The above paraphrafe must be allowed to be nervous and elegant. There is ease, fpirit and humour, in the poem entitled The Valley of the Moon, and addreffed to Fidelia.

Fidelia, view yon ftarry sphere

Where we unnumber'd world's furvey:

Why thould we longer loiter here,
Nor try to wing the pathlefs way?
By wife aftronomers we're told,
There is a world in yonder moon;
Where folks like us are young and old,
And share like us their night and noon.
In that new world Gonzales thews

Th' inhabitants are wondrous wife,
For they poffefs the goods we lofe,
And catch the pleasures we despise.
There, in a valley deep and wide,
Fitted as well for ufe as fhow,
In vials cork'd on every fide,

They keep whate'er is loft below.
Prodigious this!but there you'll find,
The hopes and fears that here were lost,
And wafted thither by the wind,

The fighs and vows of lovers croft.
There all the time that e'er was spent
At masquerades, at cards and dice,
And laws by hoary wisdom meant

To keep the finking world from vice.
There charities of great and fmall,

And fums by fubtle mifers given

To build a church, or hofpital,

Left wealth fhould miss its way to heaven.
There courtiers proffers meet our eyes,
With the rewards which kings have paid

To fages for difcoveries,

Before their coffins have been made.

Sincerity without disguise,

And benefaction free from pride;
With mighty heaps of good advice,
By fools defpis'd and thrown afide.
A lift of patriots there you'll fee.
By golden letters finely ráng'd,
Who fav'd a ftate without a fee,
By place or penfion never chang'd.
Could we but rumage all their store,

What goods of ours we there fhould find;

Fair hopes of mine, I'm fure a fcore,

And all my FLAVIA's peace of mind mit 1 of bedde

And

And there's my fortune every groat,

Whate'er my great forefather won,
When Cambria's ancient heroes fought,

From caftles ftorm'd and towns o'erthrown.

But fraud or folly is not there,

Nor envy nor ill-natur'd mirth,

Nor rich men's fcorn, nor pining care;

For thefe were never loft on earth.

The verses on the death of Stephen Grey, F. R. S. and author of the prefent doctrine of electricity, are worthy the pen of Pope :

Long haft thou borne the burthen of the day,
Thy talk is ended, venerable GREY!

No more fhall Art thy dextrous hand require
To break the fleep of elemental fire;

To rouse the pow3rs that actuate Nature's frame,
The momentaneous fhock, th' electric flame,
The flame which first, weak pupil of thy lore,
I faw, condemn'd, alas! to fee no more.

Now, hoary Sage, pursue thy happy flight,
With fwifter motion hafte to purer light,

Where BACON waits with NEWTON and with BOYLE
To hail thy genius, and applaud thy toil;
Where intuition breaks through time and space,
And mocks experiment's fucceffive race;
Sees tardy Science toil at Nature's laws,
And wonders how th' effect obfcures the caufe.
Yet not to deep research or happy guess
Is ow'd the life of hope, the death of peace,
Unbleft the man whom philofophic rage
Shall tempt to lose the Chriftian in the Sage;
Not Art but Goodness pour'd the facred ray

That cheer'd the parting hour of humble GREY.

In this mifcellany is a fairy-tale called The Fountains, that abounds with many fenfible and well-expreffed obfervations on human life. Floretta, a young lady, through the favour of a fairy, is indulged with the enjoyment of every thing the wishes for; and after having formed feveral wifhes, and given back the poffeffion when she was weary, or found the inconveniences of it, she at last fixes upon wit; the confequences of which are thus agrecably and ingenioufly told:

She felt new fucceflions of imagery rife in her mind, and whatever her memory offered to her imagination, affumed a new form, and connected itself with things to which it feemed before to have no relation. All the appearances about her were changed, but the novelties exhibited were commonly defects. She now faw that almost every thing was wrong, without often seeing how it could be better; and frequently imputed to the imper

fection

fection of art thofe failures which were caufed by the limitation

of nature.

Wherever she went, fhe breathed nothing but cenfure and reformation. If the vifited her friends, fhe quarrelled with the fituation of their houfes, the difpofition of their gardens, the direction of their walks, and the termination of their views. It was vain to fhew her fine furniture, for fhe was always ready to tell how it might be finer, or to conduct her through spacious apartments, for her thoughts were full of nobler fabrics, of airy palaces and hefperian gardens. She admired nothing and praffed but little.

Her converfation was generally thought uncivil. If the received flatteries, fhe feldom repaid them; for the fet no value upon vulgar praife. She could not hear a long ftory without hurrying the fpeaker on to the conclufion; and obftructed the mirth of her companions, for the rarely took notice' of a good jeft, and never laughed except when he was delighted.

This behaviour made her unwelcome wherever he went; nor did her speculation upon human manners much contribute to forward her reception. She now faw the difproportions between language and fentiment, between paffion and exclamation; fhe difcovered the defects of every action, and the uncertainty of every conclufion; fhe knew the malignity of friendship, the avarice of liberality, the anxiety of content, and the cowardice of temerity.

