the blank verfe of Milton, affuredly it must be more fafe to think with Cowper, whofe own blank verfe has fuch exquifite variety and melody, than with Johnson, who profeffedly disliked that kind of meafure, and who wrote it with a monotony which, had it been always found in it, would have made it univerfally disliked.

The biographer has divided his Life of Milton into three parts. The first contains the youth of the poet: the fecond his middle age: the third his decline and death. In the first part we find the chief quotations from his Latin and Italian poems which Cowper has fo admirably tranflated. Of these we promised a specimen, and we fulfil our promise with satiffaction. The lines to his father, on his mufical talents, are the first we felect.

"Nec tu perge, precor, facras contemnere Mufas,
Nec vanas inopefque puta, quarum ipfe peritus
Munere, mille fonos numeros componis ad aptos,
Millibus et vocem modulis variare canoram
Doctus, Arionii merito fis nominis hæres.
Nunc tibi quid mirum, fi me genuiffe poetam
Contigerit, charo fi tam prope fanguine juncti,
Cognatas artes, ftudiumque affine fequamur?
Ipfe volens Phœbus fe difpertire duobus,
Altera dona mihi, dedit altera dona parenti;
Dividuumque Deum, genitorque, puerque, tenemus.
Tu tamen ut fimules teneras odiffe Camænas,
Non odiffe reor; neque enim, pater, ire jubebas
Qua via lata patet, qua pronior area lucri,
Certaque condendi fulget fpes aurea nummi :
Nec rapis ad leges, malè cuftoditaque gentis
Jura, nec infulfis damnas clamoribus aures,
Sed magis excultam cupiens ditefcere mentem,
Me procul urbano ftrepitu, feceffibus altis
Abductum, Aoniæ jucunda per otia ripæ,
Phœbæo lateri comitem finis ire beatum."

1

"Nor thou perfift, I pray thee, ftill to flight
The facred nine, and to imagine vain

And ufelefs, powers, by whom infpir'd, thyself
Art skilful to associate verfe with airs

Harmonious, and to give the human voice
A thousand modulations, heir by right

Indifputable of Arion's fame,

Now fay what wonder is it, if a fon
Of thine delight in verfe, if fo conjoin'd
In clofe affinity, we fympathize

In focial arts, and kindred studies sweet?
Such diftribution of himself to us

Was Phoebus' choice: thou haft thy gift, and I

* W

Mine alfo, and between us we receive,
Father, and Son, the whole infpiring God.
No, howfoe'er the femblance thou affume"
Of hate, thou hateft not the gentle Mufe,
My Father! For thou never badeft me tread
The beaten path and broad, that leads right on
To opulence, nor didft condemn thy fon
To the infipid clamours of the bar,
To laws voluminous, and ill obferved;"
But, wishing to enrich me more, to fill
My mind with treasure, led'ft me far away
From civic din, to deep retreats, to banks,
And streams Aonian; and with free confent
Didft place me, happy, at Apollo's fide."

In rhyme the tranflator has been equally fuccefsful in giving the fenfe and fpirit of the author. As in this, from the Epitaphium Damonis.

Mi fatis ampla

Merces, et mihi grande decus, (im ignotus in ævum
Tum licet, externo penitufque inglorius orbi)
Si me flava comas legat Ufa, et potor Alauni,
Vorticibufque frequens Abra, et nemus omne Treanta,
Et Thamefis meus ante omnes, et fufca metallis
Tamara, et extremis me difcant Orcades undis."

"And it fhall well fuffice me, and shall be
Fame, and proud recompence enough for me,
If Ufa, golden hair'd, my verfe may learn,
If Alain, bending o'er his cryftal urn,

Swift whirling Abra, Trent's o'erfhadow'd stream,
If, lovelier far than all in my esteem,

Thames and the Tamar ting'd with mineral hues,
And northern Orcades regard my Mufe.

One of the Italian fonnets fhall conclude our specimens of these versions.

"Giovane piano, e fimplicetto amante,

Poi che fuggir me fteffo in dubbio fono,
Madonna a voi del mio cuor l'humil dono
Farò divoto: io certo a prove tante
L'hebbi fedele, intrepido, coftante,

De penfieri leggiadro, accorto, e buono ;
Quando rugge il gran mondo, et fcocca il tuono,
S'arma di fe, e d'intero diamante

Tanto del forfe, e d'invidia ficuro,

Di timori, e fperanze al popol use,
Quanto d' ingegno, e d'alto valor vago,
E di cetra fonora, et delle Mufe:
Sol troverete in tal parte men duro
Ove Amor mife l' infanabil ago."

"Enamour'd,

"Enamour'd, artless, young, on foreign ground,
Uncertain whither from myfelf to fly,

To thee, dear lady, with an humble figh
Let me devote my heart; which I have found
By certain proofs, not few, intrepid, found,
Good, and addicted to conceptions high:
When tempeft shakes the world, and fires the sky,
It refts in adamant felf-wrapt around,

As fafe from envy, and from outrage rude,
From hopes and fears, that vulgar minds abuse,
As fond of genius, and fix'd fortitude,
Of the refounding lyre, and every muse:
Weak you will find it in one only part,
Now pierc'd by Love's immedicable dart.

