minifters is, in general, properly fubmitted to the decifion of the people in the houfe of commons. In the laft change of adminiftration, the king acted apparently contrary to the wishes of the people; and the only alternative left was, a fresh appeal to the people at large, by a new election, when it appeared that this oppofition was apparent only. Perhaps it might have been more ftrictly constitutional if the king had availed himself of his prerogative, of a negative to Mr. Fox's India bill, and immediately diffolved the parliament, giving his reafons for this mode of proceeding We think he loft an opportunity of becoming the moft popular monarch that ever reigned; but perhaps the experiment was too rah, while the opinion of the people was not yet known. To return: The queftion of inheritance is next confidered; and here, like fome lefs able objectors, Mr. C. L. goes back for his inftances beyond the period of which Mr. Burke speaks, and, we think, reafons a little inconclufively. The claims of ancestry, the unequal reprefentation, and toleration, claim alfo their shares of our author's attention; and his observations on the natural rights of man, with a few exceptions, are very judicious and proper. We are happy to fee one anfwerer to Mr. Burke fpeak in favour of the age of chivalry: we think its influence on the present state of fociety has not yet been fully confidered. It is a new question, and requires more reflection than the urgency of the prefent moment will allow. We fear, at this time, the queen of France has infults,' perhaps worse, to fear.' The proceedings of the national affembly Mr. Lofft blames in many refpects. The want of a fenate, the circuitous mode of election, the small qualifications of the inferior electors, the confifcation of the lands of the clergy, the abolition of titles and armorial bearings, and of the king's power of making war or peace, with the appointments of the judges, fhare his difapprobation. On thefe fubjects he expatiates at fome length with great propriety. The conduct of the affembly respecting the finances he fpeaks of with referve, but mentions that, in 1696, the notes of the bank of England were at a discount. We believe he might have come nearer the present æra. The last part of the pamphlet relates to Dr. Price, and to the Revolution and Constitutional Societies; but on our author's defence we cannot with propriety make any remarks; it is enough to obferve, that their conduct appears to us in a very different light; and this we fay without the fmalleft intention of infinuating that our author is in an error, or pofitively affirming that we are right. We have already fufficiently enlarged on the fubject. FOREIGN ARTICLES. La Franciade, ou l'Ancienne France. Poeme en feize Chants. Par M. Vernes, Fils. Citoyen de Geneve. 2 Vols. 8vo. Mourer," Lausanne. THIS epic paftoral, which abounds with intrigue, with battles, and with rapes, circumstances a little inconfiftent with the golden age, in which the events are fuppofed to happen, can in other refpects be fcarcely called a poem. The language is an inflated profe, diftant, far diftant, from poctry, and may rather be ftyled profe on ftilts. Let us, however, at once obferve, that our author is young, and at the age of twenty the imagination hurries away the reafon; dazzled by fplendid fcenery, by beauty and by love, it reflects not on the heterogeneous image which it forms, or of the more inconfiftent union of difcordant parts. This vifion was first revealed on the banks of the Leman, in the neighbourhood of Meillerie and Clarens. M. Vernes there faw beautiful scenes, the fancied refidence of St. Preux and his Julia; he faw virtuous, unrefined inhabitants, he there read the reveries of the author of the Voyage to the Pelew Iflands. He wifhed to paint, in the most charming colours, liberty and love. He made this fpot the capital of ancient France, and to his heroine gave the name, most beloved by a citizen of Geneva,— Geneve. France, or rather Gaul, is a part only, in our author's geography, of the ancient kingdom of that name, which included Gaul, Switzerland, and Italy, of which the lake of Geneva feems to have been the fancied centre. The heroes have the names of the cities in thefe times, which our author supposes were derived from the distinguished chiefs of that æra. Lutece is the father of Paris; Aldée, Lyons, and Tours, are rivals for the love of the charming Geneve. Aldée is of courfe fuccefsful. The story of fo young a poem cannot be very interesting; nor would it be useful to engage in any regular criticifm on its conduct. As we have fpoken