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18 Kingsbury's Sermon on the Death of the Rev. T. Towle.

It is possible that these endeavours may, in some instances, be found suc cessful; but we should earnestly deprecate their effect on any individual whose literary taste and satirical propensities were under no controul from religious impressions.

Of Mr. A.'s piety and good intentions no doubt can be admitted; but we cannot congratulate his muse. He has lived forty years, as he intimates, and yet has scarcely arrived at mediocrity; can we augur for him any brilliant fame from future attempts? Should he again appear as a writer of prose, we hope to see him in a less exceptionable form and fantastical attire. Sobriety of thought, and pure English too, are highly becoming in a man of years.

Art. XXIII. Jesus Christ the Mediator between God and Man, an Advocate for us with the Father, and Propitiation for the Sins of the World, Third Edition. small 8vo. pp. 220, price 3s. Hatchard, Rivingtons.

1806.

THI

HIS old-fashioned treatise appears to be the labour of some worthy man in the early part of the last century, in opposition to those who deny the atonement and satisfaction of Christ; and more particularly in reply to Mr. Chubb's pamphlet "On Reason, with regard to Religion, &c." We refer to the booksellers for the reasons of its republication. For ourselves, we are satisfied with this transient notice of a little book, taken down from an old dusty shelf, and marching back to the place from whence it came with the utmost solemnity and decorum.

Art. XXIV. A Sermon occasioned by the Decease of the Rev. Thomas Towle, B. D. on December the 2d, in the 83d Year of his Age, preached at Aldermanbury Postern, December 14th, 1806. By William Kingsbury, M. A. And the Address delivered at the Interment in Bunhill Burial-Ground, Dec. 10. By John Kello. pp. 59. Price 18. 6d. Black and Co. Conder. 1806.

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HE Rev. Thomas Towle had enjoyed, for many years previous to his death, a very considerable degree of estimation and influence in the Independent denomination, to which he was warmly attached; a distinc tion, which is always due to "the hoary head when found in the way of righteousness ;" and to which Mr. T. appears to have a still more honourable title from his sound understanding and prudence, and his tried integrity. He had presided over the church now assembling at Aldermanbury Postern, for fifty nine years, having officiated in that meetinghouse, more than two thirds of this period. From the sketch of his cha racter which Mr. K. has introduced into this discourse, he appears to have been a solid, learned, orthodox, and faithful preacher, strictly attached tothe truths which he had professed early in life, yet capable of feeling respect, and displaying civility, toward those who differed from him conscientiously} a close student, a rigid economist of time, punctual to his engagements, and accurate in his affairs; facetious in conversation, yet serious when religion was the theme; and patient, under the tortures of the stone, to a degree which deserves to be recorded.

After having been, for a series of twenty years, afflicted with one of the most cruel diseases to which human nature is liable, he was one-andtwenty months confined to his bed; his anguish was without intermission, day and night. During this tedious confinement in a solitary chamber; debarred from his study and his books; disabled for his delightful work

shut out of the sanctuary of his God; incapable of any business and of sálutary exercise, and of enjoying the conversation of his friends; all which must have been exceedingly irksome to one of his active, cheerful and sociable disposition, he never was heard to murmur against the great Sovereign of the Universe.' p. 44.

Mr. K. has not pretended, that this venerable and excellent man was faultless; but confining his remarks to such parts of his character" as deserve imitation, he leaves to others, should any be so disposed, to point out its blemishes." Mr. T. appears to have been anxious that his flock should be well established in the faith and doctrine of the Gospel, and fearful lest they should" be led away by the blind impulse of the imagination and the passions." To this cause the dryness of his style and delivery is ascribed; the same habitual feeling, we should suppose, would render Mr. T. somewhat severe toward christians of more glowing piety, or, rather, perhaps of more sanguine temperament. He was, one of the few ministers, it is remarked, who have gone through a regular exposition of the Old Testament in their weekly services; in this task he was employed about thirty seven years.

Mr. Kingsbury's sermon is suitably founded on Philipp. 1. xx. xxi. : having explained this passage as declaring, that the gain which believers derive from their relation to Christ produces devotedness to his glory, the preacher states the prerequisite qualifications for such a spirit, and then illustrates his subject by describing the various nature of the Christian's gain, and the different modes by which he may magnify the Redeemer. The discourse is highly appropriate, and contains many useful and impressive observations.

Mr. Kello's Address is sensible, pious, and interesting: it makes some slight references to the character and demeanour of his venerable friend, but properly aims to impress the heart, and the conscience of the spectators, rather than to feed their curiosity.

