completely proved, (such as the gift of tongues,) and of dwelling with a certain degree of favour on accounts of prodigies, as if they tended to enhance the credibility of a narrative. In the second tract, the story of Haman and Mordecai is treated with as much complacence as if it could certainly be ranked with authentic history. аз Art. 49. Remarks on Revelation and Infidelity: being the Substance of several Speeches lately delivered in a private Literary So ciety in Edinburgh: with Anecdotes of two of the Members, &c, By A. M. Secretary. 12mo. pp. 340. 3s. 6d. Boards. Vernor and Hood. 1797. The author of the Wolfenbüttel fragments, a German work recently denounced by the zeal of Professor Robison, has endeavoured to prove that it was one of the objects of Jesus Christ to accomplish the temporal redemption of his country from Roman bondage; that the seventy, who went about to announce his kingdom, were to canvass for delegations in the provincial clubs of zealots, and were intended to supersede the seventy members of the Sanhedrim; that the intended form of government was a sort of British Constitution, the upper house of which was to consist of twelve Judges or Suffetes, bearing the titles of the several counties; and that the supreme dignity was to be accompanied with the denomination of Messiah, This Jacobinical theory of Christianity, with the usual fortune of blasphemous impieties, may ultimately favour the cause of the rethe prepare ligion which it was intended to injure, and its second reception in those countries which have lately ranked among the highest of virtues the overthrow of an established govern ment. We have always been surprised that the author of the Age of Reason should not have embraced some such doctrine, in lieu of his fanciful suppositions: certain it is that the farther progress of his political maxims has been powerfully checked by the odium which his coarse infidelity has incurred; and that the efforts of the wise and the good to diminish his influence and authority have chiefly been apparent since the publication of his antichristian theology. way for Among the most meritorious antagonists of the philosopher of Thetford, we incline to rank the author of these Remarks; espe cially on account of the popularity of form which he has given to the usual arguments. He supposes the existence of a debating society at Edinburgh, in which a young man of the unbelieving school, Mr. Goodwill, undertakes the attack of the received opinions, and is gradually converted after very obstinate and detailed discussions, by Mr. Christian, a man of learning and experience. Bishop Watson's Apology, and a reply to that apology by Dr. Samuel Fran cis, are much noticed in the course of the debates; which, in ge neral, lay too much stress on the Old Testament, and tend unne cessarily to involve in its fortunes the Evidences of Christianity. MILITARY AFFAIRS. Art. 50. Sketch of the present State of the Army; with Reflections on the Mode of recruiting, reviving the Military Spirit, and on the ge 9 neral neral Encouragement of the Officer and Soldier. 8vo. Is. 6d. Owen. This sketch is spiritedly drawn, and presents a striking but heartrending picture of the state of the army, at the time of its composition; viz. November, 1796. I see (says the author) the villainous crimp, by fraud and perjury entrapping, or by force and violence terrifying, the simple, ignorant recruit to pass for a soldier: I see him bribing the more hardened to desert, and inlisting them again in other quarters: I see a crowd of lazy, itchy wretches, complaining they have been deceiv. ed into the service, and cheated of their bounty, and by various infirmities, real or pretended, contriving to deceive in their turn, and get their discharges: I see discouragement to past services, want of zeal, want of knowledge, want of subordination, great mismanage ment, much discontent, and frequent mutiny; and at last, I see your Lordship's army, strong upon paper, dwindle to nothing in reality, and leave as a memento an endless list of heads upon full or halfpay.'. P. 32. This weakness and disorganization, and the disgraceful surprises, disasters, and miscarriages in the West Indies, the author attributes to the scandalous and impolitic system of recruiting pursued in the preceding part of the war; that of bartering the lives of the soldiers, and trifling with the security of the country and its possessions," (p. 34.) by prostituting military rank to every bidder who had money to pay the crimps.