ART. 10. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. The Poetical Clafs Beck, or Reading Lessons for every Day in the Year, felected from the most popular English Poets, Ancient and Modern. By William Frederic Mylius, Author of the Junior Clafs Book, and School Dictionary of the English Language. 12mo. 5s. Godwin. 1810. As in inftructing young perfons to read, it feems expedient and neceffary to diverfify the exercifes with poetry, as well as profe, this book may be recommended as a judicious and agreeable selection. The poems, which are here given, are for the most part calculated for pupils of maturer age; they are none of them fri. volous, or of the caft of levity, but afford fome opportunity for exercifing the judgment and powers of reflection. The author, however, informs us, that he has another, and finaller collection at this time in the prefs, for the ufe of junior pupils. He feems altogether well qualified for the undertaking. ART. 11. The Legend of Mary, Queen of Scots, and other ancient Poems, now first published from MSS. of the Sixteenth Century, with an Introduction, Notes, and an Appendix. 8vo. 7s. Long man. 1810. The Author of the principal piece in this collection, the Legend of Mary, Queen of Scots, is fuppofed by the Editor, to be Thomas Wenman, who was public orator of the University of Oxford in 1594, and who in 1616, wrote commendatory verfes to the fecord part of Brown's Britannia's Paftorals. We do not think fo highly as the Editor, of the intrinfic merit of the compofition, and certainly have not met with many ftanzas, in which elegance is com bined with fancy, but we are very thankful to him, for this fpecimen of early poetry, in which there are certainly confiderable powers of verification. The next poem of confequence in this volume, is entitled, the Lamentation of a Sinner, in which perhaps nothing is fo remarkable, as the ftrange variety of the orthography. In the courfe of three ftanzas, grief is found written, grivefe, greve, gryfe, greefe, grefe, griffe, gryffe. The following is an extract from one of the mifcellaneous pieces at the end. "Country groves are Cupid's courts, The beft aboad of all his fports, Venus and her nimphs doe follace, Themfelves is fuch, fhe loves a prudent pallace. "Helter "Helter comes the harmless fwayne, Your harts are quickly wonn, but men are drones. "Tell the lilies and the pine, That they are cropt for breaft devine, Tell the roles as you cry, That you do live, in his hard hart to dy "And as you figh inform the ayre, An Appendix is fubjoined, with notes on the preceding poems, and a particular account of the manufcript from which they were printed. The Editor's motives are certainly entitled to commendation, though the poetry which is here printed, will probably not meet with many admirers. Of this volume 275 copies have only been printed; it will therefore probably reckon ere long among the R Rs. NOVELS. ART. 12. Ferdinand and Ordelia, a Ruffian Story, with au thentic Anecdotes of the Ruffian Court, after the Demife of Peter the Great. To which is added, a Prefatry Addrefs to the Satirift, upon Patrons and Dedicators, Reformers and Reformations. By Prifcilla Parlante. 2 Vols. 8vo. 16s. Tipper. 1810. To those who take delight, and there are many fuch readers, in the extremeft extravagance of romantic adventures, in hairbreadth fcapes, from the gloomy abyffes of caverns, inacceffible rocks, and the labyrinths of dreary and folitary caftles, these two volumes will be a famous Chriftmas garland. To us it feems a great pity, that powers of invention, which, under the controul of correcter judgement, might have produced a work both profitable and amufing, fhould have fo wafted their energies. We cannot but fay, that the anecdotes of the Ruffian Court, which form their prominence in the title page, promifed to be of no mean S $ 2 intereft, intereft, in our progrefs through the volumes, fomewhat difappointed us. They may be authentic, but most of them occur in the various modern publications on the subject of Ruffia. ART. 13. Edwy and Elgiza, an Hiftorical Romance, of the Tenth Century. By John Ag, Author of Mac Dermot. 4 vols. izmo. 11. Chapple. 1810. We hope the author of Mac Dermot will not be difpleafed with us, for not recollecting him by that particular defignation, the prefent work nevertheless, whether it will incrcafe or not his literary celebrity, indicates refpectable talents of the kind. We heartily with, however, that they were exercifed in fome other branch of literature, for in the clafs of hiftorical romances, numerous as they are, we recollect but few, that have any honour. able claim to distinction. ART. 14. The Lady of the Lake, a Romance, in Two Volumes, founded on the Peem, jo called, by Walter Scott Efq. 12mo. 10s. Tegg. 1810. If this is not poaching, it is fomething very like it, we do not know whether Mr. Scott's manor is legally fecured from this fort of depredation, but as there are people who will purchase game, that are not entitled to kill it fairly, fo it is to be prefumed there are many who will accept of this fubftitute for the original. It is a new idea entirely, but may probably be followed and imitated. It occupies no confiderable time, nor does it require much power of mind. But we muft repeat our intimation that it is not entirely compatible with our ideas of strict honour and delicacy. POLITICS. ART. 15. Brief Obfervations on the Addrefs to His Majefty, propofed by Earl Grey in the House of Lords, 13th June, 1810. By William Rofcoe, Efq. 8vo. 44 pp. Cadell and Davies. 