Ireland does not fhare in the reproaches thrown out against the British army; the Irifh, according to our author, were forced into the fervice! while English, Germans, Scotch, rufhed headlong to the war, it was with reluctance that the fons of Hibernia drew the fword against their fifter state! The lion frown'd, the eagle flam'd in goldHibernia's harp reluctant here was hungAnd Scotia's thistle there spontaneous fprung." When we confider the prefent critical fituations of Britain and Ireland, thefe ideas need no explanation. The adulation paid to the French monarch is equally fulfome and ridiculous. Such are the glories of the allied band! And fuch the dawning hope that cheers our land! Cements the nations by their heroes blood. The paffage however is tollerably expreffed, except the two laft lines, where mingled blood is faid to "cement the nations" by blood. After the author has entertained us through the greater part of the Sees nought remain, fave impotence and pride; He then exhorts his countrymen to form a fettlement on the banks of the Ohio, and paints with confiderable fuccefs the pleafures of independance and equality, the calm and pure enjoyments of what may be termed a virgin ftate. But is it in a country where commerce, and of course the love of riches have long fubfifted, and where the wretched African groans under the yoke of flavery that he is to collect fuitable members for this immaculate community. Poets, it is true, are not obliged to adhere ftrictly to truth, but amidst the marvelous they fhould fill keep fight of probability. He concludes with the following lines, which are among the best the Poem. ' And thou Supreme! whofe hand fuftains this ball, Before whofe nod, the nations rife and fall, Propitious Propitious fimile, and fhed diviner charms, Upon the whole, there is an animation in the work, which pleads its caufe with fome fuccefs at the bar of correct tafte. Mr. Humphries may be placed pretty far up on the fcale of poetical mediocrity. Art. 39. Criticifms on the Rolliad. A Poem. Being a more faithful portraiture of the prcient immaculate young Minifter, and his friends, than any extant. The feveral beauties of that initimable poem, are likewife carefully felected. 8vo. 1s. Ridgway. 1784. Very feldom indeed have the news-papers prefented us with fo inimitable a combination of wanton wit and unbridled fatire, as are exhibited in this performance. The perfon originally aimed at is Mr. Rolle, a celebrated member of parliament, who, we believe, has diftinguished himself more than by any thing elfe, by his virulent oppolition to Mr. Burke. The fubject of animadverfion, is a fuppofitious heroic poem, "the action of which," as we are informed, is one, entire, and great event, being the procreation of a child upon the wife of a Saxon drummer." The hero is Rollo, Duke of Normandy, and father of William the Conqueror. But "in the fixth book Rollo defcends into a night cellar, to confult the illuftrious Merlin upon his future deftiny; and the philofopher's magic lanthorn exhibits to him the characters of all his defcendants, and even of all thofe who were to act on the fame ftage with the Marcellus of the piece, the prefent illuftrious Mr. Rolle." After this, both the author and the hero are in a manner loft in the celebrity of the prefent actors in the political drama. The Rev. Dr. Pettyman, chaplain to his Majefty, and private fecretary to Mr. Pitt, is thus described : "Thou Prince of preachers, and thou Prince's prieft, Thy merits all fhall future ages fcan, And PRINCE be loft in PARSON Prettyman." Argus could boaft an hundred eyes, 'tis true, Gimlets they are, and bore you through and through.† Our author then defcribes very accurately the Doctor's hairdrefling, and devotes ten beautiful lines to an eulogy, upon the brilliant upon the little finger of his right hand; of which he emphatically fays, "No veal putrefcent nor no whiting's eye In the true water with this ring could vie. "Oh! had you feen his lily, lily hand, Stroke his pale cheek, and coax his fnow-white band; This adding force to all his powers of speech, This the protector of his facred breech; *Tu Marcellus cris." " Η Ούθαλμοδαλος” That That points the way to Heaven's celeftial grace, As right and finifter by turns he rais'd." The following lines may ferve as a fpecimen of our author's ferious powers: "As Mulgrave, who fo fit, To chaunt the praifes of ingenuous Pitt? The nymph unhackney'd and unknown abroad, 0 grant my country, Heaven, a milder fate!” We have only to add, that we cannot be heartily angry with the induftrious bookfeller, who has furnished us with fo convenient an opportunity of regarding thefe papers in one point of view, though he has printed them incorrectly, deformed them with a most barbarous title-page, and taken up the matter fomewhat of the earliest.Enough has been exhibited of them in the preceding extracts, to induce every genuine friend of humour, to join us in the prayer, Long may they be continued! Art. 40. Eironiclafies, or, a Cloud of Facts against a Gleam of Comfort. Svo, 2s. Shepperfon and Reynolds. This pamphlet is written with much ferocity and bitterness. In argument it is feeble; and administration can have no thanks to return to the author. He is angry without talents; and declamatory without eloquence. Art, 41. Poetry; by Richard Crafhaw, who was a Canon in the Chapel of Loretto, and died there, in the Year 1650. With fome Account of the Author; and an Introductory Addrefs to the Reader by Peregrine Phillips, Attorney at Law, Author of the Brighthelmítone Diary, and many Tracts relative to the late Difputes between Great Britain and North America. 