1812.] Review of New Publications. bon's Letter to me, I have no more to say: and of his History, only what may be expressed in few words. - It shews him, without doubt, to have possessed parts, industry, and learning; each in a degree that might have entitled him to -a respectable place among the compilers of antient history. But these talents were disgraced, and the fruit of them blasted, by a FALSE TASTE OF COMPOSITION: that is, by a raised, laboured, ostentatious style; effort in writing being mistaken, as it commonly is, for energy -by a perpetual affectation of wit, irony, and satire; generally misapplied; and always out of place, being wholly unsuited to the historic character-and, what is worse, by a free-thinking libertine spirit; which spares neither morals nor religion: and must make every homest man regard him as a bad citizen, as well as writer.-These miscarriages 'may, all of them, be traced up to one common cause, an EXCESSIVE VANITY. ——— Mr. Gibbon survived, but a short time, his favourite work. Yet he lived long enough to know that the most and best of his readers were much unsatisfied with him. And a few years more may, not improbably, leave him without one admirer. Such is the fate of those, who will write themselves into fame, in defiance of all the principles of true taste, and of true wisdom! R. W. "Hartlebury Castle, Nov. 18, 1796." For a variety of reasons, we rejoice to see that Bp. Hurd has preserved in these Volumes his early "Controversial Tracts;"-and some "Charges to the Clergy of the Diocese of Worcester," which are now for the first time printed. 355 amending; wili appear from the following Extracts and Remarks.-Thus far, the Preface to the first Edition of these Remarks. The author having since been favoured by the Mover of the Bill, with a printed Copy of Notes of Observations on Objections to it; those Notes will be respectfully attended to, in the present Edition. They strongly confirm (if it were necessary) the first lines of the Preface." "Preamble. Whereas the amending the manner and form of keeping and of preserving Registers of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, in the several parishes and places in England, of all His Majesty's subjects of whatever religion, and establishing general Register Offices in the respective Provinces of Canterbury and York, of all such Registers, as hereinafter mentioned, will greatly facilitate the proof of Pedigrees of persons claiming to be entitled to real or personal Estates, and be otherwise of great public benefit and advantage.'-It appears, from the Notes of Observations, that objections to a General Register Office, in London, would probably have been in a great measure prevented, if the following words had been here added:-' especially, to the Widows, Children, and other Relatives of deceased Seamen; by the prompt and much-wanted supply of Certificates to the Navy-Office.' This was the imme ries to those poor persons incessantly diate occasion of the present Bill; injufalling under the notice of the Mover, as Treasurer of the Navy. The late Investigation of a right to a Peerage was not (as many persons have supposed) even in his contemplation. To Soldiers also, though less frequently, the General Register Office would be useful. The great public benefit and advantage with which the Preamble concludes, should have been remembered throughout the Bill; in many parts of which it seems to have escaped from the minds of the Framers, or of the Amending Committee. Indeed, the Preamble is defective, and should have ended thus:-And will also greatly add to the labours and duties of Parish-Ministers. The word Births should be omitted; for they are not in cluded in the present manner and form of keeping Registers." In like manner, Mr. Partridge proceeds freely in his Comment on the intended Bill*; and in conclusion, suggests the heads of two separate Bills; thus prefacing the one proposed for the Dissenters: See another Comment in p. 363. "The "The providing of Registers for Dissenters being a measure quite new, and distinct from the improvement of ParishRegisters; and the provisions for each, different from those of the other; it seems therefore proper and expedient, that these two purposes should be the subjects of separate Bills. It seems especially reasonable; that, since the Clergy have no knowledge of the fact of any Birth, Baptism, or Burial among Dissenters; which fact they certify for Members of the Church actually baptized, buried, or married by them; therefore, they should not be required to take part in authenticating the former. And since the matter of Registers is interesting to all Persons in the Kingdom; and the Law on this subject ought to be universally known and understood; the division of the business, into two distinct short Statutes, will greatly facilitate such an accurate acquaintance with it." "Thus," he concludes, "the benefits to Churchmen, and to Dissenters, seem to be equally provided for, without interfering with each other; and all differences among them, on this subject, may be happily removed; which is doubtless the wish, at all times, of every sincere Churchman and Dissenter." This is, indeed, devoutly to be wished; and the suggestions of Mr. Partridge appear to be very practicable. 