If fmooth and lulling verfification can atone for the want of manly fenfe, these Fables will bring their author a temporary reputation. We fhall now appeal to the judgment of our readers, by extracting the fhorteft of them.

The LAUREL and the REED.

The reed that once the shepherd blew
On old Cephifus' hallowed fide,
To Sylla's cruel bow applied,

Its inoffenfive mafter flew.

Stay, bloody foldier, ftay thy hand,
Nor take the fhepherd's gentle breath:
Thy rage let innocence withstand;

Let mufic foothe the thirft of death.
He frowned---He bade the arrow fly---
The arrow finote the tuneful fwain
No more its tone his lip fhall try,
Nor wake its vocal foul again.
Cephifus, from his fedgy urn,

With woe beheld the fanguine deed:
He mourned, and, as they heard him mourn,
Affenting fighed each trembling reed.
"Fair offspring of my waves, he cried,
That bind my brows, my banks adorn,
Pride of the plains, the rivers' pride,

For mufic, peace, and beauty born!
Ah! what, unheedful, have we done?
What dæmons here in death delight?
What fiends that curfe the focial fun?
What furies of infernal night?
"See, see my peaceful fhepherds bleed!
Each heart in harmony that vyed,
Smote by its own melodious reed,

Lies cold, along my blushing fide.
"Back to your urn, my waters, fly;
Or find in earth fome fecret way;
For horror dims yon confcious fky,
And hell has iffued into day."
Thro' Delphi's holy depth of fhade
The fympathetic forrows ran;
While in his dim and mournful glade
The genius of her groves began.
"In vain Cephifus fighs to fave

The fwain that loves his watry mead,
And weeps to fee his reddening wave,
And mourns for his perverted reed:
"In vain my violated groves

Muft I with equal grief bewail,
While defolation fternly roves,

And bids the fanguine hand affail.
"God of the genial ftream, behold
My laurel hades of leaves fo bare!
Thofe leaves no poet's brows enfold,

Nor bind Apollo's golden hair.
"Like thy fair offspring, mifapplied,
Far other purpose they fupply;

*The

'maze of criticifm, as many more fubjects remain to be difcyffed, and we would above all things avoid unneceffary prolixity.

We can by no means agree with the baron in what he has advanced concerning the moderns having greatly excelled the antients in eloquence. On the contrary, we look upon eloquence as one of thofe branches in which the fuperiority of the antients is indifputable. Who, amongft the moderns, can come in competition with a Cicero or a Demofthenes, an Efchines or an Ifocrates? The French have scarce any mafter-pieces of eloquence to boast of, but their funeral orations; and the parliamentary debates of the English, though replete with deep fenfe and acute reafoning, have neither that vehe mence of oratory, nor that elegance of diction, which are fo conspicuous in the writings of the antients. In a word, so far are we from agreeing with those who think the moderns have furpaffed the antients in eloquence, that we rather incline to the opinion of thofe, who reckon eloquence amongst the loft

arts.

From eloquence we país to poetry, the origin of which our author afcribes to Mofes and Miriam, the first authors that are known to mankind, who fung on the borders of the Red Sea a fong of divine praife to celebrate the deliverance which the Almighty had vouchfafed to the people of Ifrael by opening a paffage to them through the waters. The Greeks indeed have endeavoured to ravish from the Hebrews the honour of this precious gift, which was vouchfafed them by the Supreme Author of nature, that they might afcribe it to their fulle deities. Our author begins his inquiries concerning poetry, by afking what it is; and justly rejects the common definition, namely that poetry is the art of making verfes, of lines or periods, that are in rhyme or metre. In the room of this defi nition, he substitutes the following; Poetry is the art of expreffing our thoughts by fiction. He then proceeds to obferve, that poetry has two parts; the first of which relates to invention in general, and is called, by way of excellence, poetry; the other, which relates to the execution, and is called verfifica tion. In treating of the feveral different fpecies of poetry, as the epic, tragedy, comedy, &c. our author has, upon feveral occafions, commented the Art of Foetry of Boileau, in which that excellent poet has admirably characterifed each different fort of poem in a beautiful and picturefque defcription of it. We, however, think it unneceffary to follow him through thefe comments, as all of them, except a few which are pęculiar to foreigners, are generally known. The quadran, the rondeau, the triolet, lays, wirelays, the chant royal, masquerades,

And whilft thus warm a native thirft of praise
Man's confcious race, like bufy inftinct, fways,
This to the camp with hot ambition speeds,
And plum'd with conqueft for his country bleeds,
This, guiding justice, fhields the peaceful land
From rapine's fpoil, and murder's palfied hand,
Exulting bards to fylvan scenes repair,

Tread the lone walk, and catch the fragrant air,
As kindles thought, their fond distinctions plan,
With fiction fport, or men and manners fcan,
Great in opinion murmur, what regard,
What generous plaudits wait the rifing bard?
And fhall our moments glide with filent hafte?
No, let us write, appeal to publick tafte,
Burst from oblivion, with unerring skill
Paint nature's works, or bend her to our will,
The crouded levee cenfure, lone retreat,
The wife with folly brand, with guilt the great,
With modern frenzy make our genius known
By a bold fatire levell'd at the throne.

All pant for fame, as partial dreams delight,
The Mantuan's judgment boast, or Theban's flight,
This, fir'd with ftory, feels his bofom fwell
In tragick lays fome tragick tale to tell,
This, as the bee in quest of liquid fweets
Strains every flowret, every bud fhe meets,
Lur'd by applaufe, with comick genius bleft,
From each dull fancy draws the duller jeft,
A third, his paffions hufh'd fupinely laid
Elyfium round him, in the peaceful fhade,
Charm'd with defcription, bids the landscape rife,
The fylvan graces dance before our eyes,
Bids from the barn the pendent ice delight,
Or the gay garden bloffom to the fight.

