MATHEMATICS, &c. Art. 22. A new and eafy Method of finding the Longitude at Sea, with like Accuracy that the Latitude is found, adapted to general Ufe. By T. Kean. 8vo. 1 s. 6d. Nourse. 1774. The following extract contains a sketch of the Author's new and eafy method, which he has illuftrated by examples: we fhall fubmit it to the judgment of thofe Readers, who may be fortunate enough to underftand it. Admitting that at the meridian of Greenwich, the moon comes to that meridian (by the ephemeris) at a certain hour and minute of the day; and the next day, I find the does not come to the fame meridian till an hour after: confequently at go degrees West distance (or 6 hours) fhe must be 15 minutes later in coming to their meridian, than at the meridian of Greenwich; at 180 degrees Weft diftance, the must be 30 minutes later; and so on. till the has defcribed her circle; and at 60 minutes difference of time, comes to the place of beginning. This being granted, I take an altitude of the moon at fuch time as fhe rifeth or falleth fafteft, and moft equable, admit it to be 10' (or the 6th part of a degree) in a minute; which fhews that for 60 minutes, there must be 600 (or 10 degrees) difference of altitude from one day to the other (or in the space of 24 hours): and that every hour and minute fhe is altering the fame, from the time of her departure from the meridian of Greenwich, till her arrival there the next day. For inftance, at 90 degrees Weft diftance fhe is lower by 150 (or 2o 30') than at the meridian of Greenwich: at 180 degrees Weft diftance, fhe is lower by 300 (or 5°): and fo on till the finishes her circle.' Nothing more is neceffary than to determine the moon's true central altitude at the time of observation, and to compare it with the fame altitude at the meridian of Greenwich: and by this fingle obfervation the longitude, by account, is either afcertained or corrected, MISCELLANEOUS. Art. 23. Obfervations upon the prefent State of our Gold and Silver Coins, 1730. By the late John Conduitt, Efq; Member for Southampton, and Matter of his Majefty's Mint. From an original Mapufcript, formerly in the Poffeffion of the late Dr. Jonathan Swift. 8vo. 1 s. 6 d. Becket. 1774. The fate of our gold coin has of late been fo much the object of public attention, that we need not wonder if obfervations, new and old, fhould iffue from the prefs on this occafion. As the orator and politician have their "mollia tempora fandi," it is the province of our friend the bookfeller likewife to dilinguifh times and seasons. and perhaps during the long interval of above 40 years that has elapfed fince thefe Obfervations were written, no period has occurred in which they would have been more pertinent than the present. That they are the genuine production of the author to whom they are afcribed, and faithfully tranfmitted to the prefs from his origi nal manufcript, will fufficiently recommend them to all who wish to obtain an extensive and accurate information on this fubject. Some of the regulations that are here propofed have now been adopted; Mr. C. fuggefted them as preventives of the evil which they are now appointed to redrefs; and probably the following obfervation may may not be altogether unworthy the notice of thofe whom it more immediately concerns. The wear upon the gold and filver monies would be much greater, but for the general ufe of bank bills; and as it is a dead lofs to the nation, and a very confiderable one, it might not be improper to oblige the officers of the revenue, and the bank, and all bankers, to cover the counters where they tell their money, with cloth or leather; for the telling money on wood, efpecially with a mixture of fand, very much increases the wear.' R--S. Art. 24. The Life of the late Earl of Chesterfield: or, the Man of the World. Including his Lordship's principal Speeches in. Parliament; his molt admired Effays in the Paper called the World; his Poems ; &c. &c. 12mo. 2 Vols. 6s.. Bew, 1774.. Lord C.'s fpeeches and letters, a large bundle; tied together with little threads of narrative, the whole of which would fcarce make a three-penny pamphlet. Art. 25. Mufical Travels through England. By Joel Collier, Organist. 8vo. 1 s. Kearly. 1774 Mr. Joel Collier, who would pafs himself upon us for a very funny fellow, appears evidently, in this exhibition of himself, to have fet Punch before him as his model; but he does not, in our opinion, come up to the true vis comica of that facetious gentleman, except perhaps in fome of the more reprehenfible parts of the conduct of that ancient wit ;-in mimicking his betters-talking grofs bawdy-and more particularly in his much too frequent ufe of that characteristical and ftanding joke of his great archetype, f-ting in the face of his audience, by way of humour. We are always well difpofed to join in and circulate a feasonable and hearty laugh; but this Mr. Collier, though he ftrains every nerve to make us merry, actually makes our jaws drop, and throws us into repeated fits of the vapours, with his difg fing, ftale, and ftolen jokes, and his coarfe manual wit. In hort, we cannot even afford him the poor confolation of laughing at him; as any inclination of that kind is inftantly checked by the air of perfonal malignity, that evidently dictated and runs through the whole of this contemptible attack on an agreeable and inftructive writer. To speak a word or two of him as an Author.