7 And Flora's earlieft gifts befpread With mingled dyes their flow'ry bed.' When we have quoted thefe lines as the most exceptionable our readers may infer that this production is not undiftinguished for merit in the poetical Exhibition of the month. 53. Suicide, an Elegy. 4to. 15. Ridley. This elegy is written with a laudable defign; that is, to deter people from fuicide. With this view the author endeavours to thew the reasonablenefs of a perfect refignation to the will of Providence, to comfort the defponding with hopes of happier days, to display the turpitude and meannefs of breaking all the ties of nature, and, laftly, to reprefent the danger, which must attend a precipitate intrufion into another world. When the last trump fhall wake the dead around, The latter part confifts of fome reflections on the exit of lord C. and Mr. B. This piece is a faint imitation of Gray's Elegy written in a Country Church-yard. The fubject, not admitting of any defcriptive scenery, has laid the author under great disadvantages. 54. Religion: a Poetical Effay. By William Gibfon, M. A. 410. 25. Wilkie. The author of this poem, in oppofition to the fcheme of the atheift, endeavours to demonftrate the exiftence of a Deity, by an appeal to the works of the creation, and the general concurrence of mankind in the practice of fome religious ceremonies. This argument leads the poet into an hiftorical view of those various forms, in which religion has appeared in barbarous and civilized nations, in different ages of the world. The Chaldaic Egyptian, Roman, Celtic, Teutonic idolatries, and many other customs of ancient and modern fuperftition, are described with a confiderable degree of poetical spirit. From idolatry, the author proceeds to Chriftianity; and concludes his poem with a fhort defcription of genuine religion, confifting in benevolence and purity of heart. -55. Medien-salpera; or, a Fiddle the best Doctor. 4to. 15. Kearly. There are fome diforders in which mufic may certainly be of advantage, exclufive of the fables related of thofe who have been bit by the tarantula. But to produce fuch an effect the mufician had need to be much more eminent in his art, than this author is in that of poetry. Otherwife, we might fay with Menalcas, non tu in triviis, indocte, folebas Stridenti miferum ftipula difpe.dere carmen ?' 56. Poems on feveral Occafions. By Robert Hill. 8vo. 5s. Harrison. If Mr. Hill cannot boaft of the favour of the Mufes, he seems, however, to be diftinguished by the patronage of mechanics and 'fhop fhop-keepers of various denominations, who compofe the list of fubfcribers, and to whofe quality the poems are suitable. DRAMATIC. 57. The Heroine of the Cave. A Tragedy. As performed at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Evans, Strand. In the preface to this production we are informed, that the late Mr. Henry Jones had compofed a Piece in Three Acts, called, The Cave of Idra, in which all the fcenes were underground. The manufcript being put into the hands of Dr. Hiffernan, he lengthened it to five acts, increased the number of characters, and reprefented the additional fcenes above ground. So much for the hiftory of the production. With refpect to merit, the fhades are fo confpicuous, that, perhaps, the heroine had better remained in her original obfcurity. NOVEL S. 58. The School for Daughters: or, the Hiftory of Mifs Charlotte Sidney. In a Series of Original Letters between Perfons in genteel Life. 2 Vols. 12mo. 55. ferved. Bew. J We fhall take particular care to keep our daughters from this School; or rather, this School from our daughters. 59. The Correfpondents, an Original Novel; in a Series of Letters. 12mo. 2s. 6d. ferved. Becket.. The title of Novel prefixed to this little piece may excite in perfons of different taftes, prejudices which it little merits. The graver fort of readers will take for granted that it is perfectly a-kin to thofe feducing publications which conftitute the chief furniture of circulating libraries; while mifs at boarding-school, whofe imagination is fired with the perufal of the tender feenes which thofe publications exhibit, is impatient till the has an opportunity to procure The Correspondents. The judgment formed of this piece from its title will be, however, in these cafes, very erroneous. In this novel, no female laments that the tyranny of her parents prevents her from eloping with the dear, dear, man she loves; no cooing turtle pours forth her foul in tender epiftles, which the faithful chambermaid conveys to the favourite fwain; no rake triumphs over, and forfakes, the fair one he has deceived; in fhort, no intrigue is carried on; and, for that reafon alone, a true novel-reading girl would not give fixpence for the book. Thus far for its negative merit; and negative merit is all we can allow it. Without plot, without connexion, and with very little fentiment, it is one of the most uninterefting, infipid, futile productions, which has ever come under our notice. MISCELLANEOUS. 