the principle of vengeance, would be an abfurdity fuch as the world has not yet feen, except perhaps in fome of the late decrees of the French emperor. The pretended Spaniard indeed affirms, that "vengeance is the foundation of all penal law, divine and human"; but can he think of the atonement for the fins of the world, which every Catholic believes to have been made by the facrifice of Chrift, (not once indeed, but repeatedly offered, according to them,) and still maintain, that the Divine law, which exacted that penalty, was founded in vengeance? He may do fo; but let him no longer affect zeal for the Catholic faith; for the man who believes that the scheme of human redemption proceeded from the fpirit of vengeance, is neither Catholic, nor Proteflant, nor Chriftian.

As these authors labour thus earnestly to make the lower orders difcontented with the ftation in which Providence has placed them, and with the laws of the empire enacted for the protection of property, fo are they equally ftrenuous in their endeavours to mifreprefent the conftitution of the British legislature. Of rotten boroughs, the influence of the Crown, and the neceffity of a parliamentary reform, the clamours have before now been loudly repeated, till the ears of every loyal subject were stunned by the fenfeless noise; but we do not recollect to have hitherto heard it afferted, that the majority of the Houfe of Commons is returned by the rotten boroughs. This is a difcovery which was referved for DON MANUEL ALVAREZ ESPRIELLA, who gravely tells us, that any thing like election, in the plain fenfe of the word, is unknown in England!

"Some feats are private property; that is, the right of voting belongs to a few houtholders, fometimes not more than half a dozen; and of course these votes are commanded by the owner of the estate. The fewer they are, the more eafily they are managed. Great part of a borough in the west of England was confumed fome years ago by fire, and the lord of the manor would not fuffer the houses to be rebuilt, for this reafon: If fuch an estate be to be fold, it is publicly advertised as carrying with it the power of returning two members; fometimes that power is veiled under the modeft phrafe of a valuable appendage to the eftate, or the defirable privilege of nominating to feats in a certain affembly. Government bold (holds) many of these boroughs, and individuals buy in at others. The price is as well known as the value of land or of ftock, and it is not uncommon to fee a feat in a certain houfe advertised for by the public newspapers. In this manner are a majority of the members returned!" (Vol. ii. P. 315.)

The

a

The rotten boroughs are bad enough, nor do we mean to appear as their apologifts; but there is not one Englishnan who can read, to whom this laft affertion is not known to be palpable faljchood; nor one foreigner of fenfe, and candour, who would have related as true, on the authority of any factious informer, a tale in itfelf fo utterly incredible! It is impoffible that a majority of members could be returned by the rotten boroughs, unless the number of rotten boroughs exceeded the number, not only of the boroughs which are found, but of all the other boroughs, and cities, and counties, in the empire. But it feems to be one object of this work, no matter by what means, to excite a general fpirit of innovation as well as difcontent; and hence the people are gravely told, that in England, inftitutions are retained after their utility has ceafed, to cripple man on his march to perfection (vol. iii. p. 152); that the war, in which we are engaged, might have been eafily avoided; and that "there was not one fyllable of truth in the information given by the King to Parliament, concerning the formidable armaments fitting out in the French poits, againft which he deemed it neceffary to be prepared!!" (p. 129.)

As this author, or authors, had affumed the character of a Spanish catholic, confiflency required him to write with. apparent abhorrence of the reformed Church of England, we were not therefore furprifed nor offended by the phrafes -heretical church-fchifmatical church-and ragged robe of herely, by which he denominates that church. Even the exultation which efcapes him, when fpeaking of what he calls the re-establishment of the monallic orders in England; the zeal of the French refugees, male and female, in making converts; the controverfial arts of Bifhop. Milner; and the eagernefs with which, he fays, the daughters of Proteftant parents profefs in these English nunneries, was extremely natural under his affumed character. The guardians of the conftitution in church and ftate are indeed much indebted to him for the information, which, in his 28th Letter, he communicates on this fubject; for if one half of what he fays of the conduct of theie refugees be true, the magiflrates will probably find means of fhutting up the convents, without withdrawing from their inhabitants that protection which is due to their fufferings for what they believe to be the truth; but which, on a change of circumftances, proteftant refugees would not obtain froin them. All this therefore is unexceptionable. Even the epithet accurfid fo often applied to Elizabeth and Henty VIII.; the damnation of Archbishop Laud, fo confidently pronounced, though pronounced with

1cg et;

regret.;. and the denominating all the fects of diffenting enthufiafts, the Spawn of Luther and Calvin, we can cafily forgive, on account of what he may think due to his affumed character; though we do not believe that any foreign Ca. tholic, who is a gentleman and a fcholar, would employ fuch epithets fo frequently as they have been employed by DON MANUEL ALVAREZ ESPRIELLA! Confitency, however, did not require him to fuppofe it probable that real miracles may have been wrought in favour of the QUAKERS!

"They lay claim to miracles; and it is good proof of the fidelity of their chronicler that none of thefe miracles can be con idered as impoffible, nor even unlikely. George Fox came into a houfe at a time when they had bound a mad woman, and were attempting to bleed her. He addreifed her with his. wonted genstlenefs, quieted her fears, foothed her, perfuaded the people to unbind her, and converted her to his own opinions. Her frenzy wever returned; it had found its proper channel. A few of their numerous perfecutors came to untimely ends; one in particular, who had been active in torturing and putting them to death in New England, was thrown from his horfe and killed upon the place of their execution: it was natural and perhaps not erroneous to afcribe this to divine vengeance!" (Vol. iii. p. 87.)

