1816.] New Publications, with Critical Remarks. 241 of honesty and humanity in exposing hypocrisy and s impossible, we should think, for over the old story about the care taken of the papers at Constantinople, and describing them as oppression au to read the additional col- of very little consequence, the doctor makes this any liberal lection of facts and statements in this Postscript, without a feeling of concern and indignation at the Fross imposition which has been practised upon the national credulity in the name of religion and philanthropy. We have here proofs incontrovertible, that while the civilization of Africa and the benefit of the Negroes constituted the pretext for an Association in England, and the settlement of a colony under its direction, the managers were actuated by an avaricious spirit which made them indifferent to the character and proceedings of their agents. Of this we have many evidences adduced in the present tract, out of which we shall only select one, because it is in itself decisive of the charge, that under the specious plea of promoting moral order, the zealots in question have only had in view their private interest. When I was in Sierra Leone," says Dr. Thorpe, "I reduced the licences for retading spirituous liquors fram forty to four, and placed those few in the hands of the most prudent persons I could find; but immediately on my departure licences were again profusely and indiscriminately distributed by the protected partizans of the Institution; and to supply those venders of poison, I have been informed that Mr. 2. Macaulay has lately shipped from Bristol to Sierra Leone about twenty puncheons of rum and gin, and from London about seventeen; which, considering the colony contains four hundred settlers, must be only three or esteemed a tolerable supply. This displays the real ebject of those who are said to have toiled to im prove the morals of the settlers for above twenty years; this establishes the motive which actuates that person of whom Mr. Wilberforce is reported th have said in the House of Commons," He never knew a greater public benefactor, a more disin. Next, to "terested and indefatigable individual! diffuse this intoxicating morality, not only by wholesale, but by the glass, I have been assured that Mr. Z. Macaulay's agent has obtained a licence for fetaring spirits at Sierra Leone! This associate of the Duke of Gloucester, this affianced friend of Mr. Wilberforce, this great London merchant, this director of directors, this adviser of statesmen, His-evangeleaf editor, has bis-agent dispensing His moralizing beverage to the rich and the poor, Wholesale and retail!” A Narrative of what is known respecting the Literary Remains of the late John Tweddell, by Philip Hunt, L.L.D. formerly chapdain to his Excellency the Earl of Elgin, &c. &e. To which is added, a Short Answer to certain Allusions made by Dr. E. 1). Clarke in the third section of his Travels in Greece, &c. 8vo. 25. cd' That Dr. Hunt should feel anxions to justify Himself front any suspicion of having acted improperly with respect to the Tweddell papers, was so very patural that it would have been extraordinary indeed if he had not taken an early opportunity of Fixing to the public some information on the sub. ject. It was with great pleasure, therefore, that we heard of his intention to favour the literary world with a narrative on this interesting question; bit if our expectations? were ardent, they "have been grievously disappointed, and we are much mistaken if the perusal of this pamphlet will tend to raise the author in the estimation of his *Wiends, or give him credit among those who have ''hot whe honour of his dequaintancers After going: NEW MONTHLY MAGNo. 279.s have strange acknowledgment, that he took such extracss In the postscript to this pamphlet Dr. Tunt expresses himself in very indignant terms on account of an insinuation thrown out by Dr. Clarke con cerning some persons who stole a Greek manu. script from one of the monasteries of Mount Athos. Now, as Dr. Clarke has not mentioned the parties, though he states that one of them is dead. why, it may be asked, did our author take the trouble of vindicating himself and the late Professor Carlyle from a charge which, for aught that appears, was not intended for either of them? Christian The Society for Promoting Knowledge vindicated from a Charge of Inconsistency and Contradiction, in Answer to a Publication entitled " A Respectful Address to the Archbishops, &c." A Letter to Rebert Wissett in Answer to Four Letters addressed by him, to the Author on the subject of Licensing and Regulations for Public Houses and Liquor-Shops. By John Bowles, esq. 3s. Treatise on the Diseases of the Foot of the Horse. With Observations on Shoeing. By Rich. Hayward Budd, Veterinary Surgeon. 