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to promote the interefts of real religion, or the welfare of men, This Writer, however, thinks otherwife; but while he pleads with some spirit for these tenets, he expreffes himself with candour and charity towards those who differ from him.

But after all, fpeculation and controverfy are the bane of true piety, and whatever is valuable as to our beft interefts. If revela tion is to be our guide, would it not be the wifdom of Chriftians, where that has not exprefsly decided, to keep to its expreffions, and leave every one to his own fenfe upon thofe points which are not fully and clearly declared ?

Art. 58. Candid Thoughts on the late Application of fome Proteftant Diffenting Minifters to Parliament, for abolishing the Subscription required of them by the Toleration Act. By an Orthodox Diffenter. 8vo. 6d. Goldsmith.

The Author of these thoughts is one of thofe Diffenters who were diffatisfied with the bill which lately paffed the Houfe of Commons for an alteration of the Toleration Act; and he is heartily glad that it was rejected by the House of Lords. To this he is influenced by his zeal for the Trinitarian and Calviniftical Articles of the Church of England. The conduct of the diffenting committee he by no means approves; and, among other objections to it, he finds great fault with the teftimonial required by the bill. He difclaims, however, all principles of intolerance, and propofes his own fcheme of relief, which is as follows;

Let the prefent mode of qualification, as required by the Act of Toleration, remain in full force, for the benefit of thofe who choofe to diftinguish themselves by their regard to the doctrinal articles of the church of England; as alfo for the benefit of those who may find it difficult to obtain a certificate under the hands of three regular approved minifters, fo that they may be sheltered under the wings of the law. This being done,-let there be a petition to legislature, that a claufe may be added to the Toleration Act, anfwerable to the tenor of the prayer made for relief.'

This the Author thinks will be doing juftice to every party, and that, had it been at first adopted, it might have produced the best confequences; but whether his plan is the moft eligible and practicable one that may be thought of, is a question which may admit of much doubt and debate.

Art. 59. Remarks on the Poffcript to the Cafe of the Diffenting Minifters; by Ifrael Mauduit; in a Letter to that Gentleman: Being a full and faithful Representation of the Proceedings of those Minifters, as to the late Application to Parliament. By a firm Friend to Truth, Liberty, and Charity. 8vo. 6d. Bladon. These remarks fo entirely relate to what happened at the private meetings of the Diffenting Clergy, that it is impoffible for us to form a proper judgment concerning them; nor can the fubject be interesting to the generality of our Readers. We must leave it, therefore, to perfons who are better acquainted than we are with the tranfactions to which it refers, to determine how far the Author hath fupported the great character he gives of himself, as a firm friend to truth, liberty, and charity. We cannot, however, help intimating

our fufpicion, that fome of his brethren will not be equally difpofed to pay him fo high a compliment.

Art 60. Sermons on various Subjects, by the late John Farquhar, M. A. Minister at Nigg, carefully corrected from the Author's Manufcript, by George Campbell, D. D. Principal of Marifhall College, and Alexander Gerard, D. D. Profeffor of Divinity in King's College, Aberdeen. 12mo. 2 Vols. 55. Dilly. 1772.

After fo refpectable a recommendation as that which we fee announced in the title-page of the pofthumous difcourfes now before us, we have nothing to add but that we entirely agree with the learned Editors in their opinion, that in thefe fermons a good judge will be at no lofs to difcern, in the Preacher, an eminent clearness of apprehenfion, a correctness of tatte, a lively imagination, and a delicate fenfibility to all the finest feelings of which human nature is fufceptible'

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the AUTHORS of the MONTHLY REVIEW.

GENTLEMEN,

HAVING lately feen your account of Mr. Whitefield's Works, wherein you take notice of an advertisement I fent to the St. James's Chronicle, respecting a Sermon of Dr. Doddridge's being inferted in Mr. Whitefield's Works; I beg leave to fend you fome farther account of the matter:

Before Mr. Whitefield's death I difcovered the Sermon, with his name prefixed to it, and made fome enquiry about it.

