Art. 35. The Parish Officer's Companion; or a new and complete Library of Parish Law. By Somerville Dingley, Efq. Author of the Appendix to Barn's Justice. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Lifter. 1786. Though the laws relative to parish affairs are pretty generally known, yet the many new acts that are paffed, and the cafes that are adjudged in the different courts, render new editions of works of this kind neceffary for inftructing church-wardens and overfeers in their duty. We have not at hand the last edition of SHAW's Parish Law, for the purpose of comparison. R-m Art. 36. Obfervations on the Statutes relating to the Stamp Duties, particularly on profeffional and mercantile Proceedings, &c. By John Rayner, of the Middle Temple. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Flexney. 1786.

Thefe Obfervations tend to fhew the difficulties and inaccuracies, and fometimes the partiality with which, in Mr. R.'s opinion, the ftatutes relative to the stamp-duties abound. He thinks that other modes of increafing the revenue might have been adopted, which would have anfwered the purpose of the ftate as well, and, at the fame time, have convinced mankind, that the legislature had much more at heart the eafe than the burthen of the fubject.' The tax on attorneys is particularly disliked by this experienced obferver, on account of its obvious inequality and oppreffive partiality. 2. EDUCATION, SCHOOL Books, &c. Art. 37. Reading made moft Eafy; confifting of a Variety of ufeful Leffons. By W. Rufher, Mafter of the Charity School at Banbury. 12mo. 6d. Gough. 1786.

Thofe who know the difficulties and trouble of teaching children the rudiments of reading, will find this little compofition not ill calculated for rendering that laborious task more fimple and eafy. B: Art. 38. A Vocabulary of the most difficult Words in the English Language, teaching to pronounce them with Eafe and Propriety; fhewing their various Significations; and, where neceffary, are fpelled fo as to indicate the true Articulation; alfo, Names of Perfons and Places, more particularly thofe in the New Teftament: together with feveral common Phrafes from the Latin and French, tranflated into English, &c. &c. By William Fry, Teacher of Languages and Mathematical Sciences. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Boards. Buckland, &c.

That this is a whimfical medley, the reader will easily conclude from the title. Of the Editor's qualifications to write a dictionary, he may form fome judgment from the following fpecimens: Authority Juvenal.

Abandoned, given up to, &c.

Ab hoc et ab hac, at random.
Ad patres, the abode of the juft; death.

Alma mater, chafte mother.

Argumentum ad bominem, a convincing argument.
Argumentum ad ignorantiam, a foolish argument.
En bon point, pronounce ang bung poing.
Locum tenens, one officiating for the Lord Mayor,

Qui pro quo, a miftake of an apothecary in giving or mixing

medicines, &c. &c.

Art. 39. An Effay on pronouncing and reading French: to fhow, that by Study and Application the English may acquire, with Certainty, and in a fhort Time, the true French Accent. By Mr. Des Carrieres. 8vo. 3s. 6d. Boards. Elmily. 1787.

This Effay feems to be better calculated for inftructing Englishmen in the French pronunciation than any of thofe numerous publications, for that purpofe, which we have feen. There is a great difficulty in giving definitions of fuch ideas as are the objects of fense alone; founds therefore, like colours, are but ill defined by words. To perfons entirely ignorant of the French pronunciation, the prefent performance can be of little fervice; but to thofe who have acquired fome knowledge of that language, it will afford very confiderable affiftance. The Author appears to be a man of tafte and ingenuity; his obfervations are founded on juft grounds, and are the refult of an extenfive knowledge of language in general, and an intimate acquaintance with the best authors on the fubject. L'Abbé d'Olivet and M. Bouillette have afforded him great affiftance; he acknowledges, indeed, to have freely used the latter's Traité des fons de la langue Françoife, a book of confiderable reputation among the French. R

EAST INDIES.

Art. 40. Obfervations on the Defence made by Warren Haftings, Efq. Part I. 8vo. 2s. Debrett. 1787.

Contains many fevere animadverfions on the Defence, and on the conduct, of Mr. Haftings, particularly in regard to the Rohilla war. -This is the tract concerning which an unavailing complaint was made, in the Houfe of Commons, by Major S. (the active friend of Mr. H.) on account of its " malignant principle and tendency.". The pamphlet is well-written: its author unknown, though fhrewdly gueffed at.

POETRY.

Art. 41. Blenheim, a Poem. By the Rev. W. Mavor. 4to. 39. Cadell. 1787.

We cannot apply to this poem, on Blenheim House, what Mr. Pope faid of his Windfor Foreft

"Where pure defcription holds the place of fenfe"for there is much good fenfe and laudable fentiment in this defcriptive poem; and both are agreeably arrayed in eafy and (in general) harmonious numbers. The whole is introduced to the reader by a very modeft Preface, in which he is informed that The Poem was not written amid philofophic eafe and literary converfation. It originated,' fays the writer, from local attachments, and was profe cuted at thofe intervals when ill health gave a neceffary relaxation from profeffional avocations, or when the cares of life drove the Author to the innocent alleviations of verfe. Under fuch circumftances, had he poffeffed real poetic genius, it must have been de. preffed; and as he lays claim to little more than poetic inclination, he is too fenfible his production is much unequal to the fubject.'

