menced, amputation feems the only refource, when a colliquative fever and other dangerous fymptoms threaten a fpeedy diffolution. The different methods of performing this operation are described, and a few general remarks on the neceffity of having recourse to it, conclude the prefent volume: which, we underftand, is to be followed by another on the fubject of ulcers. Dr. K. hath prefixed to this volume a defence of fome doctrines contained in the first, against the objections of certain critics, among whom, the Monthly Reviewers are duly noticed; but for the particulars, we must refer to his book: abiding, as we refpe&tfully do, the decifion of that tribunal to which the Doctor hath appealed-with that candour and modefty which at once evince his regard to decency, and his love of truth. R-m ART. XV. The Hiftory of Henry VII. of England, written in the Year 1616. By Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, &c. Now first new written, 1786. 8vo. 6s. bound. Murray. HE ftyle of Lord Bacon has, without doubt, fometimes that quaintnefs which was prevalent when he wrote: pedantry and punning were efteemed the criterion of learning, and a neceffary ornament in the writers of those days. Bacon's Hiftory of the Reign of Henry the Seventh has nevertheless been looked upon as a pattern for historical compofition; the true fublimity of which confifts more in the greatness of thinking than in the pomp of expreffion ;-in tracing circumftances with judgment,-in relating them with clearness and connexion, and in making every part of the ftory instructive, rather than in fprinkling it over with the falfe ornaments of a brilliant diction, which too frequently divert the reader's attention from the intrinfic matter of the work. That native fimplicity and genuine dignity, which are the greateft ornaments of Bacon's writings, is totally deftroyed by the prefent Editor, who hath, in the publication before us, given ample proof how well he is qualified "to marr a curious tale in the telling." To fhew our Readers that our obfervations are not without foundation, we have felected the following, from the inftances where this modernifer has debased the fterling worth of the va Juable original. We have chofen part of a fpeech (which the pretender, Perkin, made to the Scotch King on being introduced to him), fince the Editor fcruples not to fay, in his Preface, that • the fpeeches and ftate papers are given as in the original, unaltered his [the Editor's] defign not being to new write the hiftory, but to smooth the old language, and render it rather more pleasant to the car.' Bacon. Bacon. High and mighty King, your Grace, and thefe your nobles here prefent, may be pleased benignly to bow your ears, to hear the tragedy of a young man, that by right ought to hold in his hand the ball of a kingdom; but by fortune is made himself a ball, toffed from mifery to mifery, and from place to place. You fee here before you the fpectacle of a Plantagenet, who hath been carried from the nurfery to the fanctuary; from the fanctuary, to the direful prifon; from the prifon, to the hand of the cruel tormentor; and from that hand to the wide wilderness, as I may truly call it, for fo the world hath been to me. So that he that is born to a great kingdom, hath not ground to fet his foot upon, more than this where he now ftandeth by your princely favour. Edward the 4th, late King of England, as your Grace cannot but have heard, left two fons, Edward, and Richard Duke of York, Edward the both very young. eldeft fucceeded their father in the crown, by the name of King Edward the Fifth: but Richard Duke of Gloucester their unnatural uncle, first thirsting after the kingdom through ambition, and afterwards thiriting for their blood, out of defire to fecure himfelf, employed an inftrument of his, confident to him, as he thought, to murder them both. But this man that was employed to execute that execrable tragedy, having cruelly flain King Edward, the eldest of the two, was moved, partly by remorfe, and partly by fome other means, to fave Richard his brother; making a report nevertheless to the tyrant, that he had performed his commandment to both brethren.' &c. Modernifer High and mighty King, your Grace, and thefe, your nobles, here prefent, be pleased to liften to the tragic fate of a young man, by right entitled to weigh a fceptre, but toffed by fortune from mifery to mifery, from place to place. Behold here before you the fpectacle of a Plantagenet, who hath been carried from the nurfery to a fanctuary, from the fanctuary to a prifon, from a prifon to the hand of a barbarous affaffin, and from that hand to a wide wilderness, for fuch the world hath been to him; fo that he who is born heir to a great kingdom, hath not ground on which to fet his foot, except where he now ftands by your princely favour. Edward the 4th, late King of England (as your Grace muft have heard), left his fons, Edward, and Richard Duke of York, both Edward the eldest very young. fucceeded his father in the crown by the name of Edward the Fifth, but Richard Duke of Glocefter, his unnatural uncle, arbitrarily thirting for the kingdom, fought their blood, in order to fecure that kingdom to himfelf; for this purpofe he employed a confident to murther both the King and his brother. The man, however, who was employed to execute the horrid deed having cruelly flain King Edward, the eldest of the two, was partly induced by remorse and partly on fome other account, to fave Richard his brother, reporting to the tyrant that he had deftroyed them both.' &c. Y 3 In In this manner hath the prefent Editor altered even those paffages which he profeffes to have left unaltered; in other places he hath taken greater liberties, where both the fenfe and the facts are misreprefented, as, Bacon. And thereupon he [the King] took a fit occafion to fend the Lord Treasurer and Master Bray, whom he used as counsellor, to the Lord Mayor of London, requiring of the city a preft of fix thousand marks; but after many parleys he could obtain but two thousand pounds.' Bacon's Works, vol. iii. p. 13. Modernifer. the Lord Treasurer and Mr. Bray Upon this occafion he fent quiring of the