Art. 39. Junius. Small Octavo. 2 Vols. 10s. 6d. fewed. Woodfall. 1772. At length the public are favoured with a complete edition of the very popular and highly admired letters of the celebrated JUNIUS; printed under the Author's infpection, preceded by a Dedication of 10 pages, a Preface of 22, and illuftrated with Notes. The edition is handfome; the dedication, containing fome very serious exhorta. tions, is, with great propriety, made to the English nation; and in the preface we have an ample difcuffion of that important branch of our public liberty, The Freedom of the Prefs: alfo a particular addrefs to a GREAT PERSON; expreffed in the true, unrestrained fpirit of this DARING Writer. Speaking of the CONSEQUENCE of these political documents, the Author himself, in the dedication, fays, When kings and minifters are forgotten, when the force and direction of perfonal fatire is no longer understood, and where measures are only jelt in their remoteft confequences, this book will, I believe, be found to contain principles worthy to be tranfmitted to pofterity. When you leave the unimpaired, hereditary freehold to your children, you do but half your duty. Both liberty and property are precarious, unless the poffeffors have sense and spirit enough to defend them.--This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man, my gratification lies within a narrow circle. I am the fole depofitory of my own fecret, and it fhall perish with me.'-His motto, prefixed to this edition, is, STAT NOMINIS UMBRA. DRAMATIC. Art. 40. The Grecian Daughter; a Tragedy. Acted at Drurylane. 8vo. I s. 6 d. Griffin. 1772. Every one knows the famous and affecting story of the Roman Chas rity, immortalized by the pen and pencil. Valerius Maximus has told it, lib. 5, c. 4. de Pietate in Parentes, 7*. And the fame author mentions also a Greek damfel, who had performed the fame act of piety to her fuperannuated father. Mr. Murphy, the reputed · Author of this play, hath preferred the latter ftory, for the purpofe of the drama, taking the liberty to place it in the reign of Dyonifius the Younger, at the point of time when Timoleon laid fiege to Syracufe: imagining that the general effect would be better produced, if the whole had an air of real history.' On this foundation hath the prefent Writer built a tragedy which, from the pen of any author poffeffed of tolerable abilities for this fpecies of poetry, with all human nature on its fide (and excellent acting +) could hardly fail of fuccefs, in the reprefentation at least, where the heart would fo feelingly improve the exquifite tenderness of the scene. With Mr. M.'s acknowleged tafte, and dramatic experience, there could be no doubt of its fucceeding, both on the stage and in the perufal; and, accordingly, we confider the prefent per • We follow (in this reference) the P. S. given by way of Pref. to this play. The old King, father of the heroine, by Mr. Barry; and the Grecian Daughter by the truly admirable Mrs. Barry. $ 2 formance formance as, if not a capital, a good fecond-rate play; in no respect unworthy the Author of the Orphan of China and Zenobia. As this gentleman hath often been reminded of his obligations to foreigners, he hath here taken care to claim the merit of originality, notwithstanding that the fubje&t hath been touched by more than one foreign dramatic writer. He affures us that he found a new fable abfolutely neceffary,' and that he is not indebted to the Zelmire of Monf. Belloy for above three lines.'-He takes occafion, however, at the fame time, to laugh at the boafting of thofe among his cotemporaries, of our own nation, who, after making up a story with characters and incidents already hackneyed on the English ftage, and inventing nothing, cry out, with an air of triumph, That they have not borrowed from the wits of France.'-Thefe felf-fufficient bard3 he ridicules, by a pleasant allufion to an epitaph, in the Isle of Man, on a perfon who is there celebrated only for having "never been out of the island." But, while this Author was cenfuring our modern play-writers for their want of invention, he was not, perhaps, aware how much he is himself expofed to the retort, for uting the ftale and brutal stagemethod of delivering his heroine out of the tyrant's hand, by putting a dagger into that of the defperate fair one, with which the dexterouily butchers the royal favage, in the midst of his guards.-It requires, furely, no great ftretch of invention to furnish a more ingenious expedient, as well as a more natural method of executing poetic juftice. POETICA L. Art. 41. Threnodia Auguftalis, facred to the Memory of her late Royal Highnefs the Princefs Dowager of Wales. Spoken and fung in the Great Room at Soho Square, on Thursday the 20th of Feb. 4to. 1 s. Woodfall. 