That e'en Fishes, resolv'd such diversions to share, In their own native woodlands neglected remain?" In this style the characters of all the more generally known plants are introduced to the Court of Flora; and Mrs. Reeve discovers a respectable knowledge of vegetable phenomena. Her views and moral principles deserve our commendation, and her verses are easy and flowing. MISCELLANEOUS. The Young Sea-Officer's Sheet-Anchor; or a Key to the Leading of Rigging, and to practical Seamanship. By Darcy Lever. 4to. pp. 120. 11. 11s. 6d. Gill, Leeds. Longinan and Co. London. 1808. THIS is certainly the most complete representation of all the mechanical operations of seamanship which has yet appeared, The author has accurately delineated, on one hundred and eleven large quarto plates, containing five hundred and eighty-seven figures, all the different parts of the rigging, the various positions of the ship, sails, shrouds, masts, yards, tackles, ropes, cables, anchors, tacks, buoys, compass, &c. &c.; with ample directions for splicing ropes, making sails, &c. This work, which evinces great labour and attention, is patronised by the Admiralty and the East-India Company, as well as recommended by a dozen admirals and as many captains, besides several respectable masters of merchant ships. The engravings are neatly executed, and are very creditable to the talents of Messrs. Butterworths of Leeds. This 65 Key to Rigging and Seamanship," will also be useful to shipowners, as well as the young midshipmen of his majesty's navy. It would, however, have added considerably to the utility of this work, had the author given the dimensions of the sails, cables, anchors, &c. according to the tonnage of the vessel and mode of rigging adopted. A Collection of Modern and Contemporary Voyages and Travels. Vol. II. containing Travels in Iceland, performed by Order of his Danish Majesty. By Messrs. Olafsen and Povelsen.-Travels through the four principal Islands of the African Seas; by Order of the French Government, in 1801, and 1802. By M. Bory de St. Vincent. The Gieanings of a Wanderer in various Parts of England, Scotland, and North Wales, in 1804.—And an Analysis of Holcroft's Travels from Hamburgh to Paris. 8vo. With 13 Plates. pp. 642. 15s. Phillips. In the Appendix to Vol. 17, our readers will find a review of a French translation of Olafsen's Travels in Iceland, to which we refer them for an account of their contents. The English translation professes to be taken from the original Danish. It appears in general to be sufficiently accurate. For an account of St. Vincent's Travels, we must also refer the reader to our review of the original work, Vol. 19, P. 457. Holcroft's Journey from Hamburgh to Paris was examined at considerable length in our Nos. for May and July 1804. The "Gleanings of a Wanderer" consist of transitory descriptions of the different places of importance from York to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverary, Glasgow, Carlisle, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Monmouth, and Chester; the whole interspersed with historical and biographical anecdotes, which give an interest to the basty outline. The reader will find both amusement and instruction in this volume, at a very moderate expense. REVIEWERS REVIEWED. . CRITICAL REVIEW. To the Editor of the Antijacobin Review. LETTER III. Sir; IN my last letter (P. 84 of this volume) I exhibited to your readers a specimen of the behaviour of the Critical Reviewers on subjects relating to politics and government. It there appeared, that these writers exert their utmost zeal, and nearly exhaust language, in depicting the corruptions of our government, the folly and wickedness of its agents, and our general state of oppression and sufferings. This reprobation of the agents of state, it was proved, is not confined to any one set of men or of ministers, but is bestowed pretty equally on all; on whigs and tories, on the violent and the moderate, the profligate and the virtuous, on their greatest favourites while in opposition, whenever they are the servants of his majesty, or act in concert with their measures. It was proved, too, by a copious induction of particular instances, that in this zeal to inspire us with a hatred of those who conduct our public affairs, and with a strong sense of the evils brought upon us by their misconduct, these reviewers are wholly regardless of the means which they employ, and continually issue forth a torrent of such palpable, shameless, and dreadful falsehoods, as have seldom disgraced the most unprincipled and outrageous calumniators; and that, therefore, their efforts are most mischievous, and directly tend to excite murmurings and discontent, faction and insurrection. I will now show, that this critic's exertions are not less mischievous in respect to the Church and Religion. This position will need little proof to those who have observed the uniform behaviour of other similar spirits. It is a fact highly deserving of attention, that all those persons who have lately distinguished themselves in the work of demolition, have attacked at the same time the Church and the