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the carnal kind.—As to his duplicity and falfe promifes, they have good reasons not to believe you-as to his avarice, it is none of their business to pry into private affairs: and there is no appearance of parfimony in the difpofal of the public revenues and as to his political abilities, they admit that the nation in that refpect finds him inferior to their prefent chancellor, yet he is a great man, and has fenfe enough to anfwer every univerfity purpose.

Your humble servant,

ISAAC QUADRANT.

Mr. Quadrant will excufe me for having omitted two pages of his letter,-they were not very interefting to the public, though it gave me infinite pleasure to learn that my first number was written in a species of logic, called "the combined conditional Syllogifm."--I must be ingenuous enough at the fame time to confefs that Ariftotle had fo thorough a contempt for the "hypothefis;" that he has not even mentioned it. I am not fo much obliged to my correfpondent for the appellation of Phillippic given to my paper-it is the attribute of Rhadamanthus "to have a fevere eye upon the example, but a merciful eye upon the perfon.- -The jurifdiction which I have affumed, extends only to matters of a public nature.- -Had his grace therefore confined his follies and vices to that obfcurity for which they are calculated, he might have lived the jeft of a jockey club, and the play-thing of a fuperannuated proflitute, without lett or moleftation: but, fince with no more abilities than would be fufficient to qualify a gentleman ufher, he hath by a series of fhallow plaufibility, and the favour of blind chance been raised to his prefent confpicuous ftation, the difcuffion of his merits is become a very ferious object." A minifter (fays Dr. Swift) hath no virtue, for which the public may not be the better, nor any defect by which it must not certainly be a lofer.". My only view hath been without hard conftructions or strained inferences to exhibit a plain unaffected narrative of notorious facts,---if they fhould be fuch as to excite the indignation of this age, and the contempt of pofterity, I can only tay, non famam curioris, non diverfas fpes, fed rerum veritatem, et reipublicæ incolumitatem fimpliciter fpe&taffe."

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me

I have not leifure at prefent, to confider the conduct of that learned body, which on another occafion, gave half its fuffrages to the most profligate man exifting, whofe public breach of private confidence and friendship, seems by this forgiving age to be already forgotten.

AN

AN IMPARTIAL REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, &c.

The Hiftory of Hindoftan by Mahummud Cafim Ferifhta of Delhi, tranflated by Alexander Dow, 2 vols. Quarto. boards, Il. 10S.

Becket.

HIS history is one of the moft extraordinary performances which has appeared in Europe for many years. The affairs of Hindoftan were unknown before, which we now fee have been written with more certainty, minuteness, and with lefs prejudice than those of any European nation. This hiftory is a book of the greatest merit, and not inferior in its kind to any of either Greece or Rome. We are deprived at firft of a great part of the pleasure we fhould have in reading it by the difficulty of remembering the names of places and perfons which are so numerous in an abridgement, and to which we have not been accustomed. The narration, description, and juftness of the author's reflections upon the different events and characters of principal people, must be admired by every impartial perfon of good tafte. Though we do not understand the Perfian language, it is impoffible not to attribute the greateft merit to the tranflator. The account which he has given us of the present state of Hindoftan, is inftructive and entertaining. We hope that he will continue his plan, and not be offended at the little low dirty jealoufy, which muft of course pursue merit of every kind. The tranflation of Baber's Commentaries, and Abul Fazil's Akbar Namma, would be a moft agreeablepresent to Europe.

A Second Letter to the Right Honourable Thomas Harley, Efq; Lord-Mayor of the City of London.

THIS

HIS is not the only letter, which has been addressed to the present intrepid and warm Mæcenas of the city. The author of the former letter, which we have reviewed in our last Number feems to think that the author of this has

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availed himself of the title and fuccefs of his letter. In confequence of which he advertifed that this was the production of another hand; he need not have advertifed it, for every one could perceive it. The wit of this being as much fuperior to that in his, as the wit of Ariftophanes and Lucian are fuperior to that of Tom Brown and Joe Miller.

His reflections on the publication of the Poll for the city of London are droll enough, and, as they are intended to damp the vanity of the most vain man in London, appear with great propriety.

The author on the whole, feems to have as much humanity as wit, and deplores the less that the publisher of the poll muft fuffer with a pathos, which is becoming of a man of fenfe and a Chriftian.

"The Princess of Babylon, tranflated from the French of Mr. Voltaire. Bladon. 8vo.

TH

HE author's name, is too well known to the literary world to leave it in any doubt concerning the merit of his performance. The fame vivacity and invention which are to be met with in his other works, are to be found in this; and if his intention was to entertain, he has fucceeded to the height of his wishes. It were indeed to be wished that age had made him a little more ferious, and that, instead of throwing out oblique hints against the facred books, he would employ his talents in enforcing their doctrines, explaining their difficulties, and establishing their authority. ButVoltaire will be Voltaire to the laft; and inftead of profiting by the remonftrances, which have already been made to him on this fcore, will endeavour to render the adviser ridiculous. The conclufion of this work acquits us from being cenforious, and fhews, that our fentiments in this particular, are founded upon fact.

