greatest compliment an Author can pay to his readers is, that with all due perfpicuity, he conveys his ideas in language well fuited to the fubject he treats, without intermixing in his difcourse heterogeneous matter, and a fuperfluity of particulars, which, inftead of commanding the attention, and keeping it always awake, and in action, tend to weary it, and give the reader a difguft to the fubject.

Mr. W. affirms that an Author, who writes upon fubjects of fcience, may often find it by no means convenient to deliver himself in such a manner as to be always intelligible even to those whom he would wish to have for readers.' What can Mr. Williamfon mean by this declaration? And what can the Public think of that Author who waftes his time for no other purpose than to render himself unintelligible, and give his readers unneceffary trouble?

In the tranflation of his Author, Mr. W. has ftriatly adhered to the original; which, as a tranflation, is undoubtedly a great perfection: yet we cannot acknowledge the prefent performance to be preferable to thofe of Cuan, Simpfon, or Barrow. For a learner, this work is certainly a bad one, because the beautiful fimplicity and concifeness of the fubject is by no means attended to. The original is in many places redundant; and Dr. Barrow has, judiciously in his edition, left out fuch fuperfluities as tend, without explaining the subject, to confufe the English reader. The original Greek abounds with a number of conjunctions and adverbs, which, when properly used, add great beauty to that language; but fince the idiom of the English tongue will not admit of their ufe, it is certainly wrong to retain them.

ART. XII. Tales of the twelfth and thirteenth Centuries. From the French of M. Le Grand. 2 Vols. 6s. fewed. Kearfley.

1786.

T

12mo.

HE object of M. Le Grand, in this curious and amufing collection, is fuppofed, by the tranflator, to have been the investigation of the truth, and an ardent zeal for the reputation of his country. He hath detected the encroachments of other nations, and particularly the Italians, on his own, and replaced the stolen laurel on the brows of his countrymen. At the fame time he hath contefted the claim of priority made by one part of the nation over the other, by the fouthern over the northern provinces of France.

The Provençal Troubadours have long obtained a credit for excellence to which they had no fair claim, while the old French Romancers have been generally treated with neglect or difdain. It is the business of this publication to refcue them from the obfcurity into which they have unjustly fallen; and to prove from their own works, that they are entitled to a higher diftinction

than

than the caprice of fortune, or the prejudices of fashion and cuftom, have hitherto allowed them.

M. Le Grand's obfervations on the different fpecies of romance, in his introductory difcourfe, are in general very judicious. His diftinctions are accurate and clear; and his reflections are the fruit of much hiftorical knowledge, and no small share of philofophical fpeculation; though his partiality to his own country hath in one place betrayed him into an oftentatious boaft, that may indeed be excufed, but will undoubtedly be laughed at.

A very interefting remark here prefents itfelf, which I believe has never been yet fuggefted by any writer: it is, that thofe provinces of France, which in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries produced the authors of romance and fable, are precifely the fame, that, in the feventeenth and eighteenth, have given to the world Moliere, Boileau, Racine, Rameau, Crebillon, La Fontaine, Boffuet, Voltaire, Rouffeau, Corneille, Buffon, Condé, Turenne, Le Brun, Le Pouffin, Des Cartes, Vauban, &c. &c. &c. ; that is, the genius, the eloquence, the invention, the imagination, the fublimity of talent, in fhort, all the celebrated poets and the illuftrious heroes, who have adorned their country, or extended the limits of their feveral arts, fciences, or profeffions. Shall we not then conclude that nature, in the unequal diftribution of her gifts between the feveral districts of the kingdom, has been pleafed to allot the mental endowments more especially to the provinces fituated to the northward of the Loire fhall not pretend to account for this phenomenon; but fatisfied with ftating the fact, fhall leave the caufe to be investigated by others. But I cannot help obferving, that fhe had already begun in thofe early ages to endow our northern provinces with that creative power, that vigour and fecundity of conception, which once more, for the fecond time, but with much more reafon, has rendered our writers models for imitation, and objects of admiration, to all Europe.'

