The last part relates to the ecclefiaftical history; but it is well known that Patrick was the apoftle of the Irish, Ninian and Columba of the Piks. The former was a Cumraig Briton, the latter an Irishman. St. Patrick was born at Alclud, near Dumbarton, and was probably of a Roman family. The monafteries of the western ifles of Ireland, during the darker and more turbulent ages, contained the little remains of learning; and to thefe Celtic (if they are Celtic) feminaries, the most learned and pious minifters owed their education. This is a subject that deserves much more attention than it has yet received. St. Andrew's was the first bishoprick, founded in though before this time there is fome reafon to think, from Tighernac and the annals of Ulfter, that the abbot of Dunkeld was metropolitan of Pikland. The culdees are faid to be the Irish clergy or corrupted monks fecularized, in confequence of the turbulence of the times; and they afterwards retained great power. The literary history is not very important: the clergy were generally Irish, and various caufes concurred to prevent improvement. They kept alive the fpark, but they could

not raise it into a flame.

909,

The Supplement relates to the Angles and Norwegians. The Angles poffeffed the country north of the Humber. They came to England from the fouth of the prefent Jutland in 547, and in the beginning of the ninth century loft all their ground in Pikland. They were probably a barbarous race, and fortunate only in perpetuating their name in the prefent appellation of England. The Norwegians, as we have already hinted, previous to the year 1076, gained poffeffion of the Orkneys, the Ebuda, and the northern parts of Pikland. In fact, these northern islands were the prey and the neft of the most powerful pirates; nor was it till after 900 that we have any regular account of their government, or that their government deferved that name. The Shetland iflands were denominated from Hialt, and were ftyled Hialt-land, or Yaltland, from whence Yetland and their prefent appellation. In the account of the Hebudes, Mr. Pinkerton traces the origin of the error which occafioned them to be called in modern works Hebrides. It seems to have arifen from an erroneous edition of Solinus, printed at Paris 1503, copied by Boethius, In 1266 they were ceded by the Norwegians to the Scots. The isle of Maun is the Monada of the ancients, as Anglesey was the Mona: it was held by the Irish in the time of Orofius, conquered by Edwin king of Northumberland in 620; feized by Norwegian pirates in the ninth century, who were foon afterwards expelled. The inhabitants were Irish, and, in

1075, the island was under the jurifdiction of Ireland. The Appendix, which contains fome useful and curious documents, follows; and the Differtation on the Scythians and Goths, formerly noticed, is added at the end of the volume.

We have now followed Mr. Pinkerton with fome care, not without great labour, and no little anxiety to pursue him in thofe recondite enquiries, from whence he has drawn the most valuable of his materials. Of his principal fyftem, we may add of his prejudices, we have spoken fufficiently. We ought not to conclude without commending his diligence, bis perfeverance, his fagacity, his acuteness, and his accuracy.

The Loiterer, a Periodical Work, in Two Volumes. First publifhed at Oxford in the Years 1789 and 1790. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Boards. Egertons.

SINCE the days of Terræ Filius, it is remarked by our au

thor, that no periodical publication has been confined to the universities, either as defcriptive of their manners, the fcourge of their follies, or the herald of their virtue and learning. We fufpect, however, that the author is not perfectly accurate in this opinion. We well remember a collection of this kind, though the name, if it was not the Student,' has efcaped us the Connoiffeur, as he properly obferves, occafionally noticed thefe feats of learning; but his vifits were tranfitory, and more general topics often called him from them. The volumes before us contain fixty Numbers, but in the last we find complaints of inattention, and the difproportionate lengths of the publisher's bill and the list of fubfcribers. This, however, may be readily accounted for, without depreciating Mr. Auften's merit, or the value of his elays. The univerfity of Oxford is comparatively a confined fpot; few who refide in it want information; and those who are at a distance are not often inquifitive about it, except perhaps fome few retired ftudents, who remember with pleasure the fcenes which once afforded them their principal enjoyments. Befides, that in the univerfity, the characters or the fituations cannot be numerous or often interesting; and either the happiness or diftrefs of the future life, a more extended circle, or more endearing connections, will leffen the force with which even thefe would attract the ftudent who has been long abfent.

If periodical papers are generally formed on the model of the Spectator, we must blame the imitator lefs than we praise

the

the original. Opinions are illuftrated by the collifion of a friendly interchange of fentiment, or contrafted by the focial controverfy every periodical writer has, therefore, his friend or his club; each starts from the fcene, and by a journey to the country or to London, gives that variety which a itationary refidence could not afford. Our author adopts a fimilar plan; and if he does not ftrike the fancy by the brilliancy of his wit, if he does not amufe by the fictions of a fertile imagination, if he does not conquer worlds and then imagine more,' he conciliates our esteem by faithful defcriptions of life and manners, he inftructs by judicious precepts and appofite examples, and he promotes the caufe of virtue by the pureft dictates of religion and morality. The first volume is more strictly confined to the manners of the university; and it is with regret we obferve, that the most frequent traits are a diffipated youth, an age of neglected celibacy, or unfortu nate matrimonial connections. Let us extract a picture of modern language and a common character.