1772. The Speakers on this occafion were Mr. Lee and Mrs. Bellamy; the fingers Mr. Champnefs, Mr. Dine, and Mifs Jamefon; with twelve chorus fingers: the mufic prepared and adapted by Sig. Vento. The previous advertisement modeitly acknowledges that the poem may be more properly termed a compilation; and may therefore, rather be confidered as an induftrious effort of gratitude than of genius.'-It is, however, a decent performance; and is the lefs an object of criticifm, as the words were prepared for the compofer in little more than two days; and the mufic, we are told, was also adapted in a period of time equally fhort. MISCELLANEOUS. Art. 42. Choice Emblems, natural, hiftorical, fabulous, moral, and divine, for the Improvement of Youth; in Profe and Verfe. Ornamented with near fifty handfome allegorical Engravings, defigned on Purpofe for this Work. Written for the Amusement of Lord Newbattle.2mo. 2 s. 6 d. bound. Riley. 1772. Lord Newbattle is a youth of nine years old; and thefe Emblems are well adapted for the amufement and inftruction of children about that age. The Author's method is, to give, firft, fome little emblematical reflection, or allufion to fome little ftory, in verfe, then to illuf trate the fable by a proper deduction in profe; and, lastly, from thefe premifes, to draw a fuitable moral inference. This is the general outline + By John Huddlestone Wynne. outline of the plan; and the execution is, to say the leaft of it, It is notorious that in the common methods of fhoeing horfes there are many errors, extremely prejudicial to the poor animal, and, in courfe, to its owner. Ofmer, and La Foffe, have taken notice of thefe mistakes in the practice of our common farriers, and we have, with pleasure, recommended their publications; as we now do Mr. Clark's valuable additions to what they have written. He agrees with them in their main principles, and general reafoning; which he enforces by many judicious obfervations, flowing from his own reflection and experience, and which he here communicates to the public, in the laudable view of promoting a general reformation in this important branch of the farrier's occupation. In a word, fo far as we can pretend to give any opinion on the fubject, we fcruple not to pronounce his pamphlet to be a truly rational and valuable performance. Art. 44. The Memoirs of James Bolland. 8vo. 1 s. 6 d. Bladon. Art. 45. The genuine Life of James Boiland. 8vo. Is. Axtell. Bolland, late a fheriff's officer in London, was hanged for forgery, freak in March 1772. From all accounts it appears that he ought to have, by y. Low of reas been hanged long before, for crimes which, however, the law could The phenomenon, however, will, perhaps, be folved in few words; the trouble of which, by the way, the tranflator might, we apprehend, have faved us, with no lofs to his own credit. In 1768, was published at Paris, L'Esprit de L'Encyclopedie, in five duodecimo volumes; of which we gave our readers an account in the S 3 Appendix Appendix to the 38th volume of our Review. From the first volume of this work, the Effays before us are tranflated; and, we prefume, are feparately printed, in order to try the tafte of the public, and prepare the way for the remaining volumes, fhould this fpecimen be favourably received. But, if we have conjectured rightly, why did not the translator ingenuously mention this, and fairly avow his defign?-If, however, he had no view of continuing the work, the abjurdity above-noticed recurs; and the phenomenon is not yet fully accounted for, The articles contained in the prefent volume are the following: -- Of the ancient Academies, and the modern Academies,—the Turkish Koran, Amulets,-Angels,-Aftrology,-and Canonization of faints. Thefe by the Abbé Mallet. Of Conjugal Infidelity, by M. Touffaint, Of Friendship, Love, the Ante-deluvian Philofophy, Libraries, the Jewish Cavala, the Canadians, and memoirs of Cardanus: these fix are anonymous. Of the Areopagus, and of Cards, by M. Diderot. On Calumny, by Meff. Diderot and D'Alembert. On the Soul of Animals, by Meff. Yfon and Bouillet. Blindness, Character, and Des Cartes' Philofophy, by D'Alembert. Several of these papers are undoubtedly curious, but fome of them feem not to be very important, (detached as they are from their refpective ftations in the dictionary) and the whole is but indifferently, or worse than indifferently, tranflated. +++ The pieces which were thought too free, and offensive to religion, are excluded by the French Editor. 