spring-fashions; and that, aided by the heat and dryness of the summer, it has made a most alarming progress. Dr. Bardsley informs us, that the good people of Manchester have been highly enthusiastic in their admiration of this tragedy; and that it not only took possession of the theatre, but also intruded itself into every private society. It seems that it was even discussed at different meetings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, whose graver labours we have frequently had occasion to notice. shew that this tragedy has the warmth of Hotspur,-whose spirit Such phænomena lent a fire "Ev'n to the dullest peasant in the camp: Led ancient Lords and reverend Bishops on Dr. Bardsley appears to have mistaken his ground completely, in attempting to break the light butterfly of Kotzebue on the wheel of regular criticism. The German writer certainly never intended to imitate the antient models; and Mr. Sheridan seems to have considered the piece merely as a vehicle for patriotic sentiment and splendid machinery. The transient popularity of Pizarro has affected Dr. B.'s mind so strongly, that he has cited the number of editions [fifteen] through which it has run, as unparalleled in dramatic history. Doctor never heard of the editions of the Beggar's Opera? to say nothing of Shakspeare. Has the Art. 51. Supplement to the Collections for the History of Worcestershire. Folio. pp. 104. il. Is. sewed. White. 1799. In our lxvth vol. p. 257, we gave an account of Dr. Nash's valuable History of Worcestershire; and the second volume was the subject of a brief commendatory article in M. Rev. vol. lxvii. p. 339. The present Supplement contains, besides many corrections, a variety of curious Additions to Dr. Nash's volumes. Among other articles, we have particularly noticed the information conveyed in the author's observations on the Irrigation of Land; on Canal Navigation; on Stourport; on Cyder; and the extraordinary accounts of the tendency of that pleasant beverage to promote the health and longevity of its habitual drinkers, in the cyder-counties. Some biographical sketches are also interspersed, and contribute to the entertainment and information which this Supplement affords. Art. 52. 1800. The lessons intended to be conveyed in this book are certainly unexceptionable but we have some doubt whether they will be much relished by persons of the lower class in this country, because they often refer to manners and customs which do not exist among us. One great objection to the work, considering its avowed purpose, is the price though the paper is very coarse. The poor man's library, at this rate, would cost as much as that of a person in easy circum stances. Art. Art. 53. A visible Display of Divine Providence; or, The Journal of a captured Missionary designated to the Southern Pacific Ocean, in the second Voyage of the Ship DUFF, Capt. Thomas Robson, captured by Le Grand Bonaparte, off Cape Frio; including every remarkable Occurrence which took place on board the Duff, the Grand Bina. parte, &c. in the Province of Paraguay, Spanish South America, and Portugal, on the return Home, in 1798, and 1799. By William Gregory, one of the Missionaries; [many others, some with families, were embarked with him.] With Extracts from the Journals of the Rev. Peter Levesque, Rev. John Hill, James Jones, John Levesque, and other Missionarics, captured in the Duff. 8vo. 5s. in Numbers. Symonds, &c. Our curiosity was much gratified by the perusal of this uncommon publication. The honest Journalist will doubtless be termed an enthusiast by many readers, and many pages of his book will be regarded as mere fanaticism: but, exclusive of those passages in which Mr. Gregory considers the principal occurrences of the voyage as particular dispensations of Divine Providence, most readers, we conceive, will find themselves greatly interested in those distresses and deliverances which the pious and patient wanderers experienced, in the course of their adventurous and disastrous undertaking. On the whole, we are persuaded that Mr. G.'s work will be generally regarded not only as a pious but as a faithful and entertaining performance. For our account of a greater work, on the first missionary voyage to Otaheite, &c. see M. R. vols. xxxi. and xxxii. N. S. Art. 54. A Dissertation, moral and political, on the Influence of Luxury and Refinement on Nations, with Reflections on the Manners of the Age at the Close of the 18th Century. By Adam Sibbit, A. B. Rector of Clarendon, in the Island of Jamaica. 8vo. pp. 161. 4s. Boards. Cadell jun. and Davies. 1800. How hopeless is it to detail the causes of national ruin! What people ever derived wisdom from the sad experience of other nations or, admonished by the history of subverted empires, nobly rejected opportunities of acquiring wealth and power; or, having acquired them, resisted their seducing and enervating influence? Great riches have always superinduced luxury; and whether these have flowed on a country through the channels of commerce or of conquest, they uniformly have had a fatal effect both on its public and private morals. These reflections have embittered the pleasure which otherwise we should have received from Mr. Sibbit's dissertation. His observations on the effects of riches and luxury, and on those immoral systems and licentious productions which spring up in refined and dissipated states, are justified by the page of history: but he has not taught us, for he cannot perhaps teach us, how to remedy these evils. A virtuous and religious education, as here recommended, though one of the most effectual checks, is not sufficient to resist the torrent of indulgence and vice which deluges opulent and luxurious states. Indeed Mr. S. confesses that there is no cure for a dissipated nation;' and he cloquently describes the manner in which luxury operates in preventing a national return to simplicity and virtue. He observes that it causes a variety of wants and propensities which are merely factitious, very it generates an inordinate selfishness, and causes vanity and show to have a greater influence than the institutions of religion or the laws of nature.' Viewing Great Britain with these sentiments in his "mind's eye,” he remarks that we have too many reasons to fear that this country has passed its meridian of energy and virtue. Yet, unwilling to despair, he exhorts us to invoke the Genius of Simplicity with Innoence in his train;' and afterward, in a style more suited to a Christian divine, he recommends the early imbueing of the mind with the noble principles of our religion. He particularly cautions ladies against reading the generality of novels; because, independently of their flimsy texture, and many other exceptions, they have a tendency to make women unfit for the duties of real life, by holding up to their imaginations visionary and romantic representations of fictitious scenes. We entirely concur with him in this opinion. Art. 55. Cautions to young Sportsmen. 