Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

The Affidavit is followed by a circumstantial Narrative, as Mr. Bower calls it, of what has fince paffed between him and Sir Henry Bedingfield. This narrative contains only a few short Epiftles concerning the Letters, copies of which were delivered to Mr. Bower, and are here printed.

We have next a fecond Affidavit, fworn June 30, 1756, before Mr. Fielding, wherein Mr. Bower maketh oath, That the Letters were not written by him, or with his privity. Then follow some short observations on the Letters, and the conduct of the Perfons who have published them. Thefe obfervations are contained in four pages; no mention is made of the money-transaction; and nothing, indeed, is advanced that can give any fatisfaction to an unbiaffed Reader.

[ocr errors]

Mr. Bower has annexed a Postscript to his piece, which it may not be improper to lay before our Readers; it is as follows.Since the foregoing fheets were fent to the prefs, and their intended publication advertised in the News-papers of Saturday the 26th of June, a pamphlet hath been advertifed, and this day published, to prove the authenticity of the Six Letters in queftion; which is pretended to have been written by a Proteftant, but with all the virulence and fcurrflity to be expected from exafperated and bigotted Papists, by whom the principal ⚫ materials therein published, appear to have been furnished, and ⚫ for the defence of whofe caufe alone they are plainly calcu ⚫lated. The public may be affured, that Mr. Bower will, at a proper time, give an answer to the falfe facts, and false reason. ing of this anonymous Proteftant-Papift. As to his fcurrility and invectives, Mr. Bower, agreeable to what he declared in ⚫ his Preface, will neither anfwer nor refent them: at the fame time, he takes this opportunity to declare, that neither this, or any other attempt of his enemies fhall fo far fucceed, as to prevent him from endeavouring to complete The Hiftory of the Popes with all poffible expedition.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

It may be obferved here, that Mr. Bower, on a former occa fion, broke his word, to the public, in relation to the account. he promised to give of the motives which induced him to change his religion, and of his escape from the Inquifition of Macerata: Upon Mr. Baron's publishing an account of this matter, in November, 1750, Mr. Bower, in a public advertisement, declared, that Mr. Baron's account was, almoft, in every particular, abfo lutely falfe; and, in another advertisement, foon after, that if was very imperfect, (two affertions not very confiftent) and falle in many circumstances; promifing, at the fame time, that as foon as he had acquitted himself of his engagement to his fubfcribers, by finishing the fecond volume of his Hiftory, he would himself publish a true account of the matter. Now this fecond volume

has been compleated about five years; the third has long ago been laid before the public, and the fourth, we are affured, is in great forwardness, in the prefs; but Mr. Bower's promifed account has not as yet made its appearance,

Whether

Whether he will keep his word any better, in regard to what he has promised in his Poftfcript, we know not. But this we believe, that if ever he intends publishing his Anfwer, the prefent is the only proper time for this purpose; and that his not answering his opponents without lofs of time, affords a ftrong prefumption that he has no fatisfactory answer to make.

II. 'EIKONOKAAETHE. In Answer to a Book entitled, ΕΙΚΩΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗ. The Portraiture of his Sacred Majesty in his Solitudes and Sufferings. By John Milton. Now first published from the Author's fecond Edition, printed in 1650. With many Enlargements: By Richard Baron. With a Preface, fhewing the tranfcendent Excellency of Milton's Profe Works. To which is added, an original Letter to Milton, never before publifhed. 4to. 2s. 6d. Millar!

All who are fond of MILTON's writings, and, we hope, the number of fuch is not fmall, are certainly under obligations to Mr. Baron for this edition of the EIKONOKLASTES, which contains feveral large and curious additions, that will give great pleasure to every admirer of Milton, and every friend of Liberty.

Mr. Baron, in his Preface, writes like a warm friend to Liberty, and an irreconcilable enemy to all civil and ecclefiaftical ufurpations. He takes occafion to recommend to all young gentlemen the ftudy of our old writers, efpecially MILTON, and SIDNEY, as one remedy for thofe evils which threaten the utter ruin of our country. High-church priests' feem to be his abhorrence. Many of thefe, he fays, have laid out confiderable fums to deftroy the profe-works of Milton, and have purchased copies of his particular writings, for the infernal pleasure of confuming them.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

