It is enlivened with a fenfe of God's protection, cherished by his pa. ternal love, and knows the fingular bliss of communion with him. Though, then, the yoke of Christ be ftill a yoke, it is a yoke eafy and delightful to be borne." Vol. ii, p. 86. In Sermon 18 of this volume, a difficult paffage is fatisfactorily explained. The reader will of himself perceive in all the paffages here adduced, that the language of Mr. Southgate is plain, equable, and good; fometimes even fublime. We have not remarked any uncommon or affected words, except perhaps reluctate," in the page juft cited. We cannot bet, ter conclude our account, than in these words of his editor. He, being dead, yet fpeaketh," warning and admonishing the profligate, the careless, and the formal, to turn from the error of their ways; adminiftering the confolations of the Gofpel to the humble and dejected penitent; and encouraging the true and confiftent Chriftian, to perfevere ftedfaftly in the faith once delivered to the faints," and, devoutly using the means of grace inftituted in THE CHURCH, to perfevere in well-doing, looking for that high and glorious recompence of reward, which, for Chrift's fake, will be the portion of the righteous." P. v. ART. XVI. The Works of Horatio Walpole, Earl of Orford, Five Volumes. 4to. fol. 1os. Robinfons and Edwards. 1798. THE 4to. HE works of a nobleman who has fo well commemorated the writers of his own rank in life, ought undoubtedly to appear in a refpectable form; but we doubt the policy of railing them to a bulk and price which feems to exclude almost all but royal and noble purchafers. Having known and refpected Lord Orford, we ourselves feel fome chagrin at being thus placed among those who are forbidden to poffefs his works entire, and can only take refuge in the hope, that fome future time may produce a more purchafable edition. But this is not all the regret which we have felt in taking up these gigantic quartos. The more we had been pleased with the affability and wit of Lord Orford's converfation, the more defirous we were to have his name efteemed among mankind; the more deeply do we lament, in common with many of his real friends, that various paffages in the pofthumous part of the collection were not fuppreffed. It may feem perhaps to fome perfons a superfuous, or even an improper care in an editor, to be more jealous of an author's reputation than he was himself, or to withhold any thing from the public eye, which he had prepared and and felected for it. Yet if an author were about to publish, in his life, fuch things as would injure his reputation, it would be the part of a fincere friend to remonstrate strongly with him, and, if poffible, to prevent him. When he can no longer act for himfelt, the exercife of a difcretionary power by friends, with respect to fuch matters as he might probably, on remon ftrance, have withdrawn, is furely no breach of moral obliga tion, but rather a kindness, for which the departed author, could he be fenfible of it, would be highly grateful. For want of fuch judicious interference, whatever ferious perfons respect ed this noble writer in his life, will feel a painful diminution of that fentiment, from feeing him, in many parts of thefe volumes, as a frequent fneerer at religion, an enemy to its minifters in general, and a calumniator of fome of the most excellent in that, or any other clafs of men. Let not these expreffions be thought harth. They are used with regret; and with the fincereft with that every paffage had been totally fuppreffed, and configned to oblivion, which could give occafion for them. But in times like thefe, the interefts of virtue and religion are not to be compromised for any private refpects. It is unneceffary for us to undertake the proof of the foregoing affertion it is the general voice of those whofe fentiments on fuch fubjects are of the greatest value. Without collecting the proof invidiously into one point, it will fpontaneously arife, in fome degree, from the course of our remarks, as we shall examine thefe volumes. After this preface, extorted from us by a duty at once obvious and indifpenfable, we proceed to the more pleafing task of recounting the contents of volumes, wherein the greater part is valuable on many grounds, and in various points of view. Of the pieces which have been published before, we fhall fay little Concerning thefe, the public judgment has been already pronounced, and it is in general favourable. So far, indeed, we may confole ourselves for the high price of the prefent volumes, that those articles in them which were originally printed at Strawberry Hill, bore in that form an extravagant value, and they therefore, after all, are of lefs arduous purchase than they were before, except in fpurious or imperfect editions. The first volume confifts, in a great measure, of fugitive pieces; of which the twelve first are poetical. Among these there are very few that have not before appeared in print. Thus, to take them in their order, the Verfes in Memory of King Henry the Sixth, may be found in Almon's or Debrett's Foundling Hospital for Wit, vol. i, p. 198. The Epifties from Florence, in Dodsley's Collection, vol. iii, p. 78. The Infcription for the