It feems Mr. Whitefield had preached from Luke x. 42, on Ken-nington Common; fome bookfellers imagining Dr. Doddridge's Sermon would fell better in Mr. Whitefield's name, published it as a Sermon he had preached fuch a day; and Mr. Whitefield thinking that fome perfons would read it as the Sermon of a Churchman, who might not attend to it as coming from a Diffenter, connived at the fraud, and fuffered it to go in his name.

But how Dr. ****, the Editor, or Dr. the Cofrector of the Prefs could be fo ignorant as not to discover whom it belonged to, I am amazed, as the Sermon is fo well known, and has been fold in fo many different fhapes. Yours,

Aug. 15, 1772.

A. M.'

**Another Letter, on the foregoing fubject, has been addressed to the Proprietor of the Review; but as the Writer (though he profeffes himself to be the Editor of Mr. Whitefield's Works) is extremely impertinent, and proceeds, likewife, on a capital mistake with regard to the Author of Art. 34, in our last Number, we shall, at prefent, take no farther notice of it.

When GENTLEMEN have any remarks to offer, and have difcovered any mistake or overfight in our performance, they will exprefs themfelves in the terms of civility; and we fhall always receive their candid obfervations with refpectful acknowledgment: but petulance, and ill manners, we shall ever treat with the contempt which they

deferve.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For SEPTEMBER, 1772.

ART. I. A Tour to London; or, new Obfervations on England and its Inhabitants. By M. Grofley, F. R. S. Member of the Royal Academies of Infcriptions and Belles Lettres. Tranflated from the French by Thomas Nugent, LL. D. and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. 8vo. 2 Vols. 8 s. fewed. Davis. 1772.

TH

HE curiofity of our countrymen will probably be much excited to hear in what terms they are spoken of by a foreign writer, efpecially a writer of Monf. Grofley's eminence, who has in former publications difcovered both ability and erudition, and whofe obfervations on Italy have recommended him to us as a refpectable Author. In that work he appeared as a philofopher and a man of tafte, as well as learning; yet poffibly an Italian might have many and juft objections against the accounts which he has given of that country. In like manner, divefting ourselves, as far as we are able, of national prejudice, we cannot but regard his remarks on England and its inhabitants, as very imperfect, and often aftonishingly erroneous. We are not, however, to wonder that many mistakes fhould occur in a work of this kind.

Befide that partiality which obtains with the natives of every country in favour of thofe objects and cuftoms to which they have been inured from their infancy, and which the philofopher will find it very difficult, if not impracticable, totally to eradicate befide this, we muft obferve, that Monf. Grofley did not continue in England a sufficient time to collect his materials, or form his opinions and ftrictures with that deliberation and precifion which are requifite in order to make a fair and judicious report of the ftate and manners of a people. It might fometimes happen to him, as it has happened to other

Vid. Rev. vol. xli. two articles.
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YOL. XLVII,

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ftrangers (efpecially as he was unacquainted with our language) that an accidental circumftance in any particular place or com pany, might be mistaken for the common courfe of things: and as he frequently found it neceffary to apply to other perfons for inftruction and an explication of feveral particulars, the information he received might be falfe or misunderstood. His learning is certainly displayed in this work by several pertinent quotations and ingenious applications of many passages from the best Latin authors, and he alfo difcovers, as the Tranflator obferves, a knowledge of hiftory and jurifprudence, joined to that of the ancient ufages of France and England;' but his defcription of the present state of the English is in many refpects greatly defective: and though he is much fuperior to any thing like illiberal abufe, and bestows fometimes his encomiums upon this country and its inhabitants, even in the comparison with his own, yet there are inftances in which he be trays his national attachment and partiality.

