to the peace of fociety, to punish fuch offenders, however abfurd, false, or even pernicious in their tendency fuch tenets may appear. In the prefent ftate of human fociety, and under our manifeft ignorance of the fyftem of Providence, and the connection between phyfical and moral caufes in its difpenfations, nothing is more poffible than that we should be mistaken in the effects of religious fentiments on the minds and manners of men. To punish a man, as being guilty of facrilege or of perfecution, therefore, who may be only fo filly, mad, or mistaken, as to utter ridiculous abfurdities, or palpable falfhoods, would refemble much that very bigotry and perfecution which our Author fo liberally condemns. The peace of fociety, doubtlefs, fhould not be broken in any cafe, but in this it might be endangered, with impunity; at leaft, we fear an adminiftration would hardly know where to ftop, which fhould take upon itself to punish every one by whose religious opinions it might conceive the public peace endangered. The civil Magiftracy, therefore, fhould in all cafes whatever, unless the perfonal liberty of the fubject be really infringed, or the peace of fociety actually broken, be careful left it be found fighting against God, as hath fometimes been the cafe: rather adopting the moderation, and following the advice of Gamaliel the Pharifee; refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if their counfel be of men, it will come to nought. As to the Teachers of immoral maxims, or fuch as immediately tend to practical immorality, it may be expedient, indeed, to punish these as accomplices in the guilt of the actually immoral; yet even in this cafe, the punishment of the accomplice fhould be proportioned to the fhare he bears in the guilt of the principal. To inflict a capital punishment on a man for tempting or inftructing another to commit a venial offence, is furely too fevere: and yet fomething like this hath been frequently done by Governments; who have been always more afraid of the Liberty of the Prefs, than hurt by it. Our attention is next engaged by the portrait of Sophia, which is drawn with the utmost exactnefs, and heightened by all the graces of colouring: fhe is, however, very far from being one of those ftriking beauties who captivate the heart at first fight, or dazzle the eye with the luftre of external charms. Neither is the one of thofe perfectly refined and fentimental characters, who foar above the foibles of mortality. "I cannot too often repeat, fays our Author, that I do not deal in prodigies. Emilius is not one, neither is Sophia. Emilius is a man, and Sophia is a woman; this is all their glory." Our Readers will poffibly be pleased with fome of the principal features of the amiable picture of our Heroine. "Sophia "Sophia is a woman of family, and of a good difpofition; the has a heart eafily affected, and her exquifite fenfibility fometimes gives her a fprightlinefs of imagination which is difficult to be controlled. Her understanding is lefs judicious than acute; her temper easy, but nevertheless unequal; her figure nothing extraordinary, but agreeable: fhe has a countenance which gives earnest of a foul, and does not deceive you. You may accoft her with indifference, but you cannot leave her without emotion. Others are endowed with good qualities in which the is deficient; others poffefs those which the is mistress of in greater perfection; but none have qualities better blended to form a compleat character. She knows how to make her defects turn to her advantage; and if she was more perfect, she would be much less agreeable. "Sophia is not beautiful; but when the men are near her, they neglect the hand fome women, and the beauties are diffa tisfied with themselves. She is fcarce tolerable at firft fight'; but the more you fee her, the more lovely fhe appears; the improves by that which impairs others, and what the gains she never lofes. Many may boast finer eyes, a handfomer mouth, a more commanding figure; but no one can have a better turned shape, a fairer complexion, a whiter hand, a more delicate foot, a more benign afpect, a more bewitching countenance. Without dazzling, the engages, fhe charms, and no one can tell how. "Sophia loves dress, and understands it; her mother has no waiting-woman but her; she has a fine tafte in difplaying herfelf to advantage, but he has an averfion to rich cloaths. In her drefs, you always fee fimplicity united with elegance; the is not fond of what glitters, but of what is becoming. She is a ftranger to what colours are in fafhion; but fhe knows exactly what fuit her complexion, No young Lady seems to have beftowed lefs thought about drefs, and yet there is no one whofe apparel is more ftudied; not a part of her attire is taken at random, and yet art is no where confpicuous. Her dress is extremely modeft in appearance, and yet very coquettish in fact; fhe does not make a display of her charms, the conceals them; but in concealing them, fhe knows how to affect your imagination. Every one who fees her will fay, There is a modeft and difcreet girl but while you are near her, your eyes and affections wander all over her perfon, fo that you cannot withdraw them; and you would conclude, that every part of her dress, fimple as it feems, was only put in its proper order, to be taken to pieces by the imagination." . In fhort, we are told, that Sophia hath fine natural talents, and, being conscious of them, hath not neglected their cultiva tion; that she has an understanding which is agreeable, without being brilliant, and folid without being profound; that the is perfectly Miftrefs of the art of pleafing in conversation; that he is poffeffed of exquifite fenfibility; that he is neat almoft to excefs in her perfon, and is well verfed in all the Occupations proper for her fex. Nor have her perfections only employed the pencil of the Painter, her defects and foibles are as faithfully copied; but it is impoffible for us to trace all the minute and mafterly touches which ferve to heighten this highly-finished and most natural portrait. Having defcribed Sophia to be fuch an object as was evidently beft calculated to make Emilius happy in a wife, our Author expatiates on thofe qualities in women, which are in general moft, likely to enfure