after eminent painters. We have Mr Rembrandt Peale, and Mr Titian Peale. Mr Titian is a celebrated portrait painter;' and he showed our author portraits of several public characters, which he immediately recognized.' This art, therefore, whatever some people may think, has made a certain progress in America. With the writers of the New World we are rather better acquainted; but the works of Dr Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College, are not sufficiently known and prized in this country. His book on the History of the Three Judges,' formerly alluded to, seems in every way deserving of notice. It was published in 1795; and the following specimen of its style is given by Mr Janson. What I have before narrated, is delivered upon fure documents. I shall now narrate what is only conjectural, and leave it to every one's judgement; only observing, that if it ever did take place, no one will doubt but that Dixwell was concerned in it. There is fomehow preserved, not in univerfal or general, but in particular and strong lineal tradition, at Newhaven, which is to be confidered more largely hereafter, that another of the regicides, befides Dixwell, lies buried in our burying-place, and that this other was Whalley. This is particularly preferved among the fextons or grave-diggers, who, it feems, for many years, and perhaps ever from the time efpecially of Dixwell's death, have fhewn the ftone marked E. W. for Whalley, as they have that marked J. D. for Dixwell. I have not found the leaft tradition of Goffe, till I myself conjectured it, January 1793, inferring in my own mind, without a doubt, that if Whalley, who certainly died at Hadley, was afterwards removed here, Goffe must be here alfo. But of this, I mean as to Goffe's being here alfo, I can find no tradition; yet I find it tenaciously adhered to, efpecially in the line of the grave-diggers, that Whalley is here. I have often examined the E. W. ftone; but confider the matter without proof; yet poffible, but by no means certain. Nor do I wish, and leaft of all attempt, to gain any one's credulity to it, leaving every mind perfectly free and unprejudiced. But as I know that whoever takes the pains that I have done, to trace out, and collect, and digeft the traditions in Newhaven, will find this among others, however it originated among us; fo, after this precaution and notification, I fhall proceed.' p. 54, 55. Unlimited abuse of private characters is another characteristic of the American press; and into this practice, we are sorry to find that Mr Janson has been initiated by his residence in the United States. He drags individuals into notice without scruple or ceremony. Sometimes he tells what he has picked up concerning persons whose names never found their way into print; sometimes he offers, as his excuse, that the American journalists have already told the story, which is, in truth, no justification whatever. As for his endless invectives against Mr Jefferson and his party, they belong to another class of wrongs, and only obtain their share of the dignified contempt by which that eminently wise ruler has consigned to oblivion all the spoken and written scurrility of his enemies. ART. VIII. A History of Ireland, from the earliest Account to THE HE author of this book is already known to the public by a geographical work called Terraquea, and an account of the late Irish rebellion. He states it to be the object of the present book, to give a clear and succinct account of Irish history, divested of all fabulous and nugatory details, and comprehending whatever is really important and interesting, from the first authentic accounts till the late Union.' A history of Ireland upon this plan, if executed by a writer of adequate talents, would certainly prove an useful work. How far Mr Gordon has succeeded in the undertaking, our readers will be able to judge, from the following account of his book. The author justly observes, that, previous to the invasion of Henry II., there is little authentic in the annals of Ireland, and nothing to give credibility to that splendid antiquity, rising to the first ages of the postdiluvian world, in which the good Irish, instructed by their O'Flahertys and O'Hallerons, so fondly believe. But it must be observed, that while our author professes to reject from his page whatever is fabulous or uncertain, he, at the same time, ventures to entertain his readers with a very misty discussion about the migrations of the Celta and Goths, which contributes about as much to the truth of his history as his intrusive philippic against bull-baiting, and recommendatory advertisement of his own Terraquea, do to its propriety. In this part of his work, he takes occasion to speak of the Gael, and of the bard of Morven; and he rejects the poems which bear his name, in a manner the most peremptory and consequential. We can, however, give the admirers of the Caledonian bard the comfort of assuring them, that if his fame shall survive the more redoubtable attack of the learned editor of Macpherson, it does not seem to be in great danger from the telum imbelle of the good rector of Killegney. The religion of the antient Irish is matter of as great uncertainty as their origin; but our author conjectures it may have been Druidism; and accordingly seizes the opportunity of enlarging upon the te nets nets and discipline of that antient superstition. He treats also of the manners and literature of the antient Irish. In speaking of the former, he makes a transition to modern times, and communicates, upon his own authority, a piece of information with which we think our readers cannot fail to be highly gratified. 'I have seen,' says our chaste historian, when a boy, a family dining on curds and butter, a piece of the butter being laid upon each spoonful of the former, which was recommended as an antient and most wholesome food by a priest who was one of the company.' The author speaks soberly upon the subject of literature, not giving much credit to the reality of those losses which some credulous writers believe the world of letters to have sustained from the ravages of Turgesius, the Omar of the Danes, upon the libraries of the Irish. The middle ages, however, according to our author, produced many suns of science, who went forth from this land of saints and scholars to enlighten the darker regions, of Europe. We are particularly called to notice Virgilius Solivagus, a worthy, who, it seems, was persecuted by one Pope, and recompensed with canonization by another; upon which the author thus expresses himself, printing in italics, in order the more securely to mark the dignity, as well of the sentiment as the occa sion. Thus are, in all ages, men of fuperior knowledge, benevolence and candour, envied by the ungenerous, traduced by fycophants, perfecuted by men contemptible in understanding but formidable in power; and, after their deaths, revered, and followed in opinion