Monf. Grofley's method of diftributing his materials, in these volumes, is fimilar to that which he ufed in his Obfervations on Italy, and we think it a very agreeable one: he claffes them under a great number of diftinét heads, fuch as, Police, People, Public Diverfions, Houfes, Poor, Public Walks, National Pride, Commerce, &c. &c. but it is hardly to be expected that, among fuch a variety of divifions, fome articles fhould not occafionally interfere with others; and fome of our Author's remarks will perhaps appear trifling, particularly when they relate to the common occupations of the English, and their manner of living; yet thefe particulars it is natural, and ncceffary, for a traveller to obferve, as they are always interefting to the inhabitants of other countries.

We now proceed to lay before our Readers a few extracts from this work, with fome occafional obfervations upon them. Speaking of the Thames, he justly complains that fo fine a river fhould not be fhewn to advantage, inftead of attempting which, he fays, human indultry feems to exert itself only to deftroy and conceal it. Even the bridges, he remarks (meaning those of London and Weftminster) have no profpect of the river, except through a balluflrade of ftone, with a rail of modillions three feet high, very maffy, and fastened close to each other; the whole terminated by a very heavy cornice, and forming a pile of building about ten feet in height.' The reafon, our Author fays, which fome affign (and which he appears to credit) for this confinement of the river, is, the natural bent of the English, and in particular of the people of London, to fuicide.' However, he obferves, that the architect of the new bridge at Blackfriars, has thought it adviseable to enclose it only with a fingle rail, and that high enough to lean upon; that is to fay, he ufes the fame method with the Londoners, as thofe have recourfe to with children, who think that the best method to cure

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them of liquorifhnefs is, to leave comfits and fweetmeats at their difcretion. The comparison that this will give occafion to, must make the railing of the other bridges appear as ridiculous as it is in fact. If the people of London do not abufe this conveniency, perhaps the number of the drowned will not exceed that of the ufual contingencies one year with another.' Thefe remarks of our Author, fuppofing him ferious, fufficiently expofe their own abfurdity: Is there the leaft probability that the confideration here mentioned had any influence in directing the form of the bridges, or the difpofition of other buildings or grounds about the river? Inftances of fuicide, in moft nations, are indeed but too frequent: but the Writer's infinuation of its being a very common practice in England, above all other countries, is ungenerous and unjuft. On what flight grounds he fometimes builds his conclufions the Reader may learn by the obfervations he makes in another part of this work refpecting the fame fubject, viz. That it is impoffible to prevent this mifchief, I am convinced, fays he, by the fhocking fight of twenty fkulls, which were found in the bed of the Thames, where they were digging the foundation for the first piles of the new bridge. The architect, as they were found, ranged them in order, in a yard at the head of the bridge. He fhewed me one, of a blacker hue than the rest, which was found by the labourers when they had dug ten foot under ground. To form a judgment of the whole channel of the Thames from this fpecimen, it fhould be ftrewed with fuch fpoils of humanity, that is to fay, with monuments of the eternal difpofition of the English to fuicide, even, if we place among thefe monuments, thofe of the feveral engagements that have been fought in the metropolis.' How very uncandid and futile are thefe reflections! Since it is highly probable, as particularly appears from the state of one of the skulls here mentioned, that they had lain there a confiderable number of years, and wrecks and accidents will fufficiently account for the difcovery, without having recourfe to any other fuppofition. Navigable rivers in any part of the world, on which a trade is carried on, in any degree like that which flourishes on the Thames, might furnish our Traveller with many fubjects for the fame charge of fuicide by drowning.

Under the article Combats, we find the following paffage : 'The police allows men to revenge upon the spot an infult which they have not given occafion to. I once faw in Parliament-ftreet one of the low fellows that infeft the foot-paths of that neighbourhood fall foul of a gentleman who was paffing by, give him the most opprobrious language, and even lift up his hand to ftrike him the gentleman thereupon applied his cane fo violently to the fkull of the aggreffor that he fell to the ground infenfible, and the gentleman very quietly walked on. I was given to understand, that the infalt which he had received was entirely unprovoked, and that he would have had no profecution to fear even if he had killed the

man.'

We are often told how much more ftrict and regular the French police is than that of England, and this may poffibly be the cafe, because their form of government is of an arbitrary and

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