of England), she has lain coiled up in the bright face of advancing day, like some huge slimy dragon (fine writing this!) cast up by the sea of ages (what sea is this?) in the midst of a stirring and refined city, (we do not at present recollect any large city with a sea in the midst of it; but we take this to be a concealed joke or witticism, and that the sea means the see of Canterbury), and has only exhibited signs of life, by waving her huge scaled tail in menace of her foes (this is a second joke, meaning the os sacrum!), and by stretching out her ten-talented (mark, reader, the pun! talented, as Liston would say, 'I say,' looking down to the pit, talented !') paws to devour a tenth of the land; not of the produce of the land, but the land itself. Oh, poor England! how I mourn for thy rapid diminution and decay. The Church is eating up thy rich clay lands, thy mixed soil, thy pastures and woods; all go down her throat; as we read in Humboldt's Travels, of a certain people in South America who appease their hunger by swallowing balls of clay. Can such a monster longer incumber the soil of England? (But there will be no soil to incumber.) As soon might we expect St. George to come leading his dragon into London (here is a second dragon introduced), or Dunstan present the Devil, pincered in his fiery tongs, at the door of Lambeth Palace."

It cannot be expected that our amiable author can long soar in such a high airy region of sublimity as this; so we soon find him dismounting from his dragon, like Mr. Waterton from his alligator, and coming to more familiar expressions of abuse. He now wishes that "some one may be found to launch a three-legged stool (as Jack Fuller did at the Speaker's head) at the head of a clergyman when he begins the State Liturgy." This he considers would teach "kings and priests to respect the invaluable rights of conscience." Our author's zeal, now getting warmer and warmer, expands like an omelet souflée, and embraces not only the destruction of the Church, but that of the Universities. He exposes the gross abuses that exist in them; the chief of which are, that "they possess noble halls, galleries, libraries, churches for their use and delight, with gardens, groves, and pleasure grounds; plate, pictures, and marbles; a countless store of books and manuscripts, as well as more vulgar wealth." Infamous abuse! the University absolutely possesses books and

manuscripts!! Pity they were not all sent down to Nottingham; no doubt Mr, Howitt could decypher the Codex of Plato better than Professor Gaisford, and the Greek Fathers find more learned editors than the venerable President of Magdalen.

But, gentle Radical-Yahoo! whoever you may be; whether you build your obscure and foul nest at Nottingham, or Leeds, or in Mr. Attwood's metropolis; do not be alarmed! envy not the Universities their possessions; their death-blow is given; their warrant is signed by Mr. Howitt's hand. Listen! while the ass's lyre brays forth the following sounds: "The University of Oxford has ceased to exist." Surely Lord Grenville should be informed of this, that he may not fancy himself Chancellor any longer. cept for the purpose of vain pageants (such, we suppose, as the triumphs on pulling down Nottingham Castle, and plundering Mr. Musters' house, and murdering the lady of the mansion) designed to aucupate benefices, by cajoling the Patrons, the University of

"Ex

Oxford has ceased to exist. It has been annihilated, dissolved, destroyed;" but again, its destruction does not seem at present quite completed, for "the best apartments of every College are set apart for a PRIEST, who enjoys, at the expense of the public, every luxury that the most sensual can desire," i. e. foreign wines, delicious viands, and beautiful damsels. "Thus pampered in idleness this Priest feels no decorous shame, is not civil or unpresuming, but abounds in a deportment of contumelious insolence." What a pity that the Priest does not take a lesson of gentleness, meekness, sweetness of disposition, and humbleness of mind, from the Nottingham Radical-Yahoo!!

Having now swept away our Universities, our Reformer goes slap-dash at the Parochial Clergy, who are described as "desperate handlers of God's sacred things; who would make St. Paul's hair stand on end! Clerical spiders, who weave their webs over the bodies and souls of men; consisting of horse-jockeys, gamblers, fellows whose lives are a continual pestilence and crime; who, if he had been a poor man, would long since have been hanged; but being rich, he is the choice son and purveyor of Satan. Ignorant,

brutal, and debauched. They live without shame, and tyrannize without mercy." These general observations are soon fortified with examples. Derbyshire is the county selected for the place where our Yahoo discharges his chief filth and venom. There you may see clergymen in the villages brutally drunk, raving, and swearing (p. 255), following the girls into the houses; and it is one of the commonest sights of the town to see the clergyman thus drunk and thus employed.

