Shall this wide earth hold but one gorgeous throne, Nature will undermine the bloody fabric, Till one vast wreck shall bury the destroyer, As a first attempt in the fields of dramatic poetry this tragedy is highly creditable to its author; but we fear that it is too long and too patriotic to be at all adapted for actual representation; at the same time the connection in the dialogue and the alternation of character is kept up with sufficient spirit not to exhaust the attention of the reader. From these signs we are of opinion, that the author has capacity sufficient to produce a tragedy which may not be unworthy of the stage; but he must previously study with much attention that happy introduction of incident, which is productive of what is generally termed "stage trick," he must choose a subject somewhat less patriotic, and above all he must concentrate his spirit within a much smaller compass. MISCELLANIES. ART. 16. The Port-folio; containing Essays, Letters, and Narratives. 2 vols. 12mo. 14s. Murray. 1814, When in the first five pages of the preface we meet with such exquisite nonsense as the following, what can be reasonably expected from the work itself? My child, like other urchins of his age, must needs carry a whip! Which whip, his darling toy, he loves so dearly, that he says, 'tis shame to use it on hard wood; and, therefore, scorns his top, and turns it on mankind. I can, however, confidently say, he means no harm even when he hits the hardest; on the contrary, his object is always good; and, I must say, I think in general he uses the whip discreetly. To prove that my assertions are not partial, I have seen him tickle the legs of a young man, who was going to sleep, while an old gentleman was prosing over some uninteresting tale, who, had he been discovered snoring, would have forfeited an estate for his inattention and disrespect. I have also seen him give a sharp touch to a foolish young lady, who was about to do something that would have exposed her to censure. perhaps I have almost tired you of him, in whose favour I wished to prepossess you. I will therefore conclude with saying, that, as Caligula wished the people of Rome to have but one head, that he might destroy them at one blow, so do I wish the inhabitants of Britain to have but one voice, and that in favour of my DARLING.". P. v. ૐ But We 66 We can assure our readers that the dear child's whip is perfectly inoffensive to all but to the reader; we should indeed pro pose that instead of the "Port-folio," a name which appears to have been picked out at random, this publication should have been denominated "MY DARLING." We have no doubt but that such a name would have taken in at least a dozen purchasers, and might have secured full half as many readers, of which worthy class of personages this unfortunate work will stand much in need: notwithstanding it is very neatly printed and in two very pretty volumes 12mo. My Darling," indeed, like most other darlings, is sufficiently tiresome, and however humoured it may have been by its author, it certainly will not retaliate this humour upon the reader. Of all the faults that a book can have, which critics for their sins are condemned to read, the most provoking is that of silly insipidity; where there is just irritation enough to keep oneself awake, without sufficient absurdity to make one laugh. In these two volumes we have certainly sufficient variety, we have essays, novelettes, characters, attempts at murder, and attempts at wit, and scraps of stories, and scraps of sermons; but all is vapid, all is silly. ART. 17. Familiar Scenes, Histories, and Reflections. 8vo. 166 pp. 3s. 6d. Gale, Curtis, and Spencer. 1814. Though we do not altogether approve of the preaching barber, who is the prominent character in these village annals, yet we must allow that there is a considerable knowledge of human nature displayed in this little volume. The author has a clear conception both of the vices and the miseries of a village life, and some of the remedies which he proposes, are not ill calculated to produce a reformation. The religious sentiments are generally good and practical, we therefore approve of them; but they sometimes approach rather too near to the methodism of the old school, which though we do not admire, yet we consider it as a much more respectable species of error than the cant of the new. The visit to the workhouse is admirable, the manners of the poor are pourtrayed to the life. Our readers will be pleased to be presented with a part of it. "I accosted first an old man, who was hobbling along upon crutches. Friend,' said I, you are happily provided with a home now you are old and helpless." A home, Sir,' replied he, 'tis a bad sort of a home, I should never have caught the rheumatis, and lost the use of my limbs, if I had'nt comed here. You forget your age,' said another old man standing near, he's ten years older than I am, and I'm the age of man. What a discontented old soul you be, I've more cause to grumble, for you comed 6 comed in of your own choosing, and I was forced in by the parish officers.' 'Don't reflect so harshly on him,' said I, if he forgets his age, or mistakes the cause of his infirmities, that's not the way to convince him.' My poor old friend,' resumed I, be content with your lot. 