Art. 17. The Fudger Fudged; or, the Devil and T***y M***e. By the Editor of the New Whig Guide. 12mo. 35. 6d. Boards. Wright. 1819.

We have had frequent occasion to observe that no species of misrepresentation is so wilful, and no degree of calumny so desperate, but that one political writer is capable of descending to it in his rage against another. We beg Mr. Moore's pardon, however, for confounding him with his present inglorious antagonist for one single moment, under the common title of political writer. Different, indeed, are the talents of the two individuals now before us; as different as the manly independence of the one, contrasted with the servile scurrility of the other. We have used strong terms because the occasion really requires them. Here is an author of no power, of no elegance, of no merit of any denomination, daring to assault the established reputation of one of our first lyrical poets; and, merely because he holds a different political creed, uttering every sort of atrocious libel on a character which (excepting its early blemishes, - amply expiated by subsequent correctness, as we are well informed, both of feeling and acting,) stands high, and will for ever stand high, in the literary annals of England.

It will not be expected that we should descend to any farther colloquy with so unworthy an assailant of genius, than to establish the justice of our unmitigated censure of this disgraceful composition. Had it been merely a dull excentricity, a heavy cart-horse whim, we should have so characterized it, and closed our notice of the unmeaning trifle: but it presumes to distribute the rewards of moral satire, and, therefore, comes under a lash of a severer kind than its imbecility would otherwise have demanded.

We subjoin a few of the terms which are here bestowed on Mr. Moore, and the appeals made to that gentleman.

Ballad-monger.' - P. 1.

Worn-out and impotent.'- Ibid.
Miscreant! 'tis false!' - P. 3.

Dipping his pen in putrid gall.' - Ibid.

'Base mongrel! 'tis an odious lie,

And thou a vile calumniator,

To God and King a r—l t—r !' — P. 5.

This is enough; and too much.

Will it be believed, however, by any liberal mind, that the person who has notoriously sacrificed his interest to his principles, and who might now have been enjoying the rewards of attachment to the court-party had he so chosen, is designated as ' sordid,' by this shameless libeller? Yes; this and any instance of gross injustice would be believed of an author who, after having accused Mr. Moore of hardness of heart in censuring personal defects, thus eulogizes Mr. Canning!

• Whose

• Whose constant vein of wit and sense,
Flows with resistless eloquence;
Not human sufferings to deride,
To that it never was applied.'

Those of our readers who have also read the debates in that session of Parliament, in which "the revered and ruptured Ogden" was so feelingly treated by Mr. C., must allow that the accuracy of the present poetaster is on a par with his candour.

It may well be said, indeed, that accuracy is out of the question, when such extraordinary ignorance of commonly known facts is displayed, that a writer in the year 1819 can attribute the editorship of the Morning Post to Mr. Perry!

'Since 'twould be pity to have lost,
His presents to the Morning Post,
Whose life, alas! is but a day,
So soon its glories pass away,

He has "friend Perry's" kind permission,
To print them in a new edition,

Where they a friendship bring to view,
Honouring alike the worthy two.'

We are almost compelled to suspect that some confusion of speech has here led the writer into the appearance only of error: but worse than presuming ignorance, worse than personal ma

lice,

worse than any offence committed against an individual, is

the attack here made on a suffering nation.

"If "Irish head and Irish heart,"

Such sympathies as these impart,

Whips and strait-waistcoasts best may serve,
Their neighbours' safety to preserve.

Should many such her earth defile,

The devil may take the Emerald Isle.'

After this, it is almost unnecessary to add that the book is eked out (short as it is) with a revival of forgotten Jacobin papers, and with a weak and profligate defence of the worst acts of the Congress.

POLITICS.

Art. 18. A Letter to the Opposition in both Houses, on the Subject of their Parliamentary Duties at this awful Moment. By the Rev. Lionel Thomas Berguer, late of St. Mary Hall, Oxford. 8vo. IS. Allman.

