though it is evident that the author has availed himself largely of the labours of former editors, it must be allowed that he has communicated information in which they are defective. Much new matter has occurred since the appearance of the former work, which has been introduced by Mr. Cruftwell. The manner, however, in which he imparts his knowlege is dry and uninteresting; and we think that it would have been no difficult task, with so rich a variety of materials, to have rendered his performance at the same time useful and amusing. We have noticed some errors of the press, and some misstatements of distance; which, perhaps, in a work consisting so much of figures, are unavoidable.

SINGLE SERMONS.

Art. 47. The Right and Duty of Unitarian Christians to form separate Societies for Religious Worship. Preached July 22, 1802, at the Opening of the New Meeting-House at Birmingham, erected in the room of that in which Dr. Priestley formerly officiated, and which was destroyed in the Riots, July 14, 1791. By Thomas Belsham. 8vo. Is. Johnson.

Few productions exhibit greater ability than Mr. Belsham here displays in managing every part of his subject. He alludes to the riots with spirit, and yet with delicacy; he highly extols, as a philosopher and as a Christian, that friend against whom the torrent of lawless violence was directed; and in the clearest manner he unfolds and vindicates the principles of his conduct as an Unitarian. When Mr. B. adverts to the situation of the Corinthian converts, whom St. Paul admonishes, 2 Cor. vi. 16-18; and deduces from the apostle's ad vice to them a rule of conduct for Unitarians of the present day; he guards the imputation of illiberality, to which he would otherwise have been open, by remarking that he does not represent the two cases on a level. Though he disapproves all civil establishments of religion, he candidly owns that his separation from the Established Church is not grounded on this general principle, nor on any dislike to liturgies and forms of prayer, but on a diversity of sentiment with regard to the object of worship. He strenuously maintains, for himself and his Unitarian Brethren, the right and duty of Separation; replies to the charges brought against them; and concludes with exhorting them to act with deliberation and firmness, with zeal and peaceableness, with thankfulness for religious toleration, and with candour and charity.

Art. 48. On the Depravity of the Human Heart; exemplified generally in the Conduct of the Jews, and particularly in that of LieutenantColonel Despard, previous to his Execution. Preached at St. George's, Hanover-Square, Feb. 27, 1803. By the Rev. Wil liam Leigh, LL.B. 8vo. IS. Hatchard.

To the picture of Jewish depravity, a hackneyed topic with divines, instances of atrocious vice in modern times are here added to prove an assertion which we are little disposed to contradict, that man is still the same. Colonel Despard's conduct at the place of execution was extremely hardened: but we doubt whe ther the vices of his mind and those of some French anarchists

justify

justify Mr. Leigh in asserting that it is the miserable pride of me, dern reformers to be equally independent of God and of man; to live without fear and die without compunction.' It is bad reasoning to deduce an universal maxin from particular cases. What would Mr. L. have said to a Catholic preacher, who, on noticing the fate of Dr. Dodd, should observe that it was common for the English clergy to be hanged for forgery? Mr. L's general object is more proper, viz. on a view of human depravity, to exhort his audience to self-examination.

CORRESPONDENCE.

In our account of the Essay on Irish Bulls, (p. 235. Rev. for March, we objected to the grave assurance of the ironical nature of the work, which was inserted by the authors at the conclusion; and we asked what would have been said if Swift had added a similar chapter to his Advice to Servants. Mr. and Miss Edgeworth have in consequence honoured us with a letter, designed to invalidate this semark, by stating that such was the case in Swift's work. We cannot give up this point, however, to our respectable correspondents; for we have to observe, 1st, that, if such really were the fact, it would only afford another and still more remarkable instance of deviation from the rules of good taste, not any justification of the prac tice: but, 2dly, we maintain that such is not the case, because the intimation that the Advice was ironical, to which Mr. and Miss E. allude, occurs only in a note, and in a note of the editor,-who pro bably inserted it merely in order to distinguish bewteen the irony which precedes and the grave directions which follow.

The request of Mr. B. of Great Yarmouth, for private communication, and for an anticipation of our critical decisions, is in both points at variance with our customs and our duty. In reply to his other question, we inform him that there is a General Index to the first 70 Volumes of the M. R. in two Vols. 8vo., and a continua. tion in a 3d Vol. bringing down the Index to the end of Vol. 81, or conclusion of the Old Series.

A Constant Reader is referred to our General Index, above men◄ tioned, for a solution of his query.

Clericus is received, but we have not seen the object of his letter. Sincerus, alfo, is received,

R. F.'s Soldiers will be reviewed on our next Field-Day.

We are requested to rectify a slight error in our Number for March, in which the price of Miss Stone's Features of the Youthful Mind should have been stated to be 2s. 6d, instead of 2s. We hope that this inad, yertency will not prejudice the sale of the work, nor the credit of its unfortunate author

-

The APPENDIX to the last Volume of the Review is published with this Number, as usual.

THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For JUNE, 1803.

ART. I. Travels in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Persia; undertaken by Order of the Government of France, during the first six Years of the Republic, by G. A. Olivier, Member of the National Institute, of the Society of Agriculture of the Depart ment of the Seine, &c. &c. Illustrated by Engravings. Vols. I. and II. Translated from the French. 4to. with Atlas, 21. 12s. 6d. Boards; or in 2 Vols. 8vo. with Atlas. 11. 68. 6d. Boards. Longman and Rees, &c.

WITH

71TH the progress of science and the diffusion of knowlege, the spirit of inquiry is roused and enlarged: new Investigations are pursued with eagerness; and accounts of the same objects by different writers are compared with interest and weighed with attention. Circumstances which one observer had overlooked, or had regarded as trivial, are anxiously treasured up by another. The taste, judgment, and opportunities of different reporters give rise to varied narratives; the physiognomist of manners feasts on the multiplied features of resemblance or contrariety; and the philosopher exults in the accumulation of facts and the developement of truth.