38. An Address to the British Nation, on the Accession of the Prince Regent to Power. By Hugo Arnot, Esq. 8vo. pp. 32. Sherwood and Co. THIS well-written pamphlet deserves attention. It is the production of a staunch Whig, zealous for the welfare of his Country, ardent in his attachment to the political principles he professes, yet candid to those whom he opposes. The picture he draws of the past and present state of the country is glowing; but despondency neither becomes an Englishman, nor has it ever been one of his characteristicks. "Under a blaze of glory did the present Monarch seat himself upon the throne; but the fall of that illustrious statesman, whose councils had raised it, clouded the morning of his reign. Its noon was disfigured by a storm of rebellion, excited by measures equally impolitic, oppressive, and unjust, and ending in the premature, unnatural, and violent dismemberment of a valuable portion of the empire. A foreign struggle, whose origin and conduct may, perhaps, best be read in its fruitless result and delusive close, ushered in the evening;—and ano ther, or rather the same bursting out afresh, in mockery of its empirical intermission, brings on the night, leaving us in a state of unexampled pressure at home, hostility abroad, difficulty throughout. We started with our foes at our feet, and, not so very remotely, with our friends at our back: but the tables are so completely turned upon us, that, whilst our arch-enemy is confirmed and aggrandised, a view of our allies were only a list of our enemies." tion, and its fatally tremendous conAdverting to the French Revolu sequences, Mr. Arnot says, "Not we only, but posterity will long have reason to lament that, at that epoch, we did not content ourselves with a vigilant eye and strong hand at home." Disapproving of the mode in which our assistance has been given to Spain, important contest, he observes, that and despairing of any success in that "Our efforts in the Peninsula might have been confined to the more feasible scheme and fairer policy of the defence of that strong country and valuable ally, Portugal.” America is next considered: "In reviewing the proceedings of Government in respect to her, we find unjust and untenable pretensions on our part, disingenuously and equivocally disavowed: reparation only quickened by insult and outrage; for which, if the provocation did not forestall it, we have been content, like Falstaff, hiding our honour in our necessity,' to forego retri bution: thus, as with the weakness of private arrogance or knavery, justice,disclaimed in her own form, effects her recognition in the attitude of hostility, One obnoxious point in dispute with that power being, however, now settled, in respect to the negotiations which have come to be of so delicate a nature, whilst we devoutly wish for a termination of them favourable to the real interests of dearly purchased by any compromise of both countries, we should think it too our national honour. With the most jealous regard to this, it would, we conceive, be perfectly consistent to abandon a practice which we certainly would repel; and rest our claims upon seamen found in their service or employ, on the same footing as we follow in respect to those found in ours; viz. that we be satisfied with recovering, as we restore, only on proof of nationality.-The Or ders in Council, we trust, will only relax in an exact ratio with the effect of the measures which gave them birth. If we can ourselves take the sting out of these, we 1812.] Review of New Publications. we may leave them a dead letter on the archives of their promulger; but, otherwise, the impulse of self-defence, in a case of commercial existence, must not be foregone in consideration of others." For Mr. Arnot's thoughts on the subject of Ireland, and the Catholic question; and on the more immediate subject of the Pamphlet, the conduct of the Prince Regent; we must refer to the Work itself. 39. A Catalogue of Bishops, containing the Succession of Archbishops and Bishops of the Provinces of Canterbury and York, from the glorious Revolution of 1688, to the present Time. By John Samuel Browne; pp. 39. Rivingtons. IT would not be a very easy task to point out any work containing so much information in so small a compass; or which to the lovers of Ecclesiastical Biography will be more generally useful. "On my first announcing this Catalogue of Bishops to the publick," says Mr. Browne, "I intended to adhere strictly to the late Dr. Heylin's plan, by merely giving the name and date of promotion; but wishing to make it of greater utility, I have added some of their principal preferments, with such particulars as I have been able to collect, trusting these additions will meet with general approbation, and that they will be found an useful reference for the assistance of the memory.-I have endeavoured to render this little Work as correct as the nature of my materials would allow; and throw myself upon the candour of my readers, to excuse such inaccuracies as are liable to occur in a publication of this kind. The period which I have selected to commence with, is the glorious Revolution of 1688, which at once established our Civil Rights, and confirmed the Protestant succession to the British Throne; and has been hailed by every friend to the cause of our religion, as the most important event that ever took place in the history of this country.-K. William was ever watchful over the interests of the national Church, and his illustrious successors have been equally zealous, in affording the most effectual support for its preservation. The high stations in the Church, since the Revolution, have been filled by men, eminent for their piety, sound learning, and unshaken loyalty, many of whom may justly be styled burning and shining lights'." 