From the constitutional principles in which we were educated, and which we have been so long accustomed to advocate, it will easily be supposed that we contemplate the recent parliamentary measures, relating to the press, with a feeling almost as strong as the disgust which arises in our minds from those abuses of the liberty of the press that have afforded the unfortunate excuse, if not the justification, for its infringement. Yet we cannot approve the style of this letter, nor the dangerous advice which it

Y 4

con

contains, advice which, if followed, would, we fear, lead us into all the horrors of a civil war. No good effect can be produced by such hasty and intemperate productions. They afford an additional argument in the hands of the advocates of the objectionable measures, and they render in a great degree nerveless that opposition which would otherwise be effective in modifying those measures. Mr. B., we rather think, is a young man, and may ims prove as he grows older.

AMERICA.

Art. 19. Letters from Lexington and the Illinois, containing a brief Account of the English Settlement in the latter Territory. By Richard Flower. 8vo. Is. Ridgway.

We understand that the author of this pamphlet lately resided in Essex, farming his own estate; and that he is the father of the Mr. Flower who first settled with Mr. Birkbeck near the Wabash. He proceeded to the Illinois territory through Kentucky, and dates his first letter from Lexington, June 25. 1819; and the second and last from Illinois, near Albion, August 16.: so that his experience of the country west of Kentucky must have been gained in a period of little more than five weeks.

Mr. F. is known to be ardently attached to the cause of civil and religious liberty, a good practical farmer, and, what is better, an upright and intelligent, man: but, with all these advantages, we are not disposed to regard his evidence as a writer on the subject of American emigration as of any great value, because it is scarcely possible that he can have done more than open his eyes on the country at a season when all appears gay and smiling, even in regions little favoured by nature. He appears to be well satisfied with the institutions and general character of the Americans, notwithstanding the existence of slavery in some of the states; of which he speaks in terms of becoming indignation: As to the general character of the Americans (he says), it is sober, industrious, and hospitable; although drunkenness, idleness, and gambling, are vices in existence, they are kept in the back ground, and are by no means so conspicuous as among what are called the lower classes in England.'-To the inhabitants of Lexington, wherever I may reside in future, I shall ever feel grateful: their hospitality, their kindness to me, as a stranger, and their sympathy in the hour of affliction, are never effaced from my memory. Their politeness and liberality are perhaps unequalled.'

On his route to the Wabash, Mr. F. passed through the town of Harmony, the principal settlement of that singular sect, the Harmonites, of whom he gives this interesting description:

My dear Friend, Illinois, near Albion, Aug. 16. After many interruptions, I removed from Lexington to this place, at which we arrived on the 2d of July, spending in our way a week at Harmony, that wonder of the West.

You have heard this settlement mentioned, and it is worth visiting to see, and observe the effect of united industry, regulated

by

by sound wisdom and discretion: here perfect equality prevails, and there are no servants; but plenty of persons who serve. Every man has his station appointed him according to his ability, and every one has his wants supplied according to his wishes. He applies to the mill for his supply of flour; to the apothecary for medicine; to the store for clothes, and so on for every thing necessary for human subsistence. They do not forbid marriage, as some have represented; but it is one of their tenets that the incumbrance created by families is an hindrance to the spirituality of Christians, and it is this opinion which discourages marriage amongst them. They have also an aversion to bear arms; this would not allow them to remain in Germany, and they emigrated to live in the manner they have adopted, and have certainly the outside appearance of contentment and happiness.

