ture as to the honour conferred on the institution.

The subjects chosen by a writer of eminent station, should correspond, not distantly, with the rank of the author; and, though another poet might have composed an Opera equal in merit with the Gustavus Vasa, or Gustavus Adolphus of our royal bard, yet we own, that there is a something of peculiar interest, in the character of the Swedish hero, as delineated by his descendant. It admits us in some degree into the recesses of the royal mind while composing it, and opens the reflec tions of a king, on the actions of a venerated ancestor, and on the characters of his contemporaries. It is easy to combine in the favourite hero of a piece, every virtue under heaven, but to do justice to his opponents, to lighten the deep shades in which national animosity, or personal enmity has enveloped them, is to triumph over a partiality not only natural, but predominant in the human mind.

Inasmuch then, as a clear view of truth, and an unbiassed acknowledgment of excellencies of whatever kind, in a foe, is a more difficult task to a king than to any of his subjects, in the same proportion are the labours of a soverei n intitled to more ́than ordinary candour, and what would be only a middling effort, of genius or of virtue, in another, is in him a very fair subject of praise, and to be accepted with the most cordial marks of esteem.

The volumes which compose this collection have been published successively; the first three have been some time before the public; they chiefly comprise the literary productions of Gustavus, the elegant recreations of a refined and enlightened mind. The drama seems to have been his favourite amusement: but his Discourses to the Senate, are at least equally unequivocal marks of a liberal and vigorous understanding. The third volume was published in 1804; consequently before the period included in our Review. It contains merely a continuation of the Amusemens Dramatiques of this royal literato; and exhibits his conceptions of characters in various conditions of life. They are mostly founded on history or tradition; and have, usually, a strong reference to Swedish manners. They have merit; but may rather please an English reader, than an English audience. The fourth

own.

Extract of a letter from the Prince Royal GUSTAVUS, to the Court Chancellor BARON DE BUNGE, authorised by the States of the Kingdom to offer his Royal Highness a place in the Senate, with an effective vote.

Ekolsund, July 16, 1760

I return the inclosed papers you had in trusted me with, and I feel that the sentiments you manifested towards my person, deserve from me the greatest sincerity. I know too well what every citizen owes to his country, espe cially when he has received those proofs of na tional affection which I have experienced, ever to shrink from any services within

and which as a Swede and as Prince, more than any one am bound to perform. But, wide is the difference between serving the country and governing it.

I have, it is true, the honour of being the first citizen in the state; but in that respect able situation, I am still a subject and a son; and I know the extent of the duties those relations impose on me, towards the best of masters, and the tenderest of fathers. The love of his subjects, the respect of all Europe, the unanimous assent of the nation to his will, all these are sufficient considerations to in duce me to refuse a place I might have wished for at sixteen, but which I feel myself incapable of filling at three and twenty.

Such are, Sir, the first reflections which
K 4

have occurred to my mind, the following are founded on more solid grounds.

The senatorial dignity, which I should in a manner assume by accepting a vote in the senate, is in itself, and from its origin, the situation of first counsel to the King; by our constitution it is so, in name and in reality; but, to this duty of advising the king, is joined the power of enforcing such advices, and of prescribing to him such measures, as are approved by the majority. Would think it you fit, Sir, nay, would you think it consistent with that respect a son owes to his father, thus to assume the right of advising him, of tracing the line of conduct he is to follow, and of making my will, in some measure a law for

him?

If the king my father was weighed down by age or by infirmities, so as to be unable to attend to state affairs with that vigour and energy they require, I should then feel it my duty as a subject and a son to assist him with any advice. Or, if the King, still at variance with the senate, had to maintain a painful struggle with that body, as he has done for a long time, I should then accept the prerogative offered me, and I would make use of it to maintain the independence of my country, its liberties, and the rights of my father. But those very reasons which would have induced me to accept in the last Diet the place I am now offered in the senate, urge me to refuse it at this period. I should then have been my father's support, I should now become his counsel and this title has something too shocking for a son, when he does not receive it from the free will and unbiassed confidence of his father.

:

The day before the memorable revolution of 1772 which crushed the democratic spirit in Sweden, Gustavus wrote the following note to the Count de Vergennes, the French ambassador at his court.