freely of its errors, we ought to obferve, that there are many ingenious fancies, many pleafing poetical fictions, interfperfed; and the author is no less anxious to pourtray true virtue and real modefty in the most enchanting colours, than to decorate his chief favourite Liberty. We can fcarcely recommend this poem to be read through; bat felect parts will be found interefting and pleafing. It shall be the object of this article to cull a few of our author's flowers, and to adorn them in his peculiar ftyle, chufing rather to fwell our own language a little, than to give, too lame a picture of his flights. The addrefs to Liberty in the beginning is too trite: let us rather felect the picture of the heroine, a picture in which every young poet endeavours to excel. After After fome indifcriminate praife, his description is a little more particular. Fresh as a morning in the month of May, the most beautiful colours of nature feemed delighted in fixing on her features. Her eyes were painted with the azure of the heavens, and feemed, like them, to express a celeftial foul. Her complexion difplayed the foftened contraft of a rofe hanging its head mong lilies; her lips, when feparating, offered the beautiful image of the bud of a flower, which the dew had began to penetrate; her foul, which beamed through fo many beauties, contributed to embellish them. Did the speak! What did not the found of her voice infpire? Was fhe filent, what eloquence was there not in her filence? Her companions dared not envy her; they looked on her fometimes as a divinity who had affumed a human form, to mingle in their fports; and, when Geneve attracted their refpectful regard, her modefty, and the little knowledge which the alone had of her own merits, flattered their vanity and agree. ably furprised them, by showing that if the appeared the goddefs, he was alfo a fhepherders." In one of the converfations on love, Aldée teaches Geneve how the world was created; and our author really creates worlds and creatures with much fancy, and with much gallantry. Millions of worlds already filled the celestial empire. From all eternity the monarch of the univerfe moved matter in different directions: it wandered in nature like a hip on the fea, at the will of the Almighty, when he refolved to create man, and the globe which he inhabits. From the height of his throne, like a dome formed by the affemblage of all the ftars; from this fummit of all creation, whence in his infinite majesty, he creates and reaches the fartheft boundaries of worlds, God glanced upon the void, in which the carth moves, one of those looks which creates light and life.-At the inftant one world more existed; from the bofom of darkness the fun darted forth, in the garb of the first of stars, and night ceased.—A torrent of light in a moment annihilated it. So when the earth fuddenly di vided, opened to its centre, the ocean immediately reached this gulf, and overwhelmed it with a fingle wave. At the appear. ance of the fun the earth began its courfe, and the planets rolled in their orbits, to continue till the moment when God shall withdraw his breach which moves them they will then die like the feeble creatures which they fupport, and diffolve to form other worlds. Do you know, Geneve, what God does when he creates or annihilates worlds-He makes a fign of existence or of deftruction. At this laft, earth fhall difappear: chaos, agitating again its hideous wings, fhall feck the line which it has traced in its courfe, and fhall not find it.' We fhall add a fpecimen of the young poet's gallantry. Omen, the first man, faw Ali, the Eve of our poet, without animation, on the banks of a lake. Ali had not yet enjoved the use of her fenfes, though Omen by the warmth of his careffes endeayoured to communicate his whole foul to her. He felt that she was was formed to be loved, fince every thing he faw in her had already infpired love. On preffing her breast to his, the heart of Ali began to beat with rapidity, and drew from her a figh. Omen, enchanted with thefe firit figns of life, determined for the future that they fhould be figns of love alfo, and be conftantly repeated at the approach of the beloved object. Such was the origin of thefe fweet palpitations, of thofe fighs of a heart inclined to love, who has already, or has once loved. Invo luntary and imperceptible voice of fentiment, love has no language more tender, more paffionate, or more innocent. Sighs do not betray the chafte and timid fhepherdefs, who is yet unacquainted with herfelf: they difplay a heart which bea's with fenfibility to her lovers and herfelt: they fpeak as involuntarily, and as low as modesty and myflery could with. It is the first exhalation of an expanding flower; the first breath of the rofe; the first confeffion which can be hazarded without alarming modefty; the first favour that can be granted; the first request that can be made.