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ed. The Author looked for the edifices from whence they had been taken, but could discover nothing but heaps of stones; ; all had been entirely deftroyed.

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At Garbe-merie, are the ruins of an antient edifice, and at Garbe-Dendour, a temple; of which our Author has given the plan, and the perfpective. At Sherk Girche, and GarbeGirche, are ruins, but not antient. At Dekke are seen the refts of an antient temple, without hieroglyphics. In the neighbourhood of Sabua are fome antiquities, but not fo grand as those at Dekke. At Amada our Author went on fhore, to fee an Egyptian temple, converted into a church by the Chriftians, as was easily discerned from the walls, on which were paintings of the Trinity, the Apoftles, and other Saints; but underneath, where the modern Coptic daubing had fallen down, the antient hieroglyphics still appear. The temple is yet entire, but the monaftery adjoining to it, is in ruins. A little higher up the Nile, our Author faw the manner in which loaded camels pass the river. A man fwam before, with the bridle of the firft camel in his mouth; the fecond camel was tied to the tail ⚫ of the first, and a third to the tail of the second: another man, fitting on a trufs of straw, brought up the rear, and directed the fecond and third camel to keep their rank.'

Having paffed fome other villages, without feeing any more antiquities, our Author arrived at Derri; where he met with much ill ufage from the Cacheff, and Shorbatfhe; and not without difficulty, did he, and his companions, efcape being put to death, on account of the supposed riches they had on board.

But having given an abstract of all that Mr. Norden has faid in his great work, concerning the antiquities of Egypt, explained several oriental words that have occurred in his writ ings, and obviated fome of his principal errors, we will not lengthen this article, by relating the leffer accidents that hap pened to him, in his return to Cairo; which is the fubftance of his eighth book. ↑

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Upon the whole, we fhould have been better pleafed if Mr. Norden's Editors had not omitted the dimenfions for which he fo often refers us to his defigns; we could likewise have wished, that when he mentioned the tomb of Ofmandyas, he had not neglected to give us a plan of it; with a defcription of that part of the temple where, he fays, he could discern the very spot, on which was placed the famous golden circle (360 cubits in circumference) which, at length, was carried away by Cam bytles, when he ravaged Egypt. For the fake of the genera

A Captain of the Janiflaries is called Shorbafhi.

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The Life of John Buncle, Efq; Containing various Obfervations and Reflections made in feveral Parts of the World; and many extraordinary Relations. 8vo. 6s. Noon.

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AVING, in our Reviews for Auguft and September, 1755, delivered, pretty much at large, our fentiments of this Author, and of his very extraordinary Memoirs of fe veral Ladies of Great Britain, to which the prefent work is a kind of Supplement; we fhall have little occafion to enlarge, on the Life of Efquire Buncle: under which (uncouth) appellative, we are to understand, the identical Mr. ******, Author of the aforefaid Memoirs, and of the work now under our confideration; which, he affures us, is a real account of himself.

As much enquiry bath been made, after this uncommon, and unknown writer, it may be fome fatisfaction to our Readers, to learn, from his own pen, in fome measure what, tho' we are not yet to know who, he is. With regard to the authenticity of his information, as he has not thought proper to fign it with his real name, fome doubt may ftill remain: however, he makes large profeffions of veracity; declaring, that in re fpect of the ftrange things, however wonderful they appear, yet they are, (exclufive of a few decorations and figures*)

STRICTLY TRUE.

To publifh fome account of himfelf, was, it feems, deemed requifite, by this Gentleman, in order to vindicate his

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Neceffary,' adds he, in all works. Should not this affertion have had fome limitation?

REV. Nov. 1756.

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character from mifreprefentation, and idle ftories;' but he obferves likewife, that his principal intention, in this piece, is to ferve the intereft of Truth, Liberty, and Religion, and to advance uleful Learning, to the beft of his abilities.' He alfo judged, that it might ferve to illuftrate his Memoirs of feveral Ladies of Great Britain, and render them intelligible; as the volumes of that work, which are to be published, would be quite dark, and not fo grateful as intended, without a previous account of the Author's life."

Previous to the commencement of his narrative, our Author fays fome things concerning himfelf, of which it may not be amifs to take fome notice, in this place. bulovab

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'I was born,' fays he, in London, and carried an infant* to Ireland, where I learned the Irifh language, and became intimately acquainted with its original inhabitants. I was not only a lover of books, from the time I could fpell them, to this hour, but read, with extraordinary pleasure, before I was twenty, the works of feveral of the Fathers, and all the old Romances; which tinged my ideas with a certain [mixture of, he fhould have faid]piety and extravagance, that rendered my virtues, as well as my imperfections, particularly mine:-By hard measure I was compelled to be an adventurer, when very young, and had not a friend in the univerfe, but what I could make by good fortune, and my own addrefs-my wandering life, wrong conduct, and the iniquity of my kind, with a paffion for extraordinary things, and places, brought me into feveral great diftreffes; from which I had quicker, and more wonderful, deliverances, than people in tribulation generally receive the dull, the formal, and the vifionary, the hard-honest man, and the poor liver, are people I have had no connection with; but have always kept company with the polite, the generous, the lively, the rational, and the brightest Free-thinkers of the age: Betide all this, I was, in the days of my 'youth, one of the most active men in the world, at every exercife, and to a degree of rafhnefs, often ventrous, when there was no neceffity for running any hazard:- Let all thefe things be taken into the account, and, I imagine, that what may, at firft, feem ftrange, and next to incredible,