To recapitulate all the various modes of expreffing our ac tions or paffions which our own ingenuity first introduced, and which custom has reconciled us to, would be entering into a field much too large for the Loiterer; I cannot, however, avoid mentioning one, and which I have been led to take notice of, from a conversation which paffed, not many weeks ago, between an acquaintance of mine, a country neighbour of his (who was come to fee the university), and myfelf.-The country gentleman, amongst a variety of other impertinent questions, made many foolifli enquiries atter a near relation of his, who was not then in Oxford, fuch as-how he spent his time? what progrefs he made in his ftudies? and what was his character in the college? with other trifling particulars of the fame fort, most of which my friend very properly thought undeferving any reply; and, therefore, only faid in general, that he need be under no concern about him, for that he trained on famously well, and would foon be a very dashing man. An expreffion which, though to me it was perfectly familiar, I saw plainly conveved no fort of idea to the perfon to whom it was addreffed. He made no effort, however, to obtain an explanation (poffibly afraid to expofe his ignorance) and who coolly faid," he was happy to hear fo good an account, as it would give great pleasure to his family and friends, who had formed very fanguine expectations of his doing well." How far these their expectations are likely to be answered, it is not my business to enquire, and I fhall only obferve, that all his relations and friends will foon be enabled to form a very complete idea of a Dashing Man, the moment they infpect his next quarter's bills.'

This defcription is illuftrated by the following character:

⚫ Dining

Dining the other day with my friend Will Sagely, my at tention was very much engaged by a gentleman whofe manners and converfation declared him to be of the first order. He entertained us during dinner with a very animated account of a drinking-party which he had been engaged in the evening before, which, together with an epifode of his meeting the proc tors in the evening, enabled him to engrofs the converfation till the cloth was removed. This topic was fucceeded by the defcription of a bay gelding, which was, in his own phrafe, as pretty a bit of blood as ever carried faddle. And by way of defert, he treated us with a full, true, and particular account of his threatening to horfe-whip a tradefman, who had dared to remonftrate with him on his not difcharging a bill: he con cluded this fubject with affirming, that all tradesmen should be refifted by gen lemen as fcoundrels, and that he never knew one in his life who was not a complete Raff. To perfons in the leaft acquainted with Dafhers, it will be unneccffary to add, that he interlarded his difcourfe with feveral of the most defcriptive and vigorous oaths, and was never fo much engroffed by his converfation as to let the bottle pa's without filling a bumper. I ftared first at him and then at Sagely, who, I obferved, frequently turned up his eyes during this continued difcourfe, and at lat, I thought, darted an evident look of contempt on the gentleman who made himself thus confpicuous."

Of the more general obfervations, and of our author's easy and elegant style, we shall select a fpecimen from the fecond volume. It relates to the various kinds of affectation in ladies; and the pictures are sketched correctly, and coloured naturally.

Of this, the moft prevailing in the prefent age is, the affectation of candour; impelled by this principle, the modern fair one not only defends the actions, but even praifes the perfons of all her cotemporaries and rivals: fhe never lets flip an oppor tunity of prailing all her acquaintance, either for their merits or their faults; if a lady is faid to be regularly pretty, but infipid, fhe immediately declaims on the fymmetry of her features and exactness of her make; if on the other hand, the person in debate has no claim to admiration but from an expreflive countenance, he is full as ready to cry up the fuperiority of expreffion and manner over regularity of features; nay, fhould the lady be unfortunate enough to be void of every personal charm which can attract admiration, it is hard but she will find fomething to praise in her, and if every thing elfe fails, applaud the sweetness of her difpofition, and hint that fhe will make an excellent wife. Thus fhe goes on, excufing, defending, or applauding the faults or deficiencies of her long lift of friends, and in the vain hope of being admired for her candour, forgets that praife,

.

praife, like fatire, lofes its force when applied without diferimination, judgment or tafte. Next to this in frequency and abfundity is the affectation of affection. A young woman, the moment he has received this fpecies of infection, becomes on a fudden more than commonly attached to all her relations without exception. If married, fhe is always plaguing you with the good qualities of her husband: if fingle, the wit and learning of her brothers, the beauty and graces of her tifters, form an eternal topic of panegyric. She never fpeaks of them but in highest raptures, or to them but in the most endcaring phrafes. She diftributes her dears, loves, &c. without moderation or mercy, and her whole conversation is such a string of furfeiting sweets, as is fufficient to make the bye-standers fick of natural affection as long as they live. Not entirely diffimilar to this is the affectation of feeling, but with this difference, that as the love of the affectionate girl is concentred in one family, the regard and concern of the feeling woman are diffufed amongst an extended circle of grear friends, little friends, intimates, and acquaintances; the former boasts only a partial and confined affection, the heart of the latter expands in an unbounded philanthropy to all mankind: fuch an one, from the moment you enter the room, is all flutter and anxiety till you have fatisfied her of the health, profperity, and happiness of your father, mother, brothers, fif ters, cousins, and, in fhort, all your relations whom she has ever feen, and almost all whom the has ever heard of; nor will she fuffer you to rest in peace, till fhe has enquired after your own health, and is perfectly convinced by your own words, that you actually and bona-fide are alive at that moment, notwithstanding when you last parted from her you were obliged to encounter the inclemency of the morning air after being heated with country dances. And woe be to the youth, who, in an evil hour, has given up his heart to a feeling young woman, for as this fpecies of affectation is ufually mixed with a dash of coquetry, he may be fome time in difcovering that a lady whofe heart is thus torn in pieces by fo many different claimants, can have but a fmall share to bestow on any one.'

On the whole, we think thefe effays have much merit; but perhaps the period of the fuccefsful effayift is at an end. Every modern attempt muft contend with the most finished models; and if the ftatue of Jupiter by Phidias remained, we fhould condemn the fculptor as impolitic who would reprefent the thunderer on his throne, shaking Olympus with his ambrofial locks.'

The Life of Daniel De Foe. By George Chalmers, Esq. 8vo. 35. Stockdale.

AN opinion, perhaps fuggefted by his name, has generally

prevailed, that Daniel De Foe was a foreigner; but by fearching the chamberlain's books, which have fince been VOL. LXX. Od. 1799.

Dd

burnt,