him, the more worthy does he appear of fome diftinction. There are many entertaining, and fome GooD things in this volume: which confifts of thirteen letters, or effays, on various fubjects, moral and amufing. ? Art. 41. The History and Antiquities of the Counties of Westmorland and Cumberland. By Jofeph Nicholfon, Efq; and Richard Burn, LL. D. 4to. Vol. II. Cadell. The hiftory and defcent of property and of pedigree, of advowfons AMERICAN CONTROVERSY. It is not now the time,' this animated writer tells us, to enquire That fpirit,' he informs us in the next paragraph, is at this time a juft refentment of the fyftematic deceit and perfidy of France, which a moderate degree of wifdom might render fubfervient to the most important purpofes.' That is, fome part of us are to be moderate, while all the reft are to be in a violent paffion; and those who have produced our prefent calamities are to elcape, while the refentment of the public is to be directed against others who are at moft but fecondary agents in the mifchiefs we complain of, and who have only protected and cherished thofe whom we have unadvisedly and outrageously fpurned away, and thrown into their arms. Our conflitution is in fo delicate a ftate, that the skill of the political phyfician fhould be employed with a steady but lenient hand: and the patient fhould be kept as quiet as poffible; otherwife he has but fmall hopes of recovering to a state of health and vigour, fit to cope with difficulties and endure a form; and if the eloquence of this Author should unhappily inflame the public paffions, or direct them to a wrong object, that inflammation, in all probability, would be mortal. If there ever can be a time for JOHN BULL to abate of his ferocity, and move on gently, it is certainly the time prefent:bat excepting this precipitate refentment which our Author attempts to excite, we REV. Apr. 1778. have Y L. its have perufed the rest of his conciliating pamphlet with pleasure, 1778. A partial review and defence of the conduct of administration. This rambling defultory gentleman is of opinion that long winters, reading, writing, and praying, are great incentives to fedition. Hear his curious character of the New Englanders: Besides the reafons I have already given, the New-England men are more prone to fedition than any other colonists; it must be obferved that their winters are longer than in the other English settlements to the wellward, that their lands are more cleared of wood and thicker fettled, of confequence in the frozen months, the peafants have nothing to do, but cabal with their neighbours, and inftructing their children in reading, writing, and praying; for you'll not meet a New-England man but has the bible by heart, and all the laws of his province. It may be juftly faid in respect to them, that a little learning is a dangerous thing, for they never allow that they could fin against civil or religious fociety, if they can wreft the fenfe of a text of fcripture, or produce a provincial act of assembly to juflify the tranfaction. They are likewife rudely inquifitive, and will flop a paffenger on his road to enquire news, and tire his patience by aking impertinent and political queftions; then hafte to fome neighbouring tap-houfe to communicare his intelligence. Thus the poor Yankey peafant, who thinks himself all-fufficient, becomes a willing tool for a difaffected party to work with being ever ready to attend religion's drum ecclefiaftic, he fuffers himself to be piously led forth and commit every outrage against the Lord's anointed, regardlefs of former obligations or oaths of allegiance.' It feems that these people are well acquainted with their duty to God, and the laws of their country; but do not understand one word of unconditional obedience to the parliament of Great-Britain. POLITICAL. Art. 45. The Revolutions of an Island; an Oriental Fragment. Thus far with respect to the Author's plan. If the matter be difagreeable, fo is the manner. We fcarce ever met with any thing written 5 B.n. Di D." written in a flyle fo bombaft and uncouth. But we forget that it is Art. 46. The Conftitutional Criterion. By a Member of the A brief investigation of the first principles and fpirit of the British conftitution, which both the people and leaders in this country feem of late to have difavowed or forgotten; with fome accurate diftinctions and definitions. Art. 47. Proposals for a Plan of Reconciliation and Re-union with the Thirteen Provinces of America, and for an Union with the other Colonies. By one of the Public. 8vo. Is. 6d. Kearly. 1778. If the Author of this pamphlet is not one of the American commiffioners, he feems very proper to be added to their number. Modefty, perfpicuity, an extenfive knowledge of the fubject, and a love of liberty characterise these proposals, and render them worthy the ferious and candid confideration of every one who wishes well to the British empire. B.n⋅y. It would be happy for this nation, and we think for America alfo, if an union could take place, on fuch liberal principles as this good gentleman recommends; but we cannot help exprelling our furprise that the horror of popery fhould have taken fuch deep root in fo liberal a mind as that of our Author, as to lead him to the idea of excluding any men from the benefits of toleration, while the civil magiftrate is armed with power to punith every unlawful action, and the prefs and pulpit are free to expofe every falfe principle, and fuperftitious fentiment. We apprehend it is reftraint alone that makes popery dangerous in a protestant country. D.o NOVELS and MEMOIRS, Art. 48. A Trip to Melafge; or concife Instructions to a young Gentleman entering into Life: with his Obfervations on the Genius, Manners, Ton, Opinions, Philofophy, and Morals of the Melafgeans. 