This has been practifed,' fays Mr. Baron, with fuch zeal by many of that curfed tribe, that it is a wonder there are any copies left. John Swale, a bookfeller of Leeds in Yorkfhire, an honest man though of High-church, told me, that he ⚫ could have more money for burning Milton's Defence of Liberty and the People of England, than I would give for the pur⚫ chase of it. Some priests in that neighbourhood used to meet once a year, and after they were well warmed with strong beer, they facrificed to the flames the Author's Defenfio pro populo Anglicano, as alfo this treatife against the EIKON. I have it in my power to produce more inftances of the like facerdotal fpirit, with which, in fome future publication, I may entertain the world.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

We fhall conclude this article with acquainting our readers, that we have, in the Editor's preface, an original Letter from Mr. Wall to Milton, written in the year 1659, and never before publifhed. This Letter is fenfible and fpirited, and fhews very plain ly, that Mr. Wall's fentiments in regard to Ecclefiaftics, were pretty much the fame with Mr. Baron's, which, if we may be

6

allowed

allowed to offer a conjecture, was one, perhaps not the least, reafon of its being inferted.

III. A Compendium of authentic Voyages, digefted in a chro nological Series. Illustrated with a variety of Charts, Maps, Plans, Heads, &c. 12mo. 7 Volumes. l. is. Dofley, &c.

That our Readers may be enabled to judge of the merits of this Collection, by comparing its contents with those of other Compilations of the fame kind, we shall give a brief summary of the articles in the several volumes, viz.

The four voyages of Columbus; the voyage of Vafco de Gama ;-of Piero Alvarez de Cabral; the conqueft of Mexico, by Cortez; Pizzarro's Conqueft of Peru; voyages by Soto, ard others, to Florida, 1539;-of Fernandes Magalianes ;-of Sir Francis Drake ;-of Sir Walter Raliegh, and others under his direction of Sir Thomas Rowe to India, fent by King James!. as Ambassador to the Mogul;-of Capt. Monk, with memoirs relating to Old and New Greenland; narrative of the wonderful preservation of eight men left on the coast of Greenland, 1630; journal of feven failors who wintered and died in Greenland, 1634-of feven failors who were left at Spitzbergen, in 1634, and died there in 1635; account of a fhipwreck near Spitzbergen, 1646; defcription of Iceland; dangerous voyage of Capt. James, to the north-west; Nieuhoff's voyage; Baldæus's account of the coafts of Malabar and Coromandel ;-of the island of Ceylon; voyages to the north of Europe; memoirs relating to Ruffia; Wafer's voyage to the isthmus of Ame rica; account of the expedition against Carthagena, 1741. Dampier's voyage; Gamelli's in 1693; Woodes Rogers's 1708; Anfon's, 1740: the four laft round the world.

We perceive nothing new in this collection, except a fhort narrative of the expedition to Carthagena, 1741; which feems to be a fatirical account, chiefly defigned to roaft the Commanders; the paper is written with spirit, but abounds too much in acrimony and abuse.,

As to the collection, on the whole, it appears to be rather cal culated for our novel-readers, than for those who confult books of this kind for useful information, as well as mere entertainment. The charts, maps, and plans, are too fmall, and the heads and views meanly executed. The fcheme of the work too, is not a good one; for the chronological order, which the editor looks upon as a capital improvement, creates great confufion in the reading, to those who may chufe to perufe the volumes through, in the order in which the feveral articles are arranged. For infance, he jumps you from Sir Walter Raliegh's expedition to Guiana, to Sir Thomas Rowe's voyage to the Eaft-Indies, and from thence to Monk's voyage to Greenland: whereas, in the order observed in the late edition of Harris's Collection, this confufion is avoided, by going through all the voyages to one division, or part of the globe, before thofe to another quarter are begun. REV. Aug. 1756.

IV.

IV. Memoirs of the Life and Actions of General W. Blakeney: To ferve as an Introduction to a fuller History of certain Tranfactions, wherein he had a Share. To be publifhed in due Time. Dublin printed, and fold by the Bookfeliers in England. 8vo. 6d. Scott.

We have in this pamphlet very few memoirs of Mr. Blakeney, but much virulence against the public administration. It feems to be one of thofe modern fquibs invented by the author of the Marriage-Act, a Novel; who has fo ingeniously contrived to abuse the government, or any eminent characters, in romances, and fictitious epiftolatory correfpondences. Vide Shebbeare's works, throughout.

V. A real Defence of A-1 B-g's Conduct. By a Lover of Truth, and a Friend to Society. 8vo. 6d. Robinson.

-d.

