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POETICA L.

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Art. 36. The Satirift, a Poem. 4to. 2 s. Robson. This poem is written in fmooth harmonious numbers, but is extremely defective in plan and perfpicuity. It is a dark chaos, where a number of unconnected images are jumbling in endless confufion.

Art. 37. Vocal Music, or the Songfter's Companion; containing a new and choice Collection of the greatest Variety of Songs, Cantatas, &c. With the Music prefixed to each. 12mo. 3 s. Horsfield. 1770.

The plan of this collection will render it peculiarly acceptable to fingers, the mufic being prefixed to each fong, &c. The Editor apologizes for the omiffion of the baffes and fymphonies, which might be useful to proficients on the harpsichord, &c. by obferving that they would have fwelled the book beyond the intended limits, and have leffened the number and variety of the fongs; befide that moft of these compofitions may be had ingly at the mufic fhops, at a very cheap rate.-There are none of thofe indecent, ribaldry pieces inferted, by which other collection have been disgraced. Art. 38. An Elegy on the late Reverend George Whitefield, M. A. who died Sept. 30, 1770, in the fifty-fixth Year of his Age. By Charles Wefley, M. A. Prefbyter of the Church of England. 8vo. 6 d. Keith.

Till quite forfaken both of man and God,

Jefus appear'd, and help'd his unbelief.'

We have been told by most divines that the Author of our religion was both man and God; many have afferted that he was no more than man, but Mr. Charles Wesley it seems will have it that he was neither.

Art. 39. An Elegy on the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. By B. Francis. 4to. Bristol printed for the Author, and fold in London by Buckland, &c.

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We fometimes meet with humour in places where we could leaft expect to find it: in pious fermons, and pathetic lamentations for the lofs of a departed preacher. Thus, in the doleful elegy before us, among the many wonderful effects of Mr. W's ministration, we are told that

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The gay, the wanton, for redemption groan,

And drunkard's thirst- for living ftreams alone.'

The title-page informs us that this poem has feen a fixth edition!-which perhaps can only be accounted for by thofe who are well read in the fecret hiftory of title-pages.

Art. 40. An Elegiac Epifle from John Halfer, who was impreffed on his Return from the Eaft Indies, to Sufanna, his Wife. Printed for the Benefit of the Author, now confined on board a Tender. 4to. 6d. Wilkie.

In this little poem the cruelty of impreffing failors on their return from long voyages, is pathetically difplayed. It appears to have been written by fome perfon whofe humanity was equal to his genius; poffibly by the Author of the Poor man's prayer. See Review, vol. xxxv, p. 324.

Art,

Art. 41. Appendix ad Opufcula, Lufus Medici.

Oda Latin

et Anglica Mufarum Numerum æquantes, gratiam ftudiofe colentes, 1. De Libertate et Fortitudine. 2. De Ingenio et Jucunditate. 3. De Choreis et Festivitate. 4. De Otio Medentibus debito. 5. De Senectute. 6. De WILKESIO et Libertate. 7. De Senfuum et Rationis Ufu. 8. De Baccho et Venere. 9. De jufto et tenaci Propofiti Viro. Adjiciuntur Epigrammata, de Infidelibus, de Seipfo, de Reviforibus, ludente D. Gulielmo Browne, 4to. 1 s. 6d. Dodsley.

Clement the Sixth frequently complained of the ftrength of his memory; that, with regard to his reading, it would not let him forget what he wished to forget. Woe to the Reviewers, were their memories compofed of the fame tenacious materials! Had one fingle potion, of the many that Sir William Browne has given us, ftaid upon the ftomach, we had long ere now been down among the dead men. By good fortune, they quickly worked upward and downward, and were carried clean away by the covers in which they

came.

DRAMATIC.

Art. 42. The Reapers, or the Englishman out of Paris, an Opera. 8vo. I s. 6 d. Carnan. 1770.

This Opera, which is abfurdly called the Englishman out of Paris, is a tranflation from a French piece entitled Les Moiffonneurs. There are fome fenfible paffages in it, but neither plot nor intereft; and the laboured quantity of ruftic jargon, with which it every where abounds, it is impoffible to read. In thort it is, in our opinion, a very idle, injudicious publication.

