feverity of the Lawyer with the politenefs and learning of • the Gentleman. He was a faithful Advocate, an uncorrupt Judge, and equally remarkable for a love of ingenuous piety, and a contempt of anxious fuperftition.'

With refpect to the performance before us; it undoubtedly contains a great deal of folid argument, as well as many inftances of good poetry; but, on the whole, it is extremely diffufe, and abounds with too much quaintnefs and puerility, to give fatisfaction to the critical Reader. If we reflect, however, on the times in which this philofophical poem was written, we can very readily ascribe a great fhare of literary merit to its Author.

The following verfes, extracted from the clofe of the Introduction, may serve as a specimen of this Writer's manner and verfification.

If ought can teach us ought, Aflician's looks
(Making us pry into ourfelves fo near)
Teach us to know ourselves beyond all books,

Or all the learned Schools that ever were.

This Mistress lately pluck'd me by the ear,
And many a golden leffon hath me taught;
Hath made my Senfes quick, and Reason clear,
Reform'd my Will, and rectify'd my Thought.

W

So do the Winds and Thunders cleanse the air;
So working feas fettle and purge the wines sa bubost
So lopp'd and pruned trees do flourish fair; -
So doth the fire the droffy gold refine....
Neither Minerva, nor the learned Mulejo Gen
Nor rules of art, nor precepts of the wife, ba
Could in my brain thofe beams of skill infufe,
As but the glance of this dame's angry eyes.
She within Lifts my ranging Mind hath brought,
That now beyond myfelf I will not go;
Myfelf am Center of my circling thought,
Only myself I ftudy, learn and know...

I know my Body's of fo frail a kind,

angry eyes,d)

As force without, fevers within can kill :
I know the heav'nly nature of my Mind,
But 'tis corrupted both in wit and will:

I know my Soul hath pow'r to know all things,
Yet is the blind and ignorant in alla got wis
I know I'm one of Nature's little Kings,

Yet to the leaft and vileft things am thrall.

I know my Life's a Pain, apd but a Span;

I know my Senfe is mock'd in ev'ry thing:
And, to conclude, I know myfelf a Man,

Which is a proud, and yet a wretched thing.

K-n-k

Bellicus, or a Freatife upon the Art of War, under the following Heads, viz. the Choice and Enlifting of Soldiers, Military Difcipline, the Obedience of Soldiers, Marches, Encampments, Battles, Fortreffes, Defence against Surprizes, Attacks by Surprize, Defence of Sieges, Artillery, Baggage and Pioneers, Spies and Guides, Provifions, the Attack of Territories, their Defence, the Means of fecuring Conquefts, the Method of Suc couring Allies and Confederates, whether a Prince fhould head. his Army in Perfon, Reputation, the Conduct and Abilities of an Officer, the different Vocations of Officers, from a Commander in Chief down to a Corporal, &c. &c. To which are fubjoined, the prefent Exercife and Evolutions of the British Cavalry and Infantry. By a Veteran Officer. 12mo. 3s. Cooke.

W HEN the Reader compares the title-page with the

price and fize of this volume, he must neceffarily conclude, that these several fubjects are treated in a very concife manner. If, indeed, they were all fully and properly handled, there would be no need of any other military book in our language. But to give our Readers an idea of this performance, we will transcribe one entire chapter, which we shall not select either for its peculiar merit, or otherwife, but take it random, as an impartial specimen of the Author's ftile and manner.

Chap. XV. Of the Attack of States, according to their
Strength and Situation.

After having formed an army, it must be employed either in the conqueft of new poffeffions, or in the defence of old ⚫ ones. We will begin with the firft. A Prince who puts himfelf upon the offenfive, fhould be ftronger than the other he attacks. The State should be in confufion, or he should be called over by a party, otherwise this must be a very rafh and inconfiderate enterprize.

If it is a wide open country he attacks, he should from the beginning endeavour to force the enemy to battle, in order to terrify his opponents by the fuccefs of his arms.

If it is a clofe country, furrounded with mountains, or interfected with rivers and ditches, covered with forefts, or containing many fortreffes, it will be difficult to force them to action. In this cafe, he muft go on regularly by fiege, • endeavour at mastering it by degrees.

In order to fucceed upon this plan, he should have at least two armies, to keep the enemy in awe with one, whilst he acts unconstrainedly with the other; it being very difficult to attempt a ficge, whilft a good army is encamped near him, which may intercept his convoys.

If it be a country the frontiers whereof are difficultly paffed, and there are but few places of entrance, one should ⚫ be forced before any thing else is attempted; and it should afterwards be fortified, in order to fecure a road for provi<fions, to prevent being in want, when the enemy fhall have carried off all the provifions in their country.

