halter about their necks, that a knot of domineering grandees may be exempt, not only from punishment, but imputation?" With what regard to truth and juftice all this is faid, it is fit every Reader fhould judge for himfelf.-It is but natural for rough ufage to provoke rough returns---and one injury feems to authorize another---But though the parties concerned cannot help placing every object, and qualifying every colour fo, as it shall appear molt to their own advantage, it is our bufinefs to fee every thing as it really is: and if the public could avail themselves of the detections reciprocally made, and the lapfes committed in all fuch controverted cafes, it would be making the best use in their power of paft misfortunes. XI. A Sixth and Laft Letter, or Addrefs, to the Parliament, as well as to the People of Great Britain. 8vo. 6d. Kinnerfly. Some cobler-fcientific, or fcribbling taylor, with not half the literature of John Dove*, endeavours, in this curious document, to convince us, that Great Britain will yet be able to prefcribe ⚫ bounds to the ambitious and lawless views of all her enemies, if no unhappy divifions among ourselves do not prevent it.' What the Author means by calling his piece a Sixth Letter, &c. we cannot guess, unless he thought, that his nonfenfe would make a a very proper appendage to Shebbeare's fcurrility. Commonly called the Hebrew Taylor. N. B. The remainder of the Political Pamphlets will be given in our next. POETICAL.. XII. Minorca. A Tragedy. In three Acts. Scott. 8vo. Is. No language can fo juftly fpeak the merits of this piece, as that of the Author himself; for which purpose, a very short extract, or two, may suffice. And first, take a specimen Of his POETRY. Page 2. You call me fuperftitious, and for why? Because I believe in dreams, and believe I will,-- To have spent my future days, and dy'd well pleas'd Of his SENTIMENTS. France, do your worst, I fear you not, and though by force compell'd, Will never yield*. In this laft cited paffage, our Poet feems to have carefully kept in view the General's native country. * Incredible as it may feem to our poetical Readers, we can affure them, that these paffages are copied from a fecond edition of this miferable performance. After After the foregoing fpecimens, we fancy our Readers will readily pardon our not troubling them with any more of, or laying anything further concerning, this difmal tragedy. XIII. Poems, by the celebrated Tranflator of Virgil's Eneid. Together with the Jordan, a poem; in imitation of Spencer; by - Efq; 4to. Is. Cooper. To this collection the following advertisement is prefixed: The Editor hereof hopes to find his excufe with the Public, for publishing the following poems, wrote by the celebrated tranflator of Virgil's Eneid, efteeming them not unworthy fo great an Author; he therefore claims to himself fome merit in this his defign of faving the fame from being buried in oblivion: ⚫ and can affure them, that the imitation of Spencer was wrote by a Gentleman who hath favoured the world with many admired compofitions." However difpofed we may be to excufe this Editor, he has no great claim to our thanks, as he has here treated us only with a ftale difh, or poetical hafh, confifting [the little piece called the Fordan excepted] of fcraps culled from a work entitled, The Student, and other collections; and now warmed up again, for the entertainment of the Public. Wherein, then, confiffs the merit of his defign? Or, where lay the danger of oblivion, which he talks of? The celebrated tranflator above mentioned, is the late Mr. Pitt; the writings of that ingenious Gentleman here reprinted, are, an Imitation of the seventh Satire of the fecond Book of Horace :The tenth and nineteenth Epiftle of his first book:-Fragments of a Rhapsody on the Art of Preaching, in imitation of fome parts of the Ars Poetica:-Verfes on a Flowered Carpet:-And an Epigram on Mr. Pitt's House, at Encomb. If these pieces have not the merit of novelty to recommend them to the Public, they are, however, poffeffed of intrinfic merit enough to please any reader who has a true taste for poetry, notwithstanding they feem not to have received the finishing touches of that eminent artist, whose production they are faid to be, and, doubtless, are. Correctness was