ing-politeness and suavity of manners, in other countries confined to the elevated ranks of life, have pervaded, with few exceptions only, every situation, every profession they are mild and gentle-affable and easy as desirous to please as to be pleased."— Let the reader compare this with a subsequent page, erroneously printed, p. 178, instead of 188. "As might be expected, the disposition of the inferior orders has been but little meliorated by the revolution; the perverse and preposterous notions of equality with which the abettors of anarchy and despotism combined to din their ears, have completely poisoned the ancient French mildness and urbanity, and their rudeness and incivility are intolerably offensive." And with the following. P. 183. But let us descend to experience, the proper test of every doctrine; I have said that suavity of manners pervades all the ranks and gradations of society in France. At Dieppe and Rouen, I experienced it in the most striking manner, with a few solitary exceptions only, &c." In perusing one of the early pages of this work, we were inclined to think that the author was a methodist preacher, who speculated on making converts in France. The remedy he proposes for the vices and miseries of manufacturers, is to introduce religion among them, not that of the church, for he hates establishments, and the established clergy are with him mere hirelings, but that, as we supposed, of the methodists, for in page 35, he says, "We have seen more accomplished in the work of public reformation by the efforts of two unaided individuals only," (Wesley and Whitfield, doubtless) "than by those of a whole hierarchy combined." But our conjecture is completely overturned in p. 191, when having occasion to mention some Evangelical Preachers" who lately went to France to propagate their system, he tells them they may as well drop the scheme," and then speaks with the utmost contempt respecting the doctrine of the Trinity, and the method of salvation by Jesus Christ. 66 seldom tend to a rational conclusion. The " opinion of friends" is no excuse for bringing crude materials before the public; if the author has not leisure for the correction, the alternative is no great hardship; and if it were, the public, which is a purchaser before it is judge, ought to be treated with respect. Considerations on the Laws of Honour: occasioned chiefly by a late melancholy Event. By a Military Gentleman. 30 Pages. We have long wished to see a regular defence of duelling. What is practised by a numerous and important class of society, and in some respect sanctioned by society at large, ought surely to be capable of defence; yet duellists have generally confined themselves to a sort of secret protection granted by vague opinion, and their advocates have rarely appealed to those laws of reason, by which all actions must finally be appreciated. We have in the pamphlet be→ fore us, however, an attempt to vindicate duelling by a train of argument, most of which, or, to oblige the author, the whole of which we should admit, if it were possible for a moment to suppose the annihila❤ tion or repeal of all those laws by which the peace and order of society are protected, and in their room, it were to be enacted, that every man should be judge of his own cause, and every society, whether selfconstituted or legally appointed, were permitted to establish its own particular code of legislation independent of all foreign considerations. But in truth, we cannot for a moment admit such suppositions, nor can we expose their absurdity otherwise, than by asking these plain questions: Can we, as Christians, despise the laws of God? Can we, as subjects, despise the laws of our country? If these may be answered in the affirmative, the controversy is at an end-but to that end, we hope we are not yet arrived.—But let us see what this Military Gentleman" has to advance on the subject. 66 He dedicates his pamphlet to Mr. Heaviside: "To you I beg to submit the following considerations, not doubting you will concur in sentiment; and if they can for a moment alleviate the pangs of suspense on the public opinion of your conduct, which every man of ho nour will allow to have been no more than a just discharge of your professional duty, it will answer every wish of the Author." On the subject of Manners, this author agrees with his brother tourists in general. He has chiefly described those of the country, but except in some few places, they do not appear to differ essentially from those of the metropolis, in which he made but a short stay; what he saw or rather smelt in Paris is much too filthy for our pages. Indeed, throughout his whole tour, if we may be permitted to use a pun on such an occasion, he appears to have paid through the nose most severely.—On the political state of France, he says little. His principles evidently incline to its republican system, but he finds no republicanism in not chuse to be found. Mr. H. committed an error it now, and very judiciously sums up his whole account with a spirited passage, in which security is pre-what he did was "no more than a just discharge of in judgment when he became a party in a duel, but if ferred to all the boasted advantages of nature or art, professional duty, and if every man of honour thinks of climate or of glory. and the Monarch in whose name the trial was instiso," it follows, that the Judges who ordered a trial, tuted, are not entitled to the character here described. The concluding pages give a sketch of the agriculture of France, which appears very inferior to that of England, except in a few instruments employed, which are illustrated by plates. Upon the whole, however, we have been compelled