At a neighbouring village (still in Derbyshire) was to be seen another clergyman in a state of utter intoxication upheld over a grave by two men, while he vainly endeavours to read the burial sermon; saying, "there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the sun," till they led him away. p. 256.

Then there is another who puts on his skates, and so takes the canal in his way to church; who advises his congregation not to drink much of the sacramental wine, lest it should increase their fever, but he would drink it for them, and it would do as well. A fourth who borrows money, persuades the attorney to give a receipt without a stamp, and then lays an information against him in the Exchequer. So much for the Derbyshire clergy!

Now lastly, our Yahoo-author attacks the manner in which the Rite of Confirmation is administered.

The

Bishop and the clergy all go away to good dinners; and Confirmation there. fore becomes the fruitful source of licentiousness and crime. Instead of a Confirmation in Christianity, it becomes the Confirmation of the Devil; and this the clergymen know.

What we have given are but small extracts from a book of near 300 pages. We have no doubt but it will make the author's fortune. In the first place, as a matter of course, one copy of this work will be bought at the public charge, or out of the parish rates, for every parish church in the three kingdoms that will ensure the sale of fifteen thousand copies. Then every family, who has at heart their own happiness, or that of their fellowcreatures, and who can command an income of 10l. per annum, even though retrenched from necessary expences, will subscribe for one copy; so that

the fortune of the author may be considered as absolutely made, and his laborious exertions in the cause of virtue, good order, peace, and religion, crowned with success. We sincerely rejoice that our patriot set up the trade of Yahoo-Reformer in England and not at Crotona, for we are informed by Diodorus (an author familiarly known to Mr. Howitt, and the scholars of Nottingham) that one Charondas, their lawgiver, in order to prevent wicked, hungry, malicious, and designing people from disturbing the constitution by advancing their own selfish schemes, provided a statute, that whoever proposed an alteration should step out and do it with a rope about his neck, for if the matter went in the negative the proposer should immediately be hanged. We believe that we can conjecture what would be the termination of our author's proposals; and as the Nottingham reformer ascended the ladder, the just reward of his blasphemy and sedition, we fancy we could hear the united voices of the populace of Crotona crying out, "In the place to which you are going, take care of yourself, gentle Yahoo!"

The Testimony of Nature and Revelation to the Being, Perfections, and Government of God. By Rev. Henry Fergus.

THE design of this work, similar to those of Derham, Ray, and Paley, is meant to show within narrow limits the contrivance, wisdom, and goodness that appears in every department of the universe; and the proofs which they afford of the being, perfections, and government of God. The author has collected his examples from every part of nature with great industry and research; and has arranged them in a clear and luminous point of view; so that we may say the purpose he proposed has been fully attained. We only object to this, as we have always done to the works of Derham and others, that the argument is overloaded with examples. When some well-selected evidences of design are brought forward, and skilfully arranged, we feel great delight in having for the first time a settled plan, and deliberate and well-contrived means exhibited to

as in the works of nature of which we before had not been aware; such as an exposition of the admirable structure of the eye, or other parts of the human body; and so on of the different departments of nature; but when the mind has fully received and assented to these discoveries, the pleasure is by no means increased by the fresh examples that can be enumerated. We get satiated with the immense body of evidence that is constantly pouring in; and wearied with proof after proof, which are brought from the inexhaustible storehouse of nature. We therefore should advise those who advance fresh works on this subject, to seek rather a few prominent and well-chosen examples, to expound them clearly, and enforce them vividly; and they may be sure that they will effect more in the way of correction than a boundless profusion of minute discoveries heaped up before the astonished and bewildered mind.

In this, as in all others, Paley's Natural Theology is an admirable example of what to reject, as well as what to select and illustrate.

