O happy people! O bleffed country!' "It is true that the Demon of war has drawn his fword, and is still thirsting for blood, but our garners afford, in the midst of an almoft famished univerfe, all manner of store, our sheep bring forth tens of thousands on our yet unmolested plains; we may be objects of envy, but not of plun der. Our wives, our children, our property, our lives, our religion, are yet our own!"

P. 106.

Or thefe again. "Drawing then our inference from a great fcriptural maxim, that- a boufe divided against itself fhall not ftand,while we admit-and it is indifputable the full force of this facred truth, is it not fair to conclude-that the inverfion of the axiom must be no less certain-a boufe determined to unite cannot fall? To the Houfe of England it is, perhaps, only neceffary to be unanimous in any one great point-and whatever difference of opinion there may be in the family which inhabit it, as to reforms and repairs of particular parts-their agreement on that one-as in the cafe of invafion, may fave the whole building." P. 581.

For daring to diffeminate fuch dangerous opinions in fuch language, his many interefting appeals to the beft feelings of our nature are to be paffed over unnoticed, or be thrown, like poor Jaffier's bridal furniture, " amidst the common lumber."

The following fentiment in the eighth letter is literally true, and the expreffion metaphorically juft. "The ice, which as it were, fhuts up the lips and clofes the heart of an Englishman to ftrangers, whether of his own or other countries, being once unlocked, and the free current of his estimable heart disengaged, the blood animates, it flows copioufly towards the Being, who has in this manner fubdued the froft, and ever after exchanges with that Being the permanent glow of friendship and of love.'

The ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth letters are, in our opinion, amongst the best and most interesting in the volume.

Mr. Pratt is a truly refidentiary traveller at Houghton, where, on the whole, we are so much pleased with his manner and address, that we quit the place with reluctance after all.

In the fifteenth letter we approve Mr. Pratt's Eulogia, on the author of the "Pursuits of Literature," but muft diffent from him, in our opinion of Kotzbue; affured, as we are, that the German trash can be agreeable only to vitiated minds. From this cenfure we are ready to except a few dramatic pieces of Kotzbue; yet even these few are not " pure from ftain." The fixteenth letter is well written its fubject, the literary journals of this country.

The Critical Review has accufed our author of here" dealing too lavishly in the praise of living writers." He tells us, that, "epithets of panegyric are beftowed with an indifcriminate profufion, more creditable to the good nature of the author than to his judg ment;" for, obferves he, "Mr. Pratt speaks of the profound Lavater and the interefting Zimmerman-the one a very fhallow, the other a dull, writer!"-ZIMMERMAN, be it told, is an ANTI-JACOBIN, and therefore muft, in the eyes of fuch a critic, be dull. But to bis fen

NO. XXVI. VOL. VI.

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tence, we shall take leave to oppose that of the celebrated Tissor, who has lately written the life of Zimmerman.

"There is not one chapter, fays the ingenious biographer of Zimmerman, which does not prefent us with interefting facts, new ideas and reflections, and advice replete with ingenuity and fagacity, The chapters upon the paffions, the application of the mind, the genius, and the power of nature, deferve to be ftudied, not only by phyficians, but by every person who wishes to know man.

M. Daniel Bernouilli faw clearly the value of this work; and not to give the reader his opinion of it, would be an injuftice to the memory of the author. "The juftnef of the thoughts, the elegance and precifion of the diction, and the traits of literature, render this book very agreeable: judicious reflections, a vast fund of information, and practical obfervations, make it very useful: the whole is above my praise."

Little attention is generally paid to the opinion of translations, but that of M. de Fribure merits an exception. "" The work I am publishing is of that kind which interefts, not only medical men, but all perfons defirous of avoiding errors, and who wish so to conduct themselves, as to avoid whatever might be prejudicial to their health. M. Zimmerman is one of those men who are born for the good of mankind. The inhabitant of a happy country, where the fpirit of liberty, which animates every science, gives a free spring to the faculties of the mind; he is known by the most honourable titles, a wife philofopher, a zealous citizen, an enemy to error, and an am able man; fuch are the qualities that have made him interesting to fociety."

"What upright mind," continues Tiffot, "does not regret the lofs of a man who has given himself up with a perfeverance, perhaps, without example, to the good of humanity; who having feen fpring up, and quickly become powerful, an affociation, whofe aim feems to be the deftruction of every base on which, for fo many ages, the order and happiness of society has reposed; who firft, and for a long time alone, combated all its principles, and opposed himfelf to its progress with a force and conftancy of which few, very few, men would have been capable; who, without any other view than that of the general good, and animated by the admirable principle, that to fpar. the wicked is to hurt the good, expofed himself to the most violent criticism,* to the refentment, to the hatred, of a multitude of men, redoubtable by their talents, by their credit, and even by their principles; who has facrificed his pleasures, his fortune, his repofe, his health, and even his life, to the defire of putting a stop to a defolating scourge."