Whilft the grave bard, by melancholy led,
Chants his flow dirges o'er the hallow'd dead,
This breathing paffion through the winding vale
Pours the foft fadness of a plaintive tale,
That rapt, and burning with a poet's pride,
Intent on founds throws modeft fenfe afide;
Or, warm with genius, fancy's glowing mines
With judgment fearches, and with tafte refines,
Big thunder rolls through wrath's reviving reign,
Arms crimson flaughter on the tented plain,
Sounds the fhrill charge, or rallied iquadrons leads
Where the war rages and the battle bleeds.

Then lordly fhades in burnifh'd armour wake;

Towers tremble, temples blaze, and kingdom's fhake,
From ftory'd conqueft conquering chiefs arife,

E'en death draws envy when a hero dies.'

To these we must add, the following paffage from another part of the poem, because it conveys our fentiments on the prefent occafion; for cenfure only would wish to find fault with a performance, which, like this, has beauties fufficient to atone for a crowd of imperfections.

• When

When day's bleft lamp afcending glads the fight,
From distant worlds recalls its golden light,
As forth we walk, while cloudless glories rife,
Soft o'er the turf the mimick fhadow flies,
The gliding fhade partakes reflected day,
And the dark image half diffolves away,
So melt to reafon's view the frail offence,
When beaming graces charm the captive fenfe,
Alone to cenfure's keen inspection found,
While virtue flames and luftre plays around.'

XI. Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation. By George Fordyce, M. D. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Johnson.

THIS

HIS treatife is divided into five parts, of which the first is employed on the elements of chemistry, necessary to be understood for the explanation of the principles of agriculture; the fecond confiders the properties of bodies; the third, the structure and economy of vegetables; the fourth, the nourishment of plants; and the fifth gives an account of the subftances which are neceffary for the examination and analyfis of foils.

What is chiefly obfervable in this performance is the perfpicuous method in which the author has arranged the several divifions of his fubject. The whole elements of the fcience are here developed with minutenefs and precifion; their various relations, combinations, and different qualities, are concifely explained, and the reader is conducted through a regular exhibition of the chemical principles of vegetation. After the nature of thefe has been delineated in fuch a manner as to give an idea of the good or bad effects of the various fubitances which are found in different foils, we are at laft prefented with feveral proceffes for difcovering their existence. This being a short and practical part of the treatise, we shall extract it entire.

• Subftances neceffary for the Examination and Analysis of Soils, are,

First, vitriolic acid.-Secondly, muriatic acid.-Thirdly, folution of fixt vegetable alkali in water.-Fourthly, common cauftic, or cauftic fixt vegetable alkali.-Fithly, cauftic volatile alkali, or fpirit of fal ammoniac with quick lime; it is known to be cauftic by not effervefcing with an acid.—Sixthly, fal ammoniac.-Seventhly, galls.-Eightly, pure water; if the water contain any metallic or earthly falt it is improper; to try this, pour into a glafs of it a few drops of folution of fixt vegetable alkali in water; if it be impure, the alkali will precipitate the metal or earth; fuch water is to be purified by diftillation or boiling.

• Pro

Proceffes for afcertaining the fubftances contained. Procefs First, To afcertain the quantity of water.-Take one hundred grains of the earth, fpread it on a fone plate very thin before the fire, or in the fun-fhine in a warm day; let it lie till it be thoroughly dry, the water will evaporate, and therefore its proportion will be known by the weight loft. Secondly, To know if there be any metallic or earthy falt. Take about a pound of foil, pour upon it about a pint of boiling diftilled water, ftir them thoroughly together, and let them stand for ten minutes, filter off the water through filtrating paper, pour into what comes through a little of the folution of the fixt vegetable alkali in water; if there be any earthy or metallic falt, a precipitation will take place.

Thirdly, To know if the falt contained has calcareous earth for one of its elements.-Take the filtrated folution, pour into it half an ounce of cauftic volatile alkali, or continue to drop in this alkali till no further precipitation takes place, afterwards filtrate it, and pour to what filtrates through, a little folution of fixt vegetable alkali; if there be any further precipitation, it shows that there is an earthy falt confifting of calcareous earth for one of its elements; if a precipitation took place upon the application of the cauftic volatile alkali, it shows that there are either other earthy or metallic falts.

Fourthly, To know if the falt contained be metallic or aluminous. Add to the filtrated folution an infufion of galls; if there be any metallic or aluminous falt, a precipitation will take place, if iron a purplish black, if copper, or allum, a grey.

Copper may also be diftinguished from iron by falling in a blue precipitate upon the application of an alkali, while iron forms a greenish, and allum a white one.

Fifthly, To know if magnefia be an element of the falt found-Take the filtrated folution, apply to it a folution of galls; if no precipitation take place, apply cauftic volatile alkali, which will precipitate the magnesia if it be an element of

the falt contained.

Sixthly, To know if a neutral falt be contained.-Evaporate the filtrated folution with a boiling heat, till the whole water is nearly gone off, and let it ftand to cool. If there be any neutral falt, it will cryftallize.

Seventhly, To know if there be any mucilage and what quantity. Take thirty or forty pounds of the foil, boil it in ten gallons of water for an hour, let the earth fubfide, pour off the clear folution, afterwards add four or five gallons of water to the earth, ftir them thoroughly, let them ftand to fubfide, pour off the water clear, mix it with the former, and

evapo