The Letters of Valerius on the State of Parties, the War, the Volunteer System, and most of the political Topics which have lately been under public discussion. 8vo. PP. 98. Hatchard. 180+. THESE letters, which were originally published in "The Times," are chiefly devoted to the most unqualified and indifcriminate commendations of the late minifters, and to the violent abufe of their opponents. Freedom of difcuffion, that is of the public conduct of public men, has ever been allowed by the law and by the cuftom of this country, and we trust ever will be allowed, fubject only to fuch reftrictions as the law impofes, and as decency prescribes. But fome of the abufe here exceeds all bounds, both of law and of decency; for instance, the Grenville party are described in the following language. "That deperate faction who would fell their country, trample on their king; who would invite the enemy to our shores; and (from my heart I believe) would, to promote their selfish ends, endeavour to give him poffeffion of the kingdom, &c." This is the very acme of calumny and falood. Mr. Pitt's adminiflration too comes in for its fhare of abufe, the author forgetting, like fome other writers on the fame fide, that the very men whom he fo extravagantly praites, were members of it. Of the accuracy of his political ftatements a competent idea may be formed from this obfervation. "The project of Lifle had defined and limited the demands of England. That we obtained better te ms than this project contained, is a matter of furprife, and certainly ought to be placed to the credit of minifters." If all their credit accounts confist of such items, let them be caft up and the total will be found Zero. We fhewed, in our laft number, that the terms of the treaty of Amiens were better than those of the project of Lifle, in exactly the fame proportion as two are better than four. How much do weak advocates hurt even a god cau.e! We fhall now exhibit Valerius verfus Near Observer.-Valerius loquitur. "That the peace of Amiens fhould not prove a lafting peace, was what no politician that ever exifted could poffibly have forefeen."-Near Obferver refpondet. "Whoever, with all thefe documents before him, could confide in the duration of the late peace was Nature's fool and not the Chancellor of the Exchequer's." According to this fentence, Valerius is Nature's fool; and certainly we are one of the politicians, who, whether we ever existed or not, did forefee and foretell that the peace of Amiens would not be a lafting peace. We even offered, on the fignature of the definitive treaty, for the confideration of one thoufand guineas, to pay a guinea a day so long as the peace fhould laft. We were happy in finding one declaration in which we could heartily agree with our author: "No man verfed in our conflitution, will deny that it is the undoubted prerogative of the KING to appoint his own fervants.” Till within the last week we really were fimple enough to believe that on a point fo plain there could not be two opinions in the kingdom! It is almoft needle's to add, that thefe letters are neither remarkable for extent of political forefight, acuteness of intellect, or brilliancy of talent. The The Day of Alarm; being a progressive View of the Spirit and Designs of the leading Men in France, before and during the War, and principally since the Peace, exhibiting the Plans and Maxims adopted in their Councils, respecting foreign States. With Animadversions upon the Allegations of French Writers against the Government and People of Great Britain, and Historical Strictures on the Conduct of the French in their Intercourse with other Nations. 8vo. PP. 178. 4s. Hatchard. 1803. WHOEVER confiders attentively, and duly appreciates, the prefent ftate of Europe, must, indeed, regard this as "the Day of Alarm;" and the author of the tract before us appears fo to have confidered and so to have appreciated that ftate. Hence his arguments as to the extent of present danger, his affignment of the caufes which have produced it, and his notions of the confequences refulting from it are generally correct. This "View," fuch as it is stated in his title page, is tolerably comprehenfive; and his examination of the analogy, fo much the boast of Frenchmen, between ancient Rome and Carthage, and modern France and Great Britain, is highly creditable to his talents and his judgment. He has taken up the fubject in rather a new light, has fhewn that it is replete with useful inftruction for ourfelves; that the comparison, degrading to us, as it appears to the French, is, when deeply inveftigated, very far from difgraceful to our national character; and that, if true to ourfelves, we have no reason to dread that it will hold good to the last. He obferves that, in confidering the events of the French revolution, fufficient attention has not been paid to the leading feature in the character of the people of that country, which he describes to be a fondness for military glory; and to this cause he traces their attachment to or dislike of their different fovereigns. It would require more time than we can devote to the fubject to examine the justice of this remark; it is certain, however, that vanity is the predominant feature in the French character; to have it thought, by foreigners, that their