Stockholm, August 18, 1772. I request you will express to the King your master all my gratitude for the constant friendship I experience from him; tell him that tomorrow I hope to prove myself worthy of such a faithful friend; the justice of my cause and Divine Providence will assist me. But should I fall; I trust that his friendship will protect those I shall leave behind me; that a brother whose courage and loyalty have shone so conspicuously, and those brave subjects, who should then have sacrificed every thing for their king and country, will not be abandoned by the most faithful and the most ancient ally of Sweden.

trust

Nor was the revolution he happily effected, disgraced by any acts of private resentment, eleven years after that event, Gustavus still harrassed by his restless sub

jects, expressed thus his generous feelings to his chancellor.

Ulricsdal, May 25, 1781. Count de Wachtmeister.-I have received your three letters, the last of which is dated the 17th of May from Motilla. I cannot sufficiently praise the prudence you have. shewn. Pechlin is so dangerous a man, that we must have nothing to do with him till we have complete legal grounds to detain him effectively; and from what you report of him, I do not see that he is sufficiently guilty to lay himself open to a legal prosecution for high treason. I have once had this turbulent genius in my power, and had I said a word, his head would then have fallen at my feet; but, as I was so fortunate as to effect the revolution of 1772 without bloodshed, I thought it more consistent with that signal blessing, to release a man, who, however guilty towards me and my house, was then defenceless in my hands. I thought that it was only by such a conduct I could shew my gratitude to the Supreme Being, whose infi nite goodness allowed me to save my country without imbruing my hands in blood. Since that time I have had the good fortune never to be driven to that dire necessity; and this has strengthened the resolution I have taken, never capitally to punish turbulent, or even criminal subjects, whatever may be the consequences. But this will not prevent me from using every means to put it out of their power to ruin themselves and the country, and to bring destruction on others.

Then follow the king's directions to watch narrowly the conduct of Pechlin, so as to prevent the possibility of his doing mischief, but not to make any attempt on his liberty. We do not think that a greater magnanimity, or a higher sense of honour, has ever been displayed than what is contained in the following letter. Gustavus was then at war with Russia; betrayed by not a few of his subjects who kept up intelligence with the enemy: and he had been basely abandon, ed by part of his army. The letter is directed to Baron Stedingk, a general officer in the army then in Finland, and a trusty servant of Gustavus.

Kymenegard, August 15, 1788,

I have just received your two letters, and Count de Ferfen has got your packet. No! I never shall bend under the yoke of the Empress. All manner of negotiation is now utterly impossible, but through the medium of a third court, and if I must fall, I had rather be crushed by my own subjects than by my enemies. I do not see that things are desperate. Nyslott must be kept as long as possible; as

maintain my position in spite of every one. As to you, my dear Stedingk, you must not think of abandoning us; the only irretrieveable fault is to despair of the safety of the If country. you leave Finland, it must be solely to bring us German troops, who know how to obey. Great states are not easily destroyed; and you will see that good will spring from our misfortunes. At all events honour commands to remain firm to the last, and then I shall say like Francis the First, all is lost but honour.

No sovereign ever took more pains than Gustavus to guard his country from that moral epidemy which spreads desolation through Europe. He had learnt, from the civil commotions of Sweden, how to appreciate those new fangled doctrines of anarchy, pompously decorated with the name of liberty. His sentiments on the French revolution are well known; and grievously has he atoned for his too great penetration. Some time before, he had judiciously foreseen that the infection would be brought from America; and he thus expressed his sentiments to the same Baron de Stedingk, then in Paris, who had, rather unwittingly, accepted the order of Cincinnatus.

My ambassador has, of course, imparted to you my intentions, and I doubt not but you have complied with them, by immediately relinquishing the Cincinnatus badge which you never ought to have accepted. I have not been deceived by the denomination: the meaning not the word is to be minded. But whether this be a fellowship, or a military order, it is inconsistent with my interests and my wisdom, to allow my subjects, and especially men distinguished by their rank and by my private friendship, to wear, and to think themselves honoured by publicly displaying, the trophies of a successful rebellion of subjects against their legitimate sovereign; and particularly of a rebellion, the motives and aim of which were so unjust, and so groundless. I am well aware, that America is now regarded as an independent country, and is even my ally; but that success which has crowned the enterprise, can never justify it. We are, ourselves, too recently emerged from our troubles, to suppose that the latent seeds of our ancient animosities have been completely destroyed, and it is my duty to remove any object which can renew those ideas.

