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at the higher fchools, and only to be preferved in those where the poor are taught, the cafe is very defperate. On this pofition, Dr. Vincent's remarks are too important to be paffed by.

But

Where

"But in Public Schools, wherein does this lamentable and notorious defectiveness confift? and why is a preference given to the teachers of Charity Schools rather than to the inftructors in a higher sphere? Could not a popular audience be fufficiently flattered without levelling all above them? Could not the educators of the lowest be confoled under their laborious duty, without detracting from those whom the public voice, and the difcernment of their nominators or electors had appointed to the management of the first feminaries in the kingdom? Are not thefe men of the fame profeffion as their accufer? And does Dr. Rennell deny faith and ability to every Churchman but himself? -No, not ability but will; that shall be answered in its place. why are men bred to the inftruction of youth by an apprenticeship, fuppofed more willing to execute their truft, than those who have received the moft liberal education known in Europe? This is no vain glorious boaft. Foreigners fubfcribe to it; they allow the palm of general information to English travellers above all others. did they acquire it? In English schools, in English universities; and in nineteen inftances out of twenty from the English clergy. Why are these foundations to be decried? Why are thefe men to be degraded by a comparison with thofe who have never had fimilar means of ac quiring knowledge, or equal advantages in life, manners, and educa tion? But this is not fufficient; the inferior is to be raised above the fuperior; the children of the poor are to be told, that they have better initruction than those above them; and the teachers of the poor are taught to believe, that their's is the pre-eminence; that they are to atone for the neglect, and compenfate for the deficiency of all that are engaged in the education of the higher orders. If the children who heard this difcourfe understood it, I fhould imagine, that their refpect for the rank above them must be greatly diminished, and their refiftance to fubordination greatly increased; and if they were capable of drawing a conclufion, the natural confequence ought to be, that as they are wifer and better than their fuperiors, they ought to govern, and their fuperiors obey." P. 16.

But is the fact as fuppofed? With respect to Westminster the negative is proved. The abfurd and dangerous fallacy of calling it a Pagan Education at public fchools, because Pagan authors are there read, is expofed by Dr. Vincent as it deferves.. But in fpeaking of the ufe to be made of fine moral paffages in fuch authors, at a Chriftian, fchool, the noble exemplification given by him is worthy of universal perufal.

"When we have fuch authors as thefe in our hands, if a mafter does not explain the sentiment of Sophocles by the text of St. Paul, and contrast the eternal unwritten* law of the Gentiles, with the law en

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graven on the heart; if he does not compare the language of Cleanthes, Plato, and the Stoic School, with the doctrines of Revelation; if he does not point out how far those doctrines approach the truth, and how, infinitely they fall fhort of THE WORD OF GOD, that mafter is not of our ftock, nor worthy of the place he holds. Upon fuch opportunities as authors or fentiments like thefe afford, I remember to this hour, the tone, the manner, the elevated warmth of my own preceptor, the venerable Metropolitan of York; and I feel at this moment, that I owe the firmeft principles of my mind, and my first reverence of the Scriptures to his inftruction." P. 23.

The latter part of this tract, in anfwer to the charge of a fyftematic neglect of religion, flates the plain fact of the sysTEMATIC ATTENTION to it in the fchool over which the author with fuch dignity prefides: and the ftatement is fuch as fhould make the accufers repent of the indifcriminate extent of their charge. Of himself, Dr. V. fpeaks with the humility of a Chriftian, but with the firmnefs of a man undefervedly injured; and his conclufion has in it fome circumstances too remarkable to be omitted.