12mo. 3s. Bell London. Crafhaw was a poet of eminence in his day, and he may ftill be read with great pleasure. Though his taste, like that of the age in which he lived was corrupted, and he abounds with gawdinefs and affectation, he yet exhibits many strokes of real genius. Pope condefcended to imitate him in many places, and was not honeft. enough to acknowledge the obligation. Other poets adopted the fame liberty, and difcovered the fame ingratitude. Mr. Phillips does justice to his author; and the public cannot but be pleased with. this beautiful edition of the writings of a bard, who notwithstanding the brilliancy of his imagination, and the expreffive energy of his language, had almost funk into oblivion. Art. 42. The Nabob. A Novel. In a Series of Letters. By a Lady. 2 vols. 12mo. 5s. Lane. London. The characteristic of this performance is a decent mediocrity. Though the fituations as well as the characters are pushed to extremi ty, yet the tendency of the work is moral. It may, therefore, be endured, and there are readers who may even be pleased with it. Art. Art. 43. Matilda: or, The Efforts of Virtue. A Novel. In a Series of Letters. By a Lady, 3 vols. 12mo. 7s. 6d. Lane, London. In Thefe volumes have a great affinity with the performance last noticed, and have probably proceded from the fame pen. As they exhibit leffons of morality and virtue they are to be commended. other refpects it would be improper to bestow the language of panegyrick. Art. 44. Pinetti's Laft Legacy, or, The Magical Cabinet unlocked: being a curious Collection of entertaining and diverting Tricks on Cards and Dice; together with the astonishing philofophical Experiments, &c. projected by the ingenious and celebrated Signior G. Pinnetti, who has received the Patronage of most of the Princes of Europe, for his furprizing and wonderful Inventions; and has exhibited the fame at the Theatre Royal in London with univerfal Applaufe; confifting of thirty three astonishing and wonderful Tricks and Experiments performed by him: interfperfed with the Performances of feveral other ingenious Perfons, never before published: the whole explained in fo familiar a Manner, as to enable the Reader to become equally expert with Pinnetti in magical and philofophical Experiments. 12mo. Is. Moore. London. This endless and puffing title page, announces a vile catchpenny. Art. 45. An Affylum for fugitive Pieces in Profe and Verse, not in any other Collections: With feveral Pieces never betore published. 12mo. 3s. Debrett. London. Here there are a few pieces which are good; and a greater Number that are either bad or indifferent. Art. 46. The History of Antichrift; or, Free Thoughts on the Corruptions of Chriftianity. In a Series of Letters to the Author of "The Reviewer reviewed," and other publications. William Richards. 8vo. 15. 6d. Wittingham, Lynn. Buckland, London. 1784. Mr. Richards affects to laugh at the reformation. That event, he fays, "fet the fubjects of antichrift together by the ears; but it was not the restoration of primitive or genuine christianity; nor did it introduce a more confiftent system than that of Rome. Had the reformers introduced the fyftem of the new teftament, their work, properly speaking, would not have been a reformation, but a total change, nevertheless, he fays, their work is very justly termed a reformation; for it was in fact nothing more than mending the old fuperftition. The reformers may be faid to have produced a new edition of popery, with additions and amendments. But the fy fteins of the whole of the reformers he confiders as antichriftian." From vilifying the reformation, our author proceeds, by hafty fteps, to his favourite topic the antichriftian nature of infant Sprinkling, which he pronounces to be the field and fword of Rome; and the difgrace and curfe of proteftanifm. For, infant baptifm, he affirms, is used as the grand plea for compliance with the ceremonies both of the church of Rome, and the church of England. Having given a defcription of antichrift and his fpirit, whence infant fprinkling, he thinks, originates, and in which defcription large large quotations form the greatest and best part; Mr. Richards proceeds to exhibit a fhort view of his operations and progress during the first ages of chriftianity. The measures adopted and pursued by these judaizers teachers in their oppofition to the apoftolic doctrine, were, as I before intimated, the firft acts of Antichrill. Here we find him ftrongly attached to judaifm, and labouring to introduce and establish it as the very ground and model of Christianity. But we must in no wife imagine that his attachment or favour is confined to the jewish fyftem. He favoured judaifm because it was a national religona kingdom of this world; and he afterwards favoured the different pagan fystems, for the fame reafon. For in gentile lands, wherever the gofpel prevailed, we find him continually employed in the fame accommodating bufinefs that had before engaged his attention in Judea. In the eaftern countries he appeared conitantly and ftrenuously labouring to incorporate with chriftianity the religious fyftem that was there in vogue. In Greece and Afia Minor, where the Grecian philofophy prevailed, he obferved the fame mode of proceeding with refpect to that fyftem.- At Rome alfo we find him very early taking the like method with the fuperftition which the pagan Romans had em-braced and established. The felf fame courte he afterwards appears to have pursued among the Celtic and other western nations. This very method, Sir, the man of fin feems to have pretty uniformly adopted in all his fucceeding operations---efpecially fince he obtained the patronage of the civil powers. The chriftianity, as it is called, which Conftantine and his fucceffors patronized, was certainly formed upon this accommodating principle. This was what made it fo perfectly agreeable to the state of corrupt man, and brought the world fo readily to embrace it. They faw the very fpirit of the old Superftition retained in the new; and could not but view the latter as a fuperftructure erected upon the very foundation and according to the very model of the former, and which was built in a great meafure, with the very fame materials. This celebrated system, in procefs of time, begat others in its own likeness :---Of which thofe of the Greeks and Romans are the principal. From the Romifh hierarchy are defcended all the religious eftablishments in this part of the world: And it must be owned that it has a most numerous and thriving progeny. What are all the hierarchies produced by the Reformation, from thofe of Luther and the mad-men of Munfter, to thofe of more recent origin, but the offspring of the Romish Whore? Their countenance and their manners, and every thing about them, loudly proclaim their lineage." The oppofition to the practice of immerfion, Mr. Richards obferves, is chiefly grounded upon two objections,---that it is indecent, and that it is dangerous to health. We have embraced different occafions of declaring our conviction, that immerfion in water was the mode of baptizing adult perfons in the primitive church, but at the fame time we expreffed, and now repeat our opinion that there are many things contained in the facred fcriptures concerning which, even good chriftians and fuch as have a faving faith towards God may entertain different and oppolite notions. Poffefling thefe fentiments, we are forry to fee fo many |