.. Indeed! would the Almighty utter Lilliputian verses, infantine rhymes, and pleonafms? No. This must be a mistake. After "Tumult ceafe," Sink to peace," is a feeble redundancy ;. and thefe pigmy verfes are fo far from expreffing the fublime in an adequate degree, that they are fuitable to nothing but the trivial train of fome hornpipe or country dance. Dr. Young, as we have once before obferved, fell into the fame error; and, because Dryden had made his Hero nod in fuch dwarfish rhymes, conceived that this measure was certainly calculated to exprefs the fublime. Ye plarets, and each circling conftellation, To heavenly founds; And footh his fong-inchant ears, "In fongs harmonious tell your generation," cannot boast much poetry, whatever becomes of the philofophy. As to the Seraph's ftanding on the pole-ftar, and turning the fpheres, the Author, no doubt, meant it for a fublime image, and we dare fay, many of his Readers will accept it as fuch; but really we loft the pleasure of confidering it in that light, by catching from it the unlucky idea of a Savoyard's grinding mufic, or a Mechanic working at a lathe. The harmony and imagery of the following paffage are equally beautiful, and to us it appears to be faultlefs throughout. Ocean haftens to his bed, The lab'ring mountain rears his rock encumber'd head: The torrent rolls his thund'ring tide. The lark, high-foaring, ha ls the morn. Heaven's own clifs on Eden's bower: Peace on Nature's lap repoles; Pleasure ftrews her guiltless roles: Joys divine in circles move, Link'd with innocence and love. Hail happy love, with innocence combin'd! The The paffage that follows this, and, for the instruction of the Monarch, reprefents the miferies of our firft parents as the confequence of their guilt, has likewife many beauties: Wake my lyre, can pity fleep, When Heaven is mov'd and angels weep! Flow, ye melting numbers; flow; "Till he feel that guilt is woe. The unhappy King, who could not but apply this part of the fong to himself, With pride, and shame, and anguish torn, Shot fury from his eyes and fcorn. The glowing youth, Bold in truth, (So still should virtue guilty power engage) And, while the doom of guilt he fings, Nothing can be more happily expreffive than the last line, Shakes horror from the tortur'd ftrings! we almoft tremble while we read it. The following invocation to Repentance is pretty, to say. the leaft of it: Come fair Repentance from the skies, O fainted maid, with up caft eyes! See the figns of grace appear!. Signs of grace is, perhaps, too trite an expreffion; as well as Vifit him with thy falvation, page 16. Some other exceptionable paffages might be pointed out, but they are excufable-ubi plura nitent. An Answer to the latter Part of Lord Bolingbroke's Letters of the Study of History. By the late Lord Walpole of Woolterton. In a feries of Letters to a noble Lord. Svo. 3s. 6d. fewed. Whifton. T were not unreafonable to imagine, that a fubject so often not une diicuffed as the demerits of the adminiftration during the four laft years of Queen Anne, might have been by this time fully illuftrated; and that people in general might have entertained an uniform opinion of the tranfactions of that period. Perhaps alfo, this is really the cafe, notwithstanding fome few individuals, of fingular difpofitions, and exploded principles, occafionally ftand up, in defence of the most notorious mifconduct of a deluded or corrupt miniftry. It is true, that, from a late paradoxical revolution in the state of parties, we might be tempted to conceive fome refemblance between the complexion of the prefent times and that of the period above-mentioned. If we judge, however, folely from real facts, and not from reports and appearances,-from the more important tranfactions of the State, and not the disparaging reprefentations of a difcontented faction, the moft ftriking features of this fuppofed refemblance will probably yanish. That the terms of the prefent treaty of peace are inadequate to our fucceffes, and fo far make it refemble that of Utrecht, is pretty generally admitted: but, whatever might have been done then, that we could now have procured a better, either by prolonging the war, or employing different Negotiators, is, at beft, problematical; and might, for ought we know, very reafonably be thought too hazardous an experiment in our prefent circumstances. For, notwithstanding the validity of fome few exceptions, and the violence with which the tide of popularity ran at first against both the peace and the peace-makers, the more confide ate part of the people are daily falling into the notion, that the definitive treaty has, on the whole, concluded a very advantageous peace. Some of them, indeed, admitting all this, look into things more narrowly, and carry their views much farther. Thefe very justly conceive domeftic freedom to be as effential to their country's happiness, as national glory; and, judging rather from their fears than their feelings, are as much alarmed at wrong men as wrong meafures. Neglecting, therefore, the refemblance between particular features, thefe political Phyfiognomifts examine the fymmetry of the general face of things, and judge of the tempe of the times, not from its flattering appearance during a tranfient fmile, but from that permanent state of the the countenance, which truly indicates the difpofition. To fuch men a Tory Administration would appear equally