felicity in the marriage ftate. He obferves in particular, with regard to the mental and perfonal qualifications of a woman, that it is not proper for a man of education to take a woman without any, nor confequently to choose one in a station of life which deprives her of that benefit. But I had rather a hundred times have a fimple girl, meanly educated, than a learned and witty Lady, who fhould come into my family to erect a literary tribunal, of which herself is president. A witty wife is a fcourge to her husband, her children, her friends, her fervants, and to all the world. Her fublime elevation of genius makes her defpife all the duties of a wife; and fhe always affects, like Madam de l'Enclos, to difplay the sense and knowlege of a man. Abroad fhe is always ridiculous, and juftly cenfured; because it is impoffible to avoid ridicule and cenfure, when we ftart from our condition, and are not formed for that which we affume.. These women of genius never impofe upon any but fools. We always know what artift, or what friend held the pen or the pencil in all their works. We know what man of letters was the oracle they privately confulted. All this impofture is unbecoming a prudent woman. Even if she had real talents, her pretenfions would debase them. On the contrary, it is her pride to pafs unnoticed; her glory confifts in the esteem of her husband; her pleafure is centered in the happiness of her family. Reader, I appeal to you; be fincere: which is it that gives you the best opinion of a woman, which makes you accoft her with the greatest respect, the feeing her employed in the occupations of her fex, in the cares of her family, furrounded with her children; or the finding her bufy in fcribbling verses at her toilet, encompaffed with pamphlets, trifling billets, and meflage-cards? Every learned Lady would remain a virgin for life, if there were none but fenfible men in the world. Quaris our nolim te ducere, Galla? Diferta es. Next "Next to these confiderations comes that of perfon. This is the first thing which makes an impreffion, and the last which we ought to regard; yet it ought not to be entirely overlooked. Extraordinary beauty ought rather, in my opinion, to be avoided, than defired in matrimony. Beauty foon palls by fruition; at the end of fix weeks it is of no value to him who enjoys it, but its inconveniences are as lafting as itself. If a beautiful woman is any thing lefs than an angel, her husband must be the moft unhappy of men; and, admitting the were an angel, how will she fecure him from being furrounded with Rivals? If extreme deformity were not difguftful, I fhould prefer it to exceffive beauty; for, in a fhort time, either becoming indifferent to the husband, beauty is an inconvenience, and deformity an advantage; but that degree of uglinefs which produces difguft, is the worst of all misfortunes; the idea, inftead of being ef faced by time, continually increafes, till it grows into confirmed antipathy fuch a marriage must be truly miferable: even death itself would be preferable. "A medium is defirable in every thing, not excepting beauty. An agreeable and graceful figure, which does not infpire love, but efteem, is moft to be preferred: it is of no prejudice to the hufband, and the advantage turns to the mutual interest of both husband and wife. Graces do not fade, like beauty; they are lafting, they are continually renewing; and a virtuous. woman, who has attractions, will, thirty years after marriage, be as agreeable to her husband as she was on her wedding-day." Emilius, being introduced to his Sophia, foon fixes bis affections on fo worthy an object; and, in return, engages hers by his amiable behaviour. Our fevere Preceptor, however, interrupts him amidst the most natural and enchanting fcenes of courtship that ever were defcribed; and hurries him away from the delightful employment of rendering himself agreeable to his Mistress, to make the tour of Europe. This unexpected feparation was like a thunder-ftroke to our Lovers; they were obliged, nevertheless, to fubmit; and take a mournful leave of each other, as if an intended absence of two years, was to part them for ever. On this event our Author takes occafion to introduce a number of judicious obfervations on the fubject of travelling; but we fear we have been tempted to trespass too much on our plan, if not on the patience of fome of our Readers, by the numerous extracts already taken from this work; we shall only add, therefore, that Emilius returns after two years abfence, improved to his Preceptor's wifhes, and is happily united to Sophia: the circumftances of their nuptials, and fome inter 1 efting advice on the subject, and means of ensuring conjugal felicity, concluding this extraordinary treatife :-perhaps the most extraordinary that ever appeared fince the invention of printing. A Paftoral Cordial; or, an Anodyne Sermon*: I Preached before their Graces N. and D. in the Country. By an Independent Teacher of the Truth. 4to. Is. 6d. Hinxman. T is no new thing for a Poet to compofe à Sermon. A venerable Bard of antiquity gave us an excellent one against Adultery; and a comical Bard of our own times has here given us one against -it is not easy to fay what-; nevertheless, it is a droll thing, and well pointed at a variety of objects in the political world. poe But, although it may be fomewhat difficult to define this tical preachment affirmatively, it is no hard matter to say what it is not; and, among other negatives which may be fafely maintained, we run no hazard in venturing to pronounce, that it is no Anodyne. On the contrary, there are perfons upon whom it cannot fail to operate in a very different manner: Ridiculum acri Fortiùs & Meliùs The great Perfonages hinted at in the title-page, in particular, would hardly fleep under the word; and the Gentlemen of the Cocoa-tree may alfo probably be kept from napping: for our Independent Teacher feems, indeed, to be no refpecter either of perfons or parties. Of the Cocobites he gives his opinion in the following terms; fpeaking of the rivalship and oppofition which their Graces have met with : The men of Cocoa take the lead Which they have very lately flipt on, In fecond fight, and Mother Shipton. * From the following Text. The battle is not to the strong, What |