Art. XXV. Napoleon and the French People under his Empire. By the Author of Bonaparte and the French People under the Consulate: from the German. 8vo. pp. 421. Price 9s, bds. Tipper and Richards. 1806. Art. XXVI. A Translation of a Fragment of the XVIIIth Book of Polybius, discovered in the Monastery, of St. Laura, on Mount Athos. By the Count D'. ---- A new Edition revised, &c. small 8vo. pp. 157. Price 3s. 6d. Egerton. 1806. WE notice these publications under one article, because the "Frag ment of Polybius" is comprized in the larger work, as an Appen dix; they are both translated from the French, and by different hands, but we have not the means of ascertaining their respective merit in point of correctness. That which is published separately is the more diffuse, and therefore is probably the more indebted to the translator. This pretended fragment of Polybius, is notoriously a political jeu d'esprit; in which the character and successes of the French, and the subjection of Europe, are ingeniously represented under a view of the ancient world nearly at the commencement of the second century B. C.; the parallel in some of its points is singularly accurate, and the allusions throughout are very cleverly contrived. It will be obvious to the reader who is who among these celebrated personages. The comparison of Britain and France with Carthage and Rome has been incessantly repeated for many.

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years; it is for our humiliation and reform, for our vigour and prudence and unanimity, to supersede its application in the issue. Philip represents the unfortunate emperor of Austria, and Antiochus, then the unconquered and neutral king of Syria, is a counterpart of the humiliated sovereign, whose fate, when this was written, was undecided, and whose misfortunes, at this very moment, claim the pity of all Europe. This fragment consists of three speeches; Hannibal, in the council of Antiochus, pleads the cause of Europe and recommends an alliance with Philip against his victorious enemies, the Romans; he is answered by Polycrates, a favourite minister, and we will suppose a venal tool of the military power; Callisthenes, a patriotic counsellor of state, replies with great force and vehemence to the arguments for peace, and urges the necessity of a general and perpetual confederation against the treacherous designs and gigantic ambition of the common enemy.. T. Flaminius is compelled to sit for a likeness of Bonaparte; he is as much degraded in a moral view, we conceive, as he is flattered in an intellectual. Many other characters of the present scene are ingeniously drawn in the persons of Arsaces, Ariarathes, &c. In the smaller work, some severe allusions to the unfortunate Duke of Brunswick are supplied only by dashes. We have read this historical declamation with much interest, and reluctantly suppress the sentiments which it excites. But the utility of the plan appears very questionable, except as a mere gratification of curiosity. We are disposed to apply to it, the censure of Dr. Johnson on the performance of Lord Granville, who translated the Philippics with a design, surely weak and puerile, of turning the thunders of Demosthenes on the head of Louis."

This fragment forms about one fourth of the larger volume; the principal part of which is a translation from the German. It is professedly an invective against Bonaparte, and comprizes all the charges which have been urged, true or false, against him. They are chiefly disbelieved, we fear, because they are too atrocious to be credible; the self love of human nature, and its admiration of intellectual energy, unite to suppress accusations, which degrade it below the rank of brutes, to that of fiends and furies.

The Appendix contains, beside the Polybian Fragment, the letter of Leibnitz to Louis XIV, on the conquest of Egypt and the East, a Letter from an Englishman to the First Consul, and lastly, a parallel between Charles VII. of France in the 15th century, and Bonaparte,the least applicable and interesting part of this compilation.

Art.XXVII. The Friend of Youth; or candid Advice to Parents and Guardians on the Choice of such Trades, Professions, and Employments, as may be suited to the Tastes and Genius, to the Talents and Propensities, to the present Circumstances and future Hopes, of their respective Children and Wards. 12mo. pp. 430. Price 6s. Ridgway. 1806. WE opened this book with no little prepossession, because a work of

the kind is evidently a desideratum; and on finding that the compiler possessed talents competent to a higher office, that his remarks were judicious, and his style respectable, we were prepared to announce it in very flattering terms. Unfortunately we discovered that his actual knowledge of the several trades he mentions, in their varied local and personal relations, was extremely superficial, and that the practical information he had communicated was comparatively small and indefinite. If more

pains had been taken to collect and digest accurate details of all the subjects essentially important, the work would have gained a double advantage; for the space occupied by irrelevant quotations, classical allusions, historical anecdotes, notices of chartered companies, and especially by a trite repetition of popular clamours and prejudices, must necessarily have been otherwise employed. At least one half of the work will be of no service with regard to the object it is designed to promote; the other half, we doubt not, will be found useful to parents and guardians in that important task, the choice of employment for youth. Many of the sections contain useful and correct observations, on the expenses incurred in apprenticing and setting up young people in the respective branches of business, and the probability of procuring a livelihood; in others, they are vague, and little applicable to the different situations of life. The admonitions relative to the influence of certain pursuits on the health and morals of the individual, and to the talents requisite for undertaking them with success, are particularly excellent.

