Full many a melancholy night O'er his fad couch, and in the balm Full oft, unknowing and unknown, And gaze with eager glance upon the tumbling food. Beckoning the wretch to torments new, A spectre pale, appear'd; While, as the fhades of eve arose And brought the day's unwelcome close, More horrible and huge her giant-shape the rear'd. "Is this, mistaken Scorn will cry, Ah! from the Muse that bofom mild And rous'd to livelier pangs his wakeful fenfe of woe. Though doom'd hard penury to prove, More wounds than nature gave he knew, In dark ideal hues, and horrors not its own. Then with not o'er his earthy tomb Nor oh! forbid the twisted thorn, With fpring's green-fwelling buds to vegetate anew. What What though nor marble-piled buft With fpeaking fculpture wrought? Hung with unfading flowers, from fairy regions brought. What though refus'd each chanted rite? And Petrarch's harp, that wept the doom In melancholy tones fhall ring his penfive knell. To footh alone, unhallow'd fhade, Sudden the half-funk orb of day More radiant fhot its parting ray, And thus a cherub-voice my charin'd attention took. "Forbear, fond bard, thy partial praife; "In vain with hues of gorgeous glow "Gay Fancy gives her veft to flow, "Unlefs Truth's matron-hand the floating folds confine. "Juft heaven, man's fortitude to prove, "Yet the fame power that wifely fends "Religion's golden fhield to break th' embattled foe. "Her aid divine had lull'd to rest "And stay'd the rifing storm: "Had bade the fun of hope appear "To gild the darken'd hemifphere, "And give the wonted bloom to nature's blasted form. "Vain man! 'tis heaven's prerogative "To take, what firft it deign'd to give, "Thy tributary breath: "In aweful expectation plac'd, Await thy doom, nor impious hafte "Topluck from God's right hand his inftruments of death." A new, eafy, and expeditious Method of discharging the National Debt; or, a Plan of Reformation of the English Conftitution in Church, practicable not only without Detriment but without Emolument to the Conftitution in State; and defigned as introductory to a wife political Inftitution, preferable to and perfetlive of it. Both refpectfully fubmitted to the ferious Confideration of the Public in general, and of the Legislature in particular; and interfperfed with free Obfervations on Part of the late Addrefs of the Convocation to the King; accompanied with a farcical Defcription of an Epifcopo-Military Triumvirate, arming for the American Warfare. By Francis Stone, M. A. F. 8. A. C. S. P. C. [Chairman of the Society of the Petitioning Clergy] Rector of Cold-Norton, Effex. 8vo. 3s. fewed. Johnfon. So many reverend buffoons have of late difgraced their cloth, both in the pulpit and by the prefs, that motley will shortly be no longer the colours of the fool's coat; but black the characteristic dye of public folly.In the name of common-fense and common decency, what can the Reverend Francis Stone, M. A. &c. &c. mean by this ftrange farrago of farcical abfurdity? Is it poffible the petitioning clergy. could be foolifh enough to make choice of fuch a chairman ? or has the ill fuccefs of their petitions turned the poor man's brain ?-For, that he is either a fool or a madman, is an inference that muft ftrike every reader, who is in his right fenfes, at fight of the title and frontispiece of this extraordinary publication.To pafs over this piece of buffoonery, however, and come to the more ferious (if indeed there be any ferious) part, of the author's defign; we fhall juft give a fketch of his project; which is to pay the national debt by the alienation of all church lands, Queen Anne's fund for the augmentation of fmall livings, and every other kind of church revenue. Of courfe, the lords fpiritual are to be turned out of the house of peers, and their bifhops-fees annihilated, with all church dignities, livings, and benefices: the prefent poffeffors of which are to be indemnified or provided for during life at the expence of the public. To fupply their minif terial functions, an order of parochial bifhops, with an equal falary of 200 a year each, is to be inftituted; fuch minifters to be felected out of the prefent rectors, vicars, and curates. This revolution in the church, however, great as it thought, is by no means all that this reverend projector proposes for the reformation of the ftate. This is only preparatory to a farther fcheme; which he hopes to put in execution *Reprefenting three bifhops, accoutred in military regimentals, which he propofes to fend upon an expedition against the Americans. may be when when experience fhall have convinced the public of the falutary effects of this entire fubverfion and renovation of our national church eftablishment. This fcheme is as follows. "First, A