Column in St. Mark's Place, Found. Hofp, i, 201. The Beauties, an Epifle Epistle to Eckardt, Dodf. iii, 78. Epilogue to Tamerlane, ib. p. 100. The Entail, a Fable, Found. Hofp. i, 203. And the Epigram an Admiral Vernon, ib. p. 206. The Mysterious Mother has been printed in various forms, though it was fcarcely till now published, without referve, in a legitimate edition. It was first printed at Strawberry Hill, in 1768, but only given to a few friends. In 1781, it was printed by DedЛley, and at first intended for publication; but was kept back, from referve or diffidence, and never advertifed for fale till 1796. A fpurious edition was printed in London, in duodecimo, in the fame year; probably from that of Dodfley. Of this tragedy, it is generally and juftly thought, that the plot, is too horrid, and that particularly the tranfgreffion of the Countess is not fufficiently palliated, to render her character dramatically interefting. But it is full of fine writing, and contains perhaps more poetical pallages than any contemporary drama This enumeration leaves only three inconfiderable poems as new in the prefent edition; of which we fhall cite one, remark able for facility of versification, and graceful cafe of humour. It is entitled, "THE MAGPIE AND HER BROOD. A FABLE. From the Tales of Bonaventure des Periers, Valet de Chambre to the Addreffed to Miss HOTHAMT, 1764. " But ah! the charm must ceafe, or foon or late, *The author tells us, in his poftfcript, he had heard in his youth, that a tranfaction fimilar to the plot of this drama had been explained to Archbishop Tillotfon, for his counsel and direction in the cafe. The offspring of the dreadful inceft was then married to the unconscious perpetrator of it. "The prelate," he fays, "charged her never to let her fon and daughter know what had paffed, as they were innocent of any criminal intention. For herself he bade her almost despair." He adds, that the story was afterwards difcovered in the novels of the Queen of Navarre, vol. i, nov. 30. It is to be found alfo in Taylor's Ductor dubitantium, and in Mrs. Heywood's Novels. Let us hope that it never has existed, except in tales and novels. Henrietta, only daughter of Colonel Charles Hotham, by Lady Dorothy Hobart, daughter of John Earl of Buckinghamshire, with whofe fifter (Henrietta Countefs Dowager of Suffolk) Mifs Hotham, then ten years old, lived at Marble hill, Twickenham, The The little tyrant grows in turn a slave, This truth, my pretty friend, an ancient wit, Her little family from home, To teach them how to earn their bread, When the in queft of a new mate fhould roam. She pointed to each worm and fly, That crept on earth, or wing'd the sky, 'Or where the beetle buzz'd the call'd. But all her documents were vain; They would not budge; the urchin train They wanted to be back at neft, Clofe nuzzled to mamma's warm breast; But Madge knew better things. My loves, faid fhe, behold the plains, Forth to the groves and fprings. She flew away; God reft her fprite! So muft you too come, hop away: If we but pilfer plums or nuts, The leaden ball will pierce our guts: And then, mamma, your tender heart will bleed, My dears, faid fhe, and bufs'd their callow bills, And you of no dull lineage came. To fire a gun it takes fome time; The man muft load, the man muft prime, He 66 He lifts his piece, he winks his eye, Aye! but-But what?Why if the clowni Go cater where you lift." Other verfes by Lord Orford appear in the fourth volumes Why they are feparated is not perfectly clear; but fince they are fo, we fhall defer our notice of them till we come to that volume. Subjoined to the poetical compofitions here inserted, are fome fugitive pieces in profe. Of thefe, fome were ori ginally printed in a periodical paper, entitled the Museum: they were new to us, and afforded us just reafon to admire the genuine wit and humour in which this noble author feldom was deficient, when he attempted to employ them." The paper concerning a tax on cards has many excellent strokes of humour, and perhaps, without any jeft, a fmall tax per pack on meffage cards, and vifiting tickets of all kinds, would not be unproductive; most certainly would not be oppreffive to the lower orders of peo ple. Some of the topics in the pretended contents of the Hiftory of Good-breeding, had been better omitted; but the whole is original, and very lively. Nine papers follow, which appeared in The World, as the Numbers 6, 8, 10, 14. 28, 103, 160, 195, and a World Extraordinary; and two which were written for that paper, but did not appear. The fubject of thefe is, the question whether the lofs of the Alexandrian library ought to be regretted; and on the fuperabun dance of books. A few other pieces follow, as far as the 241ft page, and the volume is clofed by the Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors. A few fupplemental names conclude this Catalogue in the prefent edition, among which is that of Lord Chesterfield. The character of that nobleman is drawn with juft and able difcrimination, and, one paffage excepted, is highly deferving of notice. We fhall lay it before our readers, not without a remark on the paffage alluded to, which to our feelings is großly offenfive. « PHILIP |