1 given because it is predicated of Bonaparte: but the same apology cannot be offered for such phrases as,. The flocks man clothe, &c. Atp 39. occur the following curious lines,' He the great centre is; and from him flow All the grand, splendid radii of perfection. It may sound singular, after this free exposure of Mr. W.'s poetical deli quencies, to say, that in several parts of his poem we have been reminded of the flowing and harmonious cadences of Akenside. Such, however, is the case, and we will add that there are a few short passages interspersed which appeared to us, on a cursory perusal, to rise considerably above the dead ievel of vulgar poetry. Such, perhaps, is the following reflection on the sacrilegious' violation of a monument, erected by the late Ear of Chatham to the memory of Sir W. Pynsent The last line, however, is obscure and feeble. • Relentless Time leans on his fatal scythe, And drops unusual tears as he beholds Mr. Webbe ought to have made a good deal more of the worthies of Somerset, He has, however, discovered a laudable anxiety for his reader's information, in referring them for an account of two gentlemen of this county-Bacon and Locke-to the Biographia Britannica. Art. XV. An Essay to explain the Cause of the Principal Phænomena of Nature. By J. Hamstead, Esq. Captain in the Royal Navy, 8vo. pp. xiv. 44. Price 2s. 6d, steel and Co. 1811. CAPTAIN Hamstead writes like a very amiable and rather ingenious man; but in the pamphet before us he has sada ly misemployed his ingenuity. He informs us he has boldly ventured on a world unknown' and so indeed it would seem; for he has made some most singular discoveries, such as-that cold has an effect on the atmosphere similar to that of gravity or pressure--that the density of a body is the quantity of matter it contains-that terrestrial gravity arises from an elastic effort of the hereal medium to sustain the earth;that God cannot exist in a physical vacuum-that the planets move in a universal plenum--that the power of Deity is this universal plenum of which the Deity is the centre or fulcrum point. We exhort Captain Hamstead not to persist in such speculations. The tendency of the philosophical part or them is to absurdity-of the religious to Spinosim and our author is capable of undertaking something that would lead him to widely different results. We advise him to present the world with something more immediately in the line of his profession; persuaded that he would then furnish us with some opportunity for commendation. Art. XVI. Commerce as it was, is, and ought to be. 8vo. pp. 59. Price 2s. Richardson. 1811. A SUBJECT is never worse off, that when a man of dull intellects and inordinate vanity, takes upon him to discuss it metaphysically. The lucubrations of this writer may be judged of from the following specimen. Currency, value, labour, use, and exchange, are different parts of the will of man. The will of man is inconvertible, commodities are convertible. Commodities may exist without the will of man, but the will of man is necessary to currency. Currency being identified in the will of man, commodities representing currency should be identified in commodities.' &c. The pamphlet is very modestly dedicated to the Prime Minister of Great Britain! Art. XVII. Poetical Essay on the existing State of Things. By a Gentleman of the University of Oxford, for assisting to maintain in Prison Mr. Peter Finnerty, imprisoned for a libel. 4to. pp. 20. Price 1s. 6d. Crosby and Co. 1811. IF this Gentleman has not yet taken his degrees, we think he stands a fair chance of being 'plucked.' Out of respect to the benevolence of his intentions, we shall say nothing of the title page: but we do think he would have done wisely to conceal his residence, before he permitted himself to eulogize Sir Francis in such a rhapsody as the following. • Thou taintless emanation from the sky! Thou purest spark of fires that never die !... Art. XVIII. The Harmony of Religion and Civil Polity. A Sermon, MR. Lloyd takes, for his text, two out of four exhortations con tained in 1 Pet. ii. 17; "Fear God. Honour the King." He dwells the longer on the first clause,' because the last is founded upon it.' For our part, we cannot perceive that the last precept derives any pe culiar authority from its position; for, if so, we must also conclude that the command to fear God,' is founded on the preceding clause, love the brotherhood.' After discussing the first topic, or the fear of God, with considerable success, the worthy preacher goes on to enforce the duty of loyalty. In considering the origin of government, he discards, with Paley, the idea of an original compact; and then gives a brief view and a zealous eulogium of the English constitution. He afterwards inculcates, at some length, the duties of obedience, reverence, submission, &c. &c. to