fifteenth stanza "good, and its conclufions forcible and fortunate.” We should have conceived that our critic admired this ftanza be, cause it records the death of a King, if the conclufion did not announce his prefent Majefty's acceffion. He fees nothing very objectionable in the progrefs of the Ode till he comes to the twèntieth and twenty-firft ftanzas. XX. "Proud o'er the heaving furges of the deep, The puny malice of an infect train Deftroys what mountain waves, and winds, affail in vain. XXI. Fell Sedition's rancorous race, And smooth hypocrily; Thefe dire fiends united bore Their poifon to the Atlantic fhore; The offspring lur'd from the fond mother's breaft. In thefe ftanzas it is contended by our Critic, that the American Revolution is "falfely defcribed." He does not, however, fhew us where the falsehood lies. The truth, however, is, that certain ambitious men in America were encouraged, by dilcontented fpirits in this country, to excite a revolt against its parent state, though, doubtlefs, fome of the fupporters of American revolt had the wel fare of the colonies at heart, and might, upon principle, oppofe what they confidered as the unconftitutional encroachments of Great Britain. The reft of the poem, turning upon the triumphs of Great Britain in the prefent war, affords our Critic an opportùnity of venting a hackneyed fatire against the evils of war, without any confideration of the neceflity of that war, and the multiplied aggreffions of our enemy. The paffages in the Ode relative to Egypt, he fays, fhew that "Mr. Pye chooies to triumph by land as well as by fea," and the poet is reminded of the fable of the Frog and the Ox, with a remark that no puffing could fwell one to the fize of the other. What this remark fignifies we know not, for the plain fact is, that by British valour at the fiege of Acra, the renowned plunderer of nations, BONAPARTE, with a great fuperiority of numbers, was obliged to retire defeated and degraded. Here the Critic concludes his remarks upon the Ode, but in his laft paragraph kindly informs the author how he might have made a better compofition. Marry how! why, by adverting to the discoveries of SCIENCE, inftead of exhorting his countrymen to deeds of valour, and inciting them, by the example of their glorious ancestors, to exert themselves in defence of their country. The discoveries of fcience, and the names of the diftinguished men to whom mankind are indebted for those discoveries, become a period of tranquillity, "but when the blaft of war blows in our ears," it is the duty of the national poet to rouze his countrymen into a vindication of their rights and enjoy ments, against a prefumptuous and imperious foe, who wants to deprive them of every thing dear to mankind: our Critic cannot conclude without a contemptible fneer at Mr. Pye's loyalty, infinuating that he introduced ASTRONOMY for no purpole but to mention the Georgium Sidus. By this time our readers must be fully fenfible of the malignant difpofition, as well as folly, of the Critical Reviewer, and that it is probable Mr. Pye would have been as wantonly praised as he is now malevolently cenfured, if his muse had employed juft the fame rate of genius in fupport of republican France as the has difplayed in celebrating the glory of monarchical Britain. Having already devoted fo much to the detection of malignant mifreprefentation, it is only neceflary that we should add a few lines upon the Ode itself. It is obviously written upon the model of GRAY'S BARD, and his Ode upon the Progrefs of Poetry. Mr. Pye has warmed his imagination by the fire of that admired Poet, and in fome paffages has fhewn a degree of spirit and vigour that might ftand a comparison with the boldeft flights of his celebrated archetype. We have not room for extracts, but refer onr readers to the Ode, which they will, doubtless, read with much pleasure, and from which we hope they will derive additional motives to animate their loyalty and patriotifin, ART. XLII. The History of Devonshire. In Three Volumes, Folio. By the Reverend R. Polwhele. (Continued from P. 476. Vol. III.) HAVING accompanied Mr. Polwhele through the Natural History of Devonshire, we promifed to attend him through the Hiftory of Man, in that county, from the first fettlements in Britain to the prefent time, We shall now endeavour to perform our promife, as far as the volumes before us will permit; and we fincerely wish, that the chaẩm in the work, which we shall foon have occafion to notice, may be filled up to the fatisfaction of the public. The remaining part of the first volume is comprifed in one chapter, H 4 divided divided into eleven fections. In this Chapter, are treated the Britifh Antiquities of Devonshire. Here terminate (in print) our author's Antiquarian Researches, But, in turning over the table of contents, we find, that Mr. P. has (in manufcripts) entered diffufely into the Difcuffion of Roman, Saxon, Norman, and Danish Antiquities; and drawn up an outline of the Hiftory of England, as far as it relates to Devonshire, from the Norman period to the prefent reign. The table of contents, prefixed to the book, conveys a distinct idea, not only of what Mr. Polwhele has already published, but of what he intends to bring forward, in order to complete the first volume and we have feldom feen a bill of fare, that offers fo rich a treat to the biftorical epicure. It comprizes every thing that can intereft the judgement or the feelings, refpecting the country and its inhabitants. The view is moft copious and comprehenfive, but, from the fpecimens which we have already had of the author's ability, we have not a doubt, but that he will fill up the bold outline, which he has sketched out for himself, in a masterly ftyle. The fecond volume confifts of a view of the diocefe, and a parochial furvey of the archdeaconry of Exeter. In what manner Mr. P. has performed his part, in this divifion of the work, may be determined by the large excerpt, which we made in our Review of Mr. Gilpin's Obfervations on Picturefque Beauty.