to have persevered in her insults and aggressions. Mr. A. considers the peace, though short, to have been advantageous, as it operated to the extinction of party feuds; and he congratulates the country on meeting the present war with a firm, upright, dignified appearance of public spirit. Art. 24. The Times considered; or a Brief View of the General Cause of the Decline of Empires. Humbly inscribed to the Right Hon. the Earl of Moira. By Henry White 8vo. 1s. 6d. Ridgway. No individual, we are persuaded, will accuse Mr. White of either spleen or invective, when he asserts that there is something particularly alarming in the present conjuncture.' The fact is admitted: but how came we into this situation? and how are we to get out of it are the questions to be considered. Mr. W. attributes our misfortunes to a venal and corrupt administration; to the exclusion of the most eminent and distinguished characters from all political power; to the universal servility which the wide diffusion of court-influence has occasioned; and to the great decay and almost destruction of the Whig interest, under which this country can alone flourish. The remedy here prescribed is Reform; and till this takes place, we are assured by Mr. W., confusion and weakness will prevail. France,' says he, knows the state of parties, under which England is tottering, that there is no unity or co-operation, and that nothing can be done by common counsel in the nation.' If such has been the aspect of our politics, it is time that it should undergo a change. With such an enemy as we have to oppose, we ought to remember the old adage relative to a house divided against itself. Mr. W.'s remarks, which were offered to the public before the renewal of the war, deprecate a patched up peace, and recommend the transfer of the helm of state to abler hands than those of our present ministers, as a necessary step to prevent inevitable ruin. Art. 25. Essays on the Population of Ireland and the Characters of the Irish. By a Member of the last Irish Parliament. 8vo. 28. C. and R. Baldwin. Ireland, enjoying a climate singularly salubrious, might be expected under other favouring circumstances to advance in population: but we hesitate in admitting the assertion of this political arithmetician, that, before the expiration of twenty years, it will contain a more dense population than any other country in Europe. It is stated that, at the beginning of the last century, the inhabitants of this part of the United Kingdom amounted to about one million; that, from this period, they have increased one-fifth, or thereabouts, every eleven years; and that in 1799, they were 5,157,769. It is taken as granted that the population of Ireland must continue to advance; and when it shall have reached 7,000,000, (which, we are told, will probably be the case about the time when the whole of the United Kingdom shall be placed on a proportionably equal footing with respect to taxes and contributions,) that of England will not in all likelihood 8 likelihood exceed 10,000,000:- a circumstance (adds the author) which I am inclined to suspect did entirely escape the notice of those who were concerned in framing the Act of Union.' When the proportion between the population of Ireland and that of England shall be only as 7 to 10, the representation of Ireland may undergo some amendment but we see no just reason for reflecting on the framers of the Act of Union, that they did not presume on that vast aug. mentation of the inhabitants of Ireland, which this writer lays down as an indisputable doctrine. The Church of Rome, it is here said, includes within its pale four. fifths of the population of Ireland. In a subsequent Essay, the characters of the lower, middle, and upper classes of the Irish are sketched, and vindicated against the aspersions of the ignorant and the prejudiced. The author will not allow that the great body of the community is radically bad, but contends that it displays those qualities which prove that, under the culture and fostering hand of Government, these, ranks are capable of becoming as useful citizens and as valuable subjects as any upon the face of the earth.' The middle class is represented as greatly ameliorated. Duelling, once so remarkably prevalent in this class, has almost ceased, and drunkenness is no longer a common vice.'-An encomium is passed on the qualities of the upper rank; among whom the chief faults which prevail, but with many exceptions, are said to be venality, and a want of public spirit. Throughout all the classes, hospitality, urbanity, confidence, and vivacity, are predominant. May the Irish be solicitous to improve themselves, and may com. plete justice be done to them as subjects of the United Empire! Art. 26. An Obstacle to the Ambition of France; or Thoughts on the Expediency of improving the Political Condition of His Majesty's Irish Roman Catholic Subjects. By Thomas Newenham, Esq. late M.P. for Clonmell. 8vo. 18. 