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< own humour and fenfes? Self is their only concern, ease and pleasure their only purfuits.

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And if the utility of it, with regard to the public, be fo great, its advantages in private life are rather more obvious: · by this fweet and intimate union, how are the hearts of men cheared and comforted? every evil of life alleviated and leffened; every joy of it raifed and improved: where the difpofitions" tally and are mutually (weet, it is fo blissful, fo truly paradifaical, that he who is in it would hardly defire to change it for another: It hath this, the greateft and only inconvenience, that it ties our affections too faft to the world, fo faft, that we are with difficulty weaned of that affection, and hardly torn but by violence from it.

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• Without this partnership, hardly any condition or fortune yields much content: a four and peevish inquietude, which in the long run turns ever into melancholy, grows upon the beft tempers in a folitary and fingle ftate, which the sweetness • and chearfulness, peculiar to the fex either banishes or preBetween man and man, the closest and dearest friendfhip rarely continues long, because they never can bring their obligations and interefts to be the fame. Here the ties of both lead one way; and as the knot is indiffoluble, fo, for that reafon, may the friendship. Upon the whole, I cannot help thinking, that even the great man quoted, decided against himfelf, when he faid, "That a man at no age can want a "good reafon to marry." For wives are young mens miftreffes, the companions of middle age, and old mens nurses. There are, indeed, numerous circumftances in this fstate to make it eligible, and very few to make any wife man decline it.

Thus it is one mighty recommendation, that where it finds men virtus, it generally keeps them fo; and where it finds them immoral or vicious, it as often reclaims them.

Men may not brook to be told this; but as I am here luckifly out of the reach of contradiction, I will tell them, that for the little virtue many of them have, they are indebted folely to the advice and example of their wives, agreeably infinuated at feafons when none other can reach them, and operat ing in a variety of ways that no words can defcribe; nor any judgment but theirs, who are ever with them, and about them, could dictate; as may be feen from the many inftances of fuch as turn idle contemptible fots, to the ruin of their affairs and families, who used to be tolerably fober and decent, whilst they had the awe and advantage of a Curtain Lecture.'

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The Author admitting that there are many unhappy marriages, infifts, however, that the fault is not in the inftitution; and that if a man hath chanced ill, it is odds he either had not • difcernment to chufe well, or prudence to manage well after wards; or brought with him unreasonable computations, and falfely reckoned that fhe, who was defigned by nature, and appointed by God for his companion and equal, fhould be the flave of his humour; or for a reafon beautifully intimated by Solomon, which I must leave to your own underftandings to "explain: Haft thou found honey, eat fo much as is fufficient for thee, left thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.'

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He concludes with fome hints to explain in what way the honour of this eftate may be beft kept up, and the advantages of it fecured.' Some extracts from thefe close the article. ..I would recommend to fuch as are very selfish, and very humourfome, not to marry, at least till they had corrected and fweetned their temper. Because in this state they muft yield to many reftraints, and fometimes recede from their humours, or they cannot be happy and it is no objection, that people 'who are so very selfish, that, as the great Author already cited obferves, their very garters and buckles are bonds and shackles to them, are miserable in it. Such can be happy in no ftate; they are as unfit for fociety as for marriage; and convents and cloifters, if only fuch were to be put into them, would deferve encouragement, as much as hofpitals for idiots or lunatics.

'Let love therefore tie the knot; let hearts be joined as well as hands, and all the little incidents which are the common occafions of ftrife and vexation, will rarely happen, or if they do, find an eafy remedy: where there is mutual love, there will be mutual defire to please, and desire will both beget and quicken endeavour: it will either prevent or extinguish every fufpicious jealoufy, difpofe the party in the wrong to make fuit-, able acknowlegements, and the other grateful requitals. When afunler, it will inflame them with a defire to fhorten abfence; when together, it will be a fpring of lafting fatisfaction; they will part with regret, and they will meet with joy.

But ftill love must have efteem for its foundation, and virtue for its fupport, otherwife brutal luft will as well deferve the name; and every trifling incident will give it fome allay: they who, ⚫ are cautious and difcreet in their choice feldom find reafon to repent: and wifdom in men, and chastity in women, should ⚫ weigh most in that ballance, which is to determine their mutual choices; for the ftrongest bond of chastity and obedience in the wife, is the opinion fhe hath of her husband's wifdom, and

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and the ftrongeft bond of the hufband's love, is the opinion he hath of her modesty and fidelity.

Let me advise men, however, never to prefume too much upon their wisdom, nor women too much upon their chastity; for women rarely brook contempt, and men as little care to be thought under obligations that they cannot repay: let each therefore refrain from upbraiding for defects on either fide where one hath a vifible fuperioriority; for upbraidings leave a fting in the breasts both of men and women, which put them too often upon retaliating. They create fufpicions of some latent difaffection, that others may be higher in their esteem, that they are weary of their lot, and repent of their choice; which jealoufy will raise rancour and bitterness, that preying inwardly will either destroy the perfon, or burft into rage and fury, that will make both compleatly wretched.

It is a bad method which fome men take to cure these evils by flying from them: if a husband's conduct hath provoked the wife to clamour, if he runs to a tavern to avoid it, he will hardly find her in better temper when he returns: for by this he gives her a reason to justify herself, which she will rarely neglect to lay hold on.

There are men fo unreasonable, as to expect, whatever irregularities they commit, in gaming, drinking, late hours, and bad company, ftill to find their wives at home in good humour; and I have known wives fo unreafonable, as to expect that their hufbands fhould always be at home, and in their company, though their carriage is fuch, as muft neceffarily • make home more difagreeable than any other place.