This is a pleasing picture: but it likewise suggests its reverse. Writings have multiplied more than ideas; one author has tamely borrowed from another; and much manual and mental industry has been expended in preparing libraries of useless, or perhaps of disgusting, repetitions.

The once happy country of the Greeks, destined, we trust, to survive the dominion of its oppressors, has exercised the pens of many learned and accomplished travellers. Of these, the last who solicited cur notice was the lively but too rhetorical Sonnini; and in the company of his more sedate country-man Olivier, we have again traversed the streets of Constantinople and the islands of the Archipelago. In a few instances, when conscious that he could advance nothing new, he has referred, with laudable candour, to the works of his predecessors: but a more intimate acquaintance with their contents would probably have induced a less sparing recurVOL. XLI. I.

rence

rence to the same expedient, and would have diminished the size more than the reputation of this portion of his Travels. Let this consideration form our excuse, if we forbear to dwell on many particulars which are already known, and confine our extracts and remarks to circumstances of less notoriety.

The traveller thus introduces himself to his readers:

A celebrated author has said that travels ought to be written in the manner of history, and not in that of romance*: he has proved to us in a clear, precise, and energetic style, that subjects the most serious, and discussions the most important, might interest every class of readers, and still please more than the flowery style, the romantic episodes, and the exaggerated or false descriptions of most

travellers.

Penetrated, like him, with this truth, I have, in the following narrative, avoided all singular anecdotes, all humourous stories, more fit to amuse than instruct. I was not willing to employ those overbrilliant colours which may be captivating for a moment, but the effect of which is transient. The sight of a deserted field, covered with myrtles, or that of a garden confusedly planted with date and orange trees, could never inflame my imagination; and I have frequently surveyed, without astonishment, truncated capitals and scattered fragments of columns.

Not but I have been struck by the beauty of situations; not but the aspect of DELOS and of ATHENS, of ALEXANDRIA and of BABYLON, has drawn from me sighs. I never contemplated the BOSPHORUS, the PROPONTIS, and the HELLESPONT, without being moved, without excusing CONSTANTINE, and without saying to myself, that Nature would have done every thing for these countries, had she not at the same time placed there the plague, and a fanatic people, enemies to the arts and sciences.'

The tenor of M. Olivier's narrative frequently reminds us of these plain and manly pretensions: but the public taste may, perhaps, require an occasional sprinkling of ornament or adventure, a greater diversity of anecdote, or more exuberance of sentiment. Having sketched, with a rapid though discriminating pencil, the various impressions produced on his mind by a survey of the principal countries through which his route was directed, he thus concludes his Introduction:

• On our arrival at CONSTANTINOPLE, we requested a passport from the agent of the European power which covered the sea with its ships: it was refused to us. This refusal procured us the advantage of seeing ATTICA, the Isthmus of CORINTH, the Gulf of LEPANTO, and the Islands of ITHACA, CEPHALONIA, and CORFU; but it was, perhaps, the cause of the death of my colleague. At ANCONA, BRUGUIERE sunk under a disorder occasioned by the fatigues of a long journey, and the sudden grief of having lost a brother in the very country where we had just landed.

VOLNEY, Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte.'

BRUGUIER&

BRUGUIERE will long be mourned by his friends: he will incessantly be regretted by him who had such frequent occasion to appreciate the qualities of his heart, to admire the resources of his head, and the depth of his knowlege; by him who would have stood so much in need of his assistance for the publication of the interesting articles of natural history resulting from these travels. No one had gone deeper than BRUGUIERE into the class so difficult, so nume rous, and so diversified, of worms, mollusca, and conchylia. He had applied himself by times to the study of botany, and he was no stranger to the other parts of natural history. It is much to be lamented that an astonishing memory and the greatest facility of expressing himself had made him neglect to note down his observations, and had even, at all times, rendered him very idle with respect to writing.

Although deprived of my coadjutor for the particular publication of the articles of natural history inedited or little known, I shall not the less unremittingly employ myself about them as soon as the historical part shall be in a state of greater forwardness, and a general peace shall again promote, among us, a brisker sale of works of literature.

The taste of BRUGUIERE, his sickly state, and his decided predilection for a retired and quiet life, not having permitted him, in the course of these travels, to apply himself to the same kind of study that I did, and to transport himself to all the places where observations were to be made, and facts to be collected, I was obliged to undertake alone that part of the travels which relates to the manners, the customs, and the laws of the nations that we visited. In order to render it more interesting, I neglected not to cast my eye towards our political and commercial relations. Geography, both ancient and modern, geoponics, and general physics, must necessarily at the same time have fixed my attention; and if I have not imparted to my labours all the interest of which they were susceptible, it is because the powers of man, as is well known, always fall far short of his wishes.

• I must here express my gratitude to Citizens RUFIN, DANTAN, and FRANQUINI, whom I for a long time consulted at CONSTANTINOPLE, and who were ever ready to reply to my questions relative to the customs and laws of the country. The last two even

carried their complaisance so far as to procure me the means of interrogating the best-informed Turks of the capital, and to serve as interpreters between them and me, whenever I wanted them. I am also indebted to some merchants and commissaries of commercial relations, whom I shall consider it my duty to name, for information respecting the trade and productions of the LEVANT; lastly, I am indebted to Mr. JOHN HERATHIUS, an Armenian physician and priest, born at ISPAHAN, for some details relative to the history of the intestine wars of PERSIA.'

MM. Olivier and Bruguière were appointed by the Executive Provisional Council, in 1792, to travel into Turkey, Egypt, and Persia; and to communicate the results of their inquiries