TRANSLATIONS FROM PETRARCH. III. Son' animali al mondo di sì altera Vista, che incontr' al sol pur si difende: Altri, però che 'l gran lune gli affende, Non escon fuor, se non verso la sera : Ed altri col desio folle, che spera Gioir forse nel foco, perchè splende, Provan l'altra virtù, quella che 'ncende. Ch' io non son forte ad aspettar la luce Però con gli occhi lagrimosi e 'nfermi E so ben, ch' i vo dietro a quel che m'arde. Creatures there are i'th' world, of glance so bold, And some, by veriest foolishness cajoled, Rush to the gorgeous flame on pinion slight, And find its tempting lustre not as bright— With these, alas! 'tis mine to be enroll❜d! Too weak to bear that beauty's fatal blaze, To seek retirement's solitary shade Unknowing, and the silent hours of gloom; With tearful eye, by destiny betray'd, Backward I turn in purblind awe to gaze— Turn, ah! too well I feel, to meet my glittering doom. IV. Mille fiate, o dolce mia guerriera, Per aver co' begli occhi vostri paee, V'aggio profferto il cor; m' a voi non piace Mirar si basso con la mente altiera: E se di lui forse altra donna spera, Vive in speranza debille e fallace: Or s'io lo scaccio, ed e' non trova in voi Nell' esilio infelice alcua soccorso, Nè sa star sol, nè gire ov' altr' il chiama, F. R. S. Potria smarrire il suo natural corso; Chegrave colpa fia d' ambedve noi, E tanto più di voi, quanto più v' ama. A thousand thousand times, my lovely foe, And if love's flames for me in others glow, Thus by its master chased, by you denied Haply it may provoke untimely fate : But heavier, Lady, yours, as more you are adored. F. R .S. ANSWER TO JUVENIS'S CHARADE ON OXFORD. A youthful bard has lately shown Her knowledge in sublimest arts;-- And that my next, with graceful pride, Unites what classic waves divide; My whole, though unannounced, I fear A TWIN SISTER Analytical Review. An Answer to the Enquiry, If it be the Duty of every Person to study the preservation of his Health, what Means are the most likely to answer that end, and to which recourse may be had by all Classes of People? By Disney Alexander, M. D. Member of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, and of the Philological Society in Manchester. Bickerstaff, London, 1804. DR. ALEXANDER (who was formerly a medical practitioner in Halifax, now in Wakefield, Yorkshire,) delivered this essay in the year 1804, before a meeting of the Philological Society in Manchester, and published it with a view to furnish directions for such as have little acquaintance with hooks in general, and still less with the elements of medical science in particular, and those who have neither time nor inclination to peruse more elaborate treatises. In the title there is something, we know not if we should say whimsical, but be that as it may, we can assure our readers that after they have passed the threshold, they will meet with matter more than sufficient to compensate them for any apprehension which that might excite. In the management of the subject, correct judgment and good sense are shown throughout. There are no abstruse definitions,- no elaborate descriptions drawn up in all the formal technicality of art,- no obtrusive pedantry, nor any parade and conceit of learning. Though the author has not produced a scientific essay, he has shown that it comes from the pen of a man of science. Under the several heads of Diet,-Air,-Exercise, and Medical assistance, he has animadverted with judgment, sometimes with pleasantry, on the immense train of evil consquences which flow from the absurd manners, habits, dress, anusements, and practices of men, whilst at the same time, he does not forget to furnish them with the best method of preventing those evils. We have not much expectation that the epicure will admire his doctrines when he says, that a fashionable table set out in all its magnificence, presents to his fancy, only gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies lying in ambuscade among the dishes,— that incalcnlable mischiefs flow from the copious libations of wine, that generally crown the festive board,—that the hearty suppers with which some people indulge themselves are equally prejudicial to health: but to those who consider the subject in a rational manner, his observations will doubtless appear worthy of much attention. We are not quite sure that he is wholly correct in enumerating amongst the facts fully ascertained relative to the inoculated cow-pock-that it is "a perfect security against the future infection of the small-pox." Dr. A's remarks on exercise coincide most exactly with our views, and indeed the whole pamphlet has so much to be approved in it that we choose rather to recommend it to the perusal of our readers, than enter into more particulars, and we are confident that we shall have the suffrage of the intelligent when we say that were his observations acted upon, to a supposable extent, one-fourth part, at least, of the misery which is connected with the diseases and bodily sufferings of our fellow-creatures, would be removed. A few of the coucluding observations on a subject deserving of great attention; shall * Author also of a treatise on the nature and cure of Cyanche Trachealis or Croup; 8vo. published 1794. shall end this brief notice, while we express our sincere thanks to Dr. Alexander for the pleasure and the benefit we have derived from the perusal of his little work. "Lastly, I call upon all, who value the preservation of their health, the soundness of their constitution, and the prolongation of life itself, to beware of Quacks. "In one respect,' says a judicious writer, we have little occasion to extol ourown enlightened age at the expence of those which are so frequently and justly called dark. I allude here to the bold and artful designs of imposture, and particularly medical imposture. The host of empyrics and mountebanks, with which this nation abounds, who with a confident address and affected humanity so admirably succeed in imposing upon the public, who may literally be said to live upon the credulity of mankind, sufficiently evince that this is far from being the age of reason, that the temple of superstition is yet thronged with numerous votaries; that the human mind is still a slave to the most tyrannical prejudices; and that there is no readier way to excite attention and admiration than to affect