Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

just account of this important part of the British dominions; efpecially if, to natural capacity, he adds, as Mr Beckford appears to do, the improvements of reading, fcientific inquiry, and obfervation. The volumes before us, accordingly, contain much information, and cannot fail of affording amufement and pleafure to the reader, though they do not form a perfect production,

It would be eafy to point out feveral blemishes; fome of which, at leaft, might have been corrected, or prevented, with but little trouble to the writer; there are inftances in which the style is inacurate, or awkward and obfcure; at other times it appears in flated or affected; occafionally, the digreffions are tirefome, and the prolixity is unpleasant; repetitions frequently occur; and the defcriptions, though interefting and expreffive, may confilt too much of poetical profe for fome ears, or approach too near to bombalt-on fuch accounts, the work lies open to cenfure, and may poffibly try the patience of the reader; who will yet, if good-natured, be inclined to make confiderable allowan ces for an author, who evidently writes under deep depreffion of fpirits and perturbation of mind.

" and

hope, that if neither abolition nor e-
mancipation fhall take place, a full
and efficient reformation may ;
under this idea, (he adds,) there can-
not be a doubt but that the Negroes
may be made as contented and hap-
py, as their ideas of contentment
and happiness can poffibly extend.'

We find that Mr Beckford cannot really vindicate the practice of flavery; the injuftice and cruelty in which it originates, are charges that ftill cleavé to it, amid all arguments that can be offered in its favour; and which alone, whatever might be faid to palliate fubfequent evils, prove that it is criminal, and ought by fome means, though gradually, to be fuppreffed. It does not appear that men thus degraded and oppreffed, so far from meriting punishment, can be juftly cenfured for contriving and employing measures to regain that liberty of which they have been robbed. Mr Beckford, as we have hinted, at one time mourns over their dif treffes, and at another defcribes their ftate as eafy: though he appears, in this refpeét, to be rather perplexed.

Defcriptive writing is frequently attempted by this author, and frequently with fome fuccefs. He finds many picturefque views for the purpofe, in the land, the ocean, the heavens, and the different kinds of employments which are here profecuted :

Mr Beckford is an advocate for the flaves; he laments their fufferings; complains of the injuftice to which they are fubjected; and points out fome of the fcenes are of a pleafin g particular inftances of the ill-treat- and entertaining nature, fome are ment that they receive from inhuman grand, awful, and terrific: the author and avaricious mafters. He is at wifhes for the hand of an artist, who the fame time, an avowed adverfary could make them glow on the canvas; to an abolition of the trade, or eman and flatters himself that, in fome fucipation of the Negroe: he alfo talks ture period, fuch a defire will be gramuch of the peace and comfort which tified: he affures the reader, that the this people obtain in Jamaica, and obfervations which he hath made on would perfuade the reader that it is the fcenery of Jamaica are the faithfuperior to what is known to the ge- ful confequences of a long and minerality of the lower orders of fociety nute investigation of its beauties; in Great Britain: but indeed there nor," fays he, am I conscious appears to be a degree of inconfiften- that I have introduced one fingle obcy in his obfervations at different ject of nature that I have not frequenttimes. He, however, declares his ly had before my eyes, and have not

3 H2

contemplated

contemplated with perfeverance and other writers, Jamaica is, in feveral

delight"-We fhall here infert a paffage, because it is fhort, and becaufe it furnishes fome ideas concerning one of the principal products of this island.

refpects, a most desirable situation :

It is the best poor man's country in the world: and that country muft furely be good, that can convert poverty into independence, can fmooth the brow of forrow and defpair, and occafion the heavy heart to leap for joy and where a man can acquire a competent fortune by perfevering induftry and honeft gain; the liberal mind will be lefs willing to envy, than it will be defirous to applaud.”

