anonymous; but impartial truth obliges us to pronounce, that we never met with a tale worse told than that of the Knight and Friars. Art. 36. The Wanderer; or Edward to Eleonora. A Poem, 4to. 1s. 6d. G. Kearsley. 1785.

There are many good lines in this publication, but the want of the lucidus ordo, obfcures the fenfe, fo that we are frequently at a lofs to discover the meaning of the author. The effects of guilty love on the feeling heart are painted in warm colours; fhame and remorfe are fhewn to be its constant attendants, embittering all its illicit enjoyments. The following paffage may ferve as a fpecimen of the poem, but we cannot decide whether they are the words of

Edward or Eleonora :

Known to mi fortune while a child in years
My life's first dawning overcaft with tears,
My rifing youth by Love's foft power betray'd,
Its fires extinguith'd, and its bloom decay'd;
Young as I am, for me no joys remain,
And length of being is but length of pain;
A life of tears! which yet unceasing start,
Wrung by the gripe of anguifh from my heart!
Come, then, O Death! and footh my troubl'd breast,
Tranfport my foul to realms of endless reit,

Lay thy cold hand on this diftracted brain,
Deaden each nerve, and temper every pain,
Blo: out each stain of forrow from my mind,
Nor leave one trace of all I love behind!'

There is a good deal of fire and poetical vigour in the compoSition, but the author has not been accustomed to arrange his ideas.' Perhaps he is a young man: fhould that be the cafe, we have hopes that hereafter he may make a more refpectable appearance. At prefent inconfiftency is added to obfcurity. The poem defcribes his friumph over the virtue of his mistress, and of a mistress that remains faithful to him, and yet he fets out with telling us that he is ever doom'd to prove

The pang fevere of difappointed love.'

He has endeavoured to imitate Pope's Eloife to Abelard in the abrupt ftarts and tranfitions, but has not been always happy in his imitation, as thefe abrupt tranfitions often add to the obfcurity we have already complained of.

ART. 37. The Strolliad: an Hudibraftic Mirror. Small 4to. Is. J. Ridgway, and W. Richardíon. 1785.

A vot❜ry at Apollo's fhrine

In the mock cavalcade did join;
So dull his fenfes appear'd all,
Practising the dead march in Saul;

He-bound in leaden Morpheus' chain

Took fnuff, and fell a fleep again.'

The reader who has fufficient patience to go through twenty-fix pages of this kind of rhymes, will be rewarded with fome ftupid abuse, levelled against certain perfons of the theatrical corps. The fons of the sock and bufkin, who are pointed at, we doubt not will re

E 4

joice

joice at the prefent verification of the proverb, Curfed cows have fhort horns.' ART. 38. The Bees, the Lion, the Affes and other Beasts (Dedicated to the Right Honourable Frederick Lord N-h) a Fable, in imitation of Gay. London: Printed for the Author. 4to. Is. 6d. Debrett. 1785.

The rife and progrefs of the American war, and abuse of the K-g, and Lord Nh make up the contents of this publication. We are obliged to mention it ex officio; nothing elfe could entitle it to notice. Yet if any reader fhould have the curiofity to peep into it, he will find a Lion wishing to feast on honey and golden wax,' and affes ftriving to confirm the monarch's fancied right in a fpecious, gloffy light,' with many other varieties of the kind.

ART. 39. The Oriental Chronicles of the Times; being the Tranflation of a Chinese Manufcript, with Notes historical, critical, and explanatory, fuppofed to have been originally written in the fpirit of prophecy. By Confucius the Sage. Dedicated to her Grace the Duchefs of Devonshire. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Debret. This political bagatelle narrates the late change of the ministry, the election of a new parliament, and other collateral events in the Eastern stile, with confiderable ingenuity and archnefs. The performance is divided into twenty-three chaptets, in which the court, the miniftry, and mafs of their chief adherents, are feverely hand dled. The dedication to her Grace the Duchefs of Devonshire contains an Ode in honour of Mr. Fox, which must be the production . of no common mufe. In the inceffant altercations of party however, which agitates the politics of this country, we could wish to fee the wit and fatire more equally divided. There will always be fufficient fund for ridicule and farcafm on both fides. And the coalitionists are at least not lefs vulnerable than the ministerialifts. Their prodigality, their poverty, their irritability of temper, and the envy produced by their abortive oppofition, are traits in their character which fufficiently expofes them to the retort courteous.