-He warmly insists that an immediate stop should be put to this pernicious system; and he proposes, in lieu of it, to divide the kingdom into different recruiting districts, the officers of which should be taken from the most intelligent and respectable among invalids and those on halfpay, and be stationary for life, in order to gain the confidence of the inhabitants, and appear to the hesitating peasant or tradesman like a friend or neighbour, with whom they might securely trust themselves.' P. 27. These depôts would of course keep registers and descriptions of every man entered, and to what regiment or quarter of the world he may be sent, and ought to be regularly informed of the death or discharge of each recruit, for the satisfaction of his friends.' P. 28. This plan has been in part already reduced to practice by the Duke of York; and on this occasion we cannot refrain from complimenting his Royal Highness, on the change which has taken place in the army since he has been at the head of it. and, as others softness of the In common with other military writers, the author hints at the extraordinary advantages that would accrue, if in time of war the militia-men were allowed to enlist in the regulars; also, he censures the badness of the flints and the hammers, in the musquets provided by government. A suggestion is offered for enlisting foreigners in all our regiments, in the proportion of one to four or five British: but of this we by no means approve. As a farther encouragement to the service, and to revive the spirit and vigour of the army, the author strongly recommends an increase of the pay of the soldiers; enlisting the men for a limited time only; abolishing, II abolishing, or suppressing as much as possible, the barbarous practice of flogging; more equal promotion; and the reservation of a certain number of commissions as objects of ambition for the meritorious of the lower ranks to obtain: a provision for the comfort and decency of the married women of the regiment; and that something farther should be done for the invalids. Several of these suggestions have been already adopted by the present royal Commander in Chief, with the happiest effect. We observe in this pamphlet an error of so palpable a nature, that, but for the honorable sentiments which pervade the other parts of the work, we should deem it a gross misrepresentation; viz. that of terming the promotion of serjeants to the adjutancy or quartermastercy, a temporary measure, only adopted by the present Commander in Chief. P. 10. This practice is as old as any that we can remember; and at the commencement of hostilities with the French in the year 1778, we recollect one corps from which not fewer than seven serjeants were made officers in other regiments. Art. 51. The Words of Command, and a brief Explanation of the New Sword Exercise, by Sholto Sorlie, Serjeant in the 7th (or Queen's own) Regiment of Light Dragoons. 8vo. Is. Debrett. 1797. We are always pleased when we see military men studying their profession; and we cheerfully announce this treatise as useful to young officers. To have made it complete, however, Mr. Sorlie should have enlarged his plan, and distinctly described every motion by which the different cuts and parries are performed. MISCELLANEOUS. Art. 52. Paul Hentzner's Travels in England, during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, translated by Horace late Earl of Orford, and first printed by him at Stawberry Hill; to which is now added Sir Robert Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia; or Observations on Queen Elizabeth's Times and Favourites; with Portraits and Views. 8vo. pp. 160. 15s. Boards. Jeffery. 1797. Hentzner was the travelling tutor to a young German nobleman, and in the year 1598 passed through Germany, England, France, and Italy, and gave a Latin account of those travels. Lord Orford, better known to the literary world by the name of Horace Walpole, about the year 1757 printed at his private press, at Strawberry Hill, a small impression of that part of the itinerary which relates to this country. Of this work, on its first appearance, we gave a detailed account in our 17th vol. p. 453, and shall therefore now content ourselves with informing our readers that the present edition is correctly and beautifully printed, and ornamented with the following engravings, which are executed in a manner that does great credit to the taste of the artist ;-a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, a view of Windsor Castle, a portrait of Cardinal Wolsey, a view of the Palace at Nonsuch, and portraits of the Earl of Southampton, Lord Howard, Lord Leicester, Marquis of Winchester, Sir Philip Sydney, Earl of Salisbury, and Lord Herbert of Cherbury.-In this edition are inserted, and they form a curious and entertaining addition to the work, "Fragmenta Regalia, Regalia, or Observations on the late Queen Elizabeth, her Times, and Favourites-Written by Sir Robert Naunton, Master of the Court of Wards, A. D. 1641." Art. 53. Some Account of the early Years of Buonaparte, at the Mi. litary School of Brienne, and of his Conduct at the Commencement of the French Revolution. By Mr. C. H. one of his School-fellows. 8vo. 2s. Hookham and Carpenter. 