quently obfcure. Her mind appears to be bewildered, loft in the immenfity of its own conceptions;-and thus, perhaps, will it ever be with those whofe adventurous fong "foars with no middle flight," and which greatly daring would wing the foul to

- Deity,-where worlds of glory shine *.'

Our Readers, we believe, will thank us for tranfcribing the following beautiful poems-addreffed to Senfibility,-and to Indifference. They form an admirable contraft; and mark the temper and difpofition of the foul at different feafons, or as it may be affected by cafual and adventitious circumstances: To SENSIBILITY.

Oh! SENSIBILITY! thou bufy nurse
Of Inj'ries once receiv'd, why wilt thou feed
Thofe ferpents in the foul? their ftings more fell
Than those which writh'd round Priam's prieftly fon;
I feel them here! They rend my panting breaft,
But I will tear them thence: ah! effort vain!
Disturb'd they grow rapacious, while their fangs
Strike at poor Memory; wounded the deplores
Her ravish'd joys, and murmurs o'er the past.

Why fhrinks my foul within thefe prifon + walls,
Where wretches fhake their chains? Ill-fated youth,
Why does thine eye run wildly o'er my form,
Pointed with fond enquiry? "Tis not Me,

Thy reftless thought would find; the filent tear
Steals gently down his cheek: ah! could my arms
Afford thee refuge, I would bear thee hence
To a more peaceful dwelling. Vain the wish!
Thy powers are all unhing'd, and thou wouldst fit
Infenfible to fympathy: farewell.

Lamented being! ever loft to hope,

I leave thee, yea defpair myself of cure.

For, oh, my bofom bleeds, while griefs like thine
Increase the recent pang. Penfive I rove,

More wounded than the hart whofe fide yet holds
The deadly arrow: Friendship, boast no more
Thy hoard of joys, o'er which my foul oft hung,
Like the too anxious mifer o'er his gold.
My treasures all are wreck'd; I quit the fcene
Where haughty Infult cut the facred ties
Whi h long had held us: Cruel Julius! take
My laft adieu. The wound thou gav'it is death,
Nor canft e'en thou recall my frighted fenfe
With Friendship's pleafing found; yet will I clafp
Thy valued image to my aching mind,
And viewing that, forgive thee; will deplore
The blow that fever'd two congenial fouls!

* See page 8 of the prefent volume.

+ Bedlam.

• Officious

Officious Senfibility! 'tis thine
To give the fineft anguifh, to diffolve
The drofs of fpirit, till, all effence, she
Refines on real woe; from thence extracts
Sad unexifting phantoms, never seen.

Yet, dear ideal mourner, be thou near
When on Lyfander's tears I filent gaze;
Then, with thy viewlefs pencil form his figh,
His deepest groan, his forrow-tinged thought,
Wish immature, impatience, cold defpair,
With all the tort'ring images that play,
In fable hue, within his wafted mind.

And when this dreary group fhall meet my thought,
Oh! throw my pow'rs upon a fertile space,
Where mingles ev'ry varied foft relief.
Without thee, I could offer but the dregs
Of vulgar confolation; from her cup
He turns the eye, nor dare it foil his lip!
Raife thou my friendly hand; mix thou the draught
More pure than ether, as ambrosia clear,
Fit only for the foul; thy chalice fill
With drops of fympathy, which swifty fall
From my afflicted heart: yet-yet beware,
Nor ftoop to feize from Paffion's warmer clime
A pois'nous fweet.-Bright cherub, fafely rove
Thro' all the deep receffes of the foul!
Float on her raptures, deeper tinge her woes,
Strengthen emotion, higher waft her figh,
Sit in the tearful orb, and ardent gaze
On joy or forrow. But thy empire ends
Within the line of SPIRIT. My rough foul,
O Senfibility! defencelefs hails

Thy feelings moft acute. Yet, ye who boast
Of blifs I ne'er must reach, ye, who can fix
A rule for fentiment, if rules there are,
(For much I doubt, my friends, if rule e'er held
Capacious fentiment) ye fure can point

My mind to joys that never touch'd the heart.
What is this joy? Where does its effence reft?
Ah! felf-confounding fophifts, will ye dare
Pronounce that joy which never touch'd the heart?
Does Education give the tranfport keen,
Or fwell your vaunted grief? No, Nature feels
Moft poignant, undefended; hails with me
The Pow'rs of Senfibility untaught.'