to express our dissatisfaction with a work, evidently written by a man of acute observation, master of a copious style, and of some taste, but whose habits of thinking appear to us to be unsettled, and whose remarks therefore We could have wished that the name of this very respectable professional gentleman had not been brought forward in this manner. We are convinced it is putting him into a situation, in which he would Honour, which we shall give in the author's words :— a confidence of our integrity, matured and ripened by the high opinion and estimation we bear in society, which increases with every truly meritorious action we conceive, devise, or perform for the benefit of others; the idea arising from a faithful discharge of our duties, the fruit of public services, founded on the strictest virtue. It is the grand stimulus to every noble deed: it is inherent in the breast of the conqueror, the constant promoter of public interest, the encourager of arts, manufactures, and commerce, and the principal director and mover to all good and laudable actions." It is, perhaps, unnecessary to point out to our readers the confusion of ideas which pervades this definition; but our author has not probably been accustomed to the art of definition, and has not been told that the essence of a definition is, that it should be short and intelligible. Some of the attributes here collected belong to conscience, some to character, some to patriotism, and some to the spirit of commerce. But it is more important to consider what use the author has made of these, and we soon find that leaving the "encouragers of arts, manufactures and commerce," he proceeds to the honour of warriors, which is the point in dispute. Indeed he relieves the merchant from all obligations on the score of " the honour" here vindicated, by complimenting him with certain "sordid principles" for which the mercantile world will not be ready to thank him-but on the contrary will be inclined to retort, by unanswerable appeals to the character of some warriors, whose "sordid principles" kept pace with their victories. Swift has observed of the Duke of Marlborough, that in all the vicissitudes of his campaigns, he was never known to lose his baggage. And how many instances may be quoted in modern times of the most sordid spirit of avarice walking, if we may use the phrase, hand in hand. with displays of courage and intrepidity? Have not the courts of law lately consigned an officer of unquestionable bravery to the most ignominious punishment known in our laws, for a fraud of the lowest kind? It would be painful to enlarge on this subject; we are not the professed advocates of merchants, but we cannot allow the setting up of one profession in envious opposition to another, nor can we allow that either a counting-house or a commission will eradicate the principles of avarice if they are inherent in the mind. Proceeding to the consideration of duelling, he endeavours to compare it to war, an effort which has often been made, and made ineffectually. He next examines the doctrines of Mr. Paley, on the "Law of Honour," and particularly opposes the opinion of that author when he asserts, that" it allows of every immorality; such as fornication, adultery, prodigality; drunkenness, and revenge in the extreme." Our author adds, “From whence he drew these inferences I know not," and pities his "want of information on this subject." It seems more extraordinary, however, that our author should have taken up his pen without knowing, what every person conversant with life and manners must know. What Mr. Paley asserts is as obvious as the meridian sun; namely, that there is nothing in the laws of honour which discountenances the vices he has enumerated. If our author will still plead ignorance, we would recommend to his perusal the name and rank of our fashionable adulterers for the last twenty years; he may add to these, a moiety of our fashionable seducers and gamblers. Te fact is, that the law of honour which prescribes duelling has no connection whatever with moral characters, or moral conduct. It does not indeed forbid morality, but it neither prescribes nor distinguishes it; it is totally silent on the subject. It forbids that a challenge should be accepted by a man who has been broke for cowardice, who has been branded in the cheek at the Old Bailey, or who has stood in the pillory for fraud or perjury; but a man of honour would no more think of asking his antagonist whether he had committed adultery, or got drunk frequently, than he would insist upon knowing whether he were a Calvinist or an Arminian. "Yet," says our author, "It is presumed, that when a man enters the circle of fashion where honour presides, every moral duty is discharged by him,"—a presumption, in our opinion, beyond the utmost stretch of charity or credulity. Warmed, however, by his zeal in "the glorious cause," he ventures upon other assertions of the paradoxical kind. "The prosecution of a surgeon, who attends the parties to the field, needs no comment: every man of honour must revolt at it." The following is a specimen of his logical and calculating powers, which may perhaps entertain those whom it cannot convince. "The number of men that have fallen in duels do not, annually, on an average of twenty-one years, amount to more than one in a million: the number of duels fought, not two; and the number of challenges sent, not four. Hence we see, that from this small proportion the rest of the community are kept in order. And as a professional gentleman of the highest respectability observed, the number of ladies burnt to death by wearing muslin dresses, which are liable to take fire, exceeds double this number. Yet no one ever thought of making a law to prevent the wearing them; just for the same cause, that the elegance and ease of the wear more than counterbalances the risk. Is not the comparison applicable?"