Art. XXVIII. La Floresta Española; ó piezas escogidas en prosa, &c; Select Passages in prose, extracted from the most celebrated Spanish Authors, ancient and modern. To which are prefixed Observations on the Origin, Progress, and Decline of Literature in Spain. 8vo. pp. 200. Price 5s. bds. Boosey. 1807.

THIS selection is executed with considerable propriety, and will be

found useful to young students of the Spanish language, for whose service it is designed. The knowledge of that rich and noble language, is daily gaining ground among us; and the present is another instance, in which the progress of literature has been accelerated by the exigencies of

commerce,

Art. XXIX. A new Method of brewing Malt Liquors, in small Quantities, for Domestic Use. By J. Rawlinson. 8vo. pp. 32. Price 1s. Johnson. 1806. THE amount of the information which these scanty pages convey, is

that strong beer is pernicious, and that small beer will in process of time become stale. The author's directions for brewing contain nothing but what may be read in the works of Mrs. Glasse, Mrs. Harrison, and other professors of the culinary art, and heard from every old woman in the country. The proportions of malt and hops to the quantity brewed are well enough; but no person who knows how much of these ingredients is necessary for strong beer, requires either a ghost or an author to tell him how much will make it half as strong. As to the quality of the beer, it is impossible for the instructions here given to guide the reader in the production of any desired flavour, as the two difficult parts of the process, infusion and fermentation, are passed over without any definite rules. Mr. Rawlinson retains many of the silly superstitions, which most of the old women before mentioned have renounced; and, in the same spirit, duly execrates brewers' beer as poison, and ale-houses as poison-shops. Having described some utensils which are necessary in brewing, Mr. Rawlinson acquaints us that they may be procured of Mr. Frost, Cooper, Great Sutton-street, Clerkenwell; for which information, as in duty bound, we humbly thank Mr. Rawlinson, requesting our readers, from Northumberland to Cornwall, to profit by the hint.

135 Schroeter's Observations on the newly-discovered Planets.

Not being otherwise able to make out a shilling pamphlet, Mr. R. has quoted freely from Dr. Trotter against Drunkenness, and stated the nature of compound interest, and the advantages of benefit clubs, &c.; all which we admit is extremely edifying, and likely to render essential service to the laborious part of the community, for whom Mr. R. doubtless intended his work, by its Latin motto, and catch-penny printing.

Art. XXX. A Historical Account of Corsham House in Wiltshire, the Seat of Paul Cobb Methuen, Esq.; with a Catalogue of his celebrated Collection of Pictures, Dedicated to the Patrons of the British In stitution, and embracing a concise Historical Essay on The Fine Arts. With a brief Account of the different Schools, and a View of the progressive State of the Arts in England; also biographical Sketches of the Artists, whose Works constitute this Collection. By John Britton. royal 12mo. pp. 108. Price 5s. Barrett, Bath. Longman and Co. London. 1806.

MR. Britton has furnished the visitors of this noble mansion with a useful and elegant guide; one that will enable them to enact the Conoscente, and at the same time to escape the instructions of those local historians, who generally infest such intruders in their perambulation through great houses. The Historical Essay on the Fine Arts is pleasing, though superficial; the anecdotes collected concerning the various artists, and their pictures, will be found interesting and acceptable. We ob serve in Mr. B. as in many other admirers of the arts, a wishful remembrance of the Roman Catholic religion, and a deep regret that our reformers afforded so little encouragement to the connection between art and devotion. Let them beware how they indulge such a heathenish and degrading feeling; it is the glory of Christianity that it forms men, not dilettanti. Dear as the arts may be to us, as sources of refined pleasure, we do not chuse to talk much about their moral efficacy, and still less do we chuse that they should ever interfere with the claims of religious principle.

A highly finished view of Corsham House is prefixed to these pages, with a suitable plan, so shaded as to point out the respective additions of Mr. Brown and Mr. Nash.

GERMAN LITERATURE.

Art. XXXI. Lilienthalische Beobachtungen der neu-entdeckten Planeten, e. Observations made at Lilienthal on the newly discovered Planets, Ceres, Pallas, and Juno, with a View to the accurate Determination of their real Magnitudes, their Atmospheres, and other remarkable physical Relations in the solar System. By Dr. John Jerome Schroeter, Counsellor of Justice to His Britannic Majesty. With a Vignette and 2 Copper-plates. Gottingen. Wandenhoeck and Ruprecht, pp. 378. Syo. OF the three new planets, one was discovered at Lilienthal; and all of them have been observed with uncommon accuracy by means of the excellent instruments which the observatory there possesses. The work be, fore us gives a circumstantial account of those observations, which principally relates to the magnitude and physical states of the three new planets; nevertheless, the determinations of their positions, according to right ascer

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