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CATALOGUE

OF NEW PUBLICATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, FOR OCTOBER, 1808.

Sunt bona, sunt quædam mediocria, sunt mala plura.———MART.

NEW WORKs.

The History of Don Francisco de Miranda's attempt to effect a revolution in South America, in a series of Letters. By a gentleman who was an officer under that general, to his friend in the United States. To which are annexed, sketches of the life of Miranda, and geographical notices of Caraccas. Boston Oliver & Munroe. 12mo. pp 300.

An Enquiry into the chymical character and properties of that species of Coal, lately discovered at Rhode Island · together with observations on the useful application of it to the arts and manufactures of the castern States. Boston. Printed by Snelling and Simons. Devonshire Street. 12mo. pp. 21.

An address to the citizens of Massachusetts, on the causes and remedy of our National Distresses. By a Fellow Sufferer. Boston, printed at the Repertory-Office. pp. 13.

A new literary paper has been issued by Messrs. Oliver & Munroe, of this town, entitled the " Boston Mirror." The establishments of "The Emerald," and "The Times" are united in this publication, price 3 do'ls. per ann.

The constitution and associate statutes of the Theological Seminary in Andover; with sketches of its rise and progress. Published by order of the trustees. Boston. Published by Farrand, Mallory, and Co. Belcher and Armstrong, printers. 8vo.

A Sermon preached at the opening of the Theological Institution in Andover: and at the ordination of Rev. Eliphalet Pearson, LL. D. Sept. 28, 1808. By Rev. Timothy Dwight, D. D. president of Yale college. Boston. Printed by Belcher and Armstrong 8vo. pp. 56.

Three Dissertations on Boylston Prize Questions for the years 1806 and 1807.

By George Cheyne Shattuck, M. D.— Being the Dissertations to which the Boylston Prize Medals were adjudged. To which is prefixed, the Publick Account of their Adjudications. Published by Farrand, Mallory & Co. and Hastings, Etheridge & Bliss, Boston; by Hopkins & Bayard, New-York; and Hopkins & Earle, Philadelphia. Belcher & Armstrong, Printers. 8vo. pp. 196.

NEW EDITIONS.

The Middlesex Collection of Church Musick; or, Ancient Psalmody revived. Containing a variety of plain psalm tunes, the most suitable to be used in divine service; to which is annexed, a number of other pieces of a more delicate and artificial construction, proper to be performed by a choir of good Musicians occasionally, in Schools and Publick Religious Assemblies. Second edition, revised, corrected, and enlarged. Boston, printed and sold by Manning & Loring, No. 2, Cornhill.

Begone Dull Care; or, How will it end? a comedy, in five acts; as performed at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-GardenBy Frederick Reynolds. Eoston, published by E. Larkin, No. 47, Cornhill. Greenough & Stebbins, printers.

The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthagenians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians. By Mr. Rollin, latè principal of the University of Paris, professor of eloquence in the royal college, and member of the royal academy of inscriptions and belles lettres. Translated from the French; in eight volumes. Vol. V. The twelfth edition, illustrated with maps. Boston, published and sold by Hastings, Etheridge and Bliss.

The sixth and last volume of the Fam

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ily Expositor; or, a paraphrase and version of the New Testament; with criti cal notes, and practical improvement of each section, in six volumes. Containing the epistle of Paul the apostle to the Hebrews, james, 1. Peter, 11. Peter, 1 John, 11. John, 111. John, Jude, Revelations. By P. Doddridge, D. D. To which is prefixed, a life of the author, by Andrew Kippis, D. D. F. R. S. and S. A. From the eighth London edition. 8vo. pp. 621. S. Etheridge, printer, Charlestown.

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Wm. Hilliard, of Cambridge, (Mass.) has issued proposals for publishing by Subscription, An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary, containing an account of the Lives, Characters, and Writings of the most ancient persons in North America, from the first discovery of the country to the present time, and a Summary of the History of the several Colonies, and of the United States. The work to be printed in one vol. 8vo. containing 500 pages. Price to Subscribers,two dollars and fifty cents. George W. Woodman. of New-Bedford, proposes publishing that valuable and scarce book, entitled, "Thoughts on Religion, and other Important Subjects; newly translated from the French of Blaise Pascal. To which are added, memoirs of his life and writings. To be comprised in one vol. 8vo. of about 400 pages, on a fine wove paper, and delivered to subscribers at two dollars.

