this while 1 being clofed with Sir John Ayres, hurt him on the head, and threw him down a third time, when kneeling on the ground and bestriding him, I ftruck at him as hard as I cou'd with my piece of a fword, and wounded him in four feveral places, and did almoft cut off his left hand; his two men this while ftruck at me, but it pleafed God even miraculously to defend me, for when I lifted up my sword to strike at Sir John Ayres, I bore off their blows half a dozen times; his friends now finding him in this danger took him by the head and shoulders, and drew him from betwixt my legs, and carrying him along with them through Whitehall, at the stairs whereof he took boat. Sir Herbert Croft (as he told me afterwards) met him upon the water vomiting all the way, which I believe was caused by the violence of the first thrust I gave him; his fervants, brother, and friends being now retir'd alfo, I remained master of the place, and his weapons, having first wrefted his dagger from him, and afterwards ftruck his fword out of his hand.

This being done I retired to a friend's house in the Strand, where I fent for a furgeon who fearching my wound on the right fide, and finding it not to be mortal, cured me in the fpace of fome ten days, during which time I receiv'd many noble vifits and meffages from fome of the best in the kingdom. Being now fully recovered of my hurts, I defired Sir Robert Harley to go to Sir John Ayres, and tell him, that 'thô I thought he had not fo much honor left in him, that I cou'd be any way ambitious to get it, yet that I defired to fee him in the field with his fword in his hand; the answer that he fent me was, that I had whored his wife, and that he wou'd kill me with a mufket out of a window.

The lords of the privy counfell, who had first sent for my fword, that they might fee the little fragment of a weapon with which I had fo behaved myself, as perchance the like had not been heard in any credible way, did afterwards command both him and me to appear before them; but I absenting myfelf on purpose, fet one Humphrey Hill with a challenge to him in an ordinary, which he refufing to receive, Humphrey Hill put it upon the point of his fword, and fo let it fall before him, and the company then present.

The lords of the privy counfell had now taken order to apprehend Sir John Ayres, when I finding nothing else to be done, fubmitted myfelf likewife to them. Sir John Ayres had now published every where, that the ground of his jealoufie, and confequently of his affaulting me, was drawn from the confeffion of his wife the lady Ayres: fhe to vindicate her honor as well as free me from this accufation, fent a letter to her

aunt the lady Crook, to this purpose: That her husband Sir John Ayres did lie falfely, in faying that I ever whored her, but most fal ely of all did lie when he faid he had it from her confeflion, for the had never faid any fuch thing.

This letter the lady Crook prefented to me most opportunely as I was going to the counfell table before the lords, who having examined Sir John Ayres concerning the caufe of his quarrel against me, found him ftill perfift on his wife's confeffion of the fact; and now he being withdrawn, I was fent for, when the duke of Lenox, afterwards of Richmond, telling me that was the ground of his quarrel, and the only excufe he had for affaulting me in that manner: I defired his lordship to perufe the letter, which I told him was given me as I came into the room; this letter being publickly read by a clerk of the counfel, the duke of Lenox then said, that he thought Sir John Ayres the moft miferable man living, for his wife had not only given him the lie, as he found by her letter, but his father had difinherited him for attempting to kill me, in that barbarous fashion, which was moft true as I found afterwards. For the rest, that I might content myself with what I had done, it being more almoft than cou'd be believed, but that I had fo many witneffes thereof; for all which reasons he commanded me in the name of his majefty, and all their lordfhips, not to fend any more to Sir John Ayres, nor to receive any meffage from him, in the way of fighting, which commandment I obferved: howbeit I muft not omit to tell, that fome years afterwards Sir John Ayres returning from Ireland, by Beaumaris, where I then was, fome of my fervants and followers broke open the doors of the house where he was, and wou'd (I believe) have cut him into pieces, but that I hearing thereof came fuddenly to the house and recalled them, fending him word also, that I fcorned to give him the ufage he gave me, and that I would fet him free out of the town, which courtefie of mine (as I was told afterwards) he did thankfully acknowledge.'

We should have gratified our readers with an abridgment of fome of the adventures contained in this truly original performance, had we not been convinced that they must suffer much when represented otherwife than by lord Herbert himfelf, whofe literary accomplishments could never appear to difadvantage, unless when brought into competition with that perfonal strength and fortitude of mind, which fupported him thro' a life that might be fairly termed a regular feries of hazardous adventures.

To criticife the language of this performance with any degree of minute feverity would be a proceeding as ufelefs as un

just.

juft. The trivial defects which may be discovered in the stile, were the defects of the age in which the author wrote, whose character even appears to disadvantage now, when all romantic ideas are entirely banished; or, if they are to be found any where, it is where they have taken up their last refuge, in the page of a few enthusiastic novellifts.

To this work is prefixed a very elegant whole length portrait of lord Herbert of Cherbury, taken from an original painting, by Ifaac Oliver, and engraved by Walker.

II. Confiderations on the Policy, Commerce, and Circumftances of the Kingdom. 8vo. 45. Jewed. Almon.

THE

HE author of this work feems to be one of those beings whom a periodical writer has diftinguished by the appellation of Screech-owls, who are for ever prognofticating ruin, distress, and misfortune. It has been wittily obferved, that an Englishman is never better pleased, than when he is told that his country is ruined and undone. He hugs the informer in his bosom, he admires his fagacity, and thanks him for his communication. If fo, the author of the performance before us ftands a good chance of being extremely popular, and of being accounted a moft judicious obferver; for there is plenty of this information in almost every page. Not that we reckon every thing he fays altogether void of foundation, that we deny all that he has laid down for facts, or the inferences he draws from them; we would only be thought to understand that, agreeable to the practice of a fcreech-owl, he has greatly exaggerated matters, and rendered them much worse than they are. Indeed, we diffent from his general conclufion, that this country is rapidly declining in population, riches, and trade, and is running very faft to utter ruin; all which we think contrary to manifeft experience, and the evidence of our senses; tho', at the fame time, we do not pretend to controvert some of the affertions on which he supports his opinion, such as the course of exchange, the scarcity of foreign coin, and the high price of the precious metals. But we imagine, that granting these in all the latitude he requires. they are not sufficient to establifh his conclufion.

