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Belgic confession separately published, in the hope of making out from it the motives, by which the editors have been induced to quit the guiding hand of the compilers of the Syntagina. But, so scarce is the book in that form, that our search has been unsuccessful. We find, however, that the edition in the Sylloge corresponds with that which is contained in the Harmony of Confessions (Geneva, 1581,) on which occasion it was first translated into Latin by the editors of that work. We do not say that the Sylloge is wrong in giving us this copy, instead of that which is contained in the Syntagina; but we do maintain that the matter is not so clear as to be quite unquestionable, and therefore a very low degree of respect for the public, we should have thought, would have extorted some account of the reasons upon which the decision was founded.

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The first presumption surely is, that a confession should not be published as Belgic, which has not the approbation and authority of the Belgian churches. To the Synod of Dort, the States General referred (April 29, 1619;) to examine the Belgic confession, in qua nihil mutatun cupiunt sine gravi et necessaria causa.' Upon which a question arose, what edition of this Confession should be taken for authentic, inasmuch as they differed greatly one from another. The choice of the Synod fell upon that which is inserted in the Syntagma, 'quæ inseritur Syntagmati Ecclesiaram Reformatarum. And on the following day this request was made, 'propter editionum varietatem, ut exaretur exems plar aliquod anum exactum, ordinum generalium authoritate confirmandum' (Hale's Remains, part 2, p. 160, 161.) After which a revision was accordingly made, sanctioned and published by the Synod, and inserted in the later edition of the Syntagma, A.D. 1654, and this is the copy which has been rejected by the Oxford editors. We have already said that we do not, in other respects, contradict the propriety of this rejection.*

But if they desert the Syntagma once, when the reasonableness of that desertion may seem to admit at least of some argument and question, why not leave it again in a second instance, which could admit of none? We allude to the case of the Augsburgh Confession. Of this the reader ought to

• On further examination, we see reason to conjecture that the edition of the Syntagma, from which the Sylloge has been prmited, has been that of 1612; for the Belgic Confession there corresponds with that in the Harmonia. But, if the editors had chosen to put a designed slight on the Synod of Dort, why Hot tell us so Or, did they know nothing of the edition of 1651?

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be informed that there are two copies, (differing from each other, chiefly indeed in the article of the presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, but by no means in that solely,) one only of which is accepted as authentic by the Lutherans, and the other has often been disclaimed by them, with zeal approaching almost to detestation. The spurious copy was inserted in the Harmony of Confessions and in the Syntagma, and very great offence was given to the Lutherans by that insertion. Some sort of reparation indeed was made, (though a very inadequate one) in the Syntagma,respecting one article, which of course is retained in this edition, p. 134: but it would have been much more worthy of the reputation of the univer sity, if the editors had given us an account of this matter, if they had restored the authentic copy to its proper station, or had at the least given us an accurate collation of the va oriations between the two editions. The old and authentic copy may be found in the Formula Concordia' published at Leipsig in the year 1584, (as may the new in that of 1580), in the works of Grotius, tom. 3. p. 537, &c. and in other places.

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After the length to which our remarks have already extended, we cannot leave ourselves any more space on this subject, than to repeat our sense of the obligations which are due to the university under whose auspices this excellent design has been carried on, and to express our earnest wishes for its further and successful prosecution. We do not apologize Lofor the freedom of our remarks, because they are strictly in the line of our duty, and we are sensible of the motives from which they proceed, which are, not merely a regard to the public service, but a solicitude also for the reputation and honour of the university. It is these motives which besides induce us to express our earnest wishes for the further prosecution of this excellent undertaking, and embolden as to suggest to the deliberation of its conductors the propriety of a republication of the works of Chillingworth ;* of those of Cudworth, (after Dr. Birch's edition, and with a translation of the moles of Mosheim;) and of a Pastoral Manual in one volume, which should comprize Herbert's Country Parson, Burnet's Pastoral Care, Gibson's Directions to his Clergy,(perhaps also, Bishop Taylor's, though already contained in the Enchiridion Theologicum) with some other tracts, and with the Offices af Consecration and Ordination of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, to be prefixed to the wholeros

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Should this suggestion be complied with, it may be proper for the editors *~ rikheer toʻmind the hints for procuring a correct edition which are given by Des Macaux in his life of Chillingworth, p. 223, note; p. 292, ditto.

ART. III-Military Memoirs of Mr. George Thomas, &c. with Geographical and Statistical Accounts of several of the States composing the Interior of the Peninsula, &c. Compiled and arranged from Mr. Thomas's original Documents. By William Franklin, Captain of Infantry, Member of the Asiatic Society; Author of a Tour to Persia, and the History of Shah Aulum. Calcutta, 1808. Cadell and Davies, 1805.

Of all the subjects of biography, the life of a mere mi litary adventurer appears the least calculated to produce either utility or interest. Amongst men of this description we must look in vain for what is probably the most valuable result of the history of individuals, the ethics of private life, and the distinctions of domestic character; and no greater advantage is likely to be derived from the consideration of what may be termed their' public character, which is commonly very uniform, from the pressure of similar circumstances, and the necessity of exerting similar qualities. We are equally at a loss to conceive what interest can be excited by a narrative of circumstances which are unimportant in a military point of view, and are very seldom accompanied with any serious political results.