Proofs of Gustavus's warm attachment to his friends are abundantly scattered in all his letters; and no man seems to have felt more than he did that generous friendship, of which kings are too slightly sup

posed incapable; but these spontaneous effusions of the heart cannot well be sepa rated from the concomitant circumstances which gave them rise. From one of his gayer epistles we have taken the following anecdotes, concerning Englishmen; and shall with them conclude this article.

We have, here two Englishmen, who possess their full share of that eccentricity, which is held to be a national characteristic. One is the Earl of Effingham of the illustrious House. of Howard, and first cousin to the Duke of Norfolk. He has astonished us a good deal, as well as his lady, whom you would never tak take for the wife of an English peer, from her dress, and from her manners. She could not be presented at court, on account of the etiquette of ceremonial, and of her pretensions, which could not be granted. The other is the Earl of Baltimore; I have not seen him, but this is an original quite opposite to the other, for he will not go to court, where the other claims privileges. He was asked, if he intended to be presented? Not I, said he, I have never seen a king, not even my own: and he left this place two days after. He had six women in his train; and, I really believe, he took a seventh here.

Ex Plutarchi Operibus excerpta quæ ad artes spectant collegit, in capita digessit interpretatione Latina et adnotatione instruxit. J. F. Facius, Lipsia, 1805.

12mo,

We have long wished that men of learning would turn their attention, as the author before us has done, to those particular parts or subjects, of the writings of the ancients, which contain important information respecting the arts, the ingenuity, the commerce, and discoveries of the ancients. Examinations of the nature alluded to, by being directed to specific themes, would give more effective satisfaction in the course of their inquiries, than is practicable by general comments. M. Dutens, in his work on the Discoveries of the Ancients, by limiting his attention to certain objects of research made many interesting discoveries, and justified the claim of former ages to a variety of knowledge, never before attributed to them. We may add, that as every man of learning has usually his favourite author, it would be a service to the republic of letters if those passages for instance, in that author which contain the greatest portion. of information, were selected and published, separately. The assistance of professional men, in most parts of Europe,"

would easily be obtained; and would contribute to illustrate not only the principles adopted by the ancients, but the modes of execution employed by them. Such treatises would also enable us more clearly to understand the terms used by ancient writers ; so that letters and the arts would mutually assist each other. We are glad to see this idea acted upon by M. Facius in the work before us; and heartily wish it were directed to the illustration of other valuable writers. It would afford equal instruction and entertain

ment.

Next to Pliny and Pausanias, Plutarch is one of those authors who have left us most information on the arts among the ancients. Commentators have not always taken the trouble of explaining the passages which relate to them. Most have expatiated at uncommon length on points of literary or grammatical criticism, without reflecting that whatever relates to the arts, is no less connected with the history of manners and customs, than with that of the language. It is equally interesting and entertaining for a man of a cultivated mind, who wishes to read with advantage, to be enabled with the aid of luminous explanations, to initiate himself as it were into the secrets of the ancients, to determine the origin of their inventions and discoveries, to follow them in their progress and improvement, to compare them with those of the moderns, and thus to enable himself to judge between them. But that which is a matter of mere amusement for a man of the world, not destitute of learning, becomes a necessary study for those who devote their lives to the instruction of others, and especially to the historian and antiquary. It follows, that without a knowledge of the processes of the arts, as without being acquainted with the words used to describe them, it is impossible to examine, or to explain in a suitable and satisfactory manner, the various monuments of antiquity which are in our possession.

M. Facius has divided his work into chapters, which seems to be the most natural and methodical division for a publication of this kind. He very properly begins by chusing those passages which give an idea of the arts, of their nature, of their distinguished rank and influence under the reign of a man of genius. Such is the object of his first chapter. The se

cond chapter alludes to the different substances employed in the performance of the arts, and to the technical phrases, terms, and expressions used to denote the particular branch embraced by each artist. We read in the annotations to this chapter, that the ancients rendered ivory as ductile as they did gold, and that, for this purpose they used a kind of beer called Zythum, which was thought to be wine made of bar ley in which they suffered the ivory to soak for a length of time: they most likely mixed some powerful solvent with the liquor. Whatever relates to the Plastic art is detailed in the third chapter. The fourth is allotted to descriptions of the various representations of the Egyptian Gods. The author introduces some that appear very extraordinary. At Hermopolis Typhon was figured under the shape of a Hippopotamus, on the back of which a hawk is fighting a serpent: and at Sais, in the vestibule of the temple were different basso relievos representing Osiris as a child, an old man, a hawk, a fish, and a hippopotamus.

