days of the inimitable and unimitated major Sturgeon, arrows of this kind have, however, loft much of their tharpness. Thefe, from Tyburn's grim precincts, and Paddington's plains, And from Marybone march, where the nymphs with their fwains Trip to fiddles no more-mark their fwords keen and bright, At home no lefs friendly than fatal in fight: For there, they in times of inglorious ease Leave the hacking of fquadrons for flicing of cheese, As their hands guide the beams which weigh candles and coals; But alas! can my Mufe e'er defcribe what the felt, Merely patties, but honour and death with the may'r!" From this fpecimen our readers may judge of the merit of this Anticipation. It may raise a temporary fmile in the metropolis; but its humour will evaporate, when carried to a greater diftance. The Patriot's Vifion; or, the Triumph of Oppofition. 4to. 1 Se Stockdale. A prophetic view of those days When your sweet boy fhall grace Britannia's throne, Some well-known characters in the oppofition are treated with great feverity; and the facetious Peter Pindar receives, with great juftice, a handfome drubbing, for his wanton abuse of a moft refpectable character. Some trifling errors might be pointed out in this little performance, which feems written from the heart, and difplays both feeling and poetical abilities. The The Age of Genius! a Satire on the Times. By T. Busby, 4to. 35. Harrison. Some fenfible remarks and fhrewd obfervations appear thinly. fcattered through this epiftle, which is, however, in general o cbfcure, that it is not eafily understood. Ode to Superftition, with fome other Poems. 4to. 150 Cadell. Hence, to the realms of night, dire demon, hence! That little world, the human mind, And fink its nobleft powers to impotence. Clot his fhaggy mane with gore, With flathing fury bid his eye-balls fhine, Meek is his favage fullen foul to thine! Thy touch, thy dead'ning touch, has fteel'd the breast, Where, thro' her rainbow-fhower, foft Pity fmil'd; To all the filent pleadings of his child. At thy command he plants the dagger deep, At thy command exults, tho' Nature bid him weep!' This exordium, and the other parts of the Ode are not inferior to it, is fpirited and harmonious. The leffer poems are elegant and pretty. Elegiac Sonnets. By Charlotte Smith. The Third Edition. With Twenty Additional Sonnets. te. 35. DodЛley. We received the first edition of these Sonnets, with the cheering fmiles of approbation; they were reviewed in our Fiftyfeventh Volume; the public confirmed our award, by an extenfive demand, and they are now arrived at the third edition. These are only fonnets, as they confist of fourteen lines, and include a single sentiment: they are not fo in another respect, viz. the number of rhymes; for, in the legitimate fonnet, the rhymes fhould be only four, and a flight, but limited, regularity is required in the verfification. We do not object to the author's having negle&ed thefe rigid rules. Our pleasure, in reading, is feldom increased by the difficilis labor ineptiarum. The new fonnets are, To Mrs. G. 6 Written on the Sea Shore. From Petrarch. From the Thirteenth Cantata of Metaftafio.o the Earl of Egremont.-To Mr. Hayley.-To the Counteis of A --Suppofed to be written by Werter. By the fame.To the River Arun.-XXVII.-To Friendhip-To Mifs Co the River Arun.-Written in Farm Wood, on the South Downs, May, 1784-To Melancholy. Written on the Banks of the Arun To the Naiad of the Arun. To a Friend.-To Fortitude.-XXXVI.' Thefe are diftinguished by the fame elegance, the fame harmony of verfification, and are coloured by the fame gloomy pencil. We are forry to fee the eye, which can fhine with to Hh z much much poetic fire, fullied with a tear; and we hope the footh ings of the favoured Mufe may wipe it from her cheek. A Poetical Epifle from the Ghoft of Dr. Johnson, to his Four Friends: the Rev. Mr. Strahan, James Bofwell, Efq. Mrs. Piozzi, J. Courtenay, Efq. M. P. From the Original Copy in the Poffeffion of the Editor. With Notes critical, biographical, hiftorical, and explanatory. 4to. 35. Harrison. A few lines of text are overwhelmed with whole pages of marginal notes: we were at firft at a lofs to account for this peculiarity; but we fufpe&t that our author added his notes, as an amulet, to preferve his poetry from the criticifm which would otherwife be fatal to it. Indeed the lines are generally harmless and inoffenfive: the couplets end with fimilar founds, and what would the most faftidious critic defire more? The fting is in the notes, where the author tranfcribes many paffages from Mr. Strahan's Preface, Mr. Bofwell's Journal, Mrs. Piozzi's Anecdotes, and Mr. Courtenay's Review. We fhall felect a fhort paffage both from the poetry and profe. It is the beginning of Johnfon's addrefs to Mr. Bofwell. "O Bozzy! Bozzy! how fhall I begin To fpeak of thee-whofe all-approving grin, Oft made me lofe remembrance of the toil! But foft-thy honeft pride why should I check ? ; Which still clung to them while they stood with me— And fo much wifdom, he could gain no more.' We shall transcribe a fhort extract from the notes, on this as a fpecimen of our author's wit and good