"In vain with Anglo-gallic phrase You've nothing French but the Difeafe." XXXV. DISTRESS. A poetical Effay. Humbly infcribed to the Right Hon. John Earl of Radnor. The fecond Edition corrected and enlarged. By Mr. Arnold. 4to. Is. Swan. That this piece has paffed into a second edition, is a proof of its merit, which few poetical compofitions of this age can boaft: and yet this is but an indifferent performance. The author has painted (in blank verse) the diftressful circumftances of the indigent, in a pathetical and moving manner: yet we cannot say much in praise of his poetry. XXXVI. The Confummation. A facred Ode, on the final diffolution of the world: Infcribed to his grace the archbishop of Canterbury. By Thomas Newcomb. 4to. Is. Owen. Mr. NEW COMB's poetical abilities are already fo well known to the public, from his Manners of the age, in thirteen moral fatires, and other works, that it is needlefs for us to give any character of his performances in general; or to fay more of this piece in particular, than that our author has given his imagination the usual play and scope, in which other writers upon this tremendous fubject have indulged themselves; a licence for which, in our opinion, nothing but the nobleft poetry, the jufteft images, and the most useful inferences, can fufficiently compenfate, with a ferious and judicious reader. We cannot help looking upon that man as a bold painter, who first took upon him to delineate the aweful and inconceivable fcenes of that dreadful period of futurity, concerning which we have no particular revelation, and of which we can form no ideas, but from revelation. XXXVII. A Poem facred to the memory of the late reverend P. Doddridge, D. D. By H M. 4to. 6d. Buckland. This small piece is much fuperior to most of our late productions of the Elegiac kind. It appears to be the work of a young writer, who, from the fpecimen he has now given the public, feems to have a genius well adapted to this fpecies of poetry. XXXVIII. XXXVIII. The QUACKADE. A mock heroic poem, in five Cantos. By Whirligig Bolus, Efq; 4to. 2s. 6d. Cooper. As what the very ingenious Mr. Prior pleasantly says, in his admirable Alma, of writers in general, Authors, before they write, fhould read, must be particularly true of the authors of the Review; fo we may affure our readers, that we have fubmitted to the penance of reading the Quackade thro'; and we hope for the honour of British tafte, that few of the most patient perufers have undergone the fame mortification. It conlifts of 5 cantos and 1552 rhymes, which is the principal difcovery it afforded us. The anonymous author indeed ftrains hard to have endeavoured to defign to fet out with a complaint of the Apothecaries against the Chemists, but in a few pages he loses fight of that, and every other subject that we can imagine. Several lines from Garth are cruelly mangled in it; fome from Pope; and he has affected an imitation of the games in the Dunciad in his last canto, fcolding being propofed as one of them; but in the interlocutors introduc'd here and every where else throughout this wonderful work, there is no diftinction of character, . but rather an effential harmony and fameness of nonfenfe, without pause or interruption for many pages. Indeed the fevereft critics muft allow our bard an amazing fertility this way; and he seems to have no bad knack at inverting all the purposes of writing. As he had no plan, and no characters, it is with fome confiftence that he informs us of nothing; his fatyr is entirely harmless, and his panegyric alone (with which he has endeavour'd to adorn fome eminent names in phyfic) can offend. We shall decline giving our readers any tafte or fpecimen from this jargon of rhymes, as it is impoffible for pharmacy to compound a more naufeous Farrago, and we wish our abftinence on this head may be confider'd by the author as fome alleviation of these ftrictures. MEDICAL. Tranflated XXXIX. A differtation on fuppuration. from the Latin of John Grafhuis, M. D. fellow of the Cæfarean academy, and of the royal academy of surgery at Paris. 8vo. is, Knapton. The character of this little tract is fufficiently established from its having had the Premium adjudged to it by the royal academy of furgeons at Paris, as the learned author informs us in his fhort preface, He feems to have confidered the fubject subject with great attention, and has treated it very diftinctly.. In his first chapter of fuppuration and fuppurating medicines, he affirms fuppuration to be the spontaneous action of a living body, which the utmost art is not capable of imitating, or but very imperfectly. His account of the manner, or rationale of it is ingenious and probable. The conftant feat of it, he affirms, is the cellular or adipose mem- · brane, whether near the external fuperficies of the body, among the mufcles, or in the fubftance of the Vifcera: and after defining Pus to be a mixture of heterogeneous particles, chiefly liquid, and changed into one homogeneous fluid, he fuppofes it to confift principally of fat. This he renders very probable from obferving, in the first place, that the matter, first poured into the cavity of the adipose membrane from its broken cells, is fat, of an inflammatory colour, and tending to putrefy: for he obferves, that if any confiderable blood-veffel is discharged into it, fuch contents are not changed into Pus, but difcharged as mere blood with it and though the Serum and lymph will infpiffate by heat and inflammation, he thinks their mixture with the Pus must only render it thinner, and without the appearance of compleat concoction. Secondly, from its evident whitenefs, vifcidity and pinguedinous appearance. He