The subject of the present memoirs seems, however, to be in some respects superior to the rest of the same class, and to command some little share of attention, from the peculiar nature of his views, and the means by which he endeavoured to carry them into effect. The life of General Thomas in the hands of a tolerable artist might have been rendered capable of being read with some degree of interest and information; but the present biographer has foreseen the dif ficulty of the task, and has therefore chosen not to lavish any portion of talent or industry on a pursuit which might not be attended with success; he has stripped his hero of every appendage of circumstance or character, which there was any nicety in attempting to describe, and left his victories and adventures in all the nakedness of a Gazette, without any of its conciseness or particularity. In truth, we have not often been condemned to labour with so little pleasure or reward as in the case of the bulky volume which is at present before us; and we are fearful that in the few impartial and even favourable extracts which we shall produce, the public will feel very sensibly the truth of the assertion.

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General George Thomas was a native of Ireland, who wept over to India in the year 1789, in the capacity of

a sailor, and having deserted his ship, wandered for some time over the Peninsula, until he was employed in the military service of the Begum Sumroo, and afterwards in that of Appakandarow, a Mahratta chieftain, from whom he received as a subsidy for the forces he commanded, some districts in the neighbourhood of Delhi.. With the means which were furnished by these possessions, he procured and kept up a small army, and having established himself in the country of Hurrianah,, to the north-westward of the Peninsula, he declared himself an independent sovereign, and conceived the design of erecting an extensive empire by the conquest of the Punjaub, a large and fertile district, which extends from Paumpul to the river Setlege. This design was never carried into execution, for his independence soon became obnoxious to the Mabrattas, and the French interest prevailing in the councils of Dowlut Rao Scindiah, he was compelled in the year 1801 to give up his ideas of aggrandizement, and forced to take refuge within the British frontier, and soon after died on his road to Calcutta in August, 1802.

The attempt at establishing an independent sovereignty is the only particularity which distinguishes General Thomas from the mass of European adventurers who sought for employment in the service of the native princes, and were easily admitted to important commands. To this object General Thomas seems to have been attracted by the prospect of the pleasure arising from its pursuit, rather than its accomplishment. If he entertained any serious hopes of success, his ambition outstripped both his means and abilities. Though possessed of a strong athletic constitution, of sufficient military talent and personal courage, and of great mental and bodily activity, he wanted those enlarged views and that comprehensive capacity, which could alone insure him success in the pursuit of his projects, by managing the political relations of the adjacent powers, and by combining and directing all the means which were placed in his hands to the fulfilment of his ultimate object. Either General Thomas did not possess, or His biographer has been pleased to deprive him of these essential requisites, for he is at least représented in the volume before us as a mere partisan of considerable enterprize, but with more ambition to devise than ability to excente, and less occupied with the important ends of war, than the bustle and gratification. of fighting.

Captain Franklin has considerable merit in having accomplished the construction of a very bulky volume, notwith

standing the provoking meagreness of his style, and the scanty store of materials with which he has been supplied. The surprize of the reader will be somewhat increased, when he learns, that so far from complying with the modern custom of introducing us to his hero, after the manner of Sterne, long before his birth, he hurries us at once to the more important period of his life-in medias res Non secus ac notas rapit-and after a few lines of prefatory observations, gives us to understand as follows:

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• From the best information we could procure, it appears that Mr. George Thomas first came to India in a British ship of war, 1781-2: his situation was humble, having served as a quarter-master, or, as is affirmed by some, in the capacity of a common sailor.

Shortly after landing in the vicinity of Madras, the activity of his mind overcoming the lowliness of his situation, he determined to quit the ship, and embrace a life more suitable to his ardent disposition.

His first service was amongst the Polygars, to the southward, where he resided a few years; but at length setting out overland, he spiritedly traversed the central part of the peninsula, and about the year 1787 arrived at Delhi: here he received a commission in, the service of the Begum Sumroo. This lady is well known in the history of the transactions of modern times. Soon after his arrival at Delhi, the Begum, with her usual judgment and discrimination of character, advanced him to a command in her army. From this period his military career in the north-west of India may be said to have commenced.'

**** • But unfortunately for the mutual interests of both parties, after a residence of six or seven years, Mr. Thomas had the mortification to find himself supplanted in the good opinion of the Begum; his authority was assumed by a more successful rival."

The exquisite conciseness of this narrative will excite as much applause as the candour and mildness which induces our author to refer to extraordinary mental activity the simple act of deserting from one of his Majesty's ships; a species of energy, however, which we wish was a little less in fashion. We have also great praise to bestow upon the simplicity with which our author discourses upon circumstances of genuine importance, as for instance:

'Arriving at Goorath, a large and populous village, he imposed heary contributions. These amounted to a considerable sum. He found here also an ample supply of bullocks and forage.

"Continuing his march, after a long and tedious day's journey, he encamped near the town of Tejara, a place in the centre of the Mewattee district. The night was dark and rainy. This and the extreme fatigue of the soldiers conspired to render successful an CRIT. REV. Vol. 7. March, 1806.

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