• from fuch a wonderful proceeding, but this useful, this comfortable ⚫ leffon !-that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word • of God?'

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Art. 46. A Letter to the Rev. Dr. J. Taylor, of Norwich, Author of The Covenant of Grace, &c. From a Rational Baptift. 8vo. 6 d. Henderfon.

The purpofe of this unimportant Letter, is to let us know, that the Author has read Dr Taylor's Covenant of Grace, without becoming a convert to the Doctor's notion of baptifm; and without being deterred from a defign he had formed of fending to the prefs a work, in five feparate parts, to be entitled, The Rational Baptift: of which work the Author befpeaks Dr. Taylor's public notice, whenever it fhall appear. The Rational Baptift," fays he, is lefs folicitous to gain profelytes, than concerned to be made a convert to the truth, as it is in Jefus. If, indeed, he has erred in the premises, he covets the affiftance of Dr. Taylor's ability and candor, by detecting this error, to reconcile him with judgment, and without fcruple, to • his former practice, in the only profeffion wherein he covets, and can reasonably hope, to be useful.'

Art. 47. Die and be Damned. 8vo. 6 d. Hooper.

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The defign of this very fenfible performance, is to check the prefumption and vanity of our new-fashioned Saints, the Methodists; whole manner of working on the minds of their weak and terrified hearers, is aptly intimated in the words of the foregoing laconic titlepage by which we are to understand, that damned we must be, as fure as we die, unless we are conducted to Heaven through Mr. Whatd'ye call-him's new turnpike road.

Art. 48. Advice to the Devil. In a letter to Hell. 8vo. 6d. Fuller.

A filly imitation of a well-known pamphlet, entitled, 4 fure Guide to Hell. Its Author is fome illiterate, prefuming methodist, who feems to be as well acquainted with irony (the figure in which he has chofen to fend his thoughts to the Devil) as thofe of his learned tribe usually are with modefty.

* See Review, Vol. II. p. 370

MEDICA L.

Art. 49. Plain Directions in regard to the Small-Pox. By Browne Langrifh, M.D. and Fellow of the Royal Society. 4to. 1 s. 6d. Baldwin.

I

Dr. Langrish, whofe former writings have been juftly received with respect, does not pretend to have advanced any thing that is not well known to the Learned,' in his prefent performance; his profeffed motive for which was, merely to assist and direct such who have not

had

• had time or opportunity to purfue a regular courfe of study. The precepts here delivered are, indeed, no lefs judicious than plain, and cannot fail anfwering their Author's benevolent purposes, in the hands of perfons endued with a tolerable fhare of understanding and modesty : but, without intending to derogate in the leaft from the utility of this publication, let us be permitted to obferve, that it is but too generally feen among the inferior adventurers in medicine, that ignorance and audacity are commonly companions, and that temerity is too often miftaken for experience. To fuch it is recommended to remember the obfervation of the Roman fatyrift,

Publica lex hominum, naturaque continet hoc fas
Ut teneat, vetitos infcitia debilis actus.
Diluis Helleborum, certo compefcere puncto,
Nefcius examen; vetat hoc natura medendi.

PERSIUS.

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Art. 50. A free and candid Examination of a Pamphlet, entitled, An Analysis of Dr. Rutty's Methodical Synopfis of Mineral Waters t. 8vo. Is. Cooper.

As we did not enter into a very minute difcuffion of the performance intended to be hereby animadverted on, we cannot with propriety be more particular with respect to thefe remarks.. Let it then fuffice to mention, that our Author confines himself to fhew, ift. Dr. Lucas's mifrepresentations and unfair dealings;' and 2dly. to make ⚫ fome obfervations on what he has endeavoured to point out as capital errors in [Dr. Rutty's] Chemistry.' Upon the whole, it may be justly faid, that the Remarker has performed his undertaking with judgment, decency, and fpirit.

Annexed to the Remarks, is a little piece, that has fince appeared in a separate pamphlet, entitled, The Analyser analyfed, wrote in the perfon of Dr. R. (but not by him) and addreffed to Dr. Charles L. This piece is a juft, but fevere expoftulation with the latter, concerning his Analysis; in which Dr. L's candor, learning, and philofophy, are humorously arraigned. In the conclufion, the Doctor is made to undergo a catastrophe fomewhat fimilar to that of Partridge, the famous Aftrologer, murdered by the Dean of St. Patrick, of fa

cat.ous memory.

See Review, Vol. XVII. p. 170.
Printed for M. Cooper, price 6 d.

