Think not that this offends me; for I will give you a reafon why I wear a chin like a goat, inftead of making it fmooth and bare like thofe of beautiful boys, and of all women by nature lovely. You, fuch is the delicacy, and perhaps fimplicity, of your manners, even when old, imitate your fons and daughters by ftudiously fhaving your chins, thus difplaying the man by the forehead only, and not, like me, by the checks. But not contented with this length of beard, my head is alfo nafty and feldom combed, my nails are unpared, and my fingers are ufually black with ink. And, to tell you a fecret, my bolom too is rough and hairy, like the mane of the lion, king of beafs, nor have I ever made it fmooth, fuch is my meannefs and illiberality. If I had any wart, I would readily difclofe it, as Cimon did, but at prefent in truth I have none. Another circumftance, well known to you, I will also mention. Not fatisfied with fuch an uncomely perfon, I lead a very rigid life. I abfent myself from the theatres, through mere ftupidity; nor do I allow a play at court, fuch a dolt am 1, except on the calends of the year, when I refemble a poor farmer bringing his rent, or taxes, to a rapacious landlord; and when I am there, I feem as folemn as at a facrifice. As it is not long fince you faw him, you may recollect the youth, the genius, and understanding of my predeceffor; my way of life, fo different from his, is a fufficient proof of my froward, nefs.' The author's purple feems to have contributed, more than any thing else, to give importance and reputation to this production. If it fhewed his wit, it leffened his dignity; and was more fuitable to the character of fuch a writer as Paul Scaron, than a Roman emperor. Befides these pieces, the first volume comprehends a collection of epiftles from Libanius to Julian. The fecond volume contains, 1. Epiftles of Julian. 2. The Life of Libanius the Sophift, by Fabricius. 3. A Monody by Libanius on Nicomedia, destroyed by an Earthquake. 4. A Monody by Libanius, on the Daphnæan Temple of Apollo, deftroyed by Fire. 5. The Hiftory of the Emperor Jovian (Julian's fucceffor) by the Abbé de la Bleterie. 6. An Abstract of an Effay on the Rank and Power of the Roman Emperors, in the Senate, by the fame. And, laftly, fome additional Notes. Though Julian's wit is often frivolous and infipid, and many of his obfervations trite and uninteresting, yet the pub lication before us may be confidered as a valuable addition to our tranflations of the Greek and Roman claffics. It gives us a true idea of this emperor's very fingular character, and 2 good account of his much wifer fucceffor, Jovian. It prefents us with a general view of the customs and manners which prevailed in feveral parts of Europe and Afia, in the fourth cen tury; tury; and it throws a light on feveral important tranfactions in an obfcure period of hiftory. The comments of the learned abbé Bleterie, and thofe of the ingenious tranflator, contain fuch a fund of critical and historical knowlege, as cannot but be acceptable to every curious and inquifitive reader. Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica. No. XVIII. Nichols. Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica. THE Nichols. 4to. 55. No. XIX. 4to. bd. HE eighteenth number contains the hiftory and antiquities of the two parishes of Reculver and Herne, in the county of Kent. By John Duncombe, M. A. vicar of Herne. Enlarged by fubfequent communications. The Latin name of Reculver is Regulbium, and the Saxon, Raculf-cefter, or Raculf-minfter. The cafle (the building of which is afcribed by Kilburne to the emperor Severus) commanded a view, not only of the German ocean, but of the mouths of the Thames and the Medway; on which account it was used as a watch-tower, to difcover the approaches of an enemy, and alfo as a light-houfe, to guide mariners, by fires kindled every night; and this purpofe ufed to be answered by the two fteeples of the church, called the filters, or the Reculvers, which formerly ferved as a fea mark for avoiding the flats or shallows in the mouth of the Thames ; but by the shifting of the fands, they are now faid to be no longer ufeful, and mariners rather depend on St. Nicholas church, or Monkton mill. The great antiquity of this place is apparent from the vast number of Roman coins, chiefly of the lower empire, medals, vafes, &c. that have been, and ftill continue to be found here; for Reculver, or Regulbium, was, no doubt, one of the five watch-towers or forts, as Richborough castle or Rutupia was another, each of them commanding one of the mouths of the river Genlade, or Wantfume, which, as Bede fays, then divided the ifle of Thanet from the continent of Kent. This caftle, which guarded the north mouth, was the Roman ftation of the Vetalii, and was certainly on the hill, where now ftands the church, and where formerly food the monaftery †, though between the time of Regulbium, quafi reculfum, a verbo recello, particip. reculfus; qued hic maximus fuerit fluctuum recurfus. Twinus de Rebus Albionicis, p. 26. † Anno 669, Egbyrhtus rex dedit Baflo prefbytero Raculf, in quo nopafterium edificaret. Sax. Chron. the the Romans and its monaftic ftate, it was alfo the fite of a royal palace, not only for Ethelbert I. but for all his fucceffors, kings of Kent. The Roman town has been long covered by the fea, which lately threw down the remains of the north fide of the old Roman wall, which furrounded the caftie, and makes fuch rapid inroads on the cliff, that it has long been apprehended, that this noble ftructure and fea-mark, with all the level below it, notwithstanding the great attention and expence beltowed in planking and piling by the commiffioners of fewers, will in a few years fhare the fate of the Roman town above mentioned. The remaining walls of Reculver caftle fkirt a hill of pit-fand, which is higher in every part than the ground without the walls. The earth has fallen, perhaps has been washed away from the base of the hill, and the foundation of that wall is thereby expofed to view in many places, which correfponds exactly with that of Richborough, being laid on fmall fmooth pebbles in the natural foil. In Leland's time, between 1530 and 1537, the village of Reculver stood withyn a quarter of a myle, or a little more, of the fe fyde;" and