If, however, the structure of the lines be carefully examined, it will be found essentially the same with that of the mock-tragedies already mentioned : but the scythe and roller have been more industriously used in the present composition. We extract, in support of our opi. nion, the following passage:

• Curse on his noble qualities, they blaze,

And like the noontide sun absorb the beams
Of every lesser orb.- Why do I shrink,
And like the silvery moon confess his power,
Wasting whene'er he darts his godlike rays
Athwart my envious soul? I know not why,
Yet there's in virtue's tone a 'witching charm
That doth unbend the purpose of my soul,
And make me reverence the theme I hate.
Down, busy thought! and in thy place arise
The drowning voice of bold Ambition.- Who
But Lentellus now shall lead to vengeance,
And thus the soldiers' love obtain To me
Deputed is the slaughter of the foe,
And sacking of proud Rome-this well shall aid,
And onward spur my dread intent-Once gain’d
The base plebeian voice, I'll mask no more
The love of sov’reignty wherewith I'm fir'd.
This hand shall beat the opposing barrier down,

And satiate my ambition with a crown.'
It has evidently been the wish of Mr. Ireland to assume the noble
irregularity and overpowering enthusiasm of our antient dramatists ;
but in this attempt he has totally failed, and has shewn that he is
equally remote from the fervid genius of the older and the classical
correctness of more recent writers. If we must speak plainly, he
possesses all the faults, without the fire, of the authors of Hurlo.
thrumbo and Chrononhotonthologos

Fer. Art. 42. A Poetical Epistle to Sir George Beaumont, Bart., on the

Encouragement of the British School of Painting. By William
Sotheby, Esq. 8vo. 18. 6d, Wright. 1801.

After Mr. Sotheby's perilous excursion to the domains of Virgil , we are happy to meet liim in his native " wood-walks wild,” in Ep. ping Forest, in which his descriptive powers are shewn to more ad, vantage. He thus paints the attractions of his home-scenery:

• Here, o'er its base no mountain darkly bends,
No boundless ocean spreads, no flood descends,
No isle, hy morn empurpled, gems the deep,
No moon-liglit beams on silver turrets slecp.
Yet here green champaigns stretch, and grassy glades
Lead to wild walks and unfrequented shades;
Plains, o'er whose bosom, swelling to the day,
Sunshine and shadow sweep in broad array ;

Slopes hung with fern, whose wavy tufts between, .
Soft winds the village path of level green,
Smooth as the wake that gleams along the tide,
While the curl'd billows foam on either side.
And many a deep wood dims the noontide glare,
Whence the lone stag springs stately from his lair,
And, sweet at distance, float the horizon round

Fields gay with corn, the forest's golden bound.' The poet then proceeds to celebrate the project of Sir G. Beaumont for an exhibition of celebrated pieces of the British School ; and in describing the beauties and advantages of our landscape, he introduces the following highly pleasing lines :

• Say, where, by zephyrs borne, can Maia fing
Her flowers more fragrant on ihe lap of spring ?
A robe more verdant dewy summer weave,

Or brighter colours tinge th' autumnal eve?' Mr. Sotheby's patriotic zeal not only renders him desirous of ex. alting the artists of our country, but makes him view the assemblage' of Chefs d'Oeuvre at Paris with jealousy and anxiety :

I dread not Gallia's desolating pow'rs,
“ No hostile foot shall bruise our native flow'rs."
I dread her not, stein foe array'd in arms; .
I dread the Syren deck'd in magic charms;
I dread her crown'd enchantress of the heart,
And hail'd by Europe, arbitress of art.

• The feast is spred in proud theatric state,
Th’invited nations at her portal wait.
Transported guests! the golden gates expand,
The shout of rapture bursts from land to land.
Zephyrs, whose roscate wings soft dews distil,
The air around with sweets Sabean fill :
Banners where rainbow colours richly play,
Catch the soft gale, and stream a fairer day.
Above, below, around, the viewless choir
Wake the soft Aute, and sweep th' accordant lyre,
And, at each tuneful stop, from nymphs unseen,
Symphonious voices swell the pause between.
Others, by beauty moulded, move in sight,
And every sense by every charm delight,
With flowing locks, loose robe, and bosom bare,
Melt in the dance, that floats upon the air.

