swer the purposes of general security, than any extent of particular associations; which, when employed for public purposes, will ne cessarily increase party distinctions and animosities. Some of the author's regulations are, however, too rigid and inquisitorial, and have in some degree the appearance of a combination of the affluent against the indigent. He likewise proposes that all house-holders having male servants shall be required to arm those for whom they can be responsible. With a little extension and more general applications some of the regulations proposed might be made equal to the purpose of public security against external danger: as for example, if, without making any distinctions, every one capable of bearing arms were instructed to be in readiness, and liable in case of emergency equally to be called out, a force more than adequate to any possible danger would be in constant preparation; and interior security would be out of the ques tion, as all those who could disturb it would be better occupied. Many of the author's reflections are very just; and certainly some Art. 29. The Distilleries considered, in their Connection with the 1797. This is one of the best written, and yet, in some respects, one of the most injudicious pamphlets that we have seen for a long time. The writer, not contented with proving every thing that was necessary, proceeds (with a view, as it should seem, of displaying the powers of his pen,) in a serious endeavour to make his readers believe things at which the common sense of mankind, even of those who are not deep reasoners, immediately revolts; and this he attemps to effect by a sort of arguments which can excite nothing but disgust in the minds of men who are able to judge of a connected chain of reasoning. For our part, though we perused the beginning of the pamphlet with no small degree of satisfaction, we confess that, long before we reached its last page, it required more patience than falls to every one's share to enable us to proceed through the whole. The author possesses great power of elocution; words are never wanting; and, in order to give full scope to his talents, he dresses up a man of straw, by stating a number of idle objections, (which one would think no person endowed with common sense could ever seriously state ;) in demolishing which, he proceeds with immense volubility and with the appearance of infinite self-complacency. In this way he fills up about three-fourths of the pamphlet, endeavouring to persuade his readers, that corn-spirits are not only wholesome and nutritious in a high degree, but even that they are the only wholesome and nutritious liquors, and that they are in all respects to be preferred to every other kind of beverage; and, although, in some conceding moments, he seems to admit that, when taken to excess, they cannot be said to do much good, the general train of his argument goes to establish that they are not in any degree productive of harm to so ciety, either by impairing the health, relaxing the morals, or de ranging the tranquillity of the people! Though the author, however, by thus endeavouring to prove too much, greatly weakens the cause which he had espoused-yet, in the first part of his pamphlet, he stands on strong ground, and makes an excellent use of the weapons that truth has put into his hand. In this part, he proves with unanswerable force of argu ment, (as we think,) that the distilleries, under judicious regulations, must tend greatly to promote the agriculture of this country,-by affording an abundant and steady market for the produce of the ground, by augmenting the quantity of food for cattle, and by the consequent abundance of rich manure that must thus be produced. He shews (though on this branch of the subject, we think he has been rather more concise than its importance required) that the distilleries, by constantly taking from the farmer all his superfluous grain, of whatever quality it may be, affords great encourage ment to the farmer to raise a quantity of corn, which might, at times, be much more than sufficient to support all our inhabitants, without running a risk of depressing the prices so far as to become ruinous to the farmer; while it gives a more certain resource when the crops shall prove deficient, than could be effected by a bounty on exportation, even under the best management ;-and that, instead of being a drain to the revenue, as the bounty ever must be, it would prove a powerful addition to its annual amount. On these topics, which cannot fail to command the assent of every considerate mind, he says but little; and on the argument resulting from these considerations, viz. the benefits that the manufactures of this country must derive from an equality of prices which would result from this ar rangement, and the consequent tranquillity of the country which naturally follows it, he has not said one word. The author seems to have been in the habit of frequenting clubs where political subjects are canvassed in a superficial manner, and to have felt so much pleasure in refuting the flimsy arguments that he may have heard there, that he has been unable to resist the temptation of amusing himself in like manner in this performance: nor do his employers seem to have been sensible, how much so superficial a method of treating a grave subject may have hurt the cause which they intended to support. Art. 30. Measures recommended for the Support of Public Credit. By 1797. The topics discussed in this well intended and sensible pamphlet are of too much importance, and occupy too wide a field of consideration, to allow of our attempting to give a contracted view of them. Indeed, according to the author's own observation, they are treated in the pamphlet itself with a conciseness which does not answer to their magnitude. The following paragraph, however, will give the reader an idea of Captain Burney's design: It has been my endeavour to steer clear of whatever was not cor nected with the two points which I am principally anxious to impress, the necessity of diminishing and limiting the bank paper for the present support of public credit, and the necessity of a speedy peace, 9 And....n. peace, that we may not lose all chance of being enabled to re-establish The whole of Captain B.'s remarks are worthy of attentive and serious consideration, at the present moment. They are delivered in concise and strong language, and their patriotic tendency cannot be misunderstood, though it may be wilfully perverted. G.2. Art. 31. The Religious and Civil Advantages enjoyed by those who The reverend author of the present pamphlet is evidently a native of North Britain, and we have no doubt that his encomiums on Mr. Pitt's and Lord Grenville's bills, together with the general strain of his politics, will entitle him to distinction even in Scotland. AFFAIRS OF FRANCE. A.Ai. Art. 32. An Essay on the Causes and Vicissitudes of the French Although this pamphlet is well conceived and well written, some of its positions merit re-examination. For instance, in recapitulating the early incidents of the French Revolution, the author ascribes to the French Court the project of dissolving the National Assembly on the 11th July 1789, by an armed force, and of removing by massacre the most distinguished of the members. A report to this effect was indeed circulated at Paris, in order to provoke the insurrection of the 14th July: but in itself it is so impro. bable, and it is so wholly unsupported by evidence, that it now passes universally for calumny. If true, as Mr. Burke well observes, the king ought for that fact then to have been brought to trial and punished. Much of the pamphlet is occupied with the defence of la Fayette; of whose personal probity, no man can reasonably doubt; and for whose sufferings the hardest must feel pity. To the Eponina, who has struggled with every difficulty and danger in order to share his dungeon, posterity will erect altars in the temple of conjugal affection. The liberation of Kosciusko has conferred on one Emperor a ray of glory which another would do well to emulate.