Printed by JOHN NICHOLS, for D. HENRY, late of St. John's Gate;
and sold by E. NEWBERY, the Corner of St. Paul's Church-Yard,
Ludgate-Street. 1784.

RBAN, thy skill matur'd by mellowing Time,
Thy pleasing toil, thy well-conducted page,
Through Britain's realms, and many a foreign clime,
Have charm'd the last, and charm the present age.
Unnumber'd rivals, urg'd by thy renown,

To match thy useful labours oft have tried ;
In vain they tried; unnotic'd and unknown,
In cold oblivion's shade they sunk and died.
Chear'd by the fostering beams of public praise,
Continue still" to profit and delight*:*
Whilst Learning all her ample store displays,

Her "varying" charms at thy command "unite†.” Hence future HAWKESWORTHS, WARTONS, GRAYS, may sing, Where virtuous JOHNSON plum'd his eagle wing §. J.N.

Prodesse et delectare.

E pluribus unum.

To whom the writer of these lines had the pleasure of shewing them in the last inter"Take care of view with which he was honoured by this illustrious pattern of true piety. your eternal salvation," and, "Remember to observe the Sabbath; let it never be a were parts of his last solemn farewell. "day of business, nor wholly a day of dissipation; "Let my words have their due weight," he added; "they are those of a dying man.” To the far greater part of our readers the following elegant verses by Dr. Johnson will have the charms of novelty. To the few who recollect having seen them in our VIIIth volume, p. 136, the repetition, we are sure, cannot be disagreeable.

URBANE, Dullis fesse laboribus,
UUBANE, nullis victe calumniis,
Cui fronte sertum in erudita
Perpetuo viret et virebit ;
Quid moliatur gens imitantium,
Quid et minetur, follicitus parum,
Vacare solis perge Musis,

Juxta animo studiisque felix.
Linguæ procacis plumbea spicula,
Fidens, superbo frange silentio ;
Victrix per obstantes catervas
Sedulitas animosa tendet.

IN

Intende nervos fortis, inanibus
Risurus olim nisibus Emuli;
Intende jam nervos, habebis
Participes operæ Camenas.
Non ulla Musis pagina gratior,
Quam quæ severis ludicra jungere
Novit, fatigatamque nugis

Utilibus recreare mentem.
Texente Nymphis serta Lycoride,
Rosa ruborem sic viola adjuvat
Immista, sic Iris refulget
Ethercis variata fucis.

'N quest of fame, whilst to the skies
Our Blanchards and Lunardis rise,
Indulging their ambitious whim
By hazarding both life and limb,
URBAN, by easier ways you gain
What those advent'rers seek in vain :
No hair-breadth 'scapes, no dangers try'd,
But, musing by your own fire-side,
You here secure a nobler name,
More lasting praise, and better fame.
For there the profitable page
You form, instructing youth and age;
Mankind's improvement all your care,
Securely in your elbow-chair
You sit, still growing, as you write,
Immortal, in your own despite.

S. J.

W. J. Dec. 31.

PREFACE.

T is no small satisfaction to the Editors of the Gentleman's Magazine to learn

I from every quarter, their to give the

profitable communications" meet with general approbation; that they no sooner adopt one mode of improvement, than another is offered to their consideration; and that there seems an emulation among men of letters to unite their collective learning to bring to perfection one periodical publication, which has been long held forth as a pattern to the rest.

That the Gentleman's Magazine is not yet arrived to that degree of utility of which a work on so extensive a plan is capable, every day's experience evinces. To the numerous Correspondents, of whose assistance the Editors may justly boast; others, who still find something wanting, are continually adding their contributions to supply the defects.

A most ingenious and learned Antiquary, marking the progress of our pursuits, and approving them, has favoured us, and, by our means, the Public, with an extensive plan of improvement*, which he thinks would raise our Magazine to be one of the most useful Repositories of that species of knowledge which he recommends" that is any where to he met with." And as he is desirous that we should announce to the Public how far it may be agreeable to connect his plan with our own, we think it incumbent upon us thankfully to acknowledge our obligation, and to declare our readiness to give free admission to such facts, and observations upon facts, respecting the History and Antiquities of our Country, as the gentleman himself or his friends shall be pleased to communicate; and that precedents and explanations of our constitution; matters yet undescribed, and points not yet sufficiently explained; with useful discoveries of every kind which gentlemen of learning may transiently make; are among the materials which the Editors will rejoice to lay before the Public.

But it is not to the Antiquary alone, however respectable. that the Editors ought to devote their attention. The Philosopher, the Historian, the Physidian, the Critic, the Poet, the Divine, and above all the PUBLIC, have au uncoubted claim to the utmost exertion of their abilities.

Those, who in general approve of our account of Books, have expressed their wishes to have that part of our Magazine more amply extended. With them we are ready to join issue, and for the future mean to increase our Catalogue without enlarging the limits. The method we have chosen to adopt we shall still follow, namely, to decide briefly on the general merits of works of genius-not to erect a court of inquisition to examine closely for faults to condemn authors, but rather "to encourage modest merit, and to create excellence by exciting emulation." Among such a variety of books as are continually issuing from the press, by far the greater number must just be named, the contents of others barely recited, some epitomised, and but few extracted. In short, as we have no desire to encroach upon the province of others, we would rather wish to have this part of our work considered as Annals of Literature, than as a Critical Review of Books.

It would be an idle affectation not to acknowledge, that, notwithstanding the multitude of testimonials we can produce in our favour, we have experienced the impossibility of an exact coincidence with varying taste. We have been told, that a due regard has not been shewn to our Fair Readers, a numerous class of literary judges, who are charmed with fine writing; that there is little or none of that fine sprightly kind of composition calculated to kill time, and furnish fashionable conversation; none of those select novels, love-stories-those brilliant sallies of wit and humour, that captivate the young and delight the gay. And perhaps (though we can boast of some of the first female names in Europe among our regular correspondents) this complaint is not wholly groundless.

VOL. LIV. PART I.

*See our September Magazine, p. 655.

We