Th’ enchantress smiles, her hands a goblet hold,
On Hebe's bosom Cupid wrought the mould:
Th' enchantress smiles, and mingles in the bowl

Drops of Circean juice, that drug the soul.' For this new species of alarm, we hope that there is not much foundation. Our fashionable travellers will not more readily become revolutionists by looking at pictures and statues in Paris, than their

Ff3

forefathers

forefathers became Roman catholics by admiring the same master. pieces at Rome.—Though we differ in this respect from the present author, we must do justice to his verses ; which are much supe. rior to the common strain of poetical compositions, and are equally commendable for their elegance and their morality.

For Art. 43. The Surrender of Calais, an Historical Drama, (printed at

York). 8vo. 28. Croshy and Letterman, 1801. Inattention to historical fact cannot be imputed to this northern genius : he rather falls into the contrary extreme, and turns his tra. gedy occasionally into a gazette. Witness the following speech of Sir W. de Manny:

.7. de Vienne. The brave yield not to fortune, they controul it.

o W. de Manny. And so doth Edward ; witness Cressy field,
Sluys, Pontoise, Blanchetaque, and Norman Caen. —
Present or absent, fortune still is his;
Proud Bergerac, unequal Auberoche,
Morlaix and Rochderien, all are his;
Villarcal, Tonneins, and Sauveterre,
St. Jean de Angeley, and Mirembeau,
Mortagne Sur-mer, Annay, Surgeres, Benon,
Marans, aud Taillebourg, and Lusignan,
Poitiers, and brave Aiguillon, all are his.'

In a succeeding part of the play, we learn that Edward's purpose, in besieging Calais, was to teach the walls to make a reverence to him:

• Herald. The brave do love the brave, else had not Edward,
Unus'd to sue, and jealous of denial,
So often importun'd these haughty walls
To bow them gently underneath his yoke.

. Governour. What if they will not?
• Herald.

He will break them then.'
These stiff-neck'd walls certainly deserved to be set in the dancing.
school-stocks! The monarch might have exclaimed, with Bottom's
Pyramus,

« O wicked wall! thro' which I see no bliss,

Curst be thy stones for thus deceiving me.” On the whole, we apprehend that this • Surrender of Calais' will be regarded as no great acquisition to our dramatic literature, thongh the author has avoided many errors of the modern stage. To be free from glaring faults is not sufficient to the complete success of a writer: it is requisite that he should attain some degree of excellence. Frer Art. 44. A Medico-Metrical Address to the Students at the University

of Edinburgh. Containing Characteristic Sketches of the Medical Professors in that celebrated School. By Lemuel Lancet, Esq. 8vo. 6d. Jordan. 1801.

Old birds are not to be caught with chaff; and we have been too often deceived by title-pages and mottos, to put our trust in Mr. Lancet's affiche, “ C'est bien Comique" -A perusal of these verses, in.

deed,

deed, has proved no joke to us; and had they been much longer, we 'should have paid for our fatigue with a head-ache. Far from perceiving that they possess any degree of the vis comica, we dreaded a inost disagreeable effect from them; for, if we be not much deceived, they approach nearer to the nature of Emetic Tartar than to that of Attic Salt.-We shall decline any trial of their operation on our read.rs.

Fer. Art. 45. Recreations at Ramsgate. Poetical Effusions, collated with and collected from Original Manuscripts, in the Possession of a Lady. 410. pp. 46. Ramsgate, printed by Burgess

These fugitive poems appear to be the production of a genius well known to the public as an artist (a Painter], and not unnoticed as a poet. In the pad vol. of our New Series, p. 470, we hazarded our opinion of this gentleman's Frisky Muse; and we have now little to add to the general remarks which were then offered on his poetical talents, as far as they were manifested by his poem intitled “The Sca. Sick Minstrel.”-Mr. Tresham certainly possesses even a redun. dancy of imagination, and he is frequently happy in the structure of a good line or an harmonious couplet :' but he is not seldom de. fective in the polish and finishing of his verses ; and sometimes to such a degree that it seems almost impossible for any one but himself to read them. While, therefore, we must acknowlege his genius, we find it difficult to withhold the severity of just censure on his great carelessness :---for which he can offer no excuse, unless he may deem laziness a sufficient apology for his offences against the established laws of Parnassus. While we have any authority in the Court, how. ever, no such plea shall be admitted.