Such language as this no judicious Catholic could have fed, when fpeaking of the perfecution of one fect of he retics by another; but if this pretended Spaniard chose to reprefent the Quakers as the peculiar favourites of Heaven, for the purpose of exalting the diftinguishing doctrines of George Fox above thofe of the British churches, why not? Thofe churches have nothing to dread from fuch folly. The Church of England, we truft, is able to defend her faith and Conftitution against every antagonist, who may think fit to affail her with open hoftility and arrows not poifoned. But the hoftility is not open, and the arrows are certainly poifoned, which are employed by one or two Englifhmen, who, in the affumed character of a foreign Catholic, write a book of pretended travels, for the purpose of mifreprefenting the taws, conftitution, and religion, of their country; that they may thus inftil their own factious difcontent into the minds of unfufpecting youth, who have never ftudied controverfy, political or religious, and who read only for amusement. Speaking of the young men at the two univerfities our DON is made to say,

"It is of little confequence whether they boot water-fowl, attend horfe-races, frequent the brothel, and encourage the wine

trade,

trade, in one place or another; but as a few years of this kind of life ufually fatisfy a man for the reft of it, it is convenient that there fhould be a place appointed, where one of this defcrip. tion can pass through this course of studies out of fight of his relations, and without injuring his character; and from wher.ce he can come with the advantage of having been at the univer. fity, and a qualification which enables him to undertake the cure of fouls. The heretical bishops never inquire into the moral con duct of thofe upon whom they lay their unhallowed hands; and as for the quantity of learning which is required, M. Maillardet, who exhibits his Androides in London, could put enough into an automaton!!" (Vol. ii. p. 291.)

To every man who has been at the university, and knows any thing of the conftitution and difcipline of the Church of England, the falfhood of all this must be as apparent as its malignity; but there are well-meaning men, members of the Church, merely because their fathers were so before them, on whom affertions so confident may make some im. preffion. We therefore request these perfons, before they give credit to an author, who knows not more of the dif cipline of the Church than themselves, to read the 34th and 35th Canons, where they will find that if the heretical bishops, as our Spaniard calls them, fhall ordain any man, of whofe moral character and competent learning they have not fufficient proof, they are liable to fufpenfion for the space of two years from ordaining either deacons or priests. Of thefe canons the author probably knows nothing; for he seems not ever to have looked even into the Calendar prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer, and certainly has not been accustomed to attend the church fervice. In his character of translator (vol. iii. p. 35) he gravely affirms, that "the Apocrypha is never read in our churches;" though every man, who frequents those churches, or has looked at the Calendar, knows the contrary.

But while we thus point out the pernicious tendency of great part of these volumes, we readily admit that they contain much that, were it purged of the drofs with which it is mixed, would be excellent. The credulity of the Englith refpecting the efficacy of quack medicines; the extravagance of their expences in the furniture of their houfes and tables; their love of horse-racing and pugilism; and the fopperies of fashion, are defervedly held up to ridicule and fcorn.

But even in treating of quack medicines, &c. the author is not always accurate; and on one occafion he confounds Galvanifm with Perkinianifm; honouring one of the most impudent impoftures that ever quack practised on an enlight.

ened

ened people, with the name of a brilliant difcovery in phyfical fcience made by the celebrated Galvani of Bologna. This frange ignorance is almost beyond credibility. He confounds likewife the Abbe Barruel with the late Dr. Robifon of Edinburgh, giving to the work of the former of thefe authors, on the connection of the Illuminati with the French revolution, the title of the work published by the latter at the fame time, and on the fame fubject. That the author difapproves of both these works the reader will not be furprifed, who reflects on his malignity to the principles of Mr. Pitt's adminiftration; but we think that the two following extracts, when compared together, muft furprise every man who has the flighteft pretenfions to candour.

"A friend of J.'s faid, there was about as much truth in it (Barruel's book) as in one of Madame's Scudery's Romances; the characters introduced were real perfons, to whom falfe motives and manners were imputed; a little of what was afcribed to them had really occurred, but the whole plot, colour, and coftume of the book was fictitious. It was a work, faid he, written to serve the purposes of a party, with the fame fpirit and the fame intent as those which in old times led to fuch abfurd and monstrous calumnies against the Jews; and had its intent fucceeded, there would have been a political St. Bartholomew's day in England. True it was (is) that a society had exifted, whose object was to change or to influence the governments of Europe; it was well organized and widely extended, but enthufiafm, not infidelity, was the means which they employed." (Vol. iii. 8. 226.)

This fociety the Spaniard traces to Avignon, and pub. lishing fome of its predictions, he fays of them, and fays truly:

"These are no common prophecies. Honeft fanaticism has bad no fbare in manufacturing them. Vague as the language ne ceffarily is, there is an end and aim in it not to be mistaken; and it is almoft ftartling to obferve how much of what was defigned bas taken place, and how much may ftill be applied to these immediate times." P.242.

On these two extracts we make no comment. The reader may reconcile them if he can, and infer from both, that Dr. Robifon and Abbe Barruel were employed to write each a romance, to gratify Mr. Pitt and his bloody colleagues with a political St. Bartholomew's day in England! That he may the more eafily draw this logical inference, it is proper to inform him that DON MANUEL, with his ufual confiftency