the merchants of London appeared in confiderable numbers to follicit the members of the houfe very warmly to vote against the excife, fcheme; and that Walpole found it fo unpopular, thanh he thought proper to drop it. nt side foru. Ena staft We hall take our leave of thefe Memoirs with the following account of the death and character of the royal author's father. His dropfy, at length, encreafed to fuch a degree as to carry him off the 31st of May, 1740 and he met death with all the refolution of a philofopher, and all the refignation of a chriftian. He retained the moft admirable prefence of mind to the very laft moment of his life; ordering his affairs as became

ftatefiman, examining the progrefs of his diforder with the fkill of a naturalift, and triumphing over death like a hero. He married, in 1707, Sophia Dorothea, daughter to George of Hanover, who fince fucceeded to the British throne. The children of this match were Frederic II. who fucceeded him, the three princes Auguftus-William, Lewis-Henry, and Ferdinand; Wilhelmina, mar rave of Bareith; Frederica, margrave of Anfpach Charlotta, duchefs of Brunfwick; Sophia, margrave of Swed; Ulrica, princefs royal of Sweden; and Amelia, abbess of Quedlinbourg.

Vs The minifters of Frederick William made him fign forty treaties or conventions, which we thought too frivolous to mention: they had fodittle of their mafter's moderation in them, as to think lefs of his dignity than the perquifites of their office. We have likewife paffed over in filence the domeftic chagrins of this great prince: the virtues of fuch a father entitling his children to fome indulgence. The king never made any diftinction between found policy and ftrict juftice; he thought lefs of making new acquifitions, than of governing well his old poffeffions. Ever armed for his own defence, and never for the disturbance of others, he always preferred the ufeful to the agreeable; building with profufion for his fubjects, at the fame time that he grudged the fmalleft expence to lodge himself. Circumfpect in his engagements, faithful to his promises, auftere of manners, rigorous in regard to thofe of others, a ftrict obferver of military difcipline, governing his dominions by the fame laws with his army, he thought fo well of human nature, as to expect that his fubjects fhould be as great ftoics as himself.

Frederick-William left behind him an army of fixty-fix thousand men, whom his great œconomy enabled him to maintain; his finances increased; the public treasure was full; and the moft furprising order in all his affairs. If one may truly fay, that it is to the acorn, from which it sprung, we are indebted for the fhade of the oak, the whole world maft allow, that it is in the labours and wisdom of this prince, we must look for the 7 fources

fources of that profperity which the royal house has enjoyed fince his death."

Several differtations, which are only adapted to the internal state and intereft of his Pruffian majefty's dominions, are added to these volumes, and likewise many variations and additions, but we think not of general tendency. They ought certainly to have been inferted in the body of the work. Two characters are alfo published, thofe of Jordan and Goltze: the first, his Pruffian majesty's preceptor; and the fecond, his favourite general; together with the elogy upon his majesty's brother*.

Upon the whole, the curious reader will receive great enter. tainment and information in perusing this work; and we must not forget to add, that the tranflation does juftice to the merits of the original.

VIII. Specimen of an an Etimological Vocabulary, or, Essay, by Means of the Analitic Method, to retrieve the ancient Celtic. By the Author of a Pamphlet, entitled, "The Way to Things by Words, and to Words by Things." 8vo. Pr. 4s. 6d. Davis and Reymers.

T

HE bold etymologies introduced by this author are very difcouraging to a Reviewer † ; and the performance before us falls nothing fhort in that refpect of his former productions. To -prove this, we need go no farther than the very first article of this Vocabulary.

PARABLE.

If wagacorn, as used in the New Teftament, was a Greek word, it would be fuperfluous to feek its etimon any where else. But while from the ancient language we may in many modern deduce the two words par habul (par manière de dire) or by of fable, is not there the highest probability that the fpurious word wagaboan was formed out of the coalition of thofe 5 words p par babul?

ones

way

two

This babul gives the word Cabbala, to this day used in Italy for a fable. The Jews derive it from Cabbal, recepit. The reader will judge which is the moft natural, and confequently the most likely.

But if you analife this word babul ftill farther, it gives very rationally and unforcedly a folution of the famous Pythagorean precept, abftineto a fabis. Nothing is more clear than that the and the b were convertible letters. Thousands of examples

See p. 73 of this volume.

+ Ibi d. p. 233.

atteft

atteft it. Ferrum and hierro, furnum and horno, &r. Now ul being only acceffory to bab, which fignifies any thing commentitious or fabulous; the injunction of abstaining from fables, or but from idle talk, will bear a plain, literal fense: the mistification of it arifing purely from the lofs of that old language, which I have been endeavouring to retrieve from the ruins under which it has been buried. The Greeks tranflated tranflated this Fabis into κυαμων.

It is alfo to be here obferved, that fable was anciently not always used for invention. Hablar (Fabulari) in Spanish signifies fpeaking, as confabulari to talk together. Parable itself, in the old language is talk, or difcourfe. The French word for a fable, apologue, does not with all its air of a Greek found derive from annoyer, but from the Celtic Habul-laigh, a fable in απολογειν,

verfe.

In our common English, the two vulgarisms, a fib, and to fob any one, are corrupted abbreviations of fable. The French vulgarifm Faribole is a corruption of Par-habal.'ssi

Were we to quote all the examples of the fame daring inveftigation in the subsequent part of this work, we must transcribe the whole. Even the words parish, pentecoft, Whitsunday, facerdos, as fignifying a priest, cardinal, peerage, parliament, convent; in fhort, the original of the moft ordinary words in the English tongue, taken from the French and Latin, Greek, or any other language, are immediately refolved into the Celtic, though every man converfant in these idioms can fix their etymologies with the greatest eafe and precifion.

