"Mole was at this time president of the parliament. One day a man presented a dagger to his breast, threatening him with instant death, if he would not consent to some decree proposed in the parliament, which Mr. Mole thought prejudicial to his country. Know, my friend,' said he, looking sternly at him, that the distance is infinite from the dagger of an assassin to the heart of an honest man.'

6

PARLIAMENTARY LITERATURE.

"In prefacing a motion for the printing of a tax bill, a practice which, though not long adopted, has been of infinite service in preventing the blunders which formerly occurred; Mr. Sheridan proceeded to illustrate the style of a bill to remedy the defects of some bills already in being, by comparing it to the plan of a simple, but very ingenious moral tale, that had often afforded him amusement in his early days, under the title of The House that Jack built.' 'First then comes in a bill, imposing a tax; then comes in a bill to amend that bill for imposing a tax; and then comes in a bill to explain the bill that amended the bill; next a bill to remedy the defects of a bill, for explaining the bill that amended the bill, and so on, ad infinitum.' After parodying the story in this way to a still greater length, Mr. Sheridan entered upon a comparison of tax bills to a ship built in a dock yard, which was found to be defective every voyage, and consequently was obliged to undergo a new repair. First, it was to be caulked; then to be new planked; then to be new ribbed; then again to be covered; and, after all these expensive alterations, the vessel was generally obliged to be broken up and rebuilt.

"The orator next pointed out several absurdities on the tax-bills which had been recently passed, and which he contended might have been avoided, if the bills, by being printed, had undergone a full and public discussion. "In the horse-tax bill, for instance, there was a clause which required a stamp to be placed, not indeed on the animal, but on some part of his accoutrements. This clause, however, on a little consideration, was abandoned; but another was inserted, so absurd, that it never was carried into execution; namely, the one by which it was enacted, that the numbers and names of all the horses in each parish, should be affixed to the church doors. The church wardens were also required by the same act, to return lists of the windows within their districts, to the commissioners of stamps, for the purpose of detecting those who had not entered their horses.' 'Now,' said Mr. Sheridan, if horses were in the habit of looking out at windows, this might possibly have been a wise and judicious regulation; but under present circumstances, there is some little occasion for wonder, how such ideas came to be associated in the minds of those who framed the bill, unless it was that they wished to sink the business of legislation into utter contempt." WHITFIELD.

"Dr. Franklin, in his memoirs, bears witness to the extraordinary effect which was produced by Mr. Whitfield's preaching in America, and relates an anecdote equally characteristic of the preacher and of himself. I happened,' says the Doctor, to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded, I began to soften, and concluded to give the copper. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pockets wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.

"At this sermon there was also one of our club, who, hearing of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, and suspecting a collection might be intended, had by precaution emptied his pockets before he came from

home; towards the conclusion of the discourse, however, he felt a strong inclination to give, and applied to a neighbour who stood near to him to lend him some money for the purpose. The request was fortunately made to perhaps the only man in the company who had the firmness not to be affected by the preacher. His answer was, at any other time, friend Hodgkinson, I would lend to thee freely, but not now, for thee seems to be out of thy senses.

VENETIAN MOUNTEBANK.

6

"Dr. Moore relates an amusing instance of oratorical art, which he once saw exhibited by a mountebank, before the populace, at St. Mark's Place, Venice. Listen gentlemen,' said he, let me crave your attention, ye beautiful and virtuous ladies; I have something equally affecting and wonderful to tell you, a strange and stupendous adventure, which happened to a gallant knight. Perceiving that this did not sufficiently interest his hearers, he raised his voice, calling out that this knight was uno Cavallieró Cristiano. The audience seemed still a little fluctuating; when he succeeded in rivetting their attention, by telling them that this Christian knight was one of their own victorious countrymen, un Eroe Veneziano.' He then proceeded to relate, how the Venetian knight, going to join the Christian army to recover Christ's sepulchre from the infidels, lost his way, and wandered at length to a castle, in which a lady of transcendant beauty was kept prisoner by a gigantic Saracen; that the lady's shrieks reaching the ear of the knight, he hastened to her assistance, drew his flaming sword, and a dreadful combat ensued, in which the knight performed prodigies of valour; till his foot, unfortunately slipping in the blood which flowed on the pavement, he fell at the foot of the Saracen, who immediately seizing the advantage which chance gave him, raised his sword with all his might, and'here the orator's hat flew to the ground, open to receive the contributions of the listeners, and he continued repeating, raised his sword over the head of the Christian knight,-raised his bloody murderous hand to destroy your noble valiant countryman.' But he proceeded no farther in his narrative, till all who seemed interested in it had thrown something into the hat, he then pocketed the money, and finished his story."

