For cruel is that world you have to prove ; May heav'nly grace your virtues then embalm, 'Twill fweeten late, and make its burthen light And fnatch from grudging care one little day." P. 108, After all, though we deteft affected and over-ornamented poe try, the profaic fimplicity of Mr. Holloway is often too much in the oppofite extreme to give us pleafure. The true genius of poetry feels the right medium, and attains it, without deviating on either fide, ART. 15. The Battle of Flodden Field; a Poem of the fixteenth Century. With the various Readings of the different Copies; hiftorical Notes; a Glossary, and an Appendix, containing ancient Poems and hiftorical Matter, relating to the fame Event. By Henry Weber. 8vo. 389 pp. 15s. Edinburgh, Conftable; London, Murray. 1808. Though this poem has been several times printed, it has never till now been well edited. Lambe's edition has latterly been the most esteemed, though, as the prefent editor fays, "with regard to the first duties of an editor, Lambe failed moft grofsly. He gave no account of the manufcript from which he printed his text, and which he feems actually to have fent to the prefs. It was natural to fuppofe, from the expreffion upon the title-page, a curious manufcript, that he had made ufe of a very ancient copy. In this way he faved his confcience and deceived the purchafers of his book (and among others, Ritfon.) For the friendly exertions of Walter Scott, Efq: and Patrick Brydone, Efq. having procured the editor a fight of this manufcript, he was greatly difappointed in difcovering the very modern date of it. There are certain evidences that it was written after 1707, as Eachard's (Echard's) Hiftory, which is quoted in the notes, was published in that year; and the modern hand-writing demonftrates that it was copied 30 or 40 years after that." P. xvi. It appears alfo, that the various tranfcribers from the ancient MS. had boldly introduced their own interpolations, and as they deemed, emenda, sions, not excepting Mr. Lambe himself. Lambe's notes are alfo alfo very often rambling and little to the purpofe. Such of them as are valuable are here preferred. The edition almost exclusively followed by Mr. Weber is one in 12mo. which appeared in 1664, and the various readings of the other copies have been noticed. The prefent edition then contains, befides the preface, in which the hiftory of the poem. is given, 1. The Poem itself, in nine Fits or Cantos. 2. Notes. 3. Various Readings. 4 Gloffary. 5. An Appendix of twelve articles, confifting of poems and hiftorical extracts relating to the fubject. In tranfcribing the title of the poem from the Harleian MS. 3526, the editor has overlooked a few words, which should be inferted after the Earl of Surry, Lieutenant-Generall for the King," namely, thefe, with his fon Lord Thomas Haworth, the Great Admirall of England." See the third volume to the Harleian Catalogue of MSS. But in general there is every reafon to commend the faithfulness and good judgment of Mr. Weber, whofe edition must of neceffity fuperfede all its prede ceffors. The ornaments are, 1. The fword and and dagger of King James IV. preferved in the Heralds' College, London. z. The ftandard of the Earl Marifhall, preferved in the Advocates Library, Edinburgh. 3. The form of the Earl of Huntley's ftandard. ART. 16. An exact History of the Battle of Flidden; in Verfe, written about the Time of Queen Elizabeth. In which are related many Facts not to be found in the English History. Pub. lifhed from a curious MS. in the Library of John Afkew, Efq, ef Palinfburn, Northumberland; with Notes by Robert Lambe, Vicar of Norham. 12mo. 227 pp. 6s. Newcastle, Hodg fon; London, Longman and Co. 1809. This appears to be merely a republication of Lambe's edition, we believe without any addition, but of this we cannot be pofitive, not having Lambe's at hand to compare with it. If any prefer "glandem poft ariftas," they will be purchasers of this edition, the appearance of which, after that above described, is rather extraordinary. DRAMATIC. ART. 17. Riches, or the Wife and Brother, a Play, in five Aått, founded on Mafinger's City Madam. First acted on Saturday, February 3, 1810, by their Majefties' Servants, of the late Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, at the Lyceum Theatre. By Sir James Bland Burges, Bart. 8vo. 99 pp. 2s. 6d. Tipper. 1810. This play attracted the public attention, and it deserved to do it: there are good materials in it, both old and new. Sir James Burges Burges does not, we think, speak too harshly of the old play, when he fays, that it prefents fo ftrange a mixture of good and bad writing, of exalted fentiment, and grofs obfcenity, that it is lefs furprising that it should have been fo long banished from the stage, than that its representation fhould ever have been fuffered. Nor was its contexture better than its morals; its plot was extravagant and improbable; its characters were ill fupported; and any intereft, which might have been created in the courfe of the drama, was effectually stifled by the abfurdity of its conclufion." Though Some excellent critics haye fpoken more favourably of the plot of Maflinger, we cannot but feel that this, opinion is much nearer te the truth. The talk of the modern writer has therefore been, not to alter or new model the old comedy, but to found another upop it, in which the most striking parts of the original are introduced. Sir John Frugal, now Sir John Traffic, is fuppofed to make away, with himself, from vexation at his wife's ill conduct, and by a pretended will in favour of his brother Luke, detects the latent villainy of that canting hypocrite. To accord with the paffages, of Mallinger, the whole play is written in blank verse, and in a ftyle very well agreeing with the original. Sir John thus explains his purpofe of trying his brother Luke: "Turn as it will, One of my purposes must be fulfill'd. If Luke be fuch as you conceive he is, As he hath ftood the shock of adverse fortune, I gain a treasure in him: if he fail, And change of circumstances only ferve. "Sir M. Howe'er that prove, "Sir J.. Heav'n grant he may! I pray you: mark his change of countenance When firft he hears your tidings-probe his foul.". P. 50. Sir James has often with great skill interwoven the verses of his author with his own. Much and often have we wished, that the claffical English cuftom of writing comedies in blank verfe were re-established. It would put fome check, at least, upon the torrents of nonfenfe which overwhelm the ftage, ART. . MEDICAL. ART. 18. The Mufcular Motions of the Iluman Body. By John Barclay, M. D. Lecturer on Anatomy, Fellow of the Royal College of Phyficians, and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, &c. &c. 8vo. .590 pp. 125. Boards. Longman and Co. and J. Murray. 