the constituted authorities. The good sense, the Christian principles, and manly eloquence of this sermon have given us pleasure. But we cannot profess ourselves friendly to political harangues from the pulpit, even where they are less controversial in their style, and less exceptionable in their tendency. There are some strong expressions in the sermon before us, in reference to many modern demagogues,' which could probably answer no better purpose, than that of gratifying and ir. ritating party spirit: as, for instance. Having no hopes beyond the grave, having no fear of God to purify their minds, or to restrain their actions, and being, for the most part Bankrupts both in character and fortune, they can live only in the storm: Discord is their element; they are always in their watch-tower, ready to blow the trumpet of sedition through the land: Their democracy is a dark compound of mischief; it feeds upon every thing that is low, vile, and corrupt, poisoning the moral_constitution of man, inverting the just order of nature: It is, in fact, Despotism under the garb of Liberty, a love of wealth and power under the semblance of Patriotism.' pp. 42, 43. The preacher disclaims the idea of any particular prince reigning by an indefeasible divine title: but he still maintains, that the original of the prince's power is divine, it is a portion of God's power.' He does not explain whether this sort of divinity is only predicable of the sovereign authority, which is frequently conferred by those who are afterwards to be subject to it, or whether the same attribute extends to all the subordinate offices, many of which have the same origin. Whatever may be his theory, however, of the relation that subsists between the government and the public, we cannot think any doctrine just, constitutional, or the result of enlarged views of Christianity, which goes to reprobate • private citizens' as presumptuous' because they sit in judgment on their king, and the measures of his government'. (p. 33.) We will add a short passage which may conciliate the regard of some readers, who will perhaps be a little displeased with the political doctrines and spirit of the discourse. Well does the prophet Hosea declare, that “men shall fear the Lord and his goodness;" for his goodness is not the lenity of a weak, capricious, indulgent parent (for then the impenitent might hope for impunity,) but of a wise, holy, and perfect Being. It is a fixed, immoveable principle of action, having a supreme regard to the reasons of things, and the ends of government. Whilst it is "slow to anger," and altogether lovely, it presents a grave and venerable aspect; and if once converted into wrath, it extinguishes every delusive hope; for such wrath is a comprehensive benevolence, ministering to the Divine glory, and the welfare of the moral creation. Our love, therefore, to God, is ever to be connected with deep humility, the most profound reverence, and godly fear. That view of pardoning mercy, which leads to familiarity, is not scriptural; each perfection ought to be viewed in connexion with the rest; they mutually illustrate each other, exhibiting the beauty of the Divine character; and the beauty of holiness in man must be derived from a due contemplation of all his attributes.' p. 13. ་ Mr. Lloyd must allow us to add, in con clusion, that probably no objector to the ecclesiastical establishment, was ev er convinced, by being told that his objections are all founded in narrow and contracted views, and too often accompanied with that contumacious spirit, which such views natus rally produce.' p. 64. VOL. VII. 3 Q Art. XIX. Modern Persecution; a Poem, in three Cantos, by the author of the Age of Frivolity. 12mo. pp. 43. Price 2s 6d. T. Williams, Burton. 1811. EVEN those who remember the previous attempts of this writer in the rhyming way, will be a little surprised, perhaps, to find him treating his present theme in a manner professedly ludicrous. The plan he adopts is, to deliver an account of some late intolerant proceedings against the dissenters, in the character of one of the party.' We have at no time been backward to do justice to our author's ingenuity; but we have more than once been obliged to call in question the utility of his labours; and we are a little mortified to find our old objection so peculiarly applicable to the performance before us. In what respect, is intolerance an object of levity, or what benefit is likely to arise from attempting to make it so? That wherever found (and its residence is not exclusively with one party) it ought to be firmly opposed, is undeniable, but there is little chance of laughing it out of countenance. Our author in his preface, disclaims the idea of representing the excesses he satirizes, as being sanctioned by the church: but there