cies, he fall under the yoke of irresistible habit. Vitanda est Improba Siren, Desidia, I desire may be affixt to the curtains of your bed, and to the walls of your chambers. If you do not rise early, you never can make any progress worth talking of; and another rule is, if you do not set apart your hours of reading, and never suffer yourself, or any one else, to break in upon them, your days will slip through your hands unprofitably and frivolously; unpraised by all you wish to please, and really unenjoyable to yourself. Be assured, whatever you take from pleasure, amusements, or indolence, for the first few years of your life, will repay you a hundred fold in the pleasures, honours, and advantages of all the remainder of your days. My heart is so full of the most earnest desire that you should do well, that I find my letter has run into some length, which you will, I know, be so good to excuse. There remains now nothing to trouble you with, but a little plan for the beginning of your studies, which I desire, in a particular manner, may be exactly followed in every tittle. You are to qualify yourself for the part in society to which your birth and estate call you. You are to be a gentleman of such learning and qualifications as may distinguish you in the service of your country hereafter; not a pedant, who reads only to be called learned, instead of considering learning as an instrument only for action." P. 10-13.

Here follows a small part of a course of study, and the whole concludes with this well-merited postcript. Keep this letter, and read it again."

"As to your companions," continues the earl, in his fourth letter, (which can never be too often read, by one about to visit either of the mothers of science and learning)...." let this be your rule. Be sure to associate with men much older than yourself: scholars wherever you can: but always with men of decent and honourable lives. As their age and learning, superior both to your own, must necessarily, in good sense, and in the view of acquiring knowledge from them, entitle them to all deference and submission of your own lights to theirs, you will particularly practice that first and greatest rule for pleasing, in conversation, as well as for drawing instruction and improvement from the company of one's superior in age and knowledge; namely, to be a patient, attentive, and well-bred hearer, and to answer with modesty; to deliver your own opinion sparingly, and with proper diffidence; and, if you are forced to desire further information or explanation upon a point, to do it with proper apologies for the trouble you give: or if obliged to differ, to do it with all possible candour, and an unprejudiced desire to find and ascertain truth, with an entire indifference to the side on which that truth is to be found. There is, likewise, a particular attention required, to contradict with good manners; such as, begging pardon, begging leave to doubt, and such like phrases. Pythagoras enjoined his scholars an absolute silence for a long noviciate. I am far from approving such a taciturnity: but I highly recommend the end and intent of Pythagoras's injunction; which is, to dedicate the first parts of life more to hear and learn, in order to collect materials, out of which to form opinions founded on proper lights, and well-examined sound principles, than to be presuming; prompt and flippant in hazarding one's own slight crude notions of things; and thereby exposing the nakedness and emptiness of the mind, like a house opened to company before it 3 D-VOL. XVII,

is fitted, either with necessaries, or any ornaments for their reception and enter tainment.-As to your manner of behaving towards these unhappy young gentlemen you describe (some youths at Cambridge who wished him to indulge in their excesses) let it be manly and easy; decline their parties with civility; retort their raillery with raillery, always tempered with good breeding: if they banter your regularity, order, decency, and love of study, banter in return their neglect of them; and venture to own frankly, that you came to Cambridge to learn what you can, not to follow what they are pleased to call pleasure. In short, let your external behaviour to them be as full of politeness and ease as your inward estimation of them is full of pity, mixed with contempt. I come now to the part of the advice I have to offer to you which most nearly concerns your welfare, and upon which every good and honourable purpose of your life will assuredly turn; I mean the keeping up in your heart the true sentiments of religion. If you are not right towards God, you can never be so towards man.--Remember, the essence of religion is, a heart void of offence towards God and man; not subtle speculative opinions, but an active vital principle of faith.” P. 20-27.

After the above important and valuable admonitions, we have, in letter V. his lordship's observations on matters of a lighter nature, but, nevertheless, indispensible in the constitution of a gentleman, Ridiculing the idea of a good or great man being above attending to a noble, engaging, and proper management of his person, he makes this remark. "As if the body, because inferior, were not a part of the composition of man: and the easy, ready, and graceful use of himself, both in mind and limb, did not go to make up the character of an accomplished man." p. 33. "Now, as to politeness," continues he, "many have attempted definitions of it: I believe it is best to be known by description; definition not being able to comprise it. I would, however, venture to call it benevolence in trifles, or the preference of others to ourselves, in little daily, hourly occurrences in the commerce of life. . . . Let behaviour towards superiors in dignity, age, learning, or any distinguished excellence, be full of respect, deference, and modesty. Towards equals, nothing becomes a man so well as well-bred ease, polite freedom, generous frankness, manly spirit, always tempered with gentleness and sweetness of manner, noble sincerity, candour and openness of heart, qualified and restrained within the bounds of discretion and prudence, and ever limited by a sacred regard to secrecy, in all things entrusted to it, and an invaluable attachment to your word. To inferiors, gentleness, condescension, and affability, is the only dignity. Towards servants, never accustom yourself to rough and passionate language. When they are good, we should consider them as humiles amici, as fellow Christians, ut Conservi; and when they are bad, pity, admonish, and part with them, if incorrigible." P. 35. 38.

......

your

Is it possible to see the great and venerable Chatham in a more amiable light than that in which we view him in these letters? If such ardour and anxiety could agitate the bosom of the earl, for the mental welfare of a nephew, what must he have felt, and what must not have been his exertions in the cause of a son? The effect is before us; and if he supplicated with the chief of Troy, wore TIS εισησι, πατρός δ' γε πολλον αμείνων, his prayer, if not fully granted, was most favourably received.