not Mr. Pitt's talent; yet, as he poffeffed much of that philofophical gaiety of mind, and unadorned ease of expreffion, which characterife the fermanes of Horace; fo is he peculiarly happy in many of his imitations of that pleafing Satirift. The poem by Blank, Efq; is a droll imitation of Spen. cer's verfification, and in the taste of Pope's Alley: it is not without merit, in its way; but the fubject is rather too indelicate to be enlarged upon here. MISCELLANEOUS. XIV. An Efay on weighing of Gold, &c. Wherein is thewa, an effectual method for discovering and detecting of Mm 3 coun counterfeit pieces of money (be they ever fo artfully disguised) which will be of great ufe, to prevent perfons from being impofed upon by any of thofe bafe and adulterated pieces of gold coin, which are too common at this time. This is performed by a pair of common fcales, and a fet of gold weights, with the hydroftatical inftrument herein deferibed, which may be had at a very small expence. By this method, not only gold coins, &c. but also all forts of gold and filver plate may be weighed, and their intrinfic value afcertained to the greatest nicety. By William Symons, Author of the Practical Gauger. 8vo. 1 s. 6d. Hodges. The only certain method of detecting bafe coin, is by the hy droftatical balance; of which there are feveral forts, but that invented by the learned f'Gravefande is the most accurate, and far furpaffes the inftrument defcribed by Mr. Symons. The latter is however fufficient for common ufe, the method of finding the fpecific gravity of bodies, and, confequently, of difcovering the bafeness of any coin, being laid down by our Author in a very plain and intelligible manner. XV. A full Account of the Siege of Minorca, by the French, in 1756; with all the circumftances relating thereto. 8vo. Is. Corbet. This feems to be a mere compilation from the News-papers. XVI. An Appendix to Bartlet's Farriery. Nourfe. 12mo. 6d. For our character of Mr. Bartlett's book, fee Review, Vol. VIII p. 146. No one poffeffed of that useful book, ought to be without this Appendix. XVII. A large new Catalogue of the Bishops of the fevera! Sees within the kingdom of Scotland, down to the year 1688. 4to. 6s. 6d. fewed. Edinburgh, printed by Ruddimans, and fold by Owen in London. This is a very laborious, very accurate, and very dry performance. There are, however, it is certain, fome people, to whom fuch compilations may afford entertainment, and others, to whom they may prove, occafionally, ufeful. The Author has a preface concerning the first planting of Chriftianity in Scotland, and the ftate of that church in the earlier ages; but neither here, nor in the body of the work, do we meet with any thing that we can venture to recommend to the generality of our Readers, on this fide the Tweed, especially. XVIII. Memoirs of the noted Buckhorfe; wherein that celebrated hero is carried into high life. 12mo. 2 vols. 6 s. Crowder. Buck!orfe is a poor wretch, formerly an under-boxer at Broughtons; but of late, as we hear, he earns what fubfifience he can, by by plying with a link, or hawking little matters about the treets. On the name of this perfon, and fome traits of his character, is founded the prefent novel; which feems intended as a general fatire upon moft orders and ranks of people, of the prefent age: and as Gentlemen, and even fome of the Nobility, have been known to countenance, and, we had almost said, affociate with, fellows of the Buckhorfian clafs, there was certainly room for a good fatire, on this hint. And pity it is, that the plan did not fall into better hands; for it is not, by any means, fo happily executed as we could have wifhed, by this writer; whofe work is fuch a ftrange compound of fenfe and nonfenfe, humour and abfurdity, vivacity and dulnefs, indecency and morality,that it is difficult to determine, whether we ought to look upon him as a forry fcribbler, or a fmart fellow. One thing, however, may be faid, with tolerable certainty, that his production bears the plaineft marks of being very haftily manufactured. There is not the leaft fmell of the lamp about it. On the contrary, like a watch-movement, before it has paffed through the hands of the finisher, it wants a great deal of filing, and polithing, and adjusting of the several parts to each other, fo as to form a regular, connected, and harmonious whole. Probably, it never cost the Author an hour's revifal; fo that what there is in it to commend, may be confidered as the refult of genius; and what is bad, as the effect of neceflity:-the urgent neceffity of filling a given number of fheets, in a given time. XIX, The Hiftory of two Orphans, By W. Tolderyy. 