are some parts of the poem in which this introductory sentiment appears to have been forgotten; and there is obviously a great impropriety in coupling the outrages at Wickham Market, with Lord Sidmouth's rejected motion. It ought not to be overlooked in publications on this topic, that several bright examples of liberality, have been recently afforded by judges, senators, and prelates. With regard to the persons whose cause is here espoused, we fear they will hardly thank this writer for his interference. There are some things so intimately associated with ridiculous adjuncts, that unless they are very skilfully presented, instead of awakening sympathy or rousing indignation, they will irresistibly discompose the gravest features in Christendom. When our author undertook to hitch the pograms into verse,—to record the vengeance and the goodly fray Which strove to shout, and stink the saints away,' he ought to have recollected this. Art. XX. Escape from France, a Narrative of the Hardships and Sufferings of several British Subjects who effected their escape from Verdun. 8vo. pp. 120. Price 4s. Vernor, Hood, and Co. 1811. IN N this pamphlet, there are two distinct narratives. The first may be considered equivalent to three, as it gives an account of three several attempts to escape, the adventurers having been twice detected and remanded to prison. The first flight was a breaking out' from a place of confinement at Verdun, the two latter from the fortress of Bitche; and all three were attended with considerable danger. The route by which they at length made good their retreat was across the Rhine, in the direction of Stutgard, and thence through the vicinity of Ulm, Munich, and Rastadt to Trieste. The other nar rative describes a more peaceable departure from Verdun, by day light in a covered cart conducted by an old woman; the route adopted and successfully pursued, was by way of Liege and so into Holland, the embarkation for England being made at Rotterdam. The heroes of this last expedition met with a good deal of civility and assistance from the common people, being taken for natives W.10 iled from prison or the army. We hardly need say the whole country is pervaded by gens d'armes, and no stranger is allowed to pass in any town of note without a passport. The adventures described in both these narratives, especially the first, are very interesting; but are related in a most ridiculous style. After all, however, there are no prison-breakers to compare with Baron Trenck. Art. XXI. Portraits of Fops; or Illustrations of the Foppish Character in all its curious varieties; with some sketches of our Principal Modern Fops, &c. &c. By Sir Frederick Fopling. F. F. F. 12mo. pp. 120. Price 4s. 6d. J. Johnson. 1811. WE E have some distant suspicion that the fabricator of this precious volume intended to be witty. Art. XXII, Voyage en Grèce, fait dans les années 1803 et 1804. Par G. S. S. Bartholdy. Ouvrage traduit de l'Allemand. Par A. D. C***. 8vo. 15 plates coloured from Nature; music, &c. and a map of Greece. Price 15fr. fine paper 27fr. Dentu. Paris. M. BARTHOLDY is almost the first German who has turned his attention to this interesting portion of classic ground.-His performance commences with an essay on the dangers which lie in wait for the traveller in the Levant, in the shapes of banditti and the plague, and on the proper measures to be taken for securing both his person and his property; including also some useful instructions as to the preferable mode of general conduct in that country. He then proceeds to a description of Athens; but confines himself chiefly to those monuments which have escaped the observation of former travellers. The Turks of course engage a considerable portion of M. B's attention. On the whole, he disposed to treat them with rather more lenity than many previous writers. The state of civilization of the modern Greeks is also largely noticed; and in expatiating on their degeneracy in literature and the arts, our author presents us with several of the modern Greek ballads, and extracts from modern tragedies. An interesting narrative is given of the unavailing struggle of the Suliotes, with Ali-Vizier in 1804. The work includes a a description of the vale of Tempe, and an account of a voyage to Negropont, and several places in Thessaly. seems Art. XXIII. The Wonders of a Week at Bath; In IN N a very tolerable imitation of the style of Anstey, this writer amuses himself with laughing at the manners of modern Bath. He satirizes the lodgings-the promenade the pump-room-the cor. poration-the dress ball-the concerts-the glee-club-the theatre-the libraries the newspaper table-the M. C's.-the M. D's.-the Clergythe gamesters the enthusiasts, &c. The mischief of it is, that this class of writers are perpetually confounding wit with indecency. |