ciij;
which seems to be the fevourile topic ot
the author, as he has illustrated it bf
various notes relative to plans of bene-
ficence. We jeconimend a s6}>»Trate poem
on each of these subjects ; but as didacuc
topics- are not favourable to die display 0^*
fency, a long elaboration will be requisite
to infuse tl^ sterling sense of Pope or
Johnson.
The hall of pedantry is composed in
.Spenser's dialect, but in a less picturesqw
manner. Personified abstractions beloi^
to the l^ilofiophic, not to the'pokicstfle:
thd <!reek8 wisely avoided them inpoeoj*
ratut's BA;.|.AB8.
f7i
Art. XAII. — Ballads, By William Hayley, Esa. Founied on Anecdotes relating to
Animals, withFrints, designed and engraved by William Blakb. 8vo. pp. 2 \2,
MEDIOCRIIY, as all the world knows,
is fbrbidd^ to poets and to pnniHers \ but
the punster has a privilege peculiar to him-
self,— the exceeding badness of his puns
js imputed as a merit. This privilege
may fairly be extended to Mr. Hayley :
his present vokime is so incomparably ab-
surd that no merit within his reach could
have amused as half so iinich. Let us
treat our readers wish the hrst ballad :
** Of all the speechless friends of man
Tlie faithful dog 1 deem
Deserving from the human clan
The tendcrest esteem :
This feeling creature form'd to love.
To watch, and to defend, >
Was given to man by powers abov^
A guardian, and a friend !
I sing, of all e*er known to live
The latest fiiend canine ; .
And glon' if my verse may give,
firave Fido ! it is thine.
A dog of many a sportive triclc.
The' rough and large of limb.
Pido would chase the floating stick
When Lucy cried, " go swini.'*
And what command could Iaicy give^
Her dog would not obey ?
For her it seem'd his pride to live,
filest in her gentle sway !
For coMcious of her every care
He stram'd each feeling nerve, ^ •
To j>lease that friend^ his lady fair
Commanded him to serve.
Of many friends to Lucy dear.
One rose above the rest;
Proclaimed, in glory's bright career,
Th« monarch of her breast.
Tender and brave, her Edward came
To bid his fair adieu ;
To India calfd, in honour's name.
To honour he was tTxUe.
The farewell rack'd poor LiicVs heart.
Nor pained her lover less ;
And Fido, when he saw them part,
Seem'd full of their distress.
Lucy, who thro' her teai? descried
£Gs syn^athetic air,
• Go ! with him, Tido !\ fondly criQ4»
* And make his life thy care !'
The dog her order understood^
Or seem'd to understand.
It was his glorv to make good
Afiection's lund comnund.^
^wttd, when bi iriyi w Ifl4il/ vi9^i
it seems, frequently to take a fearless
swim, as Mr. Hayley poetically expresses
himself, not being awar^ tliat ^lore w^s a
crocodile in the water. His custom waa
to leap frpm a high b^nk. One day when
he was undressing, Fido did all h^ could
to prevent him ; his master, not under-
standing the ipeaning of this interruption,
scolded, and at last beat him ; but the dog
finding all his efibrts vain, and seeing Ed-
ward about to plunge in, ran before him,
and leapt — into the crocodile's moutli.
The poet has had the singidar good fortiuio
to meet with a painter capable of doing
full justice to his conceptions 3 and, in fact,
when we look at the delectable froi^Us-
piece to this volume which represents
Edward starting back, Fido volant, and the
crocodile rampant, with a mouth open like
*)a boot-jack to receive him, we know not
w^hether most to admire the genius of Mr.
William Blake or of Mr. Wifiiam Hayley.
The conclusiou of the ftory is equally ori*
ginal.
" When Lucy heard of Fido's (ate,
What showers of tears she shed !
No cost would she ha.ve thought too great
To celebrate the dead.
But gold had not the power to raise ^
A semblance of her friend ;
Yet kind compassion, who surveys.
Soon bids her sorrow end.
A sadptor, pity's genuine son !
Knew her well-founded grief;
And quickly, though he promised nooe,
Gave her the best relief;
He, rich m Lucy's sister's heart.
By love and friendship's aid.
Of Fido, with the happiest art,
« A secret statue maJe.
By stealtli in Lucy's cliamber plac'd.
It cliarin'd the niourijer tlicre,
mil Edward, with new glory grac'd.
Rejoined his faithful fau:.
The marble Fido in their sight.
Enhanced their nuptial bliss;
^nd Lucy every morn, and night,
' Gave him a grateful kiss."
Tke second ballad relates bow an eogjl*,
in Scotland carried a child to his eyrie,
and the mother climbed after it. Her.
son, a boy of seven years old, stands be«
low watcbix]^ l^er, 4Ad th« story thus pro*
57«
POETRY.
•* He saw, as far as eye may keu,
A crag with bJocd 'ileJild^
AihI entering this a**ria] <Jeii
The e«igle and the child..
The boy, tho' tnistinQ^iriuch in God>
\>'ith*geiiLTous fear was iillM ;
Aware, that, it those crags she- trod,,
His moliicr migiit Iv* kill'd.
His N-oiithful mind was not aware
How nature may sustain
life, guarded by material care
From peril., aud from palu.
And now he sees, or thinks he sees.
(His heart begins to pant)
A woman crawiin«;oii her kiiees»
Close to the eagle's haunt
It is thy mother, gallant boy,
Lo ! up her figure s^riiu^ :
She darts, unheard, v ilh i^peechless joy
Between the eaglc*s winsjs.
Behold! her arms ils nerk enchain.
And clasp her babe below :
Th* entangled bird atttmipts in vain
Its burtlien to overthrow.
Now heaven 'fend thee, mother bold,
'Iliv peril s extreir.e :
Tlioo^it dead, if thou ^ t go tb> hold,
Scar'd by tiiut savage acream ;
And bravely if thou keep it fast,
M" hat yet may be thy doom !
Hiis ver}- liour may be' thy la^t.
That aerie prove tliy tomb.
No! No! thank heaven! O nobly done!
O mar\ellous attack !
I see thee riding in the sun,.
Upon the eagle's back."
The remaining tales are equally marvel-
lous in design, and equrilly extraordinary
in execution. I'irirtnibus pucrisque cento,
says the author. We could not help quot-
ing O'Kccfe's soi^, Ha^le^'ffaylff gam-
borayly h'vrffleAy pii^gledy galioping drag*
gle-laU'd dreary dun.
Art. XVUL—Criental Talcs, traimhttd into Enc:lish Fcrse, By J. Hoppker, Esq*
R. A. 8vo. pp. 123.
IT would be unjust to examine tha
£ixilts of these tales with any degree of ri-
gour, alter Mr. Hoppner's avowul in the
preface.
*• My cWcst son having the prospect of an
appointment in India, the attainment of the
Persian language became an. essential point
m his education; and among other books laid
before him, Mas the Tooti N'ameh, or Tales of
the Parrot. It was in a translation of this
work that I first read the tale of • the Aks and
tlic Stag,' the genuhie merit of which struck
me s« forcibly, as to engage me in an attempt
at putting it mto verse, where I conceived the
humour and whhnsical gravity of the dialogue
would be seen to more advantage. Whether
I was right in this conjecture will be ascer-
tained by those less partial thaif the most dif-
fident author ever was sup|x>sed to be : and
to tlieir decision I shall readily submit \ satis-
fied that what I may lose on" the side of va-
nity, I shall gain in a more just estimation of
my own powers, and in the subscipient ma-
nagement of them accordingly.
" Let it not however be inferred from this,
that 1 have the slighbist intentiou^of ever mak-
ing nly appearance before the jMiblic again as
a poet. 1 have too great a reverence tor this
^ art, to suppose tliat 1 may attain, at my lei-
sure, what men with greater advantages have
not been able to accjuire alter the most dili-
gent study. My object in publi^liing these
trifles was ralJier to prove my love than dis-
play my skill; and when I am called upon to.
shew 'some vanity of mine art,' it shall be
in a mode in which 1 have a more legitimate
claim to attention and public feivour. \i it
be ur£^ t^t tius dcuionstratiou of aitacli«
ment to excellence out of mv peculiar line of
study was umiecessary, I repK — lint I caacot
think so. Every thing that artists may hops
to achieve with the view of rai<ii>g theFn>cl^fi
in the just estimation of a public so little de-
posed in their favour, should be attaupferd
The general opinion entertained of the ex-
tent of our acqui:>itions, is sufiicieDlly iodi-
fated in the judgment passed upon sir Jo^a
Keynolds^s l^i-iures: tor, since they cawKn
' be styled clumsy performances, the hoDour
of iiaving written tijem lias been awarded U)
others, not only against tlie evidence ofiiM-
moii sense, but of men of tlie highest re>pmi-
bility, vNho had ample means of better i]:ib^
mation.
{*• On wliat this hostility to English artitis
Is founded, it would periiaps l)e liitlicult to
guess, i'ew men act more tliscret- tly, cr !i-
bour with greater diligence to obtain ihatta
^^ hich, in the present state of art in Eurojt,
they have decidedly the best claim. The at-
come arising from any liberal profession, ho*-*
ever great it may be,' is not a sufiicient stia*-*
lus to noble exertions ; and thoM?, therefore,,
cut otl'the incitements to a virtuous ambiiioi,,
who witbhold their praise. He who is ct^u-;
demned to pursue his studies with idea-i cT
loss and gain, will stop at that point vKec
exertion ceases to be profitable ; and labkHj*
to live now, instead ot hereafter."
Tlie remainder of the preface, which is .
of considerable length, cont«iiiis Si^me^eij
able and very just strictures upon theFrtndr
aj tij,ts, and, in particular, the success wliicb
niadame le Krun has obtained in Ecirbnd,
lliose stiictures are uoi indeed quiio4a
HOPPNER S ORIENTAL TALES.
577
their place, but they are well-founded,
aod well-justified.
** I have, as thl? reader sees, availed my-
self of tlie preseht occasion to express my
^ntiments on this subject, not us it may at-
ifect me; but public taste, so intimately co;!-
faected with morals, and, indeed, with every
thing that distincuishes a great froiii a bar-
barous nation. AH private ednsiderations in
matters of this moment must give \^ay to a
niore imperious duty; ahd vVhonever a spu-
rious art appears among us, powerful enoueli
in its patronage, hot iji its itihercnt strength,
to do mischiet, 1 trust I shall neither want pa-
triotism nor courage openly to -meet, and
cordially to assist in its defeat and ejitenniua-
lion.
" Although the age of chivalry is past, it
may still be thought that the common laws
pf gallantry- required me to spare the artist,
in honour of htT sex. Eiit, in her overween-
ing presiunplion, Madame le Brun has de-
Jtroyed distinction, and ostentatiously waved
her privilege. She has challenged hostility,
Vh^n slie might have escaped with impunity
by felling into that rank which the mediocrity
of her t^Qents, and the state of the arts in this
country, rendered it decent for her to take*
'Vo expose successful imp^ition is^ at all
times, a hazardous enterprise, arid, urJfortu-
hatelyi personal considerations, in the present
case, add a.degpee of ^vm popularity to the
danger,— but silence nilglit have been mis-
taken for, acquiescence; and the worid has
notliing more painful to inflict than the impu-
tation of iuferiorily to such miserable produc-
tions. I'hat these are riot merely tlie frctfiil
and intt*rt^?ied wailinjys of {lerjsonal disappoinl-
inent, every one the least acquainted with my
intercourse in society will, 1 am pessuaded,
do nie the justice to believe. Were this a fit
oci asidn tu enlarge oh matters of j)rivate cbii-
cern, or to .unbosom myself on sucH a sul^
j^t, I could display instances of benefits con-
ferrtd upon me, in con^iderdtiori of my i)ro-
fessional character, which in tlie few boastful
events of uiy life, stand as eminently distin-
guished as do the personages who, in addition
to the high h.'spect and veneration due to
their rank and talents, have boimd ine to
|hem by indissoluble ties of tlie warmest gra-^
titude.
"It is no trifling cbiisolatibn to riie, that
the few strictures which 1 have advanced on
the expensive tr^sH of Uiis lady, cannot, by
I he most prejudiced of her partisans, be at-
tributed to any suggestions of jealousy, which
always implies a common aim ; which has iii
view the sariie excellence to excite ambition —
the same powers to invigorate contention.
Enthusiasm is sufliciently coritagioii?, but who
hai ever heard of the attractions of inanity ;
or what English artist could be warmed with
the frigid productions of French art ?
I Where burnish'd t^^ad?, ?^!!k, s;ilin; laces vie>
In leaden lustre with the gooseUerry eye,
Ann-. Rev. Vol. IV.
Where broad-cloth breatlies, to talk wherrf
cushions strive.
And all, but Sir, or Madsuj^jooks alive.'
The tales are not imprWfey being told
ia verse : they arQ hot ofHiat charactef
of fiction in which poetry delights. Lestj,
however, we should be conceived to im-
ply a heavier censure than is our intention,
we add a specimen whifch. will by no
means discTedit the artist. An ass and d
stag havfe broken into a garden, and xhm
ass, intoxicated with cabbage and parsley,
insists upon singing.
*^ The staiAdlf pitj-iiig, half ainazed
Vpon his old jRjociate gazed ;
' What! hast thoU lost\hy wits?* he cried;
* Or irt thou dreaming; opeli eyed?
Sing, quotha ! was tliere eVer bred
In any mortal ass*s head *
So strange a thought ! But, no ofTcnce —
What iiwe first remove from hence;.
And talk, as erst, of sUaw and oats.
Of scurvy fare, and miingy ccats.
Of heavy loads, or woi*se than thO>c,
Of criief drivers, Snd hard blows?
For recollect, my gentle friend, . .
W^e'ife thieves, and phmder is our end.
See ! through what parsley we've been toilin|i
And what Ime spinage we are spoiling!
' lie most of all doUi outrage reason, '
Who fondly singeth out of season.'
A proverb that, in sense, surpasses
The brains combined of stags and asses :
Yet, for I must thy perils trace.
Sweet bulbul of the long-ear'd race!
Soft soul of hamiony 1 yet hear ;
If thou will rashly charm biir ear.
And with thy v.'af blings, loud and deep,
Vnseal the leaden eye of sleep ;
Roused liy thy song, and arm'd with staves,*
The gardener, and a host of slaves.
To mourning will convert thy strains,
Aiid make their pas tune of tiiy pains.'
. '^ His nose in scorn the songster rears.
Pricks up his twinkling Icngtii of ears.
And proudly thus he sliot his bolt : — .
* I'liou soulless, senseless, tasteless dolt;
If, wiien ill vulgar prose 1 try
tdy voice, the soul in extacy
ViU to the pajf lip trembling flee.
And pimt and struggle to get free.
Must not my song ^*
' O, past pretence !
The ear must be deprived of sense,*
Rejoined the stag, — ' foriu'd.of dull clay
The.heait that uielts not at thy lav I
But .hold, my ardent prayer attend,
Kbr yet willi sbi^s the welkin rend ;
Still the sweet riiurmiir m thy throat.
Prelusive of the tli rilling note ! ^
Nor shrink not up thy nostrils, friend;
Nor thy fair arhple jaws extend;
Lest thou repent thefe, when, too latl?;,,
And inean tiiy pains, arid Tit^'ll^earo'd taK*
^* Ijhj^tieiice btung the wiiibler's soul,
Oreatlv he spum'd tht; m^AA cojitroulj
57«
POETRY.
And from Ihc Vf rdant turf nprearM,
■ He on his friend contemptuous leerd:
-Strclch'd his lean neck, and wildly stared,
1 1 is du!cet pHch-pipp then prepared.
His flaky ears prick' d up withal,
And stood in ])osture musical.
• Ak V thought the stajj, * I greatly fear,
Since he his tliroat begins to clear,'
And grains and- stares, he will not long.
Deprive us of his promised song.
Friendship to safety well may yield.'
H^ said, and nmibly lied the iield.
' ^- Alone at lengtii, the warbler ass
"^T)uld every fonner strain surpass ;
So righ;^ he aiin'd, so loud hc^ray'd.
The forest shodk, night »eei4p airaid,
Aitd start iijg at the well-known sound,
llie gard'ners from their pallets bound ;
Thp scared mTisician this purstii*^,
Thiit st«ps him with insidious noose;
Now to a tree behold him.tied,
Whilst both prepare to take his hide-
But first his cudgel either rears.
And plies his ribs, his nose, his ears ;
His head converted to a jcllj', .
His back confounded with his belly ;
All bruised without, all broke within.
To leaves they now convert his skin;
AMiereon, in characters of gold, 1
For all good as^es, young and old >
This short instructive tale is told." 3
The picture of the songster is very
striking, and the whole extract ^ows that
Mr. Hoppner would have worked belter
on better materials.
Art. XIX.—- ^ Poetical Epistle to James Barry, R§<i. CoiUainin^ Stricture* upon some
of the ff^orh of that celebrated Artist. fVlth an JppcucUx. Bjj Francis Burroughs,
Esq. 8vo. pp. 132.
THE best lines in this poem are those
in which the author expresses his patriotic
wishes and his private feelings.
" How have thy wrongs, O Erin, wning
my breast, •
Thy people, goaded, beggar'd, andoppressM,
How, have I prov'd, each jiang, and ielt, each
smart.
And, bone thy sorrows, in my aching heart;
May, hrav'ir propitious, hear, my ardent
prayV,
And, make, O ! make thee, its, peculiar, care.
'Mongst nations, give thee, tin-, imperial
place,
Hestore, thy learning, and, revive, thy grace.
Snatch thee from civil and intestine strife,
That arms a brother 'gainst a brother's life :
By lenient laws re>train the re>tlcss mind;
And different sects in holy union bind:
Tune their discordant tongues to" sweet ac-
cord.
And sheathe, for ever, the devourmg ^w.ord.
Law8 ! fram'd • to harmouize contra rious
creeds, -1^^ '
And heal the wounds thro' which a nation
bleeds: r ,
Laws, — that should mitigate a people's woes;
And make them dreadful only to tJieir foes.
Christ's righteous canon! — politic, as just.
To kings committed as a sacred trust;
Thi^t truly pious and pacific code,.
To God's etcnrnal house the ample road^.
Laws! — mild, impartial, tolerant, and /JR,
A bowl of luiion tor a people mix'd.
Such a« good Calvert Inim'd for Baltimore,
And Pttin, the Nmiia of th' Atlantic shore. "
}U])py the land! where laws like thesd pre-
vail.
To guidii the private, gitanl the puljlic weal ;
Where fzcHoa dares not rake liis hideous
form.
Nor bigot frensy conjure up the storm :
Where all fulfil the strict coimnand He gave,
Wiio came to suffer, but who came to save;
Aiid own his truth divine — though tyrants
frown,
Tliat they who bear his cross shaU wear Ut
crovvn.**
" And thou ! who on life*s stormy oceaa
tost.
My fortunes fled — ^roy country's franchbe lo?t.
My b irk conducted through a world of woes»
Calm'd my sad heart and sooth'd it to repose ;
Bless'd be' the liour that link'd thy fate wkk
mine,
And bade our stars, as kindred stars to shine;
Bless'd be that guiding hand — that angel form.
That mark'd my way and snatch'd me from
the stonn.
Gave me dear pjetlges of thy care and love,
Ai^ seem'd a saving mercy froni above. —
''nStletme pay'the debt to truth I owe.
And boundless gratitude while here bt-low:
The meed awaits thee, in an higher sphere,
The«^e fading tlow*rs, my feeble oflTring here.
And if the wreath my trembling iini^ers twine.
Of florets fresh, with tendrils from the vine.
Be ruddy wrought— eJccusc my tearliil eyes
And throbbing heart, that o'er my covuUry
sighs;
Sighs, for her slaughtered sons, — ^a blood-
stain'd band.
And all the liorrors tliat pollute the land. —
Long may. our ruling de^tiiltes unite.
In spite of envy, and, in fortune's spite ;
And many years of health and pleasure past.
May tiiat vvhich shall divide us — 6V my last ?
May thfi thy thread of life, not rudely torn.
But gently rais'd, — on seraph*s wing be born;
To rortij — Arria — Pembroke — Kussel rise,,
And form a new galaxy in'tlie skies.
Tliere^ mingiingwith the good and virtuous
shine,
With hea^nly lustre, and a light diriae;
#-
tOtTTHKt'S MfettlCAL TALES.
$79
O) bad.} Jubal's lyre, or Miriam's tuneful
tongue.
High ^ould I hvmn their praise, the Just
among;
Man*s soft consolers, atnidst doomy care,
A solace sure, in anguish or despair:
His nurse in childhood, and his friend in age ;
Companions dear, through life's sore pilgrim-
age.
Jn sickness and in death, — ^his couch beside,
Uis mild physician or hi& pious guide.''
Mr. Burroughs is a catholic, and seems
to believe in the fabulous history of Ire-
land ! His poem in general is inferior to
the passages which we have quoted : the
best painter of the age deserved a better
poet. Bat Mr. Barry's feme -will rest
upon his own works j his pictures in the
Adelphi, as tliey are now the only public
monument of the art in this kingdom, arc
likely long to be tlie best. His merit is
acknowledged, and the fa^on will regret,
when it is too late, thdPW'.has met with
no better reward*. ' Befor^ Wh Barry will
have been ten years in his gr^ve, the Ve-
nns Anaduomene and the Pandora will
singly be purchased, and cheaply pur-
chased, for a larger sum, tlian all tlie la-
bours of the ^'ing artist have ever ob-
tained. His %)rks will be the boast of
England, and his history its opprobrium, •
Art. XX. — Metrical Tales, and other Poems, By Robert SotJTHEr. 8\'o. pp.202.
WHEN the Sibyl asked ^ specific
price for her poems, and wr.<' refused, she
burnt a portion of them. She then asked
the same price for the remainder, and was
again reffised, but with more hesitation.
At length she burnt another third, and
obtained her original demand for the re-
sidue. Could Mr. Southey imitate the
conduct of the Sibyl, it would be attended
with ecioal advantage. * The poetic rank
to which he aspires, would long ago have
been conceded, had he laid before us only
the specimens of his excellence : he has
half-buried his reputation beneatli the
quantity of his productions.
His Old Woman of Berkley is^ the best
original English ballad extant. Wore he
known as a ballad-maker only, by that he
would stand at the head of the poets in this
line ; "but having produced many ballads
of secondary value, he incurs apprctiation
at the average,' and not at the highest rate
of his production.
Af r. Southey is adapted for a writer of
ballads. He is unaffected beyond all our
poors. He never steps aside to pick up
an ornament, nor strains the languuge for
a carious felicity. The cleanly simplicity
of the good old time adheres to his
thoughts and to his expressions. He is
natural even to excess 5 for artists ought
to skip, in their delineations, all the unin-
teresting features J he visually pourtrays
too much. He paints externtll nature
with the deceptive fidelity of tlie Flemish .
school, but with too many touches, and
with insufficient selection of object. Nor
is it in description onlv that his copious-
ness borders on prolixity 5 in the very
'Wording of his phrases, tliere is a redun-
dance of expletive smd unmeaning par-
tioleB^ of /off and ondM and /Acrei ai^
wpons, which, in any other form of com-
posifidn than the ballad, where one is ac-
atstomed to it, would be insupportably
trailing. In the rhetorical figure called
rejxftition, Mr. Southey delighti; in short,
he has all the resources of amplification
at command : what he has to learn is to
curtail and condense. Milton and Pope
are the writers he should study 3 he has
too much of the Spenser and Dry den exu-
berance already.
The first oi these metrical tales relates
God's judgment oh bishop Hatto, who,
having caused the death of the poor du-
ring a famine, was devoured by rats.
The catastrophe is well told, the arrival of
the array of rats is described with living
movement j but the incident at the barn
was too tragical to form a subordinate part
of any narrative, or to ^be ludicrpusly
avenged.
The pious painter again is somewhat
faulty in Jie structure of the fable ; for
when Beelzebub is found in the prison,
and then vanishes in lightning, it seems
obvious to arrest the painter again, and to
chain him as before : one is not satisfied
•that the story is ^ an end. *
St. Michael's Chair is one of the poems
which, the author should have sufForeci to
perish in the Anthology, where it first ap-
peared. Pvcbecca Penlake is a religious
womsin, who, during the sickness of her
husband, vows to saint Michael a gift of
six marks, in case of his recovery. With
honest piety she collects her little savings,
and urges her husband, as soon as he is
tvell enough, to travel with her to satht
Michael's church, in order to discharge
the sacred debt. On the steeple of this
church is a chaif, which projects over the
eaves: and tradiliou vouches that evet/
Ppa
yf ,
580
tOETKY.
wothflii, who lias tbc coiirnge to sit in it,
will be mistress in her own house. Re-
becca is eager to climb the steeple, and to
sit in tlic chair : she falls from the battle-
ments, and is clashed to pieces on tlie
grave-stones. From this incident an at-
tempt is made to extract mirtir: the hus-
band orders ' the bell not to be toU'd tor
her death, lest it should wake her. If
this story bad had a lewd turn, the author
would on no account have related it j he
is too much so at times for probability of
character in his heroes. How can he per-
mit himself, one of tli|^chastest of our
poets, the greater immorality of attempt-
ing to excite laughter, where pity was
due; and of tickling away the frown,
^^lich ought to urise at the ingratitude
*"and cruelty of thisunfe^^ling, this abomin-
able husband ?
The ballad of a young man tliat would
read unlawful books is very impressive ;
and moreover remarkable, as it seems to
contain the germ of the Old Woman of
Berkeley.
** Cornelius Agrinna went out one day.
His study he locked ere he went away.
And he gave the kev of the door to his wife,
And clur^jM her to keep it lock'd, on her life.
And if any one ask my study to see,
1 charge you trust tlu'in not witji-tiickey.
Whoever niav bL'g, and intreat, and implore.
On your life let nobody enter tliat door.
There livM a young man m the house who in
vain
Arcess to thut study had sought to obtain.
And he bcgg d and'pray'd the books to see,
Till the fooiiih woman gave hini the key.
On the study-table a book there lay,
Whirli Agrippii hiin-clf had been reading that
day,
TIu* l(*derF> wfff v^ritten with blood within,
What wouldst thou with mc? theWicfcrf
One cried, .
But not a word the young man replied :
Evers' hair on his head wa^ standing upnuht
Ajid his limbs like a jxilsy shook with alfnght.
What wouldst thou with me? cried tliC Au-
thor of ilU ^ *. =n
Rut the wretched voung man was silCTt *5taii
Not a word had his lips the power to say.
And his marrow seem'd to be melting away.
What wouldst thou with me? the third tiaae
he cries, i
And a flash of lightning came firom his eye%
And he lifted his griffin claw in the a'r.
And the yourtg man had not strength ft* a
prayer.
Ills eyes red lire and fury dart
As out he tore the young man's heart ;
He grinnM a horrible CTin at hk prey.
And in a clap of tliundcr vanished aw^v.
The MOKAL.
Henceforth kl all young men take heoil
How iu a Conjurer's books they reatl."
A more serious moral w«ild haw con-
verted the poem into a fine and impres-
sive allegor}'.
King Charlemain is a lirely story, biit
narrated with less display of descriptive
force than is usual witli tlie writer.
Saint Romuald is somewhat liable to.
the same moral objection as Saint Mi-
chael's Chair ; that the predominaot final
emotion is that, which ought not to pre-
vail 5 that which Voltaire and the per-
vcrters of moral taste would have cbosea
to excite j but the poem is executed in
Peter Pindar's best manner, and whh rital
easo and vivacity.
Tlie Well of Saint Keyne, which is
built on tlie same frame of satire as Saint
Alichaers Chair, is jexquisitely managed ^
Aud ilio leavei were made of dead men's sltf.|fc||ihc reader is here not compelled to hestow
• a smilq which h^ disapproves. There ai»
few comic ballad* equal to this : the three
last stanzas are especially admirahle. Tl»
ten first stanzas may be censured as Ef-
fuse ; but the protraction of expectation
And tlje^e horrible leaves of magic between
Were ihc uglio>t pictures that ever were seen,
'Ihe likL-n'.'a^s ol tiiiiu^^ so foul to behold,
Thut what they were, is not fit to be told.
The young man, he began to read
lie knenv not what, but he would proceed,
A\'Iii!U there was h<iard a sound at the door
Wliich as he read on grew more and more.
And more and more the khockingapew,
'4 he youn^ man knew not what t^mSj
Pmtti-emhling in fear he sat witliin,
'J^Ii the door was broke and the devil came in.
I'wo hideous horns on his head he had got
Like iron heated nine times red hot;
'i lie breath of his noslriU was brinistoae blue,
And his tail like a liery serpent grew.
is on th.^ whole favourable to the effect of
the close.
Bishop Bruno \% a well-executed narra-
tion; if any thing is wanting, it is soiafl
specific motive for his souPs being re-
quired K^i him that night. We are agaia
tempted to transcribe :
*' Bb^hop Bruno awoke in thq dead midius^t.
And heliparvl his heart beat loud witha&ight;
111. (Ireamt lie iiad rung the palace bell.
And the sound it gave was hispassjxig kndli
soutiiey's metrical tales.
581
Bishop Bruno smiled at his fears so vam.
He turned to sleep and J)e dreamt again :
He rung at the palace gate once more,
And Death was the poller liiat opened the
door. < '
^c started up at the fearful dream,
/Vnd he hearu at liis wuidovv the screech owl
scream !
Bishop Bruno slept no more tliat night, . .
Oh! glad was be wlicn he saw the day light!
?Co-.v he gttes forth in proud array.
For lie with tlie ^mperpr cjines to-day ;
Tliere was not a baron in Germany
That went with a nobler train than he.
Before and behind his soldiers ride,
^ITie people thrDni^M to see their pilde ;
They bow'd the head, and the knee they bent.
But nobody bUit him as lie went.
So he went on stately and proud,
When he heard u voice that cried aloud,
Ho! ho! bishop Bruno! you travel* with
' glee,..
But 1 M Qukl have you know, you travel to mc !
Sjhind and before and on either side,
e looked, but nobody he espied :
)\nd the bishop at that grt^v cold with fear.
For he heard Uie words distinct and clear.
And when he rung at the palace bell.
He almost expected to hear his knell :
And when the porter turn'd the key,
Jle almost expected Death to see.
. But soon the bishop recovered his glee.
For the emperor welcomed h'mi royally ;
And now the tables were spread, and therQ
Were choicest wines ^d diiinty fari;.
And now the bishop had blest the meat,
When a voice was heard as he sat in liis seat,. .
With the emperor now you are dining in glee.
But know, bisiiop Bruno ! you sup with me I
The bishop thqn ^ew pale with affright.
And suddenly lo:it his app(:tite ;
All the wine and dainty cheer
Could not comfort his heart so sick with feat.
But bv little and little recovered he.
For the wine went tlqwing merrily.
And he forgot his former dread,
^id his cheeks agam grew rosy red,
W'hen he sat down to the royal fare
Bishop Bruno was the saddest man there ;
But when the masquers entered the hall.
He was the merriest man of all.
Then from amid the masquers crowd
Tlicre went a voice hollow and loud, . .
You have past tlie day, bisliop Bruno, with
glee !
But you must pass the night with mc !
His check grows psde and his eye-balls ^lare;
And slid" round his tonsure bristles h'is hair;
\V'ith tha^ there came one from the masquers
band.
And tqok the bishop by the hand.
The bony hand susjicnded his breath.
His niari\)w grew cold at the touch of Death ;
On saints in vain he attempted to call,
Bi;>hop Bruno fell dead in the palace hall."
The battle of Blenheim is not adapted
to become a popular poem: it thwarts
a certain instinctive patriotism, which
chooses to value high the successful mili-
tary effort^ pf our countrymen, in order
that a succession of life-riskers may rise
up for our defence. The condition of
njf^nkind is not sufficiently secure against
violence, to cashier the protecting force of
rivaj violence. When we want Marl-
bproughs, we must praise Marlboroughs.
it is better to call forth military talent
under the constitution tlian over the con-
stitution. There is no alternative. The
anti- warlike revolutionists of PVancc must
submit to the will of the warlike revolu-
tionists. Poets, pray continue to praise
heroes !
Saint Gualberto is a more finished piece
pf versification than this poet often exe-
cutes : it shows that neat writing is In
Mr. Southey's power, whenever he b(^-
stows the requisite time and pains. Cow-
per says, a poet should never tire of cor-
recting his own works. We recommend
this truism to Mr. Southey's notice.
Of the monodramas, Xiraalpoca pleased
ns most : it was probably intended for an
episode to Madoc, and not being pf con-
venient insertion, was published apart : it
would not have dij^paraged that truly great
and fine poen^. We suspect some songs
of the Indians to have a similar origin^^
The Love Elegies of Abel Shufilebot-
tom are excellent, especially the fourth :
few heroi-con^ic poems have been com-
posed with equal felicity.
• ITie sonqets, the anomalies, tlie miscel-
lanies^ the eclogues, and the inscriptions,
comprize good pieces j but there is alloy
enough among tliem to make the ore pass
for a specimen of less tlian its real value.
Aw. XXL— T/itf Penance of HugOj a Vidon on the French Revohitimt. In the Manner qf
JDanie. la four Cantos, ffrittcr^ on the Occasion qft/ie Death of Nicola Hugo de Basse
[ %iiU, Envoy from the French Republic at Rome, January J 4, 1793, Translated from tlifi
original Mian ofVinccnzQ fifonti into English Fcrse. ^ith two additional Cantos. By
$Bl
POETRY.
ike Hev. ITenry Boyd, A. M. Hear o/Drugmath, in Ireland, and Chaplain to ike 'R^hL
HonourabU Lordyiscount Ciuirlcvitk. 8vo. pp. 180.
NO poem of modern Italy, indeed no
poem of modern times, has experienced
such great and rapid success as Vincenzo
Monti's Omiica in Morte di Ugo Basse-
vilL\ It passed through eighteen edi-
tions in six months. It is surprising that
a work so celebrated, so singular, and
upon a subject of such temporary attrac-
tiveness, has not before been naturalised.
Had this version appeared in 1/94, under
some taking title, and with a larger as-
sortment of " bloody notes,'* the associa-
tions would have circulated it, and its
terrific effects might have vied with those
of the Furies of ^schylus.
To the edition of this poem contained
In the Pamasso Moderno, some brief me-
pioirs of Basseville are prefixed, which
are not to be found in the translation. He
was the son of a dyer at Abbeville ; had
been educated for the church, but aban-
doned the study of theology, and went to
seek his fortune at Paris as a man of let-
ters. There he obtained the situation of
librarian to some great persopage, whose
name is not mentioned. * Two young and
rich Americans arrived at Paris with let-
ters to his patron, and he recommended
Basseville to them as a travelling compa-
nion or tutor through Germany, for which
they rewarded him with a pension of
three tliousand livres. At Berlin he
formed an intimate friendship with Mira-
beau, was associated to the royal academy
there, and carried on" a controversy in
defence of the French writers against
Carlo Dcniua, the historiographer to Fre-
deric the Great, and author of the well-
known work delle Rivoluzioni d' Italia,
From tlience he travelled into Holland to
Study the principles of commerce, upon
which subject he wrote a poem, which,
according to the Italian editor, does no
dishonour to his name. Next he pub-
lished the Elements of Mythology, which
the French journals noticed with praise,
and a volume of poems which evinced
him to be a man of brilliant imagination,
but at the same time a consummate liber-^
tine ; for, says tlie Italian, he scattered
through them those wicked and impious
elegances, the springs of which were
opened by Marot, and dilated so much by
Voltaire, tliat all France has been inun-
dated and contaminated. At the com-
mencement of the revolution he took the
fide of government, and distinguished
himself in a journal, which bow for it*
motto these words : II faut un Rn ascK
Francois, and he supported the same sen-
timents in a historj' of the revolution, Ln
two volumes, which he dedicated to his
great friend La Fayette. But changlz^
his opinions, as wider prospects, cither po-
litical or personal, opened upon him, he
connected himself with Biron and Bris^ot,
and Dumourier, and by the interest of tba
latter he was nominated secretary of lega-
tion at the court of Naples. Frono thence
he was sent as envoy of the republic to
Rome, to stir up, as it i$ mid, a reyoiUtiaa
there. He is said to have expressed skd
written his opinion that Rome, contraiy to
what he had expected,, was ineletrahlc,3i}d
this expression is adduced in prouf of the
guilt of his designs. But he was urged
on by some of his couhtrymeD, against Lis
own better judgment, and at length after
some open insult to the majesty of thd
pope and the dignity of the people, the
mob attacked him. Basseville was an in-
trepid man, and fired a pistol amoi^ them;
they dragged him out of the carriage, asd
murdered him upon the spot. No other
Frenchman was killed, much to the ho-
nour of the Roman populace, say the
Abati Monti his Italian editor, and bii
English translator. This inoderation of
tlie mob seems to imply that the mufdir
was premeditated, and that they acted
under orders. The persons of ambassa-
dors have never been held sacred whea
any thing was to be got by assassinatii^
and kidnapping them.* Dorislaus aod
Ascham, Semonville and Jean de Brie»
and sir George Rumbold, are enough to
prove the assertion, though the name cf
Basseville were not added to tlie list. Tbe
widow and child of this victim were takra
care of by the pope ; he himself in a brief
will, which he had time to make befocc
he expired, recommended thera to the pro-
tection of Brissot, and of one of his Ame-
rican friends.
How long Basseville*s name may be
preser\'ed by his own writings, we knov
not, never having seen them ; in Italy it
is not likely soon to be forgotten. The
very singular poem of which he is the
hero, is m imitation of Dan te> and written
in the terza rima^ Dante* s metre. It be-
. gins after tlie nnwder, when just time
enough has elapsed for a devil to hav&
seized the soul> and an angel to kn^
BOYDS PENANCE .OF HUGO.
583
rescued it. These are the opening
stanzas :
** ITic contest paus'ci ; th' iufemal claimant
Hew,
Witli battied rajje, to join the Stygian crew
That wiiiteil in the dcvp ilie r iiuinan pTcy.
. His vulture hands the fury stretcliM on liigh;
Tlien, like a liOn, through tlu* nether sky
Sent a long yell, and curst the luckless day.
. " I-oud blasphemies against tli' Eternal Sire
The demon spoke, wliile round his temples
dire
The horrent hydras, as he shot along,
Uisbd through the gloom. But from the
deadly strife
Sad Huj^o*s spirit, scarce recovering life,
O'er the abyss with feeble pinions hung.
"* Smit ^nth alternate angui-h'and dismay.
Now on his gory membv^rs, where tne^' lay,
He lookM agliast ; and now, with deeper
awe.
The world of spirits, from afar, beheld,
Half warmM by hope, and half by dread re-
peird ;
New to the second life's mysterious law.
*' With smiles that si»em'd the rosy dawn of joy.
The Delegate, that on tins hard' employ
Was sent, the victim cheer'd, and thus be-
gan:
* Hail ! happy Spirit, hail ! the doom is past ;
Ainid that favour'd train thy lot is cast.
Which owe salvation to the Son of Man.
*^ * Fear not yon tbrk flood's sullen roar be-
low;
Yon ne\ cr there shall join the sons of woe.
To quatTthe baleful stream, and sing de-
spair ;
For Justice, with Ekeraal Love combin'd,
Shall purge the black contagion from your
mind.
And make you fit to breathe empyreal air.
♦• ' The great recording angel wrote your
fate
In adamant, and bars the blessed gate.
To kev.'p you from the taste of lieavenly joy
Till France atones her cTinies. 'I'he troubled
tide
Of anguish and of rage you long must ride.
And deep remorse your gloomy hours em-
ploy.
" ' You sharM the guilt, and you the price
roust pay ;
Yon noBome fume, tliat, in the face of day.
Breathes 'iiorrible to souls, your sense re-
fin'd.
In torture shall sustain ; for now the hour
To Vengeance, Vengeance, calls th' eternal
Tower,
Though Mercy- still with Justice lives com-
bui'd.'"
Mr. Boyd professes to have given only
a free translation ; if however we rightly
ttoderstand the original, he has given ad-
ditioBsd 0|)8Ci,vuiy 10 a poem whidi neefded
none, by confusing the scenery. Ugo is
not represented in the Italirin as hoVering
over the abyss « these are the lines :
" Allov timivie 1* ali aperse e scosse
J i'aniina d' Ugb alia seconda vita
Fuor delle linnnbm del suo sangiie rosst
E la mortal prigione, oud' era ujicita,
Siibifco in dietro a riguardJir si volse,
Tutta ancor sospettosa e sbigottita.'*
Ifas Mr. Boyd been misled, by the «e«
cond line ?
*' E lo Spirto d*abis?o si partia ?*'
Hugo bids his body farewell, and departs
from Rome with his guiding'ang^lj bujt
as they go they behold one of me seven
angels standing on St. Peter's, and shadow-
ing the whole Vatican wiih his shield.
They pass on and witness the dispersion
of the French fleet by a storm, and frantic
Liberty defying Britain, who smites her in
her wrath. Spain, Italy, Germany are
rising in arms 5 the spirit of Bassevillc,
weeping at this sight, reaches Marseilles;
a blasphemous crowd are there insulting
the cnicitix, at the foot of wliich lies a
human body, newly murdered. Tjie ghost,
which has just left it, joins Hugo and re-
lates his history, that he being th^ common
executioner of the town, had been or^er*
ed by the mob to fasten a halter round the
image of Christ , and put to death for the
refusal, for which martyrdom his soul had
found grace : the spirits embrace, arfd se-
parate, dud Hugo and his guftle hold on
their way, beholding tlie mi.*.erable statfe of
France as they go. Every where they see
blood flowing, gibbets erected, dead bq-
dies, churches demolished, their leaden
roofs sent to the furnace, the country
lying waste, and boys torn from their pa-
rents for the arniy. At lengtli they reach
the French Babylon.
'' * O when will Penitence, returning late.
Atone the crimes of this polluted state ?*
Pale Sorrow thus her doleful descant sung.
By cruel mockery driven to deep despair,
And, roaming round, was heard unhallow'd
Care,
Their tasks dispensmg to the madding
throng.
"And stem Necessity with iron scourge.
Was seen the brainless populace to urge
To rutldess deeds. While, with a vacasC
eye,
Dutilncfolcnce the rising storm beheld^
And join'd its progress, to the task impell'd,^
With the strong despot lixik'd in Stygian
tie.
'' There Famine too, an hide-bound£end,.ap«
pcar'd.
And to the dire employ the many cheered.
Distinct, the dire anatomy was t
564
POETRY.
' Her raylcss ryes in hollow sockets toUM,
Her gr'uiclmg jaws were hiclcous to !)eho!a,
And Hades glmmiLT'd on her Gorgon
mien,
*' Far other was the fiery glance of Kage,
with lion ramp he trode th'» dusky stage,
With Discord close behind,' a Stygian
bride,
Bending her veil ; a snaky wreath, instead
Gi May's puffumlng fragrance bound her
liead.
As on^^■ard she pursu'd her desperate guide.
*** A band of Dreams, in moonlight, mopdy
mirth
Illusive, led the blinded sons of earth
To horrible exploits, and Hope was there,
iOf things impossible : and causeless Dread,
\Vith her the living tide ii^ipcird, or led
Fierce in tiie van, &x storming in the rear.
f With quick, reverted eye, and fearful
loojc,
The trembling soul of \ igilance l^e shook
Whh new alarms, as on the poncrrous bar,
That cio&M tiie gate, he lixt an anxious eye ;
For oft with hand unseen, a domon nich,
Ojien'd and cios»*d at will the port of \Var.
" Twas she, the sister and the slave of
drath.
Whose dreadful joy, when legions yield their
breath,
Peals thro* the firmaraent. When, o'er the
ijlain
Shp calls her hell-dogs to the feast of gore,
Her name in thunder rolls from sliore to
shore.
And terror wild foreruns her disi^al reign."
The characteristic defects of Mr. Boyd's
translation may be seen by comparing this
passage with the original, which consists
of exactly half as many lines.
♦' Sul primo eiitrardella citta dolent*?
SUnno il Pianto, le Cure, e la Foliia,
• Che salta, e nulla vede, e nulla sente.
Jvvi il turpe Bisogno, € la restia
Iperxia colle man sotto le a>celle,
. L'uno all' altra appoggiati in siilla via,
Evri r arbit^a Fame, a cui la ptUe
Informa^i dall o^sa, e \ lerci dcpti -
J' anno brribile sit^pe alia ma;icellc.
Vi son 1v rubicohda J re tiirenti;
K laJDiscordia pazza, il capo avvolta
Di lacerate bcnde e di serpente.
Vi son gli orbi Desiri; e della stolta
Oftrihaglia- i Sop,n!, e le Paure smorte,
Sompre il crhi rabljufifate, e sempre in volta,
VofTJia custotladellemeste jxnte
K le chiude a suo sc-nno, e le disserra
L'ancella e'incieitie la rival de Morte ;
I^ cruda io dico, furibonda Guerfa.
Che nel sangue s'abbevera e gavazza ;
E sol del nome fa tremar la terra.'J
The distinctness, and precision, and
/orce, of the originalj ar^ dttstroyed by this
loose pvaphrase. .
Jhe human inhabitants of Paris are at
tliis time preparing for some great event.
The. bells are still, there is no sound of
business in the streets, but low speeches,
and murmurs and sounds of sorrow. W«>-
men are holding tlieir babes closer to the
breast in tear, and striving in vain to soften
the hearts of their husbands. The gliosis
of the Druids pass oyer iliem, and shower
down blood and poison ; and the Parisians
taste and become mad with the de\'ilkh
Intoxication. They seize and bind the
king. The airs of heaven, motionless with
horror, bev/ailed him, and the angels
wept ; and tlien the Almighty weighed in
the balance the crimes of France against
his divine lovp and patience. The scales
hung even till the accusing angel cast in
the fate of the king, and turned the ba-
lance at tlie moment when Louis ascended
the scaffold. Four spectres ascended with
him, each had a cord around his neck,
each held a dagger. ■ Tlie name of eacfc
was writLen upon his forehend in blcKMi,
names terrible to kings and to nature.
Damiens wjis one; Ankerstrom anotl^er;
Ravailliic the third ; the fourth hid his
name with' his hand. Mr. Boyd says he
knows not who is meant, unless it be tbp
infamous EgalitL Ilim it cannot meaD,
fo^ be was living when the poem was
written, and these are called quattro Jmtt^.
We have no doubt that the person Lhus
described as concealing himiieif, is iL*
executioner of Charles the First j and this
is made tlic more clear, as it is be who
lets the axe fall. The soul of Louis in>-
mediately aspends: the army of GaSk
martyrs meet him, and Basseville presses
and beseeches his forgiveness. Tlie king
asks who he is. He relates his offence
and* how his soul had found grace, be-
cause, hearing at jhe moment of death
that the Pope had taken into his protec-
tion his wife and child, he had shed tears
of remorse. Louis accepts his repentanc^
and in return for his forgiveness lays hii
commands upon him.
" Two kindred souls your sympathy will find.
Yet to the tale of Bourbon scarce resigned;
With ceaseless tears they weep my iiKHim-
ful doon>.
O hover o'er their heads with angel wing.
And (if thy guard permits) 3 r«X}niem sing,
• Frpm Uieir sad souls to cliace the meotal
gloom.
*' Visit their slumbers, like returning light,
(jive all my glories "to their inward siglit,
llie more tlian regal pomp that uOiV ^
mine.
Tell them what life among the blest I lead,
bhew tl;em the diadem that binds mv head.
Which envy, can't corrode, nor uefitb r*»
sign.
BOYD S PEXANCE OF HUGO-
58S
'• Tell tlicm (hat yoncler In the blest abode,
{Tiu: bosom of my father and my God)
I Ijid a plaop, and there their coming wait ;
There all pabt sorrows turn'd to rupl'rous
joy
By i leaven's mysterious guidance, shall em-
ploy
Cur contemplations in th' empyreal state,"
He bids hira next go to Rome and bid
the pope display Enianuers standard, and
unite the whole commonweal tli of Christ
against France ; for without his help Ger-
many and Switzerland, and Prussia and
£ngland, will combine in vain. Having
gi\en these instructions, Ivouis ascends to
heaven. The constellations are bcdimmed
by the glories of his passing train, the stars
put on a brighter pomp of light, and die
comets display a more niajeslic length qf
hair; he reaches the throne of gloi^', and
angels sing the triumphs of redeemed
pian.
Meantime a troop of demons and spec-
tres cfowd round his bleeding body to
drink the blood, but an angel keeps them
at bay with his fiery sword. The four
regicides are at the head of the band y a
troop of soul? from Marseilles fullow
them, who Have been lately killed by the
royalists. V<»ltaire, Diderot, Helvetius,
Rousseau, D'iMcmbert, Raynal, Bayle,
and Freret, are described as cpnsplcuoijs
among the groups. Next come thp Jan-
'Cenists ! Last die atheists led by die author
of La Systemc de la Nature. All these
exult round the headless corpse of the
king, and boast their share in the cata-
strophe j but when the last leader boasts
that he had done most by destroying God,
a shudder ran through die whole, like tlie
sound of a thick rain, heard in the silence
pf midnight. Basseville, surprized to be-
hold the ghost of Raynal, whom he knew
to be yet living, enquires of his guide the
meaning of diis wonder, and is told, as
Dante had been before him, diat while
his soul is among the damned, a devil
anunates his body, which was the case
vrith many other of his couutrymen . in
the senateand the forum.
• But now the gates of heaven open, and
the three angels of terror, and mi^ifortune,
and death, descend and join die fourth
who is guarding the body. The spectres
fly at their approach. Two females come
forth from the church, each* holding in
each hand a cup, upon which the previous
pvents of die revolution are sculptured.
They gather up the blood of Louis, ai*d
fill with it the .four vases, and give them
to the four angels, denouncing prophetic
curses.
'* Like four dark pillars of ascending fume.
The giant spe. tre» rose amid the: ^Umhu,
And to die ditrorent quarters, ut iliu sky
At once they jjoint their pinions' airv sweep,
And reach the regions where thp thunders
sleep,
Till clouds disjiloding, give them wings t*
tly.
*' Then o'er tlie fields of fuie aerial bhH%
lilagh from his goblet Hung the gory d»!VT
DiiTusive, like a crimson cloud, afar.
Shedding a sanguine light, that veilM arouml
The stellar lires in bloodv billows drown'd ;
And all the planets look'd revenge and war,
*' And, kindling in its fall, die fluid gore
{seemM like Gomorrah's Haming storm of
yore.
And clouds of Erebus die welkui hung.
*' To every heart tlie penetrating pest
Soon found its way tliro? many a mortal
breast.
And human frenzy met celestial fire ;
Widi blended rage, and wak'd to new alarms.
The an;Ti-y nations cr)*d * to arms ! to arms!*
And kindling zon^js in deadly 'rage cou-
spire."
All Europe flies to arms as the vases of
blood are poured out, Basseville in hor-
ror asks how all this is to terminate. Come
with me and thou shalt know, die guide
replies ; and here the original poem ends^
luckily witlwut a prophecy.
That diis poem is highly original, and
striking in all its parts, cannot be doubted.
It is the work of a man whose mind l^as
been deeply imbued with Diintc and with
the Apocalypse, but whose dreams, though
blended widi diese impressions, have a
character of thcirown. W'jsMr.GiMniy lull
of this poem when he designed his a\Ki-
theosis of Hoche ? if he were a stranger to
it, there is a most remarkable similnrity be-
tween the genius of the poet and the artist.
But Vinccnzo Monti seems to Inn e re-
ceived his visitations rather from a night-
mare than a heavenly muse, the reign of
chaos and old night is his native and pro-
per sphere ; " half fooUng and half flying,"
he makes his way well through tho '* crude
consistence," but when he reaches ** die
* Mr. Boyd says, '* Each in her hands a mighty mazer bore," as if each held but one, s»
(kat when four cups are aftcn^ards tilled tt does not appear fruin whence diey caiue»
5S«
PO£TRY.
firm opacous globe of this ronnd world,"
he is out of his element, his feet have
neitlier strength for walking, nor his wings
for flight. This Cant tea in Morte di Ugo
Basset die is upon a plan perfectly suited
to his powers of execution, it is such a
dream as laudanum would produce in a
hag-ridden monk. His Pelegrino Apos-
tolico is far inferior. But perhaps none
of his compositions more clearly ascertain
the character of his imagination than his
three sonnets upon Judas IscarioT. As
i soon as Judas has hung himself. Justice
seizes him, and dipping her finger in the
blood of Christ, writes with it upon his
forelKMd a sentence of eternal danmation,
and drops him body and soul into hell !
The angels hide their eyes with their wings
at the sight (this is a very favourite con-
ceit with the ix>et who has frequently re-
p<^nited it) : the sight of the sentence in red
letters terrified the damned, he attempts to
tear it out, but in vain, for God had fixed
it there.
•■* Ne sillaba di Dio mai sr cancclla "
How much more humanly is the old
Irgend of the sabbath of hcil conceived,
whicli -allows Judas to come upon earth
on a Sunday, and cool himself!
Mr. Boyd's supplement would have
been better as a separate poem. It is
indeed connected with the preceding can-
tos 3 but as soon as Napoleon comos on
tiic stage, we lose sight ot Hugo and his
guide. A demon appears to the Corsican
in a dream, tells him that Fnts has woven
his fortunes in a purple loom, that he is
ordained to decide the doom of a nation,
and that in Egypt the mistress of tJic spell
shall tell him ail the conditions which are
required on his part. His actions on the
insurrection of Vindemaire, which may
be regarded as the death-day of republic-
anism in France, and his first campaigns
in Italy, are rapidly shown or narrated: he
gofs to Egypt and loses his fieet, and the
angel then shows Hugo Bonaparte's dream.
*l he Corsican is represented cursing Bri-
t.iunia, and invoking the aid of the infer-
i!al powers against her.
" * There are conditions,' whispering as it
pabt,
A voice was heard, that in the whirfing blast
. Struc k with deep cadence on his trembling
ear;
lie started, where he stood, and raised i^s
ey<*s ;
A diisiy ( oUimn, lowering to the skies,
Cajne sweeping past, and westward seemed
to veer.
'* He folIowM, lialf in hope, and Iialfa&aid.
As the young Dane pursued his fathers skide.
On to a mass of monumental stone.
Where broken columns all at random lay,
0*er riftod archeri there it broke away.
Like scatterM clouds by ev'tiing" Zephyr
bio\cn.
** O'er many a shatter'd |Hle, and kmg Ar-
ciide.
With (igiit and dusk altcm, tlie moonbeams
plav'd.
And tianga cheqiter'd figure onthegFoond,
In mimic majesty ; a sphinx before
A giant Hgure, rcar'd in years o€ yore,
I'iroe-scarr'd, and huge, before the en-
traoce frown'd.
•' It stnxle an arch ; below a dusky stair.
That seem'd a shelving passage to despair.
To the pale chief a dubious wekDoiDe
showM ;
Yet fearless down tlie yawning vault he pes*.
And thro' long colonnades, and antres vast.
The spirits ey'd him onward as he trode.
''A gate disclos'd, and all was daik, but soon
Like Earth's dim sliadow, moving from tJv
moon.
Gigantic fingers seem'd to drag away
Adubky veil, that hid a mirror, bright
As.Luiia, when, fiill-orb'd, she rules thenigh^
And sheds o*er land and main reflected
day.
" ElntVinff, the wond'ring pair the scene «I^
vey'd.
And soon beheld, wliat seem'd a living ?had^
Seen by the fiearful splendour for within.
Clad in a sable stole, an ancient crone ;
He look'd as if his heart congcal'd to stone
At her long wimpled weed, and rird'd
skin.
" * Courage!' she cry'd; but'with a bakfbl
smile ;
' Not long shall England revel in the spoil
From (.7 aid obtani'd. Like Sol, eclipiU
and pale.
Your slia<low'd glory sickens for a time;
Soon shall it brighten, like his orb sublune,
And o'er the powers of Christendom pre-
vail.
" ' Go on — ^but wear the mask of Virtue aiW,
The fair pretext shall mount you to the hiil
Of Koyalty, that courts yoii to her arms.
Nay, fallVr uot, but folk>w'wbere it lead>.
The dastard fails, the fearless roan succeeds.
Whose heait is all alive to glory's chanK.
" *The time will come, when you may by
aside
The vizard, when BeUona ibr your brkle
You take, and from her liands receive the
crown
Of laurel, <leeply drench'd in royai gore ;
Then your dread name shall ring m>ih sliore
to shore.
And tlH-ones and akars spread your long
renown*
BOTD & PENANCE OF HUGO-
SB/
^ * Ee bloody, bold, rcsolvM,. and laugh to
sTorn
TiiH men that call you cruel and fors^vorn,
Trut to the leading of your natal star ;
*rhe stars befiicnd you — we their voyuge
guide ;
The stellar virtues shed as we decide ;
Luxurious peace, or wide-consuming war.
•' * I'ell me, O niotJier ! When shall I be-
JioUl
Crilimnia's flag by Fortune's power controlled,
-\iul sunk in ocean r — shall it ever be ? ,
Tliat l\^!it which led me on has left the sky.*
* J^ook,* she returnM, ' at that disclosing eye ;
TJurc thy benignant star revisits thee.
•* • That orb you fee, with eager hand I tore
From a live crocodile, in days of yore,
And brought it to Dom Daniel's magic
fajie,
like the moou^s disk it crew by Demon's
skill; * ^
And now the mirror shews whateVr I will :
Go read (hy triumphs tiiere, by laud and
^Ir. Boyd might have found a better
scene for an Egyptian vision in the St.
Louis of Le Moyne, a man who might
have held no inconsiderable rank among
poets, had he been born in Italy instead
of in France.
In this magic mirror, which is better
conceived' than described, the mistress of
the spell shows him his future fortunes :
h^ doubts the vision, and in one of those
absurd speeches which satirists so fre-
quently introduce, describes himself as
the greatest of all villains, but doubts his
means of attaining to such high dignity.
To assist him the witch prepares a caul-
dron with the help of the Vices, from
whence they produce a fiend called Anan-
cus, an allegorical being to represent ne-
cessity, as understood by fatalists or
Dr. Priestley, we are told in a note, if the
reader pleases, who with his dark apostles
is to prepare all nations for his yoke. In
a note we are told of writings in favour of
predestination, by R. H. (Robert Hall we
suppose) and others, and referred to the
Anti-jacobin Review! That he may be
assured all this is reality, not a mere illu-
sion of sleep, she adds :
" Behold a sign that what I tell is true.
The magic beam that yonder meets your
view,
Colletling to a point itk orb of light.
Shall spark-le in tlie gem that decks your
hand,
^nd point your progress to supreme com-
mand,
.Ukfi i^diaot phosphor lu the rear t>f nigl^,
11
" Whene'er you touch the ^one, with back-
ward pray'r
Which 1 sh ill tecch, a servile genius near
Yuur hiiUling sliall fullU, and msdoiB the
mind
Which you cesoire to taint. By dastard
dread
Some w ork, and some the human engine lead
By Enry, bloth, or Pride, witli art relin d.*
Mr. Boyd should have referred again
to Thalaba here, for if we mistake not,
tlie source of this is in these lines :
** Ab<lal{lar stood before the flame.
And held the rincj beside, and spake
The language that tlie elements obey.
The obVclicnt Hame detached a portloa
forth
That in the crj-stal entering, was condensed.
Gem uf the gem, its living eve ci fire."
Book 11- p. 87.
Napoleon after this goes on victori-
ously, overthrows the. directory, and de-
feats the allied powers, and the angel has
no other comfort to offer Hugo at last than
tliat truth shall prevail through tribuln-
tion.
These supplementary caiftos are worse
planned than the original, and disturb iti
unity of subject ^ they have also the sanm
fault as the original, for the poem still re-
mains unfinished, and the question what
is the end of all this, is still to be asked.
Mr. Boyd discovers some powers of fancy,
and his verse is full and sonorous, but it
wants the force of Monti. This is parti/
to be atuributed to the stanza which he
has chosen. The main advantage of the
terza rima is its continuousness : the poet
. closes his sentence when he pleases, not
at stated distances, and this advantage the
translator has consented to forego. Monti,
hy imitating the old masters, has at least
kept himself free from tlie faults of the
moderns : his style is plain, severe, for-
cible 3 the translation has none of these
characteristics ; it is professedly a free ver-
sion, but Monti is one of those poets who
requires to be translated as closely as pos-
sible ; what is good is not likely to be
improved by any alteration from a transla-
tor's hand. But the fault which will pre-
vent it from becoming popular in Eng-
land, is its obscurity ; a fable so obscuifs
required tlie most perspicuous language,
and this it has not found.
Aline of Virgil in the notes is thui
printed :
Hoc Ithacus velit et magno mcscentur,
Atkidm,
JSuch IS the shameful ignorance of our
55S
Poetry.
iprinters, thxit xre now rarely see a Latin
note .witJiout some such blunder, and the
errors which they make in the English
tt?xt are more nilsphievous because ihcy
are less con:^picu6us. Every printer useti
formedy to have a competent corrector of
the press in his employ, and vre shall con-
tinue to notice the incorrectness of the
works which come belore \is, in liie hope
that tliis may ajjaiu be co:iiidered as c£-
pessary.
Akt. XXII. — Tkc Sabhalhy and S(ibt(a(h Trail's; b^ Jai^es Grahame. Svo. pp. 13^.
SO rcmnrjcably succes«5fal has this little
fo<mi boon, that it luid roaclu-\l a third
edition bcl'ure it came to our hands. For
s«.>ino part of its success it has l)ccn in-*
fk-htfd to its title. -Jind it may also have
ha I a sectarian circulation, hut undoiibt-
«^dly as much is to be attributed to the
true genius whiiii it displays*
TIk; preface has nothing prefatory, but
it is a striking chapter or ehapter/e/ ii^ ihe
TOamier of !^|oute5quicu.
•* Vie. who has seen threescore and tey
ifcars; has liv^d hn years oj Sahhalhs. The
appropriation of so considerable api)rtion of
Inimau life to^ religious duties, to domestic
mJiij^-incTit, an>d to meditailvu leisure, is a
rmsi merciful branch of the diviiiL* dispensa-
tion. It is tlie gi-aad bulvsai-k of pjvvrty
ae;ainst llje encroadimeuts of capital . 'ii\c
labouriiij; classes *f// tlj«'h tune.' The ricU
d'c the inwi rs, at least they an! the clmf
buyers ; for it is obvious, that more tliau the
kill of the waking hours of those who eani
tii.-ir bread by tliV sweat of their hro\v," is
consumed iji the manufacture of articles, that
rannot he deemed either nwessaries or com-
fci'ls. Six days of the week are thus disposed
ff alreaily. If Sunday were iu the market,
h would Knd purchaser's too. The abolition
of the Sabbatli would, in truth, be ecjuivalent
to a sentence, adjudging to the rich the ser;
vices of the poor}br ///c."
The poem begins very beautifully ;
" ITow still the morning of the hallowed day!
Muu* is the voice of rural labour, hu:;hed
The jjloughbpy's whistle, and the milkmaid's
song.
The scythe lies glittering in the dcMy wreath
Of tedcied grass, mingled with fading ilowers,
TJiat yester-murn blooincd waving hi the
breeze:
Soimds the most faint attract the ear, — tJie
hum
Of early bee, the trickling of the dew.
The distant bleating, midway up the lill.
Calmness sits throned on yon uniiiovlng cloud.
Po him who wanders oVr the upland leas,
The lilackbinrs note comes mellower from
the dale ;
And sweater from the sky the gladsome lark
Warbh's his heuvcn-tuued song; the luljuig
brook
^rurnuirs more gently down the deep-vor^
^ glen;
W hile fn>m yon lowly roof, u^hose curling
sraoke
O'ermounts the mi<t, is heard, at iBtenrals,
The voice of psaluis^ tlie simple song o(
pruise, '
"With dove-like win^, Feace o'er y<a
vilbgc broo<ls : -
The dizzying mill-wheel rests ; the anxTl'sdin
Hath ceased; all, all aroimd is quietness.
luKSs rearful on tliisday, the limping hare
Stops, and looks back,"and stops, and k>o4kSciii
man.
Her deadliest foe. The toil-worn hor^> se^
free,
Unheedful of the pasture, roams at large;
And, as his stiff uriwi(4dy bulk he rolls.
His iron-armed hoofs gleairi in the moroiDg
wy.» • ^
Af\er describing the social worship of
Scotland and " the loftier ritual" of Eag-
land, tlie poet paints the soUtary sabbeth
of the shepherd's boy, who reads of the
son of Jesse keeping sheep 3 and tlien
marking the place in his bible with a sprig
of thyme, sings the hymns which he has
been taught at home. A fine fossa^
follovys in a higher strain ;
f ^ Far other tunes our fathers' graudbirei
kiiew,
A virtuous race, to godliness devote.
What tliough the sceptic's scorn hath dared
to soil
The record of thek fame f Wliat tlioagh the
men
Of worldly minds have darefl to sli«»matirc
The sister-cause, Religion and Ihel^w,
With Superstiuon*s name! yet, yet i
deeds,
their
Their constancy in torture, and ip death,>
These on tradition's tonsL
shall
guc slUl live, tlies^
Oji history's honest page be pictured briffht
Xo latest times. Perhaps some bard, whose
muse
Disdains the^ gcFvil^ ^t^ain pf Fashion's quire.
May celebrate tjieir unambitious names.
With them each day was holy, every hour
They stQod prep ved to die, a j>eople doomol
To death ; — old men, and youtlK, and simple
maids.
M'ith them each day wa§ holy ; but that mcn^
tiBAHiWs «bl?ATH/A!irD SABBATH-WAIK^-
5S!N
On which the angel said. See xvhefc the Lord
W^as /a/</, joyous arose; to die that day
Was bliss. Long c^ the dawn, by deviotts
ways.
O'er hills, thro' wood*, o'er dreary wastes,
tliey sought
TJie upland moors, where rivers, there but
brooks,
Dispart to different seas: Fast by such brooks,
A little glen is soinet lines scooped, a plat
M'iih green fi\tard gay, and flowers tliat stnm-
gers seem
Amid the heatliery wild, that all around
Fatigues the eye:* in soHtudcs like tliet?e
*l'hy persecuted children, ijcotia, foiled
A tyrant's and a bigot's bloody laws :
TlKire, leaning on his spear, (one of the array,
That, in tl>e times of old, liad scathed tiie rose
On Eogland's banner, and had powerless
struck
The in&tuate monarch and liis waverinoj host,)
The lyart veteran heard the wt»rd of Cod
By C'anieron thunderetf, or by Rcnwick
poiured
I41 geutle stream : then rose the song, the
loud
Acclaim of praise; the wheeling plover ceased
Il*»r plaint; the solitaiy place was glad.
And on the distant cairns, thv^- watcher's ear
Caught doubtfully at tiuies the breeze-bo/iie
note.
But years more gloomy followed ; and no
more
The assembled people dared, in face of day.
To wor^hip Opd, pr even at the dead
Of flight, save when the wintry storm raved
tierce,
And thunder-peals compelled the men of
blood
^To couch within theur dens ; then dauntlessly
The scattered few would meet, iu some deep
dcU
By rocks o'er-canopied, to hear the voice,
n heir faithful pastor's voice : He by the gleam
Of sheeted lightjiing optd the sacred book.
And words ot comfort spake: Over their «oul3
His accents soothing came, — as to her young
The heathfowl's plumes, when at the close of
eve
'^he gatiiers in, mournful, her brood dis-
persed
3y murderous sport, and o'er the remnant
spreads
Fondly her wings ; dose nestling 'neath her
breast.
They, cherished, cower amid the purple
'bkwnis."
Mr. Grahame himself should be the
poet who should give these excellent mar-
tyrs their fame. It is jndced to be wis|ied
'diat some of the stories which he has ac}-
duced in tlie notes bad been woven into
the text, but tljey are told with such force
and feeliog by the original writers, that
perhaps he wag not unreasonably afraid of
weakening their eflect What a tde li*
iiii»tance i:> this !
"One morning, bctri'een fiv6 and '^it
hours, John Hrown, hrivlng performt^d th^
worslrip of (Joel hi his fitmily, was ^oing, with
a spade in his iwnd, to make ready^somt
oeat-groilnd. I'he mist being very dark, he
knew not until cniel and bloody CLnv(*riiou3C
compasf^ed him with three troopgr^jf horse,
brought him to his lK)ust*, and there examined
hi in ; who, though ]<e was a man of Stamjner^
Jni> speech, yet answered him distiiKi.lr and
solidly ; wiiichmacle Claverhousetoexamif^
tJTose whom he had tak^Mi to be his guide
through th.* mmn, if they had heard hiin
preach? They a-invcrnHl, * No, no, he wa.<
never a prrach^.T.' Me said, ' If he has never
preached, nieikle he has pVayed irt his ti'me/
lie said to John, * Cio to Vour praws, ftk
you shall imniedialely die/ When' he was
prayings ChtveriDuse iulerrupted him three
tinier- or:e time ih;it lie stopped him, he wa^
pleadtiig that the Lord w olild spare a i^m-
nant, and not make a full end in the day of
his anger. Chverhouse said, * I give you
time to pray, and ye arc begtm to prcacli ;•
lie tur-ied about upon liis knees^ and saic^
' Sir, YOU know neither the nature ijf prar-
ing nor preaching, th:it calls thiapreaohing*;*
then continued wilhcat corafusion. Wliea
ended, Claverhouse laitl, «" Take good niglit
of your wife and children.* His wife, stand-
ing by with iier child in her arm^ iSiat she
had bVouL^ht forth to him, and another chr.il
of his first wife's, he came to her^ and sai^
* Now, Marion, the day is come that I told
you would come, when'Isjiake first to you of
marryinp; me.' She said, ' Indeed, John, I
can willii.gly part with you.' Then he said,
' This is alll dt-sire, I have no more to <K*
but die/ IK? kissed his wife and bairns, and
wished purchased and promised blessings to
h(i multiplied upon tliem, and his ble^isiug.
Claverhouse ordered six men to shoot him:
the most part of the bullets came upon his
head, which scattered his brauis upon (Ije
ground. Claverhouse said to his wife, * What
thinkest thou of thy husband now, Nv^maur'
She said, * I thought ever much of him, and
now as much as ever.' lie said, ' It were
justice to lay thee beside him.* She said,
' If ye were pennitied, 1 d«)iibt notbtit your
cruelty would go thai length; but ho\v will
ve m ke answer for tliis moniijig's work ?•
lie said, * To man I can be answerable ; an(l
for God, I will take hiin in mine own hand/
Claverhouse mounted his horse, and march-
ed, and left hei;, v/ith tlie corpse of her deacl
hu:ibandjying there. She set the bairn on
the ground, and tied up hi« head, and
straitfhted his body, and covered him in he»r
plaici, and sat down, and wept over him. It
being a verv desart place, whore never victual
grew, and far from neighbours, it was somq.
time before any friends came tp her; the first
9 ^
sgo
toETnr.
ttatcame wni^ a rorr fit TiamT, that old siir^i-
irr christian woman in the C umitierhead,
nmuecl Elizabetli Mwizies, three miles dis-
taiU, who had been tried with the violent
death of her hiisljand at Pentlaiid, afterwards
of two worthy sons, Thomas Weir, wIjo was
killed at Drumclo^T, and David Steel, who
^•aiv/ sndd«ily shot alterwards when taken.
The said Marion Weir, sitting ujwn her liiis-
kand's grave, told me, that bt^fore tliat, slie
coiild j^ee no bVood but ?>hc was in danger to
faint; ai.d yet she was lielpcd to be a witness
to aU to is, without either fainting or confu-
sion ; exc; pt when the sliots were let off, her
eyes.dazzled. His corpse were buried at tlie
cad of his house, where he was slciin.**
rhiJEN*s Life.
Wliy is it that religious enthusiasm is
fiital to genius ? This very biuchor who
is as famous below by the name of Cla-
Terhckisc as he is on' earth by his title of
Dundee, is the hero of flii^hl.ind songs 5
the very cow- stealers on tlie burdtr had
bitter poets than Ale.^ander the Groat
could get, and yet the wild surtcrings and
admirable courage of tlie Cxameronians
kave not produced a single balhid. Reli-
gioua enthusiasm is uot merely fatal to
genius by what it prevents, but it seems
to debase whatever it touches, as witness
sQ tlitj versions of the Psalms !
An exquisite image occurs in the de-
acriptlou of the deblos's sabbath.
•• Or turn thee to that house, witii studded
.doors,
-And iron-visor'd m indows ;— even there
The Sabbath siicds a beam of bliss, tho*
faint ;
♦The debtor's friends (for still he has some
friends)
Have time to visit him ; the blossoming pea,
Tliat climbs the rust-worn bars, seems fresher
tinged ; . .
And on the little turf, thi^ day renewed,
The lark, his prison mate, cjuivcrs the wing
With more tlian wonted joy.*'
Mr. Grahame inveighs against the in-
discriminate cruelty of the criminal laws,
bot he recommends death as the punish-
ment for blasphemy ! We hope he will
feflec^ipon the iniquity of all persecu-
tion, and omit this very exceptionable
passage.
One extract more fiom tliese delightful
poems :. speaking of the Scotch emigrants
ill America, he tlms describes tlie bliRd
snan:
** Yes, e%'en he, round whom a night tliat
knows
No dawji is ever spread, whose native \-ale
j^escated to his closed eyes a bUnik,—
Deplores its distance now. TFi^re ttcf! he
knew
Each object, though unseen ; there could he
wend
His way, guideless, through wilds and mazy
woods;
Each aged tree, spared when the forest fell,
Was his familiar friend, frxMn the smooth
birch.
With rind of silken touch, to the rough e?m :
The three gray stones, tJat marked whtn^ he-
r9es lay.
Mourned by the harp, mourned by the melt-
ing voice
Of Cona, oft his restine-place had been .
Oft had they told him that his hi^ne'was ceary
The tinkle of the rill, the murmuring
So gentle of the brook, the torrent's ni^h,
Tlie cataract's din, tlie ocean's distant rocr,
1 he echo's answer to his foot or \noice.
All spoke a language which be understood.
All wanied him of his way. But most be
feels
U];on the hallowed morn, the saddenios:
chanp^e:
No more he hears the gladsome villagp bell
Ring the blest summons to the house of Goil;
And, — ^for the voice of psalms, loud, soUhl^,
grand.
That cheered his darklmg path, as, with Haia
step
And feeble, he toiled up the spire-topt hHl,—
A few faint notes ascend among the trees.**
Were we to select all tlie passages of
striking merit, it would far exceed cior
limits. There is a want of method andd
order in th(i poem, and all parts are not
equally good. When die author spaki
of the missionaries, he sinks into a metho-
dist versifier. He rises again iipoh the
subject of the slave-trade. Scotland inaj
indeed well boast that not a sin^U sfore-
ship sails from a Scottish port ! but are
not maiiy of the planters and most of tfaa
overseers in our accursed ib lauds Scotdi-
men ?
The Sabbath Walks contain many beats
tiful lines and images caught from ni?tniVj
but the connection with the Sabbath a
too arbitrary. After a separate |X)ehi upon
the Sunday, these walks had tJetter haxt
been taken upon another day. We cc^y
a note to the last poem, because it con-
tains a plan which ought to be adopted,
and enforced by law.
" During the winter season, there are
many shepherds lost in the snow. I have
heard of ten being lost in one parish. Whcfc
life-boats for the preservation of sftipw recked
mariners, and institutions fbr the nxoxery of
drouTied persons, obtain so much of the pub-
lic attention and patronage^ it is strange that
plbXsitres of lovr.
no mf ans air ever thouglit of, for tlie pre-
seniiiii>ii of tUc lives oF shepln^ds during
Mirtw-stonns. i believe, that in nine instan-
ce^ put of ton, the deatli of the unhappy psv-
^un!j u ho. perish in the snow is owing to their
Josuig their way. A proof of this is, that very
few are lost in the day-time. The remedy,
then, is both easy and obvious. I^et means
be used for enabling the shepherd, in the
darkest night, to know precisely the spot at
vhichhe is, and tlie bearings of the surroimd-
iog grounds. Snow-stonns are almost al-
waj-s accompaaied with wind. Sui)jj6se u
pofe, fifteen feet high, well fixecl in the
ffouad, widi two cross spars placed near the
bottcmi, to denote the airts, or points of the
compass; — a bell hung at the top of this
pole, with a piece of flat wood attached to it,
projecting upward, would ring with the
Sigiitest breeze. For a few hundred pounds,
every square mile of the southern district of
Art. X.XUI.— Simple Poems on Simple Suhjscts. By Christian Miln, Wife qfa iowr^
ncymaa Slii^i-cwrpetiicr in Footdce Aberdun. 8 vb. pp. 183.
«9l
Scotland might be supplied with sucTi bells.-
Ai they w.^uld be purposely inade^ to have
dirt'erent tones, the shepheru would .soon ^ be
able to dislinguisli one from another. He
could never be more than » mile distant from,
one or other of them. On coming to the
spot, he would at once know the }>oints of tl«
comj^ss, and of course the direction in which
liis home lay."
Mr. Grahaine wants thjrt correctness
which can only be attained by long prac-
tice ; he has however U^'true feeling of
a poet. We have seldom seen a poem
from which so many fine passages and
single lines of striking excellence could
be selected. Its success has not been be-
yond its merits 5 it will become perma*
ncntly popular.
THE oootents of this volume may most
Favourably be characterized by negatives.
The rhymes are not bad, the style is not
affected, and probably no other journey*
man slilp-carpenter's wife in Aberdeen can
write better.
hmr. XXI\^—78tf Pleasures of Lore, a Poem. By John Stewart, E^q. 8va pp. 177,
THE versification of this little |x>em is
»-idently modeled from " Tlie Loves of
die Plants" of Dr. Darwin. It displays
nuch ^tter, and some affectation, and
nay be read from beginning to end, or
rem the end to the beginning, or by al-
eroate jxiges, without the least detriment
o its jieDse or harmony^ as the following
pecituen will evince :.
^* O'er every surge, throiigli every fatefiil
storm,
lie distant sailor chaunts his fair-one's form ;
tfid not a stm that pours the zenith rav,
vtMd not a doiid that hides the orb of day,
>issolves the vision, dims the radiant smile,
►r stripe sweet Fancy of her ma^ic wile,
lirough pbins of ice if slow his course he
steer,
►Vr tepid waves if high his bark career ;
riitTre Orellana spurns the ocean's bound,
►r !«hiveiing Volga chills witli sullen sound ;
rill uudecay*dthe imaged pleasures glow,
L torrid fim-bearas and 'mid wa>tes of sncv.
Piilowd on hope, his temples Love reclines,
braight 'mid his dreams tiie dear iUu-siou
shines;
. RT. XXV — The Pleasures nfLore ; heing
I fie Asiatic and Buropeaa Luugiu^es,
TFIIS tiUe>page is calculated to deceive.
^ the greater part of the poems in this
>tanie, Mr. FitzwiUiam camiot in any
;nse be called die author, not even of
lose wJiich by onutthig tUt: names of tlie
Silence and sleep a mimic life renew.
With softer houi^ and transports ever new:
Wake the light svlphs, in Fancy's court fhat
dwell ;
And bid the airy modulations swell ;
Harness in gassamer the meteor train,
And mould tl>e tinsel coinage of the brain.
Kow the fond maid attends her sailor's sigh,
Hiisks in his smile and revt?U in his eye ;
In sj)iry iields and citron4)lushing bowers
CulU the gilt fruit, or crops tiie purple
flowers :
Plucks the ripe cocoa from (he nectar'd glade.
And roams delighted in Tobasco's shade ;
Or drinks ilie breeze tliat £ans the cassiar
wood;
Or hvps liw white limbs in the gelid flood.
Now, by the dimpling shorts at home slic
stands,
\Iarks tlie wliite sail, and waves ker lily-
h<inds ;
As, soon across the «cinti Hating foam«
Saids the (ail bark to near the rising homel
No^' jovial hands swift-ply the frying oar ;
Now the gay keel divides the dancing
shore : —
Ah 1 s;\ et;t enthusiast 1 soon th' ideal breast
Clings to thine own, caressing and carest !"
Ama'orrt Poems, original and translatedjrom
By G. W- FiTzwitUAM, Esq. pp. 168.
real authors, he by im[>}ication claims for
his own. It must therefore be considered
for the modt part an a selection cf poems
on amatory subjects. We have not ob-
served ill it any glaring vloiatioiu of decc-# *
m
POETRY.
mm, but ofltnccs against good taste might
ca^iily be p^^iiiiicd out. It is upon lUe
whoie a dmi scicction, and will we appre-
hend be lit tic in reqne^it eiilser for tf^
shelves of the Uaran-, or the secret caln-
ncts of the LL>hiouabIe dressing-rooms.
Airr. XXVI.— Pofjfi^ % P. L. Courtier. Vol. 2. l2ino. pp. 154.
THE first word in the Tcdiiuie is ^Isc
graoiniar.
Nim who -of solitude ercvThne
Not vainly auiig, ikj\t courts the snnle
Of beauty ;
"VVe notice it however only as a piece of
carelessness which the autlior will do well
to rectify in a future edition. Mr. Cour-
tier's epigran>s; epitaphs, and moral re-
flections, most certainly do not rise above
the dead level of mediocrity ; but from the
kisses of his mistress he derives bdth spirit
ind elegance, of which the two following
fieces are latr thou^ favourable speci-
mens.
Song,
'' Cr.n jt irath, <>r caH it ar*.
In her <inlle such matnr hiri X
With that smile I would not part.
Not Tor au^ht beneath tlic skies.
0 ! it' passing false thou art.
Since I cannot but believe ther,
Plavin^ -till the guileful part.
Woman ! never undeceive me/*
The Kiu,
" When^/fr^f the lips of lovers meet.
That ki>s of kisses,' O how su eet 1
Time, while it steals each ft-atun'd grac?
But more endears the lov'd embrace;
' For, ah f no after-kiss so sweet.
As first when lips of lovers meet !"
Art. XXMT.— I?/!//wrT nn Art ; or, the Rbmon^tranct of a Painter : In tc:o FiiHs. *^/<|
AV>/e.«, ami a Preface, indudhc; Strictures on the State of the Arts, Criticism^ Ptitrofmf»
and Fuhiic Taste By Martin Archer Shee, R, A, 8\'o. pp. i06.
MR, SlIEE informs as in his preface
fiiat liaviug written a poem in four books
Upon the subject of painting, in which
more particularly tlic early progress of the
Etudent is attempted to be illustrated and
encouraged, he has sent the lirst book
abroad to a-^certain by its success how far
such an arti<le of his manufacture may be
acceptable in the market.
^ y\\o^*.',[]^ Vili»TNj;rrt to' Ij/is gcni't.il
plan, il liuiy bi* acting '>i)rni.'\\luit li'-.e the man
who put a' livick in his |>ocket, in ord(»r io
enable a pmvkiser to fonn ajtHlgrnent of
his housr, vet lie ort'eis the present proUuc*
tion as a Uir Fample of the coinmoditv he
deals in ; he semis it np as a small balloon,
to a*jcertain thf rurrent of the air before he
commit's hiln^cll to the mercy ofthe elements
iu his larger and more liazaidoui muchino."
The preface to his volume is of un-
usual length, and unusual interest. It is
!ndee4 like the poem which it ushers in,
•M\ appeal to the nation on tfie part of the
tine jjrts for that national patronage, with-
out*which, though they may exist, tliey
cannot flourish.
*' It 18 a mistake unworthy of i;n enlighten-
ed govennnent, to conceive that tlie arts lell
to the rntki.nce of ordinary events, turned
K>;)<e upon society, to iight and seniniblc, in
the nide and revolting contest of courser oc-
cupations, can ever arrive at th*:t perfection
which contributes so materially to the penna-
neiit plory of a state.
** '1 ills is the true handicraft consideration
pp.
of the subject— the warehouse wisdom cf^
dealer and chapman, who would make t;.«
iriist a manufacturer, and measure his «ruw
by the yard. The arts treated commeRTaar,
ml rusted to that vulgar and inadequate ich
prcssion of llieir ini|K)rtance, which i^ to be
lound in thi.» ma«s ot society, never did, rJ
never can flourish in any couhtrv. The pri-
ciple of trade, and the principle of tfie ait>,i.-^
not only dNsimilaf, but incompatible. Pic'>
l* th»» in?ptmig power of the one — prase, of
tl.c other. Employment is t\\QpahutHm rtf.t
of the fir-t—encouragement, of tlie fc^t.
Tiicse t/*rms are synonymous hi the 6rdiri7
arvc>calions of life ; but in the pursuits of tirte
and jToyiius, tliey differ as wndely in meaiiicg^i
coklnc^;; from kindness, as the ^.ordid cun-
merce of mechanics, from tJie liberal iattt
cour<c of gentlemen.**
*^ Vr I thou t any adequate asii>{ance, _
ol^trueted and opprcN>ed by cirenauicw^
peculiarly hostile to their inicrcNts, the ar
of E;:gland have already advarrced bc}oa
our hopes, aiid taken precedence of ther a^
What may we not tliercfore anticii>3te few
tlieir exertions, if iJiey shall be so fortunate-
to experience tliose inspiring proofs of pub'
estimation, which, in all former iu-^asoe
have been es>cntial to tlirir existence?
" Sm-ely, in concerns of ihiskiud^ the e
be no ro6»n for the considerations <rf p^li
economy, for tl.e denuirruigs of estimate j
calcubtion : there is an expense whsch rt
riolies and adorns a state; and an ecijotia
w hich impoverishes and degrades it. Ihe co
is the enlightened policy ot the merrhantc*.^
nee ted with the conmieVce ofthe world ;^ 1 1
calculating on the broad scale of ])rotit A
SHEE's RHTMfiS ON ART.
593
Jos5, comprehendf; remote advantages, cotn-
buics complicated operations, wmX pours out
his funds with apparent profusion, tliroiigh a
thou5aod .outlets of hazardous adventure, se-
cure in the general result of his principles,
and calmly tracing the progress of his interests
through all their circuitous channels of return :
the other is the short-sighted solicitude of the
pedlar, whose ideas are'^conlined to his coun-
ter ; who, incapable of generalized views, or
extended operations, sees not beyond the tirst
links of vulgar advantage ; but casting up in
his terrilied imagination the paltry items of
<iaily disbursement, suHtrs the apprehensions
of expense to overcome the hopes of prolit,
till he has neither understanding to speculate
nor spirit to adventure.
" It is the policy of a great nation to be libe-
ral and nrdgnificent; to bo free of her rewards,
splendid in her establishments, and gorgeous in
her public works. These are not the expen-
ses that sap and mine the foundations of pub-
lic prosperity ; tliat break in upon the capital,
or lay waste' the income of a slate : they may'
be said to arise in her most enlightened views
of general advantage ; to be amongst her best
an<l most prolitable speculations ; they pro-
duce large returns of respect and consideration
from our neighbours and competitors, of pa-
triotic exultation amongst ourselves: they
make men proud of their count rj', and from
priding in it, prompt in its defence : they
|)lay upon all the chords of generous feeling,
elevate us above the animal and the machine,
and make us triumph iji the powers and attri-
butes of man.
" The examples of her taste and genius, the
monuments of her power and glory, all the
memorials of her magniticence, are, to a great
state, what his dress and ecjuipageare to a great
n»an: necessary to his rank, and becoming his
dignity; but amongst tliemore trifling cliarges
of his establishment.*'
The subject of the poem is thus indi-
cated:
•• What various aids the student's course re-
quires.
Whom art allures, and love of fame inspires ;
But cliief, what toils demand his earlier nours.
Prepare bis triumphs, and unfold his powers,
The Muse attempts — ^^ith beating bosom
sprmgs,
And dares advent'rous on didactic wings."
lows the fashion. Nor indeed is this a
work to be chanicteriscd b)r its faults ;
there is a warmth, an earnestness, a life,
both in the pcera awd the noies, deserving
of high praise.
Having explained the subject of his un-
dertaking, the poet proceeds lo notice the
ridiculous notions of Du Bos and Winkel-
man respecting the influence of our cli-
mate upon the arts, and he mentions the
grept painters whom England has to boast :
Mortimer ;■ Wilson whose name is justly
said to be a reproach to the age in which
he lived, who was appointed librarian to
the Royd Acadetny, that its salary of fifty
pounds per year might enable him to eke
out a mere subsistence, and whose works
are now enriching the picture -dealers j Mo-
garth, Gainsborough, and Reynolds, who
it addressed as roving in some Elysiau
grove with tlie sons ol learning.
Where moral Johnson, brigl.t in all her beams.
To listening angels treats celestial themes.
Mr. Shee notices witli some indignation
that no monument has been erected by the
nation to this great anist; and adds, that
his relatives, despairing of any national or
public tribute to his memory, have deter-
mined to erect one themselves. Then
turning to the aspirants of the art, he thus
addresses them.
" Ye finer souls ! in Fancy's eye who see
AV hat e'er young hopes*, and sanguine Ik arts
decree ;
While Vi t unspeird,^unplighted you remain.
Pause, ere you jo'ui the art-enaniour'd train ;
Consult your powers, the iancicd pussion
prove,
Nor transient liking take for lasting love ;
The nymph oiKe wedded, you repent too
late.
To change your fortune, or to check your
fate*;
Wheu time shall tinge her beauties in your
sight.
And all seem labour which was once delight ;
From Hope's fond dreams unwillingly awuke.
When slow conviction whispers your mistake ;
TJien, shall you wish some less advent'rous
aim
Vtpictnrapom*. If this metaphor were . j,,^,^^^ ,,,^ ^^^ ^f f^,,,^
*" ^. ^f ^l ^^ ^*^ ''^""'"^' ^-T 'I'osome obscure .nt-chanic toil l,ad sw.ay'd;
would Mr. Shee represent a muse witli
didactic wings ? But we will not stop to
notice faults of this nature 5 let it be sutfi-
dent to observe that the phraseology of
this poem is of that vague and inaccurate
character, which has losig cti&£gured our
poetry and barbarised our language; a
lault so common, it might almost be said so
universal, that the present writer only fol-
Ann. Rky. Vol. IV. Q q
Or left you humbly diligent in trade ;
While foil'd ambition weeps his wasted prime.
And disappointment drac»;s the load of tune.
To gain th' innnortal wreaUi of art requires.
Whatever of worth, or Muse, or Gi ace in-
sptrc's ; •
Whatever man, of hoav'n or earth, obtains,
Through mental toil, or mere meckuiic
pains \
«9*
POETRY.
A constant heart, by Nature's cluirms im-
An ardour, ever burning in the breast ;
A zeal for truth, a power of thought intense ;
A fancy tiowering on the stems ol sense ;
A meni'r)' as the ^dVi^ retentive, vast ;
Tliat holds to ri>o ai^ain, th' imprisoned past ;
A feeling, strong, instinctive, active, cha&te ;
The thrilling elect ricilv of taste ;
That marks the Muse on each resplendent
part.
The seal of nature, on the acts of art ;
An eye, to bards alom* and painters given,
A frenzied orb, reHecting earth and heaven;
Commanding all creation at a glance,
• And ranging" Possibility's expanse ;
A hand, wiSi more tnan magic skill endowed
To trace Invention's visions as they crowd;
Embody thoughts beyond the poet's skill.
And pour the eloquence of art at will;
'Bove all, a dauntless soul to persevere,
Though mountains rise, though Alps on Alps
appear ;
Though poverty present her meagre form,
Tliough patrons fail, and Fortune frown a
storm.
" O ! rare assemblage ! rich amount of
mind !
Collective light of intellect refm'd !
Scarce once an age from Nature's niggard
Jiands
Bestow'd on man, yet such tlic Muse de-
mands :
Such, wherever found, let grateful states hold
dear.
Reward tJiem Wisdom, wealth and rank re-
vere.
Alas ! how many cast of meaner mould,
l^{ii*:i common clods, we every day behold.
In evil moment to the Muse aspire,
Dt'grade the pencil, and abuse the lyre ;
Persisting toil, by no one talent grac'd.
And rot liktf fungi on the field ot Taste.
"XVhat plumeless bards btill pine aa poetasters!
>Vhat graphic dunces drop to drawing-mas-
ters!
Blockheads pursu'd through every nobler
sliape.
In miniature take refuge, and escape.
But chief, all you wiiom vulvar thirst of gain -
Degrading swavs, the graphic fount refrain ;
Th* inxulted spring dries up as Avarice sips.
Or turns to poison on his tainted lips ;
Each muse, the mercenary suitor spurns.
Nor fires the brt-ait, but where ambition
burns.
Yf venal herd ! to Pluto's fane repair,
And hroatlie yjur bonh in sordid incense
tiii^e :
Pav court to power, or <;oolh inflate4 pride.
And fortune U'ars you l)uoyant on her tide :
IJut seardi of wealth is here a vain pursuit,
Th'? groves of ta^te produce no golden fiuit;
Tht!v sprout in pahn^ alone, or bloom rn bays,
O'crpaid the culture, when tiie crop is
praise."
The second part is sj^tirical.. The poet
takes for his motto a disCkh from old JokatT
of Sali&biuy'.
Onmia si niseis, loca sunt plenissima nirgis,
Quarum tota cohors t'it inimica tibi.
He says in his notes, which are so tasnt
dissertations, diatribes, and fragments, con-
nected with the text only by a line of re-
ference, tliat if the arts be in a flourishing
state among us, it is ueitii^r owing to tinr
spirit of the times nor the liberality of the
state ; individuals have done every thing
by tlieir persevering and unpatronised ge-
nius, the nation nothing, llje Royal
Academy even w^as formed by artists, is
supported by artists, and has u^jt for maaj
years received the smallest as'sist^nce fraoi
the state, excepting the advantage of apart-
Itaents at Somerset- house.
He complains that other subjects en-
gross the public favour: the metaphysi-
cians first come under his lash ; the agri-
culturirits and cattle-feeders follow in their
due place -, next he falls upon the chemists.
" Philosophy, no more content to dwell.
With hennit Study whisjiering in his cell:
Forsake-J in sjxx'ulative pride the sage.
And walks the wildest nianiac of the age.
Sjjeird by her eye m here Vr tlie spectra strays
Insurgtuit shouts the ma^^ldening rabble izist {
Life raves around thiough each inilectetf
bram.
Confusion reigns and chaos comes again.
Science, that erst on eagle pinion soared,
AV'herc Wisdom wonder'd, and where FalU
adored.
To regions, \vhence eternal truths di/IVis*d,
Enlighten'd man, and blessM a world abus'd.
Now with clippM whig, iam liar flirts away
In Fashion's cage, the parrot of the day ;
The sibyl of a shrine wnere fops adore,'
The oracle of culinary lore.
*' On every side th' insatiate passion
spreads,
Subdues all hearts, and occupies alt head> ;
Rank, sex, and age, possessed beyond beite^
1 o physics fly, and Fuscus for relief.
Who, like a nursing mother at command.
With soup, and science, suckles all tiuf land.
Lo ! e'en the fair with learned fury fi-aught t
On beauty's brow alfect the frown of thought.
To studims seeming disciplim* their face.
And wear the mask of meaning in grimace."
Lastly, he complains of the politicians
as iadili'erent or hostile to arts which they
have no leisure to think of. From these,
whom he considers as all the foes of paint*
ing, he turns to its more mischievoiis
friend.s. Even they who love the art af-
ford it uociicouragementj they enrich the
picture-dealer and not the painter. Ne\'er,
be ^'^y^ ^vos there a tiaxc whea there was
SHEB^S ERTMBd OK AKT.
395
tnore disposition to traffic in the arts, and
less to cultivate them 5 when the possession
of celebrated pictures' was so much con-
tested, and the protection of native genius
so little attended to. Here Mr. Sh^'s
censure is ill founded. In his zeal for the
art he forgets that the private demand for
pictures must be limited ; that the works
of the great masters are better tiian those
of our contemporaries ; tliat tliey who
really understand painting know this ; and
tliat they' who do not are not to be blamed
for taking their taste upon autliority, as
they do their faith. I'hat tlierc are pre-
tended critics in painting, as well as in
poetry, we well know ; but it is for their
pretended contempt of contemporary me-
rit that they are censured, not for their
feigned admiration of the ancients. When
tbey echo the verdict of time they are safe ;
it is only when they deliver their own opi-
nions that they expose themselves. Such
a character is excellently well satirised in
these lines.
'* Seclude me, Hcav'n ; from every light
of art,
Cloud every joy that Painting can impart !
All love of nature, sense of taste confound.
And wrap me in Cimmerian gloowi around ;
But never more, in mercy, let me view
Timander's pictures — anS Tiniandcr too ;
*Tw past all human patience to endure.
At once the cabinet, and connoisseur :
Behold ! how plca's'd the conscious critic
sneers.
While circling boobies shake their asses* ears;
Applaud his folly, and, to feed his pride,
Bray forth abuse on all tiie world bif-.ide ;
Hear him, ye gods ! harangue of schools and
styles.
In piUer*d scraps from Walpole and De Piles ;
Direct the vain spectator's vacant gaze.
Drill his dull sense, and teach him where to
praise ;
Of every toy, some tale of wonder frame,
How tliis, from Heav'n, or Ottoboni came ;
How that, long pendant on ultibeian wall.
Or lumber'd in some filthy broker's stall,
Lay, lost to feme, till by nis taste restor*d.
Behold the gem — sbnn'd, - curtain'd, and
ador'd!
Hear him, ye powers of ridicule, di*plore.
The arts extinguish'd, and the Muse, no
more ;
With shrug superior now in feeling phrase.
Commiserate the darkness of our days ;
Nou' loud against all living merit rage.
And in one sweeping censure — damn the age.
" Look roimd his walls — no modern mas-
ters there.
Display the patriot's zeal, or patron's care :
His Romish taste a century requires,
Ifi sanctify the merit he admires ;
His heart no love of living talent warms.
Painting must wear her antiquated charm^;,
In clouds of dust and varnish veil her face,
And plead her age, as passport to his grace.
To critic worship, time s a sacred claim,
Tliat stocks, with fools, the calendar of fame!
" Shame on the man, wliate'ct his rank or
state,
Scorn of the good, and scandal of the great ;
Who callous, cold, with false fastidious eye,
'i'he talents of his country t-an decry.
Can see unmov'd, her struggling geiiius rise.
Repress the tlight, and interce|)t the prize,
Proftise of fame to art's past etibrts roam.
And leave unhonour'd, humble worth at
home.
Nor less in every liberal mind debas'd.
The servile tribe — ^the tadpole train of Taste,
Who crown each block, as Jove in jest de-
crees.
And skip, and squat around such fops as
these :
Wherever power, or pride, or wealth keep
court.
Behold this fulsome, fawning race resort ;
A motley group — a party-colour'd pack.
Of knave, and fool— of quidnunc, and of
^uack.
Of critic sops insipid, cold, and vain.
Done in the drip of some iK)or painter's brain.
Dabblers in science — dealers in virtii.
And sycophants of every form and hue.
Low artists too, a busy, babbling fry.
That frisk and wriggle in a great man's eye.
Feed on his smiles, and simp'ring at his side,
Catch the cold drops that llatt'ry thaws from
pride ;
A cunning kind of fetch and carry fools.
The scum of taste, that bubbles up in schools ;
Savealls of art, tliat shed a glimmering ray.
And burn the snuffs their betters cast away ;
As abject, crouching, void, and vjle a trai<i.
As wit can w ell deride, or wortli disdain."
It is vain to expect tliat the higher de-
partments of painting can ever be culti-.
vated with success, or with ardour (with-
out which there can be no success), in a
country where no patronage is afforded
either by the church or the state. The late
minister — but de mortuis nil nm bonum,
and we will tlierefore say nothing of him.
The English government has not for many
years had the leisure, even if it had had
the inclination, to second and render effi-
cient that good will to the arts which the
king certainly possesses. Something might
have been hoped from Mr. Addmgton,
who during his short reign discovered
every praiseworthy disposition 5 and some-
thing may still be hoped in better times,
when the books of the custom-house will
not be considered as the best records of
national glory. Our religious establish-
ment could do something | and wero the
aq2
sgo
POETRY.
cjfshedrnls to ect the exflmple, the wealthy
towns or Kiv.'ljTid might perhaps be in-
duci»d to vie with each other in decorating
their churches. There is the kink, the
ludia-house: these charteccU companies
hiiglit even now shew govenimcnt what
It ought to do in tlie public offices when-
ever the treasury can afford it. And to
conclude tliese airy six^culations, what if
Mr. Shec were to pea a poetical epistlo to
the lord- mayor ot London for tlie time
being, and convince him \\ow much to his
praise and glory it would be if, instead of
giving; a dinner, he gave a great picture to
the mansion-house ?
The c(jnclu(ling note to this spirited and
plcasaut volume examines the comparative
difficulties of the poet ai:d tlie painter, and
their comparative merits, of course to thes.
advantage of the latter. It is well done,
but it is sophistical^ and its faliac}' might
easily be exposed. Let it saifiee toqnoli
what Ben Jonson says: ** Tlie pen is
more noble than the pencil^ for that can
speak to the understanding, the other but
to the jjonse." Every body knows Raf-
faello's dispute of the sacrament. " The
scene (says Mr. Roscoe) compreheDds
both earth and heaven. The veU of the
empyreum is withc?rawn. The eternal
Father is visible. His radiance illuminates
the heavens. The cherubim and seraphim
surround him at awful distance. With the
one hand he sustains the earth -, with the
other he blesses it.'* The picture is con-
fessedly one of tlie noblest etFortsofthe
greatest painter -, still all tliat Mr. Roscoe
thus describes is but the picture of an old
roan in the clouds, with a globe in his.
hand. Such is the difl-erence between
language and design — between what i^
intellectual and what is mechanicaL
.Art. XXV'fll. — fli^paniofa, a Poem ; tcith appropriate Notes. To zchich are added, Unet
on the Crucijhion: atid other Poetical Pieces, % Samuel Whitchurch. 12ibo..
pp. 112.
THIS little volume, though containing
very unequal parts, is on the whole of far
more tlian ordinary merit. There is much
spirit in the following stanzas.
** Wafted across the billowy ffoed^
1 hear vehement crit's for biood.
And Murder's voice on 1 layti*s ravag'd coast
Outroar the torrent wuvt-s that sweep
Down thi* huge mountain's towcrine steep ;
AVhilst pass before me many au ii^ureu ghost !
The wing of Fancy bears me nigh
Some world beneath a happier sky,
AVIiither the martyred of mankind have fled ;
Where pleasure walks o'er verdant plains.
Where rcace pcTpetual empress reigns.
And where reside the spirits of the dead.
Hark ! melody's soft sounds I hear
Srcal on my ra'ptiire-ravish'd ear ;
Sonic niairliless i)tnmty beams upon ray eye.
Than evening's lustioufi star moa* bright,
Or the refulgv'ni (pieen of night
When walking "forth ui cloudless ifiajesty.
Tis murder'd Anacoana's voice,
She bids tht*c sun-bright isle rejoice,
She bids the spirits of the murdered rest:
(a ean's proud waves forget to roar,
And silent break upon thy shore,
While her kind accents soUhe tlie listener's
breast.
Jiehold her angel-^^pirit rise —
Mark her brigiit mtircy-beaming eyes
Weep o'er Xaragua'b >(5litarY fate ;
Tiiough thus she mourn/ forsaken vales
'J'hat cclioed Murder's dreadful tales.
She sees lir gif, and hails tliy happier state.
Alas ! what heart?, by hardships broke,
AVho bowed, who dietl beneath the yoke,.
None of my faithful friends survive to tell;
Them bondage held Hill life's last breathy
Their toils ne'er ceased 'till sunk in deadly
Tlieir wounded spirits bade the worid fiweiktl;
But famine smote the blood-hound crew,
Tliat from their bleeding vitals drew
The carnage banquet, and the feast of blood!
They rolled their eager eyes in vain
Around each desolated plain
Where Murder prowled, and poured li^s>
purple tiood.
And thou» stern foe! more base than biarc,
liold traveller o'er yon wide sea ware,
TiiDugh theu hast conqaered, and thy mi^oo»
slain,
Tliough Mexico's rich spoils be thine.
And Peru's far-feijiM golden mine,
Thou shalt be cursed witli thy uniigbteom
gam.
Anon some rival will arise.
And share with thee this'paradbe —
When shineth here tlie star of liberty
I'hou shalt in darkness btiU remain.
And hug thy own proud tyrant s citain.
Blind foe to truth, and slave of bigotry !
Then mourn not much-loved summer idf.
Again on thee shall freedom smile,
Though on ihee prey the x'ultures of the north:
Brave sable nations shall arise.
And rout tliy future enemies,
Though Europe send her hostile legions foith^
Yet ere tlie Victor's flag be borne
Millions will from their friends be torn,
Kidnapped aiid bouud un Aijric's distantstiore}
THE AKTICORMCAlf.
*9r
• Prom the green l^anks tliat Niger laves,
Or realms overlooking ocean's ciivcs.
Dragged forth to bondage — to return no more !
But thej' Miall rise ! the hour will come
Big with the proud oppresH>r's doom ;
Though times and seasons slowly pass away.
That sun which saw his mi linn hand
Spread desolation o'er the land,
Will smile on retributioft*s holy day !"
So also in the addroes to Bonaparte from
the spirit of Toussaint.
*' Tliough nerveless now Hi ft in vain
This arm that many a Gaul hatii slain,
Tet, tyrant list ! my brethren shall be frt'c,
For'though Ihou send forth host on ho^t,
Vanquished on Hayti's sea-girt coast,
They sliall not strike the flag of liberty.
Though by tlieir faithless chiefs command
Thine armed brigauds \>ith riithlcas liand
Spuming man's rights and honor's sacred ties.
Me ^cized at midnight, and in ciiains
D^-agged from war-wasted distant plains
Tq svhere pale tyrants frown, and winlrj- skies.
BoUl trampler on all human laws !
Heaven will avenge my righteous cause ;
Thou hast not sacriliced my life in vain ;
E*en now the sable herois rise ;
Kevenge ! revenge • each warrior cries —
They charge thy hosts, and strew their route
with slain !
Hirers of blood new run aroun<l
Drenching the burnt uptli^i-stv ground ;
But thou art chief ip perlidy antf guilt :
The outraged children of the sun
But mimic what thy (jaulshave done —
Thou must account'lor all the blood that'g
spilt !
What though imperial robes await
To deck thy liml)s in regal state ;
Though servile artists carve thy kingly bust ;
Thou shalt not long usuq) the throne
Of princely grandeur not th'me own —
Time may soon tread thy honors in the dust \
Death's sliadowpointeth to the hour,
'i'he last olall thy pomp and j)ower —
See ! that hand-writing on thy palace wall !
Its blood-red ch:<rdcters pourtray
Fortune's changed scenes, and tell the d^y
When AtVic's sons will triumph at tiiy tall 1
Vexed spirits, residents of hell —
Fallen tyrants who in darkness dwell,
HaH thy approach from tiironrs of misery !
Great conqueror art thou humbled tliui ?
Art thou b;'Lome like ULto us r
Enslaver of tiie nations ! — Is it tliee i"
We do not often meet with poetry of
equal animation, and certainly did not ex-^
pect such from the former productions of
Mr. Whitchurch. The great superiority
of this to all his other writings is a re-
markable proof of what persevering en-
thusiasm can accomplish.
The other pieces are not so good j yet
in all of tliem there are passages of occa-
sional vigour, a life, and a warmth from
the heart, highly honourable to tlie writer.
The frontispice is a disgrace to a book
of such sterling merit.
Art. X\iX,—The uinti'Corsicfm, a Poem, inthrer Cmitoes ; inscribed to the P'oluMcers of
Great Britain. 4lo. pp. 52.
THESE are very godd verses for a
school-boy^ as tlie following passage will
show.
*' Here dwells Beligion, rational and mild,
Not despot-pow'rs, but soft Persuasion's
diild :
No bigot-phrenzy here, immers'd in blood,
Conmiands consent to faitli not understood :
Nb inquisition here, with lawless pow'r.
Disturbs, by cruel threats, Devotion's hour.
Nor makes the wretch with studied tortures
groan
For cherishing a tenet not its own :
But pure Religion, here, with placid eye.
Regards mankuid as one vast family : "
With love-forb';iring cv'ry sect she views.
E'en bigot-papists, and obdurate Jews :
Whilst Britain's sons in conscious virtue bold.
Explore the fierce extremes of heat and cold.
To cliase the shades of Superstition's night»
To shed the gospel's vivifying lights
And guide the heathen's steps thro' fadirg
gloom,
To realms of endless bliss — to life beyond the
tomb.
" Here, with mild sway, impartial Justice
reign «;, ^
Waven wide the sword, and ev'r}' crime re-
strains ;
Th' oppiest relieves, and bows th' oppressive
great,
With high-swoln pride, and fancied worth
elate :
The bribe, the threat, the promise, all are
vain.
She hears them not, or hears them with dis-
dain :
Whilst Fraud retires, and Vice wings swifl
her Hight,
To lurk in regions of congenial night.
Yet mercy on, with smiles of pity, sheaths
Th' avenging sword, sofi siglis of puid<i9
brtiutiiesy
sgs
POETRY.
And Wds the wretch by heart-felt crimes de-
prest,
Dqwrt, repent, be virtuous, and l>e blest.**
The matter of the poem may; be under-
stood by its title. It recapitulates some
of the real crimef; of Bonaparte, and aH the
false ones which hare been ridiculously
laid to his charge In ^pite of the oM
proverb, k is still tlie custom in Engird
to paint the devil blacker than he is.
Art. XXX. — j4 Poem on the Rcsforfttion of Learnitte: in the East : which obtained Mr.
Buchfinan's }'riz€. By Charles Grant, Esq. Af. A. Fetlox;^ of Magdaiim Colhgc
4to. pp. 29.
THIS is just such a poem as university
prizes usually produce^ it is composed
according to the latest and most approved
receipt for writing verses. We quote the
best lines.
" Such was thv strain, Vyasa, saint and sa^,
TW immortal Beritcley of that eider age.
Like him, with flames of holiest rapture firM,
To thoughts sublime thy daring mind aspir'd.
And, natuie opening to thy ardent glance.
Saw God alone throu^ all the vast expanse.
Mysterious tlienie ! Ikncath the peipal shade.
Ill's ag«»d lunbs the reverend Brahmin laid ;
Full en his brow the holy ointment glowM,
The snow-white zeimar o'er his shoulder
liow'd ;
The pointed cussa deck' d his green retreat.
And Ganges' billow kisb'd his sacred feet :
Stfrt'ne he viewed tJie lau^hinff scenes around.
Bright Magadh*s vales with floating chawia
crown'd.
The sunshine calm on Casi's turrets shed.
And clouds reposing on Heemala^s head ;
Then all entranc'd, rec«iird his wandering eye.
And lix'd the guther'd beams on Deity :
From height to height his musing spirit soared.
And speechless tliought th' unutter'd name
adorM ;
Till words unconscious flowing from his
tongue,
He sweird the strain, and mystic measures
•ung.
' 1 1S ^U delusion : heaven and earth and
skies.
But air-wove images of lifeless dyes.
He only lives — ^sole Reinj^--none beside—
ITie self-existing, self-heatined:
All else but wakes at Maya's fairy caD ;
' For ail that is, is not ; or 'God is all.
Stupendous t'ssence ! obvious, yet unknomi ;
For ever muUiplied, for ever one.
I feel thee not, yet touch on every side ;
See not, yel follow where thy footsteps guidf ;
Hear not ihy voice, yet own its mystic power
In breathing silence of the midnight hour.
Oh, what art thou? since all this bur^o^
scene,
Umnimber'd isles, and countless waves b^
tween ;
This fabric huge, on floating pillars rais*d.
With suns and riery elements emblaz'd;
And thy own pedma, roseate flower of ligbt.
Emblem and cradle of creative mi^ht ;
Live ever on thy sleepless eye rechn'd,
Embosom'd deep in the abyss of mind.
Close but th' all-seeing mind, no splendor
burns ;
Unfold, and all the universe returns.
Oh, what art tliou? and what this daikling
ray.
Whose saddened lustre mourns in shrines of
clay ?
Spnmg from thyself, though quenched in hu-
man firame,
Famt emanation of th' eternal flame.
Oh, fade these scenes, wliere phantom beauty
glows.
And bid th* incumbePd* soul on thee repose;
Expanse how dread, imnieasumble l.-eight,
DeptJi fathomless, and prospect infinite.**
Art. XWL—Misceilcmeous Poetrif. By Edward Coxe, Esq, of Hampstead-hfoth, Mid-
dlesex. 8vo. pp. 269.
MISCETJ.ANEOUS poetry can only
be appreciated from samples, where it is
good for any thing. A large portion of
this volume consists of translations . and
imilations. The following parodies with
some felicity tlie Persicos odi of Ho-
race.
*' Fri35 me not — T cannot bear
Mountains of powder in my hair.
And oceans of pomatum ;
I.f t city prig^, or courtly beaus.
Wear the scarce bag, or scarcer rose,
I will not, for I hate' em.
PP-
Thus to be feather'd as an owl.
Or larded like a Gallic fowl.
For P^^nglishmen is horrid !
Dress me no longer like a fop.
But bring my scratch, whose lybnmtcp
Lies snug upon my forehead.*'
Some of tlie original epigrams are sue-
' cessful.
On the Death of an eminent Jexaelkr,
" Poor Will, who in jewels was never out-
v/d,
And by precious stones liv'd-4^ a earn
buDcle died I'
U
4^0XE'S MISCELLANEOUS POETRT. ^99
, . " Ye downs ! for huT, your even carpet
/. thloe TOWS that .he never gave Damon a ^^^^^^^^^ ^,,^^,^ bid the ^vild
Yet^uermits him to steal one, nor lakes it thyme bloom; n^ kr.0,1
aint B»^ ^^^*^ V'^^^ cowshp hanc its gentle head,
Tlias i« vain to her prud'ry she flies for re- And scatter, as she walks, a soft perfume.
lief, . . 1 , *i "Tliou dvke! yclcp'd from liim, whose
And forgets " the receiver's as bad as the 'rebelpride
thief!" Lost him that Heav'n above, man gives him
" Tho' Myra's cheek love's native hue di*- siope,^mobscur'd by mists, thy verdant side,
closes, ^{n^ lift thy brow abrupt from tenjpests
I like her txvo lips better than her roses." dear:
To Chloe. «' That when the sky's blue vault is all, serene.
,. . , ^ , ♦ And soaring' larks resume their ev'ning
f* You bid me be fr«e, and you say, we must a»" ^ariiio i^i
part.
song«
«. r '. , . , ^^ Mv Marv mav descry — enchantmg scene 1 —
Since ai^sence alone can regain me my heart, ^'^,j;^%>4 (1,3^ wmds thy swelling base
Your advice, dearest Chloe, how vain to pur- * "lone
sue ! ' °'
Who that «ver knew Freedom, could ever ^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^,^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^P^j„3 ^o court
know you ? ' renose
^, ^ . ,. ^ * «i„,o„. Amid sequester'd glens, and sheltered fields;
^ Mr. Coxe-s compliments are not always ^^^"'^^^^^^ of oak, which in proud Albion
10 neatly turned as the last. r^^
To be the safeguard of the wealth she
Delia, yields.
»«Ho^ could my heart of Cupid's pow-rbe- " Cata^tn.nquU vale ! that while beyond the
Wh^' bow-string i,, compos'd of Delia's AndJ«r sad Genoa, earth is bath'd in ,
oJ^hen the urchin shoots his skill defy Feels'^ot'the woes that make the wretched
SS^'S^^-^l^rSSntSg'^"''' Fo?.";Le,which ontheirhamleUbeamsno
Who tunes her Voice, and animates her more.
smiles ?*» « Xow, led by Hope, near Ocean's surge we
Tliis gentleman is a rival of Mr. Shuffle- Where briglit Hygeiabids her Naiad bring,
)ttom, and, which is not judicious in ri- (^s under ground she winds her modest way)
. Jry, had addres«ed the same compliment The healing tribute of her mineral sprmg.
to the same lady ; for thus singeth Abel to , .. ,, i 4Ufi,i ♦««= ;« ft^vM^sh
bis Delia • " There, while the slothful toss m lev nsii
' ' sleep, , ^ J
«... i. r^^ r D#.a#l to the freshness of the roseate dawn,
'♦ Cupid has strung from you O tresses fine Lieaa to ine ".^""*^= y^
-ni bow that m my breast impell'd his Health wing'd ^lUi pleasure may my iviary
rJTol s^veet locks ! he wove the svibtle fS^c pure stream that laves Wick',
^ Ijjj * flowery lawn.
WWkh the urchip angled for my ,, p^^ ^.^i^^^t j^eaHh, what pleasure can be
^^^ , ours?
Satirist, have never yet said any thing The languid pulse, nor dance nor song can
so absurd in poetry, that some writer or jj^^^/^i^,s;»d ^ere I, to sing, amid tliesc
otlier has not paralleled it in sober ae- bowers,
riousness. My Mary's health restored with fervent
The following is a favourable specimen praise !
of the serious poems: . , . ,«. r . \.^^
" Then would these throbbmgs of my heart
" Ye ah. ! that cool e'en summer's noontide ^be s^U^,^ ^^^^.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^
With fanning pinions dipt in ocean's spray, ."^*''^' , t^„ thif now mv eve-lidt
Pteathe on my .<Iarv, white ye gently blow. And tljese sad tears, that now my e>e liqt
At^t sweet slumbers-spirits blythe by ^611^ ^ .^^, , ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^jit^^^,
600
POETRY.
'* Returning bliss would then our cottage
greet;
And our dear children with fond rapture ^^ee
Their motluT^ sweetest smiles, grown still
more swert,
AVlien wani^l, Hygeia, into life, by thee !
" Wake then my prayers ; to highest Hezv'ii
ascend !
Oil, waft them,, angek, to the throoe
above !
That Cod her life in mercy may extend,
\\ hose life to me is happiness and love 1*
Art. WXn.-^— 77/r IFoodmari's Tale, often the Afanncr of Spender. To 'a:hich are added
other Po ins, chlijhi nrtrru/hr and h/ric, and the Hor/ai Message, a Dramti. By the Bit.
IIen'ry Poyi), J.M. trans'ator of th: Divina Comedia of Dante, Ficar of Dnnngaihin
Ireland, and Chaplain to die Right Hon. Lord Flscowit CharltviUe. 8vo. pp. 448.
THISvoIunne may in some sort becoa-
sidcred as a literary curiosity. It contains
more new and singular combinatioas of
di^isimiiar thincfs limn any book that we
hive opened lor a long time past ; and
huroly even absurdity which makes us
laugh, is preferable to dullness which
only makes us yawn. Fi'.r be it from us
however to insinuate that Mr. Boyd is by
any me;ius deficient In the hitter quality ;
on the contrary, his * Woodman's Tale,*
an obscure and long-winded allegory, very
little ' after the mjnner of Spenser,' has
fatigued us as much as any piece that could
be mentioned: but this, tJie author tells
V?, was a very juvenile production, iind in
a subjoined note he gives a precious spe-,
«irnen oi the quality which renders some
of his latter pieces so exquisitely diverting.
The allegory is inten:lpd to illustrate (how-
xiver darkly) the evil eilects of drinking,
a!id from the note alluded to we derive the
following very valuable and accurate in-
formation : * The pernicious qualities of
Ji<|uids are analyzed and detected by
xijeans of other licjuids, sec lor examples all
the books of chemistry.' Some ' Milesian
Tales' follow, chiefly remarkable for their
prolixity, and the inextricable confusion
in which tliey are involved. To some
of these are added little notes explaining
a kind of moral or allegorical meaning
wiiich the jiuthor, it seems, intended to
gi\'e to his tale:?, but which without such
assistance the mcst sagacious reader must
despair of being able to discover. "VVe
meet with several highly complimentary
poems to and upon sundry lords, ladies,
gentlemen, and re\erenJs, which may
possibly be more successful in recommendr
ing the clergyman to pretermeut, than
they cail be in'advancing the poet to fame.
Jn the piece written ' On reading 'some
MS. poems by Miss Stewart' we fin4 the
following stanza :
•' \\"\i\\ her I climb, aghast, the iiozen w^ve
AV]\f'r<* the dim polc-itar views tlie shipman's
djo<n. [rave.
Whilst Zembla's tempests thro* the cordage
And each man staudij his own Gorguniaii
tomb."
How a man can stand his own tomb,
how each man can be his own Gorgon, or
what is me4int by a * Gorgonian tomb,'ue
confess ourselves unable to explain j but
in a ' primal offering from lerne's coast,*
as the author calls it, tilings which caaoot
be explained, may at least be accnunied
for. We extract the following lines as a
fair CMmple of Mr. Boyd's manufacture ;
the second note well exemplifies rfjc
absurdity resulting from the ridiailous
practice of tacking together by raeam
of some accidental coincidence of time,
place, or tlie like, things which bear no
natural relation to each other.
To Miss Bisset, on her recorery from tk
dangerous illness, /^dbruary, l^OA.
" When winter sadden'd all tlie sky,
And the discordant storm beat high j
tpon the misty brows of Moiimc,
In pleasing dreams by Fancy borne,
In Galla's bowers I seemed to stray ;
Listening to thy soothing lay.
While holy Friendship hovei^dnigh.
Little I thbugjht tliat fell disease
Had fettered in tuannic peace.
That hand, which thiQ* each trembling
chord
The maze of harmony explored.
And not thy lyre, metiiought, alone wa?
mute
Cecilia bending o*er her silver lute,
Fancy beheld, witii all her choral tnwn,
The descant falter'd in its solemn swcH;
For the sweet magic of thy potent strain,
In Cambrians deep vales she reniember'(|
" well.
When shado\\'}' minstrels, from the rugged
height
Of ancient Penmannjaur seem'd listening vill)
delight.
nVas when the chafing rocks reply^,
In cadence to the sinking blast,
Thp rising moon above the tide,
Afar, a crimson radiance cast ;
When half escaped tlje gulph of death,
Faint, and with scarce recovered breati^,
llie tempest-beaten seamen moor
Their vessel to the welcome shore;
Then haste away, the means to tim)
The dying spark of life to sarej
JlaJf-scatter'd by the raging i ind,
botd's woodman's talk.
601
Andlialf extinguishM by the ^Tive.
Then boltly oa the luidulating air.
Soothing the rugged brow ol care,
Thro* the still night thy measirrcs stole,
Aud touch'd Willi joy each sinking soul ;
No more they found their bosoms laiitguish.
The ^{use had charmM away their anguish.
At every cadence, care-cxpcUing,
Every tieart with rapture swelling
Found tlie sympathetic strain
Renew the harmony within,
New spirits dancVl in every vein,
late deaden*d by the tempc<t*s din.
Famine and parcHing toil tlieir prey re-
sign'd.
And the cbarm*d sense partook the banquet
oi" the mind.
Tl)is tJie samt remember'd well.
Proud of iier favourite's heaven-taught
skill,
And * Oh !' she cry'd, ' that chorded shell
Must it forget the heart to thrill ?
No-^virgins ! try those magic numbers,
That call ilyg'eia from the fields of air,
Bid the sylph ascend her car.
And hover o'er her as she slumbers.
Infuse her balmy essence in her breast.
And from the laboring heart expel the lurking
Sest.'
one — the kindling spark of life
Agaui relumfs the languid eye.
And, vanquish'd in th' unequal strife^
Distemper's baffled demons fly;
And Health and Harmony again.
With blemled powers, resume their reign.
Thus, oh ! thus may coming Peace,
Thus may heavenly Concord sliine
Thro' Desolations gloom, with ray
divine,
And bid the moral plague that sickens Na*
ture cease.
Hear thou, who to thy favoured servant's
hand
That lamp cbnsignM^ which thro' Crea-
tion's ma;ce
Disclosed the wonders of thy ways.
And shew'dy what love combin'd with wis-
dom plann'd;
But chief where man*s stupendous frame.
With all its complicated powers.
The standhig miracles of heaven pro-
claim.
\Vhile Nature trembles and adores.
Then, when all nature murmur'd deep
applause.
You cbang'd the hymn to notes of woe,
You bade the hardy wanderer go,
Th* asserter of thy violated laws.
Tlie bum-ng sands display the tragic stage
AVhere victuns of inhuman rage.
The living wonders of thy love divine,
In anguish groan, in sorrow pine !
From the regions of the north
, You call'd the young undaunted spy,
' At thy commandhe issues fortl<^
patient, benteath a &ery sky ',
Not with gold to crown his toils.
Not with elephantine spoils.
Nor the labours of the bee.
Nor the aromatic tree ;
But pictures of demonian wraffi.
Deeds of horror, scenes of death.
The soundhig scourge, the galling cha'm.
And all oppression's iron r^ign
lie limns, and with a pen ot light
Proclaiming Nature's miured rigjit,
'llien holds the horrid ^ketcli on lii'>h
Till Pity's sacred fjuat oVrllows iu each re*
lenting eye.
Be these twin pictures ne'er disjoined.
Be thy behest to thoughtless mortals
given;
Ye holy genii, fent from heaven.
Imprint tiieir awful lessons on tlie mind«
Bid that mental music flow
That gives the sympathetic glow ;
p/id that iiollow'd strain revive.
That hatred cannot hear and live;
V\ itii your choir's ecstatic swell
The demons of the soul expel ;
That last, that worst distemper chase.
Nor let th' exterminating iiand
In Afrk's bl5>od our sentence trace.
Nor swell the dread accoimt with masaj a
slaughtered band."
The drama of the ' Royzl Messagpe/ if
founded on the story of David ami Uriah;
the style and diction are not amiss, nor ia
general the sentiments, but the plot is en*
ve loped in tlie same impenetrable log
which hangs upon all the other original
productions of this writer. The four iirst
acts contain little but a dark tissue of
court intrigues conducted by personages
whose characters excite no interest, and
whose actions produce no eflfect. In tlie
fifth act Natlian appears, and delivers his
parable in blank verse, after which we na-
turally expected tliat he would have left
the king to his reflections ; but no such
thing. In order to awaken the conscience
of David, and prove the mission of the
prophet, Mr, Boyd deems the mostappo*
site and pathetic of apologues, and tiie
prediction which followed it, insulHcient«
, and kindly adds to tlie heavenly inspira-
tion of the scene a competent skill in art
magic. Nathan summons up a train of
speaking phantoms : the first of whom re-
presents Amnon, who is naturally enough
supposed to have been led astray by the
bad example of his father; but who should
the next be ? Sagacious reader, you would
never perhaps have divined that the next
illustrious victim of the contagious vice of
. David should be Roderic the Goth, the
violator of count Julians daughter! As a
contrast to bim^ Scipio Africanus is intro^
6fn
POETRY.
duced performing with great parade the
much-vaunted restitution of his fair Spa-
Dish captive ; and it should seem as if die
continence of Gentiles in future ages
"was to be imputed as a sin and shame to
Davidy no less than all the incontinence of
Jews and Chri:»tians, for evermore -, poor
David 1
Mr. Boyd was educated, it appears^ at
Dublin university, writes himself A. M.»
has translated Dante, and quotes Latin ;
yet the first sentence of his dedication to
tlie marchioness of Downshire, runs tlius:
" It might seem arrogance in me, or the
result of a design> too often imputed to
dedicators, to prefix your ladyship*s nanse,
though by permission, to thote (Angiire
these) tribes, had not the circumstauxr
that led to it (to what r) gore it a distinc-
tion from common addiresses of this sort,
&c." He likewise assures her ladyshqi
that her acceptance of his dedication is a
mark of condescension that shall ever be
acknflfwledged with gratitude.
This volume contains a well-executed
version of an Italian ode to Mr. Roscoe,
by Mr. Matbias, which gives usaddltiood
cause to remark that translation appears to
be the forte of Mr. Boyd, and origiaal
composition his foible.
Art. XXXlli.^Poetns and Plays. By Mrs. West, Autltor of ** A Tale qf the lima,''
*' A Gossip's Story,** Spc. 4*c. 12mo. vols. 3 and 4.
THE two former volumes were publish-
ed before the commencement of our work,
aud on looking over these which are be-
fore us, we lind they contain but little
which comes under our jurisdiction.
The whole of the fourth volume has been
before the public many year§, and part of
tlic third, which contains Mrs, West's
Signified and animated elegy ' on the
Dcatli of Mr. Burke/ The rest we pre-
suroe are more recent effusions, and now
first prcsentcil to the world.
Any general remarks on the genius and
character of an author who is so well
known would surely be supeiHuous : whe-
ther in verse or prose the advancement of
religion and morality, tlie inculcation of
good principles, and the excitement of
good feelings, are objects unceasingly pur-
sued in all her writings. We do not mean
to rank her in the highest class of poets or
©f novelists, but her abilities are of no in-
ferior order, as her success in both these
departments of literature attest Those
who have read " The Intidel Fatlier,"
" A Gossip's Story," and " A Tale of the
Times," will feej that Mrs. West deli-
ncites characters with correctness, and
fkilfuily links together the incidents of a
narrative. Many of her poems too evince
a lively fancy and a cultivated taste. In
dramatic efforts she has failed : of the im-
perfections which depreciate *' Edmond
Ironside," she is herself not unconscious ;
and *' The Minstrel,*' a tragedy which
opens one of tliese volumes, has the in-
corrigible fault of feebleness and insipidity.
1 he story unfolds itself too soon : nor do
any of the characters inspire us with 8uf»
fecient interest for their fates ; the feigned
madness of Edmund^ and the *' interlude
at Ascalon," unluckily bring to memar
the malady of Hamlet, and his projector
arousing the conscience of hi^ mother :
^' " Humph I I have heard
That guilty creatures, sitting at a play,
Have by the very cunning of the sceiie
Been struck so to the sou!, that presently
They have proclaimed tiieir maiefadioDs.*
One of the characters in " ITie Min-
strel," is the subordinate one of Rodoic.
Rodolph's interview with Matilda in
the third act, where he displays much ad-
dress in eucleavQuring to discover tl»
name of his fair prisoner, is well maiu^
Alicia's influence over her fierce siit i|
very prettily described :
" He returns
Her filial truth with ardent doating passkn.
And oft her soft entreaties have detabi'd
His ruffian bands from purposed ^rar. Ffi
seen
The proud steeds pant, and paw the eai^i
while she
Unlaced her Father's beaver, and led back
The sternly smiling chieftain, who in sport
Would often hang his buckler on her ann,
And bid her wear it as his well-eani'd prize."*
The language, however, of " TTie Min»
strel," like the characters, is flat, and the
play has not such n)erit as will encounigv
Mrs. West to cultivate the dramatic branft
of poetry, while there are others in which
her labours have been much more success-
ful.
Two poems in this collection, compa-
nions to each other, rise far above the
rest in elegance of conception and richness
of imagery ; these are " ZepbjTus and
May," aud " The Sports of Echo." Jliey
MBS. WEST S P0«M8 AND PLAYS.
&»
»re in the ^ame measure as the Allegro
and Penjkjroso ; the language of Milton
lot), as well ns the measure, is occasionally
caught. We shall present our readers
with one or two specimens. Juno gives
orders to celebrate the nuptials of Zepliy-
las and May:
*' And iruidtjs her peacocks on the isles
Where eternal summer smiles :
There, where Alcides slew the dragon,
She quits her star-bestudded waggtin.
And, while her birds their plumes compose,
Throucjlj pomegranate bowers she goes,
^Vhere beneatli the spiral leaves
Youthfiii Z<*phvr she perceKes
(iiiardiug l'*h)ra*^s tender shoots
, And Pomona's ripening fruits.
His subject breezes round him play.
And cool the glowing orb of day ;
Clos'd are his rainbow-painted wings,
Mobile of his pronjise d Slay he sings ;
Gay Cupids bind in artful braid
The ringlets which his forehead shude,
ITiose pertum'd ringlets, which exliale
The sweets of Araby's blest vale !'*
There is a great deal of simplicity and
beauty in this picture. In the description
of May's festal wreath there is an over-
sight which requires correction : May is
represented as decking it
** With a thousand fancies,
Woodlaml lilies, purple jjansies,
M'ith hvaciutli, Apollo's joy,
With Narcissus, self-lov'd boy, &c.*'
The flower and the m3rthologtcal history
of it are here improperly confounded: the
flower Narcissus would give elegance to st
wreath, but how shall we entwine in it
the self-loved boy ?
Juno fires the young lover with a de-
scription of his plighied fair one's t)eauty.
*' Ah ! not so the virgin smil'd
When l^reas, with hot passion wild.
Scornful of her former vows,
Claim'd the beauty for his spouse.
1 threatened : but the rebel power
Snatch'd her from Arcadia's bower.
While mbcing in its peaceful sport.
And bore her to his Scythian court.
Harness'd whirlwinds swift and strong
Drew the cloud-hung car along;
The ravisher, their speed to urge.
Shook the rein, and rais*d the scourge :
Loud shriek'd the maid, when arrowy hail
Rudely rent her gauBV veil,
\V'hen her crown, with flowers embossed.
Grew stiif beneath iucrustiug frost ;
W'hen from her ambrosial curls,
Jx)osely bound with orient pearls.
She felt long icicles depend
And o'er her shiv'ring bosom bend :
W'hile thick fogs and vapour cold
Wrapp'd her iu their murky fold.
Cer bare rocks and moss-giown mowh
tains.
O'er deserts void of limpid fountain?.
Dark with pine and sombrous yew.
The chariot unresisted flew.
Till by Neva's sullen stream
The God restrain'd his boisterous tean^i
And, glorying in his brutal power.
Show 'a the fair his nuptial bower :
No myrtle, eglantine, or palm.
No plant odorous dropping balm.
Not e'en the dais/s circle pale,
Blossoni'd in that frigid vale,
Where cradled in eternal snow
""J'he hardv lichens only grow.
There built of ice a palace shone.
Ice the roof, and ice the thnwie:
Piles Qf ice, in ranks display'd,
Form'd a glittering coloimade, &c.'*
Bpreas, weary of the gloom of wlatefi^
had seized on the lovely May,
*' And borne her to his barren reign.
And otfer'd her his vast domain.
In hopes her radiant smile Would cheer
'i'lie horrors of his palace drear.**
The virgin, however, constant to her
first love, sighed after the vales of Tenipe!
but the tyrant is inexorable : Terra at
length repairs to tlie throne of Jupiter, ia
behalf of her numerous oiFspring. Jov«
hears the prayer :
*' Satiu*nius yields: at his command
Hyperion leads the glittering band
Of fervid hours ; around his car
The radiant squadrons form for war;
From heaven's wide portals issuing forth
They seek the regions of the north.
The kine of tempests sees, afraid.
Their splendor pierce his gloomy shad^
While arrowy rays of light assail
I'he rigours of his icy mail.
Sharp is the conflict ; cold and heat
Alternate triumph and retreat ;
The raging stonn resistless drives.
Furious the piercing sun-beam strives ;
Vanquish'd at length, a torrent falls
Profuse from the dissolving walls ;
The crystal fobric melts away.
And liberates the captive May,
Who, springing to the throne of Jove,
Demands for han her promised love.
Heaven's monarch bencN his brows divluQ,
And gives the nod which seals her thuie.
And, lo ! even now through flowery meadi
Hymen the plighted virsnn leads ;
From impious rapine savd, her charms
Implore the refuge of thy arms.**
** Mine, ever mine, that matchless bloom V
Hear, Nature, and record the doom,
Th* auspicious doom !" the lover cries,
And grasps m egstasy the prize.
604
POETTir.
TIm* maid with looks of bashful bcauiy
Vosvs the vow of love and duty.
While Hymeii o^er tlie faithlul pair
'^\'aves his beaming torch in air ; ^
Tlien Zephyr on Jus clwriot braces
Haniess'd tids in silken tracts.
And with pinioas amply spn>ad
He shades his consort's hemling head —
JSee the nuptial pomp ascendinti;^
Kural deifies attemling.
Pan, Vertumnus, and the Fatms,
Gotls of mountains, gotls of lawns
PonKMia, aud the nymphs who play
Id limpid streams w woodlands gay ;
Those their pipes melodious blowing.
These with ve>tures loosely ilowing,
Scattering roses, sprinkling' balms,
And^waving thi'ir triumoliant palms.
Nature liails the splendid throng.
And with gratulating song
Welcomes rostitjoy and pleasure.
Peace and plenty without measure,
fienial years successful toil,
Corn and honey, milk and oil ;
All to these West lorers ovin^^
All from their pure union tlowing :
Since Zephyrus is bound to Mav,
I'he eartii tor ever shall be gay?*
From the " Sports of Echo" we couH
select many passages of no inferior merit,
but we have already been Hberal in qnou-
tion.
"The Spartan Matron," and "The
British Motlier,** are companion-pieces,
and breatlie tlie spirit of patriotism. In
tlie elegiac poem which closes the vo-
lume, Mrs. West has for too long a time
lost sight of the object of her monody in
denouncing the crimes of FVance, and
abusing Bonaparte ! This stuff Is beneath
her. The elegy however contains son»
beautiful and affecting passages : itisiu*
Tertlieless spun out to a tedious length.
Art. XXXI V. — Miidoc. Bij Hobert South ey. 4to. pp. 557.
THE heroic epopeia is justly considered
IS the nftost difHcult achievement of poetic
art, becaase it requires a combination of
*so many excellences. The descriptive
poet's plasticity of style is requisite for the
delhieation of the scenery; tlie drama-
tist's ethic ;ind pathetic expression for the
imitation of the manners; tlie ode- writer's
fplendid decorations are often wanted to
enliven ; and the pruning and branching
of the story into a compact, proportioned,
ascensive, and complete fable, is an art
nearly peculiar to this sort of composition.
There is in tiis poetic character a natu-
ral antagonism to persevering effort, which
has intercepted more plans of epic compo-
sition, than even a dididence in the com-
mensurate power. Most poets conceive
vividly^ tliey think in pictures; their
ideas breathe, sound, shine ; and rival, in
every thing but duration, the impressions
of sensation itself. During tlie illumina-
tion of their fancy, they apply to die task
of composition with delight. But very
vivid ideas are commonly transient ; as if
tlie act of animation wearied the instru-
ments of thought. Like the hilarity after
dinner, which exliales with the vapours of
the wine; so the poetic orgasm, when
e&citedy glows but for a time, and requires
frequent intervals of less stimulant, less
beating, less mtemperate imagery. A re-
currence to trains of thought repeatedly
laid aside, seldom continues to interest
long : they can indeed be recalled at will,
but the more familiar they become, the
more feebly does their presence arouse
attention. Hence the extreme difficdtf
of persevering through so vast an under-
taking as an epopeia. Schiller obserred
that a drania ought to be completed io a
sumnr.er. The very personages, whidi,
while new, would excite, in the mind of
their creator, the highest interest, arc
likely, by degrees, to come in and gooul ef
his head without notice. When this stale
of indifference approaches, there is a ne-
cessary end of live^ composition coocera-
ing theii: adventures. In the Sjnt^A.^ tbt
interest flags long before the work ten».
nates, evidently because the poet has v»
much of his task. Dryden projected a
epic poem on the restoration of Peter kiog
of Castile, by Edward the Black Prineej
and Pope, on the cdonization of Albics
by Brutus and Corineus. Both poets felt
tliat they liad executed single passagesiad
scenes, in a manner to answer the highest
claims of the art : but they ga%e up these
long undertakings, as likely to outJast the
spirit, the rapture, the enthusiasm, ot>n-
ditement, and consequently to ^"ant tjw
power of attaching the reader perpetaallj.
The rarity of that combination of intel-
lectual aptitudes, which can produce an
heroic epopeia, will be the more apparcBt,
if one coasidcra how few such works havt
yet beeiv executed. Spreading languages,
as the Hebrew, have flourished and teve
faded, without wording one eminent nar-
rative poem. Whole millenniums ha«
rolled b)', as from Claudian to Ariosto,
without producing a distinguished q>ic
poet. Vast aations, as the French, tovs
^outset's If adoc.
eos^
liefn celebrated for their literary culture,
and yet have failed to grow, amcmg their
various specimens of excellence, a truly
classical cpopeia. It is therefore a fit
ground for national exultation, when the
literature of its language is at any timo
enridied with so rare and colossal an effort
of workmanship J which, lik« the coftiu
of Alexander, is to encroach on the very
celebrity of its hero, and to be illustrated
by \olumes of dissertations on sho.cs
where as yet its very dialect is unknown.
To complete one of those , cosmopolite
classics, which pass the bounds of their
native language, and are recogni?.ed
thoQghout the reading world, is of all
fooroes of distinction the most enduring.
The fame of the lawgiver and the states-
man dwindles, when the institutions which
they founded, or improved, are over-
thrown. The lastinf, monuments of tlie
sculptor, <h: the architect, crumble into
rubbish before the cannon of warfare, or
the file of climate. But an Odyssey, or a
iiUsiad, will survive the nation which pro-
duced its hero, and the temples of the
divinities which glitter as its machinery*
Klopstock, in one of his odes, introduces
Virgil sitting on the steps of the fane of
Jupiter Feretriiis, and thus addressing the
Cftpiiol : *' tliou wilt one day be a ruin,
then dust, and then tlie companion of the
f torm-wind ; but my iEneid" Nor i&
Madoc less ^f\ heir of immortality. We
shall not ho\¥ever affect to rank it with
the Iliad, or the Jerus:dem Delivered,
which remain the tiiumphs of ancient
and of modem art 5 but the best epic
poem, which, since the Paradise Lost, has
quitted the English press, must be entitled
to comparison with the principal analogous
Inspirations of Calliope. Some accou 11 1 of
its plan and contents should precede a cri-
tical appretiation.
" The historical facts on which this poem is
(bunded may be related in few words. On the
death of Owen Gwyneth, king of North Wales,
X D. II69, his children (lisputed for the
succession. Yorwerlh, the eldest, was set
aiide without, a struggle, as being incapaci-
tated by a blemish in his face. Hoel, though
illegitimate, and born of an Iri.'.h mother, ob-
tained possession of the throne for a while,
till he was defeated and slaiu by David, the
eldest son of the late king by a second wife.
The conqueror, who then succeeded without
opposition, slew Yoruertli, imprisoned Rodri,
and hunted others of his brethren into exile.
But Madoc, meantime, abandoned his barba-
rous country, alld sailed away to the west in
search of some better resting place. The
land which he discox^ed pleased lura; he
left there part of his people, anil went back
to \Vales for a fresh supply of adveiitureis^
with whom he again set sail, and was heard
of no more. Tliere is strong eviuence that
he readied America, and tliat his posterity
exists there to this day, on the southern
branches of the Missouri,' ret ahiing their com-
plexion, their language, and, in some degree
their arts.
** About the same time, the Aztecas, ait
American tribe, in cons«f lence of certain ca-
lamities, and of a particular omen, forsook
Az ian, their own country, under the guidance
of Yuhidthiton. Thev became a might/
peop'e, and founded the Mexican empire,
taking the name of Mexicans, In lionour of
Mexitli, their tutelary ^od. Their emigra-
tion is here connected' with the adventures <if
Madoc, aud their superstition is represented
the same which their descendants pfacUsedy
w^hcn discovered by the Spaniards.
Tlie poem is divided into forty-five short
segments, which usage would denominate
cujifoes, and Nvliich with our habits we
might call sittings -, for they consist of
about as many lines as it is agreeable t»
read aloud at one sitting. The £rsft eigh-
teen sections correspond whh the first six
books of the ^neid, and introduce the
hero narrating the circumstances which
drove him from his home, and his subso-
' quent voyages in search of a new place of.
ficttleraent. The remabiing twenty-flevem
sections' narrate those conflicts with the
North -American tribes, which terminate
in securing to Madoc and his companiooi
the sovereignty of an extensive district.
The introduction or amianciation of the
poem is in good taste, short, natural, ap-
propriate, and attractive, but not faultlesA.
" Come, listen to a tale of limes «f old !
Come, iot ye know me ! I am he who siraaf
The Maid of Arc : and 1 am he who frameii
Of Thalaba the wild and wonderous song.
Come, listen to my by, and ye shall hear
How Madoc from the shores of Britain spread
The adventurous sail, explored the oceaa
ways,
And quelled barbarian power, and overthrew
The bloody altars of idolatry.
And planted in its fanes triumphantly •
Tiie cross of Christ- Come, listen to my
lay !"
The unmeaning invocation of a muse if
here properly omitte.d 5 but the word come
recurs too often for a convocation wholly
imaginary ; and the epithet triumphantltf,
is not strictly descriptive of the event:
we should have preferred instead of the
two last lines.
And planted in its fanes the Gro» of Chri^
tes
tOETRY.
Book r. Madoc*s vessel reaches Aber-
fraw, in the isle of Anglesey. His signals
had been perceived : lie is met at the ha-
ven's mo iih by Urien, his foster-father,
and learns the dispersed state of his breth-
ren and relations. lie seeks his sister
Gcervyl: tiie meeting is deacribed with
feeling,
J I. David, the Welsh usurper, is cele-
brating a fea;>t on his marriage with Emma,
the princess of England, when the arrival
of liis brother is announced. Madoc and
his companions join the piirtyj daring
which tiie bards sing a hymn. Tliis is
too pious for the occasion, though accord-
ing to die rules of bardism : it ought
ratlier to have been a nuptial song> or a
sea song, not a rhapsody of metaphysic
theology, a psalm worthy of tlie saint of
Wales.
III. On the next day at table Madoc
begins the relation of hi:> iuiventures. Some
preliminar}' circumstances which deter-
nmied him to lea\e tliis countr)' are men-
tioned. The story of Cynetha is deeply
pathetic : there is no epic poem, tliere are
lew tragedies, in which a liner or higher
feeling is wrought up, than bursts upon us
at the words
P. 3l. — " Despise not thou the blind man's
prayer, he cried ;
It might have given thy father's dying hour
A hope tliat sure he neodetl ; for, know thou.
It is the victim of thy fatlier*s crime
Who a-^ks a blessing on thee !"
IV. The voyage is loosely told, as if
Ireland was not iii being, was not tlie last
land in view; tJie impatience (••the sailors,
their nnainy in order to return, and at
length the catastrophe of tlie enierprize,
are well managed circumstances; but there
is rather too little^of a voyage which is so
much the pivot of tlic poem.
'* Three dreatlful nights and days we drove
along ;
The fourtli, the welcome rain came rattling
down :
The wind liad fallen, and Lljrough the broken
cloud
appealed the bris^ht diluting blue of ln'aveiv
lunboUU'ned ik)W, I call«'d the manners:
Vain were it, should we bend a homeward
courst:.
Driven by the storm so far: tJiey saw our
barks,
For service of that long and perilous way.
Disabled, and our food U like to fail.
Silent they beard, reluctant in assent ;
Anon, they shouted jovfully, — I k>oked.
And saw a'bird slow kallbit^ overhead,
His longwhiiepiiiious by tiie sunbeam edged.
As though with hurniiln-d iwlvcr ; — never yet
Heard 1 so swt^i a music a'^ iiis crv !
" Yet three dayi more, tn6 Iiopc mor^
eager now.
Sure of the signs of land, — ^wced-sboals, and
birds
Who flocked the main, and gwitle airs, that
breathed,
Or seemed to breathe, fresh fragrance from
the shore.
On the last evening, a long shadowy lintr
Skirted the sea ; — how fast the ni^htcJosed in f
I stood upon the deck, and watched till datmu
But who can tell what feelings tilled my heart.
When, like a cloud, the distant land arose
•Grey from the ocean, — ^when we left th.?siiip.
And cleft, with rapid oars, the shallow wave.
And stood triumphant on anotlier v\orki :*
V. The manners of the Floritew, the
wonders of the climate, are well told: the
fugitive Lincoya, a savage who attaches
himself with dog-like fidelity to Madoc, is
rendered interesting.
VI. Tlie rooutk of the Missouri having
been passed, Madoc finds the native coun-
try of Lincoya : it has been conquered by
die Aztecans,' and is held in feudal sub-
jection by their king Coanocatzin^ who
tolerates the former queen Erillyab in a
sort of vice-regal capacity-. She receives
Madoc with a complacence too little tinc-
tured with the natural emotions of the sex.
The priests of Aztlan send for the j-early
tribute of children to be sacriiiced to Mer-
itli. The Welsh indignantly rescue the
intended victims.
VII. A revolt of the Hoa-men takes
place. They join Madoc and his com]»-
nions against the armies of ALZtlan, and
are victorious. The incidents of the w^
are happily chosen and narrated ; but the
illness of Coanocotz in is too lucky. The
finger of chance should never be employed
in producing a catastrophe. ITiere is mn
a real miracle in all Homer. Many things
are narrated as if they arose from the ?u-
teqwsition of the Gods j but the hunTso
effort is every where provided, whitii the
imputed effect requires.
VIII. Madoc takes a physician to Coa-
nocotzin, who cures hiiu. The freedom
of the Hoa-men is confirmed. A soletnn
talk is agreed to be held between the fn-
dian priests and and thn«;e of the whiles.
A conversion of the Hoa-men ensues.
Madoc leaves many of his companions
with this friendly nation, and returns to
his coimtry in search of further o)lonihts.
IX. Madoc asks leave of the king of
Wales to proclaim his plan of coloniza-
tion, and to solicit his brothers to join the
enterprize ; but the tyrant, afraid le&t,
uoUer preteace of colicciiug recmits li^
SOUTHEY*i MADOC.
^fadoc, they Aoold levy war against his
u&urpatioD, objects.
X. Mafloc goes to Mathraval, to the
court of CyveiJioc, a friendly prince. The
description of his seizing the liarp is won-
derfully fine, p. 100, line 3— IQ.
"Cyveiiioc stood before them,— -in his
pride
^ood up the poet-prince of Mathraval:
His hands were on the harp, his eyes were
closed.
His head, as if in reverence to receive
The inspiration, bent ; anon, he raised
Hb glowing countenance, and brighter eye,
Aod swept, with passionate hand, the ringing
harp."
XI. A gorsed, or meeting of bards,
takes place. Caradoc announces the en-
terprize of Madoc in a very fine ode, and
offers himself as a coloni!>t. Thi,s ode, like
many others which occur in tlus poem,
would have produced a better effect if
drawn up in the irregular metre of Tha-
Jaba, or in some regular lyrical ^ stanza.
The concluding portion of the ode requires
transposition : the list of colonists occurs
m anticlimax: tlie wretched oue *' to
whom all change is gain" ought to be
mentioned first, as of easiest acquisition j
and he " whose bones amid a land of ser-
vitude could never rest in peace," ought
to be mentioned last, as having the sub-
Ijmest motive of emigration. Besides,
the bard is an individual instance of this
class, and should tlierefore be named con-
tiguously. For what reason " he who
oath felt the throb of pride to hear our
old dlustrious annals" should emigrate at
aUi we perceive not : tlie poet would an-
»w, " he feels his country's shame."
All. Madoc's next visit is to Dinevawr,
vhexQ the lord Rhys, a friend of his thther,
resides. On the road he meets his fugitive
and outlawed brother Ririd. This inter-
view, which, terminates in Ririd's deter-
nuning to join the colonists, is one of the
fine situations in the poem. The unex-
pected discovery of a kinsman is as fa-
^x^urite a resource with tliis author as witli
the ancient tragedians.
XIII. Still superior is the meeting with
flewellynin the next book. Llewellyn
}^ th« rightful heir of the Welsh throne,
wpoRued by the emissaries of the tyrant,
and lives a life of disguise, danger, and
concealment, m expectation of tJie time
for asserting his rights. Madoc is ignorant
of bis nephew's retreat, and had wished to
nnd him : he visits on the island Bardsey
the sepulchres of his fanjily.
" And now the porter called prince Mado^ •
out,
To speak witli one, he said, who from tJic
land
Had sought him, and requhred his private ear.
Madoc in the moonlight met him: in his hajid
Tlie stripling held an oar, and on his back,
Jjke a broad shield, the coracle was hung.
Uncle ! he cried, and, with a gush of tears.
Sprung to the glad embrace.
O my brave boy I
LleweljTi ! my dear boy ! with stilled voice.
And interrupted utterance, Madoc cried,
Llewelyn, come with me, and share my fate!
" No ! by my God! the high-heartedf youth
exclaimed.
It never shall be said IJewelyn left
His father's murderer on his fether's throne !
I am the riglitful king of this poor land.
Go^ thou, and wisely go ; but 1 must stay,
I'liat I may save my people. Tell me.
Uncle,
The story of thy fortunes ; I can hear it
Here in tliis lonely isle, and at this hour,
Securv'ly.
Nay, quoth Madoc, tell me first,
\V !.i*re are thy haunts and coverts, and w hat
hope
Thou iiast to bear thee up? Why goes thou
not
To Mathraval ? there would Cy veilioc gite
A IvUisniao's welcome ; or at Dinevawr,
The guest of honour shouldst tliou be with
Rhys ;
And he, belike, from David might obtain
Some i*ecompence, tliough poor.
\\ mt recompenee ?
Exclaimed Llewelyn ; what liath he to give
Rut life for life ? and what have I to claim
But vengeance, and my fatlier Yorwerth's
throne ?
If with aught short of that ray soul could rest.
Would I not through the wide world follow
thee.
Dear Uncle ? and fare witli thee, well or ill, .
And show to thine old age the tenderness
My cliildliood found from tliee? — What hopes
I have
Let me disi>lay : Have thou no fear from me I
My bed is made within the ocean-caves.
Of sea-weeds, bleached by many a sun and
sliower ;
I know the mountain dens, and every hold
Andfestnessof the forest; and I know, . . .
M'hat troubles him by day and in his drtams.
There's many an honest heart in Gvvnetlr
yet! . ."
But tVil me thine adventure ; that will be
A joy to tliink of in long whiter nights.
When stormy billows make my lulMby.
*' So, as tiiey walked along tlie mcNanlight
shore.
Did Madoc tell him ail; and still he strove.
By dwelling on that noble end and aim„
That of his actions was the heart and life.
To win him to his wi&h,. It touched the
youth ;
009
POETRY.
And when the prince b&d ceased^ be beared
a sigh,
lA>ng-drawn and deep, as if regret were there.
Ko, no! he crietl, tliat must not be; io yonder
My native moimtains, and how beautiiul
They rtst in the moonlight! I was nurst
among them ;
They saw my sports in childhood, they have
seen
My sorrows, they Iiave saved me in the hour
Ol danger ; — I liave vowed, tJiat as they were
My cradle, they shall be my monument !—
But we shall meet again, and thou wilt find
me,
When next thou visitest thy native isle.
King in Aberfraw.
Never more, Llewclvn,
l^ladoc replied, shall I behold the shores
Of Britain, nor will ever tale of me
Jleacii the green isle again. With fearful
care
I chuse my little company, and leave
Ko traces of our path, where Molence,
And bloody Zeal, and bloodier Avarice,
Might fiud their blasting way.
If it be so, . .
And so it sliould be, then the youth replied,
Thou wilt not know my fate ; — but this be
sure,
It sliall not be inglorious. I have in roc
A hope from Heaven. Give me tliy blessing,
uncle !
«• Llewelyn knelt upon the sand^ and
clasped
His knees, with lifted head and streaming eyes
Listening. He rose, and leil on MadoVs
neck.
And clasped him, with a silent agony, r .
Then launched his coracle, and tools his way,
A lonely traveller on ihe moonlight sea."
XIV. The interview with Llaian, and
the consequent discovery of his brother
Hoel s bastard, is full of tenderness : it
constitutes another of the unforgettable
fcenes of this fine poem.
XV. The displacement of the body of
Owen by the Saxon prelate, and its con-
signment to Madoc, supply striking de-
scriptions: tlie loftiest passages in the poem
are perhaps those in which Baldwin is in-
troduced.
XVL and XVII. The farewell and de-
parture occupy tliese books.
In the XVillth a satisfactory effect is
produced by the vbit of Llewellyn with
Rodri to the ship. It would be captious
to contend that Uiey excite too much so-
licitude for persons who are to be dropped
in the progress of the narration.
These eighteen books comprize the first,
and in our judgement, the better portion
of the poem. We wish they had been
published separately 3 and that the second
part had been rwenred for longer conteni-
plation and severer correction. Ma-
doc in Wales is surrounded by men of 1
more heroic mould than Madoc in Aztlan.
His struggles, his affections, his adven-
tures, aje of a kind more powerfollv to
engage the sj-mpathy. We should gladly
excuse his going back to America, if he
would undertake to recorer the thrane
for the young Llexi't-llyn. The narratioii
too has a more dramatic character diroagh-
out this first part : it is not continuallj
subsiding into long description : the verf
small proportion of mere chronicle in
Homer, is among the principal causes of
his perpetual animation.
The second part opens with the safe
arriral of the colony at Caer-Madocj for
so Cadwallon, i:; the absence of then:
chief, had named their wicker city. Cj-
netha 19 dead. The indigenous priests
have become hostile to the new religion,
and are inducing the successor of Cmdo.
cotzin to restore the antient worship. The
son of £riilyj^> is superseding the autho-
rity of his mother, and is taking part
against the white intruders. Neolin, a
prophet of the snake-god, 'encoara^
their disaffection. A curious and well-
painted scene occurs.
" Each family
Bore its own head, and' to the general gmf,
With melancholy song and sob of woe.
The slow procession moves. The genenl
grare
Was delved n-ithin a deep and shady dell,
Fi»)nting a cavern in the rock,-~the scene
Of many a bloody rite, ere Madoc caine,-
A tem])le, as thev deemed, by Nature made,
Where the Snake-Idol stood. On fur aad
cloth
Of woven grass, they lay their burthes
down.
Within the ample pit ; their offerings range
Beside, and piously a portion take
Of that cold earth,' to which, for ever ww
Consigned, they leave their fathers, dust tft
dust;
Sad relic that, and wise remembrancer.
But as with bark and resinous boughs the^
pile
The sepulchre, suddenly Neolin
Sprung up aloft, and shrieked, as onei»to
treads
Upon a viper in his heedless path.
The God ! the very God ! he cried, aol
Jiowled
One long, shrill, piercing, modulated cry ;
Whereat, from that dark temple issued forth
A Serpent, huge and hideous. X>n he came,
Straight to the sound, and cuded around the
Friest
IOUTHBY's MAlSoC.
609
His ihighty Folds innocuous, overtoppirig
His human height, and/ arching down his
^ head,
Sought in .the hands of Neoliu for food ;
rhen qu^ing, reared and stretched and
waved his neck^
And glanced his forky tongue. A\Tio then
had seen
rhe man, with what triumphant fearless-
ness,
Anns, thlghsi and neck, and body^ wreathed
and ringed
In those tremendous folds, he stood secure^
E%iycd with the reptile's jaws, and called for
food»
Food for the present God ! — who then had
The fiendish joy which fired his counte-
nance.
Might well have weened that he had sum-
moned lip
The dreadful monster from its native Hell,
By deviltsh power, himself a fieud inflesh-
ed.
" Blood fyt the God ! he cried ; Lincoya's
blood,
Fncnd of tlie Serpent's foe ! — Lincoya's
bkwKl I
Cried Amalahta : and the people turned
TTieir ej-es to seek the victim, as if each
Sought his own safety in that sacrifice.
AkMie Erillyab raised her voice, confused.
Bat not confounded ; she alone exclaimed,
^ladoc shall answer this ! imheard her voice
Sthe bc\%'ildered people, by the Priest
iheeded ; and Lincoya sure had fallen
llie victim of tiieir terrors in that hour.
Had he been found ; but when his watchful
eye
Beheld the monster from his den come
forth.
He fled to bear the tidings. — Neolin
Repeats the accursed call. Food for the
God!
Ajayaca, his unbelieving Priest !
At once all eager eyes were fixed on him.
But he came forward calmly at the call.
Lo ! here am I ! quofh he ; and from his
head
Plucking the thin grey hairs, he dealt them
round-—
Country-men, kinsmen, brethren, children,
take'
These in remembrance of me ! there will be
No other r^lic of your aged Priest.
From manhood to old age, full threescore
years,
Have I been your true servant : fit it h
That 1, who witnessed A^tlan's first assault.
Should perish her last victim ! — and he
moved
Towards the death. But then Erillyab
Sdted him, atid by tli^ gaitnent drew hinl
back;^-
a the Great Spirit, but he shall not die,
e Queen exclaimed ; not shalt thou
triumph thus,
Aj»N.RBt.VQL.lV.
Lvar and traif or ! Foameri, to your liomes !
Madoc shall answer this !
** Irresolute
They heard, and inobedient ; to obey
Fearing, yet fewlng to remain. Anon,
The Queen repeats her biddingy I'o your
homos.
My People ! — -But when Neolin perceived
The growing stir and motipn of the crowd.
As from the outward ring they moved away.
He uttered a new cry, and disentangling
The passive reptile's lolds, rushed out among
- them.
With outstretched hands, like one possessed
to seize
His victim. Then they fled ; for who could
tell
On whom tiie madman, in that hellish fit, .
Might cast the lot ? An eight-years boy he
seized.
And held him by the leg, and, whirling hiin
In ritual dance, till breath and sense wert
gone,
Set up tlie death-song of the sacrifice.
Amalahta, and wliat others rooted love
Of evil leagued with him accfjinplicos
In treason, joined the death-song and the
dance.
Some too, there were believing wliat they
feared,
Who yielded to their old icfolatry.
And mingled in tlie worship. Round and
round
The accursed minister of murder whijled
His senseless victim : tliey too, round and
round,
In maddening motion, and with maddening
cries.
Revolving, whirled and wheeled. At lengtl),
when now.
According to old rites, he should have dashed
On the stone Idol's head the wretcii*s brains,
Neolin stopt, and once again began
The long, shrill, piercing, inoilulatod cry.
The Serpent knew the call, and, roiling on,
Wave above wave, his rising ItMigth, advanced
His open jaws ; then, with the expected
prey.
Glides to the dark recesses of his den."
Madoc determines to destroy, this tre-
mendous engine of fanaticism, in order to
overawe the imagination of thd savages :
the narration is admirable, but the cha-
racter of the incident does not aggran-
dize the Welsh J the efTon they employ
seems more than commensurate with the
difficulty.
• .*' Farlnthehitl,
Cave within cave, the ample grotto pierced.
Three chambers in the rock. Fit vestihTile
The first to that wild tcm»i!(V, lonj and k»w,- .
Shut out the outward day. 1'he second
vault
Rr
610
tOETRY.
Had its own daylight from a central chasm
Hi^h in tlie hollow ; here the Image stood,
'i'hcir rude idolatry, a sculptured siiake, —
If term of art may such mishapen form
Beseem, — around a Immau figure coiled,
And all begrimmed with blood. The inmost
. cell,
Dark : and far up within its blackest depth
Thev saw the Serpejits si ill small eye of lire.
Not'if they thinned the forest fortlieir pile,
C'ould^tliey, with flame or suffocating smoke.
Destroy liim there : for through tlie open
roof
The clouds would pass away. They paused
not long.
Drive hun beneath the chasm, Cadwallon
cried,
And hem him in with fire, and from abo\'e
We crush him.
" Forth they went, and climbed the hill,
With all their people. Their united strength
loosened the rocks, and ranged them round
the brink,
Impending. With Cadwallon, on the height,
T<'ii Hr'.ioiiS wait; ten with the Pruice de-
s<.-end.
And, with a firebrand each in either hand,
Knt<. r the outer cave. Madoc advanced.
And, i:t the entrance of the inner den.
Hi! took his stand alone. A bow he bore.
And arrows, round whose heads dry tow was
i\\ ined.
In piac-gum dipt ; he kmdlcd these, and
shot
The fiery shafts. Upon his mailed skin.
As on a rock, the bone-tipt arrows fell ;
But, at their bright and blazing licht elfrayed,
Out rushed the reptile. Wadoc from his
path
"Retired asjainst the side, and called his men,
And in they came, and circled round tlie
Snake,
And, shajvlngall their flames, as with a wheel
Of fire, they ringed hun. in. From side to
bide
The monster turns ; — where'er he turns, the
flame
Flares in his nostrils and his blinking eyes ;
INorau^ht, against the dreaded element,
Did that brute force avail, which could have
crushed
Milo's young limbs, or Theban Hercules,
t Jr old "Slaauah's mightier son, ere yet
Shorn of his strength. They press liim now,
and now
XJJve back, here urging, and here yielding
wav,
Till right beneath the chasm they centre
hun.
At once the crags are loosed, and down they
fall, .
Thundering. They feU like thunder, but the
crash
Of scale and bone was heard. In agony
The Serpent writhed beneath the $low ; in
vain.
From uodcr the lacumbent load, essayed
To drag his mangled folds. One heavier
stone
Fastened and flattened him ; yet stia, wth
tail
Ten cubits long, he lashed the Mr, tod foined
From side to side, and raised his raging bead
Above the height of man, tliough half hii
length
Ijay mutilate. Who then had felt the force
Of that wild fiirv, little had to him
Buckler or corseki profited, or n^il.
Or might of human arm. The Aitdis
shrunk
Beyond it« arc of motion ; but the Prince
'1 ook a long spear, and, springing on tbe
stone
Which fixed the monster down, provoked Us
ITplifts the Snake his head retorted, high
He lifts it over Madoc, then darts down
To seize his prey. The Prince, with foot ad-
vanced.
Inclines his body back, and-points the spesr,
With sure and certain aim, then drives it up,
luto his open jaws ; two cul:»its deep
It pierced, the monster forcing on the wocnd.
.He dosed his teelh in anguish, aud bit hhort
The ashen hilt. But not the rage, w hich now
Clangs all his scales, can firom its sejt dir
Iodide
The barbed shaft; nor those contoitioQS
wild.
Nor those convulsive shudderings, nor the
throes
AVhich shake his inmost entrails, as whh tbe
air, ^
In suffocatbg gulps, the monster now
Inhales his own life-blood. The Prince de-
scends ;
He lifts another lance; and !>ow the Snake^
Gasping, as if exhausted, on the ground
Reclmes his bead one moment. Madot
seized
That moment, planted in his eye the ^ar,
Then, setting foot upon his neck, drov«
dowu,
Through bone and brain and throat, and to
' the earth
Infixed the mortal weapon. Yet once more
The Snake essayed to rise ; his dying strencih.
Failed hini, nor longer did those mighty km
Obey the movuig impulse ; crushe'd aai
scotched.
In every ring, through all his mangled lengtlv
The shrinkuig muscles quivered, then cui-
hpsed
In death.
" Cadwallon and his comrades now
Enter the den ; they roll away tlie cxag
Which fixed hun down, pluck out the mortat
spear.
Then drag hun forth to day ; the force coft>
joined
Of all the Britons difficultly drag
His lifeless bulk. Bat when the Hoaatei
skw
That ioim portentous traOingv^ its gore.
southry's madoc.
Gn
The jaws which^ in the morning, they had
seen
Purpled with human blood, now in their own
Blackening, — aknee they fell before the
Prince,
And, in adoring admiration, raised
I'hcir hands with one accord, and all in fear
Worshipped the mighty Deicidc. But he,
Recoiling from those sinful honours, cried,
Dcag out the Idol now, and heap the fire,
lliat all may be consumed !''
Both these passages teem with instances
of thai emphatic position of words, and
that impassioned clmracter of sound,
which are the joint result of feeling and
of art : they are among the most eupho-
nious and finished sweeps of composition
io the poem.
After thig adventure a religious war
begins. Two savages seize the boy Hoel
by stratagero, in order to devote him to
their idols. Madoc, in the attempt to
rescue his nephew, is decoyed, unarmed,
into an ambush, is taken prisoner, and
doomed to sacrifice. He is exposed na-
ked to single combat with successive bar-
barians. During the fight, Ririd arouses
the colonists and ships' crews 5 tliey enter
the city of Aztlan in the midst of the re-
ligious games of slaughter -, they go to tlie
lebcue of Madoc, and take possession of
the town : Coanocotzin falls. These in-
cklents, which employ the Xlth to the
XVlIIth cantoes, are conceived and nar-
rated with a vivacity and interest seldom
rivalled.
An attempt to recover his metropolis is
made by tlie new king Yuhidthiton. He
irms canoes, and makes this attack from
i>e lake. Madoc takes his ships to pie-
%3, rebuilds them on the lake, and ^ins
I naval victory. The savages baffled every
wy, are predisposed to quit the country j
ivhen the irruption of a t^lcano takes
liice, wliich they interpret as a divine in-
position, to command their retreat.
ey agree to leave Madoc and his fdl^
f^n in quiet possession of their city
I country, and thus the poem concludes.
lis afier-war, being less magnificent
in the preceding one, is perhaps that
rt of the pofcm which would best bear
ddgment : the episode of Coatel and
Bcoya is finely imagined, and feelingly
ted : the attack on the women is ill
and ill managed.
Odyssey, the iEneid, and the Lu-
are those poems which bear most
jmblance to Madoc for the matter of
fable. A vojpage of discovery and
krpri&e is narrated in each by the
hero, and a subsequent conflict for seU
tlement by tlie poet. Tlie fable of the
Ody«sey is redundant : the first four
books busy tKi reader too much with a
subordinate hero : and the ma^satre of
the wooers abounds \^'itU disgusting cir-
cumstances, such as the murder of Let-*
odes, when he prays for mercy, beside
being tliroughout an action of too selfish
and personal a concern. The fable of
tlie iEueid is more neat ; but tlie war in
Italy excites less sympathy than the ad-
ventures of tlie first six books, so that the
curiosity of the reader is continually de-
caying, and terminates in disappointment :
nor are tlic motives of /liLneas such as to
arouse a wish for his success against Tur-
nus. The fable of die Lusiad is abrupt
ami incomplete : the hero and his asso-
ciates, who are real historical characters,
are landed and left in an imaginary para«
disc : their return home is only prophe-
sied : the historical episodes too are but
artlessly interwoven, and excessively long*
One cares for Ulys-^jes, as one cares for
baron Trenck : he is a man of resources,
striiggling with difficulty: but he suc-
ceeds by means which degrade. One
never cares for iEneas, after he has for-
saken Dido. Onfe cares for Gama, as for
Milton's Adam, by implication 5 on ac-
count of the eventual effect of his voy-
age, not on account of the difficulty over-
come, or the talent displayed in its con-
duct : as one might be taught to care for
tlie inventor of printing. But Madoc's
emigration from under usurpation and op-
pression, and his uniform effort to triumph
by measures useful to those whom he
subdues, lifl his endeavours into a higher
class of enterprize. The fable of Madoc
has more importance, more majesty^ but
less wholeness than that of the Odyssey,
the JEasld, or the Lusiad.
It is worthier of the interference of the
gods. It is ho\Cever witliout machinery.
Cicero complains of the mythological
poets : Humana ad deos transtuUrunU he
says, divina mallem ad nos ; and this ad-
vice Mr. Southey has taken. We hesitate
to agree with Cicero. Lucan, witli all his
thoughtfulness, is flat, especially when he
is not s[»echifying. The physical inci-
dents, wiunh forward or retard an event,
can only be lifted by mythology into
works of design : in Madoc they are acci-
dents. The tempest which sweeps him
along to Florida ; the illness which hum-
bles Coanocotzin to a treaty ; tlie final
eruption of the volcano, which secures
the possession of the conquest 3 are ^dl
Rr2
012
POETUY.
•oo piorideniid fen: an unseen providence.
Where t rriigtous man would discover
tbt hand of his god, the poet should ex-
hibit it. To the saints of Catholicism, to
the divinities of the Mexicans, an equal
reality might have been attributed^ and
that which happens without human agency
might have been ascribed to their divine
interposition. We do not like poetical
atheism : it dwarfs tlie men to leave their
actions unwatcbed and uninfluenced by
superior natures. The reader should take
his point of view firom the gods- ; and be
actuated in his s)'mpathies and antipathies
by those prospective views, which cannot
with probability be ascribed to the mortal
instruments of the plans of providence,
especially in a dark unlettered age. Aris-
totle is for defining the epopeia to be tra-
gedy in narration : we would rather it
should approach the opera by the splendor
of its magic and mythology : but with
the countenance of Cicero and of Aristo-
tle, Mr. Southey may well spare our suf-
frage. And it must he owned that an im-
pression of reality^ a degree of illusion, is
attained in Madoc, which transcends that
of other epic poems, and which approaches
that of the very plays of Shakspeare. It
has all the verisimilitude of history.
The manners, or ethic attributes, of the
personages are in many respects excellent.
They display a profound anti(]uarian
knowledge of the progenitors both of the
Welsh and of the Mexicans. The usages
and opinions of both nations have been in-
timately studied, and the picturesque
traits skilfully selected. The national
manners are historically accurate and po-
etically distinct. ITie individual manners,
or personal characters, ar^ not always so
well discriminated : there is a family-
likeness in all Madoc's connections } an
over-frequent recurrence to that peculiar
idea of human excellence, which ha^
already been admired in the Joan of Arc,
and of which disinterest and feeling,
strengtlieued to enthusiasm, form the in-
gredients. This may be the purest and
iHghest idea of human excellence; but it
is in nature one of the rarest patterns of
mankind ; and cannot therefore, with en-
tire probability, be familiarly employed by
the poet. In the Cj-netha, the Caradoc,
and the Llewellyn j in the Goei*vyl, the
I.laian, and the Senena , nay, even among
the savages, in Lincoya and Coatel, there
is a tincture of one and the same radical
cast of heroism. Why does this jwculiiu:
delineatiiMi recur so often ^ Is the mo-
del ^1 httiid ? Is there a ']iiJd& of the mo*
ral Narcissus m the so frequent rcfiectioa
of lhi'» image? Madoc is awdl-dravn
clinrjcter. lie has much of the Wag-
ing: on : that practical good sense, whid),
wiicn npplied to selfish purposes, is deno^
mJuateJ prudence ; a reliance on justice
and mildness, as the most stable grooak
of authority ; courage in its mmliest
form ; and a little Welsh warmth, whidi
occasionally betrays him into welcome Id-
discretion. Lord Shaftesbury says, in tb
third volume of his Characteristics, tbt
a perfectly virtuoos character is onfit for
the hero of an epic poem : here b no-
thing to wish away, and yetanintei^g
chieftain. TTie Welsh women are better
drawn than the men, as to probabilitjaf
disposition. The characters of the sara^
have variety, as well as truth; and jet
the common features of barbarians, ardent
afVections, contempt of life, love of ^.
Perhaps the two kings Coanocotzin and
YuhidtJiiton are not divergent cnoogb.
Ilalala and Ocelopan are more strictlr io
savage nature ; they are new, dijcnm-
nate, and probable delineations. Neolio
is the fanatical mixture of n^e and mad-
man to be found in all ages, bat rendotd
formidable by a courage and preseooe d
mind, worthy of the most celebrated im-
postors. Tezozomoc is an Indbn saint
Dunstan. Amalahta and Lincoya are tbe
opposite extremes of untutored mdeness:
the coarse sensual brute ; and the eoik-
siast of iidelity, Uie self-immolatii^ nor-
shipper of his mistress and of his beoe-
factor.
On the whole, we think themnDDenin
Madoc are more successfully delineate
than in theLusiad, or in the^oeid, a^
are only inferior to those of the Odyssey.
Iliis is certainly the most difficukckpct-
mciit of epic art.
llie style of Madoc has that character
which Quintilian gives of the Aigonan-
tics of ApoUonius Rhocliiis, a level midd*
manner 5 it is ^Titten irqnali quadamw-
diocritate ; it partakea more of the easr
negligence of a metrical romancer tbanrf
the stalking pomp of tlieatric dedaroatioa.
If it be more like one specimen of Eng- i
lish blai^ verse than another, that:^- 1
men is Leonidas. We prefer the iocck- !
rent diction of Thalafija to this xmifm \
propriety, tliis classical purity, this taste-
ful Attic simplicity. The author has bees I
tamed by his critics, and Pegasus now nooas
in lianiess ; let them cut the traces, ad
show ns again the wide wings of his for*
mer soarings.^ In mere desoription ^
style isgo^'^dr in its place; bottliez&i
SMYTH S fiVGLIBH LYRICS.
6Z3
ire narrative passages, where it is so Ho-
meric as to ap|)ear trailing. It is hard]/
eondensed enough for the oratory, hardly
splendid enough for the grander scenery,
hardly rapid enough for the busy mo-
ments : but in passages of feeling it is
completely succe»sful, it is what Spenser
and Euripides would have contrived be-
tween tlienn.
A coimioa reproach made in conver-
sation, is the oddity of the names : we are
told continually they are harsh and unjx)-
etical J we do not participate this dislike.
Tlie iwnies are selected, as they should
be, from Clavigeru's hiot(.»ry of Mexico,
and Ovven's C mibrian biography : they
would want costume and prjbabillty, if
they were arbitrary combinations of vow-
els and iiq;\ias. Jn such criticism there
is much prejudice of tlie eye : Ayayaca
has been railed a cacophonous word ; it
consists of the same syllables as Arhaia :
Yuhidtliiion might be re^l)Llt into the fa-
miliar English phrase ^ii hit the toiie.
When it is recollected that the Greek
sigma was pronounced like sh, how harsher
£ar must liave sounded tlie Homeric names
pf Akhiilesh and Odyshsheysh !.
Aat. XXXV.— £«5^/«A Lyrics. Part II. By William Smyth, FeUam qf St. Petef's
Colligc, Cambridge. 8vo. pp. 85.
The absence of similes in this poem is to
us a more sensible blemish. In rapid nas-
rative they may best be spared : but how*
ever exhausted as a form of adommeat,
however digressive as a question of pro-
priety, they often supply an agreeable va-
riation of imagery, and serve to acumi-
nate attention on the critical elTorts of
achievement.
The secoml \)r latter part of the poem
has evidently been published too wet from
the pen. Until a pdct has forgotter\ tho
glow of composition, he is not become in-
different to his inditierent passages, he is
not prepared to retouch his supei^fluities,
he believes that to throw away is to sacri«
fice. The task of correction and retrench-
ment, requires both industry and self-de-»
nial 3 but it is recompensed by the durat
tion and the intensity of praise.
All thiivrs considered, we are for pla-
cing Madoc below the Odyssey and above
the Lusiad; .and for conceding to the
JEneid a precedence founded on elder
rather than higher birth> and assisted by
a cosmopolite, instead of a national^ Ian*
guage.
LIGHT is our task and pleasant our of-
fice when works like the present come
under our critical inspection,
When productions of genuine poetic
merit betray signs of a bad heart or cor-
rupted principles, we praise with svdlen
sparingness j and when lines which appear
prompted by good intentions and amiable
dispositions are found destitute of other
claims to public favour, we blame reluc-
tantly, and alftiost with remorse 5 but
here, our taste and our feelings, our judg-
ment and our fancy, are alike gratiJicd,
and join with one accord in prompting
nnquaUfied approbation and heartfelt
praise. The lirst part of English Lyric^i,
consisting of pieces similar to the present
in form and in merit, appeared several
^ars a^o, in a pamphlet ratlier larger than
the one before us 5 and a few songs in-
serted in this latter, have alrea()y adonied
the pages of the Metrical Miscellany, but
we hope it will not be long before the au-
thor finds it expedient to reprint both to-
gether in a neat pocket volume. The sub-
jects of the poems are various, but most
of tjjem are drawn rather fronj witliin than
frotn without, and express chiefly, the
feelings and reflectioas pf ^ truly elegant
P»i4d> warmed with genttine benevolence.
and softened, not soured, by misfortune, in
tlie chequered scene and progressive stages
of human life. There is a good deal of
oiiginality in some of Mr. Smyth's senti-
ments, and others which are sufficiently
familiar in prose, have Seldom appeared
before ia the garb of poetry. His ex-
pressions, always elegant, are frequeqtly
forcible and happy -, and if a little obscu*
rity is now and tlicn felt, and the con*
struction of his sentences is not always
easy or perfectly correct, allowance must
be made for the difficulties attending the
regular lyric measures, and the doable
rhyme which he has occasionally inter-
spersed, and on the whole with good ef-
fect. But in this as in many other works
of tlie day, the sense is not a little dark-
ened by the absurd profusion of cumqoas,
which ignorant compositors scatter at ran-
dom through their pages ; a circumstance
to which authors would do well to pay
more particular attention.
