in chariots covered with filver, as alfo with four vats of any fort, filled with treasure, in order to honour their conful. Such is the form of a triumph.'

To this we fhall add the fhort relation of the conftitution of the fenate, by the fame hand: Romulus firft eftablished the fenate, which then confifted of one hundred, but was afterwards enlarged to three hundred. The fenate was neceffarily refident within the city of Rome, because they were counsellors, appointed the confuls, had the fupreme command over the citizens, and kept all the treasure which arofe either from taxes or plunder, under one roof, that they might apply it to the common neceffities, by the vote of the whole community, except that of flaves.'

After Orofius in one part of his work has mentioned the temple of Janus, King Alfred adds the following lines: This houfe was built with this defign by the Romans, that in whatever quarter they carried on their wars, whether fouth, north, eaft, or weft, they undid the door which looked toward that half, and by this means knew which of them to open. Then they tucked up their garments above their knees, and girded themselves for the camp, as they knew by one of the doors being thus open, that they had not peace with fome nation; but when they had peace with all, then were all the doors fhut, and let their garments hang as low as their feet +.'

In the twelfth chapter of the fifth book we have another infertion of Alfred's: In the year of Rome 677, the Romans gave Julius Cæfar the command of feven legions to carry on the war for five winters in Gaul, and after he had conquered these nations, he went into the island of Britonnie, where fighting with the Bryttas, he was defeated in that part of the country which is called Centland. Soon after this, he had a second engagement with the Bryttas, in Centland, who were put to flight. Their third battle was near the river which men call the Temefe (near thofe fords which are called Wallingford): after which, not only all the inhabitants of Cyrnceaftre ‡ fubmitted, but the whole island.'

These paragraphs are all that the limits of our work will allow us to felect from this volume: the Tranflator feems to

• That is rather, of any colour, as in the other mode of triumph two of the veffels were to be white.

+ i. e. They put on the Roman toga, inftead of the dress proper for a march against the enemy.

I should fuppofe that this fhould be Dorchester, rather than Cirencefter, as the former is fo near to Wallingford. It is from this paffage that Bishop Kennett hath infifted that Cæfar's army forded the Thames at Wallingford, and not at Coway Stakes. See Par, Ant."

think that there are very few who are likely to purchase it; he printed it chiefly, he fays, for his own amusement, and that of a few antiquarian friends he has certainly employed confiderable labour and attention on it; and we apprehend it will be well received by the lovers of antiquity, and by such who have a value for the ancient records of our own country.

ART. VIII. The Spiritual Quixote; or, the Summer's Ramble of Mr. Geoffry Wildgoofe. A comic Romance. 12mo. 3 Vols. 7 s. 6d. Dodfley. 1773.

TH

HERE is fomething fingular in this production, and it deferves to be diftinguished from the common trash of -modern novels. The fubject, however, is mean, and unworthy the talents of this Writer. The adventures of a frantic en-thufiaft (a Methodist preacher) cannot be fuppofed to afford the materials of an entertaining romance. The Author is therefore obliged to have recourfe to an artifice, and to make his episodes atone for the poverty of his general fable.

Mr. Wildgoofe is born, educated, and fettled with his mother he quarrels with the parfon; turns Methodist preacher; decoys a cobler to be his fpiritual Sancho; and preaches his way from Cotswold's hills to Bath, in the first volume. In the beginning of the fecond volume, he leaves Bath, in order to con-fult his fpiritual father, Mr. Whitefield, at Briftol: but not being properly directed he and his fquire take the Wells road; and, in the evening, when they are perplexed about what is to become of them, they accidentally meet an old acquaintance of Wildgoole, who takes them into good quarters. After a defcription of the house and garden, &c. the Reader is very pleas ingly relieved by the hiftory of Mr. and Mrs. Rivers, which is by far the best part of this novel. Mr. Rivers had been obliged to leave the university on account of his health. He retired to a village about twenty miles from Oxford, and boarded with a gentleman farmer who had two daughters; the youngest of which he fell in love with. We fhall give pleafure to the Reader, and do justice to the Author, by the following interesting ftory:

As I was quite a Valetudinarian, and willing alfo to lofe as little time as poffible from my ftudies, I defired to eat at my own hours, and avoided all intercourfe with the family as much as I decently could without the appearance of pride or morofenefs. Mrs. Woodville (the farmer's wife) kept but one maid to do the work within doors; and whose business it was to wait upon me but as fhe was often otherwife engaged, the daughters would frequently by turns fupply her place. After fome time, however, I could not but obferve, that the younger was

more

more affiduous in her attendance on me than the elder; which yet I looked upon as accidental, and imputed it either to the good-nature of the one, or the churlifh temper of the other. Charlotte Woodville did every thing in fo pretty a manner, that although it gave me no fmall pleasure, yet was it a fomewhat painful tax upon my complaifance, which would not fuffer me to receive any thing from fo fair a hand without fome little gallant acknowledgment. The more civility I fhewed, the more. obliging was this fair nymph; so that, by degrees, as I feemed. disappointed whenever any other part of the family attended me, fo fhe grew more officiously kind in her attendance, and

"Though I call'd another, Charlotte came."

PRIOR.

I am convinced, however, that she was utterly void of any defign in this, and at prefent only followed the dictates of her native benevolence, and freedom of difpofition: though a more powerful motive, I believe, foon took place in her little breaft; and my indifcretion put matters upon a different footing.-There happened to be a wedding, in the village, one morning; and curiofity had drawn to church the whole family except the younger daughter, who ftaid to attend on her father, who was confined to his bed by a fit of the gout. Charlotte came into the parlour upon fome occafion or other, while the bells were ringing upon this jocund occafion. A wedding in a country place, fets every girl in the parish to fimpering; and matrimony being an inexhaustible topic of raillery, I happened to joke with Charlotte upon the happinefs of the ftate. She made me fome very innocent reply; which, however, tempted me to chuck her under the chin, the loweft degree of dalliance with an inferior. She blushed, and retired with fome precipitation, and with fuch a fweet confufion, that I longed to repeat the freedom; and begging her to return for a moment, as foon as the came within the door, I caught her round the neck and snatched a kifs. This increafed her furprize, and the again retired with a glow upon her cheeks, which I fancied expreiled fome indig nation; at least it fo alarmed her virgin innocence that I faw her no more that day. I had now paffed the Rubicon of difcretion.'"Yes, fays Wildgoofe, you had tafted the forbidden fruit. The poifon of afps is under the lips of the most innocent of the fex. There is no fecurity against the encroachments of love, but by checking the firft motions of the foul. Whofo looketh upon a woman to luft after her, has committed adul tery with her already in his heart." You are too fevere upon me, replied Rivers; but I will proceed in my story.I to k a walk before dinner; and upon my return into the hall, where the family generally fat, Charlotte, inftead of meeting my eyes with an open cheerful countenance, looked down with a REV. May, 1773. bafhful

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bashful confcioufnefs, and almost hid her face in her bofom. My mind was now in fuch a fituation, that, if I had believed the freedom which I took had really offended this innocent maid, I fhould probably have entirely defifted, and have pursued the affair no further: but as a little coldnefs would easily have nipped my paffion in the bud, fo the flighteft encouragement fufficed to keep alive the flame. I cannot omit a trifling circumftance which I confidered in that light. Being under a kind of regimen as to my diet, I ufually fupped upon a bafon of milk. This the fervant brought me that evening, accompanied with a plate of wood-ftrawberries. It being early in the year, I asked her, whence they came? She faid, they were a prefent to one of her young miftreffes. As I had met with fo little complaifance from the elder, I eafily gueffed to whom I was obliged for this favour. This flight inftance of her forgiveness, expreffed in fo pretty a manner, tended but little to the cure of my growing paffion. The next day, in the absence of the maid, Charlotte ventured again into my apartment. I gave her a fignificant fmile, in allufion to what had paffed the day before; and, taking her hand preffed it with fome eagerness. She repulsed me in such a manner, as feemed rather to return the compliment, than to be displeased with it. In fhort, though I had no great opinion of my own perfon, yet I began to flatter myself that I had made fome little impreffion upon Charlotte's tender heart: and, as nothing is a ftronger incentive to love, than an opinion of its being mutual, this naturally endeared her to me, and made her appear more amiable every time I faw her. In reality, I began to love her extravagantly.