1772. Art. 47. New and elegant Amusements for the Ladies of Great Britain. By a Lady. 12mo. 2 s. 6d. Crowder, &c. The Lady who has compiled this mifcellaneous collection of detached paffages, from the writings of our best poets, &c. propofes to instruct, on a new plan," perfons of her own fex, in "the ufe of the globes, aftronomy, maps, geography, &c. freed from all thofe thofe harsh, unintelligible terms now commonly used." She adds, "I can teach any lady either of thofe entertaining sciences, in fuch a manner, that they may have a perfect idea of them, and be able to folve any problem on the globes; and I promise they fhall acquire those attainments in 12 hours."-The Author" will attend any lady who will please to favour her with their addrefs, which may be inclofed in a cover directed to S, Harrington, to be left at Mr. Walter's, book feller, Charing Crofs; or Mr. Cook's, No. 85, Royal Exchange." From the perufal of her book, we are inclined to give Mrs. H, credit for her qualifications, as far as may be requifite to the inftruction of young ladies in the above-mentioned improving and entertaining fciences; yet fome, perhaps, will think that her profeffions run a little too much in the ityle of empiricifm.-But, whatever may be her dexterity in teaching, we cannot but agree with her in her general remark concerning female education, viz. " Nothing has been more against our fex than the late mode of education; for our teachers are by no means fufficiently attentive to the most delicate endowment, viz. that of a refined and cultivated understanding, We are treated almost as irrational beings. A boarding-fchool, a fmattering of French, dancing, &c. feem to be all the acquifitions which are thought requifite.-Yet the learned and fenfible fay, the mind cannot be compleat without fome knowledge of the fciences. Why then this ungenerous custom of excluding those sciences in the female education? What an illiberal idea muft that be which fuppofes scientific knowledge would make us lefs amiable as daughters, wives, or mothers!-No! on the contrary,- -a found and rational education would be fo far from increafing our vanity, that it would rather tend to increase a fenfible, eafy, benevolent turn of mind. It is this half-education which cuftom has imposed on our fex, that proves our greatest detriment." Mrs. H. propofes to oblige the public with a fecond volume of this work; for which, however, the feems to want the requifite materials; as we may reasonably conclude from her inviting" any lady" to oblige her with “fome additions ;" and promifing, unconditionally, to infert them which we cannot but confider as rather a proof of the Lady's politeness than of her judgment. Art. 48. A Letter to David Garrick, Efq; on his Conduct as principal Manager and Actor at Drury-lane. 8vo. I s. Bladon. 1772. There are fome juft ftrictures in this Letter, with not a little perfonal abuse; and Mr. Garrick ought to fwear the peace against the Writer for threatening his Life“. No VEL S. Art. 49. The Lovers: or, the Memoirs of Lady Mary Sc-, and the Hon. Mifs Amelia BVol. II. 8vo. 5 s. Printed for the Editor, and fold by the Bookfellers. 1772. In the 41ft volume of our Review, p. 480, we endeavoured to exprefs the indignation and the contempt with which we perufed the ift volume of this vile effufion of De Vergy's diffolute pen.-We are here promised a 3d volume of this impudent undertaking; in which the Author, or Editor, as he ftyles himself, is to give the whole Love-Intrigue between Capt. Suth- and Lady Mary Sc-, from the day of her marriage, to the scene at Barnet.' His readers might, from the title, have expected to find all this in the prefent publication; but he has ingeniously contrived to fill it, as Teague would fay, with nothing at all. While our people of fashion continue to furnish subjects for these fcandalous chronicles, they will never want fuch refpectable hiftorians as the present writer, to record their worthy deeds, and tranfmit their fame to pofterity. Art. 50. The Contemplative Man; or, the Hiftory of Chriftopher Crab, Efq; of North Wales. 12mo. 2 Vols. 5 s. fewed. Whif ton. 1771. Our modern works of entertainment, commonly called Novels, may be claffed in two general Divifions, the humourous, and the amorous; though the fpecies are often intermingled. The History of Christopher Crab belongs to the former; but it is not to be ranked * In juftice to the Letter-writer, however, we think it right to explain this paffage, by informing our Readers, that he does not threaten to take but to aurite Mr. G.'s Life. |