was familiar to them. The Norman invafion, he even records as a conqueft over the liberties of England; and, it would feem, that he had a pleasure in degrading the nation, the hiftory of which he was ambitious to delineate.

In the prefent volume he neither departs from his sentiments nor from his plan. The first part of his first chapter is devoted to the civil and and military history of England, from the acceffion of Henry IV. to the acceffion of Henry VII. The fecond part of it includes the civil and military hiftory of Scotland from the year 1399, to the acceffion of James IV. In his fecond chapter he holds out the history of religion from the year 1399 to the year 1485. His third chapter is dedicated to the hiftory of the conftitution, government and laws, of Great Britain, during the fame period. And his fourth, fifth, fixth, and feventh chapters, exhibit fucceffively during the fame courfe of time, the hif tory of learning, arts, commerce, and manners, in Great Britain.

This plan of hiftory is not to be confidered as new; although it is exprefsly termed fo, by the Author. It is evidently adopted from the method employed by Prefident Goguet, in his book on the arts and fciences; a part of which was tranflated many years ago by Dr. Henry. But, while his plan is not new, it is faulty. His divifions compel him to feparate and divide circumftances and events the most intimately connected. They lead him into perpetual and fatiguing repetitions; and his narration; inftead of rifing into dignity is uniformly liftlefs and feeble. His work, in place of conftituting a whole, is only a mere mafs of historical matter. It includes materials for an hiftorical performance; but they are naked, disjointed, and independent. He does not fhew a complete and animated figure; but he affembles the minute and divided parts of a fkeleton. It is, accordingly, with the moft obvious impropriety, that he dignifies his collections with the title of The Hiftory of Great Britain'. The architect, who had only accumulated large quantities of mortar, timber, and granite, might affirm with equal juftice, that he had conftructed a most magnificent palace..

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It muft, however, be acknowledged, that Dr. Henry has been diligent and affiduous in an uncommon degree. Here he is worthy of fignal praife. But, how often have we to regret in our character of Reviewers that ability and industry' are fo feldom united! The collections of our Author are not made with that discriminating power which alone could render them valuable. As he fees indiftin&tly, he is fre quently wandering from the right road. As his mind is by

no means comprehenfive he cannot think in a fyftem, nor preferve himself from the impurity of contradictions. As his education has been confined, and his fituation reclufe, he cannot addrefs himself to the world. His ignorance of human affairs is extreme; and its defects are not repaid by any acuteness of reafoning or penetration. He even appears to be a stranger to the art of hiftorical compofition. He affects to be fimple; but he is infipid. He never elevates his reader, nor impreffes him with the idea that he is about to be inftructed or entertained by his conceptions. His ferioufnefs degenerates into fadnefs; and we expect in vain the dignified wifdom of the hiftoric mufe. The uncovered plainhefs of his manner is difgufting; and his diction every where grovels in the coarfencfs of provincial converfation. He never goes in fearch of elegance and ornaments; and what is remarkable, from the beginning of the volume before us to its conclufion, there is not fo much as one inftance of a conftructed fentence or regular period. Great revolutions, and little incidents, are detailed by him with no variation of style or tone. He has no artful tranfitions, no fortunate touches. of the pencil, no alluring or ambitious embellishments. He has nothing of the brightnefs that dazzles and illuminates. His characters are fo ill conceived, and fo improperly expreffed, that they are read rather with pain than pleasure. To hit off a portrait was a point much beyond his reach. He can only make his reader acquainted with the names of his perfonages. His battles are not always intelligible; and they are often abfurd. He begins his defcription of that of Agincourt, by obferving, that it happened on The day of Crispin and Crifpianus'. At times he interrupts the gloom of his narrative by thofe bursts of jocularity, which are fo frequently characteristic of dull men. He does not perceive that low mirth and dry jokes, muft for ever be unfuited to the hiftorical manner. But what is fill more furprizing, we find that this reverend divine has been fo imprudent as to difcover the pruriency of his imagination by exhibitions of indecency and fmut. For this no apology can be adequate; as history has been termed with propriety, the school of morality and virtue.

Having offered thefe remarks, we fhall now fubmit to our readers a fpecimen of the volume before us, in order that they may form a judgment of it for themselves.

