6

Europe, together with other systems or principles, are topics here introduced: but we do not observe that their causes, such as the ignorance, superstition, bigotry, and cruelty of popery and tyranny, &c. are brought into view. The English establishment, however, secures the preacher's warmest admiration. If (says he) it may be asked, where are we to look for pure and undefiled religion; is it within the pale of the established church?-Most assuredly there, if any where.' Again, as the happiest climate in the world lies between the extremes of heat and cold, so also in religion is there a temperate zone, equally distant from the fervor of enthusiasm, and the coldness of infidelity. In this temperature is situated the church of England, thus established in the remotest point from every extreme.' Partiality itself, however, must acknowledge that whatever is human must be imperfect, and will admit of being improved. The Baotian rustic was able to discern an essential defect in the admired production of the antient Grecian artist. Considerations of this kind are also calculated to teach us candour and moderation, both in our praise and our dispraise. It is, at the least, questionable whether what this sensible author advances, p. 84, 85, concerning man's ability to reform himself, be in strict unison with the articles and homilies of our church.

The sermon on the parable of The Prodigal appears to us excellent, both in the affecting description of the wild and thoughtless youth, and in its application to the duties of parents and children. In like terms we should speak of the discourse on the Works of Nature, of that on the duty of loving our enemies, &c.: but it becomes necessary for us to conclude this brief notice of the volume, by observing that the last discourse is an apology for decorating Places of Public Worship; which is said to have been occasioned by the present of a painted window from Joseph Scott, Esq. to the chapel of Great Barr. We may be permitted to ask, whether there be not some danger that these ornaments should divert the attention of the congregation from the service, and thus greatly interrupt, if not destroy, that devotion and edification which are the great objects of our attendance on public worship?

Art. 32. An Inquiry into the Necessity, Justice, and Policy of a Com mutation of Tithes. By Morgan Cove, LL. B. Prebendary of Hereford, and Rector of Eaton-Bishop, Herefordshire. Pp. 121. 121. 38. Rivingtons, &c. 1800.

Svo.

The subject of tithes has of late been much agitated; and it seems to be a prevailing opinion that the state of agriculture, and more especially the new circumstances of Europe, will make some alteration necessary respecting them in this country. How far this opinion is well founded is a matter which requires much deliberation, since the interest and comfort of a most respectable and useful part of the community are concerned. Mr. Cove is a strenuous and able advocate for the present system; and, as we wish that the subject may obtain the most ample consideration, so that nothing may be attempted with rashness, or carried into execution with injustice, we recom mend his Inquiry to the attention of the public. He contends that the abolition or commutation of tythes is not necessary, nor just, nor

politic:

politic-that neither the rights of the clergy as titheholders, nor their general conduct in the exercise of those rights, are or have been unfriendly to agricultural pursuits :-that no immediate interest of the land-occupier, nor future prudential interest of the land-proprietor, can sanction an alteration in the present property or form of tithes;'-that even a corn rent in lieu of tithes is liable to many. objections (among which he ingeniously states the possibility of introducing a different species of bread-corn, or a substitute for bread);' -and that, in short, as an alteration in the property of the clergy may tend to disturb all landed property, it is wise in the state to abstain from all experiments with it.

While, however, Mr. Cove resists all commutation of tithes, he allows the expediency of an act of parliament to remove the whole mass of objected grievances; the substance of which act should be to enable all tithe-holders to lease their tithes, for any term commensurate with the lease of an estate, not exceeding twenty-one years, at a fixed annual rent.-As far as such an act tended to exclude the practice of taking tithes in kind, it would be a sort of commutation; and the farmer, or tenant, would consider the two sums paid to the landlord and to the tithe-owner as forming, together, the whole of his rent in which view, the demand for tithes could no more operate against improvement, than the demand for rent by the owner of the soil; for it matters not to the farmer, whether he pays a fixed sum for the privilege of occupancy, to one or to two persons.

All this argument certainly is an admission that there are great objections to taking tithes in kind. There are also some to which Mr. Cove has not adverted, but which, where the practice obtains, will be felt, and will become matters of complaint.