An ironical fatire upon the Admiral, in the form of a comment, and vindication of his famous Letter to Secretary ClVI. The Chronicle of B-g, the Son of the Great B―g, By Ifrael Ben Ader, of the Tribe of Levi. 8vo. 6d. Hogarth's-head, Fleetstreet.

A mere narrative of B-g's late unhappy Mediterranean expedition; written in imitation of the file of the Old Testament.

VII. Memoirs of the Life and Diftreffes of Simon Mason, Apothecary; containing a Series of Tranfactions and Events, both interesting and diverting. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Printed for the Author, and fold by Noble, &c.

Mr. Mason, the unfortunate Author of these Memoirs, having feveral times failed in his bufinefs, and being reduced to great diftrefs, has printed his life, in order to prolong it, with some abatement of the miferies he has already undergone. We have observed nothing extraordinary in the circumftances of his Hifto. ry, further than that he feems to have been fingularly unfortunate in all his attempts to maintain himself, wife, and children, by his induftry and fkill in his profeffion in neither of which does he think himself at all deficient. His book, however, affords very little that can be supposed to intereft the reader, and nothing to divert him; fo that the recommendatory profeffions in his title page, might as well have been omitted. But as the poor man may be a real object of compaffion, the benevolent reader may lay out half a crown with him to very good purpose. VIII. The true State of the Cafe of Sarah Rippon, Widow. Written by herfelf. 8vo. 6d. Scott.

Mrs. Rippon, according to this narration, appears to have been a confiderable fufferer by a law-fuit, with perfons whole purfes were too mighty for her. As this is a cafe not very fingular, we hall refer, for particulars, to the pamphlet ;o which is an

[ocr errors]

nexed, Propofals for printing by fubfcription, Poems on various Subjects and Occafions; in which we with her Good Luck.

IX. Cibber's Two Differtations on the Theatres. With an Appendix, in three Parts. The whole containing a general View of the Stage, from the earliest Times to the present: With many curious Anecdotes relative to the English Theatres, never before published; and Remarks on the Laws concerning the Theatres. 8vo. 3s. Printed for the Author.

Mr. Theophilus Cibber, here prefents the public with copies of two Differtations wherewith he entertained the town feveral evenings, during the laft winter, at the little theatre in the Hay-market, and elsewhere. In the first Differtation, he fhews what high eftimation poets and players were held in among the antients, particularly the Greeks and Romans; that Socrates, Epaminondas, Cæfar, Scipio, Brutus, Cicero, and others, the greatest men, in all ages, were promoters of dramatic compofitions, and encouragers of actors; that even the Apostles were no enemies to plays; and that fome eminent modern Divines, particularly Archbishop Tillotfon, approved of theatrical reprefentations. He then enters on a concife Hiftory of the English Stage, Patents, Patentees, and Licences, from Queen Elizabeth to the prefent time; and this he does, in order to introduce an enquiry into the conduct of the prefent Patentees, and to make it appear, that by their tyranny over the actors, ill-ufage of authors, and mifmanagement in general, they have greatly contributed to introduce a bad tafte, and deprive the public of thofe advantages, that rational and moral entertainment, they might receive from the ftage. He takes a review of, and cenfures, fome late revived pieces together with all the tribe of drolls, farces, mock-operas, mimickry, &c. lately introduced; and is particularly fevere on Mr. Garrick. He concludes with an addrefs to the town; in which he apologises for his undertaking, and pleads the neceffity of his circumftances, from his being excluded both the theatres.

[ocr errors]

In his fecond Differtation, (after a prefatory addrefs to the Antigallicans, whom he fuppofes to have been affronted by an anonymous fcribbler, under the influence of the Drury lane manager) Mr. Cibber carries on his animadverfions on Mr. Garrick, whom he cenfures both as a manager and player; but many of his criticisms on that Gentleman, tho' fome of them feem to be both fmart and juft, will have the lefs weight with the impartial reader, as Mr. Cibber appears to have conceived a strong pique and prejudice against this celebrated actor, on a fuppofition that Mr. Garrick has been inftrumental in fome of his late miffortunes and difappointments; particularly in his being refufed fermiffion to entertain the town with the performances of a new company, at the Hay-market theatre..

In this fecond Differtation Mr. Cibber enters upon an examen of Mr. Garrick's performance in the chara&er of Lear; which

« AnteriorContinuar »