Exposition of the false Medium excluding Men of Genius from the Public. THE object of this work seems to be that of exhibiting the misfortunes, difficulties, and depressed situation of men of genius and talent in their various pursuits. The author has brought forward a sufficiently formidable array of distressed authors, painters, actors, and other professional men; but he has failed to convince us that their distress proceeds from the neglect of the public, nor has he pointed out a remedy for the evil complained of. Men must take their chance in literature and in

the arts, as they do in other professions; the greatest genius must have time to rise; eminent abilities slowly emerge from obscurity, but as transcendant talents are always wanted by the public, so they will be, when they are acknowledged as such, amply rewarded-" nullum numen abest si sit Prudentia"-and without prudence and conduct, encouragement and favour will be vain. People, we know, overrate their own importance, and if they will overwhelm the public with literary goods that the public do not want, and do not ask for, they

cannot justly complain that they remain on their own hands. In the present times common talents and common acquirements will not distinguish their possessor; but a Mackintosh in philosophy, a Wordsworth in poetry, a Herschell in science, an Elmsley in classical literature, and a Rose in divinity, will always command the respect, and receive the rewards, that society has to bestow; but these and all other men must be contented to wait until the blossom of their fame sufficiently expands to attract the attention of a busy and thoughtless world, which will not be at the trouble of hunting out early genius, and dragging it from the recesses of its obscurity.

The Note Book of a Country Clergyman.

THE object of this little work is to show the moral and religious influence with which the Church of England pervades every part of our country; and to follow in detail, and to exhibit in action, the effect of the presence and influence of the Clergy. This purpose has been thrown into a dramatic form, and is embodied in a few simple tales, which, though they may not be remarkable for brilliancy of effect, or novelty of incident, are still faithful to truth and nature; while the true remedies for the deepest sorrow, and for the greatest crimes, are given for the consolation of the repentant sinner.

Translations from the Oxford and Cambridge Latin Prize Poems. 2d Series. WE do not think that this work of Mr. Torre's was much required, because the attraction of the original poems was chiefly to be found in the classical purity of their language, and in the skilfulness with which the idioms of the Roman tongue were adapted to modern subjects, and applied to express sentiments and thoughts belonging to periods distant from their own. Some of these poems, in the language in which they were written, were of great excellence, showing much accuracy of learning, and elegance and refinement of taste; and we hope that the practise of composition in the language of Cicero and Virgil, will always be fostered in our seats of learning; for, even supposing that the

productions of modern genius, clothed in the garb of the ancients, may by some be considered of no intrinsic value, and bear no authority, yet they are a clear and decisive proof of the insight gained into the structure of language; and no doubt can be entertained, that he who is thus able to imitate the productions of the Latian Muse, can best enjoy and understand them.

"I "at a

friend, the above named doctor. was once," said Dr. Williams, supper, where one and twenty widow Jones's sate down to supper.' "If it had been Jonas's," said Waldron, "I should have been able to account for it, and sent off the fishermen to look in Milford Haven for a shoal of whales."

But the Doctor was not to be repelled, so he determined to settle the matter at one bold stroke. 66 I saw

Eleven. 3 vols.

A WORK written with considerable spirit, and not devoid of humour and drollery, but possessing neither incidents well-arranged nor characters clearly or happily developed. It would defy analysis in any reasonable compass. The person whom we most like, is a punning doctor of the name of Waldron; a kind of personage who is to be met with in every society of ten miles circumference, and who is sure to be esteemed a man of wit and genius. Country clergymen, and the apothecaries in provincial towns, are the most decided punsters. There is now one admirable living specimen in Ipswich, and one at Northampton. A little experience in physiognomy will detect them the moment they appear; they have a peculiar look of the eye, and a thin compressed mouth, out of which their jeux d'esprits, or jets d'eaux, (for these words were used promiscuously by our old friend Jemmy Boswell,) are expelled with emphasis. The air of triumph and satisfaction in the face of a punster who has made a successful shot, is one of the richest treats imaginable. The almost inaudible inward chuckle, the downcast half- averted smile, the pretended humility, then the conscious air of self-importance, as he rises in his own estimation and that of his friends, all shows a triumph and happiness not easily to be surpassed. There is also a Dr. Williams who sports with a bow ten feet long, who went out troutfishing, (as our worthy friend the Aldine publisher, Mr. Pickering, occasionally does with one of his editors,) and when he pulled off his boots he found a brace and a half of fine pink trout in the loose tops of each of them. "Not a bootless errand," quoth his

an Indian juggler, who took a ball of twine, and tying the end of it to his little finger jerked the ball up into the air, until it slowly and gradually unravelled, and at last appeared an upright line, the further end of which was invisible. Whilst we were lost in amazement at this feat, the juggler suddenly run up the line, hand over hand, till he was also out of sight."

