ruption of other tongues; Norwegian, Pikish, Danish, now much corrupted by the neighbouring German, Icelandic, and modern Scottish. In the following extract is some curious information, joined with the old fancy of keeping the mouth shut on account of the cold, which has been even adopted by Milton.

* A curious distinction between the German dialect and the Scandinavian is, that the later has, properly fpeaking, no let ter Pin it. Not above twenty words begin with P; and they are all names of foreign places, or real foreign words, as Pers land, fo called by the inhabitants; Papa, a foreign word, father, applied to a prieft; and the like. And even in thefe, P is pronounced V, Vetland, Vava. The Scandinavian has alfo ho W at all. The Runic alphabet wants E, G, P, Q, W, V, X, Z. On the contrary the Gothic of Ulphilas has b th Pand Was have alfo the Anglo-Belgic, of which fo many noble fpecimens remain; and the Tudefque. There tongues have alfo E, G, P, Q, W, Z. The later Anglo België has X and V. But V in particular, which fupplies both P and W in the Scandinavian, is unknown to the Gothic of Ulphilas, Tudefque, and oldest Anglo-Belgic. The Scandinavian has also no C, which is a fuperfluous letter in every language having k and s; and no QX, or Z; for, it ufes kv; for X, ks; for 24 fd. The Scandinavian has but one fupernumerary letter, p. TH; the Gothic of Ulphilas has G, or Y, open, thus wri ten in Anglo-Belgic fmall letters, and in our Scotifh; which being the identic form of Z has made our ignorant printers of old poetry totally confound our language by putting Z in its place inftead of Y. Ulphilas has alfo Y, TH; d, or QU, which begins fo many words in old Scotifh; and X, or CH. But the total want of P and W may be looked on as the grand literal diflinction, between the Scandinavian and the German dialects of the Gothic. And this feems a remarkable instance of the effect of climates upon language; for P and W are the most open of the labial letters; and V is the moft fhut. The former requires an open mouth: the later may be pronounced with the mouth almoft clofed, which rendered it an acceptable fubítitute in the cold clime of Scandinavia, where the people delighted, as they fill delight, in gutturals and dentals. The climate rendered their organs rigid and contracted; and cold made them keep their mouths as much fhut as poffible.'

A better reafon than the cold is given by lord Monboddo, the author, we fuppofe, hinted at, for the long words in imperfect languages, than in the following paffage :

Hence also another grand distinction between the German and the Scandinavian; namely, the length of the words in the former, and their fhortnefs in the later dialect. Long words, as a late author very jufly obferves, are infallible proofs of an original and ancient tongue. In time, by frequent ufe, and

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that defire of faying much with little effort, which is fo natural in a cold climare efpecially, words are contracted by degrees. The words of Ulphilas are as long, or longer, than the German, or Tudefque. The Anglo-Belgic words are fhorter. The Scandinavian fhorter still.'

Peanvahal, the name of a town at the eastern end of the wall of Antoninus, is derived by our author, who is angry at every attempt in Celtic etymology, from peana, to extend; and vahal, the broad found of veal, the Gothic for wall. It is not much nearer than the Welsh pen y-wall, with the Welsh pronunciation of the w; but as it was rather in the Gothic than the Cumraig territories, we may fafely fo:low our author. The general argument in favour of the universality of the Pikish language, is the fmall number of Celts compared with the Goths; but Mr. Pinkerton ought to be cautious that this argument is not turnedagainst him. If it should appear that the western iflands were really peopled by Piks or Norwegians, the prevalence of Celtic language will show, that the Celts were at least conquerors in literature, and defpotically im pofed their language on their masters: And what else could be expected in the feat of the little literature, the little ference, and the religion of thofe days, each explained in the Cestic tongue, în the tongue of those who throughout thefe volumes are figmatifed as fcarcely fuperior to brutes? Mr. Pinkerton may be affured that this is dictated by no national vanity; and that the hand which forms thefe words is truly Gothic, and even BelgoGothic.