60. A Tour in the Midland Counties of England; performed in the Summer of 1772. Together with an Account of a fimilar Excurfion, undertaken Sept. 1774. 8vo. Is. 6d. Bew. The account of the Tour performed in fummer 1772, as we are told in an advertisement, has been already published in a maga magazine, the editor of which is faid to have taken so much liberty with the manufcript, as fcarcely to leave the author. The the fatisfaction of knowing his own meaning;' and for this reafon it is now reprinted by himfelf. It relates the progrefs of the traveller from London, through Hertford, the counties of Bedford and Huntingdon, to Peterborough; from thence through Bofton, Lincoln, and other intervening places, to Matlock, Derby, Nottingham, Oxford, Uxbridge, and fo to London again. In performing the excurfion in 1774, the traveller wen't from the metropolis to Bofton by fea; and afterwards proceeded by Grantham, to Newark, Ollerton, Norwood, Mansfield, Lincoln, Gainfborough, St. Ives, and Royton, arriving the fecond time at London from whence he had fet out. defcription of the places mentioned in both the journies is not uninteresting, and appears to be faithfully delineated. 61. An Account of the Further Proceedings at the India Houfe with Refpect to the By Laws propofed by the Committee of Proprietors, for the Regulation of the Company's Shipping. 8vo. 15. Payne. The principal fubject of this pamphlet is the method of chartering fhips in the Eaft India Company's fervice, and the exorbitant price paid for freight. These are fuch abuses as certainly ought to be corrected; and the proprietors are much obliged to the perfon who induftriously exerts himself for that purpose, by informing them of important facts. 62. Circumftances which preceded the Letters to the Earl of ——— `; and may tend to a Discovery of the Author. 8vo. 6d. Evans, Strand. The Letters here alluded to had appeared in fome of the public papers; and thefe circumftances are related with the view of invalidating the allegations they contained, as being totally void of foundation, and calculated only to deftroy the domeftic happiness of a noble family. 63. An Anfuer to Mr. Fitzgerald's Appeal to the Gentlemen of the Fockey Club. By Thomas Walker, Efg. 8vo. 15. Kearfly. In our laft Review, we waved the giving any particular account of Mr. Fitzgerald's Appeal to the Jockey-Club, as relating to an affair of a perfonal nature. The fame objection lies against our entering into a detail of this Anfwer. For the fatisfaction of our readers, however, it is proper to inform them, that the matter in difpute is a pecuniary transaction be tween those two gentlemen, respecting a debt contracted on the turf. 64. A Defcription af the Coronation of the Kings and Queens of France, &c. Tranflated from the French of M. Menin. Sv. 65. Hooper. This treatife was first published upwards of fifty years ago, and contains a chronological detail of the coronations of France, from the commencement of the monarchy in Clovis, to Louis XV. inclufive. The prefent edition is ornamented with an engraving of the reigning king of France, and likewife of the queen. 65. The 65. The Accidence or First Rudiments of English Grammar. Defigned for the Ufe of young Ladies. With an Appendix, containing an Example of Grammatical Conftruction; Maxims and Reflections, by Way of Exercises for Learners; and Occafional Remarks and References. Cadell. 12mo. 15. 6d The generality of our English grammarians give us very little more than dry definitions, or the explication of certain technical terms. They tell us, for example, how many parts of fpeech there are; how many numbers, genders, cafes, perfons, moods, tenfes. They fcientifically divide pronouns in perfonal, poffeffive, relative, demonftrative, and diftributive. They inform us, that there are ten forts of adverbs, of time, place, number, manner, quantity, &c. They give us a detail of conjunctions copulative, disjunctive, adverfative, fufpenfive, conceffive, declarative, interrogative, comparative, argumentative, diminutive, caufative, and illative *. And when they have taught us thefe, and the like beggarly elements, they proceed no farther; but literally exemplify thefe lines of Butler: That all a rhetorician's rules Teach nothing but to name