Here now I own it is hard to advife, for men rarely gain. much by any rough or boisterous methods of afferting their prerogative; the lets this is brought to trial, the more fecure it is, and more likely to be refpected. All I can fay is, that as this is a cafe werein cuftom alone hath in all countries afcertained the privileges of both fexes, and here hath left little more than a nominal fuperiority to the man, the likeliest method to foften and make them obfequious is, by careffing and • endearments; and where this won't do, the cafe, I doubt, was either without remedy at firft, or is paft it now.

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But what faith the Apoftle in this matter, writing to the Ephefians he adviseth women to reverence their husbands, to Jubmit themselves to them, to be fubject to them in every thing. He doth; yet let not the hufband plume himself too highly. 6 upon this for this reftriction comes after, as it is fit in the Lord: i.c. in the fenfe of an ancient Father, where nothing is

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required contrary to good fenfe, or any rule of virtue: And if good fenfe is to determine either as to decency or virtue, I doubt the fuperiority will be often on the female fide.'

The good Doctor finally clofes with fome pious reflections, applicable to the subject; as well as more fuitable to the gravity of a pulpit discourse, and to his own character, as a Chriftian Divine, than fome parts of the Dedication appear to be.

MONTHLY

G.

CATALOGUE,

For JANUARY, 1758.

POLITICA L.

Art. 1. Candid Reflections on the Report of the General Officers, appointed by his Majesty's Warrant, of the ft of November laft, to enquire into the Caufes of the Failure of the late Expedition to the Coafts of France. In a Letter to a Friend in the Country. 8vo. Is. Hooper.

Though this pamphlet profeffes candour in the title-page, yet

we can discover but few fpecimens of it in the body of the work; which is a fophiftical attempt to exculpate the Generals in the late Expedition, and to fix the blame of its mifcarriage on the Projectors.

Speaking of the Report, the Author fays I begin with fairly Owning to you, that it paffes my comprehenfion. Could fo extravagant a cafe be fuppofed, as that there was a collufive compromife agreed on between the Projectors of the expedition and the Commanders of it; that fince fome Report mut neceffarily pafs, fuch an one should be dictated as fhould neither acquit the one, nor con'demn the other; I should think there could not have been a more admirable piece framed for such a purpose.

Not a word is, indeed, faid in it that might impeach the wisdom ⚫ of the projection, or impute the failure of the expedition to its infufficiency. But not a word too is there in it, but what the Com⚫manders might even glory in avowing and fubfcribing to. ⚫ fatisfies the public but half as much as it ought to fatisfy them, then all parties owe to thofe honourable perfonages who paffed the Report the jutteft thanks.'

Having gone through his Comment on the Report, he concludes, thus:

Even then by the Report itself, abstractedly confidered, you may, Sir, cafily difcern, whether the failure is imputable to the original

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fin of infufficiency in the project itself, or to the perfons commiffi⚫oned to carry it into execution. You may fafely pronounce, without the hazard of a rash judgment, on the materials of information before you, whereon the enterprize was it seems embraced and plan'ned, whether all the pre-requifites of knowlege were duly obtained ⚫ before the dispatch in the armament (that is to fay, on fuppofing that it was ever feriously meant, or hoped that it fhould fucceed) or whether a fet of Gentlemen of unattainted characters, and trufted with the arms of their couuntry, could be fo grody wanting to its honour, and to their own, as to return back with fo bad a grace, if better knowlege, and a perfonal view of things, had not forced them to it, with a regret they rendered but too apparent, by perfifting in it fo much beyond the bounds of their duty, that one would have thought them willing to prefer the bare opinion of others at a diftance, to their own actual and palpable recognition on the fpot.' A difcerning Reader will perceive, from these extracts, that the Writer can no more boaft of his impartiality, than his ingenuity. His fole merit seems to confift in having wrelted the fenfe of the Report, to make way for his own difingenuous reflections. His file is extremely incorrect and upon the whole, we rather think this to be the effort of fome Mercenary in the pay of a Bookfeller, than of an honeft Advocate in the cause of Truth.

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Art. 2. The Expedition against Rochefort fully stated and confidered. In a letter to the Right Hon. the Author of The Candid Reflections on the Report of the General Officers, &c. By a Country Gentleman. 8vo. Is. 6d. Towers.

This Letter, is an answer to the preceding pamphlet ; and addreffes the Author of it by the title of Right Hon. which leads us to fufpect fome piece of author-craft between the two Writers. But be that as it may, we cannot but applaud the letter under our confideration, as an animated and ingenious performance.

The Author condemns the refolution, taken on the remonftrance of Vice Admiral Knowles, not to attack Fort Fouras by fea; and declares his opinion, that Fort Fouras was acceffible by fea, though the ViceAdmiral had not the good fortune to find out the channel,

In the first place,' fays he, though I have by no means that high opinion of the French wifdom and ability which you entertain, and on every occafion extol fo highly; yet I do fuppofe, that in matters ⚫ of defence, they do conduct themfelves on principles fimilar to those ⚫ which are adopted by the reft of mankind. I do fuppofe, for inftance, that when they build a fort, it is intended either to defend, or offend. Fouras was weak to the land; it ftood at the water's edge to guard the channel; it flood even on a bank which ran into the water; and as Colonel Wolfe, who seems to be the first officer ⚫ who thought of reconnoitering it, tells us. Eng. p.-30. it had twenty-four embrafures to the water-fide. What was the use of this fort? Was it to guard a bank of fand, over which fcarce a Thames

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Wherry