Art. XVII. An Introduction to Arithmetic; in which the four principal Rules are illustrated by a Variety of Questions, Geographical, Biographical, and Miscellaneous. 18mo. pp. 70. Price 1s. 6d. Bone and Hone. 1809. AS this book may pretend to no less than three advantages over most others of the kind, we shall venture to describe them, notwithstanding the certainty that our readers are nearly as tired of such articles as we are. 1. It is considerably smaller, than most similar publications. 2. It contains much less information, comparatively, on the subject of arithmetic; a large proportion of its scanty space being occupied with anecdotes and poetry. 3. It answers Mr. Chambers's purpose better to supply his pupils with, than any other book yet published. Art. XVIII. An Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, containing a concise Account of the principal Events in the Old and New Testaments; chiefly designed for the Use of Young Persons, By a Clergyman of the Church of England. The Second Edition, with Corrections and Improvements. 12mo. pp. 200. Price 3s. 6d. Hatchard, Seeley, &c. 1809. THOUGH we should for many reasons recommend the study of the Bible itself, in preference to any abstract of its historical parts, yet we are not disposed to deny that this little work may be usefully added to the juvenile collection. A more distinct view of the sacred history may be obtained by such an abridgement, than by a perusal of original documents; and, at all events, the book is new, it is harmless, it relates to those subjects which should most frequently occupy the attention, and it directs the reader to the most valuable of all writings. From what we recollect of the former edition, we think the present is greatly improved; the editor has mended the style, and supplied some considerable omissions; he has added a few illustrative notes, a short Chronological Table, and Dr. Watts's Catalogue of Scripture Names. Some persons will deem this Introduction preferable to most of the works which have appeared since its first publication, in those respeets wherein it differs from them; in its comparative brevity, in its plain narrative form, and its regular division into short chapters. We could wish that the Saviour's death, which is alluded to in the dedication to young readers, had been brought forward more prominently into view, and more explicitly represented as the ground of hope and the motive to obedience. Art. XIX. The Simpliciad; a Satirico-Didactic Poem. Containing Hints for the Scholars of the New School, suggested by Horace's Art of Poetry, and improved by a contemplation of the Works of the first Masters. 12mo. pp. 51. Price 2s. J. J. Stockdale, 1808. A Dedication of this poem to Messrs. Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge, informs us that it is intended to hold up the new school to ridicule; and the writer has certainly done his utmost to realise the laudable intention. But alas! it is not the first instance of good intention failing; a similar case occurred many years ago, to the great mortification of a certain well disposed.donkey, who intended to frisk and fondle like a greyhound. We are sorry to say that we have read his book with unaltered gravity; and have now to report it as a new proof that it is easier to perceive what is absurd than to succeed in exposing it to derision, and that it is possible for a satirical poem to be very true, and yet very dull. If the author had done us the favour of a call, in his way to the printer's, we might have persuaded him to omit the whole of his poetry, and the whole of his notes except the extracts he professes to ridicule;' the publication would then have been quite as severe and effectual on the offending poets, quite as useful to the erring public, and, if not ten times livelier, at least ten times less, In fact, there no longer appears to be the least occasion for any such corrective either of writers or readers; Mr. Wordsworth's last publication may be regarded as the suicide of the new school; it has already been buried with marks of ignominy; and if its ghost will walk, it must. We do hope, however, that the three writers will feel it a duty to endeavour, with the utmost diligence, through the rest of their lives, to atone for their past misconduct, to recompense the present age for kindly suffering their absurdities, and to erect some monuments of their unquestionable genius, which may withstand the changes of literary caprice and the lapse of time. Art. XX. Public Disputation of the Students of the College of Fort William, in Bengal, before the Right Hon. Lord Minto, Governor General of Bengal, and Visitor of the College; together with his Lordship's Discourse, 27th February, 1808. Printed at Calcutta. London, reprinted. · pp. 52. Black and Co. 1808. BUT few copies, we understand, of these documents have been printed : and though the pamphlet displays the prosperity of the College and the proficiency of the students in a manner highly gratifying to the friends of both, it would not be likely to obtain general circulation. The principal part of it consists of an able Discourse by the noble President: the part most interesting to our readers is that which refers to the attainments of the Baptist Missionaries and their pupils in the Chinese tongue. A few sentences on this subject we shall extract; whether the reference to it was introduced "regularly or not," the liberality of the Governor-General is highly deserving of praise, and of imitation Three young men, 1 ought, indeed, to say, boys, have not only acquired a ready use of the Chinese language for the purpose of oral communication, which I understand is neither difficult nor rare, amongst Europeans connected with China; but they have atchieved, in a degree worthy of admiration, that which has been deemed scarcely within the reach of European faculties or industry; I mean a very extensive and correct acquaintance with the written language of China. 