answer to dramatic writers, who are intended to be disgusted by this unworthy treatment, which the managers honour with the name of policy, from thinking of any future applications.

"That vulgar, unenlightened, minds fhould act with this wretched imitation of craft (for even craft is here too refpectable an appellation), I fhould naturally expect; but that a man of excellent understanding, of the moft diftinguifhed talents, the idol of the public; with as much fame as his moft ardent wishes can afpire to, and inore riches than he knows how to enjoy; should defcend to fuch contemptible arts, with no nobler a view than that of robbing the Dramatic Mufe, to whom he owes that fame and those riches, of her little fhare of the reward, is a truth almoft too improbable to be believed.

"Would it not have been wifer, as well as more manly, to have faid, in the clearest and most unambiguous terms,

"Sir, we have no occafion for new pieces while there are only two English theatres in a city fo extenfive and opulent as London; a city which, in the time of Elizabeth, when the frequenters of the theatre were not a tenth part of the prefent, fupported feventeen.

"We will therefore never receive any new production but when we are compelled to it by recommendations which we dare not refufe: nor will I read the tragedy you bring, left its merit fhould make me ashamed to reject it.

"This would have been indeed the language of a thanklefs fon of the drama; the language of a man having no object in view but his own emolument, and wanting gratitude to that publick, and to that beautiful art, to which he was to much indebted; but it would have been the language of a man, and a man poffetled of fufficient courage to avow his principle of action.

"Indulge me a moment longer. The perfon, of whom I have been fpeaking, deferves, in his profeffion, all the praife we can bestow: he has thrown new lights on the fcence of action, and has, perhaps, reached the fummit of theatrical perfection.

"I fay perhaps, becaule there is no limiting the powers of the human mind, or faying where it will stop.

"It is poffible he may be excelled; though that he may be equalled is rather to be wished than expected, whenever (if that time ever comes), his retiring fhall leave the field open to that emulation which both his merit and his management have contributed to extinguish.

"I repeat, that, as an actor; the publick have fearce more to wish than to fee him equalled; as an author, he is not devoid of merit; as a manager, he has, I am afraid, ever feen the dawn of excellence, both in those who afpired to write for, or to tread, the theatre, with a reluctant eye; and has made it too much his object, if common fente, aided by impartial obfervation, is not deceived, "To blait each rifing literary bloffom, and plant thorns round the pillow of genius."

It is with more chriftian charity than moral propriety, that the author of this fevere, though juft, reprehenfion of the late manager of Drury-lane, fubjoins, in a note, her good wishes

for the faid mif-manager's enjoying a calm and honourable re-. treat, under the fhade of his own laurels; "Laurels," fay fhe, "which candour will proclaim to have been fairly won" It would, however, be more to his honour, and perhaps to his peace, if justice could be prevailed on to confirm fo fugar-candid a proclamation -But juftice is now out of queftion; the cloak of candour is, in these cofter-monger days, to conceal every kind of covetoufnefs and corruption, efpecially if it be crowned with fuccefs: while the dramatic mufe is contemptibly courted to twine wreaths of laurel round the brow of a favourite, whom, the more she has careffed and cherished, the more the muft depife and deteft, as a monfter of meanness and ingratitude *.

K.

An Explanation of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel, and of the feveral Sections of thefe Seventy Weeks: in which is shown, that the Dates of the Hiftorical Events that were to afcertain the various Eras of the Prophecy have been intentionally miftated in Jofephus, to prevent the application of the Weeks to Chrift as the Meffiah; and that the Creait given to thefe Impofitions, has hitherto prevented the Application. To which is added an Expofition of the Chronology of the Jewish Judges. Wito Tables iluftrating both Subjects. By John Caverhill, M. D. F. R. S. 8vo. 5.. Evans.

