cave are by walking on bafaltic columns, that alfo form a path to the end, which may be 60 or 75 yards.

"Its breadth at the entrance about 12 or 15 yards, its height about zo yards, depth of the water in the cave from 10 to 15

feet.

The conflant humidity of the cavern caufes the tops of the coJumns which form the path to be extremely flippery; they are alfo at unequal distances, and unequal in height, fome being a foot or more higher than others, and the width being only the diameter of a column, which renders this not one of the fafelt roads for a traveller, as one flip would plunge him into 10 or 15 feet water, with the additional danger of a violent furf that would render fwimming ufeless. I would advise the vifior, whofe curiofity may lead him to the far end, to take off his boots, by which he will have the ufe of his feet better, and be lefs liable to flip. This ifland, though bate of foil, produces good grafs, and is much efteemed for pafture; fometimes twenty or thirty head of cattle are feeding on it. One family refides here to take care of them during the fummer." P. 158.

This interefting work concludes with a very ufeful Gloffary, of the terms used by the miners in Derbyfhire; and it is curious to obferve the great number of thofe words, which are totally different from thofe of common language. To this account of Mr. Mawe's book, we fhall only add our general opinion; which is, that the fubject is here treated in a plain, accurate, and pleafing manner, fo as to render the work ufeful to the traveller as well as to the mineralogift.

BRITISH CATALOGUE.

POETRY.

ART. 17. Rhyme and Reason; fort and Original Poems. 152 pp. 45. Blacks and Parry. I 1803.

What this author fays of his Poems, in a fhort addrefs to the critics, is perfectly true:

"I fhall not (or myself I flatter)

Your judgments for a moment rack;
Upon the face fo plain ny matter,
You'll give your verdict in a crack."

The exclufive pretenfion of the author to reafon in his thyme, appears to arife chiefly from the abfence of what is unreafonable; there

are

are no ghofts, no myfteries, no extravagantly refined fentiments, no forrows about nothing; but a collection of familiar thoughts expreffed in ealy ftanzas, or couplets. We cannot perhaps give a better specimen of the author's ftyle, than by inferting the following lines, directed' against a fashionable folly, which he has been careful to avoid.

"WRITTEN AFTER READING SOME VERY SAD SONNETS.
Hence, Senfibility! fantaftic maid,

Of joy and forrow equally afraid;

Why com'ft thod thus to brave a life of ftorm?
So thin thy vefture, and fo frail thy form!
Say, doft thou love by Cinthia's dubious light
Near fome lone tomb to fit a woe-worn fprite;
Charm'd the Sad Sonnet's melody to hear,
And smile and fhudder at the midnight air!
Doft thou delight d'et nature's vivid fcene
To caft the yellow tints of fickly fpleen!
Go, impotent of body and of mind,
Thy aching temples with the night-fhade bind;
Hafte to the hermit's and the friar's cell,
There on your felf-taught woes in rapture dwell;
There useless to a world you thus deplore,
Join in his fighs, and add one blockhead more:
There, for your felf, pour forth this pray'r to Heav'n-
That fins of Difcontent may be forgiv'n!" P. 62.

A good vein of humour appears alfo in the defcription of the au thor's poetical miftrefs (p. 34) and in feveral other of his effufions, which are all short, and all in an eafy style. That they should be all equally lively or epigrammatic cannot be expected. Though no name appears to the publication, it is faid to proceed from the pen of the Rev. P. Smyth, of Oxford. Mr. S. feems to promife a fecond part of his collection; but that of course will depend, in fome degree, upon the fuccefs of the prefent.

ART. 18. The Lapfe of Time, a Poem, for the New Year, By Rebecca Edridge. 4to. 18. Robfon. 1803.

