CATALOGUE

MONTHLY

For JULY 1789.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ART. 15. The New Robinson Crufoe: an inflructive and entertaining Hiflory, for the Use of Children of both Sexes. Tranflated from the French Embellished with Thirty-two beautiful Cuts. 12mo. 4 vols. 6s. Stockdale. London, 1788.

HE idea of this book, the French tranflator obferves, is

Taken from Rouffeau, who, in his Emilius, fays,

Might

there not be found means to bring together fo many leffons of inftruction that lie fcattered in fo many books; to apply them through a fingle object of a familiar and not uncommon nature, capable of engaging the imitation, as well as roufing and fixing the attention, even at fo tender an age? If one could imagine a fituation, in which all the natural wants of man appear in the cleareft light to the underftanding of a child, and in which the means of fatisfying these wants unfold themfelves fucceffively in the fame clear, easy manner, the lively and natural defcription of fuch a ftate fhould be the first means that I would use to fet his imagination at work.'

Pursuing this idea, the author, Mr. Campe, taking the chief paffages of Robinfon Crufoe, omitting others, and adding fome of his own, has produced a book which may be of confiderable use to children. Several of the hero's adventures, previous to his fhipwreck on the defart ifland, are omitted. The author, having placed him there, fays, I have divided the time of my New Robinson Crufoe's remaining upon the island into three periods. In the first he is all alone, and deftitute of any European tool or inftrument whatsoever, affifting himself merely by his hands and invention; in order to fhew, on the one hand, how helpless man is in a state of folitude; and, on the other, how much reflection and perfevering efforts can contribute to the improvement of our condition. In the fecond period, I give him a companion, on purpose to fhew how much a man's fituation may be bettered by taking even this fingle step towards fociety. Laftly, in the third period, a veffel from Europe is fhipwrecked on his island, and gives him an opportunity thereby of providing himself with tools and most other articles neceffary in common life, in order that the young reader may fee how valuable many things are of which we are accustomed to make very little account, because we have never experienced the want of them.',

This New Robinson Crufoe is fuppofed to be read to his children by a Mr. Billingfley; and the ftory is frequently interrupted by the queftions of the children, and by his anfwers to fatisfy their inquiries. Thus moral and religious inftructions are drawn from the incidents as they arife, and children are taught what to avoid and what to purfue by an exemplar before them.

Originally written in German.

ART.

ART. 16. The Predefined Wife; a Novel. 12mo. 5s. fewed. Kirby. London, 1789.

Of novels that neither rife above nor fink below mediocrity, we have only to determine their tendency as to morals. As the clafs of novel readers is very numerous, it is highly neceffary they should be well fupplied; and we recommend the Predeftined Wife as a production in which the ftricteft regard is paid to every virtuous and generous fentiment. We have, indeed, nothing to allege against it, except that the few new incidents it contains are not very probable; but, as the author found them neceffary, in order to render the work interefting, due allowance we hope will be made for them. ART. 17. The Select Spectator; or, A Selection of Moral Papers from the Spectator. 12mo. 2 vols. 6s. boards. Rivingtons. London, 1789.

Of the Spectators, though, in spite of the change of taste, customs, and manners, they ftill continue a parlour-window book, it must be admitted there are fome which feem to have been the offspring of a cloudy day, others a little obfolete, and a few non fine lituris legenda. The editor therefore, with much propriety, undertook a felection for the use of the young people under his care. He profeffes to have preferred moral fubjects to criticism and metaphyfical inquiries; yet we cannot help ranking among the latter the arguments taken from dreams, in favour of the immortality of the foul; and if it should be urged that Mr. Addifon's papers on beauty, novelty, and greatness, have the air of criticifm, yet, as they have been generally thought the beft calculated of any light production to improve the taste and judgement of young readers, we were a little difappointed in not finding them in the index. We could lament alfo that the ftory of Hilpa, the antedeluvian princefs, fhould have been omitted; but, in matters of taste, every compiler has a right to his own judgment.

ART. 18. Retired Pleafures in Profe and Verfe; addressed to the Lovers of a Country Life. With occafional Notes and Illufirations. By George Wright, Efq. Author of the Rural Chriftian, &c. &c. 4to. 2s. 6d. Stalker. London, 1787.