city a loan of 6000 to the Lord Mayor of London remarks, but could obtain only 2000.' New Edition, p. 19. The following fhall clofe our fpecimens of the Modernifer's abilities: Bacon. This law did ordain, That no perfon that did affift, in arms, or otherwife, the King for the time being, fhould after be impeached therefore, or attainted, either by the courfe of the law or by A&t of of Parliament.' Bacon's Works, vol. iii. p. 69. Modernifer. This law ordained that no wife the King for the time being, perfon affifting in arms or otherfhould be afterwards impeached or attainted either by the course of law or by Act of Parliament.? New Edition, p. 170. By leaving out the word therefore, which the Author uses to fignify on that account, the fenfe is totally perverted. Thus it is that valuable authors may be mangied, and injured, by ignorant or careless editors! R-m ART. XVI. An Efay on the Investigation of the First Principles of Nature; together with the Application thereof to folve the Phenomena of the Phyfical Syftem. Part II. By Felix O'Gallagher. 8vo. 6s. Boards. Murray. 1786. HAV AVING, in our Review for September 1786, given the general outlines of this work, and defcribed the Author's method, we fhall refume the task of laying before our Readers the contents of this fecond Part. The eighth Lecture is occupied with confidering the nature of the Sun, and its pabulum. The Author fhews, from what he had advanced in the fourth and feventh lectures, that the Sun muft neceffarily have a perpetual fupply of alimental matter Bowing into him, for the prefervation of his magnitude, and the replenishment of thofe immenfe and unremitting effufions, which he is ever pouring forth into the furrounding space, to warm and illuminate the planets.' He then proceeds to invefti 12 gate gate the nature and quality of the Sun's alimentary matter; and In the ninth Lecture, Mr. O'Gallagher takes a philofophical tour throughout the firmament and fixed flars' We will not pretend to follow this eccentric philofopher in his journey through the sphere of the univerfe; fuffice it to fay, that he at last arrives at his ne plus ultra, or, as he expreffes it, the bounding frame which inclofes the univerfe. Having in this tour experienced the various viciffitudes of heat and cold (for after traverfing the cold regions of Saturn, he spends a few days in the Dog-ftar), he confiders the nature of cold and darkness; both of which are, according to his affertions, real and pofitive fubftances. The tenth Lecture is appropriated to aftronomical enquiries, The caufe of the motion of comets, the direction of their motion, their compofition, and the nature of their tails, are inveftigated. Here we find abundant new philofophy. Comets do not move in elypfes *, or any other conic fection, but in ftraight lines, between the Sun and the polifhed jetty frame or shell of the world, like a fhuttle-cock ftruck by a battledore, with equal force.' We are apprehenfive, that we should infult our Readers, by entering into a minute detail of Mr. O'G.'s doctrine of comets, and the arguments with which he fupports it. Our Author, in the next Lecture, proceeds with explaining the planetary motions, and attraction. In treating this fubject he attempts to explain the caufe of attraction; but here he is led into fuch a labyrinth of metaphyfics, and is fo confufed in his ideas, that it requires no fmall fhare of penetration to conceive what are the objects of his inquiries. He fuppofes the Sun to be, like a great kitchen fire, in continual need of fupply,-that the celeftial matter, its fuel, is continually flowing in from all fides; *Page 165. There are eclypfes alfo in this page. Y 4 and and that this is the cause of attraction, or of the mutual tendency which all bodies have towards the Sun. The twelfth and laft Lecture confiders the phenomena of electricity, and the motions of the Moon, with their effects on the tides, and fome confiderations on the attraction of cohefion. This lecture, from blending together fuch unconnected subjects, becomes the moft confufed of any in the whole bock. It is with pain that we fee a performance like the prefent, where time is mifemployed by the Author for the production of a work which indicates much want of mathematical knowledge, and which can only tend to expose the author of it to infults and ridicule. F K m ART. XVII. Chefs. 8vo. 5s. Boards. Robinfens. 1787. EW publications have given us more anecdotes concerning chefs, and chefs players, than the prefent. The Author (Mr. Twifs) has compiled, from various writers, every thing that he found relative to chefs; the number of books he has examined, appears, if we may judge from the quotations he has bere made, to have been very confiderable; and the original anecdotes that he has introduced feem to be the refult of a thorough acquaintance with the best players. We are prefented with a complete hiflory of the game; in which it is fuppofed to have been invented in India, about the 6th century, and to have come from Perfia into Arabia, whence it paffed into Spain. It is faid to have been brought into England about the reign of William the Conqueror. A review is given of all the books on the game at chefs which the Author has feen. They are in number 31, and in various languages. This part of the work is a literary curiofity; but it would have been more valuable, if the accounts of fome of the books had been more ample. We fhall mention, particularly, one of the books in this catalogue, as being an extraordinary performance. It is a folio, of 623 pages; and is titled Offervazioni Teorico-pratiche fopra il Giuoco delgi Scacchi. Da Giambatista Lolli. 1763. Befide this review, a catalogue of the books on chefs which the Author has not feen, is fubjoined, and these amount to 15. In neither of thefe lifts do we find any mention of the elegant English tranflation of Vida's poem by Mr. Murphy t Mr. Twifs then adds an explanation of fome of the principal terms used by chefs players, and gives, in a copper plate, three *Hyde, in his book, De Ludis Orientalibus, clearly fhews that it was known before the year of Chrift 576. + See M. Review, vol. laxv. p. 372, and feq. methods |