1310. The well-known fable of Antæus can never, in our opinion, be more juftly applied than to this author. On his proper ground, Italian literature and hiftory, no writer is better able to afford information and delight, but when he emerges into the region of politics, in a moment his accustomed powers defert him; and we are entertained alternately with the arguments of a fchoolboy and the ravings of a Jacobin. * It By that name we must be permitted to call thofe who, after the conclufive reafonings of a Marth, a Gentz, &c. &c. after the explicit avowal of Briffot himfelf (in his Addrefs to his Confti tuents) It is fomewhat fingular, at the prefent period, that a writer who ftands forth as the determined advocate of peace, fhould not even hint at the means by which the defired object may be attained. He will not, we prefume, deny that the experiment has been, once at leaft, fairly tried; and that the adminiftration, who made the peace of Amiens, was fincerely defirous to maintain it; yet that, in the short fpace of a year, thefe fame pacific Minifters, (whofe credit was in a manner ftaked on the prefervation of peace) found a renewal of the war the only meafure confiftent with the honour and fafety of their country: he will fcarcely, we conceive, pretend, that in the negotiation afterwards fet on foot by Mr. Fox, that minifter and his affociates were not fincere. When fuch attempts, made by two different adminiftrations, and followed up with fuch earneftnefs and zeal, have been notoriously baffled by the ambition (we might fay the perfidy) of our enemy, it requires no fmall hardihood, in a private individual, to impeach the collective wifdom of fo many ftatefmen, and to oppofe the almost unanimous voice of the nation. Let us fee how Mr. Rofcoe has performed this adventurous, and certainly invidious task. The There is, we conceive, no more invariable fymptom of a weak caufe, no mode of reafoning more difingenuous, than mifreprefenting the cafe and arguments of our adverfaries. The reader of Mr. Rofcoe's "Obfervations," would (were he previously unacquainted with the fubject,) conclude that no objection to a peace with Bonaparte had been made, or exifted, except what arose from the greatness of his power, and that there was no ground of apprehenfion from his ever-reft lefs ambition, from the character of his government, or from the ftate of France and of Europe. difficulty (we might fay the impoffibility) of framing any terms honourable or fecure with fuch a power, whilft it retains its prefent character, is ftudioufly kept out of view; and the author at once affumes, that all those who conceive a peace to be impracticable, would object to it " on any terms that can be propofed." Whatever may be the opinion of individuals, this, he well knows, has not been the fyftem of the present or any former administration; and the very laft intercourfe that took place was broken off by the infolent refufal of our enemy to admit our allies (the Spanish Government) as a party to the negotiation. Waving, however, thefe mifreprefentations, and admitting (for a moment) that a writer may argue for the expediency of a peace which he does not show to be practicable, let us compare Mr. Roscoe's reafonings with the real facts. tuents) after the publication of Hauterive's and other French. works, developing the revolutionary plans of foreign conqueft and fpoliation, can still confider the war of the allied powers against France in any other light than that of a war of felf-defence. In combating the argument which he fo ingeniously puts into the mouths of his adverfaries, namely, that an apprehenfion of our own weakness renders us averse from peace, he afferts, that "wI ARE STRONG FOR PEACE, BUT WEAK FOR WAR." Exactly the reverse of this we conceive to be the real fact. Whilft at war, we have shown ourselves able to repel the utmost efforts of our enemy, nay to baffle fome of his attempts upon other ftates; as Sicily, and Portugal can witnefs. Nay more-by the effects of war we have reduced the once formidable navies of France, and her dependent ftates, to mere skeletons of their former greatness; nor can they, during its continuance, again face the triumphant fleets of Britain. But grant them peace; open the fea to their commercial communications, and the exercife of their marine, allow them undisturbed to apply their refources to the revival of their naval power; we will not affert (with a late author) that our navy will in five years be overpowered by the fleets of our enemy, but we have no doubt that, in a few years, we should again be engaged on the ocean in a serious, perhaps doubtful, contest for the independence of our country. All this, however, is nothing to Mr. Rofcoe: he deems the contrary much more probable, and that our enemy, when nomi. nally reconciled, will ceafe to envy our naval greatnefs, and defit from his attempts (now purfued per fas et nefas) to fubvert it. As to any apprehenfions of a fudden attack on any part of our dominions in time of peace, by the invader of Egypt, the fpoiler of fo many peaceful and friendly territories, fuch an idea is treated by this author as ridiculous in the extreme!!! We may, he fays, remonftrate against any unufual affemblage of troops or fhips: for he admits, "the hoftile preparations of a neighbouring ftate juftify inquiries and precautions on the part of others, and the prefent cafe," he adds "differs in no respect from thofe which have before occurred." In what corner of the world has the author flept for the last ten years who could hazard this last af. fertion? Is it poffible he should be ignorant how far the character of Bonaparte's government differs from thofe of all others that have exifted in civilized Europe? Even the late French monarchy (jealous, as it was, of our commercial profperity and naval greatnefs) when it made peace, reduced its war establishment, maintained a friendly intercourfe, and gave fome pledge, by its character, that no immediate hoftilities would endanger our fecurity. But what was our fituation during the precarious peace of Amiens? The immenfe war establishment of our late enemy, fo far from being reduced, was even increafed; the most daring attempts were made on the freedom of our press, (which it is certain the tyrant would never endure,) and a series of infulting taunts were inferted even in the official communications of L. Goldfmith. the |