:

As every human enjoyment, however, has fome evil or danger attached, fo it is with this pleasant spot ; it has many disadvantages, and fome direful enemies :—to use this writer's language, the hurricane muft, from

A field of canes, when standing, in the month of November, when it is in arrow, (or full bloffom,) is one of the most beautiful productions that the pen or pencil can poffibly def cribe. It in common rifes from three to eight feet, or more, in height; a difference of growth that very itrongly marks the difference of foil, or the varieties of culture. It is, when ripe, of a bright and golden yellow; and, where obvious to the fun, is, in many parts, very beautifully ftreaked with red the top is of a darkish its destructive pre-eminence, be deemgreen; but the more dry it becomes, ed the most formidable adversary the from either an excess of ripeness, or fugar-cane has to encounter, and the a continuance of drought, of a ruffet principal dread of the latitude in yellow, with long and narrow leaves which it grows.' depending; ftom the centre of which fhoots up an arrow, like a filver wand, from two to fix feet in height; and from the fummits of which grows out a plume of white feathers, which are delicately fringed with a lilac dye; and indeed is, in its appearance, not much unlike the tuft that adorns this particular and elegant

tree.'

It is not wonderful that this author writes feelingly, and is disposed to expatiate, on fuch a fcene of horror as that of the hurricane 1780, to which he was a witnefs, and in which he was a fufferer: but it is poffible that the reader of thefe volumes may, on fome occafions, think that he launches out into unneceffary fubjects, or detains him by reflections which are The management of the fugar-cane, not requifite for a hiftory of Jamaica, from the first preparations and cul- The panegyric on the King and ture, to its depofit in the hogfhead, Queen, (vol. i. p. 193.) to which two and then in the veffel for exportation, or three pages are devoted, is very forms a very principal part of these allowable, efpecially when it is convolumes; which, as it affords fome a- fidered as written about the time of mufing particulars for general readers, his Majesty's recovery from the difalso exhibits many obfervations that order fo generally and fo juftly demay be very profitably confidered by plored. The praifes on Dr Johnthofe who are engaged in this branch ston, (p. 281.) are too laboured, and of bufinefs; for the remarks are appear rather affected; that gigantic founded on experiments, and fome- prodigy of literary perfeverance and times arife from the mistakes which fuccefs, as Mr Beckford terms him, the author acknowleges he made, and may receive all due re pect, without which ferved to afford him caution employing fuch fwelling expreflions. and improvement, as they may alfo Dr Burnet alfo receives a fhare of do to others. encomiums from this writer; they are introduced naturally enough,

From the accounts of this and of

when

when mention is made of fome mufical inftruments ufed by the Negroes, particularly one who is called the Bender, being formed of a bent ftick; and others which are denominated Caramenteer flutes, being made from the porous branches of the trumpet

tree.

Among the productions of this island, the plantaintree obtains a place, in the judgment of Mr Beckford, at leaft next to the fugar-cane, and is, in fome refpects, regarded as its fuperior. He defcribes through feveral pages, the tree, the fruit, the method of cultivation, and the ufe to which it ferves: indeed he fuppofes it the fineft vegetable in the world; and from the partiality, he adds, with which it has been always mentioned by circumnavigators, and even in thofe regions in which the bread-fruit abounds, it is natural to fuppofe that it has the preference of this highly boafted and fingular production.

In the account which is here given of the land and water animals, we obferve a paragraph concerning the alligator, which, as it is fhort, we fhall infert :

The make of this creature, that feems coated for firength, and whofe fcales and colour may deceive, con-. veys with the idea of danger the lures of deceit; and only floats an apparent log on the furface of the water, to furprize its prey, and hurry it, unfufpecting danger, to the depths below. It is amazing how bold and adroit fome Negroes are in the capture of this fifh. We are told that the Africans will attack the crocodile with knives, and prove victorious in the combat. The Negroes in Jamaica will take the alligator without a weapon, will inclofe it in their arms, and force it on fhore, without fear and without affiftance. Vol. i. p. 370.

