Sterne was dead, and the very account which the fuppofed Editor gives of them is wholly contradictory and abfurd; he pretends that they were loofe notes from which the Author defigned to form a large and ferious work; but that he was prevented from executing this defign by an untimely and unexpected death. In the very next fentence he pretends juft the contrary; that fome time before the Author's death they were put into his hands to correct or cancel as he should think proper. If it is true that Sterne intended to form a large and ferious work from these hints himself, it cannot be true that he put them into the hands of another perfon to correct or cancel : loose hints that ferve as references to a man's own mind are not objects of correction by another, and to fuppofe that he who had written them would leave them to be cancelled before they had been used, by one who could not poffibly know how far they could be useful, is too filly even to be laughed at. The fuppofed Editor has pretended to give an account of his Author's birth, parentage, and education; of the origin of his idea of uncle Toby, of obligations which he owed to an Irish Lieutenant whom he celebrated by the name of Le Fevre, and many other particulars, fome of which are fo extravagant that they are unworthy of the English Rogue. He reprefents Sterne's father as a profligate officer, totally abandoning his child to idleness and vice, taking not the leaft care of his education, which, till he was twelve years old, was fuperintended by Le Fevre who fent him to fchool: he fays he had also an uncle, who was a profligate parfon, and neglected the duties of his function, to write political pamphlets in defence of the corrupt administration of the late lord Orford, when he was fir Robert Walpole, in hopes of getting preferment: he reprefents Sterne as proftituting his parts and principles in the same service, and writing a defence of the minifter for his uncle to own, in hopes that when fit Robert fhould have provided for his uncle, his uncle would provide for him. He makes Sterne accufe himself of debauching his mother's maid, by a ludicrous infinuation that the maid debauched him, and reprefents him as having recourse to the following expedient in order to discharge a debt to Le Fevre of two hundred pounds:

I happened to be acquainted with a young man, who had been bound apprentice to a stationer in York. He had just then finished his time, come to fet up in London, and had rented a window in one of the flagged alleys in the city.

I hired one of the panes of glafs from my friend, and ftuck up the following advertisement on it with a wafer:

Epigrams, anagrams, paragrams, chronograms, monograms, epitaphs, epithalamiums, prologues, epilogues, madri

gals,

gals, interludes, advertisements, letters, petitions, memorials, on every occafion.-Effays on all fubjects.-Pamphlets, for or against the miniftry.-With fermons upon any text, or for any fect to be written here on reasonable terms

"By A-B-Philologer."

N. B. The greatest honour and fecrecy may be depended on.

The uncommonnefs of feveral of the above titles raifed the curiofity of the public extremely.-So that befides the applications made to me for the useful fpecies of literature, such as advertisements, petitions, and memorials, many more were made for the chronograms, monograms, paragrams, &c. merely to fee the nature of them.

At night or to exprefs myself more poetically-when the evening had affumed its dufk gown, I ufed privately to glide into my office, to digeft the notes or heads of the day, and receive the earnests, which were directed always to be left with the memorandums.

The writing to be paid for on the delivery; according to the nature, extent, or importance of the subjects.—

All improper applications, immoral fubjects, fimoniacal propofals, or libertine overtures, were, with fcorn and deteftation, rejected.--I held no office oppofite to St. Peter.-The notes of these kinds were thrown into the fire, but the earnests retained, as the fines of iniquity.

The occan of vice and folly, that opened itself to my view, during the period I continued in this odd department of life, fhocked and difgufted me fo much, that the very moment I had realized Le Fevre's fum, and difcharged the rent of my pane, I clofed the horrid fcene-or, to exprefs myself more properly in this cafe-flopped up the common fewer.'

This furely is a fufficient fpecimen of the performance before us, as far as it profeffes to relate the life of the fuppofed Author; it will perhaps alfo prove that the real Author is better acquainted with the dark fide of life in Dublin than London: in this capital it is not a cuftom for ftationers to hire a window, and let out a pane of it to an under-tenant, nor is there in London any place known by the name of a flagged alley.

A ridiculous ftory is fomewhere told of a contrivance to defraud a man's family of his fubftance by writing a bequest of it on a fcrap of paper, and then having put the words into the mouth of the fuppofed teftator after he was dead, taking them out again, in the prefence of fome honeft perfons in the fecret who were to fwear they were the laft words that came out of his mouth the Author of this performance, except the perjury, has done worfe, for he has put words into the mouth of a dead man, to deprive him and his family of

.what

what is fuppofed to be of more value than money, their good

name.

As to the effays, fentiments, and characters, the greater part are trifling and common place, but there are fome not wholly deftitute of merit; of this number are the following:

6 42. The definition of the Godhead is, that his intelligence requires no reasoning.-Neither propofitions, premises, nor deductions, are neceffary to him.-He is purely intuitive.-Sees equally what every thing is, or is poffible to be.-All truths are but one idea only-All Space but a fingle point, and eternity itself but an inftant.

This is a truly philofophic idea of the Godhead; and is fuited to it alone, in one very peculiar fenfe-that any Being lefs than infinite, would be rendered miferable by fuch endowments. Reasoning, investigation, progreffive knowledge; hopes, completions, variety, fociety, &c. would be at an end.' 70. A certain perfon had once done me a fignal piece of fervice, but had afterwards behaved himself very unworthily toward me.-An occafion foon occurred, which put it into my power to requite his ill offices; and I was urged to take advantage of it, by a friend of mine-or rather, an enemy of his.