Leland's miles were none of the shortest. The caftle, when entire, occupied above eight acres. The church ftands on the highest part of the cliff, within a little of the sea, and at a diftance is a striking object from the two fpires at its weft end. The cliff is continually crumbling away, particularly in the winter time, and falling on the beach, where the children of the neighbourhood pick up feveral Roman coins. The crumbling away of the cliff, on which the church ftands, is become very alarming; but fome ingenious methods have been lately propofed by fir Thomas Page, to prevent the farther encroachment of the waves.' The beautiful fpires of Reculver have furnished Mr. Keate with an ingenious legendary tale in his Sketches from Nature, and they are alfo introduced in two poems included in this publication; the one by Mrs. Duncombe, the other by Mr. Jackfon of Canterbury. The remaining part of this number contains the history of Herne; Ford-House, an ancient feat belonging to the fee of Canterbury; and Daundelion, a fashionable place of refert in the parish of St. John the Baptift, in Thanet, a feat once belonging to a family of that name. Some original records are annexed. This work is adorned with feveral elegant copper-plates; delineated by Mrs. Duncombe, Mrs. Highmore, and others. No. XIX. confifts of additions to the memoirs of fir John Hawkwood, extracted from Villani, and from Ritratti & Elogii di Capitani illuftri, publifhed at Rome in 1635; with fome corrections of a preceding account of this celebrated warrior, communicated to the editor by Mr. D. Dalrymple. A Narrative of the Conduct of the Tea-dealers, during the late Sale of Teas at the India Houfe. 800. 1. Cadell. THE purport of this narrative is to vindicate the conduct of the tea-dealers, and to throw upon the directors of the Eaft-India company the odium refulting from the general clamour relative to the price and quality of teas. One of the principal charges against the directors is, that they did not communicate to the tea-dealers the information which the latter defired, with regard to three points, at the commencement of the December fale. The points alluded to are as follow: ift. The tea-dealers wish to receive all the information which the court of Directors can with propriety give, relative to the quantity and quality of thofe teas which they have lately purchased in the different parts of Europe. zd. The tea-dealers hope to receive the most explicit information, relative to any teas which may be exposed to fale before the next quarterly or March sale. 3d. The dealers in tea expect that the directors will engage not to make, at any time whatever, any alteration in the putting-up prices, without giving to the dealers in tea notice of fuch intended alteration, at the commencement of that quarterly fale, which fhall be prior to the fale at which the alteration is actually to take place.' Whether thefe feveral requests were fuch as merited an explicit compliance, there is fome room to question. The conduct of the directors was governed by this opinion, and they returned the following anfwers: In the present state of that business the court cannot give them any information. ift. But whenever the company import tea from the continent, declarations thereof fhall be made public in the fame manner as is done when teas arrive from China. 2d. That no tea will be fold previous to that time, excepting the tea declared for prefent fale, and the private trade. 3d. The company must be guided as to prices at which the teas are to be put up at all future fales, by the a& of parliament paffed laft Seffions, called the Tea Act.' The The fubfequent part of the pamphlet confifts chiefly of ob servations on this tranfaction, too tedious and uninterefting to be fubmitted to the attention of our readers. But in one circumftance, which is álfo mentioned, the conduct of the directors may feem liable to cenfure, unless indeed they can vindicate themfelves, by eftablishing it as a fact, that the teadealers had formed a combination, either for diminishing the price of tea, at the public fales, below what it could be reaforably afforded by the East India company; or for exterting from the public a higher price than they ought. The circumftance at which we have hinted, is the interference of a clerk belonging to the East India houfe, in offering as a purchaser at the public fale. We are, however, of opinion, that, unlefs the quantity purchafed by the clerk was fo great as to afford a prefumption of his acting under the influence of the directors, which we do not find to have been the cafe, the affair was not worth mentioning. As The tea-dealers appear not a little folicitous to convince the public of the integrity of their conduct; it remains, therefore, that the directors fhould alfo vindicate their own. we have hitherto heard only the allegations on one fide, it is premature to form any fatisfactory opinion upon the fubject. Thus much, however, we may fay with impartiality, that, if no bad teas be expofed to public fale, the tea-dealers alone will be answerable for retailing adulterated or vitiated commodities; and, if no undue artifices be practifed by the Eaft India company, to fupport the price of teas, any impofition. in this article must also be imputed to the tea-dealers. ther the public will derive any effential advantage from the efforts of Mr. Preston, we have not yet had time to experience; but it is no unpromifing circumftance, with regard to the fcheme fupported by that gentleman, that, from the conclufion of this pamphlet, the tea-dealers, if we are not mistaken, feem to feel fore upon the fubject. Whe Sermons, on various Subjects. In Two Volumes. By the Rev. Henry Downes. 2 Vols. 8vo. 10s. im Boards. Robinfon. THE author of these difcourfes appears to have been a learned and judicious divine, free from bigotry and enthufiafm. His congregation confifted of plain, country people, and his inftructions were adapted to their tafte and capacities. He has therefore avoided all speculative and controverfial difquifitions, except, perhaps, where he endeavoured to fuggeft fome ufeful cautions against the abfurd notions of the methodifts. His ftyle is perfpicuous, and, in general, plain and unaffected. In fome paffages we meet with flight inaccuracies, and |