[ocr errors]

Mr Beckford contradicts the opinion that the body of the animal, on account of the contraction of the fcales, is not pliable, and confe,

quently not capable of motion,' (or, as we fhould rather fuppofe he means, cannot turn without great difficulty.) Of one which he had in his poffeffion, he tells us, he could fcarcely touch its tail with a stick, before it inapped it with its mouth.'

We have thus prefented our readers with a curfory view of this publication, of which it was the lefs eafy to give an account, as it does not proceed on any exprefs plan, and is not divided into chapters. That the mention which we have made of imperfections and mistakes, is not wholly groundlefs, will probably be perceived by the few fhort extracts that we have inferted: yet, whatever are their faults, we think that these volumes may be read by the public, as they have been by us, with entertainment and information. Befide the ufeful obfervations of other kinds which the author prefents, he not unfrequently introduces religious and moral reflections, and thus adapts his work, in different refpects, to the improvement of the generality of his readers.

Tranfactions during the reign of Queen Ann, firm the Union to the death of that Princefs; by CHARLES HAMIL TON, Efq.

CARDINAL de Retz, when mentioning fome tranfactions of the Fronde, of which he had never been able to divulge the caufe, obferves how little able hiftorians, living at diftant periods from that of the actions they record, and writing from very imperfect materials, mult be, to account for many events, when he, a principal actor in the fcenes he defcribes, and living in the most intimate habits with the other parties concerned in them, was fo often at a lofs to align a caufe or motive for their actions.

This wife obicrvation of the Cardinal's, the hiftorians of the prefent day feem very little to regard. With

a

a bold fcepticism, and a complete defiance of lorg established public opinion, they have brought forth accounts of the conduct and pictures of the characters of the moft illuftrious of our ancestors, extremely different from those of the most impartial and beft informed cotemporary writers, and have endeavoured to unfix the hiftorical belief of mankind with regard to points on which it had long been fettled.

This, except to a few perfons of a particular turn of mind, is always unpleafant. But it is particularly dif. agreeable when fuch authors deny or dérogate from the merit of perfonages whom we have, from our earliest days, been taught to esteem or admire. That wife and benevolent structure of our minds which difpofes them to feel pleasure in the encomium of virtue in the abstract, gives them the fentiment of reverence and gratitude to thofe perfons whofe actions have been held to merit that encomium. Our hearts rife within us at the bare mention of their names, and we regard them as we do our patrons and our friends. To be deprived of this fentiment, to be told that we have been deceived, to be informed that such perfonages, inftead of being the objects of cur best affections, of our love and reverence, ought to excite in us only the feelings of hatred and contempt, muft neceffarily communicate a very difagreeable fenfation. 'Tis to exchange feelings the most pleafant for others the most painful; 'tis like lof ing our best friends, and having them converted into our bittereft enemies.

Nor is this all. Such a change of fentiment is apt to make us doubt of the truth and certainty of all human virtue. Nothing can have a stronger tendency to lead the mind, for the moment at leaft, to adopt the difagrecable and ill founded opinions of certáin philofophers, who have taken pains to convince the world, that all the pretenfions to virtue are founded on de,

ceit, and that there never was, nor ever can be, pure and difinterefted conduct. Such opinions tend to lower the dignity of our nature, and, by depreciating our esteem of ourselves as well as of others, to weaken every generous effort, to damp every noble exertion.

If we examine the nature of the evidence on which the authors to whom we allude have built their opinions, we fhall, I think, be inclined to doubt their folidity, as much as we deprecate their effects. This evidence confifls of three kinds : 1ft, Anecdotes or memoirs fuppofed to have been written about the time the perfons treated of lived; 2d, Letters of thofe perfons; 3d, Oral tradition. We may be allowed fome general obfervations on each of those species of evidence.