nature. part, "Mr. Bofwell speaks" I have given a sketch of Dr. Johnfon my readers may with to know a little of his fellow tra; veller: veller [myfelf!] Think, then, [O think !] of a gentleman of ancient blood, the pride of which was his predominant paffion he was then in his thirty-third year, ["So young, and yet fo witty!" Shakefp.] and had been about four years happily married! [Happy, happy man!] His inclination was to be a foldier! ["He would be a foldier, would sweet Jemmy-O!" -Bravo!] but his father, a refpectable judge, had preffed him {what a pity] into the profeffion of the law! He had thought more than any body fuppofed! [wonderful!] and had a pretty good flock of general learning and knowledge. [Charming!] He had all Dr. Johnfon's principles, [what a ftock!] with fome degree of relaxation! [Better, and better !] He had rather too little, than too much prudence; [that's a pity!] and, his imagination being lively, [who would have thought it?] he often faid things of which the effect was very different from the intention. [Strange!] He refembled fometimes "The best good man, with the worst natur'd mufe!" [O the wicked jade! the cruel, ungrateful jilt!] Bofwell's Journal, p. 46, 47. If our reader is difpleafed, we can only affure him, that we have culled the choiceft.' To Mrs. Piozzi he is lefs complai fant; and his unfuccefsful attempt to torture her language into indecency deferves the fevereft reprehenfion. In fhort, we have fmiled at the peculiarities of thefe authors, and have laughed with those critics who, with wit, and good humour, have criticifed them; but we can never be pleased with petulance and ill-nature, and cannot commend thofe ftrictures which, inftead of tickling, are meant to wound. In our own warfare, we should feverely regret giving pain to one honeft heart. The author feems to have been aware, that his ftrictures might be cenfured on thefe grounds, and has fuppofed Johnfon to conclude with the following line, I praife my friend, juft as my friends praise me.' This plea we fear will not avail him: the intentions of the different authors, which are examined in this epistle, seem to have been to honour their friend, and add to his fame. We have little doubt, however, in faying, that they have confiderably detracted from it. If our epiftolary author's defign was equally good, his defence might be allowed; but there is always a dif ference in the degree of guilt, as well as in the punishment allotted for murder and manslaughter. Juliana. A Novel. 3 Vols. ( S. By the Author of Francis the Philanthropift. There is an error in the title-page: read by a very distant Relation' of the Author, &c. for we can find little refemblance Hh3 between between the works. The perfonages in this novel are very good fort of people; they lofe their fweethearts unexpectedly, and find them again very opportunely. Titles and fortunes are alfo poured on their heads, we neither know why or from whence but what is probability compared with novelty, and the confummation devoutly to be wished' for by each love-fick damfel, a happy marriage at the conclufion? The Hiftory of Sandiford and Merton. A Work intended for the Ufe of Children. Vol. II. 12mo. 35. Small 8vo. Stockdale. In our Fifty-feventh Volume we gave an account of the first part of this work. The continuation is not, however, equally interesting. We lofe the native fpirited naiveté of the young peafant, and we do not follow the pupil of wealth and Juxury with equal pleasure, because the improvements are less rapid, and we fee him immerged in diffipation. The glowing hand, which sketched the picture with fo much spirit, feems fatigued; and, unless it is again re-animated, we shall be contented with announcing only the subsequent volumes. MISCELLANEOUS. Anecdotes of the Learned Pig. With Notes, critical and explana tory; and Illuftrations from Bozzy, Piozzi, &c. &c. 4to. 15. 6d. Hookham. A popular fubject, and a refpectable name, draw forth every adventurer from Grub-treet, eager to share in the honours, or more probably the emoluments, of the harvest. We have not received the feveral authors, who have endeavoured to apotheofize Dr. Johnfon, with great complacency. They have certainly stepped beyond the proper limits of propriety; and the portraits which they have delineated are rather caricatures than likeneffes. On the other hand, Johnfon has been deprived of much fair fame, by their injudicious attempts, and may well exclaim Pol me occidiftis amici Non fervaftis.' The prefent author defcribes the Rambler under the title of the Learned Fig; but we are not lefs difgufted with him who ridicules a respectable man for perfonal deformities, or inelegant manners, than with another who, instead of defcribing the individual, paints a faultless monster. Dialogues of Lucian. From the Greek, Vol. III. 8vo. 55. in Boards. Longman. In our review of Mr. Carr's first volume, we gave fome remarks on this author; and, in the account of the fucceeding volume, and in our extenfive analyfis of Dr. Franklin's tranilation, the fubject of the feveral pieces, as well as the designs of Lucian, and the tendency of his writings, are confidered at fome |