-Yes; nearly as applicable as what immediately follows: "Courage and the means of defence were given to man, in common with every thing in nature, animal, vegetable, or mineral. The animal creation differs from the two last by its sensations, the organization of the parts, and the conception of matter. The nettle has its sting; the rose its thorn; the mineral has its coat, its hardness, or its polish, to preserve it; and man has the use of reason and art." This illustration, we confess, is beyond our comprehension; we can form no idea of the quarrel between nettles and roses, nor had any idea that steel polished itself merely in self-defence. This may be all very just, however; we certainly have observed something like a contest between acids and alkalis, and who knows but the explosion of gun-powder may be the revenge taken by sulphur and saltpetre for our having disturbed them in their beds? We have perhaps dwelt longer on this pamphlet than its size or contents seem to require, but it is not improbable that we have caught a portion of its spirit, B 2 and are disposed to resent so indelicate an attack on the religion and laws of our country. It cannot be expected that we should preserve the urbanity of criticism to a writer who asks," With respect to a recent matter, where is the man of honour that did not, at the moment, feel for the welfare of his country? Where is the man, that would not have considered his country dishonoured and disgraced by such a malicious prosecution?" i. e. a prosecution ordered by his Majesty, as the executive power of these kingdoms. His subsequent insinuation, that actions for challenges are encouraged by the civil power, to fill the pockets of the lawyers, is equally calm and dignified. We are fully disposed to admit what can be advanced in favour of duelling as a prejudice entertained by the gentlemen of the sword; but if it is capable of being treated as a question of reason, it must be by a writer of superior powers, and indeed of powers which we despair of seeing, while we are permitted to look up to our religion and our laws for precept or example. Destroy these, and we must submit to the anarchy of private revenge; and the moral world will exhibit a most delightful chaos of "crimes," as well as "debts of honour." Observations upon Duelling: with a Plan to prevent the frequency of Single Combat. By an Irish Barrister, a 12mo. When we consider the high spirit and sense of honour fostered in the lately united kingdom, we may fairly consider " an Irish Barrister" as entitled to rank with a "Military Man," whom, however, he far exceeds in temperance of language, and conciliatory manners. In defence of duelling, he advances as much as the subject will bear, and his " plan to prevent," is what we believe has often been suggested, "Court of Inquiry," or as it might be termed, a Court of Honour, established under the auspices of his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief. The learned gentleman however is, we trust, aware that such a Court, to be useful, must be armed with powers which perhaps would trench on those of other courts. Some kind of argument and persuasion of friends are attempted in the cases of most duels, but what is to be done with the illiberal and the refractory, or with men who are encouraged by their seconds to fight within an hour of the quarrel, and during the first and strongest heat of passion? Voyage home from the Cape of Good Hope. By Dr. Tytler. The most unpleasant duty of a reviewer is the being obliged to tell a respectable person that he has mistaken his talents, and published a work, with his name affixed, which cannot do him credit. We do not wish to criticise with severity a production which deprecates criticism, but Dr. Tytler can certainly never have shewn it, before publication, to any literary friend, or if so, not to those who would speak their sentiments with sincerity; for we have seldom read more prosaic verse or more trifling notes. the first, take the following specimen (which, by the way, boasts, like the Irishman, of seeing the dagger which is invisible.) Of But "Again 'tis night; we spy from far Th' effulgence of the Georgian star So radiant in the skies, That came to Windsor's sage in view, When he with care and skill look'd thro' Huge astronomic eyes.” even these are exceeded by the epigram, as it is termed, of sixteen lines, on receiving a present of wine. We have not often read such a couplet as this: "At length he [Bacchus] visited South Afric's clime, And here produced Cape wine in length of time." And surely it was hardly worth a note to quote Virgil as an authority for conscious of right,' and Homer, for the friend of human kind.' 6 We also must object to part of the title of the extempore verses on leaving the beautiful villa at Stoke, as vila is a very improper term for one of the most princely mansions in the kingdom. It is barely doing justice, to say, that every line of Dr. Tytler's book speaks a heart full of morality, benevolence and friendship; qualities of infinitely more sterling worth than any poetical excellence; but the best sentiments lose half their effect when delivered in very indifferent verse, and we consider ourselves acting the most friendly part to the author when we advise him to quit poetry for some other pursuits to which his talents are better adapted. 