12mo. 4 vols. 12s. Owen. ། Four things only are wanting to render this Writer tolerable, viz. learning, wit, humour, and common fenfe; could he but attain to these, he might produce fomething that a difcerning "Reader would bear to perufe: but, as matters are with him at prefent, we must confefs, that thofe who can fairly go through his four volumes, are bleffed with more patience and perfeverance than we can boaft: and yet, believe us, gentle Reader, we have feen enough of his Orphans to fatisfy our own curiofity, and to enable us to give thee an honest hint of what thou art to expect from a more intimate acquaintance with them. XX. The filts; or, Female Fortune-Hunters. 3 vols. 9s. Noble. 1 2mo If it be poffible for any fcribbler to go greater lengths in dulnefs than the writer of the Orphans has gone, the author of the Jiles is the man. The following paffage is a fpecimen of the stile in which he makes two plotting females, in low life, converse ; together. : I have been confidering, my Dear,' fays Kitty to Dolly, taking it for granted, that you would confent to a marriage with Mr. W- -d, upon every PREVIOUS step that must, or M m 4 at at leaft ought, to PRECEDE that ceremony, in order to the rendering it molt profperous to you: for it has ever been my me•thod, not to reduce a determined conclufion into practice, till every incident, poffibly to be attendant on confummation, hath ⚫been fully and impartially brought to the touchflone of my own ⚫ reason, and there fettled upon the most probable and fecure ⚫ foundation; for otherwife, it is a million to one but the train • catches in the process, and the end is blown away into air only; nor unfrequently happens this, without fuch a french, as, instead of refreshing, muft confound us."-In another place, this fame Kitty envies Dolly's natural endowments, that lie fhrouded," fays the, under your hefcience of the poffeffion of them.' But we were the lefs aftonished at meeting with such fine things as thefe, in the perusal of the first volume of this piece of fublimity, as the Author had prepared us for what we had to expect, at the very threshold of our entrance upon it for, in the argument to the firft chapter we were apprized of the afpiring thoughts INJECTED INTO DOLLY.'-After which there could be little reason to wonder at the lofty language injected into Kitty. XXI. The Apparition; or, Female Cavalier. Aftory founded on facts. By Adolphus Bannac, Efq; 12mo. 3 vols. 9s. Noble. This feems to be the work of the fame genius to whom the world is obliged for the Jilts. Need we fay more of the Apparition ? XXII. Polydore and Julia; or, the Libertine reclaimed a Novel. 12mo. 3s. Crowder. If this is not quite fo heavy, as the two preceding articles, it is, however,equally infignificant; and, like the rest of the prefent winter's productions in this way, (that we have yet feen) is too contemptible to deserve either character or criticifm: Backhorse alone excepted; who, though not the most amiable object in the world, is yer the moft tolerable figure, in a group where all the rest are fifty times more deformed than himself. Vid. Art. XVIII. XXIII. The Modern Lovers; or, The Adventures of Cupid, &c. A Novel. 12mo. 3s. Cooke... The Deity of Joft deftres, as this Author files him, is here made to relate a number of filly, barren ftories, each chapter being a diftinct hiftory. At the end of the book, the public is threatned with a future vifitation from the fame quarter. XXIV. A Guide to the Knowlege of the Rights and Privileges of Englishmen. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Scott. We have here a new edition of Magna Charta, with remarks ; to which are added, the Bishop's curfes against the breakers of the articles contained in the faid Charter; alfo the Habeas Corpus aft, the Bill of Rights, and the Act of Settlement: together with a flaming exhortation to the Chriftian and Independent Cler gy, |