In the defcription of the manners of the Piks, there is nothing very ftrikingly original. Our author firft gives the defcription of Pikish manners from the Roman authors, and next; as the Piks were Goths, he defcribes the Gothic manners in general as illuftrating what the claffical writers may have omitted. We must not, however, suppose, that Gothic manners are neceffarily Pikish; as the Goths, when they fe- ! parated from the firft great colony, might in a colder cli mate have loft fome of their customs, and adopted others more fuitable to their northern fituation. In general, Mr. Pinkerton has confined himself to the manners of the Scandi- ' navian Goths, except where he introduces different traits, to illuftrate his fyftem of the Gothic origin of the Piks.

It has been obferved, that one inftance only occurs of mo narchy among the Piks of the western coaft; and our author is of opinion that the most ancient monarchies (he should have› faid governments) were democracies; but this affertion muft be limited to the north, the feat of liberty. Verfe was fo common among the Goths, that it was not unusual to

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accost a stranger in verse, who would answer in the 'fame way. Indeed this, among uncultivated (we dare not add barbarous) nations, was fo common, that it is now fcarcely a paradox to say that verse was anterior to prose. We may indeed allow, that the verse of the Goths is more violent, animated, and fierce than that of the Celts; in other words, it is replete with warm alacrity of mind, chearful courage, and quick wisdom; it is replete too with bold enterprize, fpirited horror, and fierce revenge. But the Celtic poetry is not fo justly characterised, when it is faid to be wholly melancholic in a fu preme degree; full of deaths, mifery, and madnefs. There is indeed a gloom caft over the whole, the gloom of fequeftered wildness, the reflection of the scenes around. But death is fought rather than deprecated; the warrior is honoured and the victor adored; the fongs of his bards raise him to the highest fame; and it is the complaint of Offian, whether Scots or Irish, of the fourth or the fourteenth century, is of little importance, that he could not die nobly in the field.

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The laft chapter of the first volume is on Pikish antiquities in Scotland. After establishing that the inhabitants of Britain were either Celts, or Goths, and treating M. Bailly's reverie exactly with the degree of ridicule and argument which it deferved, Mr. Pinkerton goes on to enquire whether the rude remains in this ifland were Celtic or Gothic. No great advantage to the ingenuity of either race could be derived by allowing their claim; yet our author is ftill violent against the Celts, and will not allow them any share in these monuments. We think he decidedly proves that they are not Druidic. Of the Druidic monuments pointed out by Borlafe, he is willing to allow only the Cromlechs to be Celtic, as fuitable to fuch a favage indolent race. The rock idols, the pierced stones, the-rocking stones, and rock bafons, are, in his opinion, accidental appearances arising from natural caufes, though he points out a rocking ftone as a fepulchral monument, in the first book of the Argonautics of Apollonius. Some of these monuments may probably, he thinks, be attributed to the Danes. The fingle ftones erect, barrows, or fepulchral hillocks, temples, and places of judgment, castles, caves, and entrenchments, which remain; he attributes exclufively to the Goths, Stonehenge he fuppofes to be a place of judgment, or meeting, the rude parliament of thofe times, where every one had a vote; and in which the ftones across were for the chief to afcend when he spoke to the people. No attempt was too arduous for a whole nation or a vast army; and a ftone may, he suspects, be raised by forcing it up an inclined arti

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ficial mount, while its end may be fuffered to drop from the perpendicular fide, and in this way it may be kept erect: another ftone might, if neceffary, be placed on its top in the fame manner, and the mounds, when they had performed their of fice, might be removed. This is truly labor improbus,' but no very improbable or unnatural fyftem.

The Appendix contains fome afeful and neceffary documents; but the second volume of this work we must confider in a future Number: the Enquiry abounds with fo many things not generally known, and contains a fyftem fo different from those of later authors, that we cannot follow our enterprising hiftorian with too much care.

