their crops, or landlords with loans on the security of their rents, or even of their estates.

Art. 14. A Letter to his Majesty George the Fourth, King of the United Empire of Great Britain, &c. &c. Paris, printed. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Chapple. 1822.

We have here the declamatory production of some foreigner, who is as little acquainted with the constitution of this country as with the language; or of some travelling Englishman who seems to have forgotten or corrupted both. The following extract will be considered by most of our readers as a sufficient specimen of its merits.

'Lord North's administration was a season of storms and tempests, incessantly boisterous and conflictive, fierce outcry and commotion; the House of Commons seemed an arena of gladiators; neither the most placid temper and plausible reasoning of the Minister, nor his facetious repartees, could appease or allay the raging combatants. Under Pitt, though the son of the renowned Chatham, the audacity of the faction reached its zenith; all the Continent was in agitation; fascinated by the rhapsodical effusions of the bombastic praters of France, disaffection discomposed all the surrounding governments; the contagion had reached England, and taken its deepest root in that fecund land; societies were formed to cultivate the illegitimate philosophy; rostrums mounted, homilies spouted in taverns, and fields rung with the reforming jargon of Thelwall, Binns, and other members of the Corresponding Federation;' &c. &c.

Art. 15. An Essay on the National Debt, shewing the Use and Abuse of the funding System. By John Rooke, Esq. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Richardson. 1822.

Mr. Rooke, who dates his preface from Akehead, near Carlisle, sends forth this little tract as the precursor of a larger work, in which he has been some time engaged, on the subject of political economy. The pamphlet before us is written in a direct and perspicuous manner, and the author has shewn himself desirous of discussing a mysterious matter with the least possible mysticism.

NATURAL HISTORY.

Art. 16. Elements of Conchology, including the Fossil Genera and the Animals. By T. Edward Bowdich, Esq., Conductor of the Mission to Ashantee. Part I. Univalves. With upwards of 500 Figures. 8vo. pp. 95. 17. sewed. Printed by J. Smith, Paris; and sold by Treuttel and Würtz, London.

In the regular prosecution of his plan, Mr. Bowdich intended to have compiled abbreviated expositions of the reptiles and fishes before he undertook the arrangement of the Mollusca: but the consideration that the study of shells may now be regarded as appertaining alike to the province of the zoologist, and to that of the geologist, has weighed with him to give a preference to its elements in the order of publication. His classification proceeds on the principle of laying down the leading characters of the Y 3

families,

families, as deduced from the shells; so that these interesting productions may be duly recognized, without waiting for an opportunity of examining their living inhabitants, at the same time that the place occupied by the latter in the natural system is annexed to the characters. Some curious exemplifications of the importance of conchology, in speculations connected with fossil appearances, are given in the Introduction; and merits of a higher cast than those of mere accuracy and neatness have influenced the selection and treatment of the materials. The author, in fact, has brought to his task an acute and vigorous intellect, combined with aids and opportunities afforded during his residence at Paris which fall to the lot of few individuals.

These Elements are principally compiled from Cuvier's " Mé, moires pour servir à l'Histoire et à l'Anatomie des Mollusques," and the second volume of the " Règne Animal" of the same author; M. Lamarck's "Mémoires sur les Fossiles des Environs des Paris;" M. Brongniart's "Mémoires sur des Terrains qui paroissent avoir été formés sous l'eau Douce," and others on the same subjects, scattered through the 22 quarto volumes of the "Annales du Muséum;" M. Blainville's and M. Defranie's articles in the "Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles ;" M. de Ferussac's "Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, des Mollusques Terrestres et Fluviatiles," and many other rare and costly works, collected in the splendid library of Baron Cuvier, to which I have had access at all hours, with the liberty of taking home whatever I pleased for the last two years.

The figures which illustrate the system of M. de Ferussac have been copied from those which accompany his work, with the exception of such as were to be found in the Museum. Almost all the other figures of the recent, and some few of the fossil-shells, have been drawn from the objects themselves; which I have invariably been permitted to take home from the Museum for that purpose, without being limited either to time or number. I have occasionally been favoured with such specimens as were not to be found there, from the cabinets of MM. Lamarck and Dufresne.

The remaining part will contain the Bivalves, Multivalves, and the Sub-Coronalia and Vermicularia of Lamarck, (the Brachiopoda and Tubicole of Cuvier): a figure of the entire shell, of each valve, and of the hinges and teeth, when at all complicated, will be given. The Animals and Fossil Genera will also be included.'

From these data, some idea may be formed of the nature and value of the present text-book: but we should add that the irksomeness of technical definition is frequently relieved by some collateral circumstance; that the structure and mode of growth of shells, in general, are not overlooked; and that the lithographic plates, executed by Mr. B. himself, are excellently suited to the illustration of the characters. Without them, indeed, the book would be of very little service as a practical manual; or, if their numbers were reduced, the usefulness of the performance would be proportionally curtailed. Mr. Bowdich has, accordingly, with a becoming spirit, rejected the illiberal requisition of the booksellers to cancel

a con

a considerable portion of the figures, and has consequently taken on himself the entire risk of the publication.

In the event of a fresh impression being required, Mr. B. will no doubt avail himself of the second part of the sixth volume of Lamarck's Animaux sans Vertèbres, which appeared at Paris in the course of April last; and which we would fondly hail as an earnest of the final completion of that elaborate and classical performance.

POETRY.

Art. 17. The Modern Church; a Satirical Poem: comprising Sketches of some Popular and Unpopular Preachers. By John Laurens Bicknell, F. A. S. 8vo. pp. 63. Cadell.

At page 48. of this little poem the author informs us as follows:

So many sects such different creeds profess,

(To me scarce known their names, their tenets less ;)
Ì dare not tread the complicated maze,
Enough for me, an uninspired, to gaze.'