1797. These original anecdotes of the early life of a General, who, at twenty-eight years of age, is the wonder of Europe for his skillful statesmanship as well as for his military achievements, cannot but be highly interesting to the whole reading world. They have every mark of authenticity; as they are narrated by a school-fellow of Buonaparte, now in this country;-by whom they have been addressed to Andrew Douglas, Esq. The Epistle Dedicatory is dated July 10, 1797. Art. 54. Letters to Mr. Volney, occasioned by a Work of his entitled Ruins, and by his Letter to the Author. By Jos. Priestley, LL. D. F.R. S. &c. 8vo. IS. Printed at Philadelphia; sold in London by Johnson. 1797. Mr. Volney has a poetical imagination and an eloquent style, but, like most of the French philosophers, he is little to be trusted in question of erudition; and he will not find it easy to reply to many of the queries here addressed to him by Dr. Priestley. The topics in dispute are chiefly anti-christian. Our learned countryman has well defended his Bible; which an old associate of ours, who had been chaplain of a man of war, used to call his "Sheet Anchor." Art. 55. A Disputation in Logic, arguing the moral and religious Uses of a Devil. Book I. By George Hanmer Leycester, A.M. of Merton College, Oxford, 8vo. is. 6d. Egerton. 1797. This lively and amusing disputation takes the devil by the horns in all the forms of syllogism, and places its readers under the cloven foot of a dilemma, which compels the admission of his utility or the denial of his existence; and who would not prefer the former tine of the fork? 1797. 4to. Art. 56. Alumni Etonenses, or a Catalogue of the Provosts and Fellows of Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, from the Foundation in 1443 to the Year 1797, with an Account of their Lives and Preferments collected from original MSS. and authentic biographical Works. By Thomas Harwood. PP. 363. 1. Is. Boards. Cadell jun. and Davies. We are well aware of the great difficulty of rendering a catalogue entertaining, and equally convinced of its utility. In so long a series as of the Alumni Etonenses, however, many names must necessarily occur, which partake in various degrees of biographical importance; and a list of names and dates, however tedious in perusal, may become interesting for particular reference. Modern biographers consent to allow to the indefatigable Antony Wood very considerable obligation, for the notices which he has preserved of many, otherwise forgotten, individuals. The work now before before us is formed on the plan of the "Fasti," rather than on that of the "Athena Oxon." and may serve the same purposes. To the Etonian, it may be gratifying to examine the well-connected series of his predecessors and contemporaries; and the author's industry will merit his praise. Several epitaphs are given in the course of the work, which evince the elegant Latinity taught in these favoured retreats of the Muses. Art. 57. Masonic Miscellanies, in Poetry and Prose. Containing, I. The Muse of Masonry, comprising 170 Masonic Songs, &c. with appropriate Toasts and Sentiments. II. The Masonic Essayist. III. The Free-Mason's Vade Mecum. By Stephen Jones. 12mo. 3s. bound. Vernor and Co. 1797. In the long course of our literary labours, we have met a variety of publications on the subject of Free-Masonry, none of which could we (uninitiated in the secrets of the mysterious Brotherhood) pretend or hope to understand: but to the best of our judgment, the present collection seems to form the most entertaining miscellany of the kind that has yet appeared. There are larger and more comprehensive volumes relative to the Institution and Progress of this Social Body, such as The Book of Constitutions, and Preston's Illustrations of Masonry: but these we are to consider as works of a higher order than the compilement now before us. The three general divisions of this manual are briefly expressed in the title-page, as above.-No. I. contains the largest collection (as it appears to us). of Masonic lyrics that has been offered to the public. In Part II. the editor has given, among the prose selections, some Original Essays,' written by himself. Of these, the 1st is what appears to us to be a becoming and satisfactory vindication of the Society, (as far as the writer's very limited undertaking in this paper extends,) from the strange charge that has been brought against it, of having given rise to the French Revolution. Part III. entitled The Free-Mason's Vade Mecum,' records Remarkable Events in Masonry, Chronological Tables, Modes of constituting Lodges, Lists, &c. &c. As a specimen of the convivial part of this miscellany, we shall copy the following production of the sportive Muse of G. Dyer: GLEE, Sung at the Somerset Lodge. Music by Stepforth. Lightly o'er the Village Green Blue-ey'd Fairies sport unseen, Round and round, in circles gay; Thus, like Elves in Mystic ring, Come then, Brothers, lead along REV. DEC. 1797. Kk Tho' |