all her airs of folly are the pious fraud of virtue. It may be added, that, if it incidentally appeared that Wilmot is endeavouring to do good by ftealth, in the difguife of Gabriel (the awkward fervant from the country) the Actor's opportunity of pleafing would be fairer, and the expectation of the audience would be raifed to higher pleafure. Of Lord Morden's character we have fome doubt. He is afhamed of being jealous, that is, of vindicating his honour. Sir Frederick Fashion behaves to him, too frequently, in a style which, to a man of fenfibility, would be beyond enduring. Not only the courage, but the understanding of Lord Morden are often too equivocal. These things, however, are but flaws in a brilliant. The play, notwithstanding, has confiderable merit. The dialogue, with the exception now and then of a phrafe, or a fingle word too fcholaftic for conversation, is, in general, lively, and, at times, approaching to elegance. The fentiments are, almoft always, juft. The wit is often happy, fometimes trite, and occafionally no better than a flash in the pan: but taking the comedy of Seduction all together, we do not hesitate to fay, that it is a production of confiderable value, and, upon the whole, does great credit to the Author. My ART. XVII. An Amorous Tale of the chafte Loves of Peter the Long, and of his most honoured Dame Blanche Bazu, his feal Friend Blaize Bazu, and the Hiftory of the Lover's Well. Imitated from the original French, by Thomas Holcroft. 12mo. 3s. 6d. fewed, Robinfons. 1786. WE or E are here prefented with a Tale, which, as the Editor informs us, in his advertisement, was written in or about the fifteenth century. Nothing, however, of date or authority, is brought in fupport of this affertion; and it is from the ftyle and complexion of the performance only that we are to deter mine on its claim to antiquity. Judging, therefore, from internal evidence, we conclude the hiftory of Peter the Long to be of a date later than that which it is made to bear. The Author, it is true, has felected fome very old and obfolete words, which he fometimes manages fkilfully enough; but he not unfrequently forgets himfelf, and in many parts of his work we find him writing as fmoothly as a member of the Academie Françoife. But we will prefent our Readers with a fpecimen of the performance: Now at this time, while I a ftudent was in the college of Navarre, being of age but fix and twenty years, it came to pass that my Lord and father was chofen to be Father-guardian; in which day it fo fell out, that I ran, fpeedily, when it I heard, to the church REV. June, 1787. N n of и of the reverend fathers, to return laud unto God for the honour his bounteous providence had done our family. Whenas I came into the church, I fell moft devoutly on my knees, in a dark corner, near unto the door; but no fooner had I my orifons, prayers, and thanksgivings begin, than I felt fomething pull me by the arm, and heard a voice call foftly, "Peter, Peter." Now I directly and forthwith knew it was the voice of my feal friend, Blaize Bazu, the best beloved companion of my ftudies. "Peter”— faid Blaize, " my good friend, right glad am I that thou art come: yonder be my two fifters Genevieve and Blanche, and I have here been waiting, them purpofely to let thee fee.", I had not looked at Blanche not a minute, no I am certain not a minute, before, without knowing or fufpecting aught, I fighed; yea from the very bottom of my heart. Angels, out of doubt, moft hand fome be, and beauteous; but, no! not fo beauteous, fure, as Blanche! Where fhe was, every heart in love muft be! For mine own part, I certainly thought my foul would forth from my body ftart outright and into her bofom leap. Now and then I looked down, tried to turn away mine eyes, faid my prayers more vehemently, and beat my breast hard, very hard;-and my fighs were so long and fo wifhful!