repented of them all, leading a long life of exemplary piety and great di igence, and at laft ending his various day in the communion of our Anglican church, profeffing his preference of it to any, and to every other, as he told Dr. Johnfon on his death-bed, though confcious there must be defects in all. No entreaties could however prevail on him to reveal his real name, nation, or family. Mr. Villette believed he was a Gafcon, though Frenchmen have rarely fuch flexibility of organs as to render, like this man, every tongue his own." Vol. ii. p. 383.

XXXVI. A Supplement to Johnfon's English Dictionary of which the palpable Errors are attempted to be rectified, and its material Omiffions fupplied. By GEORGE MASON, Author of the "Gloffary to Hoccleve," and of an "Effay on Design in Gardening." 4to. 18s. White, Payne.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PREFACE.

OF all publications, perhaps not one can be mentioned, where fcrupulous exactness should be more peculiarly obferved than in a Dictionary. Yet Johnfon's abounds with inaccuracies, as much as any English book what foever, written by a fcholar. Demonftrating this in the prefent place may be confidered as wholly unneceffary, fince fo great a portion of thofe articles, which form the enfuing vocabulary, contain in themselves inconteftable proof of the affertion. Nor need these manifeft defects at all be wondered at, in one who took every opportunity of teftifying a diflike to his task, and complaining of it as a drudgery; whereas to thofe that are intent upon their employment, and attached to literary inveftigation, labor ipfe voluptas.

"To this diffatisfaction at his undertaking, poflibly we are to attribute Johnfon's various inconfiftencies with himfelf, and with any due regularity in the execution of his work; but it is alfo equally evident, that he has fallen into many an error for want of rightly Comprehending paffages in authors, produced by him for examples. This

muddinefs of intellect fadly befiìears and defaces almost every page of the compofition: yet is the plan of our author's Dictionary really commendable, and (as far as that plan has been duly completed) the work itself in high eftimation. Were not the writer of the following sheets fully convinced of this, he muft of confequence regard his own labour as absolutely useless. And it may be reckoned an unpardonable mark of prefumption in him, to fuppofe himself capable of rendering in any degree perfect fo confiderable a book, by inconfiderable and inadequate additions and corrections. He does however ftrongly believe, that he has

exceedingly leffened the labour of any But in what refpects Johnfon's method future experiment in a fimilar way. has here been followed, and with what variations, he now conceives it his bufinefs to explain.

"Johnfon fays in his preface- In affigning the Roman original.... 'confidering myself as employed only in the illuftration of my own lan6 Iguage, I have not been very careful 'to obferve, whether the Latin word 'be pure or barbarous.' This the prefent compiler regards as a very reprehenfible piece of negligence in any teacher of language, and confequently has adhered to a stricter method in additional articles of his own. He thinks himself, however, fo far bound by Johnson's excufe, as not to animadvert upon any thing of this kind as an error of the dictionary: fuch faults indeed hardly come within the province of the Supplement, the matter being (as Johnfon alleges) foreign to the point of illuftrating English.

"Johnfon fays- As my defign was a Dictionary common or appellative, I have omitted all words which have relation to proper names; fuch as

Arian, Socinian, Calvinifi, Benedic'tine, Mahometan; but have retained 'thofe of a more general nature, as

Heathen, Pagan. If thefe omitted words had no other fignification than what belongs to a mere adjective poffeffive of the perfon whofe proper name they are derived from, there might be fome reafon in this diftinction. But take only the word Benediktine: how feldom is it, that any thing written or said of thefe friars has the leak connexion with their founder, Benedict? In conformity too to Johnson's own.

statement

ftatement of his rule of felection, it might be asked, what proper names have Anabaptift and Quaker relation to, that they fhould alfo be left out of his common Dictionary? This very circumftance may ferve to fhow the impropriety of establishing fuch a rule, which has accordingly been here rejected; and the number of omiffions it occafioned has been one confiderable fource for augmenting this Supplement." P.i. "The compiler of this Supplement does not undertake to correct all the mistakes in Johnfon. That lexicographer's etymologies are defervedly reckoned the moft erroneous part of his Dictionary; yet this portion of it has not here undergone a thorough examination. Learning of fuch kind is rather matter of curiofity, than of common utility; nor has the prefent writer fufficient knowledge of the various early languages, to enable him to carry etymological criticism to its greateft poffible extent. There are alfo many of Johnfon's other obfervations highly ridiculous, which it has not been thought requifite to animadvert upon, as they are fufficiently glaring to expofe themfelves.

"The fupplial of omissions, now at tempted, is not confined merely to the words, or fenfes of words, unnoted by Johnfon, but takes in alfo the exemplification of thofe that ftand unexemplified in the principal Dictionary. Much fhorter of completion, in the eye of the writer, is the latter of thefe attempts than the former. To execute it fully appears almost impossible. • Where fhould one look for examples of fuch pedantic inharmonieties, as deterioration, or odontalgic? And when (as is frequently the cafe) different meanings affigned to the fame word are plainly tautologous, what additional illuftration can they require?

"Johnfon was well aware in his lifetime of the general diffatisfaction, which his negligence or deficience had created; but he thought it enough to fay in reply (at the clofe of his advertifement to the fourth edition), 'I have left that inaccurate which never was

made exact, and that imperfect which never was complete.' Readers might look for reformation; but this magifterial fentence was the whole to be deigned them.

