cf what has already been published in the English language, but has also consulted the best French authors on the subject, adding thereto many observations, which during a long service in the Royal Navy he has been enabled to make.'-The explanations appear to us to be clear and concise. Many of them are copied from Falconer's Marine Dictionary; and indeed it is for the use of those who find that work too expensive, that Mr. Moore has chiefly intended his Vocabulary. It is accompanied with eight plates, neatly engraven, and well designed for the purpose of illustration. EDUCATION. Art. 26. Sheridan's Pronouncing and Spelling Dictionary, in which are ascertained both the Sound and the Meaning of every Word in the English Language; corrected and improved by Nicholas Salmon, Author of Stemma Latinitatis, the first Principles of English Grammar, and several other Works in the English and French Languages. Pocket 4to. pp. 654. 5s. Boards. Richardson. 1800. Capt. B....y. Mr. Sheridan's Dictionary, with its alterations and improvements, has fallen several times under our review. Attempts also have been made to compress this laborious work into a volume of much smaller size; and certainly a well-executed abridgment is desirable. Mr. Salmon is already distinguished by publications which we have at different times announced; and we have little doubt of his superiority over many who have been desirous of appearing as grammarians: but on a subject so intricate, varying, and arbitrary as that of words, accents, pronunciation, &c. we can attribute infallibility neither to him nor to his master, Sheridan. We have formerly professed ourselves not perfectly satisfied with Mr. Sheridan's pronunciation of words; and we have sometimes thought that he was rather influenced by the Irish articulation. We do not perceive either the necessity or the propriety of saying, as the present editor directs, ar-mén-yan rather than armènian, according to the spelling; or boun-tyus rather than bounteous, advizd rather than advised, or tshárdzh for charge, kònvé-èns for conveyance, egz-empt for exempt, òr-dzhyz for orgies, &c. &c. Vicious pronunciation may thus be perpetuated and sanctioned, or one difficulty may only be substituted for another. It is not in every instance attainable, nor perhaps, particularly on account of the etymology, always proper, to sound words in exact agreement with the orthography; yet the nearer a language is brought to such a standard, the more just, easy, simple, and useful it will probably be found. To abstain from particulars, and to speak generally :-Mr. Salmon has certainly employed considerable attention and labour on this abridged Dictionary; which will doubtless prove acceptable and beneficial, whether or not Mr. Sheridan and himself be perfectly right in regard to the sounding of some words.-For the scheme which this editor adopts respecting the articulation of vowels and consonants, we must refer our readers to the work itself, and conclude this article by a short paragraph with which he finishes his introduction: As in the preface to Sheridan's Dictionary, (8vo. 1797,) we read this REV. FEB. 1802. passage: P passage: "The practice of the best speakers of the present day is Art. 27. This is a book of Maxims, designed to inculcate lessons of practical morality on the minds of young people; and the same propriety of sentiment, which characterizes the other publications of Madame de Genlis, runs through the volume. It is an encomium to which this lady is justly intitled, that all her works on education evince a sincere interest in the improvement of the rising generation. In one of the latter chapters, a criticism is introduced on the Baroness de Stael's sentiments respecting suicide, in her Essay on the. Influence of the Passions. "How difficult is it," says Madame de Stael," not to believe him possessed of generous emotions who voluntarily embraces death, when it is considered that villains are incapable of such an action!" Madame de Genlis, on the contrary side, asserts that the greatest monsters that have ever existed were all suicides --Sardanapalus, Nero, Messalina, and the ungrateful and false disciple, the traitor Judas.'-The fact, however, appears to be that suicide has been committed by characters of every different degree of estimation; and the only point for controversy is, whether, in any case, it can be justified. Of the instances cited by Madame de Genlis, none except the last are cases (strictly speaking) of voluntary suicide: they were acts committed in situations in which death could not be escaped, and the aim was only to avoid a more terrible mode of dying. Judas, when he hanged himself, was a sin cere penitent: he had returned the price of his treason; and he was actuated by remorse. The main position, however, of Madame de Genlis, i. e. that many villains have been capable of this act which the Baroness calls sublime, is undeniable; and some of the expressions in Madame de Stael's work are justly reprehended. Hi. Capt.B....y. Art. 28. The Juvenile Preceptor; or, a Course of Moral and Sci- other other offices to fulfil; namely, that of providing objects of attainment as well as of attraction. We therefore intend gradually to relinquish such infantine intercourse, and adopt the style and language of books.' The directions for reading, which follow the preface, are pertinent and useful; they are extracted chiefly from Burgh's "Art of Speaking." The present volume extends to words of eight letters, attended by suitable reading lessons, and intermingled with distinct classes, pointing out the different sounds of each vowel; for which part of the work, and for a few pages of the lessons, Mr. Nicholson says, we are indebted to John Blaymires, of Eccleshill, near Bradforth, in Yorkshire, an ingenious schoolmaster of that obscure and poor village, whose abilities and integrity of character entitle him to a better situation. By different persons, the varying sounds of vowels may be adjusted differently; and we will not pronounce that this writer is always correct. An attentive instructor, however, will no doubt find the book useful; and it is likely to attract the notice of children, and prove amusing as well as informing. Art. 29. Tableau d'Histoire Naturelle, &c.; i. e. A View of Natural History; or abridged Account of the most useful Productions of the three Kingdoms of Nature; accompanied by an Index, containing the most essential Words in French and in English. A Work designed for Youth. By M. de Montaigu. 