INDEX TO THE FOURTH VOLUME. 79 109 166. 344 84 Cottage of Rosa, on visiting the 170 Carnot on the Defence of Fortified Places 265 Defence of Fort M'Henry 433 518 89 Indian Gold Coin, Verses to Cuvier on the Theory of the Earth 206 Kiss of the Rose 273 Lines in Remembrance of a Lady the Essays on the Pleasures of Literary Horsley's Speeches in Parliament 268 Sonnet to *****, on a Moonlight View 457 of Highland Scenery Moore's Irish Melodies 282 Spencer, Rev. Thomas, Verses on the 347 441 Stanzas on a Picture of Newstead Semple's Tour 256 286 Tomb of the Homming Bird DOMESTIC LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC Tableau de la Litterature pendant le American Biographical Works 174 -Gov. Colden 351 Homer, New York edition of 520 -Gen. Scott Collections of New York Historical Ichthyology, Mitchill on Review of Hunt's Feast of the Poets 520 243 349 Harper's Works 158 Gummere's Surveying Vanity and Flattery, a Vision 486 SPIRIT OF FOREIGN MAGAZINES, &c. Literary and Philosophical Society, Transactions of 350 173 521 513 Melsbesmer's Insects of Pennsylvania 83 409 Mitchill op Fish 73 New England Magazine FOREION LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC Ruinford on Carriage Wheels Colquhoun on the British Empire 439 Spurzein's Craniology. 85 Strut's Dictionary of Engravings 351 Turoer's History of England 352 Vaccine Matter, mode of preserving Englefield's Transit Instrument 176 **The vignette prefixed to this vokice; from design by Sully, represents Milton in FOR JULY, 1814. CONTENTS. REVIEWS, DOMESTIC LITERARY INTELLI. GENCE Miss Edgeworth's Patronage, .. ORIGINAL. SELECTED. POETRY. land Scenery, ....... 78 Rodman's Translation of theCommer cial Code of France--Lafon'sCrano Gence. Spurzheim's Craniology-Roman OBITUARY. vie-D Hartley, Esq.--Prince Po- Patronage. By Maria Edgeworth: Author of Tales of Fashionable Life, Belindu, Leonora, &c. 4 vols. 8vo. London, 1814. [From the Edinburgh Review, for January, 1814.] None of our regular readers, we are persuaded, will be surprised at the eagerness with which we turn to every new production of Miss Edgeworth's pen. The taste and gallantry of the age may have at last pretty generally sanctioned the ardent admiration with which we greeted the first steps of this distinguished lady in her literary career; but the calmer spirits of the south can hardly yet comprehend the exhilarating effect which her reappearance uniformly produces upon the saturnine complexion of their northern reviewers. Fortunately, a long course of good works has justified our first sanguine augury of Miss Edgeworth's success, and the honest eulogy we pronounced upon her efforts in the cause of good sense and virtue; and it is no slight consolation to us, while suffering under alternate reproaches for ill-timed seve Vol. IV. Nen Series. rity, and injudicious praise, to reflect, that no very mischievous effects have as yet resulted to the literature of the country from this imputed misbehaviour on our part. Powerful genius, we are persuaded, will not be repressed even by unjust castigation; nor will the most excessive praise that can be lavished by sincere admiration ever abate the efforts that are fitted to attain to excellence. Our alleged severity upon a youthful production has not prevented the noble author from becoming the first poet of his time; and the panegyrics upon inore than one female writer, with which we have been upbraided, have not relaxed their meritorious exertions to add to the instruction and amusement of their age. In the prosecution of our thankless duties, it is, indeed, delightful now and then to meet with authors who neither dread the lash nor the spur; whose genius is of that vigorous and healthful constitution as to allow the fair and ordinary course of criticism to be administered, without fear that their ricketty bantlings may be crushed in the correction. No demands on the tenderness of the schoolmaster; -no puling appeal to sex or age;-no depreciation of the rod! Praise may be awarded-severe truth may be told-and the reviewer be as guiltless of the blame which the author may afterwards incur—as he is uniformly held to be excluded from any share of the fame he may ultimately achieve. Such a writer is Miss Edgeworth. In her case, we are not obliged to insinuate, to venture, to hint, but called upon openly to pronounce our opinion. The overweening politeness which might be thought due to her sex is forgotten in the contemplation of her manly understanding, and of a long series of writings, all directed to some great and paramount improvement of society ;to destroy malignant prejudices, and bring down arrogant pretenaions-to reconcile humble merit to its lot of obscure felicity, and expose the misery that is engendered on the glittering summits of human fortune, by the pursuits of frivolous ambition or laborious amusement to correct, in short, the vulgar estimate of life and happiness, by exposing those errors of opinion which are most apt to be generated by a narrow observation, and pointing out the importance of those minor virtues and vices that contribute most largely to our daily sufferings or enjoyments. Her earlier essays were addressed to the middling classes of society. In her later productions, she has aspired to be the instructress of the fashionable world; a pursuit in which we ventured to predict that her direct success, at least, would not be extremely encouraging. We do not know whether she begins to think so too; but it seems to us that she has endeavoured to unite both these objects in the work before us a short analysis of which we shall present, without far. ther discussion, to our readers. The work is intended, as its title indicates, as a picture of the miseries resulting from a dependence on patronage, in every form |