Whome'er, or impudence, or ignorance infpires- Of mad intoxication; to him averfe Does any here Adopt the foundling? if not, it goes from me, Illume; but fpiking up his reafon for a fun.- To ufe; Samian, Theban, and Athenian.- That Heav'n had made me fuch a man, Had giv'n fuch ornaments Call them the treasures of truth-and-fay they keep To hear deep Mys'try's voice, And Trinity, pronoun'd; fince --deeper draughts--we drink-But to do Squire Pounce even handed juftice, we shall introduce his own apology from the preface; where he thus befpeaks the favour of the patient reader. I fhould here make fome apology for the badness of the following poem, with respect to de⚫ficiency of language, meannefs of expreflion, and barrenness of invention, but that I am fenfible, no apology can make a bad poem a good one, or add a grace to what is intrinfically ungraceful-For my part, I fhall only alledge, that blank verfe is what I am unacquainted with, this being my firft attempt in that species of writing, and which, as it is a juvenile perform⚫ance, I am confcious is but mean; &c.' Then he afferts the piety of his intentions; but as we cannot conceive how piety and fcandal fhould lodge in the fame breaft, we shall pafs that circumftance, and proceed to felect a few of the beauties of the performance, as recommended to our attention by the poet himself. The first thing we are to be charmed with, is the introduction. Upon this he affumes the title of the Well informed Bard; and having tried, but in vain, for two pages, to emulate himself in profe, refers us back again for the fame fentiment to the flowing Numbers of the Poet. By Porter, and by Lemonade infpir'd, So in the bottom of the pewter vase, Each minion of the goddefs Dullness, deems We come now to an inftance of the beautiful propriety of allufiex, for fo our Bard calls the following lines. Follow the Mufe; the Mufe fhall lead you fafe: Lo! how we mount! how irkfome to forfake Of bright-ey'd Reafon, and her pleafing form! Been crown'd with thorns, been fcepter'd with a reed, Thefe paffages are fufficient to apprize our readers, concerning the poetical talents of Squire Pounce. For the rest, the grofsnefs of his fcurrility will excufe our farther exhibition of his performance; for fcurrilous it is, in many parts, to fuch a degree, that we cannot but be forry that any Clergyman fhould patronize fuch ribaldry: the Divine to whom this Satire is dedicated, is the Rev. Mr. Romaine; and the man who infcribes this worthy performance to him, is Mr. Richard Lewis. POLITICAL. V. A Short State of the Progress of the French Trade and Navigation: Wherein is fhewn the great Foundation that France has laid, by Dint of Commerce, to increase her Maritime Strength to a Pitch equal, if not fuperior, to that of Great Britain, unless fome-how checked by the Wifdom of his Majefty's Councils. Humbly infcribed to his Royal Highness William Duke of Cumberland. By Malachy Poftlethwayte, Efq; Author of the Univerfal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce. 8vo. Is. Knapton. Mr. Poftlethwaite, in his preface, informs us, that this publi cation is owing to the defire of a perfon of diftinction; and takes notice, that the fubject is more fully treated of in his Dictionary. Such as may not have an opportunity of confulting that voluminous work, may from this pamphlet, attain a tolerable idea of the French fyftem of commercial policy.- -See alfo our account count of Mr. Poftlethwayt's Dictionary, Review, vol. XII. and XIV. VI. Obfervations upon Mr. Fauquier's Effay* on Ways and Means for raifing Money to Support the prefent War, without increafing the public Debts. To which is added, an Account of several national Advantages derived from the Nobility and Gentry of the prefent Age living in London a greater part of the Year than their Ancestors used to do. By J. M. 8vo. IS. T. Payne. As we did not enter into much explanation of Mr. Fauquier's propofal, we cannot, with propriety, be more particular in our account of thefe Obfervations; which, nevertheless, appear to deferve an attentive confideration, especially by those who have read and approved that Gentleman's fcheme. Our Observator, who writes fenfibly, and feems to be no ftranger to the real interefts of his country, principally objects, that the carrying fuch a tax into execution, would drain the counties of fo much current cash, without a probability of its return, that within a few years there would not be enough left for the payment of other taxes, nor for procuring the neceffaries of life, unless the price of them be greatly reduced; the confequence of which will be, the impoffibility of keeping up the rents of land. In the latter part of his pamphlet our Author endeavours, and we think fuccessfully, to refute fome popular prejudices with refpect to the refidence of the Nobility and Gentry in London; which, he pretty clearly fhews, is, on many accounts, of real advantage to the community in general. * See Article XXIII. of our Catalogue for March. VII. An Effay on the prefent State of our public Roads; fhewing the abfolute Neceffity of a total prohibition of the Ufe of narrow Wheels on all Carriages drawn by one Horse length-ways; and the Benefit that will accrue thereby to Farmers and Carriers, to Trade and Manufactures, as well as Eafe, Pleasure and fafety to Travellers. 