By this unfortunate Queen is meant the late Queen of Denmark: we are not told by what means Mr. Bew, or the biographer, became pofiefied of her majetty's private letters. From the internal evidence of this production, we are led, indeed, to conclude that the words, written by berjelf, in the title page, are put in by mistake; the editor meaning rather to fay," written by himself."It is no matter, however, by whom they were written, as they are neither written well enough to merit praife or ill enough to deferve cenfure. This publication we regard as a trick of trade; by which it is more than probable the adventurer will be no great gainer. A Father's Inftru&ions to his Children: confifling of Tales, Fables, and Reflections, defigned to promote the love of Virtue, a tafle for Knowledge, and an early acquaintance with the works of Nature. 25 6d. Johnfon. 12 mo, Dr. Percival of Manchester is faid to have written thefe Tales, Fables, and Reflections, for the ufe of his own children. It is not only to childhood, however, that thefe little moral tracts may be useful; be ing elegantly written, and not unworthy the perufal of many grown children, even fix feet high. Witnefs the following fpecimens. "The Pert and Ignorant are prone to Ridicule. "A gentleman of a grave deportment was bufily engaged in blowing bubles of foap and water, and was attentively obferving them as they expanded and burst in the funfhine. A pert youth fell into a fit of loud laughter at a fight fo ftrange, and which thewed, as he thought, fuch folly and infanity-Be afhamed, young man, faid one who paffed by, of your rudeness and ignorance. You now behold the greatest philofopher of the age, Sir Ifaac Newton, investigating the nature of light and colours by a feries of experiments, no lefs curious than ufeful, though you deem them childish and infigni. ficant." "Scepticism condemned. "Sophron afferted, that he could hear the flightest fcratch of a pin at the distance of ten yards. It is impoffible, faid Alexis, and immediately appealed to Euphronius, who was walking with them. Though I don't believe, replied Euphronius, that Sophron's ears are more acute than yours, yet I difapprove of your hafty decifion concerning the impoffibility of what you fo little understand. You are ignorant of the nature of found, and of the various means by which it may be increafed or quickened in its progrefs; and modelty fhould lead you, in fuch a cafe, to fufpend your judgment till you have made the proper and neceffary inquiries. An opportunity now prefents itself, which will afford Sophron the fatisfaction he defires. Place your ear at one end of this long rafter of deal timber, and I will scratch the other end with a pin. Alexis obeyed, and diftinctly heard the found, which being conveyed through the tubes of the wood, was augmented in loudnefs as in a fpeaking trumpet, or the horn of the huntfman.- Scepticifm and credulity are equally unfa vourable vourable to the acquifition of knowledge. The latter anticipates, and the former precludes all inquiry. One leaves the mind fatisfied with error, the other with ignorance. We object against any philosopher's entering into the phyfical truth of the illuftration, which by no means affects the meral. The Oeconomy of Health. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Almon. A tranflation of that famous monkifh compofition, the school of Sa lernum to which the tranflator has made confiderable additions ac companied with poetical embellishments." The Cafe and difireffed Situation of the Widows of the Officers of the Na vy, explained in a Letter from a Captain in the Navy, to a Member of Parliament. 8vo. 1s. Ridley. 1775 The writer of this ftate of the cafe of the diftreffed widows of his brother officers, is Capt. Edward Thompfon, whofe well-known pen, has been more than once humanely employed on fimilar. occafions It seems that the penfions of thefe widowed gentlewomen were rated about fifty years ago, when the accommodations and neceffaries of life were confiderably cheaper than at prefent; fo that what might then afford them a comfortable fubfiftence, now barely keeps them from starving. The particular hardship of their circumstances is here accordingly fet forth, with a view to obtain them relief, as well by application to government in their behalf, as by a generous contribution of the officers of the navy, by further deductions from their full pay. The defign is extremely laudable and does honour to the promoters; among whom must be particularly diftinguished the fenfible and liberal-minded author of the prefent pamphlet. The Navigator's Guide to the Oriental or Indian Seas: or, the Defcription and Ufe of a Variation Chart of the Magnetic Needie, defigned for Sherving the Longitude, throughout the principal Parts of the Atlantic, Ethiopic, and Southern Oceans, within a Degree, or fixty Miles. With an introductory Difcourfe concerning the Discovery of the Magnetic Variation, the finding of the Longitude thereby, and feveral ufeful tables. By S. Dunn, Teacher of the Mathematics. Printed for the Auther; and fold by H. Gregory, in Leadenhall-street; and by other mathemati cal Inftrument Makers 8 vo. This publication appears to be a fupplement to the author's Prac sical Aronowy, from which feveral of the tables, mentioned in the ritle page are taken. The variation chart, here described, with a Mercator's chart on three fheets of imperial paper, are fold, together with the defcription and ufe of them, for 15 fhillings, and appear well calculated to anfwer the purposes of the navigator. Leth Letter from an Officer retired, to his Son in Parliament. 8vo. 15. Had the fon, of this retired officer, been in the army instead of being in parliament. the gallant old gentleman would, in all probability, have been a pertinent advifer. As it is, the magnanjmous veteran difplays his loyalty and generofity to little purpofe; the Juvenile Senator, his fon, having a better opportunity of being instructed in the houfe of commons than hath his father himfelt this villa. The Heroic Epifle answered. By the RH- Lord C- 4to. 15. Wilkie. The Heroic Epiftle, of which we gave fome account in our Review for December laft, not much to the credit of the writer or importance of his fubject, feems here to be answered by the fame author. At least, we are fully perfuaded the editor advances a falfehood in imputing this anfwer to the Right Honourable perBonage in question. He is too much of a lord to stoop to cap verles with a commoner, efpecially with fo flovenly a poetaffer as this refponfive rhimift. Epifle to Mrs. M-1-r, Inflitutrefs of a poetical Society near Bath; in which is included, a Comparison between the ancient and modern Times, being a fubject proposed in the foregoing year. 4to. 6d. Dodiley. If no better poets exert their talents, to do honour to Mrs. Miller's inftitution, than this Epiftle-writer, the will have no great reafon to plume herself on the fuccefs of its citablishment. The Devoted Legions. Addreffed to Lord G. Germaine and the Commanders of the Forces against America. 