admits, that it differs in gravity from fat, and finks in water; but remarks, that the matter destined to the formation of fat, while crude, has neither its appearance nor properties. Thirdly, from the evident wafte of fat in abfcefles. But, after thefe and a few other reasons, he allows a conflux of other humours to coucur in it, In his chapter, on the action of fuppurating medicines, which is, as he confeffes it, naturally an obfcure fubject, after repeating, very juftly, that, in ftrictness, fuppuration is the effect of no medicine, he adds, that yet, in general medicines may be faid to promote it, by regulating fuch inflammations as could not be refolved; and which, by preventing induration or gangrene, may be confidered as contingent affistances to fuppuration. And this they forward, either by keeping off the air, as plafters and cataplafms: by ftopping perfpiration with tenacious adhesive bodies, as heat and humidity are allowed by all practitioners necessary to complete fuppuration: by relaxing the parts with mucous or oily medicines: by diminishing the exceffive heat of inflammations; in which circumstance relaxers may be confidered as coolers: and again, by raifing the deficient heat to to the standard neceffary to maturation; which is promoted by hot and ftimulating medicines. Befides thefe he obferves, that fome different medicines fometimes conduce to this end, by exciting an inteftine motion in the humours already stagnant in, or just effufing into, the cavity; or by occafioning fuch a flight incipient putrefaction, as fometimes difpofes to fuppuration. He concludes the operation of digeftives, which are applied to the humid part itself that is to be formed into Pus, to be pretty similar. The third chapter of the claffes of fuppurating medicines, enumerates many of the officinal medicines and fome others, which correspond to the different intentions above mentioned. The fourth chapter of the use of suppurating medicines in external diseases, contains many practical directions, appli¬ cable to a general variety of cases, and directs several other topical compofitions. It feems indeed, a therapeutic and judicious extenfion of the former. But, as this valuable tract is of a fmall bulk and purchase, and can entertain only our chirurgical readers, we chuse to refer them to the work itself, which we conceive they will approve, as methodical and fatisfactory. The tranflator, Mr. D'argent's language is very clear and intelligible; tho' we imagin❜d a gallicifm or two in it, which might poffibly be only typographical errors. (End of the Catalogue.) ART. XX. The pillars if Prieftcraft and Orthodoxy fhaken. In two vols. 12mo. 6s. bound. Griffiths. HESE two volumes are intended as a fupplement to Tthofe published the last year, in three volumes, enti It tled A Cordial for Low Spirits. The tracts are of the same kind, and the defign of the editor the fame in both. Mr. Barron tells us in his preface, that he is greatly mistaken, if this collection be not as well received as the former. confifts, fays he, of very curious and entertaining pieces, fome of them fo fcarce, that they are not to be purchased for any money; and he affures us, that they are faithfully printed, according to their respective originals, or best editions. The pieces contained in these volumes, are, 1. A discourse on Ifaiah Ixvi. 7, 8. preached on the 10th of June; being the birth-day of the Pretender, 2. A dialogue concerning bishops, between the reverend Mr. JENKIN EVANS, affiftant minifter to the curate of White Chapel, and Mr. PETER DOBSON, a man of fenfe and fome learning. 3. An addrefs to the univerfity of Oxford, occafioned by a fermon, entitled, The divine inftitution of the ministry, and the abfolute neceffity of church-government: preached before that university, by the reverend Mr. Jofeph Betty, on the 21st of September, 1722. By J. W. L. 4. An enquiry into the confequences of fuppofing that Baptifm makes Infants, dying in infancy, inheritors of the kingdom of heaven; or is of any advantage to them in the world to come. Wherein is clearly demonftrated, that fuch doctrine did not, nor ever can, proceed from a merciful and all-wife Being; and therefore not from God. Firft printed in 1733. 5. A letter of confolation and council to the good people of England, occafioned by the late earthquakes. By the late THOMAS GORDON, Efq; 6. A seasonable apology for father Francis, chaplain to prince Prettyman the Catholic. By the fame. 7. A fhort view of the conduct of the English clergy, fo far as relates to civil affairs, from the conqueft to the revolution. 8. An answer to the Country Parfon's Plea against the QUAKER'S tythe-bill. In a letter to the right reverend author. By a member of the house of commons. 9. Mr STEPHENS's fermon preached before the honou rable house of commons, January 30th 1699.700. Suppofed to be the joint-compofition of Mr. STEPHENS and JOHN TRENCHARD, Efq; author of Cato's Letters, &c. 10. A difcourfe concerning unlimitted fubmiffion and non-resistance to the higher powers: with fome reflections on the resistance made to king CHARLES I. and on the anniversary of his death; in which the MISTERIOUS doctrine of that prince's faintship and martyrdom is UNRIDDLED. Preached at Bofton in New-England, January 30th 1749-50. By JONATHAN MAYHEW, A. M. paftor of the weft church in Boston. 11. The manner of confecration of the Bishops in DUB. LIN. By the lord primate, in the year 1660. Mr Barron has fubjoined the following note to this tract, viz. The editor confiders this fmall piece as a prelatic comment on the words of Chrift, MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD; and as fuch it is here published. |