Plain Discourses on Practical and Doctrinal Subjects. By Sir Charles Hardinge, Vicar of Tunbridge, Kent.

THE numerous volumes of Sermons that are printed by the Clergy of the Established Church, for the advantage not of the learned and refined, but of persons of common education and plain understanding, reflect great credit on their diligence, piety, and good sense. Such discourses were of rare occurrence in former times; the Clergy preached too scholastically for their congregations sufficiently to profit by their advice; or else they fell into another error, and made what should be a scriptural sermon little more than a moral essay. We remember a striking example of this: the late Bishop Percy having to preach a charity sermon, and arriving too late in town from a journey, to give him time to compose one, transcribed a paper of the Rambler or Idler, we forget which, and took it into the pulpit. And another divine absolutely preached one of Sir Joshua Reynolds's Discourses on Painting, only omitting the technical terms. This would not do now; nor will people now be contented to eat unleavened bread. The sermons of Sir C. Hardinge are admirably calculated to diffuse the best principles of piety and virtue, and all Christian virtues, among his hearers.

A Glossary and Etymological Dictionary. By W. Toone.

THE language of our old English writers has received much illustration of late years, from a careful observance of the words and phrases that are preserved in the mouths of the peasantry in those parts of England that are remote from the effects and influence of the Court and the metropolis. Glossaries of Cheshire, Yorkshire, Suffolk, and Somersetshire dialects have thrown much light on the hitherto obscure words found in Shakespeare, and the poets who lived before his time. Mr. Toone's book is an addition to these, and may justly be considered as an Appendix to Nares's Glossary. A work approaching to perfection in this department of literature can only be formed by the unison of many contributing their stock; but we hope soon to see a vast addition made to our knowledge of the Old English tongue, by the publication of Mr. Boucher's Glossary, under the superintendence of Messrs. Hunter and Stevenson.

Character of Jew and Gentile, a Tale.

By Mrs. Leman Grimstone.

THERE is considerable talent displayed in various parts of this novel; a strong graphic power of description; just and sound reflections on the conduct of life and the formation of character; and a sufficiently varied succession of events to render the history entertaining. But there are great defects in the complication of the incidents, and in the arrangement of the fable. Circumstances of the highest improbability are introduced, such as could not take place in the present form of society; and crimes of the deepest dye are perpetrated by those from the general tenour of whose character they could not have proceeded; and lastly, the frame-work of the whole story is disjointed and unfinished; for that moral retribution we expect, is in one important case withheld; and while lesser villains meet the just reward of their guilt, the person most deeply stained in sin-the seducer, the adulterer, the robber, and the murderer-is suffered to escape, enjoying the ample harvest of his guilty machinations. The fair Authoress had either not skill to arrange her forces, and con

duct them through their complicated evolutions; or she did not give herself sufficient time duly to unfold a wellarranged plan, before she set to work on the incidents, which has produced the imperfection of her fable. Still there is sufficient originality and vigour of mind displayed to induce us to wish success to future productions from the same pen.

Life of the Rev. T. Thomason. By the Rev. J. Sargent, Rector of Lavington.

On

FEW persons, who have read Mr. Sargent's Memoir of Martyn, will ever forget the agreeable impression which it left on their minds. The present work is scarcely less interesting and instructive, though it does not possess those more striking features which distinguished the former. Mr. Thomason was a person in whom the most sincere and purest piety was early displayed; which grew with his growth, and strengthened with his strength. He was brought up under the fostering eye of Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, and after some few years' performance of ministerial duties in England, he was appointed a chaplain in India. his voyage home, on account of the impaired state of his wife's health, he lost her who had been a most faithful and affectionate companion and friend to him; but having resolved to return to that country, in which his labours could be of the greatest utility, he again married. His health, however, broke down towards the termination of the voyage, and he died in the Isle of France, to which he had gone for the benefit of the climate. This is a very brief outline, indeed, of his life; but Mr. Thomason was not distinguished for the events which occurred to him, or the adventures he underwent. It was to his personal endowments that we are to look; to the vigour and promptitude of his mind, the extent of his acquirements, the purity of his life, the unquenchable spirit of his piety, his gentleness, his sweetness of disposition, and his benevolent affections. Temper, judgment, and discretion, all were combined in him in a manner which is not often met with. As a scholar, besides a superior acquaintance with Greek and Latin, he knew intimately Persian, Arabic, He