After travelling through the woods of Indiana, the hills divide to the right and left, and a fine valley opens to your view in which the town stands. The hills assume a conical form, and are embellished with fine cultivated vineyards; and the valleys stand thick with corn. Every log-house is surrounded by a well-cultivated garden, abundantly supplied with vegetables, and ornamented with flowers. It was the beginning of wheat harvest when I ar rived, and the entire company of reapers retired from the fields in a body, preceded by a band of music: their dress is like the Norman peasants, and as all are of the same form and colour, may properly be designated their costume. The men marched first, the women next, and the rear rank composed of young women, with each a neat ornament of striped cedar-wood on their head, formed one of the prettiest processions I ever witnessed. The sound of French-horns awakened them in the morning to their daily labour, which is moderate, and performed with cheerfulness; the return of evening appears to bring with it no fatigue or symptoms of weariness.

• Besides the gardens of individuals, there is a public garden of five acres, the outside square planted with fruit-trees and vegetables, the inside with herbs, medicinal and botanical. In the centre is a rotunda of the rustic kind, standing in the midst of a labyrinth, which exhibits more taste than I supposed to be found amongst the Harmonites. It is from this hive of industry that Albion and its vicinity have drawn their supplies, and its contiguity to such neighbours has been of great advantage.'

Proceeding to describe the flourishing condition of the settlement on the Wabash, the writer adds; almost every individual 1 knew in England was much improved in appearance, all enjoying excellent health.' To those persons who feel interested in the fate of this settlement, the opinion of a new-comer, like Mr. F., will be acceptable: but we confess that these letters have added little to the information which we already possessed, and that we do not perceive a sufficient motive for their publication at the present time. When Mr. Flower can furnish us with a statement of the progress and success of his agricultural labours, after the experience of a few years, we shall be happy to learn that his favourable anticipations have been realized,

Art,

Art. 20. Observations on Emigration to the United States of America, illustrated by original Facts. By William Savage. 8vo. pp. 66. Sherwood and Co. 1819.

Mr. Savage apprizes us in the preface that he had a serious design of going to America, and residing in Kentucky: but, before he carried the intention into execution, he judged it reasonable to endeavour to learn something of the country. The result of his inquiries deterred him from emigration, and he publishes the present pamphlet as a warning to others. The facts which he states

were communicated to him, he says, by friends in conversation; and the cases of failure which he has adduced as illustrations ⚫ are of Yorkshire persons:' but he has no doubt that every district in England could furnish similar instances.'

It appears to us that Mr. S. belongs to that class of writers who view only one side of the question, and overlook every circumstance which does not tend to establish the position that is to be maintained. Confining himself to this object, he informs us that several very weak or very wicked Yorkshiremen have been miserably disappointed in the western States of America: the former by purchasing land unseen, or by neglecting to make due inquiries respecting the validity of the title: while the latter have been equally mortified on finding that, though they were accomplished villains in England, they had much to learn in America, before they could make their villainy profitable. According to the estimable Hartley, moral evil has a tendency to correct itself, one wicked man serving as an instrument to punish another; and this position is well exemplified in the following narrative, which is both instructive and amusing. Many of our married readers may probably have heard of a species of connubial discipline, technically called "Curtain-lectures;" a correction to which philosophers of old, as well as Lord High Chancellors of modern times, are said to have been subjected. It should seem, however, from Mr. Savage's narration, that the fair dames of Kentucky have a more energetic mode of delivering these lectures than would be agreeable to the feelings of European husbands.

The result of another instance of emigration from Howden may serve as a warning to those who endeavour to encrease their property by marriage, particularly if it be with the widow of a Kentucky farmer, who is the owner of negro slaves.

A person that I knew from infancy went to Kentucky, and took with him about four hundred pounds: he possessed some abilities, had a high opinion of them, and stiled himself civil engineer. Some time after his arrival his second wife died: he subsequently paid his addresses to a widow who was the proprietor of a farm and five negro slaves; she accepted him for a husband, for he was a good-looking, portly man, and plausible in his manners; but she secured her property to herself. Some time after the marriage, he began to lord it over his wife with a high hand, as he had been in the habit of doing before; but this behaviour did not suit the feelings of the republican dame; and one day, after a violent altercation, to shew that she would not be mastered by an

English