8vo. 10s. 6d. A Pattern for Parish Clerks, being Letters written by an obscure Member of that Fraternity. 3s.- The Fly-Fisher's Guide; illustrated by coloured plates, representing upwards of 40 of the most useful Flies, from Nature. By Geo. C. Bainbridge., 8vo. 16s. Essays on Various Subjects. By Wm. Pitt Scargill. 8vo. 7s. 6d. The Pamphleteer. No. XIII. 6s. 6d. NOVELS, TALES, &C. The Soldier of Fortune. By Capt. Ashe, 2 vols. 14. Love, Rashness, and Revenge; or Tales of Three Passions, By Rippin Porter, esq. 2 vols. 10s: od. By Mrs. Opier à vols. Valentine's Eve. ງ 242 New Publications, with Critical Remarks. PHILOLOGY. Stephens's Greek Thesaurus. A new and improved edition. No. I. 11. 1s. large paper 21. 2s. POETRY. The Wanderer in Norway, with other Poems. By Thomas Brown, M.D. Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh. Second Edition 12mo. 6s. The poem which gives a name to this little volume neither contains a story nor is descriptive of romantic scenery; but is simply the moral picture of an impassioned mind suffering misery by having yielded to a guilty passiou. The delineation, though strong, is far from being ideal, being no other than a portraiture of the celebrated Mary Wollstonecroft drawn from her own letters, and the scandalous meraoir of her life published by her affectionate and estimable husband. Dr. Brown has converted the history of that unhappy woman to an excellent purpose by shewing the essential importance of those high principles of conduct which no mind, however ardent in its general ad. miration of virtue, can abandon with impunity, and without the strength of which no powers are strong. Of the other pieces which make up the contents of the book, by far the most animated is that addressed to Professor Dugald Stewart, with a copy of Darwin's Zoonomia. It is no easy matter to clothe metaphysics with the graces of poetic embellishment, but in this undertaking the author has succeeded more happily than Akenside, and developed in a very masterly manner the " glories of the world of mind." Moscow, a Poem. By Mrs. Henry Rolls, Authoress of Sacred Sketches from Scripture History. 8vo. 2s. 6d. This performance does great credit to the genius aud sentiments of the far author. who has made good use of the genuine narrative of Labaume, particularly of the interesting story of Paulowna. After sketching her appearance in the cathedral of Moscow, and the infamous conduct of the Freuch commander towards his victim; our amiable coun trywoman thus feelingly draws a moral lesson from the scene of horror which she has described: "Woe waits a nation when her leaders shame, If tainted in its core the noble tree, Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude, with other Poems. By Percy Bysshe Shelley. Fc, 8vo. 5$. [April 1, Epistle 1. 5s. 6d. The Grand Master; or Adventures of Qui Hi in Hindostan; with engravings by Rowlandson. Roy 8vo. 11. 5s. The Appeal of Poland, an Ode. By W. S. Walker, of Trn. Coll. Cambridge. 1s. 6d. POLITICS AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. The Congress of Vienna. Pradt. By M. de Translated from the French. 890. The author of this work has had abundant opportunities to become acquainted with the politics of modern Europe by virtue of his connexion with Buonaparte, whom he represented in a diplomatic capacity at Warsaw. But though it cannot be denied that M. de Pradt is an acute observer of men, and sufficiently read in the history of most courts, to render his opinions and remarks in some degree worthy of notice, there is at the same time, throughout all his works, such an insufferable spirit of vanity in speaking of himself as to disgust every reader of sensibility. This man, who was an abbé and an archbishop of the constitutional order, became a very ready tool of the imperial govern. ment; but when that was overthrown by the allies, his most reverend excellency took the merit of that event to himself, for it seems by his account the emperor said after his fall, "One man less and I should have been master of the world!" Now, who could this one man be? the reader will naturally ask, anticipating most probably that it could be no othe, than the Duke of Wellington. No such thing, my honest friend, for this important person was no other than M. de Pradt, who says, "Cet homme c'est moi," "That man is myself;" which he proves by telling us that he mismanaged his embassy in Foland, and thereby contributed to Napoleon's failure in Russia. Such is the enlightened and liberal statesman who has in this volume presumed to give his decisive opinion on the present and future state of every country in Europe. A Few Observations on the Continuance of the Property Tax, and the Danger of a great Military Establishment to our Freedom and Liberty. By a Friend to the Constitution. 