1 will not de tail the particulars of the Examination which took place on the 10th of this month at Serampore, in the Chinese language, the Report of which however I have read with great interest, and recommend to the liberal notice of those whom I have the honour to address. It is enough for my present purpose to say, that these young pupils read Chinese books and translate them; and they write compositions of their own in the Chinese language and character. A Chinese press too is established, and in actual use. In a word, if the founders and supporters of this little Vol. V. P College have not yet dispelled, they have at least sent and admitted a dawn of day through that thick impenetrable cloud, they have passed that oceanum dissociabilem, which for so many ages has insulated that vast Empire from the rest of mankind. Let us entertain at least the hope, that a perseve rance in this or similar attempts may let in at length upon those multitudes, the contraband and long forbidden blessings of human intercourse and social improvement. I must not omit to commend the zealous and persevering labours of Mr. Lassar, and of those learned and pious persons associated with him, who have accomplished, for the future benefit, we may hope, of that immense and populous region, Chinese versions, in the Chinese character, of the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke, throwing open that precious mine, with all its religious and moral treasures, to the largest associated popula tion in the world.' pp. 32-34. The Report here alluded to, we have seen; and it will doubtless be printed at length in some of the miscellanies or official Records with which our readers are conversant. The Boys were, John Clark Marshman, aged 13; Jabez Carey, 15; Benjamin Wicks Marshman, 8. The eldest of these youths repeated the five books of Conversations of Confucius; held a disputation in the Chinese language,' produced twenty sentences in Chinese, his own composition and writing,' and wrote, in that character and language, twenty sentences dictated to him, and explained their meaning,' &c. &c. &c. Art. XXI: Hints for the Considerations of Parliament, in a Letter to Dr. Jenner, on the supposed Failures of Vaccination at Ringwood; including a Report of the oyal Jennerian Society on that Subject, after a careful public Investigation on the Spot, &c. &c. By William Blair, Surgeon of the Lock Hospital and Asylum, &c. &c. 8vo. pp 300. Price 8s. 6d. bds. Callow, Hatchard, &c. 1808. Art. XXII. A Statement of some Objection to the Bill, as amended by the Committee of the House of Commons, to prevent the Spreading of Infection by the Small Pox To which is subjoined, a Copy of the Bill. By A. Highmore. 8vo. Price Is. Johnson. 1808. Art. XXIII. An Answer to Mr. Highmore's Objections to the Bill be-fore Parlament to prevent the Spreading of the Infection of the Small-Pox: with an Appendix, containing some interesting Communications from Foreign Medical Practitioners, on the Progress and Efficacy of Vaccine Inoculation. By Charles Murray. 8vo. pp. 70. price 2s. Longman and Co. 1808. o A CAUSE may truly be regarded as " on its last legs," when its chief patron finds himself reduced to such degrading and desperate measures in its support, as are here plainly fixed upon Mr. Birch. The exposure of some of this gentleman's contrivances will be found exceedingly interesting; we cannot here particularize them; and still less could we give any idea of the ingenuity manifested by Mr. Blair in tracing them to their proper author. Let two facts suffice to afford our readers some notion of Mr Birch: Among his "Serious Reasons" for continuing the variolous inoculation, he gives this; "that in the populous part of the Metropolis, where the abundance of children exceed the means of pro viding food and raiment for them, this pestilential disease is considered as a merciful provision on the part of providence, to lessen the burthen of a poor man's family!"-Again,having received information from an unprofessional person that the vaccine practice had proved fatally unsuccessful at Ringwood, he wrote to a surgeon on the spot to request a particular statement, and then, without waiting for the answer, immediately inserted his crude, alarming, unauthenticated, and false rumour in a morning paper! Mr. Birch, likewise, is pretty clearly proved to be the author of the scandalous" Cow-pox chronicle," of which thrice as many were printed. to be given away as sold! The latter part of the work is not less curious and important; it refers to the extraordinary zeal with which the physician to the Small-pox Hospital has revived the variolous practice there, after it had nearly become extinct; and describes the danger to which the public health has been exposed, and the injury it has sustained, by the late plan of inoculating out patients, who have carried the pestilence about the streets in their way to the hospital to be examined. We are very happy to learn, that Mr. Blair's most laudable exposure of these flagrant abuses has procured the effectual interference of the governors. The report on the Ringwood cases, is well known to the public. The whole publication, diffuse and ill-digested as (perhaps unavoidably). it is, deserves the particular attention of all who take an interest in this important cause, and especially of the members of the Legislature, now that the bill "to prevent the spreading of the infection of the small-pox" is again coming under parliamentary consideration. We are disposed to extend the same recommendation to both the pamphlets whose titles we have