ry, could be obtained to expofe a wretched Ex Jefuit, from whom the interefts of Popery never could fuffer? But, farther, Mr. B--r's fictions are detected on the evidence of ⚫ perfons unconnected, and unacquainted, with each other; ⚫ perfons who could not poffibly confer together to form a confpiracy, and separated through different provinces in Italy, diftant as Scotland and Ireland; circumftances, which ex<clude the very poffibility of a combination to deceive.' As dins controverfy feems to be now drawing towards an end, it is but juftice to obferve, that through the whole course of it this Writer has discovered an uncommon degree of penetration and fagacity, and is juftly entitled to the hearty thanks of every friend to truth, of every confiftent Proteftant, for the pains he has taken in the detecting and expofing a hardy Veteran in falsehood and hypocrify. We fhall conclude with wifhing, that wherever fuch pretended converts as B-r are to be found, there may never be wanting fuch able Detectors as D-s ;-to whom the Public has been more than once obliged for unmasking the most daring impoftures: vid. his difcovery of Lauder's villainous charge against Milton, Review, Vol. IV. p. 97. The Appendix to this final Detection contains all the original papers and letters, in Italian and Latin, with the feals engraved. B-r's feventh Letter to Father Sheldon, is likewife engraved; fo that those who are acquainted with his hand-writing will have an opportunity of judging whether it has any appearance of a forgery. It may not be improper to acquaint our Readers, that the feven Letters to Father Sheldon, the Receipts for the Annuity from the Jefuits, and the authentic Papers and Certificates from Italy, are foon to be depofited in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, by which means every one may have access to inspect and to examine them. R An hiftorical Differtation concerning the malignant epidemical Fever of 1756. With fome Account of the malignant Diseases prevailing fince the Year 1752 in Kidderminster. By James Johnstone, M. D. 8vo. Is. Johnston. TH HIS Differtation begins with a defcription of the fituation of Kidderminster, and of the general employment and circumstances of the greater part of its inhabitants. The phyfico-meteorological obfervations on the conftitutions, and acute difcafes of feveral years, commencing from 1752, employ feveral pages; the malignant Sore-throat raging there confiderably in the fpring of 1753: the difeafe more profeffedly treated of appeared appeared in April 1756, the description of which, in its different degrees, ftages, and fymptoms, with their most usual confequences, is extended beyond the middle of the pamphlet. In the treatment of it Dr. Johnstone generally avoided bleeding, as he fuppofed the blood in a broken ftate; but after giving a vomit, infifts on the frequent ufe of glyfters to relieve the brain, which was often violently attacked, and sometimes gave very gentle dofes of rhubarb. Early alfo in the distemper, fubfequent to the vomit, he ordered fweet fpirit of nitre pretty liberally in mint-water; preferring that and the dulcified mineral acids of vitriol and fea-falt to the faline neutral anti-emetic draughts, which he had ufed with lefs fuccefs.-About the ninth or tenth day, when he found the lownefs greatly increase, with delirium, tremblings, &c. he directed compound powder of contra-yerva, fnake-root, falt of amber, and blifters; tho' he acknowleges, that in fome bad cafes, blifters apparently added to the ferofity, as he calls it, of the delirium. The mitigation of particular symptoms follows the general practice; as the diet of the patient, and other external regulations, are annexed to their mitigation; of all which, we are told, page 53, the event was, that nature thus affifted, generally brought on a crifis the fifteenth or seventeenth day,' (which the Doctor fays, page 27, was not attended with a large evacuation of any kind) unless the cafe was fatal, which, in the highest degree of this diforder, (we are informed, page 22) it generally was.' It is faid, however, that after the falutary crifis, the return of health was extremely flow; and it was neceffary to forward the recovery by gum pills, bark, and elixir of vitriol, with a light and reftoring diet.' As Dr. Johnstone fuppofes this fever contagious, he has an nexed some dietetic rules and precautions against its contagion, But it does not appear certain to us, that it was not rather endemic at Kidderminster, which,' he fays, does not contain much above four thousand inhabitants; that a confiderable part of it is built across fome low marthy grounds, which are • extended several miles above and below the town, and frequently overflowed by the fwellings of the Stour;' and he affirms in fact, this town was liable to putrid malignant dif eafes long before and fince he knew it.' This feems evidently affigning the fituation of the place, and the ftate of the air refulting from it, and the accidents to which it is expofed, as the cause of the difeafe; and certainly the fame conftitution of air, which could breed, could alfo diffuse it throughout that extent in which fuch conftitution prevailed. That the effluvia of the fick, from fuch an atmosphere, would not counteract nor R 3 qualify qualify it, is highly probable; but this does not feem fufficient to constitute contagion in its common acceptation, which we confider as propagated by perfonal contact, or intercourse from man to man, as it is evident, independant of the air, in the plague, fmall-pox, and many cuticular diforders. And tho' our Author obferves, page 17, those who nurfed and vifited the fick in one houfe, often carried it to others, and fickened themselves; yet he immediately adds, that others, who never came near the fick, and perfons in very different circumftances, were also feized with it.' In an unlimited sense it is certain, that every diftemper resulting from the air is effected by contact. Undoubtedly this Gentleman has taken confiderable pains in his Hiftory of this difeafe; and has fhewn his acquaintance with fome of the earlieft and moft graphical Defcribers of Diftempers, in his difcuffion of it; notwithstanding his performance does not feem, on our perusal of it, to have added much, new or material, in practice, to what Dr. Fothergill