tary propofitions, on the fubjects of Trade and Population; all tending humanely to diffuade mankind from the fanguinary purfuits of war; which he justly reprefents, both in its caufe and confequences, to be no lefs abfurd than it is cruel and defructive.

But tho' we admit that this Writer's arguments carry much weight, and that his reflections are, in general, pertinent and folid, yet, we think, on the whole, they do more honour to his difpofition, as a Man, than to his capacity as a Politician: at leaft, we conceive, that all his fine reafoning will answer very little purpose, unless it were as convincing to other nation, as it may prove to this. He hath undoubtedly fhewn the folly of a nation's going to war, on almost any occafion; but what if the war will come to the nation? what must be done then? This Writer cannot surely think it prudent that a people should fubmit tamely to the infults and encroachments of their neighbours! That frugality and industry tend more to make a nation rich than conqueft, will be readily admitted; but if it will not employ the means of fecuring the fruits of its industry, they will foon become the fpoil of the rapacious and enterprifing Invader.

Our Author affects to think his fentiments on this fubject very paradoxical and contradictory to common opinion; we are well perfuaded, however, that the people of this kingdom in general, perfectly agree with him, in thinking the profperity of a nation more beneficially effected by the arts of peace, than by dearbought acquifitions of war. To the honour of Great Britain alfo, it may be faid, that it is as little troubled with the Quixotifm of conqueft, as any nation of equal fplendor, either in ancient or modern times: fo that what this Writer advances on the ufual pretences for going to war; is better calculated for fome of our neighbours, who, we fear, will never profit by his remonftrances, than to the inhabitants of this ifland. That there are to be found among us many advocates for war, is very certain; it is certain alfo, that the circumftances of fuperiority and conqueft carry a flattering appearance to the multitude; but the rest are too well able to judge from their own feelings, to be led away by the cry of an unthinking herd, or the fpecious pretences of interefted individuals.

Our Author gives a fpirited and fatirical enumeration of the feveral characters that are always clamouring for war, and founding the alarm to battle. We fhall quote his defcription of the principal, for the entertainment of the Reader, and as a fpeci men of the Writer's ftyle and manner of reafening.

"The

"The first here in Britain is, the Mock-Patriot and furious Anti-Courtier. He, good man, always begins with schemes of oeconomy, and is a zealous promoter of national frugality. He loudly declaims against even a small, annual, parliamentary army, both on account of its expence, and its danger; and pretends to be ftruck with a panic at every red coat that he fees. By perfevering in thefe laudable endeavours, and by fowing the feeds of jealoufy and diftruft among the ignorant and unwary, he prevents fuch a number of forces, by fea and land, from being kept up, as are prudently neceffary for the common fafety of the kingdom: this is one ftep gained. In the next place, after having thrown out fuch a tempting bait for foreigners to catch at, on any trifling affront he is all on fire; his breaft beats high with the love of his country, and his foul breathes vengeance against the foes of Britain: every popular topic, and every inflammatory harangue, is immediately put into rehearsal; and O LIBERTY! O MY COUNTRY! is the continual theme. The fire then fpreads; the fouls of the noble Britons are enkindled at it, and vengeance and war are immediately refolved upon. Then the Miniftry are all in a hurry and a flutter; new levies are half-formed, and half-disciplined: fquadrons at sea are halfmanned, and the Officers mere novices in their bufinefs. In short, ignorance, unfkilfulness, and confufion are unavoidable for a time; the neceffary confequence of which is fome defeat received, fome ftain or difhonour caft upon the arms of Britain. Then the long-wifhed-for opportunity comes at laft; the Patriot roars, the populace clamour and addrefs, the Ministry tremble, and the administration finks. The minifterial throne now being vacant, he triumphantly afcends it, adopts those measures he had formerly condemned, reaps the benefit of the preparations and plans of his predeceffor, and, in the natural courfe of things, very probably gains fome advantages. This reftores the credit of the arms of Britain: now the lion is roufed, and now is the time for crufhing our enemies, that they may never be able to rife again. This is pretext enough; and thus the nation is plunged into an expence ten times as great, and made to raife forces twenty times as numerous, as were complained of before, However, being now victorious, let us follow the blow, and manfully go on, and let neither expence ❝ of blood nor of treasure be at all regarded; for another cam'paign will undoubtedly bring the enemy to fubmit to our own. terms, and it is impoffible that they fhould ftand out any longer.' Well, another campaign is fought, and another, and another,and another, and yet the enemy holds out; nor is the carte blanche making any progrefs in its journey into Britain, A peace at laft is made; the terms of it are unpopular. Schemes of exceffive oeconomy are called for by a new set of

Patriots;

Patriots; and the fame arts are played off to dethrone the reigning Minifter, which he had practifed to dethrone his predeceffor. And thus the patriotic farce goes round and round; but genetally ends in a real and a bloody tragedy to our country and to mankind."

As we are now fo happy, however, as to fee an end to the most expensive war in which this nation was ever engaged, it is to be hoped, that no ill-timed excefs of oeconomy will lay us open to future insults; in which cafe we are convinced the bulk of the nation will not be in hafte to repeat the experiment, notwithstanding our past success.

Journal of a Tour to Italy.

By M. de la Condamine. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Lewis, &c.