"And the more lovely grew as more beloved."

Jealoufy is often a fign of a little mind, and a meanness of fpirit; and a jealous husband is certainly a ridiculous animal; but a jealous lover, I think, deserves the compaffion rather than the contempt of his miftrefs.-I began to be fo fond of my little miftrefs, that I could hardly fuffer her to be out of my fight; and as I thought I had condefcended a little in fettling my affections, I could not bear with patience the thoughts of a rival; nor indeed had I reafon to fear one in her prefent fituation. However, I one evening faw her engaged in fo fprightly a converfation, and laughing with fo coquettish an air (as I fancied) with a young fellow of the neighbourhood, who was talking to her brother at the door, that it immediately alarmed my jea loufy, and I could not forbear difcovering it. I rang the bell with fome vehemence, intending only to put her in mind of me. Inftead of fending the maid, as I expected, the immediately left her company,, and came herself. I bid her fend in a glass of water; which, with great good nature, fhe brought with her

own

own hands. I had feated myself, Sultan like, in my great chair; and lolling in an infolent pofture, affected to be engaged in reading; and, with a haughty nod, bid her fet it down. She was fenfible of the infult, and immediately affuming the dignity of her fex, drew herself up, and flung out of the room, with the air of a Countefs. It appeared afterwards, indeed, that the young man, whom I feared as a rival, was at this time engaged, and upon the brink of being married, to another girl in the neighbourhood; and I was convinced, that my fufpicions. with regard to Charlotte were entirely without the leaft foundation. The little quarrels of lovers generally conclude in more tender reconciliations. Mr. W.'s fpirited behaviour on this occafion, and the explanation it produced, greatly augmented our fondness for each other; and this tender intercourfe was continued for fome time, without being fufpected by any one. I was fo happy in my amour, that I never confidered the probable confequences of fo improper an engagement, but rather hut my eyes against any difagreeable reflections.'

We have feldom read fo natural and pleafing an account of the commencement of an amour; and we give the Author credit for the truth of it. The ftory is continued, in a manner, which will delight the Reader; but it has one improbable circumftance, that the farmer would fuffer his daughter to be taken to town by her lover before he had married her.

Wildgoofe's arrival at Bristol; his interview with Whitefield; and his wonderful works in conjunction with that apoftle, are as well related as fuch ftuff would bear. An old merchant becomes jealous of him, and gets him and his fquire kidnapped; but the captain favours them, and lands them in Wales. The Author blends the adventures of his hero, very well, with fome of the customs and prepoffeffions of that country; and his misfortunes are comical enough. He leads him back again to Gloucester; and from thence by a variety of stages to the Peak in Derbyshire, in order to convert the miners, and other inhabitants of that region. Many people will attend him with great pleasure; others will think, he has not kept up his tale above thofe little and vulgar circumstances which ought never to be recorded.

Wildgoofe is at laft reftored to his fenfes, without a miracle, While he is preaching at a horse-race, he is knocked down with a bottle. The copious bleeding which enfued; the fenfible conversation of a clergyman into whofe house he was taken; and a fincere love for a worthy woman, who was not a friend to his Quixotifm, effected his cure, in a very probable manner; he is then conducted home, and made happy, to the great fatisfaction, no doubt, of the benevolent Reader.

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