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miles, and when she returned, paid her nothing. Richard desired her to go back and ask him if he pleased to pay her for going the message. Pay you, you little baggage! what could you do, but sit over the fire, burning your petticoats: you ought to be glad ɔ get something to do.' Peggy replied that she was always kept busy at home, and never burned her petticoats in her life. Well, here is sixpence for you, as you are so stiff, but it is not well for you to speak so smart to your betters; that churl your father has brought you up badly.' Peggy went away, affronted at being called a baggage, and told of burning her petticoats, which she knew was a false accusation, but she was also scared at the loud voice and haughtiness of the young squire." P. 102.

ART. XVII. Ellen, or the Young Godmother; a Tale for Youth. By Alicia C. Mant. 12mo. 148 pp. Law and

Whittaker. 1814.

Our authoress informs us that this tale was written with a desire of impressing on the minds of the young, that serious consideration of the duties of a sponsor, which it is necessary to feel previously to answering for an infant at the font. The principles are correct, the piety is genuine, and the tale is very prettily told, and may with much advantage be placed in the hands of the young. The following is the conclusion of the tale.

To her brother who passed all his vacations at home, and now and then paid a short visit between them, Ellen was uniformly affectionate, solicitous, and kind; nor did she ever forget the duties she owed him, independently of the fraternal tie that knit their hearts together; she continued while he was at home, to exercise him in his religious duties, and instruct him in the vow she had undertaken he should perform and when on his being arrived at a proper age for confirmation, she led him to the altar, in order that he might ratify the vow to which he had until then only subscribed by proxy, it is difficult to determine whose feelings on the occasion were the most excited; her's, who saw before her the young christian for whom as an infant she had answered, whom as an orphan she had befriended, and as a brother she had loved; or his, in whose person all these relations were united, and who in each returned a heartfelt and sincere acknowledgment; or his, who father of these two beloved objects, felt his bosom throb with parental love, and his heart rise in thankful praise to the throne of Mercy, at the remembrance of the Providence which had so disposed events as to produce the happiest effects out of circumstances that seemed to forbode evil; and to crown with the most successful consequences the sincere and conscientious, though humble exertions of ELLEN, or THE YOUNG GODMOTHER." P. 146.

ART.

MEDICAL.

ART. XVIII. A Treatise on the supposed hereditary Properties of Diseases, containing Remarks on the unfounded Terrors and ill-judged Cautions consequent on such erroneous Opinions; with Notes illustrative of the Subject, particularly in Madness and Scrofula. By Joseph Adams, M.D. F.L.S. of the London College of Physicians, &c. 8vo. pp. 133. 5s. 6d. Callow. 1814.

This little volume is rather philological than medical, as it is principally devoted to distinguish and define what are properly family, and what hereditary diseases. Dr. A. states the dif ference between innate diseases, and the susceptibility of disease, between dispositions, and predispositions, according as the affection appears at birth, at a certain age, or without any assignable cause, or after exposure to some external cause. Hence it follows, that there are more family than hereditary diseases; that the increase of the former is wisely prevented by the divine law prohibiting the intermarriage of relations; and that it is the uniform effect of the latter to extirpate themselves. Dr. A.'s conclusion is equally consonant to reason and to religion, "that all interference with the dictates of nature, beyond the expression of revealed will, appears unnecessary." The suggestions respecting the possibility of preventing diseases, where the predisposition only is hereditary, cannot fail to be salutary; the whole work indeed merits an attentive perusal. It does not appear, that the author is acquainted with the observations of Mr. Carlisle, lately read to the Royal Society, on the transmission of supernumerary members from parents to children, as instanced in Zerah Colburn, the mathematical boy. Dr. A. states a case of "truly hereditary deafness;" and it is worthy of remark, that the husband of the deaf mother, and father of the deaf child, were as near in consanguinity as the canonical law will admit." The notes to this tract form twothirds of the volume; and, although some of them are too controversial, they display the author's reading and extensive observation.

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EDUCATION.

ART. XIX. Exercises on the Etymology, Syntax, Idioms, and
Synonyms of the Spanish Language, by L. J. A. M'Henry,
a Native of Spain. 4s. 12mo. 124 pp. Sherwood,
Neely, and Jones. 1814.

This, it appears, is an accompaniment to a Spanish grammar,

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by the same author, and does credit to his methodizing powers. The exercises are well chosen, and the grammatical rules both accurate and clear. We can recommend it to any one who is desirous of attaining, with ease, an acquaintance with the idioms and syntax of the Spanish language.

TRAVELS.

ART. XX. Observations made on a Tour from Hamburg, through Berlin, Gorlitz, and Breslau, to Silberberg; and thence to Gottenberg. By Robert Semple, Author of Two Journeys in Spain, a Sketch of the Caracas, &c. 8vo. 268 pp. 7s. Baldwin. 1814.

This tour was undertaken in the April of 1818, a year distinguished in the annals of the world for the glorious struggle of the European powers against the Usurper of the throne of France.-Had the glories of that campaign been followed up by an act of retributive justice upon the head of the Tyrant, Europe might still have enjoyed the repose which her exertions during that celebrated year had so dearly purchased. Our author passed through many of those scenes which could not fail to produce a lasting impression upon him, even though under the bad auspices of an arrest. Through some sort of mismanagement he was detained as an American, and conveyed to the Fortress of Silberberg, and there confined till letters arrived from England, vouching for his fidelity. The following is the description of his confinement.

