form them, that the unfortunate monarch's watch is now in the possession of James Worfley, efq. of Stenbury; the king having, on his journey to Hurft Caftle, whither he was removed by the parliament, given it to Mr. Edward Worsley, aş a token of his remembrance.

The fifth chapter contains an account of the boroughs of Newport, Newtown, and Yarmouth. The firft charter of immunities granted to the borough of Newport, was from Richard de Redvers, earl of Devon, the fon of earl Richard., Its exact date is not known; but the hiftorian obferves, that it must have been in the time of Henry the Second, as the earl died in the thirtieth year of that reign. This charter, we' are informed, like most of that early period, is very concise, expreffing no more than a grant of liberties in general terms. A fecond charter, which is in the ufual ftyle, was granted to this town by Ifabella de Fortibus, countefs of Devon. The latter of thofe afterwards received feveral royal confirmations. A charter of incorporation was granted to this borough by James the First, and another by Charles the Second. Newport ftands nearly in the centre of the island, of which it is the capital; and is a well-built, neat town, lately paved in the modern manner, with footways on each fide. Here is a confiderable manufactory of ftarch, the duty of which annually amounts to at least one thousand pounds. Of this town, as well as of the boroughs of Newtown and Yarmouth, we are prefented with a particular account, which feems to be drawn up with great correctness and precifion.

The fixth chapter treats of the religious houses, their foundations, and endowments; and the feventh, of the parishchurches and chapels; their founders and endowments; befides the most confiderable manors and feats, with their an cient lords and prefent proprietors.

This part of the work, diftinguished alfo by great minutenefs, and lively defcription, contains many particulars of historical and genealogical information, which have been collected from a variety of fources relative to British antiquities.--Whether this writer recites an anecdote, or delineates the beauties of a country feat, his narrative is generally clear, eafy, and expreffive; conveying an accurate idea of the object, without either the disgust which arifes from uninterefting defcription, or from oftentatious amplification.

The various parts of the book are illustrated with a great number of copper-plates, particularly of ancient feals, and of gentlemen's feats, exclufive of an accurate map of the ifland, prefixed to the volume. But in a work conducted with fo much perfpicuity, and enriched with fuch materials

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of antiquarian research, thofe embellishments, however beau tiful, are but fecondary objects of regard.

The work is furnished with a valuable Appendix, containing no lefs than ninety different articles, relative either to the hiftory or antiquities of the island. The first article, in this mifcellaneous collection, is a lift of the landholders in the Isle of Wight, with the valuation of the lands; extracted from Domesday Book. The following note, at the beginning of this article, is highly worthy of attention.

Moft of the writers on antiquity, as well as the lawyers, having been mistaken in the hide, which they all conclude to be a meafure of land; it may be neceflary to examine more particularly what is meant by a hide of land. If lord Coke and others, who think it was the fime with a carucate, had confidered duly how the hides and carucates appear in Domefday book, they ne ver could have been betrayed into that error: it being obvious that hides and carucates are there diftinguished from each other, The order of that book is, 1. To note the poffeffor. 2. The name of the lands. 3. The rate or value of the lands in hides. 4. The quantity in carucates, or plough lands, virgates, or yard. lands, bovates, &c. After thefe particulars, we fee the houses, fervants, cottagers, woods, &c. The number of carucates. al-moft always exceeds that of the hides; in one place more carucates make the hide than another, which difference arifes either from the quality of the land, or perhaps fometimes from the favour of the commiffioners in making the rates. We find alfo, that feveral manors are rated lower, or at a lefs number of hides, in this tax book, than they had been rated in the time of Edward the Confeffor: and fome are faid not to be rated, becaufe they were in the king's hands. For inftance, the manor

of Boucomb, one of the most confiderable manors in the ifland, which had paid for four hides in the Confeffor's time, is here not rated at all; and yet it is faid to contain fifteen carucates of land. From hence the hide plainly appears to be the difcretional rate, or valuation fixed to afcertain the Danegeld, which tax was alfo termed hidage; and the carucate, to be the content of the Jand in acres,'

From a fubfequent paffage in this article, relative to Watchingwood, fir Richard Worfley remarks the mistake of fome hiftorians, who affirm that Woodstock Park, made by king Henry I. was the first park in England.

We fhall conclude our account of this work with obferv ing, that it discovers an extent of refearche, not only feldom to be met with in the moft copious productions of this kind, but fuch as is both fuitable and fufficient for elucidating the history of an island, that has hitherto been fo imperfectly

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treated by any topographical writer. Several fubjects, relative to hiftory and antiquity, are afcertained with great judgment, as well as accurate information; and the whole is founded upon authorities of the most fatisfactory nature.

Loofe Hints upon Education, chiefly concerning the Culture of the Heart. 8vo. 5s. boards. Murray.

AS this volume is avowedly the production of lord Kaims,

author of the Elements of Criticism, and Sketches of the Hiftory of Man, works of acknowledged merit, we fat down to the perufal of it with much prepoffeffion in its fayour, and entertained the most fanguine hopes of being both amufed and inftructed. Sorry we are to fay, that we were grievously disappointed, as it appeared, on an impartial examination, that the work contained nothing new, folid, entertaining, or fatisfactory; the whole being only a collection of vague, and defultory hints, common-place reflections, trifling advice, and old ftories, heaped together without order or precision, in a coarse and flovenly ftyle. Never, indeed, do we remember to have feen a fubject fo ferious and important as the education of children, treated in a manner fo carclefs and uninterefting.

