times inaccurate in point of compofition. Many of his letters, and much of his poetry, are liable to the fame objection, and were not, perhaps, intended to be committed to the prefs. His hiftory of the laft years of Queen Anne, though preserved by the partiality of friends, and published by the avarice of bookfellers, does little honour to his memory, It appears rather as a journal for his own amufement, and that of his acquaintance, than as a history. The compofition, indeed, is plain and simple, but it favours of the levity and familiarity of a periodical effay, rather than of the gravity and dignity of hiftory. His Travels of Gulliver were the higheft effort of his genius, and the language of them has been finished with the greatest care. Every body has read this curious performance, and has been amused with the irony, wit, and humour, with which it abounds. But a reader of humanity, however much he may admire the compofition, will regret that the fatire was not all equally restricted. The abufe of learning and learned vanity, were proper and well-chofen fubjects of ridicule; but it is not eafy to difcern what good con, fequence could refult from the ridicule of human nature itself. The author might difplay his mifanthropy and his fpleen: but, although he might injure, he could not much improve his fpecies." Lect, 25.

Mr. Barron, in his 28th Lecture, proceeds to the second general divifion of his courfe, and treats of fpoken language or oratory. He gives a flight fketch of the history and progrefs of eloquence among the Greeks and Romans; and alfo among the moderns, under the heads of Swifs, Dutch, British, and French eloquence. French oratory he juftly confiders as circumfcribed to the field of panegyric, or harangues of the demonftrative kind; and reprefents our own ifland as the only proper theatre for a rational and manly eloquence. We were, however, fomewhat amufed with his attributing the omiffion of the recapitulation by modern orą. tors, to the extreme brevity of their fpeeches. This is not the only proof which the work furnishes, that Mr. Barron's Lectures were compofed feveral years ago.

The author next examines, at length, the various fpecics of eloquence, divided into demonftrative, deliberative, and judicial, by the ancient rhetoricians; and into the elo quence of the fenate, of the bar, and of the pulpit, by the moderns. He likewife gives rules for the management of the different parts of a difcourfe; the exordium, the argu mentative part, the pathetic part, and the peroration, or conclufion. He fubjoins one Lecture upon delivery, tone, and questions; and another upon memory. But in all that he has advanced upon these subjects, he has been principally

indebted

indebted to Cicero, Quintilian, and his great forerunner, Dr. Blair.

We come now to the third part of the courfe, which treats of written language, and with which the fecond volume commences. This part opens with a history of writing, or rather a lift of fome of the most eminent authors, both of ancient and modern times; which is followed by an account of the dispute respecting the comparative literary merits of the ancients and moderns. In the following paffage, where Mr. Barron gives his own opinion upon fubject, he appears, more than is cuftomary with him, in the character of an original thinker; and, though we do not coincide with him in every particular, we think the verdict, on the whole, judicious.

this

"It is always to be remembered, that no fair comparison can be inftituted between ancient and modern authors, except where circumstances are nearly fimilar. We will not be fo unreasonable as to complain, that our poets do not equal Homer, or our orators Demofthenes and Cicero, if the diffimilarity of their circumftances rendered it impoffible. We will not expect that our poets and orators fhould equal or furpafs thofe of antiquity in circumftances fo unfavourable, that, had the poets and orators of antiquity been in them, they would not have furpassed our own. We will not demand that the ancient philofophers fhould have made the fame progrefs in fcience which ours have done, when the latter have had the advantage of all the refearches and experience of the former, befides the aid of feveral fubfidiary arts and fyftems then unknown.

"That Homer muft ftill bear away the palm of Epic Poetry from Virgil himself, and all the moderns, no candid critic will much hefitate to admit. He poffeffes more variety of character, more originality, more beautiful description, more eloquence and fimplicity of ftyle, than any other poet. But I will venture to maintain, that a great part of this excellence is to be imputed to the fituation of the times in which he lived. The natural manners and magnanimity of those times were particularly favour. able to the fimplicity and fublimity of his fentiments and style. The high honours conferred on bards, being [who were] confidered as the fages, the legiflators, and the heralds of their age; as companions of kings, and guests at all festivals, would prompt the livelieft exertions of genius. He had all nature before him unoccupied; and all his pictures of her, at leaft to us, wear the merit and charm of novelty. Had either Virgil or Milton lived in the fame circumftances, I doubt not that they would have rivalled him in other particulars, and have furpaffed him in judgment and fublimity. They equal him in thefe qualities, notwithstanding the difadvantage of being obliged to imagine all

the

the interesting fituations of their heroes, without having ever feen or converfed with fuch men.

"Euripides and Sophocles are the only tragic poets of antiquity, for the Romans produced none entitled to notice; and, confiderable as their merit is in point of character, paffion, and ftyle, they feldom poffefs much excellence in point of fable.The taste of the Greeks in tragic reprefentations, could not be refined, when we reflect, that little more than thirty years be fore the time of Sophocles and Euripides, their theatrical exhi bitions were no better than musical entertainments, exhibited by strollers equipped in the most homely manner. Thefe poets may furpafs modern Tragedians in fimplicity and propriety of ftyle, but it requires an uncommon reverence for antiquity to prefer them in every other view.

"In Comedy, every candid judge must give the preference to the moderns. The old Comedy of the Greeks, in which living characters were introduced and ridiculed, though it might dif play boldness and fpirit, was the coarfeft, groffeft ribaldry that ever difgraced a ftage. The object of it was not more repre henfible than the execution was indelicate. We cannot read, without the mcft lively feelings of difguft and contempt, the rough daubing of Aristophanes, by which the Athenians were inftigated to put to death Socrates, one of the best men and wor thieft citizens they ever had. The new Comedy, in which Menander and others excelled, and of which we may form fome notion from the tranflations of Terence, though the originals are loft, was a much more perfect fpecies of compofition. Simple, however, and natural and innocent as the dialogue is, it contains little wit or fpirit, and lefs variety of character. Nearly the fame characters recur in every play; and even the circumftances in which they appear are not much changed.

