hour, and find an hundred rhimes to every word in the Vocabulary, can discover no more music in Numbers without Rhime, than the former in Rhime without Numbers.

It is otherwife, however, with Dr. Fortefcue, whose talents are fo general, and capacity fo extenfive, that he ftalks over the high and hobbling road of Blank Verfe, with as much gracefulness and eafe, as if he were ambling through the flowery paths of Rhime, or plodding foberly along the beaten track of plain Profe. Whether he writes Profe or Verfe, blank or rhime; whether his writings be allegorical, fatyrical, defcriptive, or didactic; whether Ode, Fable, Sonnet, or Epiftle, it is all the fame to him. Whatever be his fubject, or whatever his manner, his merit is in all confpicuous, and in all perfectly equal.

We, nevertheless, cannot help regretting this circumftance, notwithstanding all the honour it may reflect on the Author, fince in a work, where everything is of equal merit, the Reviewer is extremely at a lofs to make choice of such extracts as are neceffary to give the Reader an idea of the performance. The following fpecimens, however, we have felected as the eafieft detached, or the fhorteft; but not as the best or worst in this miscellany.

As a fample of his profe, we fhall quote a paffage or two from this curious Writer's Differtations on Man.

Of Laws for regulating and forming our Conduct.

All laws are intended for thefe ends, viz. the peace, and the good of mankind; which are only anfwered when thofe laws are properly execut ed: and fuch governments < are always the beft, which have made the best provifions for their fubjects; and thofe fubjects will ever be found the best, and maintain the beft order, who are early trained, by difcipline, to the love of good order: it is not the air of a country, or the foil, or the climate, which gives the characteristic to any nation: what has been obferved, of Cappadocia's formerly enjoying as good a natural quality, as it does now, is as true, of the country, and pre• fent ftate of the Moors.

It was not the air, or the foil of thofe countries, which difpofed feme of them to be more flavifh, or others to be more dull, perhaps, than the inhabitants of other countries, and climates; but their indolent cuftoms, and the want of a proper inftitution, and proper means of industry,

• and

and virtues, to fet the example, and encourage them in the • pursuit of every thing laudable.

Notwithstanding the obfervable difference in the endowments, and difpofitions of mankind, answerable to the various employments; the common, and general endowments, are abundantly fufficient for the purposes of life; tho' peculiar tendencies, and geniufes are required for fhining characters: much indeed may be done by mere nature, • nothing without it; art is quite neceffary, for its farther progrefs, and improvement; and unless a man delights in his employ, to which he finds his genius is anfwerable, very little can be expected..

But if people will thruft themselves, or their guardians will put them into ways of life, they are unfit for; they < must be answerable for the confequences; and none, but < themselves, are to blame. Remarkable has been the con<duct of the Jefuits, in the tryal of youth and a famous • Mathematician has been found out, who was but a dunce in every other fcience. Huartes, in his treatise, tells us of various things worth obferving, in regard to discoveries of this nature; and tho' I will not answer for all, fure I ⚫ am, it is not entirely imaginary: and were there but greater • attention paid to it, many a genius might be found out, and properly turned to employments fitted for them; and many a man, as Dr. South obferves, hindered from running his head against a pulpit, who might have made a bet<ter figure at a plough's tail; and many a man, who is now ⚫ pining in poverty, or buried in oblivion, might have been an example to thoufands. He, who at a country wake, or a wrestling, has been the beau, or hero of the day; in the circle of his acquaintance, the mouth of the company; might have become in the field, a Cæfar, or an Eugene; ⚫ or in the senate, or the church, a Tully, or a Tillotson.'

Whether it be owing to this Writer himself, or to the conduct of his Guardians, that we find him, in his own language, Wandering round the verge

Of steep Parnaffus,

we know not; ; but if it be his own act and deed, he muft, himself, as he justly obferves of others, be answerable for the confequences.

Of our Author's Blank Verfe, we prefume a very few lines, being the Exordium of his poem on Contemplation, will give the Reader a fatisfactory idea.

Thee Caftle-Hill, and thy Aonian founts,
Thy fylvan bowers, and all thy green retreats,
Glad revifit: for th' enliv'ning thought
Catch infpiration, while on eagle's plume
I mount, and fee the lefs'ning world below:
Recording, while above yon fpangled orbs
Of everlasting light, yon ftarry fpheres,
I ride aerial, born on zephyr's wings,
Or on Aurora's ventilated flakes,
Or comet's fiery undulating train.
From thy celeftial citadel defcend,

Thou pow'r-creative fancy aid my fong.

If this be not fublime, let the Reader rife above it if he can. But to come to our Author's rhimes, of which we shall give two examples, viz. a Fable and an Ode.

The OAK and the SHRUBS. A Fable.

