Speaking of the example of France, the author fays, with elegance of language as well as truth of fentiment :

"A few years only are paffed away, fince we beheld the fubverfion of the ancient Monarchy of France. By many that great event was hailed as the dawn of better days to come. They, however, who were fenfible that public virtue is the only fecure bafis of national felicity, too clearly difcovered, in the univerfal depravity of manners, the tremendous confequences which mult neceffarily flow from fo impure a fource. No liberty, no peace, no happinefs were in ftore for a licentious people, whofe rulers dared even to difown allegiance to the Sovereign of the univerfe. What though, at this hour, the inhabitants of that ill-fated country be dazzled with the fplendor of conqueft, and blind to the vile purposes to which it is fubfervient, does the subjection of other nations bring freedom to their own? No-freedom is the fruit of virtue and of religion; it is the gift of God." P. 10.

Conformable to thefe fpecimens is the tenor of this difcourfe, which therefore may be juttly recommended.

ART. 34. The Crown of Pure Gold, and Proteftantifm our fureft Bulwark; being the Subftance of Two Difcourfes delivered in the Parish Church of All Saints, Maidstone; the first on Sunday, October 22, the fecond on Sunday, November 5, 1809. By the Rev. R. Finch, A. M. of Baliol College, Oxford. 8vo. Pp. 33. Maidstone, Blake; London, Hatchard. 1810.

Thefe difcourfes poffefs confiderable animation and energy, though fometimes there appears too great an affectation of rhetoric. The first, from Pfalm xxi. 3, "Thou fetteft a crown of pure gold on his head," was preached on the Sunday previous to the celebration of the Jubilee, and points out the various motives of thankfulness to God for that great event. The fecond, from Numbers xxiv. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, was preached on Sunday, November 5, 1809, being the day of commemorating our deliverance from the Popish treafon. In this fermon the preacher, after an hiftorical fketch of paft dangers, inculcates the neceffity of continued vigilance againft the fubtle artifices of that church. In both he gives proofs of a talent for lively and forcible declamation. Take for an inftance the following paffage from Difcourfe II. P. 31" Still it is our imperious duty to exert our vigilance. Know you that, although the temporal power of the church of Rome has crumbled under the gripe of infidel oppreffion, its fpiri tual pride is not abafed; know you that it may be still an inftru ment in the hands of a moft dangerous and implacable enemy; know you that in thefe kingdoms Romish bigotry and Romish ambition are not inactive; Romifh perfecution and Romifh cruelty have not fheathed their daggers, or quenched their fires." He goes on with equal energy, but still, as was remarked above, with too much difplay of art. Though he declaims with force, he

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does not much poffefs the talent of reafoning' with clearnefs, Witnefs is fhort account of the divine original of kingly power, p. 5" God is the fountain of all law, and therefore of all power to carry thofe laws into execution, because every law of God is a perfect law; and to that law obedience must be paid, as it is in the natural world, which is fubject to him alone." There is a curious obfcurity in this fentence, which few in a mixed congregation would have fagacity to penetrate:-" There are fome principal moral laws, which exact neceffarily; and from these branch out the divifions of pofitive law, or those laws which are enacted by man." The word pofitive is ili chofen to express the diftinction between human laws and the divine, as the fame has been long employed by able divines to diftinguish those laws of God, which are of a temporary nature, from those which are of eternal obligation. The fubjects, however, which the author handles, require but little elucidation; and he deferves our thanks for advocating, with zeal and energy, thofe principles which we have invariably maintained, loyalty to the king, and attachment to that church, which is the firmeft pillar of his throne,

MISCELLANIES.

ART. 35. · Practical English Profody and Verfification; or, De fcriptions of the different Species of English Verfe, with Exercifes of Scanning and Verfification, gradually accommodated to the various Capacities of Youth at different Ages, and calculated to produce Correctness of Ear and Tufe in reading and writing Poetry the whole interspersed with occafional Remarks on Etymology, Syntax, and Pronunciation. By John Carey, LL. D. Author of Latin Prfody," and various other Publications. 12mo. 220 pp. Gillet. 1809.