To withhold our approbation of the talents and tafle of an author who deferves praife for her good intentions, benevolence, and piety, is a very unpleafant part of our duty. Yet is this duty often impofed on us. The lines before us are manifeftly the production of a reli gious and well-difpofed perfon, not wholly deficient in poetical ideas; but who feems unacquainted with rhythm, and unable to form, except at random, any harmonious verfes. In the very firft page of this Poem (which is meant to be in blank verfe) we find the following line: "From chaos called, burst into creation."

We have marked feveral fimilar lines. In one paffage, there are two fuch in fucceffion. Perhaps the following (though one of them is not properly a verfe) are as tolerable as any in the Poem.

"Defcend among the wretched herds, where guilt,
By defperation wrought, from crime to crime
Proceeding, leads at laft to fhame and death.
With kind prevention the young finner fnatch
From vice: with lenity his faults reprove,
And with religious precepts and advice
Adinonifh him to penitence. Harden'd
Unfeeling wickednefs, which unappall'd
For many years has multiply'd his crimes,
And glories in the mifchief he has wrought,
May mid his fad career a moment find
For contrite recollection and remorfe:
But by the world defpis'd, by all cast out,
And from fociety expell'd, no place
A refuge yields: urg'd by neceffity
Again his depredations he renews,
Checks the monitions of his penfive hours,
And by defpair ferocious made, at length,
A terrible example, cedes his life

To the community which he has wrong'd!" P. 8.

We do not confider this lady as wholly deficient in poetical talent; but the must read and ftudy poetry much longer before the attempts again to write it.

DRAMATIC.

ART. 19. Dramatic Poems. Leonora, a Tragedy; and Etha and Aidallo, a Dramatic Poem. 8vo. 163 pp. 55. Bell. 1801. Amidft the numerous poetical and dramatic productions of ordinary merit which it falls to our lot to perufe, the volume before us is one of the few on which we can dwell with intereft and pleafure. The Tragedy of Leonora is of a regular conftruction; the principal cha racter (at least) is striking, and the language (generally speaking) har monious and elegant. Leonora, the heroine, had, when her husband was believed to be flain in battle, been feduced, or rather violated, by a treacherous friend of his. The husband, Lorenzo, recovered of His wounds; but the confequence of his wife's illicit commerce was a beautiful and amiable daughter, who has been bred up as Lorenzo's child. Having arrived at the age of maturity, fhe falls in love with, and is beloved by, Theodore, a diftinguished young warrior, of birth unknown, but who afterwards proves to be the loft fon of Lorenzo by a former wife. Before the difcovery of Theodore's birth to himself and Conftantia, they have been perfuaded by Sebastian (an infidious relation who knew of the relationship) to marry privately, left Conftantia should be compelled by her parents to wed another. Leonora has now no other means of preferving the young couple from remorse and infamy, than the avowal of her crime, or rather misfortune. Having made this avowal, the deftroys herfelf by poifon. Part of her dying fcene, which is interesting, will give the reader a just notion of this Tragedy, and poffibly induce him to perufe the whole of it.

The doors of Leonora's apartment open, and he comes forward, sup-
ported by Theodore and Conftantia.

Leon. Oh! lead me forward, lay me at his feet,
And twine mine arms around them; trample on me,
Cruth this foul bofom, where thou oft has lain,
With lurking fcorpions'; rend thefe flowing locks,
And bid thefe hands root deep into my breast;
Tear, tear my limbs afunder! let me hear
Deep, well deferved curfes, ere we part,
And bear them with me to the grave I merit.→→
Lor. I dare not look-

Leon. I beg a little moment;

It is the laft; if deaf to Leonora,
Bestow it, as a charity, on one,

A wandering finner, or a dying ftranger,
Who, hearing of thy virtues, comes from far,
To lay his load of mifery at thy feet-
Canft thou refuse it? Is my hour of death
The firft, wherein thou haft deny'd me aught?
Lor. Oh, what rash, fatal act!

