paid before-hand. I will also give fix to the owner of the land: but he must wait for it till the end of the year. The favings which I have already made, and the plans and improvements that I have in my head, will enable me punctually to fulful thefe engagements; I alone fhall be answerable to the proprietor; he fhall have no demand on you; you and I fhall both work: but I fhall be the fole director; and I engage that you fhall not be a fufferer by any failure of crops."

- The propofal is eagerly embraced by all parties; and thus our author establishes, in a very juft, reafonable, and natural manner, an inequality of conditions among the inhabitants of the plantation. The first becomes the landlord, the fecond the farmer, the third the labourer; the first gets rent for his land, the third receives wages, to which he is entitled, without abatement, let the produce of the year be great or fmall,-and the middle man is able to turn fo much to his account the labour of the latter, and the estate and establishments of the former, that he finds himself in a condition to lay up annually a confiderable portion for his family, after having punctually fulfilled his engagements to both.

In the fifth era, other families arrive, and apply for leave to fettle on a part of the land, and to build a town; and the manner in which they can render themselves useful to the colony is thus defcribed by one of the party;

"Your labourers lofe one-half of their time in making themselves a very aukward kind of clothing, and indifferent implements of hufbandry, which stand in need of conftant repairs. Is it not true that, if they were to employ folely in raifing provifions, that half of their time which they now spend in making indifferent clothes, and bad implements, the quantity of provifions which they would raise by working better and more expeditiously, and with good inftruments, would be double what it is at prefent? This increafe of provifions will be attended with no lofs nor inconvenience to you, as we shall take it off your hands, and will even pay for it by advance in good clothes and good inftruments, of which you are in great want, and of which you have not yet even an idea.”

Here is a new clafs introduced into fociety, citizens and manufacturers; and though, like the hufbandmen, they live by the work of their hands, it is of a different kind, and not immediately connected with the land:-their joint labours produce what the author calls a capital of industry. He fhews that all thefe different bodies of men are benefited by the prior labours of the individual who firft cleared, fenced, and planted the ground; and that, had it not been for those labours, it would have been impoffible for them to have entered immediately into the enjoyment of the quantum of produce, which they began to derive from their industry at the moment of their entrance on the land. Thus the three interefts of the land-owner,

the farmer, and the manufacturer, are fhewn to be not only not oppofite to, but clofely dependent on, and mutually beneficial to each other; fo that no one of them could be fuppreffed without either abfolute ruin, or almoft intolerable injury, to the other

two.

[To be continued in the Review for February.]

ART. XVII. Cours de Gallicifmes, &c.; i. e. A Series of Gallicisms, or Idioms of the French Language. By P. L. DE BEAUCLAIR. First Part. Crown 8vo. pp. 326. Frankfort, 1794. De Boffe, London. Price 38. fewed.

THI

HIS is a work more calculated for facilitating to foreigners the perufal of old French authors, and the intelligence of colloquial language, than the perufal of modern French books. Every language has its peculiar idioms; and perhaps there is no European tongue which more abounds with phrafes, and words ufed in fo peculiar a manner as totally to preclude literal transIation into any other language, than the French.

The author tells us, in his preface, that by Gallicisms are implied thofe peculiar conftructions in the French language, which differ from all the common rules of Grammar: fuch as figurative and proverbial ways of fpeaking, which long use has confecrated, and which now conftitute much of the wit and elegance of ftyle.

How is it poffible to understand or speak a language well, if we are ignorant of the most delicate, but at the fame time the moft difficult, parts of its conftruction? Though a ftudent in this language may have laboured at all the rules of Syntax; learned a great number of words by heart; ftudied their different combinations, regular and irregular conjugations, cafes, genders, numbers, and all that belongs to general grammar; how can application and memory, however uncommon, enable him to understand a Frenchman accustomed to the fubtilties of his language, and who makes frequent ufe of Gallicifms?