ART. 36. A Key to Practical English Profody and Verfification. By J. Cary, LL. D. Private Teacher. I 2mo. 159 FP

Gillet. 1809.

These two books are infeparably connected, like the Tutor's Guide and its Key, &c. The Author, whofe laudable diligence on the fubject of Latin Profody has been fo juftly applauded and encouraged, has here applied the fame attention to the fubject of English verfe; we cannot fay with equal profpect of beneficial effect. He applies the long and fhort fyllable to the conftruction of English meafure, which, in our opinion, depends wholly upon accent. But whatever may be thought of the principles of his rules, his collection of examples is truly curious, and may be inftructive as well as amufing. The former volume contains a prodigious quantity of paffages from the best English poets, in which the meafure is deftroyed by the change or tranfpofition of

fome

fome words. Thefe, of course, the learner is expected to fet right, by his knowledge of the rule. But left he fhould fail, and fhould either have no teacher, or one not competent to fet him right, the Key offers all these paffages reftored to the true form. There are no less than 851 extracts, and fome of them rather long. What may be the advantage of teaching English verfification methodically we are not inclined to difcufs. We often meet with poets who incline us to wish that they had better learned the rules of English verfe; but more frequently with those of whom we wish that they had never heard of an English verse in their lives.

ART. 37. An Effay on Sepulchres; or a Propofal for erecting fome Memorial of the illuftrious Dead in all Ages, on the Spot where their Remains have been interred. By William Godwin. 12mo. 116 pp. 45. Miller. 1809.

There is nothing in this little Effay that is not pleafing and benevolent, though the plan, like too many of the fame kind, appears to be rather impracticable. The author feems, indeed, to have indulged fome delightful reveries of the imagination, till he gave to them more importance than could in truth belong to them. The tract, however, may well amufe a leifure half hour. The ideas are often eloquently developed; and we are happy to praife the whole, as of a very different character from fome earlier productions of the fame pen.

ART. 38. Advice to Young Ladies on the Improvement of the Mind, and the Conduct of Life. By Thomas Broadhurst. 8vo. 137 pp. 4s. 6d. Longnian and Co.

Before the appearance of Mrs. Chapone's valuable letters "Qu the Improvement of the Mind," little attention feems to have been paid to that important branch of female education. To be good houfe-wives and expert fempftreffes was the chief ambition of our mothers; to rival in the agility of the feet, in the delicacy of the pencil, or the melody of voice, the profeft dancers, the eminent painters, and the admired forgftreffes of the age, has been too frequently the principal ftudy of their daughters: nor have the more fyllematic treatifes of a Gisborne, a More, and a Hamilton, wholly extinguifhed this dangerous paffion; though, undoubtedly, their endeavours have narrowed its extent, and abated its fervency. It cannot, therefore, be too often repeated, that, next to thofe religious and moral principles, which should form the ground-work of all education, the acquifition of fuch general knowledge as may enlarge the understanding, correct the judgment, and polifh he taite, is effential to the truly accomplished female character. On thefe grounds we fee reafon to approve the brief work before us; in which the author very af. fectionately

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fectionately and fenfibly addreffes the female pupils of himself and his wife, recapitulating the ftudies which they had purfued, adverting to the different branches of knowledge through which they had been conducted, and earnestly recommending perfeverance in thofe ftudies, and a due cultivation in their maturer age, of thofe mental acquirements which they had imbibed in early youth.