-His humour, when he is not nafty or obfcene, principally confifts in parodying certain parts of Dr. Burney's Journals. And for this purpose our luckles Wight has pitched upon paffages and expreffions which do the mot credit to the good fenfe, feeling, and defcriptive talents of the ingenious Journalist!- Lepidum Caput ! B. Art. 26. An Excurfion to the Lakes in Westmoreland and Cumberland, Auguft, 1773. 8vo. 3 s. 6 d. fewed. Wilkie. 1774 The fcenes here defcribed are, indeed, worthy of all that the powers of the pen or the pencil could contribute toward their due celebration; but the hand in which either is held, ought to be guided by the genius of a Titian, a Pouffin, or a Claude. The talents of this Writer, however, are not to be compared with thofe of the great mafters above-named. He is capable of difcerning and tafting the beauties which he delineates ; but he is faulty in his expreffion. His drawing wants correctnefs, and there is too much glare glare in his colouring. In a word, without metaphor, he writes in raptures, fo long continued, that we grow weary of them, and are quite difgufted with an eternal round and repetition of flowery epithets, and poetic imagery. There is no end of his admiration. Every fresh object, every fucceeding fcene, throws him into new extafies; and there is fcarce a page in which we do not meet with occafion to wish that he had procured fome friendly and judicious hand to lop off the exuberances of his pen, before he fent his work to the prefs. Had that been done, his performance might have been freed from the North British idioms, and English vulgarifms †, with which it is frequently difgraced: and which appear the more extraordinary, as the Author is by no means deftitute of learning.-We fuppofe he is fome young writer, who, in common with many juvenile scriblers, is fond of a luxuriant ftyle, and imagines his diction cannot be too brilliant. Like the Bristol privateer boy, in the last war, who, on the capture of a French fhip, became poffeffed of a rich embroidered waistcoat; he determined to wear it himself, when afhore, and having obtained, likewife, fome gold lace, he would Among these we notice the following inftance, because it frequently occurs among even the more refpectable Scotch writers: fpeaking of Maiden Caftle, this Writer fays, The Roman road bas led immediately through it; it forms a fquare, and has been built of ftone;' from which a plain English reader might be led to infer that this ftructure was heretofore built with flone, though it now confifts of brick, or wood; nor are we fure that this is not our Author's meaning: yet the contrary is probable from his ufe of the fame mode of expreffion, in other places, where we find the fenfe, or nonsense, better afcertained. For inftance, p. 36, This armour is preferved with great attention, as having been worn by the laft Earl of Westmoreland, who has been a man of very small ftature.' Here the matter of fact is put out of all doubt; unlefs, indeed, we fuppofe that his Lordship of Weftmoreland left off his armorial cafing, and grew bigger, after he found his limbs more at liberty to ftretch and expand themfelves. + Here we often meet with laid, for lay;- Temple Sowerby laid alfo in our way.' A beautiful canal, margined with fhrubs, laid fpreading to the right.' Beneath us laid a plain of about three miles. Such language fhould be left to the chambermaids of inns, and the people who carry accounts of robberies, and accidents, to the news-papers. We here, too, meet with fingularities of expreffion to which neither England, nor Scotland, we believe, will lay claim: Here we met with the utmost civility, every one we addreft fhewing themfelves ready to give us all the information in their power-' p. 51. And in p. zo, we are informed that the meadows near Brough are kept in good order, and very wealthy.' The foil, we conclude, is here rich; and it is probable that, in confequence of this favourable circumstance, the owners of it are wealthy: and, as lovers of our country, we have no objection to the intelligence, however improper the the terms in which it is conveyed. needs needs have it fewed on the embroidery: fuppofing his waistcoat could not poffibly be too fine. Time, and experience, however, feldom fail to convince thefe eager and flowery writers, of the fuperiority of a more chaftifed and plainer manner; and that even defcription itself, picturesque as it ought to be, may be over-loaded with ornaments. Although we have cenfured this piece, on account of the redundance, incorrectnefs, and luxuriancy of the Author's language, we readily admit that it abounds with well-written paffages; and that it contains fome very animated and pleafing defcriptions. BOTANY. Art. 