christened, and got a new name, they would no longer be of your old family. And soe Sir, we have nothing more to say, but that we are much obligated to you, and shall be glad to sarve and visit you by nite'or by day, and are your humble sarvants to command.' On the whole, we shall be rather sorry if it should prove true, as we have conjectured, that the ingenious compiler has emptied his "Common-place Book." Art. 35. Narrative of the Loss of the Ship Hercules, commanded by Capt. Benjamin Stout, on the Coast of Caffraria, the 16th June 1796; also a circumstantial Detail of his Travels through the Southern Deserts of Africa, and the Colonies, to the Cape of Good Hope. 8vo. pp. 160. 3s. Johnson. 1798. Capt. Stout, and such of his crew as survived the loss of the Hercules, landed on that part of the eastern coast of the continent of Africa which is inhabited by the Tambauchis. This tribe has been described as the most ferocious, vindictive, and detestable class of beings that inhabit Caffraria:' yet their reception of these unfortunate strangers does honour to human nature:-they supplied them with food and guides for their journey to the Cape, and dismissed them with the kindest regret. The route lay through a country highly favoured by nature. Rich vallies, intersected by innumerable rivulets, and crowned by majestic forests, every where surrounded them. Of these sylvan habitations, the Bashis-men are the savage guests : 'They are a distinct race of men, and perhaps the most diminutive that has yet been discovered in any part of the world. They very seldom exceed four feet six inches in stature, but are as nimble and alert as their gazelles.' The Cape is considered by Capt. S. as an acquisition of immense importance to this country. If England,' says he, ' in the termination of hostilities relinquishes all her other conquests, and although she has expended during the last five years two hundred millions in the prosecution of her contest with the French republic, still, if she preserves the Cape of Good Hope, and its dependencies, she will ultimately be a gainer by the war.' This proposition Captain Stout attempts to demonstrate, by investigating the excellency of a soil which is equally adapted to the cultivation of the grape, the sugar cane, and tobacco, These valuable productions will, he thinks, encourage the enterprising disposition of the English to form settlements in the most fertile tracts, where the hospitable natives will rather assist than impede the first feeble efforts of the infant colonies. We wish that Capt. Stout had informed us whether, when the settlements have ac quired strength, he would recommend that the colonists should reduce his old friends the Tambauchis to the condition of slaves, by forcing them to labor in the new plantations; or only advise their expulsion from the fertile coasts, into the arid interior of that extensive country? Another alternative still remains, which was formerly prac. tised by the Spaniards with much success: but we really deem the author incapable of recommending this method of acquiring.territory. Art. 36. The Life of the Rev. Oliver Heywood. With Historical Sketches of the Times in which he lived; and Anecdotes of some other 3 " other eminent Ministers in Yorkshire, Lancashire, &c. By J. Fawcett, A. M. 12m0. 2s. 3d. Printed at Ewood Hall, near Hallifax, and sold by Johnson, &c. London. Mr. Heywood was a divine of the last age, of that character (though not properly a Dissenter) which, in contempt, was denominated Puritanical; and he was a person of considerable eminence among those who suffered persecution in consequence of the famous Act of Uniformity passed in 1661:- he was educated at the University of Cambridge. Among the incidents of his life, some are very remarkable; and most of them will, doubtless, prove interesting to those readers who are scrupulously attached to the rights of conscience, and to what they apprehend to be the genuine principles of the Christian religion. Mr. Fawcett's narrative is drawn up with judgment, candour, and fairness of representation with regard to men of character of all parties; as well as in stating the violent conduct of government and people in authority; and it is illustrated not only with proper references to history, but with a variety of curious and pertinent anecdotes, which appear to have been collected with considerable industry. Among these we cannot but distinguish the account here given of the Rev. Abraham Sharp, a great proficient in mathematics and the science of astronomy; and who, long, and very ably, assisted Mr. Flamsteed in the Observations at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. He corresponded with Sir Isaac Newton; and being, moreover, an excellent mechanic, he furnished himself with a complete apparatus of mathematical and astronomical instruments-all of bis own manufacture. On the whole, we have perused this book with peculiar satisfaction, as it is at once (what is not, in these times, very common) a memorial of piety, and a book of entertainment ;-taking the last word " in its most solemn and serious acceptation:" as one