exprefs the feelings of their characters in writing, now it is all reduced to "inexplicable dumb thew." Formerly they drew characters; now they dash out a few caricature features, without regard to confiftency or even poffibility. How ftrange! that in such a state of fociety as now subsists in Britain, the Art of Tragedy fhould be relinquished, and that of Comedy as completely loft as if it had never existed! ART. 19. Hearts of Oak. A Comedy in five Acts, as performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury-Lane. By John Til Allingham. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Ridgway. 1804. This is a moft inartificial performance, and how it could linger out the few short nights it did, is more than can be eafily comprehended. The moral is however good, and the fentiments chafte and unobjectionable. Why it fhould have been called Hearts of Oak, is not fo obvious. The Honeft Irishman, would have been more rational and proper. NOVELS. ART. 20. The folly and impiety of duelling have in vain been demonArated by philofophers and divines: for, alas! the practice has not ceafed! To paint its atrocious guilt, and illuftrate its fatal tendency is the laudable purpose of the writer before us; who, in a fhort tale, has difplayed the character of a true Chriftian, not only rejecting this practice in his own conduct, (though on all proper occafions a man of undaunted courage) but making con verts from among those whofe fentiments were the most adverse to his own. The incidents of this story are few, but fome of them are interefting, as the following extract (which closes a Jong argument on the fubject of duels) will evince. "Well, then, to close the argument," faid the officer, "let the evil of duellifts reft upon themselves. The world, at all events, fuffers but little from them." "And are you," faid Mr. Barclay, "fo enamoured of felf as to have no regard for the feeling of your furviving friends?— It was but last night that I met an object, moaning on her way. I heard her complaining to a haplefs child, and talk of wanting bread. I addreffed her, and bestowed my mite.-She told me her fad tale. It was brief, yet, full of intereft. Her husband had been a furgeon in the army, and had fallen in a duel on the continent.'' "His name?" faid the foldier, with ftrong emotion. G g BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXVI, OCT. 1895. "Mountain ** "Mountain!" faid Mr. Barclay. "Sacred heaven!" exclaimed the other, and starting from his feat, "6 you have pierced me with remorfe!-I am his murderer ?'' "Mr. Barclay fixed his eyes upon him with reproach; yet mingled with pity. He remained ftationary for a time; his countenance tranfmitting the feelings of his mind. At, laft he grafped the hand of Mr. Barclay, and exclaimed, “Christian; I reverence thy virtue!-O! thou haft foftened my callous heart! -thou haft aroufed my dormant confcience!--I am awake, and am a man!-But, ah! how full of guilt!-canft thou admit me to thy friendship?" "Rife!" faid Mr. Barclay, embracing him, and scarcely able to articulate for joy, at his repentance, "rife, my brother! this is indeed a triumph!-now art thou indeed a man of honour !—A higher power has now made thee ashamed of error, and in love with truth." P.81. The remainder of this dialogue, in which the duellift is com pletely converted, is also highly interefting. We think this author's hero, Mr. Barclay, rather too folemn and fententious for fo young a man. His fentiments, however, are thofe of truth, and are, in general, expreffed with nervous eloquence; his good of fices procure happiness to all around him, and he is at laft made happy himself in the poffeffion of an amiable woman, whom he had rescued from poverty and wretchednefs. Upon the whole, we have received much pleasure from this little work. It manifeft the beft intentions, and is executed with skill and ability. ART. 21. Chapple. Belville Houfe; a Novel in two Volumes. 8vo. 8s. 1805. A fair friend of ours, and of great experience and fagacity in the novel line, happened to call the other morning, whilst Belville Houfe was on the table in the act of being read—“ Oh dear Mr. Reviewer!" exclaimed the lively creature, "have you read Belville Houfe ?" "No madam, have you?" "Oh yes, fir, indeed I have, and I hope you will fpeak favourably of it, for I have found it very amufing." As our female friend is a refpectable judge in thefe matters, the reader and the author fhall mutually have the benefit of her opinion. ART. 22. It requires no moderate portion of fkill and ingenuity to contrive and execute any fable with the appearance of novelty through a procefs of four volumes. This is, however, done in the the performance before us, beyond the ordinary merit of fimilar undertakings. We fhould however be fomewhat inclined to make a change in the title, &c. of this work, not The Secret, but Secret upon Secret, for the fecret is the fertile parent of many fecrets, and these again multiply into various ramifications. The whole, however, is entertaining, and deferves a refpectable fituas tion in the circulating library. ART. 23. The Hop-Boy, or, Idalia's Grove. A Novel, by Peter Pindar, Jun. Ejq. 12mo. 6s. Chappie. 1804. It is beyond our ability to penetrate into the meaning of this rhapfody. Whether it is intended as a fatire upon the unmeaning, turgid ftuff, which, under the name of novels, daily iffue froin the prefs, or whether it is a plain, dull, ferious attempt at novel writing, cannot eafily be decided. One thing is, however, ob vious enough, that from the beginning to the conclufion it is all-nonsense. MEDICINE. ART. 24. Obfervations on Water, with a Recommendation of a more convenient and extenfive Supply of Thames Water to the Metropolis, and its Vicinity, as the beft Means to countera& Peftilence, or pernicious Vapours. With an Appendix addreffed to the Gentlemen Subscribers to the intended South and Eaft London Water Works. By Ralph Dodd, Civil Engineer. 