"Had we been treated according to the strict letter of the ancient instructions respecting state prisoners, we should not only have been deprived of the use of pen and ink, but also of a knife, or even a pair of scissars. The fear of this, although groundless, made me for some time conceal my razors. As for my companions, they received weekly visits from the barber of Silberberg, whom however I could not persuade myself to admit. He was a little stout man, heavily ironed, and condemned to imprisonment for life. I could not but shudder with involuntary horror, when I saw this desperado rattling his irons at each movement round the chairs of the two Frenchmen, and flourishing his razor over their stretched-out throats. Sooner than run such imminent danger, I was content, gradually, to assume the appearance of a Cossack, until I found that the strict regulations were not to be enforced respecting me. Similar to the barber was the attendant who every morn ing came to perform the necessary office of cleanliness to our apartment. This was a woman, also condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and with her legs in irons, These, however, she con

cealed

cealed so effectually with her clothes, that they were discovered only by the noise which an unguarded motion sometimes occasioned. This constant sight of wretchedness and vice, I always considered as one of the most cruel circumstances attached to the confinement. Happily, all our attendants were not of that character. Our regular guard in our walks was an honest Pomeranian, who had been a soldier under Schill; and our scanty meals were brought to us by young recruits, who had not yet put off the simplicity of peasants, and who, being changed every day, afforded us a con stant variety of characters."

P. 152.

We were pleased with the following short description of Ber lin, which conveys a very adequate idea of the place.

"The streets are generally broad and regular, and the houses either built of stone, or stuccoed, so as closely to resemble it. From space to space, palaces, churches, theatres, and other public buildings, prevent too continued an uniformity, and yet seem all parts of one great plan. The Spree, which runs through the centre, gives an appearance of maritine commerce to this inland city, at which we have arrived through endless roads of sand. Barges of a hundred feet in length, with a prow and stern alike, sharp and rising high out of the water, recall the elegant shape of the gondolas of Venice, but serve the more useful purposes of internal commerce, and of communication with the Oder. By them, the wood of the forests, and the coals and manufactures of Silesia and of England, are transported to Berlin at an easy rate. The bridges over the Spree are a farther ornament to the city. Several of them are of stone, adorned with statues, and appear as if connected with the adjoining buildings. The principal bridge is of hewn stone, about one hundred and seventy feet in length, with five arches, ornamented with marine figures. On one side is an equestrian statue of the Elector Frederick William. At the angles of the pedestal are four slaves of bronze, on the fingers of which are still visible the marks made by the sabres of the Prussians, when, in 1760, they took possession of the city. The bridge of Dorotheestadt, of a single arch, is also of stone, and adorned with eight groups of statues, in which the elegance of the designs is far more conspicuous than their modesty. Besides the stone bridges there are many of wood, which cross the Spree and the canals which communicate with it.

"A circumstance which contributes greatly to preserve the neat appearance of the streets of Berlin is the total absence of beggars. No sooner does one appear than he is taken up by the police, and sent to the House of Industry, Thus, in surveying what appears ranges of palaces, the eye is not shocked by beholding their splen dour and order contrasted with miserable objects, often more cal culated to excite our disgust than our commiseration. practicable in Berlin, is it not equally so in London? "The royal residence at Berlin, called the Castle, although

What is

erected

erected at different periods, and still unfinished, is yet a magnificent building. One side rests upon the Spree: the front towards the grand parade is nearly five hundred feet in length, and the height upwards of one hundred feet. It has four courts, of which the largest serves as a thoroughfare; two on the side next the Spree are not open to the public. The principal entrance resembles the triumphal arch of Septimus Severus, and has to all appearance been modelled after it. A little round tower of great antiquity, close upon the river, is still shown as part of the crigi nal building and having formerly served as a prison. An hydraulic machine raises water to the summit, from which it is distributed over the whole of the interior. I heard much of the beauty and' ornaments of the apartments; but they were now all closed, and I was obliged to rest contented with the description." P. 56.

The reader will receive some amusement from this little volume, parts of it are not ill written, particularly those which present us with descriptions of the places through which he passed. Those portions which detail his own private feelings might with better effect have been omitted.

CORN LAWS.

ART. XXI. Grounds of an Opinion on the Policy of restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn. By T. R.Malthus, Professor of History and Political Economy, in the E. I. College, Hertford. Murray. 1815.

We have given our opinions so much at length on this most important subject, that not even a publication of Mr. Malthus will induce us to repeat our arguments, and to renew the contest. We cannot however but observe that the pamphlet before us does the highest credit to the powers of Mr. Malthus; it exhibits a knowledge of political economy, which cannot fail to arrest the attention of every unprejudiced reader, and a calmness and mode ration which cannot fail of producing the most happy effect, in enforcing the argument of the learned Professor. We consider the publication of it at this important crisis as exceedingly welltimed.

ART. XXII. The Policy of Restriction on the Importation of Corn. By Philalethes. 8vo. 71 pp. Richardson. 1815.

This pamphlet adopts the side of the question opposite to Mr. Malthus, whose positions the author controverts with much ingenuity. Although his opinions upon this point are generally in opposition to our own, yet we cannot deny him the merit he deserves, but we may fairly say that this is one of the best

Famphlets

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