We little imagined when, fome years ago, we felt for the unfortunate animals, which fell under the torture of this, then, phifiological Inquifiter, that it would be one day our fate, as critics, to be put to the queftion and have our patience racked without mercy by the fame cruel hand, converted into that of a literary executioner. Little did we think, when we pitied the poor rabbits whofe nerves were fo miferably mangled by his awl and incifion knife, that our own nerves fhould ever be affected by a fimilar cruelty from the barbarous effufions of his goofe-quill. But, perhaps, it is with no wilful defign of retaliation on us, that he is now amply revenged for the cenfure we paffed on him on that occafion. If unhappily the elements of an arthritic chalk-ftone has lodged itself in the

*Nor is this to be wondered at, if what is related of this now quondam comedian betrue, viz. that he boats of having made a better market of the mujes than ever was made before. Let it be remembered, however, that it was a Drury-lane market; in which the virgins were proffituted,. for filthy lucre, by a Pandar ↑

brain, it is not impoffible but it may have contributed much to his converfion from a phyfiologift to a theologue. Or if fuch elementary earth hath, in its paffage from the pericranium to his great toe*, overheated the nervous fyftem, it is not improbable but the public may owe this learned enquiry, into the ineaning of Daniel's feventy weeks and the wilful impofitions of the hiftorian Jofephus, to the Doctor's difappointment of a regular fit of the gout. Be this, however, as it may, we, who have been obliged by our office in like manner to perufe the reveries of Hare and others on this edifying fubject, without the leaft edification in the world, could not fail of feeling a moft auk ward pain at being again fo puzzled and perplexed. Not but that the circumftance which gives pain to us, may give pleasure to others; and thus even another enquiry into the meaning of Daniel's feventy weeks, may have charms for fome kind of readers. To fuch, therefore, we will beg leave to recommend the perufal of this performance and the chronological tables it contains. The curiofity of others may be fatisfied by the following fpecimen, in which the author accounts for the impofitions of the Jewish writers, in fuppreffing the circumftances and changing the dates of facts, which they were determined, if poffible, to bring into difcredit.

"It is recorded by St. Luke, c. xxiv. 27, that Chrift, after his refurrection, appeared to two of his disciples, and beginning at Mofes and all the prophets, be expounded unto them in all the fcriptures, the things concerning himfelf. St. Paul alfo at Theffalonica reafoned from the fcriptures, opening and alledging that Chrift muft needs have fuffered and rifen again from the dead, and that this Jefus whom I preach unto you is Chrift. Act. xvii. 3. When Paul arrived at Rome, and a day was fixed upon by his countrymen, to hear his account of the fect of the chriftians, be expounded and teftified the kingdom of God, perfuading them concerning Jefus, both out of the law of Mofes and the prophets, from morn ing till evening. Acts xxviii. 23. Apollos alfo, mightily convinced the Jers, and that publickly, hewing by the fcriptures, that Jefus was Chrift. Acts xviii. 28. From thefe paffages it must be inferred, that Chrift not only expounded the prophecy of the 70 weeks to his difciples, but that Paul and Apollos expounded it to the Jews; and therefore admitting the Jews had not of themselves difcovered the expofition, yet they must be allowed to have been taught it by these two chriftians. It is however obvious from all the abules that now exift in their hiftory, operating to conceal the expofition, that they fufficiently understood it.

According to Dr. C.'s hypothefis, by which he accounts for the gout, the earthy matter of which fach ftones are compofed, is fecreted in the brain for the fupport of the folids: pathing through the nerves in a highly diluted state, and thence through the muscles to the bones, where it is naturally depofited, in the form of oflific fubftance,

As

As the priests, according to Jofephus, c. Appion. 1. i, recorded the pedigrees and other tranfactions of the year, they were most probably the best historians among the Jews, and the first that would be likely to enquire into the truth of the report, that, amongst other arguments, Daniel's weeks were also brought by the Chriftians, to prove that Chrift was the Meffiah. It may therefore be supposed, as foon as they difcovered by looking back upon their rolls of pedigrees and other historical papers, that the report was true, and that Chrift's birth really stood 7 weeks after Julius Cæfar's decree, and the crucifixion 62 after Ezra's appointment to the government of Judea, that they refolved to take off the argument; for to men who had refifted the power of Christ's miracles, and perhaps had given their voice for putting him to death, this auxiliary evidence in fupport of his being the Meffiah, derived from Daniel's weeks, would naturally be looked upon as a chance coincidence. However, that the accident might not have more influence upon the minds of their pofterity than it had on their own, or that their pofterity might not be troubled with it, or perhaps out of hatred at feeing fuch a refemblance between Chrift and the Meffiah, they undertook to conceal this refemblance, and their attempts have been very fuccessful.