In our author's fecond fection on the management of children in the firft ftage of life, we meet with the following deep and most fagacious reflection.

• Some children are by nature rash and impetuous: a much greater number are shy and timid. The difpofition of a child appears early; and both extremes ought to be corrected whenever an opportunity occurs. Fear is a paffion implanted in our nature to warn us of danger, in order to guard against it. When moderate fo as to raise our activity only, without overwhelming us, it is a moft falutary paffion but when it fwells to excefs, which it is apt to do in a timid difpofition, far from contributing to fafety, it flupifies the man, and renders him incapable of action.'

Surely there wants no ghoft, nor lord Kaims, to tell us this; to dwell upon fuch trite and obvious truths, with an air of confequence and importance, is truly ridiculous: nothing can be more puerile than the following paffage.

Will I be thought to refine too much when I maintain, that a habit of cheerfulness acquired during infancy, will contribute to make a face beautiful? A favage mind produces favage manners; and these in conjunction produce a harsh and rugged

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countenance. Hence it is that a national face improves gra dually, with the manners of the people. Liften to this ye mothers, with refpect especially to your female children: you will find that cheerfulness is a greater beautifier than the finest pearl powder.'

If any of our readers are fond of pretty little stories, to repeat to their children, we recommend to them the following. A boy about the age of ten, fays to his father, "Papa, give me some money. There is a fhilling, will that do? No." There's a guinea. Thank you papa." The gentleman difcovered, that it was given to a woman who had been delivered of twins, and was obliged to hire a nurse for one of them. A boy of five years, obferving that a gentleman playing at cards did not pay what he loft, and concluding that he had no money, begged fome from his father to give to the gentleman. A boy between feven and eight, of a noble family, ftrayed accidentally into a hut where he faw a poor woman with a fick child on her knee. Struck with compaffion, he inftantly gave her all the money he had; carried to her from the herb market, turnips and potatoes, with bread and fcraps from his father's kitchen. The parents enchanted with their fon, took the poor family off his hand. Two or three years after, he faved the whole of his weekly allowance, till it amounted to eleven or twelve fhillings, and purchased a Latin dictionary, which he fent to a comrade of his at the grammar fchool. Many other acts of goodness are recorded of this boy in the family. Can there be conceived a misfortune that will fink deeper into the heart of affectionate parents, than the death of fuch a child? It wrings my heart to think of it.

Oftendent terris hunc tantum fata, neque ultra.
Effe finent.

Heu, miferande puer! fi qua fata afpera rumpas,
Tu Marcellus eris.'

Here, gentle reader, you fee a proof of the author's great learning? Was ever this celebrated paffage in Virgil fo happily quoted, and fo well applied -Immediately after this, we are prefented with a new method of paying the poor's rates.

There is no branch, fays he, of education more neglected than the training of young perfons to be charitable. And yet were this virtue inftilled into children, fufceptible of deep impreffions, a legal provifion for the poor would be rendered unneceffary: it would relieve England from the poor rates, a grievous burden that undermines both induftry and . morals.'

This convenient mode of paying the poor's rates, will, we hope, meet with encouragement from the prime minifter; we know not whether, if properly attended to and improved upon, it might not, in time, difcharge the national debt.

To those who are fond of good instruction and genteel com pliment, we recommend the following lines..

• Exercife is not more falutary to the body than to the mind' (this obfervation is fhrewd, no doubt, and perfectly new) what then? Why, then-' When ́your little boy wants to have any thing done, let him first try what he can do himself. A favage having none to apply to for advice or dire&ion, is reduced to judge for himself at every turn: he makes not a fingle ftep without thinking before hand what is. to follow; by which means, a young favage is commonly endued with more penetration, than an Oxford or Cambridge fcholar.'

Nothing can be more obliging than the high opinion which our author, in his laft fentence, feems to entertain of the two univerfities.

In page 97 this difcerning writer informs us, that

If it were the fashion among people of rank to drefs their children plain, it would have a wonderful good effect, not only on themfelves, but on their inferiors, Young people would learn to despise fine cloaths, and to value themselves on good behaviour: neatnefs and elegance would be the fole aim in drefs.'

This is most indifputably true; but how fhall we ever perfuade them to it? not, we fear, by the following rule:

As foon, fays our author, as children are fufceptible of verbal inftruction, let them know that the chief ufe of cloaths is to keep them warm; and that to be distinguished by their finery, will make them either be envied or ridiculed.'

And does lord Kaims really think that children in the third ftage (for this is amongst his inftructions for them) will be fo foolish as to believe us when we tell them that the only use of cloaths is to keep them warm?

Of fuch remarks, and of fuch inftructions, confifts the whole of this performance, which, instead of that good fenfe and penetration, that critical fagacity and elegant tafte, which diftinguished our author's former works, prefents us with nothing but a melancholy inftance of intellectual decay, and the vapid dregs of exhaufted genius.

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