of our associates formerly said, speaking of the Journals of Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Wesley. THANKSGIVING SERMON, Dec. 19, 1797 Art. 37. For the signal Victories at Sea, &c. By the Rev. L. H. Halloran, Chaplain in the Royal Navy. 8vo. IS. Low. This discourse is perfectly professional and well adapted, but florid, and not (in the concluding address at least) sufficiently simple in its style to be truly pathetic. The distresses of the widows and orphans, occasioned by the victories commemorated, would plead strongest in the least adorned narration. FAST SERMON. Art. 38. Preached at the Church of St. Michael, Queen Hithe, London, on Wednesday March 7th, 1798, being the Day appointed for a General Fast; and at Low Layton on the Sunday following. By John Wight Wickes, M. A. of Pembroke College, Oxford. 4to. IS. Hatchard, &c. Mr.W. earnestly and rationally recommends unanimity and zeal in supporting the present measures of government. SERMONS. : SERMONS. Art. 39. Two Sermons; to a respectable Congregation at Horam church, Essex; the 1st on the Thanksgiving-day, Dec. 19, 1797; the 2d, on the Fast-day, March 7, 1798. By the Rev. W. H. Reynell, M. A. Vicar. 8vo. 6d. 'No Bookseller's Name. This preacher very properly expatiates, Ist, on the Duty of public Thanksgiving for public Mercies; and 2dly, that as " in the day of prosperity" we should " be joyful;" so, " in the day of adversity," we should consider." Eccles. vii. 14. Both of these discourses are suitably adapted to their respective occasions. CORRESPONDENCE. To the MONTHLY REVIEWERS. 'GENTLEMEN, London, Oct. 5, 1798. IN perusing the last M. R. p. 27. I find an assertion, originally made by Dr. Bisset, but not contradicted by the Reviewer, which is notoriously contrary to fact. "On the 28th of March 1787, a motion was made for repealing the test-act; and though Mr. Burke bad formerly given a WARM SUPPORT to THIS MEASURE, he NOW OPPOSED IT," &c. &c. You will recollect that in the year 1772 the Dissenting Ministers applied for an enlargement of the Toleration-act, or for a repeal of the clause that requires subscription to the articles as a condition of enjoying the benefits of that act. Mr. Burke supported this measure in that year, in 1773, and in 1779; when it succeeded: but no application was made ir. either of these periods for the repeal of the test-act. There is no ground for charging Mr. B. with inconsistency, as Dr. Bisset does, on account of this part of his conduct; nor for the absurd vindication of him which follows:-" The Dissenters in 1787 were not the same as they had been in 1772," &c. They were precisely the same, but the repeal of the test-act had not been agitated. Mr. Burke's ideas of civil and religious liberty were very partial and restricted. His opposition to the measure of 1787 was owing to the narrowness of his views, and not to any change in the sentiments of the great body of Dissenters. They were then and they still are friends to a limited and constitutional monarchy; nor are they accountable, as a body of men, for the opinions of individuals among them. But it has been the policy of the present administration, to make the whole body accountable for the speculative sentiments and unguarded expressions of a few of their number. It might as justly be alleged, that the Church of England is not now what it was, because many members of this church adopt sentiments with regard to government very different from those of their ancestors. • From the above statement, it appears that Dr. Bisset, however considerable the fund of general information which he possesses, (see M. R. p. 38.) is incorrect as an historian; and his defence of Mr. Burke is founded on a supposition suggesting an illiberal inference, when he says (M. R. p. 27.), that " in the year 1772, there were among the Dissenters no known principles inimical to our establishment." This might or might not be the case, but it does not apply in argument to the conduct of Mr. Burke. I am, &c. &c. A. R. ! 1 In a letter which we have received from the translator of Euler's Algebra, (see Rev. for July, p.280.) he seems rather dissatisfied with our judgment concerning the relative merit of the French and English editions. We agree with the translator that the question, whether the English or French language be most happily adapted to scientific subjects, is to be referred to what is understood by taste, rather than to be decided by the rules of criticism: yet we cannot but think that what the translator said concerning the verbiage' and 'the boasted correctness' of the French edition appeared but little in the modest form of an expressed opinion. To us it seemed that an attack was made; a " wanton attack" might not be designed; yet it might surely be called a "wanton" ane, when little or no good could result to the person who made it; and the scarceness of the French copy is likely to prevent its ever coming into competition with the English. The translator remarks, in his letter, that it is not fair to give an opinion of the whole, from an examination of the half. Take this sentence abstractedly, and we assent to its truth; refer it to a specific work, and we may have reason at least to hesitate, whether it be not tolerably fair to give an opinion of the whole from an examination of the half. In Euler's Algebra, we examined one half (the second volume) with a more considerable share of attention than the other half (the first volume), and this for two reasons: Ist, That errors were much more liable to exist in the second than in the first volume. 