The most celebrated statuaries and their works are mentioned in the fifth chapter. On the Jocasta of Silanion, M. Facius observes that the artist had shewn great ability in casting the paieness of death over her face; and, according to Beckman, that he probably had imagined a particular mixture of metals to produce this effect. It is to be lamented that the ancients, speaking of works relative to the arts, have not taken more care to transmit to posterity the process by which such great effects were produced.

The statues of the Gods and Heroes are the object of the sixth chapter. Apolla with a cock on his fist, is mentioned: most likely this characterizes him as the god of light. We know not as yet, says M. Facius of any monument like it. Another most singular one represents Jupiter without ears; an allegory which it is extremely difficult to explain.

The seventh chapter relates to the statues of kings and illustrious men. Sarda❤ napalus was represented in an attitude of insult and self reproach, with an inscription importing eat, drink, make merry; all the rest is nothing. Which language was properly adapted to the description of that prince by historians. There are several inscriptions of the same kind in the Athenea of Arts,

The eighth chapter contains the description of several colossal statues, and the ninth of several images and other figures.

The tenth contains an account of the small images executed in gold, either in honour of Gods, Goddesses, and distinguished characters, or even of courtezans; for several writers speak of that of the famous Phryne. Sometimes Princes and Kings were represented at half length; the Greeks called these figures poτoμal, we call them Busts.

The eleventh chapter illustrates chased shields, and vases charged with alto and basso-relievos. M. Facius observes that on the shield of Ulysses was a dolphin; on that of Idomeneus a cock; on that of Menelaus a dragon; on that of Aristomenes a spread eagle; and on that of Alcibiades a Cupid.

The twelfth treats of Glytica and of the different works it has produced for rings, seals, &c.

Whatever relates to painting, as the names of the most celebrated painters, their principal works, and the exposition of various subjects, executed by unknown artists, is to be found in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth chapters. It is evident that in ancient times Greece alone produced eminent painters; and M. Facius informs us, on the authority of Strabo, that Sicyon, for a long time had a celebrated school, and that the three predominant and esteemed styles among the Greeks, were the Ionic, the Sicyonian, and the Attic.

Whatever relates to architecture, and works belonging to that art is related in the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters.

The eighteenth enumerates artists of different sorts.

The nineteenth is an epitome of miscellanies on different sorts of works.

The twentieth and last chapter treats of the different coins of Greece and of their dies.

M. Facius has not been satisfied with translating such passages as might enrich his collection, he has affixed historical, critical, or grammatical notes to each chapter; and occasionally compares the passages in Plutarch with those in other authors who have written on the same subject; or refers his readers to them.

The whole work is replete with erudi

tion, and proves that the author has a profound knowledge of Greek literature and of antiquity. M. Facius's book there. fore must be considered as a compendium equally entertaining and useful to the Archæologist, or Antiquary, and to the amateurs of the Greek language.

Observations addressed to the British Public; in particular to the Grand Juries of these Dominions. 8vo. pp. 73, price 1s. 6d. Booth, London 1806.

The man who is not affectionately interested in the welfare of his country is unworthy of the protection which that country extends to its citizens, and especially of the numerous blessings which accompany a high state of civilization, like that of Britain. But affection has different ways of shewing itself: it may be too fond, or it may be too fearful; too fond to discover imperfections which are obvious to others, too fearful and anxious for the welfare of the subject which engrosses its attention, and hereby induced to take alarm without real cause for apprehension. In general, the happy medium though the most difficult is the most advantageous but, wherever admonition may be salutary, the effect of that error which leads to caution, and by caution to amendment, is far more desirable, than that security which closes its eyes against danger, till too late, and when repentance is unavailing, exhausts itself in hopeless lamentations and despair.

He

The author of the pamphlet before us, appears to be impressed with a sense of the danger to which this country is exposed, not so much from foreign foes, as from internal relaxation of manners. fears that immorality increases among us and that the bonds which connect society, are loosened by principles inconsistent with the welfare of the body politic. We shall not captiously except against this idea of increasing depravity: yet we may observe, that in the whole course of our reading, we have remarked the same complaint, in almost the same language, made by moralists in general: each lamenting that the virtues of the predecessors were enfeebled in their posterity; and of course, each regarding the generation then passed away, as more exemplary than that which was current to himself.

But whatever be the proportions of virtues and vices in different periods, there