MEDICAL, &C.
Art. 46. A Treatise on the New.discovered Dropsy of the Membrane

of the Brain, and watery Head of Children; proving that it may
be frequently cured, if early discovered. With Objections to
Vomits, &c. &c. To which are added, Observations on Errors
in Nursing ; on the Diseases of Children, their Treatment, &c.
By William Rowley, M. D. &c. &c. 8vo. 25. Murray and 1
Highley. 1801.

The disease, which is described in this pamphlei, is created by a serous effusion between the tunica arachnoides and pia mater. Dr. Rowley has bestowed much ink on the diagnostics of the complaint, without being able to point out any discriminating symptoms from which it may be certainly known; and where he imputes it, in many. cases, to the practice of exciting vomiting by means of emetic tartar, we think that he is greatly deceived.

The method of cure proposed by Dr. R. consists in the applica. tion of blisters to the head; with the internal exhibition of gentle laxatives, diaphoretics, and small doses of calomel frequently repeated : but his observations might perhaps have been deemed more worthy of notice, if they had been introduced with less ostentation. .. The Doctor seems determined to claim the merit of almost every moderá improvement; and the Schola Medicina Universalis Nove is Ff 4

held

held up to our eyes as the oracle of the profession, in too many of his pages.

Fer. Art. 47. Animal Magnetism, History of ; its origin, progress, and

present State; its Principles and Secrets displayed, as delivered by
the late Dr. Demainauduc. To which is added, Dissertations on
the Dropsy ; Spasms; Epileptic Fits ; St. Vitus's Dance ; Gout;
Rheumatism ; and Consumption ; with upwards of one hundred
Cures and Cases. Also, Advice to those who visit the Sick, with
· Recipes to prevent Infection. A definition of Sympathy ; Antic
pathy; the Effects of the Imagination on pregnant Women ; Na-
ture; History; and on the Resurrection of the Body. By
George Winter, M. D. 8vo. 6s. Boards. Newberry. 180i.

We liave sometimes had reason for complaining that books do not correspond to the expectations raised by their titles : but, in the instance before us, the title page conveys so just an idea of the nature of this performance, that the rcader will not be deceived by the samiple; though probably none but reviewers will proceed to the substance of the book, after having laboured through this faithful abstract of the author's composition.

From the sketch here given of the principles, as they are called, of animal magnetism, they appear to be only a revival of the Paracel. {sian nonsense respecting the cousensus mumialis. It would be an insult to our readers, to offer any remarks on such long exploded trash. It is necessary, however, to observe that Dr. Winter, though once a pupil of Dr. Demainauduc, is no advocate for the truth of his opinions, nor for the success of his gesticulations. The book can answer no other purpose than that of furnishing some materials for the history of quackery ;-that incurable disease of the human imagination, which must be expected to endure to all generations.

Fer. Art. 48. Observations on the Utility of Inoculating for the Variola

Vaccine, or Cow-Pox. By Edward Gardner. Sro. 15. 6d.
Johnson. 1801.

Mr. Gardner is a warm advocate for the vaccine inoculation, and in this opinion we heartily concur with him. In the conclusion of his pamphlet, he alludes to the propriety of giving some testimony of public gratitude to Dr. Jenner for the introduction of this practice. Could our voice be effectually heard by those who have it in their power to confer such a distinction, it should not be delayed The benefits of Dr. Jenner's discovery are indeed beyond calculation ; and their influence on the health, the happiness, and the beauty of millions, will be extended to future ages. It is just, therefore, that the country which has the honour of claiming his birth, should discharge some part of the vast debt due to his merits from mankind at large. Art. 49. Practical Observations on the Use of Oxygen, or Vital Air,

in the Cure of Diseases : To which are added, a few Experiments on the Vegetation of Plants. By D. Hill, Fellow of the London Medical Society. Part I. 4to. pp. 60. with Plates. 75. 6d. Boards. Rivingtons, &c. 1800.

* We learn that an application of thuis nature has been made to parliament.