This pamphlet may be considered as a supplement to Mr. Cove's Essay on the Revenues of the Church of England, mentioned in our xxixth volume, N. S. p. 199.

POETRY, &c.

Art. 33. Lines on the Death of the late Sir Ralph Abercromby. By the Author of the Conspiracy of Gowrie. 4to. IS. Bell,

Oxford Street.

Poets who attempt the praise of distinguished men frequently acquire as well as confer immortality; for, when the eulogy is well constructed, the fame of the bard is united with that of the hero, and together they glide down the stream of time, Whether the author of the present tribute to the memory of our illustrious commander in Egypt, who nobly fell in the cause of his country, was actuated by ambi, tion of this kind, it is not for us to decide: but if such were any part of his aim, we shall not endeavour to obstruct it by severity of criticism: rather allowing our respect for the object of his verse to be his shield on the present occasion. Let the following lines speak for themselves;

Thee, Veteran, thee, each glist'ning eye deplores,
Thee, Veteran Chief, bewail our sea-girt shores ;'

From side to side of this imperial isle

Thee Valour names with melancholy smile;

P4

Borne

1

Borne o'er the wave, Fame, murmuring as she flies,
Thee, ABERCROMBY, thee, records in sighs!'

An account of this author's Conspiracy of Gowrie may be seen in our last volume, p. 321.

Art. 34:

Ode to the Memory of Sir Ralph Abercromby, and the Glorious 21st of March, 1801. By Anthony Todd Thomson. 4to. pp. 15. Edinburgh, Manners and Co. London, Trepass. . Mr. Thomson's ode contains much animated poetry, the pleasing vehicle of a variety of striking thoughts, but (like the preceding Lines,) very little that particularly applics, either characteristically or historically, to the truly venerable and justly lamented hero whose memory is the professed subject of the performance. It is, however, on the whole, a poem of considerable merit.-It concludes with a prophecy of the happy return of peace; which, we suppose, the prophet himself little imagined to be so near at hand, at the moment when this performance issued from the press,-but a few days before the arrival of the most welcome preliminaries!

Art. 35. The Wedding and Bedding: or John Bull and his Bride fast asleep. A Satirical Poem. Containing an History of the Happy Pair, from their Infancy to the present Period. With Reasons for, and Means used, to accomplish their UNION. Also the Matchmakers matched, with their rueful Lamentation for the Loss of the Bride Cake. By T. Canning. 8vo. 25. Jordan.

It is often found in books as at inns, that the plenty of good entertainment figures only on the outside. We suspected that this might have been the case here: but we were agreeably disappointed. Some grave irony, and far from pointless satire, are here levelled against the ex-minister and his measures; and with Hudibrastic case the author's sentiments of the union are strongly expressed. The name of Can ning we suppose to be assumed: but whoever the author be, he unites the power of keen reflection with that of ludicrous representation. The history and portraits of John Bull and Mrs. Erin are well sketch ed; and the conduct of Brass (Mr. P-tt) through his whole administration is wittily reprobated. The following description of the Catholics, of the Members of the Established Church, and of the Presbyterians in Ireland, is much in the manner of Butler: Thus from the common yoke releas'd,

They all their native bias pleas'd;
Pat sets potatoes, minds his plough,
Rears ducks, and pigs, and keeps a cow;
And next his whiskey, dearly fosters
His aves and his pater nosters;
These (lest the devil should him cozen)
He says, and reckons, by the dozen ;
And, that accounts may ballance even,
A tally always keeps with heaven;
On herrings makes his Friday dinners,
And thinks all mutton eaters sinners.
Whilst John, the day he'd be most good in,
Would eat the most roast beef and pudding':

He

The promise in the title page, however, is not wholly fulfilled. We have only the wedding,' at present; which is not described a a very joyful one:

The eager guests were now assembl'd,

The bridegroom doz'd, dame ERIN trembled;
But BRASS the nuptial rites conducted,
The bride encourag'd, BULL instructed,
And made her boy from Castlereagh,
His struggling Mistress give away:
With loathing to the ring she yielded,
Which, some have said, is Iron gilded:
The fees of course were not neglected,
No blessing else could be expected.
Thus both in one, for aye were blended,
And with amazement †, all was ended.