the mysterious and the marvellous.' "As matters stand at present, it is easier to cheat a man out of his life than out of a shilling, and almost impossible either to detect or punish the offender. Notwithstanding this, people still shut their eyes, and take every thing upon trust that is administered by any pretender to medicine, without daring to ask him a reason for any part of his conduct. Implicit faith, every where else an object of ridicule, is still held sacred here. If I know myself, I may venture to affirm that I should be one of the last persons in the world to infringe the rights, or abridge, in any sense of the word, the liberties of my fellow-subjects; but so fully am I convinced of the pernicious effects which are daily disseminated throughout all ranks of people by the encouragement given to these pretenders to physic, that, were I in office, I should certainly consider myself justified in laying such a tax upon all medicines whatsoever of this description, as would place it completely out of the power of any but the very richest of our nobility and gentry to purchasee them. "The most effectual way, however, of checking the progress and counteracting the evils of quackery, is to diffuse a taste for science, and to promote candid and liberal discussion amongst mankiud. Ignorance is the parent of empyricism, as well as of almost every other vice which has disgraced the annals and cast a shade over the history of the human race. ""The veil of mystery, (as the learned author whom we have before quoted upon this subject very properly observes) the veil of mystery, which still hangs over medicine, renders it not only a conjectural, but even a suspicious art. This has been long ago removed from the other sciences; which induces many to believe that medicine is a mere trick, and will not bear a fair and faithful examination. Whereas medicine needs only to be better known, in order to secure the general esteem of mankind. Its precepts are such as every wise man would choose to observe, and it forbids nothing but what is in compatible with true happiness.'” * "One cause among others why quack-medicines are in such general vogue, is the public manner in which the cures they are said to perform are puffed off and blazoned abroad, whilst the cases in which they prove ineffectual or injurious, are studiously passed over in silence. "Whereas in the routine of regular practice, recoveries the most remarkable and unexpected, are only regarded as matters of course, excite no interest, make no noise in the world, and are too often quickly forgotten even by those who have most reason to remember them with gratitude. Peak Scenery, or Excursions in Derbyshire: made chiefly for the purpose of Picturesque Observations. Illustrated with engravings by Messrs. W. B. and Geo. Cooke, from drawings made by F. L. Chantrey, Esq. Sculptor, R. A. Dedicated, by permission, to His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. by E. Rhodes. Part I. 4to. £1. 14s. Longman and Co. London. 1818. WORKS of travellers and tourists, when written with taste and judgment, possess a just claim to be ranked amongst the most useful, as they are certainly the most interesting publications that issue from, the press. The description of country alone, unconnected with the history of life and manners, not only pleases, when it gives a true and correct picture of beautiful or sublime scenery, but improves the mind by bringing it more intimately acquainted with the various and extensive works of creation and enlarging its ideas of the power and beneficence of the Creator. When to this description, is added the local history of some of the more interesting places through which the tourist or traveller passes, a new source of amusement and knowledge is opened. The book of life as well as that of nature then unfolds to our view its instructive pages, and we have an opportunity of learning valuable lessons which may continue to be of real benefit to us to the end of our days. With this impression in favour of works of this description, we lately sat down to read the publication now before us, and we will give those of our readers who may not yet have seen it some idea of the plan and merits of this production. The plan of these Excursions is not the circumscribed plan of the topographer, who, from the nature of his employment as his very name denotes, is compelled to notice every place, however uninteresting and insignificant, in the country or county which he professes to describe: but the more free and unconfined plan of the tourist who passes over, in his rambles, those places which have nothing in their external appearance or local history to recommend them to the attention, and dwells only on those scenes which are interesting or captivating. The author has himself given a correct account of his plan in the introduction to his work-in the following words: "From the preceding remarks it will appear that no regular topographical account of any part of Derbyshire is intended in the following pages; therefore, the author trusts he shall not be censured for not accomplishing what was never in his contemplation. He has selected his own plan and he has chosen that which not only leaves him free and unshackled in his operations but gives him an uncontrouled dominion over every object that may be presented to his observation. The topographer is circumscribed in his proceeding and restrained in all his movements. He must necessarily travel over all the ground his design embraces, however dull and uninteresting it may prove the tourist has higher privileges and a happier avocation; like a bird upon the wing, he explores a wide horizon, flits over all that is uninviting and rests only on pleasant objects." But the plan of this work is not more interesting than the execution is elegant. It is illuminated with engravings done in the first style, by Messrs. Cooke from drawings by Chantrey, and of these there are eight in the first part which is just published: we need scarcely observe that they give an additional interest to the work and serve to impress more strongly on the mind of the reader the scenes which are described by the writer. But plates, however beautiful, are not the chief recommendation of this work. The descriptions of the writer equal the drawings of the artist, and the picture of the one |