the fubject of them is so philofophical, that if we were not fully convinced of the truth of what will be alledged, we should be afraid to undertake it.

For in this little pamphlet, philosophy will be avoided as much as poffible, that is, it never will be introduced at all, unlefs it is abfolutely neceffary to call in its aid, in order to prove the truth of any thing which fhall be afferted. But to the to rectify the vulgar error, which fuppofes, that the farther a perfon goes South, the hotter will be the climate.

point; which is,

This is fo well known to be an error, by all men of Science, and by all navigators, that it is needless to say much about it, only juft to relate the truth, that those who are mistaken in their way may be set in the right road. But to proceed.

The two poles of the earth, that is, the two North and South extremities of the globe, are in such a position, or are so inclined to the fun, or to the plane of the ecliptic, as never to have any rays fall directly over their heads, or they never have him any higher than a little above the horizon, or the surface of the earth; for which reason it is always cold at the North and South poles, which will naturally be the cafe, as any one may experience by the different position of the fun, in summer and winter, in our own climates.

'The cafe is exactly contrary at the æquator, or on the middle of the globe, which is the fartheft from the two poles, for there they have the fun over their heads at noon all the year round; for which reason it is always hot under the line, yet not always the hottest of any part of the globe, as has been fometimes philofophically fuppofed, and which fhall be the fubject of the next chapter, to introduce which this was principally in1ended.'

The error above alluded to, and which the author fays by no means ought to be called a vulgar one, is, "That exactly under the equator is always the hottest climate on the globe."

The feventh error is, "That the more hay is dried in the fun, the better it will be." The eighth, "That the violin is a wanton instrument, and not proper for pfalms; and that the organ is not proper for country dances, and brifk airs." The ninth, tenth, and eleventh vulgar errors relate likewise to mufical execution; but by the profound manner in which our author treats them, they feem to be rather controvertible propofitions, than vulgar errors. The fame remark may be applied to our author's twelfth vulgar error, "That apparitions or Spectres do exift, or that the ghofts of men do appear at, before, or after their deaths." The difcuffion of this propofition gives Mr. Fovargue an opportunity to fhine in natural philofophy,

fophy, as well as claffic learning. He confiders most of thofe apparitions as hocus-pocus tricks; and very fagaciously obferves, that by these and such like acts, the Roman Catholic priests so long kept this now well-delivered country under their fubjection.'

Nihil ab illo alienum -The whole compass of nature lies open to this author. He next exhibits as a phyfician; and the thirteenth vulgar error which he difcuffes is, "That bleeding is proper for a patient who is apt to be fick in a morning." His fourteenth is, "That nothing which moves upon the furface of the earth is fo fwift as the wind." If we had not entertained a very high opinion of this gentleman's learned labours, we should have been inclined to agree with the vulgar as to this error; and we are not quite certain whether he has fufficiently removed all the doubts which may be raised upon the fubject.

The fifteenth error is, "That there is now, or ever was, such a science as astrology." This error is confuted by a most curious declamation, as follows.

• Reader, when thou doft perufe this book, I would have thee fenfible of the intrinfic value of truth; one fingle page of this inestimable commodity, is worth a thousand volumes of lies. I do not intend to impose upon thee, and lead thee aftray, and laugh at thee afterwards; even as the Egyptian priests of old did deceive their flock, and at the fame time did laugh at them, for worshipping the monftrous idols, which were the compofitions of their own craft. Thou wouldeft hardly believe that these idolaters were fo grofsly impofed upon, as to be induced to worship garlick and onions; and yet we have accounts, that if the priests of those times did fix their eyes upon a good crop of those vegetables, they could very eafily rank them amongst the number of their gods; and, by that means, render them unlawful to be handled by any one, except themselves. What might be their intent, in such a case, we will not presume to determine, but leave it to thy own fuperior judgment.

1

Indeed, thou mayeft think thyself happy, in being a native of a country, where the exact boundary is fixed to every one's property; and where, though when thou doft endeavour to defend thy right, thou wilt find fome who are ready to go halves with thee, yet, thou mayeft in time hinder thy adverfary from enjoying what is thy due.

• And moreover, thou mayeft think thyfelf very comfortable, that thou doft breathe in fo free an air, where thou haft the refreshing liberty of hearkening to reafon, and of thinking as thou doft like beft; for if thou didft live in fome countries, thou wouldeft find, that thou muft either think as others please

to

to dictate to thee, or elfe keep thy thoughts to thyfelf; otherwife it had been better for thee if thou hadft never been able to come at the knowledge of truth, and had been as ignorant as those idolatrous Egyptians before mentioned; who, while the priests were ftudying the real fcience of aftronomy, kept the laity in the dark, and amazed them with the falfe fcience of aftrology; making them believe that they could foretel all things which fhould happen to them and their families, by their knowledge of the ftars; and perfuading them, that the ftars had an influence upon the lives and fortunes of individuals; introducing the jargon of being born under particular planets, and the like. To all which their impofitions they gained the greater credit, by being able to calculate, and therefore to foretel the eclipfes of the fun and moon; which phenomena of nature they used to explain fo as to answer their own finifter views; conftruing the common motions and appearances of the heavenly bodies, into prodigies and wonders; foretelling the deaths of those they hated, and taking the opportunity of that time of confternation, to dispatch them, in order to make their words prove true. I tell thee, reader, thou art happy in being a native of a country where thou art not deceived by the falfe fcience of aftrology; and where any one who understands it, whether prieft or layman, will shew thee as much of the real science of astronomy, as thou defirett to learn, for a bottle or two of wine, with all his heart; well knowing, that it will be a means to give thee a more sublime notion of the Supreme Being: for the more thou doft contemplate the vast machinery of the heavenly bodies, and the exact time which they keep in their revolutions, the more thou wilt be convinced of the immenfe contrivance of him who laid the foundation of the heavens.'