Our readers will be better pleafed with the following extract, which will give them fome idea of thefe Tales:

Those who read with attention must obferve that every age and nation has not only its peculiar ftyle, but that in the works of pure imagination, as the romances, and even in thofe that are compofed of the most extravagant fictions, one difcerns the manners and the character of a nation defcribed with as much truth, and often with more fpirit than in their very hiftories themfelves. This obfervation will appear to be founded on reafon, when we reflect, that the writer in all the whimsical inventions of his brain, in all the operations that he conceives, is obliged to employ men, and fuch men precifely as he fees about him. By this interefing picture which the tales prefent of the manners and cuftoms of their earlier ages, they will probably engage the attention ftill more than they will pleafe by their intrinfic beauties. And it is not merely the general manners, or thofe of the more elevated ranks in life, that they reprefent. Caleulated, like comedy, to delive the ordinary tranfactions of private

life, they fhew the nation in its undrefs, if I may be allowed the expreffion. Opinions, prejudices, fuperftitions, cuftoms, turn of converfation, mode of courtship, all are to be found in them, and in them alone.

The manners, which the stories exhibit, are not, I must confefs, always fo chatte and decent as I could with them; and this circumftance I have feveral times had occafion to regret in the courfe of my work. The expreffions are often ftill worfe, their texture being frequently of the moft difgufting coarfenefs. Whether it proceeded. from the fimplicity of the times, or that they thought, as is obferved in the Romance of the Rofe, that there was no evil in naming what God had made; or whether it be attributed to the imperfection and infancy of the language, the fpirit of libertinifm not having then invented thofe ingenious turns of phrafe and circumlocutions, by which, in half concealing it, one renders the fin more feducing, thefe fabulifts had no kind of referve; but, as the vulgar faying is, called a fpade a fpade: and it is not in the relation of the author only that the ear is fhocked with thefe expreffions; one is furprised to find them put into the mouths of virtuous maids, women of character, and fathers inftructing their children.

• After all, if we had nothing to object to thefe authors but the indecency of a few words, they might eafily be pardoned. But befides the frequent coarfenefs of the ftyle, fome stories are in their fubftance reprehenfible; for libertinifm and adultery never can be reconciled to found morals. Yet, however liable to objection the diction, the manners, or morals of thefe tales may be, it is my business to reprefent them fuch as they are, fince they are defcriptive of the times, Nevertheless, the refpect that is due to the reader shall not be forgotten. Though all embellishment fhall be rejected, and though to preferve the character, the humour, and fimplicity of the fables, the language may fometimes appear bald, quaint, or approaching to vulgarity, I fhall be careful not to admit any immodeft or indecent expreffion. There are feveral ftories which, on this account, must be fupprefed entirely; others, of which I fhall prefent only an extract, or from which I thall retrast the too licentious paffages. That cannot be called tripping an author; bat only putting him into a condition that may enable him to appear in good company.'

Thefe Tales hock probability. We cannot realife many of the incidents, yet they difcover a vigorous and wild imagination. They awaken curiofity; and as they are generally fhort, they are seldom tedious and we eafily fuffer ourfelves to be carried away by the pleafing illufion into the land of inchantment.

ART. XIII. A Plan for rendering the Poor independent on public Contribution: founded on the Bafis of the Friendly Societies, commonly called Clubs. By the Rev. John Acland, Rector of Broad-clift, and one of his Majefty's Juftices of the Peace for the County of Devon. To which is added, a Letter from Dr. Price. Evo. 1s. Rivington, &c. 1786.

HE increafe of the poor-rates hath been a long and growing complaint; and the burden is, at this day, fo grievous,

TH

that

that if fome remedies be not applied to relieve it, the landed in tereft (oppreffed as it is by fuch an accumulation of taxes) muft, in time, fink under its weight.

Various means have been devised to check the progress of this increafing evil. Some have been plaufible in theory; but their application hath been deemed injurious and tyrannical; and long-established grievances have been fubmitted to, from a fear that the means defigned to remove them would, introduce ftill greater inconveniences.

The Author of this pamphlet appears to be influenced by the worthieft motives, in the Plan which he offers to the Public; and the leaft that we can fay of it is, that it merits the most serious attention of all defcriptions of people; and whether practicable or not, Mr. Acland will be entitled to the thanks of his country, for his very laudable attempt to blend in one scheme the interests both of the rich and of the poor; and to make usefulness co-operate with charity.