6 As a specimen of the work, it may 357 be sufficient to take the late and the present Metropolitans, and the late and the present Bishop of London. "CANTERBURY-John Moore, born in 1732 at Gloucester, educated at the Free Grammar School there, afterwards removed to Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1763 Canon of Christ Church, 1769 Prebendary of Durham, 1771 Dean of Canterbury, 1775 Bishop of Bangor, and 1783 translated hither. He died in 1805, and was buried in Lambeth Church. "Charles Manners Sutton, born in 1755, and educated at Emanuel College, Cambridge. In 1791 Dean of Peterborough, 1792 Bishop of Norwich, 1794 Dean of Windsor, and 1805 advanced to this See." "YORK-William Markham, born in Ireland in 1719, educated at Westminster School, and afterwards removed to Christ Church, Oxford. About 1750 Head Master of Westminster School, 1759 Prebend. of Durham, 1765 Dean of Rochester, 1767 Dean of Christ Church, 1771 Bishop of Chester, and chosen Preceptor to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, 1777 translated hither; died in 1807, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. "Hon. Edward Venables Vernon, born in 1757, educated at Westminster School, and afterwards removed to Christ Church, Oxford. Fellow of All Souls College, Chaplain to the King, and Prebend. of Gloucester. In 1785 Canon of Christ Church, 1791 Bishop of Carlisle, and 1807 transl. hither." "LONDON-Beilby Porteus, born in Yorkshire, in 1731, and educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1766 preferred to the Living of Lambeth, 1776 Master of St. Cross, 1777 Bishop of Chester, and 1787 advanced to this See. He died at Fulham in 1809, and was buried in the parish of Sundridge, Kent. "John Randolph. In 1782 Prebendary of Salisbury, 1783 Regius Profossor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, and Canon of Christ Church. In 1799 Bishop of Oxford, 1807 translated to Ban gor, and 1809 translated hither." 358 Review of New Publications. minded of Jupiter's visits to the blameless race of Ethiopia, and fancied that it was the procession of his return to Olympus." "Among the ruinous buildings of Mistra, several fragments of sculpture, the works of the classic antients, are seen. We were shewn a magnificent sarcophagus, adorned with figures, and the fruit and foliage of the vine. It serves as the trough to a fountain, and has been much defaced by the pitchers of the water-carriers. We called on the governor, a venerable looking old man, to whom we had letters from Antonbey. He received us with much courtesy, and entertained us, according to the custom of the Turks, He also gave with pipes and coffee. orders to the postmaster to furnish us with horses, and ordered a guard to attend us as far as Tripolizza. The apartment in which he was sitting, in company with several other Turks, was a fair specimen of the condition of the town. The windows were falling from the sashes; and the greatest part of the panes being broken, the vacancies were supplied with paper.-In returning from the government-house, we passed the archbishop of Lacedemon coming from church. He stopped, and invited us to his residence, where he also entertained us with pipes and coffee. We dined with him next day, and received a substantial ecclesiastical dinner. He is a respectable old man, and distinguished for the vigour with which he maintains his authority. He has a little humour, and afforded us Fome amusement; but I was much more diverted by an accidental truth that escaped from his brother, who is still more lively than the archbishop. On inquiring what might be the amount of the archiepiscopal income, he told us, that it was barely sufficient for the maintenance of the prelate; adding, if it pleased God to take away some of the priests and bishops of the province, the price of the new ones would enable him to live very comfortably. The situation of the palace (I do not know why a Greek archbishop's house may not be called a palace, and himself a Grace, as well as any other meIt stands tropolitan) is singularly fine. high, on the side of the hill on which the town is built, and commands a view of the whole long hollow valley of Sparta, the most fertile and beautiful tract of the Morea. The archbishop kept two horses, both excellent and handsome, which Vilhi Pashaw hearing of, sent and took one of them away. I ought not to omit mentioning my being told by his Grace's brother, that Melettio, lately an archbishop of Athens, has said, in his geographical work, that Scotland, which, -- three centuries ago, was one of the most barbarous nations of Christendom, was It is a curious instance of the vicissitudes now become an example to all the world. of things, that the chief priest of Athens should have occasion to praise so highly the intellectual proficiency of any nation, while his own, that once so greatly excelled every other, has fallen into extreme ignorance. After dimer, which was served about mid-day, we went to see The imagination, the ruins of Sparta. without much effort, in surveying the environs, may form an idea of an extensive town; though the remains are covered with grass. The city of the stern and warlike Spartans, has become a walk for harmless sheep. The ruins which we examined, have been, originally, buildings constructed with the fragments of more antient and splendid edifices. We saw, sticking in one of the walls, several broken pieces of elegant fluted columns, and part of a frize, ornamented with grapes and wheat ears, that, proCeres. Near these relicks there is a debably, once belonged to a temple of faced inseription, which, had it been suffered to remain, might have told us what It was defaced, as we were they were. informed, by two Frenchmen, who, be cause they could not read it themselves, chipped it off out of spite to the British travellers. Perhaps these buildings were built after the great earthquake in the time of Archidamus; during which, the effect of the Spartan discipline was displayed in so striking a manner, that I cannot conceive any thing more sublime. While the public games were performing, and the theatre was crowded, the earth suddenly began to tremble, the walls of the