-The principles, however, which have directed the conduct of la Fayette in the internal affairs of France, are not easily understood. A representation of the French people was already extant, was already energizing as a National assembly, when he first thought proper to descant on the sacred duty of insurrection and the sovereignty of the people: for it was the practice of both the popular parties, the constitutional and the republican, to hinge the claim of the National Assembly to power, not on the grace of the King, who convened it, but on the right of insurrection in the people, who applauded it. After the celebrated Loth of August, these two doctrines were applied in defence of the -cpublican institutions, but were now practically, if not speculatively, -resisted by la Fayette. In a case of collision between the King and the representatives of the people, like that which the 10th of August. terminated, 7 terminated, it seems scarcely possible not to deduce from such theoretical propositions, the superior right of the representative body to obedience and allegiance. Our author adds (p. 54), that la Fayette is a republican in his heart-yet he attempted to march his army against the parliament. EDUCATION. Art. 33. A Dialogue betwen a Lady and her Pupils, describing a Tay. In most books of travels, where any mention is made of manufactures, it is in a manner so slight as hardly to leave a permanent impression on the reader's mind; and it is observed that most young ladies, though well instructed in other respects, can seldom recollect the different towns, except those of the first rate, where any useful branch of trade is carried on; and very few have been taught in what manner most things which they see in daily use are made. As the author hath for some years past made the education of young ladies her study, she perceived that a book of this kind was much wanted, and thought, that by arranging it in the form of a tour, it was the most likely to make a lasting impression on the memory of youth, and also give them a geographical knowlege of the places noted for any branch of manufacture. Some accounts are also interspersed, of animals and of the birds particular to each county. As those are, likewise, articles of emolument to the inhabitants of the places that are noted for them, they are pointed out to inform the young reader of the different sources from which the industrious draw their support; and, at the same time, it serves to make a diversity in the work, which relieves the attention from dwelling too long on the same subject.' We approve this plan, as the young mind may thus be drawn, by the subjects occasionally introduced, to attend to matters of useful information, instead of the very trivial topics with which books of education are sometimes filled. NOVELS. Art. 34. The Hermit of Caucasus, an Oriental Romance. By Joseph Moser, Author of Turkish Tales*, &c. &c. 12mo. 2 Vols. 6s. sewed. Lane. 1796. Dr. Hawkesworth and other writers of Oriental tales have accustomed us to expect, in such productions, that the muse of composition should exchange the tight robe of European elegance for the flowing embroidery of Asiatic luxury-but, although this claim be commonly satisfied, and our writers have become as skilful as Ina, tulla in perfuming the garden of their page with tangled shrubberies * See Review. vol. xv. p. 226. of of flowery metaphor; they have by no means made an equal progress in the selection of other ornaments. Our increased knowlege of the manners and opinions of the East renders us acutely sensible to every violation of costume in incident or idea. The exquisite richness of the soil gives, perhaps, their highest relish to the Persian Tales; which have been surpassed in fancifulness by European imitations. The lover feasting on the lips of his mistress may be compared to the nightingale riffing the rose; the heroine may be beautiful as one of the Peries, or as Zuleikha the beloved of Joseph: but to find women of Asia compared by their lovers to Venus, or to read of Somnus and Morpheus, is like Shakspeare's placing the eternal Devil in antient Rome, or Adam Davie's introducing Pilate as sending a challenge to Jesus Christ. In the history of the Calif Vathek, it would require the learning of a German professor to detect an incongruity. These incongruities, however, we find in the present volumes; and this hint may be sufficient to put our author on the scent of those acquisitions which he needs. His style is polished; his morality is respectable; his whole manner is entertaining and pleasing but his fancy is too timid :--yet his Hermit of Caucasus is equal to the best of the Turkish Tales. Art. 35. Marchmont. By Charlotte Smith, sewed. Low. 1797. 4 Vols. 165. The tediousness, chicane, and uncertainty of many of our law proceedings, and the ease with which they may be perverted, by the rich and unprincipled, till they become engines of the most cruel oppression, form the leading character of this work. If the iniqui ties committed by means of our system of laws occupy a large part, and perhaps encroach too much on the conclusion of the story, the author's personal circumstances and misfortunes may well form a sufficient apology; while they give rise to scenes and situations much more interesting than the vaulted galleries and castle dungeons of some modern romances, by chilling the heart with the dreadful conviction that, even in this land of comparative freedom, similar acts of cruelty and injustice not only may be but actually are perpetrated. We have only to add that nothing written by Mrs. Smith, for the rational entertainment of the public, has ever yet, within our recol. lection, failed of producing the effect intended, LAW. Tay. A.Ai. Art. 36. The Commentaries of Sir William Blackstone, Knt. on the Laws and Constitution of England; carefully abridged in a new Manner, and continued down to the present Time; with Notes corrective and explanatory. By William Curry, of the Inner Temple. 8vo. pp. 580. 8s. Boards, Clarke and Son. 1796. The new manner of abridging, to which Mr. Curry alludes in the title-page, consists in giving the selections from Sir W. Blackstone in the Judge's own words.-The abridgment appears to us to be made with judgment, and the notes, which are not indeed very numerous, are apposite and informing. We have but one objection to the work before us, and that is not an immaterial one; for we think that |