public, who will ultimately reap the advantage arising from fuch nice and laborious undertakings.

Mr. Steevens hath prefixed to this edition of the twenty plays, a very fenfible preface; and hath also added to them the Sonnets of Shakefpeare, reprinted from a copy published in 1609, by G. Eld, one of the printers of his theatrical pieces. He hath likewife re-published a tragedy of K. Lear, which appeared before that of Shakespeare, on the fame fubject;-from which he thinks it fufficiently apparent, that our immortal bard condefcended to borrow the circumftance of Lear's kneeling to his daughter, when the kneels to ask his blessing.

POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL.

Art. 24. The late Regulations refpecting the British Colonies on the Continent of America, confidered. In a Letter from a Gentleman in Philadelphia to his Friend in London. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Almon.

Written in behalf of the Colonies; and faid to be the work of Mr. Dickinson of Philadelphia; of whose abilities we have formerly made mention. It is now too late to enter into the particulars of any publication on this fübject, which preceded the late parliamentary determinations; and this piece fhould have appeared in our last collection; but it came out too near the end of the month.

Art. 25. Afhort and friendly Caution to the good People of England. 8vo. 6d. Wilkie.

This short and friendly Gentleman tilts furioufly at the Colonies; and affures the good people of England that they muft all be unavoidably ruined by a repeal of the Stamp act. He alfo cautions them against repofing any confidence in a man who [he avers] would overturn Heaven to gratify his pride, ambition, and revenge; and who [he adds] is rot infenfible to the luft of titles and of riches, as you [the good people of England] have vainly imagined.'How happy for the great Commoner, that the luft of praife is not in the catalogue of his virtues ; as in that refpect, he must be forely mortified, indeed, by what his good friend, our Author, has here more than infinuated against him!

Art. 26. Good Humour: or, Away with the Colonies. Wherein is occafionally enquired into, Mr. Pitt's Claim to Popularity; and the Principles of virtuous Liberty, as taught in the School of Mr. Wilkes, and other Peripatetics. 8vo. 1 S. Nicoll.

Another fruitless attempt to ftem the tide which hath run fo irresistibly in favour of the repeal. There is a mixture of the ferious and ludicrous in this pamphlet; and the Author tells us, in his preface, that he flatters kimfelf his argument will convince, and his vein of humour pleate.' People are feldom more egregioufly miftaken, than when they flatter

THEMSELVES.

Art. 27

Art. 27. A fhort Hiftory of the Conduct of the prefent Ministry, with regard to the American Stamp-act. 8vo. 6d. Almon.

A most bitter, virulent, ourageous attack on the present ministry; whom the Author charges with having not only been wholly the occafion of the diftreffes of Great Britain and America, fo far as relates to the Stamp-act, but with having wantonly, cruelly, and unneceffarily aggravated those diftreffes, by their negligence, timidity, and incapacity. For the manner in which he proves this charge, we refer to his fhort but furious pamphlet; which is written in the very fpirit of that egregious news-paper politician, who figns himself Anti-Sejanus.

Art. 28. Occafional Thoughts of a Free Briton. 8vo. 6d. Almon.

We frequently meet with writers who are not amenable to the jurif diction of any court of criticism,-because they are not to be underfood. This Free-Briton is one of the clafs we are fpeaking of. We really know not what he means to communicate to the public, in thefe Occafional Thoughts. He feems, indeed, to have the American taxations in view; but he chiefly talks about King Alfred and King John, and magna charta, and faction, and liberty; and all in fuch a bouncing fuftian frain, that we cannot help thinking the impreffion of his pamphlet ought to be bought up by the manufacturers of fquibs and crackers for rejoicing nights: by which they would certainly make a great faving of gun-powder.

Art. 29. A Man of Abilities for the Earl of B—; or, Scotch Politics defeated in America. 8vo. I S. Williams.