Notwithstanding the above obfervation, we are far from questioning the reality of the province which this writer has affumed to himself. We are only afraid that he has stretched its bounds into the regions of literary romance, and that he adopts a language which actually does not exift except in imagination. We are ready to allow that the radicals of the most common English, Latin, and Greek words may be found in the Celtic; but it is abfurd to fuppofe, that the provincial combinations of letters and founds, which are evidently of modern date, are Celtic likewife. They are no other than accidental trimmings to the cloth. In fhort, we admit of an intermediate, though not of an immediate fimilarity, or rather famenefs between the Celtic and the modern tongues; and a rational investigation upon thofe principles, would, we think, do great fervice to literature.

IX. Some few general Remarks on Fractures and Dislocations. By Percivall Pott, F. R. S. and Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hofpital. 8vo. Pr. 2s. 6d. Hawes.

THEN it is confidered, that, perhaps, no part of furhas received lefs important improvements from the moderns, than the method of fetting broken bones, and reducing dislocations, it might naturally be imagined, that the prescriptive practice in these cafes was founded on the most ra tional principles. The author, however, of the performance before us, attempts to explode almost the whole received treatment of fractures, and that with a degree of plaufibility and force of argument, which feems fcarcely to admit of hesitation. The first part of the doctrine he opposes, is that of extenfion; which he affirms to be utterly repugnant to the intended effect. After evincing that the muscles are the only moving powers in an animal body, without the exertion of which the ends of fractured bones would for ever remain motionless and inactive, nor be displaced by any thing but external violence; he endeavours to prove that the most favourable fituation for the reduction and coalition of fractured bones, is that state of the muf cles of a broken limb in which they are in the greatest relaxation, or the posture of semiflexion. The expediency of this practice is placed by Mr. Pott in fo ftrong a light, that we cannot avoid quoting his own words.

Let us in the next place confider, what it is which gives to a muscle, or to the principàl muscles of a limb, the greatest power of refifting any force applied to them ab externo, in or der to draw them out into greater length; for whatever that is, the fame thing will be found to be the caufe of the different degrees of refiftance in fetting a fracture.

Does not the putting the muscles in a state of tension, or into a ftate approaching nearly to that of tenfion, almost neceffarily produce this effect? or, in other words, does not that po fition of a limb, which puts its muscles into or nearly into fuch a state, give fuch mufcles an opportunity of exerting their greateft power either of action or of refiftance? This I believe cannot be denied. On the other hand, what is the state or po fition of a mufele which is most likely to prevent it from acting, ands to deprive it moft of its power of refiftance or what is that pofition of a limb, which in the cafe of a broken bone will moft incapacitate the mufcles from acting on and difplacing it, and in the greatest degree remove that refiftance which they have it in their power to make to the attempts for the reduction of fuch fracture? Is it not obvious, that putting a limb into fuch pofition as fhall relax the whole fet of muscles belonging to or in connexion with the broken bone, must beft answer

L

fuck

300

Pott's Remarks on Fractures and Diflocations.

fuch purpofe? Nothing furely can be more evident: if this be granted, will it not, muft it not follow, that fuch posture of a broken limb must be the beft for making the reduction; that is, it must be that in which the muscles will refift the leaft and be least likely to be injured, that in which the broken bone will be moft eafily fet, the patient fuffer leaft pain in prefent, and that from which future lameness and deformity will be leaft likely to happen.

It is a maxim univerfally taught and received, that a frac tured limb may be in fuch state, as not to admit of the extenfion neceffary for its being fet; that is, if affiftance be not at hand, when the accident happens, if they who bring the pa tient home do it fo aukwardly or rudely as to bruife and hurt the part, if from drunkenness, folly or obftinacy in the patient, it happens that the limb is fo difordered that it is found to be much swollen, inflamed and painful, it is allowed not to be in a ftate to admit extenfion.

This, I fay, is a general maxim, and founded upon very juft principles; but what is the general practice in confequence of it? It is, to place the limb in an extended, ftraight pofition, to fecure it in that, and then by proper means, fuch as fomentation, poultice, &c. to endeavour to remove the tenfion and tumour. Now if it be confidered that the fwollen, indurated, and inflamed ftate of the muscles is the circumftance which renders extenfion improper, furely it must be obvious that fuch pofition of the limb, as neceffarily puts thefe very muscles in fome degree on the ftretch, must be a very improper one for the accomplishment of what ought to be aimed at. Under this method of treatment, the fpace of time which paffes in the removal of the tenfion is fometimes confiderable, fo confiderable that a happy and even coaptation becomes afterward impracticable; and then this accident, which nine times in ten is capable of immediate relief, is urged as an excufe for unneceffary lameness and deformity.

How then are we to conduct ourselves in fuch circumftances? The nature of the complaint points out the relief. Extenfion is wrong; a straight position of the thigh or leg is a degree of extenfion, and a ftill greater degree of it in proportion as the mufcles are in fuch circumftances as to be less capa"ble of bearing it. Change of pofture then must be the remedy, or rather the placing the limb in fuch a manner as to relax all its muscles, must be the moft obvious and certain method of relieving all the ills arifing from a tenfe ftate of them which change of pofture will be attended with another circumstance of very great confequence; which is, that the bones may in fuch posture be immediately fet, and not one moment's time

be