The English were remarkable in this period, among the nations of Europe, for the abfurd and impious practice of prophane fwearing in converfation. The Count of Luxemburg, accompanied by the Earls of Warwick and Stafford, vifited the Maid of Orleans in her prifon at Rowen, where he was chained to the floor, and loaded with irons. The Count, who had fold her to the English, pretended that

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that he had come to treat with her about ber ranfom. Viewing him with just refentment and difdain, fhe cried, "Begone! You have neither the inclination nor the power to ranfom me. Then turning her eyes towards the two Earls, fhe faid, "I know that you Englifh are determined to put me to death; and imagine, that, after I am dead, you will conquer France. But though there were an hundred thousand more God-dam-mees in France than there are, they will never conquer that kingdom". So early had the English got this odious nickname, by their too frequent ufe of that horrid imprecation. A contemporary hiftorian, who had frequently converfed with Henry VI. mentions it as a very remarkable and extraordinary peculiarity in the character of that prince, that he did not swear in common converfation, but reproved his ministers and officers of state when he heard them wearing.

An excetlive irrational credulity still continued to reign in all the nations of Europe, and feems to have prevailed rather more in Britain than in fome other countries. Of this many proofs might be produced. There was not a man then in England who entertained the least doubt of the reality of forcery, necromancy, and other diabolical arts. Let any one perufe the works of Thomas Walfingham, our best hiftorian in this period, and he will meet with many ridiculous miracles, related with the greatest gravity, as the most unquestionable facts. The English were remarkable for one fpecies of credulity peculiar to themfelves, viz. a firm belief in the predictions of certain pretended prophets, particularly of the famous Merlin. Philip de Comines, in his relation of what paffed at the interview between Edward IV. and Lewis XI. on the bridge of Picquiny, (at which he was prefent), acquaints us, that after the two Kings had faluted one another, and converfed a little together, the bishop of Ely, Chancellor of England, began a harangue to the two monarchs, by telling them, that the English had a prophecy, that a great peace would be concluded between France and England at Picquiny; for the English (fays Comines) are great beLievers in fuch prophecies, and have one of them ready to produce on every occafion.

The English frequently defeated the French in the field in this period, but were generally defeated by them in the cabinet. Philip de Comines, who was an excellent judge of mankind, and feems to have ftudied the national character of the Englifh with great care, acknowledges that they were but blundering negotiators, and by no means a match for the French. They were easily impofed upon, he Lays, by diffimulation, apt to fall into a paffion, and to become impatient when they were contradicted; and, in a word, that they were not fo fubtile, infinuating, and patient, as their adverfaries, who took advantage of all their foibles. The English certainly committed a moft grievous error, in withdrawing, in a passion, from the great congrefs at Arras, A. D. 1435. No prince was ever more fhamefully deceived by another than Edward ÎV. by that artful and faithlefs monarch Lewis XI.

A fierce, and even cruel fpirit, too much prevailed in both the the British nations in this period, and formed a difagreeable feature in their national characters. This was owing to the violent contests,

and

and almost constant wars in which they were engaged; which hardened their hearts, inflamed their paffions, and made them familiar with blood and flaughter. The reader must have met with fo many proofs of this fierce and cruel fpirit, in perufing the first chapter of this book, that it is as unneceffary as it would be unpleafant, to multiply examples of it in this place. It is fufficient to obferve in general, that the wars and battles of this period were uncommonly fierce and fanguinary; that prifoners of diftinction were generally put to death on the field, in cold blood; that affaffinations and murders were very frequent, perpetrated on perfons of the greatest eminence, by the hands of kings, nobles, and near relations. The ferocity of thofe unhappy times was fo great, that it infected the fair and gentle fex, and made many ladies and gentlewomen take up arms, and follow the trade of war. "At this fiege (of Sens, A. D. 1420) alfo lyn many worthy ladyes and gentilwomen, both French and English; of the whiche many of hem begonne the faits of armies long time agoon, but of lyying at fieges now they beginne first." But the women of Wales, on one occafion, are faid to have been guilty of deeds fo horrid and indelicate, that they are hardly credible; and are therefore related in the words of the original Author.