If we live in a country, where, according to this writer, we are not deceived by the falfe fcience of aftrology, how can the belief of it be called a vulgar error in England?

After mentioning fome other errors which we apprehend to be of the author's own creation, he combats one which we will venture to say the most experienced of our readers never heard of before, viz. "That teaching boys bawdy books,,will make them religious men, and good clergymen." Another of his vulgar errors is, "That nothing is poetry but what is wrote in rhyme," This is an error which, with fubmiffion to this writer, the most vulgar of the vulgar never entertained. But our readers by this time are doubtless fatisfied with the specimens we have already given of Mr. Fovargue's erudition. Was his book to be tranflated into a foreign language, what a despicable opinion muft other nations entertain of the English vulgar? VOL. XXIV. Sept. 1767. VII. Memoirs

VII. Memoirs of the Count of P—; skewing at once the dreadful Confequences of Vice, and the Happiness in being Virtuous. A Novel, tranflated from the German, by F. W. Streit, F. Ducal S. at Jena. In two Vols. 12mo. Pr. 6s. Dodfley.

The

vention is the leaft part of the author's business; for he is chiefly employed in tacking together facts, circumftances, characters, and events, which have been invented already. novel before us is a curious fpecies of this manufacture; it contains, however, more fentiment, and greater variety, than could have been expected from the pen of a German. That man is a being compofed of different, and fometimes contradictory qualities, cannot be denied; but the highest perfection a novel-writer can arrive at, is to discover the fprings and the play of paffions which actuate thofe qualities, and put them in motion. Count P, the hero of the prefent performance, is generous and mean, a faint and a finner, a hero and a coward, a gamefter and a reclufe; in fhort, he is every thing in extremes but his hiftorian leaves his conduct to speak for itself, without troubling himself to account for the various phenomena which appear in the courfe of his narrative.

One of the first exploits of the count, is his debauching a young lady of beauty and merit. Upon hearing fhe was with child, he offers to marry her, and employs her aunt to follicit her confent for that purpose. The answer the young lady returns is as follows:

"It was never my intention to purchase thro' my fhame the honour of being his lady; I fell through weakness, not ambition. Could I ever embrace him as my husband without recollecting the melancholy caufe, which I am indebted to for fuch embraces? would the world, which penetrates fo keenly into our faults, view me in his arms, without giving itself the trouble to enquire how I obtained that honour? and with what contempt would it treat me, fhould it hear, that through vice I became exalted to the rank of a countess ?"

This is a ftrange kind of delicacy, which deprived not only the unfortunate lady herself of the only means to repair her honour, but wrongs the innocent teftimony of her weakness, as the fcene is la d in a country where the children of illicit amours are legitimated by marriage. The count, though naturally virtuous, and highly fufceptible of gratitude, abandons himself to every criminal excess, stabs the best friend he has in the world for attempting to prevent his ruin, and cums intimate connections with a debauchee, a chevalier, &c. One of the moft tolerable adventures in the book is the following:

8

• Ore

• One night as we were returning very late to our lodgings, from our usual fociety, we met a lady, who could not walk further for want of strength: her features at first sight made an impreffion upon us, and she was fenfible, by our conversation, that we were not accustomed to reap glory in defence of innocence and virtue.

'I know not what could induce her to apply to me, but the proftrated herself before my feet, and begged me, with tears in her eyes, to take compaffion upon her, and to defend her honour: her tears fubdued our luft. The Chevalier and myfelf offered her our protection, and told her, we were ready to attend her to her apartments; but she intreated us to convey her to another place of fafety, where fhe might spend the night.

We took her to a relation of the Chevalier's, and the reluctantly followed us, left, as she feared, we should violate our words. The next morning we waited upon her, and the charms with which the accompanied her thanks, were unparalleled. Her aspect, her heart, her manners, proved in all the gentlewoman.

• She was, by her own account, a linen draper's daughter, in very indifferent circumstances; and the son of another linen draper, poffeffed of a very great property, loved her as ardently as the did him, although her small portion prevented their mariage.

The mother of this beautiful girl, not being able to bear any longer her mean circumstances, made proffers, which alarmed her daughter's virtue, and the complaints, joined to the reproaches of the latter, impofed upon the former a lafting filence. At length her mother informed her, that Lenoncourt (which was her sweetheart's name) had obtained leave to marry her, and that he would wait upon her that night.

• Poor Angelica could scarce breathe for joy, on hearing this happy news, and accordingly dreffing herself as neat as her condition would permit, fhe thought every minute an age, till fhe faw her beloved Lenoncourt enter the room, telling her mother, that one time or other virtue always met its juft reward.

⚫ Amidft her innocent pleasures, an uncouth farmer appeared, in lieu of her lover, who delivered to her mother, after some very odd compliments, a purfe with money, and afterwards made up to Angelica, and took fuch liberties as amazed her; The vainly sued for affiftance from her lover and parent, for this barbarous woman, her mother, committed fo great an act of cruelty as to ftop her mouth, in order to prevent her crying out; and the virtuous girl was in danger of being overpowered