If he fhould hear a native of France fay, for example: Vous m'avez fait croquer le marmot pendant deux heures; allons faire ripaille; lui avez-vous lavé la tête? ils boivent à tire-larigot; metions nos bribes enfemble... and an infinite number of familiar and metaphorical expreffions, in conftant ufe among the French; would fuch a ftudent in their language be able to reply to fuch expreflions, if he were unable to comprehend them?'

The peculiar use of the verb ABATTRE is well explained. Abattre les cuirs-to flay. Vous abattez bien du bois—a phrase at tric-trac, and back-gammon, for gaining points, and taking up men. Abattre beaucoup de bois-difpatching a great deal of business in a fhort time. Petite pluie abat grand vent—a gentle word calms much choler. Abattre le brouillard-eating and drinking much in a morning; a hearty breakfast. Abattre

les

les cornes à un homme fier-make a proud man draw in his horns. Petit chêne abat grand vent→ -a little man of courage may vanquith a great blufterer.

ABOYER. Chien qui aboye ne mort pas-clamorous people are not the most to be feared. Jamais bon chien n'aboye en vain a prudent man does not undertake a bufinefs without a pro. fpect of fuccefs. Aboyer après quelqu'un-to purfue or abuse an one. Abayer après quelque chofe to covet with extreme eagerness.

AFFAMER. Affamer fon ecriture-to write with very fine and almost imperceptible ftrokes. Un habit affamé-too tight a garment. Ventre affamé n'a point d'oreilles a proverb not very difficult to comprehend: a hungry man unwillingly liftens to reafon, eloquence, mufic, or even wit and humour.

ALAMBIQUER. S'alambiquer l'efprit-to fatigue the mind with the ftudy of abstracted and impracticable propofitions. Des penfees alambiquées-too great fubtilties and refinements in

a discourse..

ALLER, S'EN ALLER. This verb has fo many peculiarities of fignification and application, that it has employed more than two pages of the prefent work. Aller fimply means no more than to go or remove from one place to another :-but the author confines himself to the figurative and idiomatic tenfes of this verb.,

AMI, AMITIÉ. Ami, jufque aux autels-I'll fupport him as far as my confcience will allow. The word amitié in the plural means compliments: faites bien des amitiés de ma part à vos parens-make my best compliments to your family.

ANGE. A perfon is faid voir des anges violets, who is become vifionary and fanatical. Rire aux anges-foolish mirth and causeless rapture. Boire aux anges-when unable to give a toast.

APOSTROPHER. In pleafantry it is faid: Je l'ai apoftrophé d'un coup de pié, de quelques coups de bâton-for, I have kicked or thrashed him well.

This book is written for the meridian of Germany, but would be equally useful to the English who are fond of the French language and literature. The author, however, among a great number of phrafes and words that are colloquial and uncommon in books, has given himfelf the trouble of explaining many expreffions, of which neither foreigners nor ignorant Frenchmen can for a moment doubt the meaning: fuch as Babel-Babouin -Bibliotéque, &c.

BAISER is well explained, and will be an ufeful article to foreigners. Baifer une fille, for example, means more than giving a girl a kifs;-nor fhould it be faid—baifez madame, or mademoifelle, if civility and decorum are only intended, but embraffez la-embrace her.

APP. REV. VOL. XV.

BARDOT

BARDOT. Etre le bardot d'une fociété-to be the butt of the company. Qu. Did Shakspeare name Bardolph from this idea? BAROQUE, figuratively ufed, implies whimfical, capricious, in bad tafte. C'eft un homme baroque; on ne fauroit vivre avec lui he is fuch a whimfical and impracticable being, that there is no living with him. The French call Italian mufic, baroque. BATON. Tour de baton-taken by force. Le baton de faceb -an aftronomical inftrument of menfuration. Travailler à bâton rompu-to work at odd times.

Etre réduit à bâton blanc-reduced to extreme poverty. Mener quelqu'un le bâton haut-to command imperiously, infolently. Faire fauter le bâton to order any one to furrender.