From the 17th (which contains nothing very interefting) we haften to the 19th (why not 18th) Letter. Here, we are introduced to a very fingular character; and venture to promife our readers a great deal of entertainment, in contemplating its eccentricities. In feveral parts of this Letter, Mr. Pratt's egotifm is very confpicuous. The 20th Letter is rather tedious, except towards the conclufion, where

*There are arck-critics and arch-traitors all over the world.

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the state of Methodism in England is juftly reprefented. In the five Letters that remain, the author, in general, affumes the character of the politician. But we have already extended this article beyond all reasonable bounds, and muft, therefore, draw it to a conclufion,

We have hitherto difcharged only the pleafing part of our duty; but our labour is not accomplished. There are defects of language yet remaining to be noticed. To pafs over grammatical errors, and even the verbal inaccuracies quas incuria fudit, would be no other than to betray our truft, as the cenfors of literature. Where the faults of a popular writer efcape animadverfion, they are, too frequently, adopted by injudicious imitators, and at length become fanctioned by authority. We fet down Mr. Pratt's offences against grammar and taste, under diftinct heads :

P.

1. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.

2. AFFECTED OF UNAUTHORIZED WORDS or PHRASES,

3. INELEGANT EXPRESSIONS.

4. WURDS, TOO SOON OF TOO FREQUENTLY REPEATED. 5. LONG-WINDED SENTENCES.

6. PERPLEXED SENTENCES.

66

66

ss To a "I in

First, for the first. 1. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS." Has elaps'd.” "Flew to my lap.” "Forgot the man." P. 40. left him." P. 41. "And have two horfes." P. 70. "To the exterminating whole." P. 366. &c. &c. &c.-2. AFFECTED, OR UNATHORIZED WORDS OR PHRASES. A Seafcape." P. 28. ifolated." P. 1. "Finish." Subft. P. 3. 66 decorating the colours of nature with the aids of art." P. 26. "Ah, longer livers." P. 40. "Receive of that eye its laft love-beam." P. 77. "excurfing in morning rides." P. 109, felicitous height." P. 110. "the Alabafter deed." P. 130. dulged in the language of nationality." P. 282. "Gleeful labour.” Ibid. "Mifcreant animalcula have viproufly crept." P. 292. "Spirit of perfectibility-" "perfectionizing world." P.329. " Uncheary." P. 364. "the grandeurs than the graces." P. 370. "How much I luxuriate in verdure." P. 386. "A finish to my feelings." 390. "God the lovely Father of mankind." P. 429. "Impregnates life with the gloom of the grave." . 430. cum multis aliis.3. INELEGANT EXPRESSIONS.-" from whence.” P. 1. 65 Refi dence in, and review of." r. 6. "Difpofe to fuch.” P. 33, " from whence." P. 41. "Partiality herein." P. 85. "among ft" for among. P. 109, & paffim. "continues to droop, to attract." P.166. "not admitting we." P. 333. "In courfe of various." P. 383. "had to complain of." r. 385. "Timber Jacobs spoke of." P. 390. "Might have told extremely well." Ibid. "A finish to my feelings." Ibid. "So tenacious of." P. 397. "Even to thofe whom his good-fenfe." P. 398. "Homage to the image." P. 403. virtue broke." P. 4. "from thence."-4. WORDS, TOO SOON, OR TOO FREQUENTLY REPEATED. "Which has, which is, but which." In the same sentence within five lines, P. 1. "Out of which, which change." P. 333. "headlong, the head." P. 39. " deep flash fleeves decorated the fleeves." r. 392. To notice every inftance of this careless mode of writing would be an endless task.

"A

5. For fpecimens of LONG-WINDED SENTENCES, fee pages 10,

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11, 12, 13, 14; and PP. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.-6. And for PERPLEXED SENTENCES, fee Pr. 4, and 31.

After all, Mr. Pratt has fo many good qualities to recommend him, that, as often as he fhall write, we judge, he will continue to be read, His fancy will engage attention, notwithstanding its capricioufnefs; and his fenfibility touch the heart, though, now. and then, difguifed by affectation.

ART. XXXIV, Obfervations upon the Introduction to the third Part of the Copies of Original Letters from the French Army, in Egypt. 8vo. Pp. 52. Debrett. 1800.