Art. 43. The Father, a Comedy, tranflated from the French of M. Diderot, by the Tranflator of Dorval, &c. 4to. 3 s. Baldwin. 1770.

Were romance to infinuate herself into the arms of comedy, we fhould foon lofe fight of the real drama of life: The true portraits of nature would vanish, and their place would be supplied by nothing but fancy-pieces. In fhort the ftage would be wholly occupied by fuch extravagant performances as the Father, in which the cultivated temper, and chattised spirit, of true comedy, are loft in the wild difplay of over-acted paffions, and the difgutiful abfurdity of ill-directed incidents.

HUSBANDRY.

Art. 44. De Re Ruftica; or, the Repofitory for felect Papers on Agriculture, Arts, and Manufa&ares. 8vo. 2 vols. 12 s. bound. Davis. 1769-1770.

This work having been firft published in numbers, with confiderable fuccefs, its merit is, in courfe, already generally known among the lovers and promoters of agriculture, &c. We have, therefore, only to obferve, for the fatisfaction of thofe few Readers of our work who may happen not to be fufficiently acquainted with the nature of these select papers, that they are chiefly the communications of the

• Many of them through the Society for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, and commerce.

ingenious

ingenious naturalifts, mechanics, and husbandmen of our own coun try; and that many of them are truly valuable, and worthy the attention of the curious, in relation to the various improvements lately made in the feveral branches of knowledge above-mentioned.

As this is not a regular periodical publication, the numbers have. been for fome time difcontinued; and the editors inform us, in their preface, that they fhall occafionally offer their collections to the world, as materials of importance come in; but that they will rather poftpone their communications, than make up a number with trifling papers.

Among the various contributors to this work, we cannot but diftinguish, 1. Mr. John Wynn Baker *, who, in connection with the Dublin Society, has furnished many experiments relating to the culture of wheat, together with directions for the improving of bogland, and obfervations on the effects of lime, as a manure: 2. Mr. Baldwin of Clapham, who has made many experiments on the culture of lucerne, has invented an horfe-hoe, and hoe-plough, for clearing the crops of this useful vegetable from weeds and other rubbish; and alfo an excellent drill plough, lefs cumbersome and lefs complicated than others, and at a price that common farmers can afford to pay: 3. Mr. Aufrere of Hoveton in Norfolk, who has alfo been very curious in the culture of lucerne ; 4. Sir Digby Legard of Ganton, Yorkfhire, author of a valuable eftimate of the profit in the drill and broad-caft hufbandry, for which the Society of arts, &c. adjudged him their gold medal: 5. Mr. Reynolds of Adifham, who communicated an account of, and method of cultivating, a new turnip-rooted cabbage for feeding cattle, particularly fheep; alfo his method of raifing melons without earth, dung, or water, and an account of the caufe and confequence of fmut in corn, with a method of remedy ing that evil; 6. The Rev. Mr. Davies Lambe, of Ridley in Kent, who, for his memoir on the culture of Burnet, &c. received a premium from the Society of arts, &c. Befides thefe, there are many ufeful communications, fent under feigned names; and difcoveries and improvements of various kinds, made by feveral ingenious foreigners, are likewife introduced, with tranflations, and frequently with additional remarks, &c.

A

CORRESPONDENCE.

Letter has been received from the Author of Thoughts on capital Punishments, mentioning fome errors of the prefs in his pamphlet, and referring to pages 19, 22, 27, and 28. This tract is not now in our poffeffion, and therefore we cannot turn to the paffages in queftion; nor, indeed, is it our immediate bufinefs to rectify fuch errors in the feveral publications that come before us: but when our Friendly Correfpondents are fo good as to inform us of the mistakes in our own work (in which, we are very confcious there are but too many) we think ourselves much obliged to them; and fhall ever be ready to acknowledge, and, as far as in our power, amend the faults fo kindly pointed out to us.