The heroine of this romance is Formofante, the daughter of Belus king of Babylon. She is reprefented to be fo handfome, that in fucceeding times, according to our author, "Praxiteles fculptured his Aphrodita, and the Vénus of "Medicis, from her pictures." Being now of an age fit for marriage, three fuitors appear to dem nd her in form, who are reprefented by Voltaire in his ufual drollery. They were the three kings of Egypt, India, and Scythia. But it being ordained by an ancient oracle, that Formofante could be given only to one, who could bend the bow of Nimbrod, or Nimrod, kill the fierceft lion that could be let loofe in the circus of

Babylon,

The

Babylon, and was not only very fagacious, but likewise the moft virtuous of men, and fhould poffefs the greateft curiofity in the universe; the three kings being informed of the conditions on which they were to poffefs the princefs of Babylon, appear at the place of trial. Pharaoh the king of Egypt was mounted upon the bull Apis; the Shah of India was drawn in a car by twelve Elephants, and the Khan of the Scythians was mounted upon a tyger of his own taming. The competitors caft lots to determine the order of trial. But while they were preparing for the rencounter, a young ftranger appears mounted upon an unicorn, accompanied by his valet, and bearing on his hand a large bird. He is faid to have the face of Adopis upon the body of Hercules, and to charm all the beholders. Formofante, herfelf kept her eyes fixed upon him and blushed, the three kings turned pale, and the fpectators cried that no one but he could be as handsome as Formofante. The king of Egypt begins the trial, and by his ridiculous contortions in endeavouring to bend the bow of Nimrod, filled the whole amphitheatre with laughter. The bow was next put into the hands of the king of India, and bliftered them for a fortnight. The Scythian bent it a little, but could never bring it any thing near a curve. unknown youth then leaped into the area, and putting an arrow upon the ftring, made it fly beyond the gates. The conqueft of the lion being propofed next, the kings of Egypt and India decline the trial, and the king of Scythia alone fubmitted to it. In his rencounter he had the mifchance to break his fword against the lion's teeth; and when his life was in imminent danger, was rescued by the unknown youth, who cut off the lion's head. The head being cleaned, is presented to the princess by the bird, after the fockets of the teeth were filled with diamonds. Belus fending to inform himself of the stranger's quality, is furprized to hear that he was a fhepherd's fon, and thinking him unworthy of his daughter on account of the meannefs of his rank, has recourfe to the oracle for advice, which informs him that his daughter fhould not marry till she had travelled over the world, Previous to this, the young ftranger, who is called Amazan, receives advice that Ormar his father was at the point of death. On this account, he fets out immediately to pay his laft devoirs, having firft made his apology to the king of Babylon, and prefented his bird to Formofante his daughter, The defcription of this bird is full of the marvellous. He is reprefented as being twenty feven thoufand, nine hundred years and fix months old, as being endued with the gift of fpeech,

and

and to complete the joke, is exprefsly named a Phenix. The meaning of the oracle being explained away to the king of Babylon, so as to fignify only a pilgrimage, he confents to his daughter's going to a temple in Arabia. During this interval, the princefs has a converfation with the bird, he informs her that the stranger's name was Amazan, and that he belonged to the country of the Gangarids, who inhabit the eastern fhore, and are a virtuous and an invincible people. The defcription of this nation is not unlike that of the people of Eldorado in our author's Candide. The morning after this converfation, the king of Babylon informs his daughter of the response of the oracle, who was refolved to make use of his compliance with it, as a means of going in quest of her dear Amazan. The remainder of the volume coniifts of a variety of incidents which happened in, and a description of those countries the paffes through in her route. As a fpecimen of the reft, we shall extract that which relates to our own country, not only as more interefting to ourselves; but likewife as tending to fhow what idea is entertained of us by foreign nations.

Formofante having continued her purfuit after her dear Amazan over the greatest part of the continent, got intelligence that he was failed for Albion: and after hiring two veffels to carry her to that happy ifland, was detained by contrary winds for above eight days. In the mean time Amazan was on the road to the capital of Albion, in his coach and fix unicorns, all his thoughts being employed on his dear princefs. At a distance he perceived a carriage overturned in a ditch: the fervants had gone different ways in queft of affistance: but the owner kept his feat, fmoking his pipe with great tranquility, his name was the lord What-then.

Amazan made all hafte poffible to help him, and with his fingle arm fet the carriage to rights. My lord What-then took no other notice of him, than faying, a stout fellow by god. In the mean time the country people being come up, flew into a great paffion for being called for nothing, and fell upon the ftranger, abufing him, calling him outlandish dog, and challenging him to ftrip and box.

Amazan feized a brace of them in each hand, and threw them twenty paces from him; the reft feeing this, pulled off their hats, and bowing with great refpect, afked his honour for fomething to drink. My lord What-then now expreffed great efteem for him, and asked him to dinner at his countryhouse. His invitation being accepted of, he went into Amazan's coach. After a quarter of an hour's filence, my

lord

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