EARL OF PETERBOROUGH.

"The Earl of Peterborough, who, Swift says, shone in all climates like a star,

66

In senates bold, and fiercer in war;"

was once surrounded by a mob in his way from the House of Lords, who took him for the Duke of Marlborough, then very unpopular. The Earl, with great presence of mind, said, 'I will convince you I am not the duke; in the first place, I have but five guineas in my pocket; and, secondly, here they are, much at your service. He threw his purse among them, and walked home amid the acclamations of the populace."

THE EARL OF ROCHESTER.

"This nobleman, whose brilliant wit and talents rendered him so distinguished in the court of Charles II. and who, during a temporary disgrace with his sovereign, made himself a mighty favourite with the lower orders, by his exhibitions under the mask of an Italian mountebank on TowerHill, felt so much diffidence in the House of Lords, that he never was able to address them. It is said, that having frequently attended, he once essayed to make a speech, but was so embarrassed, that he was unable to proceed. 6 My Lords,' said he, I rise this time-my Lords, I divide my discourse into four branches. ́ ́ Here he faultered for some time; at length he was able to add, My Lords, if ever I rise again in this House, I give you leave to cut me off root and branch for ever.' He then sat down, to the astonishment of all present."

BOURDALOUE.

"The reputation for eloquence which this celebrated preacher very early acquired, reaching the ears of Louis XIV. his majesty sent for him to preach the Advent Sermon in 1670, which he did with such success, that he was retained for many years after as a preacher at court. He was called the king of preachers, and the preacher to kings; and Louis himself said, that he would rather hear the repetitions of Bourdaloue than the novelties of another. With a collected air, Bourdaloue had little action; he kept his eyes generally half closed, and penetrated the hearts of the people by the sound of a voice uniform and solemn. On one occasion, he turned the peculiarity of his external aspect to a very memorable advantage. After depicting, in soul-awakening terms, a sinner of the first magnitude, he suddenly opened his eyes, and casting them full on the king, who sat opposite to him, he added in a voice of thunder, Thou art the man.' The effect was magical, confounding. When he had finished his discourse, he immediately went, and, throwing himself at the feet of his sovereign, ‘Sire,' said he, ‹ behold at your feet one who is the most devoted of your servants; but punish him not, that in the pulpit he can own no other master than the King of Kings.'

LORD MANSFIELD.

"Mansfield advanced to the dignities of the state by rapid strides. They were not bestowed by the caprice of party favour, or affection; they were (as was said of Pliny) liberal dispensations of power upon an object that knew how to add new lustre to that power by the rational exertion of his own. As a speaker in the House of Lords, he was without a competitor. His language was elegant and perspicuous, arranged with the happiest method, and applied with the utmost extent of human ingenuity; his images were often bold, and always just, but the more prevailing character of his eloquence was that of being flowery, soft, delightful, and affecting. Among his more rare qualifications may be ranked the external graces of his person; the fire and vivacity of his looks; the delicious harmony of his voice; and that habitual fitness in all he said, which gave to his speeches more than the effect of the most laboured compositions. He was modest and unassuming; never descending to personal altercation, or even replying to personal reflections, except when they went to affect the integrity of his public character. When instances of the latter occurred, he evinced that he was not without a spirit to repel them; of this he gave a memorable proof in the debate on Wilkes' outlawry, when, being accused of braving the popular opinion, he replied in the following noble strain of eloquence: If I have ever supported the king's measures-if I have ever afforded any assistance to government —if I have discharged my duty as a public or private officer, by endeavouring to preserve peace, and perfect the principles of the constitution; maintaining unsullied the honour of the courts of justice; and by an upright administration of, to give due effect to, the laws; I have hitherto done it without any other gift or reward, than that most pleasing and most honourable one, the conscientious conviction of doing what is right. I do not affect to scorn the opinion of mankind; I wish earnestly for popularity, but I will tell you how I will obtain it; I will have that popularity which follows, and not that which is run after; 'tis not the applause of a day-'tis not the huzzas of thousands, that can give a moment's satisfaction to a rational being. That man's mind must indeed be a weak one, and his ambition of a most depraved sort, who can be captivated by such wretched allurements, or satisfied with such momentary gratifications. I say with the Roman orator, and can say it with as much truth as he did, Ego hoc animo semper fui, ut invidiam virtute partam, gloriam, non infamiam, putarem.' But threats have been carried farther; personal violence has been denounced, unless