WHEN men of learning and character publish accounts

of their travels, the public never fail to distinguish their productions from the common details of Voyagers, and Tourmakers in general, who feldom inform us of any thing more important than the quality of the wine in one place, the nature of the roads in another, the price of provifions in a third, the ornaments of a church, the paintings in Prince what d'ye callhim's collection, the exhibitions of a theatre, and the diverfions of a Carnival. But in the travels of a PHILOSOPHER, another fort of entertainment is afforded us, and we receive information relating to matters of very different import: the discoveries of fcience, the improvements of art, the extenfion of knowlege,in a word, the general advantage of mankind, or the particular benefit of his own country, are the objects of HIS attention; leaving the gratifications of useless curiofity, or the diffipations of pleafure, to those who are incapable of nobler purfuits, and fuperior enjoyments.

Of this liberal clafs of Travellers is the ingenious Monf. de la Condamine; who, about twenty years ago, published an account of his voyage to South-America, whither he was fent (with fome other learned Gentlemen) by the King of France, his Sovereign, to measure a degree of the Meridian near the Equator, and to make fuch other obfervations as opportunity might afford, in order to afcertain the figure of the earth: M. Maupertuis, and others, being fent at the fame time, to Lapland, to meafure a degree near the Pole.

In the prefent Tour, the Author's chief view being only toward the recovery of his health, we are not to expect any great

and

and laborious researches; for he tells us, that he was "unprovided with inftruments, which he even avoided carrying with him, not being able, for the most part, to make any other obfervations than fuch as offered themselves of their own accord, and which it required only eyes to fee."

The Author left Paris in December 1754, in a remarkable hard froft, which furnifhed our Philofopher with an occafion of giving us fome thermometrical obfervations on the degrees of cold.

On his arrival at Genoa, he was favoured with a fight (fo difficult to be obtained) of the wonderful Emerald Difh, preserved in the cathedral of that city. Its diameter is fourteen inches and a half; its height above five inches. It is kept under feveral keys, depofited in different hands; and no one is permitted to view it, without a special decree of the Senate. But we fhall not be furprized at this extraordinary care and caution, when we learn, that befides the immense value of such a capacious veffel, made out of a fingle emerald, it is yet more valuable for having been the property of the famous Queen of Sheba, who made a prefent of it to King Solomon; and ftill more inestimable on account of its having been employed to ferve up the Pafchal Lamb to our Saviour, on the eve of his Paffion. In an evil day, however, did the Genoese permit this precious relick, and most incomparable jewel, to be inspected by the irreverent eyes of a Connoiffeur; unfortunately for the republic, for the cathedral, the Priefts, and even for the difh itfeif, M. Condamine foon discovered this astonishing emerald to be nothing but ftained glafs !-Whether this facred rarity ever belonged to King Solomon or not, may be difficult to determine; but certainly the Genoefe were not Solomons, who, fome centuries ago, gave a very large fum for it.

In paffing from Genoa to Lerici, our Author entered the Gulph of Specia, where he faw a spring of fresh water in the midft of the fea.-At Leghorn he met with fome natural curiofities, which he briefly mentions; at Pifa he examined the famous leaning tower; and ascribes the cause of this defect to a failure in the ground on which it ftands, on the fide towards the river. The ridiculous notion that the inclination of this pile was defigned by the Architect, is not worth refuting.

His defcription of the great Meridian conftructed by Tofcanelli, in the cathedral church of Florence, about three centuries an, which has lain there a long time in total obfcurity, is very and our Author will be highly honoured by the Lovers

Keyfer makes its diameter only eight inches.

of

of Aftronomy, for the fhare he had in the restoration of fo noble a monument of the art, raised in an age when the sciences had not yet triumphed over barbarifm.

Moft of our Readers, we are perfuaded, will be pleafed with his account of the prefent ftate of the Campagna of Rome, or the country about that once great emporium of the world. In that country, formerly fo well peopled, filled with delightful places, and containing twenty-five cities or towns, we now hardly meet with here and there a poor village or hamlet: the air being reputed pernicious, fo that it is become a defert, compared with its former flourishing state. "I fpeak, says he, of the country inhabited by the Volfci, of which Velitiæ, now Velletri, was the capital. It is the fame with all the environs of Rome: they are uninhabited, especially during the hot months, except a few elevated places, fuch as Tivoli, Frascati, Albano, &c.

"I endeavoured to inform myfelf with refpect to an opinion fo generally propagated, of the pretended mortal danger of expofing one's felf to the air of the Campagna of Rome in the hot weather; and I am convinced that this danger is not greater than that which we run in every other country that is moist and marshy. What they allege for the most part concerning the air of Rome and its environs, is very little more than an old prejudice; very juft, indeed, in its principles, but which it is time to reftrain within its proper bounds, by examining its original and foundation.

"It was after the invasion of the Goths in the fifth and fixth century, that this corruption of the air began to manifeft itfelf. The bed of the Tiber being covered by the accumulated ruins of the edifices of ancient Rome, could not but raise itself confiderably. But what permits us not to doubt of this fact, is, that the ancient and well preferved pavement of the Pantheon and its portico, is overflowed every winter; that the water even rifes there fometimes to the height of eight or ten feet; and that it is not poffible to fuppofe that the ancient Romans should have built a temple in a place fo low as to be covered with the waters of the Tiber on the least inundation. It is evident then, that the level of the bed of this river is raifed feveral feet; which could not have happened without forming there a kind of dikes or bars. The choaking up of its canal, neceffarily occafioned the overflow and reflux of its waters, in fuch places as till then had not been fubject to inundations: to thefe overflowings of the Tiber were added all the waters that efcaped out of the ansient aqueducts, the ruins of which are ftill to be feen, and which were entirely broken and deftroyed by Totila. What REV. Mar. 1763.

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