Leon. 'Tis paft, 'tis done,

The friendly potion's here-'twas a rash aft;
I fhould have lived to expiate my guilt,
To be thy flave, and bear the fcorn of infamy;
To tell my crimes, e'en in heaven's facred light,
To liftening multitudes, whofe charity
Should not protect me from his righteous ftorm,
Roaring around my unhous'd head at night;
I fhould have seen another in thy arms,
Full blefs'd and bleffing, with moft virtuous love,
Who might have join'd to execrate my name;
But, now, I cannot hope for tortures here;
And wilt thou not demand of God revenge?
Wilt thou not pray that I may meet its wrath,
And pay to heaven the forfeit due to thee?

Lor. If aught my prayers avail, it is not vengeance
I'd afk of heaven; already haft thou bled
So long to hide

Leon. Blefs, blefs thee, for that thought!
I've borne my hell within me-I am finful,,
Yet do not think me quite bereft of shame;
Guilty I am, yet do not think me worthless;
Oh! ftrew fome flattering wreaths upon my tomb,
When aggravating flander ftains my memory
With blacker crimes; fay, it enfhrines a wretch,
Who never knew pollution in her heart;
Heavens! ye can tell how loud remorfe upbraided,
To know careffes which long fince I'd forfeited,
And lift to praises which I could not merit." P. 75.

The

The chief objections to this Tragedy are, in our opinion, the nature of the story (which renders it improper for reprefentation) and the fe vere punishment of Leonora. Her exceffive horror and remorfe are out of proportion to her offence, which (as the act was perpetrated while fhe was in a fwoon on hearing of the death of her husband) confifted only in the concealment of what had paffed. We agree, in fome meafure, with both the objections ftated in the author's Remarks, notwithstanding the answers there given to them.

The paftoral Drama is poetical, but prolix, and ends, like the Tragedy, with fuic. Subjoined to both, are very ingenious remarks; the juttice of which we cannot difcufs within the limits neceffarily affigned to this article. We will only intimate that, in our opinion, the question refpecting the unities of time and place, has been long ago fettled by Johnfon: and the author (whom we rather fufpect to be a lady) fhould recollect that thofe unities were rendered neceffary by the conftruction of the Greek drama, and its chorus, and might not otherwife have been thought of.

Upon the whole, we have been much gratified by this elegant vo lume, and hope to fee more dramatic productions from the ingenious

author.

ART. 20. The Wife of a Million. 4 Comedy, in Five Acts, as pera formed by his Majefty's Servants of the Theatres Royal Norwich, Lincoln, and Canterbury. By Francis Lathom. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Longman and Rees.

1802.

This Comedy has been performed at three different theatres, which affords a reafonable prefumption, that its reprefentation muft in fome degree have been pleafing. It is amufing enough to read, and the morality is unexceptionable. Worfe things are often, to our great aftonishment, endured, nay even applauded, on our own theatres.

ART. 21. The Merchant of Venice, a Comedy, altered from Shakespeare, as it was acted at Reading School, in Octuber, 1802, for the Benefit of the Literary Fund. 8vo. 82 PP. zs. 6d. Pridden, &c. 1802. The benevolent purposes to which Dr. Valpy's dramatic labours and the theatrical amufements of his fcholars are applied, enfure the most favourable notice of this publication from candid critisifa. But no favour, in this inftance, is neceffary; fince the alterations and omiflions in this play are, upon the whole, fuch as good taste and judgment mult, we think, approve. The chief of these confifts in omitting almoft the whole of the fifth Act, and by a new divifion of the fourth, making the triat eene conclude the play. It has been obferved of feveral plays on our ftage, and of this in particular, that the principal intereft ends with the fourth Act. This objection Dr. Valpy has effectually remedied; he has alfo judiciously omitted, in the trial fcene, the condition impofed on Shylock of becoming a Chriftian. The other omiffions and corrections are of lefs importance; but, fo far as we have obferved them, appear to have improved the purity, without leffening the fpirit of the reprefentation. A handfome fum was, we understand, the produce of this performance, and has been prefented by Dr. Valpy to the Literary Fund.

5

MEDICINE.