Such becoming diffidence never fails to intereft the reader in an author's behalf: whatever merit may appear in his production, ample credit is given him for it; and candour throws her friendly veil over REV. Feb. 1787.

N

thofe

thofe imperfections which, from the pen of Arrogance, might have been judged worthy of the fevereft criticism.

Art. 42. The New Rofciad: A Poem. 4to. Is. 6d. Hookham. 1787.

From the Seffion of the Poets," written by Sir John Suckling, in the reign of Charles the Second, down to The Diaboliad, in the reign of George the Third, we have had feveral poems on the fame plan: :-a vacant laureatfhip, or a vacant throne in the infernal fhades, or, &c. &c.

This new work is to be confidered as a vehicle, to convey, to the Public, the Author's fentiments relative to the merits of the prefent fet of actors on the London boards,—as the cant of the times has it. "GARRICK deceas'd, each high-afpiring play'r

Afferts pretenfions to the vacant chair-"

COLMAN is, very properly, appointed judge; and the feveral performers are characterifed, in advancing their feveral claims. Mrs. Siddons obtains the preference,

6.6

you, great Siddons! muft poffefs the chair,

Nor quit it till thou'st plac'd an equal there."

The Author appears to have formed a tolerably just conception of the refpective talents and merits of all the candidates; but his Mufe hobbles, if poffible, a thousand times worfe than Suckling's: and fhe was but a forry Trapes.

Art. 43. The Maniacs: a Tragi-comic Tale. By Nicholas Nobody. 4to. Is. Ridgway. 1786.

Mr. Nobody, viewing Margaret Nicholfon's attempt on the life of his Majesty in a ludicrous light, has made it the fubject of a ballad, to the tune of Catharine Hayes; but the ftory being rather barren of incident, the Author fupplies that deficiency by his invention. He introduces the Lords in Council, at the examination of the Maniac; who, in a fcuffie with the Chancellor, deprives him of his wig, and provokes him to a plentiful difplay of his fkill in the vulgar tongue : and the humour of all this is affifted by a copper-plate frontispiece. Art. 44. The Caffina, a Poem. 4to. Is. Becket.

In a happy imitation of the eafy ftyle of Anity's Bath Guide, this [to us] unknown author defcribes the agreeable company which he met with, laft fummer, at Weybridge: not over-looking the pretty fcenery of the place from which this very pleafing poem takes its

name.

Art. 45. The Fallen Cottage. A Poem. By T. C. Rickman. 4to. 29. 6d. Kearsley. 1787.

Ruftic fcenery, and ruftic life, not unnaturally defcribed, in ruftic verfe. Mr. R. though bleffed with no extraordinary powers of poetry, feems to feel, and to enjoy, the fimplicity of his fubject: we hope, too, that he enjoys the goods effects of his numerous and refpectable lift of fubfcribers.

DRAMATIC.

Art. 46. The First Floor; a Farce. In two Acts. As reprefented at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. 8vo. 15. Dilly. 1787.

This piece is infcribed to Mr. King, as an acknowledgment of the utility derived to the Author (Mr. Cona, from that gentleman's

theatrical

theatrical experience, and knowledge of dramatic effect. Mr. King
has been fo long in the fervice of the comic mufe, with credit to
himfelf, and the general efteem of the Public, that a better advifer,
in all that regards the cunning of the feene, could not be found upon
any theatre. The advantage of having fuch a critic, contributed,
moft probably, to the great propriety, and, indeed, brilliancy, with
which the piece appeared in the reprefentation. The fame effect
cannot be expected in the clofet. To judge of a First Floor, it must
be feen; and fo it is with the piece before us. It does not aim at
fuccefs by the production of thofe foibles, or humours, which confti-
tute character. Mrs. PATTYPAN's love for TIM TARTLET is not
diftinguished by any kind of peculiarity. Mr. Baddely, by the hap-
pinefs of his clofe and natural ftyle of acting, gave dillinctive features
to OLD WHIMSEY, but his countenance and tone of voice cannot
be printed. The Author intended to divert by incident, and fre-
quent turns and counterturns of the bufinefs. In this he has fucceed-
ed fo well, that we shall not object to him the want of probability,
with which many circumstances are brought forward. OLD WHIM-
SEY brings his daughter to town, to keep her fafe from MONFORD:
he is to have the ufe of his fon's lodging. YOUNG WHIMSEY is
turned out of his lodging, and this does not feem to be well manag-
ed. MONFORD happens to take that very lodging, and OLD
WHIM EY goes thither with his daughter. This premifes well; but
the very man, whom the father wishes to avoid, is too foon difcover-
ed; and, for the fake of carrying on the plot, OLD WHIMSEY is
made to believe that a match will be concluded between MONFORD
and Mrs. PATTYPAN. In this notion he is confirmed by liftening to
a converfation, every word of which he mifunderftands, and turns
his own way, Mr. COBB has a fertile invention, and has had the
addrefs to make a number of incidents grow out of one another.
That an upholsterer fhould furnish apartments for a man he never
faw, is not within the ftrict rule of probability; it feems, however,
to make room for the whimsical adventure of the father's being fup-
Fofed to be the fon in the difguife of an old man. Under that mif
take he is arrefted, and the fcene is carried on with pleafantry. A
good ufe is made of the window curtain, and the doors that lead to
different apartments. From the agreeable jumble of all together,
the refult is a pleasant farce, of that kind, which is called by the
critics Comedy of Intrigue. Mirth is excited, and, as Horace fays,
eft quædam tamen hæc quoque virtus. But we prognofticate from the
vivacity and natural turn of the dialogue, that Mr. COBB will, at a
fatare period, give the Public fomething of higher value. In the
mean time, every friend who takes a peep at the First Floor, will bo-
pour it with his approbation.
M-y.