4to. Kearly. A fpirited and forcible piece of verfification, in which the anec dote of Atteius, the Roman Tribune, execrating the expedition of Craffus against the Parthians, and devoting the army to deftruction, is applied to the prefent expedition against the Americans. It is not for us to determine on the propriety of the parallel; efpecially as we must admit the juft pretenfions of the writer to emihence in that art, whofe peculiar privilege it is to deal in fiction. Confiderations (in Refidue) on the State intermediate, or firft Revolution of Being Three Sermons preached at St. Giles's Cripplegate By George Marriot, Rector of Alphamfione, &c. 8vo. is 6d. Leacroft. This Mr. Marriot appears to us to be a fingular and extraordinary genius. genius. Of his rhetorical abilities the public have had fufficient fpecimens. Of his metaphyfics and divinity he has here given them fome equally curious. From the text " whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know," he takes occafion to adopt the notion of the foul's exiftence in fome celeftial abode, antecedent to its appearance on earth; and of its future existence in an intermediate tate between death and the refurrection. Duelling; a Poem: By Samuel Hayes, M. A. late Fellow of Trinity College. 4to. 1s. Dodley. As Mr. Hayes has peremptorily dignified this piece with the title of a Poem, and the truflees for beftowing the Killingbury premium, have adjudged it the prize; we acquiefce in its being deno minated the best poem the University of Cambridge could produce on the occafion, for the year 1775 A Poetical Effay on Duelling. By Charles Peter Layard, A. M. 4to. Is. Robfon. Mr. Charles Peter Layard, whose performance has likewife obtained the Kiflingbury premium and ranks as a prize-poem, is yet modeft enough to ftile it only a poetical effay; in the propriety of which appellation we fhould the more readily join him, if the epithet were omitted, and it were fimply ftiled an Effay on Duelling: for, indeed, the poetry of it is not worth fighting a duel about even though the weapon, on both fides, were a goofe-quill. LETTERS FROM AND ANSWERS TO TO THE LONDON REVIEWERS, GENTLEMEN, After expreffing my concern at the accident, which, you inform 1s, will occafion a delay in the publication of the London Catalogue; I cannot help wishing you to expedite its appearance as fast as poffible; well knowing how much it is in request among a nu merous acquaintance in this country. At the fame time I cannot help expreffing my approbation, as well as that of many others, of your defign to take notice of all new books for the future; by which you will render your excellent publication more useful, and your readers will find in it a greater fund of knowledge and improvement, than is to be met with in any other publication of the kind.-Your attention to the illustration of particular articles by cuts, printed on the page, as in Dr. Burney's history, and Mr. Steele's very ingenious effay for establishing the melody and manner of fpeech, ftruck ne with its peculiar propriety, on reading the apology of the Crit 3 cal Reviewers of last month, for their lame account of their latter work, for want of the proper types and fymbols.-Your introduction of detached plates, at least of those you have hitherto introduced, except two or three, I do not fo much approve: as plates purely picturefque, especially if well executed, are very liable to be mifng at the clofe of the volume, when it fhould be bound. The Monthly Reviewers once introduced a plate of this kind in their eighteenth volume page 239; which is wanting in my fet, and in' those of all I have lately met with; which renders them fo far imperfect. I could with you not to relinquish your Review of foreign books; but if you can do no more than fome others, in fwelling the contents of your blue covers with title-pages extracted from foreign atalogues, you may poffibly be in the right. I am Your's, T. C. TO THE AUTHORS OF THE LONDON REVIEW. GENTLEMEN, When you received laff month a Parody on Mr. Gray's Elegy, in a country Church-yard, by an Oxonian, printed for Wheble, you were hittle aware that this little jeu d'efprit had been published several years ago by Mr. Duncombe (late fellow of C. C. C. Cambridge) under the title of An Evening Contemplation in a College. This therefore is a plagiarism which well deferves your notice and animadverfion, efpecially as the publisher (who can fearce be of any univerfity) has defaced as well as robbed, by making feveral unwarrantable alterations, needlefs to fpecify, but all for the worse. I am defired by Mr. D. to lodge this complaint at your literary tribunal, having no doubt of your doing him juftice, and am, Gentlemen, Your conftant reader, Canterbury, April 9th 1776. N. E. ** Since the receipt of this letter we have feen a handsome apology in the St. James's Chronicle from the publisher; who appearing to have been impofed on, has fupprefled the publication.For our own part we must own, that the gentleman to whose share the Reviewing of that article fell, did not at the time recollect his having feen it before. We find, we were mifinformed refpecting the whole of the impreffion, of the third volume of Mr. Bryant s Mythology, having been burnt at the late fire at our printer's. But we cannot make ufe of the article, we were favoured with, till we have ourfelves perused the work; which is not as yet come to hand: one of our affociates having unluckily given offence either to the author or the publisher, by intimating, in his recommendation of the late Mr. Wood's Life of Homer (of which we understand Mr. B. was the editor) that the bookfeller gave rather more paper and lefs print than |