To spread the news, away Fame scouted,
Dogs bark'd, and boys and beggars shouted:
Loud thundering cannons shake the ground,
Bells ring, drums beat, and trumpets sound.
Thus, to the orient funeral pyre,
Perfum'd and deck'd in gay attire,
The victim fair is urg'd along,
Amidst the plaudits of the throng:
By custom doom'd, she yields her charms
To her dead husband's putrid arms;
Aspiring flames involve the pair,
And Ganges flashes with the glare:
Shrill cymbals clang, loud shouts arise,

And she in seeming triumph dies.'

An interlude, in lieu perhaps of the 2d part, but purporting to be a loose prospectus of it, is added.

Art. 36. The Minstrel Youth; a Lyrical Romance: with other Poems. By W, Case, jun. I2mo. IS. Condèr. 1801.

A very promising specimen of the young author's poetical taste and talents: we suppose him to be young; and if he perseveres in paying his devoirs to the muses, he may probably obtain a considerable degree of their regard and encouragement.-The pieces here submitted to the judgment of the public are various, moral, and not destitute of harmony and pathos. The poem, in three parts, intitled The Minstrel Youth, is the most considerable performance, and evinces

* Knowing.'

+ The last word in the ceremony of marriage in the established church.'

the

the writer's proficiency in the Romantic lore which so strongly marks the ages of chivalry, and many of the manly old English Ballads. Art. 37. Il Luttuoso, ed il Gaudioso; Il Giocoso, ed il Diligente: Poems on Music, the New Century, Sport, and Care. 12mo. pp. 90. 2s. 6d. Wright, &c.

These rhymes might have given pleasure to the author's friends in private society, but they are scarcely fit for the public eye. The writer has indeed anticipated criticism, and, in his preface, has gently reviewed them himself: but he has still left us something to do, if we were rigorously disposed to exercise our rights. might begin by objecting to the Italian titles, not because they are Italian and the poems are in English, for which the author has Milton's authority, but for the harshness of two of the four which he has chosen. Luttuoso and Gaudioso are as unpleasant to an English ear, as any words that can be found in the Italian language. Milton, doubtless, gave his titles in Italian, (which in his time was more cultivated and better known in this country than any other foreign dialect,) because he could express with that language, in one word, an idea for which ours required two: as I! Penseroso, the pensive man; l'Allegro, the joyous man.

Some prosaic expressions, and indeed whole lines of that character, might be pointed out in every one of these little poems. We should suppose that the first has not been published hastily, because Miss Brent is mentioned in it as the favourite Siren of the time, who delighted this country with the strains of Handel; and at least 30 years have elapsed since Miss Brent flourished:-but she was not so rouch accustomed to warble the strains of Handel, as those of Dr. Arne, her master.-To describe this production in one sentence, we shall conclude by observing that it seems to be dilettante poetry, rather than that of a scribe by trade.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Art. 38. Thoughts on Capital Punishment. By Hugh Wade-Gery, M. A. late Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. 8vo. IS. Robinsons.

The author of this little pamphlet is an advocate for the abolition of capital punishment, in all cases except that of murder. This exception he grounds solely on the authority of the divine command, that "whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed;" and he maintains that, in no other case, can a legislature assign the punishment of death to the most atrocious crime; because, though the individual possesses power over his liberty and property, he is indued with none over his life; and therefore he can never delegate such a power to the legislator. The other arguments contained in this work are such as have been repeatedly urged: but they are here inforced in strong, correct, and elegant language.

Art. 39. Suggestions respecting a Plan of National Education, with Conjectures on the probable Consequences of Non-descript-Methodists and Sunday-Schools, in a Letter addressed to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. By the Rev. William Shaw,

B. D.