1808. Dr. Barclay is already known to the public by a bold attempt at reform in anatomical nomenclature. But the innovation which he propofed, although fanctioned by the Edinburgh critics, has not yet extended beyond the precincts of his own fchool. The fubject which he has now chofen is important, and well adapted to difplay that minute knowledge of anatomy, for which he is defervedly diftinguifhed. He has, however, in our opinion, li mited both the circulation and the utility of his work, by em. ploying terms, which must be unintelligible to the majority even of profeffional readers, unless they will endure the labour of confulting and ftudying the treatife on "a new Anatomical Nomen. clature." The volume is divided into three parts; of thefe, the first contains the arrangements of the muscles into regions of Albinus, of Innes, and of Dumas; the names of Albinus aiphabetically ar ranged, with the different fynonyms of Innes and Dumas, and references to the regions in which they are found; lastly, the sy. nonyms prior to the time of Albinus. This part occupies 161 pages, and confifts of a dry catalogue of hard names, in the perufal of which the most obtufe plodder can alone hope to fucceed. The fecond part contains the mufcles peculiarly belonging to the offeous structure, arranged according to the feveral bones to which they are attached, with general obfervations on the different parts conftituting a mufcle, and general obfervations on mufcular action. Many interefting particulars are ftated refpecting the carneous fibres, the tendinous fibres, cellular membrane, arteries, veins, abforbents, nerves, life and irritability. The connection between muscular action and the vital powers is very remarkable: it explains, fays this author, "thofe extraordinary changes which take place in the fyftem of credulous perfons, whofe fancies are under the impreffions of witchcraft, infanity, galvanifm, of animal magretifm, or animal electricity. And the fame connection likewife explains how our muscular ftrength is varied by the ftates of fick nefs and health; and how our exertions are more or lefs vigorous and extenfive, continued for a longer or a fhorter period, and attended with greater or with lefs fatigue, in proportion as the mind happens to be influ enced by the exhilarating or depreffing paffions." P. 219. If, in the courfe of thefe obfervations, we are feldom delighted with novelty, we are at leaft gratified with ingenious argumenta tion and deep research: indeed the author almoft perfuades us that he has arrived at the boundaries of inveftigation, and exhausted all the fountains of knowledge. Thus, after touching on the difficulty of explaining the manner in which impreffions reach the fenforium, he remarks, "Even the voluntary functions themfelves, the very functions that feem to depend on our own choice, that feem to follow as the confequences of our own previous intentions; even these very functions are in many refpects fully as inexplicable as the involun tary; the functions over which we have no controul, and concerning a great many of which we have not even the leaft information by feeling, by confcioufnefs, or the proceffes of reafoning. A man cannot move his tongue, or his finger; he cannot fo much as even make a fign that he really has within him a few inconfiderable particles of knowledge, without employing at that very moment a variety of means of which he is grofsly and deplorably ignorant, and must ever be ignorant to the laft pulfation that vibrates in his heart." P. 269. The most original portion of the volume is the third part, which treats of the action of mufcles, and contains their different arrange.. ments according to the motions in which they co-operate. The author begins by confidering the motions of the head, and proceeds in regular order to thofe of the neck, trunk, and extremities. The arrangement is judicious, and furgeons and anatomists will: derive much inftruction, from this part of the work, at least, from. that portion of it which they can understand. That this is not a groundless infinuation, we fubmit the following fpecimen to our readers. The author, after defcribing four pair of muscles which› affect the articulation between the occipital bone and the atlas. only, obferves, "As each of thefe pairs has one of their halves fituated dextrad, and the other finiftrad, of the mefial plane, in. exerting a force that is fternad or dorfad, they must at the fame time exert a force that is dextrad or finiftrad. In conceiving, therefore, how the head is inclined fimply fternad, fimply dorfad, dextrad, or finiftrad, we cannot help seeing that it must move in the diagonals of forces that are fternal, of forces that are dorsal,› dextral, or finiftral; that the lateral forces, dextral and finiftral, must act as directors to the fternal and dorfal; the sternal and dor. Yal, again, as directors to the dextral and finiftral; that the motor forces muft be moderated by thofe of the oppofite afpect, and the facral forces, at the centre of motion, be refifted by the fulcrum : in all cafes, the dorfal mufcles, dextrad and finiftrad, being the motors in inflections dorfad; the fternal muscles, dextrad and finiftrad, the motor mufcles in inflections fternad; and the lateral mufcles, dorfad and finiftrad, neceffarily co-operating in inflections latered." P. 313. In taking leave of this work, we have no hesitation in declaring, that it is a valuable addition to phyfiological fcience: at the fame |