Of the kingdom of Ireland. This ingenious hufbandman is now collecting his feveral pieces into one volume, in order to their being published in England.

† See the Catalogue part of our laft Month's Review, Art. 36,

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For MARC H, 1771.

ART. I. Continuation and Conclufion of the Account of Mallet's Northern Antiquities.

the account which hath already been offered of Monf. Mallet's Northern Antiquities, we principally confined ourfelves to a few general extracts, relative to the religion, worfhip, and free fpirit of the Gothic nations, together with the ftate of population among them. There are, however, fo many curious and entertaining circumftances to be met with in this ingenious work, that, if we did not take fome farther notice of it, we should not, perhaps, dó full justice to the Author, or give our Readers that complete information concerning it, which might be acceptable and defirable.

The ftrong attachment of the Northern tribes to liberty, and the manly genius of the modes of government that prevailed among them, are well known. But Monf. Mallet hath exhibited an effect of this difpofition fo fingular, fo new, and which affords fuch a remarkable addition to the history of republics, that it cannot fail of being perufed with pleasure, and of throwing confiderable light on the character of the people who inhabited the North of Europe.

A colony of Norwegians, driven from their own country by the tyranny of one of their Kings, eftablished itfelf in Iceland, towards the end of the ninth century. Hiftory informs us that immediately, without lofing time, they proceeded to elect magiftrates, to enact laws, and, in a word, to give their government fuch a regular form, as might at once infure their tranquillity and independence. The fituation in which thefe Icelanders found themselves is remarkable on many accounts. The genius of this people, their natural good fenfe, and their love of liberty, appeared upon this occafion in all their vigour. Uninterrupted and unreftrained by any outward force, we have here a nation delivered up to its own direction, and establishing

• See Review for Auguft laft.

VOL. XLIV.

N

itfelf

itfelf in a country feparated by vaft feas from all the rest of the world: we fee, therefore, in all their inftitutions, nothing but the pure dictates of their own inclinations and fentiments; and these were so natural and fo fuited to their fituation and character, that we do not find any general deliberation, any irrefolution, any trial of different modes of government ever preceded that form of civil polity which they at first adopted, and under which they lived afterwards fo many ages. The whole fettled into form as it were of itself, and fell into order without any effort. In like manner as bees form their hives, the new Icelanders, guided by a happy inftinct, immediately on their landing in a defert ifland, eftablished that fine conftitution wherein liberty is fixed on its proper bafis, viz. a wife diftribution of the different powers of government. An admirable discovery, which, at firft fight, one would think must have been the mafter-piece of fome confummate politician; and which, nevertheless, according to the remark of a great genius of this age, was completed here, as in other countries, by favages in the midst of forests.

Nature having of itfelf divided the inland into four pro vinces, the Icelanders followed this divifion, and established in each of them a magiftrate, who might be called the provincial judge. Each province was fubdivided into three prefectures, which had their refpective judges or prefects. And lastly, each prefecture contained a certain number of bailiwics; in each of which were commonly five inferior magiftrates, whofe bufinefs it was to diftribute juftice in the firft inftance through their own district; to fee that good order was preserved in it; and to convoke the affemblies of the bailiwic, as well ordinary as extraordinary, of which all free men, who poffeffed lands of a certain value, were members. In these affemblies they elected the five judges or bailiffs, who were to be perfons diftinguished for their wisdom, and were required to enjoy a certain income in lands, for fear their poverty fhould expofe them to contempt or corruption. When the caufes were of any importance the whole affembly gave their opinion. Without its full confent a new member could not be received into their community. If any fuch offered himself, he applied to the affembly, who examined his motives for making the requeft, and rejected it, if the petitioner had failed in honour on any occafion, or was merely too poor: for as the community maintained fuch of its own members as were by any accident reduced to mifery or want, it was their common intereft to exclude fuch perfons as were indigent: they had for that purpose a fund fupported by contribution, as alfo by what arofe from the fines, which were the more confiderable, as they used in thefe times fcarce any other kind of punishment. Laftly, this fame affembly of

the

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