BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. ART. 14 The Minor Minftrel; or Poetical Pieces, chiefly Famil and Defcriptive. By W. Holloway. 12mo. 182 pp. 45. Suttaby. 1808. The fpecimen which Mr. Holloway has chofen to give of his own poetry, under a beautifully defigned and engraved frontif. piece is this: "Stump, Stump, the beast, with heavy tread, His mafter dozing o'er his head, And reach'd the further bank at last.” Whoever reads thefe will at once recollect that the author is one of the heroes of the Simpliciad, and completely in that ftyle is the poem there quoted, called Hurft Water, (p. 20.) the aim of which, we are told in a note, is "to imprefs on the mind ju ideas of the fuperintendance of Providence." Far be it from us to write with levity on fuch a fubject, but certainly the fagacity and powerful inftinct of the horfe is the chief idea impreffed ty the tale; and why it fhould be particularly edifying to fuppofe an actual interference of Providence in favour of a rafh and drunken farmer, we cannot perceive. We fay however, with plea fure, that the intentions of Mr. H. appear to be uniformly good, and that all his poems are not of a level with "ftump, ftump." We have not been better pleased with any thing in them than the following: A FATHER'S EXPOSTULATION WITH HIS CHILDREN, "Why do thofe clouds of angry humour lour, To break the bond that binds you to your home; For For cruel is that world you have to prove ; May heav'nly grace your virtues then embalm, 'Twili fweeten life, 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; biftorical Notes; a Gloffary, and an Appendix, containing ancient Poems and hiftorical Matter, relating to the fame Event. By Henry Weber, 8vo. 389 pp. 155. Edinburgh, Constable; London, Murray. 1808. Though this poem has been feveral 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 exrious 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. 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 also, that the various tranfcribers from the ancient MS. had boldly in troduced their own interpolations, and as they deemed, emendations, not excepting Mr. Lambe himself. Lambe's notes are alfo alfo very often rambling and little to the purpose. Sach of them as are valuable are here preferved. The edition almoft exclufively followed by Mr. Weber is one in izmo. 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 Cantes. 2. Notes. 3. Various Readings. 4. Gloffary. 5. An Appendix of twelve articles, confifting of poems and historical 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 mult of neceffity fuperfede all its predeceffors. 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 Marithall, preferved in the Advocates Library, Edinburgh. 3. The form of the Earl of Huntley's ftandard. ART. 16. An exact Hiftory of the Battle of Flodden; in Verfe, avritten about the Time of Queen Elizabeth. In which are related many Facts not to be found in the English Hiftory. Pub. lifhed from a curious MS. in the Library of John Afkew, Efq. of 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 poft.. tive, not having Lambe's at hand to compare with it. If any prefer "glandem poft ariftas," they will be purchafers of thisedition, the appearance of which, after that above described, is rather extraordinary. DRAMATIC. ART. 17. Riches, or the Wife and Brother, a Play, in five A&s, founded on Maflinger's City Madam. First aded First aded on Saturday, February 3, 1810, by their Majesties' 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, fpeak 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 ftage, than that its representation should 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 have fpoken moré favourably of the plot of Mafinger, we cannot but feel that this opinion is much nearer to the truth. The task of the modern writer has therefore been, not to alter or new model the old comedy, but to found another upon 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 Maflinger, 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. As he hath ftood the fhock of adverse fortune, I gain a treasure in him: if he fail, And change of circunftances only ferve "Sir M. Howe'er that prove, Such as I think he is. "Sir J. Heav'n grant he may! I loath fufpicion: 'tis a fiend that preys And by its morbid touch converts them all 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 stage. ART. MEDICAL. ART. 18. The Muscular Motions of the Human 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 fanétioned by the Edinburgh critics, has not yet extended beyond the precincts of his own school. The fubject which he has now chofen is important, and well adapted to difplay that minute knowledge of anatomy, for which he is defervedly diftinguished. 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 con, fulting 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 Ďumas; the names of Albinus alphabetically ar Fanged, with the different fynonyms of Innes and Dumas, and references to the regions in which they are found; laftly, the fy. 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 ftructure, 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 muscular action. Many interefting particulars are ftated refpecting the carneous fibres, the tendinous fibres, cellular membrane, arteries, veins, absorbents, nerves, life and irritability. The connection between mufcular action and the vital powers is very remarkable: it explains, fays this author," thofe extraordinary changes which take place in the fyflem of credulous per. fors, whofe fancies are under the impreffions of witchcraft, infa. nity, galvanifm, of animal magnetifm, 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 |