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Paraccifus Bombaft. In page 15 he tells us, that general Shy deliberately marched back again, meeting no oppo'fition which he did not eafily overcome :' That is, he did not eafily overcome no oppofition.-On the other fide of the leaf, we meet with the following nofegay of fenfe and elegance: general Johnfon, formed by nature for the military art, whom fagacity blended with courage, activity with patience, render what is not always to be found amongst seen⚫ fervice and regular bred warriors, was the object of their choice.' This encomium has all the air of an antient oracle, in being obfcure and equivocal; and the compound epithet feen-fervice, is a valuable acquifition to the English language. The hint may be extended, in it's application to a great many different claffes of men, for example, feen-fimple apothecaries, feen-pillory politicians, and feen-fee phyficians, in contradiftinction to fans-fee. Seen-fervice, however, yields in dignity of I derivation to the word pofpolite, which we wish he had explained for the benefit of his English readers. But, we meet with a parallel inftance of this author's genius, in improving and enriching his mother tongue, with the noun fubftantive parallellarity, which occurs in this very curious paragraph, in the 76th page: whoever does not intuitively diftinguish right from wrong in the conduct of great affairs, can never be fuccefsful by judging from parallellarity; because, as in these two inftances, tho' fhips, feas, and the directing their stations, may be the whole concern in each; yet the fimilarity in thefe objects create no reason, either to avoid miftakes or pursue the advantages of a prior deftination, where there is no refemblance of circumftances in the undertaking; and no two can be fufficiently fimilar, or fufficiently unlike, to justify a parallel or oppofite conduct, in any di"rector of them.' The very next fection is no lefs perfpicuous and extraordinary. The duke du Tallard, as I have been informed by a gentleman who thoroughly understands military affairs, made the fame difpofition at Blenheim, that the great Gustavus Adolphus had done at the famous battle which he won against Valstein; yet the French general was defeated, and the English triumphed. No circumstances can ⚫ be fufficiently alike to justify fimilar proceedings in men who

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are to direct; imitators want force of understanding to penetrate, pursue, and put in action that which the original contrivers had conceived in various ways in laying down their plan. They are mimicks of what was done, without comprehending the whole force of what might have been done: wherefore, in the progrefs of an action planned in imita⚫tion of another, when the circumstances vary from the former, not seeing the reafon of the defign, they are unequal to the fupplying what the original contriver. would eafily have afforded; knowing no more than the hif<torian has delivered, they follow fervilely like copyifts and are defeated. Had this marine M-r, in his destinations of these naval expeditions, judged from original lights and principles, he must certainly have imagined, that Du Guay would have avoided the beaten track in times of peace; he would therefore have divided Mr. Hawke's fquadron into two equal parts, which making nine in each squadron, would have been ftill three to two, a proper and fuperior force wherewith to oppofe monfieur Du Guay; thefe, attended with smaller fhips to have been used as scouts, by. cruizing off Cape Finisterre, and in the other station through which the French squadron paffed, there being but these two ways of fteering their courfes, without great ill luck, at least without blame to the planner of the cruize, must have intercepted the French fleet in it's coming to Brest, and brought their fhips into English harbours.' Here we are given to understand that Guftavus Adolphus was an English general; a fact which might have escaped the knowledge of the public, if it had not been ascertained by fuch unquestionable authority. We are likewife told that Du Guay the French commodore, would have avoided the beaten track in times of peace: if this was the cafe, our admiralty had fome reafon to prefume that he would choofe it in time of war; and therefore acted wifely in ordering our fquadron to cruize for him in the beaten track; tho' this is the first time we ever heard that the fea was beaten into turnpike roads, like the highway to Barnstaple. We are likewife informed that the French fquadron had but two ways of fteering their courfes without great ill luck, at least without blame to the planner of the cruize. This is anticipating bad luck with a vengeance; and

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indeed amounts to a prophecy; for, without the gift of divination we cannot conceive how he fhould pofitively foresee the luck of any perfon whatfoever; and we do apprehend that monfieur Du Guay, with good luck, might have paffed through the English fquadron altogether unobferved. Be this as it may, we find the Frenchman can avoid the beaten track in time of war, as well as in time of peace,

We shall indulge the reader with one other fublime comment of this egregious declaimer. The meereft fribble of a virtuofo, (fays he in page 81) infenfible to the great order of nature, can trace, with delight and fkill, the various and minute fhapes, fhades, and colours, in a fhell or flower, which diftinguish one from another;'-thus we find one shell or flower exhibits all the various and minute fhapes, fhades, and colours, that diftinguish one from another. This is the very flower, cream, and fcum of ingenuity.-As for the story of the thief, in the 68th page, which he has purloined from the adventures of Jofeph Andrews, and related as a real transaction, it is miferably mangled and mifplaced, and may be denominated a petty larceny in plagiarisin.