More of these letters we have no room to quote, but, from what we have given, it will be seen how admirably they are calculated, as the noble editor observes, in his dedication to Mr. Pitt, to "teach how great talents may most successfully be cultivated, and to what objects they may most honourably be directed."

To conclude with an observation which pressed itself on us, in perusing these pages, we should say that we have no doubt there are men existing, who, still retaining something of their former generous hearts and noble minds, will weep to read these letters, which cannot fail to make them reflect on the advantages of education, that once were in their reach, but then too idly neglected; to think of what they might have been, and to feel severely what they are! Once, with minds "bearing every genuine mark of the very soil proper for all the amiable and manly virtues to take root, and bear the heavenly fruit, inward, conscious peace, fame amongst men, love, temporal and eternal happiness,"-with such minds, and the power of cultivating them even to luxuriance in good, they heedlessly disregarded all the splendid prospects of the hour, and in a hapless moment shunned them, to pursue the slippery and deceitful path of vain-glorious folly, and vicious dissipation-things that lead to nothing, or to something worse. Such a reflection may well extort compunction from those who have weakly failed to profit by the past; and it richly deserves the deepest and most serious consideration of those who are now in possession of all their vigour, and need nothing but inclination and perseverence to insure them victory in the race, and triumph in the prize.

A concise Statement of the Question regarding the Abolition of the Slave Trade. pp. 79. 8vo. Hatchard. 1804.

PREVIOUS to the discussion of Mr. Wilberforce's very recent mo tion in the house of commons, relating to the abolition of this nefarious and abominable traffic in the flesh and misery of our fellow creatures, this pamphlet appeared, and was, by Mr. Rose, re

commended strenuously to the perusal of the house, before they decided on the question then in agitation. The success of Mr. W.'s charitable and praiseworthy endeavours has again inspired the humane and just with the hope that a commerce, full of degradation to us, and torture to the objects of it, is speedily about to terminate; and if the anonymous author of this excellent pamphlet has not greatly promoted this desirable end, his failure must be ascribed to the short date of his appearance, and not to the want of energetic truths, and convincing arguments.

The matter is arranged in the following manner: first, a general view is taken of the trade, as it relates to the negroes in Africa, in the middle passage, and in the West Indies. From hence an inference is drawn, that the burthen of the proof rests upon those who defend the trade. Their arguments in its favour are then examined at length, as they refer to the interests of the Africans, the interests of those directly engaged in the slave trade, and the interests of the West Indian colonies. Under the last head are considered the new arguments which the advocates of the abolition derive from the present state of St. Domingo, and the whole is conducted and argued in a style that reflects honour on the manly feelings, diligent research, and masterly powers of the writer.

No fair ground is here left for the warmest defender of this inhuman trade to rest his foot on. Does his humanity sleep, it is awkened. Is his animus in crumenâ, or is gold his god, it is proved to a demonstration that the public interest preponderates on the side of abolition. One plea alone remains to its defenders-the horrible love of human misery, of cruelty, and blood.

An Answer to Familiar Epistles to Frederick J-s, Esq. on the present State of the Irish State. Parry, Dublin. 1804. OPOLOGY-anonimous-psudo-rere. Such is the spelling of this Irish jontleman. In most authors, we should have ascribed these errors to the printer; but here, from several other internal evidences of artless ignorance, we have no doubt that they are to be attributed to the very tender and immature age of the writer's studies. In the title page we have a Greek couplet, " furnished by the common place book of some accademic friend;" and in these lines

e indulged with two new words-OɛgoiT and Ixeo, but of this the Pseudo Jones,* is, poor fellow, "as innocent as the child unborn."

We have now merely to recommend to this Hibernian Scribe, a • This answer is impudently signed F. E. Jones,

very useful and instructive little work, for gentlemen of his standing in letters, called Dilworth's Spelling Book; and, if it be true, as he tells us, at p. 23, that," in Dublin, WIT is so common, no one values it," we earnestly entreat him, in future, when he is able to write, not to shun it with such persevering industry and sovereign contempt, as he has in the present instance.

The Recal of Momus, a Bagatelle. By Benjamin Thompson, Esq. 4to. pp. 54. 4s. 6d. Robinson. 1804.

THE reputation which Mr. Thompson has so justly acquired by the adaptation of the STRANGER to our stage, and by the elegant and correct version, long since given to the public, of the German Theatre, excited, in us, a great desire to peruse any original work from his pen. Our entertainment has been equal to our expectation, and to all who wish, in these gloomy times, to laugh away half an hour, we strongly recommend these ingenious little jeux d'esprit, as infallible in the production of this effect.

In the epistle dedicatory, to Thomas Dibdin, Esq. he diffidently observes that he has

endeavour'd, well as able,

To link, by mock-heroic fable,

Two or three "trifles light as air,"

Pick'd up at random, here and there." P. 1.

and concludes thus:

"Your muscles will my fate decide,

If you but smile, I'm satisfied." P. 8.

If Mr. Dibdin denies his friend this satisfaction, we have been deceived in his character, and shall not hesitate to pronounce him an ill-natured man, though he don't look so."

The Recal of Momus opens with an assembly of the gods, from which Momus had been banished for 500 years, because (and we have Jupiter's word for it) he

The males insulted, and the females teax'd.

Apollo proves by his register, that the term of banishment is elapsed, and Mercury being dispatched to bring him back, he is again received into favour. After some pleasant altercation, Momius, at Jove's command, begins to amuse them with a story. This story is admirably told. Its length prevents our giving it entirely, but we shall endeavour to afford some idea of it briefly. An artful Frenchman is supposed to arrive "at a small village near the Trent."