"It is evident, that Jefus Chrift could not be fhewn to have been the Meffiah by Daniel's weeks, till after his crucifixion, when all these hiftorical events, by which his affinity with the weeks could be fhewn, had happened, and were recorded. There was therefore no other way left of concealing the affinity, and at the fame time of preferving their own annals, than either by erafing to fupprefs the events entirely, or to remove them out of the true years in which they stood, and fet them in other years. This was turning a true hiftory, after it was written, into a falfe one: accordingly the manner in which all the errors in Jofephus exift, proves, that they were framed after his hiftory, or rather perhaps, after the hiftory from which he copied had been truly written.

"It was however very difficult to ftrike out or tranfpofe every event, fo neatly as that no traces fhould remain and difcover the tranfpofitions. The difficulty was encreased by the diftance in which the feveal events lay fcattered from one another in their annals. and from their being interwoven with other events, and hid as it were, under this compli cation. Thefe difficulties may explain the reason why they overlooked thofe few circumftances which now remain, refuting the feveral alte rations that have been made concerning Herod Agrippa, Herod the Great, Judas the Galilæan, and Pontius Pilate. Why, after it was afferted that the first and fecond procurator had had left Judea, and the third arrived there by the viii of Claudius, that the dates of Claudius's letter elcaped unnoticed, by which the first procurator is ftill fhewn to have been in his government of Judea, in the x of that emperor, Why after it was repeatedly affirmed that Herod the great died in the xxxii year from his being made king, that a few words paffed unobferved in a diftant part of their history, which demonftrated that this Herod must have lived to the 48 year from his being made king: When the revolt of Judas the Galilæan was placed 10 years before the Cenfus, that it was not perceived twice recorded in fubfequent parts of

their history, as having happened during the Cenfus. Nor why, after a long story was brought and inferted between Pilate's depofition having taken place before the laft paflover in Tiberius' reign, that yet a fingle word was left unaltered, which rendered this affertion utterly im propable."

W.

Eays Commercial and Political, on the real and relative Interefts of Imperial and Dependent States, particularly thefe of Great Britain and her Dependencies: Difplaying the probable Caufes of, and a Mode of compromifing, the prefent Difputes between this Country and her American Colonies. To which is added an Appendix, on the Means of Emancipating Slaves, without Lofs to their Proprietors. 8vo. 2s. 6d. johnfon.

Although the many publications, which have already ap peared, on the fubject of the American conteft, may make an apology neceffary for intruding any thing farther on fo beaten a topic, the prefent Effayift hopes, if that fubje& be placed in a new light, it will be deemed a fufficient reafon for the prefent performance. The difficulty, indeed, of placing such a fubj &t in a new light, claims our candour for the attempt; nor is it merely an attempt which is here fubmitted to the pub lic; the judicious and ingenious author having not only taken a new route of investigation, in respect to the most interefting parts of the queftion, but deduced conclufions from the premifes very different from thofe of our common quidnunes and coffee-houfe politicians.-His work is divided into ten fections; the first containing an introductory difcourfe on the impropriety of refifting an established government without due caufe; which he confiders to be the prefent cafe with our American Colonics.

In Sc. 2d. he treats of the motives of Colonization and the comparative advantages to Great Britain, from her different Continental Colonies in North America. In this fection is included a table of the population, imports and exports, &c. of the Continental Colonies; in which the number of inhabitants, white and black, i eftimated to be 2,400,000, the value of their late annual imports from Great Britain upwards of three million fterling and and that of their exports to three millions, five hundred and fifty thoufand pounds."

In Sect. 3. are confidered the principles of policy, which ought to fubfift between a parent ftate and her colonies, confiftent with the reciprocal interefts of both. On this head he properly obferves, that,