Whoever has perufed Mr. Wright's Rural Chriftian may form a tolerable idea of his Pleasures in Verse and Profe. We shall present our readers with the advertisement, not only as an account, but as a specimen of the performance; and we congratulate them on the opportunity they will have of taking breath at the notes, without which none but Mr. Alfcrip could get through this period of a page:

As many gentlemen who live in the country may wish to know how to improve the calmness and tranquillity of rural fcenes to the beft advantage; while others who have been fuccefsful in business, or are, by different methods, become the heirs of riches and the fons of fortune, may be defirous of retiring from the fatigue and cares of trade and merchandise into the peaceful abodes of Sylvan life, to enjoy

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'A mariner who has been a long voyage, and weathered out mary a ftorm, is happy to fee his native land, and regain his defired port;

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fo

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enjoy mental ferenity and undisturbed reflection; the following treatife (chiefly extracted from approved writers) is intended to aflist such perfons in filling up their time, engaging their thoughts, and exciting their attention to fubjects of the greatest moment and importance, and directing their views to objects heavenly and divine.'

Thefe objects of moment and importance are fo retired, so Sylvan, fo feafonable, fo religious, fo Chriftian, fo rural, fo full of groves, reflections, felicity, alcoves, contemplations, &c. that one would almost conceive the English language afforded no other expreffions. We could have been glad to have been occationally relieved by fomething like active benevolence, which ought at least to form a part of our Sylvan occupations, and which our author thinks it fufficient now and then to glance at, instead of enforcing. Strange, among his many felections, we should find fo little on this fubject If this be Mr. Wright's tafte for retirement, we fhall leave him to enjoy it unenvied, and think ourselves better secured in busy scenes than in such Sylvan retreats to exclaim,

Here luft no objects for its fires can gain.❜

See the author in his frontispiece and the motto:

ART. 19. Reveries, philofophical, political, and military. 8vo. Is. Hookham. London, 1789.

The man of leisure who reads till he is tired, refumes his book till he is drowsy, and at laft lets it drop while he ftretches himself, may not be fully aware of the advantages of arrangement in compofitions; but we poor Reviewers, while the wind from our broken cafement renders the light of our folitary rush oftentimes deceitful, are apt to wifh for fome clue to direct us in our laborious researches after wit or meaning. Of the Reveries before us we thall only fay that our author dreams of commerce and war; of government, the origin of which he confounds with its defign; of religion, every fect of which he advises to be tolerated, except those who preach the doctrines of the national church; last of all we have mufic, which, fuddenly roufing our author to what he calls a waking dream, makes him fancy the genius of inftruction informing his vacant foul. The refult is an eastern tale in favour of the heir-apparent, the application of which a late happy event has rendered unneceffary.

fo a perfon, after the fatigues and labour of carrying on an extenfive bufinefs for many years, may naturally wish to retire from the pursuit of riches, to enjoy them at leifure in a quiet rural retreat.

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Hunting Ihooting, angling, and the like rural amusements, are not particularly infifted on in this treatise, as it is principally intended to point out and enforce the best methods for improving the mind in the knowledge and practice of virtue and rational devotion; leaving the recreations of the body to every perfon's own choice, only hinting the propriety of regulating our amufements, whether in town or country, according to the dictates of humanity, prudence, fobriety, and right, reafon,

ART.

ART. 20. Conjectures on fome of the Phenomena of the Barometer; to which is added a Paper on the Inverfion of Objects on the Retina. 8vo. Creech, Edinburgh. 1789.

IS.

It is a very general observation that, though nothing is more easy than to confute a theory, yet to build a new one, that shall be free from objection, is a very difficult undertaking. The work before us is a strong proof of the truth of this pofition..

In the firit part of the work we are told that if the variations of the barometer arife from the increased elasticity or gravity of the air, we are still to look for the causes of these. All this has been long ago admitted, and that there are certain difficulties yet unfolved relative to the variations of the mercury by atmospherical preffure.