ruler, whether a murderous ufurper or a mild and lawful fovereign, is the greatest man in Europe; that they themselves are the first people in the world; and, to use their own vain jargon, qu'il n'y a qu'un Paris au monde; is the first object of their care and ambition. So far, then, as military fucceffes, however stained with blood, or marked by injuftice, extortion, cruelty, and plunder, tend to the gratification of this leading paffion, they glory in them; they confider their victories as proofs of their fuperiority over all the nations of the globe, and are ever anxious to conceal or to repair their defects, because they interfere with that gratification which is ever nearest their hearts, the gratification of their vanity. It cannot be denied, that a people fo difpofed, and fo impreiled, and governed by a fuccesful tyrant, who has waded through blood to the throne, whofe ambition is boundlefs, whose vanity is equal to that of the flaves over whom he exercifes unlimited sway, and who is reftrained by no one principle from the accomplishment of his purposes, are a dangerous and formidable enemy. This book is written with equal temperance, ability, and judgment. POETRY: EDUCATION. An Ealy Introduction to Meffrs. Wailly's French Grammar; in two feparate Books. ft. Scholar's Book; containing 1. Concife Examples of the dif ferent Sounds; from which when any word in the Book deviates, it is pointed out in its place. 2. The Ufe of the various Articles and Pronouns, fo puzzling to Learners, plainly demonftrated. 3. The Verbs claffed in the cleareft Manner, and rendered eafy by the Comparifon kept up between the two Languages. 4. The leffer Parts of Speech, and the Indefinite Pronouns facilitated by the Application of them, as alfo of fome of the Principal Idiomati al Expreffions on various Verbs; with Exercifes on each Leffon. The whole being an ample preparative towards attaining the Syntax in the above excellent GRAMMAR. Defigned for the Ufe of young Ladies. By Blanch Mercy, 12mo. Pr. 86. 2s. Baldwins. 1803. An Eafy Introduction, &c. Inftructress's Book, containing the Method of Teaching, and concluding with Inftructions for Tranflating. By Blanch Mercy, 12mo. PP. 64. 2s. Baldwins. 1803. THE HE long title pages prefixed to thefe little books of inftruction so fully explain the author's defign, and the nature of their contents, as to leave but little for us to add, by way of information to our readers. To us they seem very well calculated for the purpose they are intended to promote, and to be very useful, the firft, in facilitating the acquifition of the French language to young perfons; and the fecond, in teaching perfons how to teach others. We have rema ked in the former fome typographical errors, which, though difficult to avoid, ought nevertheless to be moft fcrupulously avoided in all books of education: for inftance, p. 74, ems for tems; p. 85, d'Effrai for D'Effroi, &c. Dialogues Enfantin; En mots courts et aifés, pour faciliter aux Enfans la Lecture du Français. Juvenile Dialogues in fhort and eafy Words, to faci litate the reading of French. By the Countefs de Fouchecour, Author of "Les Saifons," &c. 24mo. Pr. 42. Highly. 1804. THESE Juvenile, or, more properly fpeaking, Infantine Dialogues, are defigned for the ufe of very young learners of the French language, to whom they will certainly render it a more easy task not only to read French, but to acquire the idiom of the language, fo as to write, and to translate, it accurately, than it will be found by the ordinary modes of teaching. The New Univerfal Spelling Book, &c. By D. T. Sheridan. Birmingham. IN the name of children and common fenfe when are we to have a little more rationality in our fyftems of education? Here is another critical whiskered author promifing to improve our rudiments of education, and prefents us with a volume of barren words eked out by a medley of leffons about wolves and lambs to frighten poor little children. We fmile when we find a man talking about grammatical accuracy, and developing the anomalies of our language, and in the fame fentence falling into every error that ignorance and conceit can lead him into. Example, “A mul tiplicity of treatises on any art or science demonfirate its nearer approach to perfecti n." Here he mistakes the noun that governs the verb; he then goes on to correct the orthography of Johnfon, Walker, &c. in honour, favor, vigour, &c. But these are not the only things that expofe him to. the lath of reviewers. He talks about youthful wife y, you hfl calmity, &c. meaning the mifery and calamity of youth, fagetting, or never having learnt, that youthful means young, frolic fome, or gay. He ufes the plu als, matters, caprices, which no good writers, or bad ones either, that we remember, ever ufed before. He has given the pronunciation of difficult words in the margin, fome of which are extremely erroneous. ought to have known that the general way of teaching fpelling in our best feminaries is from books that contain the meaning of words, and recommending the pupils to give the application of the words they fpell in fentences. MEDICINE, &c. Mr. S. Practical Obfervations on Hernia; illuftrated with Cafes. By B. Wilmer, Surgeon in Coventry. Second Edition, enlarged, 8vo. Pr. 106. Longman and Kees THE HE very extenfive practice of