-No, nobody can believe how I fighed. Blanche heard me, and turned, looked and marvelled at the extreme fervour of my devotion. For the believed, yea, beauteous as he was, he believed my fighs were for Heaven, and not for her.' -Believed that the fighs were for Heaven, and not for herNay, then,' exclaims the Reader, the performance is un,doubtedly of ancient date: this can never be spoken of a Blanche of the 18th century-women are fomewhat wifer in these days.' True: but this, we believe, is only one of our Author's feints. Be this, however, as it may; be the hiftory new or old,— What,' we fhall be asked, are its merits?' To this we anfwer, in the language of Peter the Long-Merit no great deal difcover in it can we. In a word, our Author's matter is as uninterefting as the generality of novels,—but his manner will frequently induce a smile. Mr. Holcroft has done fufficient juftice to his original. In fome of the poetical paffages there is really a beautiful fimplicity, which may be thought characteristic of Spenfer's time. We were particularly pleafed with the following lines, from 'Love's Prayer: Pearl of high beauty! peerless Queen! A look of grace beftow on me; Pardon beflow on paffion's fin*, For I've beftow'd my foul on thee.' He had been guilty of the high crime and mifdemeanor of ravifhing-a kifs. A.B. MONTHLY MONTHLY CATALOGUE, For JUNE, 1787. IMPEACHMENT of Mr. HASTINGS. Art. 18. Articles of Impeachment against Warren Haftings, Efq. late TH HE charges contained in thefe articles have been repeatedly laid before the Public, in the feveral parliamentary debates on them; and they now appear fummed up in the formal narrative ftyle, for the confideration of the high court which is to decide on their validity. Here are the firft fix articles delivered at the bar of the Houfe of Lords, on the fubjects of Benares, the Princeffes of Oude, Farruckabad, Contracts, Fyzoola Khan, and Presents. Some others have fince been added to them. M By one of the According to an expreffion ufed fomewhere by the late Dr. Johnfon, this writer encumbers us with help: for public virtue and utility would be little worth, if their nature depended upon, and could not be understood without his far-fetched and abftrufe diftin&tions. He must certainly be embarraffed in his own conceptions, who employs a multitude of words to explain his meaning. There is fomething curious in feeing a small pamphlet overloaded with three dedications; one to Mr. Sheridan, one to Mr. Pitt, individually, and a third to both in conjunction! An advertisement is added to all, including a general cenfure of our opinion of the Appeal; to which we can only add, that this writer has not as yet helped us to mend it: we have indeed received, from another quarter, good information that the Appeal was not written by the gentleman whom we then fuppofed to be the probable author of it. PHILOSOPHY. N. Art. 20. Obfervations on the Caufes and Cure of Smoky Chimnies. By his Excellency Benj. Franklin, LL. D. F. K. S. Prefident of the State of Pennfylvania; and of the American Philofophical Society, &c. 8vo. 25. Philadelphia, printed; London, reprinted for Debrett. 1787. Thefe obfervations are the fame, verbatim et literatim, with thofe which form the firft paper in the fecond volume of the American Philofophical Tranfactions, just published. The plate is likewife the fame, only on a fmaller fcale than that in the Tranfactions. A A Art. 21. Experiments and Obfervations on Light and Colours: to which is prefixed the Analogy between Heat and Motion. 8vo. 38. fewed. Johnson. 1787. . This performance confifts of five different papers, on the following fubjects: viz. The analogy between heat and motion; On the light and colours of heated bodies; On the cooling power of light; On the blue colour of the sky; and, On the light of the celestial bodies. The Author proceeds abftractedly to fhew the analogy between heat and motion, and cold and rest: Reft,' says he, is a privation of motion; and cold, a privation of heat. Bodies refift an endeavour to heat them, as they do an endeavour to put them in motion.' This is the first and principal demonftration brought to fupport the analogy between heat and motion. What a privation of heat is we know not; nor has the degree of abfolute cold, to which reft is faid to be fimilar, ever been ascertained. With refpect to the force of moving bodies, we think our Author has been too folicitous in proving a falfe doctrine erroneous. knowledged, from demonftration, to be as the velocity fimply, and The momentum is univerfally acnot as the fquare of the velocity, which hath been lately affirmed. The fecond treatife fhews how the colour of heated bodies advances from red to violet, as the heat is encreafed. This is a curious thought; and we wish the Author had profecuted his ideas farther feveral particulars refpecting fhining bodies might have been illuftrated, which are here omitted. More experiments, as the Author juftly confeffes, are