8vo. 1s. Of this pamphlet it may be said truly that it is "Vox et præterca nihil " There is nothing throughout but mere empty declamation, delivered in vulgar and ungrammatical language, of which the following may be exhibited as a fair specimen: “ A great military establishmeat in this country seenis so completely contrary to common sense, that one cau scarcely bring oneself to suppose that an idea of it could be suffered one moment to exist." From the emphatic assumption of common sense in this sublime passage, we should be almost inclined to think that this" Friend to the Constitution," as he calls himself, is the editor of the old Monthly Magazine. A Speech which may not be spoken in the Though this Speech has not been delivered within the walls of St. Stephen's Chapel, it well deserves to have been heard there; as it well merits the serious perusal of every Englishman. The author very properly designates the contest in which we were recently engaged, as "a war for principles;" and he proves beyond all doubt that though actual hostilities no longer subsist, it is. 1816.1 New Publications, with Critical Remarks. necessary to maintain the advantage we have beeu contending for, by providing a check against those evils we have subdued, but which may possibly, and even probably, revive in a more formidable state. On this account he advocates the policy of keeping up a strong force, and of supporting our establishment by that kind of supply which is drawn from ascertained property. One of the most eurious parts of this well reasoned tract is the pic. tare given of our foreign settlements, as it will be probably realized about four years hence, if from bad management and false economy our govern ment shall be induced to lessen the means of de fending them from French intrigue and American rapacity. On the late Persecution of the Protestants in the South of France. By Helen Maria Williams. 3s. 6d. The Representative History of Great Britain and Ireland; being a History of the House of Commons and of the Counties, Cities, and Boroughs, of the United Kingdom. By T. H. B. Oldfield. 6 vols. 8vo. 31. 125. Observations on the Income Tax. By a Citizen of London. 1s. The Ready Writer, whereby more may be written in Forty Minutes than in One Hour by any other System of Short Hand hitherto published. By James Henry Lewis, Teacher of Short Hand. 8vo. pp. 106. Disposed as we are to doubt the validity of high pretensions in general, and in that spirit of scepticism to hesitate when new systems of instruction are offered to the public, in this era of innovation and empiricism, we took up the present volume with strong expressions of suspicion. The sense of jusNice, however, compels us to say that though the book savours a little of pedantry in the style of composition. it possesses merit of no ordinary degree as an elementary guide in the art of short and quick writing. Among the various substantial improvements which the author has introduced, we regard the method of expressing the prepositions and terminations as one of the most important, and which gives to his system not only a feature of originality, but of decided superiority over others. Another peculiarity in this scheme of Stenography 243 is the adaptation of it to scientific and commercial purposes by short hand arithmetic. The work is dedicated by permission to the Prince Regent, and it is truly deserving of that high distinction. TOPOGRAPHY. The History and Antiquities of Bicester, a Market Town in Oxfordshire: compiled from Original Records, the. Parish Archives, Title Deeds of Estates, &c. &c. and containing Translations of the principal Papers, Charters, &c. in Kennet's Parochial Antiquities. To which is added, an Inquiry into the History of Alchester, a City of the Dobuni. With an Appendix, and the whole of Bishop Kennett's Glossary. 