The pamphlet before us is too partial to pleafe any readers but thote of the author's fentiments, and we suspect that to most of them both the fubject and the jest are now too old and trite to be interefting.

ART. 40. On Confumptions and their Cure; humbly ad

dreffed to the confideration of the public. By N. Godbold. Svo. Is. Almon.

Mr. Godbold has difcovered a Vegetable Balfam which he avers is fuccessful in all cafes of Confumption, whether hereditary or accidental. This medicine he retails in pint bottles, at fixteen fhillings, and one guinea. To fome of the cafes, in which he fays the medicine was effectual, are joined the names of Lady Dudley and Ward, Lord Fortefcue, Lady Falmouth, &c. and other perfons of diftinction, who, it is to be fuppofed, would not permit their names to be taken in vain. But Mr. Godbold muft forgive us for faying, that if his medicine be as inefficacious as his reafoning is incomplete, he can rank only with the numerous tribe of advertifing Empirics.

ART.

ART. 41. A Treatise on Cancers, with a new and fuccessful Method of operating, particularly in Cancers of the Breast and Teftis, &c. &c. By Henry Fearon, of the Company of Surgeons, and Surgeon to the Surry Difpenfary. 8vo. Is. 6d. Johnson.

After fome fenfible obfervations on the nature of Cancers in general, our author objects to the practice of thofe furgeons who make it a rule to fave a confiderable quantity of fkin, because they nevertheless leave a large open wound, which by the ufual dreifings, becomes much larger by the time they are first removed. He recommends to diffect away all the difeafed part of the breast or teftis, through one fimple longitudinal incifion, large enough to admit of the perfect removal of all the diseased part or parts, and then the edges are to be brought into contact, and retained in that fituation by flips of sticking plafter, ligature, or both if neceffary, till they unite by what is called the first intention, which they generally do within a few days, without ever forming fuppuration.

His mode of operating in the ease of a cancerous breaft is this, The patient being placed in a chair of convenient height, in a reclining pofture, her head fupported with a pillow, by an affiftant behind, and her arms fecured by another on each fide; the furgeon is to place himself in the most advantageous fituation, either fitting or standing, as he finds moft convenient, fo as to make one horizontal incifion, larger than the difeafed mafs, nearly in the direction of the rib, and a little below the nipple, that it may occafion lefs deformity. An incifion of fufficient extent being momentary, will give little more pain than a small one; and has this great advantage, that it enables the operator with facility, perfectly to remove the whole of the difeafed parts. The most painful part of the operation being over, the affiltants who were employed in fecuring the patient's arms, are now to hold afunder the teguments, and prefs their fingers on any arteries that may bleed freely, which will enable the furgeon, with facility and dexterity to remove the whole of the difeafed mafs, which fhould be carefully diffected from the skin above, and below from the pectoral mufcle and ribs. The affiftants are now to remove their fingers, the blood is to be effectually cleared away, by fponge and warm water, that the surgeon may examine, with the greatest accuracy the furface of the wound; and if any fmall indurated glands, or thickened cellular membrane can be difcovered, they ought to be all removed; by this time the hemorrhage will have ceased, when the blood which poured out during the examination of the wound must now be cleared away as before, and the edges of the incifion brought evenly and perfectly into contact, and retained that they may unite by the first intention.'

For the directions after this operation, we refer to the pamphlet it felf, in which the reader will find fome cases which it must be confeffed militate ftrongly in favour of Mr. Fearon's practice. About a year fince he communicated part of his fentiments in the Medical Journal, but fubfequent experience has enabled him to enlarge and confirm them.

Art.

ART. 42. An Essay on the Jaundice; in which the Propriety of ufing the Bath Waters in that Disease, and alfo in fome particular Affections of the liver, is confidered. By William Corp, M. D. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Dilly. 1785.

The modus operandi of the Bath Waters in icteric cafes has not yet been properly attended to by medical writers. From many opportunities of practice and obfervation, Dr. Corp has drawn up fe veral judicious remarks on thefe fpecies of jaundice in which the Bath Waters may be ufed with efficacy. His cautious adminiftration of emetics and purgatives cannot be too much commended or known by young practitioners. With Etmuller and others, he is of opinion that the Black Jaundice is only a higher degree of the Yellow, from which it originates.

ART. 43. Obfervations on Poifons; and on the ufe of Mercury in the Cure of obftinate Dyfenterics. By Thomas Houlftown, M. D. Phylician to the Liverpool Infirmary. 8vo. Is, Baldwin.