annexed. The general principle of the bill is, we think, satisfactorily vindicated by Mr. Murray: it is as constitutional, as the regulations respecting the plague, and the laws of quarantine. He omits discussing Mr. Highmore's objections to particular parts of the bill as it now stands, because it may naturally be expected and wished to receive many modifica. tions in its different stages. He justly observes, that the reason why the proposed measures of preventing infection are not extended to the Measles, Fevers, &c. is because these are not propagated by Inoculation; and well exposes the notion, that the Small Pox ought to be preserved as a test of the efficacy of the Vaccine. The communications in the Appendix will be found highly interesting and satisfactory. Art: XXIV. Dialogues on Eloquence in general; particularly that Kind which is fit for the Pulpit. By M. Fenelon, late Archbishop of Cambray. With his Letter to the French Academy, concerning Rhetoric, Poetry, History, and a Comparison between the Ancients and the Moderns. Translated from the French, and illustrated with Notes and Quotations, by William Stevenson, M. A. A new Edition, revised and corrected, with additional Notes, by the Rev. James Creighton, B. A. Svo. pp. 350. price 8s. boards. Baynes, 1808. FENELON'S Dialogues on Eloquence have been so often recommended by the first theological authorities, and are so well established in the public esteem, that we deem it needless to make any other remark on the present edition, than that it has derived some advantage from the additions mentioned in the title, and that it is handsomely printed. ART. XXVI. SELECT LITERARY INFORMATION. Gentlemen and Publishers who have works in the press, will oblige the Conductors of the ECLECTIC REVIEW, by sending information (post paid,) of the subject, extent, and probable price of such works; which they may depend upon being communicated to the public, if consistent with its plan. Mr. Macartney will shortly publish a set of Rules for ascertaining the Situation and Relations, in the living Body, of the principal Blood-vessels, Nerves, &c. concerned in Surgical Operations. The work will be illustrated by plates, and contain some practical remarks on the performance of the most usual operations in surgery. Mr. P. Thompson, of Boston, has in the press the Stranger's Guide through Boston and its Environs, being an attempt at a topographical, historical, and descriptive account of that part of Lincolnshire, in a small volume, embellished with plates. The Rev. Edward Davies, author of Celtic Researches, has a work in continuation of the subject, in the press, and which will shortly appear. Mr. Johnes's translation of the Chroni. cles of Monstrelet, being a continuation of Froissart's Chronicles, will soon appear in four quarto volumes. Speedily will be published, in 8vo. the Four Slaves of Cythera: a romance, in ten cantos. By the Rev. Robert Bland. Speedily will be published by subscription, all the Odes of Pindar, translated into English Lyric Verse, with notes explanatory and critical, from the original Greek. By the Rev. J. L. Girdlestone, M. A. late Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge; appointed Master of the Classical School, Beccles, by the most Rev, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rev. Dr. Strachey, Archdeacon of Suffolk, and the Rev. Bence Bence, Rector of Beccles; to whom the work is, with their Permission, dedicated. No entire English Version of this greatest of Lyric Poets has ever yet appeared by one Person: West's, the only work in reputé, containing a very few only of the Odes. The book will be elegantly printed in foolscap quarto, to be paid for on delivery. Price One Guinea. Mr. James Elmes is engaged on a Dictionary of the Fine Arts, to include Accounts of the Arts in 'Theory and Practice, and of the Professors in all Ages. A New and Complete Edition of Dr. Gill's Exposition of the Old and New Testament in nine quarto volumes, is in the press. It will be published in eighteen monthly parts; the first of which is intended to appear on the first of March, Mr. S. Ware, Architect, will publish, in a few weeks, the first part of a Treatise of Arches, Bridges, Domes, Abutments, and› Embankment Walls. The author professes to shew a simple mode of describing geometrically the catenaria, and to deduce his theory from that line. Mr. Edgeworth's work on Professional Education, in a quarto volume, is in a state of forwardness, and may soon be expected. Mr. Todd's new edition of Milton will appear in a few weeks; and he has sent to the press Observations on Gower and Chau cer. Mr. Thomas Mortimer, vice-consul at Ostend forty years ago, is preparing a new Dictionary of Trade, Commerce, and Manufactures. Dr. Popham's Remarks on Various Texts of Scripture are expected in a few weeks. Dr. Hales's first volume of a New Analysis of Chronology is expected to appear this month. It will make three quarto volumes, The Rev, W. Bennet intends immediately putting to press his proposed "Essay on the Gospel Dispensation, considered in connection with God's moral Government of Men:" in two parts, price 5s. in Boards. Part I. shewing the whole of Revelation to. be a moral plan of exercising the natural powers of men, congenial with their character and present state as intelligent accountable creatures. This, therefore, will comprise a distinct detailed view of that particular manner, in which the truths and blessings of the Gospel have been made known to sinners from the earliest ages of the world; especially with reference to the original discovery of mercy to our first parents after the fall-to the Abrahamic covenant-to the legal institution by Moses-to the evidences of Christianity to the peculiar doctrines of the New Testa |