wanting to confirm the power, which light is faid to poffefs, of cooling bodies exposed to it. The fourth paper is on a fubject incapable of experimental proof. The hypothefes delivered in this and the following treatife, though ingenious, are merely conjectural, and may ferve to amufe those whom they cannot convince. In a note to the laft paper, the Author claims the difcoveries, That water was the product of inflammable and dephlogisticated airs; and that phlogifticated air must be a combination of phlogifton and nitrous acid.' Thefe thoughts were communicated, in writing, to a friend, fome time before the papers which have been written on that fubject appeared in Public. If this is really the cafe, and can be proved, why does our Author conceal his name? The Public will not readily affent to the bare affertions of a writer, and more efpecially when the writer is unknown. We do not, however, mean to exprefs any doubt on our own part. REPEAL of the TEST ACT, &c. Art. 22. In this well written pamphlet, the paper entitled the Cafe of the juft ↑ By the Rev Alex : Geddes, L.L.D. juft claim, but also a difgufting illiberality of fentiment, unworthy of this enlightened and tolerant age.' This charge is advanced chiefly with a view to the Roman Catholics of this country, who are here vindicated, with every appearance of candour, as well as ability, from the reflections caft on them in the Diffenters' Cafe. In brief, the Author thinks that the late application of the Diffenters to Parliament for redress against tefts, &c. was narrow, pitiful, and partial;' and that they ought, as friends to toleration, to have generously included the Catholics, inftead of endeavouring to fhut the door against their fuffering brethren.' On the fubject of toleration, the Author's ideas rife to a noble height indeed! The name of Chriftian,' fays he, in his conclufion, is a much more ancient and more honourable, as well as a more comprehenfive tie, than that of Proteftant; and there is a tie ftill more ancient and comprehenfive than either-that of humanity. The time, I truft, is not at a great distance, when the full force of this last will be underflood and felt over all the polished nations of the world, when philanthropy and commutual interefts will be the fole links of fociety, when tefts and penal laws will be no more deemed neceffary for the fecurity of religion, and when Papift and Proteftant, Athanafian and Arian, Lutheran and Calvinift, Trinitarian and Unitarian, will be names of mere diftinction, not of reciprocal odium, and much less objects of reciprocal perfecution. And have we not reafon to hope, Sir, that the British legiflature will be among the first to bring about a fyftem fo defirable, and fo congenial to the British conftitution? God knows we have, and ever shall have, political difputes enough to divide us: why fhould those of religion come in for a fhare? Let fome patriotic and enlightened foul, then, move at once for a repeal of every penal religious ftatute, and every religious teft: be the pledge of the fidelity of the subject in future, his ordinary oath of allegiance, and his fubfequent conduct, and let him be anfwerable only for his own; let religious principles be no more confounded with political ones; but let every Briton, without forfeiting his birth-right, profefs his own belief of the Divinity, and worship him after his own mode; and if he chooses not to worship at all, what is that to the ftate, if he faithfully ferve it in the ftation he holds, or the charge he is intrufted with? In a word, let the only teft of a good citizen be an obligation, to be a peaceable fubject and an honest man. Such a motion, Sir, would do infinite honour to the mover; would be feconded and fupported by every man whofe heart were not callous to the feelings of humanity; and would immortalize the fovereign and the minifter, in whofe reign and under whofe aufpices, it fhould be adopted, and paffed into a law.' 1787. Art. 23. An Addrefs to the Proteftant Diffenters who have lately petitioned for a Repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts. By the Rev. Jofeph Berington. 8vo. IS. Robinfons, &c. Similar to the foregoing tract, in defign, fpirit, and argument. The Reverend Author, it is well known, is a member of the Roman Catholic church, but he feems to have none of the bigotry and fuperftition with which the priesthood of that perfuafion have for Nn 3 merly |