entertaining productions, and at the fame time the moft laudable in its intentions, of any that have lately iffued from the prefs. The first idea of it may perhaps have been fuggefted to its authors by the wellknown Memoirs of "Martinus Scribblerus." next page, Salvini, the translator of Addifon's Cato, is transformed into the Abbot Sulvini. At page 190, is the important information when the firft papers of the Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian, were published! The afcertaining of this fact muft, doubtlefs, have been attended with vaft difficulty, confidering ART. III. Addisoniana, 2 vol. 8vo. how few copies there are of either 1803. THE affected title of this work led us to expect a rich repaft of fomething either entirely new, or at leaft diftant from the hackneyed topics of every day. Alas! how great our disappointment! A more miferable, vamped-up, catch-penny production never before appeared to delude the Public. A wretched collection of data which are familiar to every fchool-boy; a fyftematic misstatement of facts; a tedious multiplicity of quotations; and a confufed heterogeneous arrangement of matter, are the conftituent parts of the Addisoniana ! It would be abfolutely impoffible to felect any fingle paffage from either of the volumes, which would in any manner repay the trouble of reading; nay, we question whether there be one fact recorded that is not already known, and familiarly known, to every reader, moderately acquainted with the general outline of English literature. But not to dwell upon generals, and in order to fubftantiate our cenfures, we will fimply notice a few of the multifarious errors and abfurdities which diftinguish this confufed medley. At page 84, vol. I, we are told in a distinct paragraph, with a broad margin, and convenient fpace between this and the preceding article (admirably calculated to fill the pockets of the bookfeller, at the expence of public credulity), that many of the characters of Addison may be compared with the most finished touches of La Bruyere! Wonderful information! of these works to be procured in London! We are next gravely informed, at p. 220, that "the filly profligates who prefer obfcenity to wit, may be told, that in France, at this day, fuch groffiefs (i. e. as is tolerated on the English theatre) would be hooted from the ftage; and the fighteft equivoque from an actor is in that country received by the audience with indignation!!!-We forbear all comment on the palpable ignorance of this remark. At p. 21, vol. II, there is a ftale anecdote of Sir Richard Steele and Savage, which every tyro can repeat from the admirable Life of the latter by his friend Johnfon. Next, a circumstance is attributed to poor Sir Richard, which it is well known happened to a celebrated character of the prefent day: p. 24. At p. 31, as a fingular and valuable piece of information hitherto unknown, except to a few choice literati, the whole hiftory of Pope's tranflation from Adrian is detailed. After this comes a moft grofs error, viz. that none of the papers in the laft volume of the Spectator are figned. Surely the fame diligence which afcertained the first publication of this admired paper might have prevented fuch an hallucination. Was it worthy of a compiler of the year 1803, to reprint an obfcure libel from Mift's Journal refpecting the mifunderstanding between Pope and Addifon? p. 69. There are, perhaps, many perfons unacquainted with the modern In the method of book-making, and more particularly of compiling anas: to them the following inftances will be acceptable. At p. 97 is a copious extract from Addifon's Travels (a book which is in every body's hands), refpecting the republic of Marino. But this was not enough; therefore, immediately afterwards, we are prefented with an enormous quotation, on the fame fubject, from another writer, occupying forty pages! This, however, would not fuffice to complete the fecond volume; in confequence of which, we next have a tedious account of Venice, from the fame fource as the first extract. Nor would this make the volume a tolerable fize: what, then, was to be done? Liften, all future compilers of anas! We are modeftly regaled with no lefs than thirty-nine pages, extracted verbatim from the Spectator, and containing nearly the whole account of that admirable character Sir Roger de Coverley! We had yet to learn, that, in order to compile an ana, we have nothing to do than to use the fciffars, or the drudgery of transcription. But enough. We have fully fubftantiated our difapprobation, and we do not with any longer to proceed in the unpleasant office of unqualified cenfure. of its Conftruction, Analogies, and various Properties. By Dr. Render. 1 vol. 8vo. 1804. pp. 352. THE labours of Dr. Render in behalf of his native language have long been known to the public; and his various elementary works, calculated to facilitate the ftudy of the modern German, have met with an approbation which fufficiently tesify their merits. Our author comes before us now in a more important fhape, for he undertakes to unfold, radically, every property of the German language, and to trace its various ana¬ logies and conftructions. At a period like the prefent, when German literature has become a fashionable object, and the dramas, novels, poetry, &c. of that country are immediately on their publication rendered into English, fuch a work, adequately executed, cannot fail of proving highly ufeful. But completely to develope a language, is, perhaps, one of the moft arduous tasks which human ingenuity can impofe upon itself; it requires an unwearied perfeverance, which will not fink under unexpected difficulties; a patient mind, willing to fubmit to laborious investigation and minute research; a philofophic fpirit, that cannot easily be deceived by apparent analogies and fuppofed invariable properties; ca ART. IV. Swiftiana. 