Government of their country; and, openly or insidiously ly,. have prepared men for their state projects, by lessening their respect sither for religion itself, or at least for the established and national No. 128. Vol. 32. Feb. 1809. system of it. The perpetrators of the unexampled atrocities in France were prepared for their diabolical work by an almost incredible and successful diligence in propagating infidelity among them. Our own arch-anarchist, the infamous Paine, libelled all earthly governments in his "Rights of Man," and the government of heaven in his "Age of Reason." And, very generally, those among us who are so loud in their clamours against government, and so eager to reform every thing but themselves, will be found, either such as disregard the dictates of Christianity altogether, such as embrace it in a very partial and mutilated form, or, at the best, such as do not conform to that pure and scriptural system of it which is displayed in the documents of the Established Church. This, indeed, must be the case. So peremptory are the injunctions of the Christian Scriptures, "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers; for there is no power but of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth_the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and shall receive to themselves damnation. . . . . Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake." "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's saks: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him, for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well." So indispensably are Christians required to render unto all who are set over them their due degree of affection, honour, and tribute, according to their office, for their office' sake · -so awful are the threatenings denounced against disobedience to these injunctions that no persons who have not learned to reject the authority of such Scriptures; or, which is nearly the same thing, have learned to take profane liberties with them, and to make them speak just what they please, dare act in opposition to them. (See, e. g., Rom. iii; 1st. Pet. ii.) And as the Church, as happily constituted in this kingdom, is the ground and pillar of the truth, and possesses a scheme of worship and instruction adapted above every other system to impress men with right ideas respecting their civil as well as religious duties, so it will be found in fact, nearly without an exception, that in exact proportion as they adhere to her system, they respect the injunctions of Scripture on this head, and are loyal and peaceable subjects. They who adhere to her fully, forget not her early instructions "to honour and obey the King, and all that are put in authority under him," and are usually the most distinguished for these virtues: They who receive her doctrine but reject her discipline, or who respect her discipline but neglect her doctrine, are less to be depended upon, and more liable to be thwarted by the influence of other circumstances: They who reject both her doctrine and discipline, and approach the nearest to unbelievers, or are in reality such, will almost, to a man, be found among our murmurers and complainers, whose mouths speak great swelling words;"our" filthy dreamers" of some unattainable state of social bliss, "who despise dominion and speak evil of dignities." "These are they who separate themselves, sensual, not having the spirit;" who "deny the only Lord God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (See St. Jude.) In which of these classes of men our critics are to be ranked, will appear as we proceed. That they are bitter enemies of our Church, as at present by law established, and zealous promoters of heresy and schism, are facts most notorious. They are the avowed and strenuous advocates for the repeal of the test laws, and of "every law" and restriction which are inconsistent with what is called "unlimited toleration," and the forming, in the stead of our present admirably constituted Church, an heterogeneous and most unnatural association of papists and protestants, churchmen and dissenters, including every jarring, extravagant, and impious sect which disgraces Christendom. They allow no religious system to be either scriptural or rational, but that which strips Christianity of its most distinguishing and valuable peculiarities, and reduces it to little more than an improved systein of heathenism; this they denominate unitarianism. They extol in the highest terms of panegyric the most impudent and blasphemous writers of this sect; such as Evanson, Fellowes, and Stone. They ridicule, they depreciate, they revile, by every possible means, whatever is connected with the Church-her founders, her Liturgy, her Articles, her clergy. This they frequently do with a degree of violence, of ferocity, and of shameless disregard to truth and decency, which is strongly indicative of madness, or of dispositions. the most truly diabolical. And this fury against the established clergy rages in exact proportion to their conscientious adherence to their engagements with the Church, and their zeal for her honour. In