8vo. 6d. Robson, We cannot say that the cautions of this small pamphlet are new: but this is no objection: they are designed for the benefit of young sportsmen, and this purpose they are calculated to answer. We can seldom compare the price of a book with its worth: but the present pamphlet is cheap at sixpence. The sporting world are indebted for it to Sir Thomas Frankland, Bart. CORRESPONDENCE. Of the work to which H. E.'s first communication related, we now find, an account had been composed by one of our friends, before his letter was received; and an article is also in preparation respecting the performance mentioned in his second letter. We must therefore decline his offers; for which, however, we are obliged to him. The first letter shall be returned, when it again comes to the editor's hands, if nothing to the contrary is intimated by Mr. E. The reader is requested to add the following note to our remarks on the word Wah, page 350 of this Review, in the article respecting Major Rennell's work on the Geography of Herodotus. - We would not be understood to dogmatically assert that there is no such word as Wab, though it is certain that a very copious Arabic Dictionary, to which we have referred, does not contain it. In the map of Edrisi, published by Dr. Vincent, the districts in question are named Afwah; this word signifies the springs or fountains; and to these sources the fertile spots in question owe their existence. If Major Rennell has not mistaken the word, this origin of the name seems to us perspicuous and convincing; judicent eruditi. Rev. November, p. 242. l. 12. for important,' r. trivial. The APPENDIX to Vol. xxx. of the MONTHLY Review, N. S. will be published with the Review for January, as usual. TO THE THIRTY-THIRD VOLUME OF THE MONTHLY REVIEW ENLARGED. FOREIGN LITERATURE. ART. I. Lycée, ou Cours de Littérature, &c.; i. e. The Lyceum, or a Course of Lectures on antient and modern Literature. By J. F. LAHARPE. 8vo. 7 Vols. Paris. 1799. Imported by De Boffe, London. WE E had been long waiting for a copy of this interesting work, when we at length received that which is now on our table. The importance of the subject, the reception which the lectures obtained when publicly delivered at Paris previously to and during the Revolution, and the number of volumes for which they had furnished materials, all acted as stimulants to our curiosity. A complete course of lectures on the rise and progress of literature seems to imply a history of the transactions of human intellect; at least, in a cultivated state: for where there is no literature, there is no civilization. The plan of this enterprize, indeed, is not new: but the execution seems to be more complete than in any former attempts. To extract the essence of every antient work that has escaped the destructive scythe of time; to analyse its beauties and point out its defects'; to distinguish creation from memory, or originals from copies: to draw parallels, with deductions for those times and that state of society and cultivation in which works have been pro duced; to measure talents and weigh merit by fair standards: all this forms a task which requires learning, perspicacity, meditation, taste, and enlargement of mind, Gg APP. REV. VOL. XXXIII. A per A performance which carries us back to poetry, eloquence, history, philosophy, Aristotle, Longinus, &c. may perhaps heal and soothe the mind; and may afford a balm which is the more necessary at present, because hostile politics have rendered us ferocious, and have robbed us of many of the finer feelings of the human heart. We have indeed physics, mathematics, and chemistry, to humanize us: but the flowers which we are able to gather in these fields of science, although among the most noble, are not always of the most fragrant kind. M. DE LA HARPE, a pupil of Voltaire, a Philosophe, and at first an abettor of the French Revolution, has abandoned the licentious principles of his master, and has become a powerful advocate for religion, morality, and social order. He has long distinguished himself among men of letters by his productions; he was a member of the Royal Academy before the Revolution; and it was allowed that he possessed a large portion of well-digested knowlege, a sound judgment, and a pure and refined taste. This we have long known: but we did not expect to find such extensive erudition, such discriminative judgment in analysing works in every species of polite literature, nor (at the present period of his life) such feeling, animation, and fire, as he has manifested in the decisions and translations contained in the performance before us. In his preface to the first volume, the author gives an account of the establishment of the Lyceum in 1786, of its overthrow in 1789, and of its revival after the reign of terror. Respecting his present undertaking, he observes: The first confession, which it is incumbent on me to make, is that such an enterprise was beyond my powers, if it were equally necessary to explore all its several parts, many of which I was not qua lified to investigate. I even venture to doubt whether it be in the power of any one man to execute the whole with equal ability.We have, it is true, an infinite number of didactic books, and bibliographic collections, the merit of which it does not become me to dispute, since many of them have been of use to myself; but all treat particular objects, or are nothing more than nomenclatures or dictionaries for general things. This, I believe, is the first time either in France or in Europe, that a regular history of all the arts of thinking and imagination has been offered, from the time of Homer to the present period, in which nothing but mathematics and natural history are omitted. I cannot too often repeat how much I feel myself unequal to so immense a task; and if I am here deemed less modest than I wish to appear, I shall likewise be deemed more ignorant than I really am. To study, as I have done, any one object of this course, would be sufficient to persuade others, as it has convinced me, that perhaps a single article would require the life of one artist, and |