Having given the reader a few famples of this author's capacity for writing English; we fhall now exhibit fome specimens, by which the public may judge of his knowledge, confiftency, and candour.

In the very first sentence he begs the question, by supposing us already ruined by m- mifconduct. His account of fome American traders, taken on the Ohio in the year 1749, and fent prisoners to France, where they ftill remain; as it is generally unknown and unattested, may be fuppofed a mifreprefentation, if not a fiction of the author's; because we fhall have occafion to convict him of both in the sequel of this work.

His fimile of the minifter's being caught between the king of France and a quaker, like the mariners of old between Scylla and Charybdis, is fuch a childifh conceit as a boy would have been whipped for at fchool; and the whole ftory of that quaker's exciting a war in Americe for his own private interest, is a ridiculous, ill-contrived, improbable romance.-If the truth must be told, the nation was forced into the war, by

the

the turbulence and avarice of fome New England adventurers, who expected that the government would furnish them with great fums of money, and leave to them the intire management of the war, in which cafe they would have made a jobb of their mother country, as they did in the affair of Cape Breton.

In one place this pretended politician affirms that the minifter's beseeching as a favour, what he had a right to demand as justice, has given the French a better foundation of their claim to the Ohio and in the very next page, he afferts that the timidity of the minifter was no legal relin

quishing the British right to those lands.' In other words A. conveys to B. a legal claim to certain lands, tho' he cannot legally relinquifh his own title to the faid lands; so that he gives away that which cannot be given, and takes back that which cannot be resumed. This, tho' diftilled in an alembic must come over inconfiftency and contradiction.

In page 16, after having bedaubed general Johnson with a fulfome encomium, he endeavours to depreciate the conduct and behaviour of the regular officers and foldiers, by saying Braddock and his regulars fhamefully retired, and exaggerating the advantage gained by the New England troops over the enemy. That the regulars retired fhamefully, is a malicious falfehood. It is too well known that they stood until one third of their whole number was killed. An honeft writer, zealous for the cause of truth, and honour of his country, would have owned that the English troops under Braddock, were affailed on their march in such a manner, that they could not fee their antagonists, who therefore fired upon them with impunity, and as they ran no rifque in the battle, could derive no glory from the victory: that, notwithstanding this difadvantage, the foldiers and officers ftood naked and defenceles exposed to the fhot of an unseen enemy for the fpace of three hours, during which they betrayed no marks of fear or diforder, until their leader was mortally wounded, the majority of their officers killed or difabled, and feven hundred of their companions lay dead on the fpot. The cafe was very different with the New England-men in their affair with a handful of rash Canadians and Indians: they were furrounded with band

cadoes and artillery; they faw the enemy approach, and had time to provide for their reception; they sustained little or no lofs, and feemed to fight, not fo much from courage as from despair; for they were afraid, even after they had gained the battle, as appears from the letter of their general.

Nor is our author's veracity and candour more confpicuous in his fubfequent affertions: he fays, the officers of the German regiment were unproved by experience, and guiltless of fiege and battle.-Not fo guiltless of battle as he is of truth. in this flanderous affeveration for it can be eafily proved that almost every individual fubaltern of that corps had seen actual service; and it was certainly the interest of the nation to appoint German officers, as the defign was to enlift German foldiers nor could any thing be more rational than that defign, confidering the number of Germans fettled on the frontiers of our American plantations.

Tho' lord L-n has magnanimity enough to overloook the farcaftic infinuations which this reptile has thrown out against him in page 21, that nobleman may have friends and dependants who do not think fuch an author unworthy of notice and correction; we would therefore advise him to bite with more caution, and have a more reverend care of his own carcafe.

In the following reflections, he has either betrayed the groffeft ignorance, or endeavoured to difguife the truth with malicious fophiftry. Nothing is more conformable to the practice of war, than to appoint an inferior officer to amuse the enemy, or keep on the defenfive, until the army is reinforced, and the commander in chief can properly take the field to purfue his own plan of operations. This ignorance is attended with felf-contradiction; for, he firft obferves that Shirley has been fuperfeded by Web and Abercrombie, and then affirms that lord Loudon muft follow Shirley's plan of operations. malevolence and folly, appear no where more flagrant than in his animadverfions upon the treaties with the Czarina and the king of Pruffia.-If we fuppofe the intention was to defend Hanover, no fteps could be more judiciously taken. The electorate was thought to be in danger from the French and their ally the king of Pruffia. The house of Auftria was

His

already