30. CRIES Rufus, vaunting of his judgment strong, 51. CRIES Nell to Tom, 'midst matrimonial strife, "Curs'd be the hour I first became your wife." By all the pow'rs," said Tom, "but that's too bad, You've curs'd the only civil hour we've had." 58. "YOUR countenance, Jack," says my father one day, 66 66 PART II.-2. A SPEEDY REMEDY. My Lady faints; my Lord, with anxious care, 3. THY Courage, Tom, is by thy reas'ning tried ; 13. tedious, rather than instructive, to enumerate all the names and characters of the various species, which can only be clearly understood by a view of the plates. We shall therefore restrict ourselves to a few observations which do not stand in need of that assistance. Astragalus alpinus is classed by our author under Phaca, with the additional appellation Astragalina. The line of distinction between Phaca and Astragalus, rather difficult to be drawn, he determines by—carina obtusa; stylus imberbis ; stigma capitatum legumen 1-loculare subturgidum, sutura superiore intus tumida et seminifera. Two new species have been added, Phaca glabra and Phaca triflora from Peru. Figured are oxytropis physodes, squammutosa, filiformis, longirostra and brevirostra, all from Siberia. Oxytropis annularis from Egypt; Oxytropis glabra, and astragalus cracca, from Peru. Astr. unifultus, lineatus, nummularius, and purpureus, from Provence. Astr. hispidulus from Egypt. Astr. macrostachys from the Levant. Astr. canescens, and astr. nanus, La Billardiere, from Syria. Astr. alyssoides, psoratoides, Pall; Astr. hirsutissimus, La Billard; astr. megalanthus ;. astr. albicaulis, from Siberia; astr. tuberculosus, La Billard; from Syria; astr. microphyllus; astr. semibilocularis; astr. odoratus; the last differs but very little from astr. uliginosus. Astr. mucronatus; astr. falcatus. Astr. peregrinus, Pall; astr. metrocarpus ; RICH, fair, and wise thy spouse? No! though she be astr. tomentosus; astragalus gummifer yields some Both rich and fair, I cannot, Tom, agree To call her wise who made a choice of thee. 23. TO A SPENDTHRIFT. THUS saith Philosophy amidst her lore, In this collection, as in all others, we could not but remark that the shortest are by far the most terse and forcible. The spinners of epigrams should recollect that the thread is weakened in proportion to the length to which it is drawn. Augustini Pyrami Decandolle Astragalogia nempe As- quota gum tragacanth, but inferior in quality to that which is generally sold, and which is probably obtained from astr. creticus, and echinoides, Decand. On this occasion our author observes, that the gum exsudated and settled under the bark of the tree has perhaps occasioned the production of the Naemaspora a new genus of fungous excrescences. Astr. longifolius, wild; astr. brevifloris; astr. compactus; astr. Echinus, La Billard; astr. retusus, Wild; astr. lagurus, Wild; astr. vaginans from the Levant; astr. cephalanthus from Persia; astr. lignosus; astr. cinereus from Siberia; astr. anthylloides; astr. hirsutus; astr. clavatus from Armenia; astr. angulosus from Syria; astr. latifolius; astr. eriocarpus; astr. physodes, astr. brevicarinatus and astr. uniflorus. List of New Publications from June 1, to June 30, 1803. (To be continued regularly.) Many of the Articles in this List, which have no Critical Comment subjoined, will be reviewed at large. HISTORY, VOYAGES, AND TRAVELS, Travels through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire, in the years 1793 and 1794; from the German of P. S. Pallas. 4to, vol. 2, with many 4l. 4s. Od. plates, maps, &c. History of the Invasion in the County of Wexford, in 1798, &c. with a map. By Edward Hay, Esq. 8vo. 10s. 6d. An Historical Review of the State of Ireland, from 85. Memorabilia Cantabrigiæ, or an Account of the diffe rent Colleges in Cambridge; with Biographical Sketches of the Founders and eminent men, with original Anecdotes. Adorned with portraits and views of the Colleges. By Joseph Wilson, Esq. Inner Temple, 8vo, boards. POLITICS. 10s. 6d. The writer of this Pamphlet has taken a very candid view of the principal points contained in his Majesty's declaration as leading to the renewal of the war, and has examined them with much moderation. He points out, from the official documents which were published relative to the late negociations, the numerous insults and ag Essay on the Principle of Population, or a View of its past and present Effects on Human Happiness, &c.gressions received by this country from Fiance, which he properly considers an ample justification of the conduct By T. R. Malthus, A.M. New edition much enpursued by his Majesty's ministers. We are, however, so 11. 11s. 6d. larged, 4to. well convinced of the general approbation of the principles Reflections on the Causes of the present Rupture with on which the present war is carried on, as to render any arguments in its favour almost unnecessary. France. By John Adolphus, Esq. See p. 11. 38. 6d. The Day of Alarm, being a progressive View of the Spirit and Designs of France, before and during the War, &c. 48. Summary Account of Leibnitz's Memoir, recom- From the Title prefixed to this Pamphlet we were in the An Address to the People of Great-Britain, with Observations on the late Negociation between this Country and France, &c. By John Corry, Author of a Satirical View of London. 15. Mr. Corry in a spirited manner calls on the People of Great-Britain to unite in defence of their country from invasion, and to resist the ambition of France.-This pamphlet is adapted to the understandings of the common people for whom it is designed; an etched frontispiece represents Lord Whitworth and Bonaparte at their confe rence. Vindication of the Cause of Great-Britain. By W. THEOLOGY. 8s. Vindiciae Ecclesiæ Anglicana, in which some of the 6s. 58. The Divine Glory displayed, by the Permission of Sin: |