his tools. Bishop Lowth was the first who publifhed a more comprehenfive and rational fyftem of English grammar, containing excellent rules, illuftrated by examples; not only teaching the reader what is right, but fhewing him what is wrong, by paffages from the works of our most eminent writers. Dr. Priestley has purfued the fame plan, in his English Grammar. On this account their performances are infinitely more ufeful than those of their predeceffors. The work before us is the production of an ingenious lady, drawn up with perfpicuity. The rules are illuftrated by examples; but not in the manner of Dr. Lowth, by inftances of grammatical inaccuracies in the works of our English writers. If it fhould be thought neceffary to ufe any little grammatical treatise, as an introduction to the bishop's more extenfive fyftem, there is none, perhaps, more likely to answer the purpose than the work before us. On this occafion we cannot but obferve, that it reflects great honour on the prefent age to find the ladies confidering the ftudy of their own language, as a neceffary part of their education. To be able to fpeak their mother-tongue with propriety, and write it with elegance, is a qualification a thousand times more useful and ornamental, than to draw a paultry landscape, to murder a tune on the harpsichord, to fing a fong, or to chatter a little barbarous French. And yet thefe have hitherto been the principal objects of attention in the education of young ladies, the fashionable accomplishments, the furniture of the female mind! † Greenwood's Grammar. 66. Valua 66. Valuable Secrets concerning Arts and Trades: or, Approved. Directions from the beft Artifts for the various Methods of En・graving on Brafs, Copper, or Steel; of the Compofition of Metals; of the Compofition of Varnishes; of Maflicks, Cements, SealingWax, &c, &c. of the Glass Manufactory; various Imitations of Precious Stones, and French Pafle; of Colours and Painting ufeful for Carriage Painters: of Painting on Paper; of Compofitions for Limners; of Transparent Colours; Colours to dye Skins or Gloves; to colour or Varnish Copper-plate Prints; of Painting on Glass; of Colours of all Sorts for Oil, Water, and Crayons; of preparing the Lapis Lazuli, to make Ultramarine; of the Art of Gilding; the Art of dying Woods, Bones, &c. the Art of Cafting in Moulds; of making ufeful Sorts of Ink; the Art of making Wines; of the Compofition of Vinegars; of Liquors, Effential Oils, &c. of the Confectionary Business; the Art of preparing Snuffs; of taking out Spots and Stains; Art of Fishing, Angling, Bird-Catching, &c. 12mo. 3. Hay. We are informed by the nameless editor of this work, that the receipts of which it confifts are faithfully translated from the French, by a celebrated foreigner, and that feveral eminent artifts here have given great affiftance towards rendering them eafy to be understood by the most common capacity. We wish this celebrated foreigner and these eminent artifts had avowed their fhare in this publication, especially as the editor chuíes to lye perdu. That many of the receipts are good and useful, we know from experience: whether the others would on trial anfwer the purposes intended, we cannot afcertain, and it will not be expected that we fhould make the neceffary experiments, merely for that purpose. And although we may poffefs fome skill in chemistry, painting, and other branches of fcience, to which many of these receipts have relation, we acknowledge our ignorance in the arts of angling, bird-catching, preparing Snuffs, and making wines, fyrups, and marmalades. As fome perfons of our acquaintance have paid pretty dear for the fecret of colouring copper-plate prints in imitation of paintings in oil colours, and as extravagant prices are ftill demanded for teaching that art, we think it not amifs to acquaint our readers, that clear and explicit directions are given for colouring prints in that manner. The editor of this work has not laid an extravagant tax on his readers by fwelling his book to an unreasonable fize, which is, on the contrary, printed very clofely, and will be, on that account, a convenient pocket companion for those who amufe themselves in the arts of which it treats. Having copied the title page entire, any farther enumeration of the contents is unneceffary. The Critical Reviewers have been favoured with the obliging Letter from Philo-Criticos, and will pay due attention to what he has fuggefted. The gentleman who fent a Letter, fubfcribed R. R―n, dated 17th of Auguft, 1774, is defired to call on the publisher of the Critical Review, who has fomething to communicate to him. |