This is a cheap and ufeful pamphlet, particularly to ftudents: the greater part of it was published in detached pieces, which are here collected and confiderably enlarged. The treatife on the ufe of Mercury in the cure of Dyfenteries appears to have most of novelty in it, but the whole is practical and useful.

ART. 44. 4 View of the Arts and Sciences; from the earliest Times to the Age of Alexander the Great. By the Rev. James Bannister. Svo. 4s. Bell. 1785.

The intentions of an author are to be confidered when we judge of his performance. In this view it may be proper to allow Mr. Bannister to fpeak for himself,

• Other writers, animated by the fame laudable ambition, of com municating real knowledge, have explored the depths of antiquity, and explained the fecrets of Philofophy and the arts; fubjects which have long engaged the attention of the author of the following differtations, who, though confcious of the mediocrity of his talents, ventures to prefent his work to the public, encouraged by the pleafing expectation that it may give fome perfons who have not enjoyed the advantage of a claffical education, generál ideas of the progrefs of the Arts and Sciences, and their connexion with morals and government; and excite others, whofe genius is more active, to confult those fountains of true knowledge and found philofophy, the ancient Greek and Roman writers. If either of thefe ends is attained, the author will think himself amply compenfated for his trouble.'

The prefent volume contains an account of the Architecture, Aftronomy, Language, Moral Philofophy, Mythology, and Natural Philofophy, of the Ancients. As this must be confidered as a very defective view of the ancient Arts and Sciences, the author begs leave to obferve, that if favoured with the approbation of the public, it is his intention to publish another volume, in which he will endeavour to fupply every omiffion and defect. As an excufe for having left Poetry unnoticed, he tell us, that in his preface to a tranflation of felect tragedies of Euripides, publifhed in

the

the year 1780, he had faid fo much on that fubject, that he thought he had nearly exhaufted it.' This tranflation has not fallen in our way; but, if we are to judge of the preface by the differtations now before us, we fhall not be led to think that it has nearly exhaufted a fubject fo various and extenfive.

In this publication the hand of the maiter appears every where wanting; the whole is a dull repetition of part of what has already been fo often repeated; the manner is not engaging; and the mat ter is defective. From the fources we can perceive he has had re courfe to, he might have collected more information; and he feems totally unacquainted with fome late writers who have thrown new lights upon different fubjects he has treated. Of the author's ftilė and manner our readers may form an idea from the following ex tract. Speaking of Pythagoras, he fays:

Let us, then, confine ourselves at prefent chiefly to his Phyfics, or Natural Philofophy, properly fo called. To this ftudy Pythagoras conceived the mathematics to be preparatory, and be gan with teaching his fcholars arithmetic. This part of the mathematics he learned from the Phenicians, and finding it of won derful ufe in his philofophical inquiries, he feems to have contracted for it a fuperftitious regard, and to have afcribed to it strange and myfterious powers; he likewife made his fcholars apply themselves diligently to geometry. Paffing over the numberless improvements he made in that fcience, I fhall take notice only of the two famous theorems which are allowed to be of his invention, viz. That every triangle is equal to two right triangles, and that the fquare of the hypoteneufe of every right angled triangle, is equal to the fquare of the other two fides. Thefe two propofitions may be confidered as the bafis of trigonometry, the extenfive ufe of which in practical, as well as fpeculative mathematics, is fo well known, that to enlarge upon it will be needlefs. Let me only obferve to thofe, who have never applied themfelve to ftudies of this fort, that the whole art of navigation is deduced from thefe propofitions of Pythagoras; and that we are indebted to the labours and ingenuity of a philofopher who has been dead upwards of two thoufand years, for the facility with which we vifit foreign climes, and confequently for the extenfion of commerce.

1

In this extract the author has been guilty of a great overfight, for we with not to impute the expreffion to ignorance. He tells us that every triangle is equal to two right angles: but a triangle cannot be faid to be equal to an angle, or angles; the quantity of a figure and no figure can never be compared. The three an gles of every triangle it is true are equal to two right angles, and this we take for granted is what Mr, B. meant to exprefs.

A more minute examination of this publication is unneceffary. Though it is neither elegant, correct, comprehenfive, nor profound, yet to perfons, who, either from circumftances or inclination, with only to poffefs a fuperficial knowledge of the Arts and Sciences of the ancients, it may neither be ufelefs, nor unacceptable. ART. 45. Eleanora; From the forrows of Werter] A Tale. fmall 8vo. Robinfon. 1785.

Th