12mo. pp. 270. Dulau and Co. 1800. We are not inclined to scrutinize such a production as this with much severity; yet it is incumbent on us to observe that, however slight and superficial an elementary work may be, still the little that is contained in it ought to be correct; which we do not find to be the case in the present instance. Among many errors, we shall specify only the following: In p. 9. the primitive Earths are not even mentioned, and the old absurd mode of arranging the mixed Earths is adopted. In p. 22. Alabaster is separated from the other Gypseous Stones. And in p. 43. the Metals, including those called Semi-metals, are said to be 12 or at most 13 in number, although they now amount to 21. These gross mistakes have evidently been copied from the Diction ary of Valmont de Bomare, from which the work appears to have been principally compiled; and as it is manifest that M. de Montaigu is not very well acquainted with this subject, we cannot but regret that he did not draw from the more modern and more accurate sources of information. POETRY. Art. 30. A Poem on the Peace between the United Kingdoms of Of all the acquirements by which the human mind has been im proved, that of self-knowlege is perhaps one of those which are most P 2 difficult Hi. Hatch. difficult of attainment; and hence we are not to wonder that so many people, of good natural capacity respecting the common concerns of life, have egregiously mistaken their own talents, especially when they stand forth as candidates for the honours of POETRY. The present writer seems to be a respectable man, considered as a member of society; and one who may be more usefully employed than in spoiling so much paper as he has here unfortunately (in these times. of scarcity, too!) reduced to waste.-Go, Mr. B., we pray and exhort you," Go, and sin no more!" Art. 31. A Satirical Epistle in Verse, addressed to the Poet Laureate on his Carmen Seculare, containing some Strictures on Modern Times and Characters. 8vo. pp. 60. 35. Ginger. 1801. 1 The satirical poet ought to display no common vigor and excellence. As he who prosecutes, under a sense of injury, is expected to come into court with clean hands; so he who assumes the privilege of laughing at the faults of others may, with reason, be required to evince the superiority of his own judgment, talents, and taste. The author of the pamphlet before us did well in praying for a spark of Pope's fire,' but he should have waited till his petition had been liberally granted, before he had exhibited himself as a public satirist. The author, however, has prefixed a sensible introduction; in which it is remarked that the controversy on the commencement of the Century appears to have arisen entirely from the want of attending to the distinction between the ordinal and cardinal numbers. Mo-y Art. 32. The Mechanic, a Poem. By Thomas Morley. 2d Edit. 8vo. Is. 6d. Jordan, &c. 1801. Though the title-page of this publication seems to promise encomiums on the mechanic arts and artists, the poem chicfly consists of severe and angry satire on the higher ranks; who are here represented as proud, ignorant, and vicious. In short, the great, it appears, are here thrown down merely in order that the lower classes, particularly the artizans, may have the opportunity of exulting over those who are called their superiors; like dirty Diogenes, trampling on Plato's elegant carpet. This plebeian satirist of the Noblesse evidently possesses good natural parts; which, had they been more improved by education, might have enabled him to figure in the poetic world with at least a Stephen Duck the thresher, or Banks the weaver * ;-for whom see Lives of the Poets, by Cibber, &c. Art. 33. The Valley of Llanhernet, and other Pieces in Verse. By Banks wrote much both in prose and verse, with no small degree of popular approbation: particularly a very fair and candid Life of Cromwell. On the North Coast of Cornwall. (the (the smaller poems,) that we cannot, in conscience, encourage the author to think of rivalling any of the celebrated Bards of former days. Had he given us only his descriptive verses on the Cornish Valley, and his pathetic Shipwreck Scenery, we might have augured more favourably of his poetic talents. Art. 34. The Methodist; a Poem. Motto "I hate all Methodists." 12mo. 15. Button. 1802. An attempt to sing " to the praise and glory" of the Methodists and Methodism: but a more wretched effort, surely, was never seen in a land of literature! Blank verse is the vehicle, and irony the strain, in which the author's ideas are conveyed: but the performance, taken altogether, is too mean for any serious criticism. POLITICS. Art. 35. These letters, which were first published in a daily paper, under the signature of "Philanglus," contain a multitude of tables and documents demonstrative of the flourishing state of our commerce, and accompanied by arguments to prove that it is in no danger of being injured by the Peace. Sir Frederic Eden brandishes his pen against the whole host of croaking and despairing politicians. He contends that, if we could not save others by the war, we have preserved ourselves; and as to the Peace, he says it is no objection that by it much must be hazarded, for more would be hazarded by a prolongation of the contest.' In opposition to those who view with apprehension and alarm the extended limits of France, he maintains that the French Republic may possess the Rhine, and yet not annihilate the commerce of the Thames;' that the balance of Europe has been and may be altered without injury to Great Britain; and that, while some continental powers have been aggrandized, and others destroyed, our insular situation and peculiar advantages have enabled us to advance by more rapid strides than our neighbours, to opulence, strength, and civilization.' Hence he proceeds to prove that the Peace will not impoverish our merchants; and he gives it as his opinion that, extensive as our trade with Asia now is, it is highly probable that it will experience a great increase. This, perhaps, is the most questionable part of his argument: but, however this may be, Sir Frederick has taken great pains to open pleasing prospects; and to assure his country that, if at some future period the feverish ambition of mankind shall compel her to unsheath the sword, her con-. stitution and her commerce will again supply her both with motives and with means, to prosecute the contest until it can again be terminated with safety and with honour.' Art. 36. Three Words to Mr. Pitt, on the War, and on the Peace.. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Ridgway. 1801. * From its having been printed at Bristol, we conjecture that this pamphlet took its rise from the Blagdon Controversy. P 3 Three Moy. |