When a Prince is called in by a faction, it is of great advantage to him. He is inftructed in the fituation of the country, and gains intelligence of the faults and defects of the fortified places, fo that he has no occafion for Spies, or of being minutely informed of every thing that paffes with the enemy. This faction, however, fhould be treated with great delicacy, to engage it the more to himself, and ren⚫der it irreconcilable with its own Prince. But when it is perceived this party makes war, refpectfully, that they take meafures by halves against thofe they have revolted, they fhould be fufpected, and great precaution taken, before too • much confidence in them. Whether they are curbed by the dread of being without refource, in cafe the invader fails, or the fear of not being able to procure reconciliation, each of them is equally dangerous to the affailant, who fhould miftruft that an accommodation will enfue to his prejudice. If, therefore, from the beginning they will not engage to perform fome extraordinary and irremiffible actions, he should not join with them, but upon condition of having undeniable security.

Those who furrender voluntarily, fhould be treated with great humanity, clemency, and even liberality; and those who oppofe, with the utmost feverity. Beneficence to the one, and refentment to the other, are the only means of enforcing obedience. A city taken by force, and ill treated, or one furrendered upon eafy terms, and favoured, paves the way to a dozen others; on the contrary, a city taken by force, and fpared, or one furrendered voluntarily

and

and ill ufed, fhuts the gates of all the reft. Hence may be deduced, that a Conqueror fhould keep his word according to his promife, be it either clement or fevere.'

We dare fay, that fuch of our Readers as are converfant with military books, will have found nothing new in this chapter, except the Author's advice, to treat thofe cities which make a brave defence, with the utmost feverity. If our notions of the prefent maxims of war are right, those towns which make a gallant defence, have a juft claim to our admiration, our praife, and our clemency. The Author mistakes. the point, if he fuppofes this to be bad policy; for nothing will more powerfully influence the behaviour of our own people, when it fhall be their turn to defend the places they have conquered, than the recollection of the praises beftowed, and indulgence fhewn, to fuch of the enemy who defended themselves with intrepidity and refolution.

But, upon the whole, there are very few exceptionable paffages in this book; at the fame time, this great diverlity of fubjects are treated in fo general and fuperficial a manner, that we apprehend there is very little inftructtion to be gathered from them.

B_t

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. 12mo. 2 vols. 5 s. Cooper.

F Lives and Adventures the public have had enough, and, perhaps, more than enough, long ago. more A confideration that probably induced the droll Mr. Triftram Shandy to entitle the performance before us, his Life and Opinions. Perhaps alfo, he had, in this, a view to the defign he profeffes, of giving the world two fuch volumes every year, during the remainder of his life. Now, adventures worth relating, are not every day to be met with, fo that, in time, his budget might be exhaufted; but his opinions will, in all probability, afford him matter enough to write about, tho' he should live to the age of Methufalem. Not but that our Author husbands his adventures with great oeconomy, and fows them fo extremely thin, that, in the manner he has begun, his narrative may very well laft as long as he lives; nor, if that be long, and he as good as his word, will his hiftory make an inconfiderable figure among the numerous diminu tive tomes of a modern library.

AP. Rev. VOL. XXI.

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But,

But, indeed, Mr. Shandy feems fo extremely fond of di greffions, and of giving his hiftorical Readers the flip on all occafions*, that we are not a little apprehenfive he may, fome time or other, give them the flip in good earnest, and leave the work before his ftory be finifhed. And, to fay the truth, we should, for our own parts, be forry to lose him in that manner; as we have no reason to think that we shall not be very willing to accompany him to the end of his tale, notwithstanding all his denunciations of prolixity. For, if we were fure he would not ferve us this trick, we have no objection to his telling his ftory his own way, tho' he went as far about to come to the point, as Sancho Pancha himself. Every Author, as the prefent juftly obferves, has a way of his own, in bringing his points to bear; and every man to his own tafte. Did not Dr. Kunaftrokius, that great man, at his leifure hours, take the greateft delight imaginable in combing of afles tails, and plucking the dead hairs out with his teeth, though he had tweezers always in his pocket? Nay, if you come to that, Sir, have not the wifeft of men in all ages, not excepting Solomon himself,-have they not had their hobby-horfes; their running horfes, their coins and their cockle-fhells, their drums and their trumpets, their fiddles, their pallets,-their maggots and their butter-flies; and fo long as a man rides his Hobby-horse peaceably and quietly along the King's highway, and neither compels you or me to get up behind him,-pray, Sir, < what have either you or I to do with it?" This argument is not to be controverted; for, as he further remarks, De guftibus non eft Difputandum; that is, there is no difputing against Hobby-horfes.

.

-

But to the purpose of our Author's digreffions:-he is not, indeed, the first who has written a Digreffion in praise of Digreffions; nor are his obfervations on that head, fo learned

* We must do Mr. Triftram the Juftice, however, to confefs, that he generally carries his excufe for rambling along with him; and tho' he be not always hammering at his tale, yet he is bufy enough: having, in his own words, many 'Accounts to reconcile; Anecdotes to pick up; Infcriptions to make out; Stories to weave in; Traditions to fift; Perfonages to call upon; Panegyrics to pafte up at one door; Pafquinades at another;' and fo forth; in fo much that we are apt to believe him, when he protests he makes all the fpeed he poffibly can. It would not be amifs, however, if, for the future, he paid a little more regard to going ftrait forward, left the generality of his Readers, defpairing of ever feeing the end of their journey, fhould tire, and leave him to jog on by himself. 8

and