Hopkins and Earle, Philadelphia, and

Farrand, Mallory, and Co. Boston, have issued proposals for publishing a system of exchange operations between the principal places of Europe Containing the names and divisions of the different monies; the usances of Bills; the times of grace, payment, protest, and the course of exchange between relative places in Europe, as respectively establish ed; the manner in which their respective accounts are kept, and the manner of reducing bank to current money; with a reciprocal deduction of the different monies calculated upon the order of exchange, &c. In the manner of the French system of Joseph Rene Ruelle,by Peter Kuhn, jun. Esq. late consul of the United States of America, near the republick of Liguria. To which will be added, the weights, qualities, and names of all current coins, foreign and ancient, &c. &c It will appear on a fine wove paper, in an 8vo. size of between 3 and 400 pages, and delivered to subscribers, in boards at 4 dollars.

Proposals are issued by E. Bronson and others, Baltimore, for publishing a new periodical work, to be entitled, Select Reviews, and the Spirit of the Foreign Magazines.

Manning & Loring intend publishing, by Subscription, a new and improved edition of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, sung at the Chapel of Lock Hospital. This work, (compiled by the celebrated MADAN,) comprised in about 200 royal quarto pages, printed on a fine and thick paper, and on a page of the size of the last London edition; and no alteration of any kind in the Musick shall be permitted. The price to subscribers, stitched in a printed paper covering, will be two dollars fifty cents."

NOTE.

[** We regret that our readers are deprived of the Retrospective Review for this number, by the accidental loss of the manuscript; and hope that the following abstract will not be without interest.

FOREIGN LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

Abridgement of the Trial, in an action, in which Sir John Cafr, Kit was Plaintif, and Messrs. Hood and Sharpe, Defendants : damages laid at £2000 The trial took place in Guildhall, on the 25th of July, 1808, before Lord Ellenborough and a spécial fury: taken down in short hand, by Thomas Jenkins.

THIS abridgement shall contain all that is material. The reader will find in it every principal point touch ed upon by Mr. Garrow, the leading counsel for the plaintiff; the whole of what was said by the Judge, and by the Attorney General, who was the leading counsel for the defendants, with the sole exception of what the latter said by way of return for the trade-like compliments paid him by Mr. Garrow, and which interchange of compliments I omit for the sake of decency.

The case, as stated by Mr. Garrow, was this That Sir John Carr (whom hereafter I shall call Carr, not perceiving that he has any right to claim the cramming up of my pages with his lengthened name) was the author of several works which he had sold for considerable sums of money; that he was about to publish a new work of the nature of his former works, which had hitherto been well received by the publick; that, at this juncture the defendants published the libel in question, called, "My Pocket Book;" that the evident object of this work was utterly to destroy Carr as an author, in which object it must succeed, unless censured by the verdict of the jury; that the "Pocket Book," besides ridicule in words,

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contained several caricatures, exhibiting Carr in the most ludicrous light; that he was there represented as a stupid writer, a gleaner of insipid stuff, a fool, a lunatick, and as so nearly like a mere vagabond, as to carry about his wardrobe in a pocket handkerchief; that the de fendants had said, that they had a rod in pickle for Carr, and that they would do for him; that the effect of all this had been a clearly prov. ed damage to Carr; that Sir Richard Phillips had, merely from the effect of this attack, been deter red from purchasing the intended new work, for which, otherwise, he would have given £700; and that there must necessarily have arisen to the plaintiff other damages, of which it would be impossible to estimate the amount. The evidence first given, was to prove the publication of the "Pocket Book," and then evidence was produced of a continuetion of the publication after notice of action, which evidence in aggra vation having been objected to by the Attorney General, the following conversation took place between the Judge and Mr. Garrow.

Mr. Garrow.-The ground on which I offer it, is this: I say, that these defendants meant to publish to the world, a work, the object of

which is, to render Sir John Carr ridiculous. I say, this publication of these defendants, is false and scandalous. Can it be doubted that I may prove, that the defendants have continued that publication, to shew the extent of the injury, and the spirit of the offending party?

Lord Ellenborough.-But we must allow a latitude to the free discussion of the merits and demerits of authors and their works; otherwise we may talk indeed of the liberty of the press, but there will be in reality an end of it.

Mr. Garrow-Suppose I had a wen on my neck, or had any other deformity. Am 1 to be held up to ridicule, to gratify the malice of an individual, who chooses to be my enemy, and is that individual to continue to expose me, after notice given to him of his misconduct? That notice is given to him by the service of a process, which is the commence ment of the action.

Mr. Attorney General. The answer to all this, is, that you can bring another action, if you are damnified by any subsequent publication.