8vo. pp. 444, with plates, 17s. (only 250 copies printed.) The utility of topographical publications, when faithfully executed, must be apparent to every one who has paid the smallest attention to the subject: even though entirely destitute of general interest: they are, nevertheless, valuable as local records, and as such are not unfrequently referred to as authorities in matters of legal procedure. If written with judgment and ability, their sphere of interest becomes more widely extended. By the developement of ancient manners and customs they afford materials for philosophic reflection, and often enable the lawyer, the antiquary, and the historian, to elucidate passages in old writers, and to account for present customs which otherwise it would be impossible to explain. The work, the title of which was just quoted, we hail with much satisfaction. With the exception of Kennett's Parochial Antiquities, Plot's Natural History, the volume of Oxfordshire in the Beauties of England, and the Agricultural Survey, it is, we believe, the first publication that has appeared relative to any part of the county not included within the city and liberties of Oxford. We trust, therefore, that it will prove a favourable omen of future exertions, and that we shall shortly find the whole of this interesting district of England illus trated, as it deserves, by able and intelligent writers. The History and Antiquities of Bicester appears to have been compiled with great care. After giving a very general view of English history to the time of the Conquest, the author proceeds to the description of the town as it at present exists, and then enters into detailed accounts of the more important objects it contains, and of the more interesting circumstances connected with its local history. These he unfolds in a perspicuous manner, and though sometimes too tediously minute, he amply compensates for that defect by the introduction of much matter which cannot fail to be read with great pleasure by all genuine antiquaries and topographers. The same may be justly said of that portion of the volume which relates to the History of Alchester: but here the author has allowed his imagination rather ample scope, and like most of his brother writers on such subjects,' displays more ingenuity than sound information. The disquisition on Alchester is followed by an Appendix, containing a variety of documents relative to the manor of Bicester, the priory, and hospital, which could not properly be introduced into the body of the work. The volume concludes with a reprint of the very useful Glossary of Bishop Kennett, intended to explain the original, the acceptation, and obsoleteness of words and phrases; and to shew the rise, practice, and alteration, of customs, laws, and manners," the value of which 244 Review of New Musical Publications. may be readily appreciated by its great scarcity, and the high price it brings when exposed for sale. We have compared the reprint carefully with the original, and can safely assure our readers that it has been printed with faithfulness and accuracy. Storer's Graphic and Historical Descrip tion of the Cathedral Churches of Great Britain. Part XIV. containing the History of Lichfield Cathedral. 9vo. 7s. 6d. large paper 12s. TRAVELS. [April 1, A Tour to Alet and La Grande Chartreuse. By Dom Claude Lancelot. With some Account of the Monastery of La Trappe, &c. By Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck. 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 13s. By John Milford, jun. 8vo. 9s. REVIEW OF NEW MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS. A Selection of German National Melodies, with the words, both in the original and translated into English. By E. B. Impey, Esq. W. Sotheby, Esq. the Hon. W. Spencer, Viscount Strangford, W. Tighe, Esq. and S. Tolfrey, Esq. The whole accompanied by a Treatise of National Music, and the Airs selected by Charles Baron Arnim. The introductory Symphonies by J. Mazzinghi.Goulding, D'Almaine and Co. This work will consist of three volumes, each volume to contain two numbers, cach number containing ten songs. Price One Guinea a volume. -The treatise first arrests our attention. The author observes, of all the arts, music affords perhaps the fewest comprehensible rules whereon to establish in all parts of the world, conformity of opinion, even among those who possess an elevated mind and a good taste in other arts. Music devives its origin, in point of melody, from the hu. man voice, and perhaps from the singing of the birds. Whether harmony has been invented, or whether two, three, or four people have ever sung instinctively in treble, counter-tenor, tenor, and bass, might be difficult to ascertain. The only beings which, by instinct, produce a music wherein there is harmony, are the frogs. William Priest, in