* To perfect the hiftorical fabrick, there yet remains one volume; which will confift of a parochial survey of the archdeaconries of BarnStaple and Totnes. Having thus opened to our readers a profpect of the whole compofition, we intend to abridge (in three fhort articles) the critiques which the published parts of it have drawn from the different Re viewers. In our next article, we fhall detach from the Critical Review, thofe abufive paffages relative to the Natural Hiftory; in which impertinence and flippancy are exceeded only by a moft rancorous spirit; and which, from our numerous and extenfive connections, we have authority to fay, are confidered by men of learning, tafte, and candour, as irreparably difgraceful to that corrupted journal. 1 With thefe pages, we fhall contraft the fentiments of the Monthly Review, the British Critic, and the Eutopean Magazine." Purfuing the fame plan (in our two concluding articles) with respect to the antiquities, and the parochial hiftory, we fhall fufficiently expofe to contempt and deteftation, that vulgar jealousy, perfonal animofity, and lying spirit, which actuate the hypercritics before us, (To be continued.) * See in our Review, for March 1800, p. 260, Mr. Polwhele's defcriptions of Powderham and Mamhead, as compared with Mr, Gilpin's. MISCELLANIES, MR. NECROLOGY. MALLET DU PAN. SECURUS MORITUR, QUI SCIT SE MORTE RENASCI; NON EA MORS DICI, SED NOVA VITA, POTEST. (R. MALLET DU PAN departed this life, in the fifty-first year of his age, at the house of his friend, the Count DE LALLYTOLENDAL, in Ormond-place, Richmond, about noon, on Saturday the 10th of May, From his firft arrival in England, in the fummer of 1798, his health had been in a very indifferent state; towards the clofe of the last year, strong symptoms of confumption appeared, and the want of that mental relaxation, which the direction of a periodical publication almost neceffarily precludes, unquestionably accelerated the moment of his dissolution. The effect of intense and uninterrupted application to literary pursuits on the health can only be appreciated by literary men. For fome weeks, previous to his death, the family of Mr. MALLET had loft all hopes of preferving his life; though his feelings for the objects of his fondest affections led him to encourage in them those expectations which he was far from entertaining himself. In this trying fituation, his conduct was exemplary; the serenity of his mind difplayed the ftrength of his understanding, the purity of his conscience, and the firmnefs of his faith. One only concern feemed to give a momentary interruption to that Chriftian refignation which marked the clofe of his exiftence; the thought of leaving his family exposed to poverty and want. This care being removed, his refignation became perfect, and he was anxious to ftrengthen it, during the three laft days of his life, by an attentive perufal of the Sermons of Romilly on that subject, and on the Immortality of the Soul. He had lived without vice, and he died without pain. Let the enlightened patriots of Germany and France, who vainly boast of the perfectibility of man to be derived from an adherence to the tenets of their philofophy, contemplate the contraft between the death of their mighty heroes, the fathers and founders of their feet, the VOLTAIRES and the D'ALEMBERTS, and the death of this good Chriftian, who rejected their doctrines with difdain, and relied wholly for confolation and immortality on the pure Gospel of Christ, which they reviled, derided, and blafphemed. The former, in their last moments, had terror and difmay on their countenances, blafphemy and curfes on their lips, and agony and defpair in their hearts. The vanity which had fupporte Tupported them through life forfook them in death; they looked on the past with fear, on the future with horror. Not fo, the latter; his face was tranquil and ferene; his lips breathed charity to men and gratitude to God; his heart was the feat of confidence and peace; the integrity and piety of his life upheld him in death; and the fatisfaction which he derived from the contemplation of the past invigorated his hopes of the future. Here is a practical illustration of the different fruits of philosophism, and Christianity; of the different rewards which, even in this life, await the monfter who would proudly crush, and the Chriftian who humbly adores, his Redeemer.-Let the WIELANDS and the FICHTES reflect and tremble, or, ere it be too late, repent and retract! The political productions of Mr. MALLET DU PAN are too wellknown throughout Europe, to require either analysis or eulogy from us; fuffice it to fay, that their uniform object and tendency were, to extirpate Jacobinifm, to fupport focial order, to uphold legitimate inftitutions, to defend national rights, and to preferve public and pri vate property. In all fituations and circumstances of life, he was the intrepid champion of religion and truth. In their caufe he called forth all the affections of his heart, and all the energies of his mind. Never was he the parafite of power, nor the pander of party; never did he fell his talents to a Court, nor prostitute them to a faction. He invariably preferved the native integrity of his mind, pure and uncontaminated. Hence the respect and attention which his writings obtained and deferved, even from thofe who could not accede to the juftice and propriety of all his pofitions. Mr. MALLET DU PAN was defcended from an ancient and respectable Swifs family, who had given many worthy magiftrates to the Republic of Geneva, and many able writers to the Republic of Letters. His literary career was begun at an early period of his life; and in 1783, he yielded to the preffing folicitations he had received from Paris, to undertake the political department of a celebrated periodical publication, entitled, La Mercure de France, the circulation of which exceeded every thing of which, in this country, we have any idea. But before he embarked in this concern, he made an exprefs ftipulation, that his writings, fo long as they obferved that refpect for the government which he had, in no inftance, violated, fhould not be fubjected to thofe arbitrary restrictions which were too frequently impofed on publications in themfelves innocuous, while others, which called for the most rigorous reftraints, were fuffered to pafs with im. ponira |