With regard to the firft, that of memoirs or anecdotes fuppofed to have been written at the time, it may be obferved, that if they are the productions of perfons who are themselves engaged in public tranfactions, or connected with any of the parties or factions then fubfifting, there is a fufpicion against their teftimony, which it requires a conviction not only of the candour but of the ftrength of their minds to remove. Let us judge the cafe from the analogy of our own times; let us anticipate the researches of future hiftorians, and fuppofe their judgment of the character of the prefent time, to be drawn from the party-writings of this day, and, I think, it will be easy to pronounce on the injuftice of their reprefentations.

The next fpecies of evidence, that of letters or paffages of letters alledged to have been written by thofe perfons whofe characters are attacked, or attempted to be depreciated, though often brought forth with an air of triumphant difcovery, appears to be of a kind extremely uncertain and inconclufive. Let any one, who in the private walks of life has had an extenfive and vari

[ocr errors]

pus correlpondence, confider what it would be to have his character judged of, not by his actions or conduct, not by the train of his correfpondence compared with his conduct, not even by the whole feries of his letters compared with one another, but by different detached paffages of these letters, written at different periods and to different perfons, without any knowledge of the circumftances in which they were written or of the perfons to whom they were addreffed, and he will at once fee the hardship of fuch a mode of procedure. If this holds in private life, how much more must be the injuftice of fuch a mode of forming our judgment of men concerned in the various great and difficult tranfactions of ftates and kingdoms; in thofe tranfactions, where, from their very nature, the weak must fo often be flattered, the violent conciliated, the interested allured, the fubtle counterplotted, and where State fecrecy makes concealment and disguise but parts of the virtue of fidelity.

The third fort of evidence we mentioned, that of stories or anecdotes handed down by oral tradition, it is fcarce neceffary to comment further on, than to fuggeft that it is clearly liable, and indeed, in a much stronger degree, to every objection that has been made against the first. Its original imperfections are as great as thofe of written memoirs or anecdotes, and it is liable, befides, to that increafed uncertainty, which fucceeding ignorance or prejudice may occafion.

We have been induced to make thofe general remarks, not only as they apply to the work before us, but, as we think they may not improperly be kept in view in perufing fome other modern narratives of former tranfactions and other modern portraits of former statesmen, which contradict the general opinion, and ftrike at the veneration which the public have long been accustomed to pay to fome of its illuftrious ancestors.

To this hiftory of the latter part of Queen Anne's reign, the preceeding remarks are applicable in the strongest degree: Not only is the evidence, by which its narrative is fupported, of thofe uncertain fpecies we have enumerated, but their authority is lefs fubftantiated than is common in works that reft on the fame fort of proof.Manufcript anecdotes are quoted without its being mentioned by whom they were written, and they are very feldom, if at all, given at full length, or, in the words of the anonymous author from whom they are taken. Neither are the letters, but with few exceptions, copied at large; and fometimes when they are mentioned to have been in the poffeffion of the author's father, no account is given of the manner in which he became poffeffed of them. Moft of the anecdotes derived from oral tradition, confeffedly flowed through the channel of the court of St Germains, to whose zeal for its unfortunate mafter we can eafily pardon that pliant belief, thofe violent prejudices which are to decorate the characters of his friends,' and to depreciate thofe of his enemies.

Exclufive of the errors, to which, from the above mentioned circumftances, this narrative is liable, it may be further obferved, that, from the very fingular account which the author gives of himself in his preface, he can hardly be fuppofed to be altogether difpaffionate or unprejudiced on the fubject of his hiftory. We mean not by this to infinuate, in the most diftant degree, that the author (who we have heard is a moft upright and benevolent man) would intentionally mifreprefent or falfify any particulars; but it is requifite only to read a few paffages of his book, to be fatisfied that he is too much heated, and under too much irritation, to be a cool and impartial hiftorian of the period he has chofen. What but this heat, this intemperate zeal, could have led him gravely to retail the ridiculous ftory,

that

« ForrigeFortsæt »