'Tis seldom appointed to man to reach the years full of labour and sorrow, and whether they overtake us in a palace or a work-house they need the exercise of patience and resignation.' A gleam of satisfaction lighted up his withered countenance, which I hoped was occasioned by the idea I had suggested, but was sadly disappointed to discover it arose merely from the triumph he seemed to feel at my reproof of his acquaintance. • You had need come forwards to talk to gentlefolks,' said he, who begged their bread and stole gin?' The pointed question, and the silence of the questioned, plainly told me the truth of the case." P. 4. "A middle aged man, with a wooden leg, now passed me, and I accosted him with the question, how he came in that condition? He told me that he had lost his leg in the service of his king and country, but he should not have valued that, if they had found him a better place than a work-house to die in. I felt a little surprized that they had not, and being a governor of one of our noble asylums, for the relief of my brave but poor countrymen, was turning in my mind the means of amending his situation, when on looking more earnestly in his face, I discovered he was an old pensioner, who had been expelled from the hospital to which I belonged, for immoral conduct and breach of rules. Ungrateful murmurer,' said I, 'what thanks do you owe your God and country, for providing any habitation for you?' His confusion may easily be imagined when I mentioned my knowledge of his person and character, and he slunk away from further observation, as the old man had done before." P. 6. The querulous acrimony of the old ladies is described with equal truth of colouring in the ensuing chapter. MONTHLY LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. DIVINITY. A Letter to the London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews, containing Strictures on the Letter of a Jewish Correspondent. By the Author of Remarks on David Levi's Dissertation of the Prophecies respecting the Messiah. 1s. 6d. A Brief View of the Rise, Progress, and Decline of the ancient Christian Church, and its gradual Change to the papal Apostacy, by a Departure from the plain Dictates of the Gospel. In a Letter to the Right Hon. Lord Kenyon. By Sir John Jervis White Jervis, Bart. 1s. A Dispassionate Discussion of the Objects and Views of the British and Foreign Bible Society, compared with those of the Society for Promoting Christian Know ledge, as they affect the Interests of the Church of England, and the Cause of genuine Christianity. By a Layman. 2s. V II. JULY, 1814. The second Volume of practical Sermons for every Sunday in the Year; containing those of the 4th in Lent to the 7th Sunday after Trinity inclusive. 12mo.. 5s. 6d. Religion, Good Government, and Commerce united, or Christianity_the Glory of England, a Sermon on the present happy Era, 1814, by the Rev. Bladen Dow, ing, LL.B. Rector of Quailton, Bucks, and Curate of Numington, Kent. is. 15. A new Abridgment of Law's Serious Call to a devout and holy Life. 5s. A Sermon, preached at the Visitation of the Rev. Archdeacon Nares, in the Parish Church of Walsall, June 1, 1814. By the Very Rev. the Dean of Lich field. 1s 6d. Does Faith ensure good Works? An Answer in the Negative. By the Rev. James Beresford, Rector of Kibworth, Leicestershire, late Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. 1s. 6d. A Sermon, preached at Cheshunt, Herts, on the Day of General Thanksgiving, July 7, 1814. By the Rev. W. Armstrong, B.A. F.S.A. Sermons, by the late Percival Stockdale. 8vo 7s. 15. The Religious Education of the Children of the Poor recommended, in a Sermon preached at St. Mary's, Gateshead, on Sunday, May 8th, 1814, and pub. shed at the Request and Expence of the Parishioners of Gateshead. By John Headlam, AL.A. Rector of Wycliffe, Yorkshire, and Deputy Commissary of the Archdeaconry of Richmond. is, 6d. The peculiar Blessedness of the present Peace: Considered in a Sermon, preached at Laura Chapel, Bath, July 7th, 1814, being the Day appointed for the general Thanksgiving. By the Rev. E. W. Grinfield, M.A. Minister of Laura Chapel. 1s. HISTORY. Letters from the Continent; describing the Manners and Customs of Germany, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland, in the Years 1790-1-3, to a Friend residing in England. 8vo. 68. Picture of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, being a brief, historical, and descriptive Guide to the principal Buildings, Streets, &c. 68. Letters from a Lady to her Sister, during a Tour to Paris, in the Months of April and May, 1814. 12mo. 4s. The Campaign in Germany and France, from the Expiration of the Armistice, signed and ratified June 4, 1813, to the Period of Bonaparte's Abdication of the Throne of France: With an Appendix, containing all the French Bulletins issued during this Period, and other official Documents. By John Phillipart, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. 11. 1s. BIOGRAPHY. 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Laura, or an Anthology of Sonnets (on the Petrarchan Model) and Elegiac Quatuorzains; English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German, original and translated, with a Preface, critical and biographical Notes, and Index. By Capel Lofit. 5 vols. 8vo. 11. 10s. Odes to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, and Ins Majesty the King of Prussia. By Robert Southey, Poet Laureat. 41, 89, 6d. Minstrel Stolen Moments; or Shreds of Fancy. 8vo. 9s. Norway, a Satire. 1s. 6d. Poems by Frederick Thornhill, Esq. 5. The Rape of Proserpine, with other Poems, from Claudian, translated into English Verse, with occasional Notes, by Jacob George Strutt, Esq. Royal 8vo. 83. Cd. A Mouth |