12mo. 2 Vols. 5 s. fewed. Law. 1778. Of all the varieties of deviations from the language of nature, none is more inconfiftent with the true principles of good writing, or more offenfive to a correct tafte, than that kind of obfcurity which arifes from a perpetual effort to exprefs every idea in an uncommon and ftriking manner. We have feldom met with a work in which this kind of affectation is more prevalent, or in which juft ideas and reflections (for fuch the Author feems to have conceived) are inveloped with thicker clouds of words than the prefent. The Writer's defign feems to have been, to convey leflons of instruction, and exhibit pictures of manners, in a fictitious narrative; and as far as we are able to decypher his meaning, we think we discover fome traces of ability both as a moralift and a fatyritt; but we are fo frequently at a lofs for the fenfe, that we do not deem ou felves qualified abfolutely to decide concerning the merit of the work. Before this Author can expect to be received as an agreeable or useful writer by common readers, he mut learn to lower his ftyle to the level of com mon understandings. Art. 49. Evelina, or a young Lady's Entrance into the World, This novel has given us fo much pleafure in the perufal, that we do not hesitate to pronounce it one of the moft fprightly, entertaining, and agreeable productions of this kind, which has of late fallen under our notice. A great variety of natural incidents, fome of the comic flamp, render the narrative extremely interelling. The characters, which are agreeably diverfified, are conceived and drawn with propriety, and fupported with fpirit. The whole is written with great eafe and command of language. From this commendation, however, we must except the character of a fon of Neptune, whofe manners are rather thofe of a rough, uneducated country 'íquire, than thofe of a genuine fca-captain. MEDICA L. E.. Art. 50. A new Method of curing the Venereal Difeafe by Fumiga- The cure of the venereal disease by fumigations, the general advantages of which the author of the work before us attempts to establish by a comparison with other methods, has fallen into difufe, chiefly on account of unfkilfulness in the application, and the noxious quality of the fumes employed. With refpect to the latter caufe, the frequent adulterations of Mercury with other metallic fubitances, and the fulphureous and faline particles with which it was combined in order to volatilize it, were what, according to this writer, alone rendered its ufe under this form, fufpected and dangerous. It was his study, therefore, to remedy these defects; and by experiments he was convinced that the muriatic acid was the proper agent for elevating mercury in fuch a form as might be advantageously applied to the human body. On this principle he prepared the following powder for fumigation. To a folution of corrofive fublimate in water, fixed alkali was added, and the red precipitate produced by the mixture was washed till it became perfectly infipid, and then dried. This matter was fublimed in a cucurbit, to which feveral aludels were luted. The product was a greyish powder, which, triturated in a marble mortar, and washed over with hot water, he diftinguished by the name of fimple mercurial powder. Another powder was prepared in the following manner. Corrofive fublimate was mixed with an equal quantity of iron filings, and the combination was formed into a paste with water. This, after being dried, was fublimed with the fame apparatus as the former; and the product was a mercurial powder, fimilar to the foregoing, but differing in its containing more of the muriatic acid, and a fmall portion of iron. He calls it, therefore, martial mercurial powder. A third powder was made by triturating the pure running mercury refulting from the two foregoing procefies with an equal quantity of fine clay, till the globules entirely difappeared. This is his argilla- Thus provided with three fumigating powders of different degrees Of the former publications of this writer we gave an account in our Reviews for the months of March 1772, and August 1773. The prefent appendix affords but little additional information for our Readers. The first article contains nothing answerable to its title, but a cafe in which a mortification from external injury was stopped by he application of camphire, affifted by fpirits of wine, fpirit of fal ammoniac, and ftrong beer grounds. In the fecond two new cafes. are given of the effects of calomel in dropfies, one of which is indeed fufficiently worthy of obfervation. A boy, diftended with water to an amazing fize, and almost expiring for want of breath, after the unfuccessful exhibition of various medicines, took fix pills of five grains of calomel each in the space of twenty-four hours, which entirely evacuated the water by the way of urine, without producing any effect on the falival glands. The boy filled again, but a repetition of the fame medicine, followed by tonics, radically cured him. From the farther obfervations on Bath waters we can extract nothing of much confequence. Chemistry does not appear to be the doctor's fort, and there is much more knowledge of this kind in an extract from Mr. Warltire's lectures prefixed to this pamphlet, than in the Author's own remarks. The next article contains fome intances of the efficacy of the Of the medical publications which we have the honour to review, Y 3 truly |