-Interefling exprellion of the recollections of love, which flies away with our youth, and is the 1ft perfume of the faded rofe. The fird with and the laft regret are equally its fources. A figh, from the object of our love, penetrates the foul more deeply than the enchanting sound of her voice, or the contemplation of her fmile: it is connected more intimately with her; it comes from the deeper receffes of the heart.' We can find room but for one other specimen, and it must be of a different kind. It is a defcription of a duel fought for Geneve, after fhe has already been obtained by Aldée. The trumpet gives the fignal of bat le: immediately the two terrible combatants advance towards each other, with a pice fo flow that each army for a long time fhuddered. Franciad nor the world had never feen a battle more worthy of fixing the attention of heroes. Such was painted the battle of the chief of the rebel angels, advancing in the empyre l plains, against the chofen of the Most High, and defying divinity himself. From the violent emotion which reigned on every counte nance, on the approach of Aldée and Leonce, you would have faid that each army was going to charge with fury. The warriors are now near; they are filent, and lose not the time in vain bravados: their actions a e to fpeak for them. They lift their terrible maces: at the formidable blows which either gives, the foldiers move involuntarily, as if to avoid the fhocks. The blows fail, refound, and are repeated with the rapidity and the noife of the thunder of the glaciers, where a thousand echos feem a thousand claps of thunder, following in fucceffion the fire of the lightning. At length each warrior, furious at finding his antagonist invincible, and unfufceptible of a metal wound, takes his mace with both hands, and whirls it on the head of his enemy. Are they alive? are they crushed?—They have lost only their weapons. As we fee two rocks, darted through the air by the explosion of a volcano long pent up, riling rifing at unequal intervals, the one mounts, while the other is already falling from the height of the heavens. They meet with the dreadful rapidity of their force, ftrike, stop an instant in the air, fall, and fill with their remains the gulf which has discharged them. So the two maces, armed with points of iron, strike, penetrate each other, break, and fly in pieces—' The author of the Franciad, it will be eafily feen from thefe fpecimens, does not want abilities to adorn any subject; but his imagination is yet too wild, and his moft brilliant paffages debafed with inconfiftencies, with conceits, and childish fancies. It is the early fprout of a vigorous tree: it is now beautiful, and may in time be more firm and useful. Novum Lexicon Græco-Latinum in Novum Teftamentum. Congeffit et Annotationibus Philologicis, in ufum Scholarum, illufiravit Chriftianus Schoettgenius; nunc, poft Jo. Tobiam Krebfum, recenfuit, auxit et variis Obfervationibus Philologicis et criticis, iocupletavit M. Tottlich, Leberecht. Spohn. Leipiiæ. HIS Greek Lexicon being well known, among those who we fha'l only mention what the prefent editor, M. Spohn, has done to render this uft ful book more perfect. He has, as he fays in his preface, inferted many words which were omitted, and frequently added notes and explications that were to be found in the old gloffaries, in Hefychius, Suidas, Pharonius, Julius Polluz, and the Etymologium Magnum. Sometimes the Septuagint verfion has furnished him with opportunities for making critical obfervations; and where he found the tranfla tion of feveral Greek words, in former editions, either erroneous, or not fufficiently expreffing their meaning, he has fubftitured others, which he thought more adapted to convey the meaning of the facred writers.' On comparing this new edi tion with the old ones, we must do the justice to Mr. Spohu, to say that what he has advanced in this quotation from his preface is not exaggerated, and that in our opinion, this new edition of Schoetigen's Lexicon, is not only fuperior to those that appeared before; but even to Stokii Clavis N. T. a book otherwife much efteemed on the continent. MONTHLY CATALOGUE. CONTROVERSIAL. Thoughts on Government: occafioned by Mr. Burke's Reflections, &c. In a Letter to a Friend. 8vo. 15. Debrett. THI the |