To point out all the beauties of these
charming little poems, would be to de-
prive the judicious reader of the pleasure
of discovering them : but W^ cannot omit
tP remafk th? epithet f* rosy spectre" ap-
plied to the '^ hectic maid*' in the " Ode to
Pity }* the concluding stanza of the e&cel*
614
POETRY.
lent '" Elegy" relative to funereal ho-
nours,—
" 'TIs thine own image that departing sighs,
Tis thine own fate that glooms uponlhti bier,
Tis thine own nature that for pity cries,
Aiid bids thee in the grave thyself revere ;" —
nnd tlje tonching picture conveyed in
the lines entitled «' J aura, * —
" V/ith ianquid look she faint replied.
And smiltd my gaiety away ;"
beauties which cannot but be felt, be-
cause they apl)»^'^l to ihe emotions of every
tender heart. We shall spare all further
conirarnts, because our extracts will'speak
inore forcibly for themselves and their au-
f Jior than any praise of ours.
TO CHEERFULNESS.
" The hunter on the mountain's brovr.
The rosy youth from study free,
Ne%T breath'd, O Cheerfulness! a vow
More fond, than 1 have breathed to tliee.
Yet sonietinica, if in lonely hour
1 leave tliv lovM, enchanting bower,
Kv glooms of wayward fancy driven ;
An(f from thee turn my langulcl eyes,
Ts'or loii2er deem thy plerv^urc wise,
Oh! be my suirering heart forgiven.
Not always can the varying mind
Bear to thy slirine an homage true;
Some chains mysterious seem to biiid.
Some suUcn sorcery to subdue :
Nor always can the scene be gay,
Nor blest the morrow as today*
And musing thoughts will sadness bring ;
Can time so near me hourly fly,
^or I his passing form de«5cry,*
Nor ever bear his i-ustiiiig wing ?
E'en now 1 feel with vain regret, •
How soon these happy da}'s must en4 ;
Already seems my sun to set,
I mark the shacles of eve descend ;
The visto catch, where sorrow grey
And weary pain are on their way ;
Beyond, with startled glance f see
The billows dark, the fated shore.
The forms that sink and rise no more^
Tbj5 ocean of eternity."
ELEGY.
*' Still dark with frowns return the sullei^
years,
Still move with rent and blood-stain'd robes
awuy ;
The giant force his form terrific rears
To heaven, and bids tlV astonished world
pbey.
Yet thou, my soul, tbo' wrecked around Ihec
sink
All that can wake thy love, thy reverence
claim,
Lose not thy last, best hope, nor stoop to
think
Truth but a sound, and virtue but a name.
Few note the virtue that from view retires.
Few prize tlie worth that every moment
sees;
We mark the tempest's rage, the comef s (\rcs.
Forget the shower, the sunshine, and the
breeze.
While one pure bosom its own bliss foregdes.
While one firm mind the wound, it felt, fbr--
gives,
While one kind heart is touch'd with Inimaa
woes.
All is not lost on earth, and virtue lives.
When shall the heart to virtue best disclose
Th' unaltered homage of its proud applause?
TbeUj when her votaries shriiik, when leagued
her foes.
When fails her promise, and forlorn hat
The eternal Being, that with parent care
Formed and sustains the viewless bsect's
frame,
Taugljt He in vain the heart to melt in prayer,
in vain to glow with hope, to^nk wit&
shame ?
Jinch motive dim is by his glance descried,
I'he sleepless moan, unheard on earth, Jie
hears ;
He marks each sacrifice to virtuous pride.
He counts affection's thrpbs, compassion's
tears \
Revere, thou wedded fair, thyself, thy vow,
Tho* brutal wrongs thy faith, thy fondness
wound ;
The still, small voice within that whispers now.
Shall o'er tiiy dying pillow rapture sound.
Thou man of worth, whom want has bowed
and worn.
But bowed not to the proud oppressor's will.
Bear on undaunted — thou for bliss art bom.
Eternity is thine— be virtuous stilL
O ! when tins alter'd world is lost in gloom.
When earili to prostrate man no hope can
yield.
Beam on the soul, thou world beyond the
tomb.
By reason promis'd, and by God reveal'd.'*
SONG.
'* I-aura, tfiy sighs must now no more.
My faltering step detain.
Nor dare I hang thy sorrows o'er,
^'or vlasp thee thus, |n vain i
LAINC S OSSIAN.
615
Yet wliilc thy bosom he!avcs that sigh.
While tears thy checic bedew.
Ah ! think — ^tho' doomM from thee to fly,
My heart speaks no adieu.
Thee would I bid to check those sighs.
If tliiiie were heard alone —
Thee would f bid to dr}' those eyes,
13ut tears are in my own —
One last, long kiss — and then we partr—
Another — and adieu^-
I cannot aid th) breaking heart,
For miim is breaking too."
Art. XXXVI. — Poems. By Laura Sophia Temple. 12mo. pp. 192.
"LOVE in thine eyes for ever strays.
He makes thy rosy lips his care.
And walks tlie mazes of thy hair ;
Love dwells in every outward part,
But ah, he never, never reached ihy heart."
Are we, unfortunately, right in apply-
ing these lines to Miss Laura Sophia
Temple ? She only can decide -, hut they
presented themsehes involuntarily to us
on the perusal of these poems which, with
some exceptions, have a good deal of ex-
ternal polish, but little appearance of be-
ing unsolicited effusions trom the heart.
The lambent flame of love plays upon tlie
sur^ce of them, an idle meteor which im-
parts no warmth.
Several of the following lines are very
melodious, and by no means unworthy a
disciple of the Darwinian school. They
are addressed to the ear> and uot unsuc-
cessfully i^
" Go, wanton breeze, to Cashmere's wavy
groves,
XVhose wild, and tangled haunts, my fair one
loves;
There gaily kiss each soft voluptuous flow'r.
Then hasten to my Abra's secret bow*r.
But oh ! forget not, as thou fly'st along.
To steal the music of each warbler's song ;
Then seek the shades where weeping violets
spring,
And birar their treasures on thy downy wing.
Nor yet forcet the briglit and nuisky'rose
Whose modest face with vermeil' tincture
glows,
Fluttering around it tell thy tend'rest tale.
And win it from its mate the niglitingale.
And now thy silken pinions wide expand.
For Abra's inaullhig bow'r is near at hand.
Oh! when thou see'st the maid my wislies
seek.
With spicy whispers fan her damask cheek,
Pimt in tlie ringlets of her ebon hair.
And court the laughing lotes that frolic there ;
Breathe on those crimson lips whose honey'd
store
The wretched Amurath must taste no more ;
Sport in the liquid heaven of her eye.
And o'er her neck of marble softly sigh:
Then waft, oh ! waft the melody of song.
Let some sad cadence gently steal along.
Bid the lone night-bird all his griefs r<;Iaie,
And t^ll her that he sings of Am'nith's fate;
1>11 her like me he mourns a faithless love.
Like me his thoughts to vanish'd pleasures
rove.
Like me he shuns the morn's etherial dies.
Like me to evening*^ tender scene he flies.
Go, lovely messenger, t/wse words rep<*at
Ere this deserted heart has ceas'd to beat." .
Art. XXXVIL — The Poems of Ossian, S^c. Containing the Poetical fTorks of James
Macpherson, Esq. in Prose and Rhyme : with Notes and Illuslrations. By Malcolm
Laing, Esq, 2 Vols. 8vo. pp. 579 and 634.
iHESE handsome and very dear vo-
lumes ar» misnamed. Instead of The
Poems of Ossian, containing the Poetical
Works of James Macpherson, they should
have been entitled The Poetical W^orks of
James Macpherson, coutainmg the Poems
of Ossian.
A more singular publication we have
seldom seen. Mr. Laing has published
these poems for the sole purpose of dis-
proving their authenticity, and thereby
destroying almost all tlieir value ; and he
has given them this costly form, as the
priests of old gilt the horns and wreathed
the forehead of the beast whom they led
to be sacrificed at the altar. Tliat part of
the work which relates to this contro-
versy, will more properly be examined
when we notice the report of the com-
mittee of the Highland Society : in the
present article, tlierefore, we shall confine
ourselves to what is avowedly Macphcr-
son's.
Some literary anecdotes of Macpherson
are prefixed, from Ruddiman's Weekly
Magazine, 177^' Jt is there stated iJiat
he was bom in tlie latter end of the year
1738, at Ruthven, in the county of In-
verness, being of one of the most anOient
families in the north of Scotland, and cou-
sin-german to the chief of the clan of the
Macphersons, who deduce their origin
from tlie jyicient Catti of Germany ! that,
having received the rudiments of educa*
tion at home, he was sent to the grammar
school at Inverness^ where his genius be^
6\6
POETRY.
came so copspiaioua, that his relations^
CQUtrary to their original intention, deter-
mined to breed him to a learned profes-
sion, and that with this view they sent
him succesbivelv to tlie universities of
Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
In 1760 he published his first fragments
qf ancient poetry, — ^no notice is t&en in
these anecdotes ik the Highlander, his ear-
liest publication. In 1764 he went to
America as president of the council pf
West Florida, returned after two years,
and published in succession his Introduc-
tion to the History of Great Britain and
Ireland ; his translation of the Iliad, which
he is said to have undertaken, executed,
and published, in the space of three
months ; and his Histor}' of Great Britain
from the Restoration to the Accession of
the House of Hanover. The anecdotes
conclude by saying that he "^ras then
amusing himself with less laborious stu-
dies in his villa dear London, with which
it was to be hoped he would some time or
other gratify the world, ^* unless he should
happen to be called forth in the political
line, to which his talents are adapted as
nmch as to letters." This brief and unsatis-
factory account, which is highly compli-
inentary throughout, Mr. Lamg suspef:t8
to have been \yritten by Macpberson nim-
pejf. It is nqt often that pen puflf them-
selves, and as tliere is nothing to prove
the suspicion, it^ expression might wpll
have be&n spared. 'I*hc language of praise
would come more probably, as well ah
jMore properly, from one of his friends.
It is evident that the poems of Ossian are
considered by tlie writer as Macpherson*s
own. Little is added to these anecdotes.
During tlie American war he was employ-
ed as a saperintendant of the ministerial
newspapers, and wrote political pamph-
lets, which did their share of mischief, it
may be presumed, in d-iiuding the people,
and were then forgotten. As agent for
tlie nabob of Arcot, he amassed a large
fortune, and in 1/80 was returned to jpar-
liaraent for the borough of Camelford.
He returned at last t& his native cpuntrj',
like niost of his wealthy conritrymen 5 he
• purchased an estate, and built a large man-
sion there. ""In 179^ he ciied, and was bu-
ried, apcording to his (>wn direction, in
poets' corneir ; ' by which there can be no
doubt tlint he meant to be considered a^
theauihor and not tlic traiislator of Ossian.
*' His private chanirtvr," says Mr. fiaing,
f m\\v v/ell be spared '5 and it is sufficient tp
pbservv, that his iDoralis were hot siich as
|o refeite Uie charge wh|ch I have made^
that, with a genius truly poetical, be wai
one of the first literary impostors in qqo-
dem times."
Mr. Laing intimates an apprehensioo
that some account of Macpberson may be
expected in a collection of his poetical
works 5 but he adds, " I have no indi-
nation to become his biographer.'' We
regret this disinclination ; the world will
be curious for a life of this extraordiosy
writer hereafter, and there is no place so
proper for it as in such a work. Hning
executed the ofteoder, Mr. Laing should
have condescended to give us " a M,
true, and particular accoqnt of his Hif,
parentage^ education and behaviour." K-
ther the accusation of his moral character
should have been spared, or substantiated.
'' In the course of my enqmries," sayi
this editor, " I have discovered above four
tliousand of Macpherson's verses ; writtea
'between the age of seventeen and twenty-
two, while he sacrificed, or served his ap^
prentireskip in secret to ihe mufes. The
chief value of these consist in the erideooe
which they afford, that his first and most
precjomjnating ambition was tq become
an heroic poet." The two first pcems,
entitled Death and the Hunter, are printed
from a manuscript, evidently the first
draught of hi* cpmpositipqs, which was
discovered in the Highlands many yean
ago, and communicated for this publka-
tion by the Rev. Mr. Anderson, minister
of Kingussie. The practice now so prcr
valent of printing the private letters of li-
terary men, and v, hatever they have left
unfinished, whether designed for the pob-
lic or not, has been often censured, nor
are we disposed to defend it Yet in the
present case we must observe, that the re-
putation of Macpberson cannot possibly
be injured by any faults in poems written
when he was a boy 5 that so far as any rer
sernblance to Ossian can be traced in ikm
they become important j and tliat it isno
tlier incurious nor unimportant to trace
in them the progress of a poet who cer-
tainly, whether desenedly or not, has
produced a more general effect througb-
Out Europe, than any otiier Engliiib poet
had ever done before him.
The poem upon Death must have been
written Wfbre he was eighteen, Mr.
Laing considers it as an imitation of Blair >
Grav6 ; the subject may have been co-
pied, but the manner has not. It discot
Vers no j>reniature genius, neither is tltere
any of that premature correcmess whicn
shows that nothing is to be hoped for; >f
contains cpnfused images and persoiiilica:
laing's ossian.
Gi?
tioDs» bloated langaage, sometimes good
conceptions ill expressed^ and more rareljr
scattered good lines, just what is to be
wished for in the poem of a boy. Here
is a sample of what the author meant for
fublimit}r.
^' High from an iron car, the gloomy king
Outstretches o*er llie world his haggard eye.
His jaws, wide parting, open to the lill
Of sad oblivion — sable mantled shade !
At the dark chink the undistinguish'd throng
Enter, of maids, gay youths, and tottering age.
In gloomy pomp, array'd j^fore their king,
fear, grisly tcirpr, shivering dismay.
And cloud^envelop'd horror, gloomy stand.
When far before, oy sable fate emjjowered.
With wanton glee7 and fool-insnaring grace,
A sofl deluding fair disarms the strong.
And throws the brave into the jaws of death.
The sons of pride, her happiness, but men
Call her iotetnp'rance, daughter of this age,
Got on prosperity, bom on the banks
Of ill-uied liberty, and nursed up
By plenty, indolence, and gallan#y.
By looks l4sclvious, by luxurious ease.
Behind- her comes consumption^— meagre
With slow, weak, languid pace, and self-de-
vour'd;
Bom droopinfl^ on a tedious flux of time.
With pain <feep loaden, sluggish llowinjf
down:
Then ulcers, sv/ellings, apoplectic fits,
Convulsive trances, fever scorcliing hot.
The sage physician — all a gloomy train !
Their general parent follow ; while giniiii death,
WidiMvasting terror ! shuts the dismal scene.''
*' — her azure eyes
Like two fair fountains, watered the plain
Of roses on her cheek. i
♦ * *
The fiightful mouster shakes the solid towers
Of state, and nations at one morsel churns.
* * *
J^^ear to his father's bed ^stq stands
And drinks large drauglits of virtue."
TTicse are promising faults. The battle
scene, and tlie shipwreck, show that his
piind was full of ^omer and Ovid ; the
Xeterence to the earthquake, written so
soon after the dreadful shock at Lisbon,
proves lljat he ^Tote- also from his own
stores, and in these following lines it n^ay
be seen lliat he had an eye for natural ob-
jects.
" — no voice, no sound is heard.
But now and then the breathing breezes sigh
Thro* the hajf-quivering Jeayes, and fer-rc"
moved '
The sea rolh feeble murmu^ to the shore ;
Tfie birds hang, sleeping, on the bendin£[
twigs.'* . .- ■ •
One passage occurs of higher merit— •
" with the dawning morn
The land emerges from a sea of clouds.**
Mr. Laing tliinks that this has been
transferred to Fingal. *' The high rocks
of the land of Lochlin, its groves of mur^
muring sounds, appeared to the hero
through mist," We do not recognize the
image 5 the one is a near, the other a di^
taut view.
The second poeip, which the editor has
entitled the Hunter, was written in 1756.
Macpher8on> like all young poets who have
any ambition, aspired to be an epic wri-
ter, and this Is the first attempt of which
any trace remains. His hero Donald, a
highjander, shoots the favourite fawn of
Xanthe, daughter of tlie king of the fai-
ries ; she complains to her father. In the
following description of his dwelling Mr.
I^ing traces the prigin of Fingal^s airy
ball.
" A hill there is, whose sloping sides of
green
Are by the raptured eye at distance seen;
Rocks intersperse the variegated space :
Here columns rise; tliere smiles the virid
jfrass;
There tunid deers, and shaggy goats abound;
There tripping 4iries dance the fleeting
round;
Within the king of fairies makes abode.
And waves o*er prostrate crowds his regal rod:
A sea-green throne his royal limbs support.
Full in the middle of the spacious court.
His furrowed front majestic he uprears ;
His waving locks are silvered o'er with yeart.
Upon the wall, supply the want of day.
Arranged lamps, that dart a glimmermg ray.
Unhallowed viands on the table stand,
The unblest produce of the neighbouring land.
Old Murdock plow*d : an ox died in the yoke ;
And here his tumid limbs in cauldrons smoke.
The maid, tlie youth, liie matron, and the
sage,
The call of craving hunger all assuage :
W hile, clad in woe, the lovely Xanthe comes,
And lightens with her charms tlie shady rooms.
All start — ^rhe monarch tumbles from his
tlirone.
"\Vhy weeps my daughter > why that tender
moan?"'
" A cloud hovers over Cona. Its blue
curiin^ sides are liififh. The winds are her
nrath It, with their wmgs. Within it is the
dwelling of Fingal. There the hero sits i:|
darkness. His airy spear is in his hand. His
shield half covered wilii clouds, is like tlie
darkened moon ; when one half still remains
in the wave, and'the other looks sickly on tlie
geld !
" Ili^ friends sit around the king^ on mistl
618
POETRY.
Tbcy hrar iJw songs of Ullin: he strikes the
hall- viewless h^rp. 1 le rai?t^ the feeble voice.
The lcc!scr Iwroes, with a thousand meteors,
lij^ht the airy hall. Malvina rises, in the
midst ; a blusli is on her ciierk, bhe Lk! holds
the unknown faces of her fiiUiers. Slie turns
aside her humid eves. '.Art ihou come so
s^Kwir' said Fingaf, ' daughter of generous
Toscar,"
The resemblance is certainly striking j
l)otl> passages may be derived from the
pc^>ular superstition explained wiili .such
admirable absurdity bj Dr. Cririe, in a
note to his Scottish scener}'. (See our
2d Volume, p. 411.)
The fairy king convokes his senate to
deliberate upon tlie best means of rcver.ge.
It b determined to take the black humour
from tlje brain of a courtier, and infect
Donald with it. Xanthe tlierefore goes
to the capital :
" Once the proud seat of royalty aiKl slate.
Of kings, of heroes, and of all tiiat*s great,
Birt these are flown, and Edin's only stores
Are fops and scriveners and Englished
whores.*'
She makes an incision in Meno's hea4>
takes out the humour, returns upon her
zepbyr, and sheds the infection over Do-
nald, v.'hoy becoming discontented with
his lot, sets out in search of better for-
tune, llie description of tlie Grampians,
here introduced, would have delighted
Wilkes and Churchill.
" A hill there \^, which fom^s a sable wall
Through all the north, and men it (jranipus
call.
Here Ican-cheek'd barrenness terrific strides ;
A tattered robe wavt!s round her iron sides ;
'i'wo bab'tul eyes roll in her iron fare ;
Jler meagre Iwnd supports a pile of grass ;
Her bare white skull no decent covering
shews ;
Etrrnal tempests rattle on her brows ;
I-ank-sided want, and pale-eyed poverty.
And sharp-tooth'd famine, still arounci her
ily;
Health-gotten hunger, want-descended pain.
Vein-numbing cold — are all her gloomy
traiij."
Here the ghost of his father
appears to him in a dream, and v
suades him from his purpose.
cceih 3 and arrives at Edinburgh
when the king, with an inferior
drawn up in battle-anay against
libh. An Englishman advances
ranks, and challenges any Scot
combnt. ponald meets him t
Malcolm
ainly dis-
He pro-
at a time
force, is
the Eng-
from tlic
to single
" They- fii»ht, and wnn-^ cease, aad fi^
a^diii»
Their "i.\-' bake dust tivl\ blood upoo tte
plain."
But Donald co^ucrs, and by his prow-
ess the invaders are deleted.
" Fierce on the rear the hiii-bom hno faax»g%
L^ps the sbw tail, and every hero bangs.* '
The king, rightly attributing to him the
victory, imites him to the pelscc, where
he and the princess Egkiia ^l ia love
with each otlwr. He relates bis history,
by which it appears tim bis nurse saved
him out of tiie slaughter of his fiucilj,
and that his ambition was occasiooed by a
representation of bis future good fortune
..shown him by a fairy. Macpberson iud
here evidently altered bis plan, and wonkl
probably have adapted the ooninKnce*
ment to this alteration, bad he tbaoght
the poem worth correction. A noble at
tliis story recognizes him for bis only soa,
and the princess is given bim to wife.
There are many expressions in both
these poems which show that the lan-
guage in which the author wrote had not
been his mother-tongue, and that he did
not understand the colloquial and caneot
value of words. The word bangs m the
couplet last quoted is an instance. ** The
pleasing phantom of preterite joy** is azw«
ther. .
" 1 now am dandled by the hand of fete.
And, death seems knocking at the treiublii^
gate.''
Some of the metaphors hax-e the cha«
meter of barbarous poetry j the ears are
called the portals of the head, and the lips
the gates of voice. The whole is full of
strained thoughts and forced expressicHXS ;
such faults as promise well in a youth of
eighteen.
Next in the series is the Highlander, pub-
lished in I/jS. Alpin, immediately after
the funeral of his father, joins the Scottish
army then taking tlie field under their i
king Indulph, against tl^e Danes. They ]
march in the night — the simile of a ga- j
thering cloud has seldom been mare ac-
curately applied tlian in these lines.
" A rising hill, whose niglit-invelop'd brow
IIungo*erth' encamped squadrons of the foe.
Shoots to the deep its ooze-immantled arm,
And stedfast struggles with the rajjin^ stonii.
Here ends the moving ho>t its winding mad,
And here condenses, like a sabre cloutl.
Which long was gathering on the mouota'ms ,
brow.
Then broke in thunder on the vales bekw.**^
. Alpin offers to explore the enemy's
camp J having effected this, like Dio-
medes^ he kills some of the sleeping.
Unco, the Danish prince, awakes and at-
tacks him ; struck by his generosity in
declining to wound him by advantage, he
throws away his sword and embraces liim.
They vow friendship. Haeo gives him his
shield, jtliat he may avoid him in battle,
and Alpin returns to the Scots, who, in
consequence of his report, wait for morn-
ing before they begin the light. At first
the Danes have the advantage. Alpin turns
the scale against them, he sets fire to their
fleet, kills Magnus, one of their leaders,
then rescues Indulph, and slays Sueno
the Danish king. Haco retreats witli the
remnant of his countrymen, and fortifies
himself in a wood. Alpin goes to attack
him in this retreat. During his absence a
Scotchman, mortally wounded, crawls to
the king, and confesses that he had been
one of the conspirators with Dovakis who
bad murdered king Malcolm, his brother-
but that touched with compassion he had
aved his son Duffus, who still lived and
vas — he died before he could complete
he discovery. Meantime Alpin forces
he Danish intenchments. Haco, and his
vife Aurelia, who fights by his side, find-
ng every effort ineffectual, prepare to die
ogether ; but Alpin interposes and saves
hem, and leading them to the shore,
/here a single ship lay \ehich had escaped
be conflagration, dismisses them in safety.
At this time Culena, the king's daugh-
ir, la taking a walk upon the beach with
er maidens, though quieter times might
3ve been chosen lor walking. A rejected
iver seizes one of her damsels and carries
er off to ravish her, Alpin comes up and
iscues her, and he and the princess fall
I love with each otlier, a love which is
creased on her side by the skill which
5 afterwards displays in the games. At
e evening banquet Indulph asks the
»ung Highlander who he is. He relates
reply this story ) that coming with his
ther Rynold to join the king, ihey fell
-with a body of freebooters, who were
raging tlie country. They defeat them
d force them to tiy for shelter into tlie
ins of a large building, but Rynold was
^rtally wounded in the fray, and Alpin
iving his clan to besiege the enemy,
»nt to bid a neighbouring hermit come
his father. The hermit, instead of com-
riag, brake out into a prophecy of the
iries of the Fergusian line, the behead-
; of queen Mary, and the union of the
> crowns^ It \yds night when Alpi;^
LAIMO'S OSSIAN. 6jg
returned :* he met a ghost who pointed to
the building, and exclaimed. Revenge me,
O my son ! Upon this he forced the en-
trance, and killed the leader of the ban-
ditti, who, as he died, confessed that his
name was Dovalus, and that upon that
very spot he had murdered king Malcolm.
Rynold immediately after this told Alpin
that he was not his father, but tliat he had
found him when an infant, on the verjr
night of king Malcolm's murder. Upon
this Indulph immediately acknowledges
Alpin to be his nephew Duffus, and offers
to resign the crown to him, but the young
prince insists upon his continuing to go-
vern as Ipng as he lives. The last canto
is very ill managed — a hunting party it
made, a storm comes on, and Duffus and
the princess take shelter in a cavern, like
Dido and jEneas ; but tlie king and an
old hermit, who* lived in the cave, came
in and married them upon the spot. On
their way home they see a fleet approach-
ing, a fresh body of Danes land under Ha-
rold, coming to assist his brother Sueno,
of whose defeat and death he is ignorant.
They are repulsed, but Indulph is killed.
Duffus puts to sea in a single ship after the
flying enemy, completes their defeat,
and then returns to the nuptial feast-
Nothing can be more clumsy tlian this
conclusion 5 the other parts of the story
are better conceived, and not badly exe-
cuted, considering the youth of the au-
thor. There are many instances of the
same imperfect knowledge of the language
as in his former poems, such as the squeak
of a broken branch in the wind, and tlie
squeaking treble of a dying man's voice ;
some also of words badly coined from the
Latin, as in this couplet.
*' Silent and sad I hang the dyins o'er.
And with wann tears mttnerutc his gore.*?
The vile common-place phraseology of
rhymed poetry repeatedly occurs : all the
man, all the woman, all the hero, &c. ;
but there is an attempt at something good,
a general animation, and occasional images
drawn from nature. Wilkie's Epigoniad,
which there was a sort of conspiracy
among his countrymen to puff' in every
possible way, though without any of the
faults of the Highlander, has far less me-
rit. But tlie great merit in this early ef-
fort of Macpherson, is his desire of origir
nality.
Among the miscellaneous poems are
two poems which contain all the ingre-
dients of Ossian^ the Niglit Piece, and the
626
poExny.
Cave; this last we shall tianscribe for
this reason.
" The wind is up, the field is bare ;
Some hermit lead me to his cell,
Wiere contemplatioD, lonely fair,
\Vith blessed content lias chose to dwell.
Behold ! it opens to my sight.
Dark in the rock ; beside the flood ;
Dry fem around obstructs the light ;
The winds above it move the wood.
Heflected in the lake 1 see
The downward mountains and the skies.
The flying bird, the waving tree.
The' goats thiit on the hills arise.
The grey-cloaked herd drives on the cow;
The slow-pacrd fowler walks the heath ;
A freckled pointer scours the brow ;
A musing shepherd standA beneath.
Curve o'er the iiiin of an oak.
The woodman lifts his axe on high,
The hills re-echo to the stroke ;
1 sec, I see the sliivers fly.
Some rural maid, with apron full,
Brings hvA to tbr homely flame ;
I spe the smoky columns roll.
And through the chinky hut tlie beam.
Bc>ide a stone o'ergro^n with mo«s.
Two well-met hunters talk at eaae;
Three parting dogs beside repose ;
One bleeding deer is stretched on grass.
A lake, at distance, spreads to sight.
Skirted with shady fore>ts round.
In midst an island's rocky height
Sustains a ruin once renowned.
One tree bends o'er the naked yalls,
Two broad-wiuiged eagles hover nigh.
By intervals a fragment lalls,
As blows the bla.t along the sky.
Two rough-spun hinds the pinnace guide.
With lab'rmg oats, along the flootl ;
An angler, bending o'er the tide.
Hangs from the boat tli' insidious woocL
Beside the flood, beneath the rocks.
On grassy baii ti»-o lovers lean ;
Bend on each other amorous looks.
And seem to laugh and kiss between.
The wind is rustling in the oak ;
They seem to hear the tread of feet;
They start, they rise, look round the rodi;
Again they smile, again they mevt.
But see ! the grey mist from the lake
Ascends upon the shady hiUs ;
Dark stonos the murmuriog forests sltake,
Hain be8it%— -resound a hundred riils.
To Damon's homely hut I fly;
I see it smoking o'er the plain.
When storms are past, — an J lair the sky,
ril often seek my cave again."
This is certainly a very curioas aoj
yery interesting publication : as an editk«
of Ossian« however, it is not that ^hich
we should chuse. Mr. f^ng has pre-
served ihe arrangement of the three fas,
editions j as the onier in which tlie poems
were written, leads occasionally- to sonx
curious detections 5 ii would have beeo
better to have followed Macplierson's ba
arrangement, an4 have stated these detec-
tions in the preface, or in notes where
t]ie passages occur. He has also rejected
Macplierson's historical dissertatious, and
man} oihis notes, as full of fal^ehocxl 5 ue
are persuaded of their falsehood also, be:
we cai} consider no ^ition of Ossiao 3s
complete without them. False as tLfj
may be, they ougb( to have been retained,
as parts of ih^ tictipii.
Art. XXXVIIl.-r-^(0f7if ofOssian^s Lesser Poems rendered into Ferse, xcith aprtiifKine^
Discourse, iu answer to Mr. Laing's Critimi and Historical Disqaisiiicn on ilu Adi-
quity ofOssian's Poims. Ihj Archibald Macoonald. 8vo. pp. 300.
GOOD printing and fine paper wasted
npon one of the most worthless bpoks
we ever perused. The only passage de-
serving notice in it will be quoted ia oc?
reviewal of the controversy,
Art. XXXIX.— //oMr* of Solitude. J Collection qfOrifrinal Porins, non'^rsi pnhliski,
^y Charlotte Dacre, better hioii'n h^the Aami^ofliosA Matilda. ^ Vols. l±ui.
140 pp. each.
A CQNSIDEHABLE proportion of
these ppems were written at the ages of
sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen ; some in
matuier yttun^ and not a few in the sea-
son ( f childhood, at the early ag& of thir-
teen, fourteen, and fifteen ! Some of these
latter, we think| ape ainoug the best, an4
give indications of a poetic genius, fron
the cultivation of which we should have
anticipated fiiture supjjriority. The tev
stanzas to " Indlft'erence" are such as very
few at fourteen or fifteen could iiave pns^
duced, and those addressed to *' Love""
evince rather a precocious iiuagiuation.
THE BRITISH MARTIAL.
621
The productions of lea^ '^ extreme youth" Some of the personifications are drawn
scarcely ri.>c above the level of the rest. \\ ith a skilful pencil.
Art. XL. — The Chaplct, a Collect ton of Poems, parti// Oris;inul and pwrthj selected from
the most approved yiuUiors. i:iino. pp. 204.
POETICAL selections are so much a
matter of individual taste, accidental awo-
ciation, and often mere whim, that there
is no arguing upon th* matter. Of all the
pieces contained in the present volume
there are not half a dozen tliat we should
have admitted, if we were ourselves about
to make a similar selection. We do not
know, however, that we have therefore a
right to call it a bad one : bad in a moral
ix)int of view it certainly is not ; and all
the blame which we can lay on the anony-
mous collector is that of having gathered
daisies and crowfoot and hawtliorn, when
with nearly the same trouble he might
have culled roses and hyacinths and myrtle.
If in return he tells us that he prefers
wild flowers to garden ones, all that can
be said is, that we are not of the same
opinion.
Art. XJJ. — Elidure and Ellfi; a Cambrian Vale, in four Parts, To xvJiich is added, Zo-
robabel, or Royal Queries ; a Paraphrastic Poan from tlie third and fourth Cltapttrs of
the first Book ofEsdras, JSy William Gibson, A. M. 8yo. pp. 41.
THE effect produced on us by tliese
pages may be best described in a quota-
tion from the book itself, wiih tlie altera-
tion of a ttogle word.
' " O'erconie witii what they heard
His audience yawning to their beds re-
pair'd."
Art. XLH. — Poems to Thespia. By H. Downman, M. D. 8vo. pp. 106.
A FEW of the poems contained in the
present volume have, as the author in-
forms us, been published betbre. Of the
wlmle number there is not one that is not
either addressed to or inspired by liis
Thespia. Good sense, elegance, warm
and refined conjugal affection, breathe in
every line, and cannot fail to be duly ap-
preciated by every well-dis^wsed reader.
Art.- XLUL— ^ Poetical Epistle to the Right Honourable ITilliam Pitt. 4to. pp.
THE quotation in the title-page from
Bacon is the only passage in this rhymed
political pamphlet worth remembering:
'* He that seeketh to be eminent amongst
able men hath a great task ; but that is
ever good for the public : but he that plots
to be the only figure among cyphers is
tlie decay of a whole age."
Art. XLIV. — The British Martial y or an Anthologii of Engliah Epigrams, hcivgtJte largest
Collection ever published, xvilh some Originals, 2 Vols. Svo,
^pUi
ABOVE a thousand epigrams are con-
tained in tliese two volumes ; which tJhere-
fore com\>rize by far the greatest part of
those which liave as yet appeared in print*
There are many more, li()we\cr, current
in literary and fashionable society with
which the author might have graced his
pages. In an affectedly Avritten preface
we are informed that the collector " not
only professes but feels a devout regard
for ^morals and religion,'* and that '* he
has rejected many smart things which
have been sanctioned by the highest names
and authorities, solely bcause they scomed
to his sober and chastised taste to border
too much on forbidden ground.** With
this priiiciple of selection in view, how
was it possible to admit an epigram on the
awfiil event of llie rending in twain the
veil of tlie temple ? or tlie following mi-
serably profane pun ?
** Our God reqv.ireth the xvhole heart, or
none.
And yet he will accept a broken one :*
or another entitled. What is the Deity ?
If the editor consults his own reputation,
and the b(x)kseller liis interest, the pages '
containing tliese indecorous passages will
be immediately cancelled ; they are the
90tli, gist, 145thj and 150th^ of the first
volume.
I® . .
€22
POETRY.
Art. XLV. — Poems, By Robertus. I2mo. pp. 120..
THESE are for the most part Anacre-
ontic and amatory pieces, and therefore it
would be unreasonable to exj>ect ;nuch
novelty or splendid poetical fancy. Ten-
derness, sp'frit, and elegaacc^tliey possess,
though not in so high a degree as to tempt
him who has once read them to recur a
second time to their perusal.
Art. XLVI. — Maurice the Rustic; and other Poems,
l2mo. pp. 111.
By Henry Summers ett.
THE school of poetry in which this
author has studied is that of Southey, of
whom he is in many respects a successftil
follower. The first piece, entitled " Su-
aau and the Gibbet," though horrible and
shocking in its subject, possesses much
merit of accurate delineation and perfect
simplicity of style. The principal poem
in the volume, entitled " Maurice tlie
Hustle,'* bears an unfortunate resemblance
in subject to Beauie s Minstrel, and can
therefore be scarcely judged without pre-
judice. The smaller pieces, though some-
what carelessly written^ contain passages
of real genius which imprint themselves
easily and forcibly on the memory. We
are disposed to select the following as an
s^eeable but tair specimen of the whole.
THE VALE I LOVE.
•• Peaceful, blooming, verdant vale!
Bere I've told tiic merry tale;,
Here liave beat the tabor:
BaskM upon the sunny grass.
Kissed the struggling, laughing lass;
Said to each gay neighbour,
Tls a liappy vale !
Oh, the bliss of Summer's eve !
Glad to meet, and loath to leave.
While the moon was peej)ing:
Bounding sport and reeling joy
Gazine age would ne'er annoy.
But lai^ to see us, leaping,
Ev'ry Summer's eve !
Ah, the dear, delightful hoyr.
When I sought the wild-rose bower.
Midnight haunt of fairy ;
Whispered all my heart's tme love,
JE'en while I heard the amorous dove.
To it's emblem, Mary !
Dear, delightful hour !
Seasons bright, and seasons sweet.
Gay, smiling tlowers beneath our feet.
Summer breezes blow'mg;
Birds of soft and mirtiiful song.
Lads and lasses in a throng.
Chanting blithe and mowing.
Seasons bright and sweet*
Ah, native valley! Howl sigh'd.
When o'er yon nwuntain's brow I hie4.
And gave mv heart to anguish;
Compeird, awfiile, afar to roam.
To leave my friends, my peaceful home^
Fcr Mary's smiles to languish;
Ah, valley, how I sigh*di
How dreary, rude was ev'ry thought !
The lovely scenes with vision caught
Pale sofi-ow soon invaded :
At mom, in sad, romantic mood,
I pluck'd the tiouers of gixive and wood;
Like happiness they faded.
How rude was ev'ry thought!
No tranquil joy I sure had known,
Tho' fortune kindly made my own
Each dale and lofty mountain ; *
Strl bad 1 mourned for those afar.
Still, sorrowii^ seen the glittering star
Embosom'd by the iMatain.
No joy I sure had known.
O, gentle gales? O, sportive main.
Ye bore me to my home again.
My cot, with jasmine laden I
* He's come ! He^s come !' the rustics cried,
* He's come? H^ come!' with joy replied
Each rosy, brisk-cy'd maiden.
Thanks, gentle gales and maia!
Peaceful, blooming, verdant vale!
StUl ril tell the meiT>' tale.
Still will beat tlie tabor ;
Bask upon the sunny grass.
Kiss the strycgling^ lauffhing lass.
Say to eacn gay fieighbour,
Tis a happy vale!"*
Art. 'XLYlL'^Jmatory Poems: mthTramlations and TmitaHonsfiom Ancierd md Ama-^
tory Authors. 12mo. pp. 64.
TjnS anonymous author is a worthy of women of fashion. As a decorous spe-
associate of Little Moore, and of course cimen of the poetical abilities displayed in
will be prohibited in all decent families, this volume, we shall quote the folios*
and freely admitted to the dre8sing-room» ing :
MRS. HUNTBRi SPORTS OF THE GENII.
G|3
** Turn again those dewy eyes
To my burning kiss,
JLct those jetty lashes mo,
Waknig slow from bliss.
Sec ! o'er all thy raptur'd fiice
Mantling blusheb rise ; -•
So the morn with graduiil pax:e
Crimsons o er the skies.
Let again that thrillMig lip
Meet in billing iight ;
Pantiog» munnuriog, as we sip
Oceans ol delij^it.— ■
As 'tis sweeter far to hear
A gentle river yield
It> waters n^uKwuiing, bubbling near.
O'er the enanicll'd lield^
Than the bursting cataract dasli, .
M'ith a doat'rning roar,
And with troubled waters lash
Loud the roLky shore :
So 'tis sweeter far to Tic
Lirio'ri/ig gn each kiss,
TJjaiv o'i^r oach love scene iofly^
Hushing on to bliss."—
Art. XLSU\,^Vie Sports of the Genii. JiyMRS. John IIukter. 4to. pp. 17-
THE object of the fair author in pub-
lishing this elegant work, can best be dis-
closed by a recital <;f the Introdoction,
wbidi occupies iittk more than a page,
and is as ioJlows :
*' The '* Sports of the Genii" were orlgi-
l^nally written for the amusement of some
youncT p*»oi)le in tlie winter of 1797: they took
Iheir Ti^efrom the beautiful groups of winged
bo}S which filled the poit-ibiio of NJiss Mac-
do.tald, who was *ui the habit of imagining and
ikctching themwiih the j^reatest fociiity: the
idea of arranginc^ and forming them into sub-
jects for the following fables, was my own.
The early deatu ot a young woman of uncom-
mon talents, and surrounded with every ad-
vantage this world can bestow, gives to iier
designs a peculiar interest : and not only t hose
who knew and admired her, but every ])erson
of taste and feeling, must view them with uiu-
sations of tender regret t
** The little poems which accompany the
following thirteen etchings, will, 1 nope, be
read with indulg«mcc, having been the mi'ans
<?f preserving the original outlines, which
would otherwise have been probably de-
stroyed. For the dedication, l am obliged
to the ingenious artist whoscname is prefixed
to tlie plate. And now let me add, that, in
caramittuig the ^* Sports of tlio Genii" to the
press, I am impelled alone by affection and
gratitude, to a family for whom I have the
highest respect, and to whom I owe the most
•erious obligations; and 1 feel gratified by
ofilTing them this mark, however inadequate
k may be, of my attachment.
'* A. H."
From such a statement, it is not likely
that we sluU beud the bow of criticism
with any exXraordinary lightness. Ex-
clusively of the generous sentiments which
appear to have influenced the writer, the
intrinsic merit of some of these composi-
tions is alone sufficient to avert the
*' barbed steel," — nor shall we " sportT
with tliese eftusions more severely tbsoi
tlie Genii appear to sport with each olher-
This work is a tliiu qiyrto pubrtcatipa
of twenty pages, elegantly printed by Ha-
milton, and hot- pressed in the usual luxu-
ry of modern productions. It is decorated
with fourteen plates, or etchings^ ia
outline, of subjects designed by tlie Jatc
daughtej" of the lord chief baroa Macdo-
nald,* and on which the poems are pro-
fessedly written* How far tl>e author is
happy in the choice of her title, may be
questioned ; since we are unacquainted
with any principle of Rosicrusian philoso-
phy which gives to Cupid and bis comrades
the appellation of *' GaruV — ^an appeUatioa
which we believe is almost exclusi\'el|r
coniined to those beings who inhabit the
regions of Faery I^ind, and who serve to
create and conduct the heroes and haroines
of romance.
O!" the poems, the first, consisting of
ten verses, " To the Memory of Susaa
Macdonald,*' is written witli the greatest
smoothness of metre and sweetness of
imagery. Perhaps tlie reader will, not ob-»
ject to judge for himself]
" If Conzens from his blots couW form
A landscape, cataract, or storm.
Why may not we, with equal ease.
Make forms to thmk just as we please?
Amongst the common sons of earth.
The passion gives the action birth ;
liut we, reversing nature's laws.
Make the effect precede the cause."
In the third, " Cupid's Holiday,"t
among many elegant lines, Ae are sur-
prized to stumble on tlie following un-
couth stanza:
* With the exception of the first, which is by a professed artist, Mr. Masciucricr.
t Written January 25, 1797, the birth-day of the princess Charlotte of Wales.
9
624
POETRV.
"No roses scent the chilly air,
No blushing pink, or lily fair —
And, ^br 7/our hot-house plants^
Supposing one could c^ain adfumion,
^Tis only Jit for a phijsician
To seek their sickly haunts."
The two designs that accompany this
poem are extremely beautifiiL
" The Triumph," along with two equal-
ly elegant designs, is among the best spe-
cimens of the author's manner. We ex-
tract it with pleasure.
" IndifTrcnct bray'd the god of love.
And proudly bid him slioot his best ;
For lie nis keenest shaft would prove.
And turn lus godship to a jest :
For, drench'd in Lethe's sullen stream,
No thought retum'd, the flame to feed :
No wishes paivit the wakins dream ;
No hopes arc bora, nor fears succeed.
* For me, tliy golden shafts prepare ;
' Thy fond affections grant to me;
* 1 wish to know thy tender care,'—
Cr/d kneeling sen^bility.
Love cares not for any easy prey :
He drew his arrow to the head :
The feather'd slialt flew swift away,
And by the chance of war it sped.
Finding a vulnerable place
Close to the heart, it quickly pass'd ;
Self-love had occupied the space.
But now was driven out at last.
Subdu'd indifTrence now no more
bhall e'er resume his careless rest ;
Nor can the fates again restore
The ice that melted in his breast.
See where, on Cupid's altar, lies
Fresh buds of hope and fancy flow'rs;
A hecatomb of tencler sighs.
And tears that iall in plenteous show*rs.
The laughing lovt* s loud clap their wings ;
The triumph gaily moving on.
Around the jocund c iiorus sings,
' Love's victory is fairly won.'"
In *' Love and Impatience*' ue are
somewhat startled at meeting with a per-
sonification of a Quarter of an Hour, 1 he
passage is as follows :
*' Passing a solitary bow'r
They spy'd a ^uarUr of an Hour
Glide lazily and i>lo\vly oil.
He dragged a bitiic — &:c."
Tliis beihg is painted with '' infant
wings scarcely grown." The idea nuy be
ingenious ; but to what unbounded licence
of metaphor and simile would the sanction
of such a perscmiiication give rise! Old
Time is usually drawn with a sithe and a
gla^, with a ffewing beard and bald fsre-
head ; but if the poet's eye can depicture
'* a quarter of an hour," and the painter^s
pencQ delineate it» what shall we say to
some future attempt at describiag a per*
son called a " Minute,*' or a ^* Moment T*
The conclusion of ihis poem presents os
wiu a very mufxloLUA verse.
'* Poor Impatience cut his fingers/*
The '' Epilogue," written io the mea-
sure of the song of Shakspeare^s elves
round their &iry queen, Titania, re-
proves us for our animadversions, in the
following sprightly verses.
'• Critics sharp, with brow severe.
Our small volume come not near:
Authors jrave, and leam'd and wise^
Never this way turn your eyes,"
Notwithstanding the admonition in the
last verse, it will be seen, that ^tboot
aspiring to any extraordinary gravity,
learning, or wisdom, we have ventured to
*' turn our eyes " towards the Sports of
(hose Genii which owe their creation to
the pencil of Miss Macdonald, and the
pen of Mrs. John Hunter. The fonnar
is no more 3 but her designs are now
framed in measures which give plea.
sure to tlie curious, and solace to the
good.
It is needless to add that what comes
from the pen of the widow of the great
John Hunter will always meet with a
warm reception from those who know the
excellences of her head and the virtues of
her heart. The imperfections we haro-
noticed are but as slight stains on delicate,'
satin-work : the flowers will preserve
their lustre, tliough the back-ground bs
partially soiled.
We have only to repeat that tiie de-
signs are delicate and beautiful ^ and that
the work is likely to become a choice
moir^eau with tlie curious.
Art. XLIX. — A Selection of Poems, designed chief r/ for ScJiOoh and Young Persons. By
Joseph Cottle.
IN this selection tliere is far too great a
pro|)ortiou of Young, Cowpcr, Thorn vmi,
ai\d Goldsmith, and several of tho pieces
from modern writers are by no means cal-
culated for young persons at sc|iooL
( 625 }
CHAPTER X.
PRAMATIC POETRY AND PLAYS.
THE only articles In this Chapter that deserve notice as works of literature, are an
txceUeut edition of Massinger's dramas, by Mr. Gifford, and an anonymouii trans-
lation of Lessing's celebrated " Nathan." The short account that we have given
of last year's crop of plays for the theatres may be considered as ancient histor}', ibr
the subjects of which they treat have been dead long enough to be quite forgotten.
Mr. l.-^The Plays qf Philip Massinger, in Four Volumea, With Notes critical and ex^
plaruUory. i?y >>. GrFFORD, Esq. 6 Vols. 8vo.
.THIS is the best edition of an English
Aamalist that we have ever seen: the
editor has done every tiling which was ne-
ttssary, and nothing luore.
Of the life of Massinger little h known.
He was bom at Salisbury in 1584, entered
at St. Albans-hall, Oxford, in 1()02, and
had no otlier means of supporting himself
than by writing for the stage till 1 6ao,
when he died, after a life of uncomplain-
ing poverty and honourable exertion . Ho w
gwr a support this could have been Mr.
Ifibrd has shown : the price paid by the
theatres for the copy of a play, fluctuated
between ten and twenty pounds; the
other method of disposing of a new piece,
by accepting a benefit in payment, was
less frequent, because it very seldom pro-
duced more, and might very probably
produce less. There remained the profits
of publication ; the customary price paid
by the pablisher in Shakspeare's lime was
twenty nobles (61. 13s. 4d.) ; at a some-
what latsr period Mr. Gifford thinks it
iDay have been a third more : we should
lather suspect that it had not increased,
on account of the spread of puritanism.
It l4 not howeypr possible, that Malinger
OouW, in- his most successful ye ir, have
ttceived above fifty pounds, and in all pro-
bability it mually tell far short of this,
ior many of his pieces were unsuccessful :
^ly (w^Ive were pub&shed m tui life«
time, and two of these were not wholly
his own. Indeed it appears by his dedica-
tions that he could not have subsisted but
for the occasional bounty of his i'riends.
" In this precarious state of dependance,*'
says the editor, '* passed the life of ani^in
who is charged with no want of industry,
su»«pected of no extravagance, and whose
works were, at that very period, the boast
and delight of the stage."
*' It is surely somewhat singular that of i
man of such eminence nothing should be
known. What I have presumed to give j$
merely the history of the successive appear-
ance of his wor)cs ; and 1 am aware of no
source from whence any additional iuform*^
tion.can be derived: no anecdotes are re-
corded of hhu by his contemporaries, few
casual meQtions of hb name occur in the writ*
ings of the time, a^id he had not the good ior*
tuue which attended jnany of less eminence,
to attract attention at the revival of dramatic
literature from the deathlike torpor of the in*
terregnuni. But though we arc ignorant «f
every circumstance respecting Massinges, but
tliat he lived and died, we may yet form to
ourselves some idea of his personal character
irom the incidental hints scattered through
his works. In what light he was regarded
may be collected from the recommcjidatory
poems prefixed to his several plays, in whicb
tiie language of his panegyrists, though wan]||
expresses an attaclmient apparently derivf^a
Jiot so much from iiis talents ':% his virtues:
^e is, as Daviss iiai obs^ved, their belov^
Ss
626
DRAMATIC JX)ETRY AND PLAYS.
much-esteemed, dear, worthy, deserving, ho-
noured, loncf-known, and loii«j;-loved friend,
&c. &c. All the writers of his lifi* unite in
representing him as a man of sinsriilur mo-
desty, gentleness, candour, and ailability ;
nor does it appear that he ever made or found
an enemy. lie speaks iiid(x.'d of o[>{)onenti
on the stage, but the contention of rival can-
clidales for popular favour mu>t not be con-
founded with personal liostility. AVith all
tJiis, however, he appvar<> to have maintained
a constant struggle with adversity ; since not
only the stage, from wiiieh, perliaps, his na-
tural reserve prevented him from deriving the
usual advantages, but even the bount) of his
{)articular fricftds, on w hich he chi(flly relictl,
eft him in a state of absolute dependance.
Jonson, Fletcher, Sliirley, and others, not
superior to him in abilities, h.jd their periods
oigood fortune, their bright as well as tlieir
stormy hours ; but >Ias:.inger seems to liavc
enjoyed no gleam ot^-Kunshine ; liis life was
all one wintry day, and ' >hailows, clouds,
ajid darkness/ rested upon it.
*' Davies finds a servility in his dedications
which I have not been able to disc4>ver: they
are principally characterised by grulitiule anJl
humility, without a single trait of that gross
and servile adulation wiiich <listina:uishes and
disgraces tKe addresses of some of his contem-
poraries. I'liat he dkl not conceal his misery,
<ii^ editors ap{)ear inclined to recktni ainong
his ftiillts; he bore it, however, willunit im-
t>atiencc, and we only hear of it when it is re-
ieved..' Poverty made hunuo llatterer, and,
Avhat b still, more 'rare, no muligner of the
grejrf : nor is one symptom of envv mauitest-
ed in any part of lus com|K)sitions.
** FI is' principles of patriotism appear irre-
prehcnsible : the extravagant and<Q>liivish doc-
irines which are found in the dramas of his
great contem|)oraries make uo part of his
creed, in which the warmest loyalty is skil-
fully combined with ju>t and rational ideas of
')x)Utical freeiloin. Nor is this the only in-
stalled hr Jkvhich the rectitudt; of his mind is
apparent; th<> writers of liis ^ay abound -in
reconnnentkitionS of suicide ; \h! Is uniform in
the reprehension of il>.Jiilh a single excep-
tion, to which, perluip^H* '^^ ^^^ h*d by the
ueculiar turn of his studies * Ouilt* of every
Kind is usually left to the punishment of di-
vine justice: even the wretched Malefort ex-
cuses himself to his son on his supernaiucal
appearance, because the latter was not mark-
ed out by he«iyen for his moiher's avenged;
and the young, the brave, the pious Charalois
accounts hi^tteath/.»lk*n upon him by the will
of heaveuj^ecau^e '' he made himself a judge
in his own icaitSe.' • • . »
s *' But the*gredt, the glorious distinction of
Massinger, is the \mifonn re>pi*ct with .v^hich
he treats religion and its ministers, in am age
when it was found nece>say to add regulai^ion
to regulation, to stop tin? gnnvth of iin4)ietY
on the aiki'Ti'. No priests are introc!u<^<;(l by
lum, * to si't on sjiiie ({uantity of barren
jipectatois' to lau^h at tjieii' licentious foliiep^
the sacred name is not lightly invokfd, "nor
daringly sported with ; nor is scripture pw^
faned by bullbon allusions lavishly putiuto tlie
moutiis of fools and womiii."
Jt mii^ht have been expected tliat the
earl 6f Pembroke wonkl have befrieDded
Massinger, whose father had been in his
ser\icc, more esjjecially as the earl was the
great natnm of the drama. Mr.Gifford
thinks the caa>.e of this alienation was tEat
the poet became a cath:>lic at the univer-
sity: tlut be was such is so evident from
his writings, that after it has once hten
intimated, no reader can ^nltarlaiu a donU
upon the >i!l)ject. "
Many of Massingers plays lu\-e been
lost. Twelve are said to have been de-
stroyed by Mr. Watburton's servant. Hiis
mtHleni, but innocent, Erasisttatus, is so
often mentioned, ikit someofouri«idcn
may thank us for relating the' fact. Mr.
AN^irburton, >*ho was Somerset herakl,
had collected a great number of raanih
script phys, which he lodged in die haads
of an ignorant servant 5 giving the ser-
vant, as it appears, no iniiniatlon what-
ever o{ their value. After several years
the gentleman thought of looking at h;>
hoards, and he found tliat fiftj-two had
been used by the ccwk in covering hi«
pies, and three only were left. " Ttese,"
it is said, *' ;lre now in die librar}' of the
ma re J liis of I^nsdowne, where lliey will
probably remain in safety, till motks, «
damps, or tires, mingle their ' forgotun
dust* witli that of their late companioD*.'
They will probably remain there till some
man of letters shall think proper to applf
for permission either to transcribe or pub-
lish them.
** When it is considered at hcAv trifTrnga
expense a manuscript play nixiy be placed be-
yo!id the reach of accident, the withholding
It from the press will b«; altow^-d to prove &
strange indilference to the ancient litcfature
of the country. The fact, hbwcver, Sixobto
be, that these treasures are made subsmieit
to the gratification of a spurious ragc^iw-
torirty : it is not that any ben ell t may accn*
froirt tlK^ cither to tli<* proprietors or others
that martu«:ripfs are now hoarded, but that
A or B may bjf celebrated for possessing what
no other letter of' the alphabet can hope to
ai-Quire. Nor is tttis all. Tin' liafefui pa^
of litvTary avarice (a compound of ▼aiiity and
envy) is becoming epidcinic, and branduBj
out In every direction. It has manvof tlie
worst symptoms of tliat madness which oiat
ragetl a'mon^ the Dutch for tlie possession «rf
tulips : — here, as well as in llolbmi, an arti*
ficial rarity is first created, and then roaiie i
pleA for ,c\tv)rtion, or a ground for lowHniiU*
GIFTOKD's MjkSSINbBlt.
6i^
d selAsh exultation. I speak not of
never mteiuled for sale, and of which,
(uv, the owner may priut as fow or as
ashts feelings nill allow, but of those
are ostensibly designed for the public,
bich, notwith^tauding^ prove the editors
9ttr under this oiiious disease. Here,
J manpscript is brought foru-ard, and
I few copies ane printed, the press is
D up, that there inav be a pretence for
; them at a price which none but a col-
can reach : there, explanatory plates
igrived for a work of general use, and,
II as twenty or thirty impressions arc
oil*, destroyed with gratuitous malice
1 deserves no other name), that there
be a npd competition for the favoured
i! To conclude, for tliLs is no pleasant
% books are purchased now at rxtra-
i rates, not because they are good, but
^tliey are scarce, so tliat a tire or an
^ing trunk-maker that shmild take oil
Ml)e whole of a wc»rthless work, would
Itty render the small remainder inva-
lese animadversions are just as far as
*PP'y> b"^ there is a valid reason
Ibling few copies of an old miinu-
b which Mr. Gilibrd has overlooked.
Wd books as he alludes to find but
liters (the Coinplaynt of Scotland
tTristrem are probably meant) j if
on of the ordinary nunilxir of co-
Jk struck off, not one half will sell ;
'\ or two hundred only be printed,
the " at a price which none but
r can reach ;** and the foil) which
pued of is thus made of some
use tiiwe collQctors, who would
paid the cvdinary price for the
r its intrhisic value, willingly give
I the sum because it is scarce.
' lias been more unfortunate
f of his contemporary dramatists,
tt-aod-thirty plays attributed to
fjf eighteen have been preserved !
i indeed some little hoj^e that ' the
k^ ma]? be recovered ; it is quoted
p« Parnassus, which is compara-
book, and it is more likely
quoted tj;om a printed than
ritlen copy. He bore a j>art in
[Hetcher's plays, and. aeJit lias
]iven him for this ; but the fact
' by a letter which Mr. Ma-
lin Dulwich college,where-
aiwi Field, and llgbori Da-
JlQcsj^ tliat five pounds from the
t a play, which tliey had written
ttb Fletcher,, might be advanced,
from pcrishmg in prison I
^IcTiUiud our unfortunate oxtre-
mitie," says the writer, *'and I doe'ndk
thincke you so void of cristianitie, but thift
you would throw so vngach »oncy into the
'I'hames as wee request now of you, rather
than endanger so many umocent lives."
There have been three collected edit
tions of Massinger : tl>e first was prhited
from Coxeter s papers by iDell, the books-
seller, in 1759. Two years afterwardft
this was re-edited by Da vies, to whom \v6
are beholden for editions of many old
poets. Jul 7J7, another edition was pub*
lished by Monck ^fason, whose Vnatiifokl
blunders would not haMft escaped rcpre-
hennion from any futuilft editor, and most
unfonunatdy for himsdf. Ills followed
has been Mr. Giiford, the most unmerci-
ful of men. The old editions have no\i^
been consulted, and the errors of thes^
successive editors weeded out, so that \hlt
text is corivct. Of the ootes Mr. Gitlord
thus speaks.
'•* 1 never could conceive why tlit? reader^
of our old drauKitists should be suspected jo£
labouring under a greater degree of ignorance
than those of any other class of writers; Ji.-^
from the trite and insignificant materials
amassed for their information, it is evident
that a i>ersuasiQii of this nature is uucttmmoniy
prevalent. Customs whidi are univerMi, anil
expressions ' familiar as household wof ds ' iu
every mouth, are illustrated, tJiat is to say^
overlaid, by an innnensity of parali<?l pas-
suj^cs, with just as much wisdom and t eacii of
thought as would be evinced b;^' iiim who, to
explain any simple ^4 ord in this luie, shoulJ
empty upon the rtader all the cNscntpi^ X»
be tbund under it in Johnson*3 Dictionary.
*' This chi'Jij) ^iid jniserable display ot ih\-
iJuHf ertiditwn grew up, in great Jiiestttir*?^
with Waft on : — ^peace to his manes ! thc'caiise
of sound literature has been fearfully avehgcd
upon his hrad : and the knight-errant who^
with his attendant Howies^ the dullest of all
mortal s({uires, sallied forth ia (juftt of the
original proprietor of every coaunon word
in Nlilton, lias had his* copulatives and di«i-
junctive% his Outs and his ands, sedulously
ferretted out from all fhe school-boAks ilVthe
kiagdom. As a pruse \^r»tef, he <till idh^
cdutinfle to instRict and delight ; but a^ a^
poet, he is buried — lost. He is not of tt.u
race of the Titans, nor does he possess sut-
ficient vigour to shake oil' the w eight t)f in-
cumbent mountains.
*' However this may be, T Ilixi? proctft^cfedi
on a different plan. Passages tiiat only ex-
ercise the memory, by si^i^usiing similar
thoughts and exjJft?"$sions iaotlu*» v wfew, nrc,
if somewhat obvious generally IcfU tO' the
reader** own discovery. I'ncommon and
obsokte words are briefly, explained, and,
where the phraseology was doubtful or ob*'
£cure, it is lUuitrated and continued,, by qii^'
Ss2
62S
DRAMATIC POETRY AKD PLAYS.
tations from contemporary authon. In this
part of the work, no abuse has been attempt-
ed of the reader's patience : the most posi-
tive that could be found, are given, and a
scrupulous attention is every where paid to
brevity ; as it has been always my persua-
sion,
' That where one's proofstire aptly chosen.
Four are as valid as four dozen.'
' ** I do not know whether it may be ^^roper
to add here, that the frei^doms of the author
(of which, as none can be more sensible than
m^'seli, so none can more lament them) have
obtained little of my solicitude: those, there-
fore, who ejiamine the notes with a prurient
€ye, will find no gratification of their licen-
tiousness. I have called in no Amner to
drivel out gratuitous obscenities in uncouth
language;* no Collins C^vhose name should
be devoted to laoting mfamy) to ransack the
annals of a. brotJielfor secrets * better hid ;*t
where i wished not to detain the reader, I
have been silent, and instead of aspiring to
the fame of a licentious commentator, sought
only for the quiet approbation w^ith which the
father or the husband may reward the faith-
feil editor."
A few specimens will show the value of
these annotations.
*' — eAf Roman angeVs] As angels were
BO part of the pagan theolosy, tins should
certainly be auacL lirom the Italian augello,
which means a oird. — M. Mason.
*' It were to be wished that critics would
sometimes apply to themselves the advice
which Goneril gives to poor old Lear:
. ' I pray you, fatiier, bc'ng weak, seem so;'
we should not then find so many of these cer-
tainlivs. The barbarous word augel, of which
Mr. M. Mason speaks so confidently, is fo-
reign fcom our language, whereas angt^; in
the sense of bird, occurs frefjuently. Jonson
beautifully calls the nightingale, * the dear
good angel of the spring;' aud if this should
£e thought, as it probably is, a Greci?m; yet
we have the same term in another passage,
which will admit of no dispute:
" Not an angel of the air
Bird melod.ous, or bird fair, &c.*'
V'lio ^obk J^immen.
*' In Mandeville, the barbarous Herodotus
of a barbarous age, there is an accoinit ot a
* *' In uncovth langnatte;'] It is sinsiilar that Mr. Steevcn^, wJio wa-? so >reH
with the words of onr ancient writers, should be so ignorant of their ^tyle. The 6
which he has put into the mouth of Amner is a barbarous jumble of dillerV&t ages* ^
had, and never could have, a prototype."
f '* One book which (not being, perhaps, among the archives 50 carefully exp^*
the benefit of the youthful readers of )Shakspi*are) see ins to have es'.nped Jhc'nt<3Ct
Collins, may y'.'t be satVly cornmend.'d to hi^ future researci:cs, as not uiihk«4y tJ rn
pains, lie will find in it, amoni? many other tilings ecpially raliiablr. that*, * 1W
ledge of wickedness is not wi^uoni, neither, at any time^^ the 'cotutsel of ^imiecv p:
£ccks. xix. 22.
people (probably the remjim cf. ihr i
Gucbres) who exposed the dead bodm
tlitfir parents to the 'fowler <rf tee ar.' Til
reserved, however, the sculii, oi wfikli,
he, the son ' letetlic make a oipp»-,
thereof drynketh*; he with ar«*i devxaa,!
remembra'unce ol the hoiy man t*^ liw
gcl^ ot God ban eien,'
" ' By this expression/ «ys Mr. am
' Mamfeville posiihly meant U
that they were considered a^ vscred y ^
gers.' ISO, surely: « auncelcb of C*,'i
svnonymoos in >ianderilJ«-'s x-ocabiiin,
''tbwlesoftheair.' With Greek phn-ah
he was, perhap?, but little aojuaiijlid, o*.
knew hh owi language well.
" Sbr their own defence.
At court should feed in cdunHcis, tW
have
Their fingers cut el*e :] Here is iSe
for which Quin was so muchceletwJie!*;^
• at city feasts it was ne.ther safe nor «
to help one's self without a baal«*^4
knife* Massingcr got it, I sappo**
Barclay's second Eclogue, which h»j
merit tor the time in which it was viioa
' If the dishe be pleasaunt eythfi
fishe, .^_^
Ten handes at once swanne inthedisi*
To put there ll\\- handes is peril withotti
Without a gaimtlet, or els a gtevf of*
Amon^ all those knives, thou one «
must have,
Or els it is harde thy fingers to
Where Barclay found it, I canrotw
there is something of the kind in
I^ertius. * There b nothing new m
sunf"
" Mont, I required not
To be sought to lliis poor way :] So
copy: tlic modern editors, ignciaii
bnguage of the time, arbitrarily cetJi
for in, and thus pervert the secsr. 11
to, is to supplicate, entrear, have
course to, 8tc which is the
text.
" There was a book, moch rwJ
ancestors, from w hich, as being the {^
head of English prose, they oeriwii
bef of phrases that have soreiy poim
descenrlauts. This book, which '» tcr.i
still in existence, is the Bibte : antl I M
to ailirnt, without f«ir of conlradk^isl
those-old fashioned people \iHo hi^^
it ^tH, are as ro;ni>fiem jml.^es '^'^j
ing of our ancient writers, a> rr>< << «
VXFFORD*S MASSINGEI.
62g
ywTtn of black literature, from Theobald to
b'teevcns. TJie e\-|>res>ion in the text fre-
iqueiitly occurs in if : * And Asa was diseased
«D his feet — yet in his disease lie sought not to
^ I^rd, but to tlie physicians.'"— ^2 Chrou.
XvL U. '
" your lord, by his patent,
StamU boui;d to take hU rouse.] This word
has ntvcr been piopcrly explained. It oc-
nirs in Hamlet, wh/re it is said by Steeveus,
as wi*ll as Juluisjii, to mean a quantity ot' li-
i|uor rather too large: the latter derives it
Iruni rwichf hair-drrii\> Germ, while ho brings
curouvc from gar uus'., ali out ! Rouse and
carouse, however, like ti/j and revt/e, are but
the reciprocation of llie ?ame action, and
mxisi tliereibre be derived irom the same
$ounc. A njuse was a larg-^ glass (' not past
a [Miji,* as lago says) in n^ hich a health was
given, the drnikin;^ of which by the rest of
the company formed a carouse. Barnaby
Rich is exceedingly angry wiih the inventor
0f this custom, wluch, however, witli a laud-
tble zeal for the honour of his country, he
attributeii.to an Englishman, who, it seems,
' iiad bis bruins beat out with a poUlepot* for
his ingenuity. ' in former ages,' says he,
' they had iio conceit w hereby to draw on
drunken esse,* (Barnabv was no great histo-
rian), * their best Wits, l.drinkc to you, and I
pted"[e you, till at length some shaflow-witted
drunkartl found out tiie carouse, an invention
ot tint worth and worthiu^'sse as it i* pitie the
£rs( founder wu . nut hanged, that we might
have found out Ii's name in (he aintient re-
cord of the hana:iruin*s register.' English
Hue and Cr%, Id 1 7, p. 24. It is necessary
to adtl, tliat there could b i no rouse or ca-
youse, unless llie glasses were emptied : * I'he
leader/ continues honest llarnaby, * soupes
Up his broath, turnes the bottom of tfie cuppe
upward, and in ostentation of his dextcritie,
gives it a phylip, to make itxTy tynge!* id.
" In process of time, botli these woHs
were used in a laxei* sense ; but I believe that
what is here advanced, will servt? to explain
Biany passages of our old dramatists, m which
they occur in their primal and appropriate
fignihcation :
" ' A or. IVe ta'en, since supper,
A tqmm: or two too much, and by the gods
It wai-ms my bkwd.' k'nii^lu of Malta.
This proves that Johnson and Steevens arc
wrong: a muse has here a iixed and deter-
minate sense. In the colloquial language of
the present day it would be a bumper or two
too much. iVgain :
** Duke, Come, bring some wine. Here's
to ray siNter, gentlemen,
A heaUh, and mirth to all !
ArchiiH. Pray till it full, sir;
Tis a high health to vu-tue. Here, lord Burris,
A maiden Iiealth ! —
Duke. Go to, no more of this.
. Archof. '1 ake the rouse fre.ly, sir.
Twill vfann vdiu: blood, and make vou fit for
joUity'.'* Vtc Loijal Suhjtct,
" A light lavolta with her.] Wliat the
dance here alluded to is, I cannot tell, nor
can I lind an explanation of the word in any
dictbnary. CoxETERand M. Mason.
" Tliat's a pity ! Dictionaries, generally
speaking, are not the places to locic tor terms
ot this kind, which shouI(l.bc sought in the
kindred writings of contemporary authors.
Lavota (literally, the turn) was a dance ori-
ginally iniported, with many others, from
Italy. It is fj^quently mentioned by our old
writers, with wliom it was a favourite ; and is
80 graphically described by sir John Davies,
in h\ Orchestra, that all further attempts to
explain it must be superfluous :
' Yet is there one, the most delightful kind,
A lolty jumping, or a leaping round.
Where, arm in arm, two dancers are entwin'd.
And whirl themselves- in strict embrace-
ments bound.'
" Our countrymen, who seem to be lineally
descended from S.syphus, and who, at the
end of every century, usually have their work
to do over again, after proudly importing from
Germany the long-exploded trash ot their
own nurseries, liave just brought back from
the same country, and with an equal decree
of exultation, the well-known lavolta of their
grandfathers, under the inellilluous name of
the waltz !"
Mr. Gifford accounts for the failure of
' the Picture,' when an attempt was made
to revive it, by its magic : " We tolerate,"
he says, " no magic now but Sliak-
spearc's.*' He is right as to the cause as-
sighed, and wrong in the general inference.
The magic of the Picture is to the ear only
of the audience, and must be unmtelligible
to that large portion of the spectators in a
modern theatre who can but half-hear the
actors, and half-understand what they
hear. The true reason why comedy has
degenerated into farce, is to be found in
the monopoly of the thejitres, and their
consequent size. But magic would be no
obstach; to success, if but made sufficient-
ly obvious : incredulus odi never has beea
said by the people, and never will be.
*' 1 could wish now
I wt*re his leaguer laundress.] Mr. M. Masoi>
reads liis lelger landress ; what he understood
by it, 1 know not, but Corlsca means his camp
laundress.
While I lay
In the leaguer at Ardennes, he cornipts
Two mercenary slaves,' &c. Love* 6 ficlorff-
Leacuer is the Dutch, or rather Flemish,
won! for a camp ; and was one oi tii»* new-
fangled terms introduced from thtf Low Coun-
tru;s. This innovation on the English Ian-
gjiiage is excellentlv noticed by sir John
Smy the, *ui Certain Discourses concerning th<^
Fonues and Effects of divers ISorts of \Vea-
7
03a
DRAMATIC. POETRY ANI) VUiYS.
ponsi, ^c. 4to. X590. ' These,' (the officers
mentioned before) ' utterlic ignorant of all
our aunci^nt discipline.and proceedings in ac-
tions of armes, have so aflfected the W allons,
Flctninj^s, and ba^e Alm^nes discipline, that
they have procured to innovate, or rather to
subvert all our auncient proceedings in mat-
ters military -.—a^, for example, they will not
vouchsafe in their speaches or writings to use
our termcs belonging to matters of.warre, but
doo call a.rampe by. the- Dutch name of le-
gar; nor will not aford to sav that- such a
towTiC or such a fort is besciged, but that it is
belygard :— as thouch our English nation,
which hath been so famous in alt actions mi-
litarie manic hundred y cares, %verc now but
ni*wly crept into-the woVld ; or as tlvaugh our
language were, so barren, that it were not able
of itself, or by deri\'ation to aflbord* conve-
nient ^words to utter, our minds in matters of
tijat qualitie.'
" I cannot avoid adding my wishes that
our officers would reflect a little on these sen-
siljle observations: there is now a gieate.r af-
fcctalioit than ever, of introducing French
military phrases into our aniiy ; tlui const>
qucnces of which may bt- more important •
than they seem to imagine."
Sif J6hn Smy the might have added, that
inrtlie days of the Black Prince, our mili-
tary phrases were the fubhion w herever he
carried his arms.
y *Ric. Oh ! no more of stones,
M'e.hi^ve been used too long like hawks al-
rciidv.
Vhald. \iV are not so high in our fle?h now
to nerd casting,
We will come to an empty fi>t.] To imder-
vtand tJiis, it will be m-cessary to have re-
course to the tn^atises on the * noble science
of. hawking.' — * When the hawk will come to
tht^lure, then give her every night stones,
till you find her stomach good : after that,
profer lier casting, to make her cleanse and
» purge her i;()rge.' The Gentleman's Jiccrta-
tiony]y..]oiy.
'* Humanity has seldom obtained a greater*
tWwmph tha;i in the abolition of this most exe-
crable 'pursuit/ compared to which, cock-
fighting and bull-baiting are innocent amuse-
ments : and this not so much on account of
the game killed in the open field, as of the
immense mrniber of domestic animals sarri-
iictxl to the. instruction of the hawk. 'I'he
blood ruo< r ai^l u hile we pi-ruse the calm di-
rtx'linns of the brutal falconer, to impale, tie
rhwn, 1.1.4 en by the beak, bn-ak the leg> and
wings of living pigeons, hens, aini sometimes
herons, for the hourly exercise of the haxvk,
who was thus enabled to pull them to pieces
vk-it hc^uUresKtance."
Of all the writers, ancient or modem,
who liave spoken of ha\\lwing, Mr. Gif-
ford is the only cue who has noticed its
detestable barbarity! so does the very
name of sport reconcile us to cruelty !
Vol. iii. 510. " An ^ram-maa. was an
impudent impostor, who, under the gaA
and appearance of a lunatic, rambled atxjot
tho country, and coiifipelled, as Dedcer
f^^ys, the servants of small families to
give him, through fear, whatever he de-
manded.'* One .should imagine, bj the
phrase of sham-alram, that originallT it
nmst have meant one really lunatic : that
the phrase is still common the song shows,
"'Sham-abram vou may.
But you miistnot sham Abraham Newland.'
" 1 have heard, how true
I know not, most phvsicians, as thev eiwr*
Greater in skill, gi-pw less in their religiM;
Attributing so much to natim! causes.
That they have little faith in that they
cannot I |
Deliver reason for.] The history of m^!]
kind unfarttiQately. furnishes too many V a
stances «6f this melancholy iact, to periaita^
d(>ubt on the subject. Let it lie added, how-
ever,7hat thev cWliy occur anions the hal^
informed of the profession : several of whom,
as they have grown yet greater in skill, ha^e,
to their praise, renounced tJieir scepticim
with their confidence, and increased no lf^s
in piety than in knowledge. Ben Jonson ob-
serves, w ith his usual force and perspicuity :
" Rut is a young physician to the familr,
Thst,»lettingGod alb nc, ascribes to nature I
More^than her share; liceutiou&i in ^ '
course.
And in his life a profe^t voluptuary ;
Tlie slave of money, a buffoon in manners.
Obscene in language, which he vents for
wit,
And saucT in his logics and dkputinw."
Magnetic LfiJy.
" I have no propensity to pi^rsonal satirp,
nor do I think it just to "convert an ancieot
author into a libellist, by an appropriation of
his descriptions to modem characters ; vet I
must,"for once, he indulged with saving* tliat
almost every word here delivered '^p^les su
forcibly to a late physician, that it require,
some evidence to believe the lines were writ-
ten nearly two centuries ago. To lessen the
wonder, however, it mav be observed that,
from the davs of Dr. K'ut to those of Dr.
D-— n, that description of men who, letting
God alone, ascribe to nature more than h<i
share, have been commonly licentiou^, petu-
lant, and obscene bullbons."
This is indeed an extraordinary note:
we arc assured, by IMr. GitFord liini>elfi
that he has ?io propensity to personal safirel
If there be one man living who has in-
dulged in it with more rancour than an-
other, it is Mr. Gitibrd. Were this gm-
tlemaxi's character to be estimated onlf
gifpord's massinger.
53!
from his writins»s, Massinger's owii lines
faight be appiied to him :
"Ofa little thing
It is *o full of gall ! a devil ot tills size,
Should they rim fur a wa-^iT to be spiteful.
Gets imt u lior>e-liead of him."
Even in tht* present work this propen-
sity is too niaiiifcfit. It would have been
enough t«> ha\e called |x>or Monck Mason
bloekhcad once for all, and simply noticed
ins blunders as they occurred : we have
heurd ol" crows peokiiig at a dead lion j
but here is an eagle mangling a dead jack-
ass!
Ri'marks upon each play are subjoined
by Dr. Ireland, of whom the editoi* speaks
111 language whith shows that hi«? friendr
jihijw are as w.\rm as his hatred. They
MLve all the fo^li.h tault of giving you the
5R)rtd (if tlie play : we have never liked
♦/applications" since we read Croxall's
Esop at school. Dr. Ireland might have
iept bis morality for liis sermons. It is
by the habit of mind which it uuluccs,
that j)oetry of any kind is morally bene-
iicial; not by inculcating any ethic aplio*
rism, which Epictetus or the Proverbs do
to better purpose. I'he general summary
of Massiui^er's merits is of more value -,
but to this Wi" slnll recur again.
Tht* accuracy of this edition gives it a
decided advantage over the former ones ;
indeed it renders them CQijip^iratixely
worthless. ]{ut it has another advantage
overihemy for it contains n j)lay never be-
fore printed. The manuscript was com-
municated by Air. Malone j several leaves
were torn from the beginning, and the top
and bottom of e\ery page wasted by
jiarapsj the first two or three scenes
tlierefore are wanting, and a few occa-
sional lines; but the chasms are not of
much importance. This play, which is.
entitled " the I'arliatnentof Love," is in-
disputably Massinger's, ^nd bears every
miirk of his style.
<' Willi Massingcr terminated the triumph
of dranialic poeirv ; indeed, the sta^e itself
survived him but a sl-.ort time. The u:itif>u
was convulsitl to \U centre by contending
factions, and a set of austere and gloomy fa-
natics, enemies to every elei^ant amusement,
and every social relax nt ion, ros/ upon the
niins of the state. Kxasperated by the ridi-
nile with which they had long b<^n covereil
by the stage, they persecuted tbe actors with
unpplentihi» seventy, and consigned them,
toi^Plher with th!» writers, to hojit'less obscii-
rity and wretchedness. Tavlor died in the
extreme of paverty, bhirley* opened a Mttle
school, and r/)win, the boast of the stage,
kept an alehouse at lirentford :
" * Baincoiitm Gab lis, Jurnos conduccrc
Homer
Tcntaruni !
Others, and those the far greater number,
joined the royal standard, and exerted them-
selves with more gallantly than good fortune
in the service of their old and indulgent
master.
" We luve not yet, perhaps, fully esti-
mated, ancU^rtajnlv not yet fully recovered,
what Was lost in that unlbrtiuiate strupg'.e.
Tije arts were rapVJlY.advancing to perfection
under the fosterir.g win^ of a monarch who
united in himself taste to feel, spirit to un-
dertake, and munilicence to reward. . Archi-
tecture, painting, and, poetry, were by turns
the. objects of- his ivxtefual cure. Shi\ksjx:are
was ins, * closet companion,* Jonson his poet,
and in conjunct ion with InigoJoue?, his fa-
voured architect, produced those uKii^nificent
eiitertainmenls which, though modern reiino
meut may atliKt to despise the!W, modern
splendour never reached even in thought.
*• That the tyranny of the coininonwealth
should sweep all this away, was. to be ex-
pected : the circumstance not less^o be won-
dered at than regretted is, that when the re-
vival of monarchy allofdcd an opportunity
for restoring every thing to its prist me place,
no advantage should be takei? of it. Such,
however,^ yvas the horror created in the ceue-*
Fal miml, by the perverse and unsocial go-
vernment from which they had so fortunately
escaped, that the people tippear to have anxii-
oiislv avoided ah retrospect; and with Prynne
and"\'iiars, t(» have lost sight of Sliakspeare
and 'his fellows.' InsteiuU therefore, of
taking up dramatic jjoetry (for to this my
subject conlines me) where it abruptly caaseU
in the luboui-s of Massinjer, they elicited, as
it wen*, a manner of their own, or fetched it
from tlie heavy monotony of their. continental
neij?hbours. /The ease,, the elegance, the
sijiiplicity, the copioysness, of thetojiner pe^
riod, were as if tl^ey had never been ; and
jangling ai\d blustering declamation took
j)la< e of nature, truth, and sense. Even cri-
ticism, which, in the former reign, had bren
makinjT no incon-iderable progress uiuler the
inrtueiice and direction of the great masters
of Italy, was now diverted into a new chan-
nel, and ojily sUulied in the puny and jejune
cartons of their ua worthy followers, the
I'Vench."
After the Resforation Massinger was
neglected. TJie X'irgin ATart}'r and tbe
I{enegado indeed were immediately re-
vived ; the choice, as it apjxiars to us,
must have been made tt> plo:ise the court,
and serve the cause of'cathblicism. Bet-
terton afterwm-ds, brought forward the
Bondman and the Roman Actor ; the hit-
ter, the worst of ail his plays hi its »^tr\ic-.
tiirej tjic former \h$"mo*t pleading*
(3Z
DRAMATIC POETRY AND PLAYS.
Prom this time Mas&ioger disappeared, till
Rowe revised his works^ designing to edit
them ; instead of performing this useful
design, he stole from them the Fair Pe-
nitent, and has lost more credit by his
disingenuity, than be gained by the success
of the theft. At length Coxeter's edition
appeared. Still Massinger*s merit was not
understood : we had not yet purged our-
selves of the infection of French taste,
with which the country had been polluted
from the Restoration. As a literary cu-
riosity, we present our readers with the
i^view of Coxieter's edition by Goldsmith.
" Massinger was a dramatic poet, con-
temporary with Beaumont and Fletcher,
and about twenty years later than Shak-
speare ; yet, if we compare the style of
each, the former will seem more ancient^
at least by a century. We are to regard
the time in which this poet wrote, as a
period when polite learning was little en-
couraged y for school-philosophy, the foe
of common sense, was still in flLshion.
A few of the nobility wh« had travelled,
and whose taste had been formed in Italy,
then the centre of all politeness, gave our
English writers, whom nevertheless they
but slightly esteemed, some small encou-
ngement. These patrons, ho\\'ever, were
but %lr^ and the rest of the audience was
composed of persons who came to a play
with the «kme Caste, and the same expec-
tadons, that we see the mob now repair
to a puppet-show. Those who went by
the name pf the learned, laymen as well
as divines, were engaged in controversial
divinity, neglected poetry as a trifling
amusement, and regarded plays, unless
they were wrote in Latin, with the utmost
contempt. What, therefore, could be ex-
pected from performances calculated to
amuse such an audience ? Nothing less
than a genius like Shakspeare's could
make plays wrote to the taste of those
times pleasing now ; a man whose beauties
seem rather tlie result of chance than de-
sign ; who, while he laboured to satisfy
his audience with monsters and mum-
mery, seemed to throw in bis inimitable
beauties as trilles into the bargain. Mas-
singer, however, was not such a man ; he
seldom rises to any pitch of sublimity,
and yet it must be owned is never so in-
corrigibly absurd, as we often find his pre-
decessor. H is performances are all crowd-
ed with incident, but want character j the
genuine mark of genius in a dramatic
poet. In our days it is probable lie might
make a very judicious poet; he might
preserve every unity, prepare his incidents^
work up his plot, and give o» a piece ai
coolly correct, or as unfeelingly boisteroos^
as the best tragedy-maker oif them alL
What mighty reason our editor had to ,
disturb his repose, we caoAot see at pre-
sent, especiaDy as his best pieces^ have
been already published in Dodsley's coU
lection. A poet whose works have bcea
forgotten so soon after publication, wbea
his language was modern, and his humour
new, must surely cut but a^ indiflfercnt
figure, brought back to light again in an
age when his diction is become antiquated^
and the highest sallies of his hunxxil^
forced, for want of models to coospaie
them by. There sire, however, a aet of
readers, who, being half critics ,and half
antiquarians, wiJl be apt to reg^ird what
may be displeasing to others as tjearotics.
Such will lay his aotiquitr agpaimt h^^
faults, and pardon the one for sake o£ll||||^
other.**
Such was the contemptuous opinioiL
which Groldsmith ventured to express oft
ti'riter whose works we may be assured
he did not take the trouble to read. He
probably went through the Virgiii Martyr
which stand? &^t, disliked its naachinery,
was disgusted at its di.sgusting bufFoonery,
and perceiving that, in its better parts, the
blank verse was not to the tune of the
Fair Pei^ittnt, and Tancred and Sigis-
munda, sat down and reviewed AL&-
singer.
ft is not difficult to assign Massinger
his rank among our dramatists. In the
structure of his plays he is inferior to Bca
Jonson, whose better comedies may be
regarded as perfect models; in poetical
powers, which are quite distinct from dra-
matic, he is inferior to Fletcher ; but, upco
the average of his merits, he must hi,'*
placed above both. His language— but
Dr. Ireland has characterised it; andwfaeie
we do not differ from him, it is neither
prudent nor decorous t^ pre&r oar own
language to his.
" It is truly surprising that the genius which
produced these plays should have obtained ao
little notice from the world. It docs not ap-
pear that in any age since his own Massinger
has been rankeH among the principal writers
for the sta^e. Rarely have any of his pieces
been acte J; and dramatic criticism has be«-o
unwilling to mention his name. It has attri-
buted variety and greatness of character to
Shakspcare and Fletcher, as if Massinger Yad
never existed, or were entitled to none of this
praise. It has objected to the clendies aod
bombist which disligure the scenes of our
gn'at bard, as if it were no credit to Massin-
ger that he has little of the one and less> of tiie
CI'FORD « MASSItf G£fi.
ether ; and it has lamented the too do^e and
feboured lan^age of Joason, withot^t ofc>-
xrviog that tlie lanti^uage of Massingcr is
some of the most chaste and flowing which
the English stage can boist.. One of his clia-
lacterlstic qualities is his style ; and, on this
account he is entitled to a portion of th^
praise ^hich has followed the names of beau-
icont and Fletcher. It is obvious, that he
teldom, if ever, apprpach(^ the harsh com-
liactness of Jonson ; and he is free Irom cer-
tain peculiarities wlilch too o!len cloud the
poetry of Shdksj>eare. The construction of
his sentences is direct and uniiivolved, even
in the most solemn and passionate of his
Scenes; and rarely does hi» s«ek for uncom-
mon meanings by'fonring his words upwards
ta their original sources. He is content with
their usual acceptation, and does uot attempt
to heighten poetic eii'ect either by inversion
or a strange use of current terms,
" Another of the peculiarities of Nfassin-
M<er arises from the management of his plot.
"The reader must have observed, in too many
instances, with what rapidity the stt)ry is car-
ried oil, with what neglect ot" time an<l place,
' and, not unfrequently, of chara jter itself.
Thi« indeed was not usual with other writers
of that age. What distinguishes Massinger,
is his carefulnws of memory amidst his neglect
of probability. He does "not fall into hurry
ftf' scene throughjnadvertence. Hedraw^a
plan of his irregularities before he enters
upon the execution of them. This appears
from the caution with which thev are intro-
duced; for some of the strang-ist incidents
which are to befall his characters are pointed
put by early strokes and studied iutinwtioiis."
The morals of ^fassinger are better
than those of his contemporaries, though
iiothing can be more hejally than his lan-
*,guage. jVlr.Giftbrd has wejl remarked,
that these vigorous powers of genius,which
carry men far beyond the literary state of
their age, do not enable them to outgo
that of its mantiers. But while he in-
serted ribaldry for his audience, he felt no
pretlilection for vice ; no vicious cliaracter
is ever his favonrite ; he uniformly ex-
poses them to hatred or contempt.
Ke is the only dramatic poet of his age
quite free from profaneuess ; this must be
attributed to the excellence of his nature,
not to his religion : vhoever is acquainted
♦with Catholicism, and with the catholic
poets, will be convinced of this. But it
is to his reiigiou that that spirit of free-
dom is to be imptited, which is to be
found iu none of hiscontemporaries.
" The political character of Massinger is
very credit;ible to him. His alfusions to the
pubiic.eveiktj U the time& aie not uiilrequcMt ;
and tliev are such as to thf^ him a man of
honesty and spirit. He ridicules, with suc-
cessful humour, the weak and licentious fop»
vho infested tlie court. He indignantly ex-
poses the system of favouritism, which was
so injurious to the country in t..e reign of
James, and lashes the easy or corrupt grant
of monopolies with the honest views of a pa-
triot. In return, he takes a pleasure m con-
trasting the loyalty of tiie true friends of tlie
throne with the interested services of commoa
courtiers. He also 6ft)deavours to correct the
protiigate facility with which a personal de-
votion was pledged to the sovereign, and
glances at the thoughtless or fallacious offers
of ' lives and fortunes.' The dreadlul events
which book place not long after theexpression
of these sentiments throw an unusual interest
over them ; and we are persuaded by his per-
sonal satire, as well as by the open praises
v'*cli he liberally bestows on his coimtry,
how strong and sincere was the patriotism of
Massuiger. It is observable too, that he does
not bend to the slavish «loctrine which was
inculcated by so niany other writers of the
as^e ; but, wliile he preserves a firm and sub-
stantial revrrence to the throne* he watches
over the actions of the sovereign, and dis-
tinguishes between his just authority and the
arbitrary excesses of it"
This Massinger learnt from the jesuit'i.
Every religious sect which unites itself
with the state, is favourable eitlie/,jto des-*
pot ism or revolution, as it suits its in-
terests. The catholics were tht first mo-
derns who justified tyrannicide, an<l the
prebbyterians brought back Charles IT,
The established clergy concurred with
Cliarles I. in every act of tyranny, and
tliey expelled his son.
In delineation of character he has not
often been surpassed, but it liappens unfor-
tunately that the character which he has
most forcibly delineated is so detestable,
that wc turn from him with loathing.
*' Tie does not «oit to the heln[hts of fentr ;
he dwciii among men, and describes their
busiiH'ss and their passions with judgment,
feeling, and discrimination. He Jias a just*
nes< &( principle whirh is admirably i.tted to
the best interests of human life; and I know
no writer of hi:? class from whom more maxin.s
of pnidej7ce, morality, or religion, may be
drawn. He is eminently successful in n^re-
senting the tender attachment of virtuOQS
love, ajid in uuiintaining the true delicacy
and dignity of the female chai-acter ; and in
general he displays a warmth of zeal on the
side of goodness which at oiice pleases and
elevates thv? reader.**
A general collection of all our drarnatists
of tlie first age would be very acCcptabi*
6M
DRAMATIC POETRY AND PLAYS.
and useful. It would answer, because all
books connected witb the tlipatre answer,
unlcas tlicy are made ridiculously expen,-
sive. If tliis be tbouglit too extem'tvt a
plan^ let us at least hax e Shkley.
Art. II. — Xatfian the Wise. 8vo. pp. 293.
OF the many play.s which have been
translated from the Grerman, this is the
one which most successfully provokes cu-
riosity from the first sceoc to tlie last.
Nathan, a jew merchant, returns to
Jerusalem ; his house has bccii on ,fire
during his absence, and his daughter Recha
ou die }K)iut of perishing in the tianies,
wheua Templar rashcU in and saved her.
But it appears, by the dialogues between
Nathan and 03}*^, a christian woman who
lives with him as Recha's companion, that
she is not his own daughter, but the cffild
of christian parents. Nathan's first en-
quir}' is, what reward has been gi\en
to her preserver? they tell him that, in
spite of all their entreaties, he will not
enter the house j and Recha, affected by
the horror of her danger, arid her provi-
dential deliverance, conceives tliat it was
no man wlio saved her, but her guardian
angel.
Hafi, an old dervis, and chess-compa-
nion of Nathan, has been made Saladin's
treasurer, and visits his friend on his re-
turn. His new situation has been forced
upon him by Saladin, by the gentle coer-
cion of flatter)', for the Saladin of Lessing
has no fault except the want of economy.
Hafi is weary of his otfice : he says;
" His trvasury is every day, ore siin-sct,
PoortT than empty ; and how hieli soeVr
Flow* in tlie monimg tide, 'tis ebb by noon.
^ ^ 'tis woeftil doing
When kings are >idtures ainid carcases :
But when they are carcases amid the vul-
tua's
Tis ten times worse."
As their conversation end^, Daya runs
in to tell Xatiran that tlie Templar is in
»ight, walking among the palm-trees, and
he sends her to bid him in his name to
the* house.
^ iVTfriar has joined the Templar, .sent by
the Patriarch to sound him, and ]e«nii
wliether he be dis|x>sed to carry intelli-
gence to the Franks, and arrange a plot
tor killing Saladiii. The finar, who is an
honest-hearted man, that holds obedience
hfs buiuideu duty, returns well-pleasc-d to
find the Templar as honest as himself.
Daya comes up as he departs, and her lo-
qiwrious advancesi are as usual ri:puLed
wnh rudcue^.
The second act opens with a scene in
the sultan's palace, where Saladin and his
sister Sittah are playing chess. .Heuil-
fully loses tlie game.
Hafi enters, and receives orders tops?
Sittah a thousand dinars fur the gsin«
wliich she has won : the old chess-player
looks upon die board, and iusists tjiat \\
is not lost, fpr it is the sultan's move j
and, by sacrificing the queen, he may pat
his king out of chqpk ; but Saladin at thii
throws down the board.' He learns, how,
ever, from Hafi, who is too impatient
longer to keep the secret, that Sittah.
never receives any of her winnings, nol^
of her own allowance; and tliat, ever^
since he has been expecting the treasure
from Egj'pt, she has, at her sole expencc,
maintained his household. It is necessary
to borrow ; Sittah recollects thai Naifaaa
is returned. , . ,, , .
. "Sittah. I recollect just now
I heard Al-Hali of thy fticnd's return.
J/q/i, startled. Friend — friend of mine—
and who should that be?
Sittah. Who?
Thy vaunted jew !
Hafi. A jew — and praisM bv mf*
Sittah. To whom his God (I think! M
retain
lliy own expression us'd concerning him)
To whom, of all the good things of tliis vorld,
His God in full abundance has bestow'd
The greatest and ihc least. • ;
Hiifi. A\'hat could I mean
When I said so?
^Sittah. The least of good things ^'^^l
The greatest, wisdom.
I/aJi. How — andofaier
Could I say that?
Sittah'. Didst thou not— of thv Xallan?
Hafi. Hi ho! of him — ofNathaii- AttJat
moment
He did not come across me. But in fact,
He is at length come home; and, F supporf,
Is not ill off. His people us*d to call him
The wise — also the rich.
Sittah. The rich, he's nan'd
Now more than ever. The whole town re-
sounds
With ne\ft s of je\v(;N, costly stuffs, and store*,
'I'Jiat lie brings back.
. Hafi. Is he the rich again—
He*ll be, no fear of it, once more the \*tse.
Sittah. What thinkst thou, liali, of a call
on him?
Hati, On hini — ^sure not to borrow— %vby>
you knoH him —
NATHAN THB WISE.
e3(«
Helfpd? Therein his very witdom lies,
I'Jiat he ieods uo one.
Sitiah* Formerly thou gavst
Avervdiffirent picture of this Nathan.
/Jaji, In case of need he'll lend you mer-
ciiandize.
But money, money, never. Ile'is a jew,
There are but few such ! he has understanding,
Koows lifu*, plays chess ; but is in bad noto-
rious
Above \m bretlu*cn, as he b in gpod.
Oil hiiu rely not. To the poor indt-cd
He vies perhaps with Saladin in giving :
Tlio* be distributes less, he gives as freely.
As silently, as uobly, to jew, christian,
Mahometan, or parsee — ^*tis all one.
Sittah. And such a man should be —
Saiadiriy How comes it thv*n*
I never heird of lam ?
SUtUiL Should be* unwilling •
To lend to Saladin, who* wants for others,
Not for himself?*
^, HajL Aye there peeps out*the jew,
aSl'he ordinary jew Believe me, prince,
pf Ile'isi jealous, really envious of your giving.
To qarn Ci od*s favour seeius his v e ry business,
llr IviuUnot, tlvat he may'aUxays have to give.
Tbc njwcomniiindeth mercy, not compliance ;
And thus for mercy's sake he*is uncomplying.
Tis true, I am not now on the best terras
A\ ith Natlum, but, I must intrcat you, think
not*
That thereftjre I would do ihiustice to him.
He's ^ood in tVet^*. thing; but not in that —
Ortiy in that. V\\ knock at other doors.
I jut have rccolUH-tecl an old mour,
A\ ho'L< rich and covetpus — I go — I go.
SiUah. Why in such hurry, Hah?
Saladin. Let him go.
SAI.ADIN and SIXTAH.
Sittah. He hastens, like a man, \^ ho would
esTupe nic;
Why so? ^^*iLs ht' indeed deceiv'd in Nathan,
Or does he play upon us ?
, Saludiii. Can I guess ?
I scarcely know of whom you have been
talking, ^
And heSr to-ilay, for the first time, of Nathan.
Sittah. Ib't pos-»ibie the man were hid from
tiiee.
Of wliom, 'ti*5said, he lias found out the tombs
Of .Solomon and l)avid, knows the word
I'iiut lift^ their marble lids, and then-.-e obtains
Tlie goldtui oil that feeds his si lining pomp.
SaTadin. AVery tiiib man's v. edlth bV miracle
created,
Tis not at I')avid's tomb, or Solomon's,
That 'tu ould be w rought. Not virtuous men
lie there.
SiitaL II is sou rce of opulence is more pro*
dvK'tive,
Andniore exhaustless than a cave of Mammon.
Saladin. He trades, I hear.
Sittah. His ships lill every harbour ;
His caravan** thro* every dinjert luU.
T/iis has Al-Hali told me long ago :
With transport adduig then — ^liow nobly Na-
than
Bestows what he esteems it not a Tneanne«s
Bv prudent industry to'have justly car^i'd —
Ilow free from prejudice his lofty soul —
His heart to every virtue how imJock'd —
With every lovely feeling how familiar.**
Nathan meantime finds the Templar
walking among the palms. He atxrost^
him, and is at first as rudely repulsed as
Daya had olten been.
Nathan. My name is Nathan, fiither to the
maid
Your generous courage snatch'dfi-om circling
Dames,
And hasten —
Templar. If with thanks, keep, keep them
all.*
Those little tlungs I've had to suffer much "
from:
Too much alreadv, far. And, after all,
\ ou owe me notfilng. Was I ever told
She was your daughter? 'Tis a templar's duty
To rush to the assistance of the lirst
Poor wight tiiat needs him ; and my life just .
then •
Was quite a burden. I was mighty glad
To ri>K it 'for another, tho' it were'
That of a Jewess.
Aaihjtu Noble, and yet shocking !
The turn might be expected. Modest great-
ness
Wears \\ illin^lv the mask of what is shocking
To scare oil" admiration : but, altho'
She may disdain the tribute, admiration.
Is there lio other tribute she can bear with?
Knight, were you Jiere not foreign, not a *
caj)tive,
I would not avk so freely. Speak, command, '
In what can 1 be useful ?.
Templar. You — in nothing.
Xnfhan. I'm rich.
Ttmplnr. ' I o me the rich er jew ne'er seemed
7*he better jew.
Sdthan. Is that a reason wliy
You should not use the better part of him.
His we-alth?
Templar. AVell, well, I'll not refuse it
wholly,
For my poor mantle's sake — when that is
thread-bare,
And spite ol* darning will not hold togetlur^
I'll come and borrow clolh, or monev^ of thee, •
To make me up a new one. Don't look so-
lenm ;
The danger is not pressing ; 'tis not yet '
At the last gasp, but tight and strongaiid good.
Save this poor comer, where an ugly spot
"^'ou see is singed upon it. It got singed
As I boa* oil" your daughter from the rin*.**
The jew, however, gets tlie better of
the christian's prejudices, and forces him
to kindlier feelings : lie asks his name, and
is f.tartled at hearing Conrade of StauiFen.
Npthan's manner and his enquiries half
otJend the Templar, who leaves him,
Kiyiiig,
€36
DRxUIAnC POETRY AND PI^VYS.
" Tlie searching eve
Finds often more than it desires to see.
Hear it, Naihan. Fare thee well. I^ttimc,
J<ot curiosity, mate lis aa|uaiiitecl."
The sultan sends for Nathan. Hafi
coines to him^ rejoicing that this is not his
fault :
'* Ciod knows I am not giiilty, L/iows I said —
What said I ncA of thee — belied thet — sian-
der'd —
To ward it off!''
He declares he will stay no longer in so
intolerable an oliice, but join the dervises
Again, and actually departs. Nathan goes
to tlie palace ; while the Templar, as he
had promised him, visits Recha, and be-
comes immediately and passionately ena-
moured of her.
The report of Nathan's ii'isdom has
taken more hold of Saladin's mind, than
the hope of borrowing from his riches.
Ho questions him which is the best faith :
it is in\ain that Nnlh^an answers, ** Sultan
I am a Jew !** tlie question is pressed upon
him, and xhc Jew requests permission to
relate a tale. The liint is from Boccaccio,
tliout;h })robabJy of eastern origin. We
i;ive it at length, because it was to incul-
c itc the purj>oi t of this apologue that the
play was written.
" Xailum. In days of yore, there dwelt in
east a man,
Who from a valued hand received a ring
(>f endle-s worth : the stone of it an opal,
TiKit sh»jt an cvcr-chancfingiint: moreover.
It had the hidden virtue him to render
Of C^od and man belov'd, who in tiiis view,
And 'h'S persua>ion, wore it. Was it strange
'J lie eastern man ncVr drew it otfhis finger,
Ami :'tlldiou^ly providctl to secure it
i'iif ever to' his houbc. Thus — lie be-
qntfath'd it ;
Firt. to the mo>t beloved of his sons,
(Mdiin'ri tiiAt he a^ain should leave the ring
To the' mo-^t dear anion'* his children — and
That witiunit I.e-.-ihug birth, the favourite son,
Iii viiiiii- of if!e rill J alone, sliould always
Keyiain t ho lord ol tne house — You hear me,
sultan?
Sfiliidin. I understand thee— on.
\atf:un. From son to son,
At Iei;t,th this ring descended to a father.
Who had thrvC sons, alike obedient to him;
Whom thereiore he could not but love alike.
At tinies seeui'd this, now that, at time.'* the
third,
(Accordingly as each apart recei\''d
The overi'iowings of his heart) most worthy
To heir the ring, which with gpodnatuV'd
weakness
He privately to each in turn had promis'd-
This went on for a «Miile. But death ap-
prove h'd.
And the good father grew embarrass'd. So
To disppoint two sons, who trust lus pio*
mise.
He could not bear. Wllat's to be dooe. He
sends
In secret to a jeweller, of whom,
I'pon the model of the real ring.
He might bespeak two otliers, and caoh
manded
To spare nor cost nor pains to make tlieni
like.
Quite like the true one. This the artisl oiar
nag'd.
The rings were brought, and e'en the fiithcfs
eye
Could not distinguish which had been thi
model.
Quite overjo/d he summcms all his sons,
Takes leave of each apart, on each bestows
His blessing and liis ring, and dies— llioi
heaist me?
Sa^iidin. I hear, I hear, come fioishvitii
thy tale ;
Is it soon ended?
Nathan, It is ended, sultan.
For all that follows may be guessM of coiinei
S'-arce is the father dead, each with his ring
Appears, and claims to be the lord o' thT
house.
Comes question, strife, complaint — ^all to oo
end ;
For the tnic ring could no 'more be distin-
guish'd
Than now can — the true faith.
Saladin . I low, how,, is that
To b(? the answer to my quejy ?
Nathan. N«,
But it may serve as mv apology :
If I can't venture to (feci.de between
Kings, whicJi the father got expressly madf,
That they might not be kiK>wn froui one
another.
SaUidin. The rings — don't tritle with mc;
1 must think
That the religions which I nani'd can be
Distinguished, e'en to raiment, diiiik and
food.
Nathan . And only not as to tlieir grountk
of proof.
Are not all built alike pn histor}-,
'I'r ditional, or written. History
Must 1)0 rtveived on trust — is it not so?
In whom now are we likeliest to put trust?
In our own people surely, in those men
\> hi»se blood we are, in them, wlw from our
childhood
Have ^iven us proofs of love, who ne'er ck-
ceiv*d us,
I'nless 'twere wholesomer to be doceiv'd.
How can i less believe in my forefathers
"^J'han thou in thine. How can I ask of tJ«e
To own that thy forefathers falsified
In order to yield mine the praise of troth.
The like of christians.
Saladin, By the fiving Ood
The man is in the right, I must be silent.
Nathan. Now let us to our rings retiwa
once more.
As saiil, the sons oon^laia'd. Eadi to Iht
jutlge
NATftAN THE WISE.
037
Sm>re froni his father's hand immediately
lo have receiv'U the ring, as w as the case ;
Alter he bad long obtained tlie fiithcr's pro-
mise.
One day to have the rinff, as also was.
Thc-fatlicr, each asserteti, could to him
Not have been faUe, rather tlian so suspect
Of such a father, willing as he might be
With charity to judge his brethren, he
Of treacherous t.>rgery was bold to accuse
them.
Saiudin. Well, and the judge. Tarn eager
now to liear
What thou wilt make him say. Go on, go on.
Nathan. ' The judge said, if ye summon
not the father
Before my seat I cannot give a sentence.
Am I to guess enigmas ? Or expect ye
That the true rini^ should hereuiiseal its lips?
But hold— you tell me that the real ring
Injoys tlie hidden power to make the wearer
Of God and man belov'd; let that decide.
Which of you do two brothers love the best ?
You'are silent. Do these love-exciting rings
Act inward onlv, not without? Does each
Love but himself? Y*^'*"*^ *^ deceived de-
ceivers.
None of your rings is true. Tlie real rmg
Perhaps is gone. To hide or to supply
Its loss, your fether order'd three for one.
Saladin. O charming, charming !
Nathan. And (the jud^^e continued)
If vou will t:dce advice in lieu of sentence
Tliis is ray counsel to you, to take up
The matter where it stands. If each of you
Has had a ring presented- by his father,
I^t each believe his own the real ring.
Ti^ possible the father chose no longer
To tolerate the one ring's tyranny ;
And certainly, as he much lov*d you all.
And lov'd you all alike, it could not please
him
By favouring one to be of two the'oppresser.
Let each feel honoufd by this free aiJection
I'uwiirp'd of prejudice ; let each endeavour
To vie with both his brothers in di^pla>iug
The virtue of his ring; assist its mii^ht
With gentleness, beuevolence, forbearance.
With inward resignation to the godhead.
And if the virtues of the ring continue
To show themselves among your childrens
cliildren.
After a thousand thousand years, appear
Ifetore this iudgment-seat — a greater one
Than I sliall sit ui)on it and decide.
So spake the moclest judge.
Saladin. C^od !
Nathan. SJacUn,
f eelst thou thvsclf this wiser, promb d man?
SdaiiifL I dust, i nothing, God I"
After thH Saladin will not ask for
money, but Nathan offers it. He speaks
of the Templar, and of his saving Recha.
Saladin, who had forgotten him, bi(J^ Na-
duin fetch hitn. He had spared him IVoin
esA^cuttoa for his likeness to Assad a hxst
hfuUier, and wishes SittaJa to sec iiim.
When Nathan comes the Templar asks
impetuously for Recha as his wife: he
will not answer favourably till he knows
which of tlie Staufi'ens was bis father j the
Templar gives no direct reply j he leaves
Ihe Jew to infer that his name was Con-
rade, and that he was a Tcmpbr, and rs
offended at suj)posing that his illegitiiuacy
sho dd weigh with him- No sooner has
Nathan departed than Daya enters to im-
part her secret, tlrat Uecha is a christian
child J and to beseech him to take her,
with his wife, when he shall have mar-
ried her, to Europe. In his anger at Na-
than he goes immediately to the patriarch,
and asks him if a Jew should have brought
up the daughter of christian parents in hi*
own religion, what ought to be done.
The patriarch answers the Jew is to be
burnt 5 and says that if it be a real case
which has liappened in his diocese, he
will call upon Saladin to enforce the laws,
as bound to do by tlie tenns of capitula-
tion. The Teniplai, shocked at this, en-
deavours to make him understand it was
a mere question of curiosity, but the pa-
triarch suspects the truth, and sends his
friar to search it out.
The Templar waits upon Saladin; Sit-
tah compares his features with tlie picture
of Assad (whom she had never seQii) and
is as much struck with tiie resemblance
as her brother had been 5 the accounc
given of this other brother, who is last,
not dead, prepares the reader for the cata-
strophe. Nnthan is talked of, and tho
Templar says he is such a thorough Jewr
that he kidnnps christian "children ^
bring them up in Judaism. This leads ra
a confession of lus own lault in gjoing to
the patriarch, ruid to an account of Uecha,
which makes Sitt.di send for her.
The friar comes to Nathan ; tells him
some-one has v iiispered in tlie patriarch's
ear that a Jew is educating a christian
cilild as his own, and that it has roused
his conscience ; for Jie, eighteen years ago^
had delivered to him ihediuighter of Leo-
nard of Fiinek, then but a few weeks ijid.
*' Tvvas natural
If you meant to hrin^ iij) tiie christian child
lliglit wjii, tluit yuu should rear it as ^utir
own ;
And to have done tliis lovingly and tndy>
For such a recoinpeace — were horrible.
It might ha; e been more prudent to have
had it
Brouj;!it up at second hand by some good
ciiristiiin
In her own faith. But your frkad's orpliaa
child
You would not then have lov'd. Cluldre*
jiecd love.
038
DRAMATIC POETRY AND PLAYS.
•Were it the mute aflfcclion of a brute,
>Iore at tliat age than cliristianitv.
^'here's always time enutigh for that— and if
The maid have but grown up before your
eyes
With a sound fianie and pious— she remains
Mill in her maker's eye the same. For is not
C hnstijiiiity all built on Judaism ?
O, it has otten.yex^d me, cost me tears,
Tliat christians will forget so often that
i.>ur saviour was a Jew.
ill ^^f'l^"- You, my good brother,
bm\ be my advocate, when bigot hate
And hard hypocrisy shall rise upon mi> —
And for a deed— a deed— thou, thou shalt
know it —
But take it with thee to the tomb. As yet
Has yanitv ne'er tempiod me to tell it
To liyiiiy soul— only to thee I tcU it,
1 o simple piety al5»r.e ; for it
Alone can teef wliat deeds tlie man who
trusts
In God can gab upon liimself.
. ^''''^';- * You seem
Affected, and tout eye-balls swim in water.
Nathan. *'! was a't Darun you met me
with the child;
But you will not have known that a few davs
Before, the christians murilered every Jew* in
Gaih,
Woman and child; that among these, my
witc
With seven hoiieful sons were found, wljo'all
Beneath my brother's roof, which tliey liad
fled to.
Were burnt alive.
Friar, Just God ?
Nathan, And when vou came,
Three nights had I in dust and ashes lain
Before my God and wept — ave, and at times
ArrainM my maker, rair*d, utul cursed mysclt
And the whok' world, and to Christianity
Ij^orn unreientiug hate.
Friar. Ah, I believe you.
Aathan. But by ck^ees returning reason
She spake with gentle voici^— And yet God is
And this was his decree — now exercise
What thou hast long iiiiagin'd, and what
surely
Is not more diOicu]t to exercise
JTian to imagtne^if thou will it once.
I rose and call'd out— God, I will— I will,
bo thou but aid my purpose — And behold
You was just then'disniounted, and presented
To toe the child wrapt in your mantle. What
1 ou said, or I, occurs noi to me now —
Thus much I recollect— I tiK)k the child,
I bore it to my couch, l*ki t it, flung
Nly self upon my knifes and sobbed — mv God,
Now have I one out of the seven agi'.in !
^ Friar. Nathan, vou are a christian ! Yes.
by God
You are a chrir^ian — ^never was a belter.
» Nathan. Heaven bless us — What makes
me to you a christian
Makes you to nie n Jew."
The friar recollects that he hag a book
ivhich belonged to Leonard, which he
took from his brjsfni), when they wens
bur)'ing him at Askalou, written full, va
Arabic : tliis he goes for. Recha is now
sent to the pjilace in ot>cdionce to Sit tub,
and the treasure fh>ni Egypt arrives, w hich
relieves ail Saladin s embanrassmenu.
Tlie book which tlie friar coniraiHi?-
cates relieves Nathan from his fear, and
from the burtiien of secresy. He meets
tlie Templar on his way to tlie palace,
who honestly tells him all he had done]
scrupling as little to acknowledge the fault
as he had done to commit it ; and who
urges him to gi\e him Jlcclia, whether
she be his daughter or no, christian or
Jewess. He seems so i)errccily convinced,
that bad vows are better broken than kept,
that his own seems never to occur to his
muid. Naduin replies, that thanks to the
patrbrch, he now knows who she is and
into whose hands to deliver her, for she
has a brotlicr, whom tliey shall ^ee at the
palace.
Becha has beeji made miserable on tlie
way by Daya. The good bigot, fearing
tJiat tiiere is some intern ion of nuiT>iii.y
her to a Moslem, has taken her into a
rumcd church, and there told her that slie
has been baptized, and is not Nathan's
daughter. Saladin comforts her by say-
ing he will be her father, and hints as a
tariher comfort, that he will give her to
the Templar 3 but when he is about to do
this Nathan forbids. The book has ex-
plained all; Ix?onard of Filnek was tlie
lather both of the Templar and Recha i
Conrade of Stautfen was their mothers
brother, who adopted the boy; Leonard
was no German, tlie Persian was his fa-
vourite language; and the book confirms
wiiat the reader as well as Salatlm may
now susijcct, that lie was Assad, who had
nimcd chri:,ti3n as easily as his son is now
di^})oscd to turn Turk.
As a story this play is exceedingly inte-
resting; as a drama it is every way limit v
Jt never agitates, it rarely <ftl«cts. Tlie
gentle stimulus of curiosity is morts de-
lightful than stronger emotions to us who
are '^felling into tlie sere, the yeUow
Jeat ;" but it is the young who are the
most frequent and most eager spectators
of the drama, and they require to be agi-
tiicHi and affected. It would lu^ be to-
lerated oi\ an English stage ia this ^ge of
orthodoxy: in Gemj^x " « considered as
Lessing s mastcrpipcc,^ and ji iix^quentlf,
represented as compressed, by Schiller.
The dialogue need* compression, whitii
M ould giveit the vigour ihat .it wants.
KATHAN THE WISf,
^ic purport of the play is qlmous. Les-
ling s uTttings liad raised an outer)' against
him fur infidelity,, and this was written in
favour oi toleration. The purport was
good, but the writer has too openly dis-
covered die unfairw:ss of a partizan. All
his characters are philosophers of his own
KhcK>l, all inditferer. lists, except the old
Woman, and the p.^triarch >a ho is made a
villain: and he mfbKt unphilosophically
represents the three religious as equally
favourable to the happincfss of 'mankincl,
in defiance of history and experf^n<^. * A
few Arabic words, and a few' allusions tb
Arabic customs, give but a poor shadow
of verisimilitude to a drama which repre-
sents Jews, christians, and Miimalukes, in
the age of the crusades, talking like Les-
sing and Closes Mendelsohn.
There is a 8ee6ud part called the Monk
of Lebanon, which we should wish to see
Englished : of the present translator it is
praise enough here lo say, that tlie iransla-
639
tion of Burner's Ellenore is his, the best
translation in our language. The book
has a singular ap^x^arance to an English
eye, the lines not beginning with capitals,
a peculiarity which we recollect in no
otlier English book except tho same au-
thor's version of the Iphigcnia in Tauris
of Goethe.
German plays have been depreciated
even more absurdly than they were at
one time overvalued. J^izarro, indeed, is
a disgrace to the age an^ country which
can tolerate it ; but we' ought not to for-
get that we have appropriated the folly of
that most despicable of all despicable dra-
mas, and that it is " English gilt on Ger-
man gingerbi-ead." llie whole of Schil-
ler's works, and the whole otGoetJie's, de-
serve to be translated : but let not tlie
translators of Nathan and of AVallenstein
thus employ tlieniseUes agam j tliey hs\e
higher calls.
Art.H1. — Sacred Dramas, By J. Collet. 8vo.
SACRED dramas would be more use-
ful for the amusement of the people on
the sabbath-day, than sacred music is for
tiiat.of the higher classes ; and if there be
no objection to*the one, there surely can
be none to the oth'ef. In the savage state
man loves total indolence ; if his pas^cms
be not roused, he likes to lie in the sun
and tleep like a dog : but it* is the etfect
of civilization to make even tliose in the
lowest ranks who feel none of its bless-
ings, impatient of listlessness and cra-
ving after sensation. The policy of the
chun:h should be to fill up those hours of
leisure which it has created, and which
Art. IV.— 7'Ae Natural Son
WE cannot compliment Mr. Mason on
the success of his' suit to tiie mournfulest
of the Nine J few are tlie chosen geniuses
on whom the tragic muse sheds her pro- '
pitious su»iK-s, and Mr. Mason is not of
the elected number. ' Tht^'story itself of
tliis dramatic piece is not vl*ry interest-
ing, nor is it rendered more so by the ex-
trinsic aid of poetic t)rnameiit. The cha-
are now chosen for the campaigns of its
aiungonists. Ojx?!! a Sunday- theatre : a
good Samson among the Philistines would
be the best champion against llio united
calvinists ; and the itinerants might preach
about lire and brimstone to empty benches,
while their former congreg-uions crowded
to see it raining down upon Sodom. Ikit
in thus recommending sacred dramas, we
do not mean to reconunend tliese of Mr.
John Collett, unless it should be thought
advisable to represent them as afterpiectss
for tlie sake of sending tlic audience home
sleepy.
; a Tragcdf/. 8vo. pp. |1J.
racters are feei)ly pourtrayed, althougk
they are supported \yitli sufficient con-
sistency : the sentiments and the language
want dignit}' and elevation. Horace Wal*
poles Countess of Narbonne seems to be
shadowed in the character of the marchion-
ess de EU>li ; but we have all the bitter*
ness of her repentance without any pro-
portion of her guilt.
Art. v.— r/i<' J'tdt/ of the Rock; a Mdo-Prame, in izvo yich\ as it is performed at the
Tlu'iUrc Royal Drury Lane. lUj I'komas IIolcrof t. 8vu. pp. 31.
THE stor)' of this afterpiece, with
some slight alterations, is taken Irom a
fttfigular atid strikmg*oc<'nrfciK:e related as
a fiict by the hon. Mrs. Murray, in lier
Guide to the Western Highhiudi of Scot-
land.
" She relates that one of the Macleans, of
Duart, was married to a handiome and ami-
able, but, unhappily, a barren sister of Ar-
gyle; that, in those days, barrenness was a.
high crime in a husbund's* eyes; that Maclean,
being detcriiiiiied 00 iicr destruction, ordered
640
DRAMATIC POETRY AND PLAYS.
rufiians to conrey licr secretly to a place now
called the Lady's Rock, which stood nearly
opposite to hi* castle, on a promontory in
Mull ; that she was seen by mariners, who
»aved and conveyed her to her brother at
Inverary; tliat her husband made a grand
mock funeral, wrote disconsolate letters to
her relations, and went in deep mourning to
Inverary, to his brother-in-law, lamenting,
with every show of grief, the irreparable los»s
he had sustained : that Argyle sauUittle, but
sent for his sister, whose sudden appearance
eiectriiied the husband ; tliat, being a mild
and amiable man, Arg}'le took no revenge,
except by commanding Maclean to depart
instantly, humanely advising him to avoid
his brother Donald; and that Sir Donald
Campbell afterward stabbed Maclean, in a
street at Edinburgh, when he was eiglity
years of age.'*
In our critique on Mrs. Murray's work,
we hinted that this story might be dra-
matized with very powerful effect by a
skilful writer: at this suggestion Mr.
Holcroft undertook the task, and has exe-
cuted it with as much success, perhaps,
as the confined limits of an afterpiece
would admit. The alterations made in
the stwy are these : Dugald, a younger
brother of Maclean, infuses into his mind
suspicions of his wife's infidelity : barren-
ness being no longer considered as a
crifne, a modem audience would not en«
dure to see it punished with a most fright-
ful oeath. Dugald, a consummate vil-
lain, ambitious to inherit his brother's
title and possessious, and enamoured of
his virtuous wife, who, we must suppose,
had resisted his criminal solicitations, takes
this terrible re^-enge ; he feeds the flame
of jealousy with great skill and caution :
** Lard Mac, I would be sure. The
thought is madden'uig — the crime infernal !
But the punistmient is dreadful, therefore I
would be sure.
Dugald. That is what I have always said.
Be sure. We should else be devils ! For in
this tragedy I, aias! am compelled to be an
actor. But a brother! An elder brolhcr'
I'he head of our liouse and clan ! Stiall I stand
by and patiently see his honour violated ?
Lord. She has such an angel look of in-
nocence !
Dug. 'Tis true ! Oh, she has ! Twas that
first seduced you 1 mean, that so won
your affections as to make you iorcpt the
everlaiitiug hatred, and revenge, we all hare
vowed to absent Cambell ; and which I can't
avoid but ftel in part to ail his clan.
Lord. Dugald, 1 somelimes fear
Dug. You have cjuse — Be carefijl ot roe,
I would not too far trust myself. — My c^es
and ears perhaps decive me, and, at the
times when I have told you what 1 heard and
saw, it may have been a dream: but then ob-
serve a w-aking dream, and every day as
'twere repeated.
Lord. Oh !— Tis true ! Too true !
Dug. Eyes and ears? Pshaw! What are
they? I think I have each proper sense, but
so docs every maniac. Ay, ay — ^BeKare!
Act cautiously. — Ere I would b^; a— Fan^ I
—A woman's tool a mere convenience,
spreading myself the adulterer's cloak. —
brother — ^l^hese are all lies that I invent-
Better a brother were suspected than a wife.
Women liave no passions, nor Absurd !
Nothing ever passes in their minds but inno-
cence and chastity! Angelic creatures! —
Brother, you know me ; be not rash.
Lord. ' I am mad with doubly doubting."
Dugald, In order to complete bis puFr
pOF'^s, drugs with poison a cup of wine»
which he intended for his brother, but
which by mistake he drinks himself. In
his last moments he confesses his com-
plicated villainy, and does justice to the
spotless purity of lady Maclean's charac-
ter, who is now restored to her repentaol
and adoring husband. The fisherroaa
whom Dugald applied lo in order to con*
vey the devoted lady to the rock, spuras
at the bribe, and afterwards, suspectiz^
the meditated murder, saves her life a$
the peril of his own ; it is a well-drawo
character. The piece altogether readi
with interest^ and acts with spirit.
Art. VI. — To Marry or Not to Marry : a Comedy. By Mrs. Inchbalx>.
WE fear that Mrs. Inchbald will not
add much to her celebrity by this comedy :
the persoTUB dramatis are, almost without
exception, not characters but caricatures.
Mr. Willowear and lady Susan Courtly
have no prototype, we venture to say, iu
the gayest and most unthinking circles.
The deadly and long-nurtured revenge of
Lavensworth is hardly human. Hestei-,
Indeed, is an interesting^ bewitching little
rogue, and her interview with sir Oswia
Mortland in tlie fouith act shows that
Airs. Inchbald can delineate with skill
and delicaipy the budding passion. A few
touches of nature are here and there dis-
coverable, which make us the more re-
gret that Mrs. Inchbald should have at-
tempted a satirical representation, to which
she is incompetent J of manners iu&shioo-
able lile.
TOBIN> HONET MOOlf. •
641
Art. VIl. — Too mamf Cooks : a Musical Farce in Two Jets, as perfonited at the Theatre,
Royal, Covcttt-Aarden. By James KeKney, Author qfRatsing the H^ind, 4rc.
rr must not be concealed that the gra- farce, which we recommend to the peru-
Tity of oar muscles, '^ albeit unused to sal of any gentleman who happens to ba
tlM ' laughing' mood/* was strangely dis> attacked by a fit of the spleen,
composed by the dry humour of this
AiT. Yin. — The Blind Bargain; or Hear it Out : a Comedy in Five Acts, as performed
at the Theatre Royal, Covent-Garden. By Frederick Rstkolds.
AS the audience at Covent-Garden
could sit to Itear it out, we felt it a double
duty to read it cut; but rarely has our
patience been put to a severer trials
Art. IX.— TV Honest Soldier. A Comedy.
WORS£ and worse ; dullness and vulgarity interspersed with indecent allusions.
Art. X^ — The Honey Moan : a Comedy in Fixfe Acts, as performed at the Theatre Royalf
Drury-Lane. By the Late John TotiiN> Esq.
THOUGH composed of thieds and
patches, this is a striking fancy-dress, put
together with skill, and worked up with
taste. Shakspeare's Taming of t?ie Shrew,
and Much ado about Nothing, supply the
characters, and occasionally we trace the
sentiments. The story is taken from the
former, Catherine and Petruchio being
represented in Juliana and the duke of
Araottt. Rolando is another Benedick,
but his tender-hearted Zamora has less of
Beatrice in her disposition than the ro-
gotth volatile Volante. The story is too
well known to need being related. The
<fialogue is animated, witty or sentimen*
tal as occasion requires *, the language is
pregnant with imagery, >and the measure
empbyed is the heroic. We give a spe-
cimen from the third act : Rolando, of
" most rare qualities, a happy wit and in-
dependent spirit," though a settled wo-
man-hater, has been followed to the wars
by Zamora in the disguise of a page.
The wars being over, he is a disbanded
soldier without pay, and obliged to give
his faithful follower a reluctant notice to
quit his service.
*'Bi^lando. 'Sdeatb, that a reasonable
thinking man
Sbould leave his friend and bottle for a
woman ! —
Her^ is the Count, now, who, in other mat-
rr *^
gss a trae judgment, only seeth his blood
nr ith a full glass beyond ms usual stint ;
And woman, hke a wildfire, runs throughout
him.—
unmortal num is but a shuttlecock,
Aad wine and women are the l»tUcdor«a
Amy. lUv, Yet, lY.
That keep him going 1-^What ! Eugenio I
Enter EvgEkio alias Zamora.
Zamora. Your pleasure, sir }
Rolando. I am alone, and wish
One of your songs to bear me company.
Zamora. A merry or a sad one, sir ?
Rolando. No matter.
Zamora. I have but one that you have
never heard.
Rolando. Let it be that.
Zamora.' I shall obey you, sir*
Now, woman's wit, assist me ! (Sings.)
SONG.— Zamora.
In vain the tears of anguish flow.
In vain I mourn, in vain I sigh ;
For he, alas ! will never know
That I must live for him, or die.
Ah ! could I dare myself teveal ! —
Would not my tale his pity move ?—
And sighs of pity seldom tail,
In noble hearts, to waken love.
But should he view, without a tear,
My altering form, my waning bloom^
Then, what is left me but despair !
What refuge, but the silent tomb!
fiolando. It isamoumfal ditty, yct'ti^
pleasing!
Zamora. It was, indeed, a melancholy
tale
From which I learnt it.
Rolando, Lives it with you still >
Zamora. Funtly, ts would an lii-remem-
ber'd dream, sir:
Yet so far I remember — ^Now my heart-^
(aside)
Twas of a gentleman-^* soldier, sir.
Of a brave spirit ; and his outward form
A frame to set a soul in. He had a page,
Justsudi a boy as I, a faithful stripling,
Whoif out 9f pure affection, and true loyc,
Tt
64%
DRAMATIC POETRY AND tLAYS.
FoIlowM his fortune to the wan;.
Rolando. Why this'
Is our own hi:Jtory.
Zamora. So far, indeed.
But not beyond, it bore resemblance, sir.
For in the sefjuel (if 1 well remember)
This loving bov — (so, sir, the story ran) —
Turn*d out to oe a woman.
Rolando. How! a woman?
Zamora. Yes, sir, a woman.
Rolando. Live with him a twelve-
month.
And he not find the secret out ?
Zamora. IV-as strange.
Rolando. Strangel 'twas impossible! At
the first blush,
A palpable and most transparentlie!
Why, if the soldier had been such an ass,
She liad herself bettay'd it f--
Zamora. Yet, 'tis said,
She kept it to her death ;— ^at, oft as Love
Would heave the struggling passion to her
lips,
Shame set a seal upon them: — ^thus long
time
She nourish'd, in thb strife of love and mo-
desty.
An inward slow-consuming mart^-rdom.
Till in the sight of him her soul most che>
rish'd, —
Like ilow'rs that on a river's margin, hiding
Tiiro* lack of moisture, drop into the stream,
So, sinking in his arnis^ her parting breath
Iteveald her story.
Rolando, You have told it well, boy ! —
Zatnora. I feel it deeply, sir ; — ^I knew
the lady.— .
Rolando. Kue\v her ! You don't believe
it?
Zamora. What regards
Her death, I will not vouch ' for. But the
rest —
Her hopeless love, her silent patience.
The struggle 'twixt her pa^ision and her
pride —
I was a witness to. — Indeed her story
Ih a most true one.
Rolando. She should not have died ! —
A wench like this were worth a soldier's love:
And were she living now — (Enter the Count.)
Zamora. 'Tiswell! (Juide.)
Count. Strange things have happened, smce
we parted, captain ! —
I must away to-night.
Rolando. To-night! and whither?
Count, 'Tis yet a secret. Thus much you
shall Itnow :"
If a short lifty miles you'll bear me comfiany.
You sliall see
Rolando, What?
Count, A woman tam^d.
Rolando, Nonwrc!
ril go a hundred! — Do I know the lady?
Count. What think you of our ne\v-raa(fc
duchess? —
Rolandft. She?
What mortal man has undertaken hcr'r—
Perhaps the keeper of the beasts, the fellow
That puts his head into the lion's mouth?
Or else some tiger-tamer to a nabob?
Count, Who, but her husband ?
Rolando. With what weapons?
Count. words.
Rolando. With words > why, then he must
invent a language
Which yet the learned have no glimpses ot
Fasting and fustigatbn may do somethiog;
I've heard that death will qu}et some oftlifli;
But words? — ^mere words? — cool'd bythi
breath of man! —
He may preach tame a howling wilderness;
Silence a full-mouth'd batter^' with wst-
balk ;
Quench fire with oil ; wdth hisrepcilii^brestii
Putf back the northern blast ; whistle 'gnnt
thunder:
These things are fcasible-^But stUlawoma
With the nme parts of speech ? —
CouMt, You know him not
Rolando, I know the lady. — M'ell, it nsf
to him
Be easy, gentlemanly recreation!-^
But, as I liope to die a bachelor,
Pd rather conic within a windmilFs sw«p,
Or pluck the lighted fuzee from a bomb
(Which, to say trutli, she mostly does r^
seroble,
Being stufi'd full of all things mischieroDf),
Than parley with that woman. —
Could he discourse witli llueut eloquaice
More languages than Babel sent abroad.
The simple rhet'rick of her motlier tongue
\^^ould pose ,liim presently ; for woman's
voice
Sounds like a fiddle in a concert, always
The shrillest, if not loudest, instrument
ComiL Yet, I tell you
He has the trick to draw tiie serpent's fio^
And yet not s|X)il her beauty.
Rolando. We shall see. —
You'll follow us, Eugenio.
lExeunt Count Sr Bolijdo.
Eugenio, He was tonch'd surely with tbt
piteous tale
Which I delivered ; and, but that the count
Prevented him, would have broke freely oat
Into a full confession of his feeling
Tow'rcis such a woman as I painted to hm^
Why then, my boy's habiliments, adieu I
Henceforth, my woman's tyre—ITl tnist ta
you! lExit^
Art. XI. — Tfie School qf Rrform: or How to Rule a Hmhand : a Comedf/, as petformd
at the Tlicatre Royal ^ Covent-Gardcn, By Thomas Morton, E$q.
"WELL, I^ies! say, wliat tliink you of At least 'tis new — to/Xr/w^ we've fouud vroot
my plan ; ' please him ;
Is silence tJie true way to conquer man ? Then follow my advice — be </40»6— and teaie
hiin." EpiiostiA.
COLICAN'fl JOHK BTXLL. 043
Having b<*eii tried upon the statute Mr. Morton has been often before a
25 Edw. III. ch. 2. Mr. Morton is found Covent-garden audience, and Iqiows the
not guUty of treason against the sove- art of accommodating to different palates
reignty of man, as no overt act is proved his jokes, repartees, and soft sentiments.
Upon him. It appears upon evidence very In the School for Reform a character is
clearly, that the conspiracy with which he introduced, Frederick, who is bred up
was charged could not possibly have been at the Philanthropic School, to the patron
carried into effect, and have accomplished of which the piece is dedicated. A re-
its end by the measures proposed to be pentant profligate, Tyke, is a prominent
adopted. The jury — all married men — character in the play, and 'supported with
were unanimously of opinion in the first great spirit. The scene between Ferment
place, that women could never be brought and Tyke in the second act is ludicroua
to employ silence as an instrument to over- enough : and considerable effect is pro-
tum the lawflil authorhy of their hus- bably produced on the stage by a scene of
bands j and in the second place, that if a a very different nature, between Tyke
aolitary and unaccountable instance of and an old man whom he discovers to b&
this experiment should occur, it would his father. On the whole, the School of
produce a very opposite effect. Beform is endurable.
AxT, XII. — The Cabinet; a Comic Opera in Three Acts. Performed at the Theatre RoyaU
Covent^arden. IVritten by Thomas Dibdin.
THE songs are very good, and the singers excellent.
Art. XIII. — Youth, Lone and Folly : a Comic Operas as performed at the Theatre Royal,
Drury-Lane, with dUtinguished Success, frritten by M&. Dim on d, Junr. Svo.
IT is cheaper to buy and read this opera than to see it acted : of two evils we
dKx>se the least.
Art. XIV. — The Delinquent, or Seeing Company % a Comedy in Five Acts, as performed
at the Theatre Royal, Covent-Garden. By Frederick Reynolds. 8v1b.
BUSTLE^ bustle, bustle ! Fashionable life so extravagantly caricatured, that not
a feature of resemblance is to be detected.
Art. XV. — John Bull, or the EngUshmaris Fireside; a Comedy in Five Acts. By
George Colman the Younger.
THIS comedy had a ' great run* at taste of the public 9$ to theatrical repre*
CoveDt-garden : a more deplorable evi* seatations*
denoe could not be given of the vitiated
Tt2
< 6*4 )
CHAPTER XI.
NOVELS.
THE last year has not produced any novels of first-rate merit ; nor have any verr
bad ones obtained sufficient notoriety to indflce us to drag them before the bar of
criticism, and honour them with a public accusation. The following are the best
productions of the kind that we have been able to select from last jear*s crop.
Art. l.-'Mfwwirs of Bryan Perdue, a Novel , by Thomas HotCROFT. 3 Vols. 12inow
IT was snrely unnecessary for Mr. Hol-
croft to have deprecated, in a preface, the
public contempt for so humble an em-
ployment of his pen as the composition of
Aovcto ; and to have contended, as gravely
at if any body in his senses had disputed
the position, that hints of great utility and
of a disnified and important nature are
liequently found in them;? that they are
a high source of gratification to many per*
tons ; and that when made the vehicle of
moial inttmcdon, they are deserving of
general encouragement. The poblic are
Dot backward in doing justice to the merit
of a novel ; Mr. Holcroft knows this
from personal experience. An artist
might as reasonably tremble lest the dig-
nity of bit profession should be brought
into jeopaidy by the daubings of a sign-
painter^ aa a novelist who cblineates the
manners of real life with fidelity and ef-
fect, ^ipveliend degradation in the scale
<^ literary rank, from the trash which is
often published by writers who arrogate
the same title without any pretension,
and prostitote the duties of it to the most
ahamefiil purposes.
Novels may be divided and subdivided
Into a hundred classes, but the two prin-
cipal ones are, first tluMe whkb are writ-
ten solely with the view of exciting the
jreader t feelings by an interesting tale,
that la to say, for the mere purpose of
«mui6iiieati aiidiecondly^ those in which
the story is of secondar}' consideration,
and only introduced in subordination to'
the higher purposes for which the novel
was especially written, namely that of
promoting certain virtues or satinzir^
certain vices. Mr. Holcroft's ix>veis, as
he seems to have thought it necessary to
inf<Mtn us, are of the latter kind. Now
to state, in limine, so specifically as he
has done, tbe object in view, argues either
a diffidence as to the execution of the
work, which in honest truth we do not
give Mr. Holcroft the credit of feeling m
the slightest degree > or it is an i^ont to
the sagacity of his readers, who are thus
avowedly suspected of not having suffi-
cient penetration to see the force and fe-
licity of certain allusions, or to discover
the meaning of a fable unless " the moral"
is tacked to it. It must be acknowledged,
however, on the other hand, that com-
mentators have often been accused, and
upon no slight grounds, of charging cm
their author a meaning, which in all pro-
bability their author never meant 3 now^
when a man becomes, as it were, the
commentator on bis own work, there is
no danger that he should be misunder-
stood, and that his readers shoold be led
astray in this manner.
We must waste no more words on the
preface : as tP . the work itself, we have
already said it belongs to that class of no-
vels where thest(^ is fittbordinate to thm
ROLCROFT S MEVOIBS OP fiRTA17 PEBDUS.
045
moral. Indeed rt is the datnnlng fault of
Bryan Perdue, that it is deficient in inte*
rest : the hero takes a retroepection of his
past conduct from the earliest period of
life, and tells his own tale, hut it is in so
ilij^iant a manner, as to destroy a large
proportion of the interest which it was in*
trinsically calculated to inspire . The style
b ill-suited to the subject : levity is not
the language of contrition. The particu-
lar vice against which it is the object of
this novel to warn young persons, is gam*
ing : a more fertile theme could not have
been diosen; here it is unnecessary to
describe Imaginarv horrors, or even to
give an artificial glow of colouring to the
real ones which are produced by indul-
gence in this seducing vice. THe simple
narrative of distresses which in actual life
TQSiy every day be witnessed, is sufficient,
surely, to appal the unhardened youth
who may have had the misfortune to have
been betrayed into the society and ways
of gamesters. ** If men," says Bryan
Perdue, '* could but be made sensible of
the mad risk they run when they encou-
rage a spirit of gaming ; if they were not
h&d to the narrow sellishness, the odious
passions to which it gives birth, the desire
of gaining that which may be, and often
is^ the destruction of families, the hazard
of being exposed to equal destruction
themselves, and the contemptible and dis-
gusting nature of such covetousness j did
they I say but consider this, there wou*d
soon be no gamblers ) for they could not
long exist were they deprived of the spoils .
of the unwaty."
But the misfortune is, that gamblers are
hot often men of consideration j they are
anxious to flee from the reflections of
their own mind, and in order to render
them *' sensible of the mad risk they run,"
it is necessary to make such an appeal to
their feelings as shall irresistibly enforce
attention. Such appeals have been made,
Snd with greater etfect than in the his-
tory of Bryan Perdue : an anecdote is re-
corded in the memoirs of David Ross the
actor, which we make no apology for in-
troducing hejre. In the year 1 752, during
the Christmas holidays, he performed the
part of George Barnwell, and Mrs. Prit-
chard diat of Milwood. Soon after Dr.
Barrowby, one of the physicians to 8t.
Bartholomew's hospital, was sent for by a
young gentleman in Great St. Helen's,
who was apprentice to an eminent mer-
chant. He found his patient very ill
with a slow fever, and a languid pulse
wikh DO medicine could aftect. The
nurse told Dr. Barrowby that the young
man sighed at times so very deeply, that
she was sure there waa something on hif
mind. Tlie doctor sent every one out of
the room, and told the patient his sua**
picion that some secret distress lay heavy
on his mind $ and added, that unless he
would unbosom himaelfy all medidne was
in vain. After mach solicitatioo, tho
youth confessed that he had a secret sor«
row preyuig on his mind, but that ho
would rather die tiian divulge it, as in-
evitable ruin most be the consequence.
The doctor assured him if he would make
him his confident, he would try every
means in his power to serve him> and that
the secret, if he desired it, should remain
so to all the world but to those who might
be necessary to relieve him. After much
conversation, he told the doctor that he
was the second son of a gentleman of good
fortune in Hertfbrdshire ^ that ht had
made an improper acquaintance with tho
kept mistress of a captain of an Indiaikiati
then abroad; that he was within a year
of being out of his time, and had been
entrusted with cash, drafts, and note9> to
the amount of two hundred pounds^
which he had appropriated to his own
use. Having heea at Druryjaoe a few
nights before to see Ross and Mrs. Prit-
(;bard in theur characters of George Barn-
well and Milwood, he said that he had
be^ so deeply impressed with the scen^
that he had not enjoyed a moment's peace
since, and wished to die that he might
avoid the shame he saw hanging over
him. Dr. Barrowby enquired where bit
father was ; the young man replied that
he expected him every minute, aa he had
been sent for by his master on his being
taken so alarmingly ill. The doctor de-
sired him to tranquillize his mind, as he
would undertake to break the matter to
his fother, and if the latter made any he-
sitation as to advancing the money, tiiat
he would advance it himself. The father
soon arrived} Dr. Barrowby took him
into another room, and after explaining
the whole cause of his son*s illness, beg-
ged him to save tlie honour of his family,
and the life of his son. Tlie father with'
tears in his eyes gave htm a thousand
tlianks, and said he would instantly step
to his banker and bring the money : he
returned to hi^ son with peace. and for-
giveness, they embraced, and under an
assurance on the part of the fcmner tliat
not the slightest reproach or even allusion
to the unliappy circumstance should ever
escape his lips* The young man rece«
649
NOVELS.
vered» and told his friend and physician
Dr. Barrowby, who never divulged his
name, that the play had raised such ex-
treme horror and contrition in his soul,
tliat if it pleased God to raise a friend to
extricate Irira out of his distress, he would
dedicate the rest of his days to virtue and
religion. This young man became an
eminent merchant ; Ross never knew his
name or saw his person ; but for nine or
ten years he constantly received at his
ben^t an anonymous note sealed up with
these werds : •' A tribute of gratitude
from one who was highly obliged and
aaved from ruin by seeing Mr. Ross*s per-
formance of Barnwell.", There are some
events in the lite of Bryan Perdue, which
very naturally recalled this anecdote to
our recollection. Bryan Perdue, the son
of a professed and unprincipled gamester,
who was exceedingly anxious that his boy
should, like himself, l>e an adept in all
the iniquitous mysteries of the art, had
the misfortune in early life to lose an ami-
able and virtuous mother : whilst yet at
school he had learnt to cog the dice and
E«ck the cards» The facility with which
e had oftentimes relieved himself from
pecuniary embarrassment by his dexterity
and skill in gaming, made it his ordinary
resource in all cases of difficulty. Bryan
is one of tliose mixed characters which
prevail in real life, but which novel-
writers in general — ^not surely for that
very reason ? — have declined selecting for
their hero. It has been too much the
custom to exhibit the prominent characters
m these works of fancy as monsters of
vice or paragons of virtoe ; the man con-
summately good or consummately de-
praved, does not £ill within the usual com-
pass of observation. Bryan Perdue is,
nevertheless, not an every-day character :
his intellectual powers are strong, his ob-
«en'ation keen, and his feelings acute.
The native virtues of his heart are roused
into action on the slightest call, but he is
the slave to passion, and an unlimited in-
dulgence of licentiousness brings his life
into imminent peril. Before we come to
<!iis part of his narrative, however, let us
do Mr. Holcroft the justice to exhibit his
skill in working up a scene. One night
at the billiard- table Bryan Perdue won of
a strnnf^er who had in all respects the de*
nionnor of a gentlemim, two hundred and
fifty pounds: when all his money was
1 '-st, the latter requested that fifteen
< .:;i;cas might be staked against his gold
\ .itt h and seals. He lost them, and in-
Manii/ hurried from the room^ exclaiming
in an agony of despair, *' It's done! Ifs
over ! Ii's past recall !" The sensibilities
of Bryan Perdue were awakened in favoor
of the stranger, but he was gone, and it
was not known where.
" It happened, about five days after th»
adventure, that llie period, which cautioa and
propriety had prestribed, arrived for my
customary visit to Henrietta. 1 sat coovcii-
ing vni]i her and her friend, when Ma
Vaughan, the lady under whose care they
both were placed, entered.
" Notwithstanding her habitual equanimity
and ease of behaviour, affliction was visible in
her countenance : it was to fuUil a duty that
she came, and sat with us : her conversatioa
was not pleasant and unembarrassed as usual:
she said but little, s|>oke in, a tone of a»-
cealed grief, and now and then a sigh «•
caped her; though many deep ones were
suppressed.
" Henrietta had too much sensibility for
this to pass unperceived, though tlie same
cause restrained and forbade her to notice
what she saw and felt. Shortly after, the
friend of Henrietta left the room, and I ves-
tured to say to Mrs. Vaughan — * I fear, ma-
dam, you are not w^ll.'
'• she burst into a flood of tears and r^
plied — * No, sir, I am not well, indeed ; nor
ever shall be again: my disease is iocu-
raWer
" With the most tender affection, Henri-
etta entreated her to say if it were any to
possible to give her relief, or consolation. I
joined in the recjuest, and Mrs. Vaughan at
length replied—' Of relief I see not any
hope ; but, Mr. Perdue, for your sake, I witt
relate what it is that now distracts my niiinL
Pray pardon me, when I say it is for Y«ir
sake ; but I have lieard your friends firequent-
ly lament tliat you indulged yourself in that
which daily proves itself to be one of the
worst of vices; 1 mean gaining. I hope yoo
no longer give yourself this indulgence; but,
if you do, the story which I nave to tcU
ought to be a serious warning to you.'
" I was in the presence of Henrietta, ht-
fore a matron too, whose proper conduct and
excellence in life made irregularity shrink
from her, abashed. Till tiiat moment, I had
never felt such trepidation ! I dreaded wlot
was to come, my conscience flushed in my
face, and I almost feared tliat it was me, my-
self, of whom she was about to speak. I ^ai
not for from the truth.
" * Do not blame me, I am a mother,*
said Mrs. \'anghan, bursting into a fresh
flood of tears, < and my son is mined !'
"'Good God!' exdahnedl, «rumed?
Which way, maflain P
" * By gaming. The loss of money is not
so great but that it might be supported ; but
he has lost hmiself, lost Ms character, betray-
ed his trust, and that he may for ever con-
ceal himself and his disgrace' from the world,
if possible^ be has entered on boai4 d oo^ ^
HOLCROT'T g MEMOIRS OP BRYAN PERDUB.
647'
trar. I had etlucatec' him with a tnily ma-
ternal care: w»th every good principle of
morality, I had endeavoured to gpve him
every acconiplishment of a man : he w^s the
adtniVatbii of all who knew him ! What is he
now f Lost ! Lost to himself, lost to me, lost
to society ! Yoa, Mr. Perdue, are entrusted
witii concerns that are not your own : so was
he. His diaracter is never more to be re-
trieved, and I tell this to you, and you alone,
Mr. Perdue, in the afiliction and dread of
IBV heart, lest you should, some time or
otW, plunge into, or sutler yourself to be
hurried away by, the same pernicious vor-
tex!'
*' I listened in terror, and then said —
• What was the sum that he lost, Madam?'
** * IVo hundred and fifty pounds !'
'* i became pale as death ! My whole
frame shook! I could not keep myself still:
1 was in the awful presence of Henrietta !
" * 'Was not the money his own, madam ?*
" * No. It would then only liave occa-
sioned distress ; now it has brought irretriev-
able ruin!'
** ' 1 o whom did it belong?'
" 'To Mr. Fairman,whoisan army aigenL
My son was the principal clerk in his omce ;
the money was designed to pay ui> the ar-
rears of an oflicer, wlio is aged, siclc, and in
distress. Every way the transaction wears
tiie appearance of baseness ! I am sure my
son is not base, though inveigled by the
uicked arts of a gambler to his destruction !'
** * No, madam — ' I was about to deny a
charge, as if intentionally made against my-
self. Every tlung conspired no less against
me than against the youth I had ruined.
^ff r. Fairman was the uncle of my young
friend, Henry ; and, to complete my confu-
sion, I had the watch in my pocket, that I
had won, the seals of which were remarkable ;
one of them especially, it was a seal ring, an
antique, and had been given to her son by
Mrs. Vaughan.
" These seals had caught her eye : she re-
3ucsted Henrietta to retire, ana then ad-
iwsing me in a serious tone, said —
" * Pardon me, Mr. Perdue, but, if I am
Qot exceedingly mistaken, you h:ive my son's
watch in yoiir pocket ! Pray permit ine to
look?*
" The sensations of the culprit, receiving
sentence, scarcely could be more painful than
those I felt ! Every way confounded, I stood
silent for a moment, then gave the watch
hartily into her iiand, and exclaimed — ' For
heaven's sake, madam, do not tell Henrietta !
I ain not so much to blame as I may appear :
I will Hnd your son, and save him, it it be
possible !'
" So saying, I hiurried to get out of the
house, eager to perfonn what Ihad promised,
though not yet well conceiving tlie means."
As Bryan is quitting the house the
postman bring* a letter to Mrs. Vauglian
lh>m her distracted sodj expressing th^
utmoiM bitterness of repentance, and im-
ploring her compassion and forgiveness.
He had volunteered to serve his majesty
as a common sailor : Bryan fli^s with his
mother's affecting letter of forgiveness to
the tender, on board of which is the un-
happy Vaughan. The sight of hira who
had been the immediate cause of his pre-
sent distress, could not but b^ painful :
Bryan endeavours to soothe his mind, and
insists on restoring the money which he
had won of him. Vaughan will not con-
sent to this, but he allows himself to be*
liberated through Bryan's means, hopmg
in a short time to repay the expence. As
soon as they are on shore, Vaughan fc-
turns to ^le arms of his mother ; and
Bryan, who had dissipated part of the
money he had won, borrows the defici-
ency of a firiend, hastens to the house of
Mrs. Vaughan, and again urges, in vain,
tlie restoration of the money. The only
resource is to go directly to the counting-
house of Mr. Fairman.
" I found Mr. Fairman at his office^ rer
quested to speak to him, and being adnutted,
related my husmess.
" I becan with describing the maternal
fedings of Mrs. Vaughan, and the penitence
of Frederic. During this, I repeated the
contents of the two letters^ confessed my
share in the gambling business, declared my
grief and shame, ana concluded with saying
that I was now come to repay the money, and
humbly to petition Mr. Fainnan wonUl con-
sent to hear, from Frederic himself, how tnily
penitent he was for tlie h\i\t he had com-
mitted.
" Instead of acting with the ha^^te that my
unpetuosity expected, Mr. Fainnan paused,
considerid, appeared to survey me, and at
last asked —
*' ' Do you come. Sir, on the part of Fre-
deric Vaughan, to pay this money ?*
" ' Yes, Sir.'
" * At his desire ; sent and deputed by
him r'
" I hesitated, ' Not, directly.'
" ' Does he know that you are come ?'
" ' I-— did not mention where I Vas going:
but I have iust left him, with Mrs. Vanghan.'
*' * I wish to understand, Sir, whether tiiis
money comes from him, or you ?*
" *'{ told you. Sir, 1 am very sorry 1 ever
received it, and I am now come with a desire
to give it to its right owner.'
*• ' The hioney I confided to Frederic
Vaughan was for an oflicer, in distress:
owing to this breach of trust, the effects of the
oflicer were seized, and he was put in prison.'
*'< Is he there BOW, Sir?'
" ' No ; but that is not to the point. I
have heard much of you, Mr. Perdue, from
my nephew. ^He is a good young man, and
11
AM
NOVELS.
apt to believe good of others. This is not
the first of your gambling adventures. Ex-
cuse me, if I am too free ; I fear you area
dangerous acquaintance/
** * 1 was not acquainted with Mr. Vaughan,
Sir.'
** ' But you now arc. You live clerk with
Mr. Hazard?*
" ' I am in the house. Sir.*
*'* Not a partner?'
" ' No, Sir.'
** * Then you arc a servant. Have you
considered tne consequence of a breach of
trust, Mr. Perdue .>*
*' ' Sir ! I have not committed one.'
'* * You are surprbed, and so am I.'
•" Atwhat, SirP
*' * Your want of reflection. Are you not
•ware that the receiver is as bad as — ? I
would neither shock nor otTend, but, I am
obliged to repeat, you are a dangerous ac-
quaintance, Mr. Perdue, and I think it a duty
to give my nephew this warning. He loves
the virtue which you discover, occasionally,
and so do 1, more it may be than you sup-
pose ; yet I am led to doubt whether it does
pot make vou the more dangerous : for, were
you a connnned vicious character, you would
be excluded the society of the virtuous, whom
you would have no opportunity to seduce.'
'' ' Sir — pardcm me — I did not expect — *
" ' A stranger to treat you with such free-
dom?'
** * You, Sir, are the uncle of Mr. Henry
Fairman, whom I esteem very highly.'
*' * He is highly deserving of esteem. My
duty requires me to proceed. Have you
considered the numerous ties of man to man,
which necessarily must be observed, or the
world would first become a universal scene of
concision, plunder, and assassination^ and at
)ast a desert?'
" * I am young. Sir.'
*' ' Then, being young, suffer me to call
to your memory facts, that deserNC your se-
rious attention. You desire to be at all times
in perfect safety: you wish to sleep, eat, walk
the streets, and perform every tunctlon of
)ife, transact evei^ af£sur, of business or of
pleasure, in this nid perfect safety — do you
not?'
•' f Certainly, that. Sir, is the desire of
every man.'
'^ ' In this vast, multitudinous, mercantile
city, where such a prodigious exxliange of
pnoney and e/fects is daily taking place, and
so niany hundred tliousanid pounds are trans-
mitted from land to hand by penons intrust-
ed, bv public officei-s, merchants' and bank-
ers' clerks, nay by i>oor and conunon poi^
ters, it being not possible for the owners
tJicinselves to do all tliis, what safety, what
general sense of repose can there be, for this
Ketero^nepus swarming multitude, but that
one thmff, on which we all depend, you, I,
fwr friends, our wives, our obildren, what but
honesty? Sir, the discovery oif a dbfaonest
«wois»pul;^misl6r(un^i fir tbe tendency
oC his actions if a tendency to aaaidiy and
destruction.'
'''This is very true. Sir.'
/' ' But not to the purpose, you think
With reelect to the mooey you offer to pay,
I am not authorized to receive it: you aod'l
have had no dealings together, I have gives
you no value, and you, a thoughtiees ^pnag
man, ire not aware of the re^onsibuity i
such transactions.'
" • I am sorry. Sir, ior nay nustakc'
'' * And I shall be sorry, it what Ihavesaid
should be productive of no good, but ratber
excite anger in you than senous refiectioa.'
" Here our convereation ended, and I en-
deavoured to k>^ unabashed, bQtdni)'3df
erect, and appear a person of no less cook*
quence than himself: but. Dignity reftised
her aid ; I was conscbus of not bemg one of
her sincere friends ; I therefore sumrnooni
Assurance, and even ^e came reloctanllT,
sneaking as it were at my heels, and hatf-
hiding. However, a fonnal bow, and jour
servant. Sir, finished the interview.*
In the conduct of Bryan Perdue, after
the chagrin, disappointment, and faumi-
liation he had sunered from this imer-
view, Mr. Holcroft has given a caunedf
stroke of character, amd displayed ooiq-
perficial knowledge of the human heart.
Bryan Perdue returns, slowly and rumi-
nating, again to find Frederic Vanghan,
but he had gone out — perhaps to an»I
him. Before his viiother he dared not
recur to the subject of money, hut loitered
in the parlour till ^ was ashamed, be-
cause he felt he was troublesome, in tlie
hope again to see Henrietta. He httered
in vain, and at last took his leave : saon*
tering home with a dejection of spiriti,
hitherto unknown to him, a distributor
pats the bill of a fortune-teller into hii
hands: uMthout the slightest credulity io
such impostors, he r.epairs to him xoasAf
to divert his thoughts. Thence he wao-
ders to a cofiee-house which vai fie*
quented by his friend Henry Fairman : ha
was not there : business was orer ! Brpo
would have gone home, but he bad not
the power — he had no disposition to read
or study, and he could think of noresoorcs
but tBat which never billed, the billiard-
table. Witli the two hundred and %
pounds in his pocket he is Jed thither, oot
merely from habit, but with a hope to
shake off the discontent which hw^
heavily on his mind, and came away, hav-
ing lost every farthing ! In one stroke oi
the pencil tlie character of Bryan Perdcs
is her^ drawn, and a warning given agaiii!>t
having recourse to the indulgence ofz
vicious propensity as an opiate for m*
mentary wretqb«dnes9»
BOLCROFT^S ttEMOIBS OP BBTAK PSROC£.
ei9
To rdtnrn to the story : Bryan Perdue
1108 on in a course of extravs^ance and Jd-
MitioosDess^ writs are issued out against
lim for debt, and he is taken into custody,
[a a very few days, however, a tempta-
don presents itself which he cannot resist
for effecting his liberation. His friend
md patron Mr. Saville had retired to the
continent; and inconsequence of some
iqspicion of Hazard*s integrity as well as
prodence, he was in the habit of sending
over all money-bills addressed to Bryan
Perdue, who took memorandums of their
amount, and then gave them to Hazard
and entered them in the books. Whilst
is coo^nement, be receives among other
bills one for five hundred pounds, drawn
by a foreign merchant on a house in
London, with the endorsement of Mr.
Saville. Biyan appropriates this bill, en-
dorses it himself, puts it into circulation,
aDd obtains his freedom. Shrinking, how*
ever, at the consequences of this forgery,
and perhaps at the ingratitude of his con-
dact, he immediately writes an account of
what he had dome to Mr. Saville, and ac-
knowledges himself debtor for the sum.
The forgery is soon detected, and in short
Bryan Perdue takes his trial for the of-
fence : by tome flaw the jury are directed
to acquit the prisoner ; and Bryan, who
with all his vicious propensities and ha-
bits had never been a radically bad man, is
now restored to society, purified by ad-
versity of all his immoralities.
Unable to hold up his head, a wretched
object for Scorn to point his finger at, he
retires to a convent in France, but the
indolence and depravity of the monks
soon disgust him with their society, and
through the influence of his ftlend Henry
Fairman lie is sent to the superintendance
of a plantation in one of the West India
islands. Here he remains beloved and
' lespected by every one, marries an anai-
, able woman, and is the father of a flou«
lisbing and happy family.
The specific purpose of this novel is to
idoce '* all humane and thinking men,
mob as legislators ought to be and often
to consider the general and the ad-
rentitious value of human life, and the
tendency of our penal laws 5'* we
St that this consideration is never ab-
;nt firom the mind of a legislator; nor is
possible that he should not contemplate
!)c existent of a case where capital pu-
shmcnt is inflicted on an individual.
whose life, if it had been preserved, im§^
have been honourable to himself, and be*
neficial to society. Such cases must oc**
cur $ and even supposing them to occur
but rarelyi we are much disposed to ac«
cord with Mr. Holcroft, in drawing the
inference that capital punishments are
therefore inconsstent with policy and hu«
manity. The most depraved and harden-
ed reprobate, the most ferocious monster^
may surely be so employed as to yield
some indemnification to society for the
injury it may have suffered from his out-
rages, and perhaps be so employed as ta
ei^orce reflection on the culprit's mind,
and convert the abandoned sinner mto a
contrite penitent.
We have said that the prominent fault
of this work is a lack of interest : the in-
terest, however, rises as we proceed, aud
as the flippancy which prevails in the first
volume is laid aside. Bryan Perdue gives
a faithful confession of his oflisnces ; but
his confessions are not accompanied with
the tone and language of remorse 3 he ge-
nerally lightens his delinquency — ^and in
re?il life which of us does not ? — ^by the re-
lation of some exculpatory circumstances,
calculated to excite commiseration, and
which rendered him at the moment peca-
liarly susceptible of seduction.
On the whole we are far from thinking
meanly of this novel, though we are per-
suaded that a much greater effect might
have been produced out of the materials :
let the gamester go to Covent-garden and
see Kemble and Mrs. Siddous in the cha-
racters of Mr. and Mrs. Beverley j if he
does not shudder at the scene, and feel all
the anguish of remorse and apprehension,
he may read the noemoirs of Bryan Perdue
Mirith perfect composure.
Mr. Holcroft is too familiar with the
public, and it is very true that fiimiliarity
breeds contempt: be has been so often
before us in the different characters of a
traveller, a dramatist, a novelist, a transla-
tor, &c. that he feels no sort of diffi-
dence or reserve. This levity of style,
this imreined prate, is indecorous: we
were oflcnded witli it in perusing* his tra*
vels through France-; and though there is
less of it here, tliere is too much to be
passed over without censure. Mr. HoK
croft has studied the human character,
and it is his own fault if he does not rank
among ihe best of our novel-writers.
Art. W.^Fleetwoodf or the Nca> Man qf Feeling : by W. Godwin. 3 vob. 8vo.
Ma. GODWIN'S nevels are the re* verse of trivial ; liis iucidenu, his diarac-
^99
NOVELS.
ten, ftre tinoommon : he often sacrifices
probability to originality ; and takes care
to be new at the risk of being natural.
• This secures attention but not interest;
the pleasures of surprise can be enjoyed
bat once: a second perusal of what i^
morally marvellous^ neither excites illu-
sion nor sympathy. Yet the beauties of
detail are frequent, great, and striking :
an eloquence of expression, an energy of
intellect, often arouse and stimulate the
reader who would feef it ungrateful, if
not insincere, to withhold high commen-
dation.
Fleetwood is not, we think, the best of
these novels : the first volume is less pre-
possessing than the first Volume of Caleb
Williams, or the first volume of Saint
Leon y but in this instance, though not in
the two former, the story acquires im-
portance in its progress, and the compo-
sition continually improves.
Fleetwoocrs education at Oxford has
little to do with the formation of his cha-
racter. ITie epi.sode of Withers is grossly
improbable : that a mere puppet should
be so manufactured by students as to pass
for the master of a college ; that a ven-
triloquist should so supply it with voice as
to make a young man believe he is for-
mally rusticated > and that, after the de-
tection of the trick, this mimic censnre
should appear so mortifying that the cul-
prit drowusi himself in the Isis ^ is utter
extravagance.
The story of ftuffigny is better; but
the grand portion of the book is the jea-
lousy of the married Fleetwood, which is
painted in traits wortliy of a great dra-
matist
Mr. Godwin wfll no doubt some dsnr
revise his novels for collective poidica-
tion : he should omit much, and coii£ae
himself to those sweeps of narration whidi
serve to prepare aiKi tirame the main cata-
strophe. Every needless character, ererj
episodical adventure, is a blemish. A
constant bearing down on the one great
purpose is the most essential condition of
excellence in art. To this wholeness, to
this unity of design, every subordinate
consideration should be sacrificed. Othello
and Macbeth are therefore the best plays
of Sliaks|)eare, because of their entirejt».>
of plan. Fleetwood might easily be ;ibrlilg-
ed into a complete novel : we are not, like
the antients, condemned to abide by oar
first editions : the
" Delere licebit
Quod non ediclcris : nescit vox misau reverti,'
is not true of modem publication.
AftT. in. — Herman and Dorothea
a Tale. Translated from tlie German of Goethe,
12mo. pp. 142.
ONE sonrce of pleasure in the perusal
ef weeks of art consists in comparing the
peculiarities of dilierent ages and nations ;
aiKl in observing the variety of form and
fashion, the distinct costume and drapery
of idea, which diversify, in the several
languages, a repeated imitation of the
phenomena of human native. As the
vulgar in a sea-port, when they see a fo-
reigner laud, burst out a laughing at the
odd cut of his clothes, and tl^ quaint ar-
ticulation of his brogue ^ so some critics
revile every thing foreign, as if it were
therefore ridiculous and tasteless, and
point at nationalities of manner as vulga-
rity. This is especially the case with those
whose comparison of art is narrow and
confined ^ whose range of reading never
extended beyond their school-books, and
their patrial literature; and who think
that timst b^' absurd for which there i« no
precedent »nong domestic writers. The
French carry still further than ourselves
this narrow bigotry ef taste; and can to-
lerate no attempts at poetry which are not
cnstin the patent moulds of their Racines
and Boi leans, no prose which varies
much irum that of Fenelon and Voltaire.
Those who have read the Odyssey aod
Theocritus, must be aware 4iat the Greeb
have applied the picturesque circamstaa-
tiality of the Homeric style, to the de*
scription of the real manners of middle
and low life ; and that this method of d^
lineation produces a far greater and more
satisfiu:tory ei^ect than the finical embel*
lishment of tlie same manners attetnptd
by the genteel muse of Virgil. Homers
bucolic passages describe peasantry as tixj
wert, and acquaint us w ith their usages
their arts, their mode of life, their degtw
of civilization. It is the same with Tbeo*
critus, who ^-as formed by the studj'dj
the Odyssey. But Virgil's bucolic pa^i
sages describe peasantry as they never as
have been ; and, by an inconsistent un-
natural mixture of elegant sentiment and
rustic occupations, give us the idea of a
gentleman-^rmer tossing about his di»g
in white gloves, and pcrfiunii^ his mi&
with orange-flower water lest it shouJd
taste of the turnip. During the old coort
of France, the royal fiimily, tired of cti
quette, would occasionally retire into '""
gaurdeos of Trianon, and there act
herds and tbepherdesses, millers
eOBTHe^S HERMAN AND DOBOTHEA.
651
ikers. Of sn^h an Arcadia, the eclogues
Virgil contain a probable description.
Herman and Dorothea is not, like the
storals of Pope, an imitation of Virgi-
m art, but of Homeric nature : it must
classed with the etFort5 of Theocritus,
A surpasses them as much as an entire
ly surpasses a single scene. Here every
?»oription is copied from extant living
uineri^ with a likeness and a complete-
ss for which die remotest posterity will
grate/Ill ; and which may be compared,
r truth of nature and fidelity of deli-
ation, with those paintings of the Flem-
i school, in which Ostide and Teniers
re perix»taaied the Dutch fairs and
rern-carousals of their time. Poj^e,
c Watteau, habits his milk- maids in
op-petticoats ; Goethe, like Rembrandt,
^es even his heroes in the garb of
gy life. In the English idyls of Southey,
»firobable, the natural, the real, is ot'teu
pjcted wlih simple exactness and select
■city: he may use nqna finta where
jff-colour would be preferable, but his
Utbod of sketching more resembles that
Goetlie than any other English artistes.
may be critical heterodoxy, as yet, to
litre eitlier; but we prefer their ec-
;oes far to those of Philips, of PoT)e,
I even of G^y. Goethe has, in his
n country, a competitor, and we tbink
Oipasscr^ in this plan of composition j
ws, the author of Luise.
Ilr. Holcroft some time ago undertook
pSttislation of Herman and Dorothea in
Ml verse : it was not close enoiigh, and
Inelegant enough, to render a new style of
sitioQ characteristically and attrac-
Tbe same task has here been under-
pin prose with severer fidelity, but with
ot feebleness. The abrupt beginning
iiresquc description of the original
l\y excites curiosity : here an inlro-
Wo is prefixed, beginning, like a fairy
&f Perrault's, with a '* there lived a
Hby couple,*' every part of which in-
tion b shortly after retold by im-
The beginning of tlie poet
attention necessary ; die begin-
J.of the translator intercepts all occa-
ffar it, and of course defers the in-
, beside compelling the subsequent
on of the Homeric close. It was
Jl so completely to spoil a first page :
! second line of the original, '* the
looks swept, dead ; not fifty of all
!'1iiliabitaQts are left:" the translator
irts a " methinks," as if that was
btfiil which a man sees, as if the hy-
bole of agitated impression ought to be
etied down by qualifying eiLpressigns.
This habitual loss of minute besnlies
makes in the course of a rhapsody a great
deduction.
The third chapter is a good prctuie of
the progress of subordinate luxury in
Germany.
" After the respectful son had retired, and
his motiier had wiped away the tear that stole
down her cheek, that she might not re])roac-ji
the httsbaiid she lo\ ed ; tho host, addiiessiiig
himself to his guests, continued thus to cx-
. press his dissatisfaction, but vnih less violence.
' It is in vain,' said he, ' to attempt to make
a man that which he is not ; and i dare not
fiatter myself tliat our sou will be more tliao
merely satislied with being ecjiial to his father^
or will endeavour to surpass him. Tfais,
iiom his birth, has been my firm and ardeut
hope : for we should never liuve arrived at
cinlization, if every man had trod in tlie
steps of his predecessor: and the propress of
the arts and sciences, under such limitatiout,
would Jiavc been tardy. If we had rebuUe
our cities and houses, from agu to age, iu the
grotesque taste and iuconveniept manner in
which they liad been tiist trecled, we sbo^ild
be now in a state little short of barbarism.
You may judge of a man's undei-standinf
when you enter his house ; as you may form
an opinion of its magistrates when you come
into a c'rty. If the walls are tottering, the
streets diity, tlie stones joose, and the houses
untiled, you may be sure it is ill governed.
When the city magihtrates do not uispect the
general habits' of ckmuliness, the citizens de-
generate into the most disgusting negligence ;
and this gradually becomes a hxed and in-
curable disease. I, therefore, am desht>us
that Herman should travel without delav;
and vmi at least Strasbun^, Frank&)rt, and the
agreeable Manheim. For the man, who has
seen large and well-regulated cities, will spans
no pains to embellish and improve his native
town, however small it may be. Are not our
newly-repaired gates, our tower which we
have whitened, and our church tkat looks as
if it were built but yestcrdny, tlie adniiration
of every stranger wlio beholds them ? Does
he not praise our well-paved streets, and our
aqueducts, which are so admirably contrived
for the giMieral safety, in case of fire ? All
this has been done since the great confiagra-
tion. I have been chosen, six times, inspect-
or of the public buildings, in our council ;
and, by my exertions in completing the use-
fid works which had been undertaken by
worthy patriots and left untinished, as well as
beginning others on my own plans, 1 liave
justly obtained the esteem and gratitude of
my tellow-citizens. My example excited the
emftlation of the uther-^nembers of the coun-
cil; and now evei^ one takes a pride and
pleasure in inakmg improvements in the town:
and the newrpavcd broad-way, which leads
to the high road, is nearly finished. But I
fear our young men will not employ their
talents so beneficially ; for ,some appear to
hav;e np other coucem than that of aaorning
652
NOVELS.
fhcir persons, and cajoling the ladies ; while
others vegetate in their houses, plodding over
mean occupations ; and I fear fleiman will be
of tiiis cia^.'
" * Dear husband,' interrupted the mother,
anxious to defend her son, ' indeed you are
unjust to the poor youth, and too often re-
Eove him. This is not the way to make
m wliat yon wish him to be. We cannot
exact that our children should in every respect
answer our expectations: we must accej^t
and love them such as they are ; it b our
duty to give them a good education, and di-
rect their talents to the benefit of society ;
but we have no right to force their Jnclina-
tions. Some have one talent, some another ;
each is useful in its way, and makes its pos-
tessor happy. I cannot hear our Herman
iindervalueil, and be silent : I know he is
trorthy of the fortune which he will inherit:
ht is active and inde&tigabie in the regula-
tion of the affairs intrusted to his care ; his
conduct is in every respect a model to our
joung citizens ; and I feel certain that be will
aot sit the lowest in the council : but, if the
poor boy is continually reproved and morti-
Aed, he will kise all courage and emulation.'
M ith these words she left tne room, and went
ID search of Herman, that she might console
and restore him to cheerfelness ; and this ex-
cellent son well deserved to be consoled.
" When she Wte gone, the host, turning to
kis guests, good-hiunouredly said, ' Wives
and children are unmanageable be'mgs : they
will have their own way ; and always expect
to be indulged and flattered. Once for all, I
maintain trait he who does not advance goes
Lack.'
** * I am of your opinion, my worthy netsb-
hcmis answered the apothecary, with thou^t-*
ftil gravity ; * and I am continually looung
lound me to seek for what may unprove the
«omforts of life, provided these unprovements
are not expensive. But if the man who wishes
to embelli^ his house, both withm and with-
out, has a small income, the greatest activity
and zeal are insufficient. The middle class,
we must ' acknowledge, in, general are not
* rich: 'they see the jumcious improvements of
their neighbours, who have the power to
make them. The «cpence is greater than
others can afford ; and they are every mo-
ment stopped, and disappointed in the execu-
tion of their plans ana pioceedings. What
would not I have done? Diit who is not afraid
to enter into great expence, in these dear and
dangerous times ? I would long ago have given
my nouse a modem and smiling appearance ;
the glass panes of the casements snould have
been large and handsome : but where is the
man that can follow the improvements of the
wealthy tirader, who can procure the best of
every thing at |>rime cost ? Look at the house
over the way, it has the appearance of being
new. The' white stucco is beautifiilly re*
lievcd by the green w'mdow-pannels; an^ the
large crystal panes, which they enclose, give
it a cheerful q>lendor. All the other bowes
are thrown in the shade; yet, soon after the
fire, my shcm of the Aneel, sid the hotel of
the Golden Xion, were the handsomest in the
market-place. My garden too was ^mous
through the country ; and every passenger
stopped to peep over the red pahsadoes at
the statues of the beggar, in stone, and the
dwarf ^in a yellow coat. Every body who
took cofiee with me in the superb grotto,
which I own is now aSnaost in ruins, psaiied
the symmetry of the workmanship, amd the
beautiful contrast of the shells; and the coo-
ncMsseur escamined the various fosals, acdco>
rals, with admiration. The paintings of the
saloon, in which ladies and gentlenoen weie
seen walking f\ill dressed in a garden, me-
renting nosegays with the delicate tips of tndr
finsers, were no iem admired. But who, ncir-
ar<iays, would condescend to ooce glance it
these ornaments? I, for my part, am vescd
at my inability to follow tne present tafrti^
and seldom go into my garden ; for its deo)-
rations are out of date. The paOsadoes, aid
garden chairs, must now either be winte cr
green; every thing must be plain and neat:
carving and gildin? are prohibited. Tour
fiimiture must be light and elegant, and it
rises in price as it risesin elegance. I wonk^
like my neighbours, if I could afford %
gladly make alteradons, follow the frshiDi^
and renew my furniture from time to tee:
but a man is afraid now to move the least oat
of his usual track ; the wages of labour are
now too heavy to pay. I nave long wished
to have the aneel Michael, and the torible
dragon th it rolls under hb feet, whidb voe
know is the sign of my shop, fresh g3t; W
the expence was so great that I thought il
prudent to leave them as the j x " ^
We much vpish that an artist-iransb&i
had undertaken this volume, and had ^vca
in the bexametrical versification of tk
original, a faithful copy of all its pecoSi-
lities. Tlie didactic passages are fullcf
good sense and of natnrai morality j the
manners and customs are painted with
liveliness and nationality : there is rooA
dramatic management, nrachhiunoar,aBi
much feeling, displayed : it is some sochi
poem as the Vicar of Wakefield woold
be in verse, a drawing from natiune, aad
resembling nature, it is one of those
books which, if a man does not like, he
should learn to like. They have maik
some progress in taste, who enjoy Her-
man and Dorothea : they take their ovn
leeling, not the opinion of the aiakkodcj
for their guide.
OPlB*S ADBtnffS MOWBRAY.
95%
ibiT. TV.-^Addine Mcfwhray; or the Mother md Ikmghier : a Tak*
Bjf Mrs, Opie. 8vo. •
In Three Fohanes*
NOVELS in forroer days were nothing
but love stori^, or works fMrofessing, often
indeed ^sely enough, to exhibit pictures
of real life and manners. The import-
aoce that they have lately been allowed to
usurp in the republic of letters, is at once
a curious and an alarming symptom of the
frivolity of the age. There was a time
when a person wishing to inform himself
hi the higher branches of literature or
^Uosophy, would have been obliged to
undergo the labour of perusing dry crab-
bed treatises, written professedly on seri-
ous and important subjects. Now, happy
revolution! he may luxuriantly imbibe,
in the tempting form of a novel, the beau-
ties of history embellished with all the
eloquence of iicticm, encumbered by no
dates, and perplexed with no documents.
Through tlie same medium he may see
Ae happy eftects of a new scheme of edu-
cation, illustrated by the example of chil-
dren who were never born ; or the ad-
•vantages of a new system of morals dis-
played, or its e\'il consequences exposed,
oa die unexceptionable authority of charac-
ters diat have never existed. The work
before us undertakes to shew, from the
eiample of miss Adeline Mowbruy, that
a young lady who venmres to ridicule and
condemn the marriage-tie, will expose
herself to insult) that if she consents,
though from tlie purest motives imagin-
able, to live with a man as his mistress,
•he will assuredly be driven out of decent
company j that her children, being illegi-
timate, will be destitute of the right of
inheritance, and subject to a thousand af-
fronts ; and that she cannot do better, if
deprived of her lover by death, tlian to ac-
cept the first legal protector that offers.
Rom the adventures of the mother is
taught, the folly of neglecting all the du-
ties of life for the study of metaphysics
and politics ; the ill consequences attend-
ant on a complete ignorance of the world
|o the mother of a grown up daughter j
and the madness of a rich widow's tailing
in bve with and marrying a profligate
yonng Irishman overwhelmed with debt,
Aomwhom she forgets to demand a settle-
ment. It must be confessed that these
great truths are sufficiently familiar j and
in spite of the rage for experiment in
moral conduct, which some years ago pre-* ,
vailed to a considerable extent, we hope
there are few ladies " so to seek in vir-
tue's lore," as to be inclined to put in
practice the extravagances of poor Ade-
line. As for the faults and follies of her
mother, we fear the causes of most of
them are too deeply wrought into the
constitution of the human race, to be
removed by the united eloquence of all
the moralists, novelists, and divines, wha
have ever written, preached, or taught.
1£, therefore, it was Mrs. Opie's wish, by
tlie present work, to establish her name
among the great guides of female conduct
and promoters of practical wisdom, she-
has assuredly failed'of her object -, but if
she has adopted the vehicle of system onljr
for the sake of placing interesting charac-
ters in new and striking situations, con-
tenting herself with the more appropriate
task of amusing the fancy and touching
the heart, she may certainly lay claim to
a pretty large portion of applause. In
drawing characters indeed we do not think
she has been very successful, for both Ade-
line and her mother appear to us consider-
ably out of nature ; but there are situa-
tions and incidents of great effect. Glen-
murray, the hero, is a most interesting '
beings and several well- imagined circum-
stances serve to set in a strong light the
native benevolence and sensibility of his
mind, triumphing first over the stoical
pride of system, and afterwards over the
fretful selfishness produced by lengthened
sickness, "^he account of Adeline's .meet-
ing with the illegitimate chUd at Rich-
mond is natural and striking, and the
speech of the quaker over the body of the
misguided Glenmurray is quite in cha-
racter. Tliere are other passages of con-
siderable merit interspersed throughout,
and -some of deep pathos 3 but we sholild
have been better pleased if the tale had-
ended with the death of the hero, before
the odious Berrendale had appeared to put "
us out of love with husbands. .
Art. y.^-Tke Ufe of a Lover, in a Series of Letters. By Sophia Lee. 6 vols. 12mo.
