as hereditary disease, but there is an hereditary disposition for a disease," it is of the same cast with the rest of his evidence upon that trial; which we heartily wish for the credit of that celebrated anatomist could have been either suppressed or forgotten. When a child is said to inherit the stone from his parent, we cannot be supposed to mean that the calculus itself is congenital, but that there is disposition in the body of the, child similar to that of the parent, for its formation at some future time. In the diseases of the mind the hereditary taint is still more clear; anger, jealousy, spleen, &c. are evidently inherited from the parent, in the same manner as the nobler dispositions of the soul; and this resemblance occurs in cases where it cannot be referred to imitation, where for instance, the parents have died long before the developement of the minds of their children.

On the subject of the fourth chapter, "that insanity is as generally curable as any of those violent diseases most successfully treated by medicine," we have already expressed our opi-. nion, that Mr. Hill is far too sanguine. At the same time we are bound in justice to state our belief, that if the mild and gentle mode of treatment which he so humanely and so scieu-, tifically recommends, were more generally adopted, fewer instances of incurable lunacy would occur. But we fear that as long as there are mad patients, there will be brutal keepers. who will never consent to adopt a more mild and gentle conduct towards their patients, as long as their immediate purpose can be fulfilled by a more summary, though inhumail treat

nient.

At the conclusion of the volume there is a very interesting chapter upon pretended insanity, which will afford more sure criterions for a medical man peremptorily to deliver his opinion. with respect to criminals pretending insanity, than any treatise with which we are acquainted; part of it we shall extract for the amusement of our readers.

"In general persons actually insane wish not only to be esteemed most free from the malady but to be considered as possessing considerable intellectual endowments, hence real lunatics never allow the existence of their lunacy, but are always endeayouring most assiduously to conceal from observation those lapses of thought, memory and expression, which are tending every moment to betray them, and of the presence of which they are much oftener conscious than is generally apprehended or believed. Alexander Cruden when suffering under his second and last attack of mental aberration, upon being asked whether he ever was mad, replied, "I am as mad now as I was formerly, and as mad then as I am now, that is to say, not mad at any time." P. 392.

"The

"The administration of a strong solution of Antim. Tart. unknown to the pretender or suspected person affords a fifth rule to assist the fallibility of human judgment. Where a common dose

takes a full and powerful effect deception will be more than half ascertained, because in every stage of approaching or actual insanity, such an effect never follows such an administration, more especially under the maniacal form which is that most commonly attempted to be personated. By a careful execution of this rule, the nearest point is gained to unambiguous demonstration. The last rule it is necessary to describe in this essay applies to subjects who have undergone medical treatment for the cure of insanity, and doubts are entertained as to the now partial presence or entire absence of the disease. In courts of justice this is often a matter of as serious import as it is to give a positive opinion whether a man be actually or pretendedly insane for the first time in his life. The late nurse, attendant, or medical man who had the care of the lunatic, are the only proper persons to give judgment upon him where decisive evidence is wanted. These persons will not fail to recollect that the real insane convalescent upon being restored in a doubtful state to his relatives and society, will notwithstanding all his efforts, be readily detected in his divergencies from the sane track, until the unlooked for moment arrives when his wandering eye is suddenly met by that which has so often checked his vaccillatory emotions. The instant of such a meeting is the instant of self-correction, of silence, or of sudden order and surprizing self-possession. The reverse is the case with pretended lunatics, for all such upon seeing the person whom they know has been long accustomed to the management or cure of lunatics become ten-fold more foolish, boisterous or unmanageable than before, in order to impress the minds of the beholders with awful ideas of their very alarming or pitiable state, but their detection and exposure is the sure result of diligent enquiry." P. 396,

MISCELLANEOUS..

ART. 18. Botanical Illustrations of the Twenty four Classes in the Linnean System of Vegetables, by select Specimens of English Plants. Darton and Harvey. 1813.

After labouring through multitudes of terrific volumes in royal and imperial quarto, it is incredible with what pleasure we descend to a pretty little pocket piece two inches square, the exact size of the present volume, which we consider as one of the neatest compendiums of botanical science which we remember to have seen. The plates are well executed, the drawings accurately coloured, and the descriptions both scientific

and

and correct, and all within two inches square. This is an enchiridium indeed and to the young botanist it cannot fail of recommending itself, as a light and pleasing companion.

MONTHLY LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.

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28.

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A Treatise

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The

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1s.

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CORRESPONDENCE.

SIR,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH CRITIC,

Though I have been long conversant in the theological works of the celebrated Charles Leslie, I never happened to look into the edition of his Short Method with the Deists published by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, till very lately. The preface to that edition by the late learned and ingenious Mr. Jones, is worthy of its author-pious, earnest and affectionate; but it is very capable of improvement, should it be again prefixed by the society to any future edition of that incomparable tract.

"Every reader," says Mr. Jones, " to whom the Short Method is new, will be induced to think more highly of it, if I tell him its history; as I received it from Dr. Delany, Dean of Down in Ireland; who told me he had it from Captain Leslie, a son of the author. It was the fortune of Mr. Leslie to be acquainted with the Duke of Leeds of that time; who observed to him, that although he was a believer of the Christian religion, he was not satisfied