T HERE liv'd, beneath an aged oak,
A fhrub or two, who thus bespoke

Their guardian Tree, "How fine you spread,
And lift into the heavens your head,
With gloffy leaves, and branching arms,
Extending to the fun your charms:
Whilst we stand here in piteous plight,
Deny'd the very air, and light;

Me humbly bend,-fcarce fee the fun,-
What, for fuch ufage, have we done?
What a mean figure we have made,
Out of Court-funfhine, in your fhade ;
Tho' fwoln to an enormous fize,
Remember whom we aggrandize;
Yet nothing have, but leaves, or loppings,
Befides fome filthy rain, or droppings;
Which only tend to make us fower,
Elfe fair, and fweet as any flower,
We might, as well as others, rife,
And fhoot our heads into the fkie..
But now, you only ftand aloof,
Catch, and turn all to your béhoof:
While we, below, your fcorn and fcoff,
Seem only made, to fet you off.

Tho' the fame wood, the felf-fame earth,
Gave. us all, nutriment and birth,

We dare not raife aloft our head,
Tho' full as nobly born and bred,

The heart of oak with high difdain,
Reply'd I've heard you tools complain

But

But know this clamour's out of feafon,
Against my eminence 'tis treafon :
Such fcrubs have been too long protected;
By every one, but me, rejected.
Had you not murmur'd you might lie,
All fafe, thro' your obscurity;

But now, fince you're fo faucy grown,
Of driving winds and rain the fcorn,
I'll leave you. Then his arms withdrew,
And left them all exposed to view.

The bleak winds came, the driving rains,
Defcending, fwept part off the plains;
A part was trod into the mire;
The reft, made fuel, food for fire:
The farmer came, in bundles bound
The refidue, and clear'd the ground.

To my TAPER. An Ode.

WHITHER, tell me, art thou flying,
Hanging on a fingle breath?

All of us, like thee, when dying,
Turn, as foon, to mother earth.

Quick as thought, now funk, now rifing,
Thus a fairy fpirit seems:

Each flatt'ring hour fome hope bringing,
Shews that life's a waking dream.

If death's but a reft or ending,
Welcome death, and happy reft;

If to farther woes extending,

Fly, hence fly! unwelcome gueft!

Tho' disease acute affail me,

Fly, O! fly me! black defpair; "Till my ftrength and vigour fail me, What I can't avoid, I'll bear.

My visual orbs, like thine, decaying,
Clofing on a world, like this;
My blindness to it's faults betraying,
Make, perhaps, my greater blifs.

If my refpite fhould be longer,
Have I reafon to repine?
Paffions failing, fenfe grows ftronger,
There my light is more than thine.

Lo! thou haft neft to be gone;

Wilt thou then in darkness leave me?
When thou'rt out, my work is done,

A little light will relieve me.

X 4

Trembling

Trembling with thee, how I alter!

Doft thou hint, it is enough?
Farewel! light-'tis gone-I faulter-
Gentle reader take my snuff.

We now leave our Readers to determine the merits of this Author's performances; as we shall be gladly excused from tasking our abilities, to enter into any profound disquifition, as Critics, on the prefent fubject. There are perfons, no doubt, who will imagine, that in fo various a work, there must be room for a world of Criticism: but we may fafely defy the boldeft Ariftarchus in Europe, to render compleat and impartial justice to the several curious paffages that will ftrike him, in the attentive perufal of these two volumes.

Philofophical Mifcellanies, on various Subjects. By Mr, Formey, perpetual Secretary to the Royal Academy of Berlin. 12mo, 2s. 6d. fewed. Hinton.

TH

HE literary character of Mr. Formey has been long determined, and is, in general, well known: few of our Readers, therefore, will form a very high opinion of the Mifcellany before us; altho', at the fame time, they need not be apprehenfive of its affording that room for cenfure which fome late philofophical productions have given us. It bears, indeed, throughout the whole, thofe marks of inoffenfive mediocrity, which are, in fome degree, characteristical of the talents and genius of our Author. Men of profound science will, in all probability, look on fuch speculations with indifference; thofe, who read only for amusement, may, nevertheless, find here fomewhat to entertain them; as the fubjects are, for the most part, happily chofen; and the Reader, however fuperficial, need be under no fear of being puzzled with argument, or plunged into the depths of abtract reasoning.

The feveral fubjects treated of are thefe-Sleep-Dreams -the Value and Neglect of the Laws of Conversationthe Scale of Beings-the Order of Nature-the Analogy between the Nourishment of the Body and that of the Soulthe Principles of Happiness and Unhappiness in Marriage— Moral Liberty-Lending Money at Intereft-the moral Duty of procuring ourfelves the Neceffaries of Life-the Logic of Probabilities,

In