public humour be complied with. I do not fear such threats; I don't believe there is any reason to fear them; it is not the genius of the worst of men in the worst of times to proceed to such shocking extremities. But if such an event should happen, let it be so; even such an event might be productive of wholesome effects; such a stroke might rouse the better part of the nation from their lethargic condition to a state of activity, to assert and execute the law, and punish the daring and impious hands which had violated it; and those who now supinely behold the danger which threatens all liberty from the most abandoned licentiousness, might, by such an event, be awakened to a sense of their situation, as drunken men are often ashamed into sobriety. If the security of our persons and property, of all we hold dear or valuable, are to depend upon the caprice of a giddy multitude, or to be at the disposal of a mob; if, in compliance with the humours, and to appease the clamours of these, all civil and political institutions are to be disregarded or overthrown, a life somewhat more than sixty is not worth preserving at such a price; and he can never die too soon who lays down his life in support and vindication of the policy, the government, and the constitution of his country.""

ABT. VI.-Pomarium Britannicum; an Historical and Botanical Account of Fruits known in Great Britain. By HENRY PHILLIPS, London. J. & J. Allman, 1820. Pp. 374.

17 1s.

ALLURED by the attractive title of this work, we eagerly commenced its perusal. We undertook the task in the pleasing expectation of admiring in description the varied beauties and rich tints of the British orchard, when the gay mantle of Flora is spread in the spring; in imagination we had begun to trace the progress of the swelling fruit through the summer, and had indulged the hope of being regaled in autumn with the mellow stores of Pomona. But, on turning to the Work itself, what was our surprise to find the acorn and the oak-tree placed in the very first rank of Mr. Phillips's Pomarium Britannicum? and the brambleberry, the cranberry, and the strawberry, the cucumber and the melon, included among its productions; to see the pineapple, the orange and the lemon, and other tropical fruits, classed along with the pear and the cherry; and to observe the mahogany tree, the plantain and banana trees, or rather shrubs, placed side by side with the elder, the beech, and the barberry, not one of which can be regarded as the legitimate inmates of the British orchard.

Apprehensive of some misconception on our part as to the author's meaning, we turned again to the title page, and found a kind of explanatory definition, part of which, alluding to the

"Botanical Account of Fruits," is really not less incongruous than the general title. In vain will the student of botany look for any thing like a botanical account of a single fruit known in Britain; for in this department the author advances no farther than the name of the class and order; in no case is one generic or specific character given, and often the specific name, and sometimes even the generic appellation are omitted. These omissions furnish pretty sure indications of the author's ignorance of botanical classification.

Mr. Phillips has ransacked every country and clime for the purpose of collecting his materials; and having transplanted, without discrimination, some of their varied productions into his British orchard, he has added such historical notices relative to their nature, properties, and uses, as the sources of his information afforded. Having proposed to himself no methodical arrangement, and having pursued no connected description of any individual department of the vegetable kingdom, he might have chosen the more appropriate title of " Vegetable Anecdotes," which would have been sufficiently comprehensive of the whole objects of his labours.

A rapid sketch of the progressive history of horticulture, from the earliest times, occupies the Introduction. It commences, of course, with the garden of Eden; alludes to Solomon and his knowledge of plants, in proof of the pursuit being worthy of royal attention; refers to the perfection and encouragement which this art has attained among the Chinese; and recurring to remoter antiquity, adduces the example of the Persians and Greeks, who held gardening and agriculture in the highest estimation. Among the Romans, who carried their victorious arms over so many countries, the arts of peace were not neglected, either in diffusing a knowledge of gardening and agriculture in those regions which yielded to their authority, or in transplanting to their own soil such vegetable productions as were likely to administer to their wants or luxuries.

In Britain the condition of horticulture must have been low indeed, when Queen Elizabeth was obliged to procure her salads from Holland; and green pease were such a rarity that they were considered only as " dainties for ladies”- "they came so far and cost so dear," as a writer of that period expresses it. About the beginning of the 17th century gardening and agriculture obtained a larger share of attention; and several writers, as Gerarde, Bacon, and others, collected what was then known of plants, their treatment, and uses. In the concluding part of the author's Brief Sketch he adverts to the advantages derived from the establishment and labours of the Agricultural and Horticul