To INDIFFERENCE.

INDIFF'RENCE, come! thy torpid juices fhed
On my keen fenfe: plunge deep my wounded heart,
In thickest apathy, till it congeal,

Or mix with thee incorp'rate. Come, thou foe
To fharp fenfation, in thy cold embrace

A death

A death-like flumber fhall a respite give
To my long reftlefs foul, toft on extreme,
From blifs to pointed woe. Oh, gentle Pow'r,
Dear fubftitute of Patience! thou canst ease
The Soldier's toil, the gloomy Captive's chain,
The Lover's anguish, and the Miser's fear.

Proud Beauty will not own thee! her loud boast
IS VIRTUE-while thy chilling breath alone
Blows o'er her foul, bidding her paffions fleep.

Miftaken Cause, the frozen Fair denies
Thy faving influence. VIRTUE never lives,
But in the bofom, ftruggling with its wound:
There the fupports the conflict, there augments.
The pang of hopeless Love, the fenfeless stab
Of gaudy Ign'rance, and more deeply drives.
The poifon'd dart, hurl'd by the long-lov'd friend;
Then pants with painful Victory. Bear me hence,
Thou antidote to pain! thy real worth

Mortals can never know. What's the vain boast
Of Senfibility but to be wretched?

In her beft tranfports lives a latent fting,

Which wounds as they expire. On her high heights
Our fouls can never fit; the point fo nice,
We quick fly off-fecure, but in defcent.
• TO SENSIBILITY, what is not bliss
Is woe. No placid medium's ever held
Beneath her torrid line, when ftraining high
The fibres of the foul. Of pain, or joy,
She gives too large a fhare; but thou, more kind,
Wrapp'ft up the heart from both, and bidd'it it reft
In ever-wifh'd-for eafe. By all the pow'rs
Which move within the mind for diff'rent ends,
I'd rather lofe myfelf with thee, and share
Thine happy indolence, for one short hour,
Than live of Senfibility the tool

For endless ages. Oh! her points have pierc'd
My foul, till, like a fponge, it drinks up woe.
Then leave me, Senfibility! begone,
Thou chequer'd angel! Seek the foul refin'd:
I hate thee! and thy long progreffive brood
Of joys and mis'ries. Soft Indiff'rence, come!
In this low cottage thou shalt be my guest,

Till Death fhuts out the Hour: here down I'll fink
With thee upon my couch of homely rush,
Which fading forms of Friendship, Love, or Hope,
Muft ne'er approach. Ah!-quickly hide, thou pow'r,
Thofe dear intruding images! Oh, Teal

The lids of mental fight, left I abjure
My freezing fupplication.-All is ftill.

IDEA fmother'd leaves my mind a waste,
Where SENSIBILITY muft lofe her prey.'

At page 83 we meet with Verses occafioned by the Author's being prefented with a filver Pen.' The gift may be confidered as a compliment to her genius, though it cannot be admitted as expreffive of it. The agate mentioned by Pliny, on which, as he informs us, Apollo and the Mufes, with every symbol of their characters, were reprefented-rudely indeed, but entirely by the hand of Nature, is the juft and proper emblem of Mrs. Yearflev.

There are undoubtedly faults in Mrs. Yearnley's Poems; but they are "faults which true Critics dare not mend." We hall therefore conclude our account of this extraordinary woman, and her literary compofitions, with faying-that the juftnets of the obfervation, Poeta naf itur, non fit, was never more powerfully exemplified than by nerfelt.

MONTHLY

CATALOGUE,

For DECEMBER, 1787.

AMERICA N.