6d. C. and R. Baldwin. With a just appreciation of the importance of national unanimity, Mr. Newenham wisely recommends the identification of the political rights of the Catholics and Protestants of Ireland, and ably answers the several objections which have been urged at different times against this measure. He observes that the natural consequence, which has arisen and must arise from withholding civil rights, is disaffection to the Government in the mind of the proscribed party; and he contends for an equal participation of them among Catholics and Protestants, as an effectual cure for all existing discontents in the former, as well as the surest means of consolidating the strength of the empire, and of enabling the United Kingdom to display the whole of its native vigour, undiminished by the enervating influence of party. Our present situation certainly requires unanimity; and, as it is the interest of Government to promote it, those principles of enlightened policy ought to be adopted, which tend to unite the abilities, the affections, and the strength of the state, in order that the whole may act against its enemies with an irresistible momentum. This is a well-written and sensible pamphlet. POETIC and DRAMATIC. Art. 27. The Soldiers, an Historical Poem, in three Parts. Con taining an Epitome of the Wars entered into by Great Britain, from the Year 1739 to the present Time. By R. Farmer. Part I. 8vo. Is. 6d. Lackington and Co. He In a series of artless stanzas, an old campaigner is here supposed to tell his story of battles fought in every part of the globe. does not, like the epic poet, aim at representing the events which he records as glorious; but places them in a moral, rather than in a military point of view; not as a stimulus to ambition, but as a check to the rage for conquest, which has ever been a scourge to mankind, and, sooner or later, becomes the bane of every overbearing state.' Animated by so laudable a design, Mr. F. is intitled to the critic's indulgence: but we should have been better pleased, had the exercise of this indulgence been less necessary on the present occasion. We do not perceive the fitness of introducing the Heathen mythology in an account of the wars of the 18th century of the Christian era, nor the moral tendency of the first of the following stanzas: Next to Flanders I was order'd- Then to Dettingen we marched Fought 'neath George the Second's care, And obtain'd a wreath of triumph That e'en George might deign to wear. Next, ah me! I well remember William fought, but what avail'd it? Valour's self must sometimes yield, Long I had not to bethink me Of what Soldies undergo, Ere at Pas du Mele surrounded, Fate laid half my Comrades low.' This first part carries us no farther than the deposition of the Rajah of Benares; after which, the old campaigner returns to England to wait his final doom.-Farewell. Art. 28. A Dramatic Dialogue between an English Sailor and a Frenchman. By I. S. Munnings. 8vo. Is. 6d. C. and R. Baldwin. The scene of this dialogue is laid in a street in London, and the interlocutors speak in perfect character; save and except that the English Tar keeps up a constant fire on the Frenchman in much better verse than suits his jacket. As this piece is loyal, patriotic, and adapted to the times, we transcribe a portion of the dialogue for the gratification of our readers; • French, Ah! if me be now tin, me soon grow fat, Vid equal rights, and freedom, and all dat. Sail. What, fatten on French freedom! you might sooner Bring to a British first-rate with a schooner. Your Your d-mn'd French freedom, Mounseer. is all froth, French. Vate'er our freedom be, Monsieur, you grant Sail. Your tree of liberty! A pretty joke The tree of liberty is British Oak ;' Taunt as a first-rate's mast, its branches shoot, The Sons of Freedom gather round to watch it, And from its trunk to keep your d-mn'd French hatchet. We'll find a harbour underneath its shade. • French. Dat harbour ve'll destroy; for if our fleet De British Navy ever chance to meet, As ve on land do gain de victory, De Grand Nation shall beat you on de sea. Sail. Beat Britons! Mounseer, sing another tune, • French. Dat vas von accident Sail. What will you say • French. Begar, you change your note ven here you see Sail. O. split my timbers, land 'em, but mayhaps There's ne'er a British head will fit your caps. French. Ve fit dem on, for vid de sail unfurl'd, Ve send de cap of freedom rounde de vorld. Sail Dime, you venture round the world, Mounseer! Why, you've no pilot at the helm to steer. *This line was written and published in the year 1794; and therefore could not be borrowed from Mr. Fitzgerald's production from which an Extract follows ; in thunder spoke, "The tree of Freedom is the British Oak." Your Your crazy bark of state has too much sail, • French. You love de King, vous bête, you no be free. And if de Grande Nation shall seulement frown, Sail. Shiver my hulk! d-mme, what do I hear! My King insulted! ho, avast, Mounseer, • Returns. [Drives the Frenchman off. Split my old timbers, 'tis in vain to chase, These French dogs always beat us at a race. D-mme, his sails are now quite out of view, So I will e'en steer home, and comfort Sue. 'Going, returns. ◄ Avast though, since this Consul threatens war, Let's cease disputes, and join with heart and hand [Exit.' Mr. Munnings's motive, in the publication of this dramatic trifle, is to excite the zeal of Britons in vigorously resisting an enemy who aims at the destruction of the independence of their country. Art. 29. We think with Dr. Johnson, that poetical devotion (strictly speaking) cannot be gratifying to correct taste. The truths of revelation cannot be amplified by human invention, nor can the attributes of the Divine Being be illustrated by figurative diction. Religious sentiments, as in the Psalms of David, may be given in rhythm, or, as in the English translations of them, may be clothed in metre or rhyme, for the sake of being set to music or sung: but they ought not to be mixed with extravagant flights of fancy, nor be polluted with language which is appropriated to carnal passion. Pictures of the future state, drawn and coloured from the imagination, cannot |