ENGLISH novels of respecUbility aze
tisoally advantageously distinguished from
those of a neighbouring country, by the
chaste and innocent nature of ihe passion
vtuchjt ji their chief business to display.
Tins passion is indeed frequently painted
in colours somewhat warm : it is repre-
sented as inevitable, invincible, and form-
ing not only the dearest cliarm, but the
grand busihess of life. Whiiit no \eg9X .
to4
NOVELS.
impediment) however^ is supposed to ex'wt
to the union of the parties, it is only in
degree, not in kind, tUiit such rt?preseuta«
tions can be deemed improper} for an
affection which, righUy placed and favour-
ed by circumstances, has conducted thou-
sands to happiness the ma^t pure and ex-
alted, can have notliing in its nature es-
sentially vicious. It is therefore with
great concern that we observe the name
of a lady, well known in the literary
world, appended to a tale, tlie theme of
which is the loves of a virtuous young
Jady, and a married man.
The interesting Cecilia only once meets
at a theatre, and exchanges a few words
with, the handsome lord Westbury, under
^e mistaken idea of his being a bachelor :
yet, by this one interview, the foundation
is l^id of an attachment which, neither
reason, prudence, nor duty, have power to
overcome. She refuses, but pardons, dis-
honourable offers from tlie man of her
heart; and they mutually enter into pro-
mises of marriage in tlie event of the death
of lady Westbury, who, though faithful
to her husband, had caused and justified
his alienation of affection, by her vanity,
lc?ity, selfishness and extravagance. When
her death happens, however, his lordship,
Mte^Y vaspccting the virtue of Cecilia,
abandons her ; and, in a fit of despaur, she
consents to become the wife, or rather
Horse, of a sickly veteran. She soon be-
txmies a widow, of course -, an explanation
ensues of course, and of course too, a
marriage is the consequence. With these
nuptials tlie novel ought naturally to have
ended ; but two or three volumes still re-
main behind, occupied chiefly with tlie
intrigues — some not very decorous to re-
late— of a proffigate woman, and the ar-
tifices of a de^igning man, by whose ma-
chinations the happiness of the tender pair
is continually mingled with jealousy and
alarm. The constitution of the heroine
gradually sinks under the effects of per-
turbation and inqoiefude ; and, by aneeii»
less cruelty of the author, her death wraps
in gloom the conclusion of the tale, ic
is difficult to perceive any moral end to
t)G answered, by showing a lovely and
amiable young creature rashly climbing
along the britik of a precipice, and even-.
tually arriving at the summit of fetidly
by a path so dangerous and irregular.
The idea of requiring a novel to be an
ethical treatise illustrated by examples,
may not however pass current with the
younger and gayer part of pur readen,
who will probably be more inclined to
ask, *' is it interesting ?** than, *' is it edify-
ing ?" To such we answer, that part of the
first volume, which feelingly sets forth
the hardships and insults endured^ and tl»
dangers incurred, by a beautiful and wcU-
educated young female, uii fortunately
doomed to a dependant situation, power-
fully excited our sympatliy -, that some of
the subsequent scenes of tenderness are
. not destitute of pathos ^ that original and
judicious reflections are sometimes inter-
spersed ; but that the incidents are fre-
quently improbable, and still more cxm-
fiised than in our author's comedy, *' the
Chapter of Accidents ;" that the stony it
tediously told in letters; and that tl»
style, evidently borrowed from Richard-
son, is often quaint, and never graceful;
that the character of the hero exbibits a
strange mixture of the Lovelace and the
Grandison, and that the attempts at hu-
mour are little successful. Finally, -wt
cannot in conscience advise any of onr
gentle readers to proceed ^ther in their
perusal than the death of the first Wy
Westbury ; after which they may > In thdr
own minds, bring the lovers together in a
much more simple, concise, and sadsfiR>
tory manner, than has seemed good to
miss Sophia Lee, whose fancy seems to
have been not a little captivated by Urn
imposing majesty of '* a novel in six
volumes."
Ab.t. VL — ^77ier Mysterious Freebooter : a
Mat and Manner
THE author of Men and Manners is
Qo inferior novellist : nothing ought more
to surprise than his unrividled fertility:
lew authors have written so much, who
repeat themselves so little : this is the pri-
vilege of tliose who draw less from pre-
cetient than from imagination, who study
books little and nati:re much.
Of the plan of a romance fall of inci-
dent, it would be laborious to give the
story in epitome ; and would incziease the
Romance, By Francis Lathom, Author ff
's, d^c, 4 vols, 8vo.
reviewer's trouble only to dimipish the
reader's gratification. Suffice it to say,
that terrorism is the dominant impression ;
that this is a production of the Kaidclifie
school, aad perhaps the best domestic imi-
tation which has yet appeared ; and that i^
is full of interest, of invention, mid ot
eloquence.
The part least skilfiilly execnted is the
narrative of Elizabeth de Valois, 'wbich*,
if it do9s Bot coQtain particulars timt ate
BELVILLE HOUSE. ^*
'«oold not know, at least telh thetn as she lation of the whole might as easily, and
. would not relate. Aii useless machine is more neatly, have been accomplished
queen iillizabeth : the involution and evo- without as with her interposition.
Art. VII. — The Duellists ; or Men qf Honour, A Story; calculated to shew the Folhjf
Extravagance y and Sin of Duelling, By William Lucas. iSino. pp. 182.
THE author has our best wishes that eloquent and impressive letter^ in which
his arguments against duelling may operate Julie dissuades St. Preux from a rencontre
efficaciously on those for whose benefit with lord £dward Bomstoii. This is a
they were intended. Mr. Lucas would master-piece— not so the story of ^' th»
iiave done better to have translated the Duellists.'*
Art. VIII. — Canterbury Tales. Vol 5. By Harriet Lee. 8vo^
ON the appearance of a fifth and final sent volume will not be read with less in-
volume, it is rather too late to commence terest than the preceding ones -, ' tlie fertile
the criticism of a work : the public has imagination of the fair author gives no
liad abundant time to appreciate the me- symptom ,of exhaustion : her .pictures, if
rits of miss Lee's Canterbury Tales ; •and not taken from life, are such as life might
the encouragement which has induced her possibly have presented 3 the drawing is
to bring them to a close, testifies that tlie free, and 'the colouring good,
verdict has been in her fevoun The pre-
4M^T. IX. — The Pilgrim of the Cross; or Chronicles of Christahelle de Mofvshray: an an-
cient Legend. By Elizabeth Helme. 13mo. 4 vols.
NOTWITHSTANDING the plentiful hint on this subject before : we now giv«
improbabilities which occur in this novel, her a second and more serious caution, at
R considerable interest is excited, and what we find that she has announced 'for publi*
is more, preserved to the last. The period cation a History, of Scotland designed for
of time in which the events are supposed tiie use of young persons. Mrs. Helm«
to take place is that of tlie holy wars, and probably writes with a very rapid, as she
the scene is laid partly in Palestine, partly certainly does with a vwry careless, pen.
in England. To pourtray the maiipers and It is of the utmost importaoce to correct
the costume of those remote times was a this negligence, if she undertakes to pre*
most hazardous undertaking : great al- pare books for the peiusal of young per-
lowances for this difficulty must be jpade sons.
on the part of the reader. He is not. The Pilgrim of the Cross, like every
called upon, however, to grant a similar other production of this lady, is strictly
indulgence towards the numerous gram- moral: it enforces good precepts \>y ex-
jnatioil inaccuracies which disgrace these ample, punishing profligacy and rewarding
pagies. We have given Mrs. Helme a virtue.
Art. X. — Mental Recreations, Four Danish and German TaHes : cTUitled Henry and
jimcli^ ; The Noble Suitor ; Paladin ; and the Young Dane* By the Author of a Tour
ill Zealand, SfC, l2mo. pp. 138.
TH£ last of the four was the only one we could read without yawnhig.
Art. Xl.Selville House. 2 vols. 12mo. pp. 606.
IP any unlucky wight should, by mis- misfortune in being compelled to read th«
take, take up these volumes and read half whole of them.
M dozen p^ges, he will commiserate our
Arr. XIL— Tifec Adventures qf Cooroo, a Native qf the PeUew Islmds, ByC. D.L.
Lambert. 8vo.
IT would be difficult to guess, and is When captain Wilson quitted the ho^i-
joot worth while to conjecture, why the table territories of Abba Thule, one of hit
bero of this piece is a '* Pellew" (Pelew) crew, named Blanchard, remained behind^
islander ; be niig^t as well have come and from recent accounts we know that
ii-om tJie AUaotic as the Pacific Oc^ao. he perished iu battk. Mr. Lambert finds
956
NOVELS.
it conveoient to suppose fhatj after the
departure of the Oroolang^ Blanchard at-
tached himself to a young man of the
name of Cooroo> who, at the death of his
patron, attaches himself also to another
youth of the name of Bo(^om. Ven-
turing too far at sea, they are tossed about
*' three stormy days and stormy nights $"
and, after a hundred hair*bieadth *capes,
Cooroo is thrown on the coast of Spain.
His simpHcitv and ignonmce expose him
to innumerable disasters; he comes to
England, returns to Spain, is wrecked
jfour or five times, tumbles down stairs
four or five times to the great mirth of
the reader, is seduced into brothels, but
after wardi marries, and without doubt
lived very happily afterwards. There is
some Jo^ hninoar in this novd, which is
an exhilarating change from the nauseous
sentimental slang with which we have
long been disgostnl. Occasional satire on
car manners, and our penal laws» is inter-
fningled with the narrative. We snwect
that, in the character of sur Wanier Wal-
lingham, Mr. Lambert has taken great
Dmedom with some of the peculiarities c(
a re^iectable and well-educated gentle-
niaii,*wko died about a year and a half back
at his seat at Walaingham*4A>bey, tn Nor«
Iblk.
Mr. Hemy Lee Warner, the gentleman
here alllided to, was a very humane and
geoefoua iimd, but of ytry singnkr cha-
racter : night he systematicaUy coiirerteA
into day, atid day into night. He alwajrs
rose in the evening, Ixeakfasted at mid*
night, and dined at five or six in the morn-
ing: he dressed like an English gentleman
of the century before the last; a gpld-
laced coat and waistcoat with deep slash-
worked sleeves, an$i richly embossed bat-
tons } a deep chitteriin of rich yellow lace,
cnrve-toed shoes, and oblong buckles.
The story here related of his having helped
the fellow whom he caught lopping his
tree, to lay the wood on his back, is in all
probability true, as Mr. Warner permitted
the roost impudent and injurious depre-
dations ima^nable of this sort. B^i^ od
a visit in Norfolk about three years s^
we passed by the seat of this gentleman,
and saw timbers stripped of their branches
within two hundred yards of his mansion.
His extensive old woods and young plan*
tatioDs were alike undefended ; and it was
truly melancholy to behold a deivastatiaB
thus detrimental to the conuminity, as wdi
as to the individual, committed ^th im-
nity firom a felse principle of hnmanitj.
as been suted that, by these «iepreda-
tions, Mr. Warner sustained a loss of not
lass than twenty thousand pounds !
Mr. Lambert would have made a mott
interesting character of sir Warner Wal-
singham, if he had drawn a true copy of
the original, from which he took a fev
particular features.
Art. Xllh^-Memom qf M, de Brtnboc : corOaining some Vietos qf EngUth and Fardp
Society, 3 vols. 12nx>.
A SHOT that is fired when the battle
is over is waste of ammunition : the crimes
and tollies which are here satirized have,
in a great measure we trust,^passed away.
History has presented us with revolu-
tiooary characters and incidents more
atrikiqg than any here imaginfwl ; and the
philosoi^iy which assumes the omn^o-
tence of mind over matter, and the per*
fectibility of man, as the basis of its do^
mas, has been often ridiculed with mors
success than in the Memoirs of M.de
firiuboc,
f
( 6S7 y
CHAPTER Xir.
mm
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY,
AND
CRITICISM,
ITHE only introductory observation that the present chapter admits of^ relates to 4
mere matter of arrangement. It has appeared upon the whole to be most convenient
to separate the metaphysical from the theological articles, and to form them inttf
a distinct chapter, together with the most important of tliose which we have been
tocuscnmed to place aipong the miscellanies 5 by which our chapter of confusion will
be diminished without, as we hope, perplexing the reader by adding one more to th«
lubdivisions of the volume*
A«T. L— ^n Essay on the Principles of human Action : being an Argument infiremt ef
the natural Disinterestedness oj the human Mind : to which are added some Remarks aK
the Sifstems qf Hartley and Helvttius, pp. 263,
A PROPENSITY to push inquiry into
Ihe hidden causes of things, and to disco-
rer the most simple forms of being, is ih%
eading characteristic of a philosophical
nind : nor will the most profound learning
irextensive information avail, to confer the
itle of philosopher upon any man, in
rhom this propensity is not found to exist.
t may indeed be acquired by an early
od close applic*ati'on to scientific sub*
6cts in general, more especially to the
avestigation of abstract principles. To
eap any lasting benefit however from
orsuits of this nature, much laborious
nd painful study is necessary. It is qot
rery one who can converse fluently about
luse and effect, matter atid spirit, iden-
ty, the foundation of morals, and so forth,
lat merits the dignified appellation of
bilosopber. On the contrary, the most
iper^cial sciolists, who never arrive at
ly thing like the comprehension of an
Ktzact idea, or generic term, are observ-
I ts be mostiamiliar in their allusions to
lese nd similar questions \ of the im-
irt of which they understand nothing :
id surely of all canting, the cant of such
lilosophy is the most disgusting.
Neither is there any royal road, or
A»N. Rbv. Vol. IV.
secret bye- way, to the knowledge of first
principles. What have the French gained
by attempting to popularize metaphysics?
or what advantage have the youth of this
country derived from reading systems
formed upon the same plan, to the ne*
glecting of Locke, Hartley, Tucker, and
Reid ? What has resulted fi"om this com-
pendious method of studying the most
difficult subjects, but the puerile and
absurd ambition to model governments
and social institutions after schemes which
can only be thought worthy of professors
educated in the academy of Lagado ?
" Here shallow draughts intoxicate the brain.
But drinking deeply sobers us again."
We are not sorry that metaphysics are
becozne unfashionable; that they arer
again accounted a dry study. For we
shall now hope to see the ancient land-
marks restorai, and the line of demarca-
tion strongly drawn, between «uch opi-
nions as are purely speculative, and such
as have a direct influence upon the busi-
ness of real life.
Then may we discuss the nature of
cause aii4 effect, without fear of diaturbii;^
Uu
C5&
METAPHYSICS, PHILOIX)GY, AND CRITICISM.
religious institutions; ^en may we de-
monstrate, that no two cases or situations
are precisely similar, witliout injury to the
useRil practice of connecting past history
and experience. We may then look into
the foundation of moral obligaticTn, and
never dream of encouraging men to vio-
late the sanctity of promise^ or stifle the
natural feelings of gratitude. We may
shew man to be capable of reasoning, and
of yielding oB all occasions to the strong-
est motive, and yet preserve inviolate a
regard to general rules. Finally, we may
then speculate upon the natural disinter-
estedness of the human mind, without
giving countenance to tliose who would
weaken the wholesome restraints which
law has imposed upon human actions.
The publication before us is strictly
metaphysics^, and preserves with great
distinctness the boundaries between spe-
culative truth, and the actuating principles
of conduct. We mean to bestow a con-
siderable degree of attention upon its con-
tents. For, though we may not coincide
in all, or perhaps ui the most important
conclusions, which the author has endea-
rocfred tb substantiate, we are nevertheless
perfectly ready to bear our testimony to
the acuteness, discrimination, and anafy-
Heal talent, which are stamped upon every
page of his work.
The subject is thus introduced.
" It is the design of the following essay to
thei^ that the human mind is naturally disin-
terested, or that it is naturally int4?r<?stcd hi
the welfare of others in the same way, and
from the same direct motives, by which \% e
«re impelled to the pursuit of our own in-
terest.'^
This is attempted by proving, first, that
nil voluntary' action must have for its ob-
ject something future; secondly, that
whatever relates to the future can influ-
ence tlie mind only by means of the ima-
gination ; thirdly, that we can have no di-
rect or selfish interest in what impresjses us
«n]y through the imagination; fourthly,
that the good of others affects us through
the same medium as our own future
^ good ; and fifthly, as « necessary conse-
quence from the tbregoing premises, tlKit
the good of others ^nd our own fliture
good naturally effect us in the same man^
lien This appears to be the full extent of
the argument, which is conducted with
unusual subtlety, and is stated in a variety
6^ ways, according to the diflerent views
that may be taken of the snbject.
" All voluntary action," obspr\'cs this t?v
soner, *' that is, all action procewiiii)!; from a
will or eflbrt of the mind to prwluct' a certara
event, must relate to the future, or to those
things the existence of which is prohleiratica!,
tJiKlftcmiined, and therefore capable ui beinj
atfected by the means ma<le use of with a view
to their production, or tne coutrary.-' (!ut
that which is futuie, which docs not )'et ex'<l,
"can excite no interest in itself, nor act upoa
the mirKl in any way but by means of the m-
gination. The direct prtmar)- motive or im-
pulse which detemiinfei the niind to the Tofr
lion of any thing, must therefore m all cases
depend on the idea of that thing as coo(ti\al
by the iinagiBation, and on tJie icieasoMy;
for the thing itsfelf is a non-entity. Bytke
very act of its being willed, it is supposeii oot
to exist : it neither is any tiling, nor cm be
the cause of any thing. We are new iale-
rested in the things themselves which are the
real, ultimate, practical objects of ttylitioB:
the feelings of desire, aversion, &c. conwtM
with voluntary action are always exdted bj
tin? ideas of "those things before they exit
llie tme impulse tp voluntary acticm ca
only exist in the raind of a being capable of
foreseeing the consequences of thmps, g(
being in(erested in them from the imaginaiT
impression they make upon his mind, aad of
making choice of the means necessary topn»-
duce or prevent what he desires of «if«k
This distinction must be absolnte anHuuiw-
sally applicable, if it is so M all. The moiiva
by Vliuh I am impelled to the pursuit of m
own welfare, can iw more be ihcresoltdr
direct impression of the thine which is ihcob*
j«x't of desire or aversion, of any positiTfOT*
muntcation between my present and fsil'it
feelings, or of a sort of fiy|)ostatical union b^
tweon the intenst of tlie'being acting andti*
bHiig acted upon, than the moti\'e« by wfe-li
1 am Intercast ed in the welfare of otlimra
he so. It is true I have a real posiiitf ial^
re>t in my actual fei-Hngs «hich 1 bavfuotii
tho-te of others: but actual pleasure arid pa
are not the objects of voluntary action. Il
can be to no purpose, it is downright nofr-
sense, to will that which actually exi>t?,viiii I
is impressed on my senses to exist, or not »
exist (can any tiling which does not exist ia-
press the senses ?),*since it wiU exist neilirr
more nor less for mv willing it, ornotwiffiBf
it. Our shrinking from that which gives ^
pain could not in any reelect be coQ<idcic^
as an act of volition or reason, if wedidirt
know tliat the same object which gi^^o
pain will continue to -give us paiii while we R*-
main in contact whh it. The mere med*
nical movement, which generally accompa-
nies much pain, does not appear to me tolait
any thing more to 6o with setf-love, profxilT
so called, than the convulsive motiom or^
tortions of the muscles caused by bodih- pM.
In other words, the ot^ect of volition is neffl
the cause of volition. The motive or hitfnnl
impression unpellbg me to the pursuit ofanf
object, is by the supposition wccmfi^
E98AT OM THft PHIHCIPLBS OF BUM AK ACTIOK.
Ivlth aiiy such iotenst as l^cloiigs to the actual
eiijoyiiieiit of any go.>d, or to tTie idea ofpos*
$es9iott. The real object of any particular vo-
lition is always a niero physical consetjucnce
of that volition, siuce it is willed for that very
r£«^n that otherwise it would not exist at ail^
and since the eliect which the mind desires to
produce by anv vohintary action must be
subsequent to tiiat action." It cannot there-
for© exert any power over my present voli-
tioDs and actions, ludess we suppo^e it to act
bc.ore it exists, which is absurd ; for there is
i.o faculty in the mind by wliich future un-
pros.sions'cau excite m it a presentiment of
them&iilves, in the same way tnat past mipros-
sious act upon it by means of memory, when
we say thai fiiture'objects act upon the mind
bv means of the imagination, it is not meant
tltat such objects exercise a real power over
tiie iniaginatiun, but merely that it is by means
o! thin iacuUy that we can foresee the probable
or neces' ary coiiiequences of tilings, and are
intcrebted in them.
Then follow a few reniarks not essential
to tJ)e argument^ which however is soon
resiuned thus :
" Tlie reality of my future interest in any
pbject caiuiot give me a real mterest^in tiiat
object at present, unless it could be shewn
that ill coiis 4«.ience of my \wii% the same in-
di\idnal 1 have a necessary sympathy with
my future sensations of pleasure or ua'ln, by
vhich means titey produce in uu* toe same
fiieclianU al impulses as if their objects were
rea«i\ pre^fnt. 1 he puncture of a pin, caus-
ing au jiTitation in the extremity of one of tite
lierves, is sensibly felt along the whole extent
lof tliat nerve; a \ioient pain in any of tlie
iunb^i disorders tiie whole frame; I feel at the
same moment the ininressious made on oppo-
she parts of my boiv : tlie same conscious
principle pervades every part of me; it is in
my hands, my feet, my eyes, my ears, at the
«me time, or at any rate is immediately af-
^ted by v^hatever is impressed on all these >;
}t IS not continetl to this or that organ for a
4Krta''ii time ; it lias an equal interest in the
^JiAle sentient system ; nothing that passes
HI any part of it can be indiD'erent to me.
lierc we have a distinct idea of a real indi-
viduality of person, and a conseuuent identity
ot interests. Till some such ailliisive ^on-
tcious principle can be shewn to exist, pro-
ducing a real connexion between my future
sensations and present impulses, collecting
,and ucitiiig the dillerent successive moments
of my being in one general rejjreseptative
feeling of self-interest, as the impressions
made on different parts of my body ace all
ixmveyed to one common principle ot thought,
it is ill vain to tell me tK^t I have the same in*
tecest in my future sensations as if they were
Eesent, because I am the same individual.
owever nearly allied, however similar I may
be to my future self, whatever other relation
I may bear to that self, %q )ong as there is an
6&9
absolute separation, an insurmountable bar-
rier fixed between the present and the future*
so that I neither am, nor can possibly be, af-
fi»cted at present by what I am to feel here-
after, I am not to any moral or practical pur-
-pose the same being. Natural mipossibihticf
cannot be made to give way to a mere cour-
tesy of expression. * But I know that I shall
become that being.' Then my interest in it
is founded on that knowledge, and not on an
event which not only Is not telt by my mind, ,
but is itsell yet to come, viz. tlie'transition of'
my present fnto my future being. How does
it signify to me what I shall henafter feel, or
how can it influence my present conduct, or
how ought to do so, but because, and in as
far as, 1 have some idea of it beforehand ? 1 he
injury that I may do to my future interes^will
not certainly, by any kincf of re-a.tion, return
to punish me for my neglect of my own hap-
piness. In this sense I am always free from
the consequences of my actions. The interests
of the being who acts, and of the being who
sufiers are never one : they are not swayed
by the influwnce of the same causes, either di-
rectly, or by mechanical sympathy; the
good whivh is the object of pursuit can never
co-exist with the motives which make it an ob-
ject of pursuit. '1 he good which any being
pursues is always at a distance from him.
rl is wishes, his exertions, are always excited
by ' an airy, notional good,* by the idea ot*
good, not the reality. But for this there
4ould be no desure, no pursuit of any thfug.
****** My real interest is not there-
fore something which I can handle, which is
to be felt, or seen ; it is not lodged in the or-
gans of hearing, or taste, or smell, it is not
the subject of any of the senses, it is not |i|
any respect what is commonly understood
by a real substantial interest. On the con-
trary, it is fundamentally, and in its origin,
and by its very nature, the creatuce of re-
flection and imagination ; and whatever caa
be made tlie subject of these, whether relat-
ing to ourselves or others, may also be the
object of an interest powerful enough to be-
come the motive of volition and action. If
it should be asked then, what ditference it
can make to me whether I pursue my own
welfare, or entirely neglect it, what reason I
can have to be at all interested in it ? I an*
swer tliat, according to the selfish hypothesis,
I do not see any. nut if we admit that ther«i
is something in the very idea of good or evil,
which naturally excites desire or aversion,
which is in itself the proper motive of action, *
which impels the mind to pursue the one and
to avoid me other, by a true moral necessity ;
then it cannot be indiQerent to me whether I
believe that any being will be made happy or
miserable in conlemience of my actions, whe-
ther this be myserf or another. 1 naturally
desire and pursue mv own good (in whatever
this consist) simply horn my having an idea
of it sufficiently warm and rivid to excite ia
me an emotion of interest or passion ; and I
love and pursue the good of oih«r% of a re»
Uu2
6(»
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
lative, of a friend, of a family, a comnuiwity,
or ofinankiiid, for just the s'anv." reason."
Upon tliis tlieory, of whicJi ve Lave
given the outline above, and coniirnied it
in part by the preceding extracts, we shall
ofter a few remarks. There can be no dif-
ficulty in assenting to the first and second
position-;, viz. that all voluniary actions
tl tc-r to the future -, and that the future
airect.«» us by the power of imagination.
But it seems to us to be begging the o,ues-
tion, to assume that we can have no
selfish interest in wliat impresses the mind
through the imagination (see page J 1(3).
The author indeed would limit the use of
the term selfish to our jjliysical sensations
only 3 and then no doubt every voluntary
action, by its nature, is exempt from tlie
charge of selfishness. But this is reducing
tlie question to a dispute about words ; that
is, whether we shall denominate an action,
that has for its object the exclusive advan-
tage of the individual acting, selfish or
disinterested. Now the selfish h}pothesi8
we conceive to be this, viz. that man is
naturally impelled to the performance of
tliose actions which will promote his own
advantage, in preference to such as would
promote the advantage of others. And it
logks very like confounding the question,
to call all voluntary actions disinterested,
regardless of the object which they have
in view.
To the last position, viz. that our own
flitute good, and the good of others, im-
press the mind through the same medium^
and in the same manner, we have nothing
to object. But tlie point is, do they im-
press the mind with an equal degree of
force? of this objection our author is
perfectly aware, (see page 121,) though
we do not j^erceive that he has done any
thing to remove it. Now, whatever be
the reason, why our own particular future
good excites in us a stronger degree of in-
terest than the g<x>d of oiliers, as long as
this efiect arises from the constitution of
the human mind, so long must man pre-
fer his private interest to that of others-;
tliat is, so long must he be accounted na-
tunilly more selfish than benevolent.
If we have beeli succe^isful in convey-
ing to our readers a just representation of
our author's argument j a* task we can as-
sure them by po means easy to perform,
In consequence of the total absence of the
iueidwt ordo; and the per|)etual interrup-
tion of the reasotiing by digressive matter ;
they will perceive it to be materially de-
fective as to the main design. The subor-
"dinate figuic& are executed with admirable
force and strength of colouring, and har*
indeed a relief somewhat injurious to th^
cAcct of the piece. From these we havtf
derived our ophiionof the author's talents,
which we are inclined to estimate at no
ordinary value. But we certainly think
his performance tails short of fultiiling its
declared object.
Admitting the full extent of the argu-
ment exhibited in the work before U5,
\that d(»es it prove more than that therL-it
a natural piup.-n'^ity in the human mmd
to the love of go.cxl, or a capability ot being
benevolent orVlfi-ihaccoiding to circum-
stances ? But is not the existence of fcuth
a propensity perfectly valueless and nuga-
tory, independantly of the other propeni«
of the mind in which it reside? ? and i«
not the mind of inan placed by nature^ in
such circumstiuvjes, as unavoidably to find
its earliest gratifications in sensation, and
thereby to contract a selfish tinge ? Some-
tiiing more then should have been demon-
strated, than a natural disposition to the
love of good, in order to establish the doc-
trine contended for in this treatise. Far
while the human soul is enshrined in this
fleshly tabernacle, and can only receirt
notices, of what is good by means of the
senses j and while, from whatever cause,
we have a more lively feeling of what
concerns our future seKe* than wbai
concerns other beings ; there is a fonda^
mental reason in tlie nature and coostito- .
tion of man why he should be moreselfi^
dian benevolent, in other "word.s, why fee
should not be miturcdly disinterested, ora
much concerned for another's w elfare af
for his own.
Before we dismiss the first divisioaof
this work, wc must refer our readers lo
the authors observations on simrlarityaDd
identity, for a specimen of prolbiind in-
vestigation. Nor must w'e forget to mcft-
tion an excellent note on the French da-
racter, which we had intended to insert ai
an entertaining exu-act; but this our limiti
prohibit. As critics, we have to objed
to the frequent apd needless n^>etitiuu d
the same ideas, which rather tend to ,
weaken than enforce the argument. And
we are inclined to. suspect that there art
very few persons, who will not, in perusing
his book, have a perfect fi^l low-feeling
with tlie author, when he declares \ntli
the utmost sincerity, " But I am tired
of repeating the same thing so otoi***
&c. (page 89).
The second part of the volume is em-
ployed in repelling the objections to oirf
author's theory^ deduclble iioxn the doe*
SSSAT ON JH« PRINCIPLSS OF HUMAN ACTION.
Offl
lrin« of a<sociar ion as explained by Hart-
ley, ami liie sysUMii ofsclNlove maintained
by Helvetius, Mandeville, RtJCijefoucauU,
and others. This we think is the bcst-
ar^ued and most valuable portion of the
Lvck. The striclures upon the hypothesis
of vibrations are acute and dcv isive against
its probability j and as they are both ori-
ginal and mor« philosophical than any
remarks we have before seen oi\ tlie sub-
ject, we shall present our readers with
a considerable extract. Having objected
to this system, that it is inconsistent with
♦he notion (here assumed as evident) that
the whole train or sentient principle is af-
fected hy every impression made upon it ;
and farther, that it is irreioniikabh' with
the nature of consciousness, or the percep-
tion of ditfereni impressions at the sanie
I- me, and of their relations to each otlier ;
hepnjceeds thus :
" From ail lhe<;c consitlcrations taken to-
fKhtr, j cannot help iufeniug the fallacy of
liw Hartlcian doctrine of vibrations, whii i» all
■long goes upon the supposition of the jnobt
exact distinction and tegular arrangenicut of
the places of our ideas,^ and which therefore
cannot be elfectuall) reconciled with any
wasoning, that exdwdes all k)cal distinction
from having a share in the nurhanical oj>e-
rationsof tJje human mind. For if we sup-
pose the succession of our ideas to hti carried
on by the communication ot the impuho be-
kmeing to one idea, to the contiguous cell
or donnitory of another idea, formally associ-
ated \iith it,' and if we at the same time sup-
pose each idea to occupy a separate cell
which is inviolable, and which it has entirely
to itself, then un<loubtedly the ideas thus
called u|» will follow one another in the same
order in which they were originally e.xcited.
But if we take away this imaginary allotment
jf separate parcels' of the brain to dill'erent
<lcas, and supjKwe the same substance or
nrinciple to be constantly impressed with a
•oarcssion of different ideas, then there seems
n be no assignable reason why a vibratory
notion accompanied with thouu^ht, in passing
torn one part of the thinkingMih tance to the
lext, 8lioid<l not ext:ile any other idea which
ia<l been impressed there, as well as the one
rith which tiiat particular vibration had been
<ri<»inally associated ; or why it should not by
•lie general imj)ulse etiually excite them all.
I is like >uppo»ing that you might tread on a
e?.t of adders twmed together, and provoke
nly one of them to sting you. *****
luf farther, even if it could* be shewn that the
octriiie of vibrations accounts satisfactorily
>r tiie association of the itieas of any one
inse, (as those of the sioht, for example) yet
rrely the very nature of that principle must
It off every sort of 'connnunication between
le idea-^ of different seiis«»s, (as those of sight
Dd Jicaring) which may liave been associated
in the order of time, but which, with respect
to actual situation, niUbt be farther removed
from one another than any ideas of the same
sense, at w hatever distance of time they may
have been severally impre-^sed. If from the
top of a long cold banen hill [ hear the dis-
tant whistle of a thrush, which seems to come
up from some warm woody shelter beyond
the edge ol the hill ; this sound coming faint
over tije rocks witli a mingled feeling of
strangeness and joy, the idea of the place
about me, and the imaginarv one beyond,
will all be combined together in such a man-
ner in my mind ^s to become inseparable.
Now the doctrine of vibrations appears abso-
lutely to exclude the pos>ibilit} ot the union
of all those into one associated idea ; btcaukc
a . the whole of that principle is tounded on
the greater ease and certainly with which oi:e
focal impression is supposed to pass hito the
seat of the next, and the greater force with
which it acts there than it can do hirther off,
the idea U a visible object can never run into
the notion of a somid, nor rice versa ; these
impressions being of course conveyed along
ditterent nerves to different and very remote
paits of the brain.'
The ideas in this passage are afterwards
expanded, and brcmght to "bear with great
force against Hartley's metaphysical map
of tiie brain. He sums up this part of hn^
subject in these words :
" J have endeavoured to shew not only
that there is no regular local arrangement of
our ideas to correspond exactly with the order
in which they cohere together in the mind ;
but that there appears to be no distinction
whatever in this re.«pect ; that they all belong
absolutely to the same place or internal seat
of consciousness ; that tnis want of distinction
is an evident fact with rcjspect to the sue*
c«?s8ive imprcjssions which are made on the
same }>arts of the body, and consecjuently oii
the same parts of the thinking substance ; and
tliat it may be deduced generally from the
nature of thought itself, and the associations
which arise from it„ &c. ; that this prmciplft
nnht be entirely nugatory with respect to the
associations of the ideas of different senses,
even though it should hold true with respect
to those ot any one sense ; lastly, that all idea$
imp (»ssed at the same time acquire a power
of exciting one another ever after, without
any regard to the coincidence of their ima-
ginary scats in the brain (according to the
material Iiypotliesis) ; and that therefore the
true account of the principle of as.sociatioo
must be d<*rived from the first cause, viz. the
coincidence of time, and not from the latter,
wliich bears no manner of proportion to thd
etiects produced."
There are not many admirers of Hart-
ley's metaphysics who will feel very anx-
ious as to the fate of his ingenious but un«
solid theory of vibrations. The wonder is
not tliat this pliysiological explanation of
11
<M%
METAPHYSICS, PHltOLOGY, AND CRmCISM.
mental phasnoraena should prove defec-
tive and inadequate to its purijose; but
that it should have been contrived to ac-
count, with so much plausibility, for the
variety of cases of association to which it
is applicable. This hypothesis, like that
of the sensorial powers and others of a si-
milar nature, may be consideied as a sort
of allegor)', invented for the sake of eluci-
dating an abstruse and difficult subject. It
»er\'es well enough to assist the imagina-
tion in conceiving of the o^rations of an
invisible power, but merits no regard when
advanced as the real ejcponeut of intellec-
tual processes.
Whether the Hartleians, however, will
or will not easily abandon the doctrine of
vibrations, they are certainly l>ound to take
cognizance of the attacks which this phi-
losopher has made upon their grand prin-
ciple of association. We can assiure them
that he is a formidable opponent; and
though we do not say he is unconquerable,
we must apprize them that a strong arm
will be required to vanquish him.
'* It has been said that the principle of as-
•ociation is sufficient to account for all the
pha'nometia of the human mind, and is the
Ibuudation of every rule of nK>iality. My
dcsij-n (says tliis writer) it to shew that both
these assertions ar« abs<^utely false ; or tliat it
is an absurdity, and an express contradiction,
to suppose that associatiou is either the only
mode of i^ration of the human mind, or that
it is the primary and most general principle
ot thought and action."
He thus throws down the gauntlet;
^'here is the champion both willing add
able to take it up ? But leaving this to
those whom it may concern^ we retoro to
oiu* proper calling.
the reasonings which I have the honour to^
liver to this audience, or in abort any of those
concomitant circurastanccs with i*hirh the
light of Lincoln Vinn-haU has been previoutiy
associated in his mind. '!hi*i is a com-t
verbal sUteiiient, but it is liable to be inisun-
derstood. Mr. Macintosh is no doubt a m'B
of a very clear understanding, of an impo^iof
elocution, a very able disputant, and a xtry
metaphysical lawyer, bwt l>y no mewis a pro-
found metaphysician, not quite a Bcrkriej' «
subtlety ot distiiK-tioii. I wiU try as weli ^
1 am able to h«lp him out in his explaDatwa.
It is clear that the visible image of liiicotu >^
inn-hall, which any one hai presented to^
senses at any given moment of time, caccot
have been previou^hf associated with otiier
images ancl perceptions. NL-ith-^-r is a re-
newed sensible impression of a particular ci>-
ject the same with, or in any niai'.ii«'r reUted
to, a former recoHected impression of ii«e
same object, except lr.>m tlie reseinblaore i4
the one to the oth.r. There can be »
doubt then of the connection between ray
idea or recollection of 1 juco'n's-iuiy-haJI ye*-
terday, and the associated ideas ci€ the p«-
sons whom 1 saw there, or the things ^*^»ich I
heard : the question is, how do \ grt this idea
of yesterday's hnpression froih seeing Ls*'
coln's-inn-hall to-day ? The difficulty, I ay,
is not in connecting the links in the cIbhb of
previously associated ideas;, but in aTrivin^ al
the first link — in passing from a present Mo-
tion to the recollection of a past object. 'S^
this can never be by an act of assodatioD, be-
cause it is self-evid*'nt that the present ca
never have been previously assooated with
the j«st Every beginning of a series erf asa»-
ciations, that is,* every departure from tciecoa-
tinued beaten track of old impres«ioMS, or i4«
remembered in regular succession, thcreftire,
implies and must be accounted ibr tram soitf
act of the mind, which does not ^Kpend ca
association."
We must request such of our,readeR»
Sumiarity, one of the general sources of "^X ^^^ ^^^^]y ^»ave habituated themselves
connection t)etween our ideas, has b«en
resolved by the Hartleians into a case of
association, by calling it partial sameness.
This notion our author combats with un-
common force and subtlety of rea!»oning :
—-but we have not room to give his argu-
ment at length, and to abridge would be
to \?eaken it. We prefer quoting his com-
nie!it:uT ujMn Mr. Macintosh's explana-
tion of thi* principle.
" Mr. Macintosh, I remember, explained
this principle in his lectures in the folkywing
manner: it, says he, any gentleman, who has
hfard me in tiiis place to-ilay, should by
chance pass by this M^^ay to-morrow, the sigKt
of Lin<oln's-inn-hail will, upon the prmciple
we are now examining, bring along with it
the recolkctton of some of the persons he has
to metaphysical discussion to re-pemaetbQ
foregoing passage, before they pfxjooanoe
the distinction it labours to establish to be
frivolous or sophistical. They will ob-
serve that instead of accounting for the
revival of the ideas of Mr. Macintosh aod
his lectures from the sight of LlncolnV
inn-hail the following day, by the pover
of association only, there are two prind{4rt
here emploj-ed of loially<liiiVrcnt natcnri,
similarity and association. Siniihiriri* 's
the cause of the new sensation A excirin^
the old idea a. Association is the came (i
a exciting b c. TlU^ subtle di>tiiiciiriD,
how«ver, will not alter the established
language upon such occasions, as it is su£<
ciently correct for p(4>ular usage, but it
win prevent the use of common fterms
>ut with the day before, -perhaps oi wnie of fromimptibiDg on the uoderstaDding of tb»
BS8AT ON TBS PAINCtPL£l OP HUMAH ACTIOV.
M»
philosc^ber. We are by no means equally
satisfied with tlie explanation afterwards
r'l v£n of the supposed case, that A excites
c without the intervention of a, by means
of the similarity of the general state of
mlud 'y as this seems to be rather the sta-
ting of an appearance than tlie explaining
of a fact.
B The next objection which is taken to
rassociation as the all-suliicient expounder
jof mental o|)eration5, arises from its inade-
quacy to account for the faculty of judg-
f tnent. Here again we must refer our read-
UNTs to tlie work itself.
I It is probable that neither Hartley him-
aelf, nor any of his followers, ever attain-
ed to a tolerably distinct notion of the way
• in which the wfil results from the asso-
datioii of ideas. The observations on this
head are entitled to much atteutiou.
** I conceive first that volition necessarily
hnplies thought or foresight, that is, that it
is not accounted for from niei'e association.
All voluntarj' action implies a view to conse-
quences; a perception of the analog' between
ct'ftain actions already given, and the parti-
cuiar action then to be employed ; also a
knowledge of the connection between certain
actions and the eiTects to be pro<Iuced by
them ; and lastly, a faculty of combining ail
fthe>e with particular ciraunstances so as to be
able to ju4ge how far the^' are likely to im-
pede or s^H tlie accomplishment ofour pur-
poses, in what manner it may be necessary to
Tary our exertions according to the nature of
the case, whether a greater or less degree of
force is required to produce the effect, &c.
Without this ' discourse of reawn,' this cir-
cunBs|)ection and comparison, it seems to be
as impossible for the tiuman mind to pursue
any regular object, as it would be for a map,
hemmed in on all sides by the wall< of hou.>es
and blind alleys, to see his way clearly before
him fr<Mn one end of London to the other, or
to go ill a straigiit line from Westminster to
W'apping. One would tli'uik it would he suf-
ficient to state the question, in order to shew
that mere association, or the mechanical re-
currence of any old impressions in a certain
order, which can never exactly correspond
\rith the ^iven circumstances, would never
satisfactpriiy account (without the aid of some
other faculty) for tlie complexity and subtle
windings and perpetual changes in the mo-
tives of human action. On the hypothesis
here snuken of, I cuuld liave no coniprelien-
sive foea of things to check any immediate
passmff impulse, nor shouUl I be able to make
any inference with respect to the consequences
of *my actions, whenever there was the least
akeratlon in the circumstances in wliich I
roust act."
The discussion of this difficult point is
very loosely coudacted, and is grievously
interrupted by incidental remarks; espe-
ciaUy by a refiitation of a certain whim of
Mr. Macintosh's respecting general bena*
volence. Mr. Macintosh, indeed, however
unmetapbysical and destitute of subtlety
his lectures may have been, seems to have
succeeded in inaking a pretty strong im-
pression upon our author's imagination^
who goes out of his way more than once
to have a rencontre with him, and treats
him with a degree of contempt bordering
upon the abusive. We mention this as
an exception to the calm and dispassionate
temper that in general pervades the work.
We have alr^y extended diis article to
a length that precludes our controverting
the forcible objections which are here op-
posed to the Hartleian tlieory of the will.
We shall only remark, en passant, as a
hint to those who may wish to engage in
the controversy, that this objector has not
quite satisfied us that the 21st and 77tli
pro[x)sitions in the Observations on Man
are altogether nonsensical. We still think
tliat '* voluntary powers may result from
association." We do not pretend to see
clearly tlie manner how. But since the
ffoluHtary viotions are acquired, and since
their strength corresponds to the number
and force of the associations that have
been formed, wetliink there is some share
of reason for supposing it probable that
the will may depend upon, or consist in, a
certain state of association ; meaning how-
ever association in the extended sense un-
derstood by Hartley, and not as limited by '
this writer. We forbear saying more, as
we are not prepared to push the discussion
to the point requisite for determining tlie
question. ^
After having accumulated difficulties
upon the doctrine of. association generally,
the essayist proceeds to its supposed ap«
plication against the disinterested hypo-
thesis, and finds that it avails nothing.
For, granting all the force to association
which the Hartleians contend for, he ob-
serves,
" That the same kind of association must
apply to the interest we take in the feelings of
others, though perfect strangers to us, as well .
as to the interest we feel for purselves. All
that can ever take place, in the imaginary an-
ticipation either ot our own feelings or those
of others, can be nothmg more than some
sort of transposition and modification of the
old ideas of memory ; or if there is any thing
peculiar to this act of the muid, it is equally
necessary to our feeling any interest in our
own ftiture mipressions, or those of others.'*
This indeed is auffidently obvious ; and
IM4
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITiaSl^L
had our author convinced us of the truth
of his doctrine in the first part of the trea-
tise, we should have found little difficulty
in removing objections to it taken from
the power of association.
The remarks on Helvetius and others
are acute and pertinent. But we have
already run ourselves out of breath, and
are quite unable to hunt down the fresh
game which this indefatigable sportsman
has started.
We have no intention to criticise the.
style of a work of this nature. Perspicuity
is all that is expected. Our extracts how-
ever will prove that the composition pos-
sesses other merits. But we are compelled
to say that the punctuation is miserably
imperfect -, and we must ^rther censure a
peculiar mode of «Kpression, repeatedly
used, which is by no means elegant, and
has therefore nothing to atone for its want
of correctness, page I69-
" If flpCT-^emshouldsee the picture of their
4ead father, &c,"
Upon taking leave of this philosophical
incognito^ while we thank him for assist-
ing us to examine the foundation of opi-
nions long since formed, as well as for (he
perspicuous, neat, and satisfactory elucida-
tion of some obscure points in ontobgj,
we cannot forbear advising him in the
next edition of bis essay, to supply us n«
only with a recapitulation of the heads of
his argument, but likewise with an outline
of his intended theory of human nature.
This exercise would be of material service
•to himself. For he appears to have dwelt
so long upon tlie minute and fractionil
parts of ideas — ^to have divided and sob-
divided down to so low a point— to have
been contemplating with such intensity of
thought the infinity of aspects in whid
the ultimate speck of division may be
placed, that there is some danger of his
eye becoming too microscopic to take in
the several bearings of an extensive system,
or to survey with a steady and coniprehefl-
sive glance the scope, proportions, and ef-
fect, of a finished whole.
Akt. IL — The Principles qf Moral Science, By Robert Forsyth, Esq. Jdvocvk,
voL I. 8vo. pp. 520,
SCOTLAND owes her literary distinc-
tion, rather to the power of her intellect,
than to the delicacy of her taste, or the
fruitfulness of her imagination. She has
contributed little to the enrichment of
poetry, painting, sculpture, and music 3
while metaphysics, politics, cliemistry,
and those departments of knowledge
which are extended by the efforts of the
reasoning faculty, have been cultivated
and enlarged by the assiduity of her phi-
losophers. To no subject has she applied
her intellect with more industry and suc-
cess, than tb the philosopjiy of mind.
The writings of the Scotch metaphysicians
are numerous and ^-aluable ; and the la-
bours of Baxter, Hume, Smith, fieattie,
Campbell, Kaimes, and Reid, are con-
templated with exultation by their coun-
try, and peruicd with instruction by the
world.
In the philosophy of morals, a very
considerable portion of the most valuable
reasoning we pv"»sse>s is the produce of
Scotland. The Moral Philo^^ophy of Hut-
cheson, a work eJabomte and instructive,
may be retkor.ed among the productions
of that nation, as the author, although an
Irishman by birth, received his education,
and enioyeJ his celebrity, in Scotland.
Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Senti-
ments is omong the most valoahb works
on the subject. It displays penetrating
observation, and amusing ingenuity 3 and
although we may not agree with the fim-
damental principles ' of the book, yet it
contains numerous remarks on the opera-
tions of mind, profound and valuable.
But Mr. Hume's Enquiry into the Origin
of Moral Distinctions, is the most satk-
factory solution of tliis interesting subject
that is to be fdUnd among our ethic treatisci
The reasoning is luminous and natural ;
the author seems to have followed tbc
straight and obvious path^ and to have ar-
rived m ith facijity at the truth. The ex-
planation is at once dear, ingenious, acd
convincing. The work whit:h we arc
about to examine is the production ot i
Scotch advocate. It is one volume of a
work which may possibly be extended to
a second, or a third. It is divided into
three parts. The first treats of the ulti-
mate object of human pursuit, of the
moral qualities, of former systems of uw-
raliiy, and moral duties. The second, of
the qualities of the mind, its powers ad
passions. Tlie third, of religion. Tie
book commences with an attempt to dis-
tinguish the moral firom every other sci-
ence. According to Mr. Forsyth, all
sciences treat of what has been, except
moral science^ whose subject is not what
has been, but vhal ought to be. H^is
rOftSTTB S TSn?CfFLES OF MOBAL (CIENQ^«
085
•^sttnrtion is inacciuate. The mo-
ralist must learn what has been, before he
can know what ought to be. The che-
mist investigates the products of his com-
positions, and the results of his analyses :
he searches for the particular effects
which follow particular chemical changes.
The moralist searclies for the particular
consequences which follow particular ac-
tions. The chemist assumes that the
same change, which now produces a given
effect, will always continue to produce it.
The moralist assumes tliat the same actions
will generally be followed by the same
consequences, llie chemist shows how
his knowledge may be made subservient
to the conveniences of life ; and the mo-
ralist points out tliose actions which will
lead to happiness, and those which will
lead to misery. Both enquire what has
been, and what is, that they may know
N what ought to be. This attempted dis-
- -tinction therefore has failed.
The author next proceeds to state his
opinion of the ultimate object of human
pursuit : on this subject all men have
agreed, both in doctrine and in conduct.
The attainment of happiness, in some state
of existence, has formed the basis of all
systems' of morality, and the object of all
human pursuit. The autlior has evolved
a doctrine, of which no one will dispute
the originality, but many we believe will
question the accuracy. From the diffuse
and declamatory manner in which it is
stated, we should have attempted an
abridgement, had not the doctrine been so
singular, (we had almost said so ridicu-
lous,) that we might have been suspected
of mistaking the meaning of the author.
We shall endeavour to 'pick out those pa-
ragraphs which contain the most con-
densed statement.
" It appears to me then, that tlie great ob-
ject which the human race ouijht to pursue,
and the attainment of which they ougFit to
regard as the business of tiieir lives, is not to
produce happiness, pleasure, or felicity, in
themselves or others ; but that, on the con-
trary, the end for which they were formed,
and which alone they can pursue with success,
is the improvement of their whole intellectual
faculties, whether s{>eful<itivc or active. In
one word, it is the business of man in this
world to endeavour to become au excellent
bein^, possessing hi^h powers of energy and
iiitelligenc.». 'Ihis is nis chief good; and
ought to be the jreat and ultimate object of
his nursuit, to which every other consideration
, ought to be sacrificed.
" If this principle, that intellectual excel-
lence or the perfection of the mind and of iU
rational powers, is the most important stdd
valuable object of human Dursuit, can be
clearly established, it will follow, that those
actions are good, and right, and best, whkk
produce, not happiness or pleasure, but the
greatest portion of knowledge, ability, aod
intellectual perfection in the world ; and that
those actions arc the worst, which pr«duce^
or hdVe a tendency to produce, not suffering,
but the grP'-U'est degree of ignorance, of at«pi-
dity axid of intellectual weakness and degra-
daiiou. It will even follow, tliat the rulers of
nations (tliough they are seldom so well ci»-
ploved) do actually misapply their labour,
and mistake their cluty, when they imaguie
that their proper busbess consists in confer-
ring teUcity upon their fellow-creaturca.
" I shall 111- re endeavour to prove, that the
great tajik, to the jx^rfonnance of whicJi the
existence of every man ought to be devoted,
con^ists of two brauciies: li^^•t, to prOfluce the
intolleclual improvement of his own Individual
rftind and characttT ; and, secondly, to pro-
duce the improvement of the minds of other
rational beings.
*' I. 1st. In all undertakings, the first t]iies-
tion among rational men is uniformly this:
Supposing us to engage in a particular pursuit,
what prospect have we of !>uccess ? The ob-
ject of the undertaking may be great andva-
luable ; but if there is lio reason to ex()ect
tliat the pursuit of it can prosper, it is justly
disreaarded as an idle project that will never
afford any reward for our cflbi't^. Tliis if
precisely the case with regard to happmess.
It is no doubt a iipe thing if it coukt be at-
tained ; but nunc ever pursued it with suc-
cess. It is like the countrj- in the romance,
in which the stores of the field are all gems
and gold, and in which overflowing pUMity
abounds : it is a hn<: country, but nobooy can
go there.
" It is scarcely necessary to attempt to
prove, by arguments, that a state of har>pine«
cannot be attained in this world. The liistory
of mankind, both in ancient and modem times,
sufficiently establishes the fact. Some have
expected to find felicity in riches ; othen
have sought it from power, from pleasure, and
even fmm fair and upright conduct : but they
iiave all been unsuccessful. Disappointments
have awaited them ; and bad healtn, or other
unfon^seen calamities, have rendered tlieir
efforts fruitless. Even when no visible cause
of infelicity existed, it has been found impos-
sible to enjoy a high degree of Iiappiness for
any long period, merely because all human
pleasure climinishcs by a repetition of .enjoy-
ment.
'* Good health, and a natural cheerfulness
of temj)er, produce as high a degree of hap-
{)iness as we are capable of enjoying for any
ein^th of time. But these we cannotbestow upon
ourselve.s ; althouQrh we may no doubt throw
them away. The true state of the case seems
to be this : A certain limited degree or por-
tion of pleasure is enjoyed by man in this
world ; but this portion or degree is not pro*
669
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AKD CETnCISM.
duced by human labour or industrj. It is a
gift bestowed by the Author of our existence,
and arises not from any . contrivance on our
part. It is even given with little appearance
of discrimination. Yhe yoong and the old, the
high and the low, the rich and the poor, the
wise ami the foolish, amaJl nearly upon a level
with regard to it. Lfkethe rain, or the light
of heaven, it comes freely, or not at all ; in-
■omuch, I hat (hose meii who have seriously
engaged in the pursuit of happiness have uni-
fonnly couft^ssed, that all anxiety and labour
concrniiiig it are absurd, as they enjoy it
most \i-fao court it least."
•* The contrary of all this takes place with
repjarti to tlie perfection of our intellectual
character. It is not bestowed, but may be
gradually acouired. We are all born equally
Ignorant', anrl equally feeble. Some do indeeJi
appear to possess more quickness of apprehen-
sion than others ; but this inequality is easily
rectilied by superior industry : and those men
never fail to attain to the highest degrees of
intellectual excellence, who pursue it steadily,
and make it most completely the business of
their lives. An infant nas none of it. A man
always has a portion of it ; and he is always
capable of acquiring more of it than he ac-
tually possesses ; for there is no end of the
degrees in which it may be attained.
" 'I'hii being the true state of tilings, it is
evident that htppii^*^ cannot, in this world,
be justly regarded as a rational object of pur-
suit, as it must always be pursued in vain.
The great error with regard to it consists in
supposing that it can be attained, or that it
can be mtTeased, by our efforts and in for-
getting tliat it cannot be purchased by a
price ; that wherever it comes, it comes as a
gift Mr om heaven; and that our nature can-
not ri-* by industry to the possession of
hip,bcr degn^s of it. But an excellent or im-
proved niiiid is never given : it is always
p irrh.iNCil; '*ii\<\ the progress we are capable
c»i nwkinj; in it is unbounded."
In the most inaportant parts of this ex-
tmci il».e author declaims rather than ar-
gtio*, he dogm.iiires ratlur lli.m proves :
lliji an equal portion of h3p|)ine«-s is en-
jv>ycvl by every individual, and that this
happiness is iuJependant of his exertion,
lie certainly state?. ; but he leaves his ccader
to Ejues^ by \\lidt process. i>t' reasoning he
came to iJiese conclusions. Surely Mr.
Fi»r*«ylh \\iil not deny that a man j>eiTect
in IhkIv, and cultivated in mind, raised by
h>rtune alx>ve the fear* of poverty, pre-
served by judgment from inaccuracy of
conduct, and ble^t in his pursuits with
unnersal succo.s ; a being enjoying all the
pleasures of sense, posses^iing the gratifi-
ca lions of prosperity, and cx>mm<mding
4lie delights of intellectual culture ; surely
such a being as this enjoy i a portion of
happiness far greater than the mao un-
healthy, atujwd, poor, and unforttjoate^
deprived of the pleasures of sense by dis-
ease, and of the pleasures 'of intellect by
mental imbecility ; who sufters under the
inconveniences and trembles at the terron
of poverty, whose every action is a blnn.
der, and every pursuit a feilure. These
are not imaginary characters only j they
are frequently to be found in the world
The happiness enjoyed by different indi-
viduals, althongh seldom existing in such
diftereot proportions, is very unequally
distributed. Again, can we doubt for jt
nK>ment that much of the happiness of
. life depends on a skilftd government of
our actions, i. e. on human exenioo?
D(3es it not make us temperate, and ixhns
produce the ease of hertlih r Does it not
make our conduct accurate, and thus af-
ford us the cheerfulness of prosperity?
Does it not enrich our minds, and thui
open to us the pleasures of inieUecnttI
cuKure ? There can be little doubt there-
fore tliat happiness is considerably the
fruit of human exertion, and coiisequently
a fit object of pursuit. We would exa-
mine Mr. Forsyth's arguments against this
opinion, but he has given us no argumeou
for refutation. But even granting that ««
are wrong in the foregoing rea.soning; and
su|:^)Osing with him Ihat human bappinesi
is equally distributed ^mK>ng mairicuid, aod
cannot be increased by tliem } and sop*
posing also tliat intellect is as attmnableas
he is determined to think j we still deny
that such a being as man should endeavoor
to attain it, unless as a meau& of procuring
happiness. Such is the nature of noait
that i)appiness alone is adapted to his ^•
pe rites. It is the essence of value j it u
the principle of good, and every thii^
which is desirable is desirable for pro-
ducing it. This is an ultimate fact which
we cannot pass, in our speculations ua
tlie comparative value of huiuan posses-
sioas. If intellect may be acquired at
will, (a doctrine extremely consolatory to
tlie student ardent with the love of fame)
it doe-s not follow that it ought to be pur-
sued for its own sake. Tlie possiUliry
does not prove the value or the propriety
of an ac(|uisition. Intellect is vainab^
not for itself, but as it multiplies the
sources of our pleasure.
The chapter on the human understand-
ing, and its subordinate faculties, is exe-
cuted in mauy parts with inexcusable slo-
veulinehs, and incomprehen.*^ible obscurity.
It contains nothing new, and the reader
will frequently be offended by a want of
clearness or accuracy.
VOHSYTR's PRIKCIFLfift OF MOXAL ICIBKCB,
00^
** Tlic voluntary power of the mind or the
trill u exerted in three ways: in commanding
those muscles of the body by which its vari-
ous movements are performed ; in directing
the senses towards particular objects ; and in
perionuing the office of recollection or volun-
tary memory. I'his last oirK;e, the voluntary
power or will accomplishes thus : it arrests
the train of our ideas or remembrances, till a
particular kiea can be deliberately perceived,
and its difference from every other idea felt
or known ; or the will alters the current of
our present ideas, that others, to which we
wisli to attend, may have an opportunity of
preMiiting themselves.
** These two qualities or faculties of per*
ception, and voluntary power or will, consti-
tute the understanding or intellect ; and with
the aid of the subordinate faculdes of sensation
and involuntary memory, they form what is
called the mind of man.
" The perfitction of the perceptive power
is wisdom. It is capable of unlimited im-
provement ; because there is n9 end of the
de^e^ of acutenest and accuracy of discrimi-
nation which it may accjuire: and the number
of objects upon wiiich it may be exerted is
unbounded. The perfection of the will or
voluntary power constitutes attention in spe-
culation ; and selt-command, fortitude or in-
trepidity in action and in suffering. Its pos-
sible improvement is also unlimited ; al-
though it is easier to conceive its arrival at
complete perfection, than the arrival of tlic
perceptive foculty at the same point, inasmuch
as it seems more practicable to attain to com-
plete se]f<x>nimaud, than to attain to a per-
fect perception or knowledge of the boundless
works of nature."
In the three modes in which volition is
said to be exercised, the first and second
are identical. We direct our senses to
particular objects, by muscular exertion.
It is by certain nouscles that the eyes are
turned to visible objects, that the tongue
is applied to distinguish tastes, that odo-
riferous substances are drawn into the
nostrils, in short that our several senses are
directed to their appropriate objects. If
by " directing the senses to particular
objects*' the autlior means the attention of
die mind to impressions ninde on the
senses, the statement is obscure.
The dednition of wisdom is new. Per-
ception is the act of the nn'nd in perceiving
ideas, and it perceives well when it i^er-
ceives vividly. According to the author,
therefore, wisdom consists in the vividness
of the ideas «f sense and memory ; and
a wise man is he who smells, tastes, ieels,^
bears, and sees, with uncommon acute*
ness, and who remembers with llie dis-
tinctness of reality. But wisdom com-
iMoly meaos the perfectioQ of reason 3
and reason consists in being able to call
up, to compare, and otherwise to act upon
our ideas at will. Wisdom therefore con-
sists in the complete subordination of ideaa
to volition ; and a wise man is he, who
with a slight exertion of will, is able to
move or fix, <^ otlierwise act upon, his
ideas.
" II. Memory is almost entirely the crea-
ture of the understanding, or is produced by
the joint effoils of the perceptive and volun-
tary powers. That a sensation may be re-
membered, it is necessary that an exertion of
the will, or, as it is called, an act of attention,
should be exerted. By this exertion of the
will, two thirtgs are performed : the object of
sense is- distinctly exhibited, or, as it were,
forced upon the notice of tlie perceptive fa-
culty; and at the same tune the perception a
noted down in the memory as in a book or
record.
'< Where no attention is exerted, no im-
pression appears to be made upon the me-
mory. Hence, when occupied about an in-
teresting affair, a clock may strike beside us,
and an instant thereafter we shall forget tliat
we heard it. Accordingly, in common lile,
the reason most frequently assigned for fot^
getting an occurrence is, that we gave no at-
tention to it.**
Nothing can be more obscure and un-
precise tlian these observations on me-
mory. In voluntary remembrance, a train
of ideas is certainly forced upon the per-
ceptive feculty. At that time we per*
ceive the ideas distinctly, and are able by
this exertion of volition to perform the
same action with more facility in future.
The links which bind the ideas together
become strengtiicncd, and they follow
each other with more readiness. We sup-
pose this to be the meaning of the author,
when he says that *' by remembering, the
pei;ception is noted down in the memory
as in a book or record," but the illustration
rather tended to darken tlian to illuminate
tlie idea. The paragraph immediately
following it is equally open to criticisnu
When the mind is fixed by some interejit-
ing object, and a clock strikes near, it
makes no impression upon the perceptive
faculty. The motion of the clock pro*
duces the accustomed vibration in the air,
this vibration produces a tremulous mo-
tion in the drum of the ear, and the mo-
tion extends along the nerve to tlie brain,
but the mind does not receive any im-
pression: n few minutes after the mind
does not remember that the clock struck
because it cannot remember what it has
not previously perceived by sense. But
the author when he says, that '^ where no
•I3fle
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CIUTICISM,
attention is excited no impression appean
to be made on the memory,'* seems to
tliink that the sound of the clock was
heard, but is forgotten. If it be forgotten
what evidence ha& iie of its having been
perceived ? -^
. Tlie chapter on "tfe imagination contai ns
liltle either new or interesting. We insert
that part which is most wortliy of atten-
tion.
" The mfnd or perceptive faculty distin-
guishes the arrangements or objects which na-
ture exhibits, from those which itself has
formed, by recollecting at pleasure, that
these last were of its own production : but
among the other calamities to which mankind
are exposed, this is one, and surely tiie «>ost
dreadful, that the perceptive faculty some-
times loses a portion of its voluntary j)ovver,and
ceases to be aWe to command the'memor)- er
train of ideas, or to be able to call up, arrest,
or dit^miss ideas by an efft)rt of its will. This
constitut»*s nuinia or madness.
" I'iMler such a disease, the train of ideas,
or involuijtary memory, proceeds as u>ual,
and pjc^nts to the mind all the objects of its
former knowledge, and all the arranj^ements
or imai^inatk)ns" that were ever formc-d by
itself: but as the voluntary power over tli'e
memory is partially lost, tlie mind cannot ar-
rest the course of its ideas, to recollect or dis-
tin;Tuish \vh.ih of them were originally of its
own formation, and which of them arose from
actual observation ;• neither has it the power
of dismi>sing at pleasure any image that me-
mory may chance to present to it. In such a
situation, therefore, it believes as realities all
its notions, and all the remembrances that
happen to present themselves; and acts ac-
corJin^ly.
** Sleep dilTcrs from madness in this, that
the madman usually possesses full power over
the muscles of voluntary motion, and can fully
ex'crt all iiis limbs; whereas in sleep, all vo-
luntary power is lost over the bo<ly, as well
as over the mcmor)'. The train of ideas goes
on, and produces what are called dreams.
AVhilff the sleep remains, these dreams are
believed to be true, or the ideas presented by
the memory are regarded as realities; because
there is no power of dismissing them, or of
recollecting llicir origin ; but as the voluntary
pow er over the body has ceased, as well as
llie power over the memorv, the sleeper re-
niain<i quiet, and does not disturb the world.
'* Here, then, is the difference between a
slate of sound intellect, a state of madness,
and a state of sleej). A man of sound mind
can arranire his ideas so as to imagine himse f
created emperor of China ; but he can also
recollect that this is a fancy of hjsown form-
ing, and he can dismiss it from his thoughts.
If a madman chance to form the same notion,
he will believe it be true, and will assume the
state of a monarth ; for he can connnaud his
body aiid even iiis memory in a partial degree:
but he cannot dismiss an idea that presents
itself strongly to his mind, nor so far excit re-
collection as to perceive its origin. If the
same fancy occur to a man aslet:p, he will
believe its truth like the madman : but ite will
he still, and do nothing; ibr he has no power
over his body.**
A distinction exists much more strongly
marked between sleep and madness than
this which the author draws. During
sleep ideas of memory are mistaken tbr
ideas of sense. The sonorous, visual, and
other iik^as w)>rrh fonn the materials of
dreams, are mistaken for realities : it is
not so in madness ; tlie madman hears^
sees, smells, like a sane person. It is in
delirium only that the senses are ilius
diseased. A delirious person sees object*
which no one else can see, and is so in-
sensible to outward impressions that con^
mon noises are not perceived, and present
objects not attended to. It is a ciirioos
question to solve, why in dreams, ideas cf
memory are mistaken for ideas of sense,
Mr. Hol>l)es thought that the scenes
which arise in the mind during sleep, are
as vivid and complete in all their parts as
realities, aiKl hence no dilFereuce ia distin-
guishable. But when we wake iu the
moniing, and compare the occurrences of
sleep with the sensations of a waking
state, the diftcrence in vividness is imme-
diately evident. U is the want of this
comparison in sleep which gives rise to
the mistake. In die day, when ideas pass
through die mind, and objects strike upon
the senses, the impressions of the latter
are felt to be so much more vivid than
the former, that no mistake can take place.
The constant comparison prevents any
illusion : but during sleep, external ob-
jects cease to make impressions upon the
mind ; ideas cannot be compared with
sensations, and are dieiefore mistaken for
them.
The chapter on taste is executed in a
much more ingenious and perspicuous
manner, than the preceding part of this
volume. If we have not been convinced,
at lea5rt we have been amused, by die a\i-
ihor's speculations, llie theory of the
beautiful and sublime, as ctmnected wiih
the moral doctrine which commence:* the
volume, must engage our attention and
exerciic our criticism.
" On examining the various object* of ta te,
it will be found, that what is called their
beauty is only another name for their perter-
tion. ' It ctHisists of the skill and energy, or
of die degree of mteliectual excelleocei that
FOtSTtrt's PAINCI^LBI Of MOllAL SCiBHCrf,
Appears displayed on any occasion, or in the
formation of any object. An object is called
beautiful when* it is excellent of its kind, or
. wheu-a high degree of wisdom appears to iiave
been exerted in its production. The pleasure
wilh which it is regarded, is nothing else than
the satisfaction which attends the rontoiupla-
tion of perfection^ or of the valuable qualities
of mincl which the objc»ct has allorded an op-
portunity of displaying. If the excellence of
an objeil is uncon'nnonly great, so as to re-
quire a considerable eirort to discern its whole
worth, and all the skill and power which are
manifested by means of it, such an object is
said to be more than beautiful, — it is sublime.
The opposite of beauty is defomiity or im-
perfection ; the oppositt; of sublunityis mean-
ness, or extraorduiary defectiveness'!*'
To judge of the truth or falsehood of
tills theory, we must have recourse to ex-
periflient. ff any objects can be found
beautiful or sublime, which display no
exertion of intellect, the theory must be
confessedly iiaaccurate. A beautiful land*
scape pleases the beholder, without cast-
ing his look beyond the scene before him,
to the mind which produced it. The
winding rivulet which nourishes the vege-
tatioa of tlie place, may exhibit the intel-
ligence of him who placed it tliere 5 and
to the eye of the scientific observer, eveiy
part of the scene may be stamped with in-
tellect ; but die perception of .^ill is de-
nied to tlie generality of obsen'ers, who
would be insensible to the beauty of the
prospect if beauty consisted in intellect.
Mauy objects may be found which ar-
range themselves under the sublime, and
which display not the slightest traces of
intellectual exertion. The sea during a
«torni, and the volcano during its erup-
tions, are undeniably sublime objects; but
we cannot discern any skill in mountain
hillows, in showers oi' cinder, or rivers of
Java.
Ahout a third of the volume emhraces
the differenr disquisitions connected with
religion. It is executed with ability and
will be read with gnKification, Our au-
thor, very consistently with his leading
tenet, thus vindicates belief in Deity.
^ It is a feet little attended to, btrt not the
less tnie, tiiat the existence of intelligent be- ,
ings is att times merely a matter of s^ipposi-
tion. Kvery man knows his own existence
by immediate perception ; but he knows die
existence of other men, as rational beings,
only in consequence of their actions. How
do I kttow, for example, that any one rational
miod exists in the world excepting my own ?
I answer, thus: I perceive with my eyes a
form jw5ieaWing my own: It eats, drink*, and
*^p«, as I do : it utters language : it ex-
presses sentiments of pain and pleasure, and
«iik«i4»t£reitiogand ingenious remark?: it
«$
fashions curious machines ; and all XH actions
are regular, and have a tendency to produce
some effect. From all these circumstances, I
find myself under the necessitv of supposing
that this form is inhabited by'a mindsimikJ
to my own, that fhinks, and feels, and chooses,
and rejects, as I do. J*til| this is only an in-
ference, or a suppositifljpr^^nvented to account
for appearances ; for in Jio case can mind itself
either be seen or touched.
" But u e discover the existence of an in-
telligent Contriver of the universe precisely
in the way that we discover the existence of
each other. We find ourselves placed amidst
avast sco.ie of revolving woi-Ids. That on
which we live is well adapted to the accom-
modation and subsistence of various animals.
These animals possess the most ciiriotis bodily
structure, and the greatest varietv of intef-
lectual character. They are ail suited, how-
ever, to the state in which they are placed ;
and were one circumstance of* their form ar
situation changed they could not exbt A
fish perishes on land ; the land animals perish
m the water; and if tlie carnivorous aiiimals
had been formed without weapons to destroy
their prey, they must have perished by fa"^
mine, tram this suitableness and accommo-
.dation of all the parts of nature to each other,
we conclude tliat it is the wofk of a mind that
discerns, at least as well as we do, what is fit
and convenieot, and wliat means are neces-
wry for the accoinplislmient of any purpose.
As we conclude ft'om the productions uud ac-
tions of a man, ithat a rational mind inliaWt*
his form ; so, from the skilful contrivance of
all the pjrts of nature, we condtide that it is
inhabited :md animated by a powerful mincL
This grc^ut mind is invisible; but the mind of
man is invisible aho. This great mind is
only known from its operations; but it Is
albo ill tills way only that the existence of tlie
mind of man is known. Hence it foliow*^
that we have precisely llie same evidence ui
the existence of the Oeity, or of a inind that
arranj^cd the universe, that we have of the
existence of a living and thinking mind in any
man or woman with whom wie are acquaint-
ed.'
Having thus examiiied die present por-
tion of the metaphysical labours of Mr.
Forsyth, we take leave of him for a time.
The volume, although it contains much
refutable . matter, displays a respectable
portion of ingenuity, clearness, arrange-
ment, consistency, and comprehension.
These qualities will be increased by ex^
•ercise. The jxjwers of the mind, hke the
muscles of the body, grow stronger by lar
hour.
. This volume will, we fear, add litd^
that is valuable to our previous stock o£
metaphysical knowledge x but it may be
the tbrei-unner to something of greater
value. It may be only tlie gluaming of
twilight, which will be tbllowed by the
ladiiJiiL'e of day.
670 METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
AnT. III. — Academcal ^Mtstims, Bff the Right Hon William Dkommoud,
K. C. K R. S, E. Author of a Translation qf'Fcrsais. 4to. Vol. I. pp. ASiO, .
METAPHYSICS, or the science of in-
tellectual nature, appears to have been one
of tlie earliest subjects of speculation which
engaged the attention of philosophers.
The operations of tlie tuiderstanding might
seem a subject peculiarly adapted for ihe
investigation of the human mind. Yet it
has so happened tliat into no subject has a
greater degree of perplexity and uncer-
tainty been introduced, not so. much per-
luips from the nature of the study itself,
as from the injudicious manner in which
the pursuit of it has been conducted. Even
to delitieate and classify the operations o£
the mind with accuracy, b a task of no
small nicety and difficulty, and requires
the exeirise of vigorous, steady, arui aaite
<)bservation. But not content with the
discharge of this humbler duty, the philo-
sophers of antiquity, and many of their suc-
cessors in modem times, have souglit to
penetrate into the substantial nature of the
soul, and without any data of experience,.
to trace it in iU progress througii past and
futiire scenes of being. Hence the doc-
trines of pro-existence, reminiscence, me-
tempsychosis, with innumerable others
equally visionary and uq&ubstantial. On
the whole, therefore, in ancient literature,
tiie science of metaphysics, notwithstand-
ing the celebrity of the names recorded
among the number of its votaries, and the
genius and labour expended on its culti-
vation, does not seem to have been in ge-
neral directed to objects of utility. Many
sparks of tmth were indeed struck out. but
no steady and directing light was kindled.
Intdk'ctunl science seems in its full pro-
portion to have pailaken of the decay
which tasie, erudition, and knowledge of
every sjiecies, sustained after tlie fell of
the Rotnan empire. Under the school -
philosophy it wiis iixked revived, but only
.to appear diignised under accmsulated ab-
fcurdiiies. Al'.er most hterar}' pursuits had
recommenced that career of improvement
which they have scarcely ever since re-
laxed, this was long enveloped in all the
gloom of scholastic obscurity. France
and England were the first to burst those
fetters of authority in which the human
fiiciilties had been enchained. But the
systems of Dehcaries and Malbranche
have disappeared, wh'de Locke retains the
glory, not periiaps of carrying the science
which he investigated to jHirfeciion, but of
having di^incumbered it of many absurdi-
.ties, of having conducted the investigation
with that cauiiuu v^ hich is thu character-
istic of true philosophy, «nd of harhxg laid
down those first principles from which
subsequent enquirers, we apprehend, will
never be able to deviate wiih safety.
Mr. Drummond in his prefece elo-
quently complains of tlie neglect into
which metaphysical science has fallen to
£ngland, and particularly in our lis/iver*
sities, the representatives in many respects
of our literary republic. The tbrtmieof
this study among us has indeed been rather
singular. The scholastic philo^opl]y was
able for centuries to maintain an lincon-
trouled dominion ^ the free genius cf
Locke, in overleaping the boundaries and
exposing the absnrdi ties of that philosophj,
was considered as engaged in a rebeliioos
attempt to overthrow an established em-
pire; Europe acknowledged his merit and
success, and they who condemned and dis-
carded him soon claimed the honour ot bis
name. There now seems to be some dan-
ger lest the veneration paid to his name
should be his otily honour ; and, as has
happened in other instances, that while lie
is permitted to hold a high rank among
the promoters of science, his tlieories and
discoveries should be almost disreganltd
and forgotten.
The tbllowing extract conveys tlie feel-
ings of our author on this subject.
" Little fortitude, however, is requisite to
bear with indiHeraice tiie misref^-rescntatio}^
of the ignorant, or the contempt of tl>e vii-
gar, the niistakfs of the illiterate, or the pre-
tensions of tht supertxial. The philosopher
may calmly assert his claims against tliosc,
who would trick themselves out in hismaciW,
and may leave frivolity and dullDe>6 to th«i>-
selves, to scoff, or to revile, without cxjArri-
eiicing any sentiments, of regret or indigba-
tk>n. It is DOtliing to him, that his tone ^lA
his language are ill imitated by tlie sophist ;
that he is considered as a u:>eless mfmbcTAjf
society by the heavy plodding man ot* bcsi-
ness ;'or tliat he is exposed to the impotcot
ridkiile of the gaudy coxcomb, by whom be
can never be approvc<l, because he can nevtr
be understood. W bat is it to him, though fab
name be unknown aoioug the nionopoltzfsa^
the schemers, and tlie projectors, that throng
the crowded capital of a mercautile oa-
tbn ? What is it to him, thougii hb takais
be undervalued by the votaries and the
victims of dissipatkxi, foUy, and ftshiou?
What is it to him, thou^ grandeur should
have withtlrawn its protei-tion from genius ;
tliough ambition sbonld be satisdcd with
power alone ; and though power should only
exert its efforts to preserve itsdf? These thiaigs
may not affect him : they may ndther rnXx^'
DKtfMMOirb's ACAOBMICAL aUBSTlOlCl
671
ntpt th« course of his studies, nor disturb the
cpreni( y of his mind. But what must be his
K'f lings, if ht' should find, that philosoj-yhy is
pcistfcuted, v^hcre science is professed to be
tauijlu ? Are there not some, who seem de-
sirous of e>r]uding it from the plan of public
education ? The a<lvdiilages whirh are to be
derived from clasical knowledge are well un-
derstood hi one piace ; and a profound ac-
quaintance with mathematics is liighly ei»ti-
mated in anotlier: while the study of the hu-
man mind, whit h Ls the study ot human na-
ture, and that examination of principles which
U so necessary to the scrutiny of truth, are
cith< r discouraged as dangerous^ or neglected
a> useless."
Tlie work of Mr. Drummond, tliough
replete with learning and actUe observa-
tion, we find it from the want of a regular
^)lan soinewhat diilicult to analyze. This
deliciency is indeed almost unavoidable,
as the present volume m only introductory,
and is chiefly employed in controverting
opinions and observacions of forn^r phi-
losophers. It consists of two books, tlie
former of which comprises nine chapters,
which may be di«tinguislied into three
principal divisions.
Tlie first of these divtsioas, containing
tlie first and second cliapters, is chiefly
eiuployed in controverting the propriety
of those pnpular statements by which the
mental operations are considered as dis-
tinguishiible into tlie exercise of various
distinct intelleotual faculties. Language
of this sort tlie ablest metaphysicians have
oot hitherto scrupled to employ. " It
cannot be doubted,'* says Hume, '* that
tbe mind is endowed with several powers
and faculties; that these powers are distinct
from each other j that wliat is really distinct
U) the inmiediate perception may be distin-
guished by reflection, Sec." The conve-
nience of this language, and its accommo*
dfltion to practical purposes, cannot surely
be disputed ^ it is only its philosophical
acciuiacy that is questioned by Mr. Drum-
^nond. The arguments which he era-
ploys display all the refinement of meta-
physical subtlety. Is power, he asks, a
cau.se or an efi^t > if an ultimate cause,
it is a principle beyond which we cannot
proceed, and the supposition of distmct
intellectual powers is destructive to that
of the unity of the muid. If power is an
attribute of sabstance, and things are dis-
tinguished only by their qualities, the sup-
position terminates in the confusion of
substance, material, intellectual, and di-
vine. The object of this and the subse-
quent reasoning it is difficult to apprehend^
fr<jin a dsfofil that pervades Uie wholt?
work as it now appears; our want of know-
ledge respecting the positive system which
the author intends to establisli. The re-
marks on Locke's account ot' power are
more obvious, and few metai)liysical rea-
soners of the present day will withhold
their assent from^rlMMii/' The following
extract, tliough nihigled with some occa-
sional obscurity Irom the circumstance to
which we have just alluded, contain;* some
valuable remarks.
** The author of the Essay on Human Un-
derstanding is of opinion, tnat we obtain SM
idea of power, fironi observing tlic UK>tion,
which external bodies communicate tt) each
other, and Irom attending to the iulluence of
our volitions over our tiiouglits. "We have
certainly been led by these means to assume
the existence of power : it may bt? douljted,
if we thence acquire any notioir of it.
'* I'he motion of external bodies dt>es not
furnish us with any idea of what may be the
motive principle. To perceive one object
inipelling and another hnijclled, is not to j»er-
ceive that, which generates and continues
motion. While injpulse imparts impulse, f
may be sensible of a repeated eifect, which, I
may conclude, is produced by a repeat H15
cause; but I have no perception of tlie cause.
TJie lis nfovendi is no object either of sense,
or of understanding. 1 fiee the thing moviKl,
and 1 cannot conceive the force, by which ft
is moved. I suppose the earth to be carried
in its orbit round the sim by the power of gra-
vitation ; ajid I do not thence pretend that f
hare an idea, or notion, of the power of gra-
vitation. . i am acquaintetl with the effect ; I
may suppose, tliough I do not perceive tiie
occult amse. 1 cannot, therefore, coAchi<ie.
that lacquireany notion of |)owtir, by obserip*
ing the motion of external bodies.
" When it is asserted, that the mind recalls,
combines, or sejxirates, ideas, according <(> its
volitions, it may be suspected, that sulficieiit
attention has not* been given to the subject^
A volition is a modified desire, exclusive (as
doctor Priestley obstrves)of any tumultuous
emotion. A desire U the indisthrct perL-e)>t .^u
of an idea ; but desire by no means implies
power. We co«ld not have argued a pnori,
that volition would be followed by action, or
desire by gratification, even wherethis happc i $
most frequently. May it not then be doubted,
M'hether there be any thing positively cau«^al
in volition, or whether any thing nece^sarik
happen, because it has been willed by iivs,
mind ? There can be no such thing as powejr
which is contingent.
*'The power of the mind over ideas has
been oftener peremptorily assumed, than
clearly explained. We have defined volition
to be a modified desire. Now the ideas,
which are the objects of volition, must have
been already present to the mind, bctore any
desire concerning them coidd exist. There
tm be no desire about that# which is no ol;^
c^
METAPHrsiCS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRinClSM.
ject of perception ; and the klea, about wh ich
wc will, must be pro iqusly clUtinguished by
• »3. Ho\r then sliall we pretend, tlkit ideas
present themselves to our conteniplalion by
the power ot the wili, or by tlie dioice of the
Aiind?
" rheol)scrvations, which I have just made.
May be illustrated from ideas of memory. If
Bi recollecting any train of ideas, I perceive a
broken link in thecliain, which I desire to till
n^H my volition is not employed about the
al>sent idea itself, but about tlie removal of a
want, of wliicli i am perceptive. Having, for
example, tin* lir»t and thinl ideas ot^ a train, I
may perceive tlie abienceoftbe intermediate
idea, and may desire to recollect it ; though
my volition is not employt^d alxHit this for-
ghitten idea itself, for it is no ul>ject of my per-
ception, I do, I owe\'er, pen cive an inter-
lupted association of ideas; ami tiie painful
aetisatum, which accompanies any aNSoi iation
felt to Ix* wrong, may induce me to dwell upon
the train, until it presciit itself to my mind in
its original and proper order. Thus if i forget
a word ix» a verse, which I formerly knew, i
perceive its absence from the alte*re<l sense
aod the brokeu harmony. By repeating to
■lysctf the words, which I do' know, the for-
gotten word often recurs to my mind. This
Eappeus, because the longer we attend to any
ideas, the more disthictly we comprehencl
them ; and because those* ideas, which were
formerly associated in our mincLs, more rea-
ddy present themselves to tlie undcrstandioff.
** ill tlie same manner it may be argued,
tliat ideas of iutellect and imagination do not
always present themselves to tlie mind by an
act ik the will. It is not always according to
^ition, that the orator arranges his discourse,
•r that the poet paints to the imaginatioo.
i>n the coHtnuy-, it would seem dimcult to
Aanpreheud, Iiow volition siiould ever intlu*
riK-e the reusoning of the one, or the fancy of
tlu- vxher."
Tlie conclusion of ilie chapter contains
some just ethical remarks, conveyed in
rk:i;ant language, re^)ecning the operation
of the piissions, and their independanc^ on
aiiv direct aildautliontativecoutroulofthe
iki'il.
In the second chapter, in controverting
the distinction between active and passive
powers of the soul, tlie abstract subject o4'
power is resumed. We may incidentally
fcmark that a passive power is a very
•irange expression. It is however clearly
shewn, ia conformity with the reasoning
of* Hume, that with respect to the material
world, >9rhen wc speak of the relation of
cause and effect, we have no idea of the
power exerted, the cai.sal efficacy ; we
perceive only the connection of events, or
more stiictly speaking, of perceptions.
Some pefplexii^ questions are tlien started
ie»pe«uiig the d^tinciiotu betweoi (b^
active and passive states of the soul, whicl^
will not however create much difficulty to
a necessarian, who regards the soul a^ al-
ways passive, at least in the sen^e of being
subject to laws of causation in all its ope«
rations.
The ideas of substance and primary mat«
ter, with the opinions of some ancient and
modem p^iilosophers on tJiese subjects,
form tiie basis of the third and fourth
chapters. Tt is obvious to every reader of
Locke, that while he possessed the great
principles of mental philosophy, he did
not in all instances extend them to their
full application. Tims on the subject of
substance he has been betrayed into
some inconsistency with the princi;^
which he himself has laid down. His in-
accuracy is well exposed by Mr. Drum-
mond. His very language indeed on this,
as on some other occasion?, betrays th*
confusion of his ideas. Speaking of the
obscure notion which he supposes the hu-
man mind to possess of sub:»tance, •' It b
a supposition," he says, *' of one knows
not what support of such qualities as are
capable of producing simple ideas in us.**
** Now a supposition,'^ as Mr. Dnmfimond
justly remarks, " of one knows not what,
does not give an obscure idea, bat rather
no idea at aU." The fact is, as must ap-
pear to every attentive observer of the
o[x»rations of his own mind, that of sub-
stance as of power, we are incapable of
forming any positive idea. In the subse-
quent chapter the primary matter of the
ancient and modem peripatetics is sue*
cessfully ridiculed.
The four succeeding chapters are de-
voted to the consideratiou of the great
metaphysical question respecting the dis-
tinction between tlie primary and secon*
dary qualities of matter, in which the oj«-
nion is decisively maintained, that tht
former equally with the latter are the crea-
tures of perception. The folio winj^ is ibe
author's statement of the object of thest
chapters,
•' There ca^ be no doubt, says Lord Mcn-
boddo, that ideas liave their models and ar-
chetv'pes in the nature of things, and that bo-
dies'under varioas figures are the objtxts*
which alfiect our senses. If there were im»
doubt, there would be no dispute. But there
is a dianite. Several philo;rf>phers have at>
tempted to prove, that the mind is seotient,
that the senses are not so, and that we, w:»
^ooly feel in ourselves, arc incapable of disco-
veiing the causes of perception, and the
sources of sentiment. For the same reasons
they have questioned the existence of extenal
qualities. Of these qualities the seroodtfy
11
DHUMMOND S ACADEMICAL QUESTIONS.
C73
arc admitted to exist, only as they are per-
ceived : at least by all the disciples of Locke
and Des Cartes. With respect to the primary
qualities of matter, greater doubts have been
entertained. Berkeley has certainly employed
some forcible reasoning, to show, that they
have no external existence. I shall content
myself, with endeavourhig to explain, in what
manner they are contemplated by the mind ;
and in order to do this with greater precision,
I shall treat separately, in three following
chapters, of solidity, extension and motion.*'
The sixth chapter briefly treats the ques-
tion of solidity. This is a subject on which
it may appear surprising that controversy
should have existed. The human faculties
are evidently incapable of communicating
any other idea of solidity than of resist-
ance, which however insuperable by any
force which we are able to employ, we
have no means of ascertaining to be in-
finite.
The important subject of extension fur-
nishes the next topic of investigation.
After attempting to show witli the bishop
of Cloyne what extension is not, the au-
thor proceeds, in one of the few instances
of this nature which occur in his volume,
to advance a positive theory, which we
therefore think it our duty to present to
our readers, without professing to v»ach
for its perspicuity.
" Thus far, therefore, I shall be found to
have coincided with the bishop of Cloyne ;
and to have arrived by a diflerent induction
to a similar conclusion. Still something more
is necessary to explain my notions concerning
extension; for it belongs to philosophy to
point out both what may be improbable, and
what may have the appearance of the greatest
probability*.
"As it is by the sight and the touch, that
we acquire our notions of any extension, and
as it is also by the comparison pf such ideas,
that we learn to distinguish tlie relative pro-
portions of magnitudes ; so we may not, im-
properly term extension a simple mode 6T
duration. I shall endeavour to illustrate, this
theory', as clearly as I can.
" Let any whole visible extent, answering
to the whole visual angle, at which all the
rays of light falling upon the retina are con-
centrated, be denominated acdhtinuous quan-
tity. Again, let any appareilt disunited
quantities, equal to particular objects, and
making parts of continuous quantity, be call-
ed discrete. Continuous extension will be
equal to what I term the simple mode of du-
ration ; and discrete quantities to particular
combinations of the same shnple idea. In the
extension, which is continuous, we only con-
•ider the simple mode itself ; but in discrete
auantitles, the mode is not contemplated
junply, but as mixed with othe^* modes; and
Akn. Rev.V^^. IV.
this in fact gives us the di (Terence, as we shall
liave occiision afterwards more fully to show,
between one discrete quantity and anotiier.
" When I look out of my window, the ob-
jects, which I see before me, give me notions
of discrete quantities. The mind cannot con-
template more tiian one idea at a time, with
whatever nipidity whole trains may pass be-
fore it ; and a regular seried of images passes
in mv imagination, while I survey the pros-
pect before me, and while the neighbourine
shores, covered with buildings, gardens, ana
vineyards, the sea, a remote promontory', and
a ferlher island, till the painted field of my
vision, and successively attract niy notice.
But all these objects, with their different dis-
tances, and relative mag«it tides, being, as it
were, summed up, make me perceptive of the
simple mode of duration, which has been
called contmuous extension."
On the subject of motion, the author
likewise advances a theory terminating in
this definition : motion is 'f mutation la
the combinations of our ideas of exten-
sion." This observation scarcely required
to be advanced with the formality of a
tlieory, containing nothing more tlian the
plain fact that whatever be the cause or the
nature of motion, its effect is a change in
the order of tliose perceptions, which we
are accustomed to consider as the repre-
sentatives of material archetypes.
The ninth chapter contains a series of
observations on the senses, intermixed
with various digressive remarks, which
prove the erudition, the taste, and the,
science, of the author. The purpose of
them in relation to the subsequent partg
of the work must be to establish a theory
of mire idealism.
S^me of the sceptical arguments in this
chapter seem to be urged rather too far,
when the residence of what are tenned the
qualities of matter is deduced to be in the
mind itself, from the various judgmentg
which men exercise respecting them.
Surely tlie most zealous advocates of ma-
terial archetypes never maintained that
the operation of the cause is not modified
by the circumstances of the percipient
being tlirough whose organs it acts.
The second book is divided into ten
chapters, at the head of each of which
stands tlie name of some celebrated philo-
sopher, some of whose opinions our aca-
demical disputant finds it necessary to call
into question. Tlje writers who here pass
the ordeal of his examination are the fol-
lowing : Descartes; Bacon, Newton, Spi-
nosa ; some mechanical philosophers, who
suppose the vital or animal spirits to be the
X X
C74
METAPHYSJCS, PHILOLCKJY, AND CRITICISM.
immediate instruments by which the soul
holds communication with the external
world 5 Hartley, Tucker, Leibnitz, Hart,
Rcid. The conclusion of the article on
the philosophy of Descartes, affords a fa-
vourable specimen of Mr. Drummond's
powers of writing.
'* Percept iancs nostrer, says Des-Cartes,
sunt etiojH duarum sjwcierum, et qiuriLim
UMunam pro causa haheiU, alia corpus: ****
omnes percqAioiics quat nondum expUcui,
veniutU ad animnm opera nervoruuiy et ijiit^r
au httc est differentia, quod qumdam rcfc-
rntMisad ohjectu externa qiur $eiisu9 nostros
ft riunt, alias ad ^losirum corpus, aut qtuis-
dam ejus par tesy et denique (dias ad iwsiratn
an imam. But there was a period when tlie
author doubted of the existence of his ncn-es,
ot hi i body, and of external objects. He ne-
Yt'rLlH»les"s affirmed, that he thouglit, and per-
ceived ; nor did he doiibt, that he had all
those perceptions, which he now tells us, have
his body and external objects for their causes.
It is evident, then, that duriofr this period of
sceptK-isn Des-Cartes must nave thought,
' tjiat \v* was solely perce|>tive of his sensations
and ideas. Now if it he possible for the hu-
man mind to contemplate to-day, what is
called the external worUl, without being per-
ceptive of any tiling but sensations and ideas ;
it seems rather unaccountable, that in again
surveying tlie same objects to-morrow, tlie
mind shall discover things, which are ^either
fcnsations, nor ideas. If all the objects,
uhich I perceived an hour ago, existed only
in my own mind; ani 1 now to pretend,, that
they are perceived by me, as existing out of
my' mind? We may indeed susixvt that Des-
Cartes was not hitherto satisfied with his own
reasoning concerning the existence of the
material world, since his belief in it finally
rested upon this, that the Deity could not
ilosire to deceive him. The supposition
Would be impious. Uod does not deceive
us; but we deceive ourselves. Wo aeuot
satisfied with speaking ot'«llie objects of our
perception — of what we feel and understand.
\Ve 'ieek to attach ideas to mere abstractions,
and to give being to pure denominations.
The dreams of our imaginations become the
standards oi our faith. Essences, which can-
not be detined ; substances, which caimot be
conceived; powers, which have never been
comprehended ; and causes, which .operate,
ivc know not how ; are sounds £uniliar to the
language of error. Accustomed to hear them
from our infancy, we seldom enquire into
their meaning. Our earlv associations form
the code of our reason. \Ve forget our lirst
impressions ; nor rwollect how simple are
the elements of ail our knpwledge. Deluded
bv his own mind, man continues to wander
ill the mazes of the labyrinth, which lies be-
Ibre him, unsuspicious of his deviatiojis from
tJie trutli. Like some knight of romance in
aa enchanted place, he miitakes tlie tictious
for the real, and tiie fidte for the true. Ih
is dazzled by the effulgence of the nieteof,
and thhiks he sees by the Tu^ of the suiu
The prisoner who dreams in his dungeoBy
hnagines himself walking abroad in the leUI^,
or in the streets. He enjovsthe svedsof
fancied liberty. See, how gladly he inhales
tiie fri^h air of the monung, or embraces the
friends whom he loves. He suspects not, tfat
the world, which he has revisited, edsts atkf
in himself; and that he must shortly asaU
to the conviction of his error— to lolttttde^
captivity, and sorro%v. Is there no being,
who resembles this dreamer? Is there Dot
one, who |)erceives his own ideas, and calk
tliem external objects; who thinks he &■
tinguishes the tnith, and who sees it not;
wiio grasps at shadows, and who iolloss
phantoms; who passes from the cradle to tk
tomb, tlie dupe and often the victim of tk
illusions, which be himself has created r"
In the imconnected state in which dies^
chapters appear, it will pot be necesny
to enter on a minute analysis of them,* we
shall content ourselves with refaring ti
the most remarkable passages and oUer«
vations.
In the article of Bacon, the »ul:5cct<]f
power, and the supposition of c^itioct
n^ental powers and faculties, is resumed.
.We do not fully comprehend Mr.
Drumraond's hypothesis respecting power,
and we suppose that in the subsequent vo-
lume it will be mcM'e fully developed and
employed. We fully agree with hira diat
the human mind b incapable of forming
an idea of power 3 but some parts of thi
following paragraph, if not incautious^
expressed, might tempt his readers to sup-
pose that he denies its existence.
'* The doctrine of necessity hai bee«
severely stigmatised by many writers of
great authority. It may be questioned,
however, whether the blame do not rest
in a considerable degree with themselvei
Had they been less strenuous in assertion
die necessary connection between anue^
and ei^ects — had they not insisted 00 doc
occult operation by which one thing it
said to act iip^jn another — had they not, io
short, sup{x>sed the eKJstence pfpovcft
which can u^\er be contingent^ wiienerer
they wished to account for phaenomena of
nature and the world, they would not ha«
been so much embarrassed by the danger-
ous conclusions wliich are ntade by neces-
sarians, and which, upon the principles
admitted by both parties, are more ea^iiy
denied than proved to be felse. p. 192."
The third chapter boldly, but in our
opinion unjustly, diarges the Kewtoniaii
system of the world jv^ith a tiendency to
TOOKe's DlVSftSlON$ 0^ Pt/RtftT*
07$
•theism. Be it admitted that matter is
endowed with powers by which the ope-
rations of the universe are conducted, does
not the arrangement of matter so as to be
capable of exerting these powers in refe-
r«nce to the purposes of tne system, still
point, with undiminished certauity, to an
intellectual author of the scheme? The
movements of tlie watch are effected by
the laws of elasticity and percussion 3 but
the intellect of the artificer appoints the
direction and objects of those powers*
The fourth chapter is occupied by a
copious and able representation of the
system of Spinosa, in a dialogue between
Tkeophilus> an orthodox t heist, Hylus, a
Spinosist^ and Eugenius the arbiter of the
ilispute, who sustains, wc suppose, the
person of the author. He does not, how-
ever, favour us with any systems of his
own, but expresses his hope on another
occasion of explaining his sentiments and
system. Addressing himself to Theoplii-
lus, he says, " In the mean time 1 do not
hesitate in declaring that the doctrines of
Hylus appear to me to be altogetlier erro-
neous J and yet with every wish to sup-
port your cause, and \\ ith a firm convic-
tion of the truth of the two great prin-
ciples which you have taught, namely, the
existence of a Deity, and the immortality
X)f the soul, I cannot assent to many of
j'oiirarguracuts. I do not.mean to say, tfiat
yon spoke ineloquently 3 but I tbink you
>et out with making many injudicious
concessions to Hylus. If he did obtain
$ny advantages in tliis discussion, it has
been owing to your impnidence. V^erum
haec hactenus -, caitera quotiescunique
voletis, et hoc loco, et aliis, parata vobii
•runt."
In the seventh chapter. Tucker, the au-
thor of *' the Light of Nature pursued/*
falls under the examination of our enqui-
rer. His mechanical system is justly con-
demaed, and occasion is taken to contro-
vert the encomium bestowed on him by
Dr. Paley, as unrivalled in the talent of
illustration. This leads to a critical di-
pes§ion on the varieties of styk applicable
to the treatment of diflerent subjects, and
that especially which is suitable to the
investigation of metaphysical topics.
The eighth chapter is employed in the
investigation of the system of Leibnitz,
which is well stated^ and its merits fairly
4aT. TV.—Eped Plcrocnia, or the Diversions of Purley. By J. H, Tookb. Part IL
4to. pp. 51t>.
JEW good books have been written on the theory of lauguage : tbit is one of
appreciated. As a production of genius it
receives a merited portion of praise 5 as a
philosophical investigation, it is evidently
deficient in the most requisite circum-
stances of evidence and proof.
A German philosopher of no mean
fame in his country, but whose system, if
intelligible, is at least little understood by
tlie philosophers of this country, Ema-
nuel Kant, IS next brought forward, and
provokes rather more than an usual portion
of Mr. Drummond's se\'erity. To a re-
presentation of his system we profess our-
selves totally inadequate, and we have
reason to suppose tliat for a just and able
statement of it, it would be necessary to
have recourse to German literature, or the
Latin translations of the professor's works.
With the latter Mr. Drummond appear^
to be acquainted, and the result of his en-
quir}'isaii utter condemnation of the Kan-
tian philosophy as a system of mysticism,
tending to the revival of the schoLlstic phi-
losophy, or some other system of equally
laborious tritling, under the disguise of a
formidable nomenclature, in tlie acquisi-
tion of which reason is fatigued before de-
finition can be ended.
The philosophy of Dr. Reid, which is
the last subject of discu-^siou, is diametri-
cally opposed to tJie system which Mr.
Dmmmond appears inclined to estajjlish^
that of pnre idealism. The accurate and
investigating spirit of tlie author receives
however a just tribute of respect.
Our analysis of many parts of this work
has been sutficiently minute, and our ex-
tracts sufficiently copious, to enable our
readers to appreciate its character and
merits. In one respect, as we have before
observed, it appears under a disadvaatage,
as stating no positive system, and occupied
by distinct topics of controversy, the refe-
rence of which to a common purpose, it is
not always easy to discover. Mr. Drum-
mond has however fully established hi$
own diaractef as a man of learning and
taste^ and an acute metaphysical enquirer.
The elegance of style with which his book
is written, though not entirely free from
indications of tlie lir,i<E labor, is such as
renders Itlm, in this rei»pcct, not an unfit
associate of Berkeley and Ilume. We
sliall be anxious to witness the continua-
tion of his labours.
6/6
Metaphysics, philology, and criticism.
them. Philosophic linguists have mostly
pursued the Aristotelic, the antient, me-
thod of reasoning, a priori; fliey have
rarely recurred to the Baconian, the mo-
dern, method of reasoning, a posteriori.
They have ex.amined ideas instead of phe-
nomena, suppositions instead of "facts.
The only method of ascertaining in what
manner speech originates, is to enquire
historically into the changes which single
words imdcrgo; and from the mass of
instances, within the examination of our
rxperience, to infer the general law of
tlieir formation. This has been the pro-
cess of Mr. Home Tookc. He first exa-
mined our prepositions, conjunctions, and
adverbs, all those particles of speech f{X)l-
ishly called insiguiricant, and shewed that
they were either nouns or verbs in dis-
guise, whicli had lost the habit of inflec-
tion. He now examines our adjectives
and abstract substantives, and shows that
they too are all re/erable to nouns or
\erbs, describing sensible ideas.
Whether this opinion is strictly new,
scarcely merits enquiry; it was never ap-
plied before on so grand a scale, and in so
instructive a manner. A critic on the
first volume of tlie Diversions of Purley
states, that Schultens had derived a long
string of Hebrew adverbs, prepositions,
and conjunctions, from nouns extant in
that language ; and that he adds : Apud
Latinos quoque conjunctiofies multa; a no-
mijubus oriund<e. Lennep again in his
Analogia obser\cs: Rr oito igitwr par-
t lui orationis, tuluo statuunt grammatici,
rerbum et nomen prinripeni locum obtinent,
vum reli'jup oinnes facile ad harum alter^
\itram refcrri queant. Gregory Sharpe, in
his Origin and Structure of the Greek
Tongue, reveals the important fact, tJiat
the personal inflections of verbs have been
formed by coaleiicence with auxiliaries.
Such scattered solitary observations may
have prepared and do confirm the com-
prehensive gcRerr.lizations of Mr. Home
I\>oke ; but to him the English language
owes llie pristine introduction of just prin-
ciples, and a n^Kt extensive, learned, and
dotiiledapplirJiion of them to the ety-
luolo^y of its terms. He has laid the
groi;;iJ\vork of a gnuil dictionary.
Arrstotle, and other ancient gramma-
rians, had perce;\ed and taught that lan-
vru.i^^e co:i:iisted ofxtrbsand nouns. To
this grand distribution of the parts of
«pec»r!i, Horace, ulking of the mventioa
yf Li::»;uage, aiiudes :
— " Sic verba, qiiiuu> voces sensusqae do-
Ureut,
yomii^l'.t: mveiiere."'
Yet if we attend to the process; ef ac-
quirement among children (and it is by
the same steps that a savage horde mmt
collectively pass in the evolution of adia-
lect), we shall be compelled to rank the
interject ion first, as the original kind of
word. It is long before children can dis-
tinguish between objects and phenomena;
their first articulations describe scnsatiou
and perceptions, which they have not vet
leanit to refer to exten>al objects. IIkj
first sounds they utter are simple vowel>,
the oh and ai of pain, the ce and ah of
attention and wonder, the oo of ^^sp^.
Sucii sounds describe an enduring action,
or rather passion, of tlie child's frame;
and tlierefore approach nearer to verbs
than to nouns, llie radical or auxili27
verb seeiTJs to have been originally an in-
terjection imitati ve of suction . The btin
sum signilics I suck 5 it is etymologialij
connected with sumo.n the pap, or dug.
The English I am is derived from the
same root with ammel nipple, arorac nurse,
and emma mother. The first nouns again
rather describe impr^rssions than objects
and thus begin by being interjections.
The sheep is cjilled baa, the cataract ga»i,
the bird cuckow : all is onomatoptrii
with the savage. The indicative interjec-
tion he ! in many languages form$ tbe
basis of the demonstrative pronouns, d
tlie articles, and of the substantive pnh
Dotms of the third person. Lord Moo-
boddo is of opinion that verbs grew om cf
interjections, and preceded noons. " from
this account (says he in the Origin ad
Progress of I^anguage, Vol. L p. 481) it
appears that tlie first sounds articulated
were the natural cries of men, by wbid
they signified their wants and desires to
one another, such as calling one anotbcr
for cert am purposes, and odier such thicgi
are were most necessary for carr/iiig «
any joint work. Then in process of tiaie
other cries woiUd b< articulated, to sigsr
fy that such and such actions bsd boo
pel formed or were performing, or iht
such and such events had happened pli-
ti\*e to the Ammon business. Then namei
would be invented of such objects as iL-r
were conversant with. This increase ct
-Turords would make more articulation m-
cessary : and thus the language woali
grow by degrees ; and as it grew it voulJ
be more and more broken by consonant},
but still tHe words would reuin a greit
deal of tlieir original nature of animd
cries."
To strictly elementary speculations tlie
interlocutors of these winged vrords sel-
dom ascend: they do not discui* tli6 cri-
tooke's diversions op purley.
.m
gin, but the progressive formation of early
Ijnguagc. Their conversations are eight
in number* The first treats of the rights
of xr^iit and explains the word right to
mcvin thut which is directed, or ordered.
Tlie f^wy npxt are ver}' vakiabie : tliey
concern ',\btt» action^ and reduce many
words curr^^'t among the metaphysicians
to their precW^6 and only intelligible em-
ployment, liifl lamentable decay of ety-
mological studies in this country has beea
a great cause o( the quantity of jargon
offered to tlie pt^felic as reasoning. No
man can write wil[.h propriety on any sub-
ject who does no^r understand the words
he uses j yet scarcely any one of our me-
taphysical philosophers, except Hobbes,
has even endeavoured to understand his
terms. An entertaining excursion is tliat
which respects the word lord.
'* Speaking of Varlets, you mentioned the
word Lord. That word is not yet become
quite an opprobrious term, whatever it may
be hereafter ; \%'hich will dcpeml entirely
upon the conduct of those who may bear that
tille^ and the means by which it niay. usually
be obtained. But what does tiie word mean ?
For I can never believe, witli Skinner, that it
proceeds from ** r////, pani-, et Ford (pro Af-
tord), suppeditare: quia scilicet multis panem
largitur, i. e. multos alit." For the animal
we nave I^ely known by that name is intirely
of a different description*
" You know, it was anciently written
rUiford; and our etymologists were misled
hy rUif, which, as tliey triny said, certainly
means and is our modem loaf. But when
they had told us that loaf came from rl((t\
tlie'y thought their business with tliat word
was completed. And this is their usual prac-
tice with other words. But [ do not so un-
derstand etymology. I could as well be con-
tented to stop at loaf in the Knglish, as at rlaf
in the Anglosaxon : for such a derivation afr
fords no additional nor ultimate mcanini;.
The question with me is still J why r////in the
An^losaxon? I want a meaning, as the cause
of the appellation ; and not merely a similar
word in another language.
" Had they considered that we use the dif-
ferent terms bread and dough and loaf for*
the same material substance in ditferent
itates ; they would probably have sought for
the etymology or dilfv.Tent meanings of those
words, in the circumstances of the different
stages. And had they sought, they probably
would have found : and the meaning of the
word rl/tf wouUl have suveil them irom the
absurdity of their derivation of Lord.
" Bre«id wo have already explained : It is
hrwjcd grain. After breaking or pounding
the ffrain, the next state in the process to-
wards loaf is dough. An4
[1 Dough— h the past participle of the An-
flosaxon verb deawian, to moisten or to wet.
)ougfi therefore or dow means wetted.
'* You will not fail to observe en passant,
that dew (a. s. deaw), though differently
spelled and pronounced, is the same parti-
ciple with the same meaning.
" Ane hate fyry power, warme and dew,
Heumly begynnyng and original
Bene in thay sedls quhilkis we saulis cal.
DougUus, lib. 6. page 191.
" Of Paradise the well in sothfastnes
Foyson that lloweth in to sondr}' royames
The soylc to adewe with liis swete streamer.
I.ijite of our e Lady, page 163.
" Wherefbre his mother of very tender herte
Out braste on teres and might liersellc nat
stere.
That all bydewed where her eyen clere.
LjjJ'c nfoitrc Lidjy pai;e 1(57.
"And let my breste,' benigne lorde, be
dewed
Downe with somme drope from tliy mages tr,
Lufe of oure Ladij/p^igQ 182.
" With teares augmenting the fresh morningg
deaw.
Romeo and Juliet, page 54.
" Her costly bosom stre.v'd with precious
orient pearl.
Bred in her shining shells, wliich to the deaw
doth yawn.
Which deaw they sucking in, conceive that
lusty spawn,
Pobj-alhion, Song 30."
The sixth conversatif>n discusses adjec-
tives, and refutes convincingly m.my de-
finitions of Harris, I.owth, and other
scholastic grammarians. The introduc-
tory part will sufHce to explain the au-
tlior's theory.
" You imagine then that you have thus
set aside the doctrine of abstraction.
" Will it be unreasonable to ask you.
What are tliese adject! vt»s and participles by
which; you think you liave achieved tins
feat? And first, Wliat is an adjective? I dare
not call it noun adjective: for Dr: Lowtlr
tells us, page 4 1 , 'Adjectives are very im-
properly called noiuis, for they are not the
names of things.'
** And Mr. Harris (Hermes, book l.'chap.
10.) says — * Grammarians have been led into
that strange absurdity of ranging adjective*
with nouns, and separating them from verbs ;
though they are homogeneous with respect
to verbs, as both sorts denote attributes: they
are heterogeneous with resjH^ct to nouns^ as
never proi)erly denoting substances.'
" You see, Harris and l^)wth concur, that
adjectives are not the names of things; that
they never properly denote substances. But
they differ ni their consequent arrangement.
Lowth appoints the adjective to a separate
9
(Jrs
MptAPITYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
Surely ihc terminatbn m takes nothing aw
from tt»* substantives g<^d, brass, and >ilk, Ici
which it is united as a termination : and as
surely it adds nothing to their significj^ion,
but this single circumstance, viz. That goW,
brass, and silk are designated, by thi^tcnni:
nation eyi, to be joined to some ouier sub»
staiitivp. And we shall find hefcafter that
en and the etiuivalent adjeclive'tfcrmmatioM
ed and iij^ (our modem y) ccwi<^v all three,
by thi'ir o\\-n intrinsic meaning, tliat designa-
tion and nothing else; for thev mean give,
add, join. And this sin^e added cirami-
stance of ' pertainbig to,' is (as Wilkins truly
tells Us) the only dirfereni^ between a sul)-
stantive and an adjective; between gold and
golden, &:c.
** So the adjectives wooden and woolfa
convey precisely the same ideas, arc the
names ot the same things, denote the same
substances, as the substantives wood and
wool : and the terminating en only puts tiaem
in a condition to be joined to some other
substantives; or rather, gives us notice to ex-
pect some other substantives to which they
are to be jomed. And tijis is the whole mys-
tery of sirfiple adjectives. (We speak Dot
here of compounds, /i//, ous, ly, &c.)l
" An adjective is tlie name of a thin;
which is directed to be joined to some otht^
name of a thin^. And the snlwtamivc and
adjective so joined, are frequently convert-
ible, without the smallest change of meaning:
As we may say — a perverse nature, or, a w
tural perversity.''
The seventli and eighth conversatiom,
which treat of participles, complete the
volume. The dialogue form of compo-
s'tion has, in our opinion, been chosen
unwisely : 'it is ill adapted for etymologi-
cal investigations, because the shades oi
ditfcrence betvi^cen coljateral words in
kindred languages, though -it may be ren-
dered sensible to the eye, hardly can to
the ear : and Ixh ause where dictionaries
are to be consulted, and quotations to be
compared, it is unnatural to communiciie
the result by word of mouth.
Instances may and do occur in which
the filiation of a word adopted by .Mr.
Horn^ T(K)ke differs from the pedigree
preferred by Adelung. But a few ques-
tions of individual fact decided differeniljr
would diminish in no perceptible degree
tlic value of the book. One instance of
disagreement between these etymologists
* Harris should have called them either attributes or attributables. But having temn-
nated the names of his three other classes (substantive, definitive, connective) in ire, he
judgetl it more regular to tenninatt; the title of this class also in ive : having no notion what-
ever that all common termiiiations have a meaning ; aiul prol^ably supposing them to be (as
the etymoloi^ists ignorantly term them) mere protractiones vocum : as if words were wire-
drawn, and that it was a mere matter of taste in tlie waiter, to use indiliereatly dt^er one
tcrniinatioa or another at his pleasure.
6
station by itself amongst the parts of speech ;
and yet expels the j>articiple from amongst
them, thoui^n it had long tiL^urcd there: whiist
Harris .classes verbs, partRij)lc5, and a(ijoc-
tives together under one heoiJ, viz. attribu-
tives*.
" These gentlemen diffiT widely from some
of their ablest predecessor^. Sraliger, Wil-
kins, VVallis, Sancliiis, Srioppius, and Vos-
lius, consideraWc and justly respected names,
tell us far otherwise.
" Scaliger, lib. 4. cap. 91. * Nihil differt
concretum ab al>stracto, nisi jnodo signillca-
tic^is, non signiticalione.'
" Willvins, Part 1 . chap. 3. Sect. 8. * The
tffio genuine sense of a noun adjective will be
fixed to consist in this ; th.it it imports this
general notion, of pertaining to.'
** VValiis, page ^2. * Adjectivum respec-
tivum e^t nihil aliud quam ipsa vox substan-
tiva, adjective posita.
" Page 127. ' Quodlibet subslantiMim
adjective positum degenerat in adjectivum.*
"Page 129. ' Kx substantivis fiunt ad-
jectiva copiac, addita terminatione y, &c.'
" Sanctius, —
" I beg you to proceed no farther with
your autliorities. tan you suppose that
li.irris and Lowth were unacquainted with
th(*n) : or that they had not read much more
than all which vou can produce upon the sub-
ject, or probably have ever seen ?
** f doubt it not in the least. But the health
of the mind, as of tiie body, depends more
upon the digestion thin tlie swallow. Away
then wuh authorities: and let us consider
their reasons. They have given us but one ;
and that one. depending merely upon tiieir
own unfounded assertion, viz. That adjec-
tives are not the names of thmgs. Let us
try that.
" I think you will not deny tliat gold and
brass and silk, is each of them the name of a
thing, and denotes a sub>tance. If then I
say — A gold-ring, a brass-tube, a silk-string :
here are the substantives adjrctiv^ posita,
jet names of things, and denoting substances.
*' If again I say — a ;;olden rinLi;, a brazen
tiibe, a silken stnna; ; do gold and brass and
«ilk, cease to be the names of things, a;id
cease to denote substancvs ; because, instead
of coupling thorn with ring, tube, and string,
by a hyphen thu*^ - , I couj)le them to the
^ame words by adding the termination en to
eacii of them ? Do not the adjectives (which
I have made such by (he added termination)
golden, brazen, silken, (uttered by them-
selves) convey to the Iiearer's mind and de-
note the same tilings as gold, brass, and sdk?
REPORT OM THE POEMS OF OSSIAK,
m
i» the derivation of the formative affix th.
Mr. Home Tooke (p. 423) makes the
substantives in th to be the third persons
of verbs in the present tense and singular
number- Thus he makes blowth to be
that which bloweth ; garthy what one gird-
eth; tenth, where one wadeth ; broth, what
one breweth; math, what one moweth ;
earth, what one eareth, or plowetli j and
80 forth. In this case the affix would
hardly be applicable to adjectives : yet we
fonn from Jong, length ; from broad,
breadth ; from wide, width ; from high,
highth; i^om deep, depth; from strong,
strength; from dear, dearth; from well,
wealth; from slow, sloth; from warm,
warmth; from merry, mirth ; from swart,
^ swarth ; and even from moon, month. So
that Adelung is perhaps defensible in con-
sidering this th as a mere variation of the
substantive tfffix de, answering to the le
of the French, and to tlie ity of our lan-
guage. On the whole, we prefer Mr.
Home Tooke's conjecture, and think it
easier to find some intermediate verb
where the etymon appears to be an adjec-
tive, than to account for tlie many verbal
substantives, if there be no necessary con-
nection. '^
Such cavils, could they be multiplied,
would weigh little. The good sense with
which all the phenomena are explained,
the sagacity with which the difficulties
are investigated, the force of intellect dis-
played in every conjecture, these consti-
tute the essence of the treatise, and M'ill
cause it to outlast the compilations of a
more laborious emdition. This,work is
the most valuable contribution to the phi-
losophy of language, which our literature
has produced : the writer may be charac-
terized in those words which Junius ap-
plied to Wachter: ad ornandam, quam
nactus est, Spartam, instructissimus venit :
in iiuima artis adyta videtur penetrasse,
atc|ue indc protulissequodcuntjue potuerit
illustrandoipsius proposito inservire.
Art. V. — Report of the Committee of the Highland Society of Scotland, appointed to In'^
quire inio the Nature and Auilienticihi of the Poems of Ossian, Drawn up, according
to the Directions of the Committee, by Henry Mackenzie, Esq, its Convtmr or Chair-
man, IVith a copious Appendix, containing some of the Principal Documents on xvhick
the Report is founded, 8vo. pp. 504.
THE question concerning the authen-
ticity of Os8ian*s poems, as produced by
Macpher^on, is at length brought fairly
before the public., with all the fcxidence
that can be collected on either side. It
is a question of considerable importance,
and we shall investigate it at length.
About tlie year 1740, Mr. Pope, the
minister of Rea, in Caithness, began to
collect the Gaelic poems, with the assist-
ance of a friend and neighbour ; but tlie
death of that friend put an end to the
scheme, and the first j^rson who formed
a collection for the purpose of translating
tlieni, was Jerome Stone, a schoolmaster
of Dunkeld. A rhymed translation of one
he published in the Scots Magazine for
January 1756, in which year he died at
the age of only twenty or twenty- one.
Much might have been expected from
this young man hiid his life been prolong-
ed j he had acquired the Gaelic language,
(for it was not his mother-tong\ie) evi-
dently delighting in the study, and his
Yerse§ are in a better and purer siraiii than
any of Macphersou^s. These facts show
that a taste was arising for the popular
poetry of the Highlands.
In the summer of 1758 or 17^9, Home,
the autlior of Douglas, met Macpliersoa
at Moffat, who was there with a pupil.
Professor Fergusson had some years be-
fore this meeting excited in Home a
strong curiosity about the Gaelic pooms,
and finding Macpherson to be a native of
the remote Highlands, and a good classi-
, cal scholar, he was not a little pleased
that he had found, what he had long been
wishing for, a person \dio could make
liim acquainted with the poetry of which
he had heardi so much. Accordingly he
questioned Macpherson, who sard that he
had in his possession several pieces of an-
cient poetry. Home desired to see tliem,
and was asked if he understood tlie Gaelic.
Not one word, said he. Then, replied the
Highlander, how can I show you them ?
Very easily, said Mr. Homej translate
one of the poems which you think a good
one, and I imagine thjit I shall be able to
form some opinion of the genius and cha-
racter of the Gaelic poetry. After some
j)ersuasion he complied, and in a day or
two brought the fragment on the dealh of
Oscar, fhe delight which Home ex-
pressed encouraged him, and he produced
two or tliree more pieces in a few days,
which his new friend carried to Edinburgh.
They were shown to Dr. Fergusson, to
lord Elibozik, to Rofoertsou and Blair, and
680
METArilYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
the latter sent for Macpherson, urged him
to translate the other pieces which he had
in his possession, and promised to circu-
late and bring dicm out to the pubhc. He
was extremely reluctant and averse, says
Dr. Blair, to comply with my request,
saying, that no translation of his could do
justice to the spirit and force of tlie ori-
ginals ; and that besides injuring them by
translation, he apprehended they would be
very ill relished by the public, as so very
different from tlie strain of modern ideas,
{■nd of modern connected and polished
poetry. Blair, however, after much and
repeated innx)rtunity, (we use his own
•words) and representing to him tlie in-
justice he would do to his native country
by keeping concealed those hidden trea-
sures which would serve to enrich the
whole learned world, obtained his pro-
mise of compliance. From this promise
Jt appears he was afterwards solicitous to
be released, urging to a confidential friend
(Mr. George Laurie, minister of London)
that his Highland pride was alarmed at
appearing to the world only as a trans-
lator. But Blair's zeal eventually pre-
vailed, and in June l/OO the first collec-
tion was published under the title of
Fragments of Ancient Poetry collected in
the^Highlands. Blair wrote the preface,
and asserted their authenticity.
In this preface it was said that ^ many
more remains of ancient genius, no less
valuable than those now given to die
world, miglit be found in the same coun-
try where these have been collected. In
particular there is reason to hope that one
work of considerable length, and which
deserves to be styled an heroic poem,
might be recovered and translated, if
encouragement were given to such an un-
dertakii^g.' The fni'^niciits excited mtich
attention, and at a dinner made by Blair
jo:- the purpose, a subscription was begun
for recovering llie Gaelic epic. Macpher-
iion being thus enabled to disengage him-
self from all other employment, set out
on his mi'Jsion, and undoubtedly collect-
ed much traditional pnctry. With this
he returned to E:ihihurgh, and, after a
year's labour upon Fingal and the lesser
poems, went to London, and there, under
the patronage of lord Bute, published them
by subscription, about the beginning of
l/O'i. Temora and the remaining poems
were published early in the ensuing year.
No journey was taken to discover these ;
excepting a few fragments, Macpherson
states that he had collected thcDiby means
of big friends.
But doubts were entertained in Lon-
don as to tlie authenticity of these extra-
ordinar}' relics. Macpherson himself did
not choose to remove them ; he left the
originals in tlie publisher's hands for pub-
lic inspection, and finding, after a few
months, tliat no person had called for that
purpose, indignantly withdrew tbem.
This is triumphantly stated by the Ossia-
nites ; it should however be remembered,
how very few of the persons who felt any
doubt or curiosity upon the subject, un-
derstood Gaelic, and that unless these ma-
nuscripts were of some antiquity, d;e7
proved nothing. A Gaelic poem in the
hand-writing of Macpherson, his amana-
eiisis, or his correspondents, must n«t
be admitted as authentic without j^oof.
What the general opinion concemiDg them
was, may be collected from a letter writ-
ten by Hume to Blair, which it is better
to insert at length than to abridge, espe-
cially as the highland committees, wirii-
out knowing die plan which he recom-
mended, have nearly followed it.
" Dear Sir,
" I live in a place whfTc I have the plfa*
sure ot fretjuently hearing justice donv to
your dissertation, but never heard it mentioQ-
ed in a company, where some one pcrwnor
other did not express his doubts with regard
to the authenticity of the poems whit h iire
its subject, and Lotleii hear tliem totally re
jected, \\%th disdain and indipiation, a? i
palpable and most impudent forgery. This
opinion has indeed become verv prenlou
among the men of letters in London ; and I
can foresee, tliat in a few years, the poems, if
they continue to stand on their present foot-
ing, will be thrown aside, and will fall bio
final oblivion. It is in vain to say that thrir
beauty Will support them, independent of
their authenticity. No ; that beauty is not so
much to the general taste, as to insure vou o(
this event ; and if people be once disgusted
with the idea of a forgery, they are Ihena'
apt to enterlam a more disadvantageous no-
tion of the excellency of the production it-
self. Ilie absurd pricfe and aiprice of Mac-
pherson himself, who sconis, as he pretcaids,
to satisfy any body that doubts his veracit),
has tended much' to conlirm this general
sce})ticism ; and I must own, for myoua
part, that though I have had many particulir
reasons to believe these poems genuuie, more
than it is pos>iblc for any Englishman of iet-
tei-s to have, vet 1 am not entirely without
my scruples on tliat head. You think Hat
the internal proofs in favour of the poeni>are
very convincing : so they are ; but there arc
also internal reasons against them, prti^^J*
larly from the manners, notwitJistanding all
the' art with which you liave endeavoured to
throw a varnish oa tliat circumstance ; m
BBFOJLT ON THE POEMS OF OSSIAK.
681
tJie preservation of such long and such cxm-
netted poems, by oral tradition alone, dur-
ing a course of fourteen centuries, is so much
out of the ordinary course of human ailairs,
that it requires the strongest reasons to. make
us believe it. My present purjwse therefore
is, to apply to you, in tlie name of all tl^c
nr:n of letters of this, and 1 may say of all
other coimtries, to establish this capital point,
and to give us proofs that these pce.ns
are, I do not say so antient as the age of Se-
vcnis, but that' they wert not forged within
these five years by James Macpherson,
These proofs must not be arguments but tes-
timonies : people's ears are fortified against
the fomwfr ; the latter may yet find their way
before the poems are consigned to total obli-
vion. Now the testunonies may, in my opi-
nion, be of two kinds. Macpherson pretends
that there is an antient manuscript ot part of
Fingal in the family I tliink of Clanronald.
Get that fact ascertjiined by more than one
person of credit ; let tlicse persons be ac-
quainted with the Gaelic ; let them compare
the original and the translation ; and let them
tebtify the fidelity of the latter.
" But the chief point in which it will be
necessary for you to e\'ert yourself will be,
to get positive testimony from many dilfereiit
hands, that such poems are vulgarly rerited
in the highlands, and have tliere long be«*n
the entertainment of the people. I'his testi-
mony must be as particular as it is positive.
It will not be sufhcient that a highland gen-
tleman or clergyman say or write to you that
he has heard sucJi poems : nobody questions
that they are traditional poems in tliat part of
the country, where the names of Qssian and
Fingal, and Oscar and Gaul, are mentioned
in every stanza. The only doubt is, whether
these poems have any farther resemblance to
the poems published by Macpherson. I was
told by Burke, a very ingenious Irish gen-
tleman, the author of a tract on the Sublime
and Beautiful, that on the first publication of
Macpherson's book, all the Irish cried out —
ff^e know all those poems ; we hive akva'/s
heard tliem from our irifanaj ; but when he
asked more particular (piestions, he could
ne\'er learn that any one had ever heard or
could repeat the original of any one para-
graph of the pretended translation. 'J 'his ge-
nerality, then, must be carefully guarded
against, as being of no authority.
" Your connections among your brethren
of the clergy may here be of great use to
you. You may easily learn the names of all
ministers of that country who understand the
language of it. You may write to them, ex-
pressing the doubts that have arisen, and de-
siring them to send for such of the bjirds as
remain, and make them rehearse their an-
cient poems. Let the clergj^mea then have
tlie translation in their hands, and let them
write back to you, and inform you that they
heard such a one (naming him), living in such
a pUge^ rehearse the original of such a pas-
sage, from such a page to such a page of the
English translation, which appeared exact
and faithful. If you give to the public a suf-
ficient number of such testimonies, you may-
prevail : but I venture to for.tel to you that
notliing less will serve the purpose ; nothinjj
less will so much as command tlie attention
of the public.
" Becket tells me that he is to give us a.
new edition of your Dissertation, accompa-
nied with some remarks on Temora. Here
is a favourable opportunity for you to exe-
cute this purpose. You have a ju>t and lau-
dable zeal for the credi* of these poems.
T'hey are^ if cenuine, one of the greatest cu-
riosities in all respects, that ever was disco^
vered in the commonwealth of letters ; and
the child is, in a manner, become yours by
adoption, as Macpherson has totally abaiV'
doned all care of it. These motives call
upon you to exert yourself, and I think it
were suitable to your candour, and most sa-
tisfactory also to the reader, to publish all the
answers to all the letters }ou write, even
though some of these lette'i-s should make
soniewhat against your own opinion in thi«
alfair. We shall alwa^'S be the more assured
that no arguments are strained beyond their
proper force, and no contrary arguments sup-
pressed, where such an entire comnmnicatiofi
IS made to us. Becket joins me heartily in
this apj)lication ; and hv. owns to me, that the
believers in the authenticity of the poems di-
minish every day amon^the men of sense
and reflection. "Nothing less than what I
propose can throw the balance on the other
side. I depart from hence in about three
weeks, and should be glad to hear your reso-
luticn before that time."
In consequence of this letter Blair
wrote to the highlands, to procure attes-
tations : he received testimony in abun-
dance, such as it was, and added the re-
sult of it to his Dissertation in an appen-.
dix, which Macpherson afterwards sup-
pressed. Time passed on, and no serious
attack was made upon the authenticity of
the poems, except by tlie Irish antiqua-
rians. But the writings attracted little
notice in England. Blairs Lectures,
meantime, by that good fortune which
sometimes befals.worthless books as well
as worthless men, got into every common
library, and was put into the hancls of all
young readers, who tlius received a belief
of the genuineness and of the sublimity
of Ossian, as 'an article of faith in fine
literature. The poems became very na-
turally the delight of young poets : our
magazines teemed with imitations in prose,
and paraphrases in rhyme. Chattertoii
was among the imitators. They reached
the Continent, and obtained a better cir-
culation than any English work had ever
§82
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
done before, and a cjuotJltion came back
to us ill Wc-Tter, which was perhaps the best
advertisemerit that ever book had. Every
traveller in the highlands added hi3 testi-
mony to their authenticity; antiquarians
and historians quoted them; ^Vhilakercon-
t rover ted a tew points but admitted them
in the groijs 5 and Henry collected from
them his statement of the state of so-
ciety of the ancrfent Britons and their arts !
IVIore Ossian also made its appearance.
Mr. JoIiB Clark published a collection in
178O, and Dr.'Smith another in tliesame
year. Johnson had said that many men,
, many women, and many children, could
write such poems, when he was asked who
but Ossian could have written ihem. But
that many men produced them tended, in
the general opinion, ratlier to prove their
authenticity than to invalidate the opinion
of their inimitable merit. The opinion of
Johnson and of other disbelievers had its
"weight in their own circles, but they did
not write upon the subject, and if they
had, controversial pamphlets would not
have found their way to a hundredth part
of the readers who had become familiar
with Ossian. The book was in every cir-
culating library throughout die king-
dom, m
The rudest shock which it sustained
was by the publication of the Ueiiques of
Irish Poetry. Miss Brooke's translations
were unfortunately in rhyme, by which
the poems were made as nearly 'w orthless
as possible ; the original character of ex-
picssion, metaphor, and simile, * every
thing in short, which characterises ancient
poetry, being inevitably and 'utterly lost.
The stories howe\-er remained, and in
three of them it was impossible not to see
tlic originals of Carthon, of Fingal, and of
the episode of FainasQllis, greatly as Mac-
pherson had altei-ed thdfc. The Irish origi-
nals were published with Miss Brooke's
versions ; they " came in the most un-
questionable shape J jmd though to the
English reader the poems were di-^guised
and distigured by rhyme, the internal
{)roofs ©f authenticity vyere such as could
eave no doubt upon his mind whatever.
All controversy was^avuided in this vo-
lume ', the name of M-acpherson was not
once mentioned, nor was there the slight-
est allusion to him or his work. But the
inference was irresistible ; the poems of
the Irish Oisin were the evident produc-
tions of a rude age and country ; thoije of
Ih^ Scotch Ossian, had all the marks of
modern sentimentality.
At length Mr. Malcolm Laing attacked
the authenticity of Oasian's poems, in a
dissertation appended to bis Hisioiy of
Scotland from the union of the crowns
to the union of the kingdoms. He re-
duced his arguments, historical and criti-
cal, undej: <^ight general heads : i.Tbe
Roman history of Britain j 2. The mid-
dle ages 5 3. Traditioas y 4. The ciistomi
and manners of the tiroes ; 5. The real
origin of the poems 5 6. Imitations of the
ancient and modern poets ; 7. The pre-
tended originals ; 8. MacpheiKin'savoval
of the whole imposture. Of all these we
sliall give as summary a statement as pos-
sible.
I. At the beginning of the era assign-
ed to Fingal, there wa^ not a Highlander
in Scotland of the present race. Their
first migration from Ireland is fixed at the
year 258, and the authority of Bede upon
the subject is confirmed by the Iriak his-
tories. I'he true era of the Fions was
from the middle to the end of the thiid
century. Macpherson when he tranilaied
them into Scotland did not sufficiendy re-
gard chronology. He connects Fingal
with Caracalla in 208, making Ossian de-
scribe him, as Gibbon remarked, by a nid-
namc invented four years afterwards,
scarcely used by the Romans till after the
deatli of that emperor, and seldom era-
ployed by the most ancient historians.
He connects him afterwards with Cana-
sius, in 286, and finally in the Teinora,
with the battle of Gabhra, where Oscar
was killed by Cairbar in 296 j with \k
same propriety, says Mr. Laing, as if
some youthful patriot, who had resisted an
union in the Scottish parliament, vtre
again introduced at the end of die same
century, as opposing an union with lit-
land in the British senate. Tliese blun-
ders were from carelessness 5 others, not
less decisive, were occasioned by want of
information. Misled by Buclianan, who
followed the fabulous Nonnius, Mac-
pherson represents Fingal as encoantet-
ing Caracalla on the banks of the Carron,
^x'hereas it is a fact fiiDy established by the
best English antiquarians, that the coun-
try, witliin the wall of Antoninus, be-
tween the Forth and the Clyde, was aban-
doned by Caracalla. He represents him
as returning fi-om an incursion into the
Roman* province of Valentia, which 4'^
not then exist ^ and makes Oscar oppose
Caros, king of ships, entrenched at Car-
ron, behind his gathered heap, which, a$
the wall in Scotland was not built by Se-
verus, Carausius the usurper did not re-
pair. After this decisire evidence viotM»i
REPORT ON THE POEMS OF OSSIAN.
J683
farther need be adduced under this
head.
2. No traditions whatsoever of Swaran
have been discovered in the highlands j
bat there «ire traditions of Magnus Bare-
foot, who seized Cantire and the isles,
and was killed in Ireland in tlie beginning
of the twelfth century. This Magnus is
made the antagonist of Fingal in some rude
ballads, and among others in that which
is the groundwork of Macpherson's epic.
The name is retained by Smith ; and
Swaran, in the fir.>»t fragments of Fingal,
is called Gstrve, a literal translation of
Magnus into Erse. A remarkable circle
of stones in Orkney is introduced by Mac-
pherson, who says that the circles to this
day retain there the name of Loda or Lo-
den, and appeals to Mallet as a proof that
the temple built by Haquin at Dron-
theim, went always under the same name
of Loden. The first assertion Mr. Lining,
who is an Orcadian, declares to be false -,
and the words in Mallet are these — * Ha-
quin Comte de Norvege, en avoit bate
iin (temple) presde Dronthem, a Leiden,'
the name of the territory, not of the tem-
ple. The name Lochlin, so frequent in
Ossian, was unknown till the ninth cdntury.
3. That poems could be preserved up-
wards of fifteen hundred years by oral
tradition, is a fiction utterly unworthy of
credit. Hume urges tliis argument in a
letter to Gibbon. * It is indeed strange,'
fiiiys he, ' that any men of sense could have
imagined it possible, that above twenty
thousand verses, along with numberless
historical facts, could have been preserved
l^' oral tradition, during fifty generations,
by tiie rudest, perhaps, of all the civilized
nations, the most necessitous, the most
Curbuient, and die most unsettled.* Mr.
Laiug adds, * to estiniate the full force
of this argument, lt!t us reiuember
that three- four tJis of the civilized
world have been employed, since the era
of Kugal, in the recitation of poems, nei-
ther so long nor so intricate as Ossian's ;
and consider how small a portion of the
Psalms or liturgy can be preserved by me-
mory, much less transmitted by real tra-
dition, for a single generation.'
Tliis argument is altogether fallacious,
and the illustration is as fallacious as the
argument. Beyond a doubt the whole of
the Psalter, and the whole of the Sunday
liturgy, could be taken down from oral
delivery in any parish of any extent in
England. But the case is not in point >
it is not what the parishioners could re-
peat which applies^ but what the parish*
priests and the pari'^h-clerks could do, for
to recite ballads was a profession in tho
Highlands. The class of men with whom
bards and minstrels may most properly b»
compared are tiie players; and assuredly
those plays which, like Jane Shore and
Douglas, have continued stock-pieces since
they were first brought out, might at any
time have been copied from recitation. Is
lyir. Laing aware that the historical tra-
ditions of the blind colleges in Japasi were
considered as eijually aut*hentic with the
annals of the empire ? Hume's mode of
reasoning is strangely incorrect; the ruder
tlie nation, the more probable the fact
against which he reasons. It is civiliza-
tion which destroys traditions, till a people
become civilized enough to be curious
concerning them, and preserve in books
what httle can be recovered. Tliis argu-
ment is taken from our state of society
and from the ordinary powers of me-
mory: but strength of memory, like
strength of muscles, is increased by use ;
and that of a bard would exceed that cf an
ordinaiy man, just as a blacksmith's arm is
larger than his neighbour's.
In the fragments it was stated that thdi
diction was very obsolete, and di!fered
widely from the style oT such poems aa
have been written in the same language
two or three centuries ago. This, Mr.
Laing justly observes, is sufficient to con-
fute theauthenticity of tradit ionary poems j
it is ridiculous to suppose that the peoplo^
should recite poems in a dialect long dis*
used. But Macpherson discovered ma-
nuscripts ; what these are we shall se»
hereafter. The poeiijs not only cannot
have been presened by ornl tradition, but
they are unsupported by tliose traditions
which are in their nature tlie most authen-
tic. The genealogy of tlie clans has
been pushed to the utmost, but^iot a sin-
gle family is derived from the Fions.
4. The manners of the Caledonians,
when invaded by Severus, are minutely
described both by Dio and Herodian. They
were in a wretched state of barbarism,
almost naked, tattooed, using their W'omen
and supporting their children in common j
their only defensive armour tlie shield.
The manners of Ossian are those of no
ag^* people, or country. Religion is alto-
gedier omitted by Macpherson ; he has
created a savage society of refined atheists,
who believe in gliosis but not ui deities.
Not a particle of infonnation concehiiiig
tlie customs of the people can be collect-
ed from his poems. Xhe method of dress-
ing venison in pits T^ied with hot stooe;?^
€8i
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
and covered with heath, which is the only
appropriate custom o( the age to be Ibinid
tlu-re, is. transcribed from Keating. Nei-
ther wolf lior l>Oiir is mentioned us exist-
ing in Scotland, nor wild cattle, all of
which were then common ; but the offer
of a hundred liawks, a hundred Iwnd-
maids, a hundred sanctified girdles, an
apple or an arrow of gold, is copied from
an Irish ballad of the "sixteenth century,
as tribute from a peo[)lc equally ignorant
of hawking, female servitude, popish
saints, and of the precious nictal.
5. There is presumptive evidence tliat
Macpherson is the author of the poems.
His^rst ambition was to be an epic poet,
and be had published a poem of which
many passages are to be traced in Ossian.
This poem has failed of success. He was
encouraged to tlie imposture by the pub-
lic curiosity already excited towards Gae-
lic poetry ; and by the expectation of that
patronage and favour which his literary
countrymen were at that time sure of find-
ing, whetlier they deserved it or not.
Smollett had even had the impudence to
reckon Wilkie*s Epigoniad, in his History,
among tlie glories of George the Second' s
reign ! If Ossian should succeed, Mac-
pherson reasonably expected that his for-
tune was made ; and tlie speculation an-
swered.
6. The poems are full of imitations :
this subject we shall examine hereafter.
7. I'he specimens of the original, pro-
duced by Macpherson, are his own trans-
lations from his own English original;
Lr>ey it must be remcmbtMvd, being his
mutlier-tongue. Mr. Laing says, the in -
tro<liiclion of occasional riiyinas in Ossian,
five hundred years betbrc they were known
in Europe, and a thousand before they
were Used in Wales, is alone a detection :
if he had seen Mr. Turner's paper in the
Arclhtologia, he would not have relied
much upon Mr. Pinkerton's authority
on this subject. But if many words-
derived from the Latin are found in
these pretended originals it is a detec-
tion J more especially if metapiioriical idiom
be found derived from tlie>e words. !Many
such are pointed out by Mr. Laing ; but
as the whole of the Gaelic is to be publish-
ed, we shall not follow farther his remarks
upon this head. A good Celtic scholar,
if to his knowledge he adds but good sense
and good faith, may decide the contro-
versy when this promised publication ap-
. pears, if there be -any persons capable of
conv iction still unconvinced.
8. Alacphcrson has avowed the feet:
that he gave intimations to this effect : and
•that he was notunwiiiing to be considered
as tlie author, the Ossianites allow. He
says in one of his prefaces, ' 1 assure my
antagonists that I should not traiislate
what I could not imitate.' Referring to
the Irish pretensions to Ossian, be ob-
serves, that the poems ' cannot well be-
long to Ireland and to. me .it once :' and ia
his last preface the avowal is unequivcwJ:
* Without increasuig his geniui, tfie auikr
may have improved his Linguage, in the
eleven years that the poems have been in
the hands of the public. Errors in dictioa
might have been committed at twcatj-
fbur, which the experience of a riper age
may remove : and some exuheTanca h
imagery m2Ly be restrained with advantage,
by a degree of judgment acquired in the
progress of time. In a convenient indiN
ference for literary reputation, the as-
tlior hears praise without being elevtited,
and ribaldry witliout being depressed.
The novelty of cadence, in what is called
a prose version, though not destiUue of
harmony, will not, to common reader,
supply the absence ortlie frequent rttums
of rhyme. This was the opinion of ik
writer himself, whose first intention wis
to publish in verse ; and as the making
of poetry may be learned by industry, be
bad served his apprenticeship in secret to
the muses.* , Here then, says Mr. Liin;,
if there be a meaning in words, Macpher-
.son vindicates and appropriates die poemi
to himself.
Such is the summary of Mr. Lung's
Dissertation, and in this state was lie
.con:roversy when the Higliland Sncietj
published their Report. The meibcd
which they had taken to procure infor-
mation was tlie best possible j they circa-
lated the following set of queries, ihrocgh
such parts of the highlands and island,
and among such pe s )ns resident there, a
seemed most likely to alibrd it.
" 1. Have you ever heard repeated or
sung, any of the poems ascribetl toOsjisu,
translated and published by Mr. Macphersoo?
By whom have you lieard them so repeated,
and at what time or tiine? ? Pid you fvcr
commit any of them to writing, or can ycj
remembpr them so well as now to set th»'Ei
down ? In either of these cases, be sogooJ
to send the Gaelic original to the committer".
** 2. The same answer is requested cod-
cerning any other ancient poems of the sair.e
kind,, and relating to tJie same traditiouarv
persons or stories with those in Mr. Macpher-
son's collection.
«< 3. Are any of the persons, from wliona
you heard any such poems, now alive; Or
HBPORT ON THE POEMS OF OSIIAK*
685
aire there, m your part of the country, any
persons who remember ^nd can repeal or re-
cite such poems ? If there are, be so good to
examine them as to the manner of their get-
iDg or learning such compositions ; and set
down, as accurately as possible, such as they
can now repeat or recite ; and transmit such
their account, and such compositions as they
repeat, to th»' committee.
** 4. If there are, in your neis;hbourhood,
anv persons from whom Mr. Macpherson re-
ceived any poems, inciuirc particularly what
tJie poems were which he so received, the
manner in which he received them, and how
he wrote them down ; shew those persons, if
you have an opportunity, his translation of
«uch poems, and desire them to- say if the
tran!?lation is exact and literal ; or, if it dif-
fers, in what it ditfers from thepO:*ms, a^ they
repeated them to Mr. Macphersoii, and can
now recollect tiiem.
*• 5. Be so good to procure every infor-
mation you convenieiUly can, with regard to
the trajitionary belief, hi the country in
which you live, concerning the history of
Fingal and his followers, and that of O.^sian
and his poems ; particularly concerning those
stories and poems publislied by Mr. Mac-
pherson, aixl the heroes mrutioned in thjm.
Transmit any such account, and a;iy prover-
bial or traditionary expression in the original
Gaelic, relating to the subject, to the com-
mittee.
" 6. In all the above inquiries, or any tliat
may occur to , in
elucidation of this subject, he is requested by
the committee to make the imjuiry, and to
take down the answers, with as much impar-
tiality atid precision as possible, b the same
nianiier as if it were a legal question, and the
proof to be investigated with a legal strict-
neis."
The way in which they have commu-
nicated the result of their enquiries is not
so unexceptionable. An inimethodlcal
report is ft^llowed by a copious apjx?ndix,*
after the parliamentary model. Now though
parliamentary proceedings are the very
best authority in point of law, they are not
tl^e happiest models for a book. The com-
mittee should have stated whatMSS. Mac-
person had collected, and what fragments
he had received from oral delivery, ac-
cording to the evidence before them 5
they should have printed feithfully what-
ever poems they had recovered, which
bore any resemblance to Osslan, with a
literal version, and then either'^have past
sentence, or left it to the public so to do.
But the report is desultory, confused, and
inconclusive. After Mr. Laing's Disser-
tation, nothing but the strongest external
Evidence could support the authenticity of
the poems.
That traditions respecting the Fions are
common, and allusions to them prover-
bial, they h p e proved.
" The committee presumes it may assume
as uiidisputed, tiiat a traditionary history of
a great hero or chief, called Fibn, Tiou na
Gael, or, as it is modernized, Fingal, exists,
an<l has immemorially existed in the high-
lands and islands of Scotland, and that cer-
tain poems or ballads, containing the exploits
of him and his associate heroes, were tlie fa-
vourite lore of the natives of those districts.
The general belief of the existence of such
heroic personages, and of tlie great poet Os-
sian, the son of Fingal, by whom their ex-
ploits were sung, is as universal in the higlk-
lands as the belief of any am lent fact ^ hat-
soever. It is recorded in proverbs, which
pass througii all ranks and conditions of men.
Ossian dall, blind Ossian, is a person as u ell
known as strong Samson or wise Solomon.
The very boys in their sports cry out for fair
play, Cothram na feine, the ecjual combat of
the*Fingalian«<. ' Ossian, an deighn im tii\im*
Ossian, the la^t of his race, i^ proverbial, to
signify a man who has had the misfortune to
survive his kindretl ; and servants returning
from a fair or wedding, were in use to de-
scribe the beauty of youug women whom they
liad setii there, by' the words ' I'hai i cho
boidhe;ich reh Agaudccca, nighean ant sn each-
da,' Siie is ab beautiful as Agandecca, daugh-
ter of the snow. This is one of those general
and weil-knov/n facts, which it is believed no
one will contest, however much he may be
disposed to doubt the authenticity of the
poems published as the composition of Ossian
the son of Fmgal."
This is confirmed by all travellers. The
passage however which the reporter quotes
from bishop Carswell, is far more favour-
able to Mr. Laing's view of the question,
than to their own ; ' great is the blind-
ness, and sinful darkness, and ignorance,
and evil design, of such as teach and
write, and cultivate the Gaelic language ;
that, with the view of obtaining for them-
selves the vain rewards of the world, they
are more desirous and more acaistomed to
compose vain, tempting, lying worldly
histories, concerning the Tuatha de dan^^
nan, and concerning warriors and cham-
pions, and Fingal, the son of Cumhall,
with his heroes, and concerning many
others which I will not at present enu-
merate or mention, in order to maintain
or reprove, than to write, and teach, and
maintain, the faitliful words of God, and
of the perfect way of truth.* This pas-
sage proves that tlie Fions were the heroes
of popular traditions, but it implies also
that the highland rhymers made ballads of
tliem at that time, and in fact wliat frag-
ments are genuine appear to be of this
age. • • .
€85
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRjlTIClSM.
They have proved that mnch pocUy was
preserved traditionally in the Highlands
and islands. Dr. Steuart of Luss declares
that an old Highlander, in the isle of Sky,
continped fcgr tliree' successive days, and
during several hours ki each day, to re-
peat Co hira, without hesitation, witli the
utmost rapidity, and as appeared to him,
with perfect correctness, many thousand
lines of ancient poetry, and would have
continued his repetitions much longer if he
could have listeiued to him. In one of the
letters written to Blair, when he collected
evidence, it is said, ' the old highlanders
.commonly Entertained one another with
the repetition of these poems, and divert-
ed the tediousness of the winter nights.
Wlien they met to watch the dead coqwe
of their fiiends, they spent a considerable
part of the night in repeating tlie poems,
and talking of the times of Fingal. They
often laid wagers on such occasions, who
should repeat most of the poems, and to
have a store of them oa memory was re-
puted net a despicable acquisition. I
know some old men, says the writer, who
Value themselves for having gained some
of these wagers. Mr. Popes letter con-
tains a strudng anecdote upon tliis sub-
ject.
** There Is an excellent poem, called
Duan Dearmot : it is an elegy on the death
of that warrior, and breatlies the sublime
very much. This poem, is in esteem among
a tribe of Campbells that live in this coun-
try, and would derive their pedigrtre from,
tiiat hem, aft other clans have chosen others
of them for their petriardis. lliere is an
old fellow in this parish that ^Kxy gravely
takes off his l)onnet as often as he sings Duan
Pcannot: I was extremely fond to try if
the case was so, and getting nim to my house
I gate him a bottle of ale, and begged the
fevour of him to sing Duaii Dearmot ; aflcr
fome nkrety, he told rac that to oblige his pa-
rish minister be would do so, but to my sur-
prise he took oil* his bonnet. 1 caused him
stop, and would put on his bonnet ; he made
iiome excus<^ : however as soon as he began,
he took off his bonn'et. 1 rose and put it on ;
he took it off, I put it on. At last he was
iike tp swear most horribly he would sing
l)one, unless I allowed him to be imcovered ;
I gave hhn his freedom, and so he simg ^ith
treat spirit. 1 then asked him the reason ;
e told uie it was out of regard to the me-
mory of that hero. I asked him if he
thought that the spirit of tlrat hero was pre-
aent ; he said not ; but he thought it well be-
came them who descended from him lu ho-
nour his aiemof^."
Bu( what is the antiquity of the poems
thus preserved > Jin the preface to the
Fragments it was said that thedictioa vas
very obsolete, and differing widely from
that of the poems two or three ceoturies
old. Hugh M'Douald, who gives hb
testimony in Gaelic, confirms this ; ht
says, they are composed in the language
of the times to which they refer, and con-
tain many words and phrases now obso-
lete, and understood by very few. This
is contradicted in tlie report of the com-
mittee ; the reporter there notices m i
difficulty, that the language, in poems of
such antiquity, should be so nesdy what
it still is in the common use and oader-
standing of the country. Certain it is,
he says, that, witii the allowance of i
somewhat different orthography, and a
few words now in disuse, which the beit
Celtic scholars could not make out intb-
out the help of the context, the langaag^ '
of the ancient MSS. published by mis
Brooke and others in Ireland, andakodai
of those in the possession of the sodHy,
is very much the same with that whidi
proficients in the Gaelic now w^rite, and is
perfectly intelligible to such persons.
This decidedly contradicts MacpnersoB;
and it should be remarked, that the lan-
guage of Taliesin and of Llywarc Heo,
though long posterior to Ossian, difen
very materially from later Wdsh, and is
but imperfectly understood by the ablest
Cimbric scholars. Yet there is no reasoQ
to believe that the Welsh language hss
been subject to greater changes than tlw
Gaelic.
Mr. Mackenzie accounts for this dHfi-
cuhy by the little communication of tin
highlands and islands with other countries.
Language, he says, is changed from its use
ia society, as coins are smoothed by their
curreocy iu circulation. If the one be
locked up amoog a rude, remote, and w-
comiected peopIe> like the other when it
is buried under the eartk, its great fi^atom
and general form will be biK little altered.
This is not the true answer, nor the best
solution of the difhculty. ' Poems pre-
ser\^ed in manuscript retain their original
language ; popular songs are iniperccptibiy
modernized ; in teliigi ble words being sulh
stituted for such as are obsolete by the re-
citer, as often unwittingly as by desjn.
That the language of the poems difos ]
Jittlc from the common Gaelic, asDov \
spoken, we should not therefore coosider i
as any argument against their antiqjxitj;
but it is an argument against Mac{to-
son's veracity, that he lias asserted ci4
contrary.
It must Ifaeo be adoutted that ip^Ji
JlEPaaX ON THE FOSMS OF OSSIAIf.
667
traditional Gaelic poetry has been preserv-
ed, and that it was as possible to collect
tiie minstrelsy of the highlands as of the
Scottish border. What then have the
committee discovered corresponding with
Os$iaii ?
The first fragnfient is the bed of Gaul.
*' Prepare, ye chiidreu of musical strings,
The bed of Gaul, aaid hh sun-beam by liim,
Where may be seen his resting-place from
Which branches high overshadow.
Under the wing oi the oak of greenest flou-
rish.
Of quickest growth, and most dorable form.
Which will shoot forth its leaves of the breeze
of the shower,
While the heath around is still witlier'd.
" Its leaves, from the extremity of the
land,
Shall be seen by the birds of summer,
jLnd each bird shall perch, as it arrives.
On a sprig of its verdant branch. '
GauUji his mist shall hear tlicir cheerful note.
While virgins are singhig of Evirchoma.
/' Until all of th-se shall perish,
Y^ur memory shall not be disunited:
Until tlie stonl* crumble intodusf,
And this tree decay witli age ;
Until streams cease to run,
-And the source of the mountain waters be
dried up;
I ntii ther6 be lost, in the flood of age.
Each hard, and song, and subjec^t of story,
Tlie stranger sliall not ask. Who wao &Ior-
ni's son ?
Or where was the dwelliiig of the king of
Strumon r*'
Of this passage, which in Dr, Sn]ith's
publication forms tlie conclusion of a
poem, a copy was comrauuicated to the
iXimmittee by Mr. M*Diarmid, minister
of Weera, which he procured in a chan-
nel altogether different from Dr. Smith,
and transmitted before he knew that it
had been previously published. Mr. Laing
calls this ' a well -known fabrication,
which assuredly the author himself would
not now, as a christian and as a clergyman,
venture to attest upon oath as autiientic.'
We know not on what authority this
ttrong language may have been used -, but
It the diarge be false, Dr. Smith is living
to refute it; his silence will siirelv be con-
Jdered as pleading guilty. That Mr.
M'Diarmid should iiave received *'a copy
©y another channel, is no proof of its aij.
tiquity or authenticity. We know a liv-
ing author who has not only heard his own
poems, which had been printed in his own
•^ame, recited as the compositious of an-
ouier, but has seen tliem with another
lignatuw ill uewspaperi and magazines.
The letters from Dr. Smith by no
means strengthen the evideQpe from Os-
sian. The passages which 'te quotes ag
corresponding to parts ot Fmgal,are from
tlie Irish ballad of Magnus.
" I consider the combatants in the dispute
in the same light with the two knights who
fought about tlie shield hung between them ;
the one maintaining it was whke, the other it
was black, while each looked on the side that
was next him ; so that both were partly in thp
right, and partly in the wro^i ^ hat Fingal
fought, and tl;ut Ossian sung, cannot be
doubted. 1 hat the poems of (Ossian extend-
ed tiieir feme for ages over Britain and Ire-
land, is also clear from Barbour, Camden,
Colgan, and many other old writers of the
three kingdoms. Tliat at Itfast the stamina,
the bones, sine\vs, and strength, of a great
part ofthe poems now astTibedTto him are an-
cient, may I think be maintained on many
good grounds. But that son?e things modern
may have been superinduced, wil!, if not al-
lowed, be ^t least believed on' grounds of
much probability: and to separate precisely
the ojie from tiic other, is more than the trans-
lator himself, were he alive, could now do,' if
he had not begun to do so from the bcginnmg. "
Even then he miglitnot be sure ofthe genu-
ineness of every poem or passage given him
«s ancient, supposing his own invention were
out of tiie (|uestion. What cannot therefore
be determined otheiwise, must in the end be
compromised. I suspect the originals, if
pubhshed, (as I imagine they are hot likely
to be,) were never intended to decide the
question ubout theh* authenticity, but perhaps,
to render it problematical or suspicwus."
Either disheartened bytho ill success of
his book, or uasvilliiig to Live the subject
investigated, lest he also should be con.-
victed of fabrication. Dr. Smith evidently
dislikes the subject. J admire your zeal,
he says, in a matter to which onlyyourzeaf *
could give much importance. Of his own
work he says, • I some time ago used a
copy 1 had in papering a dark ^set that
had not been lathed, in order to derive
some small benefit from «vhat liad.cost
me so much : I question if any other copy ♦
of this book has ever dope so much ser»
vice.' What he says with respect to the
authenticity of tlie book deserve* notice.
" One circumstance, however, I remem-
ber well, tliat a maa who had given me th^
ufe of a parcel of poems, without any resr
friction, had long threatened a prosecution for
publishing what he called trauilalions of his
collection of poems, and alleged that he had
a claijii to a skure of tlie p)oiiis. 1 believ<>
however, upon enquiry, tli^t he understood
the pi- ^'^t^ ware only a seripus loss, as I had
been p^suaded to run shares with a book-
seller lu the publication, which to me tmued
5S3
XZTArHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
. u' . . .11' ;rr -^ Vhcn my income was
'- .• ...• . .: •> - y^^r,) ihat J could never
J ... . . -. A AJj.''.A- :>v>etry with pleasure or
- -^ . -' -^, i'\'-*ept to wish it had been
•I-.; .-.' ■-: Iv,.L^bo^n. The circumstance
1 i-v.r .>t mt^ntioned, may be construed in
1J.V >«:r ot the authenticity of these poems ;
b'lton tiie olhjT side, 1 have to mention that,
in niy observing the beauty of one or two
pa^^a^LS in one of those poems^ (I forget
wiiich; the pt-rson who gave it me as an an-
cient poem, said, these were of his own com-
position. This as^^ertion, I placed then to
the account of his vanity ; . but I think it
right to state it to you as I had it, and leave
^uu to thuiiv of it \vhat you please. I feel no
mterest in tlie question, in its isbue, or in the
tite of the poetry."
The j>erson thus alluded to is Duncan
Kennedy, whose collection tlie society
have purchased. The reason they assign
for disbelieving his own avowal that he
had interpolated these poems is illiberal
and iinpliiiosophical. " Whether such a
person might compose one or two pas-
sages in those poems, the committee will
not pretend to decide 3 but when one.
looks over the list of those from whom the
doctor collects his originals, and considers
their rank and situation i& life, their educa-
tion and opportunities of improvement, to
believe that they could compose such
poems, would be a degree of credibility
much greater than is necessary to believe
in the authenticity of Ossian."
'* Not only Mr. Macpher-^on, whose ta-
lents and eailv turn for poi'trv are acknow-
ledged, and t)r. Smith of Campbeltown,
"tvhose learning and literary accomplislmients
are very considerable, but other men, such
as Clark and Kennedy, whose studies and ha-
bits of life were remote from the cultivation
of poetry, who have either never written on
any otiier occasion, or whose writing*^ give no
tolcen of poetical genius or of powers of com-,
position, produce to the world poetry which,
m sublimity and tenderness, will, it is believ-
ed, be admitted to be at least equal to the
compositions of the best modem poets, and
* but nttle inferior to the most admired among
the ancient. Setting aside all the credit due
to persons of unimpeached and respectable
cljaracters, may it not be asked, how imposr
ture and forgery should become muses to buch
men, should inspire them with the fervour,
the pathos, and the imager}', contained in the
compositions which they Have thus given to
jhe worlds
Had the committee forgotten Bums, or
what did they conceive the education of
Ossian himself to have been, and his op-
portunities of improvement ? Whatever
may be the genius required for the com-
position of such poems, it will not be pre-
tended that erudition is necessary. xVnd
it appears too that Kennedy was a school-
master when he made the collection.
With respect then to Dr. Smith, his pub*
lication 'stands in need of evidence to ac-
thenticate it, as well as Macpherson^s j it
is moreover positively impeached by this
avowal of Kennedy. And the Bed of Gaul
cannot be admitted as authentic till Mr.
Laing's positive charge of fabrication be as
positively repelled.
Mr. Gallic, an old clergyman of four-
score, produces sixteen lines of Fingal is
£rse^ as taken out of the MS3. by a
friend who was with Macpherson ^dtes
he translated it at the old gentleman's fire-
side. Mr. Laing applied to him for the
name of his friend, and was informed that
it was Mr. Lauchlan Macpherson, of
Strathmashire.
" This gentleman, in his letter to Bhir,
had attested, without hesitation, in 1763, that
he had accompanied Macpherson in his jour-
ney through tne highlands, and assiiited in co(-
kcting the poems of Ossian; that ht took
down from oral tradition, and transci^
from old manuscripts, by far the greatest pait
of those pieces that were published ; that he
had since compared the translation with ut
copies of the originals still in his hands, sod
found it so amazingly hteral, as to preeervt
even the cadence ot the Gaelic versilicatimi;
that some of the hereditary bards had cocu-
mitted very early to writing some of the
works of Ossian ; and that one mamiscript is
particular, which he saw in Mr. Maq»lKr-
son*s possession, was \Titten so far bad 21
1410. Instead of appearing in person t»
produce those copies of the originals «hia
remained in his hands, and to attest to l^
world from what particular manuscripts, a-
tant or lost, or from whose oral recitation be
had transcribed them, this gentleman, tie
kin:;man, friend, and amanuensis of ^iaqJhe^
son, and a brotlier poet, had f^imishwl Mi.
Gallie with sixteen lines of the Earse versa
of Fingal, made at his firc-side ; without sasr
jxfcting that the latter would ever divulge tte
secret, from whom the lines had been aig-
nally procured."
Mr. Macdiarmid communicated the ad-
dress to the sun in Carthon ; a pass^
which ' the conjmittee was the more so-
licitous to procure, and to lay before tk
society, because it was one which somerf
tlie opposers of the authenticity of Ossian's
poems had quoted as evidently spariocr,
betraying tlie most convincing marbot
its being a close imitation of the addrsi
to tlie sun in Milton.* Mr. Macdiarmid
took it, with several other firagincnts,nov,
tSPORT OK THB POtM OF o^9iAir«
be fears, irrecoverably lost, from tfie
moutli of an old nian in Glenlyon, in
the y«ar 1765. A writer in the Literary
Jouroa], said by Mr. Laing to be Mr.
Macdiarmid's son, repeats this, and adds^
■ another copy of it was taken down by a
captain Morris, from the mouth of an old
man in the isle of Sky, in the year 1/63 -,
and was by captain Morris given to the
reverend Alexander Inine of Ranocii.
Both the old men had committed tliis
poem to memory in their younger years.
These two copies taken down by persons
unknown to each other, firom the mouths
of persons equally unacquainted, and liv-
mg at a great distance of place, we have
compared, and found to correspond almost
exactly. As this address (perhaps the
most beautiful of Ossian's poems) is at-
tested by respectable witnesses still alive,
to have been in the moutlis of Che com-
mon people long before tlie birth of Mac-
pherson, Mr. Laing has on tliis occasion
to find out some other imitator.'
It so happens that Mr. Laing has found
eat more than this writer expected. Cap-
tain Morris or Morison (tlie same per-
son, for he says he had given the rev. Mr.
Irvine a true and faithful copy of Ossian's
address to tlie sun in tlie original) was one
of Macphersou's amanuenses, and in his
inswer to the queries of the committee, .
expressly states ' that he got tlie address
among Mr. James Macpherson s original
papers, when he was transcribing iairly
for him from these original papers, (either
collected by himself, or transmitted by his
highland friends) as it stood in the poem of
Cartlion, afterwards translated and pub-
lished.' He also states that he gave a
copy of this address to the rev. Mr. Mac-
kinDonofGlendaruelia 1/80. Mr. Irvine,
who took down Mr. Morison' s evidence,
has assured Mr. Laing that he gave no iti-
formation whatsoever to Mr. Macdiarmid
concerning the old roan in the isle of Sky.
Mr. Laing's remarks are such as effectu-
ally to invalidate this passage as a proof of
the authenticity of the poems. •
. " When a copy taken from Macpherson's
papers, had been circulated by his amanuen-
Bb above twentv-five years ago, the presump-
tion undoubtedly is, tW Macdiamud's copy
»as obtained, directly or indirectly, from the
Hune source. Accordiugly we nnd, that it
Men materially, in six cUstinct tines, from
the copy conununicated by Morison, pre-
rious to the year 1780, to Mackinnon of
Slendaruet; but that in these lines, and
ibnost in every other word, it coincides most
niuutely with another copy which Mgri^a
Aartf. Riv, Yqu IV.
had given to the Rev. Mr. Irvine of Iknodv
and which was communicated by the latter
to Mr. Macdiarmid, whose own copy has
been evidently transcribcHl from the samtf
original. Mr. Irvine, at the same time, pro-
cured from Morison a copy of the Address to
the Sun in Carric-thura, which last Mr.
Macdiannid has also produced ; and as these
are tlie only specimens of Macpherson's Os-
sian, procured from the one, and possessed
by the other, tlie conclusion is unavoidable,
that the old man in Glenlyon was no other
than Morison himself. Morison, Iiavin^
committed these passages to memory, deli-
vered the two copies of the Address to the
Sun in Carthon with some variations ; such
perhaps as existed in Macpherson's Earsc
version of Ossian, which, when shewn at
Edinburgh, was filled with the interlineations,
alterations, and additions, of an author cor*
recting his own productions. But it will not
now be pretended, tliat Morison gave one
copy to Mackinnon, %\itli the variation of six
distmct lines, and afterwards another copy to
Irvine, coinciding most exactly, and by mere
accident, in those identical lines, with the old
man of Glenlyon's edition."
Dr. Ferguson and Mr. Grallie both qnoto-
from memory a passage as in Fingal,
which is not to be found there, nor iu
Macpherson's Ossian, but in the Irish
ballad of Magnus. And tfius it is, tliat
the question has been unintentionally con-,
founded by the witnesses. They remem-
ber ballads concerning the Fions, and con-
found them with Macpherson's fabrica-
tions. Accordingly in the attestations
transmitted to filair, such passages only
are specified as had been adopted trom tho
Irbh ballads. These attestations are pub*
lished by the committee, for Blair gave
only the substance, magnified with a truo<
pleader's spirit ; and even now Mr. Laing
observes that the letters are not published
entire. The declaration of one conscien-
tious witness has been suppressed, who
says, ' I do remember in my early days,
to have heard the exploits of the Fions
recited almost by every body ; and I still
retain some of what I then heard, parti-
cularly relating to Oscar; but upon com*
parison find the circumstances differ
widely from what is contamed in th#
printed poems.'
The committee tlien have produced n9
credible testimony that any part of Mac-
pherson's Ossian was traditiooally presenr*
ed, except such as is to be found iu thtf
Irish ballads. Wbat evi4ence have tb»ih
of the existence of MSB. ?
Mr. Gallie's testimony <m this head it
clear. Macpherson, who bad been far
some years jua iiitinate acqnaijtanc«/Cam»
Ifeo
METAPHVSICS, l^HILOLOGY, AND CRITiaSM.
to'his house when returning from his tour
of discovery, aod ' brought with him se-
veral volumes, small octavo, or rather
laree duodecimo, iathe Gaeliclanguage
una characters, being the poems of Os-
sian and other ancient bards.'
*' I remember perfectly, that many of
1i)0se volumes vf^re, at the close, said to
have been collected by Paul Macmhuirich
fiard Clanraonuil, and about the beginning
of the 14th century. Mr. Maq^herson and
X were of opinion, that though the bard coU
lected them, yet that tlu-y must have been
writ by an ecclesiastic, for the characten and
melling were most beautiful and correct.
£vcry poem had its first letter o£ its hrst .
word most elegantly flourished and gilded ;
some red» some yellow, some blue, and some
peen : the material writ on seemed to be a
limber, yet coarse and dark vellum : the vo-
lumes were bound in strong parchment :
Mr. Macpherson had them from Clanro-
»ald."
In another letter, not designed for the
conunittcc, Mr. Gallic ventures a con-
jecture widi regard to these MSS. by no
ipeans favourable to the authenticity of
Macpberson's translations.
'* I remember Mr. Macpherson reading
the MSS. found in Clanronatd*s, execrating
the bard who dictated to the amanuensis,
raying, * D— n the scoundrel, it is he him-
self that now speaks, and not Ossian.' This
took place- in my house, in two or three in-
. stances: I thence conjecture that the MSS.
were kept up, lest thev should fall under the
view of such as would be more ready to pub-
lish their defomiities than to point out tlieir
beauties.
" It \\3L% and I believe is well known, that
the broken poems of Ossian, handed down
from one generation to another, got conupt-
ed. In the slate of the Highlands, and its
languai^e, this evil, 1 apprehend, could not
be avoided; and I thing great credit "Is due,
Vi such a^ case, to him who restores a \voi;k of
merit to its original purity."
Certain of these manuscripts (Mr.
• taing writes as if but one ; the reporter,
upon apparently better authority, of more)
were received by Macpherson from the
then Mr. McDonald of Clanronald, whose
son and heir wished afterwards to have
them returned. Macpherson had given a
written obligation so to do — which he
liever fulfilled — and orders Were given to
commence an action against him iuT their
ffccoveiryi The orders were not obeyed,
and after his death, one volume, all that
could be found, was returned. This the
committee communicated to Air. Laing,
. ttrvr-arda^whom^ it ought tb be oUerved,
they have conducted themselves with tn*
lib^lity throughout the controversy- He
conceived it to be the red book of Clan-
ronald (Leabhar Dearg), and. thus de-
scribes it. ' It is a small mutilated duode-
cimo, in modern binding, of a hundred
and fifty leaves, in the Irish charactCT,
which the Macvuricks understood and
wrote J and is dated September B, 1/2^, in
the midst of the songs. But the only
poem relative to Ossian in the whole col-
lection, is a short ballad in the scriptural
style, on thfe longevity of the Fions ; of
whom Gaul lived tliree himdred and odd
years j Ossiari, four hundred ; and Fm^
himself fifty- two tens of years, that is,
tuenty-six score, or Bve hundred and
twenty years.' Tlie committee adoMW-
ledge the unimportance of this' volume,
and argue plausibly that for this very rea-
son it cannot be the red book, for that has
often been mentioned in the highlands as
containing a valuable collection of ancient
poetry. They refier to evidence upon thb
point, which is contradictory. L.achlan
Mac Mhuirich deposes that Claiiionald,
whose bard his lather was, made his fathsx
give up the red book to Macpherson;
that it was near as thick as a Bible, bet
that it was longerand broader — (this seei»
to describe a quarto). Ewan Macphei^ai
on the contrary deposes, that danrooald
gave ^f acpherson an order on a UeutensiA
Donald Macdonald at Edinburgh, for a
Gaelic folio manuscript, which was called
the red book. He is positive that tbo
book delivered by Mac Mhuirich was cot
I lie red book, being wimess to the dell-
\'ery of it : it was of the size of a New Tcs*
tament, and of the nature of a ccMinioia-
place book.
• In Macknichol's remarks on Johnson*!
Journey to the Hebrides, is this passage,
as quoted by Mr. Laing. ' If I>r. John-
sou will but call some morning on John
Mackenzie, esq. of th^ Temple, he %-iil
find more volumes in the Gaelic language
and characters, than perhaps he will be
pleasetf to look at after wliat he has sakL
Among these are two volumes which arc
very remarkable : the one is a large folk)
MS. called An Duanaireadh Ruadh, tr
the Red Bh>mer, which was given by
Mr. Macdonald of Gleikealladel in Mm«
deart, to Mr. Macdonald of Kyles io
Cnoideart, who gave it to Mr. Macpher-
son. It contains a viiety Of subjects*
such as some of Ossian'i ptieras. Highland
tales, &c. The other in called An Leab-
har bcarg, or t^jo Rjd Eool:, which was
give* to ilr. Macphcxaju ty the bard
-lEroST OK TBI rOIMS OF 0S8IAK.
fl&l
Itacvuricfa. This was reckoned one of
be most vaioabie MSS. in the bard's pos-
ession.*
From thb passage it appears that Ewaii
iiIiaq>herson in Us deposition niayhave
nbtaken the Red Rhymer for the Red
k)ok, but both are stated to have then
«en in Mr. Mackenzie's possession, and
mm him Clanronald's MS. was obtained.
[ibe remaining MSS. were transmitted to
Edinburgh : they were nineteen volumes
a quarto and octavo ; and, according to
kfr. Mackenzie's explanation, had l^en
placed in his hands, as secretary to the
highland Society in London, for the pur-
lose of removing the doubts which had
«en raised by Dr. Johnson, whether any
ncient nanuscripts in that language really
justed. ' They consisted of medical and
eligious treatises, Irish legends and le«
^eodary histories, an obituaxy, a vocabu-
iiy, genealogies, kc. with many of the
risk ballads ascribed to Ossian 3 but not a
ingle original, as iar as could be discover-
d,of Macpherson's supposed translations.'
nie manuscripts of the supposed originals
vhkh he left f«r publication, were either
Q liis own hand-writing, or in that of
ome amanuensis. It appears therefore,
hat of tl^e MSS. collected by Macpher-
on, none of any value are forthcoming,
ind, that nothing has been found among
lis papers in any way to authenticate his
)ssian.
A 6oilectien pf Gaelic MSS. belonging
O'the late ma^r John M'Lachlan, of Kil-
ride, has been procured for the society
ly lord Baniiaiyne*s exertions. In the
»ldest of these there is the following re-
nark on the margin of one of the leaves.
The night of the first of May, in the coe-
lobiiun of my pope Murchus, and I re-
|ret that there is not left of my ink
iOough to £11 up this line. I am Fithil,
n attendant on t he school .' From this uae
f t|ie word pope. Dr. Donald Smith ar-
mies that the MS. is not of a later date
ban the close of the eighth century, and
he character is such as to warrant this con-
losion. All that tliis contains concetning
)ssian is the following passage.
" Flngal, of tlie femily of Baoiscne, meet-
% his son, to wit Ossian. Ossian was a year
nthout any notice being had concerning him,
intii a boar-hunter infonned his lather. Upon
rhich Fingal repaired to the desert, where
hsian was flaying a boar at the time of his
letting there. Fineal sent him a messenger,
hsian instantly took his arms and prepared
)r an armed resistance. It was then that
jogal said it was hazardous for the lad to eor
a|ftge with the gray-haired hero. Upon which
Ossian - sung the ' piece diceru " Con uadh
ladh ei a scciadh " Con " Con."
. Another of the MSS. bears date in a
comparatively modem hand, 1238; and it
is pronounced by one well versed in an-
cient writings to be of the thirteenth cen-
tury. It consists of some mutilated tales
in prose interspersed with verse, from one
of which upon the story of Deardir, Mac-
pherson*s Darthula, the following extract
b made.
'' Darthula looked behind her towards the
land of Albion, and rabed the strain —
*' Loveljr land-is that eastern land,
Albion with all its lakes,
O that I might not depart from it !
But I depart with Naos.
Lovely is the tower of Fidga, and the tower
of Fingal.
Lovely is tlie tower above them.
Lovely the isle of Drayno
And lovely the tower of Suvno.
But,' alas ! the wood, the bay, which Aiole
would approach^
Are left by me and Naos for ever
Upon the coast of Albion.
O vale of Laith ! would I were sleeping by its
soothing murmur !
Fish and venison, and the choice of the chace
prepared.
Would be my repast in Glenlalth.
Glenmasain ! high grow its herbs, &ir wave
its branches.
Steep would be the place of our repose
Ov^r the grassy banks of Masan.
O vale of £tlia! where a first house has been
built for me.
Delightful were its groves, when the sun risen
to his height
Would strike his beams on Gleneitl
How I long (or the vale of Urchay !
Straight vale bf the fairest hills ;
Joyful were his companions around Naos
In Glenurchay.
Vale of Daruadh !
Pleasant to me would be each of its people:
Sweet is the note of the cuckoo
From the bendiiig tree of tiie mountain
Above Glen-da-Kuadh.
Lovely is Drayno of the sounding shore!
Lovely is Avich of the brightest sand!
O ! that I might not depart from it west.
But I depart with my love f
This is undoubtedly ancient poetry;
but it bears no resemblance to Macpher-
soji's, nor would it remind the reader of
Ossian, if the names had not all been al-
tered by tlie translator according to the
Fhigalian nomenclature.
The Highland Societj'' of London have
also presented to the committee a large
and valuable collection of manuscrrpts.
From one of these, which appears frote
Yy2
«0
l^BETAraYSlCS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
dates affiled to it to have been written at
different periods from 1512 to 1529, two
poems are extracted attributed toOssian,
fuid one to Fergus the bard, his brother.
The Author qfthis is Ossian,
'* Long do the clouds this night surround me —
Long to mc was the uighl tiiat is past —
For the day that is come I have longed —
While slowly rolled the day before.
Tedious to mc is each day that comes.
For it is not as it was wont !
Gone are the heroes, my friends in war,
And feats of strength are no longer pcrform'd :
Cyenerosity, the will and the deed have failed.
Sad is my heart without an object for its love.
Nor power to avenge the feeble.
Hospitality and tlie drink of tlie feast are no
more ;
No more the love of the fair or of the chace.
In which 1 was wont to take delight.
On the sw^ord or tlie dart I no longer rely.
1 do not come up with the himl or the hart.
Nor do I traverse the hills of the elk.
I hear not of hounds nor their deeds.
The night of clouds to me is long 1"
It is remarkable that the elkis mentioned
in this fragrweut : how far the word in the
original may justify this translation, we must
leave to Celtic scholars to determine ; but
one great argument a^inst the authenti-
city of the old Irish histories is, that the
elk is not noticed in them. Tlie frag-
ment is in Ossian's character, but not in
the style of Macpherson. It resembles
the complaint of an American savage, as
given by Alexander Kellet, sufficiently to
shew that it was composed in a not dis-
similar state of society. The lied Man
complains, "' that in the happy days of
yoiith he was loved or teared by all j that
he could tomahawk his enemies, and could
Rot miss his game ; that every river was
then an inn to him, and every squaw he
met a wile ; but that now he was grown
old every one hated and scorned him -, the
deer bounded away from his erring aim,
and the girls covered themselves repulsive-
ly at his approach, nor was he any longer
permitted to paint and grace tiie glorious
>ile of war ; and he concludes with ardent
wishes, that either nature had never dis-
closed Jiim, or had gifted him with that
power of renovation which seemed so imr
proi^erly granted tv the |>eniiciou;i snake.**
The secvnd poem is ihe story of Faina-
aollis, resembling in its conclusion the Irish
ballad, not the episode in Fmgal, and bear-
ing no resemblance to Macpherson*s style.
Fergus's poem is upon the death of Oscar,
but no authentication of the Temora.
Tbtse are all wliich the committee hxve
found immediately connected in subject
with Macplierson's pretended translations,
except copies of tlie Iri&li ballads of irlag-
nus, and of Cooloch, manifestly the ori-
gin of Carthon, and liere said to be wriua
by Gilcolm, the son of the ph\-sici2a.
From Kennedy's collection they have gi^^n,
among other extracts, one represeniiDg
the manners of Fingal's heroes. We copy
it on account of the subject, and aho bis
cause it seems to have received fewer of
Kennedy's improvements than some ot'die
other pieces.
" Mournful it is to be to-night in the vakrf
Cona,
Without the voice of hound, and vitiisi
nmsic !