THE very extenfive circulation of the intercepted letters, and fill more, the complete expofure which they afforded of the favage tyranny, o, preflion, cruelty, rapine, fraud, and hypocrify of Bonaparte, could fcarcely fail to rouze the indignation of those men who confidered him as the most formidable enemy of the British government, and as the most able defender of the new principles of modern philofophy. If we were called upon to exhibit a "damning proof" of the unexampled degeneracy of the prefent age, we thould felect the too prevalent practice of the pfeudo-patriots of the day, fecretly to encourage, and openly to commend, the conduct and principles of the rulers of France, whofe avowed determination to fubvert the conftitution and to destroy the independence of our country, has been repeatedly proclaimed by themselves, and is, in fact, notorious to all Europe. If we look back to any former period of our hiftory, when England was at war with France, however ftrong the spirit of party may appear in our parliamentary debates, however violent the fpirit of controverfy may appear in our political writings, we find no inftance of that departure from the antigallican principles of our ancestors, and of that contempt for every thing that has heretofore been held to characterize genuine patriotifm, which are fo ftrongly difplayed in the panegyrics which have, fince the French Revolution, been occafionally pronounced by Britons on the implacable enemies of Britain. After the American war, when it became expedient to enter into a commercial treaty with France, then at peace with us, the leaders of the prefent oppofition reprefented the French as a people in whom no confidence could be repofed, from whom no fecurity could be expected; with whom no promifes were facred, no treaties binding; who were fo radically vicious and profligate, that all connection with them fhould be avoided, through the well-grounded fear of contaminating, even by a commercial intercourfe, the manners and morals of the English. In thort, the invectives then profufely lavished on the minifters and fubjects of the old government of France, by the very men who are now in the habit of panegyrifing the tyrants and the flaves of the new system, equalled, if they did not exceed, in violence, all the cenfures which have been fince inflicted on the Gallic Republicans, by the friends of focial order. In confidering this ftrange inconfiftency, it appears scarcely poffible to refer it to any other cause than this, that these men, during the

exiftence

exiftence of the French mnarchy preferred the English monarchy to it, but that they prefer the Republic to either.

The third part of the Intercepted Letters was reviewed by us, in the fifth volume of our Review, (p. 175) where we noticed the inof the tranflation, in different places, and entered our proaccuracy teft against the panegyric pronounced, by the Editor, on Gen. Kleber. The author of the present observations alfo comments on the inconfiftency of the Editor in inflicting a general cenfure on the French army in Egypt, and afterwards praifing Kleber; but we thewed, from the principles and conduct of Kleber, that he was wholly undeferving the praise which the Editor had bestowed on him; whereas this fapient obferver does not fcruple to affert, that "his conduct fufficiently proves him fully to deferve the encomiums lavifhed upon his character:" this deferving conduct must have confifted in his paffive fubmiffion to Bonaparte, in his affifting him to maffacre the defenceless and unrefifting inhabitants of Alexandria, and in the adoption of all his hypocritical and unprincipled falfhoods with a view to impofe upon the Grand Vizier! It is no wonder that the man, who can think fuch conduct deserving of encomium, fhould become the panegyrift of Bonaparte.

But our obferver has not the merit of originality, in his abuse of the writer of the introduction to thefe letters. He had been anticipated by one of the feavengers of the Critical Review, a workwhich has once more thrown off the maik, and now again displays the spirit of Jacobinifm, in all its naked deformity. This man, ftung to the quick, by the exposure of his hero, "the firft general of the age," calls the juft and pertinent remarks on his character, in the introduction, malignant effufions, contemptible trath;" and, in his zeal to exculpate the object of his adoration, he does not blush to affirm, that the expedition to Egypt, the invasion of a country belonging not merely to a neutral power, but to an ally of the French Republic, without the finalleft provocation, even without any pretended ground of complaint, in abfolute violation of all the laws of nations, as of every principle of honour, good faith, or common honefty; he does not, we fay, blush to affirm, that fuch an expedition" is as juftifiable as the generality of expeditions · undertaken by warlike powers." It is needlefs to comment on fuch abandoned profligacy; it fpeaks fufficiently for itself.

The pfeudo-critic takes a fresh opportunity of venting his malice and his fpleen, in his account of the pamphlet before us; the whole of which we fhall extract for the amufement of our readers. "The trash obtruded on the public in the preface and notes to the Intercepted Letters is now fo generally reprobated by all parties," (i.e. by all Republicans)" that thefe obfervations are almoft fuper fluous. They place, in a proper point of view," (because they repeat his own falfhoods) "the ridiculous bombaft and grofs abfurdity of the writer of the preface, and mark with due reprobation the difre gard to truth in the tranflator in two instances, in which it was evidently his intention to deceive the public." +

Crit, Rey, for May, 1800, Pr, 85, 86.

† Ibid, June, r. 220. The

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