2dly, That the errors of the second were of more consequence than those of the first. The subjects of the two volumes bear no comparison in point of difficulty. The algebraical operations of the first volume are easy; any errors in them are soon detected, and corrected without difficulty. The plea of correctness was also urged by the translator; and whether justly or not, was to be determined by what he had done in the second volume. 1 To the letter that we have received is subjoined a list of Errata corrected in the French edition (vol. ii.) by the English translator: but, a temporary change of situation having separated us from the two editions, we have not been able to examine the justness of the corrections; and we are not disposed to take for granted what admits of proof;-we hope that the translator is of the same mind, and that he will not on our authority adopt corrections when he has the power of ascertaining their truth. In the concluding part of the letter, we are happy in remarking the liberality of a man of science prevailing over a personal feeling of resentment. Our judgment of the translation was not hastily given, and in the aggregate is favourable to its reputation. As mere assertions pass for nothing, we shall not speak of the purity of our motives; we certainly did hunt for errors, because the translator advanced a claim to the approbation of the public on the ground of superior correctness, whether we acted from a malignant sagacity, or from a principle of duty, we leave to the decision of candid minds. The translator is totally unknown to us. We have received from Mademoiselle le Noir a letter expressing disappointment that our remarks on her late work (Rev. vol. xxvi. P. 445.) p. 445.) were so much less complaisant than those which announced her Compagne de la Jeunesse, (Rev. vol. vii. p. 463,) of which it is in some degree a continuation. To this we can only answer that we think the new volumes inferior in merit; and that we hold books of education to be too important, ever to keep back any doubts that we may entertain of their beneficial tendency. Mademoiselle le Noir laments that she inserted, through accident, Scarron's works in her list of books for young ladies: and we lament that we hastily objected against her insertion of Voltaire's Plays, which are nearly unexceptionable. She persists in recommending the Secchia rapita: we persist in denouncing it, and need only refer for our justification to the 2d canto, stanzas 57 to 60 inclusive. The very satisfactory testimonies relative to her personal merits and accomplishments, with which this lady has thought fit to accompany her letter, cannot but inspire a poignant regret that it should have fallen to our lot to inflict any pain on so meritorious an individual. A letter, signed John Wagstaffe, and dated from Norwich, tenth month 1798, corroborates the truth of an observation made by the writer in the last volume of the Bath Society Papers, Art. 26, (see Rev. for August last,) that a thorough washing of seed corn in pure water prevents, in the future crop, what are called smutt-balls; and we are also here informed that, in the agricultural parish of Baburgh, consisting of many hundreds of acres, this practice of washing seedcorn in the pure stream, or under the pump, has prevailed, and there has not been discerned a single smutty ear within the present year.This fact is worthy of being known; and we thank Mr. W. for giving us an opportunity of making it public. It is probable that smut, as a fungus, is propagated by small generative particles adhering to the seed-corn; especially as crops, raised from seed out of barns in which smutty corn has been threshed, are generally infested with this disease. Washing seems likely to stop the evil, and to be preferable to the common preparation of brining and liming; and to the use strong lixiviums, which destroy the germ of vegetation. of A correspondent inquires whether Dr. Adam, author of Roman Antiquities, has carried into execution his plan of a Latin and English Dictionary. No such work has yet appeared, nor have we heard that it certainly will: but it is rather understood that the Doctor is engaged in compiling it. We are much obliged by the friendly communication of our old and respected correspondent, Mr. B-d-n, which is under consideration: but we believe that it will be right for us not to interfere on either of the subjects to which it relates. In the last Appendix, p. 496. 1. 5. from bottom, for Galanti read Galiani; p. 558. 1. 23. for operates' read operated. In the Review for September, p. 65. 1. 4. for connoissieur,' read connoisseur; P, 93, 1. last, for 'lalarium,' read lararium. |