This work, befides a preface, is divided into twenty-one chapters, the titles of which are as follow.

Signs of the declining condition of the nation.-Commerce our great national object, as the only fure and lasting fource of wealth and population.-On the internal policy of the ftate. On the landed Intereft.-On the monied, or trad

ing

ing interest. On the monied property of the funds.—On the labouring intereft.-On taxes.-On exports, imports, and the balance of trade.-On national and commercial circulation. On the comparative value of trade in manufactures, corn, &c.-A writer refuted, who has endeavoured to caufe a preference being given to our corn trade. -On bounties; particularly thofe granted on exported corn, malt, and flour.The landed-intereft rightly confidered.-On manufacturing police, and mercantile traders.-The present state of the Britifh trade with Europe, Africa, and America.-On the state of the British trade and connections with Afia.-Reasons offered for believing that, without the very favourable turn our India concerns have taken, an uninterrupted North American and corn trade could not have kept the affairs of this kingdom in the condition they have been, and are at present.On the state of our exchanges with the feveral parts of Europe. On the prices of gold and filver, of late years, in this kindom. The conclufion.'

Our author begins with afferting, there are few who fcruple to acknowledge our fituation to be extremely critical from our debts and taxes, and the decrease of our exports. That our debts and taxes are high no one denies; but that our exports decrease, requires to be proved. The contrary has been afferted on feemingly good grounds. He goes on, and tells us, we have treafury information, that our population declines apace. This information, it feems, came from Mr. Grenville; but it it was when he was no longer treasurer, and perhaps, difpofed, like our author, to look at things through the wrong end of the perspective. The decrease of the houses in England from the year 1759 to 1766, is fixt at 5790. Were we to truft the evidence of our fenfes, and not the information of a difcarded treafurer, we might be apt to compute their encrease at a greater number; for building is not confined to the capital, it extends over the whole kingdom; and the general idea of the villages deferted, exifts no where in this kingdom, but in the imagination of a very ingenious poet. The greatest part of the foundation being thus deficient, his fuperftructure muft fall to the ground. In fhort, his figns of the declining condition of the nation do not exist. His two next chapters are upon commerce, and the internal policy of the state; wherein what he fays, is, indeed, just, but there is nothing new, or expreffed in a very striking manThe 4th and 5th chapters on the landed intereft, and, the monied, or trading intereft, are well worth perufal, and being short, we fhall here infert them.

ner.

'Land

The author profecutes the fubject of druidical learning through all the various branches of fcience; and though hif tory affords but very imperfect information of the state of thofe ages, it is, however, fufficient to convince us that they were far from being immerfed in total ignorance.

Dr. Henry produces the teftimony of feveral ancient writers to prove, that Britain maintained a trade with foreign nationslong before the Christian æra.

Befides this internal commerce which the people of Britain carried on among themfelves from the very commencement of civil fociety, and which gradually increafed as they improved in civility, industry and arts; they had commercial dealings with feveral foreign nations in very ancient times. The firft of thefe nations which vifited this ifland on account of trade was unquestionably the Phoenicians. This is pofitively affirmed by Strabo, and acknowledged by many other authors. That people are generally believed to have been the inventors of navigation and foreign trade, and the inftructors of other nations in these most useful arts. This much at least is certain, that they were the boldest and most expert mariners, the greateft and moft fuccefsful merchants of antiquity. After they had made themselves perfectly well acquainted with all the coafts of the Mediterranean, had planted colonies and built cities on feveral parts of these coafts, and had carried on, for fome ages, a prodigious and moft enriching trade with all the countries bordering on that fea; they adventured to pafs the Straits of Gibraltar about 1250 years before the beginning of the Chriftian era, and pushed their difcoveries both to the right and left of thefe Straits. On the right hand they built the city of Cadiz, in a small island near the coat of Spain; and from thence profecuted their difcoveries and their trade with great fpirit and advantage. They foon became acquainted with all the coafts, and many of the interior parts of Spain, which was to them, for fome ages, as great a fource of wealth as the new world was afterwards to the Spani ards. Pursuing their inquiries after trade and gain ftill further northward, they acquired a perfect knowledge of the western coafts of Gaul; and at length difcovered the Scilly islands, and the fouthweft coafts of Britain.

It is impoffible to fix the time of this laft difcovery of the Phoenicians with certainty and precifion. Some writers are of opinion that this island was discovered by that adventurous people before the Trojan war, and not long after it was first inhabited by colonies from the continent of Gaul. If we could be certain that the tin, in which the Tyrians or Phoenicians traded in the days of the prophet Ezekiel, was brought from Britain, we should be obliged to embrace this opinion. But as we know that they found great quantities of tin, as well as of more precious metals in Spain, we cannot fix the æra of their arrival in Britain from this circumftance. The learned Bochart, and others from him, fix the time when the Phoenicians first difcovered the Caffiterides, or Scilly iflands, to the year of the world 3100, and before Chrift 904; while others imagine that this difcovery was made by Himilco, a famous mariner of antiquity, who was fent from Carthage with a fleet to explore the feas and coafts northward of the Straits of Gibraltar, about 600 years before the beginning of the Christian æra.

E e 4

Though