Art. 16. Plan of the new Conflitution for the United States of America, agreed upon in a Convention of the States. 8vo. Is. Debrett. 1787.

A

S the fudden rife of a new empire in the world, conflituted on principles of government effentially different from the old, cannot fail to draw the notice of European politicians; every circumftance relating thereto, muft neceffarily become interesting and important.'

So fays the Writer of the Preface to this republication; and the obfervation is juft: we do not know a fubject that is more likely to attract the notice of an attentive fpectator of what paffes on the grand theatre of the world, than the progreffive steps of the new American republic, toward the completion of a well-regulated government.

As to the articles contained in this plan for a new conftitution, &c. we refer those readers to the pamphlet, who have not already perufed them in the news-papers. The Preface-writer alfo gives us the following refutation of a groundless report, which, indeed, we never credited, as it appeared totally repugnant to all our ideas of the unbounded influence which the great character of Dr. Franklin has obtained throughout the American ftates:

Some of the London News-papers mentioned a strong oppofition between General Washington and Dr. Franklin for the Prefidency; and that General Washington was elected by a majority of one vote. We have authority to contradict this account. The fact is, that General Washington was elected with one voice, and not by a majority of one. Dr. Franklin, as the fenior perfon of the Convention, and who is already Prefident of the State of Pennsylvania, was the member who put General Washington in nomination, and he was conducted to the Chair with a unanimous voice.'

REV. Dec. 1787.

LI

TRADE,

TRADE, &c.

Art 17. Obfervations on the Corn-Bill; wherein the propofed Alteration in the Laws for regulating the Exportation and Importation of Corn, is fairly examined. 8vo. 1s. Debrett. 1787.

In this pamphlet, the alterations propofed to be made by the new corn bill, are stated in a plain, difpaffionate manner, by one who feems to be well acquainted with the fubject of the corn laws. According to his account, the propofed bill is intended to produce alterations in refpect of the following particulars :

ift, It alters the mode of verifying the returns of the London cornfactors.' Every cornfactor is ordered to deliver, upon cath, a weekly account of his fales, and the prices.

2d, it alters the term of forming the average prices for the purpofe of importation, from three months, to fix weeks. And it rectifies a fma!! error refpecting the entries for exportation.' The alterat on respecting the entries here noted is, that the export and bounty fhall be governed by the returns of the preceding week, instead of the prefent week.

3d, It divides coaft counties into diftricts, and directs how the prices fhall be collected and afcertained, to prevent abuses in the importations and exportations, at the out-ports.' Directs that the average prices of grain fhall be collected every week, from a number of market towns, not lefs than four, nor more than eight in each county, for the purpofe of governing the exportation and importation at all the ports in each district. The exportation by one week's average, and the importation by the aggregate average of fix weeks preceding every quarter feflion.

4th, It directs what weight of wheat, when it is fold by weight, fhall be deemed equal to a Winchefter bufhel.' viz. Fifty-feven pounds.

་

5th, It prohibits the importation of flour, except from Ireland, when wheat is importable at the low duty.'

Thefe, we are told, are the principal heads of the bill; on each of which our obferver proceeds to offer fome remarks, in order to fhow that the regulations propofed will have a beneficial tendency. In this refpect we are difpofed, in general, to acquiefce in the opinion of our Author, though we are by no means convinced that they will remove future complaints concerning the corn laws. The radical evil of thefe laws we remember once to have seen pointed out, in a book that fell under our notice fome years ago, which has now escaped our particular recollection. It is the abfurdity of allowing the fame rate of bounty on the exportation of grain the moment it falls ever fo little below the rate at which exportation is permitted, as can be obtained were it to fink to one fhilling, or under, per bufhel. Were the bounty in all cafes to rife, in a certain ratio, in proportion to the fall of price, and vice verfa, we can easily conceive, that with the help of the regulations here propofed, and perhaps a very few others, this branch of commerce would become more table than hitherto, and far lefs liable to thofe abufes to which it has heretofore been fo peculiarly obnoxious.

POETRY,