My fancy can no longer accomplish itsp»
pose,
I am truly the old man and the feeble.
When we went to the vale o\ Cona,
Soft and expressive was the music tliat acta*
panle.1 us ;
Many were the men of worth among ns,
Nor would we willingly incur displeasnre.
" When wc would ascend tiiepathsofCcm
Numerous were the parties in every directw^
To subdue the luirt and the hind,
Manv hundreds of which were never to rat
'* Many were the heroes, when called \)^.
That would rapidly ascend the mountiii] ,
With spear exposed in their grasp.
Their great sword and their shield ;
While my beloved Fingal and fifty chie6
Were assembled in the lofty court.
And the sun-beam, set to its flag-^tafl*,
Waved over tliem its victoriou:* banner.
Far would disperse asunder.
Through the steep bank< of each monsU^
The strong, adventurous band of Fingal,
M'itH bows ready in their grasp.
When the deer oegan to start.
We let slip the himdreds ot our houiids;
Many a hart, roe, and hind
Fell, as for as I could view. ]
We returned in llie evening with the^rf|
the chace.
To Taura of the musical strings, |
Where trequent our cruits and harps, |
And many were the bards to sing the tjlt
" Many a shell went round.
Many were the new songs which ww
together:
Wliilst the feast was consuming in the to«
Beautiful and young the FingJdian heroes
Jo>-ful in their accustomed course ;
Musical, ele^^ant, comely, valiant.
With wine, tne reward of valour, andnirt
Much beloved, unused to falsehood.
Cheerful and happy were the heroes of fog
Tlie heroes, lovely, st'^ong and friendly,
Of great compassion and extensive fmf,
W lio were generous, hospitable, and e\ri a{
1 o protect the stranger at a distance iroa
abode.
In the da^ of battle, on tht deld of ^'ik,
BEPORT OS THE pOEMS OP OSSIAN.
Mightier jnen never were seen.
It^ c would engage a man and a hundred, *
Each Fingah'an hero who was a leader.
iVe ne V er niov ed bu t \v ith reluctance
To givf the linnet uous battle,
[ o give the forlorn the ])rotection of valour,
lud the upuitded stranger the shelter of our
shield,
fhe numbers that were in my time
n Tara of the sweet-sounding strings '
VevQ fourteen hundred and lift v,
)f our dear friends without blaine,
Without mentioning the young king of Phail,
for yet the wounded, the aged/ or young
women,
for the ymmg men that waited on the swords ;
ilas ! weak am 1 w 1th grief,
ravelling the world to and fro,
nd cannot find one person in it like Fingal.
J generosity and good fortune
[oiie was ever found to surpass him.
be heroes have gone to the grave
hat sees not day, •
Tiich has caused mine trve to be in mist,
am like the lonely wounded bird of the
wood,
^ile I mouni without ceasing iifthe haiJ;
rithout sight, or offspring, or cause of joy.
lin like the tree whose growth has ceased,
rlike the nut in its withered husk,
BMly to drop down to the ground,
rievous it is to the sorrowful heart,
!^fc it cannot derive relief from friends,
ke the dying hart is my form,
y voice sinks under the dew of night !"
The tautology here is in favour of its
duineness. Barbarous poets delight in
peadng tlie same idea : this is particu-
ly the character of Welsh poetry.
The committee neither from oral reci-
ion, nor by means of manuscripts, have
en able to authenticate a single poem of
acpherson's Ossian, nor a single passage
those poems. But Dr. Donald Smith
i, in their appendix, put together pas-
5es extracted from the Gaelic poems in
jir possebsion, so as to form an outline
* To this paper the committee requests the
titular attention of th<? society. The doc-
ha*^, by the committee's direction, taken
Kinic liberty which Mr. Macphcrsou may
supposed to have used, namely, that of
lectin^ passages, and sometimes even lines,
n dilltTcnt poems, and dilTerent editions
the same poem, the ' di.yecta membra
te,* which seemed to relate to, or to be
Bccti»d with, the principal event in the
n poem, as found m Macpherson's pybli-
on. The committee lias been at pains to
P the translation as scrupulously meral as
teiure of the two languages would admit,
naps indeed, in some passages it may in-
thi* censure of obscurity and abniptness,
i too close adherence to tlie expression of
the original. By comparing this translation
tvith Macpherson*s, in some of the longer and
most closely corresponding passages, even the
mere English reader will be able, in some de-
gree, 4oiorm a judgment of what alterations
. that gentleman may have made in the cofler-
tion he gave to the world, either by omitting,
supplying, or refining his oriirinal ; with thra
savuig always, however, which the committee
must request the societv to keep in mmd,
that It is impossibk' to know what copies or
editions of the poems in question Mr. Mac-
pherson might have procured, or have had
access to.*'
Any thing may be made of any thing
in this way. Virgil has thus been made
to evangelize, and Homer to write the life
of Christ. This comparative version to
which particular attention is invited by
the committee, is neither more nor less
tlian a mere cento. Mr. Laing has anim-
adverted upon such a subtei-fuge witk
not more severity than it desen es.
" Thirteen or fourteen modem manuscripts'
were takeii, containing many hundred pages
and consisting of different collections of Earse
and Irish poems. From tliis extensive ranee
between twelve and fifteen hundred detached
hnes are selected, . and pieced together, witii
the most preposterous cfiliirence, in order to
present to the reader, by dint of translation,
somethmg like the plan and outlmes of Fin-
gal. No intimation is given of the particular
songs or poems from whk;h they are taken ;
but the reterences to the different pages of the
MSS. are as desultory as the hnes themselves
are unconnected and detached. For ipstanc*:
the three first lines, concerning Daol watch-
ing the ocean (as if the same with Moran,
the scout of ocean), are taken from Ken-
nedy s Collection, p. 78, st. 8 ; the eiffht ne5ct
.lines (a part of the Irish ballad of l5aribhe
Mac Stairn), from Fletcher's, p. 183, stanzas
1st and"13th ; the tlu-ee succeeding lines from
l^letchers, stanza 2d; and the six last lines of
the lirst page, are taken from tht four difler-
ent pages and stanzas of the following manu-
scnpts ; Mr. Maclagfein, p. 91. 1. s. 3. Ken-
nedy, p. 154; st. id. p. 130, st. 5. id. p. 154.
St. 3. Six successive lines in the same para-
grapli, are often taken from four or five dif-
ferent pages of different manuscripts ; and ia
a single page (248) twenty-two lines are taken
from fifteen different pages of ten separate
and distinct manuscripts. This, if practised
in any other language tlian Earse. would be
temied tobncation. What opinion, for in-
stance, would the public entertain of an au-
thor who should piece together two partial
quotations, in order to extract from them in
conjunction a sense of which they were not
separately susceptible? Yet this is pnictised
for seventy pages, and supported by such
false translation as High an Teamhra (Tcmo:
ra) king of Taura, in order to approximate
the word to Tura in the opening of Fingil ;
egi
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITiaSM.
and Loingeas na mach, (mach, a wave, maght^
a plain), the ships of the hiUs, in order to as-
similate the expression to ' the desert of the
hills/ FiugaFs poetical appellation in the pre-
&ce tu the Fragments ; atterwhich no reliance
can be placed on the translator's fidelity. But
the c<rfection with \¥]iich the committee lias
chiefly collated Fingal, is itself a more recent
fabrication by Kennedy, a schoolmaster, who
complains bitterly that Dr. John SmiUi, to
whom it was communicated, has intercepted
and appropriated the fruits of his invention.
As a proof of this, in Kennedy's editicm of thie
ballad of Conloch, the spirit of Loda is intro-
duced from Fingal. But as Kennedy was ig-
norant that the name in Macpherson's Earse
version of Ossian, is CrutliLcKduin, the shape
or form of Wodin, the spirit of Loda is Uter-
aH}r translated into Eajse, Sniorad Lodda.
Buidh fuaimncaL'h arm mar Spiorad Lodda.
lie rushed in tht! soimd of his arm like the
spirit of Lr)da. No such passage occurs in
miss Brooke s genuine edition of the ballad,
of which Kennedy retains only the story and
99 verses; but Smith, to whom he ackn^Ay-
ledged his fabrications (Report 107, Appen-
dix 69), has inserted the wnole passage ver-
batim in his poem of Manos, into which he
has converted the ballad of Conloch. Thus
the committee of the Highland Society has
been very lauilably employed in collating one
forgery with another ; ana, in order to prove
the authenticity of Ossian, haj unwarily given
a sanction to a' gross fabrication."
Among the many tales which hav^ been
told of the Jesuits, one is, that to abridge
the trouble of praying, they used no other
form than that of repeating the alphabet,
beseeching God to put tht letters into
whatever words he liked best. This de-
vice of the committee is much of the
same kind.
There remains to be considered only the
evidence arising from a particular exanrii-
liation of the Gaelic, as left by Macpher-
•on, with his own translation. They quote
such instances of alteration as the fol-
lowing :
Literal TratMlaHon.
Innistore roso slowly
And Carfickthura, chief of waves.
Macpherson.
Innistore rose to sight, and Carricktliura's
mossy towers.
Literal
The signal of evil (or violence) was on high :
A bliiid fire, with its side in smoke.
Macpherson.
•' But the sign of distress was on their
top. TliC u:arnin{r flame, edged with smoke,**
t^^aming flame, they remark, is a metaphy-
sical idea, putting in a reflex attribute of
the fire, which was intended to warn his
friend:* of the distress of tlieir chief j but,
in the original, the epithet dullj^ bllnd^ is a
well-known Gaelic epithet fbr smothered
flame, which exactly expresses what every
one has seen in kindling straw, or other
.Doaterials for fire-signaU. From thcfo
and other like examples, tliey give itai
their apinioD, that, in the origunal, tho
scene and its ctrcumstaDce are given db*
tinctly ; they are embodied in clear and
accurate description ; that, in the tmida-
tion by Mr. Macpherson, they are b^-
quently lost in words, of which the soosi
pleases the ear, but which are of a geoeral
indeterminate sort, that might belong to
any other place or object of a umilarkiod!
It is nqt worth while to dispute this fta-
tlier in the scale ^ but we may reiDad
that, of the two languages, Macpkwrsoa
would write that moat vividly with wlMch
all his earliest ideas were associated, wA
that, in the instimces adduced, the ad^o*
tage is sometimes on th« one side sod
sometimes on the othef. Their vcidkt
must be given in their own words.
** On the whole, the committee b^ knc
to report, that there are two questwost*
which it has directed its inquiries, on the 9^
^ect whic^h the society was pleased to refeti
it, and on which it now submits the bestm
dence it has been ^ble to procure.
" 1st, What poetrj, ot what kip4»dtf
what degree of excellence, existed andotij
in the Highlands of Scotland, which vas 9^\
^ nerally knpwn by the denomination of &j
slanic, a term derived frofn the univeTaIb^
lief that its father and principal compoem^!
Ossian the son of pingal > ^ \
" 2d, How far that collection of aai
poetry, published by Mr. James Macphesos,
IS genuine? .
" As to the first of those questioBS, fc
comnrittee can with confidence state its i»
nion, that such poetry did exist, that it «a
common, general, and in great abundaiH
that it ^^tis of a most impressive axid 4sk
sort, in a high degree eioq^ient, t^Dder, 3
sublime.
" The second Question it is much
4ifficult to answer decisively. The cosbbel
is possessed of no documents, to sliev ^
much of his collection Mr. MacphecsoB <
tained in the fonn in which he has gtrcak
the world. The_;^poenis and fragments
poems which the committee has been afe
pnx:nre, contain, as will appear irooi <
article in the Appendbc, No. 15, already n
tioned, often the substance, and swncdi
almost the literal expr^ion (the Jp*«^
verba), of passages jjiven by Mr, Maq
son, in the poems of which he has puhii
tlie translations. But the cgnmittee has
been able to obtain any one poem ihi
in title and tenor with the poems pi '
by him. It is inclined to believe
\^ as in use to supply chasms, and to art
nectioo^ by inserting passages which he
•BEPORT ON TUB P0BM8 OF dftSUl^:
^
•otllnd* and<to add what he conceived to be
^.ignity i^iid delicacy. to the original composi-
tion, by striking out passages, by. softening
incidents, by rehuing the language, in short,
by changing what he considered as too simple
or t(X) rude for a modern ear, and elevating
what m his opinion was below the' standard of
good poetry. To what decree, however, lie
f^xercised these liberties, it is impossible for
the committee to determine. The advantages
he possessed, which the committee began its
inquiries too late to enjoy, of collecting from
the oral recitation of a number of persons
iiow no more, a very great number of the
same poems, on the same subjects, and then
collating those different copies or editions, if
they may be so called, rejecting what was
cpurious or corrupted in one copy, and adopt-
ing from another something more gemnne
aad excellent in ita place, allbrded him an
opportunity of putting togcth<»r wliat might
fairly enough be called an original whole^of
much more beauty, and with much fewer
blemishes, than the committee believes it now
possible for an^ per^u, or comb'mation of
persons, to obtam.
" Tlie conunittee thinks it discovers some
difference between the style both of the ori-
ginal (one book of which is given by Mac-
pherson) and translation of Tenjora, and that
of the trauttlation of Fmgal,and of the small
portion of the original of that poem, which
It reqeived firdm iiis executors. There is
^ore the appearance of simplicity and on*
mnality in the letter than in the former.
Perhaps when he published Fingal, Mr. Mac-
pherson, unknown as an author, and obscure
as a man, was more diffident, more cautious,
and more attentive, than when at a subsequent
period he published Temora, flushed with thfe
applause of the world, and distinguished as ti'
man oi taicmts, and an author of hig^ and
Ykting reputatioD. Whoever will examine
tite original prefixed to some of the editions
of the. 7th book of Temora, and compare it
vith the translation, will, iu the opinion of
the committee, discover some imperfections,
some modernisms (if the expression may be
allowed) in the Gaelic, which do not occur in
the specimen of Fmgal, given in the Appen-
dix to this Report ; and, in the English, more
«f a loose and inflated expression (which how^
ever was an error into which Mac-phersouwas
apt to fall), than is ta be found in his earlier
translations. He had then attained a height
which, to any man, but partkularly to'a man
of a sanguine and somewhat confident dispo-
sition likeMacpherson,is apt to give a degree
of carelessne::s and presumption, that would
rather command than conciliate the public
^4uffrage, and, in the security of the world's
Ppplause, neglects the best rneaa^ of obtain-
ing it. He thought, it may be, he had only
to produce another work like Fingal, to reap
the same advantage and the same honour
^hich that had procured him ; and was rather
solicitous to obuin these quickly, by a hasty
ptthlicatwp, than to deserve them by a caro-
fill collection of what original materials lie
.had procured, or by a diluent search to sup^
ply the defects of those materials.**
Upon this statement it shoold be rfi^
marked, that the fragments to which th^y
'allude have been invalidated, and that Dr.
•Smith's cento proves nothing except how
weak the advocates for Chsian* must feel
their cause to be, when tliey advance such
proofs to support it ! In fact they give up
the question, by admitting that they havk
fiof been nble to obtain any one poem the
tame in title and tenor with the poems puth*
lUhedby Macpherson.
Here, then, the external e^-idence ends :
but the Gaelic originals left by Macpher-
son are to be published, and to these the
Ossianites appeal. As there is. not, tht
slightest evidence to authenticate these, the
internal evidence must be referred to as
finally decisive ; and Mr. Laing has com*
pleted the subject, by editing Ossian with
a commentary, indicating all its spuxlous
characteristics. This extraordinary pub-
lication, which we have mentioned jn a
former article, must now be examined.
Some proo^, in the course of this rigor-
ous commentary, arise from the want of
costume in the poems ; as thus : '* In th^
simplicity of Homer's description, we trace
minutely the whole process of thie feast
or sacrifice ; but the modern Ossian merely
informs us, tliat ten heroes blew the fire,
a hundred gathered the heath, three
hundred the ^lished stones } and then,
like a French critic, shrinks from the in-
delicacy of dressing and preparing the
'smoking &ast." Others from false cos*
tume ; to speak of the winds whistling
aloft in the shrouds, corresponds but iu
with sails of deer*s-skin and thongs for
ropes. Earthquakes are twice mentioned.
'* The sound of their steps is like thunder, '
in the bosom of the ground, when thp
rocking hills shake their groves, and not a
blast pours from the darkened sky." *' Ho
lay, like a shattered' ro^k, which Cromla
shakes from its shaggy sid<&, when tho
green-v^pileyed Erin shakes its mountains
from sea to sea." Ossian could have no
such ideas of an earthquake 5 but Mac-
pherson remembered the earthquake at
Lisbon, and has introduced a descripticn^
of one in his poem upon death. The
proofs from alterations in the different edi«
tions are numerous and weighty. In many
cases they are merely capricious j thu*
Erin is substituted for Inmsfail ; and the
note to explain this latter name still re«
tained. Such changes are firequent, and
prove (bat the writ^ had no protot}^ t)»
69(5
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, ANI> CRITICISM.
adhere to. *' These lonely" yews sprung
^om their tonobs, and wish to meet on
high.'\ Blair observed, tliat this sympathy
o:' the trees with the lovers, might hie
reckoned to border on an Italian conceit ;
and it now stands thus-— these lonely yews
■ sprung from their tombs, and shade them
from the storm. The conceit was from
ballads old and new, for none can be more
hackneyed. Stamo was called the king
of snow, and his daughter the daughter of
snow ; phrases afterwards omitted as too
violent. In Temora there was evidently
a design of connecting the poem with
Darthula and the Children of Usnoth;
but this was changed, and one passage re»
fcrring to it as first published, rejected as
an interpolation : others however remain,
and indicate such an alteration as none but
the au thor would have m ade . Addressing
the sun, it w^ said, '' the dun robe may
$eize thee, struggling in tlie sky:'* after-
vrards this was altered to " the darkening
hour-,** but, says Mr. Laing, "what be-
comes of the Earse original, of which the
dun robe and the darkening hour are such
dififerent translations ?"
Proof still more decisive is afforded by
the Death of Oscar, the first fragment, it
must be remembered, which Macpherson
produced. At that time he had not meet
with the Irish ballad upon Oscar*s death,
and was ignorant of the historical account.
The story, therefore, is wholly fictitious.
But afterwards, when the Irish ballad was
to be woven into Temora, it was neces-
sary to account for this difference^ this
was ea.sily done : he states, that he has
found a more correct copy of tlitj frag-
ment, and accordingly reprints it, calling
iUerniid son of Diaran, instead of son of
^lorui : and Oscar <:on of Caruth, instead
of son of Ossian, or my son. This para-
graph is interpolated, to show how Ossian
c.nne to tell this tale of another Oscar.
" But, son of iVlpin, the hero fell not
harmless as the gras? of the field j the
blood of die mighly was on his sword, and
he travelled with death through the ranks
iH theu* pride. But Oscar, thou son of
Ctruth, thou hast fallen low ! No enemy
fell by thy hand. Thy spear was stained
with die blood of diy friend !"
A later impostor has practised a subter-
fige very like this of the two Oscars.
I\lV. William Henry Ireland ventured to
produce a note of hand, given by Shak-
&pt\u-e to John Heminges, as a compensa-
tion for business done at the Globe theatre,
and fi)r his great trouble in going down
iur him to Stratford on Avpn ; and to this
he added a receipt in the name of Hem«
inges. Unluckily a genuine signature was
produced, which of course proved to ba
in a totally different hand-writing. Mr.
Ireland, however, was enabled, by fass
dexterity of hand, to escape better iLia
Macpherson. He hurried home, foanged
another receipt, and signed it as neaiiy
alike as he could, firom memory, to d^
true signature ; then stated that there had
been two John Heniinges in the time of
Shakspeare, although not known to the
world : the t>ne connected with Shakspeare
and the Globe theatre, and the other with
the Curtain theatre, though sometimes
connected with Shakspeare and the Globe
also*. The promissory note had been given
to this last; the two other signatmcs
were of the former one ; and thej' were
distinguished, when living, by the appd*
la dons of the tall John Heminges <rf the
Globe, and the short John Heminges of
the Curtain : — ^the short John Heminges
is cousin-german to Oscar the soa of Ca*
ruth.
Macpherson's second collection wu
made in London by means of his firiendi.
I'he correspondence with these fiien^
from whom Temora, and the other poesos,
were received by the post, would be the
best proof of the authenticity of tiis
poems 3 but not a trace of any such ccr-
respondence has been discovered, nor pie-
tended to be discovered.
Mr. Laing, however, notwithstanding
so niany damning proofs, rests his caose
chiefly upon the numerous irpifaf'inat
which he has indicated.
*' In Ossian there are some hundred simlln
and poetical images, which must either be
original, or derived from imitation. If tlx
poems are authentic, they must be origkal ;
and their casual coincidence with other poetry
can possess only such a vague resembbnce^
as that of Virgirs PoUio to the prophecies d
Isaiah. If the poems, however, are not aai-
thentic, these similes and poetical images m-jrl
be derived from the classics, scriptures, acd
modem poetrs, with which the authors mmd
was previously impregnated, and, howerer
artfully disguised, they may be traced cs-
tinctly to their source.
" And conversely again, if these similes
and poetical images' are original, the atithesi-
ticity of the poe.us can admit of no contra-
diction ; if, on the contrary, they are deri%-ed
from imitation, all the attestations and oatlis
in tlie }J ighlands would fail to establish the
authenticity of Ossian. llxe present con>
meatary professes, therefore, not merely to
exhit>it 'parallel passages, much less inst^iors
of a fortuitous resemblance of ideas, but ta
produce tlie precise origiuab from whicU
11
tlSrOBT OR THE VOfiHS OF OSSIA^.
^T
thesimfles and images are indisputably de-
rived."
Jn the course of this inyestigation Mr.
Laing has gone through a long course of
poetry : the Bible, the Greek and Latin
poetSj and our own writers, have all been
ransacked for parallel passages. So much
pains taken for such a purpose — so many
volumes jierused, not for the beauties
which they contain, not for the pleasures
which they afford, but to collect evidence?
against James Macphcrson — reminds us of
Jedediah liuxton, attending to Garrick'a
Harolot with the deepest attention, for
the sake of counting the number of words
which he pronounced. He has, however,
clfectually succeeded in his object j as a
lew instances, from many, may evince.
" Hi» spear is a blasted pine. His shield
tke risuig moon.] Milton, Paradise Lost,
I. 284. .
His spear, to equal which the tallest pbe,
Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the aikst
Of some great ainmiral.
His ponderous shield
Huhgon bis shoulders, like the moon, whose
orb
Througli optic glass the Tuscan artist views
At evening;
when the moon rises ; and, in converting Sa-
tan into Swaran, it was only necessary to sup-
press those images that are derived from the
scienices, or from the arts of civilized life."
" Comest thou like a roe from Malmor,
Jite a hart from thy echoing hills. Behold
he cometb, leaping upon the mountains, skip-
ping upon the hills. My beloved is like a
roe, or a young hart. Be thou like a roe, or
a young hart in the mountains of Bether.
^ong qfSolohum, ii, 8. 17."
But Mr. Laing is too eager in this pur-
suit of imitations j like the inquisitors in
Gil Bins, a single word is sufficient for
him, whatever be the context. " I^ud
and distant he heard the blast murmuring
behind the grove ;" for this he refers us to
Hardyknute^
" I^oud and chill blew the westlin wind i"
and to Virgil,
•' Ceu flamina prima
Cum deprensa freniunt syl vis, ct caeca volutant
Murnmra, ventures nautis prodentia ventos,"
Other instances yet more absurd are to
be found.
" O lay me, ye that see the light, near
some rock of my hills ! let the thick hazels be
around, let the rustling oak be near. Green
be the place of my rest.] JVindsor Forest, 259.
Ye sacred Nine ! that all my soul possess,
Whose raptures Are me, and whose visions
bless.
Bear me, oh bear me, to sequestered scenei^
The bowery niazes, and surrounding greenst
ToTliames's banks, which fragrant breezes
fill,
Or'w here ye muses sport on Coopel^s hflL"
A more extraordinary charge of imita-
tion we believe never was made.
" The waves come to behold thy beauty.
They lift their tr<.'mbling heads. They see
thee" lovely hi thy sleep.] Par. Loit, v. 1 1.
He, on his side
Leaning, half-raised, with looks of cordial
love,
Hung over her enamoured, and beheld
Beauty, which, whether waking or asleep.
Shot torth peculiar graces.
The remainder of the passage, * Awake, my
fairest, uiy espoused, my Tatest foimd/ wai
transferred to Dar-thula. Much a^ I am ac-
customed to Macpherson's plagarisms, I am
lost in astonishment at such unexpected imi-
tations." •
Mr. Laing might as well have acctiicil
him of stealing this passage from the Sleep-
ing Beauty in the Wood. It is beyoni
measure ridiculous to adduce such proof«
of imitation. The critic himself might
in this manner be convicted of having
borrowed his whole History of Scotland,
with all its Dissertations, from iohosoa^g
Dictionary. Does he suppose it possible
that any man ever sat down to write
poetry, or prose, with all his cicppession*
ready cut and dried, like a lady's material«
for fillagree ? Imitations enough, however,
have been fairly proved to establish his
point, and to surprise the believers ia
Ossian ; one of whom, Mr. Archibald
M'Donald, in a very worthless disserta-
tion, advances a very curious argument ia
reply.
*' The surprise,", he says, *' will be in a
great measure removed, if we suppose that
the Highland bard might very possibly hare
received some assistance from tlie writmgs of
the Greek and Roman poets. I do not pre-
tend» or think, he himself ever read tncit
works, but some notion of them might have
been communicated to him from the infonna-
tion of others. The Greeks, as well as the
Phoenicians, we are informed, had an early
intercourse with Great Britain and Ireland.
It has been already shewn, that the natives of
these countries had arrived at a higher degree
of learning, at th^t earlv period, than is ge-
nerally s\ipposed. ' The Druids possessed tiic
Greek letters, and probably knew that lan-
guage. Abaris, who was sent ambassador to
Athens, spoke it in great purity; and so
might many more, though that celebrated
character is only recorded. If so, they could
Ikot be entirely ignorant of Grecian poetry.
€9B
METAPHYSICS, PHILOLOGY, AND CRITICISM.
** No doabt can be entertained with Tesard
to that of the Romans. For, iC from tneir
frequent intercourse with the Celts, the wits
of that nation admired their bards, it is next
to an impotsibility these should not kiiow the
poetical compositions of the Italians. What
puts the matter beyond contradiction is, that
a full century before Ossian was bom, Agri-
cola, while stationed in Britain, erected
temples, theatre^, and stately buildings;
caused the sons of the nobility to learn me
Latin language ; be instructed in the liberal
arts; and brought them, by degrees, to imi-
tate the Roman modes of dress and living.
So that in a short time they assumed the po-
lished manners of their conauerors, and even
vied with them in pomp ana refinements.
'' Supposing then Ossian himself had no
fccess to the i^tin poets, it is possible, nay
probjble, he.was acquainted witn the compo-
sitions of the Celtic bard.s^ who had an op-
portunity of knowing and being improved by
their writings. We are certain that the inha-
bitants of oritain assisted the Gauls against
Cxsar ; when, for so doing, that general in-
vaded this island, Eder, who then reigned in
Scotland, is said to have assisted his neigh-
bours against the common enemy. Now it is
impossible that men, who held so close an in-
tercourse, could be ignorant of each other's
poetical productions ; and if they were not,"
9 genius like O^ian would not fail of protiting
by such communication.''
Nothing is too absurd to be advanced
by a zealous controversialist ; but they
who believe in tbe authenticity of Ossian
may believe this, and in fact they ought
to believe not this only, but that the Wind
poet had obtained a second-sight perusal of
the English poets ^also.
Having analysed the materials of Mac.;
pherson s composition, Mr. Laing explains
the receipt by which they are put together,
which he is enabled to do by the fragment
of the Six Bards, as originally transmitted
to Gray and Shenstone.
*' As the Six Bards, however, was written
in hemistics or versicles nicely balanced, with
one clause beneath another like irregular
verse, we discover their origin in I^outh » ex-
planation of the nature ot IJebrew poetry,
which Blair had recently introduced into llis
lectures. According to I^nth'j* explanation,
Jiebrew poetry corisiits neither of nmnbens,
nor of ryhme,'nor of any reQ;ular or percept-
ible feet ; biit of periods divided into two or
more corresponding clauses, of the Same
structure, ana nearly of the same length ; the
second clause containing' generally a repeti-
tion, a contrast, or an amplincation of tl»e sen-
timent expressed in the iirst: and the result
of tLliese responses, or parallelisms, is a senten-
tious harmony, or measured prose, vv'hich even
our English translation of the Bible has pre-
served.
^O siuff onto the Lord a new song;
Sing unto the Lord all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, bless hk name ;
Shew forth his salvation from day to day*
Declare his glory among tbe heathcB,
His wotoders among all people ;
For the Lord is great, ana greatly to be
praised :
He is .to be feared above all gods.
Honour and majesty are before him;
Strength and beauty are in lus saactuarj.
Psalm xctii,
'" In these verses, the second b unlfoniih aa
amplification of the first; but in others' the
alternation of the clause is preserved vithcot
repetition.
" For, lo, the winter is past.
The rain is over and gone ;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birdb is come.
And tl)e voice of tlie turtle is heard in oar
land;
The fig-tree putteth forth her green fig?,
And the vines, with the lender grapes, gire
a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and comeavay.
*' It is evident, that the Six Bards hoi beai
written in the same form of correspoiwiin^
clauses, of whidi Macpherson probably ac*
quired the first informatiofi from Blair's lec^
tures.
** No star with green trcmbrmgbeain;
No moon looks tirom the sky ;
I hear the blast in the wood ;
But I hear it distant far.
The stream of the valley murmurs;
But its munmir is sullen and s^d.
From the tree at the grave of the dead.
The long-howluig owl is heard.
" No beast, no bird is abroad.
But the owl and the howling fox ;
She on a leafless tree ;
He in a cloud on the hill."
When Macpherson came to vTite nar-
rative, he found measured prose' more
convenient than these versicles. Hen'ey i
Meditations and tlie English Death ot
Abel had made it popular, but still die«
corresponding clauses are to be fouad;
every image has its shadow following it,
every sentence its echoing sonnd.
After the thorough investigation which
it has now undergone, the qaesiion msj
be considered as at rest. Every excrticn
has been made by a society with peculiar
advantages, to collect evident^ for the au-
thenticity of the ix>ems ^ and, on the other
hand, every argument for detection lia
been exhausted by the indefatigable zesH
of Mr. Laing. It is only to be regretted,
that the Highlanders have considered Mac-
pherhon*s cause as tlieir own, oud asso-
ciated national feelings with what ought tQ
have been a mere point of literar)' en-
quiry. That mudi Gaelic poetry has beea
HjBPOaT OH THE POSMfi OF 088IAK.
eaf
preserved is certain ; let them give ft ua
with as naked a translation as possible :
the controversy respecting Ossian will only
have rendered the public more curious tor
genuine relics, and the meretricious orna-
ments of Macpherson wiH not have'madQ
them insensible of simple beau^. ^
Henceforward Macpherson must be
classed among literary impostors, and in
the very first rank. When Mr. Urban
had been lately imposed upon by one of
his correspondents, and made to engrave
a drawing of Fyfieldrchnrch lx\ his lively
and valnaUe mQgazine, he thought im«>
posture of this kind a heinous biience.
f* Let hira," said he, speaking of tlie cul-
prit« ^' quit thb evil course, lest, flushed
with success, he c^ke an essay, on bank-
notes. Many a hero, whose nan^e has
swelled the Tyburn calendar, commenced
his career with cringes of less turpitude."
Without attaching su^h heayy criminality
to the ofknce, we certainly do consider
|4acpbei«Qia as highly ^culpable. The
Qaelic poems would have been valuable
documents for the historian and ai\t|qna^
rian; but his example has been so sue-
cessftiUy followed by Kennedy and Dr*
Smith, that it will be difficult now to dis-
tinguish what is genuine from what has
bee^i interpolated, and every thing will be
received with suspicion.
The popularity of Macplierson's Ossiaa
will not be immediately affected by this
detection, but it will in course of time be
destroyed. Assuiedly most of the plea-p
sure which these poems occasioned will
depart with the delusion. Tlxef^re not
the same whether composed by the blind
Ossian, the last of his race, on the fuins
of Selma j or if written by James Mac-
pherson in Edinburgh, in his lodgings at
the head of Black£riars Wynd : who, in«
stead of calling to the white-handed
daughter of Tosfcar for his harp, sent the
bare-footed servant of , the f^ to fetch
him another quire of paper frpxp the book^
sellers.'
( 700 )
CHAPTER XIII.
IVIISCELLANIES.
THE present chapter being composed of tliose articles that cannot properly be ar*r
ranged under any of the other subdivisions of our' volume^ does not admil of any
general character. Mr. Foster's Essays have a claim t6 be first noticed by us, * on ac-
. count both of the unportance of the subjects that they discuss, and the original aad
^king manner in which they are treated. Mrs. More's " Hints towards forming
tlie Character of a young Princess/* display her accustom^.g09d sense and cooaniand
of style, and will be read with pleasure and profit even by those who are far firoai
agreeing with her on topics of religion or jx)litics. Dr. Sayers's IVIiscellanies evince
his various reading and cultivated taste. Mr. Knight's Treatise on the Principles of
Taste is a work ©f high merit: and Professor Miller's Retrospect of the 16th Century,
is entitled to ili« foremost rank among the literary productions of the United States.
Art. T. — Essof/s in a Scries of Letters to a Friend, on the follozving Subjects :I.Ona JLleait
Writing Memoirs ojHimwif. 11. On Decision of Clmracter. JII. On tlhc ^ppiicatum »j
the Epithet Romantic. If'. On sofne o/thc Caused by tvhich Evaneeticai Religion luu bern
rendered Uss acceptable to Persons ojculiivated Taste. ^^ John Foster. 2 vok. pp.500.
HUME, in the introductory essay of his
InqunyconccrningtheHumanUndcrstand-
iiig, has with his usual precision and ele-
gance discriminated tlie different species
of moral philosophy, and appreciated their
rc'spective merits and defects. The one,
he remarks, considers man chiefly as born
for action, and as influenced in his mea-
sures by taste and sentiment ; the otlier
regards him in the light of a reasonable,
rather tlian an active being, endeavouring
to analyze his various powers, and reduce
them to general principles -, and dwelling
little on tlie particularities which distin-
gnish individuals or classes of men, it seeks
to develope tliose primary laws of tlie Ini-
man constitution, from which, under dif-
fiTcnt circumstances and modifications, re-
sult all the varieties of action and passion,
sentiment and character. The former
species of philosophy, in recommending
virtue and censuring vice, thinks it neces-
.sary only by strong delineations of each to
impress their features distinctly on the
iiiintal view^ and to appeal at once to
those feelings of approbation or disappro-
bation which, whether factitious or natu-
ral, are to be found in the hearts of men,
where unfortunate influences have not pre-
vented their growth, or overcome their
eflicacy. Tlie latter analyzes with all the
coolness of metaphysical and mathematical
precision, the constituent qualities and
distinctive characters of vice and vlrtue,and
of tliose sentiments of the mind by which
they are accompanied, and with which
they are perceived. Each of these modes
of philosophizing has its merits; tlie one
appeals, witli greater force, to greater
numbers J the language of sentiment is the
language of persuasion and eloquence, and
it meets responsive feelings in the hearts
of tiiosc whom it addresses. The other^
if ca^)ab]e of being carried into execution,
aids the dignity and firmness of science to
the beauty of virtue, it establishes moral sen-
timent on the basis of reason, and boasts
not merely of making individual converts,
'but possibly of meliorating the state of the
species itself. £ach also has its defects, if
r0ST£K*S XSSATS.
701
sentiment be often a safe, and always a
powerful and aniimting principle of di-
rection, there are however doubtful re-
gions, confines between vice and virtue,
in which it is possible that its dictates may
mislwd. The different and inconsistent
principles which by different sects, nations,
and ages, have been distinguished by the
honourable appellation of conscience, are
well known to the historical and moral
enquirer. The more severe? and scientific
method of philosophy, on the other hand,
though it professes, and though its pro-
fessions are not destitute of foundation, to
discover, and render palpable to tlie judg-
ment, the eternal and unalienable distinc-
tion between vice and virtue, and to separate
them almost with the clearness of a geo-
graphical outline, yet gives, instructions
comparatively cold and unanimating j and
it is possible that the man who is best
acquainted with the theories of moral
science, and can develope them with the
greatest subtlety, and illustrate them with
the greatest perspicuity, may be as mucli
a stranger to the living principles of vir-
tue, as the blind man, who reasons with
minute and philosophic accuracy on the
doctrines of light and colours, is insensible
of their brilliancy, and destitute of a fa-
cul^ by which be can becdme the subject
of tneu- influence.
In one respect, however, (he practical
knowledge of human nature is essential
to the establishment of just theories of
morals. The human mind is not an in-
teUigence so pure and so powerful as to be
capable of being wholly and adequately
governed by these lofty intellectual abs-
tractions which the solitary speculatist
Is capable of conceiving; and in theaethe-
rial regions to which he directs his * view,
there is danger lest the grosser principles
of our zctive nature should miss those
elements which are requiMte to lend them
support, or furnish them with nourish-
ment. Whatever be the defects of the
ancient theories of ethics, they have at
least usually the merit of being construct-
ed with a reference to the realities of hu-
man life. Many instances of this nature
will recur to the recolleaion of the reader
of Tull/s Offices.
Mr. Foster is of that class of philoso-
phers, (and the rank which he holds is no
mean one) who chose rather to examine
human nature in the detail, than in the
abstract; to read it with the eye of expe-
rience, rather than assume it as a subject
of speculation and theory. The subjects
of his essays are the fcxUowing : On aman's
writing memoirf p£ himself; on decision
of character; on the application of the
epithet romantic ; on some of the causes
by which evangelical religion has been
rendered less acceptable to persons of cul*
tivatod taste. The essays are subdivided
into letters, for which no other reason ap-
pears than that this was the origi;ial
mode of their private communication to a
friend.
A great part of the first essay does not
closely correspond to its title. So far as
its reference to it extends, the following
are the positions on which it resU : that
niarked characters result from the opera-
tion of peculiar cu-cumstences, of which
the individual who is the subject of them
may be conscious, and which he can best
describe ; and tliat the communication of
them may, in many instances, be highly in*
teresting and instructive to others.
The first letter of tlus essay is employ-^
ed in ascertaining the objects to which the
review of past life may be profitably ex-
tended, the difficulties which naturall/
accompany the retrospect, and the acci-
dental circumstances which may ob'struct
or facilitate. The uninteresting actions,
the common accidents, the m'inute em-
ployments of a series of years, are indeed
altogether unwortky of records "What
I recommend," says the author, ** is a
clear simple statement from the earliest
period of your recollection, to the preseet
time, of your feelings, opinions, and ha-
bits, and of the principal oircumstancet
through each stage, that have infiuenoed
them, till tlmy have become at last whrt
they noware«
** The dapsed periods of life acquire im-
portance too from the prosptet of its con*
tinuance. A commencement, small in itself,
may become impcMiant as the introductio*
to ^ sequel that is grand. The first rude
settlement of llomulus would have be^ aa
iusignificant circumstance, and might justly
have suiik into oblivion, if Home had aot at
length commanded the world. The little
rill near the source of one of the great Amc-».
rican rivers, is an interesting object to the
traveller who knows, while he steps across
it, or walks a few miles by ks side, the araaz*
ing length of its progress, and the imm^s«
flood into which it ultimately swells. So,
while 1 anticipate the intenninable duration
of life, though in a changed form, perhaps
through endless forms of change, and won-
der through what unknown regions k Is to
take its course, the years that are past, and
the moments that are now passing, assume a
new and serious aspect I oannot be content
without an accurate sketch of the windings
thus far of jt stream which is to bear me «a
}D2
KtfSCfcLLANtil
fw: ever. Thertf is 3 mystic importance in
this early pait ofascnes df actions whkh is
to hare no end. It has a solemoity some*
iMug Kke tkit which vre may suppose to have
accumoaiiied the operations on board the
tliip of the iirst circumnavigator, on the day
bcioce his leaving the harbour.^
One of the chief obstacles to self-en*
qniry, arises, it is remarked, from the
impression of self-observation, in (onse-
qneuoe of which the circumstances which
have contributed roost efticacioosly to tlie
isnnation of our characters, have probably
passed by unnoticed. The faitlilessuess
of memory conspires with the inertness of
observation. We are become diiferent
beings, and we are almost incapable of
conceivii%g ^hat we once werti, yet our
power of recollection is very di&rent in
difiiveat states of the mind. Sometimes
r moments of illumination occur of which
Tue cannot assign the cause, but associated
circumstauces and places will prove the
most powerftil aids of memory. ** How
much Li there in a thousand spots of tlie
earth, that is invisible and silent to all but
Hbc oonscioi^ individual !
" I heir a voice you cannot hear,
I see a hand you cannot see.''
The Second letter enumerates the prin«
inpal elements by the operation of which,
* character is formed, and the education of
oircunostances impressed ; instruction,
comparison, reading, and attention to tlic
state and manners of mankind; the influ-
ence of each of which is acutely investi-
gated. The action of the last ol these causes
is pursued in die third letter, and the ques-
tion is discus^d, why amidst the agency
of so many causes, evincing in some in-
stances, so much power to impress a sig-
nal peculiarity, so lew characters, strongly
marked from the common order, are
found to arise.
In the fourtli letter, the author deline-
ates with a bold hand several sketches of
character, lamenting tliat, witk the ex- .
ception o£ religion, tliere is little cause to
felicitate our species on tlie influences to
whicli they are exposed. We regret that
on this subject his views are so misruithro-
pic. He beholds the path of life, haunted
"as if with evil .spirits, which in a moment
may fatally cross tlic wanderer, " What
a vacant world," he exclaims, *' would
this be, if all tlie things that may do irre-
trievable misch ief were gone ! ' ' I'hc fl rs t
sketch is that of the misanthropist, to the
formation of which character we think
that the views entertained by the autjjor
possess a manifest tendency, tliough pro-
bably unexpieriefnced by himself. He
next b that of the timid acquiescent m the
example and dictates of othen, vhich
character however Mr. Foster is almost
inclined to felicitate 9$ secure from the
dangers of scepticism and ini^flieTeDce.
Then succeeds the fancied wit or puet,
who admires nothing but genius, and
whose self-love easily persiodes him that
he is himself entitled to this supreme dis-
tinction. The character is forcibly de-
lineated, and well ridiculed. The pro-
jector and ^antiquary next receive ther
share of satire $ and the domestic t)iaui,
his, of pity and condemnation.
The character of the atheist, and its for-
mation according to a process which the
author describes, are the subject of tk
flfth letter, from which we make the fol-
lowing extract :
*' Nothing tonpts the mind so powerfully
on as to have successfully begun to demoli^b
wliat has been deemed to be most sacred
The soldiers of Caesar, probably, had nertr
felt themsdves so brave as after thevl^ cut
down the Massiliaii grove ; nor the Philis-
tines, as when the Ark of the God ci isiad
was among their spoils. The mind is proud
of its trluniplis in proportion to the reputtxi
greatness of what it has overcome ; and, from
the view of fects, it would ^em that the fird
proud triumph ^ver religious faith involve
some fatality of advancing to ftirther victofies.
But, iierhaps, the progress is neither diffidjH
nor mystenous. W hen the rejection of reve-
lation'has thrown tne whole doctrine of the
attributes and the will of die Deity on tk
dark field of hopeless conjectural speculatioD,
it is, perhaps, no vast transition of thought
to moke his being a!so a question of conjtc-
ture; since the realily ot a being is with
diflicully appreliende J, when all things coa-
ceniing that beiiig are iindelinal»le. fiot the
statt' of conjecturo is the state of doubt ; and
we know that the roiud easily passes tm
doubt to dk^odiet^ if it has ;>onie poveriol
reason for wishing such a conclusion, la the
present case Uiere inay be a very poirefiiil
reason ; the progress in sin which genenlly
follows a rejection of revelation maki^ it ^^
ux)re and more desirable that no object sJionId
remain to be feared. It was not stm^,
therefore, if this man read w'ith avidity, nor
strange if he read even with convk'tion, a fc»
of tlie M riters who have attempted the hst
achievement of presumptuous man.
" After inspectuiff these pages awhile, he
raised liis eyes, and the great spirit was gone!
Mighty transformation of all things ! ^Hie lu-
niiuancs of heaven no longer shone \viih lii«
splendour, n»r the adorned earth looked fair
wjtli his bea»ity, nor the darknessx>f n;ght*ai
rendered solemn by his majesty', nor life aod j
thoui;lit were the inspiration of his all-peni:tl-
iiig energy, nor hii providence svipported afl
roSTS&'s bsSays*
r(»
£tiitcciiargeof d^peiuhnfbeiDgs, norhisem-
Ere of justice spread over the universe, nor
v«n that universe sprang from his creating
^^'er. You might inquire what super-human
»ergy of argument and eloquence could in-
*rnx those pages >\itli so much power. And
ou would, perhaps^ hate escpected to find
nxiethiiig ot more athletic cogence than subr
ety attenuated into inanity, and; in that in-
LftiBle and impalpable state, mistaken by the
artial reader and by the writer, for prodin-
ity of reasoning-^than attempts to crumble
way some of those great familiar lacts and
rlxiiiiples whicli must be admitted as the
asis 6f human reasoning, or it can have no
asis — ^than monstrous parallels between re-
gion and mythology— H)r than the occasional
rity or bften, perhaps, some meaner thing a»-
Liming the manner of wit, expressive ofexul-
ation that the grand foe is retiring ; if it were
kot sometimes, perhaps, an artificial resource
ur the support of courage against the suspi-
:ioii tliat he may not be gone — ^that he will
lever go.
** It onty remamed for this disciple of dark-
less to accept tlie invitation to pledge him-
lelf to the cause in some associated band,
vhere pro&ncness and vice would consolidate
i. 11 pious opinions without the aid of augment-
ed conviction, and where the fraternity, hav-
ing been elated by the spuit of social daring
to say, *• What is the Almighty, that we
ahotild serve him?*' the' individuals mi^ht
acquire each a drmer boldness to exclaim,
•• Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
▼oice f'* 1 hus easy it is, my friend, to meet
4hat train of influences which may seduce a
man to live an outrageous infidel, and beltoy
him to die a terrified believer; that train of
which the infatuation, while it promises him
the impunity of non-existence and degrades
him to dcsure it, impels him to fill up .the
measure of his iniquity, till the divine.wrath
come upon him to the uttermost."
The sixth letter expatiates on the com-
men inefficacy of religious principles in
the formation of the character, intermixed
-with some just and forcible appeals on this
icnportnnt subject. The concluding letter
is occupied by some general reflections on
the subject, and deductions from it.
The secoud essay is on " decision of
character," and describes in a very forcible
manner the nature .of that quality, and
Ulustrates its important eUbcts. Without
entering into an analysis of this essay, we
shall content ourselves with the following
extract, describing a well-known and
justly celebrated character.
*' In this distinction, no man ever exceeded
or ever will exceed our great philanthropist^
the late illustrious Howard.
" The energy of his determination was so
great, that if, mstead of beipg habitual, it
]0
could have appeared in an intermitted fomi,
operating only for a short time, on. particular
occasions, it would have seemed a vehement
impetuosity : but by being continuous, it had
an equability of manner, which scarcely ap-
f cared to exceed the tone of a calm constancy,
t was the calmness of an intensity, kept uni-
form by tiie nature of the human muid for-
bidding it to be more, and the character of
the individual forbidding^ it to be Je^s. The
habitual passion of his mmd was a measure of
feeling almost ecjual to the temporary ex-
tremes and paroxisms of common minds:
as a great river, m its customary state, is
equal to a small or moderate one, when swoln
to a torrent.
" The moment of finishing his plans in de-
liberation, and commencing them in action^
was tlie same. I wonder what must have been
the ainount of that bribe, in emolument or
pleasure, that would have detained him a
week inactive after their final adjustment.
I'he law which carries water down a decUvity
was not more unconquerable and invariable
tlian the determ'uiation of his feelings towards
the main object. This object he pursued
with a devotion which seemed to aimihilate
his perceptions to all others ; it was a stern
patlios of soul on which the beauties of natiure
and of art had no power. He had no leisure
feeluig which he could spare, to be diverted
among the innumerable varieties of the ex-
tensive scene which he traversed ; all his sub-
ordinate feelings lost their separate existence
and opecation, by falling into the grand one.
There have not been wantmg trivial minds to
mark this as a fault in his character. But the
mere men of taste ought to be silent respect'*
ing such a man as Howard: he is above their
sphere of judgmeut. The invisible spirits,
who fulfil their commission of philanthropy
among mortals, do not care about pictures,
statues, and sumptuous buildings,*-no more
did he. Or at least, re^rding every moment
as under the claims ot unperious' duty, his
curiosity waited in vain for the hour to come
\ihen his conscience sliould present tlie grati-
iicafion of it as the most sacred duty of tlut
hour. If he was still at every hour, where it
came, fated to feel the attractions of the fine
arts but the second claim, they might be sure
of their revenge, for no other man will ever
visit Rome under such a despotic conscious-
ness of duty, as to refuse himself time for sur-
veying the magnificence of its ruins. Such a
sin against taste is very fer beyond the reach
of common saintship to commit. It implied
an incouceivable severity of conviction, that
he had one tiling to do ; and that he, who
would do Some great thing in this short life,
must apply himself to the work with such a
concentration of his forces, as, to idle >5pecta-
tors who live only to amuse themselves, looks
like insanity.
*' His attention was so strongly and tenaci-
ously fixed on ha object, that even at thegreat-
est distance, like the Egyptian pyramids to
travellers, it stood confe^l to his sight with a
?04
MISCELLANIES
lumbldas Jistiiictnew as if it were nigh, and
beguiled tlie toilsome length of labour and en-
tcrprise^ by which he was to reach it. It was
» consuicuous before him, tiiat not a step
deviated from the directioii, and every move-
ment and every day was an approxmiation.
If it were possible to deduct from his thougiits
and actions all tluit portion which had not a
methodical and strenuous reference to an end,
the solid mass vhich would remain, would
spread over an amazing length of liife, if at-
tenuated to the ordinary style of human deli-
beiatioa and achievement. One less thinks
of di?play!ng such a character, for the pur-
pose of example, tluiii for tliat of moitif} ing
comparison."
The third essay is on the application of
the epithet romantic.
The derivation of tliis word presents one
of the most remarkable specimens which
language affords of deviation from the
meaning of its radical term; denoting first
a city, then a people, a cormpt dialect de-
rived from the ancient language of that
people, a species of wild composition fre-
quent in that dialect 5 and lastly, whatever
in the scenery of nature, or the passions
and pursuits of men, is supposed to bear
some analogy to the distinguishing fea-
tures of that mode of composition, and the
events which it is usually employed to
describe.
The application of this word is almost
as vague as its origination is remote and
lortnitous. It is employed as a generic
term to designate those wild appearances
«f Nature, in which objects of beauty,
grandeur, and terror, are thrown together
with her boldest hand -, and in human af-
fairs it characterizes every exercise of great
and uncommon passions' directed to the
attainment of objects which make little
fexipression on the majority of mankind,
and which they are disposed to consider
as visionary and impracticable. It is one,
in short, of a class of epithets which a«e
Tery convenient to the decl aimer, but are
exceedingly difficult to be reduced to pre-
cise terms of explanation.
On this class of words, illustrated by a
l^w pertinent instances, as those of puri-
tan, methodist, and jacobin, Mr. Foster
makes some sensible, and by no means
trite remarks, and then proceeds more di-
tectly to the illustiation of the term in
^estion.
Having defined the epithet romantic as
a term describing a state of the mind, in
which the imagination predominates over
the judgment, in his second letter Mr,
Poster proceeds to distinguish some modes
of that ascendancy ta wludi tbp wor4 fiay
be justly applied. And first he appEwil
to "presumptions (if entertained afWr ilg
period of childhood or early youth) of waie
peculiarly fortunate or imponant desusT
in life, which are not ciearly founded m
certain palpable distinctions of ckractcr
or situation, or which greatly exceed tt
sober prognostics afforded by those ^
tiuctions.**
By the same cpitliet he alsocharactcriKs
tliose dieories of education which suppoa
die possibility of training up )'oi:Tigpft.«pk,
even before they have passed the orfar
limits of that period of imbecile judgmeDt
which is incident to their years, to m;ai-
rity of intellect, and stability of chandsr.
The same charge is applied to these cir-
culations of philosophers and pliiWffD-
pists which anticipate the most signal iia-
provements in the moral and poLtcal
state, and consequent happiness of nm-
kind. Chivalry also affoids some iflustra-
tions immediately adapted to a termwhkii
possesses so close a coimectiou «itli its
manners and institutions.
The epithet '* romantic* is wattncs-
ferred to all such narrations or projects as
suppose ends to be accomplished by walk-
quate or utterly improbable means. M
here the author inflicts a severe cecsoR
on novel-writers, to which indeed, \(iita(
works are considered as lessons of iQstnic-
tion rather than aS mere sources of fogitiw
amusement, they are justly liable, il? in-
stances of ialse and romantic cakulatica
on the efficacy of insufficient mm% Mr.
Foster cites a few instances of projects aod
expectations, benevolent indeed and ana-
able, but which he conceives to be Da-
countenanced by any rational estima'cc?
human nature, and the influences to wliidj
it is Kkdy to be subjected. As suehfciJ
considers, in common cases, " plans ^
the civilization of barbarous nations, wdh
out the intenention of conquest;" toosffl-
guine expectations oF the efficacy of ic'
structicm, either as employed for thepor-
pose of education, or as delivered fiomtte
pulpit ; but the object on which he {wn
die chief severit}' of his satire is the id
of those reformers, who hope, by theJD*
culcation of truth, gradually to accompli^
the. universal or general prevalences
knowlec^e^ virtue, and happiness, itof^
mankind* The consideration of the sol)-
ject is extended nearly through the ^
mainder of the essay ; in which ouraoJiwfi
while he expresses his contempt of all bo-
man projects or eiqpectations of anyp^
amelioration of our species, yet asierisbi
conviction, resting on the support of pio»
fOMBK't ittA**i
■m
|)hetic tntimatiohs, that the e^ire of truth
md happiness is advancing with a certain^
md, as he seems to suppose, a rapid pro-
press, under tije guidance of divine and
kttpreme agency.
^ The subject of the naelioration of man-
kind was formorly considered as a topic
if innocent sjieculation, in which the vi-
lionaiy philosopher might safely indulge,
iMXigh it possessed but little relation to
he present state or probable expectations
)f human life. The astonishing political
;hanges which distinguished, and will for
5ver distinguish, the last twenty or thirty
rears of the late century (and the termi-
lation of which is even yet only faintly
ecn, if seen at all) led many of the too
Wiguiue friends of liberty and virtue tp
nppose that some mighty principles were
D operation, such, as had neyer before ex-
ated their full influence on mankind, and
hat perpetual peace and order were tp
Huue from the struggles and lieavings
wluch began to agitate the \vorld. The
Mit of the late revolution of a ueigl](bour'
i)g country has stamped an impression of
risiooai}' expectation ori these warm and
enthusiastic anticipations, atid two circum-
itances have tended to tlirow reproach
ipon them : one, their connection with
)laQs of refbrm, a word at the ver)*^ sound
»f which, however innocent or eveft salu-
aiy the object which it may express^ the
iolitical alarmist of the ^ay shudders with
pprehension; and the otlier,the supposed,
nough altogether arbitrary, connection of
his doctrine with the tenets of religious
inbelief.
We have no inclination to enter on the
iiscussion of the question ; but we are
ttrsuaded that thete is a sense in which,
« a matter of speculation, the affirmative
ide of it may be maintained, and a mode
a which the defence of it may be coii-
ucted, which neither tlie philosopher,
be friend of his country, the lover of
eace and order, ' nor the christian, needs
) be ashamed, of avowing. What is the
uman character, but tlie result of cir-
omstances ? In the hinguage of Mr. FoVtdr
hnself, ** What relation is there betweei
ich a form of human nature as that dis-
jayed at Sparta, and, for instance, the
KKlern society of friends^ or tlie Moravian
lat^raity'?*' The following propositions
re> WQ^ink, if not incontestable, at least
ighly probable: that the human character
oapahle of being indefinitely modified by*
raumstances 5 that many ixidividuals are,
id have been', wisely virtuous ; that what
idividuals are,^the sj^ies itself is not inea*
iUiC. R«v. Vol. iV*
nable of becoming; tihat $pectila(ive icaaW*
ledge ia science^ arts, and the theory of
human nature, is advancing with a pr6^
gross to which limits cannot be assigned >.
tliat there is a real and important coonec*
tion betwcien speculative and practical
knowledge *, and lastly, that it is agreeable
to the analogy of the divine works to prg* '
ceed by gradual progress and the operatioo
of natural causes, from less to greater de*
gress of excellence^ and nearer assimila**
tions to perfection. What we have said
tends at least to shew that the d()etrhke of
the melioration o£ mankind, whether pr6«
bable or improbable^ ia not charg^le
with absurdity ; while on the other hand
we should as cautiously abstain from any
sanguine calculation of the efficacy of pre-
sent circumstances for that purpose, as \m
should from tlie application of prophecgr
to contemporary and approaching events,
before their form and tendency are fully
developed.
The essay which will probably excit*
the most notice, and on v^ich tlie autliet
seems to have bestowed the most of hU
attention^ is the last : " On some of th«
causes by ^hklx evangelical religion has
been rendered less acceptable to men of
taste."
Here Mr. Foster must be aware that
some of his readers will be disposed to ob-
ject to the assumption of his ti.tle: evan-
gelical religion unacceptable to m«i of
taste ; a heavy imputation ! in other words,
the cultivators of polite literature, our Ad-*
disons and Johnsons, the reader of th«
title might suppose inclined to the rejec-
tion of the gospel. A perusal of Jiis essj^jr
will however sliew that by evangelical
Mr. Foster intends the calvinistic, or some
kindred system of theology. This assump*'
tion therefore of the epitiiet forms a kind-
of counterpart to the terms of general an^
sweeping censure, such as puritan and -
mcthodist, the use of which he reprobates
in the' preceding essay. As a technical
terra, possessing the mcanhig of an algo.--
bralc sign, it may however be suffered te
pasv^ without fiirtlier exception.
As this essay enters more into detaili
and illustrates its general principles at
greater length, than any of the preceding
disquisitions, tlie analysis of its plan ana
explanation of its object may be comprized
withhi a small compass. The subject na-
turally divides itself into two parts : in the
first of which the.aUtlior considers tho^ar
concomitant circumstances of evangelical
doctrine and profession which natural!/
tend to ejiicite t^e di&gus^or coAtemyt of.
^ 7^
MiSClatLANlfiS.
;'itoen of taste^^^^nd in tfie second, tliose
principles and feelings connected with the
' putsuit of polite literature, which he con-
ceives to be in tliemseives hostile to tlie
spirit of the gospel.
Under the former of these heads, the
first cause assigned by Mr. Foster for the
neglect of what he terms evangelical reli-
gion, IS tlieweatness of mind, and want
of mtellectiial fculture^ of many of its pro-
• fessors. Tliese defects are rendered still
• more striking and repulsive, when to ig-
' norance is added that spiritual pride and
condeit which is frequently its companion,
measuring e\'*ery attainment by its own
petty standard, and contemptuously cen-
suring what it is not able to comprehend.
Mr. Foster himself can scarcely restrain
his indignation when he describes, and it
Is well and strongly that he describes, this
numerous class of his fellow-professors.
We however readily concede to him that
it is no mark of superior discernment, and
CO proof of that single love of truth which
should distinguish the christian enquirer,
to confound die system witli the mean-
ness of its advocates, and under that im-
pression to reject it without examination.
Another cause, ^hich in the judgment
of tlie author, '* has tended to render
evangelical religion less acceptable to per-
sons of taste, is tlie peculiarity of languagfe
adopted in the discourses and books of its
teachers, as well as in the letters and religi-
ous conversation of christians." He pro-
looses therefore to reform the peculiarities
of tlieok>gical diction, and to render it, in
Iks gjeat a degree as may be consistent with
a faithful communication of religious
truth, conformable to the standard of lan-
guage established by the usage of our
€:lassical writers. In his fourth letter Mr.
Foster meets an objection which may be
^ tirged against him, namely, that this dic-
tion has grown ^t of the language of the
Scriptures, and especially of the New Tes-
tament, which christian instructors will
'do wisely to imitate. To this objection
our author allows some force, but justly
remacks tliat what is called the language
of the Bible is oiiFy the language of a
' translation, and that in many instances,
•ther tt'anslations may be substituted,
equ.Vlly accurate, and less distant from the
• f</rms of common language. He proposes
theY<irore for godliness, in christian* dis-
coui^s, to substhute piety 5 for ediiica-
tioti, improvement ; for lust, desire 5 foi*
. fighteousn^s, justice 5 for tribulation, af-
^ fiction. &:c. The quantity of bad writing
utid»r which ih» eMttigdiQui theology has
been buried, is assigned by Mr. Fostier 0
another cause why its principles bare be-
come unwelcome to persons of accom-
plished intelkctoal attsdnmeots, and he
acknowledges that the evangelical caose
has not on the whole been happy in iti
prodigious list of autlioxs, and " that i
profound veneration for Christianity would
hiduce the wish, that after a jadjcjous
selection of books had lieen made, the
Christians also had their caliph Omar,
and their general Amrou.'*'
But Mr. Foster does not amfine 1^
charges to the circumstances under )»'hi(A
evangelical religion happens to be.pitj-
iessed, but boldly throws on thevbols
system of polite literature, the iroputatoa
of being essentially unfriendly to the cferls-
tiau scheme. This fbrras the subject of
the remainder of his essay.
As a specimen of our autlior's critid^
on the ancient writers, we extract his ac-
count of Lucan, 'whidb is honourable ts
his taste and feeling, though we do doC
eitactly agree with the deductions vhtd
he would make from it.
" When I add the name of Lucan, 1 most
confess that no .author of antiquity, that I
know, would have so mudi power to seto
my feelings, in respect of moral gteatnns,
into 3 train cot co-incideni with chris^xstf.
His leading characters are widely difeck
from tliose of Honiec, and of a greatly aipenr
order. Tlie mighty genius of Ucaner ap-
peared and departed in a rude age of tlie »■
man mind, a stranger to the intellectual Or
largeineut which would liave enabled iiim ta
combine in his heroes the dignity of tboajbi*
instead of physical forcei with the edecgy
of passion, (or want of this, they are. grot
heroa; without being great fiien. Theyaf-
pear to you only as tVemendous tig^tis$
and destroying animals; a knd of haom
Mammoths. The rude efforts of persoal
conHict are all they can, understaml ni
admire, ^and in theu* wariare their noA
never reach to an^ of the subiimcr icsalti
even of war; their chief and linai objcrt
seems to be the mere-sava^ glory of figbtiB^
and the annihilatioii of their enemies. Wfa»
the heroes of Lacan, both the depraved sod
the nobler class, are 'employed m wtr, it
seems but a small part of what they cs ds
aud what they intend; they haVe ahnp-
sometliing fiirther. and greater in view tla
to i-vince their valour, or to riot in the tot
geance of victory. Even the anibitioa rf
rompey and Caesar seems aWnost to becooe
a grancf passioR, wbeo compared to the cot-
tracted as well as detestable aim of fiooiefi
chiefs ; .while this passion too Isconluedts
narrow an^ vulgar designs^ in coiopansn
with the views which actu^ed Cato and Bxvr
tos, T\w contempt of deaths which, ia the
heroes of the Iliad, often seeHulike an wu*
FOSTEK S SSSAT^,
pAtity or ail obiivion of thought^ is, in Lu-
€an*s' favourite cliaracters, the result, or at
feast the associate, of profound reflection ;
and this stronriy contrasts their courage with
that of Homers warriors, whidi b (according
indeed to his own frequent similes) the daring
. cf wild beasts. Lucan sublimates martial into
moral grandeur. Even if you could deduct
from hw great men all th:;t whid^ forms tiie
specilic disjJlay of the her©, you would find
'their greatness undiminished ; they would be
commanding and interesting men still. The
better class of them, amidst war itself, liate
and deplore the spirit and ferocious exploits
of war. They are indignant at the vices of
mankind for compelling their virtue into a
career in which such sanguinary glories can
be acquired. And while th^ deem it their
duty to exert their courage m a just cause,
they regard camps and battles as vulgar
tfiings, from which their thoughts often turn
away into a train of solemn contemplation;,
in which they rise somctunes to the empyreal
region of sublimity. You have a more ab*
solute impression of grandeur trom a speech
of Cato, tlian from all the mighty achieve-
inents that epic poetry ever blazoned. The
eloquence of Lucan*s moral heroes does not
consist in imoj^es of triumphs and conquests,
bttt in reflections and virtue, sufferings, des-
tiny, and death; and the sentiments ex-
pteked in his own name liave often a melan-
choly tinge which renders them irresistibly
fiucinating. lie might seem to have felt a
presage, white musing on the last of the Ro-
mans, that tlieir poet was soon to follow them.
The reader becomes devoted both to the
poet and to these illustrious men ; but, under
the influence of this devotion, he adopts all
ttieir sentiments, and exults in the sympathy ;
brgetting, or unwillmg, to reflect, whether'
IhU state of feeling is concordant with the re-
Bgioa of Christ, and with the spirit of the
feposties and martyrs. The most seducine of
Lucan's sentiments, to a mind enamoured of
pensive sublimity, are those concerninfl; death,
t i'emember the very principle which Y would
tBh to inculcate, that is, tlie necessity tliat a
Wiever of the gospel should preserve the
shristian style ot feeling predominant in his
aiml, and clear of every incongruous mixture,
tnick me with great force amidst the fiisci-
iiti<m and enthusiasm with which I read,
BUiy times over, the memorable account of
iTttltehis, the speech by which he inspired
tis gjallant band with a passion for death,
ud the reflections on death with which the
oet doses the episode. I said to mysdf
rith a sensation of conscience—What are
liese sentiments with which I am burning?
ife these the just ideas of death? Are they
■ach as were taught by our Lord? Is this the
Nfit with which St. Paul approached his
lit hour? And I felt a painful collision be-
wten this reflection and the passion in^ired
y the poet I perceived with the clearest
Mtamtv that the kind of interesl: which I felt
V no km tiiaa » r^ adoption, f#r tl^ tioie^
of the very same sentlmeflts by which he was
anunated.''
We confess ourselves surprised at the
length to which, in the heat of argument;
Mr. Foster has carried his positions on this
sitbject, and though in general we discern
few indications of fanaticism in his book,
yet we cannot help suspecting that his
principles, if fully realized, would carrf
us to the utmost verge of fanatical extra-
vagance. We acknowledge that tliere la
much in the morality of the pagan writer?,
inferior to, and inconsistent ^th, the sub-
lime morality of the gospel. But are w^
not capable of making the distinction^ and
is it not a fair inference, that in perceiving
the superiority of the gospel, we shall ve-
nerate with a greater warmth of admira4
tion the oracles of christian trdth ? Wa '
deny in point of fact the conclusion that
(where due attention is yielded'to thetrutha
of religion) the moral feelings of men ara
likely to be heathenized by familiarity
with heathen writers. Who more conver-
sant than our illustrious epic poet, with
all- the lore of ancient wisdom or fancy >
Who more deeply penetrated with th^
love of sacred truth ? Mr. Foster appeals
to the probable feelings of Elijah, should
he hear a hymn addressed^ to the Hindu
gods ? We may appeal to the practice of
St. Paul, who certainly did not discontinue
his acquaintance with heathen writings^
when ho became a cliristian apostle.
Many of the faults which Mr. Foster fair-
ly discovers, and candidly acknowledges;
in some of his ignorant evangelical bre-
thren, arise from their total insensibility tor
the elegances of polite literature, and wai
are pe^rsuaded that if he had felt like them;
the essays with which he has naw fiivour-
ed the world, would never have been com-
posed. We cannot after all understand
Mr. Foster to mean, tliat it is desirable for
polite literature, in its pr(>sent state, to ba
banished from the world. The good and
the evil ate inseparably interwoven.
Wh^t is to become of the language of
Greece and Rome, if the heatlien writers
are to be annihilated or forgotten, and
what will be the fate of tbe New Testae
ment, when the lauguage of Greece It
mute > The same rigorous decree which
should expel the profane arts and muses^
wxmld perhaps pass a sentence of e&ile on
many of the sciences. Ma^eroatics and
metaphysics deaden, it is said, the feel^
ings and imagina^n, princij^es whieb
many a sincere christkn sedkns to conslc|ef
wtiheessQQteofjbii religion > aid we be* •
7M
MISCELLANIES.
lieve that the phUoaopher in his investiga-
tion of nature, is quite as likely to wander
to a very remote distance from erangelical
theology, as the man of taste, in the flow-
ei}' and seducing paths in w hich he chooses
to stray.
But whatever may be thought resj)cct-
ing some of the tends which Mr. Foster
has inculcated, there can be but one opi-
nion of the ability with which he has
maintained them. Almost e\iery page
indicates a noore than ordinary penetration
into the springs of human nature, and a
bold and original mode of thinking on all
•Ubjects. His style is vigorous^ but not
free from defects. Jt is dettitotc of as
easy flow^, and occasional harshne^ of ex-
pression occurs. His metaphors are some-
times too thickly sown, too much dilated,
and too far pursued, as in the fbllowing
instance : " Virgil's work is a kind of ki-
nar reflection of the ar&nt effulgence (rf
Homer ; surrounded, if 1 may extend the
figure, by as beautiful a luifo of elegance
and tenderness as perhaps die world en$,
saw.'* With any deductions which msy
be made, readers of every class will find
in tlie perusal of these volumes a rldi
store of entertainment aitfd instiuctioa^
Art. II. — IlinU tauardsformijig the Character qfa yottng Princns. S\o. 2 vok
•THESE volumes are understood to be
the work of Mrs. Hannali More, and they
bear all the characteristic marks of her
learning, her good sense, her good inten*
lions, and her tendency to superstition. It
has been said that this lady would have
been appointed preceptress to the princess
but for this disqualification. On what au-
thority it has been reported we know not,
but the report is probable. No person in
other respects could be better qualified for
to important a task: her knowledge is
extensive ; her feelings always right even
when her opinions are wrong ; her con-
versation as sensible as her writings, more
lively, more interesting, more liberal, more
reniemberable. It is to be lamented tiiat
the objection should have existed; but
exist it did« and assuredly it is a sufficient
disqualification, llie British so^iereign
must be of the church of England, as it
was in the days of our fathers, and as it is
now, not as it would be if re-mcjdelled by
the evangelicals^ A meth<xlist head of the
church would endanger revolution in the
church first, and tlien in tlie state.
Every age of literature is marked by
tome epidemic fashion : the last ten years
have been the age ef epic poems and of
systems of education. It is astonishing
how many femsde writers have ventured
up6n this arduous subject ! Madame €ren-
li$, miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Hantiah More,
Mrs*. West, Mrs. Crespigny, miss- Hamil-
ton, &c. some really valuable writers, and
ethers mere ol<J women. Some j;ood will
eventually be educed from the^ various
•ystems, if it \^ only that they will prove .
ate last the. inutihty of system altogether,
ks well as the impracticability. For were
it 4>rncticable to breed up a child with the
nnremitting vigilance and super! ntendance
which th«jr allie^uire^ it would be as de»
plorable a plan kit the child's mind as it
would be for its body if all its food were
to be r^;ulated by weight, aod it w«re
made to drkik acconling to measure, in-
stead of inclination. The regular hours of
parade do not satisfy tliese disciplinarians,
they must have the recruit Uand eas^i all
the rest of the day before the driU-seijcanc.
These hints are prefaced with becommg
modest)*- and becoming fineetlom ; ate
noticing what important etlects the cha-
racter of the princess Charlotte of Wad«
will have upon the people of Great Britain,
the author adds : ' Under this free consti-
tution, in which every topic of national
policy is openly canvassed, and in which
the prerogatives of the crown form x«>
mean part of the liberty of the sulgert, tim
principles which it h proper to instil mts
a royal personage become a topic w hich,
if discussed respectfully, may without ol-
tence exercise the liberty of the British
press.*
The acquisition of knowledge is thf
first topic.
" TliK course of instruction for the PrtDn*
will, doubtless, be wisr^ly adapted, wA aciv
to the duties, but to the' dangers of her rani.
The probability of her having one day ftmi-
titms to discharge, whirh, io such ^xi-sfit
cases only, faXi to the lot of females. abviott4y
suggests the expedit:iicy of an education nU
only superior to, but, in cert^n resoects, ds-
tinct from, Chat of otJier women. NVlat «3i
foqnerly deemed necessary in an instame
of this nature; may be biferred from the v«fi-
known ' attainments of ^he unfortunate Lady
Jane Grey ; and still more from the no le»
splendid aoquiremeats of Queen EUsabetb.
Of the eruditioa of tlie latter, we have a pani*
cular .account from one, who was (lie tibbot
in that age to appreciate it, the celebrated
RpRcr A^liam. He tells ^s, that when he
read over with her the orations of Escfaines
an4 OtiBoetkeQes JA Grfeelt^ she not 'only ua*
MORE's hints for a Y0U-V*G*P111NCB1$.
f09
4enfood, at first sight, the full force and pro-
priety of the language, and the meaning of
the orators, but that she comprehended the
whole scheme of the \x^% customs, and man*
Hers of the Atiientans. She possessed an ex-
act and accurate knowledge of the Scriptures,
^id itskd conmiifteS tp mt^morv ma$t of the
striking pasHages in them. She*had also
JearneJi by he^-many of the fiueit parts of
Thiitydides and Xcnoplion, especially those
"Vhich relate to life and manners. Tims were
Jicr early years setlulously employed in laying
in a large stock of materials for i^oveming well.
To what purpose she intproved them, let her
illustrious reign of fbrty-hve years declare !
" If the influence of her erudition 6n her
i»ub«iequent prosperity should be questioned ;
let it be considered, that her intellectual at-
tainments supported the ditjnity of her cha-
racter, luider foibie>anci ft;miiiineweaknessirs>
which would otherwise have sunk her credit J
she had wen address enough to contrive to
give to thi»se weaknesses a certain classic
grace. Let it be considered also, that what-
ever tended to raise her mind to a level wilh
tliosc whose senices she was to use, and of
■^ ho ^c counsels she was to avail herself, pro-
port ionably contribute^! tQ that mutual re-
spoct and conlidence between the 'queen and
livr ministers, without which the results of her
government could not have been equally suc-
cessful. Almost e\erv man of Tank was then
ai man of letters, auJ liierature was valued
^cccrdtngly. Had, therefore, deficleucy of
learning been added to inferiority of sex,' we
inig^t not at this day have the reign of F.liza-
Ixith on which to look back, as the period in
which administrative energ}' seemed to attain
the greatest iX)ssible perfection.'*
Greek, however, the writer of these vo-
Ivinics thinks not necessary, Latin indis-
pensable} of modern languages, French and
German the most needful : for mere ac-
complislunents, a sovereign has no .occa-
sion, and ought to have no timej it is suffi-
cient that there be that general knowledge?
and taste which enable hini to discrimi-
iiiite excelknu-e, so as judiciously to cherish
and liberally to reward it.
The study of ancient history is rccom-
niended, but the writer lopks at aiK'ient
history with jaundiced eyes : her mind has
never recover.*d from its fear of the French
revoluticMi ; order with her is paramount
to every thing ; in her dr«ad of a heavy
gale she longs for the pestilential and pu-
trid calms of the Pacific. Speaking of tlie
£g}'^ptians j>he says,
" The whole aim and end of education
amoi^ them, was to inspire a veneration for
government and religion. They had a law,
which assigned some employment to every
individual of the state. And though the ge-
■ius of our, free constitutiou would justly re-
probate, what, indeed, its tempcfate antf ju-
dicious restraints render unnecessary among
us, that clause which directed that the em-
ployment should be perpetuated in tlic same
family; yet, perhaps, Uie severe moralist,
with the *?xample of the well-ordered govern-
ment of Eg} pt before his eyes, might rea-
sonably doubt whether a law, the eflfect of
which was to keep men in their places, though
it might now and then check the career of a
lofty genius, was not a much less injury to
society, than the free sco|>e which was afiord-
ed to the turbulent ambition of every aspir-
ing spirit in tiie Greek democracies. Bos-
suet, who has, ])erhaj)s, penetrated more
deeply into these subjects than almost any
modern, has pronounced Egypt to be the
fountain of all political wisdom.
" >\ hat aftenvajrds plunged the £g}'ptiant
into calamity, and brouglit final dissutution
on their government? It was a departure
from its constitutional principles : it was the
neglect and contempt of those venerable
laws which, for sixteen centuries, had consti-
tuletl their glory and their happiness. 1 hey
exchanged the'love of their wise dpmestici
institutions, for the ambition of subduing dis-<
tant countries. One of their most heroic
sovereigns (as is not unusual) was tlie instru*
ment of their misfortimes. -Sesostris was
permitted, by divine Providence, toduninisb
the true glory of EgA'pt, by a restless ambi-
tion to extend her territor) . This splendid
prince abandoned the real grandeur of go-
verning wisely at home, for the false glor>' of
foreign conquests, which detained him nmc
years in distant climates. At a remote pe-
riofl, the jieople wearv of the blessings they
so long enjoyed muter a single monarch,
weakened the royal power, by dividing it
amonff nmltiplied sovereigns.
" U'hat exaltifd the ancient Persians to
such lasting fame? The equity and strict cxei-
cut ion oi iheir laws. It was their sovereign
disdain of fal^^ehood in thetr public transac-
tions ; their considering fraud as the most
degrading of vices, and thus transfubing the
spirit of their la\vs into their conduct. It was
that love of justice (modefn statesmen >\ou]d
do well to imitate tiK* example) whuh^made
them oblige themselves to commend the vir-
tues of tlieir enemies. It was snch an ex-
traordinary respect for education, that no
sorrow was ever exfire^sed for yomn? person*
who died uninstructed. It was by paying
such an attention to th« children of the sove-
reign, that, at the age of fourteen, they were
placed under the care of four statesmen, who
excelled in dilferent talents. By one they
were instructed in the principles of justice;
by anotlier they were taugi^t to subdue s^n- *
suality ; by a tliind they were imtiatetiiirthe
. art of government ; and, by a fourth, in the
. duties of nrligion. Plato has given a beauti-
ful' skeicJi ot tius acconiplislied and sublime
cilucation."
GoYCPiiment and religion are two words
hP
MISCELLANIES.
whose infloenee is so powerfbl over this
writer's mind, that she never stops to en-
quire what govemment or what religion
is meant. It was perfectly consistent in
Bossuet to proQounce Egypt the fountain
of all political wisdom ; priestcraft was of
cour^ his idea of political excellence, and
spes and onions not more unworthy ob-
jects of adoration than the teeth and toe-
xiails, the ideots and the madmen, of hagi-
ology. But would Mrs. More have assert-
pd that the system of casts in Egypt was
]ess injurious to society than the turbulent
llemocracies of Greece, before she was
paralysed by antijacobinism ? Her view
of Greece is wholly in the miserable party
l^pirit of Mr. Mitford's History. Eager to
patch at a parallel between a French nopb
and an Athenian one, eager to compliment
England at the expence of Athens, she
iforgttts to enquire why in that little terri-
tory, and within so short a time, greater
men were produced in every de|)artment
pf huma^ genius and human excellence,
tlian all the rest of the world has yet been
able to equal ? She calls the heroes of
Atliens thinly scattered-*thinly scattered!
Prejudice has blinded her to that galaxy
pf glory,
Some of the most celebrated historiani
are well charactered. Too much is said
^n praise of Clarendon ^ his character will
sot bear rigid enquiry *. whether he was
concerned in the assassinations of Dorislaus
and Ascham, is known only to Him who
will make due inquisition for blood ; but
his expressions concerning Desborough
shew that he was no enemy to the system
of assassination which the royalists carried
on. Hume is ably criticised.
** Hii poHttcal prejudices do not strikingly
appear, till tlie establishment of the house of
Stuart, nor his relidous antipathies till about
the dawn of the Ketonnation under Henry V.
From that period to its full establishment, he
IS perhaps more dangerous, because less os-
tensibly daring than some other infidel histo-
rians. ' It is a serpent under a bed of roses,
^iv.' docs not (in his History at least) so much
ridicule religion himself, as invite others to
ridicule it. There is in his manner a sedate-
ness which imposes ; i|i his scepticism, a sly
gravity, which puts the reader more off his
^ird, than the vehemence of censure, or
the levity of wit ; for we are always less dis-
posed to suL?]>ect a man who is too wise to
appear angry. That same wisdom makes
him too correct to invent calnmnieis, but it
does not preserve him from doing what is
gcarccly less disingenuous. He implicitly
adopts the injurious relations of those anr .
ija'ists who were most hostile to the reformed
aith } though he must have known Uieir ac?
counts to be ag^vated and dkoobstA*
if not absolutely invented. He thus makn
others responsible for the worst tlun^ be as*
serts, and spreads the mischief, without svovo
ing the malignity. When he speaks ina
himself, the sneer is so cool, the ironv so so-
ber, the contempt so discreet, the modentioa
to insidious ; the difference between Popiitt
bigotry and Protestant firmness, between tbe
iiiry of the persecutor and the resdatioD of
the martyr, so little marked ; tlie distinctiom
between intolerant phrenzyand heroic «al
so melted into each other, that tliou§;ii ki
contrives to make the reader feel soo^ ia-
dignation at the tyrant, he never levjb him
to feel any reverence for the sufferer. He
ascribes such a slender superiority to one lei
hgious Systein ^ove anotner, that the yoou
reader, who does not come to the peniaj
with his principles fonned, will be in dai»T
of thinking tliat the Reformation wd» imj
not worth contending for.
" But m nothing is the sldll of this accoBh
plished sophist more apparent than in tl«
artful way m which he piques his readers imo
a conformity with his own views concerning
religion. Human pride, he knew, tiaturallT
likes to range itself on the side of ability. Hi
therefore SKilfully works on this passun, bf
treating, with a sort of contemptuous $up^
riority, as weak and credulous men, all wboq
he represents as being under the rdi^
delusion,
♦' To the shameful practice of confouiHEp^
fanaticism with real religion, he adds the dis-
ingenuous Iiabit of accounting for the bet
actions of the best men, by referring them to
some low motive ; and affects to conloundtk
designs of the relieious and the cornet, so
artfiilly, that no raaical ditf'erence appears tQ
subsist between tijem,"
All this is said truly and said well : it is
the best passage in the whole work. Gib-
bon is never mentioned. We approve as
little of the spirit which pervades his His»
tory as Mrs. More can do ; but from what
other sources is a know'ledge to be obtain-
ed of that long and important series of
ages which his admirable outline compre-
hends? OfAlfred she speaks with'thattb^
gree of reverence which is his due: Hume
is referred to for his character; but had
tlie writer been acquainted with Mr. Tar-
ner's History of the Anglb-Saxons, she
would have seen Alfred in a new and still
Ujore interesting light.
Of the moral advantages to be deri^
from the study of history, a deep convic-
tion of the corruption of human nature is
here insisted upon as the most important,
accompanied with a sense of the superiih*
tending power of Providence. The fac-
tions from the past might at once hsv^
been equally religious^ n^ore philosc^hical,
aiid ii^or^ consolatoiy, {t would beifiaf;
MORBUS HINTI FOR A TOVMO PKINCBSf.
ni
ryioeable to direct the attention of one
who is to be a sovereign, to tlie secondary
causes of the downfal of nations and the
miseries of mankind, radier than to the
j^reat cavsa causans -y to governnients ill
constituted or ill administered; to oppres-
sive laws, burthensome taxes, obstinate
ministers, and besotted rulers^ rather than
to the serpent and tlie forbidden apple.
If history records the wickedness and the
misery of our species, as surely does it re-
cord the always progressive amelioration j
a truth which of all others it is of most
knportance to impress upon one in whose
power it will be so greatly to accelerate
that improvement. History, philosophy,
and Christianity, alike justify tliis view of
tilings, which makes the scheme of Provi-
dence clear, and without which cliristi-
anity is virtually and truly Manichsean.
The notion that Christ has actually for-
bidden us to improve the condition of tlie
>vorld, to take any vigorous measures for
jneventing its misery or advancing its hap-
piness, is well confuted here; but the. asser-
tion that governments cannot be managed
without certain deviations from the rules
of Christianity, is not so well parried. It
should have been fairly and fully admitted
that they are not managed without such
deviations, as it is forcibly shewn that
every deviation from these rules, is an
error in politics as well as in morals.
Mrs. More recommends that the royal
pupil, as her understanding advances,
should daily commit to memory one
weighty sentence, one striking precept,
from the best authors. We recollect no
passage which better deserves to be im-
pressed upon her memoiy, and treasured
up in her heart, than that whicli we have
just quoted.
Jq proving that religion is necessary to
the well-bemg of states, Mrs. More takes
that view of its utility which must be most
gratifying to sovereigns.
" Another of the political advantages of reli-
gious rectitude in a state is the seaunty it at-
lords. For with whatever just seventy we
may reprobate the general spirit of revolu-
tion, yet it must be confessed that it has not
on all occasions been excited by undue dis-
content, by unprovoked iuipatieuce, nor even
by selfish personal feelings ; but sometimes
affo from a virtuous sense of the evils of op-
pression and injustice — evils which honest
men resent for others as well as for them-
selves.
'* AtOLva, . there is something so safe and
tranquuiizing in christian piety, as we have
already observed, that, tlioueli we would be
bat from reduciflj it to a cold political (^cu<
lation ; yet, coiitent/ subpiission, and obedi«
ence, make so large a practical part of relir.
gion, that wherever it is taught in the best
and soundest way, it can hardly fail to pro-'
mote» in the people, the ends of 'true policy,
any more than of^ genuine morality.'*
There is a concession in the former part-
of this sentence, which does not very well
accord with that implied doctrine of pas-
sive obedience held out in the latter part,,
as one of die political advantages of reli-
gion. Where the doctrine has been sue-
cessfuUy enforced,. it has been found ne-
cessary to the well-being of the rulers, but
not of the people.
In die observations on the age of Louis
XIV. the following excellent passage oc-
curs.
** Liberality is a truly royal virtue, a vii>
tue too, whicli has its ov^ti inimediatL* reward .
in the delight which accompanies its exercise. ^
All wealth is in order to diffusion. If no-
velty be, as has been said, the great chann*
of life, there is no way of enjoying it so per-
fectly as by perpetual acts of . beneficence.
The great become insensible to the pleasure
of tJieir own aflluence, from having been
long used to it : but, in the distribution of
riches, there is always sometliing fresh and
reviving: and the opulent add to their
own stock of happiness all that their bounty
bestows on others. It is pity, therefore, on
the mere score of voluptuousness, tliat nei-
ther Vitellius nor Eliogabalus, nor any of the
other imperial goumiands, was ever so for-
tunate as to find out this , multiplied luxury
of " eating with inany mouths at once.*'—
Homage must satiate, intem[)erance will cloy,
splendour will fatigue, dissipation exhaust,
and adulation surfeit ; but the delights of be-
neficence will be always new and refreshing.
And there is no quality in whi< h a prinCe has
it more in his power to exhibit a famt resem-
blance of that Great Being, whose representa-
tive he is, than in the capacity and the love
of this communicative goodness.**
This too is a salutary lesson for the
royal pupil. The great, except upon pub-
lic occasions, are not liberal according to
their means ; it seems as if they had little
sense of sufferings which they never can
themselves e^^perience. The travelling
mendicant goes to the farm or to the cot-
tage door rather than to the great house ;
and it is a well-known fact, tliat street-
beggars receive the greatc^st part of their
alms from female servants. Want blunts
the feelings j wealdi hardens the lieart ;
it was for diis reason that He M'ho best
knew the human heart said, how difficult
itris for a rich man to cuter the kingdom^
of beayeo.
MISCEXiANieS,
\ Temirks on books an^ too mudi in
irit of the inde^ exptirgatoriot^ and
iinepid a syMem of precaution and
tioQ which must incFitably deteat
This writer, as well as most others
lave written apon education, seems
get that the nations who will not
the face of a woman to be seen in
r are in&mouslj libidinous, and that
ty is not an uncommon virtue among
» who go naked. Novels may well
;erdicted ^ they can do no good, and
bly do some evil, becaa^se by their.
itimulatian they destroy all relish
lainer and wholesomer food. The
pence given to tales of magic is per-
just We quote it for the benefit
>se persons whose metaphysical fears
beir children should believe i|i Raw-
•and-bloody-bones, are as ridiculous,
ar more mischievous, than the belief
f novels are read at all in early youth,
:^ice which we should tliink ' more ho-
d in the breach than the observance,'
ould be tempted to give the preference
ose works of pure and genu me fancy,
I exercise and fill the imagination, in
pence to tliose which, by exhibiting pas-
md intrigue in bewitching colours, lay
Loo intensely on the feelings. AVe should
fenture to pronounce those stories to be
safe, which, by least assimilating with our
habits and manners, are less likely to
; and soften the heart by thos« amatory
res, descriptions, and situations, which
luch abf^und even in some of tlie chastest
positions of tliis nature. The young fe-
is pleasantly interested for tfie fate of
tal queens, for Zobeide, or the lieroine
Imoran and Ilamct ; but she does not
ier5.elf in their place; she is not absorbed
eir pains or their pleasures ; she does not
ify Tier feelings with theirs, as she too
ably does in the case of Sophia Western
the princess of Cleves. Hooks of the
lt description innocently invigorate the
, those of the latter convey a contagious
Bible, we suppose, as has elsewhere al«
ready been recommended, would \aem
had some of its leaves pasted together.
Nothing is so dangerous as this puritanical
prudexy. These precautions canuotpos.
sibly be couceadfe, as their certain effect
is to ejcite curiosity, and to the nmji|
which is thus birdlimed e\'ery speck viQ
adhere.
In this part of the work oodun a to/
r^emarkablc instance of igiioraooe.
'' It is a curious circumstance in tkeli»
tory of French dramatic poetrv, that liic
measure used by tlieir best poets in their sob-
limest tragedies is the aoapxstic, which ■
our language is not only tbelighteit andiacKt
undignitied of all the pbetk; measures, boTii
still more degraded by being chiefly appfed
to burlesque subjects. It is amusing lo ^
English ear to hear the Brutus of Racine, the
Cul of Comeiile, and the Orosaiaoe snd
Orestes of Voltaire, declaim, philosophue^
sigh, and rave in the precise measure of
^' A cobler there wasy and he liv'd in a staiL"
How any person acquainted ^ith the
French language, as Mrs. More undoubt-
edly is, can be so utterly mistaken is quite
unaccountable. French heroic measure is
precisely the same as our Alexandrine; it
resembles the verse of the Poly-Albiflo,
not of the Bath Guide.
Half the last ^x>lume is religious j tk»
chapters are intrcxluced by some reourb
upon the Scriptures as connected with
literature. Mrs. More's idea of the sj»«
cific character of Hebrew poetiy is tiilj
curious.
■ " It is a peculiarity of Hebrew poetry, to
it alone, of all the poetry we know of in ihf
world, retains its poetic'structure in tiieaorf
literal translation ; nay indeed, the more li-
teral the translation, the less thepoetrf isia-
jured. The reason is, that the sacred podrr
of the Hebrews does not appear todepMidoB
cadence or rh)*thm, or any thing mereh ^t^
^ . ^ bal, which literal translation into another b'
ness to the mind : the one raise harmless guace necessarily destroys ; but on a-meihad
er or inoffensive merriment ; the other of giving to each distinct idea a twofold a-
en ideas at best unprofitable. From the pression, so that whtn the poetiy of tbe Old
s of the one we are willing to descend to Testament is perfect, and iiul injured by oio-
itionality of common lifo ; from the se-
>n8 of tlie other, we are disgusted ^t re-
ig tQ0ts insipidity.'*
ivcls, we are told, require to be se-
I with the nicest discrimination ; the
atCNT is an unfit book kft the indiscri-
e perusal of youth ; many of Shak-
es plays are not to be read at all, and
of the best, much may be omitted.
wTiter had not happened to believe
leoary inspiiatioo of Scriptuxe, the
neous translation, it exhibits a series ofroo-
plets, in \riiich the second member of eadi
couplet repeats the same, or very nearly tk
same sense, in a varied manner—^ io ^
beginning of the 95th psalm :
* O come let us sing unto the Lord,
Let us heartily rgoice in the strength ofotf
salvation ;
Let us come before his presence with thasb-
g'vJng,
And shew ourselTes glad in him with psaos :
Fiir the Locd is a great God,
fiRIST]|X>*8 VIEW or THE COCIETT OP.FRIBKDf.
yif
j|nd a great King above all gods ;
In his hands are the deep places of the earth,
^iad the strength of th^ hills is his also*'
The motive for adopting such a slructure wc
vastly conceive to have been, tliat the com-
position might be adapted to responsive singr
^g. But, can we avoid acknowledging a
much deeper purpose of infinite wisdom, that
%hai poetry which was to be translated into all
languages, should be of such a kind as literal
translation could npt decompose r"
It may easily be conceived what the
nidgment u|X)n theological subjects is of
one who can discover a deep purpose ofin-
Jinite wisdom in the supposed structure of a
*psalai ! Some lucid passages appear in
this portion of the work, tor not even an-
tijacobinism and methodism combined
have been able wholly to extinguish that
light of intellect with which Mrs. More
is gifted. But her opinions lamentably
{>redominate over her nature, and the sen-
tences which are favourable to civil and
^religious liberty are few, in comparison to
those of a counteracting tendency. A
toleration of erery creed, she tells us, ge-
nerally ends in an indilterence to all, it it
does not originally spripg from a disbelief
of all ^ wliat ilien is the creed which we
are not to tolerate? the Egyptian points of
doctrine which are to be slain by the'
sword of tlie spirit ?
Thp superintendance of Providence ma*
nifiestediu the local circumstances, and in!
the civil and religious history of England,
form the subject of the concluding chap*'
ters, which are tinctured witli flattery of
the reigning family ; the worst sort of flat-
tery, tiiat which is couched in the Ian*
guage of religion. At the close of the
whole we find this extraordinary sentence:
*' Who can say how much we are indebt*
cd for our satety hitherto to the blessing
of a king and queen, who have distin-*
guished themselves above all the soe-
leigns of this day, by strictness of mntal
conduct, and by reverence for religion ?*
After this Mrs. More must not be of-
fended at tlie French bishops for flatteffng
their emperor in- tlie words of scripture.
It would be superfluous to sum up the*
merits of this work, which abundantly
proves the wisdom and the bigotry of it»*
writer J and that no i^erson could be better
fitted to direct the studies of the princess,
none more improper to form her religiouf
opinions.
Art. III. — The Society of Friends examined. By John Bristed^ qf the Society qf the
Inner Temple, 8vo. pp. 360.
HUME hinted to the continental
writers the expediency of puffing the qua-
kers. In his dissertation on superstition
and enthusiasm, he notices and considers
them as subsisting in perfect freedom
from priestly bondage, and approaching
the only regular body of deists m the uni-
verse.
Tlie French philosophists, hearing of a
sect without priests, whose principles
aimed at reducing all revealed religion to
allegory, presently inl'erred, that, if such
a sect could be held up as a pattern of
piety and morality, inutility both of Chris-
tianity and its clergy would be completely
and practically demonstrated. Voltaire,
Diderot, Raynal, Mirabeau, Brissot, and
the whole tribe of anti-jesuits, accordingly
set about extolling the quakers. Their
drab dress was Attic simplicity ; their
theeing and thouing, the pure diction of
classical antiquity ; their silent meetings,
tlie sublimest worship of contemplative
philosophy; andtlieir religious ignorance,
a wise disdain of 'iburing controversy.
To their industry and example was espe-
cially ascribed the wealth of England, the
rise aad rapid growth of her colonies, aiul
the extension of her fisheries: to their
generous philanthropy, the diminution of
privateering, the abrogation of the slave-
trade, and the emancipation of the ne-
groes in so many of the christian states.
Their cautious spirit, which refused te-
handle implements of war, was to make
of mankind an universal people ^f bro-
thers, and was recommended as a model to
the French soldiery who yet obeyed a
monarch. Thus the old church-and-king-
ship of France was elhcacioubly wounded
in the form of |xniegyrics on the quakers.
In all this there may be much.truth ;
but it is well that these panegyrics should
be reduced to their precise value, by un-
folding from authentic doqumcnts the real
interior structure, discipline, and behavi-
our, of the Friends. The practical woild
knows tho quakors ; but the speculative
world has much to learn concerning them.
They certainly do not approach a regular
body of deists; thc}' exjxrl, or disown^
tiiose of their memlxjrs who deny the /ro-
liness of the Scriptures ; and they have
published Trinitarian manifestoes from
their episcopal to their parochial meetings.
They are not less under the sway of their
7
714
MSCEUANIES.
elders» or pFesbjters^ than other sects are
of tixelr priests : and, by avoiding to hire
specific public instructors, they miss the
advantage of a literary order of roeii
adapted to educate their youth. Their
inteliectual culture is from this cause in
arrear. They are accused of prevaricator/
babits in dialect, which, if applied to little
things, are ridiculous, if to great ones de-
ceptious, and which are peculiarly un-
worthy of a sect, tliat claims to rank its
mere affirmations with the oaths of other
men. To their industry, to their hospi-
lahty, to their beneficence, to their phi-
lanthropy, every praise is due. Still it is
ftrange that a legislature, like the British,
no^ at all tender to conscientious scruples,
should have granted exclusive privileges to
a Beet, which refuses to arm in the com-
mon defence, which increases the trouble
Ct* collating several taxes, and which,
•bould its discipline relax, might facilitate
equivocal marriages. These privileges^
Jiowever, are not abused*
The quakers do not mterpret very
fftrictly the formal directions of St. Paul :
be ordains that the priesthood should be
paid (I Cor. ix. 14) -, that men sliould be
imcovered in the place of prayer ( l Cor.
xu 7) ; that women be not sufiered to
apeak in the halls of worship (1 Cor. xiv. .
34, and 1 Timothy ii. 12) ^ and other si-
milar matters, firom which the usages of
the '
iovnd on specific texts, and not on per-
aoiud revelations of the holy spirit, their
objections to military armament, and to
judicial oaths.
It is not with the theological so much
as with the practical principles of tlie
quakers that this booK is ocaipied : tlie
author has indeed, he tells us, (p. 3,)
looked into Peon's Key and Barclay's
Apology, and into the book of extracts
from tiie minutes of the yearly meeting ;
but his remarks have chiefly resulted from
personal observation and habitual inter-
course. Hi.s tirst cliapter is indeed con-
secrated to examining the system of
Friends as to its conformity with the
Scriptures. But the author is himself a
very unlearn^ed christian, and talks (p. 24)
of the *' desperate absurdity" of those who
plead a divine right for the establishment
of tithes. Tithes certainly originate in
scriptural authority: see Leviticus xxvii.
v. 30. to 33, and Deuteronomy xxvi.
v. 12, from which last passage it appears
that tlie titlie ought to be levied trienni-
aliy. To deny the divine right of titlie
is to deny the inspiration of the Old Tes-
tament* and the divine authority of Aft
Mosaic dispensation. The qaaken, in
order to obey the Scriptores, ought to pajr
their tithes once in three 'years, and not
oftener. The redemption of the tithe is
expressly permitted on the conditi(A of
adding one-fifth to its value. This trien-
nial oiaracter of the tithe apparently re-
sulted from the state of Jewish husbandly,
which grew com only e\'erj tlwd year:
so that the preparatory crops, such as our
clover and turni|is, were not liaUe to
tithe. Those are anti-scriptural b^T
which have made the titlie annual 3q4
included the subsidiary crops.
Mr. Bristed*s point of view deserves
notice.
** Every one, who is in tlie least acquaiAH
with the histon' of the church of Englaoi it
well aware ot the desperate absurdit}- (rf those
who endeavour to establish the dortrine of
the divine right of tithes. Whether the inam-
tenance of a national church hath a teodeocf
to accelerate or to retard the progrpss of
christianitY amongst mankind, atx) wKethtr
or not it be necessary to the proniotioo of
good order, hannony, a wise and an equita-
ble covernment, are tremendous pouticii
problems, which it would be very unbeoaoh
mg in me to attempt to solve or to dtscuss.
" It is sufficient for me that i fmd it a part,
and a very important part, of our establbbed
governmental constitution ; it is, indeed, the
keystone of the political arch, which if taken
quaken in' this country depart. °The awa7.^'<>«W«»'«t,'j«^»»>« ?>'?••^*»'"?•
•^^MJ^tl. ■ • lu . w«. ujr i^ . ^uo bleinto notlime. I lie great importaDce, n
pels they do interpret strictly ; for they jhe hands of gaven,u»ent, of a p5i&al lem
govemuient, i
so powerful as that of a body of ecclesiastics,
stipendiated and kept in pay by itself, must
readily appear, when we relfcct that xucAj
a single town, or parish, or village, or hamlet,
in tms kingdom is without one or niwt
clergymen of the established church. These
gentlemen are generally men of liberal and ol
polished education. Consider then for a mo*
ment what a weight of influence h thrown
into the scale of government, by which such a
mighty mass of ecclesiastical intellect, all re-
gularly classed and arranged iioder fixed, de-
terminate, and appropriate lieads, rising in
regular gradation, from the village curate up
to the empurpled metropolitan and primate of
all England. Tliese men, coming into cwh
tmual contact with tlie minds of by fer the
majority of the EngTish people, mist have a
very considerable effect in guidbg them to
sentiments of loyalty to their king, and of
obedience to the constituted authorities of
their country.
. 'f At a former period of time, the nation,
or some individuals who represented tJie na-
tion, agreed to allow their chief magistrate,
their king, a certain annual revenue, for the
purpose of upholding and of mamtaining th]»
dignity and tne power necessarily attached to
the represoit^v^ and the bead of a migfaty
people,
aaiSTBD^S VIBW OF TBB 80CIEXT OV f RIEXDS.
719
^ E^lwolfe, iQ the days of the Saxon
eptarchy, made a present of the tithe, or
ath part of the pnxluce of the land, to the
ergy» which titltes are uow established and
nccioned as the birth-right and the inheri-
nee of our nation^ church, by the same law
tuch empowers the chief magistrate to draw
s annual revenue from the people; and, I
mfess, I see no reason why one tax in sup-
Mt of government should not be cheerfully
id wilUngly paid as well as another, nor
by any one should refuse to contribute to ,
ie maintenance of the clergy mure tlian to
e support of the kmg, whose very safety
id existence, indeed, are int'unatelv com-
iied with the preservation of tlie English
lurch.
•** For let us for a moment suppose, that
le Jiational clergy were, all at once, deprived
:tbeir ecclesiastical emoluments, and turned
it to roam this wilderness of a world in
1st of shelter and of food ; wliat, tliink you.
Quid be the consequence of the decided
Mility of such a fonnidabic body of men,
non^t whom floats such a mighty mass of
ience and erudition, against tlie existing go-
smment? For Certainly it is to bfe expected,
Bt all those men, who had been forcibly
id unjustly deprived of their means of cx-
beoce for no valid reason ; — I say forcibly
id unjustly, because no reasoa could be of'
red as a pretext for taking away the pro-
fir^ of the chupch, which would not equally
)ply as an argument in fovour of sweeping
ray the whole British constitution from the
oe of the earth -.—would exert all their
lentol powers to examine by what ri^ht tlie
iveromenthaddc&lcated them of their inberi-
nee; nay, by what right the government itself
Dst<^. Now, we need no augel from heaven
»tdl us, for every nian of common sense will
Hily foresee, to what'awful and serious conse-
Miices such an examination and discussion
quid lead, when carried on wilii all the vi<
wr cf Ability, stimuJated to re\'enge, and
img to desperation by the bitterness of ojv
pession and the lash of injustice. Tills fearful
xitest, probably, would too soon be decided
rtweeu the ephemeral 'meteors of a court.
Ml the irresistible blaze of the united iutel-
ct of the church of England clergy all con-
Sntratecl iiUo one burnuig focus ; for intel-
ict is the only steady and intrinsic power ex-
tiog in the universe, and always uhimately
dms its bark in safety through the waves of
pntention, and bouiuls triumphant over the
plows of opposition,"
This-may be a very good deistical ground
JT the payment 6f tithes; biit it has
nthing to do with the conscientious mo-
ives ofa scriptural sect, which of course
cwisiders the authority of the Bible as su-
erior to that of the nia»^ttate.
The second chapter describes tl^e influ-!
nee of the tenets of Friends on their char
icter as iiuiiyi4uais* It praises the con-
versation of Friends as decent, »nd -cen-
tres it as not expanded. It treats of the
apj)arer, the address, tlie occupations, the
studies, the recreations, the moral and the
religious conduct of Friends, and insinuates
with urbanity several wholesome criticisms*
There is also much digression about edu<*
cation in general.
The tliird chapter discusses the interior
government, the laws and ordinances of
the society. In criticising the regulations
concerning the poor, the author again di-»
gresses widely into a consideration of thq
poor-laws of the country. A curious
sally against workhouses deserves tran«
scription.
'' Elngland has authori2ed parishes to conn
mit the maintenance of the sinews and strength
of our country to an interested, audacious sjw-
culator, a liardened jobber in human misery,
whose business it is to render the condition
of the inmates of a wgrkhouse as wretched
and forlorn as possible, that the poor may pre«
hr perishing in their own houses, by the sueut
and wasting progress of hunger, of cold, of
nakedness, of disease, and of anguisli, \o
seeking an abode where they must endure all
the agonies which callous cruelty can inilict*
and dependant slavery can suffer.
** But Rumford, w"ho appears like a guar-
dian angel sent down by the Most High te
watch over and to promote the interest of hu-
manity, lias taught us b^ his in\'aluable pre-*
cepts, and still more by his inestimable exann
pie, tliat, in every instance in which a poor
family is driven by distress and depression of
circumstances to pass over the threshold of s
parish workhouse, an incumbrance lias been
entailed on the funds of the parish never to
be redeemed, even in part, but by an entu^
change of system, namely, by encouragmj
that industry and prudence which no act <x
parliament can compel; and by assistinjr
them with increased means and advantages o(
lite, calculated to enable them to support
themselves and their families in comfort and
in plenty in their o\wi cottages, witJiout being
compelled to have recourse to parociiial re^
lief; and, above all, by blessing them with aa
early rt'ili^ious and mortil education, that they
may be enabled to consult their own real in*
terest, and, in consecpwnce, the well-being of
the community, by habits of industry, of self-
denial, and of virtue.**
A still more serioas and impressive
alarm is sounded against manufactories* .
" The immetliate effect of many manufac-
tures in this kingdom is to prejudice the health
and the morals of the people, and reauirei
the most strenuous exertions of active bene*
volencc to correct and to remedy. In many
of these places every incentive to vice and to
immorality is applied; and every avenue to
disease and to contagion is kiid open by neg^
>I«
l^nSCELLANIES.
ligence and bv /i!th. Boys and girls arc bud-
died together" in lots and parcels, by day and
by niglit, deprived of all education, instnicted
neither in religion nor in morals ; hO that even
ki childhood^ before the state of infency be
veil passed, every species of horrid an'd of
disgusting debauchery is committed. From
these pestilential vaults and cbamel-houses of
all virtue and of all proper knowledge, are
continually steaming up thieves and prosti-
tutes of every description, to prej' upon and
to plunder the comnmnitv, and' to weaken
f he very sinews of all goocf govermnent, and
of all social order*'
A warmth of style glows in this whole
volume, which resembles, tlunigh it does
not rival, the diction of Rousseau. A
seusibility, irritable alike to the bitter and
to the Jbenevblent feelings, vibrates ^on|
every page. The ethic observations dc-
aemrd the attention of those to whom tbe^
are«addr<^sed, and will contnt»ite to e&o»
pecollarities neither warraiUed by Saip-
turer nor by reason. Much \spAeacf
may be perceived among th*e ^uakers/aod
all the richer s^taries, to jomUilp est^
lished worship 5 but it is felt as an im'p^^
to tlie manes of ouf iorefaihers, and am
aSandonment of one's hou&bold gods, to
apostatize from an hereditary strctarlsoi.
An extensive comprehensioa wooid »
such circu Distances result frera any ca.
largcment of the terms of natyNulcom*
munion.
Art. W.-^yfisceUanieSy Antiquarian and Historical By J. Saters, M. D, 8?o. pp. 17i
THE poems of Dr. Sayers have passed
through three editions j his prose works,
though not less meritorious, have not been
received witli so forward an approbation.
They consist of a volume of Disquisitions
Metaphysical and Literary, and of these
Miscellanies Antiquarian and Historical.
The first dissertation respects the^term
Hebrew, ^hich signifies tramfluvial, and
was applied to the posterity of Abraham,
because they came from beyond tlie Eu-
phrates. Dr. Sayers thinks that this word-
might with more accuracy (p. 9) have
been applied to the Chaldee tongue, as an
acknowledged transfluvial one. "^'e sus-
pect the term Chaldee to be tlie misapplied
word, and that the Hebrew was in iact the
language used beyond the Euphrates ; but
that the Chaldee was used on this side the
Euphrates ; that the Hebrew was the East-
Aramic,or Babylonian dialect, and that the
Chaldee or Syriac was the West-Aramic,
the vernacular dialect of Jerusalem. This
question, as we conceive, is not to be de-
termined by the authority of Lightfoot,
Parkhurst, Kennicott, and the commenta-
tors, but by enquiring tchere the Hebrew
Scriptures were reduced to their present
form. This dissertation is more erudite
than satisfiictory.
The second offers remarks tending to
prove that the Melita, on which St. Paul
was shipwrecked, is the modern Malta :
this point is rendered nearly certain.
A iiKist original, interesting, curious,
•ndlearped paper Ls the third, which con-
tains an account of St. George of England,
partly drawn from the Greek and Latin
writers, partly from a Gothic legendary
poeni, first published by Sandrig, and sinc^
re-edjted by SDhm. This enquiry corrects
in some important particuiars tltevdl*
known note of Gibbon, and, tiromit« tarn,
will be as gratifying to the patriot astotbe
scholar.
We shall borrow some passages.
" George the Arian, or, as he has bee»
called, from the pbce of his birth, Gwwgerf
Cappadocia, has by some writers been sap-
posed to be the same person as the saint «(
whom I have hitherio been ipealdog;fte
history of this man may be con^rised is 1
few words: he appears to hare been bomoi
obscure parents, but, by his assiduity aad
obsequiousness, he obtained a profitabte en-
ployment in the army, in wfaicn situa^ faf
accjuired great weSlth ; having imbibed ^
opinions (M Arius, he contriveci, by theaaiA-
ance of partisans of a similar faith, to foot
himself into the seat of Athanasius, at Aln-
andria : the power which be had thus ob-
tained was exercised to the worst of purpo«o;
he not only persecuted with severity the op*
posers of liis theological opinions, but byn
illiberal conduct in other resperts he pm*
voked a general indi^tion: but the career
of his violence and injustice was ai ki^
effectually checked ; he w^ degraded, thra«o
into prison, and soon afler massaofd i& 1
popular tumult. He was "exalted to tbe pri-
macy of Alexandria in the reigu of Coflstac-
tine, and perished under Julian.
" This narrative cannot I tbuikbotcw
vince every unprejudiced reader, thatGw?
the AriUn was a very ditfereot person frta
St. George of the East, for without insstE*
m)on the diOiculty of introduciug into tht
Catholic calendar a heterodox araiy-rw
tractor, whose title to the Ixmour of inarty*
dom was openly disputed by Euiphanius, tlte
partiailars of his lifcj no less tJian the mode
and period of his deatUf arc utterly imreon-
Cilable, by anj ingenuity, with thehistot) «f
the more ancicpt St. George.
'* Mr. Salmon has started a new hypothesii j
res|>ectiDg our iiaUoAal ssunt ; rejecting vl^
tlTBitf'* UltCtlLAKimi.
711
an iodlgnatiofi not •s|k>gether unpardonable
ID aa EiigUsbman, the mean and cruel George
«F Alexandria: he has mlroduced to us a new
flint, certainly of a much more respectable
character than the one whom he discards, but
whose pretensions to the honour which is
daimed for him are eqiiaily ill-grounded«
ftcorgcot* Oslia, poiie Adrian's legate to
Snglaiid^ is Uie person who lias attracted Mr.
iftiliiiun's atteutioni and whom he lias endea^
^ured to prove, by a tew foi'iciful arguments,
%> be the genuine tutelary saint of our coun-
try : that George of Ostia was undoubtedly
inT England, that he was present at a council
Md at Cealchy the, that he much distinguish-
ed himself by establishins, or rather by con-
firming, the catholic £iith among tlie A^glo-
iMixans,aiMi that l)e was every where recei\"ed
with the resi^ect and honour due to his cha-
Tacler ; all this, 1 say, may be supported by
autliorilies which cannot be reasonably ciues*
tioned ; but of his fartlier pretensions we have
no proo& ; it appears by no means certain
that he was ever canonized ; and the prti-
culars respecting St. George, which arc handr
fid down to us in the mai tyrology ofl^de,
a$ well as in the inartyro'logy a'bove-meiir
tioned, appear to me to prove most de-
cisively that in the tune of the Saxons (and at
no other time would the bishop of Ostia have
been so peculiarly celebrated) the St. George
of the KngUsh calendar was the same as the
.St. George of the Greets. • ^
" 1 have now to speak of the fragment of
which 1 propose to give a literai^ translation ;
IJm; origmal of it is written, m^ the Franco-
Theoti£ language, and is annexed to the
Vatican manuscript of Otfriil*sl<nincish Gos-
pels : it is printcxi with a loitin translation
and notes (by Sandvig) in tlie Symbol* Li-
teraturx Teutonicar ol SilKtii ; 1 have omitted
some lines which- were ^ective or im'mtelU-
gible, the rest is as follows^
** George went to judgMcnt,
With much honour, ' ^ .
From the market-place.
And with a great multittide (following him) ;
He proceeded to thejRhine
To (pcrfonn) the satfTed duty.
Which was highly cfilebrated.
And most accepmWe to God.
He quitted the ki|igd6ms of the earth
And he obta'uied"the kingdom of heaven ; ^
Thus did he ^^
llie illustrioiji Count George ;-
Then hastened all
The kings, who wished
1 o see Uiis man entering,
i(But) who did not wish to hear him.
The spirit of George >^as there honoured,
I speal: truly from the report of these men,
(For) he obtained
What he sought from God^
Thus did he
The hdy George.
Tlien they suddenly adjOdged binv
To prison; , ...
Sato' -which with him entered
Tw o beautiful angels*
« « « * «
Then he became glad
When that sign was made (to kim);
George there prayed ;
My God granted every thing
lo the words of George ;
He made the dumb to speak.
The deaf to l>ear,
The blind to see.
The Uune to walk.
m ^ 4t % It It
Then began the powerful man
To be exceedingly enraged i
Tatian wished
1 o ridicuk these miracles \
He said tliat George
Was an impostor.
He commanded George to come forth.
He ordered him to be unclothed.
He ordered him to be violently beatea
With a sword excessively sharp.
AH this I know to be altogether true ;
George then arose and recovered himself.
He wished to preach to those present.
And the Gentiles
Placed George in a conspicuous situaiioiu
n hen) began tiiat powe^l man
To be exceedingl v enraged.
He then ordered ueorge to be boUnd
To a wheel, and to be twirled round;
I tell you what is fact ;
The wheels were broken in pieces ;
This 1 know to be altogether true ;
George then arose and recox'ered himself*
He tliere wished (to preach) — the GentiltsO'
Placed George in a conspicuous place.
Then he ordertid George to be seized
And commanded hun to be violently scourgea^ ,
Many desired he sliould be beaten to piece*
Or be burnt to a powder.
The}' at length tlwew htm into a well.
There was this son of beatitude,
Vast heaps of stones above him
Pressed him down ;
They took his acknowledgment;
They oKlered George to rise ;~
He wrought many uiirach'S,
As in fact he aluuys does.
George rose and recovered himself^
He wished to preach to those present
The Gentiles •
Placed George in a conspicuous place.''
The fourrli sketch respects the rise nul
progress of English poetry, which is di-
vide into distinct schools, according to the
models which were successively imitated.
Chaucer and his successors are classed
under the denomination of the Norman
school ; Spenser and his successors under
that oi the Italian ; Dryden and his sue*
cessors under, that of the French- j Gray
and his cotemporaries under that of the
Greek. It is justly observed that the rising
race of poets are studiers of German mo-
duli. Shakspeare is ahiiost the ooiy <x--
fis
'MISCELLANIES,
eellent writer wlio has painted from na-
ture, not from art, and who has fooqded a
school strictly English. It is remarkable
that the Latin poets should have produced
no verj prominent imitaci(ms4 An oriental
school of poetry may be expected to ori-
ginate, ot which sir William Jones will
perhaps be reckoned the founder.
The hints on £nglish architecture are
drawn up with much display of antiqua-
rian lesearch; .yet we a little question the
propriety of calling any style of architec-
ture Saxon. The Saxons, when they in-
vaded England, were a much ruder people
than the previous inhabitants whom they
contributed to re-barbarize. It is not ,
likely that they taught the method of
building with hewn stone ; but rather that
they adopted a Roman or a Cimbric me-
thod of structure already in use. The
word Gothic we are quite disposed to re-
ject^ as describing a style of budd'mg which
did not come to us from the Gotlis ; but
neither can it be proved to have been in-
vented in £ngknd. At Rheims and Paria
stand the models of our Gothic cathedrals :
from Normandy came our rhyme, our ro-
mance^ our chivalry, our heraldry, and
probably the architecture called Grothic.
The church of St. Germain FAuxenois at
Paris, which is of the rudest style we call
Gothic, and has pointed arches, was
fiiunded in the seventh century, and is
older than any domestic specimen of that
it^le of bnildin^^. Tlie cathedral of Paris
was completed under Philip Augustus be^
Ibve the close of the eleventh century.
La Sainte Chapelle, a£;ain, which is one of
the most finished and elegant specimens
of the florid and CTnamented Gothic or
Norman, was finished m 124/ ; so ^^
each style of architecture prevaUed soooes*
^vely in the north of France earlier thm.-
here.
The disquisition on Saxon literatnre^
properly recommends the pab&atioD of
all the yet imedited manuscripti of dot
dass deposited in our several public &d
private libraries. Why does the leaned
author, who dismays much caanxsmsj i
with the language, not himself undotab
at least one of the editions he reooo.
mends? An explanation of the Sasm
names of months is appended; and s
translation from Eadmer.
The life of Edgar Atheling is a vahoMe
and admirably weU-executed piece of bb-
graphy, comprehending all the attaioahfe
information, and narrating the result vidt
a neatness, a simplicity, a propoiti(», ani
a propriety, worthy of the chaste, coitect,
and elegant taste of the writer.
The life of Edmund Mortimer b sbo
good; but it ccmtains more of disquisttion,
and is almost buried under the nece^
notes.
A French critic, in the Memo'm of the
Academy of Belles Lettres, says, tbt
poets seldom write prose well 3 that the
restraint to which they arc aocastomed
gives a stiffiiess to their phraseology; and
diat the habit of pursuing embellishmenu
for every verse generates a tumid, fipoihr,
sparkling diction. Dr. Sayers is an in-
stance fo the contrary. There b no Eug*
lish prose more easy, pure and {daio tfasa
his : it has that Attic simplicity, that ap[»-
rentiy unstudied fitness, in which critia
place th^ highest and rarest merit of ^
writing.
Art. W.-^ketches relative to the HUtory and Theorij, but more efptciallg to ike Practice
qf Dancing; asumecess^y AcconipUshmcnt to the Yoitthqfboth Sexes; together w&k
Memarki on the Defects and badJiabits they are liable to in early life; and the best
Mfcans qf correcting or preventing them. Intended as Hints to the voung Teadier$ qftk
jtrt qf Dancing. By Feanciis Peacock, Aberdeen. . 8vo. pp. 224.
DANCING, which is now a profime,
yt2A once a sacred peatiase. The Egyp-
tians danced at the mysteries of Isis; they
taught many of their military exercises in
a dance called the Memphian : they even
recorded and represent^ astronomical
fricts'in a dance given on the feast of
Apis.
The Jews borrowed these religious ce*
nmonies of the Egyptians, lliey not
^nly danced in the wild^Riess around the
golden calf) but at the feast of the Lord
in Shiloh (Judged xxi. I9) they cehf*
Iprtod dances, whiicbteaiuoated Uke tbM8
with which Romulus entertained the &•
bine women.
These dances did not accord widi mo*
dern ideas of decency: for whenBsnd
brought up the ark of God from the boose
of Obed^edam, the daughter of Ssol
(2 Samuel vi. 20) reproached the king
with having, like one of the viilgar, on-
covered himself shamefully. Yet ^
practice of temple-dances was not there-
fore discontinued : in many of the Psalin^
(see LoriiVs .commentary on the third
verse of the hundred and forty-ninth
Fs^Ud) thepeopkarecaUadwtoprait
PfiAC0CK*8 HISTORY OF DAKCINO.
ri»
the Lord Id the dance. From the de-
ccriptioDS preserved of tlie three Jewish
temples of Jerusalem^ Samaria, and Alex-
andna^ it is known, that a sort of stage
was erected before the altar, where dances
were publicly performed by tlie young,
aooompanied with music and with song.
ITie words of the biblical commentator
arc, in uiroque pmlmo nowine ckori intel"
ligi posse cum cgrto instrumtnto homines ad
Monum ipsius tripitdiantes ; and ag»iu, de
tripudio seu de iHuliitudine saUantiun^ et
concinneHtiitm m'uume dubito.
The Greeks naturalized the military,
or Memphian, dance of the- Egyptians,
under the name of Pyrrhic. The javelin,
the shield, the sword, were all employed
in this exhibition. It was sacred to Pal-
las } and named from Pyrrhus of Kpirus,
who introduced it as conducive to military
agility and skill.
*' Plato reduces the daiKes of the ancients
to three classes: h The military dances,
which tended* to «make the body robust, ac-
tive, and well-disposed for all the exercises of
war. 2. The domestic dances, which had for
I their object an agreeable and innocent relaxa-
tion and amusement 3. The mediatorial
dances, which were in use in expiations and
sacrifices. Of military dances there were two
sorts : the Gymnopedic dance, or the dance
of children ; and the Enoplian, or aimed dance.
The Spartans had invented the first for an
early excitation of the courage of their chil-
dren, and to lead them on insensiblv to the
exercise of the amied dance. This children's
dance used to be executed in tlie4>ublic place.
It was competed of two choirs, the one of
gmwn men, the other of children ; whence,
Mng chiefly designed for the latter, it took its
name. They were both of them in a state of
nudity. The choir of the children regulated
their motions by those of the aien, and all
danced at the same time, singing the poems
of Thales, Alcman, and Diopysodorus. The
Enoplian, of Pyrrhic, was danced by young
men, armed cap-a-pee, who executed, to the
sound of the flute, all the proper movements
either for attack or for defence. It was com-
posed of four parts : the first the pod ism, or
looting, which consisted in a quick shifting
motion of the feet, such as was necessary fur
overtaking a flying enemy, or for netting away
from him when an overmatch. The second
part was the xiphism: this was a kind of
mock-fight, in whidi the ds^icers imitated
all the motions of combatants ; ainu'ng ' a
stroke, darting a Javelin, or dexterously dodg-
ing, parrying, or avoiding a blow or thrust.
The thiril part, called the kOmos, consisted
inveryhign leaps, or vaultings, which the
dancers frequently repeatetL for the better
u:»ing themselves occasionallv to leap over a
^tch, or spring over a wall The'tetraqomos
was the tourtn and last pact This was a
square figure, executed by sb« and ms^tic
movements ; but it is uncertain whether this
was every where executed in the same man-
ner. Lycurgus instituted a dance, doubtless
of the military kind, being of opinion tliat it
not only gave them strength and agility of
body, but a vast expertness in the use of their
weapons, and in the various evolutions of the
art of war. It was accompanied with the
singing of verses. It consisted of thiee cho-
ruses— ^the tirst of old men, the second of
young men, and the third of boys. The oM
men began and addressed the youth in thes*
words:
* We once were young and gay as you»
Valiant, bold, and active too.'
The young men answered —
' Tis now our turn, and you shall see
You ne'er dcserv'd it more tlian we.'
L^stly^ the boys cried out—
' The day will come when we shall shew
Feats that surpass all you can do/ **
The Bacchic dances of the Greeks were
consecrated to jolhty, to amusement, and
to pleasure. Tlie muse Terpsichore was
supposed to preside over them ; and Co-
mus was said to have invented them. The
annual dances of the vintagers, in whkk
they smeared their faces with lees of wine;
and the theatric dances, which accompa-
nied and relieved the choral odes of thv
dramatists ; were both orgies of Bacchus.
I^ycurgus instituted dancings in honour
of Apollo : at one of these balls, Theseus
saw Helen, fell in love with her, and car*
ried her oiF. The old men at Sparta had
an appropriate dance in honour of Chro«
nos, or Saturn. Homer praises Meriou
as the dancer^ Hippocleides lost his
bride by a vain display of agility in dan-
cing: his saying what cares Hippocleides for
that ? became a proverbial expression of
dissembled contempt.
The Athenians had funeral dances, of
which the mQvement was slow, the dress
white, tiie garlands worn of cypress,, the
music solemn, and the occasional pauses
filled up With sobs and howls of woe.
They bad also dances dlstii^iitshed by
peculiar appellations, which employed a
few, or two, or a sii^e dancer. Detpos-
thenes reproaches Philip with causing
hornpipes (cordax) to be danced before
him after dinner by naked boys., Th«
hormus resembled a cotillion, and employ-
ed eight dancers, who frequently joined
hands. The emmeteia sometimes resem* .
bled oar menuet by its gravity and dig-
pity.
Th9 Bomans im^rted the (iuces of
f20
fiilSCELLA^NltS.
the Grreeks : djey tfrere a more decorous
people, and have left declamations aiid
laws agaiiu»t dances, which tlie Greeks
cxecat^ without a blush. Scipio Africa-
nus entertained his guests with dancing.
Mark Antony was censured for taking a
licentious part in some religious dances.
Under the reign of Augustus, Pylades
carried the serious, and Bathyllus the
comic pantomime to the highest perfec-
tion. The hymeneal dances began un-
der Tiberius to assume so indecent a cha-
racter, that the senate made a decree to
suppress them, and to banish tlie dancing-
masters from Rome.
The priests of Cybele travelled about,
like our tumblers, to perform dances in
public !(»' hire. Luci^n ha» left an en-
tertaining account of these exhibitions.
The Goths, when Tacitus described
them, bad their dance of spears, in which
Jroung lads threw javelins at each otlicr,
and moved to and |ro uninjured between
the flight of darts.
The first christians, in imitation of the
Jews, gave balls in their churches. On
the eve of great festivals, and after the
close of the low-feasts, tJie young people
danced on a stage in the choir. Scaliger
thinks that the bishops were called pra*
wulei, a prc^siliendo, because they set up
the dance. Father Heliot has collected
turious particulars of these religious or ec-
clesiastical balls, which were suppressed
hy the council of Carthage, in 3^7, under
}K>pe Gregory. Since that {xrriod, the
Sd^ seems to have been continually gain-
ing ground, that the happiness of man is
displeasing to the deity, and tliat joyous
rites may not form a part of public wor-
ship. This prejudice is injurious to tlie
tUte.
Qttintilian recommends dancing to the
orator, and Locke to the gentleman ) but
its most important value is to the soldier.
Because theFrench are a people of dancers,
they cany agility and skill in the military
exercises further tlian their neighbours.
In proportion as the imminence of domes*
tic defence increases, goveniment ought
to patronize among the common people a
taste for dancing, instead of roasting oxen
It^hole, kindling bonfires, and distributing
porter^ a victory or a peace should be ce*
lebrated by a popular hop. Those cotton-
mills and spinning engines, which inflict
a sedentary and unwholesome confinement
CO the adoleacdnt, ought in atonement to
cater for their pleasures, and to attach a
doncing-^master to the establishment. The
•abscribory tg Sunday-schoels'shoold pco«
vide, after nflental fiat{go(f» bodily ren^
tion for their pupils, and engage a daDcmtr^
usher to marshal the sports of the dil-
dren. Not only musicians but dauoen
should be attaclied to every regiment by
the secretary at war, and stationed in crerr
barrack, that cheap instruction in the st
of dancii^ may every where be wiihia
reach. The physical education of the poor |
has too long and too inhumanly been ne-
glected : wc steep their youth in ceaseksi
azotic confinement, and rear a rodrndjoly
band of withered and distorted carcasei
Come back to our temples, ye Graces aod
ye Sports 3 joy, health and beauty are in-
separable attendants of your train.
Few sections of IVIr. Peacock's nsefcl
and agreeable book are employed abib!
the literature of dancing. It is fuller ef
practical instruction, and is adapted to fbnft
the dancing-master for realizing the high-
est claims of his art. It will contriboie
to render tliat art more respectable, and to
rank it among the fiug arts^ betweeaisfr
sic and design.
Tlie obseni'ations on tlie Scotch ltd
may be distinguished as among the nkht
original and peculiar 3 such as are lin to
be found in Noverre, or other coutiaeoBl
M'riters on this topic^
The seventh sketch relates to choro*
graphy, or the art of writisg oat daoces
in specific cliaracters. Why will not Mi.
Peacock, who displays much talent and
good sense, revive tlie system inasgioAt
by Mr. Jeuillet ? It is the complexity d
his method^ which has occasioned itsdii^
missal. He has not dissolved the ^saa
into parts sufficiently elementary : Ift
characters answer,4ike Chinese fiounsboi
to the words of the teet, not to ibe sjh'
hies, still less to the letters, which are lb '
ixve positions, or, as Mr. Peacock projpoia
to innovate, the six positions. Bet«^
tlie second and the fourth positions rhae'i
an intermediate attitude of the feet, laefiil
in oblique movements, which, in rfiis a-
thor's opinion, ought to be recognized H
a sixtli position. .
The observations on defiscts of t^lMi^i
and the means of cure, by the mediatiia |
of postures and attitudes, deserve the rf* I
tention of parents, whose children fnn 1
bad nursing are become knock-kneed, ff I
\vho have other more formid^l^ defbnni- ,
ties. These remarks have tile aanctioo d
loQg experience^, the author being ei^
two yepTB o£ ^e. His ocGupation seeoi
alike ta have prcdioaig^ .his bodily aodliif
intellectual activity. * .
Weaver's essa^ toward » histoiy 4
ttaLRA 8 ltBTROSP£CT Of THB BIGBTEBMTR CBKTUBT.
721
anctttg, published in 17)2, is, we be-
cve, the most reputable £oglish work on
bis dei^rtment of the fine arts. We feel
rateful to Mr. Peacock for enriching our
tterature with another, so well adapted
[> contribute to the more diffusive and
dore skilful tuition of the grao^ of mo-
ion. It has been well observed, that a
oniplete ballet Is the naost beautiful spec-
acle wbich can be presented to human
;yes. As much as the human form sur-
lasses that of trees and rocks, does a
jroupe of dancers surpass a mountain-
andscape. The timely sounds of the
nasician> the splendid colouring of the
sainter^ the forms and attitudes of the
KTulptor are all enjoyed at once, and are
all felt to be but subsidiary pleasures to
the tale which motion tells* 11 est hoo-
teux (says Noverre in his Lettres sur 7«t*
danse) que la danse renonce k Tempire
qu*elle peut avoir sur Tame, et qu'elle n©'
s'attache qu'^ plaire aux yeux.
The Cynic Demetrius was denying th«'
power of dancing to affect the passions : %
pantomime dancer in the service of Nero
was at table, and proposed to attempt his
practical conviction. He got up, and"
witliout tlie assistance- of miisic, repre-
sented a story in so striking a manner,'
that the philosopher broke out, intd loud
delight: "I hear, as well- a& see; you
talk with your fingers j you talk with your
toes/*
iRT. Yl.^A bntfJldrospcct of ths Eighteenth Centunj. Part the Fimt; in Three P'o-
inints ; cojittiinin^ a Sketch of the Hcvolutiotis and Improvements in Science, Arts, aii(L
Literature, during that Period, Bt/ Samuel Miller, A, A/, One^of the Ministers of
tfie uiiitt'd Presbyterian Churches in the City of Ntm-York, Member of the AmericaiV
Pkiiosophiad Society, and corresponding Member qf tlie Historical Society of Massd'^
ciuisetis. 8yo.
THE history of literature and science
bas not been cultivated in Europe witli an
attention proportioned to its iai^)ortance
and its usefulness. The progress of cul-
ture ought to be a higher concern than the
adventures of a dynasty. We record the
fettds of barons and the wars of kings, as
if they were lesions of experience firom
which any thing could now be learnt : let
them busy the vulgar, but let them be
shunned by the cosmopolite philosopher.
Celebrity provokes a repetition of the ac-
tions which it includes^ it is well for the
sailor and soldier to fancy they sh^ll shine
in history : but a noblor arena of compe-
tition slWld be indicated to the opulent
and the sovereign classes, than the heaths
ef battle or the liquid plains of artificial
shipwreck. Human merit is not confined
to the handling of a firelock : nor is that
the noblest patronage, with however strict
a regard to excellence it may be distii-
bnted, which recompenses killing with
plunder. Conflicts ot mind are a purer
source of national glory. The compila-
tions of erudition, the embellishments of
6ncy, the exertions of intellect, endure
fitwn age to age with undiminishing splen-
dour. The strong live. at all times; but
they die unremembered, wherie the bard
and the orator are wanting: while the
writer is sufficient to his own ^me,
>i^ inscribes an epitaph coeval with his
utility. Empires themselves are finally
tttiinated by the crop of geaiu^ they grow.
Akm. Rbv. Vol.. JV.
The cities of commerce, the barracks of:
soldiery, the palaces of monarchs, all-
crumble into dust 5 but not the obeliskr
of literary art. Athens was less wealthy
than Carthage, less n^ilitary than Sparta,,
less wisely governed than Crete; but,:
having been the iiwelling-place of leani-
ing, taste, and science, its language is
still the toil, and its ruins still the pilgri-
mage of the accomplished.
We are glad to observe tliat the nevir.
world sets out with so few of the preju-
dices of the old ', and that one of the most
opportune books, which American litera-^
ture has yet added to the stock of English *
reading, should precisely have been con-;
secratwi to the histor/o^ human improve-
ment. In this retrospect of the eighteenth
century we seek in vain for the pedigrees
of kings and the carnage of warfare ; wer*
hear of no revolutions but those in the
theory of scieiice, of no achievements but*
those in literature and art. Happy the.
people to whose peaceful leisure such con-
templations are chiefiy dear ;. the^r emu'-'
lation will be directed to the di^scorery of
trutli, to the prbdupt;ion,of beauty, to the*
realization of improvement ; . they will
seek wealth from industry, not from pil*;
lage 5 fame, from mental, not corporeal*
vehemence ; and hnppiness from the dif*
fusion of con^rt* not from the ^gitations-
of hostility. While Europe rebarbari£«#
under her Frederics and her Bonapartesr-
America may beckon to securt^f shares tlU^
3A
72t
MISCELLANIES.
trcmblipg virtues, the patient industries,
the curious re^arches, and the forsaken
muses.
The plan adopted hy Mr. Miller for
giving a convenient chronolc^cal account
of the intellectual revolutions and im-
provements of the eighteenth century is to
divide knowledge into the several classes
of 1. Mechanical Philosophy ; 2. Chemi-
cal Philosophy; 3. Natural History; 4.
Medicine ; 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Geogra-
phy, Mathematics, Navigation, Agricul-
ture, Mechanics, Fine Arts, and Physiog-
nomy; 12. Philosophy of the Human
Mind; 13» 14. Classical and Oriental Li*
teratuie ) 15, l6. Modern Languages,
Theory of Language; 17, 18. History
and Biography ; ig« Romances and No-
vels; 20. Poetry; 21, 22. Literary and
Political Journals ; 23 . Literary and Scien-
tific Associations; 24, 25. £nc}T]opaedias
and Education ; and 26. Literary History
of the Nations newly civilized.
Under each of tliese heads, many of
which are subdivided into various sections,
an account is given of the men and books
vhich have most affected the progress of
each. The author's resources of intelli-
gence are too exclusively British. Ger-
many has been by excellence the literary
nation of the eighteentli centur}', especi-
tliy for the last forty years : but the know-
ledge of German literature here displayed
is scanty, and always second-band. The
peribdi^ publications even of Great Bri-
tain for the last decennium of the late
century have not been enough consulted :
the recent information being negligently
incomplete. The distribution of matter
is not without imperfection : there are too
many classes for distinct recollection ; and
they are somewhat indefinite and con-
fused.
The earliest characters whom Mr. Mil-
ler marshals before our notice in his intro-
duction, as pioneers to the enquiries eftlie'
eighteenth century, are Newton and
Locke, great but not rival names.
Newton is justly extdled. The raa-
.sonii^ power he displayed in the mathe-
matical forms of syllogizing has seldom
been approached, never surpassed. A
atriking instance of his a priori penetra-
tion is the inference from its refracti^
power that the diamond would be found
inflammable, although he knew no method
of exposing it to combustion. His'use of
words is less skilful than his use of signs.
Such combinations of phrase as vi$ werHa:,
wham the. terma ve isteidefi^ructiva and
of course imintelligible, occur inliis min-
ings. His chroDoiogy dl«ipjyjint>, It
wants erudition, it wants sagacity; ;k
veiy ground- work of the systeni repoMa
on authorities, which deserved a^jrec^a-
tion, but not confidence.
Locke is excessively extolled. Akiost
all diat is true or valuable in Locke pe-
exists in Hobbes, whose metiphviltd
writings are far superior for observatkB,
for originality, for precision, for cleanifca,
for condensation, and for taste in iiju%ca.
tion. Locke's is an artificial reputatita,
founded by the revolutionists of l6bS fe
party-purposes, and propagated over dit
continent on trust by Voltaire. Stene,
who hf d a clear head, attacked it iiidiwct^
in bis Tristram Shandy 5 Hume, dirtsJiv,
in the first note to tlie second volante of
his essays } and of these wounds the h-^
reputation of Locke would have died.Iw
for the American war, which gave a tec-
tious value to his supposed principies d
government ; and for the unitarim sect,
which found an accommodation in the
shelter of his authority. On what topw
can a good disserution be found in aB
Locke ? We protest against the wd
awards of a literary tribunal, which pre-
sumes to rank him with a Hobbes, a Hait-
ley, or a Hume.
Hutchinson and his school are treated
with too much civility. These men hat
not in view the progress of inforroatioB,
but of error : they are systematic offiii-
cants ; not reasoners, but mystics. The/
should be classed, like the Aiexandriia
Platonists, among those who have made it
their occupation' to defer the advanoenwi
of knowledge, to puzzle with useless is-
vestigation, to darken the hmnan intelkd.
to quench the torch of inquiry, and to di-
vert from the pursuit of" truth. Theff
erudite speculations are not to be recardei
as innocent, but as info mous, O that sod
names could be wiped out of the aimais
of British literature !
The ensuii^ chapter treats d elertri-
city. To Mr. Dufay of Paris is ascriW
the first observation of a difierence be*
tween n-hat he called vitreous and rmnm
electricity. Dr. Franklin altered this no-
menclature intopostiir-e and negra^e elec-
tricity : herein he delayed the progresiof
truth. He had, however, the great meiit
of ascertaining the identity of electw
fluid and lightning : he also dcteoed
the unexplained operatkn of points;
bat he attributes to the water (p^
37)> of the tti^Ikil a conducting pow<^
MILLER 8 RETROSPECT OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
723
uhich surpasses that of an European
river.
I'he section which treats of moving
•forces, <ft of that branch of philosophy re-
lating to the structure of niachiucs for
abridging labour, might derive additional
materials from comparing the specifica-
tions of our patents with the improved
processes of tlie British manutactures. We
advise the English mechanists to read this
chapter, and to note its om?ssion.s in some
of our magazines or public joarnaJs.
The eighth section concerning astrpno-
my is stiU more defective. The disco-
verers of the new planets are not named.
Whether the author's intelligence from
Europe does not reach below the date of
the completion of his Encyclopaedia, or
whether he undervalues this sublime
field of speculation, the omission has de-
4nerit.
• The chapter concerning chemical phi-
losophy is executed well : it lias obliga-
tions to Thomson's chemistry.
That concerning natural history invokes
the aid of some American sources of in-
telligence: the paragraph in which Mr.
Miller sums up the services of his coun-
trymen to zoology, may deserve European
Dgtiee.
" Though America, daring the period un-
der review, lias not produce^ many distin-
guutbed enquirers in zoology, it can boast of
some who rendered themselves conspicuous
bv pursuits of this nature. Mr. Catesby, and
Dr. Garden, before mentioned, though not
native Americans, resided long in that coun-
t»y, and tbrew much light on the animal king-
dom, as it appears beyond the Atlanta. Mr.
Gknrer, a planter of Virginia, also commu-
nicated to the public some valuable informa-
tion respecting American zoology. Mr. Wil-
liam Bartram, of Pennsylvania, an indefati-
gable and well informed student of nature,
added considerably to tlie number of fects
before known concerning the animals of the .
aouthern and western parts of the United
States, and the adjacent territory. Still more
recently Dr. Barton, professor of natural his-
tory in the university of Pennsylvania, has
made very respectable additions' to the zoo-
logical science of tliat country ; and displayed
a depee of genuis, diligence, learning, and
zeal, m this pursuit, which do honour to the
nsiag republic, and bid fair to place him
amoog the most accomplished and useful na-
turalists of his time. Beside the labours of
^«i» and other scientific inquirers of Ameri-
<»> a large amount of information respecting
tbe aoiroab of that continent liave been de*
rived from intelligent fbreieaers, who have
either visited and explored tne interior of the
^9mtry at ditifiopeat penods 9f th^ century
under review, or devoted themselves to tlie ac-
quisition of knowledge, from va.ions su.aes,
respecting the new world. Amot^^ »'nt.*t,
Gronovius, Sarragln, Kalm, Schocpt, :■..;• n,
and sevei'al otiiers^ deserve to be nieiuioucd
witli honour."
Geology is treated of in the fourth sec-
tion of the third chapter. The protogna
was, we believe, inserted in a volume oi
academical memoirs about the year J 693 :
but as it was during this present century
first included among the collective works
of Leibnitz, and as it still ibrms the most
concise, the most probable, and the most
accredited system of geology, it deserved
a 'prominent notice in the history of tlie
cosmological enquiries of the age. Leib-
nitz is a Neptunist, Buffon a Vulcanist ;
it is so that those rival sects in cosmogony
are now denominated, who maintain the^
original earth to have been a ball of water,"
or a ball of fire. A third sect is growing
up, who, with Toulmin, maintain the
eternit}' of the world ; they might be call-
ed ^^onists : Dr. Hutton has well urged
the arguments of this class. Sufficient
justice is not done to "Pallas, whose travels
in the Russian empire have tlirown great
light on the structure of mountains. Our
amhor appreciates this set of writers not by
their knowledge or talent, but by their or-
thodoxy. A lady went into a shop for 3
pair of spectacles. Will these suit, ma'am,
said the shopkeeper, offering a showy
pair ? O yes, that 1 am sure they will, re-
plied the lady, for tliey are in a shagrecQ
case. It is quite as rational to choose
eye-glasses by the case, as theories of the
earth by then' conformity with the book
pf Genesis. The cosmogony there pre-
served i^ a most precious renmant of Ba-
bylonian philosophy, and throws great
light on what the primeval nations ima-
gined concerning the origin of things 5 the
author, like Thales, was a Neptunist, but
many of his notions are demonstrably
false. The heaven is described as a solid
body, which keeps off from the earth the
waters above : and the sun is described as
subordinate and subsequent to the earth,
which is lighted and produces vegetables
before the sun is made.
In the chapter on meteorology notice is
not taken of Toaldo, His theory of the
weather is founded on a supposed lunar
cycle ; and he endeavours to prove that
a revolution of the seasons is cx)mpletc4
every nineteea years.
The section on the theory of physic ce-
lebrates the elements of inedictDe. The.
work of Brown nsay have been pifpattA
3 a:»
fu
BHSCELLANIES.
by Haller's doctrine of irritaWUty, and by
Montana's book on the Iris (a work over-
looked by Mr. Miller) but it forms an era
in medicine. Brown has the great merit
of dismissing jargon, of speaking intelli-
gibly, and therefore refutably, conccrmng
the phaenomena of animal life r he has the
clear head of lofty fntellect, and has im-
proved the art of reasoning on medical
topics of speculation.
The fifth chapter of the second volume
relates to geography : it narrates the pro-
gress of di:>covery by sea, and eifumerates
the more prominent naval explorers of
coasts and islands ; it narrates the progress
of discovery by land, and enumerates the
more celebrated travellers through ill-
penetrated countries > the literary com-
pilers and reconcilers of information thus
rol Iccted are i lot forgotten . 1 1 rs a chapter
biolT^y boiuniraWc to the Brrtish nation,
which in this department of eJrterprize has
contributed a vast share of exertion. We
will extract what relates to America, con-
ceiiing those passages of this work to be
here the most interesting which are not
derived from European sources.
** Diflfcrt-nt portions of the southern and
«oulli-weNtern parts of North- America \v^'e
been visitwl and explored during the period
under review, by Lawson, Bossu, da rratz,
Crozat, Charicvoix, d'Auteroche, Clavigero,
Adair, and Ba]t^an^ wltose publications
abound with instructive and interesting nar-
ratives, conceruing the territorial limits, the
inhabitants, and the natural history of the
districts which iht-y traversed.
*' Muth infbnuation concetning the geo-
crapliy of thewe<ttTn parts of Norili America
Has bet'H given by Itoon, Carver, Hiitchins^
and others; particularly the Moravian mis-
sionaries, from whom- some of the best ao-
cotints of the physical and moral condition
ot that portioji of our continent have been
commun:rate<l to the public.
The norlliem and uortli-westera parts of
North America have been visited, at ciillerout
rTio<ls (luring the century, by Cliarlt»vorx,
iirry, Jx)ng, Pond, Cailwright, Ilcarno,
llfiify, TuniiT, and Mackenzie. The last-
miineii traveller has the bonosr of being the
fir«t white man >k\io ever reached the Pacific
<)o-an, bv an overland progress from the
fast. .SonJe valuable infonnation concerning
tiiis portion of the cotitineat, has also been
coniiDunicated by certain Moraviaa missioa-.
artes, who resideS for* a nomber of years in
lljat inhospiUible region.
" Beside the travellers wh* with hmdable
enterj>rise l»ave done much toward exploring
«uch parts of the count r) as were a few years-
a«^> wiioliy unknv)wn, we are indebted to many
oi&er gentirmea for various publications
l^Uich iMve iK;f ved greatly tp improve Ame^
rican gcoirraphy. The Geographical hm
of Lewis Evans, published in 1755, togrttr
with the maps accompanying thttn, ionztrd
an nnportant step in the progrrssof our kflor-
ledgp of tliat i>art of Amirica of i^h'tcii be
treated. Dr. iohn MitciiiSl, an E.ngii>iaBaEt,
w lio resided some years is Virainia, aad
trliose name las been freqaently nienboaed
in this work , cnatriboted not a little to extead
our knwvledgf of American gef^raj^hr. Hi
map of Nurtir America,. {mbTished about tU
year 1753^ was,, for some lime after hsnifr
cation, the best extant. 'IW geogmpbx d
\' irgtnia has been w ell illastnrfed bj "idr.
A»tferson; of Keutuckv, bv Mr. Imfay; rf
New Hawpshn'e, by f)r. fWiknap ; o. Xo-
mont, by Dr. WHIiam-j ; and of the district
of Maine, bv Mr. Sullivan. Bat tLenat
full alid satistactorv' work on America geo-
graphy hitherto given to the pubfic, is diit'
by tlie Kev. Dr. Morse, whose talents, »al,
and industry^ in colbx-ting and digests; 3
large amount of information on tfab subjed,
are well known both in Kurupe ami Anxrica,
aiKl have befTi ver}' houounj>ly nnnnkdb;
])ublic patronage.
" The geographv of South America, tboui
£ir fr«m being so iuHy and accaratdy wHs-
stood as coQMt be wk^hetly has yet been moc^
investigated and made kBo%-n dnring tbebt
asje. At an eariy period of tk» ceniHn in
Ulloa, who \i as l>efore mentioned, \>kediid
spent much time in Peru, Chili, the kii^loa
of New Granada, and several of the pro*
viaces Iwrderihgon the Mexican gulf. At
the same period, awl in the same part of tfae
New World, Messrs^ Condamine, Goda.
and BouflTucr, travelled for several years, ad
communicated to the public a grert>T:riey
and a very valuable amount of^infonnatkB
respecting the inferior of those txias^st
countries. The travels also of Cattanwi
Hehus, and Dobrit^holfer, in P^nrand hnt-
guay: of Bancroft and Stedman, in Guias;
of jcSmiateur, in Cayenne ; of donMofiaa,]*
Chili ; ancl of Falkner, ifi Patagonia, hrt
contributed greatly to eidarge the sphere of
our knowledge respecting the southern fiTJ-
sion of this wi.'sterh continent. Don Maks-
yina, before men(iono<i, made an exceBeat
survey of the coast, iroin Kio de la Pfafats
• Panaina. But the best geographical nc*
ever published of a lasge p«Fli«n of Soul))
America is e\Iubited m the Mapa Geop-
pliica del America Meridional, pubrahed ia
1775, by dou Juan de la Cruz, geographo
to the king of Spain."
•'At the beginning* of the period under T^
view, tlierc was scarcely a map in exfsteatt
of any, part of the American continent tiat^
deserveid the name. Since that time abnosi
every known part^aad es{)ecially the United
States, have been delineated with accunc;
and neatness. N«J general map ot the l/iitfll
States, tliat can be called correct^ has vet
been published. 'Ibat of Arrow smith is the
bestj^suMi is highly re»pcctabhu But.goc^
MIXLER^S HBTR08PECT OP THE EIGHTEENTH CENTUHT.
72S
rwaps of most of the individual fjtates have
l been presented to the public. Of these the
r following is an unpcrfet*t li^t:— Ntw Hanip-
i «hire, by Hollaud ; Verniont, by Whitelaw ;
r.HhcKle 'Island, by, Harris; Connecticut, by
I Blodget; Pe*niisylvania, bv Scult; and by
K HoweU ; Maryland and Delaware, by Crit-
iiitlis; Virginia, by Fry and Jefferson ; the
L country west of the Alleghany Mountains, by
r Hiitchtns, Imlay, Lewis, and Williamson ;
I North and South Caroliaa, by Mouzon,
t purcell, and others ; and Kentucky, by
'••Bai-kcr/'*
The tenth chapter concemirig the fine
•arts is ill eK.ecuted : there is a deficiency
jof information concerning tliose who du-
ring the preceding century have excelled
iu art : there is still less power of appre-
ciation and «ki lU Hi assigning to each artist
and critic his relative rauk in the scale of
excellence. Goetlie has superintended a
periodical work, which offers a vast sup-
plement of materials h) this line.
A peculiar chapter is consecrated to
physiognomy j \t should have been classed
witli tlje natural history of man, with ana-
tomy, physiology, and the medical sci-
ences. Dr. GalC tke new quack in tliis
line, is not raeationecL Natural science
will be a gainer by the enquiries which
4ire instituted for -the purpose of reducing
io just limits tlie daring pretensions of socH
itien.
The first section of tke fifteenth chaj)-
ter considers the English language. Ad-
disoju is bepraised with traditional servility^
Ve are toW (p. 296) tliat he displayed
•" precision in the use of terms.'' Tliere
is not any Eoglish writer of note, who
more carelessly follows the accidental vi-
cious usage of his own time : a vast pro-
portion of his words have shifted their
iignilicatioiis, and offend as improprieties.
We are told, secondly, that '* the harsh ca-
dence and the al^rupt close were carefully
excluded from bis pages. " There are few
modem writers^ ^hose sentences sq fre-
quently terminate with a mere preposi-
tion, an q/*, a to, or an on i(Jly kngtheoed
into upon. We are 'told, thirdiy, that *' he
deserves to be ranked among the most
meritorious reformers of our language."
Addison made no reforms, no innovations,
as all great writers have done. Dryden
long preceded Addison iu tlie sau^ }i^e of
pibse-writtng, and composes with more
purity and precision^ with more ease and
simplicity. *
Pope's Homer is mischievously praised :
it gives a thoroughly perverse idea of the
original : the fine versification is no apo-
logy fox the total transformaiion of spirit
and manner. Cowpej's Homer (to the
- account of which in our first volume, p.
538, we may venture to refer) surpasses
Pope's; yet even Cowper has in other
countries been excelled.
Among our historians, who pass in re-
view in the seventeenth chapter, honour-
able mention ought to kive been made of
Orme.
The third volume begins with a twen«
tieth chapter allotted to the discussion of
the poetical achievements of the age. The
short paragraph consecrated to American
poetry deserves transcriptioii.
" No poet of reputation had appeared in
Amerira ]>rioc to the eighteenth century.
But since the commencemeot of this period,
the westera hemisphere, and especiallv that
part of the continent denominated the Cnited
States, lias given birth to several poets of re-
suectable character. Among these the rev.
Dr. Dwiglit, beforemeatioui.'dj holds a distin-
^guished place. His Conquest of Canaan,
though a juvenile performauce, and labour-
ing under several disadvantages, contains
much excellent versiiicatioQ,t and, m general
correctness, has not been of^eo exceeded.
Greeudeld Hill, a moral, didactic, and de- '
. scriptive poem, by the same author, is also
entitled to considerable praise, for exhibiting
pure and elevated sentiment, ju»t principles,
and beautiful descriptions, ui harmonious and
excellent verse. The M*Kingal!of Mr. Trum-
bull was mentioned in a former page, as doing
high honour to -tlie talents of its author. The
Virion of Columbus, and other poems,- by
Mr. liariow,' are possessed of much poetic
merit. To these mav b^ added the various
productions of Mr. llumphreys, Mrs. Mor-
ton, Dr. Ladd, Mr. Freneau,- and several
others, who, though for from being wOrthy of
a place among the first class of poets,* In vj
}^t majujfested talents 4ioUourable to them-
selves ayd their country, and have been no-
ticed with respect by foreign as well as do- -
mestic critics.
'* From thestatemeik coi:rtaibed in the last
pai-agixiph, it appears that New England,
and particularly the state of Connecticut, has
been more distinguished by the production of
pQc^ieal genius, than any 'otlxer part of our
* To this liist may now be added a large and elegant Map of the state ,of New- York, pub-
lished in 1803, by Simeon de Witt, estj., survryor-general. Tliis map does its autlior great
jiononr; and is, probably, Uie best dehneation that has yet J^ccu given of any part of our
country.
fThis is tlie opinion of Dr. Darwin, expressed ia a note to liis celebrated poem, The
726
MISCELtANlES.
country. Of the few poets to which North
Amenca has given birtOi several of the most
eminent are natives of that state."
Why does America, a new country and
90 far /adapted for peotical purpose, not
evolve her proportion of poets ? For tiie
same reason that Alexandria produced no
eminent Gree^ poet. The writers, in-
stead of copying from nature, copy from
art. They have a stock of models with
, which they endeavour to vie ; whereas
they should paint directly from the phe-
nomena before them, without heeding the
track of European art. The most endur-
ing popularity has been acquired by Shaks-
peare, who was little indebted to books.
Of the book- made poets, ^Ftlton, and
those who attended to Greek and to Ita-
lian art, have been most admired. Ger-
man poetry, which is the best of the pre-
sent century, has been chiefly indebted to
the Greek and to the Itdlian schools. The
Latin and French poetry, which Drj'den,
Pope, and the modem English have imi-
tated, is less picturesque and poetical ; it
deals in allegory, in wise morality, in neat
and condensed expression, but not in the
lively delineation of natural Scenery and
manners. Dwight was formed by the
study of Pope's Iliad, and versifies like
Darwin, with all the stiftness and mono-
tony of the successive borrowers of Pope's
patent moulds.
On the subject of literary associations
our author communicates novel informa-
tion.
" Hie formation of literary and scientific
associations in the United States began to
take place in the latter half of the eigliteenth
century. Within that period many useful
societies have been instituted which deserve
some notice. The principal of these are the
follawins :
*' 1. Societies and Academies of Arts and
Sciences. Of this olass tiiere are several.
* The American Philosophical Siiciety, held
at Philadelphia, for promoting useful know-
ledge,' was instituted in January 1769. It
was formed by the union of two smaller so-
cieties, which had for some time existed in
that city, and has beei ever since continued
on a very respectable footing. This society
has published four quarto Volumes of its tranv
actions, containing many ingenious papers on
literature, the sciences, and arts, which ex-
hibit American talents and industry in a fa-
vourable light. Over this institution have
successively presided, Benjamin Franklin,
David Rittenhouse, and Thomas Jefferson.
The American Academy of Arts and Sci-
«ices, held at Boston, was established in
May 1780, by the council and house of re-
presentatives of Massachusetts, ' for promot-
ing the knowiedgf of the aiftiqintiet ef Amer
rica, and of the natural history of the country ;
for determining the Yises to wliich its variota
natural productions might be applied; for
encouraging medicinal discoveries^, matheoo-
tical disquisitioDii, philosophical inquicips a.Ki
experiments, astronomk*al, meteoreiogLcil,
' and geographical observations, and imnroTe*
menls in agriculture, manu&cture:>, aoa com-
merce ; ami, in short, for cultivatiiig everr
art and science which may tend to advafici
the interest, honour, dignity, and happ'mea
of a free, independent, and virtuous people.*
This academy has published one quarto vo-
lume of its transactions, and several parts of
a second, which will probably soon he com-
pleted. Tlie contents of its respective puhR-
cations afford a very honourable specimen of
learning and diligence in the members and
furnish ground for expectations of still tjrwter
utility. The gentlemen who have presidrf
over' this asdoeiation are J. roes Bowaom,aiid
John Adams. The Connecticut Acaderoj of
Arts and Sciences was formed in 1799| at
New. Haven, * for the purpose of enctwiraging
literary and piiilosophical researches in ^en^
ral, and particularly for invej^i^tiiig the na-
tural history of that state.* 'I'his sorietv has
existed so short a time, that no pulrfication of
its proceedings, of any extent, coukl yel be
reasonaMy expected. ' "^I'lie gentleman first
elected presioent, and who yet remains in
that office, is the rev. Dr. ThnoUiy Dwight,
president of Yale college.
2. Historical Society. The only associa-
tion of this kind in the United States is iq
Massachusetts. It was instituted in the be-
ginning of the year 1791, and the late rev.
Ur. Belknap^ the honourable judge Ti:<Jor,
and the rev. Dr. Eliot, are more entitled to
the honour of being called its founders than
au3r other individuals. 'ITie design of thi^ as-
sociation IS to collect and preserve all docu-
ments,, either manuscript or printed, wbicb
have a tendency to throw light on the natu-
ral, civil, ecclesiastical, or literary hiator)* of
America. It has already made ven' large
and valuable collections, an iniportant'portioa
of which has been laid before the public, aad
it bids fiir to be one of the most useful insti-
tutions in the country.
" 3. MHical Societies. .Prior to the rf-
voltition which made the United States free
and independent the physicians of that coud-
try afforded little instruction or aid to each
other. Scattered over an immense territory,
seldom called to confer togetlier and com-
pare opinions, and little habituated to the
task of committing their observations to
writing, each was compelled to proceed al-
most unassisted and alone; Soon afler the
confusion and devastation of war had given
way to the arts of peace, attentpts began to
be made to remedy this serious evil. Asso-
ciations for tlie purpose of improvinj^ medical
science were soon fonned, not 6nly in Phila*
ddphta, which had lieeu for some years the
teat of a medical school; but in almost every
miller's retrospect op the SIOHTEBNTH CENTURt.
727
state ill the iinioft. Few of these societies
h JVC made very large or important publica-
tions; but they have produced many last-
ing advantages to the individuals composing
them, and to the interests of tlie healing art.
They have brought phvsUians to be acquaint-
ed witli each other. They have coUecte<l a
large miss of facts, liints, 'observations, and
iiK|niries, wliich, if not always ^iven to the
vorld, cn^stitule a source of improvement
to the associates themselves. They have in-
stituted annual oraiions, uhich, in various
\va\ a, tend to i)romote their primary object.
lliey have issued prize questions, and bc»-
#towed premiums, which awaken dormant
|>owers, ami excite a laudable spirit of emula-
tion. In a word, they have contributed to
raise the practice o4* medicine in America
from a selii^h and sordid trade, to a liberal,
digiiilied, and enlightened profession.
** 4. Agricultural Societies. Associations
for the promotion of agriculture and tlie auxi-
liarv arts and s^ience^i, while they have been
iniiltipiitxl iu every part of the scientitic
worl(l, have also, duriwg the latter half of the
last century, hecon)e nuiu^ous in America.
Thi-re is scarcely a state in the union in
%vhich an inNtitution of this kind has not been
established; and in some of the states there
are more than one. The most conspicuous
and -utive of thi-se associations are those
c^lahlished in Ma?>^achusctts, New York, and
Pennsylvania. Tb.at in New York, denomi-
nated the Society for promoting Agriculture,
Art*, and Manutactures, has been particularly
di^tingu!shed, and, it is Indieved, is the only
i>ne oi this nature in the United States which
has made a regular publication of its proceetl-
ings, and of the principal memoirs commu- .
nicated bv its members. The useful ert'ects
of these Institutions are undeniably creat in
irarious parts of the country, l^hey liave ex-
cited a spirit of inquiry, experimeiu, and*di-
lij?rnce, in agri«-ultural pur^^uits, among a con-
siderable portion of the citizens; they have
contributed to raise the dignity and i'mport-
anct- of agriculture in the |xipular opinion ;
tiiev liave'collected fads and diKtrines, from
dillerent di'striets, for more full trial and sa-
tisfactory com))ari'Jon ; and if they have en-
con rageil in any ca^es a dis]>osition for spe-
ciilativt' and visionary fanning, they have
proiriO!«t!, in a «^till greater degree, practical
suid vahiaiile improvements."
Might it not be wise for the varioua
provincial assoiMations of North- America
t6 form one commou wrmuittee by dele-
gation^ and to reprim in the form of na-^
tional transactions the better memoirs
scattered in their separate local collections
of dissertations. Provincial is not na-
tional, nor is national European rank ; but
there are persons whose effusions only il-
lustrate a province, when they might il-
lustrate a country. The separation of the
burned iu^ local clubs may be favourable-
to the difiusion, kit it tends to' ccmoeai
tlie intensity of the information possessed.
From a passage at p. 113, one learns thai
Dobson's edition of die fincydopsedia
Britannica published at Philadelphia con*
tains much intelligence respecting the
United States, which does not 0(j6ur io
the English edition. The twenty-sixtli
chapter, which treats of the nations lately
become literary, communicates also, but
with more detail than would be here de-
sired, many curious particulars of the rise
and progress of instruction in North- Amee-
rica.
On the whole this work comprehend!
a great mass of information, conveniently-
arranged and sufticiently proportioned. If
there is little originality, there is little par-
tiality of esdmate. If insignificant names
are too often introduced, this at least im^
plies an approach to completeness. If
leading names are too rapidly passed by,
this at \etuft implies an independence of
authority. In general we have wished to
hear more of the result, and less of the
business of investigation : one forgets the
main action, as in a German play, amid
the multiplicity of the actors. The theo-
ries of science which have arrogated re- ,
pute, the works of art which have asserted
reputation, should form the links of in-
terest in literary, history: they are the
events which the characters are employed
in producing. Unless these are made the
subjects of narration, one obtains but a
biographical catalogue instead of a con-
nected chronicle. Civil history would
want its most powerful charm, if military
affairs, senatorial meetings, naval enter-
prizes, diplomatic pt'oceedings, ecclesi-
astical persecutions, and popular seditions,
were treated singly : if one skipped from
Marlborough to Frederic and to Bpna^
parte ; from England, to Sweden, to
Paris, and to Poland; from Rodney to
Nelson j from the peace of 17t)3, to ih%
peace of Amiens ; from the Siei'ra Mo-* .
rena to Wexford; and from Boston to
Versailles ; without attending to the pr4
paratory causes and connective circum-
stances of die several incidents. This
concatenation is also to be desired in the
literary historian : without it his figures
form a file rather than a grbupe, a crowd
rather than a band : he' should know how
to detect, in each web of inquiry, the
main tlircjid of pursuit, the chief knot of
dif!icnilty, and should bring out his cham-
pions in prop(3rtion to their zeal or skill in
contributing to that specific unravelment.
Mr. Miller miglit have uafused mure laf
7
j^s
MISCELLANIES.
the body-spirit of each sect ef students
into hi8 account of their occupations. But
it were ungrateful to require perfection,
where so much has been performed : it is
flattering tu E\xro^ that the celebrity of
her authors should so speedily cross to
Atlantic ; it is honourable to AmeTi«
that her curiosity should be so alert aul
so comprehensive. Mr. Miller bas (fe-
served well of both worlds.
Art. VTI. — Essai/^ on varWTis Subjects. By J. Bi gland. Juthor of Reficciiom on the
Resurrection and Ascension of Christ : — Letters on the Studt/ and Use of ancient oki
modern History i^-imd of Letters on the modern History and poiiiical Aspect of Earope^
S vols. 8vo.
• CONTRARY to the usual pnfctice of
writers, who are commonly studious to
apologize for the defect, and enhance the
iuerit of their performances, by represent-
ing the difficulties under which they have
laboured, and the discouragements to
which they, are exposed, Mr. Bigland s
remarks admit the tacility of the species
of composition in. which he has been en*
gaged, and its claims to a favourable re--
ception from the public, from the novelty
and variety which it always admits, and
the exercise and the entertainment which
it furnishes to the mind, by suggesting to-
pics of tliought, unattended by wearisome
investigation, and which may be pursued
or laid aside at pleasure. Much of these
remarks is undoubtedly true. Yet in this,
as in many other cises, some seeming ad-
vantages or facilities are balanced by op-
posite inconveniencies and obligaiions.
Want of profundity must be compensated
by variety aiid liveliness- of thought, and
poli&li of diction: light materisds must
receive their value from tlie elegance of
tlie texture into which they are formed.
The essayist, in short, must listen to the
caution which Horace gives to the writer
of comedy :
*' Cretlilvir, ex medio quia res arcessit, ha-
bcru
Siidoris nimium; scd liahetComcediatanto
Plus oneris, quanto venia: minus."
.These remarks, however, have been
only incidentally suggested by the obser-
vations of Mr. Biglaud*s preface, atid have
no peculiar application to his own per-
f(>rinauces, which certainly possess intrin-
sic merit, and will afford entertainment
and instruction to a numerous class of
readers.
llie subjects treated in the first volume,
are — the universal pursuit of hsrppiness —
the absurdities of moral writers — ^the con-
solutions of religion in temporal difficul-
ties— national esiahlisliments in religion —
univer:»al libertj' of conscience— ecclesi-
astical emoluments — the causes of the
diversities of religious opinions, and the
iiiducemcut which is thecce afibrded to
mutual toleration and universal charitr—
education — ^popular superstitions, oraeas,
ghosts, and apparitions, scenery, &:c.— ia
the estimation of character, and their mo-
dification by circumstances — the know*
ledge of mankind.
Our limits will not permit us to acooiD-
pany the autlior in his investigation of
eacli of these topics ; we siiall therefore
advert to a few of the most remarkable.
T!ie second essay, on the abfsurditie* of
moral writers, veil exjKJses the folly of
some declaimers (pardonable perhaps in
(he poet, but ine&casable in the moralM
or philosopher) who descant at (hetF
ease, and with tlie utmost tranquilli-
ty on the pleasure and ad\7»Dtages of
porverty. Poverty, imder a proper re-
gulation of the princij)les and feelings,
is cei-tafnly a state from which content k
not excluded, but to talk of its peculiar
privileges and blessings, is an insult to the
feelings of the sufitrrer, and to the comr
mon sense of mankind.
The subject of the third essay, on tf»
consolations afforded by religion in adver-
sity, admits perhaps of little originalitr.
The views which it presents, are just and
pious, such a^ the understanding admits,
while itis difficult, however desirable, to
impress them on the heart. '
The fourth, fifth, sixth,' and seventji
essays, are devoted to topics of consider-
able importance, both in a tlieological,
moral, and political point of view, die
propriety of national establishments of re-
ligion, witli tlie connected subjects of lif
berty of conscience, and mutual cliaritj
and indulgence amidst diversities of senti-
ment wh ich are imavoidable. It will here
be sufficient to state the opinions main-
tained by tlie author. The field is wide,*
and the full investigation of it scarcely
falls within the province of an essayist.
The position on which the argument is
made to rest, is the essential ioiporiance
of religion to the preser\-ation of .social
order, fi-om which the author deduces the
propriety of its superintendence by the
civil mx^istrate, the appointed guardian at
natioQal interests. Bayle has contest^'d
BIGLAKD*8 Et8AT8 OM VAnOVl SUBJECTS,
?«
Jhe former of these proposittoos, and with-
out relinquishing any of his reverence for
the religious principle^ as important to the
personal character of tlie' individual, it
may perhaps be admitted by tlie sincere
advocate of cliristiauity, that too much
stress lias been laidi on this view of tlie
fubject. The degree of virtue which is
requisite tor the preservation of public
Drder, is in fact very moderate, and such
as the habits of social intercourse in a
civilized country, and the salutary execu-
tioivof good temporal laws are commonly
sufficient to produce. We believe that
among the Chinese, with all the absurdi*
ties of their pagan tlieology, theft and
murder are as rare as in the communities
of Kurope, and if they cheat, with little
pcruple^ the strangers who come among
them, tliey are not perhaps much more
guilty than the Europeans who make the
slavery of tlie unprotected African a sub-
ject of trafHc, and riot on the produce of
his tears aud groans. The importimce of
religion to tlie individual character, is a
subject of perfectly different .considera-
tion ; and it U also evident that the uni-
versal prevalence of christian virtue, if
tJUch a state is to be hoped for, would pro-
duce a modification of society as far supe-
rior to the present, as a principle of active
cliarity is nobler and more beneficial than
a rigid rule of justice, which furnishes no
higher reference than to the decisions of
htiman and positive law..
Too little seems also to be conceded to
the power and evidence of religion when
it is supposed to be incapable of maintain*
ing its existence among men, unless sup»
ported by extraneous ?id. But we are
forgetting the limits which we had pre-
scribed to ourselves. Returnnig there-
fore from tliis digression, we proceed to
«tate, tliat with the character of a temper-
ate advocate for national establi?>hments
of religion, Mr. Bigiand unites that of an
enlightened and zealous Rupj>()rter ()f uni-
versal liberty of conscience, who will
yield not only justice and freedom from
civil molestation, but chiirity and friend-
ship,, to those diversities of speculative
opinion, which are inmuitably connected
"w ith the operation of thought, and exer-
cise of enquiry.
The eighth and nintli essays relate to
the ijubject of education. In the former,
the advantages and disadvantages of pub-
lic and private cdncalicm are balanced
against eacli other, and the sc^jile snppofjed
to preponderate in favour of the latter.
The succeerling essay is employed in de-
^neating aud reconunending a plan of uav
tional instruction. If however the peopto
are sufBciently enlightened to estimate the
importance of edifcation, its objects will
perhaps be better Mtained by their volun*
tary exertions, than by any system subject
to the controul of government, aiid ex*
posed to tliose inconveniencies and de-
tects, which are usually incident to the
piinute departments of great public plans.
The subjects of the six following essays
are nearly connected, relating to va-
rious modes of popular superstition,
astrology, omens, apparitions, and the
supposed arts of sorcery. It may per-
haps be doubted whether a person can
now be found, of education sufficient tq
feel any inducement to the perusal of
these pages, who will need to be fortifiqd
by their arguments against the influence
of the superstitions which they condemn.
Yet as some of our recent popular writers
have not presumed to treat with absolute
unbelief, the doctrine of apparitions, it'
may not be useless tp combat their argu-
ments, however contemptible in the eye
of reason.
Tlie fourteenth is a very sensible essay
on the estimation of characters, and their
modification by circumstances. The fol-
lowing reflections on the character of
Becket are just, diough not altogellier
new:
*' The characters and conduct of Henry
II. and his inflexible opponent, arclibishop
Ueclcet, so far as relates to their celebrated
contest, have not^ perhaps, been clearly re*
presentetl by histonans, por iiistly. estimated
bv many of their readers, 'rhc conduct of
the arcHbishop is always exhibited as a com-
plete specimen of over^bcailng haughtiness
and unparalleled obstinacy. Ot lliese irajiu-
tations, that celebrated prelate cannot, in-
deed, be exculpated by the voice of impar-
tial judgment. The cause he undertook,
however grounded on canonical institutions
and establislied customs, was in the eye of
reason and morality' unjust; but considerable
allowances are to be made for the times in
which he lived. That was an age in which
the church was in the zenith of its power, and
high church notions prevailed in Uieir fullest
amplifK-ation and ffreatest extent. The ex-
altation of the ecclesiastical above the secu-
lar authority was the favourite maxim ot the
clercry, ancf the principal object in the view
of tlip dignitaries of the church. Ambition
was Iieiket*s ruling nassion, superiority and
fanu* tlie objects iit nis pursuit. He had in-
listed under the banners of the church, and
was determined to support the interests,
maintaui the prerogative's, and increaf^e, or at
least conlinn the authority and intlueiKe of
the party he had espoused. This he did with
an inllexible coliraire and a perscverini; reso-
lution, wliicJ^, m sach a cause wen*, iu tliat
736
MTSCELLAME5.
age, calculated to procure him dwtmction and
celebrity. The honours with whith he was
received on tlie continent, are demonstrations
ot the high esteem in whicli hh undaunted
fortitude was held. His sentimeuts diid ideas
naturally elevated, sccni to have been some-
what intluenced by the bigotry of the thnes,
but his vitws were grand and extensive. He
occupied the seconrl station in the kingdom^
«nd could not bear the conlroul even of
royalty. His ambition prompted him to ren-
der the regal power subservient to his own
authority. Martyrdom v?as in those age«
thouglit the highest honour, and he was less
desirous of avoiding the >uii'eringp than of ob-
tainmg the glor}-. In his w hnle history, set-
ting prejudice aside, we discover the' great
man, although we cannot avoid lamenting the
pervt'i-sion of such splendid talents to such
pernicious purposes. A dauntless courage,
an inflexible perseverance, elevated ideas,
and a determined resolution joined to a bound*
less ambition, constituted his character ; and
his mind w:is evidently formed by nature for
every thing that was gieat. I'ho circumstances
of the times unfortunately gave to his great
abilities a wrong directioi^; and he rushed
upon his fate, after having; employ\:d a tur-
bulent life in dislurbini* the hanquillity of the
kingdom as well as of the church."
It 19 no unpleasant or uninstructive em-
ployment, alter having studied tlie history
of such a man as Beckct in a protest ant
autl)or, to turn to a catholic murtyrology,
and observe tlu; different colouring which
is given to the same actions, and with what
equal zeal and contidence the same man.
-who is stigmatized b^ his eoemies as «
rebel and a traitor, is by h'ls friends vene^
rated as a saint, and admired as a hero.
The succeeding essay on the knowledge
of the world, likewise ftimi^ihes many just
and valuable reflections.
The subjects treated in the second vo-
lume are the following : on frientUhip, on
company, solitude, and retiremerit ; oa
induMtiy and genius > on the passion fur
posthumous fame ; on the right ordering
of the mind 5 on religious melancholy ; on
the formation and combiomion of ideas*
on the advantages of a weil-cnltivated
mind 5 on exercise j on a city and countrf
life j pn emigration and colon izatioo ; oa
the advantages resulting from the use of
letters , on tlie construction of langu^
and the diversity of style ; on the finequeot
absurdity of human prayers ; on optimism^
on the manner in which near and remote
expectations operate on the mind.
The essay on a city and coxintiy life b
illustrated by the introduction of a tale,
a mode of composition in which, we chink,
Mr. Bigland does not appear so advantage-
ously as in his character of an essayist.
These essays are, on the whole, marked
by a philosophical and unprejudiced spirit
of investigation on all subjects, and more
especially by just observations on hurasQ
lif« and manners, neither trite and trivial
on the one hand, nor, one the other, ro-
mantic and paradoxical. The st^^le is oona-
raonly easy and elegant.
Art. MU. — Fr^rr Ovftpntntiont nn the SertfimenU and Condu<'( rrnuinte in a British PriiKt
in OrdtT to mtrit tk^ JUvourahU Opinion q; llu; Puhlic, By John Akdri-ws^ L. L. D
8vo. pp. 17b.
NONE is so difficult to characterize as
the ni< re gcntlemcm, wh:> presents him-
self at the right time, pays his compli-
ments to every one as is their due, talks
with the ladies and the men wUh equal
ease, pleasure, and propriety, and obtains,
at retiring, that general smile of com-
placence, which seemed to prophecy the
lamentations of regret, and only stifled
the yawn of inditJerence. It is so with
books. None is so dithcult to characterize
las a regular volume of disquisitions, whicli
at the time when a British prince is be-
ginning to take irifluence over public af-
fairs, converses, with respectful propriety,
about his obvious duties of behaviour in a
manner unaffected, fluent, polished, easy,
and elegant : and yet without any mark-
ed impression of eloquence, energy, .or
purpose. Do, gentlemen- writers, give us
iaolts to find; we enjoy a pretext for
causticity; and always secretly retain t ,
higher esteem for the stimulant and un-
usual, tlian for the quotidian acx-nracy d
regular unexceptional composition.
A liberal frankness pervades this vo-
lume : tliere is, merit in thus talking to a
prince.
. " If subjects acting constitutionally have •
been able to resist inonareiis, these in thtir ■
turn, by standing on the same ground, mil
cerlainfy defeat all unjust opposition.
*' But let an English monarch he persuaded,
tliat unless his views arc manifest!} patridk,
he will, like such of his predecessors as hare
attempted to infHnge the rights of their people,
meet with a sufliciency of mortiiications ta
convince him, tliat duplicity and sinr^cr in*
tentions are in their nature so .perceptiblf.
that no pretences will cover them itom sight.
" The public in this country are hawk-eved
in whatever concerns their liberties. iTie
sentiments inculcated oa En^ishineQ &uai
ANDSSWs'S rXEB niSOVlSITIONS.
7M
hfir infimcy, the lafitade and boldness of
3iind acquired by the free maxims that iu-
iuenct? their education, the freedom of the
)res;5 and of universal conversation, are swch
)arriers, as no other nation could ever boast
jgainst the inimical designs of their rulers.
" The Englisii perceive at once the drift
jf every measure proposed by their governors,
fiistory represents them as cheerfully submit-
ing to those burthens Avhich the necessity of
lines and circumstances imposed upon them,
)ut spurnin;; with indignation demands^ not
equiiite, or made upon them in the wanton-
less of authority.
" We arc stru<k with astonishment at a
)eople who, in the support of their honour, in
•very just cause tliat required and invited
heir exertions, could unreluctantly sacrifice
uch enormous hums, that it ahnost exceeds
;oni prehension how means could be found to
aise tlH»m.
" But our wonder encreases when we re-
ollect that there was a time when tliis same
•eople couKl refuse twenty shiilings to an ad-
iiinistration, the conduct of which they dis-
pproved.