2 vols. 8vo. pable of detecting general princi 1804. WHAT has been faid in the preceding article applies in every refpect to this; except that we muft notice a moft indelicate anecdote communicated by Mr. Theophilus Swift, in a letter to the Publisher, which he has thought proper to affix to the fecond volume, by way of appendix. [Vide p. 213.] ART. V. A Complete Analyfs of the German Language, or a Philological and Grammatical View ples amid a confufed mafs of difcordant parts; and, last, not least, a clear and perfpicuous phraseoogy, which may convey, in a forcible manner, the various rules and obfervations. How far Dr. Render may poffefs all or a part of thefe qualifications, is a dubious cufs; though it may be expected point, which we will not here difthat after a labour of eight years, which it appears he has bestowed upon this performance, it will be found infinitely fuperior to any other publication on the fame topic. As a native of the country whofe language Dr. R. undertakes to analyfe, he manifeftly poffeffes an advantage over many others of his fellow labourers in the fame avocation. Indeed, we perceive throughout the work many inftances of great labour, and fometimes happy illuftrations of the general topic. As an elementary work, whofe parts are neceffarily dependant to a great degree on each other, it would be a waste of time and room to make copious extracts; we shall, therefore, merely make our readers acquainted with the general fcope and defign of the performance in the Doctor's own words. "The plan adhered to in the fubfequent work is ftrictly comformable to the operation of nature; a progrefs which ought to be invariably obferved in a grammar of every language whatfoIt is in vain to perplex the ever. mind of the ftudent with a crude mafs of extraneous matter, unless he be first grounded in the radical principles of the language he is about to learn, It is, in fact, the fame as with extenfive reading; where a quantity of information and of knowledge is accumulated and stored up in the mind, without the power of arranging the various parts, fo as to be adapted for thofe occafions in which it is requifite to be called into action. "In the prefent work, the learner will be gradually led from the moft obfcure (or what may be termed animal articulations) to abfolute, distinct, and clear ideas of rational figns or reprefentations. In the first dawning of the mind, its ideas are neceffarily obfcure and confused; hence, to obviate this, a guide is indifpenfably requifite. It may undoubtedly be faid, that a newborn infant poffeffes the power of expreffing external fenfations of joy, fear, or forrow; his next progreffion is to articulate words; afterwards, in proportion as the powers of perception and combination expand, he next learns to unite thofe fimple ejaculations into certain fentences or phrafes, and thus regularly proceeds, till he becomes enabled to embrace a larger sphere of ideal exertion, and commu nicates his thoughts in appropriate language. Such is the progrefs of Nature; and fhall we, her children, in teaching her own method, presume to deviate, and build, by the fhallow aid of metaphyfical reafoning, a fanci ful structure without any folid founda tion?" Previous to entering on the main fubject, Dr. Render prefents his readers with "A Differtation on Language in general, and princi pally on the Study of the modern German." In this introductory difcuffion there are many very pointed remarks, though not much profundity of reafoning; and the author has fhewn, with great clearnefs, the errors into which tranflators from the German are apt to fall, for want of a general acquaintance with its idiomatic forms of fpeech. Dr. R. vindicates his vernacular tongue from the imputation which has been thrown upon it of inelegance of conftruction, and harfhnefs, and explains why thefe defects are fometimes to be found. "Long phrafeology, the fentences too much fwelled out by particles, its harfhnefs, &c. have been hitherto the leading objections to the study of German literature; but it fhould be ob ferved, that, within the last half century, the German, like every other European language, has been greatly improved. Philofophy has ruled its phrafes, in proportion as morals have been difcuffed in it, and the arts encouraged in the country. "The length of a German period depends, in a great degree, perhaps wholly, on the purity of the author's diction. It is true, fome evidence does exift, that partly juftifies the charge of long phrafeology, &c.; but the cause of this ought, long fince, to have been explained to the English; and the cause once explained, the effect will be inftantly manifefted. "No fooner does a good work make its appearance at Leipzick, Göttingen, Berlin, Halle, &c., however, correctly written and elegantly printed, than the provincial bookfellers in the fmaller towns, and in the dominions of inferior princes, caufe cheaper edi tions to be printed, which, inftead of containing the claflical language of the original, are by country fchoolmasters metamorphofed into barbarifm. From this caufe proceeds the great body of particles, the long phrafes, and that confufion of fentences, which either deters, or perhaps wholly difgufts, the learned foreigner. "Notwithitanding what has been obferved, I could with an Englishman not to difcontinue his purfuits, because of the many fuperior advantages which he has to natives of other countries; for one of liberal education will much fooner pronounce the German language, and with more