obnoxi ous, whether it might have reduced us by a war to the lowest ebb of poverty and contempt, or raifed us by a peace to the highest pinnacle of wealth and glory: nay, the circumstances of its having merited the national confidence by its fuccefs, might make it seem still more dangerous. We hope, however, that the alarms which thefe Sons of Liberty have lately taken, will be found, in a great measure, groundlefs. The idea of a patriot King being realifed, may have blown up the fmothering embers of an expiring fyftem into a temporary blaze; they are too far exhaufted, however, and have loft too much of their political phlogifton, to communicate a flame to any thing but the light ftubble with which venal incendiaries keep it alive. At leaft, we hope, the nature and end of government are now fo much better and more generally known in this country, than when paffive obedience and non-refiftance were in fashion, that we are under no danger of feeing thofe abfurdities revived. There are, indeed, but two forts of men who are ever likely to adopt fach principles, viz. the knaves of the higheft, and the fools of the loweft, clafs; the fcum, and the diegs, of the nation; those who are fo intimately acquainted, or cl,fely connected, with the adminiftration, as to fhare, or hope to fhare, in the spoils of the people, and thofe who are fo ignorant and fo far removed from it, as to conceive their Governors to be fomething more, though in reality often lefs, than men. Of the latter, it is to be hoped, there are in this country but few; and as to the former, we must not judge of their number by the herd we fee gathered about the feat of government. The air of a court is their native element, and they follow the Minister, as a certain voracious quadruped is faid to attend the lion, in order to feaft on the offals of his luxurious banquet. We have been led to make thefe reflections, on a supposition, that the Editor of the Letters before us may have publifhed them at this juncture, with a view to an invidious parallel, that may be thought a proper antidote to the fuppofed-increafing effects of Toryifm. We do not fee the neceflary confequence, however, that every peace made by a tory adminiftration, must be a bad one, because that of Utrecht was fuch: nor that its having made a good one, is any juftification of tory principles. For these reasons, if fuch, indeed, was the Editor's view, we think -the publication of thete Letters might have been spared, especially as they are written with too much acrimony, to give the world an high opinion of the Writer's candour; and as neither the matter nor manner of them is fo new or curious as to do him any great honour, either as a Politician or as an Autor. P 3 Not Not that we mean to depreciate his Lordfhip of Woolterton's calents or abilities, either with regard to literature or politics. The character of Horatio Walpole, as a Negotiator, is well known; and the ftyle of thefe Letters is by no means unworthy his pen. Neither would we be thought, by reprefenting Toryifm in a lefs formidable light than it has been done by others, to infer from thence the inexpediency of inculcating opposite principles. If it be lefs candid to judge from our fears than our feelings, it is more fafe, and may therefore be more prudent in some circumstances: nor is there any thing more becoming fenfible Britons than, in the midst of their loyalty, and gratitude for past services, to be very circumfpect left advantage should be taken of those very fervices, to convert them into the means of oppreffion. A people, jealous of their liberty, fhould take alarm at the fhadow of encroachment, and provide in time against its moft diftant appearances. Thofe men who have ferved their country, have done their duty, and deferve our thanks; but it would be buying the best peace too dear, to barter for it the fmalleft portion of British Liberty. Taking things in this point of view, indeed, we think the prefent publication may not be altogether unfeafonable; although we do not go so far as to deem all Tories equally bad Ministers, or to join with of thofe who fay, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? After all, there is much more faid about perfons than principles, in the volume before us. At the fame time, however, we think the noble Writer hath taken more pains to refute the affertions of his adverfary than they deferved, or required. It was undoubtedly the bufinefs of Lord Bolingbroke to put the best face on fo bad a matter, as the conduct of the administration, in which he had fo great a fhare. It must be allowed alfo, that he hath done this in a very fpirited and artful manner. Yet, plaufible as fome of his arguments may appear, it is impoffible for the public not to fufpect fome partiality in his reprefentation of facts: a fufpicion that will greatly help to detect the fallacy of the whole. Having been thus explicit, with regard to the defign of the Editor, in publifhing thefe Letters, and the general intention of the noble Author in writing them, we fhall proceed to give our Readers a sketch of their contents. His Lordship opens his correfpondence with a curfory enumeration of the principal facts and propotions, which he undertakes to confirm and establish. Thefe we fhall give the Reader in his own words. "That the four laft years of the adminiftration in Queen Anne's reign prefented a fcene, the most iniquitous that was ever |