•* England is the only country where such
n inllexibility of patriotinm was ever found,
minoiial liampden ! AVith what regret we be-
oid a noble hit^torian represL-nting the death
•f swh a man as a national deliverance !
low could Charles mistake the character of
people who laid before him such a specimen
lUiieir spirit !
f* This spirit seems the traditional iiherit-
nce of Englishmen. It f< i!o%vs i\wm inse-
arably wherever their name and power ex-
ind: they transport it with them to the fur-
ies t parts of the earth : after as-serting it^ re-
eatedly in thoir own counlr}-, tliey main-
lined it witli no loss ob^inauy in that fatal
ontest which deprived England of America.
" How dangerotis to contend with a spirit
'hich in its uiihappv excesses has produced
0 many masters ! Let us however revere it
5 the parent, under ausj)ic!ous guidance, of
Je noblest exertion.^. Equity aiul iiumanity
re its natural attributes : it is no less atieji-
ve to the preservation of the local rights of
ibjected nations, than to the establisiiment
f freedom at home : it extends its justice
rA compassion equally to the oppressed In-
ian, and the African slave. \\ hat honest
nd prudent prince would att<*mpt the sub-
etsion of this invincible spirit, and of the
rinciples on which it isfounded^ both so lonq
nd profoumllv rooted in the mind of so en-
^htened and lirave a nation r
*' ft is chiefly ara©ng a people of this dt*-,
riulion, that a monarch wiU meet with men
f abilities to second his laucbble measures,
id of resolution to refuse tlieir concurrence
any other. Such only are the men whom
? can safely deem worthy of employment,
le should bear it continually in his' mind,
lat the voice of the nation is decidedly
jainst men of talents without the clearest
'obity, as being but a snare to those w ho
trust them, and that integrity is the main
standard by which to abide in the choice of
a statesman. It is an infi;radient that mH
brighten the most rcsplenoent capacity, and
give weight to the most moderate. In Eng-
land especially, from t\\e native candour and
ingenuous disposition that mark our character^
middling talents, with an uprij^ht heart, are Im
the usual transactions of socie^, held in as
high repute and confidence as tlie most shitt-
ing capacity."
Against this last piece of advice, that
** the voice of the nation is decidedly
against men of talents without the clearest
probity, as being bui a snare to those who
trust them ; and that integrity is the inain
Btandard by which to abide in the choice
of a statesman," we enter our caveat.
Men of probity, without talent, make
worse ministers than men of talent with-*
out probity. Would the mischiefs of the
Addiqgton ministry, which brought on the
present war, have been incurred by men
of talent ? Would the American war have
been incurred by a minister of talent?
T(ie improbity of lord Melville has been
impeached ; but his conduct of Indian
&tfairs, while president of the board of
controul, finds extensive admiration. Lord
Bacon wanted probity; but we owe to
him the union with Scotland. Docs any*
ojae deny to the Frenchman Talleyrand,
the chanjcter of a skilful minister for fo^
reign affairs, of a man really useful to his
country? Hiune justly classes tlie talenCf
among the virtues ; high energies of in-
tellect are much nner dian decorous mo-
rals; when tliey happen unfortunately to
be disunited, one ought to rate highest the
superior powers of utility. Vices do their
mischief to our connexions, in our dwell-
ing-place, during our lives ; but talentj
extend tlieir services to a whole country,
and to a long p(wterity. A ii)an*s good-
ness can serve but a few; hia wisdom may
serve millions.
Another plausible p.Tssage is this ; but
it also wants precision in the criticism of
merit.
" It is a disputable point, which of the tw^
more merits execration, bigotry or ambition.
Ix)ng iii'.d the French reason to curse the me-
mory o\ tiu ir great Lewis, as they once styled
him, for exjielliiig the most valuable of his
subjects on account qf their differing from
him in some points of theology. But to thi^
infatuation h»^ added anotJier, that of being a
compioror: thus he united the two most
d!<^adtul scourges that can afilict human so-
ciety.
** Bio^otry, to use the revohitionary lan-
guage, i)» ilo longer the order of tlie day : biyt
^n
MISCELLANIES.
the thirst of territorial aggrandisement, and
XA doniiiwcring over contjuered nations, is re-
tiimed in all its fury. Beforo tins can be re»
pressed, much detriment will ensue to those
that may for a while be unable to resist its
violence, 'i'hose that are able to repel it,
will probably be sufficiently indemnified for
(heir ex{)ences and exertioiis, bythe J2uml>ers
of useful individuals that will' fly from the
ficenes of pUmder aiKi oppression, i^lere in
all likelihood they will chiefly seek refuge/
where only, for a lengtlj of time, it will ef-
fectually l>e found.
" When a prince beholds, from this happy
»at of jjcace and security, the tempests that
fire raging abroad, he will completely learn
tlje causes that produce happiness or misery
to a people. He will baniiih from his presence
the votaries of persecution, whether iu mat-
ters of church or of state ; and if necessity
compels liim to draw the sword of national
defence, he will return it to the scabbard, the
mninent tliat the honour and interest of the
Itingdom are out of danger.
** He will at the same time be studious to
isake the most of those advantages that neces-
sarilv arise from the confusions raging abroad.
While justice and humanity prevent him from
|>eing accessary to the intestine calamities of
any country," he will embrace eren' lawful
opportunity of reapmg those benefits from
(hem, which, .williont being iniurious to any
|>arty, may prove highly serviceable to hu
i^wii people'
• Here, at tlie begiiming of the (juotatioQ,
ambition is enamerated atnotig tiie tic«i.
On the contrary, it is a virtue in a'priTats
man, in a soverei^, a;id in a nation. In-
dividual merit vegetates useless and un-
known without ambition. Soverdgu
slumber in deedless uisigniiicance witimt
ambition. Nations lose lUeir relative laak
without ambition. It is the principle of
gtxAvth in individuals and corporations:
when ambition ends, decay begins. Some
fonns of merit, some claims to excellence,
are constantly making their escape; others
must be pursued and evolved to atone and
to replace them. To youth and grace Iq
tlie individual should succeed strength and
acquirement : tlie sovereign should Icsyv
his country as he would an estate, stocked
witli a more numerous, or a braver, or a
wealthier, or a wiser tenantrj : the nation,
which is not compassiig aggrandizement,
is accepting ruin. This trutli tlie writer
intuitively feels, and in his conclndii^ pa-
ragraph in fact gives a lessoo of anabition.
The turH of this volume is in one re-
spect ingenious : it chiefly inculcates those
virtues which are known to inliabit Carl-
ton-liouse ; and while it professes to be
sketching ^ priuce af he should be,\l is ia
fact dehneatlng the prince tfs he is. The
idea of perfect conduct iiere recommended
has not to await the creation of futurity ;
it is nearly real^ed already.
Art. IX- — Imprffpements in Edncation, as it. respects tfie industrious Classes of the C»
mujiitt/^ containing, among other itnimrtaut Piifticuiars, an Account of the Instituii!*^
. Jor the E^H^ation of one Tliousand poor Children, Borovghrroad, Sonthzvark; eudf'
the new System of Educatiou on xahich it is condwcted. By Joseph X^akcastuk.
Svo.pp. ?ll.
WE noticed the first edition of this
work in our second volume (p. 45 1 .) with
due praise. The tract has now swoln to
a volume j and, as Mr. Lancaster's insti-
tution has attracted so much attention, it
is expedient in us to enter into a farther
account of improvements which deserve
to be generally adopted.
Jn the year 1798, Joseph Lancaster
(who is a member of the very respectable
society of quakers) opened a school for tlie
instruction of poor children in reading,
writing, arithmetic, and tlie knowlajge oi
the Holy Scriptures, at tlie low price of
fourpence per week. The number of his
scholars varied from ninety to a hundred
and twenty. When he met with a child
■whose parents were unable to pay this
little pittance for his instruction, he ad-
mitted him gratuitously. But these free-
Scholars became numerous ; it was evident
tliat many others stood in need of the
same charity, and two of Mr. Lancasteri
friends, who- were in the habit of pajdi^
for the education of poor children, as-
sisted him in forming a small subscription
for this purpose. *' ITie subscription was
quite of tlie nature ©f a contract : of ctctj
guinea subscribed, iifteen shillings fer a&^
num was considered as the price of esck
cliiid's education ^ and the remainii^ ^
shillings were to be experujed in books^
rewards, and school c^qiences."
Mr. Lancaster knew of no other modet
of tuition than those usually in practice,
of which he had a practical knowledge ;
and at tirst he retained an assistant. As
the subscription enabled him to increase
the number of scholars^ he made txvsnj
experiments as to the luetiiod of teach^
tliem; some of course pfoved useless i '* ia
other cases," he says, " I have often goss
the wrong way to work, and accidexitailj
stombled on the very object I was in quo^
'lAl^CASTER^ft IMPROVEMENTS /N BOlTCilTIQir..
7si
6f. The result has been a new and effi-
cient system of education j the principle
of which is noi only adapted to large ma*
^ufacturing districts, but, with little varia-
tion in the mode of applying it, to all the
poor (jf the country, and to village schools/'
Tlie duke of Bedford and lord Somcr-
ville were tlie first persons who saw tlie
importance of his improvements. They
"Were the first who visited his institution,
and entered closely into its details 5 and,
bad it not been tor tb(nr repeated, timely,
and liberal assistance, its success would
not have been so rapid. They began a
subscription for enlarging bis school- room,
and their names appear to every subscrip-
tion for tlie farther extension of his plan.
In the spring of IdCM, the school consisted
of 350 boys under his single care ; a sub-
•criptioa was opened for doubling the
number, and lhi« was done in six w^eks
without occasioning the slightest disorder.
They are to be increased to 1000, when
the funds are sufficient. Two hundred
iris arc educated upon the same plan by
Jr. Lancaster's sisters -, they ^re to be in-
creased lo 300, and a subscription is also
4>{X'aecl for traini ng youth as sciioolmasters
upon this method.
Mr. J^aucaster's improvements consist
in saving time, saving tools, and making
one part of the boys instruct the others.
" I'he whole school is arranged in classes ;
a monitor is apjjuiiitcd to each, who is respon-
sibk for the cleaiirmess, order, and improve-
ment of every boy in it. He is assisted by
boys, either trom his own or another class, to
peffonn part of his duties for him, when the
number is more than he is equal to manage
himst>lf.
** The proportion of boys who teach, either
in reading, writing, or aritimietic, is as one to
ten. In so large a school there arc duties to
be performed, which simply relate to order,
and have uo connexion with learning; for
these duties different monitors are appointed.
The word monitor, in this institution, means
any boy that has a charge either in some de-
partment of tuition or of order, and is not
»imply confined to those boys who teach.—
The boy who takes care that the writing books-
are ruled, by machines made for that purpose,
is the monitor of ruling. The boy who su-
perintends tiie enquiries after the absentees,
u called the monitor of absentees. The mo* »
nitors w1k> inspect the improvement of the
classes in reading, WTiting, and arithmetic, are
called inspecting monitors ; and tlieir oflices -
arc indeed essentially diflferwit from that of
the teaching monitors. A bo^ whose business
it is to give to the other momtcirs such books,
&c. as' may be wanted or appointed for the
daily use of their classes, and to gather them
up when d6ne with ; to ««« all th« boyg do
read, and that none leave school without
reaiUng, is called the monitor-zeneral. An-
other Ls cidlcd the monitor of slates, because
lie has a general charge oi" all the slates in tJie.
schot»l.^'
'* 'llie' predominant feature in the youthful
tfisjx^sition is an aUnost irresibtibte prJ)piitsity
to action; this, if properly contmlled by
suitiible employment, will become a valuable
auxiliary to the master; but, if neglected^
will be apt to degenerate into rebellion. Ac-
tive youths, when treated as cyphers, will ge^
nerally show their consequence by exercising
thcmsclvjs in mischief. I am convmccd, by
exptnieiice, that it is practicable for teacher*
to acquire a proper dominion over the minds
of the youth und«?r their care, by directing
those active suirits to good purposes, 'riia
livelmess should never b€ repressed, but di-
rected to useful ends ; and I have ever founds
the surest way to cure a misclaevous boy waft
to make him a monitor. I never knew anj
thhig succeed much better, if so well."
The first class consists of children wha
leam the alphabet. They sit at a desk^
each has a compartment before him filled
with dry sand, and in this they shajje tlie
letter with their lingers. Dr. Bell, of
Madras, is the person to whom Mr. Lan- •
caster is. indebted for this Indian practice.
Dr. Tennaut mentions it in his Indian Re-
creations. Pietro della Valle noticed it
rtwo centuries ago. " That I might profit
by the time which these arrangements re-
quired," sa}'s this excellent traveller, *' I
remained in the -vestibule of the temple,
to look at some children lyho were learn*
ing to read in a very extraordinary man-
ner* which I shall, describe to you as a
very curious thing. They wei^ four iu
number, who had learnt from thetr mas-
ter the same lesson |r and ik)w to i|iculcat«
it perfectly upon tlieir memory, and to re-
peat their former lessons for fear they
should forget them, one of them sung a
line of the less6n ; as» for example, two
and two make four, and in tact a song it
easily learnt. While lie sung this part to
leam it better, he wrote it at tlie samo
time, but not with a pen, neither upon '
paper. Not to consume these needlessly, •
he traced all the characti^rs with his fin-
ger upon the floor wliereon they were'
sitting in a circle, which for tliis purpose
they had covered witli fine sand : after
the first had sung and written his lines in
this manner, the otliers sung and wrote it
also. The fint then began ^in, takmg
the second Hue — as four and four make
eight, and thus they proceeded regularly.
"When the grouiul was covered with their
writing, they smooiheil it witli tlieii handi»A
9Sid V^an agaip ^ cootinuing to do thua ^
734
MISCELLANIES.
doriDg the whole time appointed for their
lesson. These chlldien told me, that in
this manner they learnt to read and write
without paper, without pens, and without
iok. When I asked who taught tliem,
and who corrected them when they were
at fault, as the/ were but learners, and
I saw no master among tiiem -, they re-
plied very reasonably, that it was impos-
sible one difficulty should im^de all four
at once, without their being able to con-
quer it; and that for tliis reason tliey al-
ways practised together, that if one was at
feult, the others might set him right."—
Vol. 7' p- 116. Frencn translation. Rouen,
1745^'
I^etro della Valle clearly «aw the ad-
vantages of this method ; that part of it,
liowever, which consists in setting the les-
aon to a tune, will not be adopted by Mr.
Lancaster. We shall see that tuning is
forewarned by him under a grievous pe-
urlty : yet, though he objects to a tune,
ihymes may be permitted ; and if that
which must be committed to memory
were delivered in rhymes, it would be
more easily learnt, and more readily re-
membered.
The progress of the scholars is facili-
tated by teaching the letters in courses,
according to their form ; those which are
fivmed whdiy of straight lines, Qiose
which are angular, and those which are
circubr or curved. A printed alphabet is
nailed before each bof : this is not con-
sidered as absolutely necessar)' ; ahd in
6ct the alphabets iire ihus employed, be-
C3Dse they were of na otlier use, tNit it
coDtribQtet to expedite their progress.
They look at it invohintarily wliile the
moDitor smooths the sand.
Another method of teaching the alpha-
bet is by a large sheet of pasteboard, \% ith
large letters, suspended from the wall.
The monitor points to a particular letter,
and asks the first boy what it is, who, if
he answers wrongly, is taken up by the se-
cond. The figures are taught in the same
manner.
The second class are taught to spell
ahort words in Uie sand, as the monitor
dictates. They spell also words and "Syl-
lables of two letters upon a card suspended
before them, round, or rather half-round,
which the whde class successively as-
aciBble in subdivisions of twelve.
•* It will be rememb«red, that the usual
anode of teachini; requires every boy to have
a book: yet, eadi boy can only reaid or spell
one lesson at a time, in timt book. Now, all
thi^tiier parts <tf tha book are in wcarj aad
liable to be thumbed to pieces; and, vHS^
the boy is learning a le^on in one part ot the
book, the other parts are at that time u^'eies^
AVhereas, if a spelling-book co.itaiD5 twenty
or thirty different les>ons, aiid it u ere pos-
sible for thirty scholars to read the tluity
lessons in tliat book, it would be et|uivaieik
to thirty books for its otilitv. To etFect liu^,
it is desirable the wliole ot the btx>k sbcdd
be printed three tinies larger than the coiii-
mon size tyj>c, which would make it equal si
size and cost to three common spelling Uooki,
value from eightpence to a shili.ng eadi.
Again, it siiould be printed witli only uoe
paj^ to a leaf, which would again double the
price, and make it equivalent in bulk andcosc
to five or six common boc^s; its diifereQi
parts should thi^n be pasted on pastebcanl,
and sus])ended by a string, to a nail in Uk
wall, or other convenient place : one paste-
board should contain the alphabet ; odics,
words and syllables of from two to six letters.
The readiiig lessons grailuaily rising 6t»ai
words of one sylbble, in the same manner,
till tJiey come to words of five or six Ictteri,
or more, preparatory to the Testament fe»-
-sons. There is a circumstance very >eMiiia
regarded enough, in tiie introductory le^fOK
wliich youth usually ' have to perform belbfe
they are admitted to read in the Testament
A word of six letters or more, being di-vi-dcd
by hy-phens, reduces the syllables, vbicii
compose it to tliree, four, or live letters each:
of course, it is as easy to read syllable^ a*
words of five letters ! and the child, who can
read or spell tlie one, will find the other a»
easily attainable.*'
Two hundred hoys may in this manner
repeat their lessons trom one card in the
coun^ of three honrs.
In the second and sul^equent daoes
each boy has a slate, on which he wxiies
a word as the monitor pronoiuices it.
" The class, by this means, will spell, write,
and read at the same instant of time. In ^A-
dition to tliis, the same trouble which teaches
twent\', will suihce to teach sixty or a hfm-
dred, by eniploj-ing some of the senior boys
to inspect the slates of the others, they nU
omitting to spell tlie word themselves ;' and,
on a signal given by them to the prmcipal
teacher, that the word is finished by aH the
boys they overtook, he is informed 'when to
dictate another to the class. This expeii-
ment has been tried with some hundreds of
children, and it has been found, that thry
could aU write, frcMn one boy dictating tiie
words to be written. The benelit of tiBs
mode of teaching can only be limited by the
want of hearing distinctly the aK>iiitor^»
voice ; for; if seven hundred boys were ail io
one room, as one class, learning the same
tiling, they could all write and ^pdl by thb
metliod, at the dictation of one moDitor. i
appeal to the candour and good sense of every
reader, justly to appreciate the benefit ana
Lancaster's improtements in EDuc*.Tias,
rw
hnportance of this metJiod of teaching. The
repetition of -one word by the mouitor, serves
to rivet it firmly on the' minds of each one
of the class, aud also on his own memory i
thus, ke cannot possibly teach the class with-
out iniproving himself at the same time.
When we reflect, tliat by the advimtage of
thirf invention, a boy who is associated in a
dass of an hundred others, not only reads as
much as if he was a solitary individual under
the master^s care, but he will also spell sixty
or seventy words of four^ylijibles, by writing
them on the slate, in less than two hours:
wlieii this atlditioi»jd nimiber of words spelt
by each boy daily, is takeji into account, the
aggregate will aniount to repetitions of many
thoii^nds of words annually ; when, not a
vrord would be written or spelt, and nothing
clone by n'meteen-twentieths of the scholars
in the same time. Thus, it is entirely an ini-
proveniettt and an introduction to their other
studies, without the least additional trouble
on the part of the teacher ; without any extra
time of^attendaifce' being requisite from the
scholar ; without deran^uig or impeding his
attention to other studies, as is usiially tiic
case wi|h the study of extra lessons ; at least,
more than doubling the advances of each in-
dividual tott'ards a proticiency, at the same
lime ; and, possessing ail these advantages, it
l^revenls idleness, and procures that great de-
sideratinn of schools, quietness, by couimand-
ing attention : for, as it requires much writ;-
ing, but few boys can write and talk at the
came time. In this, nothing is wholly com-
mitted to the pupil or monitor. Some studies
require a degree of mental exertion, that may
or may not be made, and yet the omission
nmiain undetected ; but this^is so visible, tliat
every boj's attention to his lesson may be
«een on his slate ; and detection immediately
£»tio\v3 idleness, or an indiflerentperlomiance!
That a thing so simple iu itself, should abound
with so many advantages, is scarcely to be
supposed at a first glance ; but that it does, I
jun well convinced, by dally experience oi its
utility ; particularly, the improvement it af-
Iprds by so great a practice iu writing.
The same boys who are in one class,
flocording to their proficieacy in reading,
are in another according to their process
in arithmetic. The mode of teaching
arithmetic is so easy, that all the boys who
can read^ and write text-liand in tour let-
ters, are put in tlie first cyphering class.
T]he oftonitor reads to tliem an additioii-
C^le^ and, as he dictates, they write on
their slates. They are grounded in sub'
traction, muUiplicatipn, division, ahd the
pence 3Xid shillings table in tk^ same
manaer.
The next is the simple addition class.
The monitor reads from a book of skims,
ti uam, the manofir of working tt» and the
result ; and the boys write ns he dictates*
Mr. Lancaster's principle is, that " tfm
frequent recurring of one idea^ if simple
and detinite, is alone sufficient to impress
it on the memory, without sitting down
to learn it as a task. By this means,*' he
says, " any boy of eight years old^ who
can barely read writing, and numerate
well, is, by means of the guide containing
the sums, and the key thereto, qualified
to teach the first tour rule^ of arithmetic,
simple and compound, with as much ac-
curacy as mathematicians who may liave
kept school for twenty years j any boy
who can read, can teach, although he
knows nothing about it ; and, in teaching,
will imperceptibly acquire the knowledge
which he commuuiqited, of which he waa
destitute when he began. By this method
every boy is told all he is to do, and his
sole business is to do it so often as to be-
come quite familiar with it The boys
are exercised by standing round^a card on
which a ^um is written, and adding or
ffluhiplying there without assistance ; li#
who makes an error being corrected by
the one below him.*'
The boys are removed from one dass
to another, not at i-egular tinoes, but witen
they are sufficiently qualified ; a method
which excites emulation, and saves much
time. £very removal being thus tl)e ef-
fect of merit is rewarded by a prize. Tl»
hope of reward is tlie maui-spring of Mr.
Lancaster's system } but for the detail of
his prizes, and an account of his order of
merit, we must refer to the work ftselL
The remarks which he makes upoa nobi-
lity, in treating of this order, are utterly
inconsistent with the principles of his so*
ciety. The common school puuishments
he very properly rejects j» it is time, in-
deed, that tiiey were universally rejected;
shame and ridicule are what he substitutes
for corporal paia^ a voke, a sliackle, a
paper-cap. For some oliences the culprit
is nung up in a sack or a basket, while
his fellows smile at the bird in the cage.
If a boy be habitually dirty, a girl is ap-
pointed to wash his faice in sight of the
whole school. He who gets into a sing-
ing tone in reading, and cannot otherwise
be cured, is decorated with matclies and
dying-speeches, aud paraded round the
sclitx>l, while one goes before him imita-
ting the hi^wker's cries. Confinement
after school-hours, by tying to a desk, 99/
that no attendance on the n^ste/s part is
oeoessary, is the heaviest of alL
The order vft^ schopi is adtxur^ble ;
t$6
MISCELLANIES.
a PtiMsian army is not Under more me-
chanical discipline. It b evident, that
without strict method in the minutest
cases, so large a number of boys could not
jKUhibly be managed by one master. To
instance Mr. Lancaster's attention to little
tilings, everyone fastens his slate when
he has done using it, to a nail on the desk
at which he sits) they have therefore
neither to fetch them, nor to put them
away ; and as the slates hang loose, they
are little liable to be broken, because they
tall back if accidentally touched. Every
one slings his hat across his slioulders, as
a soldier would sling his knapsack : witli
eight hundred boys in tlie school, tliis re-
gulation saves sixteen hundred motions in
tlie morning, and as many in the after-
noon; and all mistakes and confusion,
which would else be unavoidable, are pre-
tented.
The school for girls is of later establish-
ment : how tar die s)'stem of tuition and
emulation may be applied to needlework,
and various other branches of industry, is.
ti)e subject of present experiments. Mr.
JLmcaster particularly wishes, in pursuance
of Mr. Corston*s patriotic and benevolent
project, to employ g'u*ls in plaiting split
straw for hats and bonnets, a clean, and
not unhealthy employment ; it is proposed
that tliey should work at this between
three and four hours a day, not longer :
the labour of (X),000 children thus easily
talked, would amount in the }'ear to
300^0001., and this from a tmxidgai
comparatively of little vake.
On the importance of Mr. Lancastci**
iraprorements we need not dwell: tbc
public are aware of it. FiTe-and-thiny
hundred copies of tliis volume havtbeta
subscribed for, and many of the QMstI^
spectable names in the couutiyap|ieiri&
tlie list: and among the contnbatonio
the building, and to the fond for trams^
youth as schoolmasters.
Are not some of tliese imprownsDti
appHcabk to the nidiments of classol
education, so far as tliey economize tinei
Ten or twelve years are too much to bi
devoted only to Greek and Latin; tk
former of which is, in general, but im-
perfectly acquired at last. With more ap-
plication, or better method, in le» time,
liatin might be acquired as&miliarlja
French, and Greek as familiarly as liea.
If some able man would direct his atieu-
llou to this object as perse verii^ly a> ^fr.
Lancaster, he also would confer a puUk
benefit upon tlie country. MeantiiueGK
very useful alteration might be mtdc bi
the concurrence of the head^niasters q(
the public schools, that of alteiicg ocr
pronunciation of Latin, in contbraritj' ta
all tlie other nations of Europe. Whow
has been obliged to converse in Latin with
a foreigner, ihiist have felt the exceediBg
inconvenience of our present method,
which we are sure is the wrong, whaara
may be tiie right one.
Art. X. — Ilarvest'IIome : consisting of supplcmeniart/ Glcanini^.^, original I>ramas al
Poems, CoHtribuiions oflitirary Frietids, and select Re-pubtivaUnns, inciuditig Sympak,
a Poem, rtvised, corrected, find enlarged-
Jn three Folwnes, 8vo.
OF this gentleman's talents wc liave
delivered our opinion in a former volume.
The intellectual is like the natural palate,
and for those readers who have no appe-
tite for plain meat, for wholsome beef
and mutton, Mr. Pratt produces good
dishes of haslied calve's head.
llie first of thchc vohimes consists of
gleanings, as they are called in Hamp-
shire and War\i'ickshirc. Under such a
title any thing may be introduced, and
some good anccxlotcs, and some good pic-
tures in Mr. Pniti's ixxruliar manner, oc-
cur amid a great deal of rubbij»h.
For the strict fidelity of the following
cottage picture, and cottage anecdotes, Mr.
J^att pledges himself J they wUl interest
our readers.
•• Imagine vourself, then, on the green
' \, «hm it is pUtd, as iv ouglU tybe.
From the Ei^iUh Edii'ion. By Mr. Pun.
from its superior beauty, above Its fefe;
yet, though it overlooks, it seems to snik (*
them all. verdure of different kind, and of ra-
iding character, encompasses it round abo|t
iLSchside is covered M^ith laurels, that docfti
evert to tlic roof; and that roof is»wci
thatched, that not an irregular straw defonis
Us in\itii)g st^finess. The cejureis rounsicl
into an arcii of yew, ip^'hich atlbrcls atooKi
pi)ich and an alcove. The caatanecis an: i
the true cottage size and toMstnidion : tk
boiiyof the building is of the tnie cottage c]jy,rf
wliich however, you only see aralt i>atchcs,*
if by stealth, through the intertwislure U tbe
launHs, au trovers, A little garden dec oraa
the front ; a folile slip of orchard-groOT
runs to some length on one side; there i>>
screen of mixed laurel and yew round ibf
well, and a necaly compacted quickset i&flj
femv. llie whole has been gradually aw
abnoA impcrceiitibly borrowed, or, more
tnie to jwak, purloined from the commofl,'
as,, indeeu, has the entire cottagcrj, bit by A
PtLATT'S HARVEST HOKE*
73f
nsomuiii, thai we might fairly say, the pea-
ants aud the proprietors, like oppa$eU ar-
rues, have disputed and maintained their
;roiiud inch by inch ; and, when any new
erritory, which they added to their castles,
cot and cattle are the same things in Eng*
md,) has been reclaimed by one party, the
ther has watched his opportunity to get it
ackwitli some advantages; till their right.
f possession, no longer contended for, is
on^idered- as a good, at least a sufficient
itle;, and on such tenure enjoyed, if not ad-
litted.
" Rut our curiosity on the outside excited
no less dcj^ree of curiosity within. The in-,
abitants of the cottage now came into the*
arden. All the females, and of all ages, from
le grandain to the latest bom. The master
f the mansion was at his labours in the forest.
kxept what remains in dialogue.
" A very pleasant cottage you have here,
ij- friends.
** Yes, \9c have. Sir ; it stands so in the
lelight, answered the mother of the group,
fbose name is Fonder.
" Rather bleak in the winter, I should
car.
*' Cold without, and warm within : and,
ittnding so in the delight,' we can, in
Bodly weather, get peeps at folk going to
/owntoiv and so seeuig company. In win-
ry time we can^ sjiy tliem passing as we sit in
lie cottage. The girls here run about tlie
Jain, and down into the bottom : but, for
ay part, I sometimes do not pass the wicket
or half a year together.
^ " A sigii of being happy at home, Mrs.
londer.
** A true sign, sir, for I am. John Fon-
ler, my husband, did ail of this green work
rkh his own hands ; and, indeed, with help-
Ig of neighbours below, now and tlien,
aade the wiiole cottage what you see it..
Twenty-four years, and upwards, have we
ived under its thatch ; and, by giving us
jood seemings of substance, aud wherev^ ithal
0 get on, has got us credit, at a pinch,
Aimes. And many a day would these chil-
'reh have gone with next'to notliing for tlieir
ini^er, and with nothing altogether as to
upper, but fur tin: gooa-ho killers we have
biwt U9 : for goodly seeming, m tliis way,
ir, gets trust. We crouch , to be sur«, a
ttle on the common, and put fence a little
Jrwarder ; then every now and then 'tis
ulled down : but John Fonder tins with it
gain, so tliat the peoule grew tirca at last :
fe hedge stands, ana thus, by little aud lit-
«, we get on.
** That's a good hearing, Mrs. Fonder;
ftd I dare say you are all of you Uvmg in a
ricndly way, iu that nice nest of cottages
dow.
"Nothing to complain of, as to that; as
eighbourly and ready to do for one another
» any set of bodies any where. Fallings
fttt, now and then, to be siu-e; but soon
Bade up again ; and that« I suppose^ is \h%.
Akk. Eev. Vol. IV.
case every where, as well as in Morgan's
Bottom. Things go cross and wrong all tjie.
world over, and \\Tiy should not we have ouif
share ?"
These volumes, however, do oot con-
tain much of this value } they are filled
with matter as miscellaneous as tlie pages
of a magazine : anecdotes, antiquities,
sentimental ism, prittle-pfaltle, now a de-
scription, DOW a copy of verses, now a
scrap of biography, arranged just as they
come to hand. Yet if Mr. Pratt \vere to
glean from his own glean higs, and throw-
ing away nine-tenths, give us the tithe by
itself, the little volume woiUd be of real-
worth, and sure of a longer existence, than
his shelf of octavos expect or deserve.
Wd know not how to characterize his
peculiar merit better than by saying that
his descriptions are like Barker's pictures.
A singular family of travelling potters
is mentioned, who, though possessed of.
sonie property, lodge by choice in the
open air, summer and winter alike, under
a rude tent, composed of tw^o pieces of
canvas, placed aslant against each other,'
and open at both ends. They took to tliis
Scythian habit of life because the husband
had feeble healdi originally, and found
himself best in the open air -, and tiuis
they have lived six-and- twenty years,
their children having all been born and
bred in tlie tent. Being honest, indus-
trious, and worthy people, they are wtll
respected in their circuit, and made
welcome to their favourite accoinnioda-
tions wherever they go. '
The latter half of the volume relates-
to Birmingham ; a town which flight
furnish some Eni;!i»h Mercicr with mate-
rials without .eiid. Ihe author and his
correspondent"^! r. Mmfitt notice many
of the peculiarities of this remarkable
place J the head -quarters of mechanics
and roguery. The darker shades unin-
tentionally predominate. With respect
to coining, Mr. Morfitt says, that, since
the copper -coinage of Soho, the oppro-
brium of Birmingliam is happily remov-
ed, and honour has succeeded lo infaniy j .
but he confesses, tliat the currency of all
countries is still increased by his speculat-
ing townsmen, who manufecture jf^«^5 for
the English market, black- do ffs foF the
West Indies, sequins for Turkey, and.
pagodas for Bengal. Of the forgod a«-
signats he says, tlvat ' the aim of the fa-
bricator was great, glorious, and patriotic,
being tio less than to demolish the whole
fabric of tlie revolution, by destroy in j^ -
the basis on whicli it rested.* The a;ti8t^
SB
fM
MISCELLANIES.
■ jl seetrin, Wee greater 4ntt1g«cr», jwss dup-
ed by bis agents, and tricked out of Iris
paL\)eT excheqaer by a set of French
swindlers.
Mr. Morfitt passes ovf r with a jest the
Uaost detestable traffic of tlie place.
** You will smile when 1 inform yon that
guns, aye, and good-lookiiig ones too, are
made here at 7s. 6d. each. These, though
ibmiidable iu appearance, liave two small
defects ; the first is, that not being bored,
except about an inch or two from the muz-
rir, they cannot be supposed to shoot very
true ; and the second is, that aotbeing proved
they caonot shoot at all I beg pardon;
fchey. certainly undergo some sort of proofs
tut iK>t by powder, (for that would be too
Toi^h usage,) but by zvatcr, which, if they
are capable of holding, witliout permitting it
to ooze through their pores, they are sufirci-
cntly qualified to discharge their duty; which
is not to idled the blood of man or bea^t, but
4o Aeoorate the habitation of some negro
GhieftaiB. Yet these iastpments, thoudi
harmless and innocent, (except to tlie hick-
less wight wiio siiouki load and fwc them,)
vould be considered as guilty by the friends
of hujuanity, as they arc iiidisputably em-
ployed in the nefarious African traffic, and
bajtcred for human Hesh and blood/'
* Harmless and imioce«t — except to
Hie person who should fire them !' Does
this gentleman suppose that the negn)es
jjnrchase lire-arms only to decorate their
habitations } The go^^emment should in-
'teifere, and interdict tliis nefarious maiui-
^ctory. i
An improvement in^gnn-locks is no-
ticed, which deser\es the attention of go-
vernment. The flint presents every time
fl different angle to the hammer, and
thereby, ins^tead of weariii^nooth, hacks,
itself, and never misses nre. TJiejaws
of the cocker are made to slide on and
cff'f tlie gun can thus instantly be ren-
dered useless if necessary. In case of an
apprehended mutiny, or a surrender ; and
sportsmen may cany it loaded without
danger. Mudi curious matter is contain-
ed in this part uf the work, bat it is ill
The '•econdvoiunK^ contriiDs three play=?,
o( which the less that i» said the better.
Of tlie tirst, which is in ridicule of equa-
lity, Mr. Prati sayt, tint, in 1794, ' he
sent the mminscript to several bookaeOos,
ot' all (he difiwrent hues that the polkka)
cameieoa could assume. They were
fearful to ifHiicrtdke, in a printed atiadj
tlie loyal side of the question, particularly
at a crisis when an invasion was hourij
apprehended. One <^ the trade didcoi
fVel hiaisdf bold.* This libi^ upon the
booksellers is easily ex^ined ; tbcrdW
not choose to put^sh a good-lfor-ncAiBOg
piece. A reference to the publicatkos ol
fhe ) car would prove the futSfty of the
accusali'A), if any proof were needei
Tiie bouksellers were intimidated ; bat it
\('as by tlie govermnent, not the FFench.
1 he tliird volume is £v^ of vecscs bf
sundry gentkineu and ladies, firiendsof
Mr. Pratt, witli sundry • ctypics of vczm
by Mr. Pratt himself. Peace be to tbe
race of bad writcrrs ! In one respect is the
syfctem of commerce like the system of
nature, that the vik'st thinp are of use
in both. ^lany and many are the perscu
vaIio deri\'e as much kmc^t from the iicfa
of writiiig in others, as tlieproprietao^t
the Caicdonian oimment derive Irom WB
itch of aiwlher kind^ from tbe cofiee&r
of rags , and the printer's devH, up to has
majesiy's exchequer, and the ibieigB
powers, who do us tJie favour to aoo^
subsidies therefrom, bow many trades and
callings are supp«^rted by bad wnteri!
How would ^ir. Fry's types, Mr. What-
mai^s pHp( r, Mr. Bnlooer^s presses, Mr,
Stothmxl^ pencil, and Mr. Heatb*!S grarer,
be employed, if it were not for those
literary gentlemen who favour the worid
whh tlieir poems r Were it not for bad
authors, the Annual Review wouki duiok
from its present p<irtly pioportions, and
Fa}.^tnt^'-bize,.to the skeletou-like lanknes
oi' Master Slender. Peace be to them!
we vill not accelerate their desd&r.
Why should we ilnow stones at a drows-
ing dog, or send out catamaraus s^aimz
foun dcr i 1 1 o ti .,h ii ig, smacks ?
Worthless writers have been cornpSRid
to the ^lead \\ ho die in the Lord ^ ^ di^
die, and their wovks do fallow tbenL
This ca: mot, however, be ap|>lied to Ml
Pratt'f paoiical .luxiiiaiics,^ their vocii
do go before them.
Art, XI. — Ll^fu Readif^^ at Ichire Hoitrs, tyr an JUcfnpt to ttnitt the froper (^fem
qf Gaieiv (Vid Ta$tCt in etplnrinj^ the various Sources of rmUonal Pleasure ; A
■ tine Arts, Poetry, Scttlpiitie, Pajnting, Music, JDanciug, FasLiottdflcPmttimcg, Lmt^
. Momips, Otariu:tcrs, Ai:ecd7teSj fyc. Svo. pp. 4u4.
• YES, this, is TiglU reading, and more- U it not pos=Ible to Tender light readmg
over amuoing, and of goud iii^adeacy. £ut ^o^jective to solki iastruoion } VcdfiM
LI6HT RSADIHC kT LtlSUftB HOURS.
f^
find Wieland have composed abundance
of light reading, wliich is often subser-
vient, to information^ but they often incul-
cate what is amiss. Addison's light read-
ing is pure in its tendency, though at
limes feeble, insignificant, and nbt in-
Btractiyeienough : it is ladies' ware. There
IS so much to learn now-a-days that even
our amusers jtlust teach, or we must be
taught by those who do not amuse. We
riiould gladly see the business of the pe-
dant performed by the gentleman ; but we
cannot prefer the vague prettyijsms of the
mere gentleman to the substantial tuition
of the mere pedant. Dr.J#hnson was a
more valuable companion than lord Ches-
terfield.
Among all these essays, biographies,
itories, and epistles, we are at a loss to in-
dicate any which will flpare the reader the
trouble of recurring to the author's sour-
ces : there is not enough to satisfy of any
one thing) the leisure is idled away which
is spoilt en sudi perusal. However the
tntBor makes no pretensions ; it were
cruel to break the butterfly on a wheel.
Let us glance over his topics with here
and thete an animadversion.
Of the Fine i^rte.— rTheir merit or va-
kie is here placed, in their being followed
by inixnamty, delicacy, and the social vir-
tues. We doubt the fact. The age of
Hadrian among tlie ancients, and tlie age
of Leo X. among the moderns, produced
the best remaining specimens, of art.
Neither hum.anity, delicacy, nor the social
virtues, distinguished the courts, whidi
bespoke these master-pieces. To Jbe a
judge of merit in art, as in writing, is
an accomplishment -, to excel in art, or in
writing, a still greater : but there is no
necessary tX)nnection between talent and
virtue, between taste and humanity, be-
tween art and delicacy : Nero was a con-
noisseur ; LeoX. inliicted the torture )
Bavkl is a painter.
€)f Pifetry.-^^Lhe main argument pro-
duced for hking it is that Virgil's Georgics
gave a fashion to agriculture. Is its
hi^iest destination to teach the vulgar
aru?
i>f Paiating^'^n a quotation from Ma-
aon weltear of Correggio's chastUtf of hue.^
Why quote such trash ? What is chaslity
jOf hue ? Chastity is not ft mean between
two extremes^ as some other virtues are,
bat a total abstinence from prohibited
usage. Certain painters of antiquity em-
ployed only four patent colours 3 but Cor-
xegglo knows uothing of any such restraint*
in ao imaginab)^ lensa can a Xfuntaj^bm
from chastity be rationally applied to his
colouring, which is vivid, various, natural,
and oscillates much more than that of
Titian betw#3en the extremes of illumina*
tion and obscurity.
Of 8culpiure.-^n the dark ages, says
this author, sculpture found an asylum
even in the tombs Of the dead. Where
has it ever found so habitual, so expedient,
so appropriate an asylum ? The instances
of Demetrius and of the great Pitt are
narrated, as if the writ^er wished to prove
sculpture useless to human celebrity.
Of Music. — That music is most useful
of which the rhythm is most marked,
which assists tlie half-skilled to dance, to
march, to row, in time and in concert.
Music is also well employed in public
worship, to detain the attention on those
moral hynuis whose sentiments ought to
be engraven on the memory ; and in
what may be called the worship of the
country, to render audible and intelligible
to vast crowds, the Rule-Britannia of pa-*
triotism, or the God-save-the-king of roy-
alism. Music too is a source of much
pri\'ate and personal domestic delight. It
affects both as a sensual pleasure diftctly,
and by association indirectly : tlie gi-eatest
effects of music seem to depend on the
latter principle. The air which revives
a recollection of the tones of Mara -5 the
mardi which fills the imagination with
moving pictures of military parade and
pageantry ; the chorus which .was lirsjt
heard exquisitely executed tfmong tiie
splendid . croi^ds so pompously arranged
beneath the high Gothic arches of the
Abbey,- these are the pieces of music
whicli become favourite. The lover cares
for those tunes which his mistress was
practising wlien he wooed ; tlje winc-
bibber for tiiosc sonjs which accompanied
and consecrated the fenst, when the ccjlar
of hospitality was rifled of its tawniest
hoard of wine.
There is perhaps a daeger in nationaliz-
ing, and in carrying to much refipemcnt,
the taste for music. Adam Smith ob-
serves that cowards excel in tlie sense of
hearing. From Vienna to Naples, sing-
ing enchants, and cannon terrifies. Shak-
speare makes his- fribble Lorenzo a pa-
negyrist of music ; but his Portia is sd
dull of ear, she thinks die nighfingale j^o
better a musician than the wren. Or-
pheus was killed by women ^ Heijajsto-
cles could not fiddl« ; Nero was a great
musician : Polybius relates of two eon-
tipjous nations in Arcadia, jdiat th^ oue
which cultivated • music vf^i voluptuoui,
3Ba
740
MlSGELLANlfiS.
mild^ and effeminate ; and the other,
wiiich neglected music, was active, harsh,
and couragecms. Worten care more for
music than men. The cultivation of
music must, by the nature of the attention
it requires, gradually perfect and quicken
the hearing; the organs of sense descend
to children with traces of the improved
sensibility acquired by parents : it is not
unlikely that some tendency to startle and
to be- alarmed should, as Adam Smith
tliinks, accompany or follow musical-
ness.
Music is liable to another charge. The
love of song is, in some degree, a cure Ibr
genius. By causing the mind to dwell
ai;TeeabIy on one idea for the longest pos-
sible time, it graduiUly retards the process
of thinking. Now it is in rapidity of com-
bination that genius consists. There are
persons to whom the slow enunciation of
tliought which takes place in song ought
to be recommended : to all those, for in-
stance, whose powers of intellectual com-
bination are too rapid for their organs of
speech, who hesitate or who stammer. It
is strange that Desault, who is for curing
every thing by music, who is for singing
away pulmonary consumption as well ai
hypocliondriasis, and the bites of veno-
mous reptiles as well as the languors
of kthar^y, should never have classed
iiinging among the remedies ibr defects of
utterance.
0/ Dancing. — This is a finer art ttafl
music, and ought to rank above iL The
spectacle of a ballet is roor« g^ufying
than the s\veetest concert : one gladly
turns from graceful sounds to gracefid
movements, from Banti toPariaot- Gn^
»\n\ charms most by the very panto*
mime she borrows of the dancer.
Then the THitional ejects of Danciji^.—
It gives health, aciwity, vigour, to the
body, ease and vivacity to the manners.
The dancing nations are graceful at home,
and warlike abroad. Their youths are
plastic, their women cheerful, their ok!
men do not petrify.
Of Qtrds. — is it not known that the
Portuguese brought them from Hindos-
tan — that they were atfiret a» almanac of
the fifty-two weeks — were tb^e cob-
sulled superstitiously by the nativity-cast-
ers about lucky days — ^and were at length
converted into instruments for really ix>-
fluencing the fortunes of men ?
To these dissertations, which are partly
borrowed from French books of litde
worth, succeed biographical notices, cha-
racters, anecdotes, stories, and epistles.
To have attained his end is high praac
to the most aspiring writer : let it then
content this compiler of light reading that
he has listened to the counsel of Boilean.
" Voulez-vous du public m^ritcr les amoQi^ ?
Sans cesse eu ferivant variez vos discours." ,
Aax. XII. — Selections from the Spectator, TtUler, Gtutrdian, and Freeholder-, vUh a
Preliminary Essay, by Ann L^titia Barbaulo. 3 vols. 8vo.
SP:LECTI0NS have of late years been
much the fashion -, and selections from
standard authors, formed by the hand of
tAste, we shall ever be ready, in the mul-
tiplicity of modern books, to announce as
vjluabl'i gifts to the public. In the pre-
sent instance, the office of commentator
has be^n added to that of selector j and on
the principle, * let such teach others who
themselves excel,' certainly the task could
not easily have fallen into better hands.
In point of poetical richness, and bril-
liancy of allusion, aptness of remark, and
sagacity of discrimination, the prelimi-
nary essay is not inferior to any of the
critical pieces of its admired author ; and
it will probably be regretted by the public
that it is only destined to preface a selec-
tion from the works of others, instead of
loading tlie way lo a volume of original
essays by the same superior hand. It
opens with a concise enumeration of the
causes which have tended to lessen the
circulation of tliese once eminently po-
pular, and still celebrated papers, and io
render useful a selection from works for-
merly possessed entire by almost erery
reading person. Among others, the fol-
lowing remark particularly pleased us by
its justness and originality :
" It is also to be considered, that the more
efficacious these pieces have beea, and i»
doubt they have had considerable effect in
refinhig the taste and correcting the manner*
of society, the sooner will they be thrown br
as antiquated or useless. Thus, the ven'
success of a book may hasten the period of
its being forgotten ; and the completion cf
an author's purpose may turn out to be the
ruin of his fine. Addison was himself awire
of this cause of a diinuuition of pc^ularity,
and says, in one of his essays, that those pa-
pers which attack the follies of the day will,
in process of time, become like old plate ;
the weight will remain, but tlie fashk>n willbc
lost.''
An account is subjoined of the tim*
MRS. BARBAULD B SSLBCTIONS.
741
md order in whicli die different periodical
3apers appeared, and of the writers who
i^ntributed to each. AddiJion is thus beau-
ifally and accurately characterized.
•* Addiwn was one of a cUister of men of
genius, M-ho, flourishing at a time when the
aste of the nation was forming itself, became
D tkRir dilferent ^'alks the standards of lite-
ary excellence. His peculiar portion was
lelicate humour, taste, and richness of ima-
^nat'ion : these were all enlisted on the side
►f virtue and good manners. In tliesc perio-
lical papers he assumed the title of Censor ;
ind no one was better qualified for so delicate
:nd useful an office. Decency and sobriety
rf behaviour are every where inculcated :
rvery offensive singularity, every outrage of
he licentioiis upon the sober and' defenceless
art of society, is held* up to reprobation:
narriage, tlie constant butt of the wits and
e»t of tlie stage, is treated with just respect,
ind its duties enforced. Addison r^ys of
limself, that as Socrates made it his boast;
hat he had drawn down philosophy from the
;ods to dwdl among men, so he sliall be sa-
isiied to have it said of him, that he had
>roucjht her from schools and colleges to the
eu-table and the dressing-room. liis talents
rere well adapted for an undertaking of this
ort. I lis excellence lay not so mucli in the
It'pth or extent of his ideas, as in his pleasing
iianncr of communicating them ; in the
plwdour he diffused over a serious — in tlie
jrace with which he touched a lighter subject.
iddison had a large portion of the honey of
?ene\on : nourishwl like him with the purest
lower o( classical literature, he possessed a
ike vivid fancy ; a similar folness and rich-
less of style, liut he also pos'iessed the Attic
ak of Lucian : the manner of thij author is
o admirably imitated in his Meiiippus, that
iny person, with a slight knowledge of the
5reek author, might easily be induced to be-
ieve the dialo^c was really translated from
hat elegant satirist.
" Addison had a wonderful talent in work-
og up a liint, and producing a most beautiful
ancy-piece from a neglected fragment, a
light outline, or an obscure tradition. Of
Ills, his account of the nation of the Ama-
mis, the Loves of Shalum andHilpach, and
be history of the levers' Leap, may be
[ivcn as instances. Even where the substance
i borrowed, as in some of the Eastern tales
•'hich he has condescended to illustrate, who
» not struck with tlieir difierent etfect as
krthcd m his style, and as we read them in
he bald translation of the Arabian Tales ?
^'^hatever he touches he turns to gold. If
fe compare him with the most distinguished
<his contemporaries (for to tlie most distin-
jubhed alone can he be compared), we shall
uwl he has more ease and siinj)licity than
^ope, whose wit is not always in;e from af-
cctation, and whose satire is fr«juently sple-
^^, sometimes malignant. Arbuthiibt and
Swift had as much wit, pcrliaps a freer vein
x)f humour ; but Swift could not, like Addi-
^n, ally it to grace and soften it with amenity.
The satire of Swift is caustic and contemp-
tuous ; that of Addison is so sheathed m ur-
banity, that it scarcely offends tliosewhom it
chastises.
" To be convinced of this we need only
turn our thoughts to the different effect pro-
duced by the strictures of each upon tlie fe-
male sex. Both are perhaps in reality equally
severe, and by their pleasantries betray a
contempt for a sex they probably considered
in a very inferior light : yet such is the chami
of manner, that the Sj)ectator lias ever been
the favourite of the toilette and the dressing-
room ; while it requires no common stredgUi
of mmd in a lady, to overcome the disgust ex-
erted by the supercilious harshness of the
irish Dean, and to prolit by lessons deliver-
ed wUh so much roughness. When Addison
rallies, you see a satyr peeping over the
shoulder of the Graces. His wit is retined ;
it IS of a kind tliat rccjuires and exercises pe-
netration in his reader, who is to catch his
meaning from the side views that are dexter-
ously presented to huu ; for the author never
lauffhs himself. The style of Addison is pure
and clear ; rather diffuse than concentrated,
and ornamented to tlie highest degree con-
sistent with good taste. But this ornament
consists in the splendour of imagers, not in
the ordonnance of words ; liis readers will
seek in vain for tJiose sonorous cadences with
which the public car has been familiarised
since the writings of Dr. Jolmson. They
will find no stately magnificence of phrase, ho
triads of sentences artfully balanced, so as to
form a sweep of harmony at the close of a pe-
riod. His words are geimine English; he
deals little in inversions, and often allows
hunself to conclude negligently with a trivial
word. The fastidious ear may occasionally .
be offended with some collotjuial phrases.
and some expressions which would not now
perhaps, be deemed perfectly accurate, the
remains of barbarisms which he more than
any one had laboured to banish from cjood
writing; but the best judges have doutted,
whether our language has not lost more than
It has gained since his time. An idiomatic
style gives a truth and spirit to a composition,
tliat IS but ill compensated by an elaborate
pomp, which sets written composition at too
great a distance from speech, for which it is
only tlie substitute. There is perhaps a little
too much of what the French call penffftatrc
in the manner in which he conveys his advice
to the female part of his readers : but it was
the tashion of that age to address women in a
style of gallantry, under which was often
concealed a sly ridicule. Swift, in hU ^^uriv
way, used to say, * Lei him fair srr it to the
world's end, I will not meddle uitli ilie Spec-
tator.* " *
The selection itself is made with the
/
•y.
743
MISCELLANIES.
tu»t« and judgmmit that will be expectied
t'roiQ lU author. We are oompelied^
however, to remark^ tliat the omissioD of
the mottos has in many instances robbed
the papers of a grace ; in son>e, lias ren-
dered parts of them unintelligible j and
lliat in selecting portions of a paper^ suf-
ficient care has not always been taken to
l»ake then) hang wpll together. We now
fod then perceive that something is want-
Lag which the context does not enable tis
to supply.
. On the whole, this selection forms tbee
very attractive little volumes, aDdw^cao^
not but indulge the hope that it maf iih
duce many youthful readers to tum&ir
eyes from the pimy ephemera of modem
literature, to contemplate with reveieooe
and delight the long-lived aod majestic
offspring of the g^us of our ftn*
Others.
AftT. XIIT. — Miscellanies, in two Volumes, by Ricuarh Twiss. 8vo.
ABOUT fifty pages at the close of the
first volume are occupied with ' maxims
find apothegms collected from many books
in various languages.* This selection does
greater credit to the sense and judgment
of Mr. Twiss than ^o the productions of
his own genius, if indeed we can assign
any of these pieces to him with tolerable
certainty. The majority of them have
tlie signature £ annexed $ and in the pre.
face we ^re told that such pieces are trans*
lations or imitations from the Dutch Spec-
tatort of Justus Van Effcn, Whoever is
the author of them, we envy not his feel-
|n<^s. There is scarcely an essay in either
of the two volumes in which an opportu-
nity is not taken to degrade the female
sex : several of them are actually devot-
ed to tliis ill-natured ai>d indecent pur-
pose, aud are very offensive. Sincerely
do we commiserate the misfortaae of tliat
man whose only acquaintance with tlie
Other sex is derived from the society of
termagants, tittle-tattles, and coquets.
To have seen and be ins<»nsible to the
graces and the virtues which adorn the
iemale character, and render women tlie
deser\'ed objects of our love a!id our re-
spect, would argue a coUlness of heart and
depravity of laste whidi we can suspect
po man to be cursed with.
For tlie reesoii already given, -^p do not
AnT. XIV, — Memoirs of the Life and Character qf Gilbert Pwria^, ^Ofuiz^r, qfC^-
n^irvon : xmiih Obserrations on modern fasftionable Education ; ^j^ aa eitmaa EtLi^.
12mo. pp. 1 .7. •
A QLlIZ on modem faaliionabie ednca- the tour of Caernarvon for tlie noi^ifl«
tion, in memoirs of n^* interior a person- and number of his amouriv. We see verj
age thai} J tiih caif ^bo was notorious in little wit in them.
AftT. X.V.— F/rutf in North Britain^ illustrative qf the Work^ (^ Bobert Jarw;«-
cornponicd xvith Descriptions, a»d a Sketch </ the I^xis Life. By Jam&s Stqei^
and John Gseig. 6vo. pp. 01, and Siit^CH Plates,
presume to say that Mr. Twiss is die as*
thor of any of the sarcasms which grate
so harshly against our feelings: beh^,
however, shown an activity and induA?,
for which we give him no thaAks, in col-
lecting and translating a number of pfece$
.destitute of vrit and humour, valaefcaa
compositions, and which seemtohitcfef
their principal object the bringing women
into contempt, and matrimony intoikfi-
cule. Whether in a pretty little story, es*
titled ' Natural Courtship/ Mr. Tva
intended to make the amends hom^
for his multiplied misdemeanors agaivt
the ladies, we know not -, if they forgpre
him, it is enough.
Some years ago Mr. Twis< pabli^y
two volumes on chess : a third part of dm \
second of tliose before us is occupied wiu |
additional information concerning thftcoo-
duct of that game, celebrated phycTicf
it, and writers who have made it thea^
ject of their pen. ' Similar infeniafriQ
respectiiig the game of draughts, octnps
about another tHird ; whilst a few che«
mical experiments and arithmetical tricks
tlie former supplied by Mr. Frederic Ac-
cum, amd the latter, we presume, by Jt
Twiss himself, together with a (e:^^ ^
etical contributions, by various pcrOTii
complete the misceUany.
THIS i» ^ companion to the iUnstisdon stooB, by the ameingenkiai actists : sim^
.m4 ^owpcXf pubi^ed three or four yean intended tp-te followed by ;^ similar illu)<
IRELAND S CONFESSIONS.
743
'•tratioQ of Robert Bloomfield. The en-
gravings are unequal : we thin^ also that
Messrs. S. and G. have taken a dispropor-
tionate number ofVi^ws from that scenery
which is most dijfi<ialt to be delineated
vnth. freedom, force, and spirit; naindPf,
falls of water and surrounding rocksL 'fne
sketch of Burnb's life (taten tjrom ^r. Cnr*-
rie's work) would have .beea too i
even for a i))ag;kzuie.
Art. XVF.-*TiW Car^feswns of JniUaith-Heivy Ireland, Containiag the Partipulars qf hu
I^Utrication of the Skukspvare Matm^cfipfs ; togtifier tclih Anecdotes and Opimons
(lutlicrlo Hni)ul>li)Ji€dJ of niaaij diailn^itishcd Peraotia 2:4 the Litiirafy, Political, (l^id
llicutricul World. 8 vq.
AN hour for which there is no better
employment may be whiled away amus-
ingly enough over this volume. When
Mr. Ireland thought proper to avow the
^bricatlon of the Shakspearc papers, he
niadtj his avowal in a pamphlet of threci.
Andipforty pages. This had become so
rare, that a copy has been sold at an auc-
tion for a jiiinea, aiid he himself paid
righteen shillings for an imperfect one,
being favoured in tlie price because; he
was the authoi-. The present work is
published instead of a republication of the
pamphlet, because Mr. Ireland hopes to
free fcii^liaracter ** fium the stigmas with
which ii lias so undeaervedhj been sullied."
Mr. Samuel Ireland, the father, when
collecting materials for 4 work upon the
picturesque scenery of the river Avon,
took his son with him to Stratford.
" In consequence of the various enquiries
set on foot by Mr. Ireland during his conti-
miance at Stfatford-on-Avon, he was at length
given to understand, by some of the olclest
Skkabitants, that a tale was fonnerly- told in-
dicatory of some manuscripts having been
conveyed for safety, at the tune of the fire at
Strattord, from New-place (the former resi-
dence of Sbakspeare) to Clopton-house, sir
taaied at a little distance from the scene of
the conftagration. In consequence ot this iu'
tclligenri!, Mr. IveLind proceeded to the man-
won in quejition ; which proved to he of great
antiquity. In one chamber was a very curi-
ous carved bedstead of oak, with silk hang-
ings. This, togetiier with all the furniture of
the apartment, was an heir«loom to the pre»
niises ; having iK'ea the gift qf king Henry
the Seventh to sir Hugh Clopton, who was
one of the lord-muyors of London during the
reign ot' that monarch. In this antique man-
sion were innumerable chambers fumisiied in
a similar manner, many of them totally dark-
ened to obviate the ex'pence of the tax upon
windofW-lights ; andln tlie cockloft were pHes
of n^uldeiing household goods, aU of the
same remote antiquity ; among the reat wis
an emblazoned representation, on velliun, of
c|n<^n Elizabeth^ the wife of Henrj' the Se-
venth, as she lay m state in the chapd of the
txnver of London, aftisr having died in child-
ke4;.«faichciino(»9ete ttoe tfaeftovaa ^4
Cloptou-house gave to Mr, S. Irdand, as a
* picture which was m his opinion of no scr«»
vice, becanse, being on vellum, it would not
do to light the lire:* ' '
'* Near tht* cockloft just nuottoned «as a
garret, thir walls of which were adomed..with *
rude paintings of script usal siibjects, hiorogiy*
nhiral characters, and quotations from tne
NeW Testament Amoug the deigns, I re-
collect a large iish was adineatud ^ft bring
caugiit, and a liand drawioug the string wfoich
was attached to the hook in the fislf s mouth.
Under this curious det^isn wece the fioU^^wing
lines of rude poetry in bkck-lettercharactonf:
tliey may be fpun^ in AVe^ver's Funer4 Mq*
numents-T-
' Whether 3-6U rise yearlye,
Oi- goe to bed late.
Remember Christ Jesusy
That died for your sake.*
^^ From the inquiries nssK^ by Mr. Ireland,
we were given to understand that sir Hugii
Clopton, or his descendant, being a very
staunch catholic, had gahied permBsion to
have this giirret consecrsted at the time of
the Reformation^ that the cdd)tatiqnaf mMH
might takepiaqe in secret.
" Having tlius far di^esscd m my state-
ment respecting tlie antiquity and ^peat cil*
riosity ot this nanaion, I ^hall again revott
back to the general stibject, andrsay,
* If tnie^ what a conflagcation !*
*^The person who occupieiJ Clopton-hous^
antf rented the landi^ belonging to theestate*
was what is usually deEK>ianiat«d a gentleman
fiurmer ; rich in gc^i and tlie worldly neana
of acctunulatiug wealth, k^ devoid of evevy
polished reiinem<»nt.
" On Mr. Ireland's arrival he introdoced
himself to 3ilr, Williams (for such was the
gentleman's nan)e); who invited us ijjto a
small gloomy pj^rlour ; where he was shortly
given to understand by Mr. Ireland, that th^
motive of his visit was a desire to ascertain
wliether nny old deeds ot nnnttscripts were
then existing, in ai>y part of the mansion 1
and on a further statement, as to ^y nagerp
of Shakspeare'^ being extant^ the toliQwin|(
was the reply made by Mr. n iUi^ms*-^
" ' By G---d t wish you had arrived a little
sooner! Why, it isn^t a fortnight since I de-
stmycd Bevend baskelS'M «f iettmafidpa*
10
.744
MISCELLANIES.
pers, in order to dear a small chamber for
. gome young partridges whicli I wish to bring
lip arive: and as to Shakspeare, why there
were manv bundles with his name wrote upon
•tliem. \Vhy it was in this very lire-place I
made a roaring bonfire of them.
" Mr. Ireland's feelmgs during this address,
wliich were iully displayed in his countenance,
maybe more easily conceived than expressed:
anci it was with infuiite difficulty he suffered
'Mr.' Williams to proceed- thus far; when,
liar ting from his chair, he clasped his hands
togetiitr, excl.aming
/* * My G — d ! Sir, you are not aware of
the loss-which the world has sustained. Would
to heaven I liad arrived sooner !'
'* As my father, concluded this ejaculation,
Mr. Williams, calling to his wife, who was in
•an adjoining chamber, and who instantly
came into the apartment where we were seat-
ed (being a very respectable elderly lady),
.be thus addressed her : .
*' * My dyar, don't you remember bringing
me down those baskets of papers from the
partridd;e-room ? and that I told you there
were some about Shakspeare the poet ?'
" The old lady immediately replied as fol-
lows, Jiaving, in all probability, heard Mr.
Ireland s address to her husband:
*' ' Yes, iny dear ; I do remember it per-
fectly well ! and, if you will call to mind my
words, I told you not to burn the papers, as
they might be of consequence.*
" Mr. Ireland, after-expressing his regrets,
xcquestcd pennission to inspect the small
chamber in question; which, however, con-
tained nothing but the partridges. Having
expressed a desire to go over tlie house, two
lanterns were ordered up ; when every cham-
ber undenvent the strictest scrutiny; during
•which research the before-mentioned funu-
-ture, chapel, &c. came under our cogni-
. Bince ; but as toShakspearianmamscripts,not
a line was to be found.*'
This h very curious, if true, to repeat
the author's own expression of scepticism.
^liis journey, Mr. Samuel Ireland's zea-
lous admiration of Shakspeare (wrhich tlie
event proves was not according to know-
ledge), and a wish on the part of the son
to gratify tlie father, led to the fsbrica-
tion.
The history of the whole knavery
would form a pleasant article in a Sh<ikg-
periana. Dr. Parr is said, on hearing the
Profession of Faith rea^, to have said to
2Vf r. Samuel Ireland : " Sir, we have very
ifine passages in our church-service, and
our litany abounds with beauties j but
here, sir, here is a man who has distanced
us all." We doubt this story: the Pro-
fession is no better than might be expect-
ed fironi a boy of eight^en^ of flo pxtraor.
dinary talents : and Dr. Parr, though he
may be iio judge of old writings, can cer*
tainly distinguish between an empty rhap-
sody, and a prayer foil of meaning. Other
anecdotes t)ear stronger evidence of truth.
IVIr. Boswell asked tor a glass of warm
brandy and water, and exclaimed like old
Simeon in the Gospel, " WeD, I shall now
ilie contented, since I have lived to wit-
ness the present day !" and then knelt
down and kissed the volume. Mr.
P*ws*n{here,as in Dr. ffarton's case, Mr.
Ireland spells by his ear, and spells erro-
neously) appeared so satisfied respeaing
the papers, that Mr. Samuel Irdand asked
him to add his name to the Ust of belier-
er.s in their validity : he replied " 1 thank
you, Sir, but I never subscribe my nsme
to professions of faith of any nature what-
soever." Mr. Rilson asked short qnes-
tions, all to the purpose, delixered na
opinion, and went away, convinced tkit
the papers were spurious. Mr. Shcriilan
is said to have reniarked, that, however
high Shakspeare might stand in the esti-
mation of the pubhc in general, he did
not for his part regard him as a poet m
tliat exalted light, although he allowed
tlie brilliancy of his ideas, and the pene-
tration of his mind. This gentlemai,
however, seems evidently to have sus-
pected the play which he brought out.
" Previous to the agreeniput's being signed
respecting \'ortigcrn and Kowena \%ith the
managers of Drury-lane theatre, Messrs.
.Sh*r*d*n and U*ch*rds*n waited upoo
Mr. Ireland, to inspect the fair copy of ij.e
play, which had been made from the manu-
script as pixxluccd in the disguised hand.
After havmg perused several page?, Mr,
Sh*r*d*n came to one line which was not
strictly poetic ; upon which, turning to Mr,
Ireland, he remarked, ' This is rather strange;
for though YOU are acquainted with my opi-
nion as to Jjhakspeare, yet, be it as it 'may,
he certainly jUways wrote poetry,' — Havin-^
perused a few pages further, Mr. Sh*r*d*n
again paused, and, laying down the nuuiih>
script, spoke to the fol[o\\nng effect : * Thert
are certainly some bold ideas, but they are
crude and undigested. It is very odd : one
would be led to think tliat Sluk^peare roust
have been very young when he wrote the
plav. As to the doubting whetlicr it be
really his or not, who can possibly look at the
papei-s, an4 not believe thein ancient r**
Mr. Ireland's hatred of Mr. Malone is
very naturally expressed, but not very ju-
dic iously . He talks of tlie Malone fuctiotw,
of working like a mole, of stinging like
a. viper; and attributes the conduct of thi$
geqtiemanr apd.of the othec commentato(^4
knight's INaUIRY IVTO THE PKIKCIPLES OF TASTB,
74«
«ii Sliakspeare, to a determination '* to
crush that which would have proved so
many of their labours of non-eftect^ had
it passed current witli the world." His
own conduct, if all which he confesses is
to be believed, appears in some instances
like a sort of madness -, such as promis-
ing his father a whole-length portrait of
Shakspeare; and two copies of the first
edition of his works with uncut leaves.
Our good opinion of this gentleman is
certainly not increased by the perusal of
the present volume 5 for, though it may
not at first have been his design to obtain
money upon false pretences, money cer-
tainly was so obtained : four hundred
pounds from Dmry-lane, besides what
the large subscription volume may have
produced. It matters hot how accounts
stand between him and his &ther; the
fraud was practised.
The arrangement of the book ought to
have been chronological ; at present it is
very confused, and we almost suspect
that it has been made purposely so, be-
cause the more plainly the story is told
the worse it appears.
JkRT. XVII.— ^» analyticollnquinj into the Principles of Taste,
Knight. 8vo. pp. 500.
By Richard Payvk
THERE are many words which are
perpetually used, although seldom un-
derstood ; of these, one of the most noted,
is that which forms the subject of the
^work before us. What gentleman or
lady, what mill'mer or hair-^sser, in the
united kingdom, would .be supposed ig-
norant of the principles of taste ? yet what
philosopher has hitherto been able to de-
termine its nature, or to discern in what
St consists? Mr. Knight has, however,
undertaken to resolve the difficulty ; it
remains for us to inform otu: readers in
what way he has attempted the investiga-
tion, and how far he has been successful
In it.
The work commences with an intro-
doction, containing what is called, '^ a
sceptical view of the subject >'* in which,
after observing how much our ideas of
taste are influenced by fiishion or imita-
tion, and how various have been the stan-
dards of taste in ditierent ages and na-
tions, we are led to inquire, whether
there be any re^il or permanent principle
of beauty, or any certain combination of
objects which are invariably gratifying to
the mind, or pleasing to the organs of
sensation. This inquiry induces some
observations on the meaning of the word
beauty, in which our author endeavours
io prove that it is as strictly applicable to
intellectual as to physical qualities, in
both <:ases being used to express the re-
sult of proportion. Taste, as is well
known, is appropriated to tM^o distinct
meanings ; its first and original sense re-
fers to the inipression made by certain
substances upon the tongue and palate; in
its more enlarged sense it is defined by
JVir. Knight, '* 3L general discriminative
faculty arising fi:om just feeling and cor«
rect judgment implanted in the mind of
man by his Creator, and improved by ex-
erci se, study, and medi tation .* * We think
this definition incorrect, both because its
different parts contradict each othc^ and
because it appears to us not to meet the
view which he afterwards takes of the sub«
ject. When it is said that taste is a fa-
culty " implanted in the mind of man by
his Creator,'* we must suppose k ^n in-
stinctive principle, produced by impres-
sions immediately made on the organs of
sense, yet tliis is incompatible with its
arising from just feelings and correct judg-
ment 3 and, If we mistake not, a main
object throughout the treatise is, to show
how much more taste depends upon in-
tellectual cultivation than upon mere im-
pressions on the organs of sense.
The work is divided into three parts ;
of sensation, of the association of ideas,
and of the passions. In the first part we
are presented with some observations upon
the five senses, to each of which a chapter
is allotted. We apprehend the main ob-
ject of tliis part of Mr. Knight's work it
to ascertain how far ideas of taste are ac-
quired immediately from oiu* seasations*
He does not, however, adhere very scru-
pulously to his subject, but frequently di-
gresses from his main purpose, and dis-
cusses a variety of topics connected with
the dilierent branches of literature. Wheii
treating upon tlie sense of touch, he ri-
dicules the idea entertaiiK-d by Burke,
that pleasure is derived fron\ the sensation
of smooth surfaces. Such gratifications,
he conceives, were confined to that ceJe^
brated author.
- " \ lyive never heard of apy person bcii.g
^46
MISCELLANIES.
addicted to such luxuries', though a feeling-
board would certainly afford as cheap and in-
nocent a gratification, as either a sinelling-
bottie, a picture, or a Bute, provided it were
capable of afibrding any gratificatiun at all/'
0
It 18 indeed acknowledged, that we oc-
casiooallj attach ideas of a pleasing kind
to objects that possess smootli surfaces,
but this pleasure depends upon mental
associatians connected with the object.
This circumstance leads our author to
offer some remarks upon the connection
between ideas and the objects exciting
them ; it is confessed that they bear no
Tesemblanoe to each other^ and yet Mr.
Knight will not allow* that the ideas can
exist independent of the objects.
Every one knows that our {Measures,
both sensual arid intellectual, are increas-
ed by what is usually called contrast ^
thisj so far as respects the impressions
upon the senses^ onr author ascribes to an
'' inverted action of the nerves." Of the
existence of such an action we can form
Ao conception, nor does the author bring
fbr^-ard any proof or explanation of it.
£ul although we may not rest satisHed
with the hypothesis, we shall admit the
jii5t ;cc of the iiiiistrations brought forward
ill t)ic^ lollo>\ing paragraph:
" Frmii tliis inveited articm arises the gra-
t "• Hcai '■ ' >u whii ti \\ e rcc'*i v e from a cool breeztr,
when till' body has been e.\rf;jNively heated ;
or from tilt rocking of a cradle, or tlic jrentle
motio.'i ♦>! a boat, cr c;^ y carriage, after hav-
ing befnfatig'iodvki-iivijlfnt exer'i-je. Such,
loi», is that whicli twili^-ht, or tl>e gloomy
i::..<l'; of a thick* t, affords to tlie eye, after i"t
h.v« been day-zled with the blaze of the inid-
ti.i7 sun ; ami such, likewise, is that, which
t:i* ear receives, trom tiie gradual diminution
\H loudav-s oi tone in nui ic ; amd it is by al-
^ ruately axejiding and des-ccnding this scale,
t^.if vthat is called (by a uy^tiiphor tak<ru
from pair.tlng) tiic chromatic in that ait, i^
{produced/*
In the chapter on hcarin?, the pleasure
drri\td from music natunilly comes to he
I oii:^idered ; this, as it appears, may be
ilistin<tU referred both to a sensual and
an intellectual source ; ilie iirst depending
upon Uie com bin At ions of tone, many of
which are naturally agreeabli* : the second
upon tli:it kind of sentiment which is con-
nected with feeling and associations. There
is likewise a third source of pleasure, de-
rived from the skill of the performer or
ronip(^«ier, which is experienced by the
bcicuiilic pR»ticient in the art
" The £rst of these is a sosnal, and ibe
second a senlunental pleasure: vhile that,
which is peculiarly felt by the learaed, m«
be properly called an iutcUeclual ple^isW;
for this likewise is R-ally a pleasure, awl one
that may be as reasonablv and properlr cul-
tivated as cither of the others; as I ^halishw
in trearting of the pleasures of the under-
standing.''
Mr. Knight adds, with more caodoff
than is usually displayed on snch occ»
siona :
" It is one, indeed, wliich f am utteHy ii^
capable of enjoying: but that is no ?««»
why I sliould treat it with contempt, accord
ing to 3 too common practKc; vrmdi, Iwr-
CTer, always indicates a narrow, or an vinci^
tivated mind ; and generally both."
. The connection which lias been thgngfat
to subsist between music and po^,
leads our author to consiider the soom
of that pleasure which is so generally pn>-
duced by this latter art. We are cHspttd
to agree with him in the e{Haioo>
** That the most mdodious veniiicatiai
alTords very little, if any at al|| of mere sd-
sua! gratification; the re^larity of luetteflf
rliyme being rather calculated to assist rat
mory and f*iv;ilitate utterance, than to pl«ae
the ear."
This opinion is supported bj' obsenii^,
how Utile eftect the naetres of the dead
langiijges produce when imitated in our
own loTigue ; 'ai>d farther, what dilfcrent
iinprcssiuns are conveyed to the mind* of
drii"(Tcin nations by the same modnlatiai
of ver^e.
Although the sefWe of sight i§ that fmm
which a great p:trt oi our enioy meats are
uhimiit? ly derived, it appears tliat iIk
pleasures which are pnxluced iminedi-
ateJy by sensible impression^ upon tlie
eye, nrii but few and unimportant, lb
qnalitirs which we admire the most in
visible objects, would Convey no co^r^
spondinsj id^^ns to the mind, if die eye
were neither gnidcd by experience nor
corrected by the inftirmation derived fhrnj
the other senses. Tlie conception of ti-
sible magnitude is not gained, as Bnrfe ;
supposed, by the sjiace which the object |
occupies on the retina; for, according to
this principle, a sheet of paper held dose ft) |
the &ce has more eflect than a roountaia
when viewed from its base. Jn the saiM
way objocts wliich are smooth <fa not gird
pleasure to tiie eye fixnm a;\y dkeef efet
slight's INaUIBY WTO THE FStNCIPUS OP TAST«>
7^
^K^hich tfaeir smoothness produces upon the
nerve, because in reality their outline and
their shadows are often peculiarly bright
and sharp.
After thus pointing out the defects of
IVir. Burke* s system, our author proceeds
to point out bis own ideas ox visible
beauty.
*' This consists, according to the' principles
which I have endeavoured to establish, in
]ba£monious, but yet brilliant and contrasted
combinations of light, sliade, and colour;
blended, but not confused ; and broken, but
not cut, into masses : and it is not peculiarly
in straight or curve, taper or spiral, long or
short, httle or great objects, that we are to
fieek ibr these; but in such as displs^to the
eje intricacy of parts and variety of tint and
surface.''
The characters which are here assigned
to visible beauty, are almost exactly *&ose
^^hich Mr. Price has pointed out as con<p
stituting the picturesque. It appears in*
deed diat Mr. Knight totally dissents froih
the opinion of the last-mentioned author;
and ne labours with much perseverance
to prove that there are no distinctive marks
by which the picturesque can be separated
from the beautiful. To review all the
illustrations that are brought forward upon
this subject would carry us far beyond oar
limits ; we cannot but acknowledge that in
several instances he has been successful
in demonstrating the fillacy of Mr. Price's
hypothesis, but we still must adhere to it
so far as to maintain that the picturesque
is a distinct mode of beauty, which in
many cases may be accurately discrimi-
nated, though it is frequently impossible
to mark its limits.
After viewii^ the operation of die
aenses, as connected with taste, our author
proceeds to consider the eflect of tlie as-^
sociation of ideas 5 a faculty to which tlie
greatest part of our iotellectual pleasures
:>eems to be referable. The pleasure
which arises from mere unitation is con-
fessed to be considerable, yet our highest
intellectual gratifications are derived Irom
a nobler source, and proceed from that
improved perception, which is gained by
exercising the senses, and applying the
understanding to any particular object.
Upon this principle we see a reason for
the preference which is given to an ori-
ginal painting oyer the most exact oopy
of it.
The pleasure which we 4enve from
painting and sculpture is ultimately
^uode4 u^ix t)»e f^emblaiiGf of the picv
ture or statue to the objects which they
represent 5 yet, except to the most vulgar
mind, the pleasure is of a nature far su-
perior to that of deception. The idea of
tlie artist's ability enters into our feelings,
and adds to our gratification. Hence we
are not pleased with painted statues i and
subjects which are disgusting in nature,
may form subjects for the most beautifi:d
paintin|s. Another reasdi may be as-
signed mr this last circumstance : the dts-
^gust which the objects excite may be iq
consequence of some unpleasant impres-
sions which they make upon the other
senses ; these are excluded from the pic«
ture, when the form 9fid colouring is aQ
that is presented to us. ^
The ideas which we acquire of poedcd
melody are perhips still more depeadaait
upon association.
'' hi a just and skilful application of die Tih
nations of rh^^thm and prosody, suchas arisfsi
from just feeling only, does the mekxiy of lao^
guage consist: but, nevertheless, this melody
alfords no gratification to the mere organs of
hearing; but is soldy perceived and felt hf
mental svmpathy, as appears from our fed*
ing it, when we read insvardly, and without
any utterance of soimd ; and also frwn it«
Varj'ing with the habitual variations of idiom
indiiferent languages: for, if it were a plea»
sure of organic sensation, it must necessarily,
as before observed, be the same ui ail iait-
guages.*'
The chapter concludes with some ob-
servations on English x^ersification, and
particularly on that of Pope and Milton.
Our author coincides with Dr. Johnson
in his severe judgment on the Paradise
Lost. He finds its perusal tiresome and
harassing} and diinks not only the Odyssey
a;id the iEneid, but even Tasso*s Jerusa-
lem, more. interesting. The repulsivenes«
of Milton he imputes to the peculiarity of
his versification, and even to that circum-
starfbe which is firequently esteemed its
appropriate excellence, the vajfiety of the
pauses. We apprehend many of our
readers will, like ourselves, dissent from
Mr. Knight's decision.
Continuing to treat upon the same sub-
ject, but proceeding in his usual digressive
mawier, our author again attacks Mr-
Price's notions respecting the picturesque ;
he points out the original meaning ot the
word, and endeavours to shew that sub-
jects the most opposite in their visible
qualities, strictly belong to tliis class. We
cannot, however, assent to the apmess of
these illustrations : tlie term picturesque,
\sk its flaost •omjnonly received accepta*
74S
MISCELLANIES.
tion, we do not think by any means ap- in^ the house of those accompanimati
plicable either to the apostles ol' ILiphael, wliich it possessed in the ancient sr^-le- he
the pine of Claude, or the horse of Wover- finds fault with tlie naked launs that are
mans. Upon the first we sholi!:! be in- .snread aroucd it, and the clumps and
clined to bestow llie appellation of su- sheets of water that compose its prospecu,
bfime, and in the last beauty is certainly "*" • •
the most prominent characteristic,
Following our author along his amusing,
tut desultory track, we have next some
obsen'ations on Gothic architecture ; it is
properly divided into two kinds, the one
employed in the construction of castles,
the other of churches or convents. Witli
jrespect to the Grecian orders of archi tec-
tare, the ideas which we at present enter-
tain are derived, in a great measure, if
pot entire! f, from an association of autlio-
rity tor the classical ages. It is properly
remarked, that
" 'riiere is no reason whatever in the na-
ture of things, or ill the analoffv of the parts,
why a Corinthiaii capital should be placed on
m slenderer shaft than a Done or Ionic one.
0» tiie contrary, the Corinthian, bein^; of the
large>t, and consequently ot the heaviest pro-
portion, would naturally require the column
of thp largest dimensions, jiroportioned to it3
Jiei^ht, to sustain it/'
The general effect prov-nre 1 upon the
mind by the Grecian and the Gothic
buildings is, in many respects, very ditTer-
ent } aiKl it is probable that the objects
respectively aimed at by the artist were
equally ditferont. Symmetry and propor-
tion appear to be the grand characteristics
ct'the tbrmer, contrast and striking effect
of the latter. Whatever may be oiu* opi-
nion of the general merits of these rival
modes, we cannot but admit the jusiice of
the fallowing remark, and we deem it the
nK>re wortliy of attention, as it deviates
from the view which is usually taken of
this subject.
•' In the ciitht^Iral of St. Peler at Kofiip,
all these are. ot a giirantic size, taken from a
given s< ulf*, proportionate to thatof tiie bmid- -
inir; and I liave ott^-u ht^rd this rigid ad^ie-
leiue to uiiiionn proportion admired as a very
hi^l^ excclleme; though all allow that ihe
eiKvl of it lui-; o^eii to make the buildi;.c ap-
pear mueii smai'.er than it really i^; and if it
be a merit to mate it appear small, it cer-
tainly was extreme fi)lly to iuciir biich uu-
mensc ex[X*nce in building it large.**
From arrliitecture we are led to gard-
ening ; and we meet with sonx* spiriied,
though un!uc^\N"iar:ly severe observations,
upon the method of adoruir.g groujids iliat
is usually adopted in this country. Mr.
Knight condenms Llje practice of depriv*
We cannot altogetiier coincide with the
views of our author : what has been callM
English gardening, we consider as ooe of
tJie happiest applications of taste toaprac-
tical purpose that the, world has ever ex-
perienced i but it does not follow Aat all
those who profess to ornament grounds
are qualified for their profession; and ii
is stiJl mcH-e frequently the case, that the
bad taste of their employers leads \hm
into absurdities of which they would not
otherwise have been guilty. It has been
found by experience tiiat, in sp'ae of the
revolutions of fashion, there are certain
combinations of natural objects which
have at all times been admired : the aim
of English gardening is to imitate such
scenery; it is no argument against the
practice that it is often ill executed.
We now proceed to dramatic exhibi-
tions. Mr. Knight strongly argues against
tlie idea that actual deception is ever pro-
duced, even by the most pcrtQct of thero;
derept ion indeed is not the object eidier
ot the w: if/ t or Hie ^ctor, and for the most
part itsoccuirciic- vtaild destroy all oar
pleasure. Entertaining tliis view of the
subject, our author agrees with Dr. Jo-n>
son, that unity of action may be satelydi>-
pensed witJi, provided we preserve un r
of subject ; and consequently that many
of Shakspcare's irregular dramas, which
exhibit the gradual progress of the *anw
story, during a period of some weeks or
months, are better adapted for fixing tba
attention than the exact French tr^ies,
where, although the action is finished pre-
cisely in twenty-four hours, yet the mini
is distracted by a kind of double stoiy.
Invention is admitted to be one of die
highest mental powers j it is, however^
. one paillcularly apt to run into excess and
extra\<igauce. This the author instancfs
in the case of Michael Angelo; a name
whicli we have been taught to look up to
witli feelings almost of veneration, but
which Mr. Knight boldly ventures to as-
sail. After remarking the simplicity tliat
prevailed in the works of the most cele-
brjted ancient artists, a simplicity which
almost bordered upon unifarmit)^ he pro-
ctvds :
" But, in the figures of ^rlchae^ Angflo, all
is directly reversed. The characters, dmwsh
rejiiote from ordinary or individual natur**,
are oftcner below than gbovc it, ii^ dignity ci
KSIORt'S lUaUIKT INTO THE tElNCIPtES OP iXSTt:
749
^icpresslon ; but then their attitudes and ojes-
tures are such, as ordinary nature never Joes
disptavy under any circumstances ; except
sucii as inlluence it in a painter's or sculptors
study, or academy. Lven in representing
sleep, lie could not employ a natural or easy
posture; but has put Adam into one, in
which, all the narcotic powers of opiUm could
scarcely have enabled him to rest."
We now come to the third part of the
woiic, on the passions j this is divided
Into three chapters 5 of tlie sublime and
pathetic, of the ridiculous, and of novelty.
In conformity with liis former opinion,
our autlior attempts to prove that our in-
terest in tragedy is always accompanied
with an idea that the scene before us is
fictrtioas, and that we should cease t > de-
rive .pleasure from the representation,
\4'ere we to conceive it a reality. There
are indeetl some exhibitions, such as the
gladiatorial shows of ancient Rome, and
the elegant amusement of boxing in our
times, where the tragedy is evidently no
fiction ; but in these instances Mr. Knight
contends, that the source of gratification
does not arise from the sufferings endured
by tlie combatants, but the skill and cou-
rage which they exhibit in their defence.
Tills view of the subject leads Mr. Knight
to dissent from the celebrated dogma of
Aristotle, that terror and pity are the fun-
damental principles of tragedy 3 he also
warmly contends against the position of
Bnrke, that terror is a cause of the su-
blime.
*' AH sublime feelings are, according to the
principles of Longinus, whicii I have here en-
deavoured to illustrate ami confirm, feelings
of exultation and expansion of the mind, tencl-
ing to rapture and enthusiasm ; and whether
thi-y be excited by sympathy with external
objects, or arise from the internal operations
of the mind, tliey are still of the same nature.
In grasping at infinity, the mind exercises the
powers, Ixrfore n«>ticed, of multiplying with-
out end; and, in so doing, it expands and ex-
alts itself, by which means its feelings and
■entiments become sublime.
" The same effects result from contemplat-
h)g all vast and immense objects ; such as
very spacious plains, lakes, or forests ; exten-
sive ranges of extremely high mountains;
mighty rivers; unbounded seas ; and, above
all, the endless expanse of unknown vacuity."
In this view of the subject we feel mqi^
disposed to acquiesce.
Art. XVllL-^Typographical Marks, used
We have extended this article to so
great a length, that we shall be ufider the .
necessity of hasleniBg to a coflclusioa.
We cannot, however, pass over the follow-
ing remarks on the u&e of the fine arts :
they will probably be found less enthusi-
astic tlian might have been expected from
so warm an admirer of them; yet we ap-»
prehend it will upon reflection be found
to contain a very rational view of the sub-
ject.
*' The only moral good, that appears to re-
sult from either poetry, music, painting, or
sculpture, arises from their influence in civil-
izlTig and softening mankind, by substituting
intellectual, to setriual Measures; andtuminff
the mind from violent and xmguinary, to mild
and peaceful pursuit?. Tlie lovers of these
arts seldom or never disturb the tranquillity
either of kingdoms or families ; and, 11 theii'
lives are not very useftil, they are always
liarmless, and often ornamental to society.
•^rhe human mind caniuJt subsist without oc-
cupation, even during its intervals of reiaxa-*
tion from useful or serious employment ; and
if it has no intellectual amusements to soothe
its lassitude and in([uietude, during tliose in-
tervals, it will fly for relief to ruinous dissi-
pation or gross sensuality. It is true, tliat
excessive attention to any of these arts often
withdraws the mind from the study or cultiva-
tion of others more important and beneficial 5
but it oftener withdraws it firom indulgences,
which are more criminal and destructive, both
to the individual and society. The frequent-
ing uf theatres, and reading of romances ajid
novels, often occupy time, which migfu be
more profitably emplovcd in the active pur-
suits of lite; but whicfi probably tvoula h*i
more profusely wasted in the more frivolous
amusements of the coiVec-house or assembly-
room, or in the more ruinous mdulgences of
the tavern or the brothel."
In our observations upon this amusing
work, we have touched only upon a few
of the topics which are discussed in it 5 we
have rather aimed at giving a samplp of
the materials, than a complete catalogue
of them. The reader who expects to
find a regular treatise upon taste, in which
its principles are methodically laid down,
and metaphysically scrutinized, will, wo
apprehend, be disappointed ; but he will
find a volume stored witli instruction and
judicious remarks upon a variety of topics
connected with literature and the line arts,
highly creditable both to the candour ana
abilities of the audior.
UL-^Typographical Marks, used in correcting Proqfs, explaijied mtd exempli"
fed for the Use of Authors. By C. Stower, Printer. 8vo. pp. 14.
A very tiseful little work, which we
xvconuoend to all young authors^ as well
calculated to save trouble both to tbem«
selves and their printers.
i 7S0 y
CHAPTER XIV.
MILITARY AND NAVAL TACTICS.
TPRE military works in thl» chapter are manuals intended for the use of the rolmi-
tcers^ and are for the most part very meritorious publications. On the subject of naTil
tactiGS^^Mr. Ciark*s E^say is extremely intereEting, not only to pn^ssional men, bai
to the general reader^ as containing tlic principles on which almost all oar spleodid vk*
torieB during the last and present war ha\'e been obtained.
Art. L — Jn Address to Vduntter Corps going on permanent DuUf, heitig a sh^rt ati
compendious Address to the several Hanks of Offtctrs, nnn-comanssionea Cfficersj sad
Ftivutesy i^' Volunteer Corpsy preparatory io vutrching, and ukilst remaining on perma-
nent DuU/. ligJJeuienant'^oioniiiGoKDO'if, 8vo. pp. ti4.
THE practice which Tohmteer corps
lunre pretty nenerally adopted of under-
taking regular sen ice for a short time, is
certainly the best mode of infonning them
of their duties as soldiers : tliey become
by this means acquainted not only with
the regular field^diity, but "* ith the otlier
and Slot less impoi'taiit parts of die service.
But as both the otiicers and privates are
in general equally unacquainted with the
regular duty of a rct^'rment in a garrison
town, mudi inconvenience must ha-vc
arisen from the want of a work of this sort.
General Dundas's book is amply sutiioioi^
to direct a comraaoding otlicer in Jiis held
duty; but it contains no inloosiation re-
specting the internal managcme&t* tlie
** smaller rnhnitise and intorior duty/' c^'
a regiment. Colonel Gordon's little pub-
jk:ation 'will therefore be found extreme ly
useful to all volunteers who are on peniia«
nent duty, and to commanding officers ia
particuian Tlic directions which it oqb-
tains are plain^ concise^ and correct j acd
the hints whicli it gives are ser^oeaUe
and important The duty of every mas,
from thft colonel to the private^ is describ-
ed with clearness and accuracy ; and the
rules iind rci^uiations for the diflerent pa-
rades and musters, as well as for themoust*
ing and i^^licving guards, jkc. are detailed
withpreciskMi and opirectness. The ibnas
of tiled itim^nt robters and returns will be
found serviceable to the young ^Hieer ts*
sierjeant.
We think colonel Oordon entitled to
the tlianks ol' the voliuiteers in general,
for' his very correct and useful manual,
.'ind have no hesitation iu leuoauuendix^
it to general notice.
AkT. it. — Instruction'} f(*r tJie Fonnaitrm nvd €frrnse rrf f^ofnrrt^r Sharp-^hontcrs. Sj
Captain Barber^ evmmanding the Dttkt <s L'umberland's Skarp-a-hofaers. I^mo. pp. 126.
▲Gainst an invading army good a skill and certainty in firings vfikli bball
lifiemen are the most formidable troops-
that can be employ(;d. Thi! requisites to
form a good rtfieman are great and many.
Activity of body, muscuUir strength , quick-
ness and clearness of hearing and sight,
joined to cool intrepidity and preser.ce of
zoindj at<e inilispeui;ibie : the&e^ added lo
insure his hitting the mark he aims at,
combine to make the rifleman a most
dieaiiifiU enemy. In ^enentl our vohmleer
rifli>corps are. not composed of that class
of men who would be found in case of
actnitl sennce the most usefo). G<jse-
kinfpccs, ma£k«m^> and spQrti«]«n^ »*!»
BARBKR's'INSTFtrCTIONS FOB VOLrKTEKR SffARP-SHOOTBIl?*
751
<re in the constant practice of firing;, are,
beyoiKl a doiibt, the men who should be
pitched upon for tliis arduous and inijxjrtant
dot}'. A body of men of this sort, acting
m that part-ot the country where they re-
side, knowing every road, hedge, wood,
and covert, in tlie neighbourhood, would
be able to aimoy an invading army more
than a similar number even of the best re-
gular troops. The men who form the
corps of volunteer sharp-shooters in tlie
metropoHs, as well as in other large towns,
nnist be for tlie most part inexperienced
marksmen. The art of wounding or kill-
ing with certainty, like everj^ other art, is
not learnt widiout considerable experi-
ence, nor kept up without constant prac-
tice. Tills practice and experience the
kihabitants of towns are sot very likely to
obtain ; it is not therefore reasonable to
suppose that ibey can become perfect
marksmen. StiU, in the present state of
tactics, the advantage of possessing a num-
ber of men who have been well instructed
m Ihe dutj'.and exercise of light troops is
very important; for, as it is justly ob-
served in the tract before us, '* tliey liave
little to apprehend frtxn cavalry ; the ene-
my can biing but a small number into the
field; and in so intersected a country as
Engiahd, a common degiee of caution
will be sufHcieat to prevent tlieir falling
within their reach. From artillery also
they iiave nothing to fear, as cannon cannot
be pointed at men .scattered asunder, and
seen •oJy^ at inten^als. Against troops re-
gularly ibrmed they are completely an
overmatch ; for the quickest niana?u\TPS
of a battalion cannot keep pace with the
ipd^ndimt movements of light trooj^s/'
p. 125.
We shoidd ^hink it a very advisable
plan to train the small volunteer corps
witich are scattered all over the kingdom
to the iiglrt-inlkitry duty, as in their pre-
sent htate fthey must be entirely uselt'ss if
brought into regular ser\ice. For a body
Of rustics, wholly anacquainted with the
discipline, or even the appearance of a Fe-
giment, cannot with the practice of an
hour or two. iu tiie week be brought to a-
tolt^rable degree of j)erfection in the com-
mcm exeiciae of a battalion ; and it is com-
pletely ioiposMble for a corps, consisting,
as a vast number do, of not more tlian one
ilundred men, " to perform any one ma-
rioBuvre of a regiment. Bring troops like
these lo Utigade with those of the Ihie,
md they wou^d he /bund tu be as ignorant
of their duty as a oompsny of reciuits who
' h»re bten oo^j a w9^\l jxk the KkiU «ew
jeant^s hands ; but teach tJiem to act hide-
peiuianlly, instmct them to conceal them-
selves behind hedges, trees, or inequalities
of tha ground, and from thence to annoy
liie di'Ucbnients and convoys of an enemy,
or iise them to cover tlio moveni-ints and
poffitions of tn)')])s of the line, and you
make tUem of the most important and
essential service.
3ut it is time to come to the more im-
mediate consideration of the work before
us. llie first part of the book treats of
the rifle, and practice of fifing. The dif-
ferent kinds of rifles are e]q>]aincd, and
their several advantages and defects no-
ticed. The directions for target-firing are
very good, and merit the attention of all
volunteer riflemen, as well as die rules to
be adopted in fixii^ the sigjiits, &:c. We
shall give a short extract torn tliis part of
the work. '
" As a sharp-shooter is obliged to take a
different level at his object, at various dis-
tances, it is evidently essential, that Jie
should be a good judge of distances, iu or-
der that he may know which sii^iit to make
use of, or vliat allo\XaiK'e will be necessary
in taking his aim. lie should, therofort!,
be accustomed to step all sorts of dwtanci.'S
within the range of a gun. It is an advan-
tageous practice, for a platoon to be formed
into a single rank, and for an officer, point-
ing to a distinct object to ♦hich ,tliev can
naarch, to ask every man's opinion oV the
di>tance, proceeding fi-oni one ejid of the
rank to the other. ''Hiey muy thL*a be or-
den-d to steji out in ordi;uiry time, and
marched to tlv^ spot, and the nv^asnre tlius
ascertained. Two ohrwts are in this war
eftected by one oppratioii."
** A liflonvm shniUl pnrtirc iriuq in all
posittons; — slaiKling, knecliiiir, s'tlnip:. tiu-
uig on the groiuKi, on the brily ancf the
back ; fvjr tl;c [>reciie tonus of tl'iese ditJer-
ent attitudes, lie may diietiy conbult his own
ca*»e and firmnt ss ; but if appears to nie,
that wlkon staHdijjg, the position is iirme.^t
wh. n erect, and ihe feet only al)OUt t^wlve
inches asunder, the left dbow inthe5iing:
when kneeling, tlie p<^ilion »lioiild- hjcline
to bt: extended, th<; A\)0\v on the left knee :
wh"n sitting, a po^^ili.m something Kke thsit
of a taylor's, I lutve foimd very steady, with
an ellH>w on ea<4i ki)e«: in laying on the
belly, the fore part of.the^un may rest on
the man's hat, and be drawn close to it by
pulling the sling with the Idl hand : when
on the back, the slmg siiould also be held
tight, or thu toes may be endangered : other
positions may be occasionaH> n.*sorted to, font
vrhatever they be, ease miS firmness are in-
dispensably requisite. Loading whilst laying
on the ground ehovkl abo be practised ;*bt:t
?5l
MILITARY Ai^ NAVAL TACItCS-
tliis can scarcely be done, except with cart-
todge/*
Part the second treats c£ the exercise
and manoeuvring of sharp^shobters. The
duty is here very correctly and fully de-
tailed 5 it will be found particularly useful
to die young rifleman, and may be stt^ei
with advantage by all light-infantry tioop^
On the whole we think c^itain fiarbcr't
one of the best manuals that wc have seen,
and we have no hesitation in giving it oar
entire approbation.
Art. III.— n^ Duties (tf Riflemen and Light Irtfantry in the field, compikdfor the Use (f
tlie F'oLunteers of the United Kine;dom. By John Kirke, Commandant of the RttJ'ard
Volunteer Rifle Corps. 12mo. pp. 103*
ing itself to the rear^ is sufficient to produce
a great effect ; and experience- proves, that
retr(^rade movements are catching.
" As soon as the light iiifentry percdre
the enemy retreating, it is to be the signal
IN his introduction to this work, cap-
lain Kirke has stated a fact which very
much tends to confirm an opinion we ad-
vanced in reviewing the last article, that a ^._...^ ^,
laiige proportion of the volunteer force is ^"^ ^ spirited pursuit He mdst be thrown
not by any means so effectual as it migiit jQto complete confusion, and not allowed
be rendered. He says, " It is very much Hmc to rally at a short distance. Light"
to be lamented that so small a proportion
of our volunteers are armed with rifles,
flince it appears, from a list of their num-
ber, that out of 460,000, there are not
more than 5000 riflemen, and most of
them armed at theh own expence." As
we have before fully stated our opinion on
this subject, it is unnecessary to repeat it)
iantr}% however, must halt before it eaten
on open ground, where it might meet vitii
cavalry. It is not lo proceed, until it be as-
certained that there is none at hand. Cavaby,
in an open countr)-, is as destructive to li^
infantry, as light infantry is to cavalry in a
covered countrv.
" The true defence of in&ntry agaiiwt ca-
valry is the use of the bayonet, and in the
we shall only add, that it is a subject which force of a tliick and immoveable body of ntto,
government ought to notice j for, as im- '^'^ * *^"" '^"' " '
mense sums of money have been, and niust
continue to be, expended for the establish-
ment and maintenance of the volunteer
'force, that force ought to be rendered as
efficient as its nature will allow.
CapUin Kirke's book relates principally
to the field-du^ of light troops, and theu-
various uses as piquets, advanced guards,
patroles, skirmishers, &c. which are all
stated with considerable attention and ac-
curacy. In the l6th chapter he treats of
tJie duty of light infantry in an engage-
ment. We shall extract a part of it, as
affording a specimen of the author's mili-
tary skill and information.
«* Battles arc won and lost by a variety of
movements. The manoeuvres of light infantry
in these cases must always be regulated by
the movements of the line.
" In movements lo the front, the light in-
fimtry is to take care to cover well the flank
of the maixrh. If tlie flank be atUcked, the
light infantry must keep its ground, protecting
itself bv hedffes, trees, houses, and every
thing ^^'1lich will enable it to resist. It must
dieti the enemy at any risk, and not think
of its own safety.
'• if no enemy present himself on the flank.
pressed together on en masse. Hones can
neither support nor push each other on, and
the force ot one horse may be checked b)r
the united power and weight of seven or
eight men.
" As the fortune of battles can be equally
balanced but for a short time, if part of the
line be broken, and thrown into confiisioB, it
would be requiring too much from the ligia
infiaintry to suppose that it akme could restore
order, and renew the conflact: dispersed
among the inequalities of the ground, tboe
kind of troops ai-e not capable of a deci^ve
eflbrt
" It is from the nature of the ground that
light infantry, under critical circumstancei,
must look for resources. The commander
must observe the storm, examine upon vfaat
groimd the enemy advances, his own people
retreat, and seize upon the iirst opportunitY
to rally and resTst ; for the flrst events of '%
battle are not always decisive, and fortQi»
is often pleased to change sides several times
witliin a few hours.
*' On every occasion, in all (Kspositiow
and situations, the commander of lignt 'v&sf
try must keep in reserve a certain propoitioD
of his men. With this reserve be will proceed
to the «)ot where he hopes to be able to make
a stand, and will cause the retreat upon him'
self to l)e sounded. The first duty of light
infantr)' is to discern the proper time to ad-
vance, to resist, and to retire. It is not to
to attack the troops which march, the ligiit
infantry will join their efforts to those of the. allow itself to he thrown into confusion,
line, in its attack to the front. If a village, " A battalion which charges another with
a wood, or intienched height, be the object the bayonet, either throws the enemy into am'
of attack, the light infantrv will endeavour to fuskn, 4>r falls into confiisioa itself. The at-
t urn its flank. Aa iaconsiclerabk body ihow« tacks of light infantry ar« pf ac^erest jatuit)
5
klftKE*S tV'tlU 6t LIGHT ttOTANf It.
7^3
fr ftgKt^ al oneti order and scattered, but
^thout diorder or confusion. As it never
romes to cl*se-auarlers with the ent-my, it
ran and ought always to preserve the power
of executing whatever manauvrt^ may he
commanded by flie bueltj-honi. As the whole
of the corps of light inrantry is never engaged
at once, k can more easily retreat or advance,
arcording to cu-cumstances.
•' Light infiintry, acting parallel wifh the
troops of the line, must resist to tlic utmost.
In advancing, it must advance witli them, and.
cover tlieir wmgs ; and if they be forced to
lose ground, it must check (lie enemy at
every hedge, w^^od, and passa^, occasioning
him as much loss, as possible. Thus, the light
infantry of a defeated anny must endeavout
to join together, and gaiti a woody heiftht,
village, or defile» where it may stop the pur-
suit of the eoemy^ and cover the retreat of
the line,''
AsiT. W.-^Thc Drill qfLigfU Jftfantrij and Riflemen, as arranged /of- the Cumherkni
Rangers. By H. Howard. 12mo* pp. l^.
AS fhit work treats ou the same sub-
ject as the two preceding ones, we shall
ha\y observe that the diities of light troops
are detailed at con«idc)rabie lengtb, and we
doubt not it has been feund particiikrly
useful to the corps for which it was drawa
up.
Art. V
V, — The Duties of (he light Cavalry in tlie Fie^d, compiled for the Use of the Yc6*
munvyif the United Kingdonu By Jons iiiRRE. IJ^Ino. pp. 1 17.
THE English Oavaky has been long and
deserxedty celebrated, but the introduc-
tion of light cavalry is of recent date. The
appearanee and discipline of a regiment of
dragoons is completely changed within a
§tw years.- The alteration which lias
taloeii place in the system of military tac-
tics is no where teore apparent than in our
cw'alry, for with iliem, as with every other
species of troops, s]>eed and activity are
fhe grand desiderata. This is suiiicienlly
apparent Irom the addition to the number
et our light troops, from the complete^
ehonge whkh has taken place in the ar-
tillery duty, as Veil as in the equipment
of the regunents of dragoons. The tirst
regiment of light caValry in the kingdom
was raised 'by General Elliot, and tlieir
great superiority was so appaient, tlxit the
use of heavy Jiorse has since tliat time gra-
dually decreased. The yeomanry Cavah-y
of this kingdom are all equipped as light
horse, and it is for their use that Uie pre-
sent liHle work has been written. Cap-
tain Khrke, in thiis,. as well as in his other
publication, has shewn considerable know-
ledge of die subject, and has compiled for
the young liglu horseman a very usefiil
and Qompendious work. We extract the^
concluding chapter, which contains some
useiiil hints to officers of yeopoanry Ca-
valry.
*' Officers of the yeomanry cannot pay too
moch atttintion to the riding of the men un-
der tlieir commajid. During the winter
months, when periiaps frost and snovr will
prevent their meeting so often as usual, they
shouid be constantly exercised in the riding
npu&e, with stript saddles, and without sttr-
lups. Some I have no doubt will ridicule the
Anv. Rev, Vol. IV.
idea of learning to ride, but it is icn||K)ssib]i9
for any person to ride Uke a dragoon Without
being properly instmcted.
" A large bam with the floor covered ovef
witli saw-dusf, will answer the purpose of a ri-
ding-school perfectly well.
'* Every troop sfiould alsio have a leaf^
bar, and tne men shotUd be ttrwdc t& ritte ote^
k frequently ; wIw'h tliey hAve acquired tbf
jp>roper dragoon seat, they must hy all meana
ride across the couBtry in astraiglrt line, from
one point to another; tiMs would be amusing
to the men, and imposing a small fine upon
those who performed worse tiian the fess
would create emulation.
" Horses tliat do not stand fire well, ma^
be soon made to do so by fifing a pistol two
or three times when* their com i» given ta
them.
*' I have before observed that the ytf)*
manry cavalry sfiould by all means be anned
with ritles, and drilled on foot as well as ua
horseback.
'' 'fhe barrels of rifles for (he eavalf/
need not be " ore than tw^ity-one im*hes iri
kngth, and tlie spiral should make about ft
quarter t urn. The ramrods should go through
a sw ivd fixed at tlw; muazle of the rifle, 9Cf
tiiat when dra\Vn out the ramtod cannot &il
to go into tlie barrel, nor can k by any aocif
dent be lost, except the sw Wei should bfeak.
** It is inxpossible to lire w ith any degree
of certainty unless iha \>\op^T quantity of
powder is always used, llie cartridge* M-
nished from the ordnance are generally tiHeil'
with too much powder, both tor Ih^ earbinca
and pistols ; it will not be much trouble 1^
opAi the top, and leave onlV the proper
cnarge in' eacti, there can then be no mistake.
A man must praetise w ith hsA\ continually to
be a good shot either w ith the rifle or pistol.
yaia^ with blank cactndge I am very wall
Cft>ttvinced doeshfliVT, e»a»pito accustom the
horses tg stand tipe.
3C
7W
MILITARY AND XAV^L TACTICS.
*' Wlien a recruit can liandle Iiis arms with
a tolerable degree of east*, he should be made
to fire at a mark, aird when he has got a pro-
per scat, he must fire from his horse with the
pistol, first standing siill, thrn at full sp<»ed,
advancing, retreating, and gallopini; by, for
firing \i'ith blank cartridges can i\t\ er niakc a
man. a good shot.
. •' The suord exercise must also be attend-
ed to: running at the ring,- and cutting at
potatoes on the tops of stidis, cannot be tool
frequently practised.
" It is very advisealjle that some of onr
yeomanry cavalry should have light field-
Art. VI. — A Treatise on the Science of Defence, for the Stiord, BiVfoneU andPikCf in cloie
Action. By Antony Gokdov, A, AL Captain of Invalids, retired, pp* 66. 4ta
pieces attached to them, and truned in ^
same; manner as the royal horse arfiOfcry!
AVe have fe^v volunteer artillery, exc^t m
some of the seaport towns, and tliey are traio-
ed to heavy guns.
" I have no doubt that if the French ef-
fect a landing in this countrj-, they vill brag
with them a brge quantity of light artillery.
The field-pieces which General Humbert
took to Ireland in the last war, were Ii£ht
three^pounders ; they were *woiiied by ^w
men, and drawn by two bad horsei eVenofei'
tlie worst roads-"
THE science of defience is a subject so
interesting and important, that a work
which can give any new ideas upon it will
not fail to command some degree of atten-
tion. Captain Gordon's theor)', according
to his own accburft, has met with tlie sp-
probatioQ of some officers in the army,
and among the rest of General Burgoyne.
But if this officer could give implicit cre-
dit to the assertion of Captain Gordon,
that '* this scifence doubles the niunber of
the forces in all times and places of close
action, and that it invigorates each man
with an addition of power twenty times
greater than his natural force,*' he must
possess a much larger portion of credulity
than it falls td our lot to enjoy. This by*
the bye does not at ^W appear from General
Burgoyne's letter on tlie. subject, which is
printed at the end of the volume.
That our readers mny* know what the
author*s pretensions are, we shall examine
his book rather fully.
; In his introduction he expresses the snr-
prize that he felt when lie firat joined his
tegitnent, at finding *' no exercise for close
action ;" he then enquired what was the
mode practised on the continent, but there
he was astonished to find the same system,
or tather the same want of system, uni-
versally. prevalent. . Then, with all the
extihation of an.alchymist.who had found
tiie philosopbef s stone, he tells us that
" at lengtli he was gratified with a sight-
of the e.xercise in <^ue»tbn, which still re-
maiijs -dormant in the magazines of anti-
quity j io..tlif>se magazineswhich are stored
witW^old and*diaim6nds, from which great
kings, philosophers, orators, poets, and his-
torians, have illumined thcnfisclves .and
theiYcdfihtties.*'. The subject of tlus j-are
discovery, which it §h6uld seem w:as.re- .
served for^ciptatn Gordon to ifiake, he
•blieTngry consents to lay before the public
l^e first section opens with '' the pro'
gress of arms,'' and contains some osefil
information for young^ ladies and gentle-
men respecting certain shows formcriy
celebrated among the Greeks, which were
called Olympic and Isthmian games. This
is followed by a description of the gladia-
torial combats at Rome, equally novel aod
interesting as the former. The captain,
we suppose with a view to astonish his un-
learned readers, has plentifully bedecked
these pages with quotations from Horace,
Vegedus, Cicero, and Homer : atlengtlr
he ventures to draw the following codcIq-
sion : that '* the loss of the science of de«'
fence, and of all discipline, concurred in-
accelerating the fall of tiic Roman empire."
The next line transports us to the year
15/5, when we are told the first efibrt vas
made to recall the science of defence hf
Charles X I . of France ; but it seems " the
reformers," as Captain Gordon calls them,
were not quite so well acquainted with the
power of the lever as he is ^ ** it b there-
fore no wonder that science should havr
retrograded, or remained stationary for l
long intertal/*
In the four following sections are de-
scribed the different guards, thrusts, and
cuts, which are used in fencing, accom-
panied with appropriate and weii-executed
plates. An itch for -Latin quotatioBS
seems to have so possessed the learned
captain, that he is determined to bring
them at any rate, in defiance both of sense
and reason. Tims, for example, in the
following passage :
" Suppose yoiu* adversary will not ad-
vance, but rather wait, for the purpose of
timing you in your first movement. He
stands guarded iri tierce. to allure, you
engage his blade ih quarte, that he voaj
time you witli his quarte-over, as you ad-
vance, from the point volants in ticrc^
and his foible will be precisely applied to
your fort j from this {K>5iuou hurl do>vii I
gobdon's science op dbpbncb.
7^
vertical cat; end your cut in a thrust
along his blade, over the arm. It you
succeed in this stroke^ as you must if you
do your duty, you may continue to pour
in' thrust after thrust incessantly till he sub-
' mits. For you are to carry m your mind
the memento of Virgil.
*' Hae tibt erunt artes, pacisqiie imponere
morem,
Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos." .
" Which," says the captain, " is tlius
elegantly translated by Mr. Dryden.
*' To tame the proud, the fettered slave to
free;
These are imperial arts, and worthy thee."
He then goes on. " If, however, your
antagonist hath recovered quickly, and
parried yoiir assault by the pointe volarUe,
which seems to be the only parade ade-
quate to the purpose^ tiie assault may be
continued." p. 27-
The captain thus opens his next see-
tlon.
" Reader — in the preceding sections
you have a sketch of these elements, the
cultivation of which rendered the Romans
ifivincible in close action. Should you
perceive symptoms of languor either in
the writer or yourself, from too close an
attention to rigid principles, you are re-
commended to lay down the treatise anQ
varjr the scene." p. 28.
Were we to consult our own mclination
merely we should cordially take his advice,
and " lay down, tliis treatise" without
the probability of being tempted to take
it up again, but our duty, as reviewers,
calls upon us to go through with the task
we have undertaken, and we shall there-
fore spend a few m'mutes more witli the
captain.
He confesses himself that he is " a little
fetigued," and by way of recreation pro-
poses ** a little excursion,** in which he
begs for the honour of his reader's com-
pany. '* It cannot be unpleasant to re-
view some small portion of those Eowery
fields which are sown with golden grain.
If it be a deviation, it will not be an un-
profitable one, to pay a short visit to the
father of the esUblished exercises. You
will be iure to find him always at home,"
p. 2g. It is not till after another quota-
tion from Virgil, and another elegant
translation by Mr. Dryden, that we are
informed who this domestic old gentleman
is. He turns out to be Homer, who, it
appears, was the most able tacticiail, and
the best instructor in the art of war, that
«rcr existed. Of course^ a long eulogium is
called forth from captain Gordon, The
^following extract from it will probably.
amuse our readers.
** Are any modern returns comparable to
that of Homer, eitJier in beauty, accuracy/
or in the magnitude and impoitance of iie
information contained ?, Can you witlr such a
model before your eyeij, tiiidk difficult to
niake a return of the strength of a few batta-*
lions? audio observe " whether or not their
" formation, is according to order, the j^roper.
*' distances in column and echeiion are pre-
" served, the wheelings ju'it, the fonxiationg.
" into line true,'* Sec. &c. &c. ; but unluck-
ily, he has left no return of the accurate mode,
of engaging and of fighting your troops in
close action ; no mode of defence or apence;
no mode of making accurate* ihurst, cutSi and
parades; and as you have no practice of that
kind, you can have no returns. Your returns
and observations must be confined to the
movements, which are only preliminary steps,
subservient to- the action ; but these go no
farther, they enter not into the science of at-
tack or defence; they cease unlucKily, in
the crisis o^ action ! the crisis which calls the
loudest for science and dexterity.
Had Homer, the father of the established
exercises, existed at this moment, how enrap-
tured must he have felf himself in witnessing
that divine enthusiasm which animates every
•bosom from the one extremity of the empire
to the other. Now might he exclaim,
" To count them all demands a tiiousand
tongues,
'' A throat of brass, and adamantine
lungs."
*' You see that his style in marching the
phalanges in review before you, in slow
and quick time, has never been paralleled.
His idea was that they should move in a
perfect line, without either opening, swerving,
floating, doubling, or pressiug ; that in every
cadenced step, they should strike the ground,
so as to make it resound, and, as it were,,,
tremble and burn beneath tlieir feet ; nor
is it possible to give any idea of it in any
other words than his own :
01 9' ii^f icttv, Sffci rt 9vpl j(fiinf ««»« A/A0tr9'
The vigour of tliis line is beyond the power '■
of an]r translation. Although you cannot
equal, it is laudable to imitate his precision in
dressing and marching."
*' It is evident, from every line in Homer,
that if he had a fault, it consisted in his excess
of accuracy in marching and dresssing the
forces square to the front. If a single man
stood on parade^ or marched, with any part
of his face or shoulder half an inch out oi the
Uae, he considered the whole line deranged.
The modems have adopted his ideas as to
dressing ; but tlie officers having been once
posted, he would permit no chaDging 9f tbeiv
3C2
756
MILITARY AND NAVAL TACTICS.
po^^itions ; he would not permit the captain^
for exanijjlcj on the right to change to the
left, and froin that to the right, fi>ur times ia
the course of a tew minutes.
" Instructed by the precepts of Homer,Phi-
lip of Maceclon reformed to phalanx^ and
Dtibveited the liberties of Greece. This saiwe
discipline enabled Xeiioplioa to perform won-
ders. 'I his great, perhaps ^eat6>t of gene-
ral, and writers, took ail his military ideas
horn Homer : with a mere handftil, never ex-
ceeding 13,000 nuMi, he surmounted every
difliculty of rivers, mountains, and superior
and surrounding enemies, and ejected his
famous retreat, at tor a march of 11 55 leagues.
Fired by tliese glorious exploits, and conti-
<knt in the superiority of his milUar)' system,
Philip projt'cted the' plan of overt uniing the
PeiMan empire ; fate prevented him fix>in
ejiecuting tliis project, which, of course, de-
volved u|x>n his son. By the means of PIo-
nier, which he caiyfully placed under his pil-
low every night, Alexander readily accom-
plLslied what his lather had so ably projected.''
We now come to the most important
part of Captain Gordon's book, in which
he proposes a new method of attack and
defence with the bayonet. He wishes
that our troops should be instructed in a
regular and scientific use of that weapon.
As tar as relates to single combat this is
all VLTy feasible, but to suppose that a
charge of bayonets can be rendered more
irresistible by a knowledge of the rules of
fencing, betrays a considerable portion gf
credulity. In the tremendous shock of,
two contending armies, the skill of the
swordsman can avail nothing; muscular
strength must determine the contest : a
soldier will then liave neither opportunity
nor power to practise any of the fourteen
rules which Captain Gordoi^ has laid
down. A charging artny is like a vfokfit
and rapid torrent, which by its weight
and velocity bears down every thing be-
fore it ; if the line therefore be at once
compact, firm,-atid swift, nothing caa
withstand it, for common experience win
teach every man to make his thrust in
the most powerful and eliective way.
Captain Grordon s rules for the defence rf
infantry against cavalr)', especialiy wheie
they encounter in small bodies is desen-
ing attention. Individual fkkill aiul per*
soual activity will go tar towards deciding
the contest.
In die appendix Captain Gordon at-
tempts to prove the assertion that by tbt
adoption of his plan " the nnraber of forces
would be doubled in all times and in ^
plac«.'S." Ihat a disciplined army lias as
evident advantage over an uddisciplined
one, no one, we believe, wiU attempt i»
deny, but that any degree of skill can give
a man ** an additional power twenty hmes
greater than his natural force," require*'
such an uncommon stretch of our credn-
lity, that although the captain triumphant-
ly concludes w»fth quod est demottsitamdam,
we must beg leave to withhold our behef
Captaift Gordon has adopted a new
theor}*', and like all other men in a siimlv
case, he cannot be content with pniisiog
it as it deserves, but he mu^5t attempt to
prove tliat it will pefform ini|x>ssibilitie<.
We wish for his own sake, as well as that
of hi^ readers, tliat he would have givm
his book to the world in a more simple
and modest garb, for the affectation t€
great learning, where only plain and
simple language is necessary, is of all the
kinds of pedantry the most disgusting.
AUT. VII. — Jn Ksmt/ on Naval Tactics, Stfstematkal and Historical, xvith cxplanatay
Plates. Ill four Parts, By John Clkrk, E,s(f. of Eldin, Feltov: t^' Ahc Society i^'
Scottish ^ntiffuaricK, aiul oftlic Royal Society oj Edinbur^lL Second Edition, Aio, ]jpw
303. 3'i plates.
IF it is true (as indeed there seems no
good reason for doubting) that the splendid
s»Ui!cess which has crowned every general
action in vvljich the British fleets have been
engaged, from Lord Rodney's victory on
the 1 2th of April, 1782, to tlie battle of
I'rafolgar, has been owing in a grcai mea-
sure to the theory of naval tactics laid down
in the l>ook before us, no doubt can exist
of its high importance and real intrinsic
merit. Deeply imprejsed with this senti-
ment, and jiiKious that the author .should
hjive every possible justice done to him,
we reserved his work tor our present vo-
lume, ill tiic hope ot' l)eing aLi«# to prevail
4
ort some of our naval acquaintanee to ft-
vour us witli M)ch a critical and profes!»iooal
review of it a>thc magnitude of tlie subject
may justly dt-niand. in this hope, h4>w-
ever, we have been disapi)ointed : the exi-
gencies of the public have put swords into
those hands into which we would gladly
hive plactd the pen, and by requiring
from them practical comments bn Mr.
Clerk's dicoiy, Hlwe deprived ourselves
and oiu* readers of the benefit of their cri-
tici sm . N oth i ng therefore remains for us
but to ^ive a short analysis of this valuablor
'• evsay."
Tli^ voluuic before us b dii4ded iiiK>> '
CLBHK S ESSAY ON Ki^VAL TACTICS,
1^1
fottT parts : of these the first \\'as printed
separately in 1/81, iiot for the purpose of
tale, but of being db«tributed among the
naval friends of the author. It was agaia
reprinted by itself in the year \1\\0\ b^t
k does not appear that the otlier three
parts were published previous to 1804, the
^e of rile present edition.
The general introduction is for the most
part iiistorical, and is intended to show
that notwithstanding the acknowledged
bravery and general naval skill of our sea«
men, and notwithstanding the success that
bad tisually attended us in rencounters of
single ships, yet not a single general ac-
tion bad been fairly fought on equal terms
with decisive effect against tlie French, or
French and Spaulards combined, fron^
Alatthews's affair in the Mediterranean, in
2/^44, to admiral Graves's action ofl* the
Chesa|ieak, in 1/81. But if tlie British
had on these occasions taken no ships from
the enemy, XK^ithcr had tliey lost <)ny, so
that in this point of view the two contend-
ing parties were nearly equal. With re-
piwl, however, to another very important
circumstance, a very material difference
subsisted between the French and English.
The former being a continental power,
and accustomed to make war by means of
its army, considered its navy as principally
useful in giving protection to its trade^
and co-operating occasionally with its
{nilitary forces. Hence the French com-
manders by sea naturally adopted a defen-
sive system of tactics ^ while the English,
on the other hand, placing their chief re-
liance for active warfare on their fleets,
have betit all their attention to the ma-
•nocuvres requisite for compelling the ene-
my to close action. This difference iti
the naval character of the two nations has
been constantly increasing, so that now it
seems to be completely understood by both
parties that the British must be tlie assail-
ants, and thai the greatest advantage which
•the French can ever hope for is, to escape
from the field of battle with as little da-
mage as possible. Hence Mr. Clerk's bo<jk
is not, properly speaking, so much a system
of naval tactics, as of diat branch of Uiem
which treats of tlie H>ost decisive method
of conducting zxi.aitack. On ihe science
of defence he is wholly silent j but we
trust that tlie time will never come when
the British navy shall have cause to regret
tliis deficiency.
The first part relates to the attack /row
<he icinfitfrar^/, as practised by single ships
and l^ fieets* The author shews that in
iht former case k has always been the
custom for the commander ofthe attack-
ing ship to make his approaches in such a
manner as to be on equal terras with the
enemy during the whole of his course. A
ship may be brought to close action by a
superior sailer to windward in three ways:
first, by running down astern and getting
nearly into the wake of the enemy, and
then coming up close alongside; secondly,
by shooting aliead then wearing and run-
ning down on the wedther-lww of tlie
enemy, forcing him to bear away to lee-
ward J or thirdly, on coming parallel to
the enemy, to bear down directly end-
wise till the two vessels are snfficiently
near for close action. In the two first
cases it is obvious that whenever the ship
receiving the attack can bring its broadside
to bear, the ship making the attack cao
also do the same, and therefore that tliey
are on equal terms ; and it is equally ma-
nifest that b the tliird case the attacking
ship, during the whole time that she is
bearing down, is exposed t9 a raking
broadside from her antagonist, to which
she lias nothing to oppose but her two
bow-chases : hence it must necessarily
hapjjen tliat the attacking ship will be
more or less damaged in her rigging, be-
fore she has an opportunity of commencing
the action, in consequence of which her
antagonist may generally take the option
of sailing oflfwidiout injury, or of com-
mencing a close action under very fiivour-
able circumstances.
From the combats of single ships, Mr.
Clerk proceeds next to the method c?f
bringing fleets into action. In almost all
these cases the Briti:>h have been the as-
sailants, and by attempting top much have
very generally failed of their object. The
aim of the British admirals, in conformi^
to the fighting instructions, has been to
detain and bring to close action the tc/to{e
of an enemy's squadron : in conformity
with which the van ship of the British has
been directed on the van ship ofthe ene-
my, and so of every other ship in succes-
sion. But this can be done only by bear-
ing down endwise, ship for ship upon the
enemy, or forming the line abreast, or
else in the Uisking niethod in which tlie
line is formed, ahead, and directed in a
slantir.g position on tlie enemy. In the
first of these cases, an engagement be-
tween two fleets may be considered as a
combat between several pairs of ships, in
whicl> the assailants make tlie attack in
the most disadvantageous manner possi-
ble, as already shewn in the case of single
shipsi In the second method^ it is ub\ i-
758
MILITARY AND NAVAL TACTICS.
ous that the less slanting, or the more
perpendicular the line of ottack is, the
more it approaches to the iirst case, and
is liable to the same objections : and in
proportion as the course is made more
slanting, it is manifest that a longer line
ftiust be'described before thevan ship of the
assailing squadron can fetch the van of the
enemy, during the whole of which course
the van ships b^ing exposed to a heavy
lire from nearly the whole of the enemy's
line, will suffer proportionably, and be
more or less di!?abled. But if even a
single ship in the van of the attacking
fleet is materially injiued, her course will
be retarded, as also will be that of every
ship in. her rear : hence the headmost
ships will be separated from the rest, and
exposed to an unequal combat with the
enemy. If the damtiged ship is unable to
proceed, or if her s(?coDd astern is impa-
tient to join the van, the wounded ship
must be passed either to windward or lee-
ward : in r"h«"r of which cases time is
lost, and the line runs 4 great risk of being
broken: not 10 nieiitioii that each ship
whidi jKisses to leeward is subject to be
raked fore and aft, while performing tliis
manoeuvre. Another circumstance de-
cisively in favour of the fleet thus attack-
ed, is that the ships composing it present
their windward or starboard broadsides to
the enemy, and therefore their shot takes
a much longer range than the larboard
batteries of their adversaries, and this in
proportion to th« force of the wind at the
time. Hence it appears that a fleet to
•windward joining bjitle with another to
leeward in the manner described, even if
both parties are equally willing, must suf-
frr severely, especially in its rigging, be-
fore it has an opjwrtiinity of retaliating ;
and where the fleet receiving tlie attack
is not disjx)sed to come to close action,
. it may readily retire under cover of the
smoke of both fleets from an advtrrsar)' al-
ready crippled. Such was tlie relative
state of British and French naval tac-
tics during many years : the former aim-
ing at the entire destruction of the enemy,
made the attack as described ; in conse-
quence of which tlie van of the British
was always more or less crippled, and
separated from tlie rest of the fleet, and
thus began the action with the van pf the
enemy unsupported, and to great disad-
vantnge ; in the mean time the- van ships
of the enemy, after a short action, (vore in
succession, and passed to leeward, while
t,hc rest ot' ihcir fleet making sail ahead,
filled up the vacancy, and thus discharged .
the fire of the whole line on the Briiidi
van, before the centre and r^r divisions
could come up to its support Thus the
enemy was enabled to form a new line,
unmolested, two or three miles to leeward
of the former, in readiness to repeat pre-
cisely the same manoeuvre, if their ad-
versaries were at all disposed to hazard a
second attack. So entirely were the
French convinced of the efficacy of tius
system of defence, that they often volun-
tarily yielded the wind to the British, amd
as often gained the advantage in the sqI».
sequent battle, as far as withdrawing un-
hurt and damaging their adversaries can
be called an advantage.
Having tlms eiLplained the old system
of naval tactics, both of the British and
French, as far as regards the attack from
the. windward, Mr. Clerk proceecb to
cite, in confirmation of the objectiora
which he has made to this mode of pro-
ceeding, the battles of admiral Byng off
Minorca, admiral Byron off Grenada, ad*
miral Arbuthnot oft* the Chesapeak, and
admiral Rodney otf'Martinico 5 in all of
which the British line being disordered
while at a distance, tlie van has been se-
parated firom the rest of the fleet, and has
had to sustain the whole lire of the eneniy
ship by ship, as they passed in succeb&ioo,
to form a • ew line to leeward.
The mode of atuick pT oposed by Mr,
Clerk to supersede that, the dL<advaD-
tages of which he has thus demonstrated,
is the following ; let the attacking fice^,
instead of forming one long line, be ar<»
ranged in three parallel divisions orcot
lums. When the headmost ships of d«
fleet have got within the distance of three
or four miles from the rear of the enemy to
leeward, let one of the divisions be de*
tached to force an attack on the three or
four rear ships of tlie enemy, by falling in
their wake, and coming up alongside,
while the rest of the fleet forms a line by
divisions to tlie windward, in order to ob-
serve that part of the enemy's squadron
which is not engaged. This being done,
and the wind still continuing in the same
quarter as at first, one of two things must
necessarily happen : either the enemy
must abandon the ships in Ills rear thM.
are already engaged J or he muht return
to their support, and come into action to
a disadvantage, and as close as his adver-
sary pleases. Having laid down the gor
ral plan of attack, Mr. Clerk proceeds in
the subsequent sections to examine the
different methods by which the remainder
of the enemy's fleet may attempt to dis-
CLERKS ESSAY ON KAVAL TACTICS.
759
engage their rear ships. They may at-
tempt it in four ways, by tacking to wind-
ward in succession, or all at once, or wear-
ing to leeward in succession, with the van
ahead, or at once with tliq rear ahead.
But in none of these cases, as the author
shews by diagraips, can the enemy suc^
ceed witliout coming, at a disadvantage,
into close action with the rpserved part of
the adverse fleet.
If the commander of the enemy is
aware in time qf the meditated attack upon
his rear, he will endeavour to avoid it by'
wearing and endeavouring to pass to lee-
ward of the other fleet on the contrary
tack ; but the time requisite for this will
enable his adversary to obstruct the line of
his course, and either bring him to dose
action, or force him directly to leeward :
in which latter pase he must sustain a
jcannonade on equal terms, and will pro-
bably lose any ship tliat happens accident-
ally to b^ crippled.
The concluding sections of the first part
arc occupied in demonstrating wliat would
be the modifkatjons of the attack from the
windward in case of a cliange of wind dur-
ing the action.
The second part relates to the attack of
fleets Jrom the leeward. This may take
place when the two opponent squadrons
are on the same or on opposite tacks. Of
the first case, or tlie simple attack-, there
are very few examples, the French always
preferring to receive battle to leeward, or
on contrary tacks to windward. This
latter, called by Mr. Clerk the cross at-
tack, used to be thus conducted : the lead-
ing bhip of the leeward fleet fetching the
^nemy as near the van as possible, the two
squadrons were brought parallel, apd con-
tinued linder easy sail, eschangitig broad-
sides till thpy had entirely passed each
other. By this manner of proceeding the
hostile fleets engaged indeed oq equal
terms ; but the action was necessarily of
such short duration, as to prevent any thing
decisive from tiking place. Suppose the
rate of sailing in each* fleet to be no moi^
than two miles and a l^alf an hour (a mo-
tion absolutply necessary to give the rud-
der a good command of the ship), then
the time during which any two ships can
be in direct opposition to each other does
not exceed half a minute, and the space
between any- two contiguous ships in the
same line will be passed ovpr in* one mi-
niite and a half, if the ships are drawn up
with the usual intervals between each
other. Therefore, in order that each ship
^ould give and receive only a« many
broadsides as there ar|^ ships in the oppo-
site squadron, eyery broadside must be
prepared in a minute and a half, and dis-*
charged in half a minute.
In order to make the attack from the
leeward more decisive than it has hitherto
beeli, Mr. Clerk proposes the manoeuvre
of cutting the enemy's line. This caij
only be done whe', the two fleets meet oil
opposite tacks 5 and the most simple man-
ner of effecting it is for the van ship of the
attacking squadron, instead of ranging pa-
rallel with and to leeward of the ppemy,
to pass through the ^rst intervjjl that ocf
curs, and tlius lead the line directly across
that of the eqemy. In consequence of
this the van of the leeward fleet will be to
windward of the enemy's rear, while its
rear will still be to leeward pf the ep^my's
van : thus the attacking squadron willpre*-
serve its own line entire, whil^ that of its
adversary will b^ cut in two. Further^
tlie ships in the rear division thus inter-
cepted having their progress obstructed,
are \try likely to cro^yd one upon the
other and get into confusion, iii which
state they must be forced to leeward.
If the line of the enemy }s cut withia
three ships from the rear, these ships must
necessarily be forced so far to leeward,
that the admiral of the attacking fleet,
having detached a sufficient force to comt
pel them to a speedy surrender, will be able
to form the rest of his squadroi^ in line o£
battle between the main body of the inter^p
cepted rear of the ^nemy 5 the consequence
of which will be, ^hat these sjiips will b^
secured before th^ enemy's van can be
brought to tlieir assistance, nor can he
possibly reco\'er them witliout previously
defeating. in close actjon the interpose^
line of battle.
When the line of tl^e enemy is cut pear,
the centre, all the'sl^ips astern of the in-
terval through which* the attacking fleet
has past will be retarded and forced to lee^*
ward : in the mean time the van of th^
assailants ranging to windward, and their
centre and rear coming up, the enemy's
rear will be forced to put before thewindi •
^nd will probably lose all their hea\7 sail- »
ing vessels before their van fan give, any -
assistance.
'' Similar consequences will ensue if (he
line of the enemy is cut so as to separate
the Best of the fleet from the van 5 but in ^r
this case tlie attack being made on the
combined rear and centre of the enemy,
the success yf'iH not be so certain.
Another mode of attack from the lee*-
ward is^ for the yaa ship of U^ attacking
y8o
mijutahv anp naval TAcncs.
tqtuidron^ followed by the three next
astern, to range under the lee of the ene-
my^ while the fifth ship^ with all the rest
astern, passes across the enemy's line aud
fhus cuts it in two. This mode, like the
precediof, divides itself into three separate
cases. U the attack is made on the four
pternmost ships of the enemy, the fo^r
leading ones of the attacking squadron
range dose pnder their lee, while tjie rest
pass between ti^ fourth and fifth from the
enemy's rear, thas completely sepamting
these four ships firom tlicir friends, which
being vigorously attacked both on the
windward and leeward qv^arters, iuid also
ahead, must necessarily be taken. IfuJie
enemy's line is cvit about tlie centre, in the
jftianner just described, the success is more
doubtful, us the four ships detached to
}p^vi;»Yi will have to sustain unsupported
j9 cannonade firom half the enemy's squa-
dron. Still greater will be the rihk of
failure when the line of tlie enemy is cut
between the vjaji and centre ; so that upon
the whole Mr. Clerk is of opinion that
this mode of attack should be directed
only upon the enemy's rear.
A third modification of attack fi'om the
Jeeward is, for the attacking admiral.. Xq
fetch the centre of the enemy's fleet with
bis leading ship, to range wita the van and
half the centre to leeward of the enemy,
and to pass across his line with the remaini>
iug half of the fleet. By this means, if
the two fleets are of equal force, say 24
tfail each, the 1 2 rear ships of the enemy
will be separated fi-om die rest at tie very
jtime in which they are ensued with m
equal squadron to leeward. The headmost
aliip.s of this reardi\ision will be forced to
Jeeward by the ship which cut the line,
and will be pressed still further and fur-
jther down the wind a^ the rest of the at-
tack ing squadron comes up. In the mean
time, the leading ships of the divisiojQ
which passed to leeward havbig ranged
beyond the enemy'* rear, will put about
m succession to obstruct his passage to
kew^rd on the starboard quarter, whUe
tj>e rear ships of the windward division
will bt^ar 4own cm the krboard. In these
circupastHpccs tlie intercepted division of
the enemy mast put about to go before
the wiud, ^4 iQ efiectii^ this will be se-
^^cely raked by the van ships of tlie wind-
waixT diviisjk>a» with the certamry of having
,U ^ C/ifpkd ships j^cjfsi vp by tb^
vessels that are closely prcs^lqg on Ui
Vlttrboard and larboard quarters. At the
moment of cutting the line the van ship of
the enemy will be at least two miles ahead,
and the distance will have coondnablj
increased b^ore any measures can fat
taken to assist the intercepted part of his
fleet 3 so thftt they will be able to give
little or no molestation t'dl the cripplai'
ships of his rear are seemed by the a&iiaik
ants.
Tlie last mode of attack invettigated
by Mr. Clerk is the perpendicular, or the
attack at right angles. Suppose a Qozne*
rous fleet, form^ in an irregular liDd
abreast, extended to a great le^tb £pom
windward to leeward, and let a saonk
smaller hostile fleet be observed, as tin
fog clears, steering in a contrary direcdm
to the larger fleet, witli tbe line d'battlt
formed aheadi at a few miles distancfs. lo
this situation of affairs (as actually la^ipeo^
ed in the morning of the battle otf Capi
St. Vincent), it is plain that the larger
fleet may be defeated witli the loss of im
windward ships. The smaller fleet most
push on to windward, and divide the eiiet
my's line between the fiflh and sixth
ship to windward i then the whole fleet
tacking at the same time, a suffident
force from the rear must be detached to
carry the intercepted ships, while the via
forms a line to leeward of the divisioos
now engaged in close actioi^ in order to
prevent the rest of the larg^ fleet fiom
working to windward, and diaeogapig
the division thus cut otfl
Tiie thicd part of this work codsisIi
pnly of a few pages written in a vefy de«
sultory manner, and applytiw the priii-
ciples laid down in the two tomer parti
to the engagements of Matthews aoi
The fourth part is entirely historical,
and narrates tLe jgallant action of Sir
Samuei Hood, in Basse Terre roads, St
Christoplier's, February 24, J 782. M
miral Rodney's battle of the 12(h of April,
1782, and th& two actions in the East
Indies, between Sir Edward Hughes and
Suffrein, on the J/lh of Febnwiy, ani
the 1 2th of April in tlie same year.
The style is plain smd clear, and thenur
inerous diagrams re^ider the various des*
criptions suflicientjy intelligible even to
those who are but very super^ially 9fi
(^ualuted With iiavol {i^^tips.
B8ATSOV S NAVAt Ain» MXIITART MBMOIRS.
A»T. VIII. — Xaval and Afilitari/ Memoin qf Great Britain from 1727 to 1783.
^Robert Beatsoit, Esq. L, Z. />. 6 vols. 8vo.
76t
THE work before us is intended as a
•equal to Dr. CampbeU's Lives of the Ad-
mirals, and accordingly commences where
that useful publication terminates. It is
divided into two parts or series, of three
Tolunies each ; of which the former (xirt,
which concludes with the peace of 17t^»
w:3s first pul;>lished about sixteen years
ago, and is reprinted without any material
alteration in the present edition.
I'he anangement of these iiieraoirs is
chronological, and in the form of annals :
the first, second, fourth, and fifth volumes
■ are kistorical and narrative ^ the third and
aixtJi volumes are appendixes <o die two
parts, and ai^ occupied by various iis^iU
documents, which could not without ia-
convenience have been introduced into the
larrative*
The account of the naval transactions is
full and conipleat; giving a particular
account not only c^ the combats of fleets
atid .s()uadrons, but noticing every action
fought by single ships in the public ser-
vice, and the more remarkable of (hose
in which privateers have been engaged.
The military transactioas are '' only such
as have a relation to maritime affairs, or
ice comiected with oaval services.*' But
though tliis is the declaration of the au-
thor ia the prei&ce, yet tibe uiterestkig
^euts of the revolution war in America
have in many instaooes seduoed him to
deviate from his original intention; for
we know not 1^ wliat latitude of con-
struction the surprise at Treniton, and the
surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, can
be considered as iu the smallest degree
oonnccted witli naval transactjions.
The pen of Dr. Beatscuo is|o generally
characterized by fainiess and ifhpartiality,
(hat we are both siH*priHed and concerned
to find him still bestowing on the Ameri-
can republicans the appellation of rebeh,
pA in many instances doelinin^ to confer
on Washington, Gates, Lincoln, apd the
other leaders, the title of general. The
display of such k petty party-spirit, is a
proof of bad taste and illibendity, and is
no more justifiable than it would be to call
the royal house of Brunswick a dynasty of
usurpers, and the convention that decreed
the expulsion of James U. an assembly
of rebels and traitors.
The frequent want of success attending
oar general naval actions with the French,
previously to the gfeat victory on the 12th
of April 17B2, is not attributed to a del^
in our system of naval tactics, but to the
imperlect state of our naval signals : it
may, as appears to us, with great proprietjr
be charged to both pauses.
Another instance in which Dr. Beatsoo
diliers from received opinion, is in repre-
senting the dtvisioii of the enemy's line of
battle by admiral Rodney, on the 1 2th of
April, as the efiect of accident and the
wind, aiui not of a preconcerted plaiu
In part perhaps this may have been the
case, but as the British admiral, before he
sailed from England, was certainly ac-
quainted with Mr. Clerk's essay on naval
tactics, in which this manoeuvre is. pro*
posed ; as W also had expressed his ap«
probation of it, apd his resolution to prao
tise it on the first opporcunity, it is surel|r
reasonable to qondude^ that, akhongh ac-
cjdeot may have created the oppdrtunity,
yet some credit is to be given to the adU
miral for availing himself of it
Dr. Beatson has perfemed the task
which he has undertaken so well, that we
trust he will consider himself as in some
degree bound to undertake ifae naval his-
tory of the last war, and record tbose^
splendid triumphs of our maritime fiirces^
which have been equalled by no country^
and in no age, and to which Britain is so
deeply indebted both for her glory and
lier safety.
( m >
CHAPTER XVI.
AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL ECONOMY,
IN dus important departmeot, the last year furnishes us only witli three articles.
The *' Communications to the Board of Agriculture,'* considered as a whole^ is mA
abundantly superfluous, yet contains a few papers of sterling value. Mr. Lawrence s
Treatise on Cattle is entitled to the merit of practical utility ; and Mr. Luecock's work
on the nature and properties of wool, contains matter of high interest bath to the giai
zier, the wool-stapler, and the general reader.
Art. 1,-^4 General Treatise on Cattle, the Ox, the Sheep, and the Su:i7ir ; comprehending
t/ieir Breeding, Management, and Diseases. Dedicated to the Right Hon. Lord Somer-:
tillCf by Jqhn Lawrence. 8vo. pp. 650.
. Ma. LAWRENCE is author of the
<* New Farmer's Calendar/* a " Treatise
<xi Horses/* and other works connected
with agriculture, which have great repu-
tation for utility. He has joiued to very
extensive personal experience and obser-
vation the result of tne experience and
observation of noacy of the best writers,
ancient a^d modem, who have treated on
cattle and the comparative excellencies of
tlie various breeds of them. A large body
of facts and opinions as to their manage-
ment and diseases are brought together
in these pages; they are related with per-
spicuity^ and reasoned on with judgriient.
We consider Mr. Lawrence as a writer of
good sense and extensive observation, and
as being exempt from those vulgar preju-
dices which ignorance has generated and
obstinacy perpetuated on the general treat-
ment of cattle, and particularly on their
diseases. In his huinorous and spirited
attacks on quack medicines and quack
doctors we heartily join, and cannot but
express our sui-prize as well as regret,
fiihce stock of every description is bred
with such care, and reared to suph perfec-
tion, that tlie value of them has of late
years incredibly increased j yet we have
few or no persons professionally conver-
sant in their diseases, or regularly educated
m the investigatiAa of them. Mr. Law-
rence may see, by a reference to the An*
nual Review (vd. I, p. 755), that the ne-
cessity of some such plan as he now pnh
poses for the education of a number of
persons in comparative nosology, to be
aftorwards distributed over the country,
bad before impressed itself upop onr
minds, aud that we suggested it to the
consideration of a worthy baronet, wbo
has for many years evinced great zeal in
the interests of agriculture. Mr, Law-
rence*s proposal is, that
'* The affair of providing: th<* country witl^
regulair-brpd surgeons, for ilie priicticeof cst-
tle medicine, be immediately iindertakniby
the agricultgral societies ; at least^ thut the
expennient be made by some of the mo?t
caiixidiTable, each society engaginir a gpntlei
man of that dc^cription,"at a saiiVcient and
repectable annual stipend. The contract may
nm ill such fonn, that should the surgeon's
annual emdruiuent from practice* come jJiort
of the stipulated sum, the deficiency sIkiuM
animally be made good by hts patrons the
society. No person 'to be engag<*d on any
pretence, but who shall liave received He
usual education of a surgeon, and Jiave attemi-
the hospitals the usual length of tipie. A
selection of veterinary text-books to be made,
and the books purchased for the u^^eofthe
surgeon, but to reniain the propertjofthc
society. This may consist of Gibson's last
edition, 2 vols. Bracken, Bartlett, Osiner,
Layard, with our late writers ; and La Fosse
and Bourgelat from the French, with what-
ever may have been published since tliejr
I.ikt(rR£KGB's TBEATI8E ON CATTLE.
763
tlmjCy by authority of the French veterinary
schools. All the members of the society and
their connections, as Uv as their mtiuencQ may
cxteijti, to entrust the care of their diseased
animals to the su.geon appjinted, at a Ihir
and liberal charge ior his atlLnduuce and me-
dicines. The SLirin.'o.n io keep a regular hist
tory ot all the cases which shall come under
his m'^pectioii, iiicludhig the presufned causes
and byinptonis of the disease, with ths proba-
ble mttliods of prevention; his mode ot treat-
ment^ a particular detail of tiie medicines
prescribe<f their operation, witli every rela-
tive ulJ useful renuirk which may oc.:ur. A
clear writien c py of such veterinary Mmnsac-
tlon >, ♦© be dtlivered anuaally, and on a cor-
tam d ly, to the society, to tem^in at thei^p
disposal/'
Aitf :- end:avuaring to impress strongly
on h.s rri l-ra the belief that all infallible
fe.'ti; :.v are infallible nonsense, Mr. Law-
" There is only one view, in which I can
givo i::ein hop. >, but those are of the most
bri.ii lut kinl, and well worth their utmost
ail ;,ipt- to encourage ; I mean the hopes, or
r;\tlie: c »iri|':*.'te ceilainty of success, from
ti.e iin.ii/ioe rcr^i;jt of pFevt-ntion, singly
wort:* Hiorj thaa ail the infallible cordials
and :iie.l; iin'S ever iidvertiscd. It should be
cun.->*acrod, tlua utinals living in a state. of
uatuu-, rt;.;wlat<,/ by th*^ n ason and experi-
yute of man, vcalJ be i*!most e.\empt trom
disease. Thai tlieir appehtes, unlike ourown,
may b»j held under a constant coutroul. That
their dise.i es result parely, even in the case
ot htri'ditary cleletts, from the negligence or
erroneous treatment of their oyrners. 1 hey
are either exposed too jnuch to the . rigours
and cjianges of the vv eathor, or they arc? gorged
with food, denied a sullicient quantity, or supr
plied with such as is unwholesome, TIere we
have the chui causes of their maladies, learn,
to prev(»:kt then, instead of undertaking the te-
dious, unsuitable, ana hopeless task of ieurnlng
to cure them. Ot all things, let the proprie-
tors of cattle renounce for ever the in.-ana
folly, of Oifering premiums for specilics to cure
incurable diseases ! and the hope of provid-
ing medicines, which, by a miraculous opera-
tion, will enable men to continue in the ha-
bit of exposin»^ theur animals to the constant
risk of such diseases ; for e.vample, sheep in
those situations, which nature has decreed
Sfiali for ever rot them."
Concerning the rot, doctors, sheep-doc-
tors, have long disagreed : it has been at-
tributed to various causes,' and lately with
much contidence to the fluke, the embryo
of which, it is supposed, being taken iuler-
xiaily by the auinial with its food, pro-
ducer the disease so called. Mr. Law-
jcnce suspe^;^ the effect to have beea mis-
taken for the cause, and demands of those
who suppose them to have been received
from without " in the state of eggs or
s^ed, to demonstrate by what route such
seeds could possibly arrive at and enter
into the substance of. the liver and brain,
or the blood-vessels of an animal body;
and farther to exhibit specific patterns of
those insects living upon the earth without
the body. It is mere assertion (he conti«
nues) that real flukes have been found ad-
hering to plants and stones, nor do the
worms bred in the animal body bear anj
certain specific similitude to earth- worma^
or any other insect.*' £ut if these ^sciol^
are not received from without, whence do
they originate ? Mr. Lawretnce, we fear,
has entangled himself in a more difficult
problem than that which he ofi^rs so tri-
imiphantly for solution. The exploded
doctrine of spontaneous vitality and equivor
cal generation was revived by Dr. Darwin,*
and spems to be embraced by Mr. Lawr
rence, who in the choice of twq evils has
not used his ordinary judgment,
A curious fact is luentioned in the Sus*
sex repQj;t, namely, that eighty ewes, froai
Weyhill fiiir, being turned into some fields
adjoining a watered rheadow, twenty of
them broke into the rpeadow one nighty .
and were taken out in the morning and
kept till they ' lambed : they produced
twenty-two lambs, aU which lived, but
every one of the ewes died rotten before
May-day. The remaining sixty made
themselves fat, nor was tliere a single
rotten sheep among tjiem. Mr. Lawrence
attributes the malady to cold caught by
the animals and afterwards neglected, not
to their feeding for a, few. hours on crude
watery herbage, although a continuance
on such food he believes would infallibly
produce tli^ disease^ Catarrh, followed
by glanders, he says, is a very common
cause of the rot, having himself witnessed
tile progress of the disease in a great nuoiT
ber of instances : sheep are very subject
to catarrl], and its most malignant effects
are very speedy with this species of ani-
nial. The remote cause of rot then, acr
cording to Mr. Lawrence, is long exposure
to stagnant moisture and its effluvia, or
too great and continued humidity of either
air, earth, or food : the efi'ects of the rot
aiefasciolce kepaticis!
Surely the anecdote of Mr. Bakewel}
caniiot be true : we should be sorry to see
it authenticated, as it would lowpr hin|
very much in our estimation.
* In one of the notes to The Temple of Nature.
764
AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL ECC»:OMT.
' Ahhotigh the puHicationfi of lord So-
biei ville, sir Joseph Banks (ia the Aunals
of Agriculture), Dr. Parr}% Mr. Bartley,
&c. and the practice of these geDtkinea,
together with that of his majeiiij, have at
lerigth in a great measure overcome the
auspicious prejudices of the wool-buyers
ag;nnst the introductiou of Spanish sheep
Into this country, fw the purpose of pro-
Aicing our own fine wools ; yet we consi-
der the large collection of facts which Mr.
Lawrence has brought together^ disproving
the alleged degeneracy of the Spanish
breeds when exported from tlieir own
rmintry, as by no means superfluous or
inopportunely oftered to the public. It
appears from a history by Mr. Lasteyrie,
iH' the introduction of fine-wooled Spanish
•heep into the different states of Europe
^d the Cape of Good Hope, that the
breed is umversally diffused over the con*
tiaent, and that so far from having dege-
nerated, the naturalized merinos have in
iomc places exceeded m size and strength
those bred in Spain, and the fleeces lost
iiODC of their quantity, fineness, or elasti-
city. In this country we have of Ute years
maaufiictttred home-grown Spanish wools
into ^upurfine clotlu and kerseymeres
Irom the flocks of his maiesty, lord So-
merville. Dr. Parry, and others, and they
bsve been acknowledged by impardth
judges to be in no respect inferior to
dotbt made from rhe imported wools.
The objection urged against the Spanish
cross, ^at carcase is sacriticed to wool, a
Koaller <)U«utity of mutton being fatted
per acre is fruile in tl)c ex-treme : in point
of flav4)ur no mutton is finer than tlie Spa^
lli«h, nor is any breed more disposed to
fetten, or in proportion to the boue pro-
duces a larger quantity of flesh. If the
breed i« souiller in atiy given degiee, by
one*fi3urth for example, th» that b( tk
old flocks we are accustomed to graie,
the obvious remedy is to encrease by one-
fourth the number of the new flock : tbii
is the plain system of compensation. Aim>-
ther remedy presents itself^ thit of ca-
grafting the Sp|xuiJi stock upon some of
our larger breeds. With this view Mr.
Lawrence recommends the Doiiset, as tbty
have been found to produce the bi^
half-bfeeds from tlie Spanish ram. Sboold
this be inferior to die Ryeiand cro«,
(brought into fashion almost exclu&ird;
by lord Somerville and Dr. Parry) in re-
spect to fineness of wool, " an additional
dip of the Spaniard would probably level
tlicm in that 'respect." Mr. Lawieoce
suggests that tl^ mild and docile chanc-
ier of the Spanish sheep would correct the
wildness of our Welsh and heath sheep:
tlie best adapted breeds to engraft ob he
thinks are tl>e Ryelatid, South Down, Dor*
set, «nd Cheviot, with the smaller varie-
ties Cannock-heath, Morf, Forest, Welsh,
Dunfaced, and the Wiltshire, Berkshire,
and Norfolk, if indeed these latter an
^ worth preserving.
We cannot tak^ our leave of Mr. Law*
oence without passing a well-merited en-
comium on the general spirit of hoinanirf
wb'ich pervades these p^es. It is nni-
vbrsally indeed allowed, tliat among all
animals gentle treatment and abuodant
food induce docility and thrift : at hov
great variance is our practice from our
theory ! a falriO notion of economy, n
Inhuman and unprofitable parsimoo^,
prompt us to expose much of our stock to
the inclemency of seasons and a soarcitj
of food, whilst violence is employed ii^
stead of gentleness, and blows instead of
caresses, in breaking in to the collar die
passive ox and the spirited colt.
Art. IL — Cammumcaiiopu to ihf Board rf Agriculture ; on SuJyects relative to the lit**
bandry, a»d inUrruU Improxement oj ike Countrt/. Vol. IV. 4to. pp. 446.
IN this heavy volume there arc very
tfe&rly two hundred articles, many of them
extremely insignificant and cumbersome.
Farmers are dull, prosing fellows, with a
great deal of vanity. Each ftincies his
own mode of slicmg turnips, or cliopping
straw, better than that of his neighbours;
and of such momentous consequence is
It to the c^oimtry tliat his superior man^ige-
tnent sliould be made public, that if honest
John Trot has had a good schooling, and
can write and read, lie sets to work and
bonours the Board of Agriculture with
his communication, or their agents who
compile the county surveys.
Really the task of selection, if there is
any selection at all, is confided into ^-eiy
injudicious hands; we should not other-
wise see, as we constantly do, the saiuc
dry detail over and over again in publica-
tions which are issued under die sanctiwi
and patronage of the sanje society. But let
not our readers take the alarm : we have
no Intention to lay tliat merciless contrrtm-
tion on their patience, which when im-
posed cm ou{^» k b a duty to submit to.
COMMUNICATIONS TO TRB BOAfiD OF AOaiCVLTURB*
We shall only notice tliose papers which
merit renwk, or offer curious and valua-
abie information.
The first sixteen papers treat on the
management and cultivatk>n of ditfcrent
sorts of soilsy and doubtless sOme of them
may be relcmed to with advantage by no-
vices wlio have such soils in theif occupa-
tion. Here, as in all other professions, we
find the doctors disagreeing : within half a
dosen pages of each other, we hear Mr.
Best dissjpproving the use of the scythe
for one or two years after land has been
laid down with grass, and stating bluntly
that a neighbour of his actually killed ali
h« grass plants by such an injudicious sys-
tem; whilst Mr. Cotton tells us that
** experience has convinced him beyond'
douhi that it is far preferable to mow the
glass on the lirst year after laying down 5"
and from a fear of injury by tlie treading of
animals, he would on no consideration
sulfer a cow or a sheep to pasture on his
grass land till the tot crop had been
mown !
On the subject of draining, Mr. E,
Savory, junior, of Downham, Norfolk,
has sent a communication in which he
stfongly recommends tlie use of a steam
et^ine for the drainage of the fen coun-
tries. A steam engine having a twenty-
horse power, and capable of discharging
as much water as a mill with a forty-feet
sail in full velocity, would cost about
1500^ and the consumption of fuel would
doubtless add very much to the expence ;
Mr. Savory, nevertheless, does not shrink
from it :
" The advantages that are to be derived
from steam to the fen country are almost in-
calculable. In t«se of intense trost, the uni-
fonn velocity, with the opportunities of com-
municating heat, would prevent the engine
from freezmg, to which, from the uncertainty
of winds, the other engines are very much
subject, "i he cohseciuerice is, tliat a great
fall of snow camittg at the same time, as the
milb have not been in a state to prepare the
ditches to receive the watecs which it occa-
sioas, an immdation verj' gradually t.kes
place in the fens ; and as tlie waters rise very
rapidly under these circumstances after a
'thaw, it fre<iuently occurs, that when the
niills are set at liberty from the eflfects of ice,
they are for some "days incapable of throwing
against tlie head in lh<i rivers, owing to the
freihcsfrom the high country' preventing a dis-
charge of water from the small into the great
rivers.— On tlie other hand, by adopting the
nieans of steam, the engines would be working
in full eficet during the continuance of a frost,
if necessar\',^and therefore the ditches would
he in a state adeqjtiat^ to the receptien of th«
/-«
waters upon a thaw, as what tliey previously
contained would be discharged into the rtvifrt
and at sea and at the time of its taking plaice;
and as they usually are low in the continu-
ance of a long frost, the circumstance alfords
anotlier advantage, until a power can be con;*
manded at w ill for the drainage of tlie fen
country, it can never attain its full prosperity.
Whether the motion is acquired by the powe»
of steam independently ot wind-mills, or by
attaching steam engines to those of wind^
(which 1 am informed is very practicable) to
work only when the weather is calm — I must
assert it, as my positive opiuicn, (sn hich ex-
perience and observation daih streniitiiens)
that the benefit to the pr.blic^'ill never be
6^ual to two-tliirds of what it would be from
tlus description of country, as if the means of
steam were resorted to for the drainage of it.-
As to a district of country which requint
draining without any engin<?s upon it, at the
time of its beuig uncle rtaken, it is a matter oi
doubt in my mind, whether it could not be
drained more economically by steam, than by*
the means usually adopted, although the ex-
pence of fuel must certainly be very greaf.
1 aking the average of winds, the milfs in thef
whuer season do not throw so much water iii
a week, as they would in one-third of tjje time,'
if they went m ail the vek>city of which tiiey^
are capable. It follows, that oiie steam en
gine, with equal powers, would do as much:
execution in the course of a season as tlu-e^
wind-mills; and, consequently, a great saving;
would accrue in the first expence, and after
wards in attendance and repairs.**
We find no less than twenty-seven com-
munications on the subject of paring an<l
burning : they all agree in recommending^
the practice, and form an irresistible body*
of evidence that the objections ai ising fn-ni.
an apparent waste of vegetable matter are
totally unfounded. Its etficacy on var-
ous soils is established, the modes ofprai-
tice adopted in different districts explain- '
ed, and such subsequent courses of crop-'
ping recommended, as experience has
shown to be profitable. The most scien-
tific communication, indeed the only one
among them which has any pretension to
that title, is by Mr. Morris Birkbeck, who
reasons upon the chemical effect of paring
and burning vegetable matter with great
clearness and precision. His commuiiica-'
tion was worthy of insertion for the theory*
and one or two others might have been
selected for an explanation of the practice'
and a proof of its success : tiie rest might
have been spared.
Twenty scraps are inserted on the sub-
je«:t of manures : tlie powerful operation
of caustic lime as a menstruum of dead ve-
getable matter i^ so generally known, thit
the application of it is very prevaJont oa
m
AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL ECONOMY.
new broken^up l»nds. The only article
we find here worth noticing is by Mr.
William Curtis, of Lynn, Norfolk, who
states in a clear ind Very encouraging mnn*
ner the good eflfects which he derived
from burning the stubble on new broken-
tip land : where stover is plentiful this
pkm will save the farmer a great deal of
trouble and expence in mowing, carting,
&c. If he takes advantage of a favourable
wind and dry season, he may with a candle
and lantern spread over his field a surfabe
of ashes, which will be found extremely
beneficial to succeeding crops : it is by no
means among the slightest advantages of
burning, tLat it destro)'s tlie weeds which
are left after the crop is taken off, and
probably also many of their seeds which
liAd been shed, and would germinate in
the following season.
losing over a long list of extracts from
the motley mass of matter which the
Board of Agriculture received relative to
the conversion of grass land into tillage,
we come to tliat more interesting portion
q£ the volume before us which contains
the " miscellaneous papers:" tliese are
TCry properly introduced by Lord Car-
xington ft speech on his retiring from the
Piresidentship in 1803. In this speech his
lordship brings to the remembrance of the
Board some of the leading particulars of
tbetr transactions, and vindicates them
iSrooi charges of a very grave nature, which
bad been urged in the senate.
The exertions of the Board Id collecting
reports of the state of agriculture in all
the different counties of the kingdom
fcve been indefatigable : the knowledge
thus derived was an essential preliminary
to any extended plan of improvement,
and scxm pointed out a resource against
tiie distress of scarcity, which the friends
of humanity did' hope would have been
lecurred to in time • to have averted the '
evil ; namely, the inclosure and cultiva-
tion of waste lands. The fate of the bill
which was brought into Parliament in the
year 1/97 is well, known : it passed the
'commons, and was thrown out in tlie
bouse of lords.
In the spring of the year 1800 the state
of the country with respect to wheat-
corn became a matter of very serious and
general apprehension. Tlic Board insti-
tuted enquiries in different parts of the
kingdom,, and their fears were confirmed
in the fliUest extent. Lord Carringtbn
had previously consulted with some of
his majesty's miuisters, who in conse-
quence made such communications to the
India company as led to an agreement on
their part to allo^' the importation of rice
from India '^luty-frce; but with spedfic
directions to their servants, " that (vie*
ther individuals ^houid engage or deciioe
embarking in thc:^e speculations) thqr
were by no means to send any on the
company \s account." The Board, {em^
that such a reitriction ^\'ould destroy the
efficacy of their project, cxprebied their
apprehensions to gov?r::in/nt,wflo«6PBMd
to listen wiUi atter.tMn: no alteration,
however, was mad^- by the directon in
the orders sent to India, nor did the let-
ters conveying these orders be?.r date tUl.
tiiQ 28th of August : tlie piriiiuentary
bounty also on rice was suflvred lo ex{*iie
on the 2d of October. The scarcity
grew more utigent : parliament, too late,
renewed their boimty on the importation
of rice ; nineteen thousand tons were im-
ported from India, which arrived— o/iter
the abundant harvest of 1801 ! The ar-
ticle in consequence became a mere drag,
and government was called upon to pay
three hundred and fifty thousand pounds,
in performance of the parliamentary gua-
ran fee to the iraportees ! ITius much for
the contidence placed in the judgment of
the Board by government ; one is almost
tempted to ask, for what purpose was it
instituted, if so little deference and res-
spect are paid to its opinions and reports ?
The year 1800 seemed a well-cbosefl
season to revive the enclosure bill : the
Board accordingly sent circular letters to
grand juries throughout the kingdom at
the summer assizes of that year, erclosing
a copy of certain resolutions on this very
subject >vhich had been unanimoos^
voted, withoDt any communication with
the Board, by the grand jury of the
county of York . One of these resolutions,
however, stated that, " the want of a feir
and permanent compensation to the pro-
prietors, in lieu of tithes in kincj, is one
of the greatest obstacles, not only to en-
closure, but to doe improvement of agri-'
culture." When Lord Carrington, in the
spring following^ as chairman of a com-
mittee appointed by the house of lords
on account of the dearth of provisions,
prepared a bill for enclosing waste lands, .
a formidable attack was made, not upon
the bill directly, so- much as upon the
Board of Agriculture, whose conduct was
represented as inimical to the church es-
tablishment, and whose only object was,
under tlie pretence of -cndosing wa<!tc
lands, to attack and destroy ihCinstitulion |
of tythes^ The bill was withdrawn, aoi \
C0MMUKICATI0S8 TO l^HK BOARD OF AGRICULTt^RB.
767
since that. time no measures have been
ijken to renew it. This want of pofse-
vcrance is to be regretted j and we can
bj no means admit the excuse that, be-
cause at so critical a i)eriod.a8 that at which
the last.bill was proposed the measure was
Injected, it would therefore have no
chance for adoption now the pressure of
past circumstances is forgotten. This is
acting on presumption that public opinion
is totally disregarded in the parliament of
the nation : let the subject be constantly
kept before us, let it be examined in all
its bearings ^ discussion and the statement
of exports and imports will make the ne-
cessity of the measure more and more
clear, will make us familiar with very im-
portant facts and reasonings concerning
it^ and {f any sinister and sordid motives
operated to the suppression of what shall
be acknowledged a public benefit, those
motives will be exposed, and the indivi-
duals wholiave been influenced by them
held up to contempt and detestation.
The voice of the public reaches par-
liament^ and the opinion of the public
is not without its influence. On this
ground we are desirous to see the ques-'
tion again brought to issue.
The next paper is an essay on tlie ma-
nagement of forests by Mons. Pannelicr
d'Annelj translated by sir John Talbot
Dillon. When the forest laws of France
and the ordinance of i66g were revised, it
was deenaed expedient, for the purpose of
insuring a future supply of timber for tlie
navy, and for architectural purposes, to
suffer the forests to remain unmolested
during a great lengtli of time, and the trees
to grow up in masses in a state of resen^e.
M. Pannelier d'Annel was appointed to
the care of the noble forest of Compeigne
in the year 177 1> ^^d the pernicious ef-
fects of this system were so evident, that
he adopted the practice of making pe-
riodical falls of timber, and resen'ing a
succession of young trees, which by Uiis
means had room for expansion. That trees
growing in large masses injure each other
is very well known 5 and we believe tliat
the practice recommended in . this memoir
is generally adopted iu this country.
Two or three articles on irrigation are
useful on account of accompanying maps,
which are illustrative of the operation.
Mr. Cuirwen has communicated his me-
thod of stemming potatoes, and given a
ground plan and section of the apparatus
for that purpose > his horses are fed en-
tirely 00 this root, with tlie addition of
cot Straw i they eat neither hay nor com^
and stand their work remarkably welL
Mi-. C. was in the habit of cutting annu-
ally 300 acres of grass, and generally
found the slock of hay produced from that
surface of land inadequate to his amiual
consumption ; one acre of potatoes be es-
timates as equivalent to four acres of hay,
and under proper management the ground
will be in as good condition for wheat as if
it had lain fallow.
Mr. Pierrepoint recommends baking
potatoes, and lias given a section of the
ovens which he employs for that purpose.
Mr. Humphrey Davy, in a communi-
cation on the analysis of soils as connected
with their improvement, has described,
those methods which appear most precise
and simple, and most fikiiy to be. useful to
the practical farmer : this very intelligent
and valuable communication is accom-
panied with the engraving of an apparatus
for performing the analysis.
Dr. Pearson has a scientific and inge-
nious paper on the use of green vitriol, or:
the sulphat of iron, as a manure ^ in
which he endeavours to shew that much:
of the efficacy of paring and burning de-
pends on the oxyde of iron contained in
the ashes.
Mr. Estcourt's account of the result of
an effort to better the condition of thd
poor in a country village does great credit
to his judgment and his feelings. The plan
adopted witli such happy consequences in
every point of view, was to allow every
cottager to become the tenant of a small
quantity of arable land at a fair rent.: no-.
individual was permitted to occupy more
than his femily could cultivate without:
improperly interfering with his usual la-!
hour. The quantity of land varied ac-
cording to the size of the femily, no share
exceeding an acre and an half. It was
stipulated tliat the rent should be 11. 12#.
per acre, and tliat the land should be
granted for fourteen years if the tenant-
required it : the lease to be terminable
before the expiration of that period, by the
desire of either party, on a previous notice
of three years. The land is held under
certain restrictions : one-four^i part in
each person's occupation, is to be annually
manured, and planted yriih potatoes 5 the
remaining tliree-fourths to hie managed ac-
cording to the will of the tenant, provided
tliat no two exhausting crops of com are
takenin succession. The lease is to be for-
feited if this agreement is violated] it is also
to be forfeited if tlie tenant is lawfully con-
victed of felony, &c. ; or if he receive any
relief from the poor-rates except, in case
f(te
AOHICUttCRAt AK6 RCRAL fi(»K6MY.
of sickneM. Mr. Estcourt assure os that
this verj wise and huinane provision ha»
produced the niost beneficial elTects in
the habits, morals, manners, and condi-
tion of the peasantry, and has alhxist an-
nihilated the poor-rates. The aroount of
the poor-rate from October 5, JSOQ, to
April 5> 1801, the stxroonths immediately
preceding the adoption of this measure,
was 212/. ids, of which sum 206l. 8«.
wa^ appHed to the relief of tlje poor.
The amount of the poor-rate from Oc-
tober 5, 1808, to April 5, 180^, was
}2i. (!». of which 4^ 12^. only was applied
to the relief of the podr : that is to say,
that of two old and infirm wido\x's wjio
are not tenants of any land; so that it may
be aiiirmed of their provision, that U has
amnihilated the poor-rates of the parish !
We should like to see this communication
pyinted on a single sheet of paper, and
circulated tliroughoat the kingdom.
The next commuiilbatiou that we shall
notice 19 " a short account of the causes
of the diseases in corn, called by the far-
mers the blight, the mildew, and the rust,
by the Right Hon. sir Joseph Banks, K. B.
ftc.** Without the assistance of the plates
which accompany this ingenious paper,
we shall scarcely be able to do justice to
ite contents. Botanists, says sir Joseph,
have long kno^^n that die blight in corn
ig occasioned by the growth of a minute
parasitic fungus or mushroom oh the
leaves, stems, and glumes of the living
plants. Of this fungus, in it) dilierent
stages of growth and maturity, ^f r. Bauer
has niade drawings, very highly magnitied,
ftom the original, representing its de-
atructive agency ; in order to understand
which, it is necessary to premise tliat the
striped appearance of the surtace of a
straw is caused by alternate longitudiiiar
partitions of the bark, the one imperfo-
rate, and the other furnished with one or
two rows of pores, shut in dry, open in
wet weather. The final cause of tliis ar-
rangeipent is, no doubt, tliat whatever
moisture is suspended in the atmosphere .
may be imbibed by the orifices when open,
and afterwards tiiat it may be retained
by having the mouths of them closed.
Through these pores it is presumed that
the seeds of the fungus gain adniiasiou,
and at the bottom of the hollows to which
they lead, germinate, add probably push
their minute roots into the cellular texture
beyond the bark j where it is siipjx)sed
they draw their nourishment by inttrrccpt-
ing the sap which was intended by nature
fijt tkd nuaiment of the grain, llie corn
becomes shrivelled m proportion tft the
fungi, add as the kernel onij is abstracted
from the grain, while the cortical port
remains undiminished, the proportioo o^
itottf to bran in blighted com is alws^
reduced in the same degree as eon il
made light.
Sir Joseph goes on to observe, that tfat
leaf is probably first infected in the iprii^
or early in the summer, before the com
shoots up into straw, and that the fbogoa
is then of an orange colour '; after tix
straw has become yellow, tlie fungus as-
sumes a deep chocolate brown. £ach ia-
dividual is so small, that every pore odi
straw will produce from twenty to forty
iungi, as may be seen in the pktes, and
every one of these will no doubt produce
at least an hundred seeds. If each of
tliese therefore branches out intotlie nuiO'
her of plants which aits represented at tie
bottom of a pore in one of the ^bics, the
increase mast be incalculably great, audi
few diseased plants scattered over a tield
must be sufficient to infect a whde parish.
The s»eeds being very little heavier thaa
air, are wafked by every breeze, and an
attached by the sliglited moisture to the
devoted plants. Such is Sir Joseph's hy-
pothesis concerning the cause of raikievi.
or blight in corn : tliere seems room ftr
su!>picion that it may not be perfectly cor-
rect. Has not Sir Joseph, ab inr'ipin, mis-
taken an effect for a cause r on the stir*
face of all diseased or putrid vegetaUo
matter a mucor or mouldiness is formed}
in wine vaults, in rotten timber, and de-
cayed trees, fungi are always to be fouoA
AVould Sir Joseph hazard the assenioa
that tlie tree became deca}>ed and diseased
he'-r: 11 jre^A-' fungus was attached to it?
W'uuMTie not rather suspect, that becau»
the tree was decaj-ed, therefore itbecamt
the recipient of the fbngus? There ait
difiiculties on both sides, but Sir Josephi
hypothesis has some serious objections to
ei:connter. TIi)w comes it to pasilbl
the mildew, blight, call it u hat you will
should be so partially distributed, tliat of
two atijoining ridges in the same field,
one shall he entirely exempt from the
d'soase, and tUe other ^e^erely suflef
from it? Ever)' farmer knows that ihii
is no imaginary or even uncomnioQ ca«:
the track' of t!»e mildew is oftentimes le-
markably distinct, which it would kirdlf
have been if the air had been impregnated
with tlvis prolific dust, tio into a hay*
field when the anthers are sliedding their
pollen : sec the cloud of virility which i§
ditf.ued over tU^ whokMurfke of thefifW
C0MMUNIX4TI0NS TO THE fiOAKD OP AGRICULTUKB.
76g
by every Ubdulation of the air. Sir Jo-
seph tliinks it probable that the leaf is
first iDfected in the spring, or early in the
BUinmer, before the corn shoots up into
straw. But how is this to be accounted for
Consistently with the hypolhesis ? The in-
crease of these fungi is allowed to be incal-
culably great, and the period of their pu-
bescence and maturity, reasoning from
analogy, must be short. As the summer
advances, therefore, the air must be more
and more heavily laden with these seeds,
and one could suppose that the size of the
cuticular orifices of the straw increasing
with the growth of the latter, the seeds of
the fungus would find mqre room as the
summer advances^ and the mischief ex-
tend with an ia»neasurable rapidity.
The feet certainly is as sir Joseph states
it : the leaf is first infected in tlie spriDg>
or early in the summer, but no one fears
a mildew after the blossom is set. The
season of flowering is indeed a ci^itical
onB : heavy rains and blasting winds may
wash away, and so disperse the pollen, that
impregnation may be very inetiicient.
Another observation occurs : wet lands
are mo&t subject to mildew, and if in any
field one spot is wetter than the rest, that
spot will be the first afiected. How is
f this to be accounted for^n sir Joseph's
hypothesis ? If the atraos^ere is charged
with the seeds of these fungi, whicli must
float there like the dust of a puft-baU, one
would suppose that they would be indis-
criminately scattered, and no one spot be
more alfected than another j the first
shower of rain, or the first fog tliat fell,
must precipitate the seed witli even ven-
geance, and attach it to every straw in the
field. We cannot but suspect, therefore,
thai the plant is diseased before the fungus
seizes ou it, and that those stems which
are in sound health resist its advances, or
coaateract its activity.
Fungi, as we have before remarked, find
an appropriate nidus in diseased and decay-*
cd vegetable matter, and particularly if it
remains in a state of moisture : tiie wood-
irork of vaults, and indeed their walls, is
always covered with tliem; rotten, timber
and the hollow trunks of ti-ees are rarely free
from them. Nature suffers no fit recipi-
ent for animal or vegetable life to remain
void 5 microscopic beings of both king-
doms are always ready to seize on every
thing which can afford them subsistence.
But if mildew is not caused by these
parasitic fungi, to what is ic to be attribut-
ed ? We believe that the disease so called
is the immediate eflfect of these fuogl^ and
Ak». R»Y. V0X..IV.
that they act precisely 9s sir Joseph Banks
has suggested ; but, at the same time, we
suspect that the remote cause is some dis-
ease in the plant, probably arising from an
interrupted circulation of its sap : and to-
tally unconnected with mildew. Are we
required to state what this disease maybe?
It is impossible with any degree of confi-
dence. But let us notice one or two facts :
spring com, sir Joseph truly remarks, is
less damaged by it than winter com : tlie
spring wheat of Lincolnshire was not in
the least shrivelled in tlie harvest of 1804,
though the straw was in some degree in-
fected. Now it is obvious that spring
com is totally free from the frosts of win^
ter, and much more so from those of
spring than tlie com which is sown in au»
tumn. Wheat is a very hardy plant, but it
sutlers probably more severely from the
venial than the' winter frosU. If the sea-
son is mild, the vessels of the young wheat
begin to fill with fluids as early as the lat-
ter end of February or the beginning of
March : a frost at this time, which in the
winter would be perfectly innocuous, is
very likely to burst its tender vessels (as
we often see to be the case with the shoots
of early trees), and so materially injure tha
plant as to render it an unresisting prey to
the ravages of this fungus.
It will be recollected that sir Joseph says, "
*' the leaf is probably first infected in ihe
spring, or early in the summer, befpre tha
corn shoots up into straw,*' which, consibt*
fently with the truth of his hypothesis,
ought not to be tlie case ; for the quantity
of the fungus-seed must be infinitely
greater in summer than in spring, and the
size of the orifices into which it finds ad-
mission must also increase with the in-
creased size of the straw, and thus afford
a larger surface for attachment.
But the mildew is partial in Its ravages :
is frost ? Persons who are accustomed to
the management of wall-fruit know how
slight a screen is sufficient to protect them
from its efiects. Three or four trees
standing together in a hedge-row might
sb mitigate the severity of frost on tho
ridges which it screened, that the plants
on those ridges, if injured at all, would
soon recover their vigour. Again ; we
have before observed, diat if there are any
spots in a field particularly wet, there
the com is sure to suiFer most. Thd
greater the quantity of moisture which a
plant has imbibed, and the more succulent
it is, the more susceptible must it obvi-
ously be of injur)' by frost : the fuller the
vessels- are, the more liable are they to be,
3D
770
AGRICULTURAL AND^URAL ECONOMY.
ruptured. Farmers, whose ftars are al*
ways alive, anticipate a mildew from the
continuance of a raw and foggy air : nor
are they often mistaken. In such a con-
tinued state of atmosphere the grasses
open their innumerable orifices, and im-
bibe a great quantity of moistu>e ; if a
biting frost immediately succeeds, miR-h
mischief may reasonably be apprehended
Ironi the rupture of those vesseli> in which
the circulation was carried on.
It is with great diftidence that wc have
ventured to substitute an hypothesis for
that of sir Joseph's : it requires a much
closer observation to confirm either his
or ours than we can profess to have
given. Sir Joseph's explanation of the
action of the fungus is ingenious, and, ac-
companied with Mr. Bauer's accurate
plates, very satisfactory.
It is said that wheat in the neighbour-
hood of a barberry -bush seldom escapes
blight : sir Joseph supposes that the pa-
rasitic fungus which oftentimes attacks
tlie barberr)', as well as the wheat, is one
and the same species, and that the seed is
transferred from the barberry to the com.