This Gentleman is not always accurate in his diction. An hafly reader migh almott be led, by this paffage, to imagine, that Mr. Buncle carried fome infant to Ireland; tho', doubtless, his meaning is, that he himself was carried thither, during his infancy. + This compound epithet is exquifitely characterical of your ne gatively Ronelt mena

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will not long remain fo, tho' you may think the relator an odd man.' Very true, Sir!

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Mr. Buncle now proceeds to his hiftory. About fifty years ago,' fays he, the midwife wheeled me in, and much fooner than half a century hence, in all human probability, Death will wheel me out. The things of my childhood are not worth fetting down, and, therefore, I commence my • life from the first month of the feventeenth year of my age, when I was fent to the university [of Dublin.] I was refolved to read there, and determined to improve my natural faculties to the utmost of my power. To this purpose I devoted my college-life to books; and for five years that I remained at the Univerfity, converfed fo much with the dead, that I had very little intercourfe with the living.-My time I devoted to philofophy, cofmography, mathematics, and the languages, for four years, and the fifth I gave to hiftory lis b The first book I took into my hand, after receiving my 1 notes of admiffion, was the Effay of that fine genius, Mr. Locke, and I was fo pleased with this clear and accurate writer, that I looked into nothing elfe, till by reading it three times over, I had made a thorough acquaintance with my own understanding. He taught me to examine my abilities, and enabled me to fee what objects my mind was fitted to deal with. He led me into the fanctuary of vanity Vand ignorance, and fhewed me how greatly true knowlege depended on a right meaning of words, and a juft fignificancy of expreffion. In fum, from the Effay my understand5ting received very great benefits, and to it I owe what imCprovement I have made in the reafon given me..

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When I had done, for a time, with this admirable Effay, I then began to ftudy the firth principles of things, the ftrucuture of the univerfe, the contexture of human bodies, the is properties of beafts, the virtues of plants, and the qualities of metals; and was quite charmed with the contemplation of the beautiful order, and wife final causes of nature in all her laws and productions. The ftudy had a delightful influence on the temper of my mind, and infpired into it a love of order in my heart, and in my outward manners. It likewife led me to the great firft Caufe,-gave me a due affection towards the infinitely perfect Parent of Nature, and as I contemplated his glorious works, I was obliged in tranfports to confefs, that he deferved our love and admiration.

But upon ethics, or moral philofophy, I dwelt the longeft, This is the proper food of the foul, and what perfects her i

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all the virtues and qualifications of a gentleman. This fci⚫ence I collected in the first place from the ancient fages and philofophers, and ftudied all the moral writers of Greece and Rome. With great pleafure I faw, that these immortal • authors had delineated, as far as human reason can go, that courfe of life which is moft according to the intention of nature, and moft happy'; had fhewn, that this universe, and human nature in particular, was formed by the wisdom and counfel of a Deity, and that from the conftitution of our nature various duties arofe:-that as to ourselves, the voice of reafon declares, that we ought to employ our abilities, and opportunities in improving our minds to an extenfive knowlege of nature in the fciences; and by diligent meditation, and obfervation, acquire that prudence, juftice, temperance, and fortitude, which fhould conftantly govern our livesThat folid prudence, which abhors rafhnefs, inconfideratene's, a foolish felf-confidence, and craft, and under a high fenfe of moral excellence, confiders and does what is really advantageous in life :-That juftice, which constantly regards the common intereft, and in fubferviency to it, gives to each one whatever is due to him upon any natural claim:→ That temperance, which reftrains and regulates the lower appetites, and difplays the grace and beauty of manners:— And that fortitude, which repreffes all vain and exceffive fears, gives us a fuperiority to all the external accidents of our mortal ftate, and ftrengthens the foul against all toils or dangers we may be expofed to, in difcharge of our duty

This beautiful, moral philofophy, I found fcattered in the writings of the old theift philofophers, and with great pains reduced the various leffons to a fyftem of active and virtuous offices: but this I knew was what the majority of mankind were incapable of doing and if they could do it, I faw it was far inferior to revelation. Every Sunday Is appropriated to the study of Revealed Religion, and perceived as I read the facred records, that the works of Plato, and Cicero, and Epictetus, and all the uninfpired fages of antiquity, were but weak rules in refpect of the divine oracles.-What are all the reafonings of the philofophers to the melody of that heavenly voice which cries continually, Come unto me all ye that travel and are heavy laden, and I will refresh And what could their leffons avail without thofe exprefs promifes of grace and fpiritual affiftance, which the blood of the new covenant confirms to mankind? The philofophy of Greece and Rome was admirable for the times and men; but it admits of no comparifon with the divine leftons of our holy

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