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Art. 51. Select Cafes in Surgery, collected in St. Bartholemew's Hofpital. By J. Farmer, Surgeon. 4to. Is. Hinton.

Thefe cafes, which are twelve, appear to have been collected without much judgment, the Collector premifing to his Readers, that if they contain nothing new, he hopes they contain nothing abfurd;' which a few moft courteous Readers may think a modeft fort of apology for publishing them. But if it should be admitted as a fufficient one, what volumes of infignificant, tho' not abfurd cafes, might not be voided on the Public, in confequence of it! In an age fo prolific of

Authorifm,

Authorifm, lads and nurfes might be abundantly encouraged to it. We imagine, indeed, the prefent Collector intended, by the means of this fmall bundle of penny cafes, which are not over cheap, to advertife his having attended St. Bartholomew's Hospital, as a furgeon. This he has as much right to do, as to fiick up his name, or hang out a fign: and even a bad one may be better than none; a rough crook ed billet has frequently ferved the purpose. However, when the prefent fign (with very little prejudice to its owner) may be worn out and forgot, we would advise him to a reasonable embellishment of the next, if he should chufe another book or pamphlet for a fign. For although no perfon reads cafes in furgery, or even in phyfic, fr the fake of their style, it seems expedient that they should be intelligible, and it were decent for them to be grammatical. This does not happen to be the cafe of all these cafes; to felect one instance of which from a great number that might be produced, we are told, p. 17, of a patient wounded in the left hand by a bullet- The mo

tion of his wrift and fingers was rendered useless ;'-by which we imagine Mr. Farmer intended to inform his Readers, that his patient loft the use or motion of his wrift, and that of his fingers. Some Readers might poffibly invert the former affertion, and to imagine, that an immobility of the writ and fingers raight be rendered ufefu!, which is unquestionably true, with regard to fuch adventurous perfons as are too dexterous by long practice and habit, and whofe very lives might be often preferved by fuch an inactivity of the peccant members. Nevertheless, we would not wish this fpecimen of our Author's inabsurdity to operate further than it ought, as it is by no means confequential, that a bad Writer thould be an indifferent Surgeon. K

Art. 52. A Difcourfe concerning the Plague and peftilential Fevers, plainly proving, that the general productive caufes of all plagues or peftilence, are from fome fault in the air, or from ill and unwholefome diet, &c. &c. &c. By Sir Richard Manningham, Knt. M. D. F. R. S. and of the College of Phyficians, London, 8vo. 1s. 6d. Robinfon.

This pamphlet, without the prefent preface, we find to have been printed in the year 1744, under the tile of, The Plague no contagious Difeafe; and as fuch we had referred to, and partly characterized it, in its then anonymous flite, in our account of Ingram's Hiflerical Account of Plagues. See Review, Vol. XI. p. 133, 134, 136. The prefent title page, which is ftrangely conttruéted, and much too prolix for our inferting it at length, endeavours to obtrude it on the Public as a performance, chiefly occafioned by the late fcarcity of corn; which, being like to be attended with unwholefome diet, may be fuppofed to termi late in the production of a plague. This circumfiance may have alfo produced fome little additions and alterations, to and from the former pamphlet, in the courfe and fequel of this; in order to accommodate is to the prefent juncture; but this we have made no extraordinary researches into, for having foon fatisfied ourfelves it was pretty effentially the fame, we really could not repeat

Our

our former fatigue of reading it throughout: and we can truly affirm, it gave us fome concern to fee the name of a gentleman, dignified with fo many honorary diftinctions, prefixed to the falfe and peftilential doctrine it continues to inculcate, of the Plague's not being importable nor contagious; and to its many other crude conceptions on different heads, which are often as crudely expreffed. It must not be unpleafant, however, to obferve an Author, who has profeffedly wrote to prove the abfurdity of the Pettilence's being propagated from man to man, wind up his performance with the following modest expectation. • We doubt not but every candid Reader will readily perceive, that, throughout our whole treatise, we have no other end in view, than a laudible defire and hope of promoting the general good and welfare of the people; a duty very becoming every faithful fubject in his par ⚫ticular calling." p. 84. Indeed the people had been encouraged to hope, p. 51. that learned phyficians might practife with as equal fuccefs [ie. in the Plague] as in other epidemic fevers. We are convinced, however, it will be full as fecure, for all who can, to retreat betimes from the place infected, and let the phyficians cure one another first, as a fample of their prevalence over it.-It should not be omitted, that the fineffe employed in this republication of an old pamphlet has been formerly practifed in this Gentleman's name, s we had occafion to remark in our account of the Aphorifmata Medica, Review, Vol. XIV. p. 584.