When we consider the state of the country, the condition and character of many of its inhabitants, we will not be furprized to hear that England was much infefted with robbers in this period. Sir John Fortescue, Chief Juftice of the King's-bench in the reign of Henry VI. acknowledges that robbery was much more frequent in England than in France or Scotland; and, which is remarkable in one of his profeffion, he boasts of this as a proof of the fuperior courage of the English. "It hath ben often feen in England, that three or four thefes hath fett upon feven or eight true men, robyd them al. But it hath not ben feen in Fraunce, that feven or eight thefes have ben hardy to robbe three for four true men. Wherfor it is right feld that Frenchmen be hangyd for robberye, for that they have no hertys to do fo terrible an acte. There be therfor mo men hangyd in England, in a yere, for robberye and, manflaughter, than there be hanged in Fraunce, for fuch caufe of crime, in feven yers. There is no man hangyd in Scotland in feven yers together for robberye; and yet thay be often tymes hangyd for larceny and stelyng of goods in the absence of the owner therof: but their harts ferve them not to take a manny's goods, while he is prefent, and will defend it; which manner of takyng is called robberye. But the English men be of another corage: for if he be poer, and fee another man having richeffe, which may be taken from him by might, he wol not fpare to do fo". Whatever becomes of the reafoning of the Chief Juftice, his authority is fufficient to establish this fact, That robbery prevailed much more in England than in France or Scotland, in his time.

The manners of the clergy in the preceding period, which have been fo fully defcribed in the fourth volume of this work, were fo fimilar to thofe of the times we are now delineating, that, to prevent unneceffary repetitions, the reader may be referred to that defcription. For though Dr. Wickliffe and his followers, declaimed

M. 3.

with

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with as much vehemence against the pride, ambition, avarice, cruelty, luxury, and other vices of the clergy, as against their erroneous doctrines, and fuperftitious ceremonies, they declaimed in vain : The clergy were at least as much attached to their riches, their hos nours, and their pleasures, as to their fpeculative opinions; and as unwilling to abandon their vices, as to renounce their errors. In a word, the generality of the British clergy in this period were neither more learned, nor more virtuous, than their immediate predeceffors; and feem to have differed from them in nothing but in the fuperior cruelty with which they perfecuted the unhappy Lollards.'

The reclufe life of a minister of the gofpel, the fimplicity of his character, and his ignorance of the world, difqualify him from entering profoundly into human concerns. Of all literary departments, the moft unfuited to him is that of history. Hence it may be inferred, that this order of men, would be more naturally and properly employed in their profeffional labours, and in attempts to overturn. the growing doctrines of infidelity. The merited popularity. of Dr. Robertfon, it is probable, was the attraction that feduced Dr. Henry, Dr. Anderson, and Dr. Lothian, into the arduous province of hiftorical compofition, But they are evidently far inferior to him; and his example does not justify their ambition. Dr. Anderson approaches the nearest to his merit; and in niches clofe to each other we may place Dr. Henry and Dr. Lothian.

We should now difmifs our Author: but a refpect for the propriety of the English language, induces us to remark, that his deficiences on this head are fo great, that they require to be exemplified. Of anamolous, impure, and mean diction, inftances without number might be collected from our Author. The following examples, however, are fufficient for the present purpose.

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P. 2. In lefs than three months of an exile'. p. 8. Commanded him to be taken out of the way'. p. 20. Unable to make head againft fo great a force'. p. 23. The court filled with a fet of wortblefs rafcals. p. 32. The procurement of an affembly in St. Giles's Fields p. 40. The English archers ftripped themfelves almoft naked, that they might deal their blows with the greater rapidity and vigour'. p. 68. 'Did not make all the advantage he might have made'.

p. 69. A process was carried on in the court of Rome'. p. 70. By the death of the Earl of Salisbury (faith an ancient hiftorian) the Duke of Bedford loft his right hand'. p. 73. This news, accompanied by many additional and marvellous circumftances, flew like lightning over all France.' p. 76. Permit his troops to join the army, which was greatly ftrengthened by that junction. p. 88. Thefe abfurd and Sneaking commif

fions.