his Travels in the United States of America, says, "The first frog concert I heard in America was so much beyond any thing I could conceive of the powers of these musicians, that I was truly Astonished. This performance was al fresco, and took place on the night of the 18th of April, in a large swamp, where there were at least ten thousand performers, and I really believe not two ex-actly in the same pitch. The treble was perform ed by the tree frogs, the smallest and most beautiful species; they are always of the same colour as the bark of the tree they inhabit, and their note is not unlike the chirping of a cricket. The next in size are the counter tenors, they have a note re. sembling the setting of a saw. A still largar species sang the tenor; and the under part was sup ported by the bull frogs, which are as large as a man's foot, and bellowed out the bass in a tone as loud and sonorous as that animal from which they take their name,"--If we consider the human voice as the standard of music, vocal music ought always to be preferred to instrumental; on this account, those instruments whose sound is more imitative of the human voice than others would be preferable to the latter, if the more melodious sounds alone and not the harmony, were to be attended to. Music, therefore, being incapable of deriving many general rules of comparison from nature, must, in order to propagate a general taste, be subject to rules derived scientifically, and through the most inquisitive exertions in putting together corresponding notes; nevertheless, with great deference to our feelings, habits, and parti cularly to our recollections In short, in no art will opinions be found more divided, and nations more attached to their original turn than in this. nic countries of Europe, is the best proof of this as The actual state of the opera, in most piharing sertion. The author then goes into an elaborate review of the music of France, Italy, Germany, and the northern nations. Speaking of the ational songs of Russia, he says, "to hear a Tegiment of Cossacks sing, on entering a town, is like listening to the elaborate chorusses on the stage. Whoever knows how difficult it is sometimes to make a chorus go on well, so that every individual keeps his part, even when executed by those whose profession it is, must be struck when he hears common soldiers observe this with the greatest accuracy. Whether this talent for music is inherent in the Cossacks, or whether it has been the fruit of study, propagated through many centuries, remains doubtful. The imperial horn music, where from fifty to sixty people play upon the horn, and where each of them having but one note to sound, yet falls in always exactly at the given time, and so contributes to the performance of a most beauti ful concert, is another instance of musical talent which no other country affords. Music, and chiefly that kind which is known under the deanmination of ancient music, is perhaps carried oa no where more scientifically than in England. The execution of Handel's compositions in this coun try, when compared with their performance in his own native land, must be allowed to predominate in favour of the former. But the English lenguage may perhaps be considered less fit for mu. sic than others. The partial want of the spondes and trochee in the single words, and the indistinct prouuciation of so many letters (for instance the th wavering between t and s, so difficult to pro nounce well in music), are no doubt great impedi. ments to the composers. The beautiful and melodious words which Mr. Moore has written for the Irish melodies induce us almost to believe that is general, contrary to former experience, the Eng lisi: songs would be found more melodious, if the music were given to the poet, and not the poem to the composer. Among the German musicians we are surprised that the name of Haydn is not mentioned; and the beautiful air of Life let us cherish," which has always been considered as the production of Mozart, is here given to Nageli. The landscape in the frontispiece represents a view of the banks of the Rhine, and principally the spot where Marshal Prince Blucher crossed that river, January 1, 1814. The figures are drawn by Miss E. Berés ford; the landscape by Count Jenison. The pleasing task now remains to speak of the music; the composers are Himmel, Burka, Hauch, Benckin, and Beichard; names to us eathely un known, but whose music breathes a pure strain of genuine simplicity. We shall give the words of 1816.1 Review and Register of the Fine Arts. "The Adieu!" an air for two voices, as translated by E. B, Impey, Esq. Three borsemen rode out from the gate of the tower. Adieu ! A maiden look'd wistfully from her bower. Adieu! Her lover he sigh'd," Is it thus we must part, Perchance for ever, sweetheart." Adieu, adieu, adieu! 