THEOLOGY.

Art. 47. Sermons on Religious and Practical Subjects. By the Rev. A. Blackstone Rudd, M. A, late of Univerfity College, Oxford, Vicar of Diddlebury, in the County of Salop, and Reader at Ludlow. 8vo. Ludlow, printed. 1786. No Price mentioned, nor London Bookfeller.

10/6. as

The fubjects of thefe difcourfes are the following: I. The defign aars and object of Chriftianity, Prov. iii. 17. II. The divinity of Chrift

N 2

afferted from

Subsequent Informat

afferted by the evidence of the Centurion and his attendants at the crucifixion, Matth. xxvii. 54. III. A fixed belief in the divine attributes the true fupport of man in the prefent life, Pfal. lviii. 10. IV. End and defign of baptifm, Colof. ii. 11, 12. V. Chriftian warfare, Matth. xxiv. 42, 43. VI. Divine juftice appeafed by contrite guilt, Luke xv. 10. VII. Importance of an early virtuous education, Prov. xxii. 6. VIII. Benefits of general infirmaries, Prov. xiv. 31. IX. John, i. 17. The law came by Mofes, &c. X. Funeral fermon, from 1 Theff. iv. 13, 14. XI. Sacrifices of the law figurative of the death of Chrift, John, i. 45. XII. Double fenfe of prophecy, Pfal. ii. 8. XIII. Caution of Christ, in not declaring himself to be the Meffiah, ftated and accounted for, Mark, xv. 2, 3, 4, 5. XIV. Elijah triumphant, 1 Kings, xviii. 21. XV. Day of judgment, 1 Cor. xv. 24. The eighth of these difcourfes has been before publifhed, and is taken notice of in the 67th volume of the Review, p. 160. The fecond feems to affert the divinity of Chrift's doctrine, rather than what has been generally underflood by the phrafe, the divinity of Chrift. The twelfth fermon, On the double fenfe of prophecy, is followed by fome pages of notes, giving a fhort account of the most confiderable authors who have written on the fubject, together with an abstract of fome of the Pfalms which chiefly refer to our bleffed Saviour.'

The Author of thefe fermons has fhewn, in their compofition, much good fenfe and ingenuity. His ftyle is generally correct; but what is most important, his difcourfes are all directed to practical and ufeful purpofes. Sometimes, perhaps, while attentive to his language, he may not fo thoroughly inveftigate the fentiment. One inftance of hafte, however, candour will not allow us wholly to pafs without notice; it is in the laft fermon, when the preacher is difcourfing on the refurrection and future life,-here he breaks out into an apostrophe- what then fhall we fay -- to a fellow who calls himself a philofopher, and tells us that he is convinced that the foul of man is material.'-This is a kind of language unworthy of the pulpit, and unfuitable to the scholar and the Chriflian; befide which it is to be confidered, that the Author to whom most readers will fuppofe a reference is made in the above paffage, is as firm an advocate for Chriftianity, and a life to come, as Mr. Rudd, and though he may be mistaken in his opinions, is not deflitute of ability to maintain them. This remark we think due to juflice, and we are perfuaded it will be fairly and candidly interpreted, by every moderate and impartial reader. As to the opinions or cenfures of zealots and bigots, of whatever denomination, we give ourfelves no concern about them.

H. Art. 48. Sacra Privata: or private Meditations and Prayers of Bishop Wilfon, accommodated to general Ufe. 12mo. Bound. Dilly. 1786.

2s. 6d.

The motive affigned by the Editor, for this publication, is to repder this part of Bishop Wilfon's works more extenfively useful, Locked up in the large voluminous edition, they can have, compafatively, but a limited circuit. In the prefent fize they may fall into many other hands. Thofe meditations and prayers, which are more peculiar to the Bishop's ftation and office, are here omitted. It is

well