neatness and perfpicuity than any other foreigner. "The end that I have principally in view, by publishing this work, is, that of facilitating the study of modern German, which I am the more defirous of doing, because I know it to be the only effectual method of acquiring an accurate knowledge of the ancient, that is, of the Mafo-Gothic and Anglo Saron, the fources from whence the prefent English language is derived; and because thefe ancient languages are not now spoken, much lefs are they taught, in English feminaries." Dr. Render then proceeds to detect an important error in Mr. Lewis's tranflation of Cabale und Liebe (called in English "The Minifter"), an error which arifes folely from his being unacquainted with the true meaning of the pronoun Ihr, which may fignify in German either your or her; and which being rendered her by Mr. L., has totally deftroyed the intended plot. Towards the conclufion of this "differtation, Dr. R. informs us that Martin Luther, the great theological reformer, was likewife the man who reformed the German language, and to whom it is indebted for its prefent polish. "This is the language which, in contradiction to the other idioms, is termed Hochdeutfch, i. e. High German. As it has ceased to be a provincial dialect, and is become the general language of the country, it may juftly be called the German, by way of pre-eminence; for it has been cultivated in all quarters. In its prefent ftate, it can no longer be called the language of the electorate of Saxony, fpoken by the inhabitants at large; but there, as elsewhere, it is confined to the higher orders. It is poffeffed of a fuperior degree of correctness, having been weeded of all local and provincial peculiarities. "In confirmation of what I have advanced, it will perhaps be of some advantage to quote the teftimony and authority of Profeffor Adelung, concerning the German language, who is beyond all doubt the most excellent and the moft perfect authority we can refer to. His evidence alone, in this particular, ought to be deemed peremptorily decifive and impartial; for he is known not to favour any dialect in particular, not even the Saxon (fome few inftances excepted), but admires and approves the purity of the true German pronunciation alone. There is perhaps no dictionary extant which is preferable to his, as the dictionary of a native language. This competent critic expreffes himself in the following terms, in his admirable work, Lehrgebäude der deutschen Sprache; aSyftem of the German Language, vol. 1, page 85. The high German, although more frequently spoken in the electorate of Saxony than in other provinces, which have not quite attained to that degree by which the principal towns in that country are diftinguished, is by no means the language of trade and common people, and therefore cannot any longer be confidered as a provincial dialect. That language, which, in our time is adopted for writing, is no longer limited to one particular province, as Saxony, but is the general language of tafle and polite education throughout Germany! On the whole, we may safely recommend the prefent work, as a clear, comprehenfive, and useful book on the study of the German language. It will be found an excellent affiftant not only to the ftudent, but even to thofe who are confiderably advanced in their knowledge of this language. It is dedicated to the prefent Emperor of Ruffia. 49 THEATRICAL INFORMATION. WE need Scarcely apologise to our Readers for the omiffion of this part of our Mifcellany. It has arifen from two very obvious reafons: first, the last new piece (The English Fleet) having been detailed in the concluding number of the Old Series of the Univerfal Magazine, we could not, of courfe, be expected to pay any farther attention to that; and, fecondly, nothing but the two Pantomimes hav ing been prefented fince that period, we did not think it altogether requifite to allot any room to record fuch dramatic novelties. That portion of our Magazine has, we truft, been occupied to more advantage, and with a fource of equal amusement. All future new pieces will, however, according to our plan, meet with a firm, prompt, and impartial criticism. ORIGINAL POETRY. BELLARVIN AND HIS DOG ARGOL. By the Rev. R— S———. WHERE the wide waste deferted lies, And where no human voice replies; Where ev'ry path is rough and bare; Where, one would think, abode Despair; Bellarvin, while all heaven thone, In lonely filence wander'd on. Clofe by his fide his wallet hung, Faft to a leathern girdle strung;— A ftaff within his hand he bore, Which help'd him the rude defert o'er. A faithful dog, Argol his name, Follow'd where'er his mafter came; His dangers thar'd, his toils partook, And drank with him the way-fide brook. Whene'er upon the defert bed Bellarvin laid his weary head, Clofe by his matter Argol crept, And Argol watch'd, or Argol flept. Whene'er the beftial Prowler fpoke, Loud Argol growl'd, his master woke. Nor man nor beait affault had dar'd, For Argol was his master's guard; And he his mafter valu'd more Than human friends had done before. 'Twas now Bellarvin bent his way To where the Holy City lay; To pay a vow his fears had made, While on the bed of fickness laid. He'd travers'd now full many a mile, And Nature wore her sweetest smile; But foon the sky was clouded o'er, Afar was heard the tempeft's roar : The lightning flash'd above, around; The thunder fpake in awful found. Nature, transform'd, put on a frown, And hung her head in forrow down. All terror-ftruck Bellarvin ftood, Aw'd at the heavens' mighty roll, Long th' impetuous tempeft boil'd, Defpair, of hideous form and feature, He would have utter'd founds of death, way; And to the view of mortal eye |