'Tis torture to murmur, adieu. Though mountains or oceans divide us, my dear. Yet check, ere it trickle, that omninous tear. Adieu! The horsemen had pierc'd thro' the wild forest Yet still at her window the mourner was seen. Adiea! He is gone! he is lost! we shall ne'er meet again, No never, never again. Adieu, adieu, adieu! 'Tis torture to murmur, adieu! Eliza, an introduction and air, with variations for the Piano-forte, and an accompaniment (ad libitum) for the Flute, or Patent Keyed Harmonica, composed and dedicated to Thomas Alsager, esq. By J. Hunter. Chappell. 4s. We are happy to bear testimony to the rising merit of this young composer. The introduction is shewy, and the air, with the powerful aid of the harmonica, is extremely well supported through the different variations. Blest Charlotte. Composed by Thomas Billington, and arranged for the Harp or Piano-forte. Preston. 1s. 6d. We are happy to find our old friend still in the land of the living, after the various perils he has encountered in France-after being twice con 245 demned to work in sulphur and smoke, and after being twice brought out to the guillotine, it is next to a miracle to find his head on his shoulders. This song is quite in the chromatics, a style we should think not well adapted to the harp, but which our author seems to have retained over since he composed the Jubilee Songs, twenty years ago. We hope he will now have leisure to go on with the "Night Thoughts," which, like "the bear and fiddle, was sung, but broke off in the middle." After which we would recommend him to set to music Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, or the tenth chapter of Nche miah. MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE. The lovers of music and classical poetry will learn with pleasure that Mr. LINLEY is preparing for the press a second volume of Shakspeare's Dramatic Songs; consisting of all the songs, duetts, trios, and chorusses, in character, as introduced by him in his various dramas; the music partly new and partly selected, with new symphonies and accompaniments for the piano-forte, from the works of Purcell, Fielding, Drs. Boyce, Nares, Arne, Cooke, Messrs. J. Smith, J. S. Smith, T. Linley, jun, and R. J. S. Stevens. To which are prefixed, a general introduction of the subject, and explanatory remarks on each play. Mr. CORFE will in the course of the ensuing month publish a second edition of the Beauties of Purcell; consisting of the most favourite songs, duetts, trios, &c. selected from the various works of that great master. Revised and arranged, with a separate aecompaniment for the piano-forte, and a thorough bass to the whole. REVIEW AND REGISTER OF THE FINE ARTS. "L'onore conferito da Grandi à bravi Artisti dà vita e vigore alle Belle Arti; come il poco incoragimento, e le critiche severe, e poco discrete, le fanno languire.' Condivi, Vita di Michel Angiolo Buonarotti. EXHIBITION of the BRITISH INSTITUTION, for promoting the FINE ARTS in the UNITED KINGDOM, at their Gallery, Pall Mall. 1816 Of the general merits of this exhibition we have given an opinion in our last number, and shall now proceed to the more pleasant task of presenting to our readers a summary of the best or most prominent pictures in the rooms, seriatim, with brief notices of their merits or defects. The first picture that arrests our attention is, No. 11, Distraining for Rent, (purchased by the Directors of the British Institution, D. WILKIE, R. A.-Of this fine picture we have already recorded Our sentiments, in our review of the last exhibition, at the Royal Academy, and need only add our congratulations to the directors and the artist for their mutual good fortune,-the former as being the possessors of so fine a work of art, and the latter for having his work deposited in so public and permanent an institution. 12, Half-holiday Muster, W. CoLLINS, A. R. A. This beautiful subject was also in the above-named exhibition, and has been purchased by Lady Lucas for a hundred guineas. 20, Prince Henry mounting his Charger, (First Part of King Henry IV.) H.' CORBOULD.-Spirited, graceful, and aetive; beautifully personifying the British hero, and embodying the poet's fancy. - 23, A Knight of Malta, G. Hayter. This fine head, replete with all the excellencies of the art, was in the last |