The plan which he proposes for preventing
the disease will excite a smile j it is to
, search diligently in the spring for every
infected plant, and to extirpate it ! The age
of Hercules is gone !
W'e cannot take our leave of sir Joseph
Banks without stating a few remarks on
. another subject, on which he has ventured
to ofler some very hazardous au\ ice in a
very peremptory tone. He says that, al-
•though the seeds of wheat arc rendered,
by the exliausting power of the fungus,
. so lean and shrivelled that scarce any tlour
fit for the mnnufactnre of bread can be ob-
tained by grinding them, tliese very seeds
will, except perhaps in the very worst
cases, answer the purposes (jf seed-corn as
well as the fairest and plumpest sample
that can be obtained. Tiie use of tlje
flour of corn in furdiering the process of
vegetation, he continues* is to notirish tlic
minute plant from the time of itsde\e-
lo|X2ment, till its roots are able to attract
food from tlie manured earth ; for this
purp()^e one-tentli of the contents of a
grain of good wheat is more than sulhcient.
Sir Joseph goes on to say tli^t the selec-
tion of the plumpest grains for seed is an
unnecessary waste of humap subsistence,
and advises that what is usually set aside
as dross, and given to the farmer's jwultry,
fchould be emjjioyed for that purpose. In
supporting this advice we are referred to
an er.periiiicntal paper in tlie AiiuaJs of
Agriculture, by Mr. Maduc, \rfediiit^
have not had the atiifacr.onot^ctbt
We must Like the iibeny of rcffirb
that advice, pregnant with -^ch aHsnej;]
ous consequences, onght rut be givi
without tlie utmost caution, wiLanii*
utmost certainly cf its security. SirJcse^
has taken uprn himself a respoKfe
only to be juhtiiied by a Ici^ asicrtfa
series of experiments perscnaily ca^
ed by himself.
It is one thing to briiig dsildreas
the world, it is another to rear ik
Adam Smith remarks of the
women that they freqGently \x21m1
than twenty, and have not t»o ab
Poverty does not prevent genciaiks,b
it is extremely untiivcurahle to thsreri
of a progeny. Are Me to expect a vi«
rous and thriving child when wc 1
pressing the dry, railkless breast oti
famished mother ? Flour is to the s
plant what matenial milk is to the t
if the corculum, the speck of nt^
not injured, a seed will invariably^
nate. I'he cotyledons seem to be me
organs cf nutrition, comrcunicaiiDg
fiirinaceous substance of which tbej
composed to the young plant: if this
tritious substance is liberally ccran
Gated, which we suppose to be the
when the cotyledons are large and pli
the plant surely must thrive better,
grow more rapidly, than when the cow
dons, shrunk and shrivelled, distribcKi
parsimonious mucilage. Ihe deficiocj
in this latter case may doubtles be ai
great measure supplied by iiDpartiEga
additional fecundity to the soil, as a »
ther without rnilk may bring up her iai*
by feeding it with pap. The case* at
very analogous j in both, the offspring «*
changes its natural for an ariihcial wi
vicarious food. It is much to beappr^
bended, that altliough shrivelled kenrt
might very well answer the purpose' lu:
gartien-pot or in a very rich soil, tk;
would iVustrate the expectation of lb
farmer if employed on an extensive scK
and witiiout an extraordinary measorefl
nn.nure. On heav}' lands the progr«j<
infhfit vegetation is always languid arirt
Ir.ciant : when a seed first geruiinates, li
plumula and the radicle must, it is p^^
be much longer in struggling througlist^
clods of earthy than when, they haveos
to insinuate tlieir e^sy courses thnx^g-'
puh erised unresisting soil j and at the us
of year when our wheats zre usualh cos
miited to the ground, tlie dilTereiice ci 1
few days only in the time of sowiiij;'
^^^jii^SMM
li:j;
tUCCOCK-'s NATURE fclP PROPERTIES OF WOOL.
771
J 'iometimes succeeded by a dilTerence of
^''•jtfeeks iu the rirst appearance of the crops.
,^- November may be considered as the com-
"*•' wncement of our winter : the season now
j^ jrows cold and rainy, and the wheat which
~^it that time remains in tlie ground, or but
' -' "1st peeps through the surface of a heavy
-~'K)iI, has many sad vicissltUiles of weather
'*'■'. f) encounter in its first feeble state, and
I'^Ucs a long time exposed to the depreda-
y: :ion of birds and insects. We suspect that
!zm such soils particularly, and at such a
.'leason, to retard vegetation would be a
::-!inost perilous experiment; and that the
:Lfoung plant requires ail tlie nourishment
T:. which the plumpest kernel can supply, in
>\ -order to preserve its existence, and enal^Io
,::^ilto bear the rigours of tlie season during
1. J protracted infancy,
",v We have been farmers in our day, and
Hr,|©rsonally tried some experiments on the
If jprmination of seeds. The harvest of 1 7c)g
2^.|ras the wettest that had been known for
my years : farmers brewed beer from
irley which the rains of heaven had malted.
: was the general opinion that blacker even
. jBscoloured barley was very unsafe to be
;jpscd for seed. Maltsters found that it
rould not spr^lu on their floors with all
advantages of constant moisttire and ar-
icial heat. We tried the vegetative powers
barley in different tints of discoloration,
with different degrees of farinaceous
^llnbstancc in the kernel ; and found, as we
tpected, that they had nothing to do with
process of germination. Twenty ker-
?ls, the most thin and meagre which could
selected, were planted i n some very rich
^llDould, and kept in a warm room : every
'WtkQ of them germinated, thougli tardily ;
j)pd having pknty of pap, though very
.J^T. HI. — The Nature and Properties ofWo-ylilludratcd, with a Description oftheEn^UsI^
Fk-ece. Bj/Johu LvccocK,lVoolituplcr. *8vo, pp. 3dO.
little milk, the radical fibres spread, and the
plants grew luxuriantly. Some of the
blackest bnrley which could be found was
afterwards placed in the garden ; a large
proportion of it grew, and was lienlthy j
the corculum of some few kernels hnd
been injured, probably rotted by excess
of rain, and those kernels made no eflbrt
to germinate. The following is a curiouj*
fact: the writer of this article picked froin
the floor of a neighbouring maltster sixty
kernels of barley which hnd been nineteen
days on tlie heap, ar.d i^-Aly rcfuved tx>
germinate: they certainly nev:r would
have germinated there. He i)Iantcd them
in his garden 5 out of sixty, forty-five grew
as rapidly and vigorously as any barley h9
ever knew. It was evident, therefore, that
warmth and moisture, however essential
to germination, were not of themsclve*
suiflcient to jM'odure it.
In some other experiments it was found
tliat barley will grow even after an incU'
pient germination had taken place in the
ear as it lay on the <rround. Here is a com-
plete suspension of vitality during several
months without the destruction of it. It
is time to take our leave ; we have been a
long while with sir Joseph, but his com-
pany is too agreeable and instructive not
to make us happy in the opportunity ojf
enjoying it.
The last paper (on the form of anirtials^
we have to notice, and that with which
this volume closps, is from* tbei masterly
and scientihc pen of Mr. Cline : it admits
of no abbroviatPon, and as every line pf it
will be fonitd useful to graziers and faim*
ers, we shall refer our readers for it to
the volume itselfl
• THE wit is proverbially said to go a
;^««roolgathering, when it wanders with de-
•*oltor}' attention from one circumstance
y<o aDOthcr, and picks up, without method
**r order, every fluttering wisp which can
}he braided into connection with the object
'i4>f its research. Such has been precisely
|s4he occupation of the author of this agree-
hable volume, which is drawn up with
bsjui]>Je elegance, but with an inctji: .enient
neglect of purpose and arrangement.
Arcbfleological anecdotes of the feeding
and breeding of sheep, and of tLc inven-
tion and progress of the woollen -manu-
picture, occur. Practical remarks on the
'^diod of choQsing, 9Pd the n^e^ti^ of
mending, saleable wools, abound. Geo-
graphic.]) accounts of the patria of each
sort of fieece are given. Statistical ciilcu.-
latious of 4he quantity and value of the
wooHcns manufactured are . attempted.
But all is so intermixed, so felted toge-
ther, thnt one knows not where to seek
for each specitic sc»rt of information. IJ:id
the materials been distinctly group^.tl, the
repetitions and redundancies wouKi ha\e
been perceived and avoided, and the dtti»
ciencies would more easily Iiave been sup-
plied. The \vi)olstnpler has his biui* for
this tod and for that j so should the author.
Where is the patria of the sheep ? No
doubt, in Tit^ci ; thai in th^ hiL^lic^t hui^
772
AGRIClJLTtJRAL AND RURAL ECOXOJ^Rf.
of Asia 5 thence the largest rivers of the
Old World descend in all direction^: it was
consequently tirst left dry by the progres-
sive desiccation of the ocean, and habit-
able before any other land. The sheep of
Tibet liave black faces and legs, and white
fleeces : they are active, and resemble the
Dutch and Norfolk slieep : this therefore
is probably the original stock, whence
other races are varieties. Mr. Luccock
suspects (p. 29) that llie original sheep
was brown; but the passage hi Genesis
(xxx.3'i^.) proves ratlier, that the piebald
and the brown did not constitute tiie mass
of the flock : they were given in dower,
as a portion ,that would not be nussed j
but Jacob knew how to increase the births
of that sort.
Sheep in a state of nature yearly shed
or moult tlieir fleeces, and rub ihem off
in hot weather against the trees and shrubs.
IVIen imitated the process of nature, and
plucked off the first fleeces : tellus is de-
rived from vellere. This practice still pre-
vailed under Vespasian : so new is the art
of sliearing sheep.
Columella tells us tliat his uncle, who
was a farmer near Cadiz, having seen at
an esthibition there in the amphitheatre
•ome African sheep, crossed his own breed
vith the Barbarian breed, which greatly
improved the wool of his flock. The flue
Spanish wool is itself of more southern
origin-
Pedro IV. who ascended the throne of
Castile in 1950, imported a^ock of sheep
from Barbary, which has been the great
basis of the Spanish breed. Cardinal
Ximenes again caused the armies of Fer-
dinand to capture and bring over some
African sheep. The expedition of these
modern argonauts founded the celebrity
of the Segovian wool.
Mr. Luccock thinks that the first sort of
U'oollen cloth was a species of f5Blt,like
that described by Arabian travellers as
employed tor the covering of tents : the
lartars manufacture a similar covering,
lliis is highly probable -, felting is a mudi
simpler process tlian weaving, and would
almost result fi-om trampling the fleeces
for the purpose of cleansing them. Pliny
(lib. viii. c. 48.) notices the various uses
made of felt in ancient times. In the
paintings at Herculaneum there are repre-
gentations of hats apparently of ielt like
our own.
The first ropes or cords are likely to
have been made of bindweed : the first
spinning of thread must have been an
imitatioa or refiaeuieut of the process of
the rope-maker, one person being em-
plqyed to join the staple, and aDother to
twist it. At the origin of Greek m)'tho-
logy this division of labour still subsisted ^
for the first Moira, or Parca, is represented
as supplying the material, and the second
as t\v;^sting the thread. These distinrt
offices of tlie lanific sisters, as Catullus
calls them, were afterwards transferred to
the distaff and the rock ; by means 6f
which machines for supplanting bomaQ
labour, a single person could complete the
operation of splnnmg.
A braid of three threads may be consi-
dered as the elementary tissue: the art ot
platting rushes into flat bands, and bto
mats, may have suggested tlie ferst at-
tempts at tape and cloth of thread. Bas-
ket-work, in the dispoj-ition of the vytbe*,
approaches still nearer to the work of the
loom. The first webs were wrought by
darning. Accordingly, the instrument long
since Improved into the shv^ttle, was in oM
times called radius textorius, the wearer's
needle. The warp, or longitudinal thread,
was measured, as is still done in coarse- ,
work, by stretching it on pegs in the open
air 5 and the shoot, or cross-thread, vw
inserted with a needle, which alteniatdT
passed over and under the se\*eral threadi
of warp.
The heavel, which is a row of loop
fastened to aspHne, serving to lift orheav*
every thread of warp, mnst have been in-
vented before the shuttle, and was m
doubt lifted by an assistant weaver, until
the method of lifting it by ireadeU, or fcnt-
staves, was contrived. If the inventor d
the.spriug'shuttle, a benefactor of sodetj
who flourished in our own age and coun-
try, be unknown, or at least uncelebrated,
no wonder tliat the inventor of the 0^
shuttle, who flourislied in renK>te anti-
. quity, is unknown also. Clemens Ales-
andrinus, who enumerated With mucb^io-
licitude the authors of usetiil arts, ssd
who has not been enough consulted bf
modem technologists, does not notice the
shuttle. f)tymological arguments ^
to the Gothic north* as the patria of tE'a
invention. The French denorainatiai
, navcUe, from the Italian navetta, a liule
boat, intimates that the shuttle had abeadr
attained a boat-form, when it was ki
introduced among the French mandJc-
turers. The Italian denomination sf^
me^ns a coil or bottom of thread, a balli/
woimd tihoot j the Italians therefore utx
accu2>tomed to 'weave by handing Bcrmi
the shoot wound on a rod, before tber
knew the use of the* shuttle. Th^ ^^
tUCCOCKS NATURE AND PR0PEKT1E5 OF WOOL.
779
shuttle, being derived from to shoot, in all
the Gothic languages, must be coeval with
the swift motion ' which this instrument*
first realized. In the Icelandic ode pre-
served by Barthoiinus, and Englished by
Cray,
' Shafts, for shuttles, dipt in gore.
Shoot the trembling cord along,'
jnakes a process far moreaccele rated than
VirgU's,
' Excussi mauibus radii revolutaque pensa -.*
from which description it seems as if tlie
rock or spindle, on which the thread had
been coDed by tlie spinster, was handed
athwart the separated warp by tlie weaver,
and unwound in its progress. ITie word
ielum would have superseded radius, if the
shuttle had been throtcu by the Latins.
The shuttle may more easily have origi-
nated among linen -weavers, than among
vvooUen- manufacturers, as the tort and
smooth threads of flax and hemp facilitate
the employment of a gliding utensil. The
Icelandic word skutitl, a shuttle, is ety-
mojogically connected with to scttd, and
to skaxt : to a skait the shuttle bears some
resemblance, and may hence have been
imagined in the north.
Mr. Luccock justly observes (p. 37)
that the first wool-cards were made of the
heads of' the fuller's teasel, or dipsacus
fullomtm. The wool-comb he attributes,
consonantly with tradition, to bishop filaisc.
This is a mistake. IJishop Blaise wrote a
Latin hymn, which Ronsard translated
into French rhynje, in wl^ich the flocks
^re peculiarly recommei]ded to the care
of Providence. This hymn it was custo-
mary to perform or chaunt in tl^e churches
^t Lanainas. Hence the opinion that bi-
shop Blaise was a friend to the fleece, and
his consequent popularity among the wool-
combers. The ancients gave the name
pecten, or comb, both to 3ie slay, or file
of reeds, with which the weaver approxi-
mates the threads of shoot, and to a ma-
chine with which fleeces were scribbled
and prepared for the spinster. Yet this
last machine must have been a wool- card,
and not a wool-comb ; for Claudian's mo-
derator pectinis unci shews that its teeth
were crooked, and not straight. The wool-
comb being essential to the spinning of
worsted yarn, to the manufacture of stuffs
in contradiction to clotlis, must have reach-
ed Europe with the stuff-manufactory,
which is said to have been brought. first by
the Arabs into Spain. Stuffs are better
adapted for clqtliing the people of Asia
to*^ata, than of Europa 6raccafa; and cam*
but, the primary sort of stufl*, is still called
after the camel, of whose hair it was ori-
ginally made. Almahoza, the Spanish
name for ihe wool-comb, is an Arabic
word. It seems probable that the wool-comb
derives from Arabia, and was first con-
structed to pre^xire the hair of the camel
for tiie spinner : it must be of great anti-
quity. Damascus traded with Tyre for
white wool (Ezekiel xxvii 18)5 of course,
there were already in the time of Darius
Hystaspe s manufactures of stuffs, or cloths
of wool, which were died (v. 24) blue :
most likely they were stuffs j both because
the wool of which stufis are made being
longer and stronger, is far easier than
cloth wool to spin and to weave, and be*
cause the produce is better adapted to
oriental wear.
With the practical part of this work it
will not be prudent for ns reviewers to
meddle. If Mr. Luccock says that the
English manufacturer is distinguished (p.
136) for the superiority of workmanship,
what authority can we oppose to that of so
experienced a judge? We have, however,
paid draper's bills in France and in Spain.
We deny having ever been able to obtain
cloths so fine or so durable of British manu*
facture, as the best cloths of French, and
even of Spanish manufacture. It is true
ours are less costly. Our manufacturers, as
they ought to do, pursue cheapness rather
than excellence ; and endeavour to clothe
to their taste the numerous rather than the
select classes of society. This is the proper
course fore^^tensive demand : the manufac-
tures of luxury are overthrown by any acci^
dent of war or bankruptcy, which compels
parsimony among the people ; they ar^, for
9 country, the worst investitures of capital
and skill. Lyons and Louviers have fallf
^n bencitli the poverty of Paris j but
Lyoas and Louviers surpassed, in superfine
articles, Spitalfields and Leeds. Where
are clotj^s of Vicuna wool fcainede vigogne),
the tawny Peruvian wool, to be bought?
Of the mercers who smuggle them over
from Abbeville. Mr. Luccock mentions
with some just encomiums the new breeds
of sheep. We, who are mutton-eaters,
and not wool-growers, ar^ partial to the
Norfolk slieep. We have tasted the coarse-
grained mutton of Lincolnshire, the tal-
lowy lax flesh of the Bakewell breed, and
the rank and goatish muskiness of the
South-downs, wl^ich somewhat approach
the uneatable qiutton of southern Europe;
but we prefer the pure and venison-like
flavour of the aboriginal Tibet race. Ltt
y/^
AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL ECONOlvrr.
the manufacturers learn to employ and to
prefer its wool. What can they' give us
in the form of stronger lasting, or of softer
ker;ieyniere, whicli shall atone for the de-
terioration of our legs of mutton? The pa-
late of man is more sensible than his skin 5
J)is food is more important tliau his dress.
Far from our social tables, which they
conspire to empoison, be banished, ex-
cept on mutton -days, tliese useless pa-
trons of fat carcases and skeletons of wire !
A table is attached to this work, in
which the toial qu;jntity of wool grown in
England is estimated at 137,000 packs of
long wools and 245,000 packs of short
wools. The average weight of the fleece
is said 10 be four pounds and a half
An useful appendix to this work would
have been an examination of the subsisting
laws concerning wool, which are tyranni-
cal, absurd and mischievous in no common
degiee. This country does not grow wool
enough for its own manufactures ; in con-
sequence of which wool fetches a high and
monopoly price. What is the remedy ?
Certainly to transplant our best breeds of
fcheep into Upper Canada, and there to
grow the wool requisite for our clotliiers.
But tlie ridiculous statutes against owling
have made it an oifence to transport sheep
out of this kingdom. He would deserve
a public premium who should land on the
banks of lake Ontario a well-assorted
tiock of the best-woolled English sheep.;
but he would be liable (by the 8 Elizabeth
c. 3) to forfeiture of goods, to a year s lra-«
prison raent, and to the barbarous mutib-
tion of having his left hand chopt otF. Nut
only tlie exportation of sheep, but that of
wool and of yarn, ought to be permitted:
it is of great importance to know what use
foreigners can find for our \^'(x)l and our
yarn, which should enable them to work it
up to more advantage than ourselves, and
'to bid higher for it in tlie domestic market.
We should then npply ourselves to these
new arts of manufacture, and in our luni
supersede the foreign mechanic. Thi«
country might become the great emporium
of wool, might grow in its '^olonies \hs
choicest quantities, twist them by meara
of its engines into worsted and wuoilea
yarn, and supply the whole continent with
the materials of tissue. There is little
doubt too that all the wool of EuR>pe
would come here to be twisted intu wor-
sted and woollun yam, and in diat state
return to its patria, if the trade in wool
and yarn was thrown entirely open.
How immense is the benefit which ttc
machines for spinning cotton have already
derived from the permission to export
twist ! A like advantage would accrue to
the macliines for spinning worsted y.ira
from a like hberty. The system of re-
striction is not less pernicious to the me-
chanic than to the grazier : wc ihA\ re-
joice when a chancellor sits on the wool-
sack who is disposed to rip it open.
( m )
CHAPTER XYH.
NATURAL HISTORY.
THE British press, during the course of the past year, has been remarkably unpro-
tluctive of original works in this department of literature. Dr. Skrimshire's Essays
introductory to the study of natural history, sir Joseph Banks's pamphlet on the Blight
of Corn, rnd the two Botanist's Guides, are all the books of this description which we
are able to present to our readers. There are, indeed, several periodical publications
which continue in a state of progress, and others which have lately commenced, which
jt has not hitherto come within our plan to notice : but arrangements will in future
be made to give an annual review of their contents. In our next volume we shall also
Jiave tlie pleasure of analyzing another volume of Dr. Shaw's General Zoology, which
came out too late in the year to afford us an opportunity of bestowing upon it that
iivq^T^^ <^ attention which is due to its merit. The trauslalions of Willdenow's
Principles of Botany and vegetable Physiolog)', and /of a collection of miscellaneous
botanical tracts, though not properly new productions, are, ijj their present state, va*
luable additions to the British stock of natural history.
Akt. I. — A Series of E-wp/s introdactorif to the Sltidf/ of Natural History, By Fen wick
Skrimshise, M. D. lately Pvcsidtnt of the Naturai History Socisty of Edinburgh, ^w-
tkor ofu Scries (^'popular chanical Essays. In^'i'iio rolumcs. 12inu.
AS we have formerly, on more than and important advantages of natural his-
one occasion, expressed an earnest desire tory : and, by selecting many useful n«
to produce a general tasto for natural his- well as interesting topics of enquiry, to
tory, especially among those young per- instil into the reader's mind a thirst for
sorij* of both sexes who are destined to further knowledge, and for a more inti-
move in the higiier ranks of life; and a mate acquaintance with the science." Ihe
regret that some of the elementary books materials which he has employed, and
wliich come before us are very impt^rfcctly some others which have been previously
calculated to answer the purpose ; we na- presented to the public, *' were originally
turally felt much satisfaction on taking up collected with a view of delivering a toiirse
a work of this kind from a man of science, of lectures on chemistry and natural his-
and a member of a liberal profession, who toryj but that design having been frus-
appears to have paid particular attention trated by pvofessioiial engagements, he has
to the subject. The author, indeed, cau- thrown them into the form of essays/'
tions us in his preface against expecting a A writer of essays does not conceive
system of natural history, or e\en what ' himself tied down to a fixed method, or
can be properly called an elementary obliged to pay equal attention to every
"work. His only object was, '* to make part of his subject, so as to make a com-
bis readefs acquainted with the full extent plcie and wcll-proportiwied whole. He
-. i_._:2
#1. • . ' • - ^ ^ , V' -'^ r— - TF- --sT- - •zr^rrfc-Tii- -3*-*
\'^'^ '<., z . -.xx.xz£l. mini TTi^ -l:t^ iarat
— -r jL"!! :i-»» '-1^ iCixiT' IT ziHne aapr
^ \^ rif i*r.r-^. ^ «rr. -'---'--' '» ' .\^'{t^^xbe: shoclicr* at i gisst, and
V. > U ^mivr* . «f.r^ »^' '''.1-^^i '>-- ^-^^ f*« roezxM of ;zki=z a «'-j5er *-
^.... r* rMt.r..T f.' J •--« »*7 ot Ihs fUiTocnding conatrr, m^art
^.»ti;ifi .4 Jri- r.v -i"' '2"' / :\^ iu.yro^o\Y icratch the lace at ibe giaat
«n t-« • '
'
^. .- ^Z
-: ^i " '
iriV'!'** ♦'**•
..^ •-» ? - --i
l.,,.'- •
'.. - r- r
\\„ ,11 M- - •
^ .rti. •
imiiU '■ •
. y » .- ^t -.
1. .»!• 1»»» *
,^ v-rr.ji •
SKRIMSIIIRE 8 ES9AT8*
W
witli his claws, and bespatter him with his
ordure. Such a mischievous return is na-
tural enough in a baboon 3 but it is not
the part of a man.
\Ve do not accuse Dr. Skrimshirc of
going all this length : but he has certainly
^vonred a representation which originated
jn tlje envy of a man, who was in many
cases more of a declaimer than of a natu-
ralist ; and has given currency to an ob-
jection which we have often heard made
to the disciples of Linnaeus, and %vhlch
!ve have «lmost as often suffered to pass
In silent contempt, from a full convictiot^
^t the persons who made it were inca«-
pable of understanding the proper answer.
" Xbe study of natural history," he tells
as, '* has been unfortunately confined by
many to the mere classification of natural
)bjects } and to obtain a knowledge of the
listinctive character of individual pfo-
iuctions, has beeiw thought to constitute
the whole object of the naturalist's pur-
juit." — ** Many," he adds, " who call
hemselves naturalists, and wish-tobecon-
lidered as such by the world, have con-
incd their pursuits to the collection and
irrangement of their plants, tlieir birds,
heii' insects, or their shells." — ^And again,
' The naturalist first learns that the she<.»p,
or instance, is in the class mammalia,
leing one of thqse animals that suckle
heir young 3 in the torder pecora, be-
ause it is hoofed, and has no cutting
eeth in the upper jaw ; and that it is dis-
mguished from other animals of the same
frder, by its having several blunt wedge-
ike incisive foreteeth in the lower jaw
»nly, hollow reclined horns, and no tusks.
This information would satisfv many who
all themselves naturalists.** We can say
lothing in reply, but that we are acquaint-
id with no such naturalists.
Eight of the essays, which constitute
bout three-fourths of the work, are de-
oted to zoology •, tw<) to botany ; and
ne to mineralogy. The classes and or-
ers in the first two kingdoms, as they
^ere established by Linmeus, are explain-
d in an easy and pleasing manner ; but
o critical investigation is hazarded, nor
ay notice taken of the alterations and ira-
roveinents that have been suggested by
ther writers. In the miner4 kingdom
le system of Werner is preferred and
riefly detailed ; but in so superficial a
tanner, that, as the author confesses, it
'as evidently subjoined " rather for the
urpose of completing the series, thai^
'ith the expectatioa of conveying any im-
ortaii^ iostructioq." The claMificatioa
of the different subjects is succeeded by
a concise and perspicuous view of their
physiology and various uses: and tlie
whole, though it does not comprize all we
wish, or completely siitisfy us as to the
manner in which it is conducted, is well
calculated to give valuable informat-on to
the general reader, who is totally unac-
quainted with the subject, and wishes to
gain some knowledge of it without as<y
piring to extensive researches or minute
accuracy.
Our review of it, we are appreheasivp,
ynay not be thought to be altogether fa-
vourable J but we speak our honest sen- •
tin^ents ^hen we assure ovu: readers that,
notwithstanding its imperfections, we
know of no wqrk better fitted to make a
right impression on the youthful mind*
and to warm the unperv^rted heart to a
rigorous admiration of visible nature, and
a religious reverence for Nature's God.
Dr. Skrimshire possesses a happy talent
for clear and striking illustration : his
style for the most part is natural, and suf-
ficiently elegant, but sometimes a little
careless, and rather too declamatory and
diffuse : his statements also are generally
just, though, in the haste of composition,
he has suffered some errors to escape him.
Des Cartes, for instance, was not an
atheisty ^s is insinuated in vol. i. p. l6\
The dionoea mi^scipula does not catch flies
by a contraction o.f its petals, but of a cu-
rious appendage to its leaves. Horns ought
not to have been placed among the es-
sential characters of the order pecora:
every child who is possessed of a common
picture-book of animals, knows that a
camel has no horns. The opinion preva-
lent among sailors, that the shark sparer
the pilot-fi^h in gratitude for his serxices.
is now believed to be false. All papilion-
aceous flowers do not belong to the cla^s
diadelphia of Linnseus : a vigid regard to
his artificial system compelled that natu-
ralist to place tliree genera with such
flowers at the head of the cla^s dccandria,
because tlieir filaments are all di^stinct.-
These oversights will doubtless be cor«
rected in a future edition. The present
is evidently a juvenile performance, but
it gives promise of much better things ;
and we shall be glad to meet the author
again, when he has paid a little more at-
tent'ion to another well-known precept of
Horace, though we do not wish to confine *
him to the rigid strictness of it| literal
meaning.
Entomology appears to he his favourit*
branch q{ natoral hiitory^ and it i|
7/'
. ^.-^ j-.^"^
TORT.
sc
to
B<
Si
V
I
V
I
I
'^.^ J.-t
.:-i: L.:,
.- - • . K-y-
. -<**>.. ,; i:a-
• -■ z -^\ lni^ or
. - -. ! {.eU-ca
>' *' r hii.li,
. • " ^ aii'.l s(:iik<
, .. -w-s-ncd (luit
' ^* il]e insect,
; <i\ , IKICJ v,\ur\\
1'. ' ft is ot tlic
i.'U of wiiirfi Is,
!' iv«' a coroUuit
r».*iini<;t:inct':. are
inject in its tiy
.- - ;. :i a-- I'-.i" young leaves
- t .:n tlic' c-hi\>alis, in
• 1 \i.'i i)i. i«Hl ill ilie earth all
. . . •M. ..f tlu? bush. It creeps,
■ ■ '-. .i{H)kit the brandies at the
•. • i>ii>li, aiul -^oon lindin^ a mate,
.... *•«' )<.'^iis hi'r ep-ps in rows along
..; t;.r I avs oiutheir luider surface.
w u..vi I'le parents die, Tli^ yP^nflj
' ..,r II) a short time hatched, and
. . •.. jMiHlaiions by eating small holes
.:.-" • I - on the leaves, where they are
^'. :. 1 t.u* lirst leaf is devoured 'they
i;» v^.-intT, and so on ; but for many
•n V ivtvp in coninany, soijie scores pcf-
K. i.u» suisie leaf. \\ hen increased in
. \ sv*pi»raic, and feedsin2;lY, but never
i..f ijoUom otthe bush, till most of the
'.in re dw gf)ne; they tiien travel gra-
u;).\;iiii^, and always stifk on the un-
. iM^ ol till" I'nives, by which theym'ore
.!'v :i\ Mi hecomiiio; the [)rev of 'birds ;
lo wi.ich, their colour aUo', which is
ijui-i nreserve them in a i^reat measure
>.;^. I tMK-niies. 'J hese cateqiiliars are
K -ii'jil Iroin the caterpillars of butter-
.i iuoliis. by having as many as twenty
x.\as i'\': latter never have*n>ore tiiali
*^^:teon. Tiw hard C77«T'r:j .■' \*i W- «1<9
*<»enis one er.rre scale; «r.-.vi- '.-^t ^*ii^.
pidopt -.-. - «^ -j-.t-rpillar Ci>r.sL'*s v: fo. (;i«
ut->t of t/->«* irisects \»ilj mhii i:ij»-3 u'. n
whole ."^ . A :Ls leaves. Vw.-'u tuii T'^h
the\ n-i. ' : : • .c earth, remain ii.-'-rt m. ...n-
s:;li-» b'.: - r-^ ; :y^, and then a >^»)na :>:v-'4
njoie n«:-:: -r.: ^ inau the tir^t upj/eir<; Uvx
dojioN'i ti; .: *'7^< in the same inan.vr, rii
iw ifDV ai; iJir ifjves on t he sum»ntT -. -'•
'J 1k' b«'co:.«i brood L^pjirars in l'.i* ti\ U(*
a't) M!t July, ani tii«* youn^ fry is hatchcaai ^
\vt ek or (en ua\ < altcrjraru^.
" Fro!n an a.-quainlii.;ce with {h^ nanj-al
hi>lory ol tins in.-t-ci we tliscoxtr ttic jro^tr
time and mann.T of se-jrciiLngfor, aiititjfAi^
it; a[,.i i:.»> pr.-xe^^is 10 sinnil»% aodsocfT'
t.vn. tn:.i w iir^pvcr ciMows a ri petition of t:<
iiMjrv. a"j|»]y d'^'rvts it for ins nHigsor?.
** \V:jt':^.» the I>a5lies are kpo^n to U^e
b'-en L.'- ti'd the precefling sumiTifr, 1ft
I'.-'n i>" liaily attL*ntIed to as s«>'n sa the
"^l "•' c ;< ..' -b apj)«?ar, and let every lly 0^ Mi
<I.->i , . ♦. .ii aUiv^* given be taken vlicrcerrt
ci.n b«*iuuiid ; xht ^li.gg^hnes of its m~i. ■»<
make-, it an 'M-v prey ; anil be it ri\neirj'...':'d,
that the d'ViniVtiuM* of every feinale, !<fjrf
it lays its vt:T<, is equal to tlie de.^nictK«n 115
several hundi M cater i>ili irs. Ijci this >• jri
for the fly be repeated in July. Whf-n-ur
^i any season you discover your bu^hrsiol>?
intiMed with the caterpilUr of this in».i',
which is known by tl;e loss of leavi?, pair
cularly on the bottnin branch'^, ^onuiu-t
exannne eacn bu>h separately, and sei/r volt
prey wherever you (U-tect linn. Nor isilw
so arduous a task as it may at first appcir.
One j)erson may easily clear fifty bushe> in i
day ; and surely the pn^ervativrii of soiaucij
fruit will amply* repay for the trouble aiul «^
penci\ If the searcii is niade early, \m(n
the youni^ caterpillars are dispersed, liw
trouble will be ver>' much abridged, t'.err
leaf, that is [lartialfy eateii^ must be j'lurki J
otf by nippin«5 the leaf-stalk with the tlrjcb
and tinger, and it will seldom happen biinr
or more caterpillars will be found on it? un-
der surface. They must be carefully re-
moved from the garden, or destroyfil v ^0
taken. The searcli should be repeated a u-v
times, lest any stragglers should have e^rj; •-:,
or any fresh caterpillars be hatchetl, a< lA-f
do not all appear exactlv together. I)up af-
tent ion to tiiis plan wifl etfectualiy rootal
the evil ; and atter one year's- search few !(>
sects will be found for some succei*ding }«"5rs,
so that a slight annual examination will |»je<
serve your bushes aftenvarda. '
- T'it Pn'nciplr^ of Bnlanif and f'tgctabk' PhifsinJof^?/. Translated from fhc Ctr-
\). C \\ HXDLxow, Pro/cjisor of Xatural History and Botany at Berlin, b^o.
\»..vilvl oroatly facilitate the progress
':;..o.:t, if, in excry branch of
Mt. .V wen* one accurate and com-
c vloiiuntary work, >^rit4cu in
a plain and en^y style, and arranged in a
natural and Incid order. IntrodHct(»7 I
treatises wc ha\e in abundance ujx)n evt^rv
subject 5 but comparatively few wliicli :j» |
\VILLDENOW*S PRINCll'LES OF fiOTANY.
791^
Ihe production of authors completely com-
petent to the task, Jn the prescut ardent
pursuit of botany in particular, through
evefy part of Europe, and wherever Euro-
piiuicj reside or travel, no one has a right
to cx>njplain that he cannot find a guide.
The only dir^'juky i-5, to determine which
is best qualiricd for tiie purpose. There
is, indeed, one great original from which
all draw ihe greatest part of their mate-
rinl.s, aud to wiiicli all look up as nearly
<lec2.^ive aulliority. The Fhilosophia Bo-
tnnica of Linnneus possesses such pre-emi-
iieiu excellence, that it would be pre-»
sumption in any one to disclaim its assist-
ance, and to attempt a similar composition
entirely derived from other sources. . The
best works of the kind in the English
Linguage are little more than trnnslntions
or abriJgmeuLs of it, in connection with
the Termini Botanici, and some other
tracts published in the Aniccnitates Aca-
deniica: and the Delineatio Plantae, pre-
ii\Gd to the vegetable part of tlie Systema
Naturae.
"While science is, as it always must be,
in a stijte of progress, even its lirst ele-
ments cannot be altogether stationary. .A
wider survey of t!ie subject, and a know-
ledge of new particulars, will produce
more accurate definitions, more cleiirly
marked distinctions, and a better arrange-
ment.: this was experienced by Linna-iis
himself. The Phii()sr>phia Botanica, Ter-
mini Botanici, and Delineatio Plantat^, are
not always cor..->i^ient with each other;
nyr do hia earlier and later practical woiks
entirely corrc-pond : but, since the time
of his death, the field of botanical research
has been wonderfully extended. The
herbarium, the greenhouse, and the stove,
have been enriched with new tribes of
plants, many o{ which have a structure
aud habit almost as remote from those
which were before known, as are the
countries which gave them birth, from the
nation^ of civilized Europe. The science,
therefoR*, has in many respects assumed
a new appearance, and, wi;h respect to
some of its parts, nmst be taught in a new
form.
TIii.s can be *done only by those who
have the means of becoming acquainted
vith all the recent acquisitions, and can
TJew the whole with a scientitic eye. The
author of the work now l)efore us is of
diis class. Professor Willdenow is not
only in the regular Jiabit of teaching the
science, which we consider as nearly an
absolute pre- requisite to the composition
Ct' a, good elemeniiiry book : but haN lug
been lolig employed in eolloctiag and di-
gesting materials for a new^ edition of die
Sjxjcics Plantarum, must have acquired a
precision and facility in the use of terms,
which can be the result only of long prac-
tice and much reflection. His introduc-
tion to botany, we are told, has according-
ly " superseded in Gerraai!^' all others of
the longest standing and greatest reputa-
tion.** That it will meet with etjual suc-
cess in Great Britain is more than we wilt
venture to predict ; but y,c can pronounce
it a valuable addition to those which w^
before possessed, and shall not, we trust,
be suspected of a desire to disparage tlic
publications of oiu* own country, if we
add that it contains a considerable quan-
tity of matter which is not to be touixi
e^ en in the best of them. The latent au-
thor must be negligent indeed, if he do
not secure to himseif a right to boast of
this advantage.
I'he work, after n general introduction,
is divided into eight parts under tlie fol-
lowing tides : terminology,. classification,
botan-cal aphorisms, nomenclature of plants,
physiology, diseases of plants, history of
plants, and histor}' of the science.
Jn the terminology tiie professor has
generally, but not always, adliere,d to the
explanations gi\en by Linnaeus, and had
added most of the new terms which have
been employed by subseciu^^nt iiutUors. A
capsule, for instance, according to him, is
*' a pericarp consisting of a Uiin coal
which contains many seeds, often divided
into cells, and assuming various tbrnis.'*
According to Linuieus, it is " a lioUow
pericarp opening (dehiscens) in a deter-
minate manner:'* a definition which doejl'
not exclude either the siiitpie, tlie legume,
or the follicle, though all these ore made
by him distinct kinds of pericarp. There
is, indeed, in many of Linnneiis's division*,
a want of Jogic;.l exactness ; and we have
lately learnt, from his ov/n account of him-
seif, that, through the whole of his early
studies, he was too much absorbed in the
investigation of ^Jants, to attend to seve-
ral of the sricnces which are taught in the
Swedish universities as preparator}' to a
course of theology, of which logic is in-
disputably one. Wc wdl not deny that,
in some points of view, he was nuich
better, employed ; and that a s»\gacious
attention to the face of nature divl morc^
for him dianall tiie logic of his days could
ever have done : but we must at tlic same
time observe, that a general initiation into
the rules of th^t art would have prevented
a few inipnjprieiies into which i>e has
r/8
NATURAL HISTORT.
putably tbc' !)e5;t part of the work now be-
• lure us. The tollowing extract is a tiiir
»|H^cimcn of bis iTinnncr, and contains
jiir.ttcr wliich w ill bo generally usfcfuj, bat .
is not generally known.
'* The caterpillar of one of tlio hymrnop-
t'^riuis in--<»cls ir-M^iicnllv inU'-t^i p()OsH)iTry
f.n<l cur. aiil bnslu's, ieeding on the lcave> and
<'.^•^t^(>^ii:^ the licailh of i lie hu.-.iu's; whicU
II' >' oi:iy [uwv no fruit the same year, but are
CMvsaivTably injured for a year or t'.\o \\)\'
] }\\i\)2^. \\ lien you perceive your bu?hes to
liC» dr-iici'nt in leaves, you \Nil[, on exainiiia-
ti )'j, /'.:•.'! »!i. in to have been eaten by thi^ or
^o'ne otiuT caterpillar ; and if they have been
tlu» nurt deytroyt'd at the b'>iu>inof the bn.^h,
?.i»'i ii.)tiiin;"ifi i^er.eral but liie ril)> and stalks
<».. tlie k-iNC) lenia-n, you may bea?>^uretl 'hat
tl"? mi^cliief has been dcjiie In- the insect,
Vjulh I i'.ni now about l*) iiescri[)e.
'* 'llie ()ir!e( t iusect is a fi.ar-vvinjred i\\
rr.ther h»r.'er tiian the coininr-n Iioum'-II
w'li >!j..ir y« li.nv upon its body, and mi'
m;)re 5l«'.;: ,iv!i in its moti(Mv>. ' It is ol '
R'^ir.n trrUfn'cJh one pecctiiaiitv of \vh"'
tii<it tiieir auli'ijaa' or horns have a c(>»
tremahvjs inv)tion. 'l'he*<e circuniMant
sc.ilicuni lo chsiinguish the inject i
state.
" in f^priin;, as soon as tlie voi
apnear, i.h • tl\ bnr-ts from the <
nn'ch "-tL'te il had lain bvni»nl in . -
winter near the ro(»i (if the bu>''
but seldom ti '.«'>, about the h\
lv>tlo;Ti o'l lhebu>h, a?id S(v>n <
the female (le,iOsits her vjv^
the rihsuf the leaves on#tlu
• In a few dayi the parent^ - ^
calerpilhus are in a short '
begin their ricpredations '>
like pin-holes on the le ""—
born. When the lirst i- . -
march to another, and - _
days they kev^p in co;i -
haps on tlie same 1 ^ _
pixe iht'y separate, i
leave tiie bottom < "
leaves there are u
(lually upward,^, .
, iJer surface of tji '- * -
effectually avoid — -^^^
Uflded to' which
preen, must pr- , -- -t^
Ipom such ei- ., ,^--
distinguished t _ .^_
iiiiis, and mot- , , ,
teet, wherca^ ' '" -*
Art. II.-7
7/uin f^f \)
pp. 300,
IT WO:r
cf the SI-
fcience, tin
p!?ehe:ulvc
sixteen. The hard co-
seems one entire scab-
pidoplerous caterpi'i
nest of these ins<'<
whole bush of its ■
they retire to th -
sahs but a few -1
nioie nunnro-
d^-po-^it thcii ■
dftroy all '
'J lie scco;
about Jni
\\( ek or •
hi>tor
time
it; ;•
t.'.M
,1 an abstr^t'-l
.«j, and would di,.*
a length nearly tr«]U3lti>
= _^ i na 1 . We si i a I i therefc :e
. , that he is inciineti by aia-
-. r'i as by other consideration*,
. ..- i real circulation, and not a mere
: JT'l descent of the sap, although
^ x:»Zi:''*" ledges such a circuiaii-in bis
r^rr itrrn proved J and that he condemi*
:r r-rvilc«t distinction of plants acco?i-
:;. .. \:e:r cotyledons, wliich is one ot tie
T.. : 3n:jples of the system of Jusjka
-T r .KVr* may not be dispieasetl to ^ee
■ — r :jt ^ays on the subject in his ovk^
- r>*, cr rather in the words of hii trani-
^ -r . pimicularly as, connected with tise
Ti--.t- of which we have already ti-
^ -^1 JUT disapprobation, it seems lo m-
e a secret dislike to tliat celebraltii
•^ It dt-er^^es our attention that not aH
*-"9 zivc the rostel, especially (ibo>o) of
-■izi 3c;ujtic and parasitic plants, and jjer-
.:;^-:s i^ ihose which Dr. Gaertner c?ii>
3: T Iri-iaes. I wa.s, as far as I know,
n* r.'^ who discovered this, ulien 1 ex-
:n:^3ri With great care the water-odtn^
-ji^s. natans) one of the most singular
j.r^i. Bat diat a germinating seed shouki
pirr^rni its function without pluinnie and
c -nlfdons is impossible. Nobody as yet
2^ a; tempted to deny the existence of the
TLi33::le in any seed. Linn6, Garrtner,
ri>?;5ru, and many other' botanists, dtnied
* V rtf the cotyledons, especially in the
c-LaA crvrtoq^amia. Jussieu alone adds >o
i:.>^ plicts which have no cotyledons.
GTTTiier's acotyledones, such as want the
-»-';'. Nature provided plants with theW
c.r-iaions, that they might nourish tL«
t-tS^^ ^.xii in its tender inlVncy. Never
•WILIDENOW'S PKINCIPLES OP BOTAUT,
781
same
.e it was
. eve many
therefore, of
. oiiocotyledona,
otyledons is er-
nt to plants are form-
detailed, with, the best
as far as they are curable,
.i the work, like the pre-
iiot admit of abridgment.
; the author calls the history of
means " a comprehensive view
nflueiice o( climate upon vegeti-
of the changes which plants most
;.ibly have satFered daring tiie various
. olutlous this earth has undergone, of
»eir disseminatwn over the globe, of tlieir
migrations, and lastly of the manner in
which nalure has provided for their pre-
BervatioQ.'' On these subjects he presents
us with a few leading lacts, and with
much vague speculation* partly taken
from the oration of Linnseus de telluris
habitabilts incremeuto, and from a tract
in the Amoenitates Academicae, entitled
Stadones Plantarum, and partly the result
of his own reflections. He conjectures
that, in a long course of ages, great
changes have taken place on the surface
of the "globe j that the primitive naoun-
tains were for a long time the only dry
land; tliat many chains were originally
united, which are now separated by wide
intervals ; that the original mountains had
Mxue plants. in common, and others pecu-
liar to each -, and that these plants were
disseminated in the £bt country, a$ it gra-
ce where this dually emerged from the bosom of the
nltted. I deep. On this supposition he founds live
•vhich principal Horas in Europe, which lie calls
U the Northern, the Helvetic, tlie Austriah*
the Pyrenean, and tlie Appeniuiau, and
Tts that there is the most marked dif-
'" in the lists of plants which they
•roduce. Observations of this
' [ ^ and worth pursuing ; but
* be taken that the ima-
v.ay with the judg-
i)e not forcibly dis-
.latural correspondence
.ved theory.
uf the eighth and last part
.nd i:i the Bibliotheca Botanica
...jds, and in two tracts published
J AmcEnitates Academicae, entitled
ituienta Botanices and Auctores Bo-
t^nici ', but the whole is greatly enlarged,
,, £uid brought down to the present time. In
,cd the second of these worl'? the history of
botany is divided into .our periods : tlie
iirst includes all the ancient writers, and
comes down to the restoration of literature,
at tlie time when Constantinople was
taken by the Turks j the second begins
with Brunfels and ends with C. Bauhiu ;
the third comes down to Linnaeus ; and
the fourth is distinguished by tlie propa-
gation of the sexual system. Professor
Willdenow, with a more accurate obser-
vation of the great revolutions that have
taken place in the science, divides it into
eight. 1 . From tlie origin of the science
to Brunfels. 2. From Brunfels to Csesai-
pinus, or from 1630 to 1583. 3. From
Caesalpinus to C. Bauhin, or from 1583
to 15(}S. 4. From C. Bauhin to Tourue-
fort, or from 1593 to 16q4. 5, From
Tournefort to Vaillant, or from \6g4 to
1717. (). From Vaillant to Linnaeus, or
from' 1717 to 1735. 7- Proni Linuajus
to Hed wig, or from J 735 to 1/82. . 8. To
the pres«*nt dine, t. e. 1805. Without
intending to derogate from the established
reputation of Hedwig, we cannot help
thinking tha^ if our author had not con-
ceived a prejudice agaiiwt Jussieu, he
would have fixed the commencement of
his eighth period at the year 1789, when
that great naturalist published his Genera
Planiarum secundum Ordines naturales
disposita. Under each period all the bo-
tanical writers are enumerated, with the
titles and dates of their principal works.
The lovers of botany would have been still
more gratified if a complete list of their
works with the different editions had been
annexed. Such a list ^01^ not have
taken up much more roo'" \*
-rTJJ^ EISZ
'le
cf-J: 7m
: f r
■2
ri-n: a:
ijc*
^
L.
,1
fr>rt .
^ r '-. lent
ah of
•:•-, there-
_ .. * j: roofs,
:: ..iLt* with
1 TV hasty
. ./ of the
.cr.-:;sh. lu
". ••.'-lr-ic:ilt(*r!iis
•t:.'., well rciKlcr-
ut ':o Ln\rlhJwian
I. •";./(.•..%- ei]ui\.i!erit
.- *-:o.:y i> ir.'.irh the
■ -'-cu^ u.- In many
r^' t'ni: .in Ljicouth
■'1 v.'';iu. I;: others
V •\xi Cam ••■):. St iiic-
•... "^u^'vi p-inciples of
•1. \> ilio Jiivorti^cniciit
• i:i->latiou ^[>cviks of edi-
. -1 kmuIkt, it seems pro-
> i\ i'>..;ii i.s tiie production
. ' iio hai lately begun to
, . '.'^ ;)a-.>::c:o quoted above,
. ■ i.\ •• inaLLiUcicit s, betrays
.. .. .11 esi)!'^^!!:^ the tenses of
•V, \vo .:ie almost certain that
. ?.ir«U Britain could have
J :<; lowing seuttnte: "Not
o\v in earth, and therefore
> i.v/t outer the ground." The
.. ^ .lot (Hily extreliitly grating
, II tjf, but, -as far as the 1 itter
• . - '\\;:.cd, conveys a fal>c idea,
. : ')v ti)e aullior, Ilic follow-
-. i:;ee or' extreme negligence
..■.aiiiui; of the orlgiual, no less
■'.>> .'ucearacy in the gramniati-
uies tbe petioli of pinnnte
tu iIk'v rcu).iin after the leaves
•..1 o/i, I L'j.or:ie thorns, as in
'.•"c.rand.a, and other species
. ..s. On the peduiides they
•, -h irper, and as.-.unie, after the
. i.Uit have fallen oft th^ shape
• - tlit; -.1 \:>^3P- J.-eciJinc >»J^rr»,
;, rom->..' ar:J change inia
-rarce in rh- ta' :r.*.-^S '
'»• the Gerrn.'n origiml be-
•• V a ::o: Le-;t^te nortro pc-
— "I t'le tran-lauon thus:
:.u ].»etioli of pinnate Irjvei
:i!r jeaveii have dropped o.^f,
— i:-!> : as in ast^H^alus tra-
■ ::i*T -:.rri'js of that genus:
:• .f growing larger aaj
^,w /. .»er and fruit have
— r * ■' *harie of thorns ss
. z . r: . • rn : or lastly, the
'^ ^l -T, and ligneca^, re-
-I-. :: :o thorns^ as in sonki
V. ^ -•_ . . _d la complain that the
p~ *.r _' »..:. riLiiicd his full share to-
v.'i- '.- .'.r :Le ^en^e of the autlia-.
^Vc :.-v- >.' ^. .n met with a work so fiiU
of ej-- .::.Tjs lypogmph-cal errors. It is,
in truta, a di-sgrace to the Edinburgh
pre>s. At the top of page 135, for iii-
stance, there is a repetition of not less
than four lines which occur in the very
next preceding sentence, and >j'hich ::re
so incorporated into a nei*' sentence as to
make stark nonsense of the whole. A
similar repetition of two whole sentences
appears at the bottom of page 191, and
ne:ir the top of page 192. And in the
enumeration of simple substances found
in plants. No. 10 is omitted, though re-
ferred to in a note at tlie bottom of the
page.
As the present edition will probably
find a speedy sale, particularly among the
students at our northern universitie^, we
recommend it to the proprietors to have
the traiisliUion carefully revised, and to
employ a comiXftent corrector of the
press. If it would not too much enhance
the price, it would also be desirable 10
have a set of better ])lates. The hgures
in the ten that are now given are »iud€-
ruus, but many of them are so small and
so inj»)erfectly drawn, as to be of little
u ;e J and they are all huddled together
with so total a disregard to order and con-
nection, that they must give trouble and
perplexity, instead of aftbrding e;ise and
instruction to the learner. The plate oi
colours which, if well executed, would be
valuable, is, in our copy at least, a \\!it
daubing, which conveys no accurate idea.
* 1 l.^Trurts relative to Botawj, translated from dljtrent Luui^ua^ei. 8vo,
..ci.J aitentiQU paid to botany in alnwst every part of Europe, and thp
7
TRACTS RELATIVI TO BOTANY*
?33
bumcroiis publications on the subject
Which are ) early i.'iiuing Irom ihe press,
at the snine lime lh.it they greatly advance
ihr hcieiiCe, cannot fail to re:ult'.- it niore
dillicult of attainment to intlivivKuis. la
I he nio.t favourable silualior.s, i\i\d wiih
-all theaJA<intagea that can i:ovv.'jly be p{>-i-
fce'>sod, it is not en-y U. kee^:) p.K\* \\ ith its
rap'd pitijress, and to iJcquiiv a knov\leci^e
of i\,c now riialtcr wlfuh is tcrniimuiiiy
acc«niiilaiin<^ from t'le sc;jar;\ic Ir.l/uiirs of
lis nehnirei's. Few boianot.> bave the iiap-
piness to command a fortr.r.e au; .;i:aiL^ to
the purcha.'.e of all t!ie books tliat are pio-
tes:>cdly written on the suijeet. But be-
sides these, many viikuble uisitrtatious
are. pualished in the Transrutions of vari-
ous scientific societies, v. !«irh ciJKiot be
pnxrured without puahasing a grtMt nunv-
bjT of others printed in the same volume
that are not immediately wauLod, and yet
'add greatly to the expence. But if this
ditlioulty be surmounted, another, and
.oft\2ii insuperable obstacle biili remains : a
considerable proportion of them are writ-
ten, not lu the Latin or French languages,
familiar to most naturalists j nor in Italiiui,
which, though less common, is olten un-
derstood J but in German, Swedish, Spa-
nish, or Portuguese, which \ery tew
learned men have leanit, or luve leisure
to loaro. The English botanist therefore
Is under great obligation to the translator
o£ the^e tracts, who has given him easy
acce.->s to ti-easures from which he was be-
fore entirely barred ; tlicy are ten in
number. '
X . On the Organs of Perfipimtion of Plants,
translated from the GtrnuiH of iledw'ig.
Iliis able naturalist, who has deserved
so well of the scientific world by his im-
"NvearieJ microscopic researches into the
minutest parts of die vegetable creation,
Las in this concise tract directed his con-
suiiimate skill to the examiiiatii.ii of those
pores la the leaves and other parts of
'plants, which he supposes were first seen
by Yoi\ Gleichin, but whiclj, as ilie trans-
lator informs us in a note, hJd before
beeii delected by Saussurt;, and which are
liow generally su])posed to be organs of
2x;rs]^!ratiou. The.ic pores he d«.^Ciibcsn.s
>iijg!e oblong apertures in the niidJle (.f
numerous bodies, difierently sha[x?d in
ditjvrent plants, and conmmiiicating wiih
a ^et t)f ducts or vessels which he calls the
"Jympliatic vcsstds of the cuticle. He at-
tributes to the jx>ies a c:i[)*iciiy of opening
^aii\ -shutting, but says nothmg of' th< ir
Living a raovcabU valve, wLuh \» ex-
pressly asserted by Willdenow \]^ his prin-
ciples oi botany. He i^b.*e:\ e> tliat mui^:-
ure a^ well as air may po■^^il ! . ':e cvJiive) ed
throuizh thc'^e pasN:'gc>, but aAnvn^icdii^.'i
tl;at \w is not bUtllcieiitly aot|ua"»n:od with
ihj .Nubject to gi\e a dc*>lwca oi^r.ion cou-
cx^rninr it.
The t ran da tor h::s ad Jed to this tract
srn:e v:^liu.ble cb-cr>ati.nis of Mr. Francis
Ji.iuer, :uid M. Dev\aiJw-lIe. Mr. Bauer,
wii.) oomJos hi'i dialin^iii.-liod excellence
in botanio pain:::);, is wcii >k'.l]ed in mi-
crt)>ooj.i^' iiivos'.iuation, has not boon abl«
to di.>covci llie siippoSv\l lyr.^i'Iia-ic durts
des(;:iV»d by S./a.--ufe and H<.-«.!.v'v^, and is
of opiniiju i!i::t what they took iv»r j»uch
are norh.nj; mo'Cr than t!ie ediivrs or re-
maining p.irts of the ti:sso]i:nicLts of the
cells in the cuticle. JM. DLca'iJjile I'.as
found that tliere are such perjs o*i]\ oa
tliose parts of vci;etjblcs which are ex;) h-
ed to the intluence of air and I'^^hcj that
fungi, lichens, hopaiica:, fu-i, :,iid iu
general all plants or parts ol" pi .!:;;> w i«i( h
are constantly immersed in water, are to-
tally destitute of them, and that Mu.-i.lcnt
plants which perspiie but little have v^iy
tew.
2. Some Materhli for the I!lustra*''*:i ff
the Butamval iUographij of thr Sna::>
ucstrrn parts of Enropn, tramiated frcnk
the German of Prt feasor Link,
This tract relates to that department of
the science which is called by "^'ilklcnovv
the history of plants, and modestly prxj-
fesses to be mere Iragments and mate-
rials to assiat in the future completion of
the subject It consists of four distinct
lists, with some general deductions from
them: 1. Of plants which are found ii\
the greatest part ai Eiif ope from the 54tk
to the 3Sth decree of north latilodc r 2,
Of such as ha\ e two nearly allied species,
one of V Inch is found m northern, the
other iu southern climates, and wliich
arc never kuowu to degenerate the one
into the other : 3. Of those that belong
to the Flora of Portugal, divided into the
soutliem, the middle, and the northern j
to which is annexed some brief ob^icrva-
tionson the Florus of Sparh, south Ger-
many, nortJicrn and middle France, and
tlie south of Fi.glaiid ; and 4. Of plant*
frequent in north Europe, but not ibund
in th'e south of Spain ar*d Portugal.
These catalogues are contessc*dly vciy
imperii t, "and the conclusions drawn
from them will conse<juently ^tand in
neod. oi haixxg corrected, ai.d diiKrently
modified, m the ccUection of w ell ::uthcr.-
rs:^ " ::zY.
Oj)tlc miwii:il would \\.v < -;:, !i-jwTvcr, tL? wrrc -f -jlt -?^
view, that inti). i.:* t'on ' . -^tcral sta't-, ix'bici .* ^ '-r- -^ t-
lieeJocI, and in Uidiiy ^ ^)iirfd veiii^, iusip.i in- * "^^ *^-
obtnir.cfJ. . , tlie imrnLJi.Hie rcs»i:i .r .. r— *<
\Vh-it we l',::vi' h*' - i.>:ous ti LJK' .*iC^'rrous !Lj:.iu- .r ^i-
the origiiKii \v.j:;< \. . -i _ hout-s, Liiic: aii-%e> from *•: ^i _ -:ii
cannot spLMk ;i.«ri: ■ . v.r frccjuent o:)<Jt ructions h: :z-c T-..ivf
traii.^atioii. \.;' t i .. :r:2nclitra. In -^viiieh the alisncu-z- _ :«
improper u-«" «.t ' _ : i-e .i'.n-TJtrc. iii U.'JIT passag-*. s^ -:.*3
instead (>f . " ' ! ' -. : thick 3ixl uliy pan cuu^nlaleo ^--i- i --^
nciij. n-iisa. I'hia, wLeu accL-i^z^'i
a sirrfr- i^-n* dt*c:ree. extends and ^^Crit ti*
ve-i--- aiiu 'jhaiinuiji in which it«:2!» r:i-
talar:;, aiic timn presents a Fhiicera,
hai'5, cla'h-foiourcd, 6^graiit, IrtfeT ics-
staiit^r, IvX (11 coiirae \eics, ca?-r-i ij^
locL*-!.. lilt rrmr.ner id ub'ih n b
gaii..-f r'.iL, lilt' ^-a'-i:.-tles to which ii U >:.>
ject in ji ».nt of purity and strcngti!, od
some c2' ii>e "Uj.c!* to which itisapp'^:^
are bricllj dtrtiiied by the Portuguese n*:>»
sionary.
4. On the Genera nf Orchide£P, and ihpf
sijstematical ATran^ement, trandatti
from the Swedish of Professor Sxarz.
5. Genera and Species of the NatKn
Order of the Orchidcee : btf Projv^fr
Stiarz,
These two tracts taken together com-
pose the largest and most valuable part
of the collection. The natural order
which they profess to illustrate is di:>tui-
guibhcd from all others by strongly marked
characters, and contains a vast number d
species. Professor Swarz has roinutelj
examined more than two hundred ; and thfi
authors of the Flora Peruviana and Cbi-
lensis, assert that more than one tboo-
sand distinct ones may be found ob tli»
Cordilleras, within a very small tract of
conntr}'. Great natural orders are alwm
dilficult to divide into genera. It cannot,
1 ^ J rn J ±- therefore, excite our surprize 'that this i*
. . a^uiyfode of Production ^^ ^^ ^-^ ^^^ orchid4. The stmc-
. or .^lo,s-u'Ood, tramUit. ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ fructification is. •
. / iu^uese of Loureiro. nioreover, so singular, and compared widi
.% :>roduct'on has been im- all otlier plants, so anomalous, that au-
. ^.a>t, aiTd valued as a me* thors could scarcely be expected to fonn
^ ..iciul pejfume, from the precisely tlie same ideas concemiog the
. ji.:it]uity : but its natural ends they are severally designed tozaswo'^
'^.a III Uierto unknown. The and the names by which they should be
.>cnt tract had opportnni- called. The autlior of the present tracts,
^ ^i.d examining it, and of dissatisfied with the labours of his prede-
..i.iritT in which it is ob- cessors, which had hideed been limited to
1 residence of many years few s|>ecie3, offers a oe>M;,description and
a. Its native country. It distribution into genera. In agreement
ji' a tree which must be with Jussieu he regards the corolla of
. ^:ia monogynia, and be- Linnaeus as the proper calyx, but dilFers
..a«jl order uf iegumino^^. toni both u 'o^isidering as » truecoroUa
our count r •
'w~
are in it .i .
.-.^v***-»
either oW •
--vIlC
the EiL^^iiJ '
• ..' a .t
and uii'^K-. '
.. OuU-
German ■. '
. :: -ov^>-
ilitJer. lit ;
r-u ^^M-
amani!". •
: ne na-
in liie 1. •
•t which
€cl; b'.r
'-:!r-.'s, the
WCHlM '
-w "»uiins, in
to JcLt
::, .le ioil.
woi-: •
.'• ':iar v^xpo-
ca>f-
• -'uiiu :i> .^x-
SUC'.-;-
•lUIld. It
of U I
-.11 v.i'jre d:e
nii'ii
^ via -lie jariki
it i".
* ^ .: \ ir.ti deter-
lir)n
.1 )f ii.n^ to the
i::j
. - , 1 ^ fi lo tae kinj^
pn
.. .f e nxed to-day anil
tu'
.. i'l lie tiat of a Na-
I
.^r -course of nations.
«■!
a i.L> ana puller down
1.
cvci lasting hills will
1
-* :i tneir fjundations.
*
a.*j- will still maintain
•
. ^'cat laws of nature.
..w ..10 uispo^ition of the
. -a of tlie vegetable, and
. ..:e juinral creation, will
--e -je tried by natures
...^ <.! uuiuan power and
TKACTS BSLATIVE TO EOTANt.
76*
. (I by the latter the lower Up
v.. :;. , and by tl)e former another
M y.1 tlie calyx, differing in form
Jill- Hot. On account -of its situation
;» nil, however, he still calls it a lip
•HLim). The part denotntnatecT by
■ .ijiius the upper lip of the nectary> he
.11 lines to be truly a one- celled an*
''iL-r, which is single in all the known
species, excepting those of C}'prlpedium^
liic only real dlandrous genus in tills natu-
J j] order. He is satisfied also that Lin-
ij«us mistook the stigma, which, as
Sprengel and SchkiThr have observed, is
ilistincdy to be seen in Orchis, below the
anther and behind tlie opening into tlie
spur 5 'Which is similarly situated in
Ophrys, though in that genus there' is no
spur ; and which is variously situiated in
other genera.
The professor has taken his primary
generic characters from the situation and
insertion of the anther, and the qualities
of. the pollen-masses J die secondary ones
from the outer parts of the flower. From
these characters he has formed twenty-five
genera, and ' hopes tliat he shall not be
reproached for having given too great a
number by these who know how neces-
lary in an artificial system it often is, for
fbe sake of facilitating the determination
jf plants, and preventing confusion, to
ieparate species which seem to be natu-
rally allied, provided that good distinguish-
ng characters can be found.'
I Some Botanical Observations : from the
Gsrimn of M, B, Berkhausen.
The object of this tract is to check the
fevaillng rage for increasing the number
f species, by shewing that plants assume
ery diferent appearances according to
le various kinds of soil, the elevation,
jd other circumstances in which they are
rand ; and that * before any particular
baracter is determined to be a sufficient
^ecific distinction, it is necessary to ob-
rve whether it remains unaltered in the
fiereot regions ofairwhicha mountain
iverses, or tlirough which a widcdfs*
!ct of country, with all its diversity of
il, ascends.' By attending to this rule
e autlior has found that the Orobus te-
ifblius of Roth, wUich is the pannonicus
Jacquin^ and the austriaais of Crantz,
ouly a variety of O. tuberosus : that
iygala amara, vulgaris, and monspeliaca,
Liiinaeus and other authors, are one and
i same species : tliat Scabiosa coliira-
ia, and S. ochroleuca, Linn, ('enuifo-
lloth>) are in the same predicament :
"^-N. Il£T. Vol. IV.
tliat Linnaeus is right in uniting Viola
arvensis to V. tricolor, and Pimpinella dls*
secta to P. saxtfraga : that Schrank is
.wrong in separating Hieracium pilosissi-
mumpTom H. mucosum, and H. macula-
turn from H. sylvaricura : and that there
is much reason to doubt whether all the
four be really more than varieties of the
^me species.
7. Account of the Ule-iree (CasUUa ifla**
ticaj, and of other trees producing the
elastic gum : from the Spamsh of Don
Vicente de Cervantes, Prof of Bot. in
Mexico.
There are several trees in South Ame-
rica which produce a substance some*
what similar to tlie well-known elastic
gum, or Ule of the Mexicans : as Jatro-
pha dastica of die younger Limisus, fot
which a separate genus has been formed
by Schreber, under the name of SiphO-
nia 3 Jatropha ureus ; anji other species of
the same genus : Cecropia peltata ; se-
veral species of Ficus ; with some othejT
plants not so well known. But the true
elastic gum is tlie produce of a monoicous
tree, which the autlior calls Castilla elas-
tica, and of which he has given a full de-
scription, illustrated by a figure.
8. Observations on the Genera Juglans,
Fraxinus, and Quercus, in the neigh*
bourhood of Lancaster, in North Ame--
rica ; from the German of the Rev. H. £.
Muhlenberg^ with the remarks of Prof
a S. mildenow.
In this tract seven species of Juglans,
tliree of Fraxinus, and fourteen of Quer^
cus, with several varieties, are briefly de-
scribed.
9. Observations on the Plant called Erica
Dabacia, shewing ihe necessity of re*
f erring it to a different genus and order :
from the French of Prof Jussieu.
This plant which had been described as
an Erica, by Toumefort and Ray, was at
first continued in that genus by Linnaeus^
with some doubt as Xq the propriety of its
position : but on account of its habit was
afterwards removed by him to Androme-
da. Thunbcrg, Smith, Lamark, Gmelln^
and Willdenow, have brought it back again
to Erica. But Jussieu has he;e shewn
that as ' each of the valves of the cap-
sule, folding itself so as to make its edges
approach inwardly, forms a complete cell
absolutely separate from that of the neigh*
bouring valve,* it is neither an Andro-
meda nor an Erica 5 in both which, as in
3 E —
y8«
NATURAL HISTORY.
all the rest of the natural order Erica,
' each of the valves bears along its middle
a septum, which being applied against the
central seed- bearing column, fornis a se-
parate cell, produced by two vah"es con-
jointly contriboting each its half 5* and
that it therefore belongs to (he natural
border Bhododendra, and is really a ^ecies
of Menziesia, to which genus Mr. Salis-
buf^r, with his usual penetration^ had pre*
viously referred it in his editiou of Thun-
berg*s Dissertatio de End, printed at
f eat Jiers tone in Yorkshire, a year before
the publfcation of the present tract.
AktAY.—J short Account of the Dhcaur in Com, caUrd bij Parmrrsihe Bkgktj ik
AfiiiUxv, and the Rust. By Sir Joseph BA^:KS, Ifar^ Svo.
texture of every dead animal or vegetable
su Instance ; but as soon a.i the principle cf
10. Botanical Ohserrati/*Ps : from the Ger*
man of Frederic Ekrhart.
This tract consists of short uDooDnede^
corrections of former authors, and does
not 'admit of analysis or abndgmem.
We have only to add, that these pieces
have bad the good forluse to iiil] into tkie
hands of a trauskitor who is well acquaint-
ed witk the science, and as appears 6Min
several notes annexed to the xna, has
Teady access to the besi boaices of iafar*
lAation.
THIS short pamphlet does not profess
to. afford much information that is abso-
lutely new. Botanists, as the autlior ob-
b;:r\'es>, have long known that the blight
'in com is occasioned by the growth of a
minute parasitic fungus, which has escap-
ed the notice not only of the mere prac-
tical farmer J but also of all professed wri-
ters on agriculture in tlie English language.
The alarming state of the harvest in Au-
gust 1804, naturally suggested to the pre-
sident of ttie Royal Societ}^ who is as emi-
nent for tlie artivity and disinterestedness
of his public spirit, an for the extent and
accuracy of his scientific attainments, that
a popular address to his country men< on
the subject, accompanied by a plate from
the edoiinible highly magnified dmwiugs
of Mr. Bauer, botanical {>ainter to his
majesty, might be the means of exciting
general attention among those who are
most interested in the event j and of ob-
taining, from iiitelligent agriculturists in
all pgrtsof tfte kingdom, the result of their
own experience, tbunded on a course of
well-directed obsenations. In this view
he' is entitled to the gratitude of every
friend ot' mankind, -even altliough it shall
finally appeal* that the parasitic fuirgiis is
not the primary cause of the disease. It
jnay indeed, we apprehend, be justly
doubted, whether a living plant, in the full
yigour of heaitli, would permit the seed
of thefungrus to take root on its surface,
and to penetrate into such parts of its sub-
sii^nce as are essentially connected with
tlic \ege^^ble economy. There seems to
be iiilierent in all living organized matter,
a power of bell-preservation, which to a
certain iiqr^it repels the approach or resists
tlie operation of whatever would be in-
jurious to its welfare. The living animal
«iomiich, for instance, is not acted upon
by thiat gastric Huid which destro)"s Jlie
lite is gonci becomes .itself ecpially sub*
jcct to its digestive power. In the san»
manner, young trees, and the young shoots
of those that are old, i)osse.s5 a vigour
which prohibits tlie growth not only^f
the parasitic fungi, which are anivernally
kno\\'n to be active agents in proroctiKg
and accelerating tlie process of putrefac-
tion, but also of the musci, which <lo not
api^ear to have the same destructive qua-
litv, or at least not in an equal degtee.
We look daily from the window ol'otrr
elevated study (we hope our court et>«
readers wili not call it a garret) , upon a
row of elm- trees which arepeculiarh IL-
ble to be struck, as we conceive, by ligfc?-
nkig, in consequence of their beirif
planted near a siibterrBiiaan watercourv,
and of the earth- about -some of ihetr raots
being thereby kept in a -state of constKit
moisture. Scarcely a summer passes ja
which some of their branches are out
blasted. The raisi liief U\ey liave susuia-
ed is soon made visible by the wllbeii!^
of their leaves : and in. the course af tbc
enftuing winter tliere is always upon ihea
a plentiful crop of Tremellu piirpKrea»
which completes what ti\e lightning b^j-
gan, and entirely deprives them of Rfe,
but gains no tbotiug ow the sound bni!chei
in their neighbourhood. We are llicreftw
inclined to suspect t'uat the seeds uf tie
para>iLic fungus which anpcar^oii hlL:)i4-
ed corn, liud in the early plant a predis-
posing woiiloiess which favours, or at leak
does not repel tlieirscttlemeiit and grc-rdk
This weakness is.probablyocoaulouedif
those cold caj»tcrly and nortlierly wiiui^
which in our climate are frequent la tf«
spi ing about the tinie when the winter com
is So til r advanced, and lias acq^aired such r
deijt ee of bucculeace, a;> to be aiu^t susorp^
tVHTlS OK BRITISH GRAfiSKS.
w
lible of iDJaiy. It has cororaonly been ob-
wned by farmers, that plants which are
what they call most raiik, that is, luxuriant
{n their mwtli, ^re most frequently
blighted. TTheir vessels are tlien most co-
piously supplied with sap, and are conse-
quently most liable to be ruptured by
any violent impulse.
It is also, we believe, generally found
that tlie Helds which are most exposed to
these winds, are most generally infected.
A very intelligent philosophical friend,
who has had considerable experience in
agriculture, has just now informed us, that
In order to screen a field thus exposed,
a very tall hawthorn-hedge was suffered
to grow, which answered the purpose;
but one year when there happened to be a
gap in the fence, all the corn in the di-
rection of th» wind through the gap was
blighted. There is also a field in our
neighbourhood which is naturally of a
good soil, and has long l)een kept in a state
of high cultivation, but while it continued
under the plough, was always subject to
the same evil whenever it was sown with
wheat. It slopes to the east, and fronts
a small valley which operates as a kind of
funnel to the wind, and increases its force.
It may not be unimportant to add, that
at a small distance to the east, and at
nght angles with the direction of the val-
ley, there is a hedge which contains a con-
siderable number of barberry- bushes j a
circumstance which seems to favour the
c^iuion so generally entertained by farm-
trs, and rather favoured by the learned
luthor of the present tract, tliat the neigh-
bourhood of this shrub has a pernicious iu-
Buence on wheat.
But whatever opinion maybe entef-.
tained concerning the original cause of
the disease, the public are under great ob-
ligation to sir Joseph Banks, for the valu-
able hints which he has given on the sub^
ject, and for the measures which with his
usual liberality he has employed to make
them extensively known. His informa-
tion with respect to the sufficiency of lean
and shrivelled grain for all the purposes
of seed-corn, is of peculiar importance
apd worthy of serious attention. We
are sensible that the general practice of
farmers is founded on a different opinion :
and we acknowledge that we ourselves;
who do not profess to have any practical
knowledge of agriculture, were rather in-
clined to suspend our judgment ; not.
thinking the growth jof eighty grains of
blighted wheat, sown in pots, and placed
in a hothouse, a sufficiently decisive ex-
periment to justify a 'tenant who wishes td
pay his rent, in making a similar trial on
a large scale, in th'^ open air, and subject
to the usual casualties of our variable
climate. But the friend abovementional
has assured us that a few years since he
himself made the exj>eriment with com-
plete success. In a field which had been
uniformly manured, he sowed parallel
divisions, or lands as tliey are called in
his neighbourhpod^ one with' the boldesi^
and plumpest wheat he could procure,
the next with such as was remarkably lead
and shii veiled, and^ so on alternately
through the whole field. The event ex-
ceeded his utmost hopes. The crop froirt
tlie shrivelled grain was in no respect in-
ferior to that obtained from the other.
I^HT. V, — Practical Observations on the Briiith Glasses, especially such as are best adapted
to the ^Lfi^iojg'dirum or Improving of MeadoKs and Pastures ; liketviw an Enumeratiori
qf' the British Grasses. Tlte Fourth Edition, mth Additions* By William Curtis,
Author qf Flora Londinensis, Sfc^ 8vg.
*TME first attempt in our language to-
rards giving the common farmer some-
riiat of a scientifi(? acquaintance with our
idigenous grasses^ was made by the late
iicellent Mr. Stiilingfieet, in some ob*
»r\*ations annexed to his translation of, a
JK:t: published m the Amocnitates Acade-
iicae, under the title of Pan Suecicus.
ie drew up a catalojgue of all that were
gen Jvnown > distinguished them by Eng-
h names, which have since, for the most
rt, been generally received ; and parti-
itarly recommended Anthoxanthum
oratum, vernal grass j Alopecurus pra-
iistSj meadow fox-tail > Agroitis palus-
trifi (alba, Liiin.) marsh berit; Agrostis
capillaris, Hudson 1st. ctl. but not of
Linnaus, fine bent (A. vulgaris. Wither-
ing and Smith) j Aira flexuosa, mountain
hair-grass ; Aira caryophyllea, silver hair-
grass 3 Poa pratendis, angustifolia, ai^d
annua, great, narrow- leaved, and annual
meadow-grasses ; Festuca ovina, fluitans;
and rubra, sheep's fjote, and purple fes-
cue; Avena flavescehi, yellow oat-gi-ass ;
Lglium perenne, perennial dax^el-grass |
and Cynosurus cristatus, crested d<5gs-tail
grass. Mr. Cartts some time after pub^
lished his Observations, givinj a fuller and
tnore accurate catalogue, and particularl/
3 £ S
;€«
NATURAL HISTOHT.
selecting, as most worthy of culture,
Anthoxanthum odoratum, Alopecunis
pratemis, Poa prntensis and trivialrs ; Fes-
tuca pratensis, and Cynosnrns cristatus.
This tract wan so faxourably received as
to come to a third Cifitimi, with additions,
m the year \79^' The fmTrth edition
fro w before uj^ is alho said in tlie title- page
to be with additions ; Uit froti) a cursory
AnT. VI. — Tfte Botcfniaeit Guide throng^ Fnjs;hmd and Ifalfx. Bij Dawson Turwek,
F, It S. A. S. mid L. S. dfc, Sfc. and Lewis Weston Dillwyn, F. R. S. and L. S.
comparison it appear? to ns to be printej
nearly, if not altogether verbatim from
tiie tiiird, with the addition of sir Joseph
Banks's account of the blight in com,
whidi has also, with tlie liberal consent of
the author, been reprinted in two p»i-
cxliral pubrrcatioiis, the Annals of Botany
and the Philosophical Biagasine.
Jfir. DAWSOX Tn;XEK is already
well known to our readers lor Wis synop-
sis of the British fuci, his Muscologiae
Hibeniicflfc SpicHegium, and sevenil pajxfrs
in ihcTransact'Kyti:»of the Linnean Society.
Mr. Dilhvyn, his iissociate in this work,
will be introduced to their notice with
ctjual ad\ autiige, when his synopsis of the
British Confervaj, with highly niiignilied
coloured drawings, now publishing in
quarterly fasciculi, is completed* TiR-se
able and active botanists dt) not exix?ct to
make any addition to tlieir fame by the
present pablicHlion : and ' look for no
credit beyond tliat of careful and indus-
Irious compilers/ Hut though the nature
ot" their work is »uch a* to preclude much
display of knowledge and investigation,
it is such alsd as recjuires 3 scientitic and
extensive acqnaiutance with the subject*
. Local catalogues of the rarer British
plants, with their placx's of grow th, or
•habitats, as they are ratlier barbarously,,
but n<Jt inconveniently called, have been
publiilied in various forms : county ones
in particular are to be found in the later
editions of Caniden's Britannia, and in
inost separate county histories ; but they
Tiave generally been very irniTcrtect, and
have often been deformed with gross er-
rors. A more acceptable service, there*
tore, could scarcely have been done to the
l(>vers of. English botany, than is here
olfered Uj tlieir acceptance. It is precisely
what they want ; ^md.w'e are persuatWd,
that there is not one of them w Ik) w ill in>t
gladly receive it as a protitable and plea-
s:mt compimion in all his excursions. To
those \w\vt are not naturalists, indeed,
iKithing c;in appt-ar more tompletely dull
and tedious than a catak>gue of itames ;
\nil those who have experienced the nior-
jitic.uiui of having K^irut t(>o late that
they have been in the B4.*.ighk)ourhood of a
pliint which they have never seen, will
know how to estimate its value. And w<j
^1o not liesiiaie to assert, though we may
pos>,iMy intur the risk of being |K)siedm'a
new eili tion of Fli m FLwrt for making tlw
assertion, that he who would Dot cheer-
fully go a few miles out of his way for the
sake of observ ing a rate pJant ali\e, on its
native soil^ has no rigl^ to call himself 2
bokuiist.
Mr. Turner and Mr. UiUwjti hare not
only c<41ccted witli diKgence and jiwig-
nxjut all that has hitherto been publi^-
ed Oil the subject, bat liave contributed
nmch that has fallen within tbeir per-
sonal observation, and have also been it-
▼oured with numerous original conammii-
cation* frodi their botanical friends ; so
that they have bevn enabled ta furnish 1
mass of ui£>niia^ion which is no where
else to be obtaisied. Plants which are of
almost imiversal occurrence, they bsve
iinifonnly omitted : they haf\-ecven avoid-
ed^ as far as possible, iHtroducing those,
which though confined to pecultar situa-
tions, are irt tlwKc srtuations almost al way?
to be found. TTiose, for instance, whsch
generally accoitrpany a calcareous soil, aid
are nearly confined fo it, stLch as Ci<ii»
helianthemum, Hippocrepiscomosa, itc.-,
the maritime plants wlifch are comiDonly
met witli on tlie sea-coast j and those
which an? Kmi ted to marshes or sands j aim
purposely ejQcluded, though they canopt
biu be rarities to, the naturalist whflp?*
neighbourhood does not futnhh sinsiar
stations. On this principle no raeatToci is
made either of Cotyledon urnbiliou-s. rr
Digitalis purpurea, notwithstanding tber
arc no w here to be found ii> the eaat^K^^
j)art of the kingdom ; because, as tbe au-
thors state, tlie former of them in tliie no?-
tfiem, and die latter io the soutl^ern vsd
western counties, i.s crea mort^ cxmnncB
than any nettle or thistle iniVorfolk asi
Stiftblk. The Botanist's Guide wouIU cer-
tainly have Ijecome too bulky for ouitfT^
nient use, if some line of thk kiod Lad
not been drawn ; but we cai^oot he4f
wishing that it had not been quite so scru-
pulously obsened. It would lie int ere<-
ing to know the %\iici \\m\u of Uie t\&M
TURNBXVaKDDILLWTN 5 BOTAWISTS GUIDE,
7€»
Xi^ahts which tlvey have mentioned, and to
nave it exactly ascertained where they do
^and where they do not occur. We Jiave
observed the former sparingly in Nortli-
-ainptonsibtpe and Cheshire, more plenti-
fully in Shropshire, particularly on the
sandstone rocks ^t ilawkstone, tlie en-
chanting seat of sir Richard Hill, and
Abundantly iti almost every part of North
-Wales, but know of no habitat for it in
-any of the six northern counties, except
about Troutbeck in Westmoreland, where
it is said by Hudson to grow copiously.
The latter is very common in many parts
of the north, but, if we mistake not, is
scarcely ever found except iu a soil of
■which clay is a principal component. We
Relieve it generally accompanies coal, but
is by no means cooiined to the districts
vrhere that invaluable mineral abounds.
Sixteen couiHies are mentioned as produ-
-cing Campanula latifolia, which is u^^iilly
ranked among the rarer Eiiglish plants.
It is very common in most parts of the
aordi, grows more sparingly in the mid-
land counties, and does not appear any
vliere south of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire,
and Bedfordshire, except in Comwal,
where Mr. Dillwyn foimd it in abundance.
To Campanula, trachelium no particular
iiabitats are assigned, though it has nearly,
if iiot altogetlier, an equal right to be es-
teemed a local plaatv As far as our ob-
servation has extended, Hawkstone in
Shropshire is its extreme northern hmit.
We should have been g^ad to see the
Iiabitats of Ligastrum vulgare, Pa^tinaca
-sativa, and some others which are cer-
tainly local, and do not appear to be con-
lined to any soil or situation of a deter-
mined character. But we will not dwell
on supposed deficiencies. We are sen-
sible that we ought to express our grati-
tude to the risspectable corapilers* for the
copious list with which they have actually
favoured us ^ and should oot have ofier-
4id these remarks, if w:e had . not been
confident that they have too much of a
philosophical spirit, not to receive with
pleasure any hints intended to promote
llie advancement of their favourite sci-
ence. Indeed, valuable as their work is
with respect to its professed immediate
object, it has, in our estimation, a right
to aspire to a higher rank. We flatter
ourselves that we see in it the rudiments
of a geographical botany of our island.
in that light we wish it to be considered j
and hope to see it gradually increased by
the constant accession of new materials,
expressly tpUectsd for that pappose. Tra-
velling botanists, who use it as a Vade
Mecum (and what botanist will be satis-
hed to be without it ? ), will esteem theni-
selves bound by graiiiude to contribute
their observations for its farther improve-
ment, and will, we trust, carefully mark
every attendant cirajrastauce of soil, clt>-
vation, expos urje, and whatever else has
any connection with the natural situation
of a plant. ^
Our authors in their preface signify
jtheir regret, tliat in some cases their in-
formation has not enabled them to tix with
certainty, in w'lich of two adjoining coun-
ties a particular plant m as found. In dcr
ference to those professional partialities,
which are too general, and perhaps too
natural to be 4Uogether condenme(J, it
may be desirable and even necessary to
notice the political divisions of a country^
and wliere a particular station is to be
sought for by a stranger, it njust be of
consec]uence to know on which side of a
river it lies : but for the purposes of real
science, it is a matter of absolute indif-
ference whether it be in the county of
Gloucester or of Somerset, any fartlier
than the naked rocks of St. Vincent, and
the woody ground beyond the Avon, pre-
sent different kinds of surface, and lead
us to expect plwts of 4istinct natural fg^
milies.
We have Jong been convuaced thajt tl}p
basons of rivers, as they are not unaptly
called by some oftlie French natural isis,
alibrd the best natural divisions, with the
exception of the compiirativeiy few in^
stances in which a riv^r that intersects
tlie country, • separates strata entirely dif-
ferent Yrora each other in their general
ijualities and features. AVherx; two ojr
more rivers run nearly parallel to ejth
other, without any con&idecable elevdtjon
between tliera, and with little diversity of
soil, as is the case with the ^Midland Ouse,
the Nen, and the Wellaad : or where their
coarse is short, and the country which
slopes to them on e;Lch side has no sti ik-
ing peculiarity of character -, they may be
considered as belonging to the same na«*
tural district : but the Thames, tlie Se-
vern, the Trent, jthe Yorksliire Ouse,
the Tyne, the Eden, the Jiibble, the Mer-
sey, and tha Dee« ^diich have numerous
tributaries in their train, may justly claim
a whole division to tliemselves. England
and Wales might U? properljr parcelled
into ten or twelve districts ot this kind,
and Scotland into six or eight more : and
each of these should be accurately analys*
sd iojto their distinct p» ts, as those par.^
f90
NATDRAL HBTCMIY.
are marked either by the coarse of the
stream through different kinds of soil, or
by the distance of the highest line from
the bed of the river on each side; or
otherwise, as they consist of subordinate
valleys, watered by their own rivnlets,
l)ra9ks^ or torrents. If for this purpose
the mineralogist, the botanist, and the
agriculturist, were to survey the whole
with that scientitic eye which is to be ac-
quired and matured only by long expe-
rience in the course of their respective
^pursuits, the result of their labours would
be a fund of information equally interest-
ing to the philosopher, and useful to the
generality of mankind. As far as our in-
fluence extends, we are anxious to do all
jn our power towards the completion of
so desirable an object ; and though we
have no personal authority for so doing, •
we do not 8cm|jlc to advise all lovers of
natural science to keep a future edition of
this work constantly in their view, and to
consider it as a centre of intelligence to
which all scattered information nuiy be
directed from every quarter, with a cer-
tainty of l)eing tliankfully received, and
p( producing extensively benefrcial ef-
fects.
We have only in addition to assure our
readers^ that the authors have already
done more than dietr tstle-fks^ ftaaama^
by throwing considerable li^t on severai
hitherto obscone plants, and pcnating oat
others which want further investigatkn.
Tliey have likewise added a few phaeiio^
moos, and a greater number of cryptogam
mous plants, which had not before beeaad*
mitted as parts of tlie British Flora ; and
have shewn that some others which have
obtained peaceable possession, have no de^
cided right to the privileges of native citi-
zens. It woold a^rd us great pleasart
were we able to announce, that a similar
guide to tlie northern division of our
island is in a state of prepaiatioii. From
th^ nnroerons students in the fournnivcpt'
sities of Scotland who are actually eng»
ged in the study of botany, and from the
various £nglish travellers conversaot ia
that science who are yearly making the
tour of the Highlands in particular, a sn^
ficieiit quantity of materials may surely be
expected ; and if each could be indoced
to contribute their sliare to a common
stock, the m»re dignified name of Great
Britain might speedily stand in a new edi--
tion of the work before us, instead of Eng-
land and Wales. The other Great Brititxh
island will, we fear, for some timej stilt
remain but little explored.
Art. VII. — The Botanisfs Guide through the Counties of Nortkumhewland and Durham^
FoL L 8vo, pp. 123.
THIS work is dedicated to the literary
and philbsopliical society of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, by three of its members,
N. J. Winch, F. L. S. John Thomhill,
and Richard Waugh. That respectable
society has laudably considered the coun-
ties of Northumberland and Durham, as
placed under its immediate inspection,
and having a claim upon it for an accurate
investigation of their namral treasures. If
similar institutions were established in all
our great towns, and if each of them were
to form a similar opinion of their resp^-
tive duties to the general community, we
jjhould soon have a natural history of Great
Eritain far belter than any country can as
yet bonst of possessing. ITie three gen-
tlemen who have subscribed tlieir names
to the dedication, appear to have under-
taken the botanical part ; and the volume
before us constitutes the first fruits of their
Researches. It is formed on the same
plan as the ;jiore general work reviewed
ill the preceding article, and, as may na-
t,ually be siippoied, is fuller and more mi-
pute. In three or ^bur instances plants
are given without specific names. These
the compilers donsider ' as non-descirpt^
and leave to the authors on Fugiish bota-
ny, who are in possession of specimens,
the task of delineating and describing.*
The sentence is rather obscure j but we
presufloe that the. authors referred to, are
ut. Smith and Mr. Sowerby > and the spe-
cimens .certainly cannot be placed in better
hands : but wjp should, nevertheless, have
been gratified by liaving scientific des-
criptions fbrmed from the racent plants by
skilful naturalists, who have seen them in
their natural situations, and have enjoyed
opportunities of observing tliem in all the
stages of their growth. Botanists should
always describe on the spot e\cry plant
conctTuing which the? entertain any de-
gree of doubt 5 and if tliey have fortunately
acquired the power of drawing a oorrecjt
outline, shoulct paj particular attention lo
its^ Usual habit as it grows. The best art-*
. ists must sonoetiroas unavoidably fail of
producing a striking resemblance, when
they are called to delineate a plant which
they have never seen before^ aoi^ ^l^cl)
THE BOtANiST S GUIDE.
791
ha«, perhaps^ been conveyed to them two
or three hundred miles in a tin box.
Such information as the following will
al^vays be acceptable : but the two parti-
culars in the last clause of tlie coneludiog
sentence are by no means happily con-
ceived, or clearly expressed.
'It must not be expected that Cheviot
and its surrounding hills will ever be found
to vie with Tcesdale, whose mountains
are in a great measure composed of ex-
tensive lime-stone ridges, which are well
known to be propkioos to the gfowth of
alpine plants. Cheviot, on the contrary,
is a poi:phyritic mountain, densely clothed
to its summit with coarse grass and.rushes^
to the total exclusion of more delicate ve-
getables. The herbage of Cheviot is com*
posed of the following plants : — Scirpus
cespitosus, called by the shepherds Deer's-
hair-) Juncus articulatus, Spart ; Juncus
squamosus. Black-bent; Nardus stricta.
White-bent 5 Eriophorum Vaginatum— ^
its leaves Lang, its flowers Moss*
.The first volume comprehends the Mus-
ci, but we are informed that materials for
the second, in which the Lichens will be
arranged according to the mode adopted
by Dr. Aeharius, in his Methodus Liche-
num, are nearly collected, and will soop
be committed to thejpress.
•( 7gi )
CHAPTER XVIT.
MEDICINE A^Jy SURGERY.
AMONG the subjects of medical controversy it is with some regret that we
have to give (lie £rst place to the discovery by whtch Jenner has secured to mankind
the means of saving a greater number of lives, and preventing more pain and calamity,
incomparably beyond what could ever be contemplated by any othet improvement in
medical practice. It is not that we entertain any doubt of the final establishment of
vaccination ; and even the virulent attacks made upon it will produce some advan*
tage, by pointing out some imperfections, and indicating the necessity of some precau*
tions too often neglected.
Another subject still under controversy, is the propriety of the refrigerating plan of
treatment in gout, proposed by Dr. Kinglake, which has ^ready attracted sufficient
notice to be made the subject of actual experiment, now under observation^ from
which, in a future year, we may hope to derive solid information.
Among the publications of sterling value, from which every practitioner may de-
rive interest and instruction, we catiuot hesitate to give the first place to Dr. Hamil-
ton's excellent Treatise on the Use of Purgative Medicines. The same character of
practical utility, derived from long and accurate investigation, distinguishes the Cli-
nical History of Diseases by Dr. Hay garth.
A suigle but valuable essay appears in physiology 5 Dr. Jones s Treatise oa
Haemorrhage.
The publications on surgery and anatomy are of inferior importance this year.
Dr. Duncan's Annals, and the Memoirs of tlie Medical Society, fully support the
high reputation of these respectable miscellanies.
AiT. I,^^h9ercatvm9 on the Utility and Admimstration of Purgative MetUcines in se*
veral Diseases. By James Hamilton, M. D. Fellow of the Royal College of jPAy-
sitiatis, and of the Royal PhUosoplucal Society, and Senior Physician to the Royal
Injimiary, Edinburgh, 8vo. pp. 320.
THE volume commences with some our views, the importance of purgatives
general observations on purgative medi- may jierhaps have been too little attended
cines, and upon the hypotheses which toj in modem practice they are generally
have been formed concerning their mode given merely to obviate costiveuess, and
of action. The ancients had many sin- this effect is supposed to be produced, if
gular ideas upon this subject, and die hu- two or three evacuations take place in tba
moral pathologists prescribed these medi- twenty-four hours. In the following pa-
cines for intentions which tJjey are no ges we shall, however, find a ver>' diiier-
longer expected to frilfil. As th^ pro- ent, and much bolder system pursued, and
gress of medical i>cience has simpliiicd as it is sanctioned by tlie experience of a
HAMILTON ON PURGATIVES.
793
gentleman who has been for many years
extensively engaged in both public and
private practice, we cannot but consi-
der it as entitled to our respectful atten-
tion.
The diseases in which Dr. Hamilton
has adopted die plan of so largely admi-
nistering purgatives are principally Ty-
phus, Scarlatiuaj Marasmus, Chore:i, Clilo-
msis, and Haemetomesis. To each of
these a separate chapter is devoted, in
which tlie particulars of the practice, and
the circumstances which led to it, are
briefly detailed. The author was origi-
nally induced to piursae his present me-
Ihod of treating typhus, by observing tliat
the antimonials; which were fonnerly so
largely employed in this disease, appear-
ed to be most serviceable when tliey oper-
ated upon the bowels. This led him to
«uspeet> that any purgative medicine might
be substituted in their place, and that the
debilitating effect of vomiting and sweat-
ing might thus be avoided. Experience
has fully confirmed these conjectures, and
after a trial of some years he is now
' thoroughly persuaded, that the full and
legular evacuation of the bowels, relieves
the oppression of tlie stomach, and miti-
gates the otlier symptoms of lever.' He
has accordingly almost entirely given up
the administration of otlier remedies, and
trusts to the exhibition of frequent and
copious purgatives. It might have been
apprehended, that tliis plan of treatment
would have aggravated the debility, which
constitutes a striking symptom of typhus j
but ample experience has proved this jiot
to be the case. The purgatives which
Dr. Hamilton has employed in fever are
caJomel, calomel and jalap, jalap and
crystals of tartar, aloes, solutions of mild
neutral salts, infusion of senna, andsome-
times the two last medicines conjoined.
In the chapter on scarlatina the autlior
is naturally led to discuss the much agi-
tated question, whether tlie scarlatina and
the c>iianche maligna are diderent dis-
eases, or only varieties of the same com-
plaint. He inclines to the latter opinion,
but at the same time, proposes it with
that modesty, which is a distinguishing
characteristic of the work before us. As it
is in that ibrm of the disease, which is called
die cynanche maligna, that tlie use of
purgatives has been regarded as the least
admissible, the author enters more par-
ticularly upon the consideration of this
part of the subject, minutely considers all
tlie objections that have been urged, and
endeavours to repel them.
The fihapter on marasmus is perhaps
the most valuable part of the volume.
The disease is characterised in ;he follow-
ing terms :
*' A sluggishness, lassitude on slight exer^
tion, depravity and loss of appetite, wasting
of tlie muscular flesh, fuhicss of the featurei
auri paleness of the countenance, swelling of
the abdomen, an irregular and generally a
costive state of the bowels, a change m the
colour and odour of the feces, fetid breathy
swelling of the upper lip, and itching of the
nose, mark (he beginning of the disease.
*' When these bvinptoins have continued
for some time, they 'are followed by alternate
paleness and flushing of tlie countenance^
heat and dryness ot the skin, feeble and
quick pulse, thirst, fi'etfuhiess, increa^ng de-
bility and disturbed sleep, during wliich the
patients grind or gnash their teeth, and are
subject to involuntary startuig, and twitching
of different miiscles.'^
This disease is frequently met with
among the inhabitants of close cities, in
crowded manufactories, and particularlj
among tlie children of the poor, who are
deprived of the benefits of fresh air, clean-
liness, and nutritious diet. Tliis combi-
nation of symptoms has been generally
conceived to depend upon the [>re3ence of
worms ui the alimentary canal, but their
existence is, by no means, decidedly prov-
ed ; worms are not unfrequently present,
where no previoiLs disease of the kind
here described had been observed ; and in
a great majority of the cases of marasmus^
the presence of worms has never been as-
certained. Dr. Hamilton supposes the
disease to proceed from a torpid or weak-
ened action of the alimentary canal, and on
this opinion he founded his practice of ad-'
ministering purgatives, which, when fiiily.
and steadily adhered to, seldom fails o£
producing the degured etiect. Marasniiit
itself IS a disease suthcicntly formidable,
but it appears to liave an intimate con-
nection with two otliers that are still more
so, hydrocephalus intemus, and epilepsy.
Without entering minutely into due pa^
thology of these complaints, our author
thinks that there is a close relation be-
tween tlieir existence, and a morbid state
of the bowels, and his practical experi-
ence has amply confirmed this ojnnion.
Dr. liamilton has been equally success-
ful in chorea, Tlie practice of exhibiting
frequent purgatives in this disease was
employed by Sydenham, and altjiough he
did not manage it* in tlie most advanta-
geous manner, he was, upon Uie whole,
successful. Since his time a totally op-
posite treatment has been adopted, and
794
MEDICINE AND.&UKGEIY.
certainly with little benefit Dr. Hatnil-
ton has seen in all above twenty cases of
this disease -, fonnedy hd ibliowed the
practice then in vogiie, of adminijitering
tonics and stimulauty^ and met wkh the
Yisual disappointments ; he was after^^aiVilfi
led to adopt his present views i^n the
sobject, and has been uinformly fortunate,
lie has been equally so in his application
of the purgative treatment to CMorosis
and Hajmatemcsis, to neither of which
one would, at fir3t view, have thought it
peculiarly applicable. The author ex-
amines the diifereuc hypotiieses that have
t)een propased to account for cl)loroiii!»^
but conceiving theni to l)e inapplicable,
and tlie practice Ibunded uix)n them inef-
ficient, lie particularly directed his atten-
tion to the state of the bowels.
" Tlie slightest attention to the general
Jiistory of the disease evinces, tjiat costivent!ss
precedes, and accompanies the other symp-
toms. Costiveness induces the feculent odour
of the breath, disordered stomach, depraved
appetite, and hnpaircd digestion. These
.prechide a 9u0icient supply- of nourishment,
at a period of growth, vhen it is most want-
ed : hence paleness, laxily, flaccidity, the
nervous symptoms, wasiing of the muscular
Hesh, fanguor, debility, the retention of the
menses, and suspenbiou of other excretions,
serous ei'fusions, dropsy, and death."
He also objects to the common opinion
respecting haematenoesis in temales, that
it is occasioned by a rctcnsion of the men-
ses, and that it is vicarious of this dis-
cliarge : his objection indeed seems very
decisive, viz. that the disease exists in its
most perfect form, while the menses con-
tinue regular. At all events, whatever
be its cause, purgatives given in sufficient
quantity, appear certainly to remove it,
a id produce their effect without any un-
pleasant action upon the system at large*
About one- half of the volume is occu*
pied by a collection of cases, illustrative
of the doctrines oHinCaihcd in the preccA*
iag part, principally extracted from the
iconnds of die Edinburgh isfinnary, ia
which ace g'rveo, M. full iengtfa, and much
in detail, both the symptoms as they ap-
peared from day to: d^y, and thb renaedies
that were prescribed. The laxge quantity
of purgatives g^vea to jamig subjects, and
tbobe Jabourtng under ijrfaat have beea
usually considened bs diaeases of debility,
will eKcite a good deal of surprise, and
must materially Tifiect onr fmuze neaaoB-
ings on such sabjects. Much as we fed
impressed with die value of this ijuatise,
we shall point oat two ckeamatamxt
which, in oure&timadon, mvisttend «»»<•
whaC to diminish their practical impor-
tance. From perusing the cases of ^phQi»
particularly the more riolentof than, we
are decidedly of t>piDion, that the disease
might have been more quickly subdued by
the use of the coM afiiision. In tbe fint
case, for example, of a patient with ^ the
skin very hot,* on the third day of tyf^ns,
we should have had no hesitatioo ui deter-
minittg hovtr to proceed. Our second ob-
servation is, that it would appear to ui
almost impOBBibie, in private practice, ts
prevail npoQ oar patients to t^e tbe im-
.uiense qtiandties of niedicinea w&ich I>r.
Hamilton's method seems to require, nor
do we conceive that it would be easy te
perstiade the friends or i^endants to ad-
minister them. These consideratiQiis,
however, do not make us withbohloiir
warm approbation from the coments ef
the volume. They undoubtedly thiov a
new light upon an iooportant fonction of
the animal economy, and roost afibid
many usefiil suggesdonsi, even to those
who do not direcdy imitate the practice.
The candid spirit which pervades the work
cannot be too highly commended, a spi*
rit which, in medical writing, is uafiutu*
nately as rare, as it is desiiable.
Art. II, — A Clinical Nis^ry qf Dueu^ts. Part First: bang U a CUnietd Hatory ttf
tilt' Acute lilu'umaiism ; 2. a Clinicai History of the Nodosity of the JoiiUs^ By Joiax
. 11 AYGARTH, M. 1). 1\ IL S. (Hid K R, S, Edinburgh^ ond qf other Aicdical aud Pkikt-
sopliicat ^ocittics, 8vo. pp. l68.
A very essential difference between the
niedical writings of the older physicians,
and those of the present day, consists in
th?^ circumstance ) that formerly almost
every one thought it necessary to compose
a regular treatise upon each subject,
whereas now we frequentiy confine our-
selves to the rekrtion of individual cases.
This change has taken place, not only
from a gradnal improvement in our ideas
respecting medicine, but from the difFer-
ent method which we employ for acquirr
ing knowledge of all kinds. We have at
length learned to estimate the \'alue of
experience, and though it may be impos-
sible entirely to check the propensity to
tlieorize which the human mind has
always exhibited, yet there never "was a
period w^hen theory had less inflaeoce
over tJ^e judgment^ and when facts were
'nKXGKJLTVfS CIWCAE BISTORY CMP »WEA«E5.
iv
more asskkuHisly iavestigated. The work
pow befoce us is altogetUer of the modern
species *, it is the retiult of a con&iderable
quantity of practice, condensed iuto a
small compass, and arranged in a tabular
fonn. For an undertaking of this kind
Dr.Haygarth h particularly veil fitted,
not merely from his extensive knowledge
and his acutcoess of obseryation, but
more e^xscially from a habie which h(^ ha$
foDowed for many years of noting dowo^
during tiie time of his- visit, every circun)-
jfrtance of importance in the state of the
patient*s symptoms, the remedies applied^
and their appiu-ent eftccts. Tite present
volume contains the result of his experi*
ence in two diseases, tlie acute rheuma-
tism, and the nodosity of tlie joints.
Daring a period of thirty-eight years
our author has taken notes of the ca&es of
10,549 patients : of tliese 470 were rheu-
niatuHn 3 but of this number only 170, or
shout one-tlMrd, had any fever : these last
thereto form the subject of tlie present
Msay. Dr. Haygarth gives us a summary
iriew of ail the observations tliat 1k' has
•ecorded; he points out the causes of
icute rheumatism, the period at which it
ippears after tite application of the canse,
he diseases with which it is connected,
he state of the secretions and excretions,
>f the pulse, and of the blood ; and Anally,
ve have an account of the remed'os em-
>/oyed. Ou each of these topics the au-
h<>r fumi-vkes us with the direct results
>f his practice, as taken from his journals,
bus a^ording us a more extensive range
f observations than had ever been before
ollected. We shall bririlv mention the
ilierent conclusions which are deduced
rom this valuable body of experience.
A greater proportion of males than fe-
lales are attacked with acute rheumatism,
circumstance whicii probably ought to be
scribed to the former being more exposed
t tlie exciting cause of tiie disease, cold.
J though the disease allects ail ages, yet
le period from fifteen to twenty is \])q
osf subject to its attacks. The time
hich iniervenes between the application
* the cause, and the production of the
ftea.se, what the author calls the latent
>riod, seldom exceeded forty-eight hours,
id, in some instances, the interval was
afcely perceptible. In a great majority
'. case^^ ie joints were the jxirls princi-
l!y affected} sometimes both tiie joints
d the muscles, and in some few instances
c muscles only. The average of the
Ise was about 100; the blood, when
%\vnj had ahnost always the iadanima-
tory cmst. One case only is stated* m
•wiuch the rheumatism was transferred to
the stomach. But the most interesting
iuibraiation is tlie account which is given
of the beneficial effects of bark in the
acute rheumatism; indeed^ the reconvr
mendation of this remedy may be consir
dered as the main object of the work.
Dr. Hayi^tli was first induced to em*
ploy it from the reoontmendation of Dr«
Fothergill, who wns in the habit of an<»
nually visiting the county of Chester, and
was consulted in a case of acute rhetuna*
tism tliat was under Dr. Haygarth s care.
Dr. Fothergill proposed that bark should
be prescribed ; and in answer to the oh«
jections raised by our autlior, against th*
use of bark in an inflammatory disease, )m
replied that
** ' When F was a young physician, being
twice called out of my bed to visit patients vX
a frosty night, I caught a very severe rheu'
matic lever. By the advice of my medical
brethren I had been blooded repeatedly and
largely, even to 70 ounces. My disease yet
remained unsubdued, and my blood still ex-
hibited an mflamniatory crust. Hence I wat
convinced that the method of curing this fe-
ver by such copious evacuations wns en*one-
ous. Soon after my recovery, I was desin-d
to visit a patient ill of an acute rheumatibni.
At my request, sir Edward Hulse, at tliat time
the most eminent physician in London, wai
consulted. He proposed that we should or-
der the Peruvian bark. I gladly agreed to
the proposal, us I thought there were several
analogies bt'twecji an ague and a rheumatic
fever. In both diseases, the urine lets fall a
similar lateritious sediment. In intermittent,
as well as rheumatic fevers, the blood when
let is covered with an inflammatory crust.
The jiain and ie\xT of rheumatism have cer-
tain periodical, though not quite regular pa-
roxysms and hitermisslons.
"Mn this consultation with sir Edward
Huts *, the bark \^as given with such manifest
advantage, that I have ever since adopted the
practice in this disease, and recommend it
to you in spite of all medical authorities to
the contrary.*"
It appears that the use of bark in acute
diseases originated with Morton^ who, in
his treatise on this complaint, mentions
his having prescribed it in conjunction
with Hulse. Since the consultation with
Dr. Fotliergill, which took place thirty-
five years ago. Dr. Haygarth has been in
the constant habit of prescribing it, and
he has been continually acquiring addi-
tional confidence in its virtues. In ordec
to furnish every information on the hub^
ject, our author states, at some length, tlie
history of all the cases in which it ap-
peared to alibrd no benefit : the^c seem.
r96
MEDICINE AND SURGERr.
fb have been but four out of one hundred
mid twenty-one, a proportion altogether
•inconsiderdble. Dr. Haygarth -sums up
his experience on the subject in the fol-
lowing words.
•* After the stomach and bowels have been
sufficiently cleansjed by anfim<iny, I have, for
many years, begun to order the powder of
the Feruviau bark in doses of gr. v. x. or xv.
ev(!ry two, three, or four hours ; and if this
qua^itity lias a salutary efiect, it was |;radu-
ally ipcTi'ased to gr. xx. xxx. or xl. with se-
dulous attention never to add more than what
perfectly aj^es. It has trenerally been taken
»n milk, mint-water, or the decoction of bark.
" With the exception of the few cases
above noticed, the hark has uniformly pro-
duced the most sahitar>* eftects. I'he pains,
fwelUngs, sweats, and oiher symptoms of in-
flammatory fever, manifestly and speedily
abate, and gradually cease, liU health is per<
fcctly restored.
'*l)r. James Currie, in his Medical Re-
ports, p. 4lM, observes that 'the intlaniina-
tory rheumatism is one of the niost tedious
and intractable of diseases.' This remark of
a physician of such extensive experience, and
medical knowledge, deserves particular at-
tention. It proves the value of an inquiry
which attempts to discmer a safe and certain
remedy for such a malady.
" Another circuniitance merits great atten-
tion. When the rheumatic fever has been
treated by bleeding, leeches, sudorifics, &c,
it is well known tiiat pauis of tlie diseased
joints and muscles often afilict the patient for
many raonthi or eveii years. In my clinical
reports I iind no instsuice of this kind, and
have reason to think that the bark entirely
prevents this cause of the chronic rheuma-
tism as a consecjueucc of the inMaimiuitory
fever.
** Except mercury in (he siphyVis, there
are few or perhaps no examples \vhere a re-
medy can produce >uch speedy relief and per-
fect recovery.in so formidable a disease. P or
jiiany years I 'have been thoroughly con-
vinced that the Peruvian bark has a much
more powerful effect in the rluumatic tlian
any otlier fever : and that it does iiot-^ even
cure an ague so certainly and so cjuickly."
AKxAU.^-The modern Practice of Phfuic. % Edwarj> Goodmak Clarke, MB
Author of the Mtdicincr Praxtos Compendium ; of the Royal CoUrge <2f' jPkffuciam
London ; and Physician to the forces^ &c. See. 8vo. pp. 450.
WE are somewhat at a loss in what
point of view to regard this work. That
it contains a great quantity of medical in-
formation, compressed into a small bulk,
we readily allow, and yet we cannot ad-
tnit that it holds a high rank, either as a
literary production calculated to ad\'ance
/ the scieiK^e of medicine, or as a i^erform-
anc*e from which the practitioner can de-
rive any very importiint aid in the prose-
cution of his profession. In an age like
To the essay is subjoined what are caiiUd
'* proofs and illustrations ;" among otlw
inibrmation, we have a full account of all
the cases of acute rheumatism which ter-
minated fatally ; they amount to twelTt
out of one hundred and se\'enty. It ap.
pears tliat there was, in all these instances,
a translatioii of the disease to some vital
part, or a combination with some other
complaint. Next follow the tables ; they
-consist of twenty-nine columns, in wfcicb
are arranged every circumstance of im-
portance rcspectmg eitlier the sympteais
or method of cure.
The second part of the "woric gires at
account of the nodosity of the joints a
disease which has generally been classed
with gout or rheumatism, but wbifhDr.
Haygarth conceives is sufficiently dist'm-
guiihable from either of tliese cnmpl^nts
to form tlie subject of a separate inquirr.
It has occurred to him in thirty-four cas«
out of 10,549 : it is almost peculiar t»
women, and generally begins about tbi
period wiien the menses cease. The fci-
gers are tlie parts usually afFected.
" The ends of the bones, the penosteoB,
capsules or ligaments, whicli form the yx&y
gradually increase, "^rhese nodes are not ^
parate tumours, but feel as if they were a^
enlargement of the bones tliemselves,*
It is a disease slow in its progress : bs
it advaiiCs without remission ; and whda
it is fully formed, it almost entirely de-
stroys the use of d\e joints.
The remedies which Dr. Haygarth fbori
the most efficacious for this distressie;
malady were *' the warm bath, -writh tk
repeated application of leeches on tie
diseased joint.". Upon the whole, he a
pears to place the most dependance on tw
leeches ; but he candidly admits that oa
knowledge on the subject is still very \sk
perfect.
the present, when tlie votaries of
are so numerous and of such various d^
scriplions, well-digested compendia, gif-
ing a concise but correct view of tiie fa-
gression of knowledge, are eminently bsp-
ful. Such productions, though leskS bi9"
liant than works of original genius, »
'|)erhaps inferior to none in liie ed^ca
which they produce, by affording an ea«
access to scientific information, and tfaa
very considerably promoting its
CLAtKE t MO0EKN f tA<^^OK OF FRXSIC<
797
difilision. They itiay either profefti to ex-
hibit a complete and elaborate view of the
subject, or tliey may aim only at givuig a
pc^ular and superficial sketchy and tliey
may still be each of tliem highly valuable.
Ilieir objects are indeed diHerent, and
their style and method should be so too.
Ilie one is necessarily much extended^
^oes into mimite details, is coaclied in
strictly scientific language, and is addressed
to those already masters of the subject.
Xhe other is more brief, seizes only the
striking features, is conveyed in a clear
and familiar style, and is intended for the
instruction of those who are only at the
threshold of knowledge. Examples of
thetse two species of productions must be
faoilliar to every one, in ,the various de-
partments of philosophy and literature >
avhen they are ably conducted we feel
grateful to the author, whichever metliod
he may choose to adopt.
On some; occasions, however, we meet
with anomalous performances, which are
not easily referable to either class ; like
those amphibious animals, who are capable
of movmg in different elements, and are
equally awkward in both, so these works
partake of the disadvantages of eadi, with«
out fully answering tlie intention of either.
They arc too concise for the inquisitive
ardent, and too technical for the general
reader. This we apprehend to be the
case with Dr. Clarke's work ; but lest we
shouUi be accused of condemning it with-
out showing cause for our judgment, we
•hall proceed to give our readers some ad*
count of its scope and execution.
In a moderate-sized octavo volume the
author professes to give a complete ac-
count of " the modern practice of physic."
ITie diseases are classed according to the
' nosology of Dr. Cullen, and a short chapter
or section is allotted to each, in which are
stated in succession, the definition, symp-
tdnis, causes, diagnosis, prognosis, and
treatment. They are not stated in a po-
pular manner, or in a style adapted for the
perusal of the unprofessional ; but they are
brought forward in such a mdnner as e> i/
dently designed for the use of tliose en-
gaged in practice. The size of the volume
can only admit of the exhibition of a few
leading facts and principles, and whatever
merit we may suppose the author to pos-
sess in selection and compression, he has
undertaken what is not to be accomplish-
ed, or at least' not to be accomplished in
such a way as to be either interesting or
Taluable.
Wr shall proceed to^ illustrate our re-
marks by some examples^ Tyj^us is di-
vided into the two forms of mitior and
graviory each of which is treated of in s
separate chapter. We are not informal
whether Dr. Clarke considers tliese as two
distinct diseases, depending upon dilFerent
external causes, and difierent actions of
tlie system ; or whether he only considers
them as exhibiting a greater or less de«
gree of the same morbid state. We are,
however, led to conceive, from the man-
ner in which the subject is stated, that the
former is the case. Dr. Cullen's defini-
tion of typhus is adopted by our author
for his typhus mitior > an account of the
symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and progpo-^
sis, are given with tolerable accuracy, and
moderately detailed, and w^ then proceed
to the treatment. Upon this part of the
work, as one. iu which tlie author is more
than usually copious, and which we select
on this account, we shall offer a few re-
marks. Passing over the commencement,
wl)ere the Darwinian hypothesis of mor-
bid catenation is adopted withoat cere-
mony, he directs, '' that after the opera-
tion of an emetic, a purgative of calomel
be given." This advice is given uncondi-
tionally, without noticing the numerous
cases, familiar to every practitioner, where
such a medicine would be absolutely im-
proper, and without informing us in what
dose it is to be administered, llie author
then proceeds to state that wine and opium
should be given in small quantities ; and,
from xha foutext, it is to be supposed tliatbt
recommends their use from the very com-
mencement of the disease. We are next
told, *' that the administration pf oxygen
gas will also prove an useful auxiliary j"
but the reader is not informed iu what
way it is to be given, or what evidence we
have of its utility. Any one who has ac-
tually practised in typhus, knows that it is
too. serious a complaint to be trifiing with
the pneuin;itic medicines, or harassmg
the ]>aticnts by attempting to make them
suck in the gases.
We are then ordered to use different
methods tor relaxing the skin and dimi-
ni:>hing the heat in order that bark may
be given, as if bark liad any specific^ power
over typhus, as sulphur has over the itch.
It would have been more prudent to hav«
advised tlie early use of tlie cold afi;usion^
in order tliat the disease might be destroy-
ed at its commencement, and the bark
rendered unnecessary. Instead of this
powerful remedy, we are -detained with
the sj)unia cere\ isiw, as the autlior chooser
to C4il it, and the oxygenated muriate of
79»
>l£.UlUrr«£« AKU bUBXiUmx.
fotasb, which is strongly recommended,
t>iit we know not upon what authority.
4Jpiuni, Dover's powders, and the nitrous
-spirit of ether, are inditjcrioiinately pre-
icribed at bed-time, as if they possessed
siniiiar virtaes,and were equally applicable
in all cases : and if subsultus tendinum
supervene, ether, camphor, ammonia, cas-
tor, and musk, are recommended en masse,
while opium, which is probably equal to
all the rest taken together, is neglected.
Finally, we are told that " sedative and
antispasmodic remedies may also be em-
ployed externally by means of iiiction ;"
nere, as in the former instancejr, we should
IkHve been glad to'have seen some autho-
rities quoted.
After this comes a pretty copious detail
cf the emplojmieut of the cold affusion,
|irofessedly taken from the medical reports -,
It IS feirly stated, though certainly out of
place ', the cold affuskm is the most ap-
l^icable, indeed almost exclusively so, m
the early stages of the disease.
Of typhus gravior the author attempts
a new definition.
'' Morbus contagiosus ; calor intensus et
iDordax ; pulsus durus, panus, debilis, p!e-
rumque ftetiuens et abnomiis ; nausea ; vo-
niitus bilis subviridis vel nirfri coloris ; vultus
mbore suffusus; lingua pTerumque arida et
nigra ; urina panim muiata ; vires maxiine
imnunutx plerumque cum petechiis ; sitis in*
iedabtlis."
We must beg leave to criticise some
parts of this definition. Though the pulse
may be occasionally hard, this state is by
no means characteristic of the complaint,
or very generally present in it j the vomit-
ing of bile IS quite an accidental circum-
stance ; and the redness of countenance is
so far from being a constant symptom,
which should enter into a definition, that
we believe the contrary state of pallidness
is a more frequent occiurence. The di-
rections given for the treatment of typhus
gravior, considering that they only occupy
tliree pages, are upon the whole not inju*
dicious, though we observe a little of that
trifling which we noticed in the former
chapter. Clysters of carbonic acid gas are
recommended; the sulphuric and nui-
riatic acids are advised to be mixed with
♦he patient's common drink; swelling of
the parotid glands is spoken of a-san usual
occurrence, and we are told that '* it will
be most advisable to make an inpsion into
the tumour, without waiting for a fluc;tua-
tion, or even a softness of it." The culd
affiision^ is recommended here, as in the
former case, towards the cx^ntludifcHu^. wot
brought forwards in the oomreeoaeQiedl
to strike at the roots of the disease. Upon '
tlie^e we make no comment.
We shall give our readers ooe anre-ex-*
ample, in Dr.Clar{Les account of the treat*
mentof the cynaache maligna. Wejnost
begin by remarking, tliat this diaeaie and
the scarlatina are placed in diflereut ports
of the work, according to the nastAogy of
Dr. Cullen ; and tlie author gives no in-
tiraation of the opinion eDtercatned by a
great number, if not the aiajarx^, of cfaa
most respectable praetitionera, tliac tfaof
are only modifications of the saoae diaeaK.
Our author has stated, at fall length, ifat
diagnosis which was laid down by Dr.
Witliering, though, in a aubseqaent edi*
tion of his treatise, this judtdoDs pbya-
cian recafited bis former opinion, aiid oou-
sidered them as originating from the saon
contagion. ' In the commencement eme-
tics are recommended ; then he direen
the mildest laxatives, but parttcuiarly ^e-
cifies, in the same seateooe, mercaixial
cathartics. We are afterwards advised to
apply <« small repeated blisters*' to tha
external Alices, althoi:^h Dr. Withering^
and after him Dr. Currie, concei^'e them
to be of no use. Gargles of diderent
compositions are then directed, and afier«
wards we are told that ** wine, optiim»
die cinchona, acidum rauriaticum vel sol*
phuricura, and the other remedies recom-
mended in the treatment of the typhus
gravior must be emploj'ed with assiduity."
Such general and %'ague directions can be
of little use in guiding the practitioner m
doubtful caseii, or in informing him at
what period these j>owerful remedies art
to he begun, to what extent administered,
and wlien discontinued. We have next
some observations v/hich are .not injudi-
ciou.'y, upon die method to be pursued, if
diaiThora, voiuitiug» or suppression of
urine supervene, and, as utiual, we find at
tli< end of the chapter some auggestieos
modeittfy stated in the fbrin pf queries.
*' Might not small etectric shocks, passed
frequemly through the tonsils, be ©f sor-
vice ; or might not the aether sulpburictis
be appii^Nj to the exterunl &uces with ad-
vantii'^e ?" Tlie reader will iwUce that
not a word is said about the cold afiustoB^
in the treatment of this disease.
These examples will be suificieat tia
give a iair idea of the merits and defects af
Dr. (Clarke's performance. The articka
\\l)ich we have selected for animadver-
sion are important in themselves, and at
leabl 38 well digested as the other parts of
the v;ork. it will be admiitcd that it ia
riV&KINSON S OBSBRVATIOHS DIT «OUT.
7W,
u ytTf inadecpiate guide for practtcci at
the same time tliat it is qo way calculated
fat popular perusal. Dr. CJar4ce has in-
deed taken care to remove bi» work from
■vulgsor use^ by introducing technical
HennB on every possible occasion. In
speaking of the extomar applications for
^tkkginon, he jreconinoends '^ the naurias
aiomcmiae, half an ounce dissolved in a
pint of the acetum/* in plain English, sal
emaooniac dissolved in vinegar ; then we
-ba^'eaeonspositioiiMrluoh contains '' a tea
»p(i0i^ of nauriaa sodce*'^ id est, common
«alt. But this ift itot all; the author,
€hough writing and pobVUhing iu London,
ba» chosen -to dignity his perforinance with
the apkndid nonienclature of the neif
£din(»krgh pharmacopeia. In one place
Jwe havd the decoctuin anthemidis uobilis
reooimBended, which^ after some re£ec-
.tiatf)> we dfscovei' to be our oJd iriead
rhamomile tea. Many of thechapters am
jconcluded by queries, some of which we
think very fanciful and trifling, while
others manifest an extraordinary deficiencf
of iuformatioo. In speaking of {he ciire
£>f agues, be asks whetl^r " the ad'uston
ot^ duld water, or brine, might nol be*em-
-ployed with e\er>' prospect of success,
imraediately after the hot dt is cumpletely
ibrmed." This, every one knows, is the
identical practice which is most accurately
laid down by Dr. Currie ; and still more
unaccountably overlooking die disoovt-'rits
of this celebrated and much-lanicuted
physician. Dr. Clarke concludes his. ac-
count of scarlet fever by askinjj, " might
not the affusion of cold water, employed
with tlie precautions roentioned wlien
treating of typhui^ extinguish iucipieDt
ficarlatina ?"
Art. IV. — The Philosophy of Physic ; or the natural /listonf of Diseases a fid (heir Carr:
btittg an Attempt to ddhxr tht Art af Heamisi; frnni ihtr Darkness of Barbtnism fqii
Superstition, andj^om the Jart^n and Pedanirif of tite Schools : s/u winj; a luon: cwsff and
crriain ffaif (ff preserving artd recov&ring Health than awj IdikcHo kuon^ji. By the i'lV.;-
WllXXAM >\'lLSON. avo. pp. 3i?9.
THIS is one bf the most impudent at-
tempts to impose on the credulity of the
Ignorant that we have ever liad occasion
to perase. Its title, we apprehend, was
invented upon the old drinciple of lu^us a
non lucendo ; for it is the very antipode of
philosophy, the bathos of physic. The
piu-port of thi^ tissue oi ignorance and
imposition, is nothing less than to recom«
mend to tlie public a certain poucder, which,
not .'from its appropiiat^ virtues, but that
It may have a well-sounding name, to dis«
tinguish it from the nostrums of Brodum
and Solomon, is denominated the Anti-
m rthritic Powder, To this all-potent drug,
tlie nature of which this consciei\tious di-
vine means to keep a .profound secret for
the .good of mankind^ all ditkcases yield at
once. Every disorder, acute or chronic,
bilious, nervous, inflananiatury, spasmodic,
viticeral, or cutaneous; scrofula> cancer^
consumption, siphylis. Sec. 5:c. all di«aj^
pear before die virtues of (his magic
powder. And moreover the reverend
quack (if, indeed, he really belongs to tlie
sacred order) has the assurance to stigma-
tise the whole race of pliysiciaus, from
Podalirius and Machaon downwards (lie
read of them, we presume, in Popes Ho-
mer), and to brand that scieoce with xho
charge of barbarism, die very language of
which he does not understand. " Tlius,*
he says, in derision, " we read of pyrexia-
of c/wj^ikta, dispepaiaj hemoragia, vienord^
gia, hemeptoe, kc" p. xi. ; from which we
may judge of his complete ignorance not
only of medical terms, but of that elegant
and polished language of antiquity, w ith
which it is somewhat disgraceful for one,
who calls himself a divine^ to be unac«
qualnted.
Art. V. — Observations on the Nature and Cure of Gout; on Nodes qf the Jnhts: and on
the Influence of certain Articles of Diet^ in Goal, WieunuUism, atid GravcL i/y James
PAKKJssoii, Hoxton. 8vo. pp. i74.
. ALTHOUGH the author was incited
to tlie publication of these observations by
the appearance of Dr. Ktnglake's work,
and by a consideration of thedaijger which
would ensue to the public from tlie ge-
neral adoption of the practice which Dr.
King4adi^e recommenas, yet it would
aGaxalj appear Jthat . ha hadit in view to
refute or toanswer Ifce propositions, which
this geiitletnan has endeavQured to esta^
blish. His object appears to be rather to
recommend a practice, which he considers
as more safe and more effectual dian that
of Dr. Kinglake, and thus to supersede
tlie necessity of recurring to the latter,
it sp.em$ to us> indeed^ tij^at the poinU tm
4
»ltjUlK^ii\SiA U\J\U OUUVrCIil ,
which the t^^cti ve methods of Mr. Par-
kinson and Dr. Kinglake are more parti-
cularly directed, are totally distinct ; and
that, provided the latter be as void of dan-
ger as Dr. Kinglake affirms that it is, the
two methods of treatment^ so far from be-
ing'in opposition or even incompatible
.with each other, might be employed in
mutual aid, to ed^ect the completion ot'
the same desirable end, the removal of
gout from the system. Dr. Kinglakc's
refrigerating plan applies exclusively to
•tlie acute paroxysm of gout j whereas Mr.
Piurkinson's method of cure, as we sliall
see, is directed to the prevention of the
paroxysms, or to the correction of the
goaty diathesis.
Mr. Parkinson possessed an hereditary
•disposition to gout, and was attacked by
it no less tlian fifteen years ago. Since
Chat time he has made trial of a variety
of remtdies on himself, of which the ap-
plication of cold water during the pa-
roxyiym >\*as one ; and it appears to have
been attended with all the .success which
Dr. Kinglake ascribes to it. But '* the
iwtpicion that the immersion in cold water
had been productive of injurious elFects, led
to the employment of other means. The
most important among these was the fixed
alkali, tlie beneficial efiects of which ap-
peared to be .satisfactorily evident." Pnf,
A few years back the composition of those
concretions, which form on the joints of
j.^onty jKTsons, was ascertained by Dr.
M'ollaston. They consist of the lilhic
acid and soda, constituting a neutral salt,
a Jithate of soda. The existence of this
acid was also demonstrated by Dr. Pearson
and M. Fourcroy in the calculi cf the uri-
nur)' passages. Independantly, therefore,
of the previous experience of the preven-
tive powers of tlie alkalis ui regard to
gout, which Dr. Cullen long ago noticed,
it was an easy and natural step to suppose
that the acid of these concretions might
be arrested or neutralized in its incipient
tonnation, ami easily removed from the
Bvstera. Dr. Wollaston himself offered
tiie suggestion. Ihe purport of Mr. Par-
kiiison's " Observations*' is, to prove the
existence of tlic lithic acid in the humours
of the gouty, and hence to recommend tlie
iise of alkaline remedies for the removal
of the disease.
" The proximate cause of gout appears to
be," according to the autlior> doclnho, " a
iKcuIiar saline ticrimotiy existing in the blood,
m siich a proportion, as to irritate and excite .
to morbid action, the mimite lerininations of
the arteries, in certain parts ol tlie bud}.''
Mr. Parkinson has shewn consldenbte
ingenuity in the evidence which he has
collected in support of this doctrine. "Wc
are indeed somewhat inclined to the opi-
nion that. In the gradual progress of me-
dical theories^ from Stahl and HoSnuam
up to their acm^ in the schools of Brovn
tmd Darwin, we have conceded too much
to tlie sensorial powers of the animal body,
and have tmjustly excluded all oonsidesa-
tion of the humoral changes. But men
h^'potheses of tlie one class or the other
excite little of our interest. If the prac*
tical deduction be clearly made out, vi.'e
care little for the fate of tlie hypothesif
connected with it. Had Mr. Fm-kinson
presented us with a series of circura*
standal and unequivocal' experiments
or facts, tending to demonstnate the
powers of alkaline medicines iu eradi-
cating the disposition to gout, he woek!
have claimed qur unqualified praise ; and
he might have indulged hinoself, without
animadversion, in the amusing fields of
hypotliesiff. But the' general impresskm
left by the latter on the mind is feeble and
transient, because the practical inference
is supported rather by collateral facts> than
by direct experiment.
The '' peculiar acrimony" of which
the author speaks, is something altogeth^
indefinite ; and whether it exists at all in
the blood, or in what state or combination,
he is altogether unable to shew.
I
" No evidence, indeed, is likely to be ad-
duced, to she\v in what state, or in what stage
of couibiiiation, the principles of this peculm
acid exist in the bfood. To have the lea«t
diance uf success in such an enquiry, a series
of experiments would be required on the
blood ot the healtliy, as well as on that of the
gouty" (why were not *ame experiments at-
tempted, before this crude hypothesis was
brought forward ? ) ; " and were' these experi-
ments even to be performed, with all dueac-
ctirary , yet positive infonnatioii would hardly
be obtained.
" It is most probable tliat the uric acid
would nut l>e found lu exist, forinaliy, in tbe
blood. A superabundance ot the acid prin-
ciple only mi|{ht be detected in the bkxNl of
the arthritic and ncplmlic. That coinUoa-
tiun, trom which the uric acid results, niu«C
be tiic work of som«' part of the animal sys-
tem, since it is not known to exist in any of the
substances which are emplo\ed as food: but
in wiiat part of tlie syst<'m tliis opeiation is
performed, it is, pcrluips, im(io$aible at preseiit
to determine, it appears to be most probable
that a suucrabundance of its priuriplcs aie
introduced into the stomach, and thencf pasit-s
jnto the blood, forming there a saline acri-
mony of a peculiar kind. But that peculiar
^AKKINSON^S OBSeitVATIONS ON THE CU»R OF GOt*T*
(Ml
ttran^metit and modification of its principles,
from whtcb its existence in the actual form of
uric acid proceeds, is most probably the re-
sult of the action of those vesseb, 6y which
it is also separated, an .1 deposited in dilTcren*
parts, as the kidneys^ ligaments, tendons/ ice.
p. 10.
This is very vague; and, afVer all, the
peculiar vascular action, as In all other
secretions, is resorted to as the principal
agent in these humoral changes.
Tlie author goes on to shew, that a con-
siderable part; of the aliment used by man
IS of the acescent kind, and that impaired
digestion is a most prolific source of aci-
dity in the human system, in consequence
of a sort of fermentation, considerably
different, however, from the acetous f«--
mentation, with which it has been con-
fbanded. This '* gastric acid'* is the
floiurce of much mischief at all ages. In
infancy it is productive of vomitings, se-
vere gripings, and sour green stools, and
probably also of rickets, by neutralising
the earthy matter destined for the fottna-
XioQ of the bones. As life advances, the
morbid effects of this acid become more
evident; indigestion, heartburn, pain of
the stomach, acid eructations, are some of
the distressing consequences which result
from it. He acknowledges that he can*
not trace it regularly from * the stomach,
through its various modifications and com-^
btnations, to the actual formation of gouty
cm: urinary concretions $ but he thinks that
tie discovers a salutary discharge of some
intermediate form of it in the lateritious
sediment. of fevers and of gout; and in
t)ie perspiration, especially during the cri-
tical periods of some diseases, and of gout
itself. These are the two natural emunc-
feuries of the superabundant acid.
** Eut in tliose cases where the excessive
indulgence in such articles of food, as \ield
much of the acetic and carbonic acidj has ge-
nerated a larger quantity of this acid than can
be removed by the johU operation of the
Icidneys and skin, disease most probably wiU
succeed.
" It appears, by Dr. Wollaston's experi"
ments, that the uric acid, as well as that com-
pound of it with soda, which forms the gouty
<roncretions, requires a very large quantity of
fl uld to hold it in solution. Whenever, there*
fore, it exists in a morbid proportion in the
Yauntan system, a strong predisposition to its
crystallization must- prevail ;- and its separa^
lion in a solid fonn is reasonably to be ex-*
peeled. The part where thb separation will
IslLq )4ace, will necessarily deoeiidon certain
particularities in the guieral diathesis not
p<;riiaps to be explained, hi soxne liabits the
^utt. Rev, Vol; IV.
kidneys will prove to be the organs destined
to eHect this morbid separation; in which
cases, the saline concix-tion will be foiuid cither
in the urine, bcahug the apt>earance, or fonn^
ing one species of ur'uiary culculus. In other
habits, the ligaments and tendons will be tlie
parts on which the morbid excess of this acid
will be deposited. In this case gouty inflam*
niation will l>c induced) and otter every at*-
tack a thickening, with a con:Mderable degree
of stiiriu*ss of the ligaments, and hindrance of
motion, will be occasioned in consequence of
the deposition of the gouty matter. At the
commencement of this dtseilsC) when the pa-
roxysms are slight and seldom^ a sufficient
opportunity is yielded, bet^* ecu the fits, fqr
the absorption of the dq>osited matter, which
is in general soon removed, and the motion
of the joint in a little time (|uite restored.
But wJien the paroxystrts are of long dura-
tion, the intervals from disease are not snflf-*
ciont to allow of the removal of the deposited
matter, before a fresh separation and deposit
tion takes (take) place ; hence accumulatton
proceeds, until considerable collections arjT
tormed in ditlVreiit joints." p. S3.
We apprehend that the notion of the .
deposition of urate of soda, in the first pa-»
roxysms of gout, is altogether gratuitous;
and we do not perceive clearly ift what
manner the sudden cessation of tlie in^
ilammation of the extremities, and the corn-
sequent spasmodic attack of th» stomach)
in retrooedent gout, is to be explained oH
the supposition of such a deposition of
matter.
The author proceeds to enforce his doc-
trine, in the next chapter, by a view of
the remote causes, wiiich he divides into
two classes ', *' such a^ promote the ge«
neration of morbid matter, and such as
prevent its expulsion from the system."
Among the former, *' indigestion, pro-
duced eitlier by the quantity or quality of
the aliments, intemperance in the use of
spirits,*' but more esj-ecially " of wine, or
of otlier ferinemed liquors," are principally
insisted on. The greater acesoexM^y di
wiue is, in the author's opinion^ one great
reason why the intemperance of th^
wealthy is productive of gout> while that
of the poor rarely excites it j and he quotesr
Dr. Huxham to prove the connection be*
tween the use of cyder, and arthritic and
rheumatic complaints. " ITie ceasing ott
usual labour, cold applied to the lower ex^
tremities, and night- watchings,** which are
enumerated by Dr. Cullcn among the oc*
casional causes of gout, coj^c under tlie
second class of causes.
In his fiflh chapter Mr. Parkinson treats
of nodes of the joints, a subject on which
he has been in some degree anticipated by
902
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
Dr. Haygarth. These diseases have been
little noticed by medical authors, ^nd have
been generally classed among the conse-
quences of chronic rhemnatisui ; from
which, however, as well as from gout, Dr.
Haygarth has pointed out a decided dis-
tinction. Mr. Parkinson differs in some
respects from Dr. Haygarth in his account
of these nodes, and considers tliem as de-
pendant upon tlie same condition of the
fluids which gives rise to gout. He as-
ixrtSf contrary to Dr. Haygartlx's observa-
tion, tliat^they most frequently atlect " the
labouring poor,** and that they often occur
to men. Among upwards of seven tliou-
sand poor patients whom we have seen, we
recollect but a small number of cases of
sodosity, and those almost exclusively in
women. In stating the result of his me-
tliod of treatment, the autlK>r omits to in-
form us of the number of his patients, ai>d
of the compiirative success and faikire of
bis remedies. In the " few instances * in
which tlicy have been employed they have
been " generally successful." The indi-
cations upon which he has proceeded,
are,
" Ut, To diminish tlic increased ad ion of
the vessels, in the part by whicli the socretiun
of the morbid matter is perfomied: 5Jdly,'I'o
promote a free perspiration of the part af-
fected : and, 3dly, To correct the prevailing
disposition toaci<lity in the priin;c vui*, und in
the system in general. The two lirst purp()s«*s
werefullilled by applying leeches, anda plais-
terof diachylon and soaj) to iho nodes ; and
the third by avoiding acids and acesctiits in
diet, and taking wJh in the (piantity of from
£ve to iifieim grains a da v.
" From the combined influence of these
measures, the utmost success tliat hope could
look for lias been obtained. 1'hc gradual di-
minution, and, linalty, the complete removal
of such tumours as have existed for several
months, hivo bei»n thu< profundi; whilst
those which have existed for some years have
been so much reduced, as to allow of con>i-
flerable motion in joints which bad becouM:
nearly immoveable.*' p. 81.
The autlior recurs, in chapter 6, to the
subject of gout, and proposes his indica-
tions of cure, and indications during the
fit, by which it is obvious he means the
indications of prevention and aire of gout.
With a view to the fifst, the objects (»f the-
physician are said to be, ".to prevent the
formation of tlie morbid acrimony, to re-
move and correct that which already exists,
and to repair the diminished stren;;th of
the system." Attention to diet is there-
fore of tlie utmost importance, that the
gastric acid, fronj which ihe uric oi: ,lUhU
IV
acid most probably derives its constI«
-tuent prbciples, may not be produced.
The u«ie of wine is to be discontinued :
"in proportion to the strictness of the ab-
stinence from the u^e of wine will, in ge-
neral, be found the degree of benctit ex-
perienced ;" malt liquors should be spa-
ringly dnmk, and in a mild state ; postiy
and confectionary articles avoided; andjoda
tak€n regularly. Occasional bitters and
tonics may be used to strengthen the di-
gestive powers. Mr. Parkinson, we m^
remark, gives the moht satisfactory exj^
nation of the fatal eliects of the Portlanil
powder tliat we have seen. He says,
" A\'htn, from the powerful stoniachic ef-
fcrts of the bitters, not only a gnraterportkn
of food is taken into the stoinach, but a greater
quantity of chyle, luxl consec|uenlly of blood,
U produced, a'ulethoric state maybe induced;
tiie quantity of blood may exceed the powers
of tiic already weakeneu ve:>sels in wnkrh it
is contained, whence may procec*! those cca-
gestions on whiyh tlie production of astbic,
apoplexy, dropsy, &c. may depend. A cir-
cumstance of pretty general occurrence wiR
strongly tend to pn>duce this eflfect. The
arthntic, sutferin^ under considerable debOitT,
to which diminislied appetite and impaired di-
gestion has much contributed, delisted witk
the restored pof^ers of gratilication, and ea^
to obtain a rapid renovation of his health, in-
dulges his appetite without restraint, and thus
totally di'stroys his health, wliich he was con-
fidently hoping to establish." p. 98.
If the dietetic plan, and the coarse of
antacid medicine, have been steadily pur*
sued during the interval, tlie treatment,
when tlie paroxysm occurs, will requite
little deviation Irom the method reconi-
mended by Sydenham, llie aathor still
advises, however, the use of the alkalis,
lixed or volatile, the choice of which may
be directed by the state of die skin and
bowels. As for the ta^atmcnt of tlie local
afiection, the indication is simply
'' So to manage the tnflanunatkm, that, al-
though tlie extreme violence of the pain he
mod«rateil, the parts sliall not be interrupted
in the functions they are now called upon to
perform ; and, at the same lime, the esrafw
of any injwtious matter from the pores of ihe
part atlectcd shall be promoted as much a»
possible/'
Tlie author*8 last chapter is dedirated tp
the confutation of Dr. Kinglake*s pmctice.
Ha justly remarks, that Dr. Kinglake has
omitted to examine those drcumstauccs,
uhdcr which, according to the common
opinion and the highest authority in me-
dicine, the suddi'n suppres*ion of gout wai
KINGL/kK£*8 REPLY TO MB. BDLIN*S TWO CASES 01? GOVT.
603
feiught with danger *, and having omitted
that, his doctrine must be necessatilj crude
and imperfect^ and his contemptuous ani-
madversions on the opposite opinions al-
together unjustifiable. In this we entirely
coincide with Mr. Parkinson. But when
he affirms that " the sudden stoppage of
the diseased action in the inflamed parts
by cold media, or by any other external
application, is Hot justifiable ui any case
*f gout or acute rheumatism, since al-
though no ihischievous effects may be im-
mediately discovered, there is great pro-
bability that consequences of the most se-
rious and distressing nature may occur at
a distant period;" when this is affirmed,
we must wave our concurrence. We have >
no doubt that, in many instances, the pa-
roxysm of gout has been immediately sup-
pressed without any obvious inconveni-
ence ; and we might appeal to Mr. Par-
kinson's own case for satisfactory evidence
of it : and as to any distant^ unforeseen,
and indefinite event, which may occur in
f gouty constitution, we cannot but think
it highly unphilosophical and absurd to at-
tribute it to the long previous use of a
then salutary remedy. In two or three
attacks of gout in tlie aathor*s own per-
son, the local disease was annihilated in a
few hours by immersion in cold water,
and he w^as set at liberty to pursue his
professional avocations in good health.
We doubt not that Dr.Kinglak^will quote
his antagonist's case, as one of the best
illustrations of tlie refrigerant practice.
Mr. Parkinson relates two or three cases,
not however in the most discriminating
manner^ in which severe affections of the
head or viscera ensued upon the suppres-
sion of the local gout.
This sudden suppression of the disease,
then, according \o the author's own evi-
dence, is sometimes perfectly salutary,
sometimes attended with unpleasant or dan-
gerous consequences^ and this we have
all along considered as the truth of the
matter. The question at issue is, what
are the circumstances under which danger
is to be apprehended fi-om the speedy re-
moval of the local affection, and what are
those which indicate its safety ? Thia
question Dr. Kinglake was bound to re-
solve before he sent forth his new theory. .
to the world ; for while we rcinain in
uncertainty, witliout any criteria which
may enable us to judge of the result, tlie
practice at large is dangerous. For the
sake of those instances in which it appears
to be remarkably salutary, wa should have
been glad if Mr. Parkinson had entered
more philosophically into the discussion »
and endeavoured to trace the. connection
of the circumstances, of tlie cases with tlie
remedy employed, since he has witvkssed'
both its good and its bad effects. On the
whole his attempt at confutation is feeble \
we seem to observe a struggle of preju-
dice, and a favourite hypothesis, against
his personal experience ; and we are left
precisely in the state of uncertainty in
which we commenced the perusal of hi»
work.
What eflfect the alkaline medicines,
pushed to a great lengtii, might produce;
we know not ; but the system of temper-
ance in diet, and regular exercise, which
he recommends, whetlier it may chiefly
counteract the formation of lithic acid or
not, is undoubtedly the sole cure for tli<
gouty constiJtution.
Akt. VI. — A Rrplv to Mr. EdIirCs two Cases of Gout, said to Itave terminated in Death in
Consequence nj tlie external Use bf Ice and cold U'ater. To which is added an Instance
of the fatal Effects qf encouraged Gout: with Observations, Cautions, kc, ByliohBRf
AXNGLAKE, M. D. Aiembcr qf the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, of the Physical
Society of Gottingen, Author qf a Dissertation on a new Theory and Practice of Gout,
*and Physician at Taunton. 8vo* pp. 61.
IN our last volume we noticed a pam-
phlet by Mr. Edlin, in which he gave an ac-
count of two cases of gout that terminated
fatally, in consequence, as it appeared, of
the external application of cold water:
we have now to announce a reply firom
Dr. Kinglake, in which he attempts to re-,
pel the ciiarges brought against his new
practice. With respect to the two cases,
it may be necessary to bring to our readers'
recollection; tliat one only of them fell
imder Mr. £dlin*s own inspection, and to
this alone can dfty importance be attached^
as the other refers to an event which took
place many years ago, and is related upon
evidence by no means sufficiently direct
to establish so important a conclusion.
Tlie first case, however, was under Mr.
£dlin's immediate carej he had an oppor-
tunity of observing its progress from the
commencement, and iu the latter stages
he had the co-operation of Dr. Haworth.
In tlie work now before us. Dr. KiDg«
lake doQS not attempt to bring forwards
any new fact respecting the ca^e -, admit-
ting the general statement, his aim is to
3^2
80f
Medicine a^td surgery.
prove tliat a wong inference lias been
dmvvu from it. The points wliicli imme-
diately suggest themselves as oi" iJie chief
impoitance in this discusision, are, wheilicr
♦lie disease was in reality guut, and whether
the secondary symptoms which apj>eai«ed
to terminate in death were owing, to the
cause assigned/ As^to the tirst point Dr-r
Kinelake would cut us short at the outset,
by datly denying that such a case as re-
pelled gout can exists and refers us to ths
arguments stated in his kirger treatise 'm
proof of this positiou. We are, however,
ti»fortunately not convinced by them ;
and are,, moreover, decidedly of opinion,
that repelled gout is a case of not unfre-
«|uent cx^currence. But as Dr. Kinglake
will not admit the complaints to have been
synaptoras of gout, to what ca^ise does he
ascribe the'm ? 1 o this obvious and im-
portant query we da not meet \\itb any
very direct or satisfactory seply^ We are
mdei^ok^ that the account of the case
is probably exaggerated, and that *
** PaJpitatioft of the heart and icy coldness
dl the sttiiiueh are not chai'aeteristia symp-
toms of a lugh degree of visceral exciteniiiuit ;
tiM*y rather indicate a diminution, of motive
en. r!jy,aod are not explicable by any rational
idea^ot trdnsferrc4irritotioiw^
Stijl, however, we are not n3formed what
uas the nature of tlie complaint. The foi^
lowing remark is the only cUw which
can lead to the dji6covery ot' our author's
opinion.
** They (i. e. Dr. tiaworlh and Mr. tfdlin)
Jhight, in proportion to their opportunities
f6T observation, have seen many instances of
the protracted pain of gout in the joints of
the extremities, having propagated by synv
pathetic influence, fatal irritation to tJie sys-
tem ; but' blinded by groundl«» prejudices,
tbcy could not perceive this scicntiiic truth.
It appeajji to me, tlvough the mists of Mr.^
Edhii*s partial statement, that tl)e disastrous
course ot this case did not arise ixom any \^
remediable grievance of. tfee heart and sto-
mach, b.ttt that it was rather induced by the
ftimnlant treatment to which the patient was
•ubjc'Jti^ ; for it was observed he was liber-
ally dosedr witii artiier, camphorated julep and
opiated confection, and £ulEer o^ervhdmot
with external heat."
Here seem to be the rudiments of i
new speculation ; thot^^h gout cannot
exist in the sy>tcm, yet gout in^the extre-
mities may produce an irritation in the
system of a fatal tendency. The follow-
ing para^^raph will farther Hlnstntte the.
hypothesis.
" The comprint s usually arisihirinthesjv
ten^dajing prutractf^l gont.are indeed chielly
of the spasmodic kind. ITiey proceed froni
the debilitating influence ofl^ng-cootboed
pain. 1 hey are of the trite of die iocfeed
jaw, which is often induced by the exquate
torture eccasioned by either sprained as
wounded ligameuts and tendons. Aa unre-
duced dislocation ha» fre^^uentW produced
tills aillicting disease. In this case the a-
fiammatorv afTection is on the liniments and
tendons, and (as aftirmed in my T>i5sertali<»
on (rout) IS slricti^' kteatical vnth that dis-
ease.*
It appears, then, that our authors soi-
tipaettts concerning the case in questioi>
are a^ follo^v : the fkst set of symptom>
were produced by irritation arising firom
the previous pain that the patient badsu^
fered, and his death was occasioned by the
medicines given to remove this irrltatioD;
Both these positions we cannot but con-
sider as highly improbable. It does not
in tact appear that this irritation is pro-
duced by gout, whea existing in its mo^t
painful form ; while, on the other hand,
we Ikid it to occur, as in this case, after
the pain has ceased, and wlieii it had not
previously been peculiarly violent- And
farther, supposing the s}^mptoms to be of
that irritative kii^ which tbe author con-
jectures, we are of opinion that theienoe-
dies pre-ici'ibed in this case were the most
likely to reoim-e it. We eaniwt take oar
leave of this perfofraanceNirithout stpoogif
reprobating tlie supercilieas and disre-
spectful tferms in which Dr. Kii^kikt
s}}eaks, not oul/ of his epponeAt, but of
every one whose op'mions diflier frtx^faift
own.
Aar. WXy^^alulartf CaulionsjrespecthigiheCout; in zvhick the Doctrhek fMUfUained h
a recent PulMivation by Dr. fCinglakc, arc exposed and nJiUcd, By John Hunt, Juikr
ofHUtortcai Surgery. 8vo. pp. 94.
THIS title i« a misnomer. We have
been able to discover nothing in tlie shape
of *' cautions'' in this pamphlet, vuiless
general and unqualitied condemnation,
abuse, and ridicule, of Dr. Kinglake and
his practice, be considered as such by ina-
plicatiun.' it beemD'M>mewhat ejtUFaordi-
narv that the contemplation of a series of
pathological experlraeflts should drive a
man into spleen and anger ; and aot lesr
so^ Chat he should imagine hef can refute
the results of siKh experiments by ridicule
aud declaoiatioB. Tlie author has sot a
fiingle^acf to oppose to the number deuil«
CHAMPTON S E5SXT ON THE ENTROPBOW.
30f
«Q by Dr. Kin^^lake ; but is compelled to
repeat to us the old story of Mr. Edlin's
^iend at Uxbridge : and he promises that,
if this cargo of declamation does not com-
pletely overwhelm the new doctrine, he
Avili freight another pamphlet witJi a load
'«f quotations from authors, which will in-
fallibly crush it. We do not mean to
defend Dr, Kinglake*s hypothesis, or to
asisert that his ftcts are related in a clear
and unexceptionable ouinner; but w^e
taiter out protest against all nuch tittjempts
to smother a philosophical question by de-
clamatory rhapsodies, when facts, or legi-
'timate deductions from facts, can alone
ditimately decide it.
The author assumes an air of great wis-
dom, and lays down his medical axioms
-w/ith no small degree of dogmatism ; but
lie unfortunately betrays gross ignorance
of the patholog)' of the human body, and
of modem medicine. He ^asserts, for 4n-
«tnnce, that " inflammatory rheumati-sm,
iike all otlicr diseases that are productive
of sizy blood, is to be cured by bleeding
aud purging, to the liberal use of whl(;h i
know no bounds short of the destruction
of the disease." p. 15. Did h% never hedt
that thcxblood is sizy in all stages of pul-
monary consumption? Yet we presume #
the destruction of his patient would be the
first consequence of the "iiberal" use of
these remedies in ihat disease. ^Did he
never discover that these liberal evacua-
tions in acute rheumatism were coiJe-
demned by Dr. FoliiergilVby Dr. Tfeber^
den, and Dr. Haygarth ; and that the best
physicians in tlie metropolis are of a simi*
lar opinion ? He farther asserts that goat
in the stomach, as it is called, is an in-
flammation 3 and condemns Dr.Kiuglake'g
prescription of camphorated tiacture of
opium, &-C. as highly prejudicial. But in
• nine <:ases out of ten the disease produced
by metastasis is spasmodic, and requires tlui
most powerful stimuli for its cure.
We shall stop here. We wished merely
to shew to tlie tireless reader, tliat the
author is not a magnus Apollo, auH that
he may yet suspend his judgment. Ad-
hue sub judice lis esL
^RT. Vlir. — An Essay on tke Eniropeon, or Inversion qftlic Ei/e-liSt. Br/VmLTP Cram^-
TON, M. D. Member of the RoyuL College 0/ Surgeons in Ireland, SfC. 8vo. pp. 75.
Dr. Crampton. In order, however, to
shew the grounds U|>on which he main-
tains that the proximate cause has been
misunderstjood, and consequently the ope-
rations erroneous, he gives a very accurate
description of the eye-lids aad 'tlieir ap-
pendages ; whence he is ied to infer,
" that a contraction of die internal racm^
brane of the eye-lid, and not an elongation
of the estiernal integument, is ibfi imme-
diate cause of die en iropeon.*' p. 35.
. It is obvious', indeed, Jie observes, frooji
a mere inspection of the eye-lid, that a a
ekmgatiou of its -exteraal skin would
never produce tbe disease. Thp nume-
rous folds winch wc perceivie in tlie eye-
•lids of old. and relaxed persons, demon-
strate that the external integumesit givei
no support to the tarsus j consequently
the inversion of the one can ne*'6r be pro-
duced by tiie relaxation of the other*
Upon this QOttQU, however, tlie cure has
iiitherto lieen attempted, by removing a
part of the external iute^ merit, in the
litne of Hipixx:rate9 by means of a liga-
ture; at present by tiie knife. The author
juaintains that the reliei* afforded by tiie
operation is seldom permanent. He thut
briefly states his opinion of the origin of
tTie disease.
" When (he eye is voluntarily opened, the
upper eyelid is not drawa vertically upward|^
THIS -^'ery distressing disease of tlie
«eye has been described nearly in the same
terms by physicians and surgeons, from
the time of Hippocrates to the present
43ay ; aiid the operation, which was recom-
nieuded and described by the father of
jphysic, with ^ view to its cure, is nearly
the same which is now peribrmed and ad-
vised by the eminent surgeons of this
inetropolis. After considerable experi-
^ence, and much observation of this disease,
the autlior was led to form a different no-
tion of the nature of the affection, and
>consequently to have recourse, to a differ-
jwrt operation in order to relieve it 5 and
his atten^)t has been followed by success.
The ancient.*} admitted two distinct cases
-of eiitropeon, arising from different cause*.
In the *one, the growth of a supernume-
rary row of hairs on the internal margizi
of ihe eye-lids, was considered as the
source of ail the ^yiiBiptoms of the disease,
•whk:h they turned distUhiasis, In die
" <nher, wliith waff termed ptosis oTpiidlan-
^osm, the margin of the eye-lid, armed
'with its hairs', fell upon the eye, tn con-
sequence, tliey supposed, of the relaxation
.of the.skin of the eyelid. These opinions
. i)ave been adopted without alteration by
.^ahnost all w/iters ou the subject, and the
. ;iranous opeiatlons recommended for the
. 5cure of haf\}y vai:ieti^0 are xecountedby
805
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
but barkwarfi-^, describing a line parallel to
th? anterior and superior surtiace of the eye
over which it inovos. When the eye iscon>
pl?tely ouen, the ityt'lid is lodged in' the space
cont lined hetwtPii* the roof of tlie orbit, and
the superior surface of the ^ye. But should
this space be tilled up bv tlie thickened or
contracted conjunctiva, tfie levator palpebrae
cannot execute its functions. Every acces-
sion of inflammation contracts the conjunctiva-
Tiie conjunctiva terminates upon the margin
of the eyelids; wliich deriving no support from
withjut, and being constantly acteduponfrom
within, readilv yield and become permanently
inverted/' p.'^l.
" A thickened and contracted state of the
conjunctiva being admilted as the cause of
the entropeon, the remedy becomes obvious.
It consists in removing the stricture, and re-
storing the parts to their natural dimensions
and position. The mere division of the con-
junctiva, from one angle of the eye to the
other, i« not sufficient to fulfil the first of these
intentions, as its thickest and strongest fold
is a little within tlie external canthus. In fact,
it there f^rnii tne internal cxjnnecting ligament
of the tar>i.
" The lir^t great object of the operation is
the division of fliis ligament. This should be
done so as tonii)letely to liberate the extremi-
ties of the larsi to\\ards the outer canthus.
But as the extremities of the tarsi tovi^rds tiic
inner canthus are confined, as well by the ,
action of some of llie hbres of the orbicularis,
*,> by the tontractcd state of the conjunctiva,
they muf t l>e free'd from their connection with
botii." p. 4d.
The tarsus is then left comparatiTely
loose, and in the M'orst cases can with ease
be reverted. The next, and scarcely less
imjwrtmt, object, U, "to retain the parts
in their naturul posiiion, till, by recover-
ing th'.^ir origiird healthy state, they are
enabled lo j>e:form their functions."
7'he particular in<xle of executing both
these parts of the method of cure, is
cle.irly detailed in the history of the cases
which are subjoined, and in which per-
manent success is said to have been at-
tained.
With respect to that modification of the
complaint Avhich has been denominated
distichiasis, and which, if it arose merely
from a supernumerary growth of dluc,
could not with propriety be considered ai
a species of entiopeon, the author affirms,
that it is also occasioned by a coot/acted
state of the conjunctiva ; and that the un-
der row of hairs is neither supernumetazy
nor displaced with regard to the tarsus,
thotigh their curvature is altered by lyiog
upon the convexity of the corxv^. He
adds,
" In such cases of the disease as I hart had
an opportunity of observing, the cartilage -^
evidently inverted, and if any hairs v^er'- >a-
pernumerary, they were those f^h*ch ^. . m
the natural mrection of the cilix ; b«; i -dei
rather inclined to thiak th^t in such ll ^ hs
inversion of the cartilage is not cornp«ett> . * ^ e
inner range of hairs alone toucn the ci> -ni,
and are retained there by tne iiielinat*.
the tarsus, and by the humidity of t.^.- e-f ,
the upper ranges of the cilia?, stiil reu v;^
. their disposition to |x>int upwards, prev.i -c
an horizontal direction.
*' Thus we aHe led to measure the mi ^In
of the tan»us by the upper range oi the c:li2-,
and to suppose that the inner row, whidi lies
upon the cornea, is iix>rdinate or supemume-
rary." p. 36.
Professor Scarpa does not admit that
there is ever a supernumerary tow of hairs.
The contracted or thickened state of the
conjunctiva, which is productive of i^e
mischief, is the consequence of inflamma-
tion, especially of neglected or repeated
inHammatiou, of the eye ; and it is, on
this account, chiefly prevalent' among the
lower classes of the people.
Dr. Crampton appears to hare mads
his obser\-ation6 on this disease with con-
siderable acuteness -, and is apparently in*
debted to experimental enquiry alone, and
not to hypothetical invention, for the
doctrine and the practice which he recom*
mends : and he speaks with candour and
liberality of thoise who entertain differemt
opinions.
Two plates are annexed to the pamph-
let illustrative of tlie structure of the eye-
lid and its appendages ^ and of the iu:»mi-
ment used to support the eye-lid in its
natural position, after the operatioa has
been performed.
Art. IX. — Ohservafhns on the Single Dysentery, and its Combinations, containing a Rf"
r/fti' n/thf 7n0.it ceitrhrttted Authors who hart written on this Subject » and oho an Jnvesti-
eutinn into tile Source of Contagion in tluU and some other Diseases. By Wilxiah
JiARTV, .1/. B. Hvo. pp. 333.
0\ openin:^ this work, which professes
to take a ' ieu of t!>e varieties of a disease
that had not bcc.i distinctly pointed out by
pnuricjl vvriicrs, we were naturally led to
cx])oct tlut die auLhor had returned, with
his stores of persona] experience, fifom the
^eat of hostile operations in Egypt or the
Indies, and that the enors or inadverten-
cies of preceding observers had been cor-
rected by the toil of actual invebtigutioo.
nAnTY*S OBSERVATIONS ON THE SIMPLE DYSEi^TERY, kc.
eoy
We were therefore somewhat disappoini-
ted in iinding that the only claim which he
assumes upon tlie attention of his brethren
is founded on his " acquaintance with the
experience of others." To neglect the in-
formation purchased by the labour of our
predecessors, and to form our general de-
ductions from the partial results of indi-
vidtiai obseri'ation alone, is undoubtedly
bighly unphilosophical, and has been oc-
casionally productive of much confusion
and uncertainty in medicine. But, on the
otljer hand, the experience of others is
already open to all ; and intelligent readers
Xviil have formed their own deductions,
aided •esi>ecially by the light oY ^xirsonal
observation ; and therefore a set of doc-
trines built on ' this public knowledge,
without the collection of a single new
fact, will probably either appear to be tin-
aatisiactory in their proofs, or will consist
merely of such deductions an the readers
themselves have already inferred. Had
the author been at all conversant with the
phenomena of the disease m question, as
it occurs in tliis country, we apprehend
that he would have considered at least a
great portion of this large volume as some-
what superflOous.
He observes, in his preface, that " after
a careful perusal of the different writers
-who have treated of this subject, after an
attentive comparison of, and mature re-
fleqtion on, tlieir opinions, he thinks that
they have furnished him with good grounds
lor concluding tliat there is truly one spe^
ries onl)'^ of the disease, different however
from tliat which CuUen supposed it to be j
but that there are several very important
combinations of this species, which have
frequently been mistaken for it, and to all
of w liich the name of dysenteiy has been
inditcrimiuately applied" The author be-
lieves he can establish the following posi-
CioiLS:
*' 1st. Hiat the genuine and simple dysen-
tery is unattended by idiopathic fever, and is
never of itself contagious ;
" lid. '1 hut every other form of the disease,
^\hvn epidemic, is a combination of the simple
ilyscnlerv, either with hit ermittent, remittent,
UT typhus lever ; and
"3d. That the combination with typhus
fever alone is contagious."
It would not be easy to follow the au-
thor through his methodical but diffuse
discussion of tliesc points, or to give an
analysis of a work, consisting in a great
measure of quotations fi-ofti preceding
writers ; we must therefore content our-
vclves with a sliglit view of some of the
more strikiog topics.
We coincide altogether ^ ith the author
in his correction of Dr.CuUen's definition
of dysentery, by rejecting the words " py-
rexia contagiosa." This was one of those
rare instances in which tliat distinguished
nosologist de[)ended on the observations
of others, to the neglect of his own expe«-
rience ; and it is truly singular that he
could be misled in regard to a disease,
which must have been perpetually beforfe
his eyes in its sporadic and non-contagioutt
form. So well known, indeed, is this form
of the dysentery to every practitioner, and
so seldom is the contagious variety seen
in this countr)', that it appears to us very
unnecessary to quote many authors in
proof of the existence of the former, or to
dcMJicate many pages to that purpose.
The autlior digresses into a lojig chapter
in order to prove, from the observations of
MTiters on the subject, that there exists a
considerable " analog)' .between dysenterj'
and rheumatism." Stoll, indeed, has di-
rectly maintained that dysentery is a rheii-
niatism of the intestines. His reasons
are, 1st, liiat he has seen rheumatism of
the limbs suddenly removed on the ap-
pearance of dysentery; 2. That some-
•times the same person labours under rheu-
matism and dysentery at the same time -,
and 3. lliat dysentery hais also suddenly
ceased on the appearance of swelling ixi
the wrilsts and knees, accom))aDied wit!^
pains shooting along the muscles.- Our
countryman Dr. Akenside had also ad-
vanced several arguments in favour of the
same notion ; and Alexander Trallianus
had long ago. suggested the analogy, and
even used the term which Stbll adopts.
Whether this analogy of the two diseases,
admitting its existence, leads to any prac-
tical improvement in the treatment Of' dy-
sentery, we are not infornied. It is pro-
bably adduced as an argument in favour df
the use of sudoritics in (hat dis<\i8c : an
argument, however, which was unneces-
sary, if experience had already decided
their utility ; :ind futile, if exjierience had
proved them to be but of secondary im*
portance.
Dr. Harty proceeds to shew, by copiotfs
quotations, that the symptoms of dysen-
tery have been described by different prac-»
tical authors in combination with symp-
toms of intermittent, remittent, and con-
tinued fever. These various appearances
of the fever connected with dysentery
have, in fact, been described m such direct
tdrms, that every reader of the works of
the writers in question must have been sa-
tisfied that they had really occurred: T\va
M9
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
intcrprctatioriof them may be made; and
ihediiscussiou wou]d perhaps terminate in
a verbal dispute. For our own part, we
have been acciLstomed, on the perusal of
ilie authors alluded to, to consider the fe-
ver of dyflcntcry, under those different ap-
pearances, as the proper spnptoraatic fever
of the disease, modmed by ihe circum-
itaiices of climate, soil, foui air, &c. ; and
thi» notion, which we conceive every read-
et" of discrimination will have entertained,
/or somethiug like it, is, we apprehend, to
«il prac^icai intents and par|x>.ses, 'the same
witi that which Dr. Harty has compiled
this volume to ilUisfrate. Sir John Pringle
fffirms, that whenever tlie dysentery was
epidemic, he always found it in some de-
gree infectious, " especvall^ in military
hospitals, and in the Itouses of tlie ))oor,
who WiuU the means of cleanliness ;" cir-
cumstances, it may bo presumed, sufficient
to give the original fever a typhoid type.
He observes, that he " has sometimes,
thoutrfi seldom, seen the sani« kind offerer
accompany the flux from the first," inde-
pcndantly of neglect or improper treat-
ment. Zimmerman says, in a quotation
made by Dr. Harty, '* it appeared to me
that our dysentery in general became con-
.tagious purely throufffi nastiness, and the
crowding wantf people togHher -in a small
space, but was by no means so of itzelf'*
This surely ifuplies ratlier a modification
of tl.e primary disease, tJ^an a combina-
tion o£ two diseases. ll)e infiuenoeof
occasional circumstatK:es in modifying the
fei'cr of dysentery, seems to be confirmed
by the observarion of Sydei^iam (if indeed
it be necessary to multiply evidence on
the subject), who remarked, in speaking
€i£ an epidemic dysentery, that it seemed
to be " tlie/frer ojtlie season turned upon
the bowels." In short, when we consider
the perspicuity of those practical authors,
Vr'hobe writings are familiar to medical
men, in pointing out the modiftcHtions or
combinations of fever with dysenler)', we
are somewhat surprised that Dr. Harty
should be vaip enough to unagine that lie
alone had tl^e sagacity to make the disco-
very, and that tli^ whole profisssion la-
boufed under a mistake rci>pecting the
books they were accustomed to read.
With respect to the statement* that dy-
aentery is never ocntagious except when
the fever assumes a typhpid type, or, in
the language of Dr. Harty, ^hen it is
combined witii typhot;s fsvep, w^e are dia-
poaed to poteptain some doubt. The te-
inittenl form ai tlie disease appears to have
aprpact la several ujatai^cei^ ia such 4
manner as to give every reason to believv
in the existence o£ contagion, if we may
credit the account of sir J. lYingle and
Dr. Huck. The analogy of the epidemic
ptavrh also supports this opinion, even ia
ihe quotations made by Dr. Harty; tbriii
tliis disease, according to Mr. Chisbolm
and others, in 179O, the tever was '* most
generally** of an iutamiitteot or remitteot
form, yet in their opioioo decidedly con-
tagious.
In corroboration of his notion respect-
ing dysentery. Dr. Harty has given a slight
view of several diseases, which are at (»ie
time contagious, at another not so; and
affirms that it is his belief that every dis-
ease of this kind *' acquires that property
only in consequence of its combioaLHA
with typhos lever." The diseases which
he enumerates are catarrh, cynancbe,
ophthalmia, erysipelas, ulcer, and peri*
tonitis.
With regard to catarrh, he is altogelber
unable to substantiate this oplnkn, and
even remarks in plain temgis, that " it oftea
exists sporadically, with or without rouch
fever, and is then never suspected of o»»
tagion : it frequently prevails epideraicaUYy
in combination with renuitent fever, aod
is then very enoneoosly denominated in-
fluenza ; (why ?) for this is another f«rm
ia which it spreads epidemically, is prepa^
gated by eontagUm, and whea it does occur
is very general.*' p. 265. The geoeni
course of the influenza, or epidemic ca-
tarrh, in any of its forms, was extremely
unlike tliat of typhus and the occun^Doe
of true typhoid symptoms was unques'
tionably raiie,
The only circumstance by which a^
thalmia is presumed, whfn contagious, t»
be combined with typhoid fever, is an uih
philosophical conjecture pf Mr. Power, s
writer on tlie Egyptian (^hthalniia. This
gentleman " regards the putrid rims as
the great source of disease in Egypt'*—*
'* partiaUy applied it produces c^tbabnia''
— " it is probable that this puhid rtnukas
some similitude, if not the same, with the
contagion of typhus"— land he very sagi-
ciqusly concludes, from the phenomeQa«
" and from tfee mode of treatment which
alone was found successful, that it was
contagious, and existed ia (»mbinatioa
with typhoid fever/' Admirable data toe
a philosophical deduction !
' On the whpie tliis volume adds little or
nothing to the information of the eoquir*
ing practitioner, and will afford little nr
putacion to the author,exoe|^t asa laudable
essay, of on industjrious aod iatemgjBiil
LAMBED IHauntT nCTO GG1V6TITUTI017AL DISEASES.
•0#
^hident He would have done well to
have delayed his work until he had be-
come acquainted with the opinions of in-
telligent practitioners, beyond the school
in which he had principally studied. It is
matter of astouisnment^ as well as of re-
gret, that a few obvious Cullenian errors
still remain in that enlightened school of
£diuburgh. But whatever they may have
iieard from the professorial chair, few of
Che regular attendants of the clinical
wards, we believe, <{uit the school alluded
to with an opinion that dysentery, whett
sporadic, is contagious.
There is a laboured adherence to me-
thod in this work, which frequently tend*
rather to obscure than to elucidate the au-
thor's views. His manner is diffuse 5 and
the discassion often interrupted through a
fear of anticipating what should be, secuf^
diim arteniy discussed in a different chapter*
Akt. X. — A Medical and Experimental Efiquirtf into the Origin, Si/mptom», and Cure, tif
Const it utionat Diseases ; p(irticularbf Scropfmla, Consumption, Cancer, and Gout. (11^
iustrated btf Cases.) By William Lambe, M. D, Fellow ojihe College of Pkt^icianSf,
8vo. pp. 272.
A CELEBRATED philosopher of an-
tiquity has asserted that there is nothing
new under the sun ; but iiad he lived in
tills age of revolution, he would probably
iia\'e entertained a different opinion, The
idea which forms the basis of the work
now before us, we certainly consider as
possessing the merit of originality ; it is a
proposal for curing some of the roost ob-
stinate constitutional diseases, among
others, scrofula, consumption, cancer, and
gout, by DISTILLED WATER. We shall
endeavour to lay before our readers the
pounds of so singular an opinion.
The work commences by an explanation
c^the term, constitutional diseases.
*' By constitutional diseases 1 understand
thow which arise 8lo\vly and spontaneously,
and concerning which wc are nitherto igno-
rant, whetlier they are to be attributed to
the operation of foreign and external causes,
or to an original imperfection in the structure
or functions of any of the different organs of
tile body."
All tlie diseases that are included under
this comprehensive definition, he con-
ceives may be traced to pne common ori-
j^in, viz. some substance introduced into
the body ab extra, and this substance he
farther supposes proceeds from the decom-
position of animal and vegetable bodies.
This substance he denominates septic
poison, and to its introduction into the
•ystem, he ascribes the prevalence of
•* consumption, gout, cancer, mania,
epilepsy, and even many cutaneous erup.
tionf.*' The greater part of these diseases
are unknown in the savage state; they
have been generally attributed to that de-
licacy which the constitution necessarily
acquires m civUized lite; but this our
fKithor coDoeives is not an .adequate cause,
^nd he imagines that we shall find them to
^ptQd opoa this saptic poison whi^b he
imagineft is conveyed into the system by
the water usually employed in diet.
This opinion resjiecting the injurioun
effect of common water was originally
suggested by die following circumstance.
A lady who was affected with ^evem
paans of the stomach, bad repeatedly foun4
the complaints to disappear ui>on changing
her residence ; this led to a suspicion that
the water employed might not be pure«
and upon examination, though no metal-
lie impr^atkm could be disco^^red by
the usual tests, yet the author found that
the residuum left by evi^rating the water
impressed the fauces with a sense of con«
striction, which led him to suspect the
presence of arsenic. A little of the resi-
duum being heated between two copper-
plates, imparted to them a white stain,
and thus gave a ^degree of probability to
the suspicion that had^ -been excited. So
iiar we follow the author with some satis*
faction ; but instead of pushing his enqui'^
ries farther, and examining more minutely
every circumstance respecting this sup*
posed arsenical impregnation, he boldly,
and unwarrantably, assumes the certainty
of its existence, not only in the water now
under consideration, but in all, or the
greater part, of the waters that are employ^
ed for economical purposes. Some other
circumstances, of a still more indefinite
nature than that stated above, occurring to
the author about the same time, he was
led to an experimental inquiry into the
subject, from which he deduces the fol*
lowing propositions :
" 1 . Common MvsAer gives products much
resembling those which are derived from ani-
mal matter. It is probable, therefore, that it
has received a taint from tills matter \n a state
of decomposition, or, in other words, from
putrefaction.
" 2. The metallic basis of the matter, which
^outaaunates csommoa imler, exactly \
810
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
bles arsenicated manganese. — ^These metals
unite in a great variety of proportions and
different degrees of oxyc;enation. J hey form
the basis of tlie matter A hich I Jiave denomi-
nated septic poison. With the other princi-
ples I am not conertly acquainted, but tiiey
must be those which are common to animal
matter. I have hitherto been foiled in every
attempt so separate this compound into its
constituent principles, M'hetlier it be made ar-
tificiaUy or be found already fonned.
" 3. The same compound enters into the
composition of animal matter. I have found
it in the coal, which remains after the distilla-
tion of animal substances, and the ashes to
which this coal is reducible by incineration. .
" 4. As all animal matter is derived from
the vegetable kingdom, the same substance
must enter likewise into the composition of
regetable matter. It may be readily detected
in the ashes of pit-coal, and I doubt not, in
common vegetable ashes.'*
Thus it seems that pntrefk^tion is the
great source of destruction to the humah
race ; and that the septic poison, the ve^
hide of all this raischief, is conveyed into
the body along with the water employed
in diet.
If we can only establish this as the
cause of all constitutional diseases, the
method of curing them will be simple.
It will be effected
" 1st. By the applicationof substances which
have the power ot counteracting the poison-
ous luatter ; and 2dly. Hy a regimen which
V ill cxcKkK*, as much as possible, the intro-
duction of new matter into the system."
Hie fir»t indication, however, he con-
ceives it impossible to fulfil, and in conse-
quence places all hisdependance upon tlie
second, which may be brought about
cither by sending patients to reside near
^rings of peculiar purity, or by causing
them to employ distilled water. Salt
meats are albo forbidden, and all tliose
liquors, as beer and porter, in ihc prepa-
ration of which water is used. As some
confirmation of his opinion, \xhich he
seems to apprehend will not be very easily
credited, he adduces the example of the
]Malvem waters, a spring which has been
long celebrated for its curative ejects in
many olx>iinate complaints, and in which
the chemical tests have not been able to
detect any impregnation. An obvious
objection seems to arise against the doc-
trine maintained by our author, that arse-
nic has often been intentionally taken
into the stomach, as a remedy for some
diseases » in greater qiuntity than that in
which it can be supposed to exist in
common water, without prodacing any ot'
the effects which are here attributed to it
This objection does not indeed pais al-
together unnoticed, but the author only
observes, that if its use Jias been too long
persevered in, the most essential injuries
have occurred to the constitution. This,
however, is saying no more than that all
powerful medicines ipay be taken in too
large quantity j there is no attempt at
proving that the same kind of effects is
produced bj' its casual introdaction into
the system, which we observe to ensue
^om its intentional exhibition,' a circum-
stance essential to the support of the ar-
gument.
A considerable number of cases axe af-
terwards detailed: first, of those in which
general debility and dyspeptic complainti
were the most urgent systems, and wluch
were, as the author conceives, relieved (X[
diminislied by the use of distilled water.
A distinct section is allotted to scrofula,
consumption* cancer, and gout, in which
instances are likewise pointed out, i^there
advantage was supposed to be gained by
the employment of tlie same remedy. We
shall not pretend to make an accurate ana*
lysis of these cases ; our opinion of them
is, tliat they are very unsatisfactory. A
degree of amendment seems to have' taken
place, as is often obsen^ed when a patient
is put mider any accurate plan of regimen,
but the cases generally conclude with the
remark, that the use of the water was not
continued long enough to perfect the curei
To tiiis we cannot but oppose the obvious
question, why the author did not delay
his publication until the cures were com-
pleted. Upon the whole, we have seldom
observed any collection of case> brought
fonvard in support of a new piece of prac-
tice, so meagre as that now before us.
After all, die grand question remainj,
upon what evidence does the exibtciice
of this arsenicated mangaiie>e depend.
At the end of the volume are detailed, at
considerable length, the experiments that
were performed by the author *io prore his
position. They are divided into three
sections; in the hrst he examines the
properties of the compound produced bj
the union of tlie manganese and the ar-
senical acid ; in the second he endeavours
to pro^x that a similar substance may be ^
procured from the ashes of animM substan-
ces 5 and id the tliird, that it also exists ia
the residuum of the New-river water. The
experinients appear to have been con--
ducted with perseverance, but we csnnot
say that our minds are impressed with a
CQUvktion of the justness of theiufeience^
cooper's ckitical beflections om the cataract.
811
deduced from them. The properties
which are assigned to the arsenicated
manganese, are principally negative j the
mere circumstance of a copi)er plate being
stained, and a blue tinge imparted to a
jglass tube^ we cannot consider by any
means sufficient evidence of the existence
of tliis metallic salt ; yet, as it appears to
us, these are all the positive proofs that
are brought forward of its presence. In
short, the hypothesis seems to us un«
founded, and the cases incomplete.