The Man of Abilities, here alluded to, is Lord George S―e; of whofe conduct, from his first appearance in a public capacity, the Author gives a moft fevere and libellous detail. He falls foul, alfo, on the Lords H-x and S-d-h; and treats their characters with a freedom which cannot but highly mortify and exafperate thefe noblemen and their friends as to the authenticity of his anecdotes, we have nothing to say on that head.

His lordship's father, the late Duke of D- -t, is alfo mentioned with great malevolence. The memory of the late Earl of Egre-nt is likewife plentifully traduced.

Art. 30. What should be done: or, Remarks on the Political State of Things. Addreffed to the prefent Adminiftration, the Members of the Houfe of Commons, and the good l'eople of England. 8vo. Is. Flexney.

This Author feems much difcontented at the daily increase of political writers,'' fmatterers, not qualified to judge of thofe matters, with which they are conftantly disturbing the public tranquility forgetting, like the fat man in the croud, how much he himself contributes towards the inconvenience he complains of.

MEDICA L.

Art. 31. A Treatise on the Crime of Onan ; illustrated with a Va riety of Cafes, together with the Method of Cure. By M. Tif fot, M. D. Author of Advice to the People, &c. Tranflated from the 3d Edition of the Original, 8vo. 3s. 6d. B,

Thomas.

Though we cannot fay much in favour of publications on fuch fubjects as that of the prefent treatise, yet it must be acknowledged, that great 'deference is due to the judgment of fo refpectable a writer as Dr. Tiffot; who in his preface, hath anfwered the objections which are likely to be molt naturally and generally raised against this treatife.- -There is another English trandation, under the affumed name of Hume, which merits little regard.

THEATRICAL.

Art. 32. Falloff's Wedding: a Comedy. Being a Sequel to the jecond Part of the Play of King Henry the Fourth. Written in Imitation of Shakespeare, by Mr. Kenrick. 8vo. 15. 6d. Wilkie, &c.

We cannot with more truth, nor with more brevity, characterize this play, than in the words of an undoubted judge of theatrical merit ; who, in a letter to a friend, ftiles it a very good imitation of Shakefpeare, particularly in the character of Falstaff.

Mr. Garrick; in a letter to R. B. Efq; fee the Author's Pref.

Art. 33. The Dramatic Warks of Samuel Foote, Efq; 8vo. 2 Vols. 14 s. bound. Vaillant, &c.

Thefe volumes containing only the Pieces formerly and feparately published by Mr. Foote, require no farther mention here.

NOVEL S.

Art. 34. The History of Sir Charles Beaufort. Containing the ge nuine and interefting Memoirs of a Family of Distinction in the South of England, &c. &c. 12mo. 2 Vols. 6s. Lownds. Of the many imitations of Richardfon's plans, this is not the meaneft, The capacity of the Writer is very confiderable; his invention is copious, his characters are (fome of them) ftriking and new; and many of the fcenes he defcribes, are extremely interefting, But, on the other

Perhaps we should rather have faid her; as we think there is fome appearance of femality in feveral parts of this work. We do not, however, mean to difparage the performance by this infinuation; for we muft obferve, to the honour of the lady writers, that the best of our late productions in this way, are faid to be the fruits of their intimacies with the gods of INVENTION and INTRIGUE.

hand,

:

hand, the adventures recited, are to the highest degree wild and improbable infomuch that the Author has hardly kept within the boundaries of poffibility. The work is alfo defective in refpect of the moral; for every thing turns out unfortunately for the best and moft amiable perfonages of the ftory. What Voltaire has obferved of Milton's Paradife Loft, may be here applied, with great propriety. The Devil, fays he, is Milton's hero;-and we fay the heroine of this performance is a Devil too; for, furely, never was there, before, fo infernal a being in petticoats, as the Mifs Stanhope who makes the greatest though the most hateful figure in this abfurd hiftory: a history which we are glad to fay, for the honour of human nature, cannot be true. But the epithets genuine, authentic, &c. &c. are now become words of courfe, in the titlepages of the moll romantic fictions.