buildings, opening and shaking, tumbled to the ground, the mountains at the same time rocking with the general commotion, threw down vast fragments these tremendous circumstances, while from their summits. In the midst of the city was resounding with the shrieks of terror, and the cries and lamentations of the wounded and despairing, the signal of alarm was heard, and every one, instantly, rushed with alacrity to his post. Archidamus, apprehending that the slaves might seize the moment of amazement to rise and massacre their masters, had ordered the signal to be sounded. Next to this event, may be reckoned the firmness with which the Ephori received the news of the battle of Leuctra, and the effect of the tidings on the city. They were sitting in the theatre, when the messengers arrived with the account of the death of the king, Cleombrotus, and the destruction received of his army. Without appearing to have received any extraordinary intelligence, they sent to the different families, to inform them of their loss, and the public diversions proceeded as if nothing had happened. The loss of the battle of Leuctra is the greatest stain on the fame of the Spartans; but the joy of the parents who had lost their sons, and the grief and dejection of those whose sons had survived the disgrace, was a proof that the spirit of the institutions of Lycurgus had not declined." In the account of Tripolizza, the character of Vilhi Pashaw, the Vizier, is thus described: "In his manners he is singularly agreeable, and, with a strong dash of humour, is eminently shrewd and cunuing. He is a great admirer of European customs, and professes to have a high esteem for the British, to whom, on all occasions, he has shewn a marked and flattering partiality. He speaks several languages, and has some pretensions to taste. He has ordered Pausanias to be rendered into the romaic Greek; and, in passing to the war, visited the antiquities of Athens, in order to see, as he deelared, himself, those remains and monuments which attract so many Europeans so far from home. To individual distress he is tender and generous; he is a liberal and indulgent master; and his residence in the Morea has been distinguished for vigour and impartiality in the administration of public justice. But, opposed to these qualities, he is said to be abandoned to the most licentious appetites. The extortions of his government have been carried to an incredible extent. It is related, that, on one occasion, when the Greeks assured him that they could pay no more, he remarked, that they had not yet brought in their perforated ehequins, meaning those which the women are in the practice of wearing round their necks, and as ornaments for their hair. It is unnecessary to relate any of the many instances of sorrow and misery which have arisen from his unbridled appetite and remorseless extortion." The city of Argos was the next object of Mr. Galt's research; but, "Instead of taking the regular road to this city, we struck off to the right, before leaving the mountains, in order to visit the Lernian lake; which is situated on the margin of the gulf, opposite to the fortress of Napoli Romania. The destruction of the hydra which infested this place, was one of the greatest achievements of Hercules. Considering the whole polytheistical stories of the I was desirous of seeing the lake, in order to try if the labour of killing the hydra could be explained by any local circumstance. Hydra, I need not mention, signifies water, in Greek. This lake, except in one place, which is not twenty yards wide, but of an unfathomable depth, is an extensive rushy and pestiferous morass. Abandoning, therefore, as pure fable, the stories respecting the venomous blood of the hydra, I think, as Hercules employed fire and iron in the destruction of the monster, we may conclude, that his labour consisted in burning away the rushes, and in opening a free passage to the water. The description of the heads growing again as fast as he cut them off, is exactly such as would be given of an attempt to eradicate the personification of a similar spring."" Having deviated from the direct road, the arrival at Argos was late; and the consequence, some serious difficulties, which are pleasantly narrated. We are told, however, that, "There is little about Argos to detain a stranger. Its celebrity has, principally, arisen from its connection with Agamemnon and Orestes, whose actions have so often furnished themes to the epic and tragic poets. Hamlet, in many of its incidents, has a strong resemblance to the story of Orestes. Shakespear has, perhaps, made more use of the classic authors than is generally thought; and a patient student might yet form an amusing essay, by attempting to discover resemblances between his subjects and the stories of antiquity. In his time translations were not rare. Horace was translated into English in the reign of Henry or Mary." "Corinth offers as little as Argos to the attention of the traveller. The famous towns of Greece are, indeed, rather to be considered as places where recol lections and trains of thought are excited, than as affording spectacles deserving of notice. Those who are delighted with the sight of such fragments as Corinth and Mycenæ exhibit, appear, to me, to affect a sensibility that belies nature. Antiquity is a wrinkled and aged dame; and it is only by her tales she interests us. We remembered that, in Corinth, Xenophon, when banished from Athens, wrote his account of the retreat of the Greeks who went to assist an Asiatic prince to dethrone his brother. This work of Xenophon is a remarkable instance how much the fame of literary is more permanent than that of military merit. Nor could we forget the fratricide of Timoleon. His brother Timo |