by the judicious and well-informed. I. 50. Before we leave the subject of literature, we must communicate, from our author, a piece of very pertinent information, which, we greatly suspect, will be as new and interesting to most of our readers, as it certainly was to ourselves, that the old Irish chronicle of the Monks of Innisfallen has lately been translated into English by Mr Theophilus O'Flanegan, a literary gentleman, eminent in the knowledge of the Irish tongue, who' keeps an academy at Blackrock, near Dublin.' I. 52. By this time our readers will have discovered, that the Reverend Mr Gordon is not eminently endowed with talents for hiftory, and that his digreffive propenfities are not very favourable to the compofition of a history of Ireland upon the plan which he himfelf proposes. The account of the English invafion under Henry II. is prefaced, not with a view of the ftate of England at that time, but with a fummary of the whole of its hiftory, beginning with the etymon of the name. We expected that Pope Adrian's bull would, in like manner, have introduced an account of the origin and progrefs of the Papal power; but the author lets us off, upon this occa H 3 fion, fion, with fome moral remarks, equally just and familiar, upon the hypocritical pretexts which ambition makes use of to cloke its wicked defigns. We have, then, a picture of the ftate of Ireland, which we cannot do better than quote, as a felicitous fpecimen of that terfeness, rythmus, and epigrammatic force, which characterize Mr Gordon's ftyle. In the perpetual fluctuation of power in Ireland, the nominal fovereignty had fallen from the house of O'Brien in Munfter; and Tur logh O'Connor of Connaught, who had commenced his regal claims about the year 1130, was generally acknowledged prince paramount by the Irish chiefs. In this period the dominion of the O'Briens, who ruled in Thomond or North-Munfter, was contracted by the warlike fteps of Mac-Arthy, who exercised an independent fway in Defmond or South-Munfter: the princes of Offory, Decies, and other territories of Leinster, paid homage to Dermod Mac-Murchard as their provincial king Meath was in fubjection to the family of Clan-Colman in Ulfter O'Loghlan held the chief command: but his authority was dif puted by Dunleve, prince of Doun or Uladh, who affected independ ence; and in the diftrict of Breffnay reigned Tiernan O'Ruarc, a warlike chieftain.' 1. 66. : Thefe dread fovereigns were, at the era of the English invafion, bufily fignalizing their refpective adminiftrations, by hereditary acts of robbery, rape and murder. Such were the оссираtions of degenerate princes, whofe ancestors had doubtlefs, through long periods of refinement, often convened at the Fes of Tarah, and joined in claffic games upon the plains of Tuiltean. As the author gives a more fimple and perfpicuous account than is cuftomary with him, of the fituation in which Ireland was left by Henry, when haftily called away, to appeafe, by royal penance, the manes of Becket, and the wrath of Rome, we fhall extract it for the perufal of our readers. By the inftitutions of Henry, left fatally imperfect by unfeasonable interruption, the inhabitants of this ifland became feverally fubject to two very different forms of government; the British colonists to the Anglo-Norman, the ancient natives to the Irish, under a new fovereignty. The condition of the Irish princes, who had fubmitted, was no otherwife altered than that they profeffed allegiance to the King of England inftead of the King of Connaught. Their Brehon laws, their ancient customs, their modes of fucceffion, and their mutual wars, waged as if by independent potentates, remained as much in force after, as they had been before the English invafion. The British colonifts, on the other hand, were in the fame political fituation with their fellow-fubjects in England, and governed by English laws. The king, referving as his immediate property the maritime towns and fome diftricts, parcelled the reft of the furrendered lands among the leaders of his troops, which they were to poffefs by military tenure or feudal right, that is, bound to the the payment of homage to his majefty with a small tribute, and to the maintenance of certain numbers of knights and inferior foldiers for his fervice; they were otherwise each, in his own territory, absolute and hereditary lords or princes. The territories aquired by himself and his British fubjects in Ireland were formed by Henry into fhires or counties, with sheriffs and other officers, on the English model; which counties, afterwards enlarged, formed what was called the English Pale, or that divifion of the island within which the English law was acknowledged. But even within the pale were many fepts of Irish, governed entirely by their ancient laws, as were the inhabitants of all other parts of the country. I. 108. The state of Ireland, for centuries after this period, can only be described by words which exprefs whatever is most lawless among men. Hiftory cannot light upon a more unpropitious period. We queftion if even the plaftic powers of a Robertfon could communicate any portion of intereft to the barbarous and defultory tranfactions of these times. When we have faid this, we need not talk of the execution of our good Irish rector. He would have acted more judiciously, both for himself and his reader, had he dwelt lefs upon events in themfelves of little interest, and which he is fo little qualified to embellish. The proceedings within the English pale do not afford any grateful relief to the gloomy picture of Irish barbarity. Struggling for existence amidst internal diffenfions, and preferved only by the divifions of the native Irifh, the Anglo-Irish government exhibits an odious mixture of debility and oppreffion, verifying the opinion of Burke, that English dominion had acquired its spirit of hostility to the Irish, before the diftinctions of Proteftant and Papist were known in the world. It is painful to reflect, that the acts and deeds of a barbarous system, have too often found countenance in kindred proceedings of more enlightened times. * The glorious light of the reformation proved to Ireland only a fiery meteor, announcing a long track of future calamities. This people had truly fome little reafon to demur, when their converted fovereigns came to demand acquiefcence in the new doctrines of religion. England had, among her earliest acts, ordained a ftrict and lasting conformity with the Romish church; the held a grant of Ireland from the Papal power, to which her fovereigns and parliaments had often appealed; and the now fought to overturn by force what he had herself established; and rebelled, as it might feem to them, against that fpiritual authority from which the had originally derived her own powers of fovereignty. The means which England employed to enlighten her Irish fub H 4 *Letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe. jects |