It is impossible to help asking the poet, if this be the case, how he came to write on The Modern Church? If there be a topic which requires comprehensive knowlege of all its bearings, it must be the description of the state of religion in any country; and to attempt the portraiture of the Modern Church' while professing ignorance of its constituent parts, is assuredly no ordinary instance of a mistaken subject. The confession, however, made in the lines here quoted, is apparently most true; for no information whatever is conveyed in this poetical pamphlet respecting the Church or its members: excepting some well-deserved praise of one or two individuals, a very imperfect account of the merits of Dr. Rennell, and a blank line or two, which are to be filled up by the reader ad libitum, and may be called Satirical Inuendos to be let.

A Presbyterian and a Churchman are introduced conversing (for the style is more that of conversation than of poetry) on the subject of dancing; and some matters equally profound and characteristic are touched, but not adorned *, in the progress of their discourse. In truth, the major part of this sketch must have been very hastily and carelessly composed; for, with the rare exception of some breaks of genius, of a superior cast to the general tone, it is as common-place a production as we are often called to examine. The following lines will give the reader no unfair idea of the execution of the author's design; and we may add that we cordially agree in the justice of the Churchman's panegyric at the opening of the passage:

See Bristol's prelate, virtue's fondest child;
Of manners gentle, unassuming, mild,
But with a princely heart, and vigorous mind,
Enriched with knowledge, and by taste refined.

* See Johnson's epitaph on Goldsmith.
Y 4

Where

Where shall the Church a purer priest display,
Or learning seek a nobler boast than KAYE?
'Ere his companions wakened from the dream
Of heated youth, he won the world's esteem.
One even course, one fixed unerring plan,
Ripened the boy's perfections into man;
And, 'midst the good acknowledged as the best,
He bears the prize unenvied by the rest.
Proud of my country, Britain, while I see
Such men preferred, I'll love, I'll boast of thee.
'Land of my birth, dear England, on thy foes,
The foes of virtue, and the world's repose,
A recreant herd, who, by thy bounties fed,
Still scandalize the land which yields them bread;
And grovelling o'er some microsopic speck,
Would blot it forth by one wide general wreck,
Confound distinctions, sink all ranks alike;
May justice on their heads, like lightning, strike.
'Hark, how the organ's pealing thunders roll,
And wake the finer feelings of the soul;
While the rich swell of the cathedral quire,
May Hope beyond the present scenes inspire.
The mellow'd light in varied colours falls
Through the rich glass, on monumental walls,
And flung in gleams o'er the uneven ground,
Displays the half-worn epitaphs around.
Enter the porch, approach the sacred fane,
And join the services which yet remain.
Father of Heaven, my soul, immortal, free,
Would burst its bonds, and wing its flight to Thee.

6

Presbyterian.

‹ I feel not these enthusiastic fires

For tinted lights, deep shades, and swelling quires.
The mimic temple christened from the Goth,
And sing-song service, Sir, I hate them both.
These studied forms what sober mind can please,
Devotion needs not ornaments like these.

The singing boys, in gowns which once were white,
(As if, by chance, they wore their shirts in sight,)
In notes, alternate, of the grunt and squeak,
Snuffle the Psalms of David through the week.
One youngster, if my ears deceived me not,
Sang, "Granny put the pudding in the pot."
Indignant at the urchin's want of shame,

I shook my head, and whispered, "Boy, your name,”

Unwilling to disturb the sacred place,

I checked my choler, blushed, and turned my face.
The monkey added, "Hide your ugly phiz,"
And his companions whispered round, "A quiz."

The

The organ ceased, his canting task was o'er,
He made his exit by the nearest door.'

The oddest instance of the apoçdoиnтov, or the Unexpected, occurs at p. 29., that we at present remember, even in the abrupt annals of modern description:

'The bell has chimed; assembled at the sound,
The village hinds are seen the porch around,
At early hour in little groups they meet,
Their pastor's smile with reverend bow to greet.
'Perched on a sculptured stone, whose letters show
That some superior dust is laid below,

('Tis well the mould'ring tenant may not learn
To what base use the hallowed mound may turn,)
A truant urchin sits and notes the bush,
Whence issue forth the warblings of the thrush;
Already in his hope the prize possest,
He drags the unfledged younglings from their nest.
Tired with the thrillings of the victim's song,

He lolls upon the tomb his length along;
Watches the lark in distant ether float,
Points to the speck, and mocks the dying note.

The bell has ceased.'

In the name of the sudden and unaccountable, what has the cruel bird-catcher to do with a picture of Sabbath tranquillity, in the very church-yard where the villagers are assembling? It is out of all keeping and probability.

Some interesting observations are made in the notes; particularly relating to the Desatir,' or Collection of the Works of Antient Persian Prophets. Of the authenticity of that work we have, at this moment, no means of judging: but, when the Marquis of Hastings asserts (as quoted by the present author) that

it is unquestionably the only relique which exists of the literature" of Persia, while connected with Greece, we cannot but smile at so general a negation.

Art. 18. The Widow's Tale; and other Poems. of Ellen Fitzarthur. 12mo. pp. 222. 6s. 6d. man and Co. 1822.

By the Author Boards. Long

We are inclined by internal evidence, and by rumour, to attribute this little work to the pen of a lady, whose productions have already acquired for her a degree of reputation which appears to be well deserved. Though her subjects are lowly, the qualities of her poetry are neither feeble nor trifling. It breathes throughout an earnestness and simplicity of feeling, not without touches of real passion, expressed in natural and easy language, such as we might suppose to spring from the heart of any human being similarly situated, and at once to find its way to the heart of the reader. Its strict truth and fidelity to nature in her outward forms, or in absorbing human passions in their most minute and delicate

operation,