In his addrefs to the poor (in a separate paper), he hath given a general view of his plan; and as that comprehends the leading objects of the fcheme, we will prefent an extract of it to our readers in the Author's own words:

In the first place, it is built upon the bafis of the friendly fo cieties, commonly called clubs, and without interfering in the leaft with thofe already established. It forms all the members of fociety (excepting fuch as are therein excepted) into one general club'; which is fubdivided into twelve different claffes of perfons, who are all, under certain circumstances, to receive, as a matter of right, a different allowance according to their respective contributions, in cafe they should stand in need; but otherwife, the contributions of the richer fubfcribers are to go in aid of the poorer ones, and afford them a better provifion under all their wants. But for matters of this fort I must refer to the plan itself, and proceed to give an account of the monthly fums to which the weekly contributers of the two lower claffes are, under the following circumftances, to be entitled.

The fubfcribers of three-halfpence per week will be entitled to fixteen fhillings per month during confinement through fickness, or what is commonly called bed-lying pay; to eight fhillings per month till they are able to earn, the man fixpence a day, and the woman threepence a day, or what is commonly called walking pay; and for every child more than two and under eight years of age, four fhillings per month. The fubfcribers of twopence per week will also be entitled to one pound four fhillings per month bed-lying pay; to twelve fhillings per month walking pay; and for every child more than two and under eight years of age, five fhillings and fixpence per month. And though one parent fhould die, the furvivor is to receive the children's pay for both, with the deduction only of the weekly fubfcription of the deceafed parent, for fuch time as any one child thall receive its allowance. With a like deduction of both parents fubfcription, all orphan children are to receive according to the fubfcription

fubfcription of their parents; for inftance, were two fubfcribers of zd. each to leave fix orphan children, thofe children would receive a clear 31. 4s. 8d. a month; of which fum, whatever remained over and above their neceffary nurture, is to be laid up for their ufe.-The fubfcribers likewife of 1d. and 2d. are, after they arrive at the age of fixty-five, to receive, the one 3s. 6d. the other 4s. per month; after feventy, or any time before, that they fhall not be able to earn, the man 6d. or the woman 3d. a day, the one 5s. 6d. the other 6s. 6d. per month; and after feventy-five, or any time before, that they shall be rendered incapable of all labour, the one 12s. the other 145. per month.

And on account both of the greater number of gratuitous subscribers, and the higher rate both of houfe-rent and all the neceffaries of life, it is propofed, that the inhabitants of the city of London, and the circumjacent places to the diftance of four or five miles, fhall have an encreased allowance of 4s. per month in the first instance, of 2s. in the fecond, of is. in the third, of 1s. 6d. in the fourth, of 25. in the fifth, and of 2s. 6d. in the fixth. And for the fame reasons it is propofed that in fome other of the great trading towns and cities, there fhould be an advance; in the firft inftance of zs. 6d. in the fecond of 15. 4d. in the third of is. in the fourth and fifth of 1s. 4d. and in the fixth of 2s. per month. Such is the plan that is now offered to your confideration, and it is hoped that no liberal mind will be in any doubt whether to prefer fuch a certain comfortable and independent fupport to the uncertain, wretched, and dependent pittance fupplied them, by enforced and precarious relief from their refpective parishes.'

Mr. Acland fubmitted his plan, before he published it, to the infpection of Dr. Price, who approved of its general principle, and made fuch obfervations on the fubject, as tended to confirm the writer's general notion, though in fome inferior points of calculation the Doctor proved that Mr. Acland was miftaken. As the approbation of fuch a diftinguished writer muft give weight to any plan that may be offered to the Public, on fubjects of this nature, we cannot better promote the object of this publication, nor pay the ingenious and worthy Author a more acceptable compliment, than by prefenting our readers with the following extracts from Dr. Price's letter.

I have confidered with much attention your plan for making a general provifion for the poor. It is impoffible that the principle on which it is founded fhould not be univerfally approved, nothing being being more plainly equitable and reasonable than that "the poor, "while young, and in health and vigour, fhould be obliged, by "fmall favings, to contribute towards their own fupport, when dif"abled by fickness, accident, or age." The many clubs eftablished for this purpose in different parts of the kingdom, however illformed their plans generally are, prove this to be the fenfe of the poor themselves; and therefore afford a particular encouragement to the legislature to think of establishing fome plan of this kind, and thus to eafe the Public of a burden which is grown almost intolera ble.' . . .. In fhort, it feems to me that your plan has a ten

dency