Lord Ellenborough We must really not cramp observations upon authors and their works. They should be liable to exposure; to criticism, and ever. to ridicule, if their works be ridiculous; otherwise, the first who writes a book up on a subject will maintain a monopoly of sentiment and opinion upon it. You must never shew the absurdity of it, although it be absurd, that is, you can never do it with effect. This would tend to the perpetuity of errour. A bad book might appear, it would propagate errour, and so we should go on to the end of time. How any body could conceive that an action is maintainable, for publishing a work, exposing another work to ridicule,is Vol. V. No. X. 3 W

to me surprising. Reflection upon personal character is another thing.

Mr. Garrow. I am not contending that the defendants may not endeavour to shew, that the plaintiff's book is a ridiculous one; but, they must not endeavour to destroy the plaintiff altogether, as an author.

Lord Ellenborough.-I do not know that. Suppose a person publishes a book containing sentiments that are injurious to publick morals; of infinite mischief to the publick taste: or bad maxims of government; or any thing else that ought to be decried; are we not to be at liberty to expose that work; aye, and expose the author of it too, as far as he is connected with that work, and that, in the most pointed language of wit, humour, or ridicule; the more point"ed and forcible, the better? He who does so, if the work be ridiculous, or a bad one, confers a favour on, by producing a benefit to, the publick. That it destroys the reputation of an author, and puts an end to the circulation of his works, is nothing, if his works be worthless. Mr. Locke published an answer to sir Robert Filmer; would any body give twopence, after that, for the works of sir Robert Filmer? What then? was Mr. Locke to be made the subject of an action, for destroying the reputation of sir Robert Filmer? Not at all. It was a reputa tion that ought to have been destroyed, and was destroyed; for which the world has been greatly indebted to Mr. Locke. I really do not know where we are going to. To talk of the liberty of the press, if one man may not write freely, on the work of another, lest he should destroy the reputation of that other, would be idle. Shew me an attack on the moral character of this plaintiff, or any attack on his character unconnected with his books, and I shall

be as ready as any man, who ever sat here, to protect him in that character; but I cannot hear of malice, on account of turning his works into ridicule.

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Mr Garrow. They prevent the sale of all the plaintiff's works, by this immoderate ridicule of him, by wholesale, as an author.

Lord Ellenborough-They do so. They depreciate his character as an author, conceiving they have a right to do so.

Mr. Garrow. Then let them shew that they have done it fairly. Lord Ellenborough. No, they need not. YOU must show that they have done it unfairly.

Mr. Garrow. So I do, my Lord, by the exhibition of this frontispiece; which shews, that this book is not a fair criticism, but a malignant slander.

Lord Ellenborough. Go on with

your case.

Evidence was then given to prove that Carr was the author of other works. Lord Valentia was called to prove, that the " Pocket Book," was intended, in his opinion, to expose Carr's Irish Tour to ridicule. Lord Mountnorris, under whose name a letter has been published, stating that he attended solely and conscientiously on behalf of sir John Carr," said, upon his oath, that "he had read the Pocket Book, and also the Stranger in Ireland; that he had compared them both, chapter and chapter; that he considered the former as intended to ridicule the latter; that the caricatures are so strongly drawn, that it was impossible to mistake their application to sir John Carr; and, finally, that he should have bought the Stranger in Ireland, but would not after reading the Pocket Book, the latter having depreciated the former so much in his opinion." In a cross-examina

tion, which appears to have been gone into by the Attorney Gener al, for the purpose of obtaining a repetition of this evidence so compli mentary as well as useful to his cli ents, Lord Mountnorris said, in terms, if possible, still more explicit, that after a most attentive perusal of both the work and the criticism, he was induced, by the impression produced on his mind by the latter, not to purchase the former, though he was before disposed to make that purchase.

Sir Richard Phillips's Examina tion might have been very short; but owing to his own indiscretion, it was rendered very long; and as he ap pears to have been considered as the real cause of the action against Messrs. Hood and Sharpe, the whole of this Examination shall be given. He was examined by Mr. Dampier, and cross-examined by the Attorney General.

Q. Did you, sir Richard Phil lips, purchase of sir John Carr, a book, called, "The Northern Sum mer; or, a Tour round the Baltic". A. I did.

Q. And also a "Tour through Ireland; and another along the Rhine?" A. I did.

Q. They are all in quarto, I be lieve? A. They are.

Q. What was the purchase money for each? A. The price of the first was fixed by Mr. Hayley, who introduced sir John Carr to me.

Q. Will you state the sums which you paid for these books? A. Four hundred pounds for " The Northern Summer; or, Tour round the Bal tic," and in consequence of a small increase in the quantity, I added a nother 1001. of my own accord.

Q. So that he had 5001. for his book? A. Yes, he had. Mr. Hayley, of whom I have a high o pinion,settled the price of that book,

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