"Some may conceive a compilation of the prefent fort to be the lefs wanted, because of Ath's Dictionary, publifhed fubfequently to fome editions of Johnfon. But the plan of this pofterior work (though advocates it has) does not include the best part of the former-exemplifying by extracts. As a vocabulary it is infinitely the more copious of the two; yet very flightly fo indeed in that particular, wherein the predeceffor was moft materially defective; that is, in the number of pure and genuine articles. The greater copioufnefs of Afh confifts, of every verbal noun in ing, that might be formed by analogy, whether at any time actually ufed or not; of regular comparatives and fuperlatives, and a variety of other excrefcent articles, whether fimple or compounded; of proper names, denoting perfons and places of all countries, and of all periods; of law French and law Latin terms, now antiquated even among the lawyers; and of common Latin words never anglicifed. Should a purchafer of Ath's vocabulary open it on medicus, medulla, and menfa, he might think that the bookfeller had put into his hands fome Latin dictionary for an English one; till, by nearer inspection of this heterogeneous mafs, wire-drawn out in one fingle alphabetical feries, he would find himself only implicated in a labyrinth of gibberish. Such an aim at univerfality occafions of courfe great deficiency in all its particulars: for inftance, the author evidently appears never to have confulted Spenfer himfelf, but implicitly to have confided in a very defective gloffary prefixed to that poet's works in Hughes's edition of them*.

"Afh alfo by the help of gloffaries carries his language back to the writings of Chaucer, and even of Wicliffe and Mandeville; but for want of the like affiftance to the writings of the

two

two fubfequent centuries, has entirely skipped over them. Part of his plan is, to give every variation of English orthography for the whole period which he profeffes to comprise. Thofe who are in the leaft converfant with our old black-letter books, well know, that the fame words are ofteneft fpelt divers ways in the fame publication, and not unfrequently in the fame page. The discontinuance of this loofe practice advanced very flowly during the greater part of the feventeenth century; nor is the defect perfectly cured even at the prefent day, fince we ftill fee choofe and chufe ufed indifcriminately in very modern productions of the prefs. Our general orthography undergoes no fmall number of changes in almost every twenty years; and many a publisher (merely to render himself confpicuous) has invented peculiar fpellings of his own. How is it poffible to fet forth this infinite diverfity in a fingle vocabulary? Quo teneam vultus mutantem Protea nodo?" P. iii.

His youthful offspring round the threshold crowd,

Ambitious to fecure his firft embrace. Health to their cheeks its ruddy glow imparts,

And (though as yet unwash'd and half attir'd)

Bedecks them with a genuine charm, unknown

To artful ornament. The wholefome breeze

Each countenance with fairer tints fupplies,

Than painting can defcribe, while looks of pure

And unaffected love the dress complete.

At fight of them, their fire with quick. en'd step

Bounds o'er the finking fands, which long retain

Th' impreffion of his feet, then nimbly

He, from the days of fam'd Eliza's reign, When Spain's Invincible Armada' fell,

To that triumphant and decifive hour, When Egypt's fhores beheld the haplefs fate

Of Gallia's boafted fquadron*, has engag'd

In her defence, against oppofing hofts Of far fuperior force. To Him alone Afcribe the tribute of unceafing praise; And let the humble and united voice Of fupplication to his throne afcend, That Peace once more, with influence benign,

May crown the nations, and her rule extend

To the remoteft quarters of the globe. So may the vet'ran brave at ease recline

Befide the margin of the fwelling ftream,

Where Britain's glory † rears its lofty domes,

Or ftretch'd beneath the high o'er

arching trees,

That spread their leafy honours near its walls, Recount the well-fought battles of his youth,

And ev'ry danger he has undergone, Ere in that quiet ftation he attain'd The hard-earn'd recompenfe of all his toils." P. 38.

XXXVIII. Hiftory of the principal Events of the Reign of William II. King of Prufia; and a political Picture of Europe, from 1786 to 1796: containing a Summary of the Revolutions of Brabant, Holland, Poland, and France. By L. P. SEGUR, the Elder, formerly Ambaffador of Louis XVI. at St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna. Tranflated from the French. 3 vols. 8vo. With a Portrait. pp. 1201. Il. Is. Longman and Rees.

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

SKETCH of the Life of Frederic

the Great.-Chap. I. Picture of the political Situation of Europe, at the Epoch in which Frederic William II. afcended the Throne of Pruffia, 1786.--II. Character of Frederic William II.-Portraits of his Counfellors and Minifters.-III. Projects of Catharine against Courland-Armament of the Turks and Ruffians--Troubles in Brabant-Fermentation in Poland.-IV. Revolution in Holland-Memoir by Citizen Caillard on that EventAppendix.

VOL. II.

CHAP. V. Quadruple AllianceWar between Sweden and RuffiaTroubles in France.-VI. Ancient and modern State of France-Views, Opinions, and Manners, at the Period of the Revolution.-VII. Events of of the States General to the Acceptthe Revolution, from the Affembly ance of the Conftitution by the King, and the Separation of the Constituent Affembly.-VIII. Death of Jofeph II. -Revolution of Brabant--Confer

ences