Of Mr. Hayley's ftyle in the compofition of this life, we have already given fufficient fpecimens, in the paffages we have extracted; fuffice it to fay, that the whole is written with equal eloquence, and with occafional excellence of a very high. order. We fhall much be pleafed to fee this life published feparately, for the accommodation of readers who cannot conveniently procure the fplendid volume to which it is now annexed; being convinced that to extend the admiration of Milton, is to enlarge the empire of good taste among us. It is not often that errors of the prefs are found in the typrography of Bulmer, we have observed but two in this life-cetra, in the fonnet juft cited, is printed cetta; and, in p. cxxvi, fublimift is printed for fublimeft. The noble quotation from Milton's profe works, in page xlvi, is inestimable, and proves, with other felections, the tafte of the biographer.

ART. II. Memoirs of the Medical Society of London, inftituted 1773. Vol. IV. 8vo. 447 pp. 7s. Dilly, 1794.

ON

N looking over the lift of the writers who have contributed to this volume, we were pleased to see the names of feveral practitioners, whofe known talents gave a reasonable hope of a plentiful harveft of valuable and ufeful obfervations. This hope has not been disappointed, and we can venture to promife the fociety a confiderable increase of reputation from the prefent publication. We shall give the titles of the effays, with fhort ftrictures an fuch of them as appear moft deferving of attention.

ART.

ART. I. Hiftory of a Cafe of Pemphigus, by William Gaitskell, Suren, Rotherhithe.

In this cafe the puftules were in general large, measuring more than an inch in their greateft length. There was a fucceffion of crops, from the 12th of Auguft to the 5th of September; the number of pullules together amounting to more than two hundied. The patient was first affected with a fenfe of pricking in the fkin, particularly of the breaft, neck, and the infide of the arms, legs, and thighs. Puftules foon fucceeded, at first of the bignefs of a pea; they gradually extended themfelves, and in three days acquired the magnitude we have mentioned. The contained fluid was at firft limpid, but in a few days became yellow; in about a week the kin burft, and the part foon healed. As no fever attended the eruption, no medicines were required, excepting a little white cerate after the bursting of the cuticle.

Pemphigus the author confiders, as acute or chronic; in the former it is constantly attended with fever, in the latter never. In order to determine whether it is contagious, as Dr Cullen confidered it, he inoculated himself with the fluid from one of the puftules, but it produced no effect; neither did he ever know an inftance of its being communicated to the attendants or family. Indeed, the rareness of the difeafe, evinces that it is incapable of propagating itfelf. When chronic, it is ufually mild, and requires no medical treatment; but, when it is acute, the fever must be combated with appropriate remedies. If it is attended with fymptoms of inflammation, bleeding and cooling medicines must be had recourse to; when that stage is past, bark and cordials are fometimes neceffary.

ART. II. Obfervations on the Digitalis Purpurea, or Fox Glove, by William Currie, M. D. C. M. S. Chefter.

The great encomiums beftowed upon this plant, by fome phyficians of eminence, who have recommended it as almost Specific in hydrothorax, and useful in every fpecies of dropfy, induced the author to pay particular attention to the effects produced by it on the conftitution. From duly examining them, he is not only difpofed to think its virtues have been greatly over-rated, but even to confider it as a dangerous and pernicious drug, in thofe very cafes in which its powers have been fo much extolled. The cures which have accidentally taken place in cafes where the digitalis has been exhibited, have notdepended, he thinks, upon any fpecific power in the medicine, but on the tumult excited by the vis medicatrix naturæ, in attempt

ing

ing to get rid of a powerful fedative poifon : for fuch he thinks are the evident properties of this plant. Hence, when the powers of nature are very languid, which is generally the cafe in dropfy, or when the medicine is given in large dofes, an increase in the difeafe, or death, muft be expected to follow *. But in cafes of great excitement and nervous inability, the fedative properties of the digitalis, will, he thinks, render it highly useful. In confirmation of this opinion, the author relates a cafe of Mania, in which it fucceeded. A lady of an extremely irritable habit, became maniacal! Large evacuations, by bleeding and purging, were first used, to appeafe the impetuofity and violence of the fymptoms, without effect. Eme-tics, blifters, camphor, and opium, were employed, with as little advantage. The digitalis was then given, and continued until it produced languor, faintifhnefs, and confiderable irregularity in the pulfe; this was followed by calmnefs, and at length fleep, which had in vain been attempted to be procured by opium. The author afterwards tried it in other fimilar affections, and always with mitigation of the fymptoms. From confidering the power of the drug in diminishing the frequency of the pulfe, he was induced to try it in an hemoptyfis, and in a cafe of hæmorrhage from the nofe; in both the discharge of blood ceafed foon after adminiftering the medicine in dofes of one grain, repeated every fix hours.

That the digitalis has failed in most of the cafes of dropfy in which it has been given in this town, and that it frequently produces mifchievous effects, the writer of this article has had frequent opportunities of learning; and its lofing fo fpeedily the high reputation it had acquired, confirms this opinion. Of its foothing power in maniacal affections, and of its reftraining hæmorrhages, the few cafes here given are by no means fufficient to justify our entertaining very fanguine expectations. We have neverthelefs thought it right to give this analysis of the paper, which is ingenioufly conceived; but muft recommend to those who fhall be inclined to try this powerful drug, to ufe it with caution. The high opinion that fome phyficians

* In the fixth article of this volume, we find Mr. Gaitskell, after trying the effect of arfenic, in a cafe of general dropfy, ineffectually, had recourfe to the digitalis. This, he fays, removed the dropfy, but the patient died a few days after the evacuation of the water. The death of the patient, the writer thinks, was occafioned by water on the brain; but, as he was not allowed to open the head, he could not afcertain that point. Is it not more probable that the fymptoms that induced him to think there was water on the brain, were occa fioned by the fedative and deleterious properties of the digitalis?

of