"Our life is not an unhappy one: the attachment of the good, and their fuccefs in life compenfates for the failure of those who have profited lefs by our endeavours. FORTY years labour, and FIFTY years experience, entitle me to a retirement of quiet and independence. But if my retirement is to be embittered with the reproach of having done no good, of fyftematic neglect, of refolute and contemptuous inattention to my duty-I anfwer, once for all, that "contemptuous neglect," is a term paft comprehenfion; to contemn our duty towards God is not wickednefs, but infanity. And "refolute or fyftematic neglect," I difclaim, as a charge utterly falfe and groundless; a falfehood I have proved it, if my teftimony is worthy of credit; and if my affertion is not fufficient, I am ready to establish it by legal evidence, by oath, or any other ordeal that my accufers may deinand. But for the prefent, I take my leave of them with the sentiment of a Poet and a Pagan,

Ει δ' διδ ἁμαρτάνεσι, μὴ πλείω κακὰ

Πάθοιεν, ἤ κά δρῶσιν ἐκδίκως ἐμέ.” Ρ. 41,

We cannot conclude this article without faying, that the refufal of the Society for promoting Chriftian Knowledge to circulate Dr. Vincent's promife of a defence, with the Sermons in which the accufations were made, was an injuftice highly unworthy of that body. How far they might be justifiable in circulating the accufations at all, as adopted by them, is a question into which we will not enter. We fay this with highest general refpect and affection for a fociety, of which Dr. Vincent truly fays, that it is eftimable above all others, "for doing the most extenfive good with the leaft poffible parade." P. 7. But bodies of men may err, as well as individuals, and this ap

pears

pears to be a strong inftance of the truth of the affertion. We thall only add our general regret, that no defence can be perfectly effectual againít fo broad and bold an accufation; and complete as this anfwer of Dr. Vincent's is, we fear there will be many ftill who will fortify their unjuft prejudices against public fchools, by the authority of the writers whom he has, as far as he is concerned, refuted,

BRITISH CATALOGUE.

POETRY.

ART. 14. Poems, chiefly Sonnets. By the Author of Translations from the Italian of Petrarch, Metaftafio, and Zappi. 8vo. 3s. Rivingtons. 1799.

There is a great deal of true claffical tafte and poetic feeling in these compofitions. The Stanzas on leaving Winchester College, on removing from Oxford to the Inns of Court, and on returning to Oxford, cannot poffibly be read without exciting a confiderable degree of intereft. We exhibit two fpecimens, which we hope will promote the more earnest attention of the lovers of poetry,

"SONNET XIII.

She faw the ftruggling figh my bofom tear,
Nor would the fend me on my way unbleffed,
And her dear cheek in love and pity dreffed,
Told me each pang of abfence the would fhare:
Her coy referve had yielded to her care,

But that more pow'rful hope that care repress'd;
Yet ftill her eyes each rifing with confessed,
And melting foft forbad me to despair;
And gently op'ning as a look she stole,

They feemed my filence to reprove, and say,
"Have I not yet enough my heart betray'd ?"
Yet deem'd I right, or only dreams my foul
Of blifs unreal, foon in forrowing lay
Its own too fond prefumption to upbraid?"
"SONNET XIX.

She who unmoved could hear her lover mourn,
When, from his redd'ning eye-balls, the big tear
Of anguish ftarted, and with tremulous fear
Convuls'd his bofom heav'd; when pale and worn,

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And

And half-depriv'd of breath, the wretch forlorn
Hung fuppliant; fhe who then refus'd to hear,
Or with the fcanty boon of pity cheer,

Love fhall avenge the crime with ten-fold fcorn:
For her each bloffom, of her fpring the pride,
Joylefs fhall wither, and our ev'ry wrong
Remembrance with its fting fevere repay:
Yet ah! meanwhile triumphant does the ride,
And mocks our forrows:-Why, ah why so long,
Too flothful boy, the vengeance due delay ?"

ART. 15. The Conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in Leo, on the 29th of
September, 1801. A happy Prelude to a propitious Peace. A Poem
Mercury's Apology for the Curate's Blunder, an Impromptu, addressed to
the Earl of Yarmouth; and other poetical Pieces. By the Rev. John
Black. 8vo. 23 PP. IS. Robinfons. 1801.

What concern Jupiter or Venus had in these Poems, we will not pretend to fay; but they decidedly appear to us to have been written invitâ Minervá, However, though we do not exactly fee how this conjunction of planets applies to the Preliminaries of Peace, an Invocation to Sleep was certainly a proper exordium for any of these Poems, confidering their quality; but we think not one of the author's readers will join in the following complaint:

"Sweet, gentle Sleep, why art thou fled?
Wilt thou no more thy poppies fhed?
No more my aching eye lids clofe,

And lull my cares in foft repofe?"