To fee all this was pleafant, but the greatest of all pleafures was to fhew it. To laugh was fomething, but it was much more to make others laugh. As every deformity of character made a strong impreffion upon her, fhe could not always forbear to tranfmit it to others; as fhe hated falfe appearances fhe thought it her duty to detect them, till, between wantonnefs and virtue, fcarce any that he knew efcaped without fome wounds by the fhafts of ridicule; not that her merriment was always the confequence of total contempt, for the often honoured virtue where he laughed, at affectation.

For thefe practices, and who can wonder, the cry was raifed against her from every quarter, and to hunt her down was generally determined. Every eye was watching for a fault, and every tongue was bufy to fupply its fhare of defamation. With the most unpolluted purity of mind, the was cenfured as too free of favours, because he was not afraid to talk with men with generous fenfibility of every human excellence, fhe was thought , cold or envious, because the would not fcatter praife with undiftinguifhing profufion with tenderness that agonized at real mifery, he was charged with delight in the pain of others, when The would not condole with thofe whom he knew to counterfeit affliction. She derided falfe appearances of kindness and of

pity, and was therefore avoided as an enemy to fociety. As the feldom commended or cenfured but with fome limitations and exceptions, the world condemned her as indifferent to the good and bad; and because she was often doubtful where others were confident, fhe was charged with laxity of principles, while her days were distracted and her rest broken by niceties of honour and fcruples of morality.

Report had now made her fo formidable that all flattered and all hunned her. If a lover gave a ball to his mistress and her friends, it was ftipulated that Floretta should not be invited. If the entered a public room the ladies courtfied, and fhrunk away, for there was no fuch thing as fpeaking, but Floretta would find fomething to criticife. If a girl was more-fpritely than her aunt, he was threatened that in a little time fhe would be like Floretta, Vifits were very diligently paid when Floretta was known not to be at home; and no mother trufted her daughter to herself without a caution, if she should meet Floretta to leave the company as foon as she could.

With all this Floretta made fport at first, but in time grew weary of general hoftility. She would have been content with a few friends, but no friendship was durable; it was the fashion to defert her, and with the fashion what fidelity will contend? She could have easily amufed herself in folitude, but that the thought it mean to quit the field to treachery and folly...

• Perfecution at length tired her conftancy, and fhe implored Lilinet to rid her of her wit: Lilinet complied and walked up the mountain, but was often forced to ftop and wait for her follower. When they came to the flinty fountain, Floretta filled a fmall cup and flowly brought it to her lips, but the water was infupportably bitter. She just tafted it, and dafhed it to the ground, diluted the bitterness at the fountain of alabaster, and refolved to keep her wit with all its confequences.'

It is with pleafure we are informed that the publication of thefe poems was encouraged by a genteel fubfcription.The humanity of the prefent age, as well as its improvements in commerce and tafte, is a great encouragement to genius.

..

Three Tracts on the Corn-Trade and Corn-Laws: viz.-I. A fhort Effay containing a general Relation of the prefent Method of carrying on the Corn-trade, and the Purport of the Laws relating thereto in this Kingdom, first printed in 1758. II. Confideration of the Laws relating to the Importation and Exportation of Corn, being an Inquiry what Alteration may be made in them for the Benefit of the ublic, wrote [but not published] in 1759. III. A Collec

tion

tion of Papers relative to the Price, Exportation, and Importation of Corn, with fome Obfervations and Calculations, fhewing what the Nation may be fuppofed to have gained by giving the Bounty on the Exportation, what the Quantity of each Sort of Gorn annually confumed, exported, imported, and grown, may amount to, and the Proportions they feverally bear each to the other. 8vo. 3s. Brotherton.

TH

by

HE Author's professed defign in this publication, is, explaining the corn-trade and corn-laws, to contribute what is in his power towards keeping corn continually at fuch a moderate price as may be within the reach of the labourer and industrious poor. This he thinks is most effectually done by encouraging the farmer to grow large quantities of corn, by means of a bounty upon its exportation when moderately cheap; for whatever may be thought to the contrary, the quantity fown will ever bear a proportion to the demand; and for this reafon in dear years, the demand being, at least in appearance, increased, a much larger quantity is always fown; and though this for the prefent ftill helps to increase the scarcity, it nevertheless makes provifion for greater plenty the enfuing year.'

In fupport of this principle, he fhews, that, in fact, corn has been fold confiderably cheaper, on the average, fince the bounty on exportation was given, than before; though all other forts of provifion have been greatly advanced in price, during the fame period. But though he is a ftrenuous advocate for a bounty, yet he juftly thinks the prefent too high, or, however, allowed when corn is at too high a price: in which respect we are entirely of his opinion. As to the quantity of corn ufually exported, he states it at no higher a proportion, communibus annis, than at one thirty-fixth part of the whole growth: fo that, if this be truly stated, the exportation can scarce have fo very great an influence on the price of corn, as is fometimes imagined.

Our Author appears to be no friend either to public magazines for corn, or the fcheme of fixing the price thereof by law In the first place, the corn itfelf is almoft fure to fuffer; and in the other, the farmer would be in a worfe fituation than any other member of the community, in not being allowed to difpofe of the produce of his land, according to its real value; which muft neceffarily vary, in confequence of the unavoidable variety of feafons. Therefore all that can well be attempted, is to regulate the matter fo, that the price of corn may be kept in a due medium; which our prefent laws (he fays) appear to have done beyond expectation.

P.

An