parliamentary injunction of the obfervance of a day of Sabbath or reft, on the feventh day of the week, throughout England and Wales; leaving every individual, who is not afhamed of a fenfe of religion, at liberty to compofe his thoughts to ferious meditation, and to worship God according to his confcience, with or without a form of prayer-in company with his own family, or ftill more in public, by affociating with his neighbours for that good purpofe, if he and they can agree. Secondly, A parliamentary erection of charity fchools, at proper distances, throughout the faid kingdom and principality, to be maintained at the public expence, to the intent that the children of the poor, from the age of five to that of fourteen, may be universally inftructed to read the Bible in their mother tongue; and that, in like manner as men are now taught to become every man his own gardener, lawyer, and physician, they may be thus qualified at years of difcretion to become every man his own divine." If our readers have any doubt of the imbecillity or infanity of this reverend projector, we refer him for farther proofs of his inconfiftency and abfurdity to his book; which is indeed a fingular curiofity. A Year's Journey through France and Part of Spain. By Philip Thicknelle. 2 Vols. 8vo. il. is. Brown. Whether Mr. Thickneffe travels in order to publish, or publifhes in order to travel, we know not; but by the number and fucceffion of his travels and publications, with the pretty high price of the volumes before us, we may guefs at the clofenefs of the connection between them. The narrative of Mr. Thickneffe's prefent journey is given, in a feries of letters; which are neither ill-written nor unentertaining. They would be more agreeable, however, if they abounded lefs in egotism; if we were told more of the people and places vifited, than of the perfons vifiting them. It must be owned, that Mr. Thickneffe difplays much ingenuity in his obfervations, and judgement in his reflections; but one would think, his extenfive knowledge of the world might have fuggefted to him how difgufting it is in any man to be fo much the little hero of his own tale. An Account of fome of the most Romantic Parts of North Wales. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Davies. -Of Antres vast, and Defarts idle, Rough Quarries, Rocks, and Hills, whofe Heads touch Heav'n, It was my Hint to speak. SHAKESPEARE. What a pity the author of this account could not add to the bills whofe heads touch Heaven, "The men whose heads do grow beneath their fhoulders." He might then have entertained us with fome novelty; which is but little the cafe at present †, moft of the remarkable places, defcribed by this writer, having been much more minutely and accurately described by others. How far the plea of neceffity, which, he fays, urged him to this publication, will be admitted by the public, we know not, but fhall fubmit it to the judgment of our readers. "As every one now who has either traversed a steep mountain, or croffed a fmall channel, muft write his Tour, it would be almost unpardonable in Me to be totally filent, who have vifited the most uninhabited regions of North Wales-who have feen lakes, rivers, feas, rocks, and precipices, at unmeafurable diftances, and who from obfervation and experience can inform the world, that high hills are very difficult of accefs, and the tops of them generally very cold." If Mr. Cradock does not here mean to ridicule Dr. Johnson, who gravely tells us, in his famous itinerary to the Hebrides, that mountainous countries are not paffed without difficulty," there was ferioufly no occafion for fo profound an obfervation being again confirmed by experience. The printer muft, álfo, furely have made a blunder in our author's wife remark, about high hills, by printing accefs, inftead of afcent. The cold tops of the mountains, indeed, may be difficult of accefs, but high hills are generally approached by the level of the adjacent plains or gradual declivities of the furrounding vallies; fo that, how difficult fo ever their afcent, their access is fufficiently easy. Really, if every traveller who traveries a fteep mountain or croffes a fmall channel muft write his tour,” as our author fays, it is full as unpardonable in him to write nonfenfet, as it would be in him to be totally filent. But our traveller has another plea, ftill more potent than that of pretended neceffity. He is a Welfhman." "Ancient Britain," fays he, has a kind of hereditary claim upon me, as I have " Jofeph Cradock, Efq. Author of Zobeide, a Tragedy; Village Menoirs; and other well-known performances. + Save and except the wonderful things hereafter excepted. Of which we meet with more than one inftance in this Itinerary. the |