These are among the best lines in the book. We are not fond of quoting, where we cannot give fuch specimens of a work as will produce a favourable opinion of it,

ART. 16. Peace, a Poem, inferibed to the Right Honourable Henry Addington. By Thomas Dermody. 4to. Is. 6d. Hatchard. 1801.

We paid a tribute of refpect to the poetical abilities of this author in our feventeenth volume, p. 79; and the occafon, at least, of the prefent publication would of itfeif excite in us a fpirit of complacency, without any other incidental recommendation. Mr. Dermody has moft undoubtedly a great deal of taste and feeling, and his Poem commences with a degree of animation highly refpectable. The compofition nevertheless bears too many marks of hafte, and fome expreffions have found their way among fome indifferent lines, which a little more reflection would have prevented. Who knows what is meant by "Hooding Infidelity"? (p. 12). Or who will approve of the new term "God-abandoned"? Or the rhimes,

Again encouraged by thy halcyon fway,

Wealth's merchant fons fhall crowd the bufy quay ?

Yet many lines might be quoted, which are very chaffe, correct, and harmonious.

ART.

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ART. 17. Alonzo and Cora, with other Original Poems, principally Elegiac. By Elizabeth Scot, a Native of Edinburgh. To which are added, Letters in Verfe, by Blacklock and Burns. 8vo. 168 pp. 10s. 6d. Rivingtons. 1801.

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The Preface to this volume informs us, that Elizabeth Scot, the au thor of thefe Poems, was the daughter of David Rutherford, Efq. Counsellor at Edinburgh; that he was born there in 1729, was admired for her genius and acquirements, and intimately acquainted with Allan Ramfay, with Blacklock, and with Barns; that the death of a youth, whom the tenderly loved, and had engaged to marry, clouded her mind with forrow; that, at rather an advanced period of life, she married a Mr. Walter Scot; and, that she died in 1789.

Tenderness of fentiment, and fluency of verfification, appear to form the general character of thefe Poems, rather than fertility of fancy, or a very nice felection of expreffion. "Alonzo and Cora" is much the longest Poem in the collection, but, whether from the subject being fince grown trite, or not, we cannot fay, did not please us moft. Perhaps the. mournful Elegy, called "Solitude and Sadnefs," which Dr. Blacklock is faid to have praifed, is, upon the whole, the most interefting compofition in the book. It is too long to be given entire, and a partial extract would not do juftice to its merit. We prefer therefore extracting the lines entitled, improperly perhaps, "The Confolation," as they convey an adequate idea of the author's ftyle and manner of writing.

"THE CONSOLATION.

Bleft is the maid, and truly bleft alone,

Who peaceful lives, unknowing and unknown.
For her the world difplays no winning charms,
No love of conqueft her fair bofom warms;
Within her breaft no warring paffion glows;
No anxious with disturbs her fix'd repofe ;
No faithlefs lover fills her eyes with tears;
No haughty rival's fatal charms fhe fears;
No love neglected finks her foul with fhame;
She fecret mourns no ill-requited flame,
Unmindful of her charms, however fair,
Unknown the pride of beauty or the care...
Hid from the world, the fhuns the public eye
Like roses, that in deferts bloom and die.
In peace and cafe she spends her happy days,
And fears no envy, as the courts no praife."

The Poem on the ftory of Leander and Hero is imitated, we are told in a note, from that which bears the name of Mufæus, or rather from Fawkes's translation of that Poem; but it has little resemblance to the fuppofed original. We were pleased with the ease and good humour of the complimentary Epiftle, in the Scotch dialect, to Burns, and the answer of that diftinguished poet. Upon the whole, thefe Poems, though they now and then exhibit a weak line, or an inaccurate expreffion, and difplay no great originality of genius, may be read with pleafure by the lovers of tender and harmonious poetry.

ART

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