"Greece and Rome are unrivalled in oratory; but many circumstances concurred to produce that effect.-Had modern genius been placed in the fame fituation, I doubt not of its having made as eminent a figure.

"Historical compofition is the field in which comparison can be made with moft equity, because circumftances are moft fimilar; and here it must be admitted, that the refpective merits of candi dates are fo nearly balanced, as to create fome hefitation. In purity and correctnefs of ftyle, liveliness of defcription, and candour of relation, no authors furpafs Thucydides and Livy; but they must be admitted to be inferior to the best modern hif. torians in forming an interefting and inftructive narration. The capital fecret of compofing history, namely, to extend or abridge the narration, according to the importance of the matter, feems little attended to by the former. By the ufe of it, and that most enlightened fpirit of political and philofophical knowledge with

wihch the latter have adorned their relations, they have communicated to them a degree of perfection for which we seek in vain among the ancients." Lect. 38.

Mr. Barron goes on to compare together the philofophical writings of the ancients and moderns; but our limits will not permit us to follow him in this eftimate. On account of the length to which we have already extended our remarks on this work, we fhall referve what we have to say on the remaining part of it to a future article.

(To be concluded in our next.)

ART. II. The Stranger in Ireland; or, A Tour in the Southern and Western Parts of that Country, in the Year 1805. By John Carr, Efq. of the Honourable Society of the . Middle Temple. Author of a Northern Summer, or Travels round the Baltic; the Stranger in France, &c. &c. 4to. 530 pp. Price 21. 5s. Phillips. 1806.

THE

HE former works of this author have received from the public confiderable marks of approbation, nor do we think that the Stranger in Ireland will at all diminish his claims to favour. In this work he describes a tour made through the fouth and fouth-west parts of Ireland, and explains and delineates the prefent ftate of fociety, national' manners, buildings, &c. in the parts which he vifited. We think that he has very happily illuftrated the Irish character, and the people of that country are exceedingly indebted to Mr. Carr for the interefting and agreeable picture which he has drawn of their national manners.

One part of his work is, however, entitled to a higher degree of praife, and demands the attention of the legislature. It is that which reprefents the deplorable ftate of the coin, and the course of exchange. The author, on this fubject, appears diligently to have collected a number of important Facts; and we recommend what he has produced to the fetious confideration of those who may have it in their power to remedy the evil.

"Nothing can imprefs a ftranger more forcibly than the want of a mint coinage in Ireland, and (with an exception to certain portions in the north) the deplorable want of metallic fpecie throughout that country, to which may be added the exorbitant ftate of the exchange between the two countries.

"The production of a guinea, in many parts of Ireland, excites as much curiofity as the difplay of a ruble or a ficca rupee

would.

would. Upon the arrival of the firft of thofe precious coins int Dublin, it fpeedily finds its way either to the banker's counter, or to fhops called fpecie fhops, over the doors of which is written, "Guineas bought and fold here, and bank notes exchanged for guineas." Here a guinea, exchanged for a bank of Ireland guinea note, was fome time fince refold at one pound three fhillings, and one pound three fhillings and fixpence at prefent it is at one fhilling, which is low. Small bank of England notes, from one to ten pounds, arc at a premium proportionate to guineas, being equally useful to travellers. Larget bank of England bills bear the fame price as merchants' bills on London.

"The north of Ireland is principally fupplied with guineas from Dublin, where they are now fo fcarce, notwithstanding their premium being low, that it is with difficulty they can be procured in quantities fufficient for travelling expences. The fcarcity of this coin cannot be a matter of furprise, when, in addition to the act for reftraining payments in fpecie, it appears that one perfon alone, between the years 1799 and 1804, purchased a million and a quarter, one million of which was fold for the purpofe of exportation; and fome of the abfentee landlords still perfift in making, as far as they can, their tenants pay their rents in fpecie.

The want of filver fpecie is more particularly lamentable and embarraffing beyond imagination. Many of the great quantity of bafe fhillings in circulation are not intrinsically worth fourpence; but if they are of fufficient weight, or what is admitted to be fo by tacit confent, viz. two pennyweights, and fixteen grains and a half, and do not prefent too brazen an appearance of their felonious origin, they are permitted to defcend into the till, to prevent a total ftagnation of trade. Even these fhillings are rare, and their rarity is frequently difaftrous to business. After having been detained half an hour for change, I have more than once been told by the fhopkeeper, with great regret, that he had fent to all his neighbours for change, but could not obtain any, and confequently the article purchased, refumed its former feat upon the fhelf. It is worthy of obfervation, that the mint fhilling weighs three pennyweights and twenty-one grains, fo that, even in mere weight, an Irifh fhopkeeper is compelled to fubmit to a deduction of rather more than one-third.

"It has been afferted, that the rebellion and the abfentees have in a great measure occafioned the dearth of fpecie. During the late infurrectional troubles, the poffeffor of money naturally Concealed it, and as naturally brought it into circulation again when the ftorm had fubfided. It is not likely that a temporary caufe could produce a permanent effect: that the abfentees have increased the drain of gold, no one can doubt. Their wealth was lately more confiderable than at prefent, and the evil must of courfe have been greater. It has been urged that, as in the porth, where the comparative property of abfentees is greater than