Art. 35. The Adventures of Mifs Harriet Sprightly, a Lady of Pleafure. Interfperfed with the Hiftories and Characters, the Amours and Intrigues of feveral Perfonages well known in the polite World. 12mo. 2 Vols. 5s. few'd. Serjeant.

It will be eafy for every one who reads the title-page, to guess what kind of entertainment is likely to be met with, in the adventures of a prostitute.

Art. 36. The Amours of Lais; or, the Misfortunes of Love. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Wilkie.

The ftory of the famous Corinthian Courtezan, is here wrought up into a fort of Romance, quite in the French tafte; though we cannot but think that the modern embroidery looks oddly enough on the plain old Grecian ftuff. It is like fewing lace and fringe upon a blanket.

Art. 37. The Faithful Fugitives: or, Adventures of Mifs Terefa M- In a Series of Letters to a Friend. 12mo.

Vernor.

Calculated for the meridian of a circulating library.

2s. 6d.

Art. 38. Memoirs of Mr. Walcott, a Gentleman of Yorkshire, 12mo. 2 Vols. 5s. Jones.

Such wretched fcrawling as this, is enough to difgrace any library. * See the preceding article.

Art. 39. The Demi-rep.

POETICAL.

4to.

By N. O. Author of the Meretriciad. 2s. 6d. Moran.

Were we now to fhew any civility to this Demi rep Writer, whose mule we have formerly reproved for her meretricious behaviour, it might be fuppofed that we had been bullied into fome degree of complaisance for the dirty drab, by her grofs and groundless abule of the Reviewers.

On

On the other hand, were we to find fault with the prefent performance, it would, poffibly, be imputed to refentment. -Should we do neither, but give a fpecimen of this poem, without paffing any Judgment on its merit, we might still be liable to cenfure, from the foberer part of our Readers; who would not fail to blame us for circulating fuch licentious verfes.This Bayes of St. Drury may, therefore, if he pleases, walk off in triumph; and boaft how compleatly he has puzzled the dull rogues!

Art. 40. Pride, a Poem, infcribed to John Wilkes, Esq. By an Englishman. 4to. I s. 6d. Almon.

If the Reader fhould expect to find, in this poem, a philofophical account of the nature and effects of pride, he will be difappointed. It is not fo much an ethic as a political epiftle, wherein the stale diftinctions of parties, whofe very ghosts have vanished, are raked over again: yet one cannot but approve of those fentiments of liberty which run through the whole piece, and are in fome places not ill-expreffed. Thus, fpeaking of fome natural privileges which we have loft, he says, The sportsman, then, unaw'd by slavish fear, Wanted, nor wifh'd an hundred pounds a-year : O'er Nature's wilds, like Nature's fon, he ran, Nor Lords denied what Heaven defign'd for man: Shall I the woods, the hills, the dales refign? Who dares forbid ? Creation's bounds are mine.

Art. 41. Ponteach; or the Savages of America. A Tragedy. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Millan.

Major Rogers, of whofe Military Journal, and Description of North America, we gave fome account in our Review for January laft, is the reputed author of this Indian tragedy; which is one of the most abfurd productions of the kind that we have feen. It is great pity that fo brave and judicious an officer fhould thus run the hazard of expofing himself to ridicule, by an unfuccessful attempt to entwine the poets bays with the foldier's laurel. His journal, and account of our weftern acquifitions, were not foreign to his profeffion and opportunities; but in turning bard, and writing a tragedy, he makes juft as good a figure as would a Grubstreet rhymefter at the head of our Author's corps of North-American Rangers.

Art. 42. Political Epiftles on various Subjects of the prefent Times. Epiftle III.

We are ftill as much at a lofs *

4to.

as ever.

I S.

Nicoll.

See what has been faid of the two former Epistles, in laft Month's Catalogue.

Art. 43. A Poem occafioned by the Death of the most iluftrious Prince William Auguftus, Duke of Cumberland. Humbly infcribed to her Royal Highness Princefs Amelia. 4to. 6d. Kearfly.

All