27. HORTI MALABARICI pars prima, de varii generis Arboribus et Fruticibus Siliquofis; Latinis, Malabaricis, Arabicis, Brachmanum chara&eribus nominibufque expreffis, adjecta florum, fructuum, feminumque vera delineatione, colorum viriumque accurata defcriptione, adornata per nobilissimum ac generofiffimum D. D. HENRICUM VAN RHEDE TOT DRAAKESTEIN, Toparcham in Mydrecht, quondam Malabarici Regni Gubernatorem, Supremi Confefus apud Indos Belgas Senatorem Extraordinarium, nunc vero Equeftris ardinis nemine illuftribus ac præpotentibus provincia Uurajedina proceribus adfcriptum, et THEODORUM JANSON, AB Almeloveen, M. D. Notis auxit, et Commentariis illuftravit JOANNES COMMELINUS. Nunc primum Claffium, Generum, et Spicierum chara&eres LINNANAS; Synonyma Authorum, atque Obfervationes addidit; et Indice Linneano adauxit JOHANNES HILL, M. D. Academia Imperialis Nature Curioforum Diofcorides quartus. 4to. 11. is. Bell, &c. 1774. The Hortus Malabaricus is the first botanical work, in point of reputation, that ever appeared in print before the Linnæan reformation of Botany; and from its fcarcity, and high price, there is no queftion but Dr. Hill's edition of it will be acceptable to the lovers of this fcience; exclufive of the confideration due to the improvements above-mentioned.-The high value in which the original has been held, arofe, in a great measure, from its authenticity and accuracy; the drawings having been all exactly traced from the natural fpecimens: and thofe very specimens are still preserved in the British Museum. * Dr. Hill advertifes fome copies coloured, at the price of three guineas. We have not feen any of them; and we are at a lofs to Conceive how the ingenious Doctor could venture to try the experiment upon the Public, as, we apprehend, that he can have no better authority for it than the verbal defcriptions of the plants, &c. given in the original: no copies of which (that we have heard of) were ever attempted to be coloured. POETICAL. Art. 28. A Tranflation of Part of the Twenty-third Canto of the Orlando Furiofo of Arifto. 4to. I s. 6d. Almon. 1774 This is publifhed as a fpecimen of an intended tranflation of the whole poem. It comes, in our opinion, under the character of mediocrity, but is unequal. It is accompanied with an elegy on the death of Lord Bottetourt, late Governor of Virginia, which has not much merit. Art. Art. rt. 29. The Fox; an Elegiac Poem: facred to the Memory of a late Right H-ble Perfonage. 8vo. 6d. Snagg. 1774. Pope declared that While he liv'd, no rich or noble knave Should walk in peace and quiet to his grave. Here is a rhimefter (no Pope though) who goes farther; and feems refolved to fuffer none of our great culprits to fleep in peace and quiet in their graves: nor, truly, would it be poffible for them to do fo, if they could hear the wretched fcratching and grating of fuch untunable lyres as this, which is ftrummed to abuse the memory, and the two fons, of the late Lord Holland. Art. 30. Selecta Poemata Anglerum Latina, feu fparfim edita, feu bactenus inedita. Select Latin Poems, by English Authors. Collected from a Variety of scattered Publications and MSS, by Edward Popham, late Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. 2 Vols. 6 s. fewed. Dodfley. 12mo. The great defect of this entertaining collection is the frequent It is impoffible to read the followomiffion of the Author's names. ing verfes, and not be defirous to know by whom they were written, The Editor has given the address, In Somnum; it should have been AD SOM NU M. Somne levis, quanquam certiffima mortis imago, Alma quies, optata veni; nam fic fine vita Vivere quam Juave eft! fic fine morte mori ! We wish to be informed, by any of our learned Correfpondents, who was the Author of these most beautiful lines. RELIGIOUS. L. Art. 31. Inftitutes of Natural and Revealed Religion. Vol. III. Containing a View of the Doctrines of Revelation. By Jofeph 12mo. 2 s. 6 d. fewed. Johnfon. Priestley, LL. D. F.R. S. 1774. This third volume of Dr. Prieftley's Inftitutes appears to be admirably calculated to anfwer his original defign, viz. the inftruction of youth. The Doctor has fhewn great judgment in not touching upon many fubjects that have been controyerted; and in the difcuffion of thofe which he could not possibly omit, he has contented himself, for the most part, with relating what appeared to him to be the genuine doctrines of revelation, without intimating that there has ever been any controverfy upon the fubject. In his preface he makes fome general remarks upon what Dr. Reid, Dr. Beattie, and Dr. Ofwald have advanced concerning the doctrines and evidences of religion.-But a full examination of what thefe authors have faid is, we are told, ready for publication. DRAMATIC. R. Art. 32. The Parthian Exile; a Tragedy: As performed feve ral Times at Coventry and Worcester. By G. Downing, Comedian. 8vo. rs. 6d. Robinfon. 1774. We are extremely glad that Mr. Downing can please the good folks at Coventry and Worcester; we would not advife him, however, See Review for May 1772, and November 1773. to |