12mo. 116 pp. 2s. 6d. Cook, Power, &c. 1805. A long and defultory differtation on the utility of water for preferving the human body in health, and for various other pur pofes, but containing only common-place obfervations, ferves as an introduction to the reports addreffed to the fubfcribers to the intended South and Eaft London water works. In the reports the writer feems principally folicitous to imprefs on the minds of the proprietors the vaft profit likely to accrue from the fpecu. lation; the comparative eafinefs of the expence, and the largenefs of the revenue to be derived from it. None of the calculations, however, on which the estimate of the expence or profit of the undertaking are founded, being given, and the arguments ufed in recommending them being fuch as might, with equal propriety, be applied to any other fimilar fchemes, no opinion can be given of their correctnefs. The plan for making a tunnel to pafs under the Thames, from Gravefend to the oppofite fide of the river, projected by this gentleman, which is, we find, abandoned, might, he tells us in a note, have been completed, if the execution of it had been confided to one competent perfon; there were, it feems, too many meddlers; too many cooks spoiled the broth. We are not dif Gg 2 pofed pofed to deny the practicability of fuch a work, but the expence must have been prodigiously greater than what it was estimated; the proprietors are therefore fully justified in defifting from the works, as it was better for them to facrifice 30,000l. the fum faid to have been fubfcribed, than to expend 200,000l. to obtain a revenue, which would not have paid the common intercst for a fourth-part of the money. ART. 25. The Domestic Medical Guide, in two Parts. Part I. The Family Difpenfatory; or, A complete Companion to the Family Medicine Cheft. Part II. The modern domeftic Medicine, comprehending the most approved Methods of treating and obviating the different Difenfes that affail the Human Frame; with the moft important Information relative to the Cure of those chronie Difeafes which have been generally confidered incurable. 3d Edi tion, confiderably enlarged and corrected. By Richard Reece, M. D. 8vo. 500 pp. 95. Longman, Hurft, Rees and Orme. 1805. Befides corrections and alterations, the author has made confiderable additions to this impreffion of his Medical Guide. The part of the title promifing important information, relative to the cure of certain difcafes hitherto deemed incurable, has a reference to the method recommended by Dr. Lambe, of giving fuch patients the Malvern water, or water which has been puri fied by diftillation. The alterative properties of this fimple fubftance, our author is enabled, he fays, from experience to af firm, to be fuperior to those of any known medicine. As he gives a more detailed account of the mode of administering the water than we find in the publication of Dr. Lambe on the fubject: see our laft number, p. 311, the following paffage taken from p. 176 and 7 of this volume may not be unacceptable to our readers. "It may appear extraordinary," the author fays, "that an article fo perfectly innocent, fhould be capable of curing the most formidable difeafe (cancer) that affails human nature; but fimple as it may, on the first view, appear, I am perfuaded that it is a more powerful alterative than any article in the materia me dica. In cancerous complaints, the use of distilled water changes the black ish appearances, and fetor of the ftools. It alters the peculiar countenance of the patients, prevents the dark incruftation of the teeth, and corrects the fetor of the breath. It pro motes digeftion, and prevents the acid corruption of the food in the ftomach and bowels, thus promoting the production of a more healthy chyle. By continuing the procefs for months, the confti. tution is renovated, and the disease destroyed. But to produce this change," the author continues, "diftilled water, or the Malvern water, which is found to be equally pure, must be em ployed ployed in every article of diet, for tea, broth, pudding, &c. and for boiling their meat. It must alfo conftitute the principal part of their drink. If beer is drank it must be made with it. Genuine claret, perry, or cyder may be allowed in moderate quantities, but port wine and fpirits must be abstained from. The diet fhould principally confist of milk, vegetables, and a fmall proportion of animal food." The author has two patients, with cancer, under his care, who have received fo much benefit, he fays, from this regimen, that he has no doubt, but in a fhort time they will be completely cured. We do not, however, entertain fuch fanguine expecta tions of the efficacy of the fpecific; nevertheless as the procefs is eafy, and perfectly fafe, it is defirable it fhould be fubjected to numerous trials, by which its real value may at length be ascertained. ART. 26. Report on the Progress of Vaccine Inoculation in Bengal, from the Period of its Introduction in November, 1802, to the End of the Year 1803; with an Appendix fubmitted to the Medical Board at Fort William. By John Schoolbred, Superin tendant-general of Vaccine Inoculation. 8vo. 93 pp. 25, Blacks and Perry, London. 1805. : To the account we have before given of this report, fee Vol. XXII, p. 55, which was printed at Bombay, under the direction of Dr. Kier, in the year 1803 we have only to add, that the whole number of perfons who had been inoculated with the cow-pock matter, in India, to the 31st of December, 1803, was 11,166, and that they all pafled through the difeafe with perfect fafety. DIVINITY. ART. 27. Religion effential to the temporal Happiness of a Nation. A Sermon preached at Grantham, Aug. 1ith, 1805, before the Bofton Loyal Volunteers, on permanent Duty there. By Samuel Partridge, M. A. F.S. A. &c. Chaplain to the Corps, 8vo. 1s, Rivingtons. 1805. At p. 81 of our prefent volume, we noticed the second edition of Mr. Partridge's "Sermons, altered and adapted to an English Pulpit, from French Writers;" and we then made an obfervation which had been omitted in our former account, concerning the author's attention to his duty, as chaplain of a corps of volunteers. In the fermon now before us (greatly altered from Bertheau, tom. ii. p. 1.) we find another inftance of the fame attention. Gg3 From |