Ab.t. XI. — Critical Rt^ections on several important practical Points relative to the Cata-i
root : comprehetiding an Account qfa new and mcccsrful Method of Couching particular
Species of tlmt Diseases By S am v bl Cooper, Member oftlie Royal College of Surgeons,
«vo. pp. 175.
THE old method of remedying the
blindness which is produced by an opacity
of the lens, has been for some years im-
pugned by several eminent practitioners,
and the extraction of the cataract has, upon
their authority and recommendation, been
very generally substrtuted, or has met, at
Icutitj with a considerable majority of ad-
vocates. Mr. Cooper is of opinion tliat the
preference of the latter has been assumed
without just grounds, and that it is, in fact,
a much more difficult operation than that
of couching ; the practice of which, there-
fore, it is the object of this volume stre-
nuously to recommend. In this view of
the subject he has the support of some of
the most eminent surgeons of £urope;
especially Mr. Hey, of Leeds, professor
Callisen, of Copenhagen,professorRichter,
of Gottingen, and more especially the ce-
lebrated professor Scarpa, of Pavia. From
the writings of these authors he has ad-
duced a strong collection of evidence, in
favour of the success of the more simple
operation of couching -, of which we shall
.endeavour to give a brief s^ketch, without
pretending to decide upon a question on
which the experience of so many able
practitioners has led to different concki-
ftioiis.
Mr. Cooper apprehehds that the fre-
quent failure of the operation of couching,
which induced the French svu-geons, in the
early part of the last century, to have re-
course to the metliod of extractioti, arose
from an ignorance of the miduie anatomy
of the eye ; and that the original objec-
tions to the former operation, valid as they
were at that period, have been dispelled
by tlie more perfect knowledge of the or-
gan of sight, which the anatomists of the
present day have acquired. He quotes
Fabricius in order to shew " that the suc-
cess of couching depended, in his days,
almost upon chance, and that the rudeness
€)t' the style* in which it was then for the
, most part executed^ was only equalled by
the injury which the eye sustained, and
the train of bad coxvequeoces wlxicb en-
sued."* And he aflerwards answers the
objegtions of baron Wenzel to this opera*
tion, chiefly by opposing to his statements
the extensive experience of Mr, Heyv
Scarpa, and others. The author then dK
lates upon the difficulties and the unto-
ward consequences )^hich are liable to
ensue to the extraction of the opaque iensj
among which may be enumerated, the^di»
vision of the iris, protrusion of the vitreous
humour, separation of the iris at its outer
margin from the choroid coat, prolapsus
of the iris, irregularity of the pupil, irre-
mediable opacity of the lower half of the
. cornea, &c.
Protessor Richter, it appears, thougl|
formerly a decided advocate of the plan <^
extraction, now prefers, after the test of a
long comparative experience, the method
of depression. He says, " the principal
advantages of extraction consist in its in-
juring none of the more sensible parts of '
the eye, only insensible cornea, and in ra-
dically curing the cataract, that is, taking
it entirely out of the eye. But it may
with reason be objected, tliat the cure of
the cataract by extraction ought on no ao*
count to be called radical, while the cap-
sule; the seat of the possible, and not uu*
frequent membranous cataract, remains
behind in the eye; tliat far more important
accidents are to be dreaded after extrac-
tion than couching ; opacity of the cornea^
closure of the pupil, prolapsus of the vi-
treous humour and iris ; and that extrac-
tion is much more difficult, and more sub*
•ject to consequent inflammation, than d^
'pression."
The author takes a discriminating view
of those appearances, which may guide the
practitioner to anticipate ntiief, or the con-
trary, from an operation. He thinks that
the power of still distinguishing light firom
darkness is a more certain test of the
healthy state of the retina^ than the con-
tractions of the iris. The general practice
of postponing the operation, when one eye
alone is affected, until symptoms of the
disease appear ia the other^ ii not, in Jkii
«1«
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
epinion, fonnded on the basis of experi-*
CDce or rational investigation.
There are no certain criteria by which
it can be ascertained, previously to an ope-
ration, whether a cataract is soft or hard,
of a caseous or fluid consistence ^ or whe-
ther, together with an opacity of the crys-
talline Tens, the membranous capsule in
"wfai^ it is contained may aot have lost its
fiataral transparency; and the surgeon must
therefore be constantly prepared to adopt
the method of couching most suited to the
yarticaUr cijcnmstances which he may
•nooamer. The author has, however,
enumerated the circomstances, recently
axplaioed by Rkhter, which he has found,
An- a k)ng series of years, geaeraUy to por-
tend the truth.
It has been proved that, in several in-
stances to which Mr. Cooper refers, the
«Btaract when buried in the vitreous hu-
mour, especially when its capsule is kee-
ner and detached, or the membranous
dokes and fragments ot the capsule are
easily absorbed and disappear 5 and it is
now considered that, wbpn a cataract is
discovered to be of a soft or casoous con-
sistence, it is unnecessary to attempt to de-
{>reaa it, since it will be soon absorbed if
the capsule be lacerated, and its parts dis«
leoBqpoaod by the needie. But it fartlier
Mppem from the experienoa of Scarpa,
with which tfaait of Mr. Hey at the same
time coincides, that tlte absorption of the
membranous AakcA, or detached portions
of the cataract, takes place more rapidly
in the anterior, than tlie posterior cham-
ber of the aqueous humour. Mr. Hey
lias aevferai times seen the whole opaque
Hnocleui, «Bd very frequently small opaque
portions, hil into the anterior chamber,
'jiBd he remarks, '' Indeed if th6 catartict
eonid in all cases be brouglit into the an-
terior chamber of the eye, without injury
to the iris, it would tm the bnt titetbod of
pejfiirming the operation,** Professor Scarpa
has, from the result of his own eicperience,
«ctaaUy been led to practise this method,
in the toft or caseous cataracts, and in the
cecondary membranous cataract, whldi
fenendiy ariaes from the atiterior half of
the capsule not having been sufficiently
liroken or remOf«d iu a ptvvioUs opem-
tiflh, and afterwards becoming opaque.
Tllie aame ^n is also said to sutieeed ki
those rare inatancea, Irhere the iabstEmee
<if the crystalline wastes, and is alnnost
completely absorbed, leaving the capsufe
opaque, and including at most only a
small nucleus not larger than a pin*s heai.
Thia ia termed by Scarpa th^ primaiy
membranous cataract, and is ch'*efly met
with m diildren, or young people under
the age of twenty. The author has trao-
scribed six interesting cases of membra
nous cataract, successfully treated b)- ilw
new method by professor Scarpa, ooe of
which we shall copy for the sake of illus-
tration. ^
" Bartholomew Zucchi, of Cahrahsle, a
robust man, forty-five years of age, who kkd
a cataract in cacli eye, was operated on at tins
school of surgery (PaviaJ April 18, 1701
His eyes were rather small, and sadk ss it
were 'tii the orbits. I operated on the kit
eye, in which [ found a soft caseous cataract
After breaking the puUaceous substance of the
crystalline to pirtrts, I freely lacerated the
capsule <o the extent of the pupil, throQib
which I forced all the flaky portions of mon-
branc? hito the anterior chamber, which they
filled as hifrh as thr inferior margin of the|ni-
pil. Ttie operation was followed by no re-
niarkabie symptom, and on the iomtecfldi
day the above fragments were dimioished
more than half, and the patient could sec dii-
tinctlv wifli his left eye. .
" Thf opi^ration was nejrf performed on the
right, ill which, liAding a suOicieiOy finn
cataract, 4 was enabled to lacerate the antc-
. nor layer of the capsule prcciselT, and to an-
mers<' the len<? deq>ly in the vitreous humoor.
A fortnight after the operation on the right
eye, all t!he membranous partides, deposited
iu the anterior chamber of the left, lad c»-
tirely disappeared, and the ri^t eye w» able
to b;ar tlie light. The patient went fromtlie
hospital soon afterwards, perfectly cured it
botli eyes.**
This operation, it i^ obrioosy ooold not
be performed- with tbm ordinary needle.
Professor Scarpa's instrrHnent, of whkk
the author has given a figure^ and T^iucli
he atmhgly recomihends to the prRti-
tinners, is a slender needle slightly curved
at the ettrvmity. Mr. Long aotne time
ago invented a needle somewhat nmtbr
to this, and Mr. John Bell has pohUahed
a figure of a similar one in ids System <d
Surgery. The author has giren mhaile
instructions ibr using this very eligibk iii-
Btnunent, as iie considers It, in every va-
riety (^cataract that is met with.
On the whole the practice of concluag,
in pf^f^ie&oe t» the aiethod of eatractioa,
is clearly and sensibly advocated ia this
treatise ; and the author has evinced a di-
li^iitand laudable atleBtioD to the obser-
vations of those distingubbed practidonA
of the eonthient, wh^ works are helda
high and deserved igstiniatioo by aU thoic
who have been induct to etaraine theoi*
and dte capdEMe-of appreciattng their value.
We wmtfuulmM d»^blic that a ttaaAh
Jones's TBXATtSB on DiriDEXt aktssubs*
m%
tlon of professor Scarpa's work, on the vi- and will probably soon make its appear-
rigus diseases of the ^ye, is in preparation, aJace.
Art. XIL— ^ Treatise on the Prows* employed hf Nature in stippressing the Hamorrfiage
Jrom dkidcd and punctured Arteries ; and on the Use of the Ligature ; concluding with
Observations on secondary Hitmorrliage: t/ie zvhole deduced from an extensive Series q^
£xj)erimcnts, and illustrjted by fifteen Plates. By J. F. D. JosBs, M, />. Member qfthe
Royal College qf Surgeons. 8vo. pp. ^37.
FREQUENTLY as external haemorr-
bages have, from the earliest periods of
tiaie, excited the attention and demanded
the aid of medicine, it may • em extraordi-
jojy that the most eminent of the profession
should yet differ in the explanations which
they have given of the pn)cess by which
the constitution tends to suppress them.
Such, however, is tlie fact. Some surgeons
have viewed the subject too partially ;
on^ assigning this part of the process, and
another that, as the cause of the whole
l^K^Domena : some have confounded tlie
natural process with tlie circumstances in-
duced by art ; and others appear to have
entertained q>inions which were altoge-
ther erroneous. While these imperfec-
tions and contradictions stand on record,
on a subject of such importance, some
well-conducted experiments, by which
truth may be sifted from the false and hy-
pothetical, must be considered as great
desiderata,- and a soCQCssful attempt to
supply those desiderata is entitled to the
thanks of the pathologist.
Before entering on the immediate ob-
ject of his work, Dr. Jones lias given a
few preliminary obserx'ations relative to
the structure of the arteries, by which he
fihtedy attempts to shew, that the inner
and middle coats of these vessels are easily
torn by a slight force applied in the cir-
cumference, but that the outer coat is ex-
tremely dense, strong and elastic : so that
*' if an artery be surrounded by a tight .li-
pture, its middle and internal coats will
he as completely divided by it as tliey can
be by a knife, whilst the external coat re-
mains entire." He also observes that the
truncated extremities lof a divided artery
retract a certain way within tlie sheath,
and likewise contract in a greater or Jess
.dc^gree. These fects are sulisequently ap-
plied to the explanation of the process un-»
der examiuation.
He commences the work by a conside-
wtion of th^ doctrines proposed by Petit,
Morand, Kirkland, J. Bell, &c. relative to
the natural process of suppression, when
*he haemorrhage is from a divided artery ;
«nd then proceeds to relates his own expe-
liments, executed chiefly on horses and
2
dogs ; in all of which the state of the ves*
seLs ^as ascertained by dissection a short-
period after death. Our limits will only
admit of a brief account of the deductions
which the author made : for the experi-
ments, on which his inferences arc £;>dttd-*
ed, we must refer the reader to the work,
itself. The author shall speak ki his owa
words.
*' The results of the exi>erimenl8 related
in the last section'* (amounting to nineteen iu.
Dumber), *' vrili not allow us to give so con-
cise and simple an account of the prixress a»
lias hitherto been done ; but they atferd us
one more satisfactory, because it accords bet«.
t<^r witlk tlie operations of the animal cecononw,
in which we are accustomed to observe th«. '
most important changes gradually produce4
by the co-operation of several meaus ratherthau
by tlie sole inHuence of any one in. particular..
** They acccHdingly shew, that the blood,
the action, and even the structure of arteries,
their sheath^ and the cellular substance coo-
necting them with it; in short, that all the
parts concerned in or aiTected by haunorrhage,
contribute to arrest its &tal progress, by op^
rating, in the case of a divided artery of mo-
derate size^ in the following manner.
** An impetuous flow of blood, a sudden.
and forcible retraction of the artery within it^
slicath, and a slight contraction of its extrc
mity, are the unmediate and almost simulta-*
neous el!«?cts of its division. Tlie naturaH
impulse, however, with which the blood is
driven on, in some measure counteracts the.
retraction,, and resists the contraction oi the
artery. The; blood is elfused into the cellular .
substance hctwcuu the artery and its sheath^
and pis<ing through tliat caHiil of the sheatli
which bad been formed by the retraction of
the arter>-, flows frt*Hy exkenially, or is cx-
tnivasatecl into the surrbundini; cellular menn
brane, in pro[x>rtion to the open or confined
state of the external wound. These fihfes,
entangle the blood as its ik>ws, and thus tiie
foundation is laid for the formation of a coar'
gulum at the nioutli of the artery, and which
appears to be completed by the blood, as it
passes through llvis canal of the sheath, gra-
dually adhering and coa«^Uting around its
intenial surface, till it completely fills it up
from tlie circumference to the centre."
*; A coaguluui then, formed at the moutli
of the artery, aiid within its shrath, and whicii
1 have dlstui£5ui"?hed in tlie •.\pcrinKjnts by
the name of the external coagulom, pi-csents
114
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
the first complete barrier to the effusion of
blood. This coa^uluni, viewed externally,
s^pears like the continuation of tlie artery,
mit on cutting open the artery, its temimation
can be distinctly seen with the coaguluin
<»mpletelv shutting up its mouth, and inclo^
cd in its sheath.
*' The mouth of the artery being no longer .
pen'ious, nor a collateral branch very near *
It, the blood just witiiin it is at rest, coagu-
late.s, and forms, in general, a slender coni-
cal coagulum, which neither fills up the ca-
nal of the artery, nor atlhcres to its sides, ex-
cept by a smalf portion of the circuinfcrence
of its [lase, which lies near the extremit}' of
the Yessei. This coagulum is distinct from
tfie former, and 1 have called it the internal
ooagulum.
^* In Uie mean time the cut extremity of
the arter}' inHames, and the vasa vasoriun
pour out iVmph, which is prevented from
escaping by the extenial coagulimi. This
l]^m{>h 111 Is up the ext remit v of the artery, is
atuaf ed between the intenial and external coa-
gula of blood, is !tome\vhat intermingled with
them, or adheres to them, and is tiniuy united
all round to the internal coat of the artery.
• S' The pennanent suppression of theha^
Borrhage chieiiy depends on tliis coagulum
of lymph ; but while it is forming within, the
extremity of the artery is forther secured by
a gradual contraction which it undergoes,
ana by an effusion of lymph between its tu-
nics, and into the cellular membrane sur*
founding tt; in consequetKe of which these
piTts become thickened, and so completely
BioQtpttniied with each other, that it b impos-
sible to Hhtin§nish one from the other : thus
not only is the canal of the artery obliterated,
but its extremity also is completely efiaced,and
Mended with the surrounding parts.** p. 53.
The author proceeds to give a more par-
tkuLir accouDt of the different coagula
coucerued in the process, and concludes
thi.>% iuterestii^ section with a statement
of several obseryations, made on different
occasions, and with different views, by
eminent sui]geons and physiologic, and
'wbicli tend to support the doctnne just
given.
The enquiry instituted In chap. 11. re-
lates to the nneans which Nature employs
for the suppression of haemorrhage from
punctured ur partially divided arteries, and
to the process of repai-ation in those arte-
ile!?.
(3n this, as well as on the former part
of the subject, the author acknowledges
the obligations due to M. Petit for many,
and for the tirst accurate obsenatious,
which his experiments seem to have con-
firmed, especially so far as regards the
tomiK)rar}' means by which haemorrhage
i'roni puuctur^J or partially divided arte-
ries i:> stopped. \\'hen an artery is pimc-
tured, the haemorrhage which imrDediatdy
follows, by filling the space between tbe
artery and its sheath with blood, and con-
sequently distending the sheath, alten the
relative situation of the puncture in Ae
sheath to that in the artery, so that they
are not exactly opposite to each other;
and by that means a layer of blood is con-
fined by the sheath over the punaure in
the artery, and by coagulating there pre-
vents any further effusion of blood, p. 1 14.
The permanent suppression of the hx-
raorrhage, however, depends upon a pro-
cess of reparation or obliteration whidi
takes place in the wounded artery. '
It appears from the author's expcn-
ments, that an artery, if wounded only to
a moderate extent, IS capable of re-tmiling
and of healing so completely, that after t
certain time tlie cicatrization cannot be
discovered ; and that even oblique and
transverse wounds, when they do not open
the artery to a greater extent than one-
fourth of its circumference, are also filled
up and healed by an eftiision of coagilht-
ing lymph from their inflamed lips, so as
to occasion but little or no obstruction to
the canal of the artery. Several other
Important deductions are drawn, which
our limits will not permit us to notice.
We may obser\'e, howe\'er, with respect
fo the formation of aneurism or punctur-
ed arteries, that this ^sease does not ap-
pear to be readity produced in hovses and
dogs, on which the author's experiments
were made. From the process of repara-
tion which he has observed^ he is led to
infer that it is from the &iluie of this pro-
cess, by which the artery wcNild have been
united, that aneurism in these instances
arises, and that it is, in fact, one of the
most common effects of this failure. H«
believes that spurious aneurisms are ge-
nerally formed, either in consequence of
the lymph (which had been poured oat
for the re- union and filling up of the
wound) being torn through by the impe-
tus of the blood, soon after the wound of
the integuments had healed } or dse bj
the .blood striking againstj and gradoally
dilating into an aneurismal sac, the lymph
which had re-united the artery.
The deductions of this chapter are col-
lected from at least sixteen experiments,
which are related at length, together widi
the dissections.
Chapter III. relates to the operation of
the ligature i and the authors experi-
ments shew that " its inunediate efiect ii
to divide the middle and internal coals of
an artery, which gives rise to the adhesive
JOKBS'S TR81TISE OK 0IVIJ>BO ABTCSIES,
Sl»
ipflammation/* This £ict was first no-
ticed by Desault^ and the experiments of
Dr. Jones place the matter beyond all
doubt. If a ligature is tied tight round an
artery, and immediately removed, a large
quantity of coagulating lymph is poured
out from the division of die internal and
iniddle coats, and the artery soon becomes
completely impervious. We sh^U tran-
schlx; the first experiment.
*^ Aug. 6, 1803. A considerable portion
of the right carotid artery of a dqg was laid
bare, andi three ligatures were applied around
it, close to each other, so as to cover nearly
a quarter of an inch of the arter)'. The liga-
tures were drawn tijht enough to cut through
the internal and middle coats of the artery,
and then, by means of a piece of small twine,
which had been laid along the artery, and on
which the knots of the ligatures had been
made, were carefiijly removed^ so as not at
all to injure the artery. Dr. Farre, who as-
sisted me iu this experiment, and n^yseif then
observed the artery, until we were convinced
that the circulation through it was perfectly
restored ; and the only extraordinary appear-
ance which we observed on the artery, was
a slight impression made on its external siir-
face by the liffatures. The external wound
was then sewed up.
''August 9. The animal died this evening,
in consequence of profuse secondary hamorr-
hage from one of his femoral arteries, on which
an experiment had been performed.
" Dissection. On cutting away the na-
tures in the integuments covering the carotid,
we found a quantity of tliin pus in the woand,
extending down to the arter}% which however
was covered and surrounded by a very thick
layer of lymph, not only on thepart on which
the ligatures had been applied, but also about
an tttch belowy and an inch and a half above.
In proceedms to cut open the artery-, I only -
expected to find its middle and mternal coat
cicatrized, and its canal more or ; less com-
pletely pervious; but, to my great astonish-
ment, it was completely obstructed and filled
up with lymph, which not only adhered to>
but appeared to form one substance with, the
parietes of the artery. The lymph at each of
Its extremities appeared rather of a dark red
<x>lour, m consequence of the adhesion of
some red particles.'^
Tlie canal of the artery was not entirely
o)>structed in one or two otiier experi-
ments, in which only one ligature was
used. From this fact, ascertained in re-
gard to the arteries of brutes, Dr. Jones
has suggested some practical inferences, in
the form of queries, which bear every ap-
pearance of probable advantage and suc-
cess. He observes^ that
^ The laccfs of the late hnportant im-
provements which have been introduced in the
operation of aneurism, may perhaps appear
to most surgeons to have rendered that ope*
ration sufficiently simple and safe : but if it
be ixwsibie to produce obstruction in the ca-
nal of an artery of the human subject, in the
abovemcntioncd manner,mayit not be advanta- »
geously employed in the core of aneurbm > in-
asmuch as nothing need be done to prevent the
immediate union of the external wound. The
operation may then be considered merely as a
simple incised wound. May not this mode
of obstructing the passage of blood through,
the arteries be also used with advantage in
cases of bronchocele ? Iliere may be other
cases in which it may prove useful, but I shall
not dwell longer on what may appear to be
premature suggestions and quenes. — It is
enough for my present purpose to have point-
ed out the true principles on which tiie liga-
ture acts." p. 135.
The subject of Chap. TV. which is il-
lustrated by fourteen experiments, relates
to the process of adhesion, and the changes
which an artery finally undergoes, in con*
sequence of the application of the ligature
to the cut extremity of it, or of two liga-
tures, between which a complete division
is made. Th;s part of the subject is found-
ed altogether on the doctrine of the pre-
ceding chapter, and therefore will not
detain us. It is worthy of coiwiiteratioo
by the practical sargeaa.
The GOQcliading Chapter relates to '' the
improper form and application of the liga-
ture, as tending to produce secondary hae-
morrhage." The object of the ligature is
not only a temporary suppression of lix-
lnorrliage,but a permanent security against
its return. Now to obtain the speedy and
complete adhesion of its internal coats, tlie
ligature should be such, and so applied,
that the wound in these coats may aa
nearly resemble a simple incised wound
as possible. The ligature therefore, should
neither be broad and flat, nor irregular iu
its surface. Coagulating lymph appears
to be effused only at the points which are
cut: and the author believes, that if the
ligature does not completely cut thrdugh
internal and middle coats all round the ar-
tery, complete adliesion caimot take place
between its internal surfaces, and there-
fore secondary haemorrhage will take place
as soon as the ligature has ulcerated
tlirough any part of the artery, and that of
course it will become more frequent and
copious as the process pf ulceration ad-
vances. He recommends tlie ligature to'
be round and firm, and that it should be
tied tighter than is merely necessary to cut
through the inner caatsi of the artery >
9i0
MSDlCnCB AND SU&GEltr.
\Hthoat M17 iear as to its coming too
speedily away.
The plates aiford clear and distinct il-
lustrations of the different states of the
artories^ found in the difterent experiments
on dissection.
Upon the whole this experimental es-
say, if it do not bring much of absolute
novelty before us, will conduce at least
to render our ideas on the subject more
distinct and definite ; and will enstble us,
in a great measure, to estimate the value,.
and to discriminate die tmtb and &^ er«
rors, of the observations relative to the
subject, which are already on record ; and
thus to remove much confusioo and nn-
certainty which hung over it. Tbe expe-
riments appear to have t^een conducted
with caution and dexterity, and are rriated
with simplicity and apparent fidelity ^-^
they are sufficiently numerous to acknit of
a satisfaptory geneialization, and no de-
duction '}$ attempted to be infecred which
the &cts do not obviously warrant.
Art. XIII. — Annals qf Medicine,for the Years 1 803-4. Exhibiting a concise flevs of ike
itUestand most important Discoveries iti Afedicine and Medical PHloMOphu, B^ Am-.
DAEw Duncan, senior, Af, D. and Andrew Duncan, junior, M. D. FetUms qf tb?
B^yai College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Vol. 3 — Lustrum 3. 8vo. pp. 550.
IN a dedication addressed, *' to the
readers of the Annals of ^edicinc,"
written by Dr. Duncan senior, we are
hiformed that he has resolved to close his
periodical labours. We cannot but feel
regret at taking leave of an author, who
has presented to the public an annual vo-
hime for 28 successive }^ears ; but we are
happy to find that he still proposes to take
an active share in the conduct of a new
work, which is perhaps already familiar to
many of our readers, *' the Edinburgh
Medical and Surgical Journal.**
The volume before us consists, as usual,
of an analysis of books, original essays;
and articles of medical news. The first
section, the analysis of medical books,
which occupies above half the volume, we
ahall pass over with merely remarking,
that the most interesting articles are those
in which the opinion latterly stated by M.
Seguin, respecting the febrifuge principle
of cinch<»ia, is examined and refuted.
We must indeed express our astonishment
that such an hypothesis should be pro-
posed by a man so distinguished for scien-
tific research.
The original communications com-
mence with a valuable essay written by
Dr. Kellie, entitled, " Observations and
Experiments on the Electricity of Ani-
Sttds.'* Galvani himself^ in the early
part of his researches, discovered that
oontractions might be excited in the
muscles of a frog, without the interven-
tion of metals or other foreign sub:>tances,
merely by bringing different parts of the
body into contact } experiments of a si-
milar kind were attemvards performed by
Humboldt* and more lately were repeat-
ed and extended by Aldinl. These ex-
periments prove that tlie matter, what-
erer it be, which produces contractions,
most reside in the animal itself, and th^t
they must therefore be considered as en^.
tirely distinct from, those ^>eniHoQs in
which the electric fiuid, genefBted by
means of the pile or the trough, ia passed
through a limb, and thus excities it to ac-
tion. It was to this class of phenooaear
that our author particularly directed his
attention, and he has accordin^y piteaent*
ed us >vith a train of well-conducted aad
sufficiently diversified eacperinaents, da the.
contractions produced by bringing into-
contact the nerves and muscles of tlie ssane
animal under different circanistaiioes«
The experiments are detailed in a perspi*
cuous manner, and am^e directi^ms are
given to those who naay be desirous of
repeating them. To analyze all the ex-
periments would carry us beyond our
usual limits, but we shall present oar read-
ers with the consequ^M:es that aie de-
duced from them, whidi are highly in-
teresting, and wldch, we may add^tbe
experiments fully authorize.
'* In general^ we may conclude from these
eseperimeiits :
" 1. That the musdes of tlie extremife
of prepared froos, are convulsed when bioi^it
to totich their denuded nerves
'* 2. That they are also, aud often more
powerftilly, convulsed, when the circle be*
tween the muscles and the ner\'t^ is complet-
ed by other animal conductors. But, u an
isolaun]; substance be interposed, no mi»ciilar
contraction can be product^L
** 3. lliat the substances employed to dose
the circle, do not excite cootractkxis in the
ratio of their conducting powen.
*f 4. That coavubkms take plaee only bt
those parts whose nerves aie toodMc^'ai-
thougb other eycitahle parts enler into the*
circle. '
" 5. That the prqianitioa of tbe aaona^
ab^olutdy necessary for the success of these
cxperiuieats, coostaibi in woliting the detvc^
so xhAi ooeUier conducting substance be caB->
DtNCAN'fl ANKALS OF MSDICINB.
817
tiimed from them to the parts in which they
teruiioate.
*' 6. That the nerves are imperfect con-
ductors. ^
•' 7. That when the nerves are tied, no
convuhion can be excited by completing the
circle with the nerve above the li^ture.
*' 8. The matter put in motion> and pro-
ducing muscular contraction in these experi-
ments, bears every resembUnce to the elec-
tric fluid. For it is conveyed by water, the
bodies of animals, the metals, &c., and is ar-
rested by glass and sealing-wax. It passess
rapidly through the bodies of animals. It
excilel convulsions, which, however, cease
wlieti the parts are kept steadilv in contact,
L e. when an equilibrium is produced.
'* 9. By the preparation of the frog, this
matter is accumulated in the nervous system,
and is put m motion when the circle i^ form-
ed, by the immediate contact of the muscles
and nerves, or by couducting substancos m-
terposed between these, or between muscular
parts connected by the nerves only.
** 10. That the miatter thus put in motion,
produces contractions only when it passes to
the muscles through the nerves.
*' 11. That the iluid thus put in nK)tion^
acts as a stimulus to the nervous cnerg}-.
•* 1 2. But it cannot he the nervous energy
itself: 1. because no accumulation can take
place in the living entire body, the nerves be-
ing every where surrounded by conducting
fluids aiid sohds. While, for tne success of
these experiments, it is absolutely necessary
that the nerve be isolated ; no contractions
can be produced, even in the prepared animal,
when unmersed under water, or when the
nerves are . surr omided by any good con-
ducting medium. — 2. Beiause the nervous
power is excited by chen ileal, or by mecha-
nical stimuli : and, on the other hand, is de-
stroyed by opium, and other poisons, which
cannot he imagined to act on the electrical
ttuid."
The paper concludes with some ob-
servations upon die theories proposed by
Iliunboldt and De la Metlierie j the for-
mer of whom supposed that tlie galvanic
fluid was secreted in the brain, and car-
ried by the nerves to the muscles ; tlie
latter, that the galvanic fluid is itself the
vital principle. To both these hypotheses
Dr. Keilie opposed objections which we
think decidedly prove their futility ; but
we forbear to enlarge upon the subject,
as we apprehend therp are few persons in
this country who are disposed to attach
any credit to them.
The second paper contains' *' the history
of a singular aiiection of the right leg, ac-
companied with symptomatic epilepsy,
which was cured iu the Royal X^^tiruia^
of Edinburgh by the use of galvaaism/*
The case, which proceeds fiom the pen
Amv. il£v» Voi». IV.
of Dr. Duncan fienior, is detailed at full
length, and certainly deser\'es attention.
An injury appears to have been received
by the nerves of the leg, in consequence
t)f which, not only the fiinctions of the
part were materially decayed, but fre-
Suent epileptic fits were induced. Tlie
isease wa» entirely removed: and it may
be fairly assumed that the ciire was ef-
fected by the application of the galvanic
influence. A certain degree of uncer-
tainty always attaches to cases of tliis de-
scription, where the nervous system is the
principal seat of disease. The almokt
unlimited power which the imagination
possesses over such aflections, should. In
every instance, induce us to be extremely
cautious in our conclusions respecting the
physical effects of remedies ; the cures
performed by Dr. Haygarth, with his fic-
titious tractors, were even more decisive
tiian that now under consideration. We
would not, by this observation, be thought
to insinuate any tiling unfavourable to the
judgment or candour of Dr. Dtmcanj we
think indeed that the case, evidently de-
pending upon a local cause, was one in
which the application of the electric fluid
was especially indicated, ahd we are de-
cidedly of opinion that diis agent may be
applied witi) the most effect as extricated
firom the galvanic apparatus.
We are next presented with an account
of tluree cases of hydrocephalus chronicus,
by .Dr. Mimro junior : the first is very ac-
curately described, and is accompanied by
an engraving. It has been observed tliat
tlie subjects of this complaint have fre-
quently come into the world with diffi-
culty, and It has been questioned whether
the severity of the labour should be con-
sidered as the cause or tlie cflect of the
disease} we agree with the author in
thinking the latter supposition the more
probable. The phaenomena of this com-
plaint may throw some light upon a poiiit
which has been much agitated by physio^
logists, whether the brain is to be con-
sidered as moulding and fashioning the
skull, or whether the skull limits the form
and size of tlie brain. We may infer,
irom such cases as those before us, that
the figure and size of the skull is depen-
dant u[^n that of the brain -, and that, to
its power of yielding to tlie pressure of
the internal parts, may be attributed tlie
longer duration and comparative mildness
of the symptoms, when the disease takes
place in those subjects, where the different
lines which compose the skull ai*e not yet
firmlv united (ogetJ^er. The paper cuo>
3 G
819
ItEbieiNE AND SUBGEinr.
eludes with .some obsen^ations npon the
change of sfiaixj which the head exjie-
riences in the cl liferent stages of tlie com-
plaint, and on the progress of fhe ossihca-
cation. Dr. Monro 'junior hus, in ano-
ther paper, given iis a minute account of
the appearances cKliibitcd in a subject
who died of diabetes. Tlie prhicipal cir-
cumstances in which the body (fiffered
ironi its usual state were, that the fat was
'much altered in its appearance and tex-
■ ture, the lyuiphatic glnmls were enlarged,
and tlie kidneys litewiije were of a larger
size and more vasculiu* than in their na*
lural state.
We have three papers on the influenza
which prevailed so generally in tlie spring
of 1S03, the first by Ih. Carrick of Bris-
tol, the .^ocnnd by Dr. Scott of the Isle of
Man, the third by Dr. Duncan himself.
With respect to the question, whether the
disease was propagated by contagion. Dr.
Carrick declines giving a positive opinion,
tv'liile Dr. Scott and Dr. Duncan do not
hesitate to decide in tlie affirmative. Wc
are strongly inclined to adopt this opinion j
tlie progressive spread of the complaint
we consider as a circurastance which- arf-
fbrds a powerful argument for its conta-
gious nature. Dr. Carrick, though he
acknowledges that in its commencement
fhe influenza exhibited signs of consider-
able debility, conceives that in the sub-
•equent stnges tlie patients bore bleeding
as well as hi oChcr inflammatory com-
plaints. Dr. Scott, on tlie contrary,
Thntr^h be oftcA derived advantage from
'bleeding, tbtsnd it necessary to exercise a
'greater ilegree of caution in theiwe of the
knoet. From tlie statement cf Dr. Dnn-
* can, the disease seems to have produced
less mortality m Edinburgh than in many
•other parts of the kingdora; iw m low-
land, though few persons died from tW
direct eflects of the complaint,, yet it cer-
tainly hastened the deaihb of many who
were debfiitated by age or preiioos dis-
ease, i
Ammig the artieles of mediealoevs we
ha\'e an account of tbe report iMde bf
the committee appointed to inquire iml>
the merits of Dr. Carmichacl Smyth*
petition, tliat a reward ghould be gran ted
him by parliaraent, for the discovery of
the nitrous ftimigatioik. On t^it potoit
w« are sorry to be obliged to diier ii
opinion finoro tbe editors of this fdone,
wha appear to be fvkXYy sati-iied with tk
justice of the doctor's claim. We fam
always regarded it, we confess, as a gro»
misapplication of the public money.
That Dr. Sm} ih has merit in trying the
exix^riment upon, a larger scale, mi id
bringing it mere ftuijr into notice, we
readily allow ; but we can give im &»
credit for the invention. The adnntage
of acid ftmnigations had been tkarly
stated by others, and as %o the subsHtotioo
of one process for another, we think its
petty consideration. It is very hr fimm
being ascertained that the one which Dr.
Smyth has adopted is after ail tbe test,
and it is ckar ^oni his own ezpreBsiau,
thnt be was snistakea a» to the natnre d
the operations. But i»e wiH plsce die
question upon a broader hsm^, and TeDtme
to as'sen, that the plao of bestowii^ p«>
cuniary rewards upon every person who
eitlier has, or can make others belicft
that he has, made any seientiiicdiscoirefj,
will prove rainoos to the interests of tntt
philosophy, by debasing rh« digmied
feelings of those engaged in thepursoitof
knowledge.
* Art. 'WYj—A System qf Arrangement and Disrtplfmr,finr the McdScn} D^tadmnd of i^
' ^lies. . Btj Robert Jacksonp, jl/. Z)^ »vo. pp. 460.
IN a work gi( Dr. Jackson's, reviewed
ki our second volume, several circum-
. stances respecting the medical department
of the British army were pointed out, which
teemed to call for correction ; in tbe pr»^
sent performance the anb^ect is discussed
more at large, and while the defects are
very forcibly brought into ptrbMc view, the
author proposes a system by which hecoi>-
•ceives' they may be remedied. He com-
mences by a dedication to the medical
•oiiicers of the army, in which, while he
"dwells ir^on the peculiar advantages they
.p«ss(:^ss tor improving \h& science <rfmedi-
•«ine, 1^ endea\oui::s to m«>k« tliem sen-
sible of tke importance of tbe legalatkas
which he is anxious to see adopted, la a
preface which ^iows he Inriedyr ^
strongly, points out tEe de^tive arrange-
ments of tbe present system. The conse-
-quence of kudi a state of thmgs mu^t bea
want of economy in the expenditure ot
the-public money, and oar author issv
confident on this headyastohave addrecsoi
abetter to the ministeaF, setting ibrth^
" That two-tinrds of themeans prowW
fbr the uses of the army empfoyed on Ibi^
service, especially dunog Oie course of tht
4ate war, was positively supedioou^ as 4K-
%
JACKSQK S MJUQICAL J:>BPA.&Ttf9KT .07 ABMI20«
819
. cecdinj the just wants of the occasions,— the
proofs incontrovertible."
As no answer was ever reUirned to tliis
letter. Dr. Jackson conceived himself oblig-
ed to communicate his ideas to tlie public,
and accordingly the present work made
its appearance. We think the publication
requires no apology; if it did, the one
mentioned above is no doubt amply sufE*
cient.
The work is divided into five chapters,
under the following titles : " Constitution
of a medical staff, construction and equip-
ment of hospitals, medical management,
economical adroinistradon, and recapitu-
.fetion.*' To the ,first .four chapters are
subjoined copious notes, containing illus-
trations or proofs of the positious advanced
in the body of the work. In Dr. Jack-
son's former publication he was led to la-
ment the change which had been intro-
duced by the medical board instituted in
17fl3, by which the regimental surgeons
are excluded from the prospect of ever
arriving at the most honpurable posts,
while thesie are occupied by a description
of men (graduates of the JSuglish univer-
sities^ or licentiates of the London college)
who, from the nature of tlxeir previous
education, cannot be supposed to possess
the.kind^^ktiowledge requisite for tlieir
sitoatioQ. The character of the regimental
curgeon, upon whom the main respousi-
bili^ devdves, is thus degraded in the
.puWc estimation, and. tliere is up longer
that stgwt of emulation excited which is
tiecesssBTv to call forth. the complete ener-
gies of the mind.
The authpr insists with much earnest-
ness, and, we think, with much force^of
aigumeat, upon the superior advautages
which regimenlal hospitals possess over
' .general hospitals. U is asserted to be
m matter of fact, that in the hitter the
mortality is g^atar,'and also the length of
time greater during which the individual
.cases remain m the wards. It is not diffi-
cult to account for this circumstance ; in
.the regimental hospitals tlie assistance is
^aifor4^ immediately upon the commence-
.iUent of tlie disease, whereas some time,
a /day or more, is occupied in thexemoval
,to Che general hospital, and perhaps ano-
ther <tay may elapse before the physician
:pay6 his accustomed visit. The sick are
separated from the'u- friends, and placed
uoder the care of strangers to whom they
had ^o previous attachment ;,aod in spite
cf.all the cane that can he taken, there is
danger lest thenumber of persons crow.died
Jli!g,e.t^r d^ould injvice. the quality of t^e
air, and thus produce, a state of .di^se
niore alarming than that which was brought
to be cured. Tlie events which toolc pSce
in the British army on the continent, dhr*
iug its disastrous canipaign in 1794 and
1795, strongly 'corroborate these i'deisj
for it appears that those regiments whjch
contrivea to carry tjicir sick with them in
hired waggons, iiotwitlistanding all tlie
obstacles which tliey had *to' endounfer,
suffered less tlian those where the* sick
were deposited in hospitals. • - -
Assuming it a poitit sufficiently estab-
lished that medical aid is most emcacious
when applied regimentatlg, the author pro-
ceeds to form an estimate of the number
of medical officers that wilt be necessary :
he conceives that seven will be sufficient
for a brigadp of 3000 men, and in tlie sain*
proportion 231 for 100,000 men. '
" Tlie allowed medical staff, consisting of
231 surgeoiis and assistant surgeons,' is confi-
dently maintained to be equal to the medical
care of the number of. troops stated, where
hospitals are well arranged, stations p.erl)ia-
nent, and quarters iLsed'^iii a peaceable cpuu-
try."
Supposing that one-tenth part of \h6
whole number was sick, each medical nian
would have no more than 43 patients. ^ If
this estimate be at all near the truths it
will appear from our author s st$ten)ent
that the number pf medical oifflcers ap-
pointed in tlie different expeditions under-
taken in the late war was consiideribly
too large. He particularly instances tlio
expedi lions to the Cai>e of Good tjope
and the West Indies in 17^5, >Vhere the
medical men were so numerous, that if
every individual in the regiment had b^n
sick at the same tini»e> there would "have
been a sufficiency of attendance. Such 'an
excess is not merely useless, it proves ab-
solutely injurious to the senice.
After having laid down such a.pl^n for
a medical establishment as may most.ef^
fectually provide for the health of the
troop8> Dr. Jackson proceeds to proppse
tlvit the medical officers should be trained
up according to a regular system of pro«
lessional education. For this purpose he
proposes that a military hospital be form*
ed, in which, the medical business of the
arn^y should fbrpi. the cliief object of in-
struction. After passing a ceitain length
of time in tlie hbspitnl, the student may
become an assistant surgeon, and may af-
terwards be left to rise through the diifer-
ent gradtitions pf surgeon of battalion, and
surge9n of biijadc, uuto the higliCbt me-
B26
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
dical stations, satisfactory testimonials slM
examinations being interposed between
Cack step in the course of his preferment.'
A reguUr system of promotion we think
extremely desirable j and the advantage of
some plan by which every person, before
he andeitakes the care of the health of
the noilitaryy should have been necessarily
obliged to make himself acquainted with
the specific duties of bis office, is incon-
trovertible; it is much to be lamented that
the system at present adapted is so widely
dissimilar. We are not, liowcver, so clear
respecting the advantages of the military •
hospital. We differ much from Dr. Jack-
•iion as to the probable benefit that would
be experienced, were all medical men to
^iter upon their profession with a set of
uniform principles, derived from the same
preceptor : we are of opinion that the sci- *
ence of medicine in general, and conse-
quently each individual department of it,
13 much more benefited by that variety of
doctrines whicli are imbibed at the dif-
ferent public schools, and inculcated by
the varioiis private teachers. Dr. Jackson
complains that
"The principles oC the medical art, as
taught in the dlRerent school^ in Britain, are
not yet fixed upon a general and stable ba5is;
consequently, medical opinions fluctuate and
change capriciously according to fashions of
time or place.'*
Hiis is true, and is to be lamented ; but
the evil is not to be cured in the way re-
commended by our author, by authoriur
tively imposing an universal standard of
medical faith. Who is to assure ns tiiat
the lawgivers tlieniselvbs are exempt from'
error } If principles cannot acquire a pre-
ference in public opinion, in consetjuence
of their uitrinsic merit, we should be pro-
moting the cause of error by employing
any arbitrary method of sanctioning them.
The cliaptcr concludv^with son:e strictures-
upon the constitution of tlie present army
medical board, some Ve marks upon the*
regimental rank of the medical officers,
upon their pay, and upon the l)est forms
of medical discipline, particularly a regu-
lar and strict examination of the troops.
The scccnd chapter is on the construc-
tion of hospitals, a subject which has,-
niore particularly of late years, formed a
frequent subject of dis.-ussion. Tbedi-*
roctions that are la:d do vn by oor author •
are very minute : his dpinions appear, for
tiic moU p?rt, judicious, and his sngges--
t'ons practiatble. There are hideed some
minute particulars in which we do not
coincide with him 5 he advises that the
walls should be *' hi^y polished, painted,
and even varnished, in such manner that
they may be washed with soap and water
as often as is necessary, and thereby j&^
of all adhering matters of contagifMu" AVf
think frequent white-washing, which ma?
be employed so easily and with so link
expence, i^ at least as useful, if not prefer-
able to any other covering. We beanilj
concur in tlie importance which Dr. Jack-
son attaches to ventiJatiofi ; but we doobt
wlietlier he is correct in his idea that the
foul air is more particularly apt to lodge
at the bottom of the room, and that it is
therefore necessary to have windows leadi-
ing down to the floor. "Windows of this
description are, on some accounts, incoo-
venient, and we conceive that the lowest
stratum of air will be sufficiently diargpd
by rhe occasional opening of the doorj
ajxirtures tm a level with the floor may,
however, be easily formed, if it be diought
necessary, either communicating with the
outside of the building, or with the inter-
nal passages. After all, die most iroponam
point in the construction of hospitals is to
prevent the sick from being crowded into
too small a compass ; an evil which no
precautions of ventilation * or ckanliiiess
can completely counteract.
In the notes to this chapter the andkv
gives an account of the different militai}'
hospitals that have been established in th»
country since the year 1/93, when the
new system of management was adopted;
it appears that some are already abandon-
ed, sisid that none of them altogether fidi'
the purpose for \^-htch they were erected.
The facts are in tbemsehes valuable, an)
tend to confirm the opiriion maintained
above, respecting fbe inulHity of genAa)
military hospitals.
The tliird chapter- is on the medica!
management of the sick in hospitals,
llie first object to ^hich the author directs
our attention is, the ckissi6ciitioa of the
patients jKXording to tlie nature of their
diseases. Tliis lei«Ls him %a make some
r^mnrki upon tlie origin of disease ia gene-
ral, find the mode ot' its production, io
which we observe tliat singular turn d
language and -idea which we noticed iotbe
pathologfcal part of Dr. Jackson's fonDCi
public ition. Instead of stating in afev
words, that in some diseases morbid ex-
halations are produced, whidi have the
power of communicating a similar ^sea^e
to others, a troth which no one wmdd ft<
tempt to controvert^ we have a disquist-
tion concerning diseased actions and tiieir
mode of propagationj whiqb^ tbongii doth-
jaciwson'3 medical oepartmekt of armim.
621
*d in new, and not always very intelligible
language, does not appear to us to convey
any new ideas upoH tlie subject. ' We in-
deed afterwards meet witii some novel
opiflions< line author admits th^ exist-
ence of a peculiar kind of fever, which is
endemic, but not contagious ; it is not,
however, characterised in so decided a
ninnner as to enable us to ascertain pre-'
cisely to what set of morbid phenomena
he refers. It is also stated that the fever
"which is generated by crowded and ill-ven-
tilated apartments, though ibr the most
part easily cognizable, sometimes takes
an unusual appearance
'" It sometimes assumes the mask of dysen-
tery or diarrhoea ; sometimes it appears under
tJie form pneumony ; it even miuiifests itself
iu scahby eruptions resembling leprosy ; and
it frequently commits ravages as an ulcerating
process, or peculiar form of sore leg. These
appearances are obviously ditlerentm aspect;
yet tlic cause which produces them is ulti-
iiiately one, and intimately connected with
the contagion which brings forth, at other
times and under other circumstances, a dis-
eased movement of distinct febrile form.''
"VVe need not point out to our intelligent
readers how widely these doctrines difter
from those usually embraced. We haVe
not been in the habit of considering either
diarrhcea or pneuaK>nia as contagious, nor
regarding any. of the diseases here enume-
rated as depending upon the usual febrile
infection.
1^ author points out at sotpe length
the advantages of having patients classed
according to the period of their diseases;
when tliey are thus arranged, the physician
can prescribe for them with more ease^
and it is conceived that their removal into
convalescent wards must have a cheering
etiect upon their spirits, and consequently a
ilivourable influence upon their complaints.
From a similaf motive he recommends,
that those suHering severe pain, or at the
point of death, - should be kept as much
as possible from the view of the other pa*
tlcnts.
We are nejLt presented >K^ith some re-
ntiarks upon a method to be adopted with
patients upon their reception into the hos-
pitalj bleeding, with aview of cutting short
the diseases, is we think much too indis*
cximinately reconomendedj but we agree
wiih the auth<x; in thinking that ablutions
of all kinds cannot be. too attentively prac-
tiati. He strongly insists upon the pro-
priety of keeping accurate registers of tho
diseases, ^ith an account of the remedies^
the principal changes that occur, and the
final result. We meet with some va3n^
ble suggestions respecting the situation and
duties of surgeons during the time of ac^ -
tiou« reaiarks upon the d^ipline and cqn-
. duct of nurses, of the method of procuring
medicinesy and estimates of the nedbssary
expenditure for these articles, with an ac-
count of their present cost, "from which it
would appear that the sum usually devot*
ed to this object is prodigiously greater
than what is necessary. Ine minutenesa
of the deta'ds into which the author enters^
renders it impossible for us to give an ade^
quate idea of this part of the work, but we
must remark that the minuteness of ihp
deta'ds considerably enhances Its value.
The fourth chapter, in' lik^ manner,
consists principally of minute detaib. It
commences by giving an account of the
number of servants of all descriptions
which are necessary in a hospital establish-*
ment, and also points put the uselessness
of some that are at present admitted into
them. We have afterwards a number of
observatioas upon diet, and a plan'pro*
posed, by which the duties of the purveyor
may be much facilitated. Instead of the
plan of checking the hospital accounts,
which is at present adopted for the bur*
pose of ensuring their accuracy, but which
is proved to 1^ very inadequate to the
end, it is proposed that tlie necessary arti«
cles should be furnished by a stoppage
from the soldiers* pay during their sick-
xtess, and that the accounts should at all
times be open for general inspection.
, The subjects discussed iu tliis volume
are in themselves of the highest import-
ance, and the manner in which they are
treated is such as to convey an irresistible
idea of the ability- and patriotism of the
author. It is a work which concerns not
only the physician but the statesman, and
while -it illustmtes medical science, cou*
veys the most important lessons on politi*
cal economy. The ardour of Dr. Jackson's
mind may have occasionally led him to
exaggerate facts or over-rate calculations;
but we have no doubt that his representa-
tions are true in the main, and we totally
acquit him of the intention to mislead.
From the quotations which we have given
our readers will observe that the style is
of a somewhat sin^ilar cast $ it is, however, •
forcible and impre^sive^ and for the mosjt
part perspicuous.
822
MEDICINE AND SUBGERY.
AtLT.XV.^Proceedings.of the Board qf Health at Manchester. »to. pp. 263.
•THE attention of the medical world
h^ of late been particularly directed to
the subjt^t of febrile contagion ; the laws
of its propagation have been assiduously
iiiVestigafed, and the means of its prevt?o*-
tion anxiously inquired uito. The town
of Manchester, partly depending upon
local causes, and partly owing to the pecu-
liar nature of its manufactures, has been
ahvays remarlcably subject to the attacks
of a contagious fever; and this disease had
spread' to *so wide an extent; both in 'the
town and neighbourhood, that in the be-
rfnning of the year 1796* the subject at-
tracfed general notice, and a committee
was fonhed of some of the most respect-
able inhabitants, to- inquire into the best
Jneans nf arresting its' progress, under the
title of the board ot health. They attempt-
ed ta accomplish the object of their asso-
ciation, by enforcing the necessity of ven-
tilation and -cleanliness in the dwellings
of the poor, aiicf in the buildings where
persons were assembled together in great
immbers; for the purpose of carrying on
tlic different mano&ctures ; bnt above all
they strongly recommended, as paramount
to ever)' other cotisideration, the necessity
of having some place into which those in-
ftcted.with fever might be received, so as
fb ensure to the patient the requisite ac-
coliSrriodations,' whils his removal pre-
vented the communication of tJie disease
to the 6ihcT members of the family. Some
valuable letters, recommending this plan,
wre addressed to the board from several
meri of die first eminence in the profession,
among others from Dr. Percival, Dr. Fef-
riar and the other physicians of Man-
chester, Dr. Perceval of Dublin, Dr. Hay-
«rth. Dr. Carmichael Smylli, and Dr.
vurne of Liverpool. They all tended to
Ane important .conclusion ; that altliough
nothing could exceed the virulence of ty-
phous contagion, while permitted to ad-
cumulate in close and crowded dwellings,
jet that it was disarmed of almbst all its
fatality, when tlie patients were removed
io clean and ^'ell-^ired apartments. This
opinion is now almost universally acqui-
esced in, and we believe that the commn-
liications contained in this voliime/ and
the measures adopted by the M^rnchester
t>oaxd for giving them pabBcity> were
among the principal means of its gerieial
dilTusion.
In pursuance of this s)-stem the board
began by opening wards for the receptioo
of lever patients, and after some time en-
larged their plan so far, as to propose that
a building of considerable extent shoukl
be erected for this purpose, under the title
of the house of recovery. Hie proposal
appears to have been seconded with much
zeal by a large and respectable portion oi
the inhabitants of Manchester, but unfor-
tunately there were not wanting others
who as earnestly opposed its establish-
ment. We shall not scrdlinixe veryac-
carately tlie motives by which the oppo-
nents were guided j tlie ostensible one was
an apprehension lest the bringing together
a number of persons labouring under fe-
ver, should operate as a means of increas-
ing the violence of the contagion, and
dilHising it through the neigbboaihood.
lliis was the ostensible motive; but it
must be confessed, that in the progress of
the contest, measures were adopted by the
opponents, which seemed to indicate thnt
they were influenced by other feelii^
than those of humanity. We cannot pass
without -notice a threat which wds thrown
out by a titkd land-owner, that if the
house of recovery were erected upon the
plan proposed, he would so dispose of his
property, as almost entirely f o destroy the
utility of the present infirmary. The op-
position was, however, at length silenced,
and the volume concludes with a set of
regulations which were drawn up 10
August 18()4, for the government of die
house, previous to its being opetxed for the
reception of patients.
The work befofe us must not be con^
sidered as an object of literary criticism,
and the nature of its contents does notad-
riiit of our giving a regular analy^ of
them. We shall, however, venture to
assert, that any one who is desirous of
beinj informed how he may effectually
benefit the poorer classes of society, and
particnlarly how he may remm-e front
tliem a considerable portion of the eril
which they suffer from bodily disease',
will find himself aro|^ repaid by its f&-
rosal. ...
«ICH^n'*S OBtMIVATIONS CON-CERNING SEA.-BATHING1
£23
JUtT. XVL — Practical Obsertations conternin^ Sea-Bathing. To «:/«>/» are added, Re*
marks on the Use (^'the fFarm iiatL Mtj A.l\ Bughan, M. D. qf tfie R9y4 Colli^ge </
. FhjticiuHs^ London^ %\o, pp. £1^0.
WHEN jpersons advance to a certain
«tage of refeneraent, one of their most
seriorw occupations becomes that of taking
<'are of their health : their delicacy of con-
stitution renders them obnoxious to a
«iimbcr of real evih j and what is worse
than these, tliey are harassed by a train
^f fancied ills, the never-failing attendai^ifs
t!p9n indolence and luxury. A change of
residence is one of the most usual memods
resorted to, for the purpose -of counter-
acting those sensations of ennui which so
frequently dssail this description of in\"a-
lidsj and of late years the custoin has
been adopted of directing their periodical
-excursions to the sea-side. Though these
niigratioas must, for the naost pcirty-be at-
tributed to the influence of fashion, and
irtre frequently carried to a ridiculous ex-
cess, yet, upoi-i tho whole, it must be ac-
knowledged tliat the custom is salutary,
at least it ought to be regarded as one of
the most isnnocent species of dissipation.
At all events, considering how extensively
it is practised, we think the author of this
voharae merits the thanks of the public
for having uhdertaien to lay dowa in a
popular manner some directions for sea-
bathing, and the precautions necessary to
be observed respecting its use. It is at
present had recourse to so indiscrimi-
flately, that it must, in many cases, grove
prejudicial 5 no one can doubt of its fre-
<iuently pwA'ing <ii the highest utility;
but whatever is capable of doing much
gbod, may, if improperly applied, do
xpuch harm.
The work is divided InXo two parts c ia
the first tlie effects of sea-bathing upon
the general health are considered, and in
tke second its efl^ects in th& cure of spe-
ctre diseases. The author begins by de-
scribing the 'changes produced in the
«ystem by suddenly plunging into cold
water^ a&d afierwards those which ensue
by remaining immersed in it for a greater
Ic^ngth of time. The respiration is found
to be more laborious, a circumstance
which is attribuued to the weight of the
water prtfssiog upon the thorax, while the
convulsive panting is thought to depend
upon the cold being applied to the region
of the diaphragm while the body is in the
«tate of half-inunernon. Vft cannot,
i)owever, altogether coincide in this last
4ppinion ; we believe the same kind of
];>jiDting 4)cgur8^ whep Uie kgs and thi^l^
onJy are suddenly iBamersel ioicold water,
or if it be thrown over the body from a-
bucket or the sliower-bath. The effect
produced upon the pulse seems not to b&
accurately oscertained; Dr. Currie has
found it to be accelerated, but tlie con*
trar}'jefl;ect has been noticed by our author^
as well as by some other experimentalists.
Tlie fact may probably dili'er in di liferent
cons t i tut ions. It is weSl known that af tec
lea\ing the water, an agreeable glow in
generally diffused over the suiface 5 thiS'
Is attended with a sensatioa of heat, but
according to tlie observation of Dr. Bwhan,,
the absolute heat of tlie^body is not raised.
The sensa,tio« is attributed to the body
becoming more sensible to the accastomei
warmth of tlie acroos^^iere, after having
been kc\il for soine time at a lower tem-,
pemfture, in tlie same manner as the hands^
after being plunged in snow, wili be
warmed by washing thesm in water only
a few degrees above the freezing point.
The energy which is thus produced by a
temporary abjytraction -of the accustomcti
strniuii, if not pushed to too grciit an ex-
tent, is found to increase the permanent
%igour of the "Constitution ^ and upon thi^
principle may tlie ben^cial effects of the
cold bath be, in part at Jeast, explained.
The great -evil of the British cliibate \%
the variableness oi its tempeiaiGure, and it
•bcawiies of course desirable to employ
every means to inure the body to the.so
changes. The exces^ve care which is.
taken by persons in tiie higher ranks, to
isxclude the access of cold, only tends to
make tkem more apt to suffer fixmi its
effects upon those accidental expt)sures to
it, from wliich no c&utioci can e^ectually
ensure them.
•* Tlie modem refincmefrt of constructing
houses so as, by ni«uis of double doors ana
M'uulows, almost wholly to exclude the ex-
ternal air; the thk:k covering which wn
s|jrtnid upon the floors of our cliamhcrs ; and
tbc healing of them by close »Unes, with
narrow chimneys ; are in direct opposition to
the doctrine I am now endeavouring to incul-
cate. But is disease less frequent ? J t cat ai rii
qiore rare, or consumpiion less &ttal ? In vaiu'
do tlie deiicate accuuiukite defences against
the vicissitudes ai external temperature*
ITjQSii who never tread but on carpets, and
take every precaution to prevait the breath
of Ijeavtiii trom blowing on them, are more
liable to be disordered by the impression of
culd^than the laborious peasant, or the 8e»-
82-1
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
man daily exposed to the rage of stonns and
tempests. Hie o;ca^ii)nal use of the cold
bath, by iiinriiiiy the body to u wider range of
tumperature, tcuds to diminLsh the danger of
those sudden transitions from heat to cold,
and the contrary ; which, in the coiiunon
tenor of life, it is impossible wholly to avoid.
After Jiavina; bathed in the sea during a few
M'eeks in autninu, I have observed, with re-
spect to myself, as well as in many other in-
stances, that persons prone to catarriial afTec-
tions arc much less susceptible of them during
tlie ensuing winter. One general effect of
the cold bath being unquestionably to induce
a degree of what in common language is de-
nominated hardiness, and which may be de-
fined, that state of the linng s^-steni which is
lea<(t liable to be affected by disagreeable im*
pressions,"
Oar author afterwards notices tlie be-
neficial effects which the use of cold bath-
ing appears to have over the state of ihe
perspiration. If the body be uniformly
Kept in a high temperature, the slightest
diminution of the heat will cause the per-
spiration to be impeded, and will bruig on
that train of complaints that are usually
conceived to arise from this cause j whereas,
by iuiiring the skin to a lower tcmpcra-
tiu'e, we\:come, in the manner explained
above, less apt to suffer from those neces-
sary exposures to cold whtth must occur
in our climate. Upon this principle the
indiscriniinate use of fiaunel, as worn next
tlie body, is condemned, perhaps with
some justice, though it is a practice to
ivhich, in many instances, we feel much
attached.
We have next some directions respect-
ing tlie time and manner of bathing ; tlie
author pro[>erly cautions those who have
been debilitated by the immediate effects
of intoxication or bodily fatigue, from
going iftto the water until they have re-
covered from this state ; and Ik: especially
advises the ladies " who indulge in the
evening ball, to abstain from tlie mornii^
batli." We have son>e remarks upon the
specific effects of ^ea- water as applied to
the skin ; it certainly differs from fresk
water of the same temperature; it is more
invigorating, and less apt to produce ca-
tarrhal affections.
After these general o^lervations, the
author proceeds to offer some lemarks
upon the different diseases for which sea-
bathing has been reoommeuded. Of these,
scrofula appears by general experience to
be the chief; it seems to originate in cold
and want of proper nutrition. The efibcts
of cold, as we have seen above, are best
obviated by bathing; the delect of nutii-
tion is obviously to be rerooved by a soil-
able attention to diet. Chincough in its
latter stages, chorea, hysteria, indigestioa^
and hypochondriasis, are amoog those &-
eases in which the advantage of sea-bath-
ing is the most firmly established. Tbne
' are some complaints in which* this prac-
tice is absolutely injurious ; <^ these the
principal are all fevers with topical inflam-
mation; erynpelas also appears to be
mucli aggravated by it, and many cutane-
ous disorders. Upon the whole^ it is a
practice more suited to youth tlian to old
age, and should not be had recoorse to in
the latter part of life without due precau-
tion. The internal use of sea- water has
been found beneficial in ascarides and other
species of worms, and may be advauu^-
ously employed in sc^rac cutaneous com-
plaints, altliough applied exteroaOy it hs$
appeared hurtful, llie work concludci
with some reraaiks upon the warm baih i
when employed at a temperature a few
degrees below that of the human body,
our author conceives it to be not nierel?
an innocent, but a salutary p^ratitication.
The idcn of its relaxing effecu he combat <5
as a vulgar prejudice, snd endeavours to
shew that it originated from the cxcc<»iTe
height to which this Kixury was carried ia
the latter >>tages of tlie Uoman empire.
The moderate use of tlie warm. bath would
probably prove highly useful in the debi-
lity arising fi-om old age, in atrophy, ia
fererish complaints attended with an ir-
ritability of the nervous system, in goiit,
rheumatism, and palsy, and in hectic.
l7pon the whole tliis performance, al-
though not ill the highest rank of literir
productions, contains much u«iefal infor-
mation, conveyed in simple and easy L^u-
guage.
Art. X^^I.— .>^ Treatise on the Lues BotiHa, or Cov^f^. By BEKjikMiN MosFtrr^
M, D. Author of a Tnntisc on Tropical Diseases ; of a Treatise on Coffee ; and -of Mr*
dical Tracts, — Contiiining Dissertations on ^gar ; on the Yaws ; on ObU or African
ll^itchcrrft ; on the Plagiie, and Yellow Fever of America; on Hospitab; on Broncki-
cele ; on Prisons, ^c. Physician to the Royal Military Hospital alt Chelsea^ Member of
the Codegs of Pliysicians qf London, of the Universiiy ofLut^den, of tlie Anieriauk Pin-
losopkicai Society dt Philadetplua, ^c,
IX oiu: last volume we noticed^ wit]^ a degree of couoem, the eppositioM that lial
MOSEtfiY^S TREATISE 6N THE COW-POX.
825
b^n mads to the Taocioe inoduktlon.
The objections, however, appeared to us
to be so completely answered, that w©
hoped the public opinion would have been
fmslly settled, and that no farther inter^
mption would have occurred to the pro*
grass of a practice which promised to be
so decideidly beneficial. It is therefore
with great regret that we have to encounter
in the course of our present labours a far
weightier load of hostility, advanced not
in the form of candid investigation (for
this we can never ccndemn), but in tUe
shape t)f coarse invective and vulgar hu-
mour ; invective against those who step-
ped forward in support of a practice which
they esteemed important to the wdiare of
mankind, and humour bestowed upon a
subject in which mirth is misplaced and
totally irrelevant.
The author of the treatise before us is
not unknown in the literary world, and
he has justly acquired a degree of reputa-
tion by his ibrmer productions. But of
the present performance we feel ourselves
l»bltged to speak in terms of the severest
reprehension, not merely in consequence
of our entertaining a different opinion
fcota the author concerning the point in
dlspote, but from the highly indecorous
manner in which tlie subject is treated.
Ht, Moseley begins by informing us, that
when the question respecting the cow-pox
was first brought before the public, he
formed an opinion that^
*' Experience is not necessary to know
the cow-pox cannot be a preventive of the
sniaU-pox. For, on the principles of patho-
logy^ and analogy ; from the laws of tbe am-
mal ccoonomy, and the want of reciprocity
between the two diseases, it is irapossibk to
believe, without an entire subversion of our
reason, tliat either should render the hmnan
frame unsusceptible of the other."
There is at least a degree of candour
in thus coming forward, and declaring
that he was determined not to be con-
vinced ; but to an opinion fonned under
such a determination we can attach but
little value. We may venture to assert,
without being liiable to the imputation a£
that want of candour which we ascribe to
oar author, that we ought to receive with
great distrust all facts brought forward by
so prejudiced an advocate.
The style of tbe work is so singular,
that we shall present our readers with a
specioieu, and for this puipo«e shall select
the commencement.
*^ In the year 1798 the cow-pox inocula-
tion mania seised the people of England en
masse.
" It broke out in the month of April,— like
a symptomatic eruption of nature ; the planet
Mercury — ^the delusive author of * vain and
fond imaginations/ being then in the zodia-
cal sign of the Bull.
"\t increased as the days lengthened ; and
at midsummer large societies, cl the medical
profession which was iirst attacked, were dis- .
tempered to an intolerable de^ee. .
*' While some members of these distin-
guished bodies were absorlied in deep study,
and intense thought, for the good of their pa*
tients, the manisi stole upon tnem, takuigadp*
vantase of the absence of their intellects. '
''These medical orbs, fixed fast inthdv
firmament, were not known to h^ve had any
motion, for the last twehty years. Now they
suddenly advanced; left their proper centre
of gravity ; and surprised the gaziiu; world.
** Nothing but what I have mentioned had
happened, either in the moral or physical .
order of things, as pnccursor to so extraordi-
nary an event ETOcts succeeded causes, as
in tbrmcr years. The sea continued to be
green, and salt ; and the Thames flowed down
to it as usual.
' "The higher ranks of every descripticoi
were soon infected by the doctors, who set
the example with a spirit worthy of the agri-
cultural society, by experimenting then* own
flock.
" The philanthropist, the cadculator, and
statesman, were all captivatedwith the notion,
that millions of lives would be saved annuaU>' ;
by which nieani, neither manufacture, nor
slaughter, need to stand still for want of
hands.
** The tender parent was pleasantly irri-
tated with the ' amiable iusaiiitv.' it pro-
mised to remove all cares from tne niuscry ;
to mend the race of beauty ; and to chase a
loathsome disease, and with it ugliness and
deformity, from the face of the earth.
** The doctors renounced all discussion,
conceniins the tight of pai'cnts, to take what
liberties tney pleased with tlicir infants ;
whose sympathies and antipathies, as they
cannot be knO^vn, they determined to be
proper objects for experiment.'^
The author immediately began his at-
tack, '* being satisfied," before any trials
had been made, ^' that the cow-pox had
no affinity to the small-pox.** In con-
formity with this spirit he published a
philippic against vaccination in the year
1799> amongst his medical t^^cts^ which
is inserted at full length in the present
volume i and when examined before the
house of commons with «;spect to Dr.
Jenner*8 claim to a parliamentary reward,
.he was almost the only person who did
not give the measure his^ concurrence.
About thirty pages of the work art occo*
820*
MEDICINE AND. SURGERY.
pled wiifa tie evidence which was giirvo 1^
himself and the other medical gentlemen
upon the occasion 5 we are somewhat at a
loss to know fbr what porpose he inserted
in this place wliat the public were so per-
fectly Kiroiliar with before. We have
afterwards «n account of the establishmeut
of the difierent cow-pox insUtotloos in
London, lists of their ofticent, and tran-
scripts of some of their advertisements
tiid report*.
We sliall not pretend to follow Dr.'
Moseley tlirough his whole tfairi of de-
clamation> but we shall select for our con-
sideration all ihat can in any way be
deemed argumentative. Three diliereDt
allegations are brought forward ag^nost
the cow-pojc ; first, that it is not a per-
fect security against the small-iKnt ; se-
condly, that thd cow-pox is a dangerous
and loathsome disease j and thirdly, that
the cow-pox can never succeed in exter-
minating the small-pox. On tlie first two
points he brings forward a number of
cases, detailed with more or less accurac}',
in which either small-pox has succeeded
to vaccination, or in which the vaccine
diseaiie has apjjearod to l>e followed by
loathsome cutaneous coniplnints, or by an
injury to tlic general health. In many
ot the cases tlicre is a palpable want of
evidence, in others we confess we do not
discover any deheitnicv ; but we make no
Gcniple of declaring, that we look with a
dejj^ree of mistrust upon jfll facts adduced
by Dr. Moseley on die subject of cow-
pox. He apjKMfs to entertain the idea
tliat the vaccination only suspends for a
limited period the action of tlie variolous
contns;ion} and intimates, in sup^rt of
his opinion, that it is in like manner sus-
pended by other d i ceases. W iia te\er may
be the ultimate decision of *this question
o;ir readers would scarcely exjxfct to meet
witli tlie following unqualified assertion :
" The cow-pox possesses no inore specific
power to resist the small-pox, than the
scald-head ; or a viok^t state of the itch ;
or the yaws; or the leprosy; or the pus-
tule maligne; or tlie tcn^porary influence
of any morbid inoculation from diseased ani-
mah ; or the bites of venomous creatures ;
or wounds, lliat dissecters of dead bodies
s<»metimes accidentally give themselves.
\\\\h tliese may be ijicluded other febrile,
eniptire, and cutaiieous disorders."
AliT. XVin. — Ohservations on the pcmiciotu Ccnasequcncei- of Ctno-Pox Inocuktfian; coit^
tuitdriir ymnij well uuthciiiicated Jnstancts, prfHtiiig iU Inseairitt/^afininst the Smalt-Pox:
alsn, lUnmrkx on (he yJdvantai^ejt qf Small-Pox InoculahoM. By/k. SaviULCL, J/. />,
iormerty HeMvnt Apotkcctu^j tti Utt Sniali-Pox and Inoculaiion /lospitai.
FROM the title of this work our readers will perceive^ that like the last, it is ymt*
We DBttst alao remark that the anthw
positively denies that the sauie person has
ever had the small-pom twice, or after die
variolotts inoculation^ though it is well
known that of late several iastaDces of this
kiad have been published, appareutly upon
2is good evidence as those brought for»'ard
by Dr. Moseley to prove the recuixence of
small-pox after cow-pox ; we do sot see
how we are to believe tlie ooe without
crediting the other. So eager is oor aochor
to receive every tale wMch may make
against cow-pox, that he appears uriliii^
to impute to it an ^^ency naore poveifid
than any thing that cau eater into ow
comprehension or imnginatioB ; he grave-
ly tells lis that he knows a phiiosopher,
'' Who says that the cow-pox yitus dead-
ens, or deniilogistkrates the system ; and be
thinks he has observed , in some ciulUreo, a
diminution of mental acumen after the co«-
pOx."
As to the effect of vaccination in exter-
minating small-pox, he thinks the thing
impossible, because small-pox is an " at-
mospheric disease, t. e. as it appears, a
disease induced by a peculiar state of the
atmosphere." Every one knows that at
particular periods the disease rages with
peculiar violence ; and as we can discover
no other cause, ^»-e have recourse to this
^rfpjx)sition to account for its freqnencr.
But we know that no condition of the air
can give it to those whose cbnstitntioiis *
are secured from it by having already gone
tlirough the complaint ; whether or no
vaccuiation produces this efiect is the
point at issue $ a question totallj inde^
pendant of its being an atmospheric dis-
ease. Does Dr. Moseley suppose that any
state of the atmosphere can produce the
disease, if tlie specific contagion be not
present ?
Upon the whole we acknawledge that
this treatise contains many cases which
appear unfavourable to vaccination, and
which certainly desen*e to be inves6gat*
ed| but wlien we observe them joined
to so much buffixmcry and scurrility, and
hear the autbor oonfiess himself gvalty of
the grossest pr^odice, thdr effect upon '
our minds is much diminiri^sd, we had
alosost said annihilated.
saurmti <m nt oow-f6<-
W
ten by an opposer of the vaccine inoculrf-
tion J we were, however, led to hope tliat
k was dictated by a dilFerent spirit, by a
declaration which the author makes at the
commencement^ that he proposes to treat
the subject with the* "utmost candour;*
This fair promise was indeed somewhat
blasted by the very next sentence, where
it is said that,
" Vaccination has been practised and en-
courage by tiiose who have liad little or no
experience, either in the small-pox or its ino-
culation/'
BecoUecting the numerous bodies of
medical men, both in the metropolis and
elsewhere, who hflVe come fon*'ards in
support of this practice, bodies no less re-
spectable than numerous, we were at a
loss how to solve tliis paradox, until we
found that inoculation is practised by apo-
thecaries, while the encouragers of cow-
pox have been physicians. To this it is
sufficient to reply that the department of
the profession who principally practise
inoculation are the surgeons, and surgeons
have been some of tlie most active pro-
moters of vaccination. We do not think
it necessary to repel the attack that is
made upon the character of the physicians^
we conceive that they will be able to bear
the assault.
Although Dr. Squirrel did not make up
his mind upon the subject in the first in-
stance, like Dr. Moseley, yet it appears
tliat he very soon became panic-struck.
Upon the first perusal of Dr. Jenuer's
publication, he was filled with such *' hor-
ror and aversion," that he could not " as
a man of honour or of feeling, submit to
or coincide witli vaccination." When the
small-pox inoculation was first introduced,
people must have felt much horror and
aversion at voluntarily subjecting their
children to so dreadful a disease, and there
were no doubt multitudes whose honour
and feelings would not let them submit to
or coincide with the practice. Our au-
thor's feelmgs have, we apprehend, led
him much astray 3 for he conceives tliat
the grease in horses is a modification of
kscrofiila, and that by inoculating with vac-
cine matter, we transplant the s^eds of
ttis disease into the human body. There
are, however, several pbints tJ^t remain
fobe proved before we can admit this
hypotliesis j neither the cause, seat, nor
symptoms of (!he two diseases warrant the
opinion of their identity ; and even were
rfis identity proved, we deny the possi-
hi^ty of the disease bein^ conveyed by
inocuIjrtHMi. -^ler having proved, a» he
imagines, that scrofula is thus capable of
being conveyed into tlie system by the
vaccine matter, the autlior proceeds to
describe the numerous train of ills which
flow from its introduction. We shall ]»«-
sent our readers with the afiecting piettiro
as dniwn by the hand of Dr. Squirrel.
*' 1 . Great numbers of children have caught
the small-pox, after vaccination, which will
be proved by weli-ettested facts presently,
though it hacf been pronounced to have taken
proper effect, and the parents had rested sa-
tisfied in beiievmg their children to be safe
and secure. Man^ have afterwards had the
variolous disease in a very violent manner ;
and some have died.
" S. Numerous instances have occurred^
where tlie children have been .affected with a
very troublesome itching eruption, harassing
them, from the time V vaccination, for
nK)nths, and even years afterwards ; and un-
dermining the constitution from the ahnot^t
constant irritation, and the continual inter-
ruption of ^leep. I'his eruption, very fre-
quently, terminates in corroding ulcers. A
' child of Dr. Smyth Stuart, who resklvd in
Bloomsbury-sciuare, died from the iiritation
arising fioni the inflammatioti, eruption, and
ulceration on the arm; which case will he
mentioned. No eruption of any kind had
ever appeared on tlte skin of these diildreii
previously to vaccination : — I appeal to the
parents for the truth of this aissertiob, Who, I
have no doubt, will readilv come forward to
testify the fadi which fuUy proves to the
unbiassed and impartial part of tlie ptiblic,
that these eruptions ami ulcers have arisen
from the acrimonious and cdntaminating q!ia-
lity of the cow-pox virus.
" Every day*s experience furnishes me with
fresh instances of eruptions, inflammations,
and ulcerations, on different parts, subsetincnt
to vaccination. These eruptions, which are
attended with erysipelatous mflsmmation, ap-
pear generally some months after inoculation,
and, in the course of a ft.nv days, after th(*y
have niade then* appearance, they lenninate
in pustules, which near every sfniilitude to
the cow-pox produced on the arm by inocu-
lation : the colour of the matter they contain,
and the inflammation surrounding tnem, are
exactly similar. These pustules termCnate !ii
scabs, which, in a little time, fall off, and ex-
pose to view a decp-seatetl inflamed ulcer,
and produce such an intolerable itching tliiit
the child in the morning js nearly covered
^\•ith blood, arising from the scratching through
the course of tKe night; and the parents m
such a state of anxiety iind distress, thaft it
would TB/dk any one's heart to see them. The
irritation is mu6h increased by a small prick-
ly rash which fills nearly the whole of the
internees between the ulcers, so that the
whole bodv is almost covered with the erup-
tion and ulcers, and the cidid rendered so sore
828'
MEDlCINly AND SURGERY.
and tender, that it can scarcely bear to be
touched. These cniptions after continuing
some time totally disappear ; the ulcers heal,
and, the itchuie ceases. The parents, on this
account, higiviy flatter theimclves with the
hopes of these pests being quite vanished,
never to return ; but, in iht course of a few
months, they recur with equal severity : the
itching and irritation take place night and
day with scarcely any interval, 'ms kind
of visitation ot the efllects of cow-pox conti-
nues generally several years (unless some
mercurial preparation be given) : sometimes
the disease is better, and sometimes worse.
Glandular swellings, tumefied and ulcerated
eye-lids, and violent infUunmation of the coats
of the eyes themselves, I have frequently
^md to follow vaccmation. My friend Dr.
Rowley, an experienced physician. and gene-
ral practitioner in medicine, and a man of
vcracit)', in his treatise lately published, en-
titlecl, * Cow-pox Inoculation no Security
against tJie Small-pox Infection,' says, ' scab-
by eruptions, supca^cial abscesses, ulcers>
boils, and suppurations in diAerent parts;
gangrene, ana mortilication about the ancles,
and other parts of the body, I have been wit-
ness to.' He further observes, that * Blind-
ness and deafness have been not unfrcquently
the consequences of cow-pox inoculation,
w lift her originating from the grease in horses,
or the natural disease of cows.'
** Thtsc are someof the charming sequels
ol vaccination, or cow-pox inoculation. This
)>ractioe has b*cn boasted of as the greatest
blc:.-.ing to humanity, and was promised, with
rntluibiastic warmth, to be a perfect and per-
^-Mal set jrily against the Variolous infection,
and a milder and safer disease than tlie small-
pox inoculation. The fallacy of such pro-
mi'^es brings to my recollection tin* story re-
portf'd ot Mr. Moore the aliuanack-niaker,
Who, as he was riding over a very larjTe com-
mon, oa a nne day, in company with atriend,
met with a shephierd who requested them to
r^de on, or they would be overtakaii by a very
:^at .<orm ; and the old man predicted right,
ft)r before they sot to the endof their iouriM'y
he expeiienctd iis heavy a oue as h<? ever
icn»\v, in wliich they belli got pretty well
s.jaked. Mr. Moore was detenniiied lo'know.
if possible, by what signs the shepherd knew
It would r.iiu, it being such fine wt-atlier ai few
hours betore, conset|uently he rode back to
a^k him: * b«tause,* replied the old shep-
herd, ' Mr. Moore, in nis ajmauack, pro-
mised it would be a very fine day.'
•• J. Sjme clwldren, ever since they were
var< iuated, have been troubled with couchs,
dilliculty of breathini*, and fevers of a slow
and intermitting khid ; their appetite has bc-
rome diminished, their vivacity lost, the
countenance pale, tlic flesh flabby; and a
train of symptoms has ensued similar to those
which always arise from an absorption of ex-
lran»ous and poisonous matter: — In short,
thu>e children, w1k>, btfure vaccination, were
lively, strong, and had every appcaniuce of
health, have become dull, weak, and ron-
stantly ill, arising apparently from ths matte-
being of a deleterious quality, hi short, the
small-pox, eruptions, and ulceratk>Ds, the con-
stitutions being undermined, are three uufe-
tunate circumstances so very frequent, aod
so well known, not only in every ooroa aad
street in Lx>ndon, but also in tiie dhlrrent
counties, to be subsequent and to ari^ troci
vaccmation, that it becomes almost aaoecfv
sary to nncntion them ; nor, indeed, sboold 1
deem it requisite, but my duty to my feOov-
creatures induces roe to endeavour to prereit
such an evil in fiitore. The vacdnaton «ill
not, they even cannot, at presGit adhere to
truth, temper, and naoderatkMi, for they have
promised too nrach, and have imposed too
many falsehoods on the creduloiis for them
to retract, without sliame and c&giacf . 1,
therefore, qkost earnestly recommend the
public, for whose benefit these observaticiitt
are solely intended, to be influenced aod
glided by reason and facts only, andforbiJm
ture vaccine inoculation being practEcd m
their family, but return to the Old, and wfU
tried, and well-established practice, smafl-pn
inociiUtion, in ^k:h will be fpnnd a peipe-
tual security s^nst variolous oootigiaB,
without undermming the constitution, or ^•
fect'uig the body with any subsequent com-
plaints.
*' To see these vaccinated children tims
affected, some with eruptions and nlccn,
others with coughs and fevers, and m otlxr
respects extremely ill,, has rendefrd the pa-
rents very unhappy, and even miserable, not
only from the present inconvenience, bolak)
from these malignant complaints, v'uktg fron
this infection, being bothtediovs anddiflkiilt
to eradicate. Shocking refIectk)D to a luh
mane mind ! that a poison slvxild be iotio-
dueed into the human const itutk)n witfaoBt
the plea of necessity, or the support of nasn
or experience, to make experiments, ^hich
the success of the small-pox inoculatkMi kad
long ago rend'-Ted futile,"
We learn, however, that these dreadfcl
evils are not irremediable; we arc in-
formtid that tlie disease may be eradicated
by keeping tlie system for some \rcets
imder the inflaence of mercury. If ve
do not misiuiderstand him he even recom-
mends that the plan should be pursued by I
all those who have been vaccinated, io
order to remove from the s}^8tem the b-
tent poison, which sooner or later will|
break forth, and commit the ravages de-
scribed above. Upon this proposal v^
make no comment.
The auttior next proceeds to enoniente
the advantages of tiie small-pQX iooaih-
tion ; he lays it down as an incootioTer-
tible proposition, that in do case has the
small-pox occurred twice in the same
person, and olaiost asserts that the rmo'
LiPSaOMB ON THE COW-POX.
829
Ions inoculation, if properly conducted,
.can never pro\ie fatal. So far from ad-
mitt ing that the disease is occaslouallj
xlangerous and productive of the most un-
pleasant efl'ects, (occurrences which we
, aduiit to be rare, but of the existence of
■which we caniiot have the smallest doubt)
he roundly asserts that *^ the small-pox
inoculation produces no ill consequ£tM%s
whatever/' and acquiring confidence as
be advances^ he next informs us that.
" The small-pox inoculation improves the
healtli and-constitutioD, and carried ofL many
complaints which were very uuct>mfortable,
both to the parents and children.^
The work concludes with_ some " ob-
sen'ations on inoculation of the small-
pox," from which it appears that the au-
thor, although he has procured a diplo-
ma, and has been thus metamorphosed
into a physician, has not forgotten his old
trade of an apothecary.
Art. XIX. — Inoculation for the Smalhpox vindicated ; and its superior Efficacy and Safetif
to ifte Practice of Vaccination clearly proved, fiy George Lipscomb, Surgeon,
THE work commences with the fol-
lowing paragraph :
*' Tlie femient of popiilar opinion rcspect-
iuff the cow-pox having, in some degree, sub-
siSed, ; and the torrent of ^hion having been
at length stemmed by the influences of reason
and experience ; the present time appears not
altogether un&vourable to the intrcKUiction of
a few remarks, which are d^isned to illus-
trate the arguments already adduced on the
merits and consequences ot vaccination ; and -
to place in a clear and conspicuous point of
Tiew die fallacy of those doctrines by which
the practice of it has been encouraged and
supported."
"We conceive the reason'mg here em-
ployed is somewhat singular; he did not
step forth to oppose the torrent of fashion .
and popular opinion, but waits until the .
mischief has been done, and the evil is
now curing itself. Whether he was in-
floeaeed by. timidity or diffidence, it is not
our bosioess to inquire; our concern, is
not with his motives,* but his pamphlet.
The author takes it for granted, that there
18 before the public su^ient evidence to
prove that vaccination is not a permanent
security against the small-pox, and that it
is sometimes followed by loathsome or
even dangerous diseases. He appears to
l>e a disciple and admirer of Dr. Squirrel,
^^hose work he quotes with due respect,
and wliose hypotliesis respecting the iden-
tity of the grease in horses and scrofula
he assumes as an established 'point -, he
also lays it down witliout reserve, that the
Bmall-po3U inoculation ought never to be
fatal, and that no unpleasant consequences
ever result from it if properly conducted.
Mr. Lipscomb sets out with lavish pro-
fessions of candour, but he is one ot' that
numerous tribe who may exclaim with
Medea,
** video meliora proboquc ;
Det^riora sequor — ^*
for )tt y^ uiLQquivQcall/ charges
the
promoters of vaccini^on with au attempt
to impose upon the world.
" If I may b»pemiitted to avow the dic-
tates of my mind, 1 can consdentiously add,
that it revolts with indignation at the shocking'
idea of thus wilfully unposinj on the igno-
rant ; of thus exposing to probable destruc-
tion those who regard us in the light of friend-
ly*^dvisers; of thus manifesting the disposi-
tion of pithless betrayers of the confidence
reposed in the fiiculty ashmen of honour, in-
tegrity, and science. Was it by such Insi-
dious arts thai the first rudiments of improve-
ment were introduced into tlie world? Is it by
such base and unworthy efforts that knowledge
can be brought nearer to perfection? Rather
let science perish than ialtempt to esfablisfi it
on the rums of justice and the wreck of
truth !'*
We must, however, admit the justice
of our author*s obsen'ations, when he
points out the impropriety of trusting the
vaccine inoculation in extra-professional
hands.
"Country clergymen, formers, and old
womtju, liave been niiide tlie instruments for
ascertaining the consetjuengei of tlus iniport-
ant revolution in medical science. I wovild
not be misunderstood as ijiteiiding la give
offence to either of these classes when I say,
that however respectable, useful, and neces-
sary, they may be in their several stations; it
is imposbiblc tliat any of tlicni sliould have
been prcfperly <^n)ploye4 on this occasion :
and groatj) as I venerate and a<Jmire the
It^uniing and tlie moral worth of the clergy,
greatly as I cjlcem and regard tlie honest ana
benelicial hidustry of the fanner," I tannot
help thinking that 'less misft!hief iias been donci
by the liiird (iescriptibn- of- persons above al-
luded to, in tlm practice of vaccination, than
by either of the other— because they have
never published on the subjects" • ; .
We believe from this crrcumstaace
much evil haj, and much more will arise;
and we trust it may prav« a lesson to
medical men not to consider any part of
their art so simple and unimportant, as t%
permit it to escape tlieir attejqitiop.
iO
•30
MEaXCiNE AND SURGERY.
AxT. XX. — A Dhtsertation on theFaihtre and Mischv^$ of the DtseoMe called ihtCcm^
pojc, in which the principal Arguments adduced in Favour of i'accinatian, by Dn,
Jenner, Pearson^ WoodviUe, Lettsom, Thornton, iand Adams, are examisud,ai
confuted. By Georg-b Lipscomb^ Surgeon. 8vo. pp. 105.
mST as we had finished our remains
upon the preceding article, a second
pamphlet, froni the pen of Mr. Lips-
comb, was transmitted to us. We hop-
ed to have met with soine norelty, either
of fact or argument, to make up for the
defioieoqies of the former : we have not^
however^ found this to be the case. The
author commences as usual, with profes-
sions of candour, respect for genius, &c.
ice. ; he introduces observations upon the
progress of error, the tendency in man-
kind to run after new doctrines, and
other common-places o/t' a similar luture.
Our readers, we are confident, will, par-
don us for not laying before them a mi-
nute aiialysis of the work ; we sl^l briefly
xiotice its post proml^ieut sefitiments,
firoax vWhich aa idea tpay ))efarp)ed.of
the merits of the remainder.
The circumstance of the coW'-pox being
derived from a disease of the liorse, seems
to Mr. Lipscomb, fi*om the first, an insuf-
ferable objection to its adoption.
•• The cow-pox, necessarily connected
with a morbid state of the .fluids, an<l avow-
edly derived from * the most polluted
womctf* cooid not be sitfayestai to tae j^idg-
ipent of the faculty, unless that jud|^pfnt
were exerted to reject it altogether."
It is also ui^ged, that the cow-pox is a
new disease, and one with which we are
consequently not thoroughly acquainted :
its U'annest advocates have not exactly
coincided in all their opinions respecting
it ; they have difiered about its origin,
about its liability to recur in the same
person, about the existence o^ the -spurious
disease, &c. The author strongly contetnls
that the mortality^ of the inoculated small-
pox is Dot so considerable as hai been
stated; and indeed very directly accuses
those of ignorance in t)ie management of
their patients, who have experienced a
contrary result. He also positively denies
that the smaU*pox caa ever occur twice
in the same serson, and insinuates, that
the cases whicli have been lately brought
forward in supped of the contraxy €pi-
nion, have been fabricated, for the par-
pose of undermimng the public coofidoice
.in the smaU-pox inoculation. .His gie^
bugbear, however, appears to be ^
dreadful diseases that are left after vacd-
nation. As usual, he docs not coodescend
to go into particulars, but satisfies himseif
with referring to innumerable instances,
which are sufficiently well known-to eftiy
body.
;Mr. ^psco^lb is par^colaijij disturbed
with the attempts made by the firiends of
vaccination, to impress the beoiefits of the
new practice upon the miods of the lover
class of people ; and expresses his high in-
dignation at the oratorical language wbidi
iias been adopted, on some occasioi^,
in its bel^alf. xet, strange inconsistency !
wliile he will admit nothing but naked ar-
gument to be used in /airour <2f vaccinatkai,
he is delighted jvith Dr. Mpseie^'s wit
and satire against it; and he can hlxn^lf
employ, in the s^^ne cause, a ftram of de-
clo^nation, which, no doubt, he thinks
very fine. We .shall present our readen
with one passagt^, which contains alniost
the only sp^in>ep of our author's powers
of opglaalobservi^on.
" The snfc^ect » toy indelicBte aad db-
gusting, but £ am coni|Mttedto^ notice paiti-
cularly one disease which has kecmdnBCPt-
ed in 'Dr. RoMrl^s.painphlet, aod j^h ^^"^
upder the title of tl^ (hriaucc TwainalaQoes
of this nature have come under my own ob-
servation among numerous cases of o^er mbi^
bid appearances, i^hich were never seen ia
the huniaa race before the unfortunate intro-
duction of vaccination. In both these In-
stances, the deformity was greatly hdghtcDed
by a degree of strabismns which seems to
constitute a characteristic of this sinsular na-
lady ; and forms a feature so strixiii^ that
Virai'&expression ' taurino vultu' womd im-
niediately occur to the classical observi?,
without even refening to the cause, or the
descriptions wlilch may have been given ef
the di>ea<5e. But Uie .\fedica! Journalists pro-
Bounce it to be a coimnon abscess ! raor
men ! they are not veiy clawiral i'*
A»T. XXI.— ?l?ogtry an -Cnc-pox.
•Many of our readers will recoDect that
Mr. Cline and Mr. Birch, both surgeons
of St. Thon^ass ho^ital, when called
QpoQ to give their evidence respecting
cow-pox, before. the comtiuttee appoul^ed
to examine Dr. Jenner s claim» 4i^l^<='<^
considerably as to the probable utility of
the new practice j while Mf • Ciiiie gave
HEMRT ON CASE* OP SVPPOIFp f MALJL^POX AFTER VACCINATIOWr r^^l
it his unqualified approbation, Mr. Birch
^s one of the very iew w4io ifpoke doubt*
ingly upon its merits. Mr. Rogers, who
was the pupil of the latter gentleman,
comes forward to examine tbe grounds
upon which these colleagues formed such
different opinions ; and endeavours to
prove, not only that Mr. Birch had nt that
period enjoyed superior advantages for ac-
quiring information on this subject, out
that subsequent events had completely
justified his dissent from the popular doc-
trine. He then proceeds to state it as his
full conviction that die cow-pox has prov-
ed fatal. In confirmation of this asser-
tion we do not perceive any new cases
brought forwards, the author conceiving
that Ul^. public were akeady in posses^iqn
of sufficient evidence.. It will be -seen
that he ditfers from some of the writers
whose works we have hitherto examined
in respect to his second position ; he doos
not think that vaccination produces scro-
fula, but iiew disease. The evidenoe
u[)on which the author bulid,s tills opinion
appears to us very s^Iender ; and as the re-
sult of his observation differs so widely in
this particular point, even from that of
some of the most zealous opposers of vac-
cination, we confess, that we think our-
selves authorized in doubting its ^^ocuracy.
Art. XXIL--Jfcport of a Medical Commitiee on the Cases of supposed SmalUPox
after Vwxinatian, which occurred in Fullwood's Rents, Holbom, in August and Sep-
tefiiber, 1804 ; with an Account of some subsequent Inoculations, Svo. pp. 32.
OUR medical readers are no doubt ac-
quainted with the outline of the facts
which gave rise to this pamphlet. Two
children who were vaccinated at the small-
pox hospital, af^er an interval, one of two
and the other of four years, were seized
with what was said to be tlie small-pox ;
a respectable committee of medical men
was accordingly fox'med,. to examine and
report upon the circumstances of the cases.
The registers from the hospital, giving an
'account of their inoculation, «pe inserted,
and the conomittee tiiought that tliere
could be.no doubt of the vaccixie disease
having gone through its proper course.
They were tnflufinoed by the following
TCODsideratioas :
*' First, the register of their cases, kfpt,
as above, at the smali>pox hospital : second,
the declaration of Mr. VVachsel, resident in-
oculator at tlie hospital, who considers the
.appearances, and progress of vaccination, in
these clMldren, to have been perfectl]^' rc^ilar
ajul satisfactory': third, the cicatrices, or
marks, remaining on their amis ; which
marks i^pear to the members of the com-
mittee to be sucli as are usually left after vac-
.cine inoculation.''
As to the other part of the inqnir}%
whether the subsequent disease was small-
pox, the evidence appears no less direct,
rhe complaint existed in tlie neighbour-
hood, and. the children were repeatedly
exposed to the infection; the one who
was first taken ill was not indeed seen by
' the committee, but in the other at least,-
*thefe was every reason to cohclude tliat
the symptoms went through their usual
course, and matter taken from the pus-
tules communicated the small-pox to
others. The committee conclude by fully
admitting the fact of the small-pox hay-
ing been received after vaccination, but
they add,
" The above facts are not to be consider-
ed as militating against the general practice
of vaccination. Seme well authenticated,
though rare cases, liave been stated, in which
the natural small-pox occurred twice in t^e
same uerson. A few other instances are re-
cordccf of persons, who, after having under-
gone the inoculated small-poXj nevertheless
took the disease by infection: yetllwse cases
were not deemeu conclusive aga>nst the ad-
vantages of variolous inoculation, nor do they
seem to have impeded its progress.
" In every country when> European
sdence is diflusod, the general •pre\'entive
power of vaccine inoculation with regard to
the small-pox, lias been fully ascertained, and
cannot now be alTectcd by the result of .a
k*w detached cases, which, by future obser-
vations and eNperiinents, may be accounted
for satisfactorily. The committee, therefore,
with one accorrl, Rubscribes to the establish-
ed opinion, that if vaccination were univer-
sally adopted, it would afi#pd the means t>f
finally exterminating the small-pox.^
Many of our readers wiU, no doubt, ht
disposed to acquiesce in tliis opinion ; but
even those who dissent from it cannot but
acknowledge that die pamphlet is written
with candour, and tlie facts stated witji
peri'cct lai;ac»^
833
MEDICINE AND SURGERT,
AxT. XXlll,-^Ob»ertatimi$ on some late Attempts to depreciate the Value endEf-
Jicaof of Vaccine JnociUation. B^ Samu£l Mbrrimav. 9vo. pp.35.
A principal object in this pamphlet is to
expose the weakness of the reasoning,
and the inaccuracy of the facts, brought
fcrwards by Dr. Moseley. Perhaps the
word reasoning can scarcely be applied to
Dr. Moseley' s work, as he appears to
have thought the subject undeserving of a
aqrious refutation, and consequently has
attached to it only ridicule and sarcasm. It
is not, however, by such weapons that a
controversy of so much magnitude is to
be decided,. As to its power in securing
the constitution against the small-pox, the
author shows, tliat vaccination stands upon
the same footing witli the variolous inocu-
ktion J there are some few instances,
after botli the operations, where small-
pox seems to have occurred ; we must
therefore either suppose in these rare in-
atances> that the constitution is not secur-
ed, or if we feel reluctant to admit a de-
viation from so general a law, we must
suppose that some irregularity in the con-
duct of the inoculated disease took place.
But in whichever way \Ve determine, tlie
result will not be unfavorable to vacci-
nation.
*' At it never has been contended, that
Aax. XXIV.— :/!« Address to the Medical Practitioners of Ireland, on the Sul^(f
Cow-Pock. By Samuel B. Labatt, M. D. Licentiate of the College of Phffsickm,
and Secretanj to the Cow-Pock Institution, North Cope-street, Dublin. «\o. pp. 146,
the cow-pox was superior to the small-pox in
its prophylactic virtues, its strongest advociteg
will be willing to admit the possibility tint
Taccinatlon might hW ^ here varblauob ccHikl
not secure from re-infectloa."
It appears to have been admitted, enes
in the time of Friend, that in those viio
have had small-pox, tlie applicatioD c^vi.
riolous matter can produce pustules, \('ludi
shall be capable of conomunicating tlte
disease to otliers. These cases have not;
however, been considered as a second oc-
currence of a «naU-pox in the same per-
son, but only as depending upon the local
action of the variolous matter, cvcb
though attended with some degree ofcra-
stitutional affection. It is to^be e'x[fcctcd,
that tiie same circfirastance would fi&e
place after vaccination, but it would be
unfair to denominate sudi cases instances
of small-pox after cow-pox. Upon the
whole, tliis little treatise is written wiili
good-sense and candour, aithou^ we do
not perceive that it contains any infonns-
tion of which the public were not already
ill possession.
THE author regrets that, notwithstand-
ing the numerous testimonies in favour of
cow-pox, the practice of vacciiuUion is
still little kiiown or attended to in Ire-
land. Being fully persuaded of tlie be-
nefits likely to accrue from its adoption,
but, at the same time, being aware of the
nice discrimination which it is sometimes
necessary to exercise in judging of the
nature of the disease, he is anxious, not
only to draw the attention of his country-
men to the subject^ but to atVord practi-
tioners an accurate view of the pheno-
mena which . it exhibits. He begins by an
historical sketch of its discovery : it ap-
pears to have been known in some other
parts of England, as well as in Glouces-
tershire, likewise in the south of Ireland,
In Holstein, Lombardy , and even in Ame-
rica } in all these places tliere existed sonie
traditionary report of its proving a preser-
vative against small-pox. It was, how-
ever, reserved for Dr. Jenner to prove.
by precise experiments, the truth of dm
position ; and to show, that the nasks
might be communicated by inocuktica
from one human being to another, witli-
out having its characteristic property d^
strojred.
Dr. Labatt candidly acknowledges, M
in the infancy of the practice mistiko
must occasionally be expected to kappeo.
" Whoever will take the trouble of look-
ing into the liistorj of sroall-pox inocubtifii,
wUl find many more cases of ^ure recoided
than l»ve been attributed to cow-pock: yet
we do not find that the erticacy of small-P«
' inoculation is now called in question. 11k
celebrated Tissot, we are informed, Iwia
inoculated a fevourite child, was salisiM
With the appearances which followed, and
therefore objected to a second inoculaiiaB;
unfortuuately, however, the child aftervarii ,
took the sinall-pox in the natural way, id
fell a victim to it. In a pamphlet publislid
in the year 1746, by a doctor Pierce Daft
of Loucion, we iind two or three remaxy>k
LABATT S ADDRESS tO THE UB0ICAL PRACtlTlOKEnS OF IRfiLA>?D.
893
««ses where the smalUpox was said to have
appeared in t\\e same person iN^ice, viz. afler
iiKx:ulatiou pustule^ came oitt to the number
of from sixty to a hundred, they maturated
and scrrbbed regularly : however, in two or
» throe years afterwards bein^ exposed to the
• infection, they again took the disease, and
had tf copious eruption of pustules, which
likewise maturated and scabbed regularly.
"Mr. Ring mentions a gentleman who
inoculated the inhabitants of two or three vil-
lages, with variolous matter, as he supposed,
in consequence of which an eruptive fever and
a mild form of disease resembling small-pox
made its appearance at the usual time : but
after these people had been well some months,
one half of them nearly took the small-jDOX
by contagion, and some had it very unfa-
vourably. He cjiiotes, from (he memoirs of
the Medical Society of I^ondon, a similar in-
stance of foilure. I myself, have met with
such cases."
Our author is inclined to attribute these
anoDiaiies to some irregularity either in
tlie (irst or second disease ; we acknow-
ledge they militate against a very general
law of the constitution, but at the same
time, the e\ idence for them is so direct
and powerful, that we do not see how
it can be resisted. In whichever way,
however, we may decide, it is perflctly
fair, to reason in the same manner about
the supposed failures of the cow-pox.
Tlie author proposes to arrange his ob-
servations under the following heads :
'* 1. I/>c?irappearance and progress of in-
oculated cow-pock, under its most perfect
■ form.
'* 2. Remarks on its several stages, and
the minute ditferences which are commonly
; •Ijscrved therein,
f " 3. Varieties firequcntly observed, but
which are not incompatible witli the genuine
disease.
'* 4. Deviations of-^reater magnitude, or
auspicious cases.
/' 5. Distinctive marks of spurious cow-
pock, with suggestions of some of its pro-
' bable cauiies.
" 6. Constitutional ^^niptoms.
" 7. Inoculation. — ^"I he mode <rf conduct-
' ing it, and circumstances to be attended to
iu the state of the patient, and the medical
treatment of Uie complaint. The best modes
' of preserving the virus. — And 1 shall subjoin
' «)me remarkb on cow-pock, compared with
ttnall-poN and otUer eruptive diseases, and
' conclude witii a few general observatkms."
^ We think it unnecessary to follow the
? author through tiie details upon which he
.enters, in considering these different to-
pics ; his remarks are judicious, and his
account of the disease, although conoue,
An'n. Hiv. Vol. IV.
appears to contiin the most essential cir-
cumstances. His experience leads him to
conclude, that when a large quantity of "
matter is taken from the same pustule, it
is rendered less active ; by irritating or
pressing upon the part a serous or puru-
lent secretion seems to be formed, which
possesses the specific qualities of the vims
in a less degree. The eruptions that hove
occasionally attended vaccination he sup-
poses are always dependant upon some
extraneous cause, and not necessarily con-
nected with tlie disease, at the same time
he acknowledges, that he has * frequently
seen a rash, much like red gum, appear
on the arm, and sometimes over the whole
body, a few day.s afler inoculation, which,
however, was of short duration/
Among ' the deviations of gresiter mag-
nitude,* the most important appears to be
too early or too great a degree of inflam-
mation ; this may be produced by the ap-
plication of improper matter, or wheu
proper matter is applied, its qualities may-
be impaired or destroyed, so that it will
no longer produce its specific action in
securing the constitution. The author
yery properly observes, that the local pus-
tule may go through its regular stages,
and produce the proper secretion, and yet
the constitution may not be atfected ; this
also takes place occasionally in small-pox,
and it is not unreasonable to cxjnclude,
tl>at in the one case, as well as iu the
other, the subject will not be exempted
from future attacks of the small -pox. Dr.
Jenner decidedly adopts tins opinion, and
yet the constitutional affection has been
almost entirely overlooked by many of
the most zealous advocates for vaccina-
tion. It must be confessed, tliat our
knowledge is still defective as to the me-
thod of ascertaining when the constitution
has been atiected. The author properly
advises, that wherever there has been the
smallest doubt respecting the first inocu-
lation, a second operation should be had
recourse to.
It is well known that a local pustule,
possessing all tlie characteristic properties
of the disease j may be excited, either in
small-pox or in cow»pox, in those per-
sons who have previously gone through
the proper constitutional ailcudon. This
circumstance has not been sufficiently at^
tended to, in some of the experiments
that have been performed upon the ejects
of the small-pox inoculation atter v^ccinaw
tion. It has be<jn deemed a sufficient
proof that the constim^ion was notseciir*^
ed by tho cvw-^qx, 'k » kga^ pui>tttie
634
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
could be excited* and if matter from this
was capable of comrouoicating the small-
pox to others. The two diseases bear a
strong analogy to each other with respect
to the existence cf what have been called
spurious varieties, which may be trans-
mitted by inoculation, but which do not
prevent the subsequent recurrence of the
genuine disease.
Witli respect to the effects of vaccina-
tion upon the general health, after a fair
review of the opinions that have been de-
livered upon the subject, there is more
evidence in favour of its improving than
of its injuring the constitution : its saluta-
ry effects have been particularly noticed
in cutaneous eruptions and in scrofulous
affections, the Very complaints which its
antagonists accuse it of producing ; per-
haps this contrariety of opinion should in-
duce us to conclude that the cow-pox has
no efiect upon the constitution at large
either as to inducing or xenKning (tisease.
We have next some minute but useful
observations, upon the proper selection of
the vaccine virus, the method of procuring
it, and conveying it from place to place.
Our attention to these circumstances,
though apparently trifling, b of the fiist
importance, for it is demonstrated by much
experience, that the specific qualitis of
the vims are not obtained, if we either
take it from the arm at an improper pe-
riod, or do not use the necessary precau-
tions in our manner of presenting it. We
shall conclude our remarks upon this trea-
tise, by observing, that although so moch
has been written on the subject of oofv-
pox, we have not m^ with any work
which contains more useful matter id the
same compass.
Akt. \XV. ^Report of the Progress qf Vaccination in Bengal, By John Shoolbked,
Superinttndant'general qfTaccine Inoculation, 8vo. pp. 93.
THIS pamphlet will afford gratification
to the friends of humanity, as well as to
those interested in the improvement of
medical science, by exhibiting the exer-
tions that have been employed to intro-
duce the vaccine inoculation into India,
and the success which has at length at-
tended these exertions. The matter of
cow-pox was sent by lord Elgin from
Constantinople, by way of Bagdat and
Bassora, to Bombay. Many disappoint-
ments and failures were experienced be-
fore the transmission could be accomplish-
ed, in consequence of the difficulty which
there is in preserving tlie virus unimpair-
ed in a temperature so high as that which
usually obtains in tlicse places. It arrived
at Bombay in June 1 802, and after some
ferther difficulties, was received at Cal-
cutta in the November following. The
government immediately set on foot an
establishment, where a supply might at
ail times be found, and subordinate estab-
lishments were also formed at different
places, for the purpose of dispersing it
through the country. These measures
appear to have been peculiarly necessary,
from the difficulty which was experien-
ced in consequence of the heat of the cli-
mate, not only in preserving the matter,
but even in communicating the infection
from one individual to 'another. The ar-
rangements appear to have been judicious
and successful. The matter w^s after-
wards sent to Prince of Wales's Island,
but from some unfortunate circumstatice
was lost there ; it ^has been also sent to
Sumatra, a country where the sniall-pox
is most peculiarly destructive. The totftl
number of persons vaccinated in this
part of tlie world, at tlie end of the year
180^, was above 1 1,006, a number which
we apprelfend most of our readers will'
consider as afibrding an ample proof of
the exertions of Mr. Shoolbred and his
colleagues. It seems, however, scarcely
to have equalled his expectations, and bd
deems it necessary to state the reasons fbi
its slow progress. Pp. 18 and ig.
The report does not occupy more than
one-fourth of the pamphlet $ the remain-
der is occupied with a series of sections,
in which we meet with a good deal of in-
formation upon the phenomena of the
disease, the effects of the climate upon
it, tlie method of transmitting it fr<»n
place to place, and the supposed antiquity
of the practice among the Bramins.
After having ii\ tlie first section satis^-
torily proved that the genuine matter has
been received in the;£ast Indies, he pro-
ceed? in the second to show that its cha-
racter and specific properties are not lost
by its being transmitted from one subject
to another, notwithstanding the beat and
moisture of the aUnosphcre of BengaL
He remarks indeed that be has seen very
few instances where there were any irre-
gular appearances, and he altogether ob>
jects to the term spurious cow-pox.
In tliis point we must, however, diS&
from our author : the cow is subject
to. other eruptive diseases, besides the «ue
which gives a security against the smalls
EVtDENCS 0^ THE DISCOVEKY OJP VACCIKB INOCULATION.
835
pox ; these are certainly entitled to the
appellation of vaccine, ai^d may, we think,
be very appropriately distinguished from
the other species by the term spurious.
As during the hottest part of the year
tlie virus becomes considerably less active,
so tliat frequent failures take place, it be-
comes a subject of die first importance to
ascer^in what is the best method of pre-
serving a constant supply of matter in
these seasons. Mr. Shoolbred found, con-
trary to the opinion of some of the first
promoters of vaccination, that the disease
cannot be excited in those who have
already experienced it, or • in those who
have previously had the small-pox. The
same conclusion has been formed by Pear-
son, so that the expedient which was sug-
gested, of keeping up a supply of matter
by inoculating such persons, could not be
had rec9urse to. The author, however,
conceived that the necessary supply might
be aiForded by communicating the disease
to the cow: the experiment so fiir suc-
ceeded, that the* animal received the dis-
Art. XXVI. — Tfie Evidence at large, as laid btfore the Committee of the House qfCom*
mom, reacting Dr, Jenners Discovety qf Vaccine Inoculation ; together with the De-*
bate which followed ^ and somg' Observations on tlte contravening Evidence, ^c. By
the Reo. G. C. Jbnner. 8vo. pp. 220.
ease, and matter taken from it affected
tlie human subject ; but it was found that
it could not, with any degree of certainty,
be propagated from one cow to another.
Mr. Shoolbred found that tlie matter
was the most certainly conveyed from
place to place, by its being between ^ass
plates, secured with the usual precautions.
After making an extensive enquiry into
the subject, it appears that the disease has
never been found among the cows of In-
dia ; a passage in a Sanscrit MS. which
spoke of it as known to the Bramins,
has been discovered to be a forgery. The
variolous inoculation is now prohibited at
Calcutta, and the f;niall-pox has since that
time scarcely made its appearance there.
The operation was formerly practised at a
particular season of every year, and thus
an artificial epidemic was produced^
which, by its frequent recurrence, pro-
bably proved more destructive to the com-
munity at large, than if' the disease had
been permitted to follow its regular pro-
TH£ greatest part of the contents of
tlus volume are already pretty well kno^oi
to the public, yet they are in themselves
9.0 valuable, tliat we fully acquiesce in the
propriety.of their being published in tlieir
present form. Tlie subject to which tliey
refer is of such infinite moment, the body
of evidence adduced is so complete, and
of such high respectability, and the whole
Ls brought forwards in so impressive a
manner, that the public mind cannot be
too frequently or too earnestly directed to
it. The fairness with which tiie com-
mictfie acted> in receiving the testimony of
those per9Q0s who were known to be ad-
verse to vaccination, certainly tends to in-
crease the eflect produced by the perusal
of the whole 3 their objections, when
compared with the autliority of the oppo-
site opinion, appear doubly insignificant.
£ven Dr. Moseley himself, when depriv-
ed of the opportunity of displaying his
low humour and coarse invective, is r;3-
duced to tiie slender hold of hearsay re-
port, and lost his recollection of natnes
and facts just at the very time when it
might have been the nK}&t successfiiUy ex-
ercised.
At the end of the work we have some
* ob^rvatious upon the contravening evi-
dence.* They relate to some cases of sup-
posed failure of cow-pox, in preser\»ng
the system against the small-pox, and to
the title which Dr. Jenner claims of being
the discoverer of tlie vaccine inoculation.
On the first of these points we have
already entered at large 1 in some of the
preceding articles 5 with respect to the
second, altliough we apprehend that there
is now but one opinion on the subject, yet
it is curious to observe wliat was brought
forwards on the opposite side of the ques-
tion, however irrelevant or unimportant.
It is indeed an undoubted fact, that tiie
prophylactic power of cow-pox was known
to some individuals, both in and out of
the profession, and that in a few in-
stances, persons had the disease inten-
tionally communicatei to- them, by hand-
ling tlie teats of the infected cow, or
even by being , inoculated widi matter
taken directly from the animal. Beyond
this, however, the subject does not appear
to have advanced, so that whether we as-
cribe it lo the greater zeal or superior sa-
gacity of Dr. Jenner, we are decidedly of
opinion, that to him alone are we indexed
for the advantage which the worid has
derived from tkt; discovery. In our opi«
nion few discpv^ri^ have beenn^ade io
mn
MEDICINE AKD SURGERY.
any agr, wliere die claim to origTnality has
been more cleiirly ascertained, and the
value of tUe disco\*ery itself more decided-
ly e*><;ihli.sluxl.
Alter delivering diese sentiments, we
may jKjrhups he thought some what incon-
sistent or capricioUTi if we, after all, ex-
press our doubt about the propriety of
voting Dr. Jcniicr a parliaiiieiitary re-
ward. We think it a dangerous prece-
dent, one wliich may eventually injure
tlie cause of science, and le^id to anew
source of public profusion. We are fully
persuaded that Dr Jenner himself neither
wished, a )r exj)ected, any pecuniary emo-
lument, when he prosecuted his experi-
ments on vaccintflioD. By holding of
such inducements, we derogate from the
dignity and independance of science, and
raise up a set of pretenders, who will in-
l^ence the judgment of the public, not
in proportion to their merit, but their as-
surance. Had the practice of v^ing pe-
cuniary rewards been confined to Dr.
Jenner, these remarks might have appear-
ed um^essary, but we cannot avoid of-
fering tliem, when we behold a sum of
money pre^nted to a man for practicing a
process which he did not invent, and the
operation of which it appears he did not
understand. '
Akt. XXVII.— .-/« AntXL'tr to Dr, AfoJtelci/, containing a Drfnice of f'accinatif^n^ Bw
John Rise, Member of the Ro^jal College of Surgeons in London, and of the Mcdicd
Societies of ton Jo/l and Paris. 8vo. pp. 300.
Dr. MOSELEVs attack upon Tncci-
nation has Ciilled forth the pen of its zea-
lous and powerful adv(x:ate Mr. Rlbg.
In repeliing the assiiults of his adversiiry,
our author frequently employs the s^nie
species of sarcastic humour which we re-
probated when reviewing Dr. Mosoley's
treatise ; we cannot give it our approba-
tion in the work before us, but we think
Mr. Ring is -less reprehensible than the
original aggressor. We s(X)n, however,
come to a more valuable part of the work,
when the author very happily \x)ints out
the resemblance betvveen the hostility
which now prevails against Che cow-pox,
and thnt which was formerly manifested
a^;iin'<t the small-pox inoculation when it
V .hs first proposed to the public. It ap-
p^^ars that sir Richard Blackmore was the
clumpion on tkit wcasion, and that he
W.IS aided by Tanner, a surgeon of St.
ITiomas's hospital, and a clerg)'man of the
name of Mas-^ey. Sir Richard considers
tlic idea of inoculation proving a preven-
tative of the uatiu-al small-^wx as contrary
to experience and obj»er\*ation, and brings
forward instances of its failure; But the
zeal of the knight was hr outstript by
tliat of the divine j after endeavouring to
prove that the small-pox waa the disease
Willi which Job was afflicted, and that he
was iiv>culated by the devil, he remarks
that (variolous) inoculation is derived
from the countjy where Job was sup-
posed to have U\'ed4
** He' niaintajnt, thai diseases are sent by
Provkienc4f, &>r the trial of 4»ur taith, and the
puni>hitunit of. our «ius ; ajidtkioks thcv^iie
hiiog ovrr oi^r lwaU"» in tcrmnm. Tolllus-
t^aie this p«>ii»t, h»» reminds iii-? audience, that
some people are honest for fear of a gaol;
Some are diaste for fear of uifvction ; some
are just for fear of sliame, and some are tek-
gious for fear of going to hell.
** He therefore cojisiders the imxmlation
of the snvUl-pox, with a view to alleviate <ir
extt^miinate uie disorder, as a diabolicai ope-
ration. He allows it is one of the fandanieQtal
laws of nature, to promote the good of man-
kind ; but he doiibt:i whether life is a ^ood or
an evil. If it be a good, he maintains, that it
is as little bcholdeji to this practice fi>rit5 pre-
servation, as to any other inventioa ^lut-
ever.**
He does not, however, rest his objec-
tious solely upon theological arguments:
he boldly asserts, " that the confessed
miscarriages in this new metliod are more
than have happened in the ordinary way,*
and he openly accuses those physicians of
falsehood and deceit who endeavoured td
inculcate tlie contrary opinion. .
These were not the only opposers of the I
variolous inoculation, nor did all hostility J
cease at so early a period. About the
middle of the la^t century it was strenu-
ously decried by Dr. Deering of Notting-
ham, and Dr. Dod, one of the pbystcians
to St. Bartholomew's hospital, upon tl«
principle of its not afibrding secnrit}'
against the casual disease, llie practice
experienced a similar opposition in Ame-
rica, as appears from a pamphlet pub-
lished at Boston in 1/22. The author
stales that many persons liave falkn vic-
tims to the practice, and ob5er\'es that in
case an action for ielony was brought
against an inoculator, the testimonies that
might be adduced " would be worth hi^
neck in any court of justice." These are
curious historical docomonts, theiri|>pli-
aiMG*S AHSWEB TO MOSEI^ET.
837
cation to tlie present case is striking, and
they should induce those who oppose vac*
cinntion to be very sore upon what
grounds their opinions are rested.
in Dr. Mo8e]ey's treatise a good deal of
stress is laid upon a case related by Dr.
John Sims^ of a person^ who leaving twice
had the casual cow-pox, after wards caught
the small- pox. It appears, however> that
Dr. Sims did not regard this case as any
objection to the practice i)f vaccination j
he conceived it probable that the indivi-
dual nlight have been atiected witli some
other of the diseases to which cows are
subject, and brings forward his informa-
tion, not to discourage vaccination, but to
make |)eople cautious respecting the na-
ture of the matter >vhicb they procure
from the cow. Mr. Ring refers to a gen-
tleman who was an early and violent op-
poser of the cow-pox, and who appears
uuquestionablv to have been influenced
by the most sinister motives, and to havt
used all kinds of arts to accomplish his
ends. Our medical readers will probably
recollect the circumstances/ as well as tlie
melancholy termination of his career.
The author has delicately permitted his
name to rest iii oblivion^ we shall follow
his example.
Mr. Ring next makes some remarks
upon the testimonies which have been re-
ceived in favour of tlie vaccine inoculation,
from all quarters of the civilized world.
He gives an abstract of the evidence pre-
sented to the house of commons, and lays
before us a plan proposed by the goverji-
ment of Franc*e for promoting vaccination
in that country. He regrets that no si-
milar measure has been taken by tlie
British govern ment> a sentiment in which
we cannot altogether acquiesce with him.
We think die less government interfere
in such matters tlie better j tliey gave
their complete sanction to vaccination
when they voted the reward to Dr. Jen-
ner. A subsequent transaction has, in
our opinion^ demonstrated the danger of
permitting parliament to employ the pub-
He purse in rewarding supposed inveniious
in medical science. A letter from Dr.
Friese of Silesia, giving an account of the
estimation in which the cow-pox is held
in that country, and the judicious " ad-
dress from a country clergyman to his pa-
rishioners," written by tlie Rev. Mr. War-
ren, conclude this part of the subject.
Some valuable remarks jiext occur
upon Mr. Goldson's pamphlet> a subject
which has already fsdlen under our dis-
cussion, and upon the supposed failure
of vaccination In tlie child of Mr. Bowco,
a case upon which Dr. !Mose)ey places much
of the force of his arguments. 'This gen-
tleman inoculated the child with small-
pox matter after vaccination : a pustule
was formed on the intA^ulated pail at-
tended with some degre<^ of fever j it
proceeded to maiuration, but some other
pustules which appeared on difieient parts
of tlie body did not maturate ; from the
pustule on the arm matter was taken
which communicated the disease to other
chiklren. Upon these circumstances Mr.
Rhig remarks,
** It is well known, and has been prov^
by examples, tlwt a local p\sstiile niav be
produced by inoculation in tliose who Ibave
had tht? simul-pox, as weM as in those who
have liad the cow-pox ; and that constttutional
sym^jtoms, togtlher with a rasli» or nuliary
eriiiHioUy are also sometiiiies produced in t>acii
a case. As to a single pustule, cap^ibk' of
yielding niiitter, it inay^also easily be excited
in •consttjuence of the appUcatiou of vii'us by
the nails of the patients, eitlicr immediately
after the operation^ or at any siibseqiWt
time during the continuance of the pnstule ;
and this is no uncommon occurrence, either
in varioloas or vaccine inoculatktt.
*' When any person is inoculated for the
small'pox, who has neither had the sroaU-pox
nor tlie cow-pock, a pustulous eruptioD takes
place in the neighbourhood of the primary
pustule; and the whole constitute a cluster of
small-pocks, which become more or less con-
fluent. But in the present instance there was
only a solitary pustule in the place of inoca-
lation ; as in those who are put to the test after
they have had the small-pax."
This explanation is, we apprehend, per-
fectly fair, and indeed it appears to liave
operated so far upon the mind of Mx.
Bowen, that he was himself convinced of
tlie fallacy of his objections, and with true
candour retracted his erroneous opinions.
It appears indeed upon reviewing the
instances of (lie supposed failure of the
cow-pox, that in all of them, except the
case in Fullwood's-rents, there was either
some irregularity about the symptoms, .or
some obscurity about the faets, which ful-
ly justify us in witliholding our assent to
the conclusion, that the constitutional
small-pox has occurred after tlie vaccine
disease had gone through its regular pro-
cess. As one instance of this kind is,
however, acknowledged to have occurred,
it is natural to inquire, whether the casual
small-pox ever occurred twice in the same
subject, or whether the disease was ever
caught afler the variolous inoculation^
The occurrence is confessedly so rare^ that
838
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
some of the most eminent physicians have
absolutely denied the possibility of its
ever taking place ; their opinion appears,
however, to have been founded rather
upon general grounds, than upon an at-
tention to particular facts ; for there are
cases of this description upon record, au-
thenticated in the most unexceptionable
manner, and where we can scarcely con-
ceive a possibility of deception. At all
events the most determined sceptic must
acknowledge, that they rest upon the
same footing with the cases of small-pox
after vaci nation.
We shall here close our account of Mr.
Ring's spirited and able performance ; but
before we conclude this article we shall
make a few remarks on tlie^^resent state
of the controversy rcsjiecting the cow-
pox. When we consider for how short a
period vaccination has been practised, we
cannot be surprised that the subject should
atill remain imperfectly understood, and
that occasional mistakes should still arise.
This is unfortunately rendered more pro-
bable in consequence of the practice
having been so much entrusted to persons
not in the profession, Who were conse-
cjuently unable to discriminate k)etween
the nice shades which the disease assumes,
and to judge what was a genuine, and
what only a spurious species. We are
farther inclined to suspect that the pro-
moters of vaccination have fallen into a
radical error when they trusted to the
local complaint alone, and quite disre-
garded the constitutional symptoms ; the
analogy of the small-pox inoculation
strongly favours this opinion. There is
very strong evidence that in some rare in-
stances the small-pox has occurred more
than once in the same person; and it is to
be expected that the small-pox may also
supervene after the cow-pox in a few
equally rare in<itances. With respect to the
cases of this kind which have been said
to take place, there is reason to cooctude,
that in a great majority of them there was
some irr^ularity in the sjnmptoms ; where
nothing of this kind could be observed
we are at liberty to conjecture, either
that the constitutional symptoms of cow-
pox had not taken place, or that the sub>
ject possessed that peculiarity of habit
which rendered him liable to repeated
attacks of the small-pox.
As to the diseases which are said to be
produced by cow-pox, we may observe
that those persons who have had it casu-
ally, and of course the most violently,
have not found any bad effects to rewit
from it. The writers who attribute dis-
eases to the cow-pox do not agree re-
specting their nature ; some describe them
as being of a scrofulous kind, some merely
cutaneous eruptions, and others of a new
and non-descript species. There is, on
the otlier hand, the most respectable evi-
dence to prove that tlie process of vacci-
nation, solar from producing diseases, ac-
tually has appeared to reniove former com-
plaints.
Tlie variolous Inoculation, at the X\me
when it was introduced, we acknowledge
was a prodigious advantage ; still, how-
ever, it was far from being de\Qid of
danger, the subjects oocasioiially suffered
severely, the constitution was sometimes
much injured, blindness has been the
consequence of the operation, and even
deatli. That these events have occurred
rarely we confess ; but so frequently as to
i:<oduce anxiety in the breast of eveiy
parent whose child was under the procea
of variolation, we confidently assert.
Lastly the inoculated small -pox was un-
doubtedly contagious, and though it se-
cured the lives of tliose who had recourse
to it, it tended to keep alive and dissemi-
nate the infection, so tliat tlie deaths from
small-pox have^ increased s'mce the vario-
lous inoculation became prevalent.
Art. XXVIII. — Memoirs of the Medical Society nfljondon^ insiifuted in the Year 1773.
Vol. VI. 8vo. pp. &22,
IN the course of the last year the Lon-
don Medicii Society have presented the
pnblic with a sixth volume of memoirs, of
the contents of which we shall proceed to
give our readers a pretty copious abstract.
In a preface, giving an account of Uie dif-
ferent transactions of the society, we are
informed that the following medals have
Iteen conferred on the authors '^ whose
communications have been judged the
most meritorious."
" In the year 1801, to Dr. Bouttatz, for
his paper on the medicinal effects of phospho-
rus, thn Fothergilliaii toM medal.
" To Dr. Joseph Adams, for his paper on
frambroesia guincaensis, a silver medal.
" 1802, to Dr. Falconer of Baih, for his
paper on ischias, a silver me<lal.
" 1804, to Dr. Edward Jeimer, a gold n»-
dal, for his invaluable discav<T\ nt racrine
inoculatioii, made when he wa^ a meinhcr of
no other liierarv society.
" 1805, to I3r. Bostock, for his ppcr <^
diabetes, a silver medal.''
MEMOIRS OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETT OF LOKDOlf*
sag
The articles are numerous, possessing,
as may be imagined, very various degrees
of ruerit: upon tlie whole, however, there
arc. many of considerable value, and we
think the present volume has not degene-
rated from its predecessors. The first
paper is by Dr. Falconer, on the morbus
cardiacus of the ancients, what is now ge-
nerally calleil the low nen-ous fever. Tlie
principal object of the author is, to jwint
out the similarity which exists between
the practice of the oldest medical writers,
and that adopted by the physicians of the
present day. This coincidence Dr. Falco-
ner fully illustrates by ample quotations,
from both the ancients and the moderns,
placed in parallel columns. It is interest-
ing to observe tliat the practice which was
found successful by tlie ancients, after
having been discarded in consequence of a
£ilse hypotliesis, has been again gradually
revived, and, with certain modifications, is
at present adopted by the njost judicious
of the modern physicians.
The second article consists of a case of
angina pectoris, with the appearances upon
dissection, by Dr. Black, of Newry. The
disease was first experienced in conse-
*quence of a sudden impression of terror ;
it was relieved by issues, but after a period
of thirty-two years, during which it gra-
dually increased in violence and frequency,
it at length proved fatal. Upon examin-
ing the body after death, the coronary
arteries were fonnd completely ossified
through their whole extent 5 this the au-
thor imagines to be the primary cause of
the disease, and the origin, of the other
morbid appearances. Dr, Parry, whose
essay on syncope anginosa was published
since this paper was written, ascribes the
complaint to a somewhat similar cause.
The third article gives an account of a
case of hydrocephalus intemus cured by
mercury ; a profuse salivation was induced,
and at the same time a copious discharge
of water took place from the nose.
In the fourth paper is related a case of a
boy, wlio some months after birth became
of a blue colour, similar to what has been
observed in those instances, where a mal-
conformation of the heart has prevented
the necessary change from being induced
ou the blood by the action of the air.
After continuing for some time the pecu-
liarity of complexion disappeared. It Was
probably induced by some mechanical ob-
struction to the respiration, of the nature
of which we can form no conjecture :
how it could depend upon a Wlious fever,
that attacked the n>other while she was
giving suck to the child, (the opinion
maintained by the author) we are at a loss
to conceive.
The fifth article consists of " a case of
obstinate hepatic disease," communicated
by Dr. Lettsom. The subject, who was
himself a medical practitioner, had em-
ployed a variety of medicines, among
others mercury, without any advantage,
when the complaint was removed by a
febrile attack, which supervened sponta-
neously, and apparently removing the ob-
struction, left him nearly in^ a state of
health.
We have next a remarkable instance
of the powers of the constitution in
repairing injuries, even of the most se-
rious nature, in a case related by Dr. Lee,
of Jamaica. A negro had the operation
for strangulated hernia performed, and a
part of the intestine being found in a gan?
greened state, it was removed, and an ar-
tificial anus formed at tlie groin. In this
state the patient continued for about a
year, evacuating the faeces at the new
opening, when infiammation came on the
part, tlie wound in tiie groin healed up,
aixd the contents of the intestines were
voided by the natural passage.
With respect to Mr. Smith* s case of
croup cured by emetics, we shall only re-
mark, that such violent practice, though
it may be successful in America, would
be totally inadmbsibie in this country.
The same gentleman gives an account of
a case of tetanus, which seemed to have
been produced by a wound on the tibia, and
which was relieved by applying a caustic
to the cicatrix, and thus renewing the ul-
cerative process.
In the ninth article we have a pretty
direct testimony in favour of the opinion
originally started by Dr. Jenner, that the
cow-pox derives its origin from the horse.
The author. Dr. Marskdl, found a dairy-
maid labouring under well-niarked cow- '
pox.
" Upon making a strict inquiry, I found
one of the cows had this disease, and that in
several of the others, it was also advancing.
On farther inquiry, I also found, tiiat the far-
mer had a horse with sore heels in the stable,
which his son always attended, who did not
usually milk the cows ; but that one morning,
thisoow being troublesome and restive, he had
to relit ve the dairj'-maid, milked her himself, **
The next artitle on the yaws, written
by Dr. Adams, is one of those ort which
the society have conferreki their honornry
reward of a medal, and is certainly one of
tlie ni6st valuable in the collection. It
84a
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
contains the case of a Danish noblemaOj
U'ho came under the author's care at Ma-
deira ; the train of symptoms, and the
eii'ects of the ditfereut remedies employed,
arc noted with much accuracy. The tliroat
was considerably ulcerated, assuming an
appearance very similar to that of s}'phiiis 5
the surrounding inAammation, however,
was greater and the pain more violent.
Dr. Adams gives the tbllowing character
o( the pustules.
** If in the early stage of the pustule you
remove the cuticle, yuu are to expetl a fag-
gi»d but moist slough". In a later stage, if you
ri'inove tl«e scab, you will find a fungus, va-
rying in shape, size, and colour, according to
tiie |)eriod ol the yaw. Where the inriamina-
tion is very high,' you will neither have scab
nor fungus ; but when suppuration ceases,
Xlw part will skin over, and leave a pit."
In some respects the yaws resemble
both small-pox and syphihs ; like I lie for*
mer, tlie constitution aiter having been
once attacked by it loses the susceptibility
of the complaint in future 5 the suscepti-
bility, however, continues for some time
alter both the fever and eruption have sub-
ni^ted, so as to cause the disease to spread
and alibct the contiguous parts as in sy-
philis. There is still considerable doubt
ubuiit the effects of mercury in this disease :
if applied in the earlier stages, it causes a
temjjorary remission of tlie complaint,
which afterwards breaks out as violently
as at first. This medicine has, IwwevcT,
l)een thought to expedite the cure, when
the disease has been advanced to a subse-
quent stage ; but the present case seems
at iiMst to prove that it is not absolutely
nocc^sary, as the quantity of mercury
given was too small to affect the constitu-
tion. Dr. Adams supposes that the le-
prosy with which tlic Jews were affected
^t the time of the Mosaic dispensation,
was in fact the disease of the yaws ; but
that the leprosy which is aftei*\i'ards men-
tioned in the latter periods of the sacred
history, was the Arabian leprosy.
Ihe llth article contains the account
of a case of extra-uterine foetus, by Dr.
Fothergill, of Bath. The symptoms very
much resembled those of dropsy of the
o\arium, and were at first attributed to
til is complaint, though from attending
more particularly to them, the real disease
Mas confidently predicted for some time
befoie the patient's death. This event
was precr-ded by a profuse diarrhoea of
puirid mitrcr, and upon dissection the
skeleton of a fuJl-grown child was found
11
behind the uterus ; part of the bones had
penetrated the rectum, and the remainder,
by tlieir pressure, had rendered the lum-
bar vertebrtt completely carious. The
much-agitated question naturally occurs,
whetlier in such cases it be e%'er advisable
to perform the Caesarian ojieratiou ? Dr.
Fothergill states, what has frequently beea
befoi^e remarked, that in France, wbene
this operation is regarded with less appre-
hension than in £ngland, it is sometimei
successful ', a circumstance which no doubt
depends upon its being performed at an
earlier period. How far this fact ought to
uifluence tlie practitioners of this countiy
we shall not presume to determine } we
do not, however, hesitate to give our ab-
sent to the following obsenations, with
whicli our author concludes his paper.
*' Since those unfortunate cases of extra-
uterine pregnancy can neither be (breseen nor
prevented, much less remedied when known,
oy any ".leans short of this operattoo, it be-
comes an object worthy the serknis considera-
tion of our hnghsh practitionew, whether the
cllaiice this may give of a cure, may not be
greatly preferabk to that long protracted
misery and distress which the uufortunate suf-
ferer mevitably must undergo from herextrar-
nlerine burthen; should she even be success-
ful enough to survive its expulsion piecemeal
through the parietes of the abdomen, or by
the intestinal caual/'
In Mr. Dys€«i*s case of inverted utems
after parturition Wje oiay observe, that the
return of the part to its natural state was
probably much facilitated by bis permit-
ting a short time to elapse Ixjfore he pro-
ceeded to replace it, in (consequence of
which, the after-pains having ceased, the
parts had become relaxed. Mr. Garden,
of Worcester, relates a case of a man who
laboured under violent pectoral com-
plaints, which after continuing for about
a year, terminated in anasarca, scantiness
of urine, aod soreness of the abdomen,
llie body was examined after deatli, and
a large mass of a white fatty-looking ^uh*
stance was found in the left side of the
thorax, which had very much contracted
the left lobe of the lungs, had pushed the
heart to the right side of the chest, and
had forced down the diaphragtu. The
description is not accurate, but we are in-
clined to think the tumor must have cod«
sisted of the fibrine of the blood. Beneath
this substance there was a cyst containing
a considerable quantity of ^erum and coa-
gulated blood, yet the author remarks
that *' no traee of any rupture of vessels
MEMOIRS OPTBB MEDICAL SOCIETY OF XO;iDON.
84i
fl{>|ieaiicet in any part of the left cavity of
die tlKiraiL."
The next paper is furnished by Mr.
ImcIc], and contains the history of a person
wijo, Jiaving suliered nnich from inanition ,
and bodily hard^ip, was attacked with
symptoms of nausea, irregularity of the
^wels, lowness of spirits, and pain, wliich
was always referred to tlie region of the
ficomndi. Upon examining the body after
death, eighteen inches of the lower part
of the ileum, where it joins the caecum,
vras found in a state of cancercKis ulcera-
tion, it is worthy of remark, tJiat the
|>a^ent always referred his pain to the
iiefghbourhood of the stomach ; a circum-
fttance which may teach us how diljScult
it is to ascertain the seat of complaints in
the abdomen, merely from the description
oH the patient's feelings.
The 15 th article contains an instance of
one of those unfortunate cases, who, like
Dr. Sandetbrt's blue boy, have tlie ht»art
»o formed as to prevent the due arterial i-
zation of the blood. The present subject
lived to the age of 17 years, harassed with
all those complaints which attend such
peculiarities of structure, and exhibiting
the usual lividness of complexion. Upon
examining the body it was found that both
the foramen ovale and tlie ductus arteri-
osus were completely open, so that a small
fjuantity of the blood only would pass
through the lungs.
In the next paper -Mr. Cam relates an
instance of a wound of the peroneal ar-
tery, where the vessel was so deeply seated
between the bones of the leg that it could
not be secured.- In such cases amputation
is in general deemed necessary; but this
ojXTation was happily superseded by hav-
ing a part of the fibula removed, and thus
giving access to the divided artery.
The seventeenth article is written by
Dr. Marcet, and C(M}tains remarks on the
medical use of tlie white oxide of bismuth.
^V''c believe this substance has not before
been used in medicine in Lliis country,
but from the re[x7rt of the author, it pro-
mises to atlbrd a valuable addition to our
materia medica. He was first induced
to employ the bismuth from the recom-
mendarion of Dr. Odier of Geneva, who
hod ft)und it useful in spasmodic affec-
tions of tlie stomach. The trials made by
Dr. Marcet corresponded with the reports
which he had received of its virtues, and
will no doubt bring it into more general
noti're. This is altogether a well- written
and interesting communication.
Dr. Falcoaer*s paper on the'nse of the
Bath waters in ischias, whicli Ibrms the
18th article, is one to which a medal Mat
awarded, and is decidedly the most valu-
able i>apcr in tiie collection. After re-
marking that the disease has hitiierto l)ee« ' '
much neglected by medical writers, and
has been confounded with other com-
plaints of a different nature, he proiwseg^
'* First, to give some account of the ap-
pearance of tliii toiiiplaint, aiwl of its atten-
dant symptoms, antl j>roceed to !^)eak of its
causes, and the* nietJiod of cure, and ccmcltide
witii some remarks on what other writers have
delivered on the same subject."
He observes that at its first commence-
ment tlic ischias s-ldoni becomes the ob-
ject of attention, its symptoms are so In-
considerable and transient, and are gene«
rally regarded as depending uj)oa soma ac-
cidental cause. At length, however, the
pain becomes more violent, and the natu-
ral shape of tlie parts are altered : the
thigh is found to be wasted, the nates of
the diseased side is generally increased in
breadth, and the leg lengthened. The
usual course of tlie complaint is for tlie
leg to be lengthened in the first stagey
but afterwards to become shorter than na-
tural; sometimes, however, tlic shortening
has taken place without the . previous
elongation. For a considerable period the
state of the general healtli is little affected.
" But when the disease advances, and the
part alfected !)eco;iie» sore and tender to a
slight touch, and tht* pain grows aaite, throb-
binfr, and uninterrupted ; when tiie swelling
increai;es, and the skin of the paiaed part
changes to a rwl or pink colour, witli an ap-
pearance of slight erysipetak)us inffanunation^
the pulse -then is accelerated considerably,
the face changes alternately from a k'ad-co-
loured paleness to flushing, and the. contrary^
the skin is mostly covered with a clammy
sweat, the tongue grows white, the flesh
waste?, the strength declines, and the situa-
tion of the sick person becomes, in a good
measure, siuiilar to that of one iu the advan-
ced stdtc of a pulmonary consumption.^
The author imagines that a partial di»-
location of the hip joint takes place in this
disease, and justly supposes that the vari-
ous irregularities in the form which the
part assumes may all be accounted for, by
supposing that in some cases the upper, and
in others the lower part of the joint be-
comes first affected. The applicationof cold
to the part is the cause commonly assigned
for the disease, and it appears to be the most
frequently produced by lying on the damp
ground, when the body has been previously
heated.
842
MEDICIKE AND SURGERT.
Tbe Bath waters externally applied
have been long celebrated for their utility
in this complaint, and the reports of Dr,
Falconer must be considered as very
strongly confirming this opinion. The
xi'ater is employed both in the form of the
hot-bath^ and of what has been called dry
pumping^ i. e. being poured witii a degree
of forte upon tlie affec i ed part . In recent
cases the good effects are* both quickly
produced and considerable 5 sometimes it
is necessary to interpose blisters, and when
there is external soreness, leeches or sea*
Tiiication. In those cases where there is
much pain, unattended with fever, opium
is found of service, particularly when
given in the form of Dover^s powders.
The Bath waters are, however, only appli-
cable before suppuration has taken, place,
after this occurrence their use is no longer
admissible. Dr. Falconer presents us with
a tabulated view of the termination ot all
the cases of ischias, which have been in
the Bath hospital during a period of 16
years. The wiiole numb^ is 5S6 : of tliese
122 were deemed improper subjects for
tlie remedy, as being in too advanced a
stage of the disease, and deducting also
^me tliat were irregular in their attend-
ance, Uie number is reduced to 415 : of
these, 103 received a complete cure, 168
were much Wetter, 111 received material
l)enelit, and 33 only were dismissed with-
out any relief. From this . statement it
appears that there were
«* Cnred l-«in 4.1553 nearly.
b^ttCT \ 1— in 2.54, or nearly two-fifths.
Better 1— in 3.74.
Proportion of those who received benefit
to the vhole number as— 9.204»— to 10. or
above nine-tenths of the whole."
It appears from the quotations of Dr.
Falconer, that the ancients were acquaint-
ed with the nature of the' disease, and had
pretty correct notions re^jpecting the prac-
tice to be pursued in it ; while the most
celebrated among the modems have con-
founded it with goHt and rheumatism.
Dr. Falconer, however, excepts the trea-
tise of .Mr. Ford, of which he speaks in
terms of commendation.
The next article is by Dr. Smith, an
American practitioner, who recommends
that in placing the patients for tlie opera-
tion of lithotomy, their hands should not
be bound down to their ancles, is is mnw
ally the case. He thinks this posttioa
must compress tbe abdomen, and §oi9t
down tbe viscera upon tbe bladder -, the
hint appears to us worthy of coosideratioD.
The twentieth article^ by Dr. Brodbelt, of
Jamaica, gives an account of a great en-
largement of the scrotum, which took
place in a negro, in consequence, as it ap-
pears, of a stricture of the urethra pro-
ducing ulceration in the perinxum. It
would seem that in the West Indies the
negroes are not unfrequently attacked
with. swellings of the scrotuoi from van**
ous causes.
The twenty-first article contains an ac-
count of two cases of diabetes, written by
Dr. Bostock of Liverpool j to this papei
was awarded one of tlie society*s medals.
The attention of tlie author appears to
have been [Hincipally directed to an exa-
mination of the chemical nature of the
urine, and we believe his analysis is more
complete than any which has hitherto ap-
peared. In the £rst case the disease sub-
sisted in its most exquisite form ; the se-
cond appears to have been an instance of
what has been termed diabetes tnsipidos.
Nearly the whole of the remaining part
of the volume is occupied with an account
of the influenza, which was so prevalent
in the spring of 1 803. llie society drew
up a set of queries respecting it, which
were transmitted to all their corresponding
members, irom many of whom answers
were obtained. These are all printed at
full length, and certainly form a body of
valuable information, though in its pre-
sent form, it cannot but be regarded as
rather an unwieldy mass. It would not be
easy to give an anal}'sis of the whole ; ve
sh.ill remark, however, that debility was
tlie principal circumstance which chanic-
terized the disease, as distinct finom tbe
common catarrlial or pectoral complainti :
on this account bleeding was seldum had
recourse to, and when tried, its effects
were for the most part unfavourable.
Much difference of opinion prevails re-
specting the contagious nature of the dis-
ease : thou^ many of tbe correspondems
thought it not to be so, yet s<»»e cff the
most respectable were decisive in their
opinion that it was propagated by conta-
gion i til is we confess to iiave been our
opinion.
Art. XXIX. — Rf marks on the Report ofM. CJuip^U loifhan Examination of the Claim nf
M. Gu'/ion lit Morctau to the Discovery of the, Pov^r of tlie Mineral acid Gases m
Contagion, ».Vt'. ^c J?^ James Ca&micha^l Smyth, M, D, 8vo,
KSH9T*8 TABLES OP THE MATERIA MEDICA.
843
Art. XXX.--Zef/(?r to fT, fFilbejforce, Esq. M. P. By James Carmtchael Smyth,
» il/. />, containiftg Ren(arks on a Pamphlet by John Joktistone, M, Z>. 8vo.
Art. XXXL— -flep/^ to Dn James Carmtchael Smyth, S^c. Sfc, By John Johnstone,
3/. D. 8vo,
AS we have already very fully (ana we
trust candidly) given an accx)unt of the
discovery of the use of acid vapours in
contagion, and of the respective claims of
Df. Johnstone, M. de Morveau, and Dr.
Carmichael Smyth, (See Vol. I. p. 813,
and Vol. 11. p. 7g4, of this Review,) we
can only add in this place that we s«te no
reason to retract in the snjallest degree the
opinion that we then expressed. The
controversy between Drs. Smyth and
Johnstone assumes more of a personal
form, and has been caiTied on to the ex-
tent of a reply and a rejoinder. Willi re-
gard to the two points insisted on by Dr.
Smyih (the one, the comparatively small
reliance which he chooses to suppose Dr.
Johnstone senior placed on his own disco-
very, and the other the great superiority
of the nitric over the muriatic fumigation)
we iind it proved by irrefragable evidence
tbatDrJohnston^so far from undervaluing
the importance of muriatic fumigation,
was in the habit of resorting to it and de-»
pending on it as his sheet-anchor in cases
of tlie greatest urgency for a considerable
number of years ; and on the other hand
we have from the testimony of Morveau
and Dr. John Jolmstone a number of facts
collected, which render it extremely
doubttiil to which ^cid the preference is
to be given, and which fully prove that
the muriatic fumigation (when performed
with proper caution) is equally tolerable
to the patient as the uitrou3.
Art. XXXII.-^Ctwtf of two extraordinary Pohfpi removed from the Nose, the one by
Excision with a ntw Instrument,- the. otiur by improvtd Forceps, with an appendix, de-
scribing an improved Insirunient/ot the Fistula in Ano, with Observations on that Dis-
ease, By laoMAS What el y. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in London*
8vo.
THE first of these cases was a young
man, in whom the polypus had been about
three years in forming, which at the time
tliat.the operation was undertaken, nearly
blocked up tiie wholeof the right nostril and
extended into the throat, forming a large
tumour behind the palatum moUe and uvula.
After many very severe and fruitless trials
at extirpation with the forceps, ligature,
and scissars, Mr. Whately at last cut it
through by means of a probe- pointed bis-
toury guarded with a sheatli while passing
up the nostril, the exact construction of
which is illustrated by a plate.
The hemorrhage was considerable dur-
ing the operation, but soon stopped by
using compression^ and never returned.
The second case of polypus was removed
by a forceps bent at the edg^s, which
the author had made for the purpose.
In both the above cases a remarkable
degree of drowsiness attended the disease,
so that the patients would suddenly drop
asleep in-performing the common employ^*
ments of tlieir situation.
The above cases are valuable, and like-
ly to afford assistance to the surgeon in
ibis embarrassing operation.
The instrument proposed by the au^^'
thor for tlie fistula in ano, is a bistoury
with a sheath to protect the sinus from
being wounded till the moment that the
incision is to be made ; when the sheath is
'witlKirawn.
Art. XXXIII.— Ta6/f.T of the Materia Medica, or a Systematic Arrangement of alt the
Articles admitted by the CoUtge^ of London, Fdinbisr^h, and Dul>lin, exhibiting a concise
f^iew of the tnost inaterial Circumstinces r^fxjKcting them, together with a Number qf ori-
ginal and selected Formula; to which ist subjoined a Tabic of a:l the secondary Salts em\
ptoj/ed in Medicine, By J Ells mi ah Kerby, J/, />. Member of the Royal Society qfEjiin^
burgh, bvo.
THE ample tltle-pnge given to this
little work sufficiently explains its use.
The differeirt articles of the materia me-
^'i^::;^ ore arrougeJ under tlicir knuwn or
supposed medical qualities, and the for-
mulae are added to each class. Tables of
new and old namen (now unfortunately-
become so voluminous) are added.
844
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
Art. XXXI V^ — A Manual qf Jnatomy and Physiology, reduced as much as fossMtioa
tabular For m^ for iht purpose qf/acUiUUing to Sin£nts tlie Acquisition qf these Scirnces.
By Thomas Luxmoore, Member of the Hoyai College of Surgeons, Sfc^ S^c. small B^o.
THE title-page of this work wouW mis-
lead the student, it is not a matiual of
phyaiologv, but of anatomy only 3 the
physioI<^ical part being cosiined to very
•hort descriptions of the uses of particular
partsy and most of the great functions of
the animal economy being akogetlier
emitted.
As a nuBiual of anatomy^ it is sufEciently
Art. XXXV.— Afedicfl/ Reports, on the Efffcts of footer, cold and warm, m a Remedy in
fever and other Diseases, w/iether applied to the Surface of the Hodtf, or used interaaitu.
liy James Cu&rie^ M, D, F. R, S. lellovi of the Royal Coilege q^' Physicians, Edinbnrg^,
8va^
fall for tbe parpose, contains no sapeifti-
ous matter^ is correct as far as we have
examined it, and will doubtless answer all
that can be expected ixDm a work of thi»
kind. Indeed^ from the thickness of the
volume, and closeness of the type, a very
large portion of what is useful in anjtfiHBf
is included.
SINCE the pablication of oar last vo-
lume a new edition has appeared of the
Medical Reports, which, as it contains an
wldikional chapter of considerable value,
ii will be necessary for us to notice. The
new matter principally relates to tlie treat-
mewi of a typhus which broke out among
the French prisoners at Slapleton, a fever
which occurred in thehocBe^guards at Can-
tertmry, and the fatal efHdemic at Gibral-
tar. The disease at Stapleton assumed a
highly malignant form; the symptqiuA
were^
" Heacl-ach, dull, and sometimes blood-
ahot eyes, much disturbance of the functions
of tlwf mind, great prostration of strength,
and very generally petechix. The pulse was
not very strong, in frequency it ran from 90
to ll?0 in the minute; the skm was dry; the
heat various in dill'eient patients."
•^ I had not an opportunity,** sa}'» the
author, " of measuring it, but it did not
seem immoderate hi any, the state of fever
consVdered." The disease commenced on
the 10th of January, 1805, and did not
cease until the 20th of April.
•' The whole nurabor of cases of fever was
%\b,oi these between 3' and 400 were cut
fchort by Uie cold affusion, many of them in
the second, third, and fourth days of the dis-
ease. From 4 to 500 ran their course, and of
these 41 died.''
The fatal cases, we are informed, were
chiefly " men advanced in life, and of
worn-out constitutions." All tilings being
considered, the treatment of this disease
must be regarded as very successful, al-
tliough less so than of some other epide-
mics, where the cold affusion was em-
ployed, under more favourable circuin*
stances. It is to be renacrabered, ibat
many of the patients at Stapleton were
unfavourable subjects for fever j they had
snfTered from long confmement, poor diet,
bad clothing, foul air, . and depression of
spirits. We entirely agree with our aa-
tlior, that probably no other instance can
be found '^ of 816 prisoners being seized
witli jail fever, and only 41 ffdliagviaims
to the disease."
The account of the fever which breke
out among tlie blues at Canterbury was
transmitted to the author by Mr. McGre-
gor ^ besides illustrat'mg the usual good
effects of the cold affusion, when applied
to those actually labouring under the dis-
ease, its preventative operation was pecu-
liarly striking, and in this respect the com-
munication is more especially deserviag
of attention^
Tlie ravages committed by the epidemic
which occurred at Gibraltar, in die latter
end of the year 1804, are but too well
known ; it appears that oat of 18^000 in*
habitants 12,000 were affected, and of
these 6,000 died. Most unfortunately, at
the first appearance of the compbist, an
idea prevailed that it was not contagions,
in consequence of which no means were
taken to prevent its spreading, until the
evil had increased to the most alarming
extent. At length, when its iniectious
riature became so apparent, as " to con-
vince even the most sceptical," ^e usual
precautions were enforced) but ihectMta-
glon was already so widely disseminated,
as to render them almost inefficient : the
disease did not cease until the middle of
January, a period at which similar levers
have" disappeared, when left to pursue
their destructive course without cantroof.
Different practitioners adopted di^reot
STOCX^S MBDICAI* jCOtLECTlOBTS 0« THB ETMCTS OF COLB*
fll^
meiliocls of treatracBt, but they were tdl
veiy unsuccessful 5 yet strange to relate,
neither the cold bath nor tiie cold affusion
appear to ha;v'e been tried even in a single
instaiKe ; we can assign no iieason for a
neglect so fatal and so reprehensible.
The concluding paragraphs of this chap*
teff» which also terminate tlie body of the
^work, we shall quote at full length ; they
taontain an acoounC of the motives which
-directed the author in the conduct of his
"work, aio^ves which display equal saga-
city and benevolence, and leave us unable
to determine whether the head or the
heart of this celebrated and much lament-
ed .character were mone wortliy of admi-
ration.
** Having bad an apparently hazardous,
but. in my judgment a highly salutary prac-
tice to recommentl to the w orkl, — a practice
contradictory to bog established ana almost
nniversaJ prejudices, [ reflected beforehand
•with the utmost seriousness on the duty im-
posed upon nie, to avoid in mv manner of
presenting it all possible grounds of offence.
If my matter was alamiiiig, if my object was
bold,' I liave endeavoured to make my man-
ner calm and temperate. The cla'uns of my
contemporaries to merit on this occasion, so
^r as I was acquainted with them, I have
^studiously brought forward. 1 have .been
desirous of treating them not merely mtk
justice but generosity ; and man^ series iiC
experiments which I myself have undertaken,
and I may say undergone, especially in inves-
tigating the effects of perspiration on animal
Jieat, I have suppressed m the detail, and
only given in the result. In a worcl, it has
been ray endeavour to suppress all persona^
considerations, and all petulant expressions;
where I could employ the authority of others^
to do it fteely and respectfully ; and wiiere
I have been ied by my subject to coutfovert
opinions before the world, to use Ihelan-
guiige of civility and candour.
" By these means I have endeavoured to
disarm personal opposition, and to avoid con-
troversy— controversy which some philoso-
phers liave mvoked, but I think unwisely r
and which on a science so impecfect, so un-
portant and so difiicuk as tliat of medicine,
seems to me to have ahnost uniformly mvolv-
ed consequences of an mjurious aud loelau^
choly nature.
" On the whole my endeavours have been
successful. I have encountered little opposi-
tion ; I know not that I have provoked smy
man's enmity ; while the medical vmtings of
the day, both in Britain and in America, bear
evidence that considerable changes have been
cflfected and are effecting on the opinions aud
conduct of medical men, quietly and insensi-
bly, on points of no mean importance, inphy-
siology, as well as practice.'*
Art. XXXVL — Medical Collections on tht Ejects of Cold, as a Remeiij in certain Dis-
ea$e&, with an Appendix, containing an Account' of some Experiments made with a Fiexv
to ascertain the Effects of cold IVater upon the Pidse. By John Edmon ds Stock., Af. L):
Licentiate (ftkc Royal College of Physicians, London ; Member of tlie Royal Medical and
Natural History Societies of Edinburgh : — of the Medical and Oiendcal Societies of Phi-
iadetphia ; .and Physician in BristoL 8vo. pp. 200.
IN a shortpreface the: author enters into
mxi explanation of the object of his work,
aiid the motives which induced him to un-
dertake it. He disclaims all pretensions
to originality, aiiKl professes to aim solely
at collecting into a well-digested form the
scattered testimonies in favour of the me-
dical employment of cold, and by this
means to give to the public mind a degree
of confidence respecting a remedy of great
efficacy, but hitlierto of somewhat doubtful
character. To accomplish this object he
begins by an attempt to ascertain " the
general ejects of cold upon tlie human
system.*' On this subject totally opposite
opinions have been adopted : by sorpe wri-
iters cold has been considered as a seda-
tive; by others, of equal respectability, it
has been ^regarded ^as a tonic; while a
thurd class liave imagined, tliat according
to circumstances, it might operate in either
way, at one time exhibiting a -sedative, at
aootber a stimulant operation.
Our author, however, conceives that its
effects are uniformly sedative, an opinion
which he derives from the following CQa"
siderationa*
" Fu^t, from the paleness and contraction
pf the skin, which succeed the application of
cold.—Sccondly, from its diniinisliing or
weakening the actioii of the heart, and arte-
ries.—Thirdly, from the debility and inacti-
vity observable in the inhabitants of cold
countries. — Fourthly, from tlie gradual dimi-
nution of the vital powers, whicn commences
with its first application, and which, if its
operation be long continued, terminates in
their entire extiuction, cither in particular
parts, or in the whole body.— And lastiv,
from the accumulated excitaliility which.it in-
duces to the stimulus of heat."
We have some facts brought forwards
in support of each of these positions ; the
second, which asserts tliat the aciion of
the heart and arteries is diminished by
cold, is the most liable to be controverted;
845
MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
in proof of it he alleges the slow pul«c of
the inhabitants of cold countries, an expe-
riment related by Rush> when tlie pulse
was rendered slower by immersing the
feet in cold wator, and the experiments of
Miircard, which were attended with the
same result. The general truth of tlie ik>-
siiion we shall not attempt to disprove ;
but we must remark, that we conceive it
possible so to apply cold, as that the action
of the heart and arteries shall not be di-
minished j and secondly, that a retardation
of tlie pulse is not always a proof of tlie
diminution of the action of the heart.
The idea that cold is in certain instances
stimulant, has been adopted, among others,
byDr. Ciurie; and our author could not
permit the opinion of so celebrated a wri-
ter, when in opposition to his own, to pass
by, without attempting to establish the
grounds of his dissent. The opinion of
Dr. Currie is built upon the modus ope-
randi of the cold affusion, in the torpor of
convulsion, and in the apoplexy produced
by inhaling the fumes of charcoal ; Dr.
Stock endeavours to show that in botli these
cases a degree of stimulation had been ex-
cited, and that the benefit derived from
the cold water roust depend upon its se-
dative elTect. Our author goes on to
a^ky
" Doos not the affusion of a bucket of cold
water upon the naked body, act from its
weiglit and impetus as a mechanical stimulus,
as w eli as by change of temperature < and
would not the spriiikling of a few drops of
tepid wuter, rou<$e a person in syncope, as
rapidly as the same quantity drawn from the'
coldest spring ?'*
To these questions we apprehend that
only one answer can be returned, and thai
in Uie negative. We are indeed cfopinioa
tliat Dr. Stock has omitted a most im-
portanf consideration in the view which he
takes of the subject 3 be seems totally to
hare overlooked the operation of the nerr^
ous system^ and according to the plan
adopted by the Brunonians, to have con-
sidered the animal body as one and indi-
visible. We are, however, decidedlj of
opinion, that though cold continued for
any length of time may diminish the ac-
tion of the heart and arteries, yet that xti
sudden application acts as a powerful sti-
mulus upon tlie Derives, and in this way
produces many of its most important ef^
tects. With this view of the subject we
niust diifer from our author in considering
the cold afliision as nothing more than a
transient way of applying cold ; it cer-
tainly has its tffed simply as abstracting
heat, but we consider that its action on the
nervous system is often equaUy powerfiii,
and equally to be held in view in oar rea-
sonings upon its effects.
After giving a short historical account
of the medical application of cold fhim
the earliest periods to the present time,
our author enters upon the consideratioa
of the particular diseases in which this
practice has been considered as benefidal,
arranging them, for the most part, accord-
ing to the order of Cullen's nosology. We
shall not follow him through this detail :
we may remark in generaLthat be has been
successful in the collection of materials
' firom a variety of quarters ; bat we observe
in some places a want of discrimination in
the selecting of bis authorities. However
we may admire the genius of Brown, we
should never think of calling in his opinioQ
to decide a practical question.^ and we. can-
not but consider Dr. Stocks uoquali^ed
assent to the speculations 6f Dr. Kinglake
as rather proving his zeal in the canse
wkick be fa» wwirftvtkua to defend, than
mauiesting that pmdeDt emtio
which every innovation in medicine (
to be received.
( 847
CHAPTER XIX,
ARTS AND MANUFACTURES.
Art. I. — Afractical TrtaUte on Brcvnng, Distilline;, and Rectification, xvith the ganfne
Process qfrnetkitig Brandy y Rum, and Hollands Gin, the London Practice ofbtrvji^iir J^or-
tcr. Ale, and Tame Beer, tlie Method of brewing Country Ales, ^'c, : uith the modem
Jmproventents in Fermentation, or the Doctrine of Attenuation, in zihich the old and pre-
sent Mode of IVork is improved, with an entire new Si/stem much more advuntageoas :
interspersed with practical Observations on each Kind of fermentable Matttr, raw and
prepared, with Rules for obtaining the greatest Quantity, and of better Qualitij, from
Grain raw or malted, Sugar or Molasses, and the making Haines, Cider, and f^inegur ;
the fFhole fundamentally aefineated with Plates: xvith a copious Appendix on tiie Culture
4tnd Preparation of foreign Urines, Brandies, and Finegars, previous to Exportation, and
the best Method (f managing them when imported into these Kingdoms, By E. Huav^
KON> A/. D. 4to. pp. 1007.
WE declioe giving anr opinion on the
practical advantages of Dr. Shannon's en-
tire new system of preparing fermented li-
quors^ as it can only be adequately judged
of by actual experiment. The chemical
theories by which it is supported^ and
which are applied to explain the various
phenomena of fermentation, are how-
ever, for. the most part, singularly vague
and unfounded as far as they are intel-
ligible.
The leading principle of Dr. Shannon* s
system is, that the sole dili'erence between
barley and malt is, that the saccharine
part in the latter is separated, in some de-
gree, from the gluten and mucilage with
ivhich it is intimately mixed in the for-
mer, and thus is rendered more easy of
fermentation : this we apprehcml to be an
entire mistake. The process of. germi-
nation, by which barley is converted into
malt, actually generates sugar, instead of
merely disengaging it from gluten and
mucilage : nor do we at all believe that
ground barley, by being subjected to a
vigorous fermentation, will produce as
much alcohol as if it had been pre-
viously malted. The distillers indeed
mix raw corn with malt, and find their
advantage in it j but this is because the
saving of th« duty on malt mgre tlian
counterbalances the diminished produce of
spirit.
Dr. Shannon endeavours to shew that
the intoxicating quality of malt liquors is-
not in proportion to their relative quan-
tities of alcohol. From equal quantities
of weak porter and strong Burton ale, he
procured, by the process of distillation,
nearly the same amount of spirit ; and as
tbe latter contains a much larger quandtf
of carbonic acid than the former, he is
inclined to attribute much of the intoxi-
cating quality of malt liquors to the car-
bonic acid with which they abound. This,
however, is not a perfectly fair dediictioa.
Alcohol is very soluble in carbonic acid,
and therefore the more of tiiis acid a li-
quor contains, the less alcohol will be
condensed in common distillation, except
care has oeen taken, by the addition of
lime or caustic alkali, to iix the acid pre-
vious to distillation.
It would be a most unprofitable task to
discuss the wild speculations of this author,
or to point out 'the grievous defects of his
style, and his numerous sins against gram-
mar. The professional distiller, brewer,
or wine- merchant, may derive from this
volume some useful hints } but, as a
work of science^ it$ vajue is very ^ali
indeed.
ai3
ARTS AND MANUFACTURES.
Art. IL — A Treatise on the Art of Brcnd-nudcing ; t^herem the MeaUng-trade, A^U
Liixvs, and nny Ciraimstance connected 'xiththe Art, is particular ty cxahuturd. By A.
Edlin. 12mio. pp. 216.
WE have been, upon the whole, much
plc;uscd with this little work, and should
be glad to see all our domestic manufac-
tures illustrated in the same manner.
Tlie first chapter treats, somewhat un-
ncressiurily, of the natural history and cul-
tivation of wheat ; but having entered on
tliis part of thesul)ject, it wastlie business
of the author to devote more attention to
' it than he appears to have done. The
scraps of veg^'table physiology might well
h;ive been sp.u-ed, together with the e^t-
rciicts from Dryden's Virgil, lliomson's
Seasons, and Darwin's Botanic Garden j
:uid the s^jace thus cxrcupied might have
been more profitably employed in describ-
ing the different varieties of this useful
grain, and tlie peculiar advantages aiod de-
lects of each. The coarse reed- like Egyp-
tian wheat should have been noticed 5 abo
tlie beautiful gold-coloured Amaut wheat
wliich the Italians import from the Crimea,
and of which they make their best vermi-
celli : nor ought the wheat of Tripoli to
have been passed by in silence, so re-
markably liard as to be incapable of being
ground by the common mill-stones.
Tlie second chapter, entitled " Obser-
vations on the JNIejiling-trade," relates, in
a brief but perspioious manner, the ma-
migement of wheat in gninaries, the pro-
cess of grinding, and the proportion of
lour, bran, pollard, &c. in English and
Bengal wheat.
Tlie analysis of wheat-flour is the sub-
ject of the third chapter, which contains
several exporiiuents in confirmation and
tforrection of those already made by Par-
jnentier. Vnuquelin, and otiier chemists.
Wr. Edlin shows that wheat-flour consists
•f gluten, fecula or starch, an4 sugar j and
chat no two of the ingredients, even when
assisted by the usual proj)ortion of yeast,
will make good bread, the presence of all
tfiree being absolutely necessary. The
component parts of 1 lb. of the best wheat,
according to Mr. Edlin s analysis, appear
oz. dr.
Bran - - 3 0
Starch - -.10 0
Gluten - - 0 6
- 0 'U
Su^^ur
Loss
14 0
2 0
Iti 0.
The fourth chapter is improperly term-
ed "on the Analysis of Yeait." Mr.
Edlrn shows, indeed, that yeast, by gra-
dual distillation, is separated into carbraic
acid, a watery liquor, and a dry extract ;
but this can hardly, with propriety, be
termed an analysis. Neitlier the distilled
water, nor the extract, are capable of ti-
citing fermentation in flour -, but the car-
bonic acid does it very readily, as indeed
Mr. Henry had before observed. E\en
water, strongly impregnated with carbonic
acid from chalk, if hastily mixed with
£our, appears, from the experiments of
this author, to be equally efhcacioos with
yeast in making bread.
The fifth chapter treats slightly and im-
perfectly of the theory of fcrnientation ia
bread. The fecula, as is obvious from the
conunon mode of preparing starch, dues
not undergo fermentation, unless dissolved
in water j neither does the gluten, whe-
ther by itself or mixed with yeast, exhibit
any change for several hours, and then the
fermentation that takes place is of the
putrefactive kind. But the saccharine ex-
tract of wheat runs speedily into the pro-
per vinous fermentation wlien assisted by
a little yeast ; if left to itself, the fermen-
tation is slower and more irregular, and
seems to become acetous even betbre the
vinous fermentation is thoroughly esta-
blished. In both cases carbonic acid is
given out 5 and to the enungleraent c^
this in the gluten of the floor, is no doubt
owing the lighmess of tlie bread.
Chapter VI. is entirely practical, and re-
lates to the preparation of bread either
unleavened, leavened, or fermented with
yeast. Leavened bread has usually mone
or less of an acidulous taste ; but this may
be avoided, and tlie lightness of the bread
greatly improved, by dissolving in warm
\i'ater forty grains of fully carbonated pot-
ash for every pound of floor employed,
and using this alkaline solution tiistead tk
plain water, to moisten the flour with
when it is mixed with the leaven.
The seventh chapter shows how to pre-
pare the various substitutes for wbcalen
bread, and cbntams many excellent eco-
nomical receipts for this purj)ose.
l*he eighth chapter relates the best
methods of preparing and preserving
yeast; tlie ninth explains the structure
of a bakehouse, and- the implemems roadd
uie of 5 and the la«t chapter explains the
2DLIN OK THU AST OF »BEAD-UAKIN6. 84^
manner in which the assize of bread \$ and theoretical, may be added from I'ari-
rcgulated, and contains a good summary ous quarters. In Dr. Townson*s Travels,
pf the provisions of the vsirious acts of Mr. Edlin will find a particular account of
parliament passed for this purpose. the Hungarian bread. In the Journal de
The plan of the author upon the whole Physique is a valuable paper^ by Dr.
is very good^ and the execution is much Outline, on the Russian rye-bread, and
to be commended ; but, in the next edt» an elaborate memoir, by Tillet, on tho
tiQii> much valuable matter, botl) practical weight which dough Iqses by being baked.
Akk. Biv. Vol. IV 3 1
( 050 )
CHAPTER XX.
FARRIERY AN'D HORSEMANSHIP.
Abt. T. — An AnafyM of HorsernanMp ; teaching the whole Art of riding in ike nume^e^
military, racings hunting, and travcUiug Sustem. Together With the Art qf breaking
Horses for every Purpose to which those nobte Animals are adapted. By John Adami,
Riding-master, 3 vcus. 8vo^.
WE have been much pleased vnth the
modesty, good sense* and good temper,
by which uese volumes are diaiacterized ;
ia nothing do they appear to be either de-
fective or superfluous. The author always
keeps his main object in view, and pro-
ceeds towards it by the shortesft and
plainest road without any stop or devia-
tion. Calm and gentle perseverance he
shows to be the readiest and moat efiec-
tual method for the rider to attain and
preserve an entire command over hii
horse, so that the work before us is not
less calculated for the comfort of the
horsQ than the safety of his rider.
AaT. IL—^A practical Treatise on Farriery : including Remarks on all Diseases iitcideni
to Horses, vie Symptoms by which thetf are generaliy known, and the most apprvced Mode
4^ Cure. Firom the Manuscripts of the late Edward Sitape, Farrier to their Mqfestkt
and the second Troop qf Horse-guards, 4to. pp. 15^.
THIS publication will, we doubt not,
be found an useful addition to the library
of the veterinary surgeon. It contains a
brief account of the leading symptoms of
diseases to which horses are subject, to-
gether with a full and particular descrip-
UQU of the remedies which the author in
bis own practice has found to be most
successful. The language is plain and
perspicuous, and most meritoriously free
from that i^orant conceit, the sign c^ a
defisctive eaucation, for which many of the
fashionable farriers seem to have takcQ
otAt a patent of monopoly.
( «^y
CHAPTER XXI,
MATHEMATICS and NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
The disturbed state of the continent has prevented us from receiving the usujil
supply of raadiematical and philosophical works. One fell into our hands hut jus t
before this part of our work was going to the press : and we expect from it^ since the
author is a member of the National Institute, that the philosophers of Paris are medi-
tating a serious attack on the Newtonian philosophy. We shall not fix;l any alarm oa
this side of the water 5 and Mercier's wit will fall harmless, though it may excite en-
quiries into the use of words employed by many mathematicians. The observation*
made by Herschel, noticed in our account of the Philosophical Transactions, may be
opposed to the flimsy wit of Paris : and the observations of Schroeter in -Germany open
SL field for wide discussion. The three new planets between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter, will bring many, questions on the philosophy of Newton to a se.vere investi-
gation ) and we shall try it not by the wit of Mercier, but by those calculations wbioh
he holds in so much contempt. Here we may find great assistance from the very able
work of Mendoza y Kios j a work which does honour to this country j and the more
it is known the more will its merit be acknowledged. But if we ha\'e not many works
to lay before our readers, the dignity of one of the philosophers may, notwithstanding
the smallness of his work, give a splendour to our catalogue. A bishop appears amoz^g
us^ and explains Virgil from no small attention to the doctrine of the sphere, and true
astronomical principles. His work will deservedly call the attention of the classical
scholar to a science which may assist him in many of his difficulties. If a bishop can
Condescend to enter into questions on the gathering of honey and the sowing of wheatj,
we trust that many mathematicians will apply their talents to practical objects of still
greater impprtance. The eastern world calls out for assistance ; and Mr. Machonothie
has projected a plan for the improvement of naval architecture and navigation, which
requires all the exertions of the mathematical worlds. It is well known h6w little has
been contributed by science to the art of ship-building, and how much has been gained
by the navigator by the improvements in astronomy and the lunar tables :. the success
in the latter may justly excite the mathematician to use his exertions for the improve*
ment of naval architecture.
Abt. l.-^lMitnihaliiclie beohachtungen der neu entd^ten Planeieti von D, J. H.
ScHBOTER. Gottingeiu 1805.
Observations made at lAHenthal on the lately discovered Planets.
ONE of these planets was discovered which Mr. Schroter and his assistants are
at Lilienthal, and the other two have been known to possess. Next to Herschel'*
is^mine^ Y^ith that skill and diligence his ebseryatory is supplied with better ia-r
3{ 2
So2
MATHSM )
stniments than anj other in Europe cnn
bonsl ofy and his industry is scarcely in-
ferior to that of the astronomer, which our
country has adopted, and raay justly call
her own. I'hat these two astroiwracrs
simuld not agree in every respect in their
observations cannot excite surprise, when
we consider tiie distance and, compara-
tively sjieaking, small si/.e of the bodies
which they wore examining ; the deter-
mination of the jipi)virent magnitude, and
circumstances in rending the colour and
edges of the pi.. nets, are points of great
nicety, and it is rather surprising tliat ihey
should agree in so many particulars thiui
tliat in certain re^jpecu a diversity of opi-
nion ftliould prevail.
These planets were obsen^ed by our au-
thor cliicrty with his thirteen-foot tele-
scope, and a magnifying power of 136 and
288. ITie observations were made be-
tween the eleventh of January and the
third of April l«02, ^nd some took place
in December 1804. The first time that
' he saw Piazzi, on tlie eleventh of January,
it appeared to have a pale reddish lights
the orb was not well defined, but on the
twenty-firth the edge was sharp and tlie
light whiter. In general, however, its
aspect was like that of a comet, and re-
sembled very much that which was se^-n
in 1 799' On tlie 26th it was again more
nebulous, but on the 28lh clearer, and it
underwent continual changes of this kind,
the extension of its nebula kicrtiising in
the proportion which the diminished dis-
tance of the earth leqnircil. On the 1 1 th
of January it appeared to be of tlie niutli
magnitude, but in the middle of March
when it was in its perii^n*, it looked like
a star of the sevOnlh magnitude. In Dol-
)ond*s best glasses tlii« nebulous appear-
ance w.is not observed, and it was not
noticed by the astronomers Zach, Gibers,
Maskelyn, and others, whose ol)'ier\^ations
were made xvltli refracting telescopes.
Strongly illurainati'd telescopes were re-
quisite to discover it, and such «is have,
lately been brought to a high degree of
improA'ement; witli these Herschel.Haker,
Schmter, and Harding, obser\ed it. As a
proof of this ditt'orence in the telescopes,
Harding, with an excellent tcn-ftH)t Dol-
lond, could not lind the least trace of a
nebula. Hence it appears that something
more h requisite in these observations
than the increase of magnifying power ;
for Herechcl witli his seven-foot telescope
4nd magnifying power gJ[ 516 observed
some kind of nebula about Piazzi, but
with a magnifying power of 881, with
which he expected a sharper vicw^ saw
neither Piazzi nor Olbers better defi.
ned.
The apparent diameter of Piazzi i^ esti*
mated from a variety of observations taken
with great care at 1*,83Q, and with th^
nebula at 2",514, on the 25 th January
1802, tlie distance from the earth then
. being l,902y. On the 6ih of March the
orb was 2,997 » and with the nebula 3.8^3
the distance from the earth being l,6l6.
From the changes in the atmosphere jn
the two planets Piazzi and Olbei-s, the ro-
tation round their aj^es will with diiticalty
be ascertained^.
Gibers was ftrst obserred on the 30ih
March 1 802, as a star of the seventh mag-
nitude, pale, nebulous, but better defined
than Piazzi. These two planets seemed
to be twins, and partaking of the nature
of a planet and a comet. The day after
tlie tirst discovery, it v.-as evident that
Olbers was subject to greater tliangps in
his atmosphere than Piazzi ; for on the
1st of April its light was clearer, and
witlK)Ut a nebula, aud it appeared like g
fixed star : on the secoi>d and third the
nebula reappeared, but on the thirteenth
it was gone again. From seven measure-
ments made in Marcli and April 18Q2,
the apparent diameter was determined,
namely on tlie 30ih of March \\ ith the
iiJoula 4",(535, without the nebula 3*,893,
its distance from the eartli being 1,377,
On the fir:>t of April its apparent diameter
without a nebula was 3'V243, aud its dis-
tiince from the earth 1 ,389.
Harding wa:> discovered at Lili^ithal,
and we may with reason attribute the dis-
covery of it to the pkin laid down at this
place in September 1800, when Zach,
Endi, and Olbers, paid a visit to it, and
there it was determined to pay each par-
ticular attention to certain districts in the
heaven, with tlie express view and ex-
pectation of discovering new planets. In
consequence of this determination, Hard-
ing was discovered by the astronomer of
this name on tlie first of September I804.
Harding on the (Jth of September was
noticed to have a different aspect finom
that of the other two planets, the light
being soft and white, and the orb like that
of a planet without any resemblance to a
comet. On the llth the light was less
clear and whhe, and in three hours after
the first observation on that day the light
was still paler. On the ninth its apparent
diameter was taken at2''^6ll, on the 14th
with a magnifying power of 136 and thir-
teen-foot telescope it was 2*,tl40> and nxt ith
a magnifying power of 288 it was taken ar
2^,413. Ou the 20th of December, when
( 6^20fiOi>HIC^t EKQUIXT.
8^.3
t^iazzi and Harclingwerebotltiii ...^aeUlof
tLe telescope, both round and well- defined,
and Piazzi without a nebula, both planets
with the magnifying power 1 3d, appear-
ed to have the same magnitude I", 554,
but with the magnifying power 28y, P.nzzi
was taken at 1 ",469, and Harding at 1^795.
The distance of Piazzi on that day was
3,0'S6, of Harding 1,730, and between the
<^th and 14th of September, according to
Gauss*5» calculation, 1 ,7()5.
Oil the subject of the apparent diame-
ters tlie German astronomer differ^ in ]
opinion with Herschel, but he gives very
strong reason in support of tliat which he
maintains. Both the author, and his as-
sistant Mr. Harding, have made a vast
nuiuher of obser\ations,in which they very
seldom disagreed to any amount worth
mentioning J and Ix'sides^ in general they
agreed witli Herschel. That lierschel
might be ia an error is probable, because
he measured Piazzi only tlirice. Gibers
only once, and his measurements are not
consistent. On the 1st of April 3 802 he
makes the apparent diameter of Piazzi '
with his seven-foot telescope and magni-
fying i>ower 370 to beC',40 : on the 21st
of April with his ten-foot and magnifier
516 to bcO",38j and on the 22d of April
with the last telescope to he 0'12y tl^at is
only half as large as it was on the first
of April; the apparent diameter on the
22dof April he ee. ermines to be 0", 13.
AVe cannot help uniting with our auihor
in his testimony, in tliis respect, against
Herschel j for such a change in the appa-
rent diameters of Piazzi would at once
determine the body to move in a very dif-
ferent orbit from what is assigned to it by
Dr. Herschel liimself.
