The account here given of the death of the Princefs Lamballe is more circumftantial, and exalts even more highly the character of that heroic woman, than any narrative we had before feen. P. 136, &c. Part 34. The style of this book is, in the main, perfpicuous, ftrong, and well adapted to the fubject. We meet with fome inaccuracies, but much fewer than might be expected from the pen of a foreigner. Indeed, he must be a critic of very cold blood, who will not allow fuch a book as this to be exempted from all feverity of criticism. ART. V. An Inquiry into the Abufes of the Medical Department in the Militia of Great Britain, with fame neceffary Amendments propofed, addreffed to the Prefident and Members of the Militia Club. By H. Maifes, Surgeon to the Western Regiment of Middlefex Militia. 8vo. 142 PP. 2s. 6d. J. Murray. 1794: THE Work is divided into five fections. In the first, the author inveighs, furely with exaggerated violence, against the irregularity in the appointments of the furgeons and mates to the Militia, who are frequently admitted, he fays, without exhibiting proper teftimonials of their knowledge and abilities. "Such perfons may occafionally ftumble on a remedy, but we can expect but little rational probability of fuccefs from their fortuitous attempts, and we should fear, that from their ignorance in applying as well as want of knowledge in the application of a remedy, very ferious, though not intended mischief, might enfue, for the unqualified uforper of the medical character, ignorant of the duty which he owes equally to his King and country, and his confcience, may deal out his drugs; and may, nay does, we fear, too frequently deprive us of our deareft intereft. Such," he adds, "is the melancholy picture of our military medical department; to confirm the reality of which we could adduce numberlefs examples. . This is indeed a melancholy picture, but as far as relates to the appointment of mates, the evil is not fo great as it at first may feem. For although we admit, with the author, the importance of the office of Physician and Surgeon to an army, yet, provided fufficient care is taken that the higher departments are properly filled, the admiflion of young men, before their education is completed, cannot be attended with ferious mifchief. On the contrary, as they will act at firft under the aufpices of older and more experienced perfons, the militia may ferve as a school, and young men may, from a few years ex perience perience there, acquire as much, perhaps, more ufeful knowledge than is ufually picked up from attending the lectures and hofpitals of London and Edinburgh. In the next fection, the author attempts to fhow that the office of mate to the furgeon, is nugatory and useless. From the degrading and fubordinate fituation of the mate, he is liable to be treated with contempt and infult by any ignorant schoolboy who may happen to be placed above him; and from the fmallness of his pay, only three fhillings a day, it is impoffible he should keep up that dignity which fhould be attached to the medical character. Hence perfons of education and abilities, who alone ought to fill this poft, will not accept, or continue in it, and it is neceffarily filled by the ignorant and illiterate. But there is another more forcible reafon, this author says, for abolishing that office. Although government makes an abundant allowance to the furgeon for medicines, the mate can only obtain such as the furgeon chooses, and, as the favings from the drugs form a part of the furgeon's income, he takes care not to diftribute them too liberally. "For I believe," he adds, "it is a general rule with regimental furgeons, to fave as much as poffible from what is called the medicine money." This fubject is purfued in the next fection, which treats "of the fupply of medicines and neceffaries for the fick." One hundred and twenty pounds a year, Mr. M. fays, is allowed to each regiment for medicines: this he calls, and properly, an abundant provifion. Lefs than half the fum, he thinks, even in times of almoft general ficknefs, would be more than fufficient, and the remainder might be expended in wine, fugar, and fago, for which there is no provifion. In ordinary times, thirty or forty pounds would be fufficient to purchase an ample flock of the choiceft drugs that could be procured. But this fum, he fays, is rarely expended by the furgeon, who makes by this article, little lefs than an hundred pounds a year. This is effected, the author fays, not only by reftricting the quantity, but by procuring" the cheapeft, and perhaps the coarfelt, articles of the materia medica." The only remedy, he adds, for this evil, would be, for Government to take upon themselves the management of the business, and instead of allowing money, to fupply the furgeons with the neceflary medicines. As this is a fevere charge against militia furgeons, it cannot be doubted but fome one will vindicate the corps against fo foul a ftigma. In the following fection Mr. M. attacks the monopolizers of medical honours and emolument, and in the fifth and lalt, he treats of "the difficulties prefented to the regimental furgeon." In this his cenfures are principally levelled at the commanding officers, who do not 1 pay pay fufficient attention, he thinks, to the reprefentations of the furgeon, or give them fufficient authority to enable them to do that juftice they would wish to the patient. But here the fecret motive appears, and from expreffions in this section, it is evident the author lives in a ftate of warfare with the officers of the regiment to which he belongs: and though he declares, that " difaffection hath not given rife to these fuggeftions and reprefentations, but that they have an from the most mature reflection, and from the fulleft conviction of their importance and neceffity," yet it seems evident that chagrin has warped his judgment, and we should hope made him magnify trifling errors into crimes of importance. Be that as it may, we fhall not become the vehicle to any more of his charges. What we have faid will be fufficient to turn the attention of those whom it more immediately concerns to the fubject, who, we doubt not, will correct any ferious abuses that may have crept into this neceffary and important branch of military economy. The style of the tract throughout is declamatory, the language turgid, and fometimes hardly intelligible; faults that we remember to have noticed, in our examinations of the author's treatise on the blood, which we reviewed in September last. ART. VI. Henry; in Four Volumes. By the Author of Arundel. 