Mr. Wilmer has enabled him fo to corre&t theory by experience as to enfure fuccefs in man do b ful and difficult cafes. where, without fuch advantages, a practitioner ould very frequently fail. The refult of his experience in th diftreffing complaint of ftrangulated Hernia is here communicated to the pblic; accompanied with a variety of judicious observations and directions, that will be extremely uteful, not merely to the y ung p actiti ner, but to the more experienced fu geon, who will be able to decide for himfelf how far they are warranted by the cafes o t of which they arife. Though Mr. W differs in fome points from very able men, he most candidly fiates the grounds of hi difference; and the effect of the treatment pursued in confequence of such difference, in various inftances. In order to reduce the tumour, in ftrangulated herniæ, he ufes cold applications inftead of warm, a treatment we apprehend, at prefent in general ufe; and, ndeed, the utility of it is here fo completely demonftrated as to remove every poffible doubt on the fubject. Mr. W. has frequently found it impoffible to return the contents of the herniæ after the operation; on account of a ftricture in the neck of the hernial fac; but on dividing this ftricture with the knife, the impediment has inftantly been removed, and the intestine returned into its proper fituation. A Concife and Syftematic Account of a painful Affection of the Nerves of the Face, commonly called Tic Douloureux. Ey S. Fothergill, M. D Phyfician to the Western Difpenfary. Crown 8vo. Pp. 106. Murray. 1804. THE object of Dr. Fothergill, in this publication, is fo to defcribe this disease as to diftinguish it from fome others with which it has been occaHonally confounded; and to fhew what modes of treatment have been adopted by different pactitioners, with their fuccefs or failure He objects, and very properly we think, to the name which has been hitherto given to it, and propofs in lieu of it, Faciei morbus nervorum crucians, NO. LXXI. VOL. XVIII. H which which certainly marks the disease with greater accuracy, thougb, as the Doctor himself observes, it may be deemed objectionable on account of its length. Still, till fome other can be found more concife and equally expreffive, this should be allowed to obtain. The learned author has confulted a great number of authorities, with a view to collect all the important facts which have ben recorded on the subject of his inquiry; and he certainly has fucceeded in giving a more systematic account of the difease, than had been given before; and has performed an effential service to the medical world by reducing into a small compass a mass of information which could not be acquired without extensive reading. The refult of his researches, in respect of the cure of the disease, is very far from fatis. factory; the only remedies which appear likely to effect even a temporary removal of it, are the section of the nerves; electricity; and the excitement of mental stimuli; the laft of which seems to have been too much neglected, though Dr. F. cites one remarkable instance of its efficacy. An earnest Exbortation to a frequent Reception of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, particularly addressed to young Perfons. By a Layman. 12mo. PP. 24. 3d. or 2s. 6d. per dozen. Hatchard. 1804. UCH is the lamentable profligacy of the times, that the exhortations of a clergyman, in the difcharge of his duty, though speaking authoritatively, and confequently with greater force than any unauthorized persons, are generally lefs attended to, from motives which are too difgraceful to human nature for us to particularize, than the admonitions of a layman. Hence thofe laymen who endeavour, by example and by precept, to enforce the duties of a Chriftian life, are entitled to a double portion of praise; and hence also they have a double ftimulus to exertion, and a double duty to perform. A more impreffive, falutary, and truly Chriftian exhortation than that now before us, is not to be found even in the writings of our good old divines. Its peculiar excellence, in our estimation, confifts in the admirable adaptation of the arguments to the perfons for whofe benefit they are defigned. The fubject, one unquestionably of the very higheft importance which can be fubmitted to the contemplation of a Chriftian, is difcuffed in a manner at once fo familiar and fo dignified, the arguments are preffed with fo much temperance yet with fo much strength, the authorities are urged with fuch candour and yet with fuch firmness, and the whole matter is placed in fo clear and confpicuous a point of view, that no man of common fenfe and honeft intentions can poffibly refuse his affent to any of the inferences drawn by the intelligent and pious author. In the following with (as, indeed, in every one of his statements) we moft cordially agree with him. "I could with that these invitations (to receive the facrament) were given by fome of our clergy, in a more folemn and earnest manner than at all times prevails, and that the whole exhortation were read, as it is in many churches in the north of England. I fhould think, alfo, it would be attended with a very happy effect; which, indeed, I have known to be produced by it, if notice of the facrament were sometimes given, by reading the |