The magnifying powers used by Hers-
chel were far top great for the pale light
of tin? two planets, since the finer nebulas
of Piazzi and Olbers were not visible, and
hence tlie apparent diameter was made
somewhat too small by him. Several other
objections are made, whence some impor-
tant conclusions will hereafter be drawn
on the -nature of telescopes, of high mag-
nifying powers ; and when two persons of
such eminence in their profession differ
so very materially in their judgments, the
cause must evidently soon be discovered.
Our limits will uQt permit us to enter at
present into the discussion, which we doubt
not will l)e brought before us again in ano-
ther shape ; but the management of 4iie
contest dot^s great honour to the author.
From observations and calculations the
tme diameter of Piazzi is 352, of Olbexs
455, of Harding 3O9 geographical miles ;
and if we take the diameter of tlio earth
at 1719, of Mercury 6O8, of the moon
468, then the diameter of Piazzi is to th.nt
of the earth as 1 to 4,88, to that of Mer-
cury as 1 to 1,73, to that of the moon a*
1 to 1,33. The diameter of Olbers is to
tliat of the earth as 1 to 3,77> to jhat
of Mercury as I to 1,33, and to that of
the moon as 1 to 1,02. The diameter of
Harding is to tliat of the earth as 1 to
5,5Qy to that of Mercury as* 1 to 1,97, and
to that of the moon as I to 1,51 : Olbertf
is therefore nearly about the same size as
our moon, and about one quarter gi^eater
in diameter than Piazzi, and Harding is
tlie least of tliese three bodies.
The height of the atnK)sphere of Piazzi
above the surface of the planet is estimated
at 146,02 miles, and of Olbers at 101,62
miles. Harding's atmosphere cannot easily
be estimated, but it is denser and highe^
than that of the old planets. These three
new planets are also denser than the old
ones ; then follows Jupiter, and ne%t thQ
earth, llic conjecture of Dr. Olbers that
the planet of his name, and Piazzi, are
fragments of the same greater planet, is in
great measure adopted by our author, and
it seems to receive some support from the
discovt^ry of Harding : but our author doe*i
not conceive that the planets were made
by a comet destroying the original ; but
that at the original creation those mate-
rials, which were on the point of forming
a planet, were by some cxjnvulsion sepa-
rated from each other, and thus became,
according to tho direction given by Xh%
explosion, each a plant- 1 round the sun.
Whatever may be the fate 'of this hyp*^-
thesis, we cannot givo the author too muck
praise both for his industry in observation^
his skill in calciilation, his niodosly in
staling his own pretensions, and the merit
of a rival, and above all tlie union of d0uu4
religion with true philosophy.
Art. n. — Prospectuft of n ^Fork, entitled, a Philosophical and Experimental Inquiry
into the Jmws of Jiesiitance of mxHclastic Fluids and Cohesion of Jibrou9 -'^Ud^, «V
far as either 19 <onn^ct^ uith the Theory or Pruttive of ^aval AvMUcture) ah^
political and commercial Strictyres on the comparative Slate of NaV(U Ardiiineturt
in Great Britain and India. By A. Mackonociiik^ 2^q»
THE autlior of this work resides at Baypoor, near Ciiliqit^ Mdfibar, and hai
054
MATHEMATICS,
from this prospectus employed himself
with great succfss in tjxperiments on tim-
ber, with a view to tlie perfection of naval
architecture. To carry on his views, he
very respectfully calls upon the scientific
to uaite with him in a vast enquiry, by
which the law of resistance may hie e^-
plaiaed. The experiments to be made
are divided into classes and orders, llie
first class contains the case of a body
moving witli a given velocity, or ^ fluid
moving with a given velocity againsf a
body at rest^ to determine the rat 19 of the
distance of the surface. In this cbss are
eighteen orders, presenting different an-'
gles to the fluid ; and in each order are to
be fifty beries of experiments.
A simUar class with orders contains the
ease of the surface of a moving body, and
'As angle of incidence being given, to find
the ralio of the resistance to tlie velocity.
Other experiments are proposed on tlie
pressure of fluids, and on the nature of
the pyroligncous acids, and from tlie latter
the durability of timber, with tlie effect of
icon and copper upon it, are to be ascer-
tained. A curious fact is here mentioned
of the mode of preserving vessels by the
flshermea of Malabar, who wrap a piece of
sheet copper or lead round the nails, which
fasten their little vessels togedier -, and it
Is suggested that the substitution of oxyd
of copper or lead might not be unwortliy
of the notice of our ship-builders : green,
white,, or red paint would answer the same
purpose, but oe more expensive.
lo make wood more durable, attention
must be paid to the gases contained in It ;
these are known to exist ftom the commoa
experiment of the air-pump, whose re-
ceiver on the withdrawing of the air wfll
be filled with gas from die wood. Thb
process is imitated by the author by s
^team- vessel, into whicli, on the admissioa
of the steam, the air will depart from an
aperture below, and on the condensation of
tlie steam the gases will rush from the
W(xxi to fill the vacuum. Continual im-
missions and condensations of steam will
thus free the wood from all its gases, and
when tarred over it will no longer be sus-
ceptible of tlieir influence. This process
may be applied with great advantage to
tlie timber in the royal navj', as the chips
of fir in the yards will supply all the tsr
that is requisite for the purpose.
By means of his steam-vessel it is pro-
posed also to bring timber to any degree
of curvature, and to employ timber thus
steamed in the frames of ships. Otlier
improvements are suggest^ in the struc-
ture of Qie decks, with a view to obviate
the effects of the rolling and tossing of
ships 'j and from the ingenuity evident in
this prospectus, we cannot doubt that the
propbsed work is frilly entitled to the pa-
tronage of the public. Much useful in-
formation will be given respecting th»
management of forests, both in England
and in India ; and it is with pleasure we
learn that we may look to the latter quar-
ter for the supplies of our }"ards, and the
ships of India may hereafter add to the
ti'lumphs of tlie British navy*
Art. III. — Histoirede V Astronomic ancienneet modcme deJ.S.BAiLLY^ Parh, 1805^
ilUtortf of AiUroHomj, ancient and modern^ in which the historical Text of the Originai
u preserved, and such scientifical Details and abstract CalculoHons arc suppressed, as arc
nut interesting to the Generality of Readers.
THIS is a very elegant abridgment of
the history of Bailly j a history too well
known to tlie scientific reader to require
here any detail. The chief fects are pre-
served in this work $ and as the title ob*-
serves, it is intended for the geneiral, not
the scientific reader. It is amusing ag
well as instructive ; and the plan of re-
taining the words of the original authoj
make it much more entertaining than
tho^e crude abridgments which at times
fall into our hands, and betray bad taste
under the appearance of great industry,
veiy one remembers the ^te of Bailly ^
and his name, connected with the tennis-
court In which the famous oath was taken
by the French deputies, will live for ever
in the history of that country. This cele-
brity was dearly purchased by a death 00
the scaffold for an ungrateful nation $ but
the astronomer will gratefully remember
the pains bestowed by the philosopbiod
mayor of'Paris on the histocy ofhis science,
h\ live large volumes ; and the general
reader will be no less thankful to the
editor of this abridgment, for having con*
fined, in so short accunpass, the most raa-«
terial passages in the origuiai work.
•Art. IV.— Ctfwmfrria/ Arithmetic, roith an Appendix upon Algebraical Questions; hdif
' an Ifitroduction to the EtetneiUs qf Commerce, JBy C. Dubost. London. 1803.
THE design of (his book is cj^cellcntj the execution of it not deserving so high
itB^^BN^OM^S SYSTEM 09 MVt>-SURVBTINa*
65$
An encomium. It is very difficult to ex-
plain the simplest things^ aiid the author
iihould have paid greater attention to
Locke*s chapter on number. We are
told first what arithmetic is, namely, the
science of numbers: of course what is
meant by number must be explained, and
the writer very properly gives a definition
of his meanings but introduces the terms
units and quantity. Quantity is then ex-
plained ; • but instead of explaining the
jxieaning of unit, we are led to that of
mni^, a term which depends on the mean-
ing of unit. Allowing for this very com-
mon e];ror on such subjects, we read with
pleasure the account of the progress of
jQuniber by multiples and dividers of tens.
We were stopped at the account of arith-
metical operations, when we w^ere told
that, to miake an addition, we were to ex-
press by one Qumber the aggregate of se-
veral. Now we apprehend that, to a
learner, the word aggregate wants more
explanation than the word addition. In
the definition of subtraction we found the
term deducted used, « which requires just
as much explanation as the word subtrac-
tion.
The signs -|- and — are curiously ex-
plained : '' to denote addition, we make
use of the si^ -)-, which means plus -, and
for subtraction the sign — , which means
minus." Now is the English reader at
all Instructed by this explanation ? for plus
and minus are two I«atin words, which to
him are as unintelligible as any other
Latin words, and both require to be trans-
lated into his own language, before he
can understand the propriety of their use.
But -f- means add, and — means take
away^ and there is bo more reason for
applying Latin words to the signs -|- and
*-, than there is for applying them to the
signs X and -r.
Fractions are first defined to be num-
bers, by which we express quantities less
than unity ; and two pages after we find
that a fraction may be less or greater than
a unit, or equal to it. The sections on
fractions require considerable revision, and
the writer will recollect that, accordii^
to his own definition, to multiply a num*
ber by another, is to repeat the one as
oflen as there are units in the other i how
then can he multiply, as he proposes to
do, nine by ^, since ^ is less than a unit }
The want of demonstration in these sec-
tions must be very sensibly felt by a
learner.
The difl[iculties iti exfdaining ratios ard
well known to every mathematician j they
are not removed by this writer. The cou^
version of a proportion into an equation i%
frequently very useful, and the instances
here given are well chosen. ^Ve do not
see tlie difficulty of defining algebra in*
telligibly to those who have not any idea
of the science 5 for when a p^son under-
stands what arithmetic is, namely, the
science of numbers, he can easily compre-
hend that algebra is only a part of that
science. In common arithmetic all the
terms are definite and known : in algebra
they are firequently indefinite, aod letters
stand for numbers ; some for those that
are known, others for the numbers that
are not known. The instance to explain
the nature of algebra is well chosen j but
we were surprised to read so poor a defi-
nition of equation, as that it is an assem-
blage of several quantities separated by
the sign ?=. That such an assemblage
constitutes an equation we doubt not > but
the propriety and meaning of the term
equation remains to be explained. The
sections on equations scarcely belong to
the subject, and may be removed without
detriment to the work, which, with a little
attention to the nature of learners, and
care to adapt language to their use, ma/
be nuide a very instructive publication*
Art. V. — The System of Land Surveying at present adopted by Surveyortani Commisnaiwr*
in old and new Jnclosurcs* By W. STEpniNsoN. 8vo.
THE attention of country gentlemen
has of late years been very much called to
the breeding of cattle, and peers a^d butch-
ers discuss at Smithfield every improve-
ment on the fettening of oxen. We
would not discourage any useful under-
taking ; yet one of 5xe writers of the Old
Testament does not apprehend this to be
a kind of knowledge to be very much cul-
tivated by the higher orders of society.
It is strange, however^ that another^ kind
of knowledge, whkii is of so much con-
sequence to the land*proprieU>r, and enten
continually mto the discussions of the le-
gislature, should be »o much neglected.
Geometxy is supposed to have t^n its
rise in £gypt, and the oyeifiowings of tho
Nile gave impprtance to mensuratioa.
The continual changes of property in Eng-
land, by bills of inclosure, render this
science no less usefiil to us ; ^d when
we cdusidcr how little is required, w*
i^6
MATHEMATICS.
should think it very improbable that any
considerable landholder would take the
number of his acres upon the mere ipse
dixit of die surveyor. We kijew one
young nobleman who was not contented
with a process of tliis kind : he was going
through the regular course of study at
' Cambridge, and^ in one jpf the vacations,
employed his summer months in an ac*
tual survey of his father's estates in the
Highlands; thus improving himself in
geometry, at the same time that he en-
joyed the picturesque scenery peculiar to
that part of Sco^nd*
We could mention also persons who, on
an inclosure taking place, have found that
their lands had been very differently mea-
sured by the same man, when measured
some time before on their own account,
and then on the account of the commis-
sioners. Such a loss as was experienced
at that time would have been prevented,
if tlie proprietor, on the first measuring
of the land, had been capable of examin-
ing the surveyor** account ^ and all the
knowledge requisite is merely that of the
four first rules in arithmetic, and the easy
properties of a triangle. To render tliis
knowledge familiar to the proprietor and
to the surveyor, the author of this work
takes an instance of a s«ppcwpd pai^ to
be inclosed, which is possessed by a ca-
tain number c{ imaginary proprietoTH
whose various tenures of potise&ion aie
agreeable to those found* in most parishes.
Their lands are thrti respectively mea-
sured, the quality ascertained, and tho
parish is divided into new* alloCmenls,
agreeably to tlie vahie of each penoo's
previous possessions. The instance is wdl
made,' and the practice upon it will grrc
the learner complete insight into the bne-
ness of land-surveying. We cannot ex-
pect the country gentleman to take his
chains and rods, and flag-stalfs ; but with-
out that labour, he may by tliis instance
learn to judge of his surveyor's work,
when the plan of his own estate is broo^t
to him, and he may with ease ascertaai
whether the number of acres is properly
estimated. The quality and price of laod
is a subject of great difficulty: as yet
much is given to conjecture, and the mode
of ascertaining it ought to be laid down in
every bill of inclosure. The number of
plates accompanying this work will be
found very useful to the young land-sur-
veyor, and he sliould plan them all out
upon a diiferent scale.
Art. VL — j4 theoretical and practical Treatise on subterraneous Surveying, and thcMef
. netic Tar iai ion nf't/ie Needle. 5yJ. Fenwick. 8vo.
THE preceding article is of importance
to the landholder, whose profits 'are de*
rived from the surfiice of the soil j the
work now before us wDl be found equally
useful to one whose gains arise from the
bowels of the earth. The quality and
quantity of each mine depend upon dif-
ferent circumstances ; the former can be
known only by comparison of coals of dif-
ferent kinds 3 the latter from tlie usual
inoiles of mensuration applied to subter-
raneous passages. Our author begins need*
lessly wifh the very first rudiments of geo-
meir\'; for it must be supposed that no
one will apply hims^ lo the practice of
subterraneous surveying, who has not
previously bt*cn instructed in the principles
vi geometry and trigonometry. Indeed,
as nuinerical figures are very much used
throughout the work, there would have
been equal propriety in laying down pre-
i^iously the first four rules in aritJiiiictic.
Ijut redundancy U better than defect j
and when we come to the survey itself,
we accompany the ^Titer with great plea^
sure through its different modes, and the
m<any instanced he lias given cannot fail
of ^-eudering the whole process veiy &mi*
liar to the learner.
In survejdng under ground the magnet
is of great importance. Its variations
were formerly little observed, or even un-
derstood, and of course many old plans
are witli difficulty followed by those who
are not attentive to this ctraimstance. It
is with great propriety, therefore, that this
subject is fiilly discussed in the vrork be-
fore us, and the mcth(xls .ire pointed out
of la}'ing down truly I he plan of any mins
when the variation of the compass is given,
as also of discm-ering the age of apian by
compnin;:; it with present observations.
The V. fk vill be found very useful t<^
the young practitioner in this art, and de-
serves tnc attention of the possessor of
subternmcous property. •
Art. WL-^The y owii*: Math e mat ic^atCf Asa} ^tcmft or Schoolmaster's Gmde\ beif^ a short
and comprehensive Sj/atem of ArithmvtiOi iVe. Byiy* Bagley.
THE author of this work' has pubHsfied young mnn can learn the eleven language^
a grammar in eleven Janguagos ; and if a by that grammar, w© cannot doiU>t that
7
1ttOB*S TAftlfeS (OR KAVl(^ATtON A\^D nAcTICAL ASTAOttOMY*
Ike tnty be matemily assisted in lus ma-
thenutlcal studies by this short and com-
prehensive system. In seventy^two quarto
fisiges, we hare arithmetic, algebra, geo-
:iiietry, trigoaonsetry^ logarkhnis, gauging,
•«strouiKny, navigation) uatiticai astrouoniy.
'geography, diallmg, the conic fiectiomf^
tiuxions, and book-keeping. This bill* of
fare is iao cloying for tire yoimg ni^itiie-
matician, and tlie schoolmastjfsr will in-
quire luore substantial diblies.
AUT. VHf .— 7*tf iTondrrg tf the Telescope, or a Dhphy ttf Hie IP'onders if the Ilvwc^ni,
cmd qf the Stfttem fjf tke Universe^ xvnttcn in u famiitar and popular Manner, adjpit^d
pattitHkurhj io the Penttal of young Persons, and^ eipeciatttj ctilcutatcd toprcmotc aiid
^iMpti/y t£e Stmdff tf AHrommuf among Persons of lit y4ges, with Twelve Plates, ou U
PUin uecer kcfore aliempied. 12iiio.
ing to bring an object nearer to u^ is not
explained. Several of , the plates arc, how-
ever, well dcsigiied, and wjll exciie, as
they arc intended, tho Wonder of the young
o<3st*rver ; but tl»e plate of the o>asteJla-
tions is a wrelthrd pcMformaoce. Ihe
many discoveries made by Hersthcl among
tI)o ^*xed stars might wtll luive orcupiird
some ptiges, and tlie writer might haic
recollocttxl that the proof o*' the aatiquity
of the consteJlnriuiis de{>euds on a sorry
foundiUion, when it resis on the Knglish
traaslaiiou of Job in tlic vulgar liible,
since lie will iind it difficult lo prove tliaj
Job ever spoke of " llie awiitelLilions
Orioii and the Pleiades.'' But we woui4
by no means condemn die book on iic-
count of the title. The writer, we ant
persuaded, is able to make ihe wooi^Ts of
the teh!sc(>pe an entertaining and iictruc*
tive publication, and we recoijtiini^ud to
him to give a work euiirely coiifijrioil lo
that subject, and with a modeller title
than this of the work before ui.^ Tlie
title of liiis work, as we said bel<)rc, could
not come from his pen ; and however it
ixx^' take with' the maliitiide, is not ere*
ditable to a literary cliaracler.
for Xttris^fition and nnHlic(d Mironomif, Ziitk
uli iht' CaLculaiiotm netful at Sea. xiif i. na
dioiial altitiKles. 7hi.«< Ix-neficial incrragp
of kuoxvledge wculd be' materially tor-
warded, if mercliants took greater pains
to aocjuaint tliemsetves M'ith the qualilica-
tioijsof those to whom they entrust their
property ns m:«ters and mates o\' \ ensei*.
' To fiiciliLnte t!io processes of the ma-
riner, the very lal^orious and skilfol au-
thor of this publication ha< contri\L»d a
set of tables, which, witli the nautical
almanac, ought to Ix? in the closet of
every cabiii of a ship which cro^f^es the
Atlanlie, or sails two hundred n^iles out
of sight of land. They cwitnin every re-
quisite for shortening the operations in
finding the lurgitvde from tlio lunar tables.
A MOST wonderful wonder nwer be-
fore attempted, must necessarily, in a
<x>untry-&ir, catch a number of country
clowns. The title-page seems to be the
composition of an adept in the art of pufi-
ing : the autlior oi the volume to which
ft is affixed, we should think liaJ no hand
In it ; for, by the manner in whicli he lias
performed his task, we cannot but con-
chide tliat he knows well that there is uo-
tiling new in thie plan, and that there is
nothiiig in the work which is not to be
^jund in the usual books of astronomy.
The work considered, in reference to the
title, is wonderfuDy deficient : in itstdf it
is iiot without merit, as it collects togetlier
several ciircumstances to attract the curio-
sit}- of young persons, llie first part of
the title is meant to catch the eye, and tl}e
woiiders of tiie telescope might kive filled
tiiis volume very completely, without en-
tering upon the wonders of the heavens,
visible without the help of glasses.
What we most wondered at in this
•wonderful book was, that the tek^sai])e^
which Is the subject of tlie work, is not
itself described till we conie to the end,
and then the great wonder oi* its appear-
Art. IX. — ^ complete Col led I (VI of Tables
Aimple, covcUe, and accurate Methods for
Mendoza Rios, Esq. fyc.
EVERY year's experk^nce adds to the
conviction of the necessity of making the
mariner more and more a master of si^i-
cnce. The East India company is parti-
cuiarly attentive to this subject, and is
rendering inestimable services to tlie na-
tif>n, by insisting upon its officers being
acquainted M'ith tbe calcidations necessary
for the use of the nautical almanac. Hence,
in Xb& course of this century, if notfiing
intervenes to destroy ouc commerce, a
txidy of men will be formed fully c<jm-
petent to all the pirposes of navigation ;
nnd in our smalfer vessels, a lunar obser-
tation will be as usual, when opportunity
€(&rs^ as DOW is one ^ the ixxii* meri-
85S
MATHEMATICS.
sod vfUl he foand'of cantioual service in
questions of astronomy and navigation.
We may judge of the immense laboar in
this undertaking from tl'ie number of
quarto pages, no less tban t>70> occupied
with numerical figures, with very few ex-
ceptions, completely. They contain tables
^>r correcting the observed altitudes of
the Sim, moon, and stars, and the observed
distances of tlie moon to the sun or a star :
togarithmic tables, and tables to convert
parts of the circle into time, and vic^
vers^ ; tables for computing the latitude
by two altitudes of the sou observ^ at
any hour of the day, and by several alti-
tudes near noon : catalogue of right as-
cension and declination of several stars,
amplitudes and variations of amplitudes, .
lengths of arches on a sphere or spheroid :
table of longitude and latitude of places :
tables of di^rence of latitude, and de*
pOTture tor points and quarter-points, and
tor degrees of meridional parts : tabl^ of
proportional parts for the variations which
take place in longitude for twelve or
twenty-four hours, of great use in com*
puting the sun or moon*s place at any
point of time from the nautical, almanac.
At the end of these tables we find their
explanation and use: a part. which we
could have wished to have been longer, as
the author is so well qualified to give a
just account of the instruments used in
observations, and by a variety of instances
to have made more familiar their use to
an observer. The problems which follow
the explanation are very good ; but here
also we could have wished for figures and
demonstration. When once the subject
is made clear to the mariner by demon-
atratioQ, be is not likely to forget it, and
the application of ndes becomes enf to
him ; but when he werks .merely by nde,
there is always danger of a "»M^^n^.
which he, iit the collusion, is notaUe
to correct The author, however, en-
dently suj^poses that tbey who use his
tables have made their way to navigstioa
and astronomy by the pioper road, namelf ,
through geometry and trigonoaietiy> a
road which many teachers endeavuir or
pretend to shorten, by substituting their
own supposed concise plans iar the solid
and sul^tantial one laid down by Eudid.
We have heard many a mariner compbip
of this Eiult in his education in early
youth; and they who would undentand
these tables thoroughly, shoakl recolfect
tliat a knowledge of trigonometry is ixi-
dispensably requisite for every seaman.
The commissioners of the board of kxi*
gitude, and the East India company, have
both contributed to the publication of thk
work, by which means the expence of it
to the public is greatly diminished. Bal
we were sorry to observe that, with this
great assistance, . too great a sacrifice was
required on the part of the author ; iar,
to bring the book within modeiaie terms,
he has given up on his part all the profits
of authorship. Every one knows bow
expensive and how troublesame the pub>
lication of tables is, and it is not suked to
the generosity of the English nation to
receive so great a benefit without a com-
pensation. When we recdlect the num-
ber of places and pensions cxmfencd, on
whose prc^riety so many doubts inay be
excited, we should trust that one might be
found from which this very excellent au-
thor might derive an honourable oompen-
sation for his labours.
Art. X. — The Conveniences, Principles, and ^fethod of keeping Accounts with Bankers fe
the Country and in London, with accurate Tables, adapted to the calculating qf Jntere^
Accounts with Ease and Dispatch, and to the discounttnc^ of Bilh of Exchange, wherein
the Table qf Interest for one Day is extended to one AfiUion of Pounds, ^c. By W«
Lowms. Svo.
THE nature of business respecting
money concerns, notes, drafts, kc. is ex-
plained in a clear, concise, aud satisfac-
tory manfier, and the country trader will
here find all the processes developed to
him in which he may be 4:oncemed in his
transactions with London. l*he greater
part of the volume, as must naturally be
expected, is taken up with the tables of
iuterek, commission, and discount. * Each
table of iijterest contains the interest of
J 00, 300, 300, and so on, by hundreds to
M thoM&aad pounds ^ and of ooe> two.
three, and so on, to forty- four pounds in-
clusive. ThQ interest is calculated to far^
things, but the decimals of a farthing are
not given, of course we do not see how
we can be certain by these tables of the
interest of nine- hundred and seventy-thiee
thousaud six hundred and fifty-one pounds;
and the title-page promises more tbaa
the book can perform. A^ far, however,
as it goes^, and we have tried the tables in
several instances, tliey appear to us to be
accurate, and the work will be usefid to
thoiio for whom it is intended.
KBRCIIR OK THBCOVBRKICAK SYSTEM.
%B9
^ ^^..y made ea$y and familiar^ exhibiting all tlieprinciplal
Methods actually practised by the Officers of nis Majesty's Revenue o}' Excise and Cus-
Lrt XI.-fJ?itf genuine Art of
Afetkods actually practised ay inc wj^iLcr^ uj m* it-nyw*^ * ju. vrnuc uj jl:.ac<«cu/(l
toms^ xvith a Fariety of Information upon different Points connected with the Subject
PRT^R Jonas, late Supervisor qf Excise.
THE work contains a great variety of
ostances in the practice of gauging,
rhence the practitioner may derive many
aeful hints. It does not profess to deve-
yp the tlieory of this very useful art, a
lieory which requires more attention than
I generally given to the subject. The
flicers of excise and customs are, we be-
eve, contented to follow the prescribed
^y
rules : they learn one from the other, and
it is not expected ^m them to have de-
monstrated tiie propositions on which the
art depends. In this work the practice is
very well laid dowfi; but we should with
greater pleasure have perused it, if it had
contained the demonstration of every pro*
position in such a style, as not to be above
the capocity of tlie common exciseman.
Lrt, XII.— Tfctf Elements of Commerce, or a Treatise on different Calculations, Operations
qf Exchange, Spetie, and Builion, being a complete System of commercial Calculations'^
My C. DuRosT. S vols. 8to.
WRITING and accounts are necessary
t> every merchant^ but we doubt much
whether the merchant will allow them to
e ranked among conamercial elements.
le must be acquainted with the foi^r rules
f arithmetic and the rule of three, with
lie nature of fractions, and this know-
sdge he applies to tare and tret, comfnis^
Lop, brokerage, and interest, which he
sams at school, and to exchanges which
re not so generally tausht there. This
ook begins with the application of arith*
aetic to tare and tret, &c., whence it
^rooeed^ to exchanges; and three hun-
ted and sixty pages are taken up on these
alculatxms. The whole may be com*
lOessed, with great ease, into fifty pages,
ud then perhaps more instances would
e given than the case absolutely requires.
The rules for tare and tret, commissions,
aterest, and discount, are well known,
nd we do not derive any great advantage
a this treatise upon these subjects : upon
xchanges which depend on the doctrine
f proportion or the nile of three, the
uestions are brought, by an easy and well
known process, into an equation which is
reduced into fewer terms, by striking
out those whicli appear on both sides of
the equation 5 and again into terms of less
magnitude, by dividing both sides where
possible by a common divisor. This pro-
cess is exemplified in a vast number of in-
stances, tak^i from the exchanges of a
great variety of nations, the tables of wkos^
specie, in coinage or circulation^ are giveou
A few instances would have taught all
this as well as a thousand 3 and, in a mer-
chant's counting-house, practice would
very soon make a young man perfect. We
have as yet only the first volume: what
may appear in the second volume we can-
not tell; but we would recommend to the
author not to be sparing of his letter-
press. We see too mapy blank spaces
m the pages of this wbrk. A complete
system of mercantile calculationa is, we
believe, to be comprised in a short com-
pass, but the observations on speculations
m exchange will be found deserving ^
notice.
Art. XIII. — De V Impossibility du Systeme Astronomique de Copernic et dc Nextfton.
>n tlie Impossibility qf tlkC astronomical System qf Copernicus and Nexttton, JiyS.J,
Mbrcier.
THAT mankind has been led away by
lames, is a truth which all must acknow-
edge : and it would be just as absurd In
be present days to ascribe to the names of
^pemicus and Newton an absolute au-
bority, as it was in former times to place
mplicit faitli in the syllogisms of Aris-
Dtle, or the decretals of the see of Rome,
lut there is a great diiference between
ttributing a certain degree of aathority
0 an eminent character, and discarding
stirely the hss of our own judgment.
Newton was the last person in this world
to require this sacrifice of our reason ;
and it was with the utmost astonishment
that we found him stigmatised with the
name of Le Gratid Mystificateur, who, of
all men in the world, abhorred the attempt
to prevent the researches of others by any
appearance of mystery. Fie might err,
for who is not liable to error ? but he
certainly vv;is not one of those who wislicd
to lead mniikiiid into error.
There arc two parts in the philosophy
HSo
IVIATHfeMATiC^.
<^ Newton to be considered. First his
abstract mathematical principles : second-
ly, the application of^theu> to the establish-
ment ot the system ot' Copernicus. In
the iirst part we allow that he has fallen
kAo error even in hts very first leroma of
the first section of the Principia, for he
talks of modifying equality^ which is an
absurdity j and to say of certain quanti-
ties, tliat they are ultimately equal, as the
evanescent chord and tangent of an arc, is
absurdity : for Euclid has demonstrated
that the two last-mentioned quantities can
never be equal. But when we define the
ta tended meaning of this term, used by
Newlou in so improper a manner, all the
difikuUies cease ; and we may allow equa-
lity to be die limit to which the evanes-
cent chord and tangent are approaching.
Agaii>i the disciples of Newton fidl into
perpetual errors, land give rise to absurd i^
ties, by theu" expressions of infinitely great
and infinitely small quantities, which tliey
pretend to multiply together, and to pro-
duce a finite quantity, or by dividing one
by the otlicr to produce notliing. Such
expectations naturally excite contempt
amongst men of sense, and give rise to tlie
term mystilicateurs, which may be justly
applied to all men who use such nonsen-
sical language.
In alge^a also Newton is not firee
from blame, and his manner of treating it
niiglit almost justify the author of this
vork in saying that algebra is the preci-
prtc de la pens^e humaine. When men
like Mercier hear of quantities less tlian
nothing, and impossible quantities being
multiplied together, and equations liaving
numberless imaginary roots, and that these
things are justified even by the authority
of Newton, it is natural for them, and very
properly so too, to hold such a science in
contempt ; and they may be excused for
calling out, Ah ! les grands mysiificateurs.
But we are not obliged to delcnd Newton
or any other person in any error ; in sci-
ence we depend upon demonstraticmakjcc*
and if the application of a science to plii-
loiophy is false, we expect that to be
made out to us on just principles of rea-
soning.
Bat this author is fonder of the ami.
ment called persiflage/ihan a strict in-
vestigation of principles. He liing* for-
ward merely the old argumenu agaast
tlie earth's motion ; he would make it
fixed to no purpose whatever, and he t^
advantage of the false notions attributed
to attraction, instead of examinii^ ilujwQ
(he plan adopted by sir I. Newton, \m
considers only the effects produced m u.
ture, for which be cannot use a b^iei
word than atti:action. Thus the bxmq
approaches tQ and recedes from the eaitb,
and as this resembles a motion, produced
by a man drawmg a boat to hira, theeari
is said to attract the moon, whate^-er insf
be the real cause of the motion.
- We would by no nseans discourage vh.
It may he employed on topics of phikho-
phy as well as philosophers; and Svift b
his voyage to Laputa lia& done it to grer
advantage. But true philosophy smks
only at these efforts; and the third aiki
eighth sections of Newton will not be la
the least affected by a witticism. We
might just as well tarn the tbrty-serecd
of Euclid's £rst book into a joke ; sad
wlien the wit, like the celebrated epigiaro-
writer of Cambridge, lia^ amused himsdf
with his own fancies, the astronomer scd
the mariner will nevertheless contimfc,
the one his observations on the hearess,
and the other his path in the seas, (t-
pending entirely upon the well-kEoii
truth of this proposition. For the yunBg
Cantab, however, who is going into Ik
schools, this book will be ver)' u^iiil, a
it will afibrd him many arguments ODife
questions, which he is calletl upon to tf-
pose, and he will afterwards smile uitba
at all mystiricaLions.
Art. XIV. — On Hrgirs two Seastms qf Honeij, and his Seawn- of snzving IThcat, dih e
iiczv and com}}cndious Afetiiod of investigating ih^ Risings and Settings o/thejixed'&ai.
. iUj the Lord liishop rfSt, Jsaplu
IS a bishop to be con fined always to his
theology ? Will not an acquaintance with,
oilier sciences tend to soften his manners,
and take away from the too high considera-
tion which holy men are apt to set on
themselves on their supposed spiritual la-
bours ? May not an acquaintance with
claisical writers .ind mathematical studies
btiguik the tediou2i hours of a father of
the church, and take off from the «itts
which even episcopacy cannot cure r ffr
tidious men there are who would coQ&c
the bishop to his breviary, and his b:"b!e,
his articles, and his homilies, and tfcc fa-
thers. We are not of that disposrtjofi,
and have no doubt that a thought novsid.
then on honey and \\ heat, and the stss,
will rather a:>sist than disturb their diiise
BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH OV VinClL's SBAJBON^ OP HOKET AM2> WHEAT.
109
Contemplations. The bishop of St. Asaph
has been well employed in an endeavour
to rectify a pitssage in Virgil ; and if he
hvis introduced his comment with a little
too much of the apix?arance of a mighty
exploit performed^ we must recollect that
it is a bishop, i;iot a common nian> who
condescends to amuse and instruct us.
Virgil in his Georgics, Book IV, verse
^232, dctermiaes two seasons frOm two
di^eivnt appearancu^s of tiie JPleiades in
the lieavens.
" Tavgele simul os terris obtcndit bonestum
JPIeias, et occani sprt-tos pcde repulit anme>.
Aut t*adem, sidiu lUi^iens ubi Piscis aquy.i
1 ristior hibeinas coclo df^sceiutit in undas."
Tlvese two appearances 3re when they
rise lieitacally, which the poet expresses
by the Pleiad washing away the \vHter of
the ocean by her i'e^t, in rising gnd sliew-
ing her face to tlie earth. This took place
in Vii'girs time and country soon after
the middle of May. The second appear-
<ance is when she is running avvay from
■die oonsteUation of tiie Pisces, and siuk.-
hig into the waves ; q^d this appearance
fcjkes place, according to the expositors, in
tbe beginuing of No^'erabpr, aud is ?crme^
the cosmlcal settitig of the Pleiad, or fhe
netting of the star at sunrise. To deterr
mine whether this exjwsition is right, w$j
Iwve nothing else to do but to rectify tlie
globe for the latitude of Rome, lind the
siinN place in the zodiac fov May and No-
vernbcr, and examine what is the state of
tlie Pleiaiis during «ny day in those two
TOonihs, and see whether it can be made
tp correspond willi Virgil's verses.
In performing tliis operation we must
remember to make allowance for tlie pre-
•cession of the equinoxes ; and we may then
-examine the propriety of the bishop's in-
terpretation. One datum t^ien forgathering
•the honey is, according to his lorcUhip, the
•chronical rising of the PJeinds, which hap-
pened apparently alwut tlie middle of Sep-
tember. The otiier appearam e is derived
from the setting of the pJeiads in the
•evening, when the Pi>heS, or rather 8 pisci-
iim, rise heJiacally in the morning. Jn
thm case Virgil's character is siipjx)sed to
be consistory : namely, that the Pleiad
-was then running away from the watc*ry
fi'sh, and descending into the blustering
v.aves. Now tliis netting of the Pleiad took
place about the J3lh of April, styl, Jul.
The conjecture is hi^tnious, but. some
difficulties sup^est theiv..- elves from Pliny's
»at:co«nt of tiic collecting of houi'y. As
his lordship has condescended to inv^sti*
gate this subject, we could wish> betbre
we r^ign ourselves completely to tliis in-
terpretation, to learn the seasons of col-
lecting honey at this time in use in Italy,
They differ we dare say very little from
the seasons in Virgil's time ; and some of
his lordship's good friends in that part of
the world will, we doubt not, take a plea-
^ure in noticing, not only tlie times of
taking honey, but the appearances of th^
Pleiads and the li<l)es ; and their commu«
nications will be an agreeable confirma-
tion of his lordship's conjectune, as well as
point out the dilierence, if any, in the
rising or setting of a star heliacally in
those climates, from what takes place ia
our more ungenial f^tmjspliere.
From tlie collection of hooey we are
carried to the sowing of corn ; and Virgil
is defended against some of the commea»
tatorjs on the following vt^rses ;
" Ante tibi Eo.t Atlantides abscondantuT,
Gnossiaque ardeiitis decedat Stella coroia^
Debita quain sulcis couimittas semiiia.'*
Tlie question upon tliese lines is, what
is meant by tiie hiding of the Pleiads,
and the departure of tlie gem in the crown.
The hiding may be either from tiie scttit^
of the star, or its disappearance on tlic
dawn of the solar light. The hiding is
interpreted by the bisliop to mean tlic
cosmical setting, and the |ii'ecept then is,
wait not only till the casmical setting of
the Pleiads is over, but till the bright star
in the crown is setting. The Mords will
evidently bear this meaning, [lut thi^p^is-
sage will be set in a clearer light if the
time of sowing com in the present dii}**
in Italy is asce:t:uued, and by coni{iarin^
that time with the apjiearance of die
Pleiads j now we may determine whal
would bo the relation of tiie season to the
appearances of the Pleiads and genuua
coronae in the days of Virgil,
Having interpreted the poet, his lord-
ship enters upon a mathematical 4)robleia
which is simply this : given the right as-
cension and declination of a star, to deCct-
mine its heliacal, cowiiical, and achronfrrf
risin-s and settings. To discover these
phnenomena, a most laborious and trouble-
some projection is used, and two plaus
are given us with tliese tables : Sterugrj^
phia iucidie Pkiadum in piano hori^tinri^
urbis Uomae, An. D. O. Pai*. JiiJ. 471J^
Stcro;;rnphia Stellas Sirii in piano «i.ui-
aio;um <iui per verticem urbis Mcroc*
•91
MATHEMATICS.
primarily anno ante epochani «re Domini
vulgarem 1344. Per. Jul. 3369. No mo«
dern astronomer will give himself the
trouble of making such a projection, and
few perhaps will even examine with any
degree of attention the plates j for any
one tolerably versed in the solution of
spherical triangles will much sooner solve
the problem by a common diagram made
%ith his pen, and the usual calculations,
than he can understand this episcopal pro-
jection. It discovers indeed a certain de-
gree of ingenuity, but the time is mispent
upon it, and the labour unprofitable.
The selection of Sirius, and the latitude
0f Meroe, as an instance of the projection^
was made upon grounds which are highly
aatis£ictory. Meroe has been fixed upon
by Mr. Bruce as the seat of the early astro-
nomers. We have no writings from Me-
roe to determine tliis point, but antient
authors do speak of certain risings of the
stars from which we may determine the
latitudes of the observers. The year 1344-
B. C. was chosen, because in that year die
first of Aries rose heliacally at the time
the sun passed the vernal equinox. Wri-
ters mention Ptocyon as the procnnorof
Sirius, and Pliny mentions the time to
ha\'e been such that if Procyon rose in the
morning on one day, Sirius did the same
on the next day. Now as this coold ikx
take place in Italy or in ££ypt> he nm«
have received it from some other wnten
who lived in former times, and much to
the south of Him ; and as it appears bv cal-
culation, that in the year before Quid
1344, the pandlel of the simultaneous tis-
ings of the two stars lay in latitude 11^
41', 52^ the latitude in which Vrocjcn
rose only the day before must have bcea
between the 13th and 14tb degrees of
north latitude, to which latitude we mist
assign a degree of astronomiczii obsora-
tion and culture, very difterem fi^m wbt
it has possessed for the last two thoosani
years. This is a very curious sul^ect, sbA
the learned world is much obliged to dx
bishop for starting it. The history of
astronomy will in conseifuence be betsec
investigated, and we may disco^*er the fir<
autliors of our zodiac in a country wiud
we now deem almost unsuited to the ex-
istence of rational beings.
Art. XV. — Evening Amusements ^ or the Beauty of the Heavens di^ilai/ed, in ts^hich sererd
striking Appearances to be observed on various Evenings in the Heavens during the Yeer
1806 are described, and several Means are pointed out, by which the Time of jfoung Per-
sons may be innocently, agreeably, and projitably employed uithin Doors, By Willux
Fr£ND, Esq, S^c,
THE Evening Amusements for this year
are conducted upon the same plan as those
for the two last, and cannot fail of com«
municating the knowledge of astraoomy
in the easiest manner, to tliose who have
not yet paid any attention to it, as well as
of confirming and increasing the know-
ledge of those who have made some pro-
gress in this delightful science. Each
montli contains three parts j the progress
of the moon and planets in the zodiac, by
which every star of note is pointed out in
its course; the development of a sub-
ject, which forms the amusement within
as well as without for thbyear ; and state-
ments of the apparent diameters of the
tun and moon, with a table for pdnt'mg .
out the positions of the stars at any hour
of the night. The subject for this year
is the making of maps, which is shewn
from the first and simplest principles, and
the learner is properly recommended to
map a portion of the heavens by the eye,
and then compare it with the map made
by rule. Some instances are-giTen at the
end of the book, on which the reader S
expected to practise : he is expected to
^make the map from the rales, aid the (fe-
cliiiation and right ascension of certai
stars given, and dien to find out by ocular
demonstraticA what part of the heavens
he has been mapping. This very usefiil
and ingenious exercise, we hope MnFrend
will continue in his next year*s volonie.
Twelve positions are given of the stars,
which lake place within two hours of each
other, and these are pointed out by tables
at the end of each month, so that what-
ever remarkable star has been observed at
any time of night, the observer may find
it by reference to these positions. At the
end of the volume Ubles are given of the
magnitudes of the principal stars^ and this
course of amusements^ as it grows upco
us, increases in interest. We cannot he^
observing how much the volume is in-
creased in size without any addition to JQ
price.
Art. XVl-^Tangible Arithmetic, or the Art of Nufnbering made easy ^ mems «f o
arif/i^ieticalT^y, ii'hichmU express any Number up to 1(5,666,665, ana w/^AaAtcA *y
FXSWd'8 TAVOlVtS AUXTHUBTIC.
e»
fl^^ « fiw BaUs^ a great Far ici*^ qf Operations in Arithmetic may he pnformtd, Bg
W, F&END, Esq, London.
THIS volume is designed for mothers,
who are very much obliged to Mr. Frend
for this present to them, by which they
may amuse, and at the same time instruct
their children. The basis of it is an arith-
metical toy, similar to the Chinese board
for numbering j and from tlie making of a
mark to signify one, and setting the first
lesson, one and one makes two, the author
proceeds, by a variety of simple instances
and amusing games, to teach the four first
rules of aritiimetic. We can assure mo-
thers thar, if tliey persevere in the plan
pointed out in this work, accustoming the
chii4 to lead eveyy day the instances ia
this book, work them on the toy and with
counters, and write out completely the
tables at the end, they will have prepared
their children very completely for future
instruction at, school. We are sorry to
find that Mr. Frend should havejemployed
his pen so much for the benefit of others,
and so little for his own, as the greater
part of the first edition was destroyed by
fire. The announcing in this edition hlf
intended first book in arithmetic for learn*
ers, will ho received with pleasure by all
teachers, as a work of this kind has \»t%
\exy much wanted*
( 96* )
CHAPTER 31X11.
GENERAL SCIENCE.
* THE only original pablicatioos belonging to this chapter are tlie annual vrlnme «f
the Philosophical Transactions^ and a fasciculus of the Edinbargh IraasaK^vms,
The new volume of Dr. Rees*s Cyclcfpedia will not he found to l)e Inferior in soak
to the preceding parts of that highly respectnble work.
Art. I. — Philosophical Transactioju of the Royal Society of Lomdan for the feat
1805. 4to. pp.350.
IT would be superfluous to give any
opinion of the collective merit of the vo-
1. The Croonian Lecture on Muscular Mo^
Hon, By Anthony Cablisi.b^ Esq,
K R. S,
Tliis memoir consists, for the most part,
of general observations on the composition
ind properties of muscular substance, and
its connection with the vascular respira-
tory and ner\ous systems : the drift of
the author is not very obvious, nor are his
desultory remarks and experiments capa-
ble of analysis.
2. Experiments for ascertaining how far
* Telescopes will enable us to determine
tery small Angles, and to distinguish
the real from the spurious THamettrs
of Celestial and Terrestrial OhjectSy
uith ari Applkat'wn of the Result of
these Experiments to a Series of Obser-
rations on the Natur£ and Magnitude of
Mr. Harding s lately discovered Star, Btf
W. Herschel, LI, D, F, R. S. ifc.
Our knowledge of the heavens, from
the increased number and care of ob-
bcrvers, increases daily, and our own
country asserts its claim to a share in the
triumphs to be obtained by better arts
than those of the sword, llie writer of
tliJs paper is distinguished by havhig given.
his name to a new planet : Olbers and
Piazzi have enriched the heavens by their
discoveries of two wandering bodies,
which also bear their names, and another
lume before us, as we ar^ about to notice
each paper separately.
wandering body has lately been disco*
vei^^ which we tonst, will bear, as it
ought, the name of Harding. A ibelisk
affectation attempts to preserre the faei*
then mythology, and ridiculously cnoii^
will impose on this small wandaing oib
the name of Juno, the queen of hmcD,
the wife and sister of Ju{»ter : bat we
shall not readily consent that the disco>
verer shall be thus depnved of his r^itv
and whether Harding is to be called a
planet or an asteroid, whether he is to
take his seat in the boose of lords or ths
house of commons of heavens, in me of
them he shall be placed, and the name of
Harding shall grace the ' celestial cata-
logue.
The observations made uponHaxdn^
in this paper are \'exy curious, and will be
eagerly perused by practical astraDomefs,
The writer receivai an account of this
new celestial object on the 24 th of Sep^
tember. Harding was then in the con-
stellation of the iishes, nearly in the line
between 2g and 33 ; and, compared with
the very small stars near to it on the 29th,
•wan estimated to be similar to a star of the
niuth magnitude, and it is ooncladed thit
Harding is less than .Olbers. Its motioD
was reti^ade. " On the 5th Octobe* it
had approached near to the fishes, and co
the 8th every opportunity was given, fiocB
the clearness of the night and situation d
PHILOSOPHICAL TRAX3ACTI0NS,
96$
Uic object to make an excellent observa-
lion. The writer couclucUs that Piazzi,
Olbers, and Harding, are bodies of the
sdnie kind.
The appearance of the new object haS
been productive of several very v^iluable
experiments, which do great credit to the
MTitiJr, and promise to bring posterity to
a better arrangement of the stars with
fespect to their apparent magnitude. These
experiments were made with hei^ds of
pins, globules of sealing-wax, globules of
silver, of pitch, bees'- wax, and brim.^ tone ;
these objects were placed dt various dis-
tances, sometimes illuminated and some-
times not. Their magnitudes were also
varions; of the pins* heads ,13/5 ,08(53
>082 1 ,0602 ,0425 of an inch -, of others
tniich smaller : of sealing-wax, from
,04d6 to ,00703 : of silver, from ,03950
to ,00556, and there was one of brim-
stogie as low as ,0015625. Theexperi-
medts began with the pins' heads, placed
in a regular order on a post, 2407, 85
inches from the centre of the object of a
len-foot reflecting telescope, when the
smallest of them appeared with an eye-
glass of four inches to^be a round body,
and shewed, therefore, the necessity of
nsing globules more minute. The elFect
of ditferent powers upon these ditferent
globules is explained with great accuracy,
tmt we must copy the whole paper to give
the reader a true idea of the value of its
contents. From experiments like these
we shall come to a better discrimination
between the real and spurious diameters of
celestial objects, and probably they will
lead to judicious conjectures on the belts
of Jupiter, and the spots in the sun. If
we can reason only from what we, know,
it seems to be not an unsuitable method in
our progress to knowledge, to place ob-
jects on earth in various poinU of view,
till we make tliem resemble as nearly as
possible those in the heavens, and the il-
mminating of these objects on earth, as •
performed by the writer of this paper,
will assist very much tlie practical astro-
nomer in his researches.
3. Jn Essay on the Cohesion of Fluids, by
T. Young, F. i?,5. V.
Tlie cohesion of fluids is a subject of a
very ditflnuk nature, and little has been
done of late years to explain it satisfac-
torily. This paper is a specimen of what
we may expect from the WTiter in a larger
work, which he is preparing for the pub-
lic. He considers the form,, which the
surface of a fluid takes^ when at rogt^ and
Ann. Rkv. V^l. IV.
this surface is examined on mathematical
principles, from the nature of tension,
and its convex or concave form is thus
very ingeniously explained. It leads to
complex expressions and fluxional equa-
tions, on which our limits will not permit
us here to dilate. The heights to which
fluids rise, the apparent attractions and
repulsions of two floating bodies, th^
physical foundation of tho law of super-
hcial cohesion, the cohesive a itractioa of
solids and fluids, form subjects of enquir}',
0[i all of these the writer could, in so
short a paper, only lay his ideas before
the Royal Society in the shortest possible
compass, and of course a considerable .
degree of obscurit)' envelopes the wholc»
This we hope will be dispelled in the
approaching- publication, which we re-
commend to be delayed till the president
and council are perfectly masters of it4
contents.
4 . Concerning the State in ivhich the tnio
Sap of Trees is deposited during Winter.
In a Letter fro7tt Thomas Andrew Knii^hi^
Esq, to the Ri^ht Hon, Joseph Banks,
K. B. F. R. S. .Yc
Two kinds of sap are found in trees^
namely, the common aqueous sap ancl
the peculiar juice, sue proprc, or true sap.
Tiiis latter, according to some experi-
ments of Mr. Knight, detailed in' tiio
Transactions for ISOl, appears to be ela-
borated from the common sap, by moau.<4
of the leaves, and the object of the pre-
sent paper is to show ' that this fluid in
an inspissated state, or some concrete mat-
ter deposited by it, exists during the winter
in the alburnum j and that from tiiis fluid
or substance dissolved in the ascending
aqueous sap, is derived the matter wliicU
enters into the composition of tjie new
leaves in the sprmg, and tlius furnisher
those organs which were not want*>id dur-
ing wiufer, but which are essential to the
• fiuther progress of vegetation.' If this
theory be true, it will follow that timber,
felled in winter before the ascent of the
sap, will be more compact, of greater
specific gravity, and will aflbrd a larger
quantit)' of extractive matter, than timber
similar ine\'ery other circumstance, except
in having been felled in the summer : it
may also be expected that the commoa
aqueous sap, as it ascends towards the es-
tremities of the tree, should be sweeter
and of greater specitic gravity Uian when
it is discharged from the roots into the
trunk of the tree. la pursuance of thij
train of reasonin?^ JVIr. Kniebt ma^i^ in*
865
GENERAL SCIENCE.
Cisions in various sycamore-trees early in
thfc spring, and found that in all of them
the sap extracted trora tlie bottom of the
trunk, on a level with tlie ground, was
= 1.004, whereas tliat which flowed
from an incision in the same tree, at the
tieight of seven feet, was = 1 .008 5 and
in one instance at twelve feet from the
ground, he obtained a very sweet fluid of
tlie specific gravity of 1.0 i 2. This point
being ascert^ned, Mr. Knight imagined
^t if the increased specific gravity of the
tap was owing to the solution of matter
Sreviously existing in the alburnum, some
iminution in the gravity of tlie sap would
take place when it had continued to flow
several days from the same incision, the
soluble matter of the alburnum being in
this case nearly exhausted. This was ve-
rified bv experiment ; an incision being
made in a sycamore- tree close to tlie
ground, gave a liquor at first of tlie spe-
cific j^aviiy of i .004, but after a few days
running it had diminished to 1.002.
For ascertaining tl)6 differences in the
Specific gravity ^ the alburnum itself,
poles were selected from an oak- coppice,
of equal age, and as similar as possible in
other respects ; of tliese some were cut on
the last day ot* December, and the rest on
the 15th of May following. The sum-
mer-felled wood was, before drying, the
heaviest, but when both had been expos-
ed for an equal time to the same temper-
ature, and were become perfectly dry,
the specific gravity of the winter-felled
\i^ood was ascertained to be = O.67Q,
while that of the summer-felled wood
was only = O.609, after each had been
immersed iu water for five minutes. In
the same manner equal weights of the
two woods, being digested for the same
time in boiling water, it was found that
the colour of the infusion was deeper,
and its specific gravity greater, in tliat
where winter-felled wood had been em-
ployed tliau in the former.
In the remainder of this interesting
paper Mr. Knight proceeds to show that
tlie expansion and growth of leaves is
owins to tlie passage of sap in them, and
that these, in return, elaborate the watery
sap into the proper sap of the tree, whicli
then passes by appropriate vessels out of
tlie leaf into the alburnum : hence it is
distributed during the summer to the va-
rious buds and leaves, but in tlie autumn
is accumulated in die alburnum, tor the
supply of the first leaves in the ensuing
spring.
From this It appears thtt Mr. Knjgbt,
in opposition to most vegetable physiolo-
gists, believes in the proper circalauon of
the sap«
5. On the Actim of patina and Meratry
upon each other ; by Richaxd Che*
KEVix, Esq. F. R, S. M, R. I. A. *c.
It cannot be unknown to any of our
chemical readers, that a paper by Mr.
Chenevix was published two years ago in
the Philosophical Transactions, the object
of which was to shew that mercury and
piatina were capable of entering into very
intimate union with each other, and that
tlie substance called palladium was the re-
sult of tliis combination. Several of the
continental chemists have complained that
Mr. Chenevix's experiments have touUj
failed in their hands, on which aocoanC
they are induced to question the accuracy
of this able chemist. The first part of
this memoir is devoted to answering these
objections ; by showing, that in some in*
stances his opponents have materially va-^
ried from his directions in maiuDg thdr
experiments, and that in other cases they
ha\ e not been repeated suflficieutly often j
for Mr. C. in his original paper, expressly
says, tliat his failures were much more
frequent tlian the instances in which he
was successful ; and in that now before os
he says :
'^ The course of experiments which I bail
made, as well before as after reading my pa-
per to the society, took me up more thaa two
months, and employed me from twelve to
sixteen hours almost every day. I had fre-
quently seven or eight operations in the focge
to perform daily, and I do not exaggerate
the number of attempts I made duripe thk
time, as well in the dry as in the humia trav,
in stating them to have been one thousaixL
Amongst these I had (bur success&l opcra^
tions. 1 persevered, because even in mV
failures I saw sufficient to convince me that)
should quit the road to truth if I desbted.
After all my labour and fatigue I cannot s2y
tliat I had come nearer to my object, of oi>-
taining more certainty in my processes. Tte
succe:»s was still a hazard on the dice, agamt
which there were loauy chances ; but t3i
Others had tlirown a^iollen as Iliad done, they
had no solid right to deny the existence of
such a combination.^
Afrer some reasoning from analogy, I0
show that a successful experinoent, uoex*
ceptionably conducted, is not to be set aside
by any number of failures, Mr. C. qaili
the subject of palladium, and gives a nev
example of the fixation of mercoijlif
FHILOSOPHICAJL TRAITS ACTION 8.
967
platina, the result of which, however, was
an alloy very different from palladium.
When muriat of platina, and green sulphat
of iron, are mixed together, no precipita-
tion or any other sensible change ensues,
but if to this compound solution, the nitrat
of silver or of mercury is added, a very
copious precipitate of platina and the other
metal in the reguline state falls down ^
none of the salts of any other metal pro-
duce the same efi'ect. ' It is therefore
fair to conclude that when a solution of
platina is precipitated in a metallic state,
by a solution of green sulphat of iron,
either silver or mercury is present/
Now if a solution of nitrat of mercury,
at a minimum of oxydation, is added -to
muriat of platina, a mercurial muriat of
platina will be precipitated. This being
washed and exposed to a sufficient heat
with borax, is reduced to a metallic button,
which, when afterwards dissolved in nitro-
muriatic acid, and mixed with green sul-
piiat of iron, affords a precipitate.
Again^ if a current of sulphuretted hy-
drogen gas be sent through a mixed solu-
tion of platina and mercury, and the pre-
cipitate which ensues be collected, the
alloy may be reduced by heat, and by
.means of borax may be melted into a but-
ton, whidh will not contain any sulphur.
If this is then dissolved in nitro- muriatic
Bcid, and green sulphat of iron poured into
the solution, a precipitate will take place.
Hence Mr. Chenevix concludes that
the metal in both these instances is an
alloy of platina and mercury, andconse-
Suently that the latter metal may be thus
xed, that is, enabled to bear a high heat
without volatilization*
"6. An IfWestigaticmqfall the Changes qfiJte
variable star in Sobieski's Shield, front
Jive ^Years Observations, exhibitir^ its
proportional iUuminated Parts, and its
Irregularities of Rotation, with Conjee-
tures respecting unenlightened heavenly
Bodies. By E. PigDts, Esq,
Some account of this stir has been
already published in the Transactions, and
the writer gives us in this paper his obser-
-vations from IfgQ to 1801, dating the
.first part from Bath in 1 802, and the latter
.part from Fontalnebleau in 1803. In the
former j)art are given various tables of the
days of greatest and least brightness, mid-
dle of greatest and Iqist brightness, rota-
Jtion calculated from observations of ?»reat-
^bt.and least brightness ; from which it is
.calculated, tliat.the star has a rotation in
sixty- two days, that the mean duration of
maximum brightness Is nine days and a
half, and of its minimum brighmess <iino
days. From these observations the writer
concludes that the bodies of the stars are
dark md solid, their real rotations on the
axis regular, that tbe surrounding mediuin
generates and absorbs its luminous parti*
eles in the manner conjectured by Her-
schel with respect to the solar atmo-
sphere, and in the star of Sobieski thes^
luminous particles are very sparingly dif-
fused, that they are in patches upon the
star, and the relative situation of these
patches may be conjectured from observa-
tions on the increase and decrease in the
star's brightness.
On the last subject the writer has fol-
lowed a similar plan to that which Her-
schel used in his observations on the pla-
net Harding, and which cannot be too
much recommended. Ue placed small
white spots on a darjt sphere, by whoso
revolution he attempted to describe tha
changes as perceived in the star. Theschemo
seemed to answer very^well, but wt must
leave to many more years observations
the verification of the conjectures form-
ed either by Herschel or this writer. W<»
could not butamile, however, at the writer't
.admiration of the happiness fiiyoyed by
the inhabitants of the planet on which we
live, above that of the persons who.de-.
rive their light from the star in Sobieski.
How far more enviable seems our situ-i
ationl Lest we might pride ourselvek
too much upon it, he corrects himself
on our happiness, for who knows but oiic
sun may hereafter be as scantily provided
with luminous particles as the star in So-
bieski ? ' But such conjectural flights can-
not too soon be dropped,' and we commend
the observations more than the philoso*,
phy : the former we recommend to every
practical astronomer, the latter we would
wish to be reserved for a distant gene-
ration, or a period of greater certainty.
7. Jn Account of some analytical Expe*
riments on a Mineral Production from
Devonshire, consisting principally of
Alumine and Water, By Humpkby
Davy, Esq. F. R. S. Professor of Che-
mistry in the Royal Institution^ .
This mineral was found by Dr. Wavel
near Barnstaple, fiUing the cavities and
veins of a soft argillaceous schistus. It
occurs generaUy in small hemisphejrical
groups of filamentous crystals, radiating
Irom a common centre, or forming J^mall
veins. Us colour is* greyish or greemsli
GEKERAL SCIENCE.
or ycllov/ish-white. It is more or less
translucent, has a silky lustre, is brittle,
but its small fragments are sufBdently
hard to scratch agate. Sp. gr. aljout 2.7.
Before the blowpipe it becomes opake,
but does not melt : at the highest heat of
a forge it loses above a fourtli of its
weight, but continues infusible. It is
soluble in sulphuric acid, with which, by
the addition of potash, it forms alum. It
is not acted on by carbonat of ammonia,
and is perfectly soluble in caustic fixed
jdkali.
From some experiments made on it by
Mr. Stocker of Guy's hospital, it appear-
ed to consist almost entirely of alumine,
and its component parts upon a regular
analysis of it by Mr. Davy, turned out
to be
70 Alumine,
26.2 M'ater slightly cmpyreumatic,
1.4 Liine^
. , 27.6
2.4 Loss.
, 100.0
th 'Eiperifnenti on IFootz, hy Mr, D.wid
MusHET. Communicated by the Right
Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, K, B. P. R, S.
itc.
Wootz is a variety of iron that is pre-
jpared in India, where it is in much re-
quest for its hardncb's and toughness, but
is remarkably difficult to work. From its
form, which is tliat of a rounded cake,
and other circumstances, it appears evi-
€l«ntly to have been in a fluid scute. It is
more or less porous, and often contains in
its cells a brilliant black magnetic powder,
yhich is part of the ore in an unreduced
•tate. It contains veiils of malleable iron.
And in fact appears (o be a variable mix-
ture of iron and highly cai*buretted steel.
In some cakes the proportion of carbon
approaches nearly to that which is contain-
ed in cast iron, which circumstance, added
to its porous texture, sufficiently accounts
for its extreme refractoriness. It appears
however to contain nothing in its compo-
sition which should prevent it from being
manufactured into excellent steel; Mr.
Mushet appears to be unncquaintod with
the ore from which this iron is prennred :
Specimens have lately come under our in-
ipectioa, and are evidently nothing else
tlian tlie magnetic iron sand, found so
abundantly in various parts of the Kast
and i^i Virginia. From tlio smallness of
tka eak«fi the reduction aiiut be perfume*.
ed in a very simple way, and there w fKl
doubt that all the bad qualities of w<»tr
would speedily disappear under European
treatment. There appears to be a strik-
ing resemblance between wootz and the
tough hard iron, described by Agricola,
which in his time was in great request fot
helmets.
9. Abstract of Ohscrvations on a dhtrnai
Variation of the Barometer, betveak
the Tro}Hcs ; by J. Hsrsblkgh, Esq.
From observations of the barometer
placed thirteen feet above the level of the
sea, it is found that in settled weather, in.
the Indian seas, the mercury is generally
stationary, and at its greatest height from
eight in the mcrning till noon, from which
time it falls till four in the afternoon,
when it is at its lowest point : it then
rises till between nine and ten at night,
when it is at its greatest height again^ at
which it continues stationary tiU mid-
night ', it then falls till four in the morn-
ing, alter which it rises to its greatest
height between se\-en and eight in the
morning : thus, in twenty-four hours, the
mercrjy experiences a double elcTation
and depression ] but the phaenomenoD dif-
fers on shdre, and this double depiessioa
and elevation being confined chiefly to the
tropical regions, they are called equa-tro^
pical motions. This singular circumstance
of the differeUQe on land and sea" was first
observed at Bombay, where on land, pro-
bably from the vicinity to the sea, a smaQ
tendency only to these motions was per-
ceived, and in ten days this tendency was
very seldom perceptible j and the same
was observed at shore at Canton, where,
during the months of October and No
vember, a very litde degree of tendency
was at any time observed. Frequent ob-
servations, in different voyages on sea and
on shore, seem to confirm this position,
that in the tropical regions the air is sub-
ject to something similar to the tides, but
the ^tl'ect of this property of the air is
counteracted ou land by some cause whick
future philosophers must discover.
10. Concerning the Differences in the Mag-
netic Needle on Board the iTtvestigator,
arising: from an Alteration in the Ship's
Head ; by M, Fi^indebs, Esq, Cm-
mander.
l^is difference is shewn in tables drawn
up with great care, when the ship's heed
was directed to diti'erent points, and wiD,
Wc presume^ lead the coEaoaatidere of oii^
FHaOSOPHlCAL TRANSACTION!*
86g
4liip5 of war to pay particular attention to
a circumstance which may be of so much
importance to them in navigation. That
large masses of iron in a ship should have
an effect upon the compass is naturally to
be expected, and die inferences from the
observations and conjectures upon them
by this writer, place the subject in the
iL'learest li^ht. He infers j 1st, tliat tliere
"w-as a dilFerence in the direction of die
magnetic needle oit board Jiis ship, when
the « 'lip's head was pointed to the east and
"when to the west, being easterly when
tlie ship's head was west, and vice versft ;
* but when the ship's head was north or
south, the variation was the same as on
•hore. In other ciises die error in varia-
tion was nearly proportionate to the num-
ber of points, which the ship's head was
from the north or south. To account for
these variations an attractive power is sup-
posed to be collected into something like
iB local point, or centre of gravity, which
in ships of war is near the centre of the
#fiiip, trom the greater quantity of inxi
being collected in that quarter. This
point is endued widi the same kind of at-
tracdon as the pole of the hemisphere,
where the ship is, and of course in New
Holland, where these observations were
;iiadtf, the ioudi end of the needle would
be attracted and the north end repelled ;
and the attractive power of this point is
«utticiently strong in a ship of war to in-
terfere with the action of the magnetic
poles, upon a compass placed in or near
Jthe binnacle. A tact of this kind may be
easily verified, and it will be a reflection
on our navy, if widi so many ships of
war, whose situation is cluuiged twice
ever/ twenty-four hours, it remains to be
a matter of conjecture : an order from die
admiralty diat this circumstance should be
attended ^o in our ships in the DownH,
jjt Portsmouth, Plymouth, and in the
Thames, would in three months place ftie
Subject out of the ^igwer of contradiction.
1 1 . The Physiology of the Staprx, one of
the Bonas of the Organ of htaring : dc
duced from a comparative Piew of its
iitructure and Uses in different Animals,
By Anthony Carlisle, Esq, R R. S.
The stapes is so called from its form,
which in man, and most other of the mam-
malia, resembles the foot of a stirrgp.
in the britdcness and closeness of its tex-
ture, it bears a striking aiuilogy to the
bone of which the teedi are composed, and
like d)eM^or|;aLki ali>o ceases to grow after
its ossification is completed, which takes
place soon afterbirth. Modon is commu-
nicated to die stapes by die stapedeus
muscle, and its peculiar use appears to be
to press on the fluid contained in die laby-
rinth, and thus produce an increased ten-
sion of die membrane diat closes die fe-
nestra cochleae. The stapes is on the
whole very similar in form in all the land
mammalia, except that in the marmot and
guinea-pig an osseous bolt passes through
the arch of the stapes so as to rivet it in its
place, the peculiar use pf which contriv*
anco does not at present appear. Those
mammalia that inhabit die waters, as the
seal, walrus, and whale tribes, have the
sta[>es more massive j die arch' is more
irregular in form 5 and in some species, a«
the porpoise, is reduced to a small round
perforation.
In birds the stapes is. wanting, together
with the malleus and incus, but its place
is supplied by a ditfereudy shaped organ
called columella, lyhich also is found in
the cold-blooded amphibia, and in tlios^
extraordinary quadrupeds die ornytUor*
hynchus paradoxus and O. hystrix.
12. On an artificial Siihittance ichich pos^
srsscs the principal characteristic Proper^
■ ties of Tannin. By Chakl£s Hat-
. C1|ETT, Esq. F. U. JS.
2*1 . Additional Krperimenis and Remarks^
8io. By Ch^kles Hatcuf.tt, Esq,
F. R. S.
These two memoirs are the l)cst in the
whole volume, and are in K:\i^ry way
worthy of dieir excellent author. Mr,
Hatchett having observed in his researches
on lac, that by die long and powerful i]c-
tion of nitric acid on this sub.stai)ce,^and
some of die resins, a yellow solution was
obtained, which Uy evaporation aflbrdod a
matter soluble both in water and alcohol,
was induced to subject the bitumens to a
siniilar process. In these he observed
that the lirst effect of nitric acid was to
sej)arate a deep yellow rnass, which, by
subsequent digestion in die same acid and
evaporation, yielded a substance extremely
similar to that which lie had obtained by
the same means from the resins. But ho
observed, that besides the deep }ellov/
mass in question, there was also formed a
dark brown solution, which he attri bided
to the actiou of the acid on the nneoin-
bined carbon of tlie bitumen. Tins hy-
pothesis wuii proved to be true by sv'u- .
jecling charcoal ui like mamier to ^rong
870
GENERAL SCIENCE.
nitric acid 5 in this case no yellow matter
was separated, but the whole of the char-
coal was dissolved by digestion, and form-
ed a reddish brown fluid, as in the former
instances : by evaporation of the solution, a
brown glossy substance with a resinous
fracture was obtained, which presented
the following properties : it was soluble
in cold water and alcohol, had a highly
astringent flavour, afforded a bulky coal
when heated, when dissolved in water
reddene<l litnuis-papcr, precipitated me-
tallic salts, of a chocolate brown colour,
except muriat of gold, from which it
threw down the metal in a reguline state.
It also precipitated the earthy salts, and
with glue or isinglass gave a copious sedi-
ment insoluble in cold or hot water : so
that in fact, in all its essential propc*rties, it
agreed with tannin, except in not being
accoropaiiieJ by mucilage and gallic acid.
Not only vegetable but mineral coal, such
as charred skin or isinglass, by a similar
treatment, afforded the same substance.
Wood, in its natural stat?, gave with nitric
acid a yellow viscid mass, but none of this
matter resembling tannin, yet the same
kind of wood when charred afforded tan-
Din, but no yellow matter. Turpentine
and sulphuric acid also yielded a small
(Quantity of this tannin, when by the ac-
tion of the latter the former had become
quite black, but afforded none till this
change of colour bad taken place. But
though wood must be charred in order to
produce with nitric acid the substance in
Question, yet this is not absolutely neces-
sary with every kind of vegetable matter.
Indigo, for example, by simple digestion
with nitric acid, atlbrds this tan-like sub-
Stance in abundance, as ^Iso will most of
the resins and balsams by repeated abstrac-
tions with this menstruum, but none of
the gums or saccharine mucilages will af-
ford the smallest quantity of it. Camphor
when digested with sulphuric acid, and
afterwards distilled, gives among other
products a backish-brown resinous sub-
stance, which appears almost wholly to
consist of tannin.
One of the most remarkable differences
between this and the natural tmnin, is
their habitude with nitric acid : the latter
being wholly destroyed by it, while the
former is produced by its agency, and
when produced appears indesti-uctibJe even
by repeated distillation with this powerful
acid. Even when combined with isin-
glass, and then exposed to the action of
nitric acid, it is found that the isin-
^la&s^ indeed^ is destroyed^ but the iaonin
continues unchanged. The component
parts of this artificial tannin are oxygen,
carbon, and azot : when placed ou a hot
iron it emits an odour like that of bomt
feathers, and by dry distillation at a low
red-heat, it yields a large quantity of am*
moniacal gas, and carbonic abid.
13. The Cau of a fuUrgrmtn Woman ta
tDhom the Oraria were deficient. By Mr.
Charles Pears, F.L.S. Commnm--
cated by the Right Hon. Sir Jos&ra
Banks, i^.B. P.R.S.
The subject of this paper died in her
2.0th year. At ten years old she ceased to
grow, and ever after retained the appear-
ance of a child. Her stomach was inca*
pable of receivi|)g more than a vei^- small
quantity of food at a time. She ne\er
menstruated, nor exhibited any other signs
of puberty. Ou dissection, only the rudi-
ments of ovaria were found, and the other
parts composing the uterine system, though
perfect in organization, bad never incre;is«
ed beyond their size in tlie infant state.
14. A Description of Malformation in the
Heart of an Infant. By Mr, Hugk
Cif UDLEiGH Standbrt. Commumcoied
by Anthony Carlisle, Esq. F. IL S.
The child died at the age of ten days,
and during life its respirarion, tempera^
ture, and muscular action, presented no*
thing remarkable, except that the skin ex-
hibited the blue colour that characterizes
an imperfect pulmonary circulation. On
dissection the heart was found to bear a
strong resemblance to that organ in thd
amphibia, having only a single auricle and
ventricle, and the pulmonary artery being
wholly wanting.
] 5. On a Method of analyzing J^ones com^
taining fixed Alkali, by Means oftheBo^
racic Acid. By Humphry Davy, Esq.
F. R. S. Professor of Chemistry in the
Royal Institution.
The mineral to be examined is to be
fused with twice its weight of boracic
acid, the result of which is a glass soluble
in nitric acid, and from which the earths
and oxyds that it contains are to be sepa-
rated by carbonated ammonia : the dear
liquor being acidulated by nitric acid, the
boracic acid is to be separated by evapora-
tion, and the residual fluid, contain'mg
nitrat of ammonia and of the fixed alkali^
contained originally in tlie stone^ is to be
evaporated to dryness : a temperature of
0
PHILOSOPHICAL TRAKSACTfCnUS.
«7l
450^ Fahr. will then decompose the am-
moniaciil salt, and the otlier nitrat will be
left behind.
We are inclined to suspect that this me-
thod is not so accurate as Kiaproth's, in
which caustic barytes is used as tiie original
solvent of the mineral to be examined.
Beaume has rendered it probable that bo-
racic acid prepared4)y precipitation retains
a portion of borax undecomposed, which,
if true, will entirely vitiate the results of
any analysis in which it is employed for
the detection of an alkali.
16. On the Direction and Velocity of the
Motion of the Sun and Solar System. By
W. Herschbl, F. R. S. 8(c,
The moment tlie system of gravitation
is allowed, the impossibility of the rest of
any body in nature is evident. Every
material object mast be in motion : the
planets round the sun, or rather both sun
and planets round a common centre of
gravity J this system will move round the
nearest fixed star or similar system -, in
the same manner a variety of similar sys-
tems will have a common ceutre of gra-
vity, and this collection of systems will be
connected with another collection of sys-
tems, and so on ad infinitum', for from ihe
Vittlewecan collect from the small system
ill which we live, we can know little of
the ettent of the universe. We are limit-
ed at present to a system, whose remotest
object is not farther from us than a dis-
tance which a body with the velocity of a
Tay of light would pass over in two niil-
'Jions of years ; this system makes only
one of innumerable similar systems, all
affected by the same principle of gravity,
and their motions with each other will
afford sufBcient employment for future
ph i losophers . At prescn t , i t i s an obj ect of
curiosity to ascertain the direction of the
centre of gravity of the small diminutive
system in which our sun is the greatest '
t)bject, and our earth forms so very incon-
siderable a portion. The writer of this
paper, so late as the year 1783, gave it as
his opinion tliat our planetary system had
a motion, and this notion is more strength-
ened by additional arguments. In 1/83
the writer conjectured that this motioix
was directed towards o Herculis, not af-
firming that ^e situation of that star was
the exact point to which the motion was
directed, as in a subject of such ditficulty
more observations were requisite to ob-
tain complete satisfaction.
Since that time the apparent motions
of several stars^ by vulgar acceptatiop
called fixed stars, have been ascertained.
These motions may arise either from a
real motion in ihe stars themselves, our
solar system being at rest, or a real motion
of the solar system the star being at rest*
or the mo4lt)n may.resiTlt from the real
motion botli of the star and the $olar sys-
tem. The apparent motions of thirty-six
stars in Dr. Maskelyne*s catalogue have
laid tlie basis for our writer's deductions,
from' which, in a very ingenious manner,,
ha endeavours to find out the point to
which the solar motion is directed. The
principle is simple, depending on the com-
position and resolution of motion; but-
where objects are" at such distance from
us, and a small error will be attended with
such fatal consequences, we cannot with
great confidence rely upon the present
calculations : they carry with them, how- •
ever, a very great appearance of tmth, and
M'ell deserve" the particular attention of
astronomers. 8 Herculis has lost hii
prerogative ; and the point to which wo
and the inhabit;ints of the sun and planet^
are travelling in the immensity of space,
is fixed in right ascension 245" 52' 20*^ and
north polar distance 40" 2V. Farther ob-
servations will probiibly deprivo this ne\y
point of its honour ; but ho\yever future
ages may improve in the investigjition c^f
the question, tliey will remember that the
first attempt to solve it was made by
Herschel.
17. On the Rsproductton of Bud$, By
Thomas ANoaaw Kvight^ E»q.
F.R.S.
Every tree in the ordinary course of its
growth generates in each season those buds
which expand in the , succeeding spring $
but if these buds be destroyed in the win-
ter, or during the early part of the spring,
other buds are generated which perform
the otBce of their predecessors, except that
they never produce blossoms. These se-
condary buds, according to 'Duhamel,
spring from pre-organijed germs, but tbo
exi<stence of which has never been proved*
From some experiments detailed in this
paper (which, howei^er, do not appear tq
us to be entirely conclusive), Mr. Knight
supposes these buds to arise firom the la-
teral vessels of the alburnum.
18. Some Account of two Hfummia ofih$
Egyptian Ibis^ one of which was in a re-
markably perfect State. By Johk Pbajl*
SON, E»q, E fi. S,
This paper dees not admit of abridge*
872
GENERAL SCIENCE.
raent, and we only notice it to suggest to
Mr. Pearson, that a n^ch safer and more
etibctual method of removing the bitumen
vith -whiuli the most perfect of these sjx^-
cimens was enveloped, would be by di-
gestion in warm alcohol, or oil of turpen-
tine, rather than having recourse to the
knife or scissar$. •
ig. Obscrvatiom on the ^infrular Figure of
the Planet Saturn. By W. Heeschel,
R 11. S. SiC.
Saturn has been hitlierto conceived to
be distinguished from the other planets
only by its ring and the number of its
hioons: the researches of tliiti writer, assii^t-
cd by the excellence of his instrumenvs,
lias discovered another very singular qua-
lity in this remarkable body. In l/i^g he
measured the equatorial and polar diame-
ters,and bein^ prepossessed that the planet
was spheroidical, he was noi then attentive
to tlie circumstances, which afterwards
very forcibly struck his attention. In this
paper are given many au-ious obser\'ation5
inade since Aj.rii 12, 1805, and the tiat-
tenin^ at the poles was soon discovered to
be far grelter than in the planet Jupiter.
Hepeated observations destroyed its sphe-
roidical figure, for the planet is flattened at
llie poles, and the spheroid that would have
arisen from the diminution of the polar
diameter is modified by some other cause,
Vi'hich the writer attributes to tliC* atlrac-
tion of the ring. The flattening resembles
a parallelogram, one of whose sides is the
equatorial, the otlier the polar diameter,
witli the four corners rounded oft' so as to
leave both the equatorial and polar regions
liatter, than they would be in a regular
spheroidical figure. On May 30 it was
concluded, that the points of the greatest
curvature were nearly in latitade 45 de-
grees, and on ditferent niglits various di-
ameters were measured, whose dimensions
in proportional parts are given as follows:
The diameter of tlie greatest curva-
ture - - - . 3(5
The ecjuatorial diameter * - 35
The polar diameter - - - 32
Latitude of the largest diameter 43" 20'
These observations will lead to new en-
quiries into the nature of the ring, and
the opposiie influence of two centripetal
and t\Vo centrifugal forces.
30. On the Magnetic Attraction of Oxuds
of Iron. % Timothy Lane, Esq,
F. R. S,
or worthy of notice, except a mistake,
Mr. Liine aflirms that mere oxyds of iron
are not magnetic, but that tiiey acquire a
^susceptibility of being acted on bj the
magnet when chemically combined witi^
inflammable matter. Surely, in the pre^
sent state of chemical and mineralogical
science, no one who aUends to these sub-
jects, except Mr. Lane, can be ignorant
of the existence of native niagi)euc oxyd
of iron, or supposes that the action of in-
flammable matter on the magnetic oxyd,
as fer as is necessary to render it ntiagneti-
cal, is any otlier tliau the simple abstrac-
tion of a part or the whole of its oxygen.
22. On (he Discovery of Palladium : Olatr-
vatinns on other Substances found urilh
Platina, by William Hyde Wol- •
L ASTON, iW. D. Sec. R. S,
The first section of this paper relates to tlie
new meUil called iridium. The ore of lliis
metal is almost always mixed with common
platina: it is in the form of metal lie grains of
a lamellar texture, perfectly unmalleable,
harder than platina, and of greater speciHc
gravity, amounting to 1 9-5, while tliat of
crude platina does not exceed 17/» ^^^
contains osmium as well as iridium.
The metliod by which Dr. W. origin-T
ally procured palladiuni from crude pla-
tina was the following. Having dissolved
the ore in nitro-muriatic acid, he threw
down a yellow precipitate by sal animo-
HJac. Tins precipitate being re-dissolved
in the same menstruum, sal ammoniac wa^
again employed for its precipitation. The
yellow powder thus procured being sepa-
rated, a bar of iron was placed in the clear
liquor, which soon threw down a black
powder that had escajxd the action of the
ammoniacal salt. From this precipitute lead,
iron, and a little copi^er, were extracted by
means of muriatic acid, and the residue
by digestion in nitric acid aflbrded a deep
brownish-red solution. A small quantity
of mercury Was now added, and shaken
(the liquor being previously wanned) till
it acquired the consistence of an amalgam.
This amalgam, after exposure to a red
heat, left behind a white metallic button,
infusible before the blow-pipe, and form-
ing a red solution with nitric acid, from
wliich it was not precipi table by nitre or
sal ammoniac ; hence it was pre&ume<! to
he a peculiar metal, and was named jwlla-
dium. A much more expeditious method,
however, of procuring this metallic sub-
staiice has since been discovered by Dr. AV,
* Jn this paper we find nothing original " To a solution of crude platina, whetlier
TRANSACTIONS t)P THE ROTAL SOCIETY OF BDZNBUROH.
Bjrs
t*^n(!i»rpd neutral by evaporation of redun-
iknt acid, or saturated by addition of potash,
of soda, or avnmonia, by lime or magnesia,
by mtrcury, bs copper, or by iron, and also
whether tue pbtinu has or luw not buen preci-
pitated froiij tliv? 'olution by sal ainiuonia, it is
iicctrisary t > i ul a solution ofpriisslat e ot" in?r-
cury, for iiie precipitation ot the palladium.
Oeneraily for a tVw seconds, and sotnetimes
for a few minutes, there will be no appear-
ance ot any precipitate ; but in a short time
4he wno.e solution becomes -lightly turbid,
and a tiocculent precipitaie i> .i^radually form-
jed, of a pale yellowish-white colour. This
precipitate consi ts wholly of prus.iiate of pal-
ladium, and when heated will be loiina to
yield that me'al in a puie state, amounting
to about 4 or 5 tei-iths per cent, upon the
quantity of ore dissolved.**
This valuable paper concludes with some
lo teres ting remarks on the properties by
ivhich piatlna and palladium on the one
liai^ resemble, and on the other dilTer
from each other, .
^3. Experiments on a mineral Suhstajicefor'
vicrl'j supposed to be Zeolite ; with some
Itemarks on two Species of Uran-gUmemr.
By the Hev. W. Gbrgor. Commu-^
nicated by Chakles Hatchett, Esq,
F, R. S,
The ^rst of these substances i^ raised in
the urine called stennagwyn, in Cornwall,
^a^ ap[X3ars to be the same as the Barn-
staple mineral described in Art. 7. by Mr.
Davy. It occurs here in minute capillary
crystals upon quartz, or in mamillary pro*
tuberance* of the size of small peas, in the
cavities and fissures of compact granite.
The general result of Mr. Gregor's aualy*
sis of it agrees very satisfactorily with Mr.
Davy's 5 but th^ watery erapyreumatic
Huid which it contains was subjected to
particular examination. When the crys*
tals of this substance are distilled in a
glass retort, a fluid passes over, and a whits>
cjust forms in the arch of the retort. Tho
watery liquid has a peculiar empyreuma*
tic odour, changes Ijtmus paper to a faint
reddish hue, gives no precipitate with ni-
trat of silver, and a scarcely perceptible
one with nitrat of mercury. The sublim*
ed crust contained lead, and appeared to bd
nothing more than the substance -of the
retort corroded by an acid, for it reddened
litmus-paper ; but this acid in its ch^ac*
ters appears materially to diiier both from
the fluoric and phosphoric.
The latter part of this paper contains
some well-selected and apparently accurate
experiments on some yellow and greeii
crystals tliat accompany the preceding
mineral : tlie quantity of them was too
small for a regular analysis, but they were
found to coutain, beside oxyd of uranium^
lime, silex, and oxyd of lead.
/^RT. IL— Transactions of (be nm/al Socicti/ of Edinburgh, (being the Continuation qfPart
II. toirtUwr "x'ith PaH IIL of '^ ^^^*^ oluinc.J 4to.
THE publication of the first fasciculus
p£ this volume preceded the commence-
ment of our annual labours : in our first
volume will be found an account of tlw
^cond fascicAilus, and at an interval of
three years the third and last of the fifth
volume comes under our notice.
J3. Disqu'miions on the Origin andradif-nl
Sense of the Greek Pitpositioiis, By
James Bonar, F.R. H, Edin.
So much light has been thrown on
grammar in general, and on the strucmre
of the En;^ii,sli langunire in particular, by
the ingenious theory first fully developed
by Mr. Home Tooke, that the application
of the same principles to other languages,
especially those radically dilfereut from
our own, has become an object peculiarly
desirable. The origiu of the ancient
tongues is, however, enveloped in so
much obscurity, that an approximation to
the truth, not destitute of probability, is
perhaps all tlut can be hoj^ed for by tho
most sanguine. Tliis Mr. Bonar, buildinj
on tlie foundation of Mr. Lennep, has at-
tempted with respect to the Greek prepo-
sitions, which he treats in alphabetical
order.
The principles which Mr. Bonar hyft
down as ix>st.ulates are the following : that
to every pre[K^sition one primary radical
idea was originally aihxed -, that this idea
was for the most part taken from sensible
objects 5 and that from this radical sens©
ail the secondary applications may either
immediately or circuitously be traced. H^
further supposes,
** That all • of them were originally Pitlu^t
nouns or participles, most of them veibul ad*
jectives, at first usually joined with some com-
mon substantive to' complete the siMue;
which substantive, by use, came at \on:;^\\\ lo
be dropped, us unnix*essary to be expressed,
being mmiediately implied and understood.
From this it will likewise follow, that iii the-
junction of these words with other nouns, the
primitive rule of coustBUction by which they
were joined in 6cntciicc», wsu that which li
874
GENERAL SCIENCE.
termed the gelntive or ablative absolute ; a
construction of senlenci^s, which though stig-
inatizi'd, and perhaps not unjiwtly, by Lord
Monboddo, as laine and gaping, yet was pro-
bably ot extensive use in tnc early stages of
kunian speecii, when bare co-existence of
pheiKiniena or events, (the precise idea de-
noted by tins mode of construction), was more
attended to tlian that mutual relation, and
dependaiicc, the gradual discovery of which
afterwards gave rise to more compact and
connected lorms of expr«>sion.*'
We shall mention the radical idea which
Mr. Honar attributes to each of the pre-
positions : our limits will not permit us
to attend him through the detail of the
application.
A|x^i, with the related words af/LOui and
ati(*if, is derived from a 8Uppt)sed obsolete
primitive, ay.(a, to embrace or grasp.
Aufi, therefore, with a substantive un-
derstood, means place or object grasped
or comprehendeil. The Greek primitive
u .wpposed to be preserved, in a metaplio--
ricp.l sense, in the Latin amo.
The analysis of the particle ava is ac-
Itiiowledged to be difficult. The radical
idea is supposed by Dr. Moor and Mr.
Bonar to be, back, backward, reversed,
traced back. Hence the secondary mean-
ings of direction upward, iteration, passage
through, t. e. backward and forward, 8ur-
sum et dcorsum. These explications cer-
tainly suit a gi-eat number of passages in
which the word occurs ; but what bhiill
We say as to tlie power of this preposition
in the word analogy, or its use in such
phrases as the following, vac-ay av op^vav,
ayx y^vov Tte'rrXae-fji^voy } The early state
of language is however so obscure, that, as
Mr. Bonar justly remarks, " under every
root we need not he surprized to find
blanks in die analogy^ which no ingenuity
or conjecture can now possibly supply."*
Akti, by Lemiep, Scheidjus, and our
tnthor, is supposed to be a case of an ab-
solute noun, avf, a face or front. Tliis
explication,* we believe, may suit all the
uses of which this preposition is suscep-
tible, and is confirmed by the correspotid-
ence which, in some instances, it possesses
with the Latin ante.
Alto is considered as the fragment of an
obsolete adjective, meaning, with its SBb»
stantive understood, adi&tant point---poini
of departure — ^point of origin. This worci
is well illustrated by a comparison with
the English /rom, Scotch and Saxon >«,
GothiC/airra, the root of the En^ishyiir.
and of the old English and German fremde,
a foreigner. The English word ojTor of; .
far or remote, is probably cognate with
Ata, from ^wr, whose radical meaniqg
is supposed by Mr. Bonar to bave been, to
bore or pierce. Hence the senses of ?{3»
through, across, between, dibtance or in-
terval as applied to tinie, through, after.
It is also used to express causation, instru-
mental, formal, material, and linai.
E<;, supposed to be a participle from he,
the root of ijaai, to sit.
Ek, from ixw, the parent of flJt», ttf
yield.
Ev, from 5w,or ewvto, to clothe. Hence
the sense of be'mg included or compre-
hended.
Eir«, from 6*», supposed to mean, to
touch closely j whence £Toax», I adjoin
myself, 1 follow.
•* 'E»», the root, liaviog this radical meanings
Its cognate and derivative •««, must ciprew the
same idea ; and as tvt appear* to be a mutiiaied
verbal adjective, with ito substantive understood,
it is properly and literally otjed pnuel, a^xr^
to, or «^/ toufUi eU^elj ; and this signification ic
retains whether appbed Xo flace^timet or reie^m.
* 1. As applied to place,
« *H ff^rp« icnXi'»l«T«i MTi -rtfTfiwiJttf, " the ban
rolU upon die table,"—" the ball roUsr-object
pressed by it, or adhered to in so doings— the
table.** *0 XJ9of m'nnti Ul 'r4m i^ *" the stone
falls upon the ground^" the stone fallsj object
pressed or adhered to by its fallr-»he ground."
• *0>Um Si 'wliM Ucl wwKM AxaMMk HoMKft.
« to destroy many of the Greeks at or besxde'tlie
ships,**— ^ to destroy manyy— place^or objecs
close touched in doing sor-theshipa.- KM^Ati
wKt rip l<ria»y ** to sit down at or beside ^thc hearth."
— to sit down,— place touched, or closely ad-
hered to in sitting,— the hearth." EiAtut Im*-
•iSiw «»!!««, Euclid),* a straight line stand-
ing upon a straight line,"— ^ a straight line
standings — place or object adhered to, pressed,
or dose -touched in its standings — another
straight line.** *E« M^vkth ^ttiv,t (Thuctd.),
«to flow towards Egypt,*'— -^ to ilowr-i)lace
adhered to, pressed, or touched in tu flowingi—
Egypt."
• * The continuity of meaning may perhaps be tolerably preserved by the fbllowin| gm^togy
oa or over, xe«<M« «»« «iei»»rf », »«t«» » "ExkaU, up, upward, backward. The »<•«»€« agrecm»t
sometimes included in «mk, is to be referred to the first of these meanings. The Engbsh«h and the
German tf«,are perhaps allied to the Greek om.**
+ «* This eiample is directly against Dr. Moore*s hypothesis, that tri with the genitive denotts,
mUMH 1^, and with the acaturtne, moiUm Mrrcud upon ; here it has the ktter signification with the
gfnitive. The same thing holds ia many other instances, in the best and most accoraftc Gnsk
writfrs.*^
THANSACTI0N3 OPTHl R<>TAL SOCIETT OF BDXNBUROH.
S75
*■ S. ' A» applied to ihm»,
^ Jis 9 fins ; rU 2i t«/ «|f 5r» ; £i>mi f ,
• 'who first, and who next after the UntV •• who
firs^— and who adhering- to, prtaBnfr,^r close-
toucfaing the first,**— " jiut after the fint V*
^ pear grows old after pear," — ^ pear ^rows
old^ — event close-touched in point of time^ —
the growing old of another pear."
Dion. Geog.
* As much as a aliip of burden would pass in
three days,"— ^ would pass, — period adhered to,
touched or reached in thispassage^ — the third
day."
** A» applied to retattan^^JitsioMt or •ccupathit.
^ Tmt orrm r% /m* »ff»y c^* ^"it, ra I* Suk i^*
^pi^Xv, (£picT.), *v Of things some are in our
power, others not," — ^ some are so constituted,
that the object adhered to, pressed, or close-
touched by- them, is the line of our power, or
the line of our reach.** ^E«< ro7t 7c7ivii^i>oif
XtfXtvwf f ^ciy, ** to be di»>leased in consequence
of what has taken place, —^ to be displeased^ —
point or object which the displeasure touches,
or adheres tor-the tilings that have happened.**
*0 imi rm 9ii/MffiMr Xsy*w, ** the officer over the
public accounts.'* — f* the person so occupied^ —
that the public accounts are the object touched
or adhered to in his occupation.'**
*< Oiriyer vfikt^i Mri /xu iaXiMtj
£vi r* liXffv/yair, Mail mct(» oi tvf oif,
ECfovro. EuRiFiD.
*■ Who invented son^ as an accompaniment at
festivals, at convivial entertainments, and at
f eastings,** — '* songs<— object or fvent which
they are made to adhere to, touch, or closely
accompanyr-^otivals and entertainmentt.'*
The etymology given of xara is inge-
nious, but dubious. Kfo;, the absolute
primitive of x«|xa/, must have meant, to
lay down. From the analogical system, it
is inferred that xaw had the same signifi-
cation ', whence it is supposed that Hura,
place of laying or lying, has been derived.
MsTx is derived by Mr. Bonar from the
obsolete ijlsuj, to go, preserved in the Latin,
and is explained as denoting the object by
which motion is directed. Hence the sig-
nifications of with, among, and after. The
last sense is very well explained in the hy-
pothesis of Mr. Bonar -, that of mere ac-
companiment is not equally well adapted
to it. In this sense the Greek word seems
to have an affinity with the German mit
and mitte.
TLapcL is supposed to be an old substan-
tive noun, signifying side or flank, to
which reoLpeia and par are conjectured to
be of analogous import and derivation.
The idea is at least ingenious; and is well
illustrated by the English preposition
beside,
Uepi is conjectured to be merely a coa».
tracted dative of irepdt^, a boundary.
With respect to tlie preposition irp9,
Mr. Bonar adopts the supposition of Schei-
dius, tl}at it is a part of 1:0.00$ contracted,
denoting object in front. The formation
of the English preposition for is, on this
occasion, very plausibly accounted for.
" I may add here, that our English prepositioi^
/or, appears to have a similar origin with the
Greek mgo. In the *'£«•« ITrifOirra, indeed, a
different source is assigned to the English /«r;
it is said to be an abbreviation of the Saxonyar/W,
a causg. Had lord Monboddo or Mr. Harris
ascribed to it such a genealogy, how would
Hornc Tooke and Br. Beddocs nave ridiculed
the fancy of originating^ a preposition from the
abstract and metaphysical idea of causation.
In fact, this derivation is far-fetched, and it evi-
dendy required no small straining to twist some
of the applications of /or into the line of cause
and effect. Without going so far, a plain and
obvious origin of it may be found in the word
fore'y and upon examination I think it will be
found, that /or in English, and sr^o in Greek, and
fro in Latin, as well as the vor or/irr, means, in
its radical sense, fiuition before ; with this diffe-
rence only, that in latin, English, and German,
the word denoting the fore object generally
follows the preposition, but in Greek precedes
it. In £ngltsh, therefore, the preposition for
may be always taken as meaning sinmly object*
Substitute object in all the phrases in which the
author of the Di^ertiont of PurUy has put eattse as
the meaning of for^ ana it is easy to 6bserve
how naturally and exactly the sentences may b«
resolved."
n^o;, as well as nc^pi, is deduced from
Kepau a termination.
Suv is traced to cvw, preserved in tho
Latin^ to sew or join together. No diffi-
culty occurs in the common usage of tlta
word.
tieep is supposed to be a descendant of
the comparative form of an obsolete ad-
jective 'uTCog, high, from which Vi^tjaoj
and 'vTioLTog remaiui Similar to this, it is
remarked, is the analogy of the English
preposition oter. The words, up and
upper, seem also to present a conformity
with the Greek.
T7ro,ahe preix)sition of contrary mean-
ing to *t;*£fl, is singularly supposed to be
derived from the same root, thus, \ie iKvou
under the mud, i. e. tlie mud being the
higher object. ,
The appendix to this paper contains
some remarks on the system of Greek
*'*' Perhaps, in this and similar phrases, there is a reference to the secondary sense of m, '* to
handle or work upoOr— hence to manage; — the same seems to hold in such expressions as 0 Uti rfir
srejuof, ** the governor of the city,**«-*he whp '^ fto placed— that the object handled or managed by
Wn is the city.'*
B76
GENERAL SCIENCR
analogy as developed by Hemsterhusius
and Iris disciples. Of the general truth of
this system, as explained by Valckenaer
in his treatise, entitled " Obsen'ationes
Acadeuiicae, quibns via munitur, ad ori-
gines Graecas investigandas ;*' namely,
that the Greek language, like the orieptal
dialects, is reducible to rests of simple
forms, commonly denoting qualities or
actions, litile doubt, we think, can be en-
tertained by those who have carefully ex-
amined its tendencies. The way is not
jperhaps yet cleared for the successful pur-
suit of the subject any further. With the
view of arriving at that great desideratum,
the development of tlie ultimate struc-
ture of langix.jge, Mr. iJonar proposes a
few considerations, which however he
does not profess to consider as more than
imperfect hints. The radical force he
tupix>ses to reside in the consonant, and
accordingly he gives a table of the various
mod locations of force which seem to him
to be denoted by tlie consonants of the
Qreek alphabet. It however unfortunately
hapjiens that tlie alphabet adopted by him
is not the primitive one of the Greeks,
but one containing, with the exception of
the theta, ail their most recent im()rove-
ments and alterations!
On tlie whole, the perusal of tl^is paper
has afforded us much pleasure. It is at
once ingenious, learned, and temperate.
It must at the same time be remembered
that tl>e utmost which can, in most cases,
be conceded to speculations of this nature,
is probabllit}'- ; and it is a circumstance in
the memoir of Mr. Bonar, which we con-
aider as veiy favourable, tliat in most in-
stances he seems to claim no more.
14. Experiments and Ohseirations upon the
Contraction of Water by Heat at low
Tt-mptra tares, Bif Thomas Charles
Hopp, M. D. F. il. S. Professor of Che-
viistrij in the University of Edinburgh^
The ex.periments by which that remark-
able anomaly (namely the expansion of
water as its temperature is lowered from
about 40'' Fahr. to the point of its conge-
btion) has-been proved by Crowne, Deluc,
and Blagdcn, were made in diermonieter-
shaped vessels. On this account it has
most absiudly been objected>
'* That the dimensions and capacity of the
i9*^truinent uuiUrgo so nu)ch change, from
.\ariatioa of ttMuperature, that it is difficult,
if not im{x)ssiblc, to determine how much of
tlio app..rent anomaly ought to be imputed
to such changes, and'that it is not improbable
thnt the whole of it nioy be ascribed to
th-J.TL"
To justify OS in catliog this an absurd
objection, it is sufficieDt to observe, that if
the apparent enlaj^ement of bulk in water
as it is cooling below 40^^, were caused by
a contraction of the yessel. the same etfect
ought to take place when the thetmome*
ter-tube is filled with mercury or alcohol;
in which case the fluid in all the commoa
thermometers, instead of siiiking uniformlj
from 40^ to 32^ as the temperature dimi-
nishes, ought on the contrary to artcend.
The experiments,, therefore, of Dr*
Hope, contained in this paper, cannot be
considered as of any very great importance,
since they only confirm results of whidi
there was good reason to doubt : they are
entitled, however, to the praise of neatnesfi
and precision. A glass \ax was filled with
water at 32®, and two thermometers were
suspended in it, the one half an inch from
the bottom, the other an equal di^ttasce
from the top of the water : the jar wai
then exposed to the air at the temperatunt
of G(f, and it appeared that the coldest
water occopied the upper part of the ves-
sel till the temperature of the whqle was
brought'to 38° : firom this point np to 54%
when the experiment was terminated, a
contraiy arrangement took place, the cold-
est water occupy'mg the bottom of the
vessel. The next experiment was the cod*
verse of the preceding. The jar was fill-
ed with water at 53® and placed in a cool-
ing medium, and till the temperatore cf
the whole mass was reduced to 4Xf, the
lower thermometer indicated a smaller de-
gree of heat than the upper one ; but from
4ff to 34®, the temperature of the wbc^ at
the conclusion of tlie experiment^ the up-
per part oi the column of water was uni-
formly colder than the lower part. la
another experiment heat was applied to
the middle of a colunm of ice-cold water i
and tlie lower thermometer, tiU the tem-
perature rose to 39®, constantly indicated
a higlier degree of heat than the upper
one : above tliis temperature the contrarf
took place. The converse of this experi-
ment tlien was tried with a corresponding
result. Hence it appears that the contrac-
tion of water while it is heating, from 32f
to 40", is real, and not depend^ on tha
expansion of the vessel in which it is coo*
tained.
The rcmamder of the volume is occu-
pied by the history of the society, and con-
tains an excellent biographical memoir of
Dr. Hutton, by professor Playfair, and a
very meagre unsatisfactory one of Qu
Blacky by Dr. Ferguson*
»tk8*5 KEW trOLOfJEMA*
^ri
AltT. ltl.**^7^^ A'ho Cyclop(fdia, or universal Dictiomry of Arts and Sciences. By
Abraham Rees, D. Z>. /'. R. S. with the Assistance qf' eminent professional Gentlemcju
Vol. IV. 4to.
torical and antiquarian information thnt it
communicates, but would be more perfect
if it contained besides soraeihing of the
musical history of bells*
Of the geographical and historical arti-
cles, Bengal and the Birman- empire will
be esteemed, perhaps, as the mo^t interein-
ing: they are abiy treated of without
being ditluse, are fall but not tedious, and
entertaining but not superficial.
The 'proportion of chernktry and mine-
ralogy contained in this volume h but
small : Benzoic acid. Bile, Bismuth, and
Bone, are the only articles of niucii. im-
portance: these, however, are treated suf-
ficiently at length to alford a clear and sa-
tisfactory view of the present state of our
knowledge concerning these substances.
Two extremely important p.ipers ontlio
construction and history of Blast furnaces
for the smelting of iron, and of Blowing
machines, both of them, we presume, from
the pen of Mr. Mushet, deserve to he es-
pecially pointed out, for the accuracy lyt*
their details, and tlieir high practical uti-
lity-
The comparative anatomy of Birds li^
treated of at length ? but few, except pro-
fessional men, will be able to judge oi the
merit of the communication. To tlie
merchant and man of busine^ we may re-
commend the i^erusal of the articles Bill
and Bond, as containing a very satisfactory
summary of the legal enactments on thes^
important subjects.
In ecclesiastical history there occurs the
article Binhop, which caunot fail of obtain-
ing the praise of impartiality and researcU
from moderate men of all parties. But
the longest, most laboured, and most ex-
cellent article in the whole volume is
Bible. It chiefly relates to the literary his-
tory of the sacred book, and from tlie re-
searches of Kcunicott, towth, and other
distinguished critics, is collected a mass of'
extremely ini cresting information with re
gard to tlivi Hebrew Bible, and its most
valued editions, the Greek Bible or Septua-f
gint, tlie Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Coptic
and Sahidic versions of the Old and New
Testament, the Ethiopic, Armenian, and
Persic versions, and all tlie principal Eng-
lish translations of this most imjwrtant
of all books,. from Wicklille's, in iJje year
U/0, 10 king Jiuiies's, ii^ lO'OJ.
TO our opinion formerly expressed of
the general merits of this highly respect-
able publication we have little to add. We
perceive with pleasure, however, tliat tlie
biographical, geographical, and historical
articles, which appeared in tlie former vo*
luRies to occupy a disproportionate space,
ere in tlie present very judiciously restrain-
ed witliin narrower limits, to the manifest
advantage of these articles themselves, as
well as of the \vork at large. It appears
also from the annexed list of contributors,
that the editor has succeeded in adding to
the number of his former associates, pome
very able men in various departments, from
•u'hom the Cyclopaedia cannot fail of deriv-
ing much credit and advantage. It may
perhaps be acceptable to our readers to
have some of the leading articles in the
present volume pointed out to their notice.
The first article of importance that oc-
curs is Battle : this, however, unhapi>ily for
liuman nature, is a subject of such magni-
tude as only to admit of being treated in
a summary manner in a work like the pre-
«ent : it will be found, nevertheless, to
contain some curious and interesting his-
torical matter.
Several very good biographical memoir's
«ccur in the course of the volume. The
pious and acute Richard Baxter is comme-
morated in a manner worthy of his high
ffuerit. Cardinal Beckefs cliaracter is es-
timated with much good-sense and impar-
tiality, not depreciating his splendid abili-
ties, nor denying that he applied them but
too oiteu to the accomplishment of very
pernicious designs.
Bislkop Berkley is tlie subject of a very
interesting article, which, however, will
be reckoned impertect, as not containing
a short summary of die arguments by
^which his ingenious system of metaphysics
in suppoited; The account of Bononcini,
tlic celebrated opera-composer, will also
.be read widi much pleasure.
The subject of Beards, and the reverence
or intolerance which this emblem of man-
hood has experienced in different ages and
various countries, gives occasion to the dis-
play of extensive reading, and atfords much
curious information. The common error
that the North American Indians are na-
turally beardless is very properly noticed,
and shown to be a mere mistake.
Tha articJd BfU is valuable for thd his-
< 8/8 )
CHATTER XXin.
EXPERIMENTAL PHLLOSOPHy.
ALL the original researches on the various sobjects of Ei^rimental PhOoioplif
which the last jear has produced, are coDtuned in die PbikMophical Transactiooi
notioed in the preceding chapter. The essays of the late Dr. Irviae wiU be penned
with cariosity, if not with satisfaction, by all who recollect the share v/hkh this phib-
wopher had in those early investigations on the subject of caloric, wJiich led to oar
present knowledge of this important s^ent. The " ConvorsatfoDs «q Cbeoiistxy*' by
a lady, form by far the best companion to the lectare-4room that we have seen, and
may safely be recommended to the confidence and caxeftd perusal of the yoosg
•tndenL
Art. I. — Euays^ chirfti/ on CTicmical SuhjecU. By the fate Willdus iKvnrc, jtf. A
F. R. S. Ed. Lecturer in Mtacria Medtca (md Chemistry in the Uvivertity qf^Gia^pmi
tmd by his San, William Irvine, M. D. 8to. pp. 90.
THE name of Dr. Irvine must be fa-
miliar to all our philosophical readers, as
one intimaieiy conoected with the disco-
veries that were made about forty years
ago on the subject of heat. His idcK
were novel and ingenious, and have in
tome measure served as a^ basis for the
hypothesis of the present day. His situa-
tion as a public lecturer afforded him an
opportunity of making his peculiar opi-
nions known to his pupils^ but he never
gave them to the world in any other form j
and we kam from his son, the editor of
the present volume, that the MSS. which
he left behind him are in so imperlect a
•tate, that the deficiency cannot now be
aupplied. We certainly think it a subject
of regret, that a man possessed of so
mudi originality and justness of concep-
'tion should have been deterred by timi-
dity, indifference, indolence, or whatever
may have been the motive, from promul-
gating his opinions through the medium
of the press ; a plan which is no less fa-
vourable for the diffusion of kpowledge,
than for the reputation of the individual.
Under these circumstances, the present
Dr. Irvine; anxious to vindicate the fame
of his father, and to set forth his opiniom
and hypotheses in their true point of view,
resolved to draw up some essays, in wiudi
he has endeavoured to give an account of
the specolatioiv of his father npcm the sab«
ject of heat, to explain the doctrine of c^o.
cities, and to sabjoin an answer to soch
objections as have been made to it : the«
form the first part o£ this volume. Hit
second part consists of a nnaaber of mis-
cellaneous essays, written at difaent
times by the elder Mr. Irvine for a Iitaaiy
society at Glasgow : the third is composed
of some original essays by the editor^
The preface concludes with some re<
mai^ upon the black ox id of manganese:
the metallic natxue ot this substance wu
first announced by Scheele in the year
1774 J but it appears firom Dr. irvioe'i
MSS. that he was acquainted with its me*
tallic properties before this period, and had
stated his opinions in his lectures.' Ifr.
Watt had also performed some experi-
ments which led him to the same ooDdc*
sion. The editor properly observes, that
'as the experiments to which he refers are
acknowledged not to have been publish*
ed, he cannot be considered as attemptiiif
2RymE*8 E88ATS ON CHEMICAL SUl^JECTS.
879
to deprive the Swedish chemist of any
•hare pf his merit. It is, however, a fact
in this history of chemistry which de-
serves to be recorded.
The first essay, which is on the nature
t)f heat, must rather be considered as an
jntrodnctlon to what follows, than as it-
self coiuaining much new information, or
giving much insight into the opinions of
Dr. Irvine. Tlie principal hypotheses
that have been proposed on this sulijcct
are brought under review, and the princi-
fwl arguments are briefly stated tliat have
been urged for and against each of them.
The author touches upon the theory of
Scheele, which is now acknowledged to
be widiout foundation, and afterwards
dwells somewhat more at large upon one
attributed to Dr. Gibbes, which supposes
that caloric is compounded of the nega-
jtive and positive electricities. We deem
it quite topei^uous to enter upon a refu-
tation of an opinion^ built entirely upon
the obscure plusnomena of Galvanism,
which unwarrantably assumes some im-
{wrtant data, and which after all appears
-to be without any recommendation^ except
merely that of explaining the action of the
Oalvanic trough. We think it one of
the nxMt abortive attempts at theory that
has ever encountered our criticisna. Some
persons, as !« well known, conceive heat
to be identical with the elect; ic fluid,
others witli light; it €hew6 analogies to
each of these, but the author points out in
each case circumstances which demon-
strate their dissimilarity.
As a decisive proof diat heat is a mate-
rial substance, and not merely a quality of
bodies, the experiment is brought forward,
|n which it is shown to be transmissible
through the Torricellian vacuum. Jf a
perfect vacuum could be formed, the ar-
gument would be decisive ; but as the au-
*tlior properly remarks, although tlie air
be excluded, light, electricity, and perhaps
other substiinces may remain in it. He
then adverts to the experiments of Dr.
Merschel on radiant heat, which have
been ccmsidered by many philosophers as
idecisive in proving that heat is a distinct
*body from light. Objections have, how-
-^ver, been raised against these experi-
^inents by Mr. Leslie, objections which,
though hot demonstrative of the fallacy of
Hhxi experitnents, must render us less po-
sitive in the inferences which we draw
'itotn them. Our author considers tlie
deoxidating rnys on the violet side of the
vpectmiD as unfavourable to Dr. Herschel's
^pinioo, but we do not perceivQ on what
tliis sentiment is grounded. After fully
considering the subject, he forms the fol-
lowing conclusion :
" Upon the whole, the hypothesis of
the piateriality of heat, which can be sup-
ported by many ingenious arguments, and
which is highly convenient for the expli-
cation of various chemical phenomena,
yet seems to want somewhat of the clear-
ness of complete proof."
The other leading theor}' respecting
heat, that it consists merely in motion^
formerly numbered among its advocates
the brightest ornaments of science, and
has still some respectable adherents. It
is, however, difficult to form a clear ton-
ception of the kind of motion required,
and we know that all motion does not
produce heat. After liiese remarks u|)on
the nature of heat, the author ofiers soma
observations upon the temperature at
which bodies become luminous. He gives
an account of some experiments which his
father performed upon boiling mercury,
and concludes from them that Newtoii
fixed the point too low. The essay finishes
with some observations upon the equilt-
hrium of temperature, and particularly
upon the theory of radiation as pro^wserf
by Pictet : this he inclines to as the most
probable ; but tiie circumstance of a body
cooling more slowly in vacuo, seems to
prove that the conducting power of the
air has also an influence in this process.
The second essay is ** on some of the
principal discoveries made by help of tlid
tliermometer." After a few general ob-
servations on the advantages derived front
tlie use of this instrument, the author
gives a sketch of Dr. Black's exi)erinieQts»
by which he was led to the discovery of
latent heat, and was enabled to establish
the proposition, *' that nil bodies require
for their fusion and evaporation an im-
mense, and formerly unsuspected, quantity
of caloric.*' The property which different
bodies possess, of being unequally heated
by the addition of the same quantity of
heat, is next discussed j to that we are
informed that Dr. Black and Dr. Irvine,
both about the same time, lor their aipa-
city for heat. Every one must be seu*
sible of the value of tliese discoveries: our
author observes,
*' All who have followed the footstepii
of Dr. Black, in adding' further to the fact$
or the theories concerning caloric, have
begun by acknowledging the truth and the
importanoe of hi;i discoveries. As far ai
i$a
EXPERIMENTAL PttlLOSOPtlY*
1 know, no person has attempted to inva-
lidate his observations, which are indeed
so clear, and supported by experiments so
simple and decisive, that they enforce be-
lief. Whatever additional facts may have
been discovered, or whatever variation of
theory may have been advanced, his ineiits
cannot be thereby affected."
Dr. Irvine, however, though proceed-
ing upon the same basis of facts, was dis-
posed to differ from Dr. Black in his
method of reasoning upon them. The
portion of heat which absorbs in order to
become water, was called by this latter
pliilosopher its latent heat, and by its
union with the ice, he conceived that the
fusion of this substance was effected. Dr.
In ine took a somewhat different view of
the same phenomena. lie Imagined that
the ice by being melted had its capacity
for heat increased, and tliat this increase
of capacity was the cause of its absorbing
what has been called its latent heat. In
order to prove this jx)int, he endeavoured
to show, by independant experiments,
that the capacity of water for heat is really
greater than that of ice. He imagined
them to be to each other in the propor*
tion of 10 to 8 ; in his exj)criments he
used sand, iron filings, and pounded glass,
as the media of comparison between ice
and water; he also extended his experi-
ments to other substances, apd drew from
tl}em the general conclusion, *' that the
capacit}' of all solids for heat is increased
by fusion, and that of all fluids by vapo-
risation." It is obsened that Dr. Ii-vine's
theor)' should not be regarded as opposing
that of Dr. Black, but rather as lorming
an appendage to it. ** Both theories ad-
mit alike, as the groundwork of their su-
perstructure, tlie entrance of a large quan-
tity of caloric during fusion. Dr. lr\'ine's
hypothesis differs only in offering an ex-
planation of the newly discovered fact,
the enlargemrnt of the specific heat of
the fusing bodies, and in denying any pe-
ailiar or unusual combination of caloric
in these circumstances." We shall not
enter farther into the controversy, but we
, may remark with respect to this essay,
that it exhibits, as far as we can judge,
a candid and perspicuous view of both
fides of the question.
The third essay is " on the capacity of
1>odies for heat.*' After explaining the
meaning of the term capacty, and de-
scribing the phenomena which are desig-
nated by it, the aatlior observes tliat '' th *
cause of tbe varioiis capacities of bodies
* for heat does not seem to be saliifijcfon^
accounted fcr. llie capacity do^s not
follow the ratio of the specilic gravity or
of any other property of bodies, as fir Ji
can be determined. It appears, that every
body has a peculiar power of attracting or
admitting a quantity of caloric, uhich is
as peculiar to itself as its weight or iis
cl>emical qualities. It would cenaidy
tend to simplify the theory of heat very
much if any account could be given of
this propel ty of bodies, which could be
referred to a more general vicar of the
subject.** Ihis leaO.s him to notice thf
ditTlrent hypotheses that have been sug-
gested, particularly the one brought for-
ward by Dr. Ihomson, which suppose*
that it de}^nds upon the affinUy of bodies
for lieat, that it varies in degree like other
chemical affinities, and thus accounts for
tlie differences which exist in the caps*
cities of bodies. He farther conjectnres,
that the power of conducting beat is de-
pendant upon tlie same principle, and that
the conducting power of bodies is invensely
as their affinity for heat ; proceeding upoo
this supposition, he performed a tew ex-
periments, the results of which are placed
in the form of a table, to prove that tliC
conducting of water, mercury, and li>
seed-oil, are inversely as their ^)eci5c
beat ; but the extreme inaccuracy of liic
table is !,o clearly pointed out by oar au-
thor, that we cannot but consider this or*
cvunstance alone, as a powerful argmneot
against Dr. Thomson's hypothesis. Wt
have next an account of the mediod ei* j
ployed by Dr. Irvine to deterraiue tk J
capacities of bodies for heat 5 water wa
made the standard to which the olhen
were referred, and v^hen the substance ttt
be examined exercised any chemical ac-
tion upon water, a third body, viz. pouM*
ed glass, was employed, which senedas
medium of comparison between watefi
and the other substance.
In order to establish the accuracrd
this process, it was necessary to showtlai
the capacities of bodies are permanent a
long as their state is not changed : cw
autlior remarks, that this Is found to bl
the case as far as experiments ha^ie bfei
made, so that we may infer with prola*
bility, that bodies contain caloric in
portion to their specific heat.
It is upon this proposition that the
culations of the tol lowing essay d<
in which our author instit\ite3 an inqi
into *' the lowest degree of heal." 11*
determinat'ion of what has been called ibi
joaiural zero^ has always beea considwi
NISBET S CHSMICAL DICTION AHT/
OQi
as one of Dr. Iirine's most iDgenious at-
tempts. Masy philosophers have acqui-
esced in the truth of his theory, and have
aimed only at correcting his process ; but
there are others of great eminence who
have altc^ether objected to the principles
HjMm which the operation is founded. The
objections that have been raised are of two
kinds : the first set have been derived from
the great diversity in the results of the dif-
ferent experiments that have been made to
ascertain the zert>, which obviously niust
be in all cases the same point. This dif-
ference in the results our author contends
may be accounted for, from the inaccu-
racy to which such experiments are al-
most necessarily exposed, more particu-
larly when the calorimeter is employed,
and he satisfactorily demonstntes that a
small degree of inaccuracy only in the
experiments must produce a very great
variation in the results deduced from them.
■ In speaking of the experiments of the
French chemists, the author makes the
following observations on those of M. La-
voisier; similar reflections have perhaps
.occurred occasionally to most of our che-
mical readers.
*' One cannot help remarking here the
extreme and extraordinary accuracy of
M. LavoIsier*s results. He never seems
to suffer any loss in his experiments, or
at least only some evanescent fraction of
a grain. That philosopher's high merits
in ^very respect would alone protect him
from any reflection of inaccuracy. Yet
the mind is involuntarily struck with a
combustion of hydrogen and oxygen,
where six pounds ten ounces five gros
and twenty-four grains of the gases are
used, and six pounds ten ounces five gros
and twenty-four grains of water produced.
Art. II.— ^ general Dictionan/ of Chemistrtj, containing the leading Principles of the
Science, in re^rd to Fa^s, Experiments, and Nomenclature, For the Use qfStudtnts.
By William P«IisBBT, M, D. Fellow of the Royal College of Edinburgh, Metnber of
the different Medical Societies, Syc. 12mo. pp. 420.
If this experinient would bear repetition
with the same accara.:y, it would ailbrd
the best possible argument against the
gravity of caloric,**
The author afterwards attempts to repel
the objections that have been urged against
the principle of his father's experiments by
Prof Robison (called by mistake through-
out the work Robinson), M. Seguin, and
Dr. Thomson. Our limits will not per^
mit us to follow him through his reason-
ings 3 we may, however, ^dd^.that tliey
appear forcibly stated 5 and notwithstand-
ing his zeal for the honour of his father's
memory, he seldom permits his feelings
to carry htm beyond the limits of candour
and moderation.
We now come to the essays written by
Dr. Irvine senior : their subjects are per-
fectly miscellaneous, embracing a variety
of topics in chemistry, meteorology, na-
tural history, and the arts. Most of theni
were written many years ago ; and none
of them, it appears, were ever intended
for publication. Under these circum-
stances, we have some doubt how far the
reputation of their author was consulted
in thus laying them before the public. Wo
may forgive the partiality of a son, who
admires the works of a deceased parent,
but the world at large will judge under
other fmpressions. The essays are, how-
ever, not devoid of merit ; and probably
at the time when diey were written, would
have appeared interesting and ingenious.
The first is perhaps the most valuable, asL
it appears to contain the germ of Dr. Ir-
vine's future hypothesis respecting capa-
cities J the imperfect manner in which the
opinion is stated affords a strong proof of
its originality.
THE articles in this dictionary are ar-
xtmged according to two separate alpha-
bets. The first, which is alone the work
of Dr. Nisbet, occupies a little more than
half the volume 5 the other, which is ano-
nymous, was added to supply the defects
of the former. By this contrivance, howi
ever, the trouble of the reader is some-
what increased, since he has two alphabets
to consult instead of one. It is impossible
that a small l2mo. volume, such as the
present, should conta'm more tlian a bore
outline of a science, so vast and compre-
Ann. Rev. Voi.. lY.
hensive as modem chemistry; but we
have a right to expect that a judicious se-
lection of facts should be made, and that
no gross errors should be allowed to in-»
trude. How far llieae conditions are ful-
filled, a few words will enable the roader
to judge.
In the article alum no notice whatever
is taken of tlie jpotash or ammonia which
is essential to this salt. This omission is
not supplied in the appendix.
The article alumine occupies five lines,
of whi(;h the following incomprehensible
3t
S83
EXPEMMEKTAL PHItXJSOPHT.
•ratence forms a p«rt, *' WiA the sul-
phuric 9C\d it foaketi alum : but itA crys^
caiiisartkm is <liffictik, both the nitric and
muriatic lateiue beat soflens it, or it is
capable of foston with phospliateor borate
M soda, with equal ease as tiiqeaad mag-
nesia,**
The aocount of umtimomf commences
in the ibUowiog manner : '' Antimony, or
rather sulphnret or regulus of mercury.
It has the nama of regulus, because it is-
extracted fiom a compound which con-
tains it**
in the article bvnfim the method of ob-
taining this substance in a pore state is
entirelf omitted, and a similar remailL
may be extended to almost all the other
tnbstances mentioned in this volame.
The fbllowiagquotation from the article
silrcr shows tl^ prodigious and scaroeljr
credible ignorance of the author.
^The chemists would have combined it
with the muriatic acid, Iiad they kiio^n the
way of fecoveriiig it without loss. There is
no method of having k so pore as by maktog
it into a hma cornea, and recovering it bv co-
peUatlon; a minute quantity of copper, how-
ever, is left, which the lead has not power ts
scorify, being defended by the siiver; but
when precipitated iiom aquafortis by meaoi
of muriatic acid, if there be copper in the •»-
lution, it remains dissolved ; only the siltw
is precipitated : but to recover the silver by
cupellation is attended with great loss, in con*
8<^uenceofthe vohtilitv and penetrating na-
t6re of these substances.^'
The important subject of eiM2ionefy|r is
wholly omitted^ notwithstanding it is re-
ferred to from hidiometer, an article of
three lines.
. The articles aciduhtm, copal, and cs-
htmbium, are omitted.
Such are the errors and omissions that
occurred to us on a very cursory inspect
tion : a more detailed examination would
probably point out many more. Evidence
enough, however, has we trust been pro-
duced to justify a sentence of condeinns-
tion.
Aat. llL—ImporiwU DUcoveries and Eipcrimentt elucidated^ cm, fee. Heat,
Bji the Rev. James Haxx, A. Af. 8vo. pp. 74.
CM
WONDERFUL and important Indeed
are the discoveries which have been made
by this reverend master of arts. He has
found out that the ice of sea-water con-
tains no salt: he lias further ascertained
that wdter in the state of ice is not sils-
ceptible of putrefying, and that meat
vhile frozen mny be preserved without
the use of sak. Now, it being wdl knoum
that ice when excluded firom the atmos-
phere, by being put into a box or a flan-
nel bag, may tie kept under the torrid
sone without melting; it ibUows, that if
a few cargoes of ice were brought from
the north-sea and inclosed in boxes, the
crews of all his majesty's ships in the
East and West Tndies might have a lump
of ice given them at every meal, and being
supplied with frozen instead of sahed
beef* would suffer much less from the
fcurvy than they now do. If any sceptic
should doubt die possibility df keeping
ice unmelted in a flannel bag, let him
fead this reverend gentleman's demonstra-
tion* and confers himself convinced.
<« With reeard to the durability of ice, it is
weU -known that, in Spain, where it is taxed,
and pays a considerable revenue to govem-
p nient, ace, by iMbig covered with dm, straw,
reeds, or anv thing, is often carried in carts
at noon, uodf*r a buruing siin, from cellar to
cellar, from city to city, as anv other com-
4no(iity for hundreds ofmiles. Without losing
any of it^ weight ; or everi a single drop fall-
ing from it. At Constantinople too, AraMa,
and other parts of the East, nothing is more
common tnan ice being soM in the maikett
which, having been brought from the moun-
tains intiannel bags, generally by poor people,
upon asses, oittfn continues whole days under
a hurninc sun without even the l»gs that
con tarn it being moist ; the whole of their art
in preser\'ing it consisting in keeping the
mouths of the bag^ shut as much as possible.
" Keed I, as a proof of the durability of
ice, mention that, near two hundred -^ "
ago, it was carried from Europe to the \
doms of Pegu and Siam, in the East, to <
vince the great men there that water, by the
actbn of the air is often turned into a bo^ so
solid, tliat men, horses, carts, coaches, and can-
non, may be all, at the same time, «een run-
ning on its surfiice ? Need I sh«w that logs
and planks of wood, after they have been for
weeks at Jamaica and niontKs in the tonid
aone, have been found frxizen and stickti^
tcM^ther ? But, to one who reflects, there is
no mystery in this. These having been fioam
le0etlier,in the holds of the ships before they
left the shores of America^; and other logs and
planks happeoing to have been laid upon them
in that state, this circumstance prevented the
open air from a£^ting them, when they
came to warm latitudes ; and, it is probobfe
tliey wouM, at least in the k>wer part of the
ship, have continued sticking together §ot
years, even in that warm dimate, mid not the
logs and planks above been removed ; and,
consequently, a circulation of warm air ad-
wiUed. Tue truth is it vou exclude the
CONVERSATIONS ON CHEMISTRY.
893
Open ur from ice ; or any thing impregnated
with it, even by so tluii a body as gauze-
paper, if not porousy tlic ice or frozen object
wil] continue in that state for a long time ;
perhaps for years.**
Art^ lY ^'Conversations on CItemistry, in which the Elements of thai Science are Jami*
liarly explained and illustrated by Experiments, 2 vols. 8yo.
OF this very excellent work it is not
easy to speak in temis of exaggeration.
Elementary books of chemistry have hi-
therto been for the most part carelessly
composed ; their aathors either attempt-
ing too much have contracted and con-
fused the proper elementary and funda-
mental parts ; or comuig to the under-
taking very scantily provided with the
requisite knowledge, have kept aloof from
all particulars^ confining themselves to so
very general a view rtf the subject, as at
best can only stimulate the curiosity of
their readers, and lead them to suppose
that to be the simplest and easiest of the
sciences^ which in fact and practice from
It^ vast extent, and the intricate nature of
many of its parts, requires much closer at-
tention than those who know nothing of
it are willing to believe.
In the work before us (and we find
fix)m the prefkce that it comes from a fe-
male pen) is eminently displayed an inti-
mate acquaintance with the subject, and
both good sense and good taste in select-
ing and dilating upon those topics in
which ft is more particularly requisite that
the student should be' thoroughly ground-
ed. A caviller would perhaps object to
the dialogue form, and sturdily maintain
that no science can in reality be taught by
qiWirtioBf aod answer : he might also ob-
serve that the two young ladies, who^
with their mother or governess, are the
iiiteilocutors, both urge and answer objec-
tions with an acuteness, of which it would
be in vain to look for examples in real
life. This is true -, but in retura it must
surely be conceded, that as the dialogue
recedes from nature, the objection to the
fi»rm becomes proportionably weaker.
The first volume is devoted to the con-
sideration of the simple bodies. Caloric
heads the list, and furnishes a subject fot
three conversations, in which almost all
that is known of this most important
agent is explained with considerable de*
tail, and the utmost clearness; Oxygea
and nitrogen, hydrogen, sulphur and phos-
phorus, carbone, the metals and metallic
oxyds, the alkalies, and the earths, follow
in succession to the end of the volume.
The compound bodies are the subject of
the second volume ) but between the two
classes of substances is interposed a dia«
logue on chemical affinity, which we
should object to as not sufficiently parti-
cular, if we did not recollect how little
qualified the young student in diemistty
can be justly to appreciate a topic which
comprehends the whole philosophy of
chemistry properly so called. The seven
last conversations relate to vegetable and
animal chepiistry, including not merely
the products of these two varieties of or*
ganization^ but containing besides a very
elegant and accurate sketch of vegetable
and anioial physiology, as far as chemical
i^ency is concerned.
A work of such superior merit deservea
more than cold approbation : nor shall we
scruple to claim the thanks of our readers
for thus pointing out to them the veiy
best introduction to the science of che«
mistry that the English language affiirds*
3LS
( 884 )
CHAPTER XXIV.
COMMERCE.
Akt. V'-^Historkal and ClwoTMlogical Dcduciion qfthe Origin of Commerce. ^ AdaM
Anderson. 4VoIs. 4to.
ANDERSON'S History of Commerce
rather resembles the lump of indigest ma-
terials industriously provided by a man of
letters fur the purpose of drawing up a
book 6rom tbem» than a work already pre-
pared for the public eye. A great deal of
fivU histoi:}'^ as well as of commercial his-
tory, is introduced; much more o^ politi-
cal event is narrated, thmi had any infliv
cnce on the fortunes or pursuits of trade.
Facts are not sifted firora the sources where
they were found, but are stated for tlie
most part in the form of extracts, as oc-
curring in the different works consulted.
Thus every thing wants its proper bearing
and point of View, and seems related for
some other purpose than that for which it
is adduced. These countless heterogeneous
transcripts are broken into incoherent
pieces, and are arranged in annals^ so that
the regular ri?ie and progress of any spe-
cific branch of commerce is no where to
be found in conoexion, but must Ix: labo-
riously sought, by means of the index, in a
dozen places. Some important, sound,
fundamental authorities, such as Fischer's
History of German Commerce, and Beck-
man's HistcMTy of Inventions, are wholly
neglected 5 but much useless antiquarian
micrology w employed by the autlior to
fill, and stretch, and swell, and spread tlie
heavy width of his two thousand pages.
He seems intent, like a iiaberdasher, on
displaying the variety of his petty wares,
and on cramming hi? shop- windows with
every portion of his stock; not, like a
wholesale dealer, on movuig much in close
package, and on confining his attention to
leading articles. Anderson s lustory was
fitter to re-make than to reprint : it might
without detriment have been abridged and
xeclttced one half ^ and a new arrangement
by order of matter, a methodical distriba-'
tion of the contents, should have been un-
dertaken.
To this task of amelloratioo and regene-
ration the continuaiors have not conde-
scended. They deliver their three fira
volumes in the words of Anderswi, whose
history extended only to tlie year 1763 ;
and tliey continue the chronicle with si-
milar ditFuseness, yet with less detail, to
the end of the year l/Sg, at which period
this book was first offered to the publi<^
nearly in its present form. A transposi-
tion of tlie preface from tlie last to the fir^
volume, and a title-page or two new-dated,
is all tlie show of improvement we can
perceive in tlie present edition. We sup-
pose that a fifth volume is in contempk*
tion, which is to extend from l/QQ to
1 800, and that a decennial quarto on thcae
topics is in future to be brought fcHlL
More facts might easily be collected;
fewer ^>ablic papers require to be reprinted
entire: the gestation of the elephant is
long, it should produce an elephant.
There are several questions nsspectiog
which the enquiries of Anderson have
becMi negligent, or confined ; such is tha
hi;»lory of commercial gnikU, which is
glanced at under the year IO90, but widi-
out any addition to the information of
Madox. Wlien it is considered that these
commercial companies laid the gmnnd-
work of our internal industry and prospe-
rity, applied for the charters of almost all
our incorporated towns, and hav« tfafis
been the principal causes both ofourtiade
and of our liberty, a more extended re-
search uito their o^gin was desirable and
due. It is not known whether tlu^ an
the residues of pnrse-cluba instituted dur-
ing the commercial age of the smcknl
AND£RSON*S ORIGIK OP COMMERCE*
B85
Konvan \roTld, or whetlier they are of na-
tive northern growth. In tlie capitularies
of Charlemagne, in the Florentine history,
in the Knglish and in the Grerman annals,
tliey make their appearance about the same
time i but one sees not whence they ori-
ginate.
Under the year 129O some account is
given of the expulsion of the Jews from
Great Brilaiii. The great injury done to
commerce by the intolerance of the middle
ages against the Jews, deserved a more ex-*-
tensive and elaborate investigation. Thev
were the most opulent, civilized, learned,
and travelled class of society in that age,
and were'barbaroi\sly persecuted by the
Tapacity and envy of the feudal country-
gentlemen. What the interior of Europe
preserved of the arts of antiquity was pre-
served by the Jews.
Under tlie year 1492 the Portuguese
settlements in Africa are described as hav-
ing struck root, as abounding with churches
and clergy, who have converted the natives
to Christianity. Such over-statements may
occur in the journals of the missionaries -,
but if this had ever been the state of Por-
tuguese Africa, we should find more re-
mains there of the agricultural and com-
mercial arts.
Under (he year 1595 occurs a very brief
account of sir Walter Raleigh's voyage to
Guiana. Now that the districts he visited,
the island of Trinidad and the coast of
Demcrar}', are passing under our protec-
tion, one wishes for mmuter details of an
expedition which confers, on this nation,
a title froni discovery to provinces, which
have since accepted our protection for the
sake of its utility.
The declension of Portuguese power in
Asia is justly ascribed to their undertaking
too large a basis of territory for them to
supply adequately with the means of pro-
tection and defence. The most expedient
settlements for a trading country are those
islands or deltas at the mouth of great ri-
vers. Such small patches of territory drain
the metropolitan population for but a small
civil and military establishment 5 but they
are necessarily the seats of a vast barter of
exterior for interior produce. Soldiers and
governors are a heavy percentage on the
profits of industry : the smaller the pro-
portion they bear tp , the amount of the
commercial returns the better. A settle-
ment which consumes more than the pro-
fits of its commerce in patronizing the un-
productive classes, such as lawyers, clergy,
and magistrates, ought immediately to be
presented with its indep^iulence 5 it is be-
come a burden, not an advantage, to the
parent state. Let treaties of allianq^ con-
nect them still ; but let European troops
be paid for by a subsidy, and European
navies by a proportionate advance of ca*
pital.
Under the year 1^25 the settlement of
St. Christopher's is narrated, which was
undertaken conjointly, and with an equal
number of colonists, by the English and
by the French 5 but the orderly, domestic,
and industrious habits of the English soon
rendered tlieir district tlie more flourish-
ing. In Guienne, in Louisiana, in Suri*
nam, in Canada, in Senegal, and at PondU
cherry, the French have tried colonization 1
but they never make such ^tablislupents
succeed, their national habits are not fa-
vourable to patient industry. Instead of
binding out their lads apprentices at fifteen^
they drill them all for soldiers | of course
courage and idleness, the love of vmety,
and the love of pleasure, become the cha-
racteristics of the numerous classes of their
people.
Under the year 1 731, the profit derived
yearly firom our American colonies^ insular
and continental, is computed at -one inil-
lion sterling, and the sailors employed at
eighteen thousand. How swifUy com-
merce pullulates ! In two generations how
vast the increase !
The abridgment of Bufichlng*8 geo*
graphy, which fills the latter half of the
third volume, might wholly have been
omitted with advantage to the unity an4
consistency of the entire work , We now
go to Pinkerton for our geography ; and
no longer want the minutious, stale^ arrear
intelligence of Busching. He was e
kindred mind of Anderson*8, and is no
doubt fraternally reprinted by his side.
Both collected and collected, like county-
antiquarians, myriads of barley-corns of
information, careless about tlie quality, so
they but compiled quantity. The mari-
time treatise by sir Philip Medowes is
good ; but what has it to do here ? One
might as well reprint, in a history of
commerce, the whole; controversy between
Selden and Grotius.
The continuation, which occupies the
whole fourth volume, contains a copious
collection of public and state-papers^
many of which are so exclusively political,
that we wonder to see tliem in a chronicle
professedly commercial. The rise and
progress of the American war is very well
detailed; much more is related concern-
ing it tliau bad any obvious inflnence oa
trade.
«a«
COMMERCE.
Under the year 1776 a proclamation of
the Spanish king, issued during peace,
is preserved* which concedes to the ships
of the American colonists a liberty of ad-
mission into any ports of his dominions,
while they conformed to the laws of the
country. The author of War in Disguise
a^'ects to doubt the prescriptive right of
the North Americans to trade with the
Spanish colonies -, and is for founding our
right of seizure on the supposed novelty
of the course of neutral commerce.
. The history of the armed neutrality,
which begins under the year 178O, forma
an interesting and omvenient part of the
narrative, and is copiously interspersed
with state-papers. Under the same year
is given a copy of the treaty between North
America and. Holland, in which it is ex-
pressly stipulated that enemy's property
may be shipped without being seizabie
pn board the ships of either party.
Under the following year are given the
orders inierted tn the London Gazette oo
the21st of April 1 781, prohibiting ships
of war, or vessels having letters of marque
and reprisal, from taking prizes in the
Baltic. Thia sea was thus first opnsecrat-
^ to perpetual commercial peace: we
trust that in due time armed vessels will
be suftered to assail only one another,
and that a perpetual commercial peace
will overspread every sea.
Under the year 1783 more criticism is
^wasted on the then made treaty of peace
thaa strictly concerns its commercial
merit. The Ohio should if pesuble have
been made the back line of boundary : it
may yet be worth while to offer an ex-
change of the Bahama islands for an ad-
ditional strip of continent m Upper Ca-
nada. The cession of West Florida is to
be regretted. £ven the yielding. up Se-
•egal and Goree is a dereliction of right
which in favourable circumstances ought
to be revoked. Under the year 1783
Mr. Fox*8 India bill is introduced : one ia
surprised how a regulation so natural ; so
little di&rent in any thing, but in its ten-
dency to throw open the trade of the In-
dia company to the whole conometdai
world, from the regulation eventually
adopted, can have excited much ferment,
or much displeasure.
An important public paper is given
under the year 1784, which is a petition
of the proprietors of landed estates in the
sugar-colonies, and which makes many
allegations of grievance, still true, and
SLill unredressed.
Under the year J 784 an Jrret du CbweM
d*EUU of the French king is fpven, whkb
opens various ports of the West Indies to
the ships of the North AmeticaDs. Sncb
documents are become important, be-
cause they prove a preacriptiTe rig^tm
neutrals to trade with the French colo-
nies; andthat we ought to have protested
against such pennissioos, if we are ao-
thoriaed to capture the neutrals who aval
themselves of them. The more the pira-
tical proposal of the antbor of War ia
Disguise is investigated, the more con^
trary it will appear to the recognized kw
of nations.
Under the year 1787 the commexdai
treaty with France is discussed, and ei-
travagantly praised. ITiere was pofdy
in subsequently lowering the duties on
port- wines, so as to disappoint the French
of that sale of wine in Grreat Britain,
which they had been taught to rely on in
concluding the treaty, and which was
their principal motive for consent. There
was want of- prudence in so constmcti^g
the treaty, that the one party was likely
to sell more than the other; it became
consequently the interest of the French to
dissolve the treaty, and for that purpose
to break the peace. When sales ap*
proach equality, both parties have :si
equal interest in respecting private pro-
perty: when they are unequal, the in-
debted country has an interest in making
confiscation a part of its policy in the
event oi war. When sales approach
equality, the chai^ continues in that
state, which favours reciprocal demand i
when they are unequal, the exchange floc-
tuates so as to check r^lar demand,
and leans toward a par injurious to the
selling party. All conmiercial treaties
ought to kee^ in view a balance c^ trade,
not a preponderance of sale on either «de.
Pre^sely in as much as the French were
overreached was the treaty unwise.
Under the year 1 788, a treaty made wi\h
Prussia is printed in full lengthy which
does not contain one sing^ commercial
provision; but these continoators aie
wondrously fond of state-papers; their text
is made of shreds and patches from De-
brett, and the Annual Register : Schloet-
zer*s Staats anzeigen would have supplied
a tnore curious, and a more appropriate
set.
Thrc«ighout the four volunies» of
foreign authorities and fore^ commerce
little knowledge is displayed : the wort^
at most contains materials for mannfac*
turing a history of £nglish trade* Annals
of British conuoeroe would have been the
11
DUBOST^t l«^XCHA2IT*i AStl^AKT*
•sr
♦itie most descriptive of its real contents.
It may deserve a place on the shelves of
statistical readers, rather for purposes
of reference than perusal 5 but its best
destination is to serve asliteraiy wash,
"vbence a future writer may distil a siagle
Tolume of the spirit.
Among the most valuable histories of
commerce, and of those which throw light
on its obscurest periods, are the Me'*
morias hUtoricas whre la marina, comerdo
f artes de la antigna dwlad de Barcekma ;
poT Dan Antonio de Capmanj^, ^779- It
proves, that Constantinople had become
the depositocy of the commenM arts and
usages of the ancients; and that from
Constantinople they passed to Barcelona^
and were thence distribated and taught
to the modem world. Nor was Barcelona
merely the cradle of modern commerce*
but cir all the refinemeiits which every
where accompany commerce: t)ie first
vernacular poetiy of the modems^ known
by the name of the I^ovenzal achool, was
chiefly composed at Barcelona, at the
court of the fierengari^ who, much more
than the Medici, have been theibuxidara
of modem culture*
Art. IL-r-The Merchants Amstanl, By Christopher Dvbost. $vo. pp. 95<X
HAYES' Negociator^s Magazine, and
Bcawer's Tables of Exchange, were for-
merly used by the ^ommerciad world for
the purposes which this arithmetical book .
is adapted to «iswer > but as revolutioRft-'
in the system of coinage and measurement
of several continental states have caused
the par of exchange to oscillate between
new limits, and brought fre^h quanti-
ties into currency, it was desirable to new-
make such books, to repeat the old pro-
cesses with variations, and to familiarize
these calculations^ which are now becon^
the more usual. This task has been ac-
complished with information, with concise-
ness, and with exactness^ by the author of
the volume before us. In our <^inion
book9 of instruction should be drawn up
for the dull, not merely for the quick :
we doubt if there is enough of explana-
tion in this treatise to make it a sufficient
substitute for personal tuition. To a se-
cond edidon the author would do well to
add tables ready calculated for every
amount from U. to lOOOl., at the probable
rates of exchange between Lonaot\ and
the other European seats ef comoMrcial
negociation.
Books of this kind ara convenient not
merely tome/chants and to travellers^ bo<
to those sta^tical speculators who read
books of travels, and project treaties of
commerce, and harangue and dissert oa-
the utility of an industrkNU intercourse,
which is usually best accommodated by
escaping the very notice of the statesman.
We should have hoped the Levant
trade was not so wholly unknown in Lon-
don as to justify the entire omission of
Smyrna^ in the list of places, whose mo-*
nies, weightSj and measures, were to be
recorded for the use of the British mer*
chant. I
There i& a practical exchange nibustiBg
between London and Mi>rth America: the
dollar is sometimes ie<3eived at more, and
sometimes at lesi : this sweep of inter*
coarse is overlooked. In the British set-
tlements of the East Indies, there is a cur«
xency which di£^ from our own, and
which it would have been useful to notice
and explain.
A future edition nay taQ rendered hi
moxe complete*
( des )
CHAPTER XXV,
MINERALOGY.
Art. l.^Tfernetfa ; or. Short Characters (^Earths ; with Notes according to the It
ments qf Klaproth, Kauquelin, and Hauy. By Teriub Filius. 12ino. pp. 10]
OF the success with which this author
has rarucd Mr. Kirwan's mineralogy
into verse, and the advantages accruing
from it, our readers may judge from the
following specLnen :
** Soft is tKe selcnite, and freely bears
Th' impression of the nail, and when it*s pure
Boils with no acid, save sulphuric, which.
When concentrated by heat, will solve it.
In many parts this liniv compound's found,
(And yet no primitive) and owes its birth
At times to dissolution of pyrite.
There, where the carbonate of lune abound^
On Shotover's known hill. — — — -
We have not often witnessed so miser-
able a misapplication of time and paper.
Art. n. — A Proposal for destroying the Fire and Choak^mp of Coal'min^, and the
Prodiiction expuumd on the Principles of Modern Chemistry, addressed to tke Ovmers
and Jirents qf' Coa'-^orks. By Thomas Trotter, J/. D\ tate Physician to his Ma*
Jest if s Fleet, dfc. 8vo. «« ^'^
pp.
Dr TROTTER , after comparing a coal-
mine to the hold of a ship, introduces,
with no small parade, his notable propo-
sal, which is no less tlian to get rid of the
£re-damp by fumigation with oxymuriatic
acid, and to dissolve the carbonic acid by
throwing into it from a forcing-pump the
Kquisite quantity of water. This fluid at
the temperature which usually prevails
in coal-mines, will not, as the doctor pro-
perly observes, take up more than about
two- thirds of its bulk of carbonic acid ;
the prodigious quantity of water therefore
that would be required may easily be ima-
gined by any one who knows any thing of
the structure and extent of a coal-mine ;
and as the great difficulty in all these works
is to keep tliera tolerably free from the
water, which naturally flows into them> it
was incumbent on the proposer to show by
what means this additional quantity ci
water is to be got rid of: but the author
does not condescend to give us any inform
maiion on this head, remarking that ' to
throw the water out of the mine is the bu-
siness of mechanics !'
Art. III. — A Treatise on the external Characters of Fossils, translated from the German
qf Abraliam Gottiob IFerner, Counaeilor of Mines, 4'c. J5y Thomas Weaver. 8va
pp. 312.
THE Wemerian nomenclature has been
so barbafonsJy done out of German (xe
cannot say put into English), in a recent
work on mineralo^)', that Mr. Weaver
lias t»>nferred a serious benefit on English
mineralogists and the English language,
in translating this key to the terms unem-
ployed, and the method followed, by the
illustrious Wemer and his disciples, in
the description of minerals. To d^ few of
the terms we have some objections, which
we shall here offer to the tonsidcratiou of
the author.
Seladongrlin ought to be rendered Ce-
landine-green, this being the English name
of the plant alluded to.
For Morgen-roth the corresponding
technical terra is Aurora-red, not mom-
ing-red. The word Taubeiihiilsig exactly
corresponds to the French gorge de pigeon,
and to the P^nglish pigeon's- neck, for
which Mr, Weaver*s term Columbine is
an improper -substitution, more especially
as it may be confounded with Kolumbin-
roth, which is very properly readeSied Co»
lumbine-red.
JAMB30N 8 DBSCRIPTION OP THS COUNTT OF IIUMPBXB8.
889
Ruinenfonnig is not ruinoos^butrulDlike
Rundlike is very barbarously translated
arundated instead of rounded.
Capilliform, stalactitiform> tubuliform^
fistulLform and botriform^ are less proper
than the received English tenns^ capillary,
stalactitic, tubular^ fistulous^ and botryoi*
dal.
Mandelformig should be translated
axnygdaloidal, not amygdaloid^ this latter
being appropriated to the mineral^ man-
delstein.
Quadragonal is a barbarous compound,
and should be altered to tetragonal^ or
quddriiateraL
For plomiformly and retifbrmly it would
be more proper to say plumularly and re-
ticularly.
£long^ted'round is ^-shaped.
Thonig-geruch we should translate not
a clayey smelly but an argillaceous odour,
as it is more prevalent in argillaceous
schistus and other analogous nunerals than
in clays.
With the above exceptions the adapted
nomenclature has our entire approbation,
and we hope that it will be univer-'
sally admitted by the English mineialo*
gists.
Art. IV.— ^ Mineralogical description qf the County qf Dun^ries ; by Robert Jamb«
SON, Rqtius Prdtuor qf Natural History^ and keeper qf the Museum in the Univer^
sity qf Edinburgh, Sfc. 8vo. pp. 185.
THE most ancient focks in this county,
and which occupy the upper or northern
part, belong to the class of transition
rocks, and consist of grauwakke, both in
zoass and slaty j of siliceous and aluminous
schistus and transition greenstone. Hie
only metallic veins that have been found
in the county occur in this formation :
• tbey consist of galena, mixed with most
of the other lead ores ; with calamine and
manganese-ochre. A vein of radiated
grey antimony was opened a few years
ago, but has since been abandoned.
The Bur&oe and hollows of the transi-
tion rocks are, in many places, covered
"with what Mr. Jameson labours^ and in
our opinion not without success, to prove
i« the independent coal-formation. The
prevailing rock in this formation is reddish-
brown sandstone, not greatly differing in
appearance from the old red sandstone, on
the opposite coast of Cumberland. There
also occurs blate with vegetable impres-
sioas, limestone, clay iron stone, limestone
4:ongiomerate or rubble stone, a variety of
coal between slate and pitch coal, mineral
charcoal, a new variety of glance oool,
(named by Mr. J« colunmar bitumtnoua
coal) shale, and day.
Several of the txanaition rocks, and
those belonging to the independent coal
formation, are covered by the newest
fioetz-trap, consisting for the mostnartof
porphyritic greenstone, and amygdaloid^
inclosing blackish pitchstone.
The bottoms of the valleys, and lower
parts of the county, are covered with two
distinct alluvial formations, in the older of
which are contained particles of gold,
which at various times nave been extract*
ed by washing, but apparently without any
remarkable success.
On account of the intrinsic m^t of
this work, we are disposed to overiook a
large alloy of affectation and barbarism;
but if the author is capable of writing a
little more idiomatically, and of submitting
to the trammels of grammar, he is really
not doing justice to himself in acting thus
* unconformably wise' to established rulesn
[ »go 3
CHAPTER XXVr.
ARCHITECTURE AND THE FINE ARTS.
ilRT. h'^Design* for Cottages, Cottagr Farfm, and other rural Buildings, including Ear
trance Gates and Lodges. By Joseph GAWor, Architect,- A. B. A. '4ta
Akt. II. — J%e rural Architect, connsUng qf various Designs /br Casmtry BmldivgSy at*
companied ivith Ground-piaiis, EstvnaUs, and Dcscriftians. By J^ossm ijjkstvr,
Arclutect, A, R. A. 4to.
Mk. GANDY « well known to the
foMic as an exquisite patDteiwof aschilec*
mrsd subjects > aad we who have oftca ad-
mired his works in the amivil exhibitions
«f the Rofal Academy, opened these vo-
iames with fx>nsiderable expectations*
which weie still further excited by the
preface, wherein the ;iuthor deals his cen-
s«res liberally npon existing examples,
mad offers his own Dostrom for the cure
cf public bad taate aad stoudity.
'' If we look round the couatry, and ex-
cept the seats of a few of the nobility and
gentry, who have acquired a taste for the fine
ar;is, we &hall And but little to admire in the
civil architeclure of Great Britain. Should
we observe any thing pleasms in the houses
of farmers, and the cottsgen^ dwettingi, upon
seflection we shall discover, that they owe it
principally to their age, colours, situation,'
accompanying objects, or to variety of forms,
wlucii accident) and not premeditated design,
lias produced.
•• The towns and villages of England, with
a few exceptions, exhibit meanness and filth,
with' a variety of clumsy and rude (brms,
which are exceedingly odious to the eye
of R'fined taste, and must give strangers
and travellers an unfavourable impression with
respect to the sUte of the arts in this country.
Our consequence and pride as a nation call
^oud for a redress of this public grievance.
. ** What can be more frighthil than the
W«Vk and white daubings to successively pro-
jecting stones in some market-towns, as if
they wished to shew all the defonnities of the
timbers, and exhibit the skeleton of a house,"
&c. &c.
•* The advancement of public taste requires
that we should combine convenience of ar-
rangement with elegance in the external ap-
pearance ; a point of much consequence to
the general appearance of the coimtry. Ar-
liiits, whose business it is to study thu branch
\ particolarly catted imcn to lend
" " \ this nstioBil
of desigis i
their assistance in acconylishlng 1
object, and that is precisely the intention o^
the following work ; the designs in wiiicfa, if
the artist has been aUe to execute his ovn
intentions, will be found to unite consraenor
and taMe in a greater degree than has hitbotn
prevailed in this dstts of tmiklingi,'' &c.
But if great were our expedatioos, ae
less was our disappoiobnent. Cotta^
architectnie, if it may be so called, is a
aol^ect in itielf triyial aod ongiateliil, aad
has been exhausted by imnunenblepah-
licatiOBs. Were we to give a list ol the
books of designs for cottages and rani
buildings it would surprize the reader;
but this would be a task as ledious aa mk
necessaiy : hiywever, it m^ be suppoied
thai, by this time, a subject so mnch at-
tended to ooust be tolerably ucderstood,
treated with a competent portion of skin,
and a reasonabk number of comhhBtfioas
of neatness and convenience invented.
At this period the designer, who is dels-
mined to produce something new under
the sun, taiust be content to comnnae
propriety for singularity, and umplidty fer
extravagance*
This is what Mr. Gandy has dcMie. In
a wild pursuit of novelty, he has adopted
a style of frigid extravagance, disregarding
the requisites of climate, manners, and
convenience, and with a singular dercBc-
tidn, or rather inversion, of usual pro-
portions.
TUl very lately the designers of the
smaller buddings of this country, vilbs^
cottages, to. considered mliformity as tbs
first essential of architectural beauty; bat
at present what is called the picturesque
style^ that enemy of regularity and sjat-
ATKINSON < COTTAOB A^CHITBCTVHB*
«Jt
tnetry, is gainisg groond. Now it is ac-
knowledged on •all hands, that the best
examples in this manner are the fortuitous
result of circumstances, that have no con*
nexlon with the design of pleasing. The
painter prefers to represent the ancient te-
nement'weather-stained and dilapidated,
with all the incoherencies that successive
alterations have produced, rather than the .
neat and elegant villa.
The picturesque styleof building, there-
fore, wmdd certainly seem to have this
advantage, that it can never be necessary
to sacrifice internal convenience to exter-
nal appearance, since the process of build-
ing merely for convenience has produced
the best specimen of this style. The for-
mal designer of the old school being
obliged to make '' one half the villa just
reflect the other," must, notwithstanding
all his recourses of blank windows and
sham facades, sometimes neglect the in-
terests of the inside for the outside. But
the picturesque architect, unfettered bf
rules, witli every variet}' of form waiting
bis selection, can surely feel none of these
lestmints. Mr. Gandy, however, a pupil
of this school, seems as much embarrassed
by his whimsical elevations, as by the
most rigid tymxDetcy, and has neglected*
to a strange excess, the adaptation of hia
plans to domestic convenience. Full little
would the farmer or labourer praise the
taste that should lodge him in those pic«
turesque hovels.
There are, undoubtedly, parts of these
designs which possess taste and beauty : we
couM even recommend two or three en*
tire elevations; but, generally speaking
the author hat £urly merited our census.
iLKT. llL-^Practiad Perspective exemplified on Landscapes. By Thomas Nobis, jPt^
fessor qf Ff^rspeetive, 4to. pp. 36.
THE pupik of Mr. Noble may un-
doubtedly fiikl some advantage ia this little
work, as a manual of the instructions
they may have received, though it is much
tpo slight and imperfect to teach the art
of perspective alone. This, however^
cannot be expected to be the object of b*
professor of perspective.
Aat. IV. — Cdtagc Architecture^ mehuUng Perspective Fietos 4md Plans pf Lab&nrerf
Cottages and small Farm Houses^ vnth Observations on the different Materials used for
' building them, imd proiucing- picturesqnc Effect, By Wjluam Atkinson, ArchitecL
4to.
FOUR-and-twenty pages of slight and
trivial observations form thb essay; to
which are added, a few views of cottages,
said to be selected from a collection of
drawings taken in different parts of Eng-
land. This we can readily believe, for
they have perfectly the air of realities,
with all their accustomed irregularities
and deformities. Doubtless the original
builders of these valuable specimens dt
cottage architecture would ^1 no small
surprize on seeing their works exhibitedi
for admiration and imitation in a gentei^
hot-pressed quarto, price one guinea. . Ia
a w^, we mpst think that these *' hinta
for the improvement of village scenery*^
are very unnecessary, and do no credit to
the taste of Mr. Atkinson.
INDEX.
( »92 )
INDEX
or
NAMES AND REMARKABLE PASSAGES, &c.
Mdaa^s, Alex. LL. D., Latin Dictimiary, 33
Adams's, Rev. Join, Roman History, 232
, Rev. J., Sennons, 172
» John, Analysis of Horsemanship,
850
4ikin's, J. MD., Geographical Ddineations,
^446
Amatory Poems, 622
Anderson's, Adam, History of Commerce, 887
Andrews's, J. LL.D., DisquisttiODs, 730
' An4icorsican, tlie, 597
Asiatic Annual Register, 265
Assassination of the Emperor Paul of Russia,
107
Atkinson's, W., Cottage Architecture, 891
lagley*s, G., young Mathematidan's Assist*
ant, 856
Riilley's, J. S., Histoire de TAstrononomie,
854
Blanks, Sir Joseph, on the Blight in Wheat, 786
Barbaold's, Mn$., Selections from the Spec*
tator. 740
Barber, Captain, on the internal Defence of
the Country, 280
's. Instructions for Sharp-
shooters, 750
Barry's, Rev. George, DD., History of the
Orkney Islartds, 374
Baselev's, Kev.T., funeral Oration, 176
Battle of Largs, the, 566
B&yfield's, Mrs., fugitive Poems, 565
Bearbiock's, Rev. James, Treatise on Tvthes,
281
Beatson's, Rob. LL. D., naval and military
Memoirs, 761
Beauties of Scotland, 438
Beaver's, Captain Philip, African Memoran*
da, 32
•Bdville House, 655
Beckford's, Peter, familiar Letters for Italy,
99
Belsham's, Rev.Thos., Sermon, 175
, Reply to tlie Rev. J.
P. Smith, 149
Belsham's, W'iiiiam, History of Great Britain,
206
Beresford's, Rev. James, Song of the Sun, 563
Bevan's, John Junior^ Defence of the Society
of Friends, 193
10
Bigfand's, J., Essays, 72d
Birch's, Mr. Deputy, Speech la Commn
Council, 290
Blomefield's, Rev. Fcaacis, History of Na-
folk, 416
Board of Health at Manchester, Ptoceedings
of,a22
Bone's, John, Plan for redodag the Poon^
Rate, 315
Borgia, Cesar, Character of, 455
Botanist's Guide through Northtsobcdod
and Durham, 790
Boukou's, D'Airy, Sketch of Upper C^nadi,
109
Bounden's, Joseph, Fatal Curiosity, 566
Bowles's, Rev, W, Lisle, Spirit of Discoven,
566
Boyd's, Rev. Henry, PennaaGe of Hugo^ 580
, Woodman's Talc, 605
Brasilians, M«m<Hrs of the, 30
Brayley, Ed. W., and BrittDO*s, J., Beautks
of England, 426
Brimbre, M. de,. Memoiis of^ 650
Bristed's, John, Society of Friends exammed,
713
British and foreign Bible-societr, Rq>oct of
the, 193
British Martial, the, 621
Britton's, John, architectural Antiquities cf
Great Britain, 388
Bruce^s, James, Travels in Abyssima, 3
Buchan, A. P., on Sea Bathing, %'Z^
Bulam, Settlement of, 33
Bulmer's, Rev. Peter, SennoQ, 177
Burroughs^ Francis, Epistle to James Bamr.
578
Butler'^, Rev. Samuel, Sermon, 175
Cambridge Umversity Sermon, 175
Canada Upper, Description of, 1CJ9
Candid Examination ot the Rev. C. Daube-
ney*s Vindiciae Ecclesias Angiicanz, 191
Cappe's, Rev. Newcombe, Discourses, 157
-^ , Mrs., Observations on Charit).
Schools, 317
Car/s, John, Northern Summer, 100
Catacombs at Rome described, 48
Cayley's, Arthur, Life of Sur Walter Rakg^
477
Chaplet, the, 621
Chemistry, Conversations on, ssa
INDEX.
893
tDhristiaa Mirror, the, 19*
tlark's, Ewan, Rustic, 5^3
Clarke's, EcL G. MD., modem Practice of
Physic, 796
Clarke, Ed. Daiu LL.D., on the Tomb of
Alexander, 346
Clarite's, Jas. Stanier, F.R.S., Naufragia, 99
Clerk's, John, Essay on Naval Tactics, 756
Cockbum on the best Means of clviliziirg
British India, 264.
Coleman*s, G^eoige, Comedy of John Bull, 643
Collection of modem and contemporary Voy-
age and IVavels, 85
CoUins's, William, Memoirs of a Picture, 504
Commerce and Navigation of the Black Sea,
Account of, 266
Communications to the Board of Agriculture,
764
Cooke's, Wittiam, Memoirs of Sam.Foote,
484
CoHef s, J., Sacred Dreams, 639
• Cooper, Samuel, on the Cataract, 811
Corpus Christi Day, Celebration of, at Buenos
Ayres, 78
Correspondence between Lady Hertford and
lidy Pomfret, 517
Correggio, Account of, 498
Cottl<rs, Joseph, Selection of Poems, 624
Courtier's, P. L., Poems, 592
Coxe's, Ed., Miscellaneous Poetry, 598
Cramptoifs, PhU. MD., Essay on £utropeon,
'805
Cumberland, Richard, Memoirs of, 526,
Curtis, William, on the British Grasses, 787
Currie's, James, Medical Reports, 844
Dacre^s, Charlotte, Hours of Solitude, 620
Davie's, J. Constance, Letters from Paraguay,
77
Sefence of the Principle of Monopoly, 275
ibdin's, Thos., Comic Opera, the Cabinet,
643
Dimond's, Mn, Comic Opera, Youth, Love,
and Folly, 643
Donovan's, E. FLS., Excursions through
South Wales, 441
Dore's, James, Sermons, 174
• , Three Sermons, 172
Dougbs's, Mrs., Life of Professor Gellert, 516
Downman's, H. MD., Poems to Thespia, 6^
Drummond's, Right Hon. W., Academical
Questions, 670
Dnimmond's, T., two Discourses, 172
Dubost's, C. Mercliant's Assistant, 887
Dubost's, C, Commercial Arithmetic, 854
. '. , Elements of Commerce, 859
Duncan's, Andrew, MD., Annals of Medi-
cine, 816
Duncumb's, Rev. John, History of Hereford,
40Q
Edinburgh University, Account of, 439
Edlin, A., on Bread-making, 848
Fxhnond's, J. Stock, Medical Collections, 844
Edward's Attempts to rectify Public Affairs,
244
Ellis's, Geotfee, Specimens of English metri-
cal Romances^ 536
Englefield's, Sir Henry C, Walk thiongh
Southampton, 400
Essay on the Principles of human Action, 657
Essay on the Origin of sovereign Power, 304
Essay on English Prosody, 370
Extraordinary Child, 510
FeHowes's, Rev. Robert, Treatise on Deatk.
177
Fenwick, J., on subterranean Surveying, ^56
Filius'sTerraj, Werneria, 888
FitzwfUiam's, G. W., Pleasures of Love, 591
Florentine Horse-race, 521
Foste/s, John, Essays, 700
Forsyth's, Robert, Principlos of moral Sci-
ence, 664
Francklin's, Captain William, Memoirs of
General Thomas, 473
Frend's, William, Evening Amusements, 861
, Tangible Arithmetic, 862
Fuller's, Andrew, View of Religions, 198
Fuseli's, Hen. R.A., Dktionary of Paiuten,
497
Gardiner's, John, DD., Sermon, 173
Gundy's, Joseph, Rural Architect, 899
Genoese Galley-slaves, 68
Gibson's, Rev. William, Elidure and Ela.
621
Gilford's, W., Edition of Massineei's PlavB»
625
Gillingwater's, Edmund, History of St Ed-
mund's-bury, 421
Gilpin's, Rev. WilKam, Sermons, 166
Godwin's. W., Fleetwood, 649
Good's, John Mason, Translation of Lucre^
tius, 332
Gordon's, *L*.-col., Address to Volunteer
Corps, 750
Gordon, Captain Anthony, on the Science of
Defence, 754
Grahame's, James, Sabbath, 588
Grauger*s, Rtv. James, Correspondence, 523
Grant's, Charles, Prize Poem, 598
Greek Churcli, Ceremonies of tlie, 198
Greswell's, Kev. W. Pirr, Memoirs of Ange-
lus Politianus, &c. 509
Griffith's, J. MD., Travels in Europe, Asia
Minor, and Arabia, 67
Hall, James, on Ice, Heat, &c. 882
Hall's, Cliaries Henry, DD., Fast Sermon,
174
Hall, Charies, M.D., on the Effects of Civi-
lization, 298
Hamilton, James, M.D., on Purgatives, 792
Harty, WiHiam, M,B., on Dysentery, 806
Hawtrey's, Rev.C.S., Guide to Heaven, 176
Hay's, Rev. Alex., History of Chichester, 4l7
Haygarth's, John. MD. FRS., Clinical His-
tory of Diseases, 794
Hayley^s, William, Ballads, 575
Headlane's, Rev. Joiin, Vibitation Sermon, 173
Helme's, ElizabKh, Pilgrim of the Cross, 655
Herbert's, William, Select Icelandic Poetry,
558
Herman and Dorotliea, 650
Hernianni, Gotofrtdi, Orpliica, 322
««
INDEX.
Heroic Epistle fo Sir W. Cliambers, &c. 573
Ht^ncbel, Dr., Anecdotes of, 396
Beslop's, Rev. L., Obsenrations on the Dntjr
on Property, 280
Holcroft's^ Thoinas, Lady of the Kock, 639
, Brjan Perdue, 644
fiolmi-s\ Robert, DD., Septuagtnt, 119
Hoktein Canal, Account of the, 310
Honest Soldier, the, a Comedy, 641
Hoppner's, J., Oriental Tales, 576
Howard's, H., Drill of Riflemen and Lig^t
Infanibry,"753
Howlet's, Barthol., Mews m the County of
Lincoln, 422
Bunt's, John, salutary Cautions respecting
Gout, 804
Hunter's, William, l^etch of the State of
Europe, 3 12
Hunter's, >irs. John, Sports of the Genii, 623
Inchbald's, Rev. P., brief Viei*' of the Fall if
Man, 135
Inchbald's, Mrs., Comedy, to Marry or not
to Marry, 640
IrdaiKl's, W. Henry, Ccxifessions, 743
Irvine's, Wm. Cliemical Essays, 87a
Irvine's, Rev. Alexander, Inquiry into the
Causes of Emigration, 201
Kafiati Hospital, 69
JbcksonTs, Robert, Medical Depaitment of
Annies, 818
Xnncson, Rob. on M'meralogy of Dumfries,
lenner's, G. C. Evidence, 835
Johnstone's, John, Reply to Dr. Sm}ih, 843
Jonas's, Peter, Art of Guasing, 859'
lones, J. F. D. M.D., on Haanorrfaage from
divided Arteries, 813
Jones's, Jolm, Greek Gramnnr, 345
lones's, Thcvphiltts^ History of Brecknock,
409
Kenney's, James, Farce,ToDniaDy Cooks»64l
Kenrick's, Rev. T., Dtsoounes, 161
Kerb>''s, Tables of the Materia Medica, S43
Kinglake's, Rob. M.D., Rqily to Editn, 803
l^ke, John, on tbe Duties of Light Cavaky,
753
■ , on the Duties of Riflemen aad
Light Infantry, 752
Knight% Rich. Pavne, Enquiry into Uic Prin-
ciples of Taste, 745
Knight's, Cornelia, Description of Latium,
353
Kotzebue's, Augustus Ton, Travels through
Italy, 43
Kuttner^s, C. GaUob., Travels through Den-
mark, 88
Labatt's, Samuel, Address on the Cow-pock,
832
Lain^'s, Malcolm, Edition of Macpherson's
Poems, 6l5
Lambe, WiUiant, M.D., on Constitutional
Diseases, 809
Lambert's, C. D. L., Adventures of Cooroo,
655
Lambert's B., Anecdotes tcm the Hiitacyaf
Russia, 296
Lancaster's, Joseph, Impnyvemenis in Edoo-
tion, 73?
Latham's, Francis,Mystenous Freebooter,654
Lauderdale's, the E^rl of. Thoughts mtbe
State of the Circulation, 295
; Mints to the lii-
nufacturers, 293
LaTall^'s, Joseph, Travds in Istria, 85
Lavatei's, Rev. J. Caspar, Letters of St Pail
the Apostle, 195
Lawrence's, Rev. Riahard, LL.D., Baraptan
Lectures, 187.
Lawrence's, John, Treatise on Cattl^ 762
Lajxey's, A. Life of Erasmus. 486
Lee's, Harriet, Canterbury Tales, 655
Lee^s, Sophia, Life of a Lover, 653
Leith's, Sir George, Account of the SeUk-
y ment of Prince of Wales's Island, S5
Lemesurier's, Rev. Thomas, Examinatian of
the Roman Catholic Claims, 260
Letter to Dr. Troy, 26l
Letters mtercepted on Boanl the AdsunI
Aplin, 251
Light reading at leisQre Hours, 73S
Liadle/s, TDomas, Narrative of a Voyage
to Brasil, 27
Lipscomb's, Geo., Small-iXKC Tindkated, 829
'■ ' , on Ffulare nf Cow pro,
830
LiTerpool's, the Earl of, Treatise OB the Omb
oftheReabn,278
London Cries, 573
Lowrie's, William, Method of keeping Ao-
counts with Bankers, 312
Lucas's, William, Duellists, 655
Luccock, John, on the Nature of Wool, 771
Luther, Martm, Character of, 464
Luaaiiore*s,Thoni% Maoualof Anatany, 844
M«CaIhimVPieneF.,TraTeb in Trinidad^e
Macdiarmid's, John, Eafoiiy iaiU^AtSjibtm
«rf HitaiBlIMbcr, sir
MwloHlcrs^ Aidiibald, Tnmslatkm of 0»-
sM't lesser Poems, 620
MnCefmaf^, Tlieobahl,Thoii§^ oatbtBo-
man Cathofic Cles^, 313
dbeon^ Hamy, Report of the H^ikad
Sodety req>ecting the Poena of Osbbb,
679
Mackonochie, A., on Naval Architectufc^853
M'Rae's, Rev. David, View of the old aad
new Way of Doctrine, 193
Madan's, Rev. Spencer, Fast Sermon, 174
Malcolm's, J. P., Londinura Redivivuin, 423
Mangualt*s, Richmal, Half an Houi's louage,
565
Manuscripts found at Pompeii described, 45
Martavaun, Inhabitants of, described, 74
Mason's, James, Natural Soo, 639
Massmger, Life of, 625
Matott's, W.G.,M.D.F.R.S,&c., View of
the Life of Ltnoaeus, 467
Mavoi^s, William, L.1..1)., historical Account
of Coca's Voyages, S4
Mawmaa's, Mr., Excunioa to the Hi^biwk
of Scotland, 438
INDEX.
895
Ma!cr>%fL,Trans(hrtion ofFloriofis, Euth,
and Tobit, 566
Me<Hcal Committee, Report of, S31
Medical Society of London, Memoirs of the,
83H
Memoirs of Marraontely 4B4
Memoirs of Gilbert Purring, 742
Mental Recreations, 655
Mercier, S. J., de i'lmpossibilfte du Syst^me
de Newton, 859^
Merriraan, Samuel, on Vaccine Inoculation,
Michaux's, F. A. ALD^ Travels in Amerio^
01
Micbad Angelo, Chancer xyf, 500
Middteton's, Rev. Erasmus, Works of Arch-
bishop Leighton, 177
Mfllcr's, Rev. S., brief Retrospect of the 18th
Ceatury, 721
Miller\ Edward, Mus. D., History of D^n*
caster, 392 ,.
Miba\ Christian, Poems, 591
Mi^ionaries at Otaheite, 23
Mons Albanus, Monte Cavo, DesctiptioD of,
357
Montgomery's, James, Wanderer of Switxe|>
land, 555
^fore's, Mrs. H.. Hints for a young Princesfl.
708
• Morland, George, Account of, 505
Morton's, Rev. Joshua, Sermons, I69
Moselcy'Sj'William, Scnnon, 174
Mo8eley,'^njamin, on Cow-pox, 834
Mupknause*s, Richard, D.D., occasional Dis-
courses, 170
Nq)leton*s, John, D.D., Sermons, 1§8
Mare's, Rev. Robert, View of the Prophecies
141
Nathan the Wise, 634
Neckec, Madam, Account of, 485
NieIson*s, Rev. William, Greek Exerciser, 333
i^f ichols's, John, History of Leice^er, 398
NUe, the Source of, described, 3
Nisbef s, Wm. Dictionary of Chemistry, 881
Noble's, Thoniai, Perspective, 891
Oakley's, Rev:T^ Holy Family, 177
Observations relative to the Volunteer lo-
fentrv, 292
Oddy, J. Japson, on European Commerce, 307
Ohio River described, 93
On Earth Peace, 195
Opie's, Mrs., Adeline Mowbray, 653
Otme's, Robert, Historical Fragments of the
Mogul Empire, 212
Oulton's, W. C, Traveller's Guide, 423
Overton's, Rev. John, Letters to the Editor of
the Christian Observer, 192
Parker's,Sam.,01dTe«tamentinustTated, 136
Parkinson's, Richard, Tour in America, 82
Parkinson, James, on the Cure of Gout, 799
Partrklge's, Rev. Sam., Sermons, 171
Peacock*s, Francis, History of Dancing, 718
Peru, the present State of 49
PhiUpott^s, Rev. Henry, University Sermon,
173
Vicp, Gtovaooii of Mlnoidulaj Accotuit of, 5 1 1
Playfair's, William, Enquiry into the Decline
of Nations, 286
Poetical Epistle to the Rt Hon. W. Pitt,«2l
Policy of Britain with respect to Malta, 257
Polwhele's, Rev. R., History of Cornwall, 4l6
f History of Devonshire,
400
Poole's, James, Rq)lyto Mr. R. Gardiner, 251
Popham's, Sir Home, Description of Prince
of Wales*s Island, 24
Poulter's, Rev. Edmund, Fast Sermon, 174
Pratfs, Mr., Harvest Home, 736
Prosser's, Riclmrct D-D-, Consecration Ser-
mon, 176
Rainsfbrd's, Marcus, History of Hay ti, 2 11>
Rathbone's, William, Memoir, 192
Reasons why the Society of Friends should
iiot vote for Members of Parliament, 243
Rees's Abraham, New Cyclopedia, 877
Reynold's, Fred., Comedy, the Delinquent,
643
^ the Blind Bar-
gain, 641
Richardson*^ Rev. William, Poems and Play%
566
Ring*s, Johti, Answer to Dr. Moseley, 836
Rios^s, J. Mendoea de. Tables for Naviga* ^
tion, 857 •
Robertus, Poems bv^ 622
Robinson's, Rev. l-ioma^ Christian Systent
tmfblded, 144
Rogers on Cow-pox, 830
Roscoe's, William, Life of Leo X^ 449
Rose*s, Right Hoii. George, Observations^oi
the Poor Laws, 302
. Royal Society of Edinburgh, transactions oC
873
€t. Asaph, Bishop of, on Tu"gil'8'4wro Seaions
of Honey, 86O
St, Helena, the Ishmd of, described, 38
Saycrs's, J. M. D., Miscellanies, 716
Shoolbred, John, on Vaccmation in Benei.
834
Schrdter, D. J. H., Lilienthaliscbe beobach-
tungen, 851
Seiks, the, description of, 47S
Select Views of London and its Enviion8^444
Selkirk's, the. Earl of, observations on Emi-
gration, 232
Shannon^ R., on Brewing, 847
Sharp's, Granville, Enquiry, 138
Shee s, Martin Archer, Rhymes on Art, 592
Sinclair's, Sir John, Hisory of the Revenue,22S
Sketch of the present Stateof France, 112
Skrimshire's, Fenwick, M. D., Essays on
Natural History, 775
Smith's, Rev. J. B., Letters to the Rev. T.
Belsham, 149
Smyth's, William, English Lyrics, 613
Snape, Edward, on Farrier}', 850
Southey's, Robert, Madoc, 604
— , Metrical Tales, 579
Spencer, Edmund, iife of, 546
Stark's, J. Biographia Scotica, 493
tJtephenson s, W., Sjstem of Land surveying,
855
«o
INDEX.
SleuarCs, Sir James, Woridp 252
Sleuarf Sy John, Pleasures of Love, 591
Stewart; Hon. Brig. Gen., suggestions for
improving the Military Force, 29 i
Stock's Jos. I^. of Killala, translation of Job,
128
Sloner's, James, Views in N. Gfrltain, illustra-
tive of Burns's Poems, 742
Stowei's, C, Typographical Marks, 749
Summersetf s, Hen., Poems, 622
Tallevrand sur les Eelations commerciales
d« Etats Unies avec TAngleterre, 276
Temple's, Laura Sophia, Poems, 615
Theatrical Anecdotes, 528, 531
Thiebault's, Dieudonne, anecdotes of Frederic
of Prussia, 488
Thoughts on the Protestant Ascendancy, 258
Thou^its on public Trusts, 281
Thoughts on the Creation of the Human
Body and Soul, 197
Tobin's,)., Comedy, The Honey Moot, 64i
Todd's, Rev. Hen, J., Edition of Spencer's
Works, 544
Tooke's J. H., Epea Pteroenta, 675
Toussaint FOuverture, character of, 223
Townsend's, Rev. Jos., Sermons, 164
Tk'acts relative to Botany, 782
Txan8actk)ns of the Royal Society of London,
863
Travelling in Spain, 525
Trial for a Libel in the Anttjacobin Review,
293
Trimmer's, Mrs., help to the Unlearned, 136
Trinidad, description of, 63
Trotler, Thomas, on Fossils, 888
Turkey of N. America described, 97
Tunibull's, John, Voyage round the WorW, 16
Turner's, Sliaron, History of the Manners,
&c. of the Anglo-Saxons, 268
Turner's, Dawson, and Dilhmi's, L Vf.
Botanist's Guide, 788
Twelve Sennons on impoitaat subjeds, 171
Twtss's, Richard, MisoeOanies, 742
Valle Crucis Abbey, a Poem, 565
Villars's Charies, E^y on the Reforaadoii,
by Luther, 177
Vtocent's, William D. D., Perijias of the
Erythraean Sea, 359
Walpole, Robert, Comicomm Gmona
frag^nta, 328
— ^ , Specimens of Scarce Translation^
329
Warin Disguise, 318
Washington, George, anecdotes oQ 83
Watson% Rev. Thos.. Popular Evkleacestf
Religion, 138
Wdlwood's, Sir H. Moncrieff, D. D., Ser-
mons, 153
West's, Mrs. Poems and Plays, 602
Whately's, Thomas, Case of Polypi, 843
Whirling dervises described, 73
Whitaker's, Rev. John, history of the Cafc
dral of Cornwall, 428
Whitchurch's, Samuel, Hi^paniola, a Poem,
596
Willdenow's, D. C, Principles of Botany, 779
Wilson's, Rev. W. PhUosophy of Physic, 799
Wilson's, James, D. D. History of Egypt, 205?
Winstanley-'s, Rev. Calvin, litter to Gn»»
ville Sharp, 134
Wonders of the Telescope, 857
Wright's Richard, Antisalis&ctior.i>t, 151
Wy vjtt's. Rev. Christopher, Political Papas,
237
Zealand, a Tour in, 6a
XKO OF THE FOtBTH TOLUacX.
i^'
T. Gillet, Pii&ter»Wild-C9urt,Liacob» loA^jPiisidi.
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