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Reliques of Irifa Poetry: confifting of Heroic Poems, Odes, Elegies, and Songs, tranflated into Englifo Verfe: with Noter explanatory and biftorical; and the Originals in the Irish Cha rader. To which is fubjoined an Irif Tale. By Mifs Brooke. 410. 16s. Boards. Robinsons.

To investigate the obfolete remains of other times, delivered

in a language of which few have been hardy or inquifitive enough to attempt the acquifition; to elucidate those writings, and clothe them in the ungenial, we truft not ungraceful, vefture of modern rhyme, are atchievements that might have ftaggered many a literary knight-errant and enterprifing antiquary-Yet all this has been attempted and accomplished by a lady, in her first poetical attempt, who starts forward the avowed champion of her country's lovely mufe. Let it, however, be remembered, that he is the daughter of the late Mr. Brooke, a name well known to patriots and poets: and

Fortes creantur fortibus.

We cannot, indeed, allow that we are always convinced by this lady's arguments, or charmed by the harmony of her num bers; but we estimate her defects as light when balanced agains her merits. We are pleased with her fpirit and animation, and refpect her abilities.

For an ample and fatisfactory account of ancient Irish poetry, the refers us to the writings of O'Conor, O'Halloran, and Val lancey. Their zeal for the literary honour of their country is applauded in the most rapturous terms; and mifs Brooke has imbibed no fmall portion of their fpirit. Her zeal indeed, like theirs, fometimes overflows the bounds of discretion.

The productions of our Irifh bards exhibit a glow of culti vated genius.a fpirit of elevated heroiim,fentiments of pure honour,-inftances of difinterested patriotism,- and manners of

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a degree of refinement totally alonifhing, at a period when the rest of Europe was nearly funk in barbarism and is not all this very honourable to our countrymen? Will they not be benefited-will they not be gratified, at the luftre reflected on them by ancestors fo very different from what modern prejudice has been fadious to represent them? But this is not all.'

Much to the fame purpose is here added; but this fuperior ftate of aivilization, however extolled and fapported by fome patriotic antiquaries of Ireland, will never be admitted by their turdy opponents The eye not dazzled by national enthufiafm will reject the telescope of credulity, and never difcover those brilliant fcenes through the dark clouds that hang around them. The philofophical hiftorian will not allow the existence of the race of Milefian monarchs, nor confider the fairy tales of their Filear as the records of history.

The firft heroic poem in this collection is entitled Conloch; the author, and exact time in which it was written, unknown. But it is impoffible, mifs Brooke fays, to avoid afcribing it to a very early period, as the language is fo much older than that of any of my originals (the WAR ODES excepted), and quite different from the ftyle of thofe pieces which are known to be the compofitions of the middle ages. Of the ftyle we certainMy pretend not to judge, yet from fome expreffions and fentiments (we draw our opinion from the tranflation), we can hardly fuppofe it to have been compofed fo early as the middle ages. The two following poems, we believe, are of later date, though, Jike, the prefent, founded on, or framed from, traditionary tales of great antiquity. We cannot well fuppofe that Greece, and Perfia were known to the Irish bards in times preceding the middle ages; that they then understood the claffical phrase the palm of valour;' or knew that knights bound themselves by theory of chivalry."

The meafure in which this poem is written is irregular; for which the tranflator, in our opinion, needlefly apologises. It is told in an abrupt and fpirited manner, and strongly refembles that in Offian's works, entitled Carthon. Cuchullin, in this, kills his fon, through the fame mistake that Cleffamor does his in the other: and the young heroes are infpired by the fame p e principle, of its being difgraceful for a warrior to reveal his name to a foe. The réfémblance between the compofitions of the Irish Oifin, and the Caledonian Offian, is indeed very triking; we fhall point out more inftances as we proceed. They Andeed fufficiently prove that a ftrict intercourfe formerly fubfited between the Irish and the Highland Celts. The fame tra

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