6

I objected, that this man had formerly obliged and ferved me.-True, he replied; but furely his ill behaviour fince that time, has fufficiently cancelled both the fervice and the obligation.

By no means.-Merchants accompts are never to be admitted into the higher and more liberal commerce of friendship. A person who has once obliged, has put it out of his power ever after to disoblige us. The fcripture has inculcated a precept to forgive our enemies.-How much stronger then muft the text imply the forgiveness of our friends?

The difobligation, therefore, being thus cancelled by religion, leaves the obligation without abatement, in moral.-A kindness can never be cancelled-not even by repaying it.

165. A lie is defperate cowardice.-It is to fear man, and brave God.'

It would be difficult to enlarge this Extract, and we cannot pretend to fay, that what we have taken already from this book. is to be found no where elfe, for the Author has inferted a fabulous story of one Gleichen a German count, faid to have obtained a difpenfation from the Pope to have two wives, upon his bringing home a Turkifh lady who had delivered him from captivity, to the wife whom he had left behind him when he left Europe. This story is to be found both in Bayle and Moreri, though our Author relates it with an air of importance, and as an hiftorical fact that is worthy of credit.

ART.

ART. VI. A Chronological Series of Engravers from the Invention of the Art to the beginning of the prefent Century. 12mo. 3s. Cambridge printed, and fold in London by T. Davies, &c. 1770.

THE principal defign of this Series is to afft the collector of prints in arranging them; by inferting not only the name of the artift and the time when he wrought, but in general, an account where he was born, who was his master, and what were his fubjects, his manner, his merit, and the fignature by which his works were distinguished. Many of these particulars however are frequently wanting, and fometimes all of them; the name only of the artift being inferted as having lived fometime in the century, without specifying the year, or any other particular.

In the preface the Author has attempted to trace the Art of Engraving to its fource, but without fuccefs; Italy, Germany, and Holland, have respectively put in their claims, which still remain undetermined.

The Italians fay, that the art of taking prints from an engraved plate was discovered in 1460, by Tomafo Finiguerra, a goldfmith of Florence, who communicated it to Baccio Baldini, another goldsmith of the fame city. Baldini engraved feveral plates from drawings of Aleffandro Boticelli, and was afterwards affifted by Andrea Mantegna, who improved the art, which from Italy travelled into Flanders, where it was first practifed by Martin Schoen. They fay alfo that Boticelli himfelf publifhed prints of prophets and fybils about 1460, and that he undertook to adorn the 7th edition of Dante, which was printed in 1481, with cuts at the head of the chapters; of which he finished but three.

The Germans pretend, that the art was not only discovered but practifed among them long before the time of Finiguerra; they produce a print by one Hirfchvogel, in 1445, another by one H. S. in 1455, and fay that the art was practifed by Luprecht Ruft, who was Schoen's mafter, as early as the year 1450. Some of their writers, according to this Author, fay, that the art was invented by Francis à Bocholt, but he does not mention the time when Bocholt is faid to have lived; they pretend that the immediate followers of Bocholt were Ifrael à Meckenick, and Martin Stock, and that Stock was Albert Durer's mafter.

The Dutch in their turn pretend, that the art of taking off impreffions on wood was difcovered by Lawrence of Harlem, who died between the years 1435 and 1440; and that of engraving on copper and taking impreffions from plates of that

metal,

metal, by Peter Schoeffer, who had a printing office at Mentz; that Mentz being taken in 1462, and Schoeffer's printing office broken up, the workmen deferted and carried the art into Germany and Italy. Our Author, by no means able to regulate the confufion in which various accounts have involved the origin of this art, feems to think that it was difcovered in Germany; he has therefore begun his Series with Martin Schoen, whom he places at Colmar in Germany, and supposes to have wrought from the year 1460 to 1470.

His reason for alloting this period to Schoen, however, does not appear, for he fays, that his prints have no date: he has not admitted Boticelli, nor Stock, nor Ruft, nor Meckenick into his catalogue; he fays indeed, that not a single work either of Meckenick or Stock has been produced, and that there is not even a record of any work by Ruft. But admitting that there is no record of any work by Ruft, and that therefore he has no claim to stand in the lift, the Author fhould not have rejected either Boticelli or Meckenick, for he acknowledges, in a note, that Boticelli executed defigns for the three first books of Dante, to fay nothing of his prophets and fybils; and, in another note, he has given a very particular account of Meckenick, who, he fays, was at Munfter Eiffel near Meckenheim in the electorate of Cologne, and worked at Bucholt, whence he was fometimes called Ifrael de Bocholt, and by fome supposed to be the fame with the Francis Bocholt, faid by the Germans to have invented the art. Our Author fays, that we have books, confifting of cuts representing scripture hiftories, with explanations under each, printed from wooden blocks, before the printing with moveable types was thought of; many judicious writers however are of another opinion, particularly Meerman, in his Origines Typographia * ; as our Author himself has obferved. He proceeds to tell us, that we have a confiderable number of books printed both with moveable types and blocks, and adorned with wood-cuts before the year 1490. The literal meaning of this paffage is, that thefe books exclufive of the cuts, were printed partly from words cut on blocks, and partly from moveable types; which perhaps is not the writers fenfe. In a note upon this paffage he gives a lift of "the most remarkable books printed from blocks, with figures." He probably means juft contrary to what he fays; books printed not from blocks, but from moveable types; for among them is Caxton's Myrrour, printed in 1480; there was no reason to tell us that the figures, which he calls wood cuts

See Review, vol xxxiv. p. 498.

In