short, Sir, all the extravagant abuse of the Church and her orthodox sons, which I quoted from this critic in my first letter to show his extreme inconsistency with his former principles, may now be produced as descriptive of his prevailing behaviour. (See Antijac. Review, Sept. 1808.) The fact is, that, as of old, "certain Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul;" so at present, in this kingdom, there is a band of persons" who have resolved never to rest, nor to suffer our governors to rest, till they have overturned our present Church Establishment. And, as a celebrated predecessor of these worthies, on witnessing before his death some of the blessed effects of the French revolution, exclaimed, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace," so are our present conspirators fully persuaded, that "Now is the day of their salvation.' "Much good," they say, has been done to their cause, by the late discussions which have taken place in Parliament, on the question of Catholic emancipation." And, considering how " truly critical" the times now are, never," it is added, may the advocates of this inestimable. right, in this country, hope to find a fitter occasion than the present, for entering into the most arduous, but necessary controversy," Their whole forces are, therefore, summoned immediately to come forth and "bear a part" in it. "To the liberal, among their brethren of the Established Church, they look with confidence for their concurrence.-To the numerous class of Catholics, and the almost equally numerous sects of protestants who differ from our Church, they look with not less confidence for their approbation and our cordial co-operation; and, thus supported, they trust, their plea for unlimited toleration will not be offered to Parliament in vain, in the succeeding session." (See Crit. Rev. Aug. 1808, p. 414–423.) In the mean time, and until their efforts are crowned with complete success, all possible means are to be employed to prepare the people for this project; that the "numerous classes of the people most liable to be prejudiced against" such a measure, "may be prepared to maintain against the arts and efforts of intolerant men, the justice and piety as well as the policy and humanity" of it. To this end, "discussion" on the subject is every where to be promoted our projectors' own representations of it are to be disseminated "in papers which are widely circulated through the country, in magazines, &c. :" men are to be decoyed into an approbation of the measure, by the enchanting sounds of "civil and religious liberty," "enlightened liberality," higher state of social bliss," "best of causes," and the assurance that its abettors are influenced by "the best principles of our holy religion," and are only endeavouring" to diffuse the true principles of Gospel-benevolence, and Christian liberty;" they are to be alienated from the present system by the frightful charges of "despotism," "hypocritical pageantry,” “bgiotry and fanaticism," preferred against it; and insinuations that its supporters are "spiritual despots," "popish inquisitors over the consciences of men,' "infuriated ecclesiastics," "bigots of intolerance," "corrupt politicians," the "fawning sycophants of power," &c. &c.: they are to be assured, that however truly critical" the times are, the most timid cannot justly apprehend the smallest danger from this attempt; that the danger" lies all on the side of intolerance :” they are to be terrified, by the direful menace, that if through "the clamours of bigots and the calumnies of corrupt politicans" the wishes of this party are not gratified, then "this misguided nation may tremble at the near approach of that revolution which may with reason he expected to explode from the rage of disappointed millions.” The 66 legislature" also is to be taught, that " every attempt to bias men in the choice of their religion, whether by terror, or by sordid motives of emolument, must be condemned." In short, "if the government want either the wisdom or the virtue to do this unasked," such an impression is intended to be "produced as will make even an unwilling Cabinet comply with the demand." (See Crit. Rev. as above; and Vol. 13, p. 29; 14, p. 170.) 66 All this, and abundantly more, we are expressly taught, by our English Abbé Sieyes, a man who has grown grey in attempts to embarrass the measures of government, under every critical emergency of his country; a man who, although himself a clergyman of the established church, is so far blinded by party zeal, as under a pretence of tenderness for men's consciences, thus publicly to call upon his brethren in the church, to violate the most solemn engagements by which men can be bound; a man who, with the genuine cunning of his prototype, in this work of preparing the people for his purpose, urges on his partizans the policy of being temporate," but who at the time of action does the very reverse of this; who, when an important political measure is to be agitated at a meeting of his county, issues his inflammatory hand-bills, and invites "able-bodied men to leave their looms" to regulate the decision 66 |