The work before us confifts of three diftinct addresses, or (as they may be termed) lectures; in the first of which, the author fenfibly and juftly points out the propriety, and even neceffity of mental improvement to form the female character, and preffes it ftrongly on the notice of his pupils, as effential to their refpectability as members of fociety, to their happiness in the married ftate, and to the proper difcharge of their duties in the education of a rifing family. In the fecond addrefs, the course of reading which has been purfued is paffed in review before them; the importance of an accurate acquaintance with grammar is inculcated; that fcience which teaches the ufe of our reafoning faculties is explained, and its importance duly estimated; the tudy of compofition is recommended; the neceflity of an accurate knowledge of geography, chronology, and history is fhown; and there are many juft obfervations on polite literature, the reading of novels (which is generally and justly condemned) natural philofophy and chemistry. In addition to thefe branches of knowledge, the author reminds his pupils, that the useful and interesting science of morals has not been neglected, and that he has carefully imparted to them the evidences (and we conclude alfo the doctrines) of the Christian revelation.

As a relaxation from feverer ftudies, the author's pupils have, he informs us, been made acquainted with the principles of architecture, and have gone through a courfe of natural hiftory, or the fcience which includes the mineral, vegetable, and animal creation. Some ufeful obfervations on the retention and due application of thefe acquirements conclude this part of the work. The third address is on fubjects of a mure general, though ftill more interefting nature, but to which juftice cannot be done by any abridgement or extract. It contains directions to the pupils (then about to quir the place of inftruction) for their conduct in life. Their tutor earnestly exhorts them to perfevere in the cultivation and im. provement of their minds, in order to enjoy and increase the knowledge they have attained; the ufe and advantages of which, in their future lives, are well pointed out. The utility of ob. ferving fome order and arrangement in their reading is alfo enforced by juft reafoning, and proper directions are given for the choice of books. From the cultivation of the intellectual faculties the author paffes to "the care of the heart," and here he cautions his fcholars against the dangerous indulgence of vanity, and that fondness for admiration, fo injurious to the female cha

rafter.

racter. He alfo warns them against thofe extravagant expectations of happiness too often entertained by young perfons on their first entrance into life. Nor is the important confideration of marriage neglected. On that, and on the propriety of attention to general demeanor, on the formation of friendfhip, and epiftolary correfpondence, and, above all, on the infinite importance of leading an uniformly religious life, the author fuggefts confiderations, and inculcates principles which claim our approbation, and indeed deferve our applaufe.

Such are the impreffions which we have received from a work, which, though fmall in extent, is, in the fubject matter, truly important, and contains an outline of female ftudies and duties, not new indeed, but recommended by its judicious and compre henfive brevity; and forming a ufeful manual for thofe who, by natural or profeffional duty, are called to the education of the fofter fex; who have to inform their youthful minds with knowledge, or guide their inexperienced steps in the difficult path of life.

ART. 39. The Danger of travelling in Stage-Coaches, and a Remedy propofed to the Confideration of the Public. By the Rev. William Milton, A. M. Vicar of Heckfield, Hants, formerly Fellow of New College, Oxford. 8vo. pp. 125. 35. Ri vingtons, 1810.

The author of this tract calls the attention of the public to a matter of more general concern than fome perfons will be ready to allow. In the prefent ftate of things, there are in fact very few individuals, except thofe of quite the higheft clafs, who do not occafionally travel in ftage-coaches; and the means of rendering thofe vehicles almoft abfolutely fafe, inftead of, what they have long been, notorioufly and formidably unfafe, are certainly a very humane and patriotic object of enquiry. Mr. Milton, whofe knowledge of mechanics is not only found in itself, but combined with much ingenuity, has contrived a mode of constructing coaches, and other carriages, by which all poffibility of injury from the lofs of a wheel is abfolutely precluded: and the chance of overturn, from inequality of road, or accidental obftacles, is diminifhed in a moft fatisfactory degree. A temporary advantage from this beneficial contrivance is fecured to the inventer by patent; and the prefent publication offers a detail of facts, by which the great fuperiority of the patent coach is fully afcertained, with fome obfervations which tend to anfwer unfair, but fpecious, objections.

The author might have alarmed the public by an account of the Martyrs to ftage-coaches, under their prefent imperfect conftruction; of whom even a very defective lift, comprehending only a limited fpace of time, would appear extremely tremendous; but he has contented himself with ftating the advantages, and explaining the rea

fons,