8vo. 6d. Baldwin. This pamphlet contains a fummary of all the arguments that have been urged in favour of Broad Wheels, with pertinent replies to the common objections against the use of them. As the oppofition to Broad Wheels has more frequently proceeded from obftinacy than judgment, our Author employs Ridicule in their defence, as well as Reason. MISCELLANEOUS. VIII. A Faithful Narrative of the moft wicked and inhuman Tranfactions of that bloody-minded Gang of Thieftakers, alias Thief-makers, Macdaniel, Berry, Eagan, Sal mon, mon, and their notorious Accomplice Mary Jones, &c. By Jofeph Cox, High Conftable of the Hundreds of Blackheath. 8vo. Is. 6d. Mechell. Tho' there is little or nothing in this pamphlet more than we were pre-acquainted with, by the induftry of our News-writers, yet is Mr. Cox entitled to the grateful thanks of the public for the fhare he bore in the detection of this most infernal gang of Thief-makers, as he very rightly ftiles them. IX. The Obferver obferved. Or, Remarks on a certain, curious Tract entitled, Obfervations on the Faerie Queene of Spencer. By Thomas Warton, A. M. &c.' 8vo. Is. Crowder. The anonymous Author of this Hypercriticifm has fome juft ftrictures upon Mr. Warton's performance, and a great many that are a little out-of-the-way. He is certainly a man of letters, but yet he has a moft illiberal way of writing: Had he expressed himfelf more like a Gentleman, and not run fo much into fcurrility, we fhould have allowed him a more honourable place and mention, than we can now prevail on ourselves to afford. One thing, however, we have done for him; we have made his title-page intelligible, by printing part of it with Quotation Commas: but as it runs, in the front of his pamphlet, the reader might well have imagined that Mr. Warton himself was the Author of this abuse of his own Obfervations. X. The Conduct of the Military Gentlemen, infpected by a Lady. With a fhort Address to the Ladies. 4to. 15. Robinson. This Lady declaims, very warmly, against the Flashes and Debauchees of the Army; particularly for their deceit and cruelty towards the credulous and kind fair ones who have the ill-luck to fall in their way and exhorts them to amend their manners and morals and to become [what nature never meant them to be] -Men of true Worth and Honour,-efpecially to the Ladies. XI. The Deformity of Beauty, a Critical Effay. Addreffed to Mr. John Green. 4to. 6d. Hooper. This is an exceffively farcaftical examen of Mr. Green's performance, of which, we apprehend, our Readers had enough in our laft. Vid. p. 558. XII. The Importance of the Island of Minorca, and Harbour of Port-Mahon, fully confidered, &c. &c. 8vo. Is. Baldwin. Purloined from former accounts, particularly Armstrong's Hif tory of Minorca ;-with the addition of fome common-place politics. XIII. A Defeription of Minorca and Gibraltar, &c, 8vo. 6d. Cooper. This is a ridiculous Hotch potch, mixed up by fome miferable Compiler, who has ftrangely jumbled together, Minorca, Gibraltar, the (intended) Bridge at Black-fryers, and the converfion of the ancient Weft-Saxons to Christianity. XIV. Six Letters from A-d B-r to Father Sheldon, Provincial of the Jefuits in England; illuftrated with several remarkable Facts, tending to ascertain the Authenticity of the faid Letters, and the true Character of the Writer. 8vo. Is. 6d. Morgan. Though we ought, unquestionably, to be very tender, in general, of the character and reputation of our neighbour, yet we fhould be as careful that this tenderness be not carried too far, left it betray us into fuch a conduct as, instead of being serviceable to the interefts of fociety, may frequently produce a quite contrary effect. It is certainly matter of confequence to the public, that the characters of bad as well as of good men, fhould fometimes be made known; and it is highly neceffary, that those should be undeceived, who repose a confidence in one who may bear a fair character, which, in reality, he by no means deferves. To remove the veil of hypocrify, and to expofe the fpecious villain to public view, in his genuine deformity, in his native colours of infamy and guilt, is, undoubtedly, a meritorious action; tends greatly to the difcouragement of vice; and muft neceffarily be attended with beneficial confequences to fociety. Whoever, therefore, unmasks an impoftor, a fraudulent ufurper of distinction, deserves the thanks of every friend to Truth, of every friend to Virtue. We were naturally led into thefe reflections by the performance now before us, which is written in a fenfible, fpirited, and mafterly manner. The Author lays before his Readers, a variety of facts, which throw a full and ftrong light upon the private character of Mr. B, the celebrated Hiftorian of the Popes. From the time that this B publifhed his proposals and preface to his Hiftory of the Popes, which was in the year 1747, he has been looked upon, in general, as a worthy Champion of the Reformed Church; has met with great encouragement from many well-meaning Proteftants; has received very large profits from his Hiftory; and been honoured with the friendship of perfons of great diftinction. Notwithstanding all this, and tho' he has gained the rewards of Virtue, we here find him expofed to the infamy of vice. It feems to appear, from what is now laid before the public, that the account he gave to many unexceptionable witneffes, of the motives that induced him to change his religion, and of his escape from the Inquifition of Macerata, is, to fay no worse, a very improbable and inconfiftent tale, Notwithstanding what he fays in the preface to his Hiftory, of his having besome a Profelyte to the opinion which he had propofed to confute, when he was employed in the Vatican, to write in defence of the Pope's Supremacy, and of his having fincerely abjured in his heart the |