BEAU, BEL, BELLE. This adjective furnishes an infinity of Gallicifms. Beau dire-beau faire-beau crier-to fpeak, act, or cry out in vain. Paffer pour beau-to pay nobody. Faire bean beau- play the fawning lover-pretended tendernefs. La belle plume fait le bel oifeau-fine feathers make fine birdsfiguratively-fine cloaths frequently make ugliness and defor mity admired. Donner beau jeu à quelque un-afford an oppor tunity for gaining a point. Vous me la baillez belle-you would fain make me believe it. Echapper belle-to escape a great danger. Au beau milieu de la nuit-in the dead of the night.

BOUDIN. Though pudding belongs to the English kitchen, it fometimes makes a figure in the French parlour: where à man with a broad, fat, well-fed face, is called foufleur de boudin-a pudding-blower. An unfuccefsful enterprize is faid to have been boiled in pudding water. A poor gentleman married to a rich citizen is termed, faire un boudin, &c.

This firft part ends with the letter I; the fecond, we are informed, is forthcoming.

We have now a Synonymy for the English language, which, though not complete, yet is lefs defective, perhaps, than that of the Abbé Girard in French was in the first edition; and we now feem to want, for our own language, a collection and explanation of Anglicisms: peculiar phrafes, idioms, and proverbial expreffions, fuch as Addifon ufed fo conftantly, and Johnfon fo fedulously avoided, that their feveral ftyles may be known, imitated, and characterized by their abundance or omiffion. The exclufive admirers of Addifon fay that his writings. are enriched and embellished by true idioms of our language; while the votaries of Johnfon affure us that, by avoiding common phrafes and proverbial expreffions, he has rendered our Janguage not only more elegant, clear, and intelligible, to foreigners, but more grammatical and unequivocal to ourselves, as well as more eafy to tranflate into other languages. Ray's Proverbs, Shakspeare, Milton, and other old poets, with the affiftance

affiftance of their commentators, would furnish abundant materials to any philologer who fhould undertake a work for the English language fimilar to that before us.

ART. XVIII. Werken van het Genootschap, &c. i.e. Transactions of the Society established in Leyden for promoting Mathematical Knowlege. Vol. I. 8vo. pp. 216. Leyden. 1794.

T gives us fatisfaction to observe that mathematical knowlege is more cultivated and encouraged in Holland than formerly. This fociety, which was established in 1785, confifted of gentlemen who, perfuaded of the utility and importance of mathematics, wifhed to fee them more generally made a part of the education of youth. For this purpose, they annually dif tributed premiums to fuch young perfons as had diftinguished themselves by their progrefs in the feveral branches of this fcience: but, as the number of members increased, their beneficent defigns extended; they established a fchool, and attracted the public attention by propofing premiums for the beft differtation on a prize-queftion relative to this ftudy. The effay, which is the fubject of the prefent volume, is an inquiry into the best method of removing that dislike to mathematics which many young perfons conceive, and which prevents their purfuing thefe ftudies with that attention and perfeverance which are neceffary in order to make a confiderable progress in them. The victorious candidate on this occafion was M. A. I. DEIMAN, ftudent of law in the Academical School of Amfterdam. His differtation, and one on the fame fubject by M. J. L. KESMANN, an officer in the fervice of the States, take up the greater part of the volume: but they are prefaced by the addreffes to the Society and the feveral candidates at the annual meeting on diftributing the prizes, by M. P. VAN CAMPEN, and M. JOHAN MEERMAN, the prefidents. On M. VAN CAMPEN'S fpeech we can bestow little praife. It has not the leaft relation, that we can trace, to the object of the fociety, and very little to the fubject which he proteffes to difcufs. It is entitled, A Difcourfe on the Equality of the Faculties of Mankind; this, we confefs, ftruck us as not a little paradoxical, and we expected to fee Jacobiniím applied to mathematics: but we found that by faculties the author means only the external fenfes, and that, after having afferted that the fenfations, conveyed by thefe faculties, are fimilar in every individual, he, quits the fubject, and declaims on the wildom of Providence as difplayed in the constitution of nature, and illuftrated by philofophy. M. MEERMAN'S addrefs is more to the purpofe, and contains fome good obfervations on the defects in the common school education of those who are intended for the univer