12mo. 12s. Dilly, 1795. THOSE fevere critics who in a novel can fee nothing worthy of attention, or serious examination, are of too fublime a caft for us to emulate. In our opinion it is a fpecies of compofition the laws and appropriate merits of which it might become an Aristotle to investigate and pronounce *. Allied to poetry in general by its characteristic quality of invention, and excluded from it, folely by the want of the poetical language, verse, it unites in fome degree the advantages of the epic, comic, and tragic poems. Like these, its very soul is its fable +; the imitation of one complete action; in the complication and folution of which the chief art of the writer is difplayed. Delineation of character is alfo its next excellence, and in many respects it bears the comparison fo well, that fome critics have A good effay on novels may be found in the introductory chapter to B. III. of Henry; with hints in other chapters. † Αρχὴ μεν ὧν καὶ οἷον ψυχὴ ὁ μύθος της τραγωδίας. Arif. Poet 6: even ventured to name it the comic epos. It is, however, either comic or tragic, according to the choice of its author; and admits yet better than the drama, of the mixture called tragicomic. Even the compound name, invented for it by the great master Fielding, of "profai-comi-epic writing," is not fufficiently extensive. It is, without doubt, frequently disgraced by the attempts of writers unqualified to fupport its dignity, but that affects not the merit of the art. Without going further into this difcuffion, which would foon lead us beyond the limits of moderation, we shall without hefitation avow that, with Mr. Cumberland, we confider Fielding as an author "whofe talent for novel-writing was unequalled, and whofe authority ought greatly to weigh, with all who fucceed him in the fame line;" and we commend him (though we would not commend every writer) for working on his model. We agree too with Fielding, that "the critic. rightly confidered, is no more than the clerk, whofe office it is to tranfcribe the rules and laws laid down by thofe great judges. whose vaft strength of genius hath placed them in the light of legiflators, in the feveral sciences over which they prefided*." On this authority, we consent to allow the propriety of an introductory chapter to each book; though we have many objections to them, and have felt that, even in the hands of their inventor, they fometimes hang heavily upon the reader, and incline him to accept the permiffion of the author, to begin each book at the fecond chapter. In the hands of ordinary writers they would be dreadful refrigerants, or foporifics. We certainly have not this fault to object to Mr. Cumberland's introductory chapters, but we do object ftrongly that he does, what to the best of our recollection his model never did, and what certainly ought not to be done; he there drops altogether the veil of fiction, and talks openly of his power to difpofe of his characters and their fortunes as he thinks proper. It is true that the reader of a novel does not fuppofe himself reading a real hiftory, any more than the fpectator of a drama imagines himself seeing a real action; but in both cafes there is a voluntary delufion, which the reader and spectator choose to impose upon themselves t; and if the author, by any injudicious management, forbids this fpontaneous felf-deception, he destroys a great part of the pleasure. The air of truth and hiftory fhould always be preferved, jocularly if you please, but so as rather to prevent the recollection that the whole is feigned than to * Tom Jones B. v. Ch. 1. + This is the real folution of a famous problem. The drama is not a deception, but it is an amufement in which the poet and the manager are to affift the fpectator to deceive himself. force force it upon us. Confider what would be the effect, if bes tween each act of a drama an actor fhould come forth to tell the audience that it is all mere fiction, and that the author could make it end well or ill as he pleafed. The truth is fo, but at fuch a time it would be a very unwelcome truth; and it is little lefs fo in a novel. A heavier accufation we have alfo to bring against Mr. C. of which he was evidently aware, for he has written a chapter to obviate it, which is the unneceffary profligacy of some of his characters, and the high and dangerous colouring of feveral of his fcenes. This is a moft powerful objection against Tom Jones itfelf, a book no lefs dangerous than it is able. But Fielding's life had been for the most part a life of libertinism, and he naturally delighted to excite paffions to which he had given too great indulgence. But the moral writer, the occafional, though not always judicious, defender of Chriftianity, the emulator of Milton in the fublime piety of a facred poem, is not the perfon from whom we can tolerate fuch offences, or the vain attempt to palliate them by fallacious apologies. But we will act fairly by Mr. C. and let him ftate his own argu ments. "There is, notwithstanding, more for me to do; and as these volumes are my clients, fo am I their advocate, and must be prepared for all that may oppofe me: the next, however, is a gentle caviller, and approaches in a form that challenges my refpect; it is a reader ĺ would not offend and fhock for all that fame could give me; fhe comes with modeft blushes on her cheeks, and points to certain pages doubled down in my offending work, too highly coloured for her chafte revolting eye to rest upon. What fhall I reply to this appellant? How defend myself from one, who comes into the lifts with all the virtues armed in her fupport? Where now is my impure Jemima? where is Fanny Claypole? where even my benevolent Sufan May?-Fled out of fight, abafhed and felf condemned! What avails it me to fay that they are Nature's children? My reproving critic does not wish to make acquaintance with the profligates of her family. In vain I urge, that contraft is the foul of compofition; that joy and forrow, health and sickness, good and evil, chequer life itself through every ftage; that even virtue wants an oppofite to give its luftre full difplay: fhe does not think that scenes, which addrefs themselves to the paffions, can be defended by arguments that apply to the judgment: I may be juftified by the rules of compofition; the is trying me by thofe of decorum. If I fhelter myfer in the plea, that temptations are the test of an heroic fpirit; that I cannot make bricks without Straw; and that although the faid ftraw be of an inflammable quality, yet I muft work with fuch materials as I have: fhe will not hesitate to admit the neceffity of temptations, but the will refolutely condemn the too profufe and prominent difplay of them; fhe would work her hades more tender; mine are too bold: If I fay, wait for the moral, the |