has advised in the malignant Sore throat, tho' our Author uses evacuations of the Prima Via much more freely. He is fufficiently circumftantial, and fometimes even minute, in his detail of the disease; and yet, in his three different degrees of it, he does not appear to have eftablished any infeparable pathognomonic fymptom, to ascertain the identity of this fever under its various appearances. Complaints in the Fauces were by no means general, thofe affected with the third degree of it feeming entirely exempted from them. And as to what we are told, page 26, In every degree of this diforder, lownefs, debility, reftlefinefs, naufea, head-ach; a general propenfity to a coma or delirium; the fætor, and contagious nature of the excretions, feemed to be its diftinguifhing and characterizing fymptoms;' thefe feem to be too general, and are known to be common to different fevers, in which the groffer excretions are often extremely offensive. Such obfervations had probably difpofed us to give a fhorter account of this treatife, which contains feventy full pages; but for the extraordinary time and pains, we reflected, it must have cost the Author to finish it, as he has: whence himself and others fuppofing the fruits of his experience too flightly received, might be prevented from favouring the public with communications of importance on any fubfequent occafion. We must not omit, that the Doctor informs us, in his Preface, of fome diverfity in the type and fymptoms of this fever in 1757; and of the confequent diverfity in the treatment of it; and tho' his ftile is very generally intelligible, and his profeffed intention was to make it as plain as poffible, we imagine a few efcapes in that refpect may deferve his future attention. Thus fufcepted fufcepted Contagion, page 36, tho' intelligible, feemed to us rather forced and improper. Mobile habits, (ibid) for fuch as are eafily purged, an exceptionable expreffion. Refractory Dofes, page 37, if it could be applied here, would rather fignify violent Dofes, fuch as were not eafily reftrained, when it is evidently intended for gentle ones, by being conjoined with small. But fuch flips in men of literature must be folely the effect of that abfence which occurs fometimes, even in writing. K The Evangelical Hiftory of our Lord Jefus Chrift harmonized, explained, and illuftrated with variety of Notes practical, historical, and critical. To which is fubjoined, an Account of the Propagation of Christianity, and the original Settlement and State of the Church. Together with proper Prefaces, and a compleat Index. The whole dedicated to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in Parliament affembled. By a Society of Gentlemen, who are greatly alarmed at the prefent fhameful neglect of Religion and Virtue, and earnestly concerned for the temporal and eternal Happiness of Mankind. 8vo. 2 vols. 8s. Newbery. IN N this work [as we are told in the Dedication] an attempt has been made, by the help of Harmonists and Expofi. tors, to reduce the four Gofpels into one series of narration, to form a compleat hiftory out of the different narratives of the Evangelifts, by inferting every event in the order of time, and connecting every precept of life and doctrine, with the 'occasion on which it was delivered; fhewing, as far as Hiftory, or the knowlege of ancient cuftoms can inform us, the ⚫ reafon and propriety of every action; and explaining, or endeavouring to explain, every precept and declaration in its 'true meaning.' After being told, in the Preface, (where, if at all, fomething original might be expected) that we live in an age when the holy Scriptures, and the Hiftories therein contained, as well as all revealed religion, are turned into ridicule, even by men who are great pretenders to fenfe and reafon ;'-inftead of fomething that nobody before this anonymous Society of Gentlemen had ever been able to ftrike out; we are immediately prefented with the four celebrated Marks, long ago made ufe of by Mr. Leflie, in his Short and eafy Method with the Deifts, to prove the certainty of the Chriftian religion,-which are all here again produced (tho' without any acknowlegement from whence R 4 they 1 they are drawn) for the fame purpose.-But tho' thefe Marks are most certainly well adapted to ferve the great end of diftinguifhing Truth from Imposture, and were fo applied by Mr. Leflie, long before thefe Gentlemen were fo greatly alarmed, as they mention in the title-page; yet after fuch a folemn declaration as is there made, one would reasonably expect fomething more than common to follow: whereas the body of the work feems to be little more than a mere compilation from former Harmonists, particularly Mr. Pilkington, to whofe Evangelical History and Harmony, our Authors appear to have been greatly obliged. FOREIGN Books, continued from page 177. P. Extrait du grand Principes du Droit de la Nature & des Gens. Sans la Preface. The Principles of the Law of Nature and of Nations. Extracted from the great Work of Mr. Wolff, upon the fame Subject. By Mr. Formey. HERE are two circumftances that seem to be abfolutely Tneceffary to recommend an abridgment. The first is, that the original work has an established character, in point of merit; the fecond, that the bulk of it renders an abridgment requifite. In the prefent cafe, both these circumstances concur, in a very fingular degree. The well founded and extenfive reputation of Mr. Wolff, than whom no man was more admired when living, or regretted when dead, ftands in no need of our recommendation. This great work of his, which has been allo applauded as the most perfect in its kind that ever appeared, makes no lefs than nine large volumes in quarto, and therefore what could be more ferviceable to the public, the fubject efpecially confidered, than that fo good and great a work, thould be faithfully and judiciously abridged? The Author himself was aware of this, which induced him to make fuch an abridgment; of which, however, this by Mr. Formey is not barely a tranflation, but differs from it in many refpects. The great view of this writer, is to make his abridgment a proper introduction to this kind of fudy; and by bringing the propofitions and proofs in the original clofer together, and within a narrower compals, at once to recommend and to facilitate 2. |