Dr. M. after fhewing that all the caufes of which we can form any idea would be more uniform than what we obferve, propofes one in every refpect liable to equal objection. He fuppofes the increafed gravity of the air to arife from an increased quantity of it, which he attributes chiefly to the procefs of vegetation; and its diminution to the evolution of phlogifton, which, combining with pure air, is condensed into water, If no other caufes operated, it is obvious this procefs would be as uniform as the generally received theory; but as our author admits the variations of winds and temperature will have great influence in modifying this principle of augmentation and diminution in the air, we find ourfelves as much at a lofs as ever for the causes of thefe variations, on which the whole system seems to depend.

In the other paper we have an inquiry by what means the mind becomes fenfible of the real fituation of objects which appear inverted on the retina? This our author accounts for by supposing an instantaneous comparison in the mind of every object with its relative fituation to the surface of the earth. If this be the cafe, the judgment is fixed at fo early an age, that it is impoffible to trace the progrefs of our ideas on the fubject. It is, however, moft probable that the picture we have feen on the retina is different from the impreffion conveyed to the mind, otherwife adults, who have been cured of congênital cataracts, would have difcovered fome doubts whether a man 'ftood on his head or his heels. From the most authentic memoirs no fuch difficulties have occurred, though the patients have had no clear conceptions of diftances, perfpective, &c.

ART. 21. The Nature and Utility of the Court of Requests defcribed, by Hutton. 8vo. 6s. boards. Hookham. London, 1789.

In this ufeful performance we have, firft, the hiftory of the Court of Requefts in Birmingham, which is traced with great exactnefs'; but, as our author acknowledges his fond partiality to a darling child, we are ready to excufe his prolixity while we admit the juftice and propriety of his remarks.

The fame must be said of the ninety-nine cafes which follow, many of which are interefting, and contain very useful information for the judges of thefe very valuable tribunals. On which account we did not feel ourselves wearied with the long introduction to fome of the ob

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vious

vious remarks on others, or the circumftantial exactnefs with which many are related. The author acknowledges the pleasure with which he rides his hobby; and it were much to be wished all public bufinefs were transacted with as much alacrity. We therefore recommend this well-intended production to all fuch as wifh for information in adminiftering juftice in thefe valuable inftitutions, and despair not to see their jurifdiction extend in proportion to the decreased value of money in this opulent kingdom.

POLITICAL,

ART. 22. A Second Letter from Major Scott to Mr Fox, containing the final Decifion of the Governor-General and Council of Bengal on the Charges brought against Rajah Deby Sing. 8vo. Is. Stockdale. London, 1789.

In this Letter Major Scott, upon the authority of inconteftible, documents lately arrived from the Eaft-Indies, confirms, in the ftrongest manner, what he had advanced relative to Deby Sing, in his former Letter to Mr. Fox, of which we gave an account in our Review for May laft.

I can now affirm with confidence,' fays the major, 'that the following facts are fully proved:

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ift, That Mr. Haftings did not originally appoint Deby Sing to be farmer, or fecurity for Rungpore and Dinagepore, and that Mr. Burke had clear evidence upon this point when he spoke last year in Westminster-Hall...

2dly, That when the infurrection in Rungpore broke out, and an inquiry into the caufes of it was ordered, Mr. Haftings himself propofed the removal of Deby Sing, from a conviction that no fair inquiry could take place while he remained in office.

3dly, That Deby Sing is proved to be innocent of almost all the dreadful cruelties imputed to him.

4thly, That the most dreadful of the cruelties imputed to him had, to ufe Mr. Shore's expreffion, no existence whatever.

And, fifthly, That, if the whole had been true, to the utmoft extent of Mr. Burke's original relation, it would be impoffible for the ingenuity or malice of man to impute the flightest blame upon Mr. Haftings, or to make him a participator in the crimes of which Deby Sing was accused.'

Major Scott afterwards fupports his affertions with copies of authentic documents, which admit of no doubt or contradiction; and, with all the animated zeal which has fo peculiarly diftinguifhed his exertions in the caufe of Mr. Haflings, he applies the whole, triumphantly, to the exculpation of that great and perfecuted governor,

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DIVINITY