THE

Gentleman's Magazine:

AND

Historical Chronicle.

From JANUARY to JUNE, 1816.

VOLUME LXXXVI.

(BEING THE NINTH OF A NEW SERIES.)

PART THE FIRST.

PRODESSE ET DELECTARE.

E PLURIBUS UNUM.

By SYLVANUS URBAN, Gent.

LONDON: Printed by NICHOLS, SON, and BENTLEY,
at Cicero's Head, Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street;

where LETTERS are particularly requested to be sent, POST-PAID.
And sold by J. HARRIS (Successor to Mrs. NEWBERY),
at the Corner of St. Paul's Church Yard, Ludgate Street;

and by PERTHES and BESSER, Hamburgh. 1816.

THE

ENGLAN D.

HE following eulogium on his Native Country will, no doubt, be as pleasing to every English Reader, as it is honourable to the patriotie feeling of the Poet. It is extracted from a new Poem of the Laureat.

A living picture moved beneath our feet.

*

A spacious city first was there display'd,
The seat where England, from her antient reign,
Doth rule the ocean as her own domain.

In splendour with those famous cities old,
Whose power it hath surpass'd, it now might vie;
Through many a bridge the wealthy river roll'd,
Aspiring columus rear'd their heads on high,
Triumphal arches spann'd the roads, and gave
Due guerdon to the memory of the brave.
A landscape follow'd, such as might compare
With Flemish fields for well-requited toil;
The wonder-working hand had every where
Subdued all circumstance of stubborn soil;
In fen and moor reclaim'd rich gardens smiled,
And populous hamlets rose amid the wild.
There the old seaman, on his native shore,
Enjoy'd the competence deserved so well;
The soldier, his dread occupation o'er,

Of well-rewarded service loved to tell';
The grey-hair'd labourer there, whose work was done,
In comfort saw the day of life go down.

Such was the lot of eld: for childhood there
The duties which belong to life was taught:
The good seed, early sown, and nurst with care,
This bounteous harvest in its season brought:
Thus youth for manhood, manhood for old age
Prepared, and found their weal in every stage.
Enough of knowledge unto all was given

In wisdom's way to guide their steps on earth,
And make the immortal spirit fit for Heaven.

This needful learning was their right of birth:
Further might each who chose it persevere;
No mind was lost for lack of culture here.

And that whole happy region swarmed with life,-
Village and town-as busy bees in Spring
In sunny days, when sweetest flowers are rife,
Fill fields and gardens with their murmuring.
Oh joy to see the State in perfect health!

Her numbers were her pride and power and wealth.
Then saw I, as the magic picture moved,

Her shores enrich'd with many a port and pier

No gift of liberal Nature unimproved,

The seas their never-failing harvest here

Supplied, as bounteous as the air which fed
Israel, when manna fell from Heaven for bread.

Many a tall vessel in her harbours lay,

About to spread its canvas to the breeze,

Bound upon happy errand to convey

The adventurous colonist beyond the seas,
Toward those distant lands where Britain blest
With her redundant life the East and West.

PREFACE

TO THE

FIRST PART OF THE EIGHTY-SIXTH VOLUME.

Mores Judicum velimus nosse ; nam prout asperi, lenes, jucundi, graves, duri, remissi erunt, aut assumere in causam naturas eorum que competent, aut mitigare qua repugnabunt, oportebit."

AFTER a Tempest so very tremendous that it seemed as if contending

Elements would effect the entire disorganization of the Moral System, it could not in the nature of things be expected, that peace and order, that the perfect equilibrium of the passions, should be instantaneously | restored.

It has accordingly happened, that in the yet continued fermentation, many existing evils still remain to be overcome; that men's minds, in ¡ many cases provoked by disappointment, in others alarmed by terror, and in some compelled to submit to unaccustomed privations, are restless, uneasy, and discontented. But as our motto intimates, these which we trust to be only incidental evils are contemplated and endured with greater or less fortitude, as the disposition is composed of harsh or flexible materials; as the understanding is enlightened by experience, and improved by knowledge, or as it is obscured by ignorance, prejudice, and error.

But no Briton should forget that a solid foundation is fixed, upon which an edifice will progressively be raised for the reception of all that can be produced by Commerce, aided by Science, and protected by Peace. Non si male nunc et olim sic erit. Far better, and much more agreeable, is the occupation to contemplate the brighter aspect of things; and to recall, with an ingenuous pride, to the imagination, the picture of the Oppressor, fallen, fallen, fallen from his high estate, by the exertions, and of Peace restored under the auspices, of Britain,-Tyranny depressed, as far as human intellect can foresee, beyond the power of again distressing the Nations of the Earth;-and a fair and spacious Amphitheatre displayed, in which all may, without restraint, exercise their powers, as well for public utility as for private prosperity.

Not a year passes in which the researches of our Men of Science do not lead to the discovery of various novelties and improvements, which at the same time embellish and extend the enjoyments of life. The same remark still more forcibly applies to Agricultural affairs. The most exalted Characters in the Nation, both with respect to rank, fortune, and talents, are contending with honourable emulation to render the bounties of Nature still more abundant, more easily and more diffusely attainab