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Art. 53. A Letter from a Phyfician at Bath, to Dr. Heberden, Fellow of the College of Phyficians, in London. Wherein are fet forth the nature, fymptoms, and cure of the malignant fore Throat, with a hint or two concerning the efficacy of the Bark, on fome important occafions. 4to. Is. Withy and Ryal.

This trifling and inaccurate Writer fets out with a stiff, and, we dare fay, no very agreeable compliment to the worthy physician to whom he addreffes his letter, and with whom he affumes an intimacy; affirming, without any hefiration, p. 3. That from the perufal of two treatifes on the subject of a fore-throat (whofe Authors he ⚫ compliments on their abilities and good intentions) he cannot on the ⚫ftricteft attention be induced to believe, that either of them had ever met with a really malignant fore-throat.' This, however, we fhall find our Author did, and why it might not as well have been their chance, feems difficult to fay. He fuppofes bleeding, and fometimes repeated bleeding, to be neceffary in all inflamed throats, according to the pulfe, and other fymptoms: and immediately fubjoins That the malignant fore-throat, of which few survived the violence, was unknown to him till within ten or twelve years paft, when it ⚫ proved very fatal in a family of great diftinction.'. As this profeffedly came within the Author's knowlege, and was probably under his treatment, it is not likely that bleeding was omitted, however unfuccefsful it might have proved; this gentleman commencing the treatment of it with bleeding, fcarification, and dreing, with hot tinc

♦ Doctors Huxham and Fothergill,

ture

ture of mytrh, and fometimes Unguentum Ægyptiacum. The event, however, would have difpofed fome practitioners to try a different method. He fays, indeed, that the few inftances he has feen of ⚫ perfons emerging from it, have been from repeated bleeding, bliftering, and keeping the body open;' though he immediately adds, bleed, or bleed not, few escape its violence. In fact, it is not very clear, that these different Authors mean precifely the very fame acute difeafe, which will not always follow from the fame parts being always affected in each. This gentleman afterwards recommends nitre, elixir of vitriol, and the bark in this diftemper, which leads him to a very short defcant on the virtues of the bark, in which there is nothing new or important. Yet as he feems to have an itch for making difcoveries, he says, p. 12. I fhall juft further infinuate, that not only thefe malignant fore-throats, but also eruptive fevers in general,' [whence he cannot mean to exclude the fmall-pox] frequently become infectious, of which I have seen several inftances,' [how new and furprifing!] particularly in regard of young people: which ⚫ fhews what caution and circumfpection are requifite, in order to prevent the fpreading of thofe maladies, in whatever neighbourhood which they unfortunately happen to make their appearance in.' And thus he concludes he has executed his plan; and as we have faithfully reported it, we may venture to fay, it required very little knowlege or experience in phyfic, to execute it in the manner he has done. Indeed the whole fhort performance is of a very flimfy texture, containing fome dogmatical affertions, little reasoning, and a few contradictions in practice, which it may not be neceffary to particularize to a medical Reader; to add nothing further than what we have literally quoted, of the Author's crudity as a Writer. He has the modefty, nevertheless, to rate thefe firft fruits (as we conjecture them) of his genius, contained in about twelve fmall pages in quarto, and rather loosely printed, at the price of One Shilling-hough probably few of its Readers have withed it longer.

I.

SINGLE SERMONS.

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THE Geurford, Feb. 16, 1758. By Francis Webber, D.D.

HE Government of the Heart: Preached before the Univer Dean of Hereford, and Rector of Exeter College. 8vo. 6d. Rivington and Fletcher.

II. Little Children invited to Jefus Chrift. Preached in Hanover County, Virginia, March 8. 1757, with a fhort account of the late remarkable impreffions among the ftudents in the College of New Jerfey. By Samuel Davies, A. M. 12mo. 4 d. Buckland.

III. Religion a ferious Affair.-Preached at Oxford-Chapel, March 12, 1758. By Thomas Dyer, M. A. Rector of Bedhamptou. Publifhed by particular defire. Part I. 8vo. 6d. Brindley, Baldwin.

IV. The Falfe Witness reproved. At St. Mary's, in Oxford, at the Affizes, March 3, 1758. By William Dodwell, D. D. Canon-Refidentiary of Sarum. 8vo. 6d. Rivington and Fletcher.

V. A conflant Meditation of Death, the beft Security against its Terrors. Preached at Long-Ditton, April 11, 1758. at the funeral

of