the late excellent Bishop HORNE, and Mr. JONES of Nayland, he fays: "With their zeal, though not with their abilities, I fhould be happy to co- perate with every fincere and pious Calvinift, in the diffemination of the genuine doctrines of the cross; and, where a Chriftian fpirit prevails, this might be done without offence being given to private opinions on either fide. Neither Calvinifm nor Anti-Calvinifm, abftractedly confidered, conftitutes the precife ftandard by which true Chriftin characters ought definitively to be ascertained; because most confcientious and exemplary Chriftians have been, and doubtlefs ftill are to be, found under each defcription. It is only when Calvinism, as feems to be attempted in the prefent day, is made the criterion by which found divinity is to be determined, that we complain. This is, as it were, to throw down the gauntlet of public challenge; and there never will be wanting, among the faithful fons of our church, thofe who will feel themselves called upon to take it up. But all controverfies on this fubject are to be deprecated; as they tend, generally fpeaking, more to diminifh charity than to increafe knowledge. In this conviction, my wifh is not to prolong the prefent controverfy, fo much as to close it for ever. To this end, may the God of peace incline the hearts of men, as to a zeal of truth, fo to love of peace. And fince we are fallen upon those points which are difputable to the world's end, may the fame God compofe the minds of men to a wife moderation, and bind up their lips in a fafe and discreet filence; that if our brains must needs differ, yet our hearts and tongues may ever be one." P. 460. To this Prayer, which Mr. Daubeny transcribes from the pious Bishop Hall, we truft that our readers are difpofed to unite with us in adding, from the heart, AMEN. ART. V. Letters of the Earl of Chatham to his Nephew Thomas Pitt, Efq. (afterwards Lord Camelford) then at Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 104 pp. 5s. Payne, MewsGate. 1804. THE HE curiofity excited by thefe Letters, as productions of the late Lord Chatham, will be gratified rather by the infight they give into the noble writer's heart, than by any exemplification of the powers of his mind. He appears in them as an affectionate uncle, but by no means as a great ftatelman, nor even as a ftudent of fuperior fagacity. The kind intereft which he takes in his nephew's welfare is the chief claim he has upon our attention, and we seek in vain for thofe luminous obfervations, which might be expected to diftinguish the Letters of Lord Chatham from those of ordinary writers. writers. It will be allowed, however, that his moral precepts are good, and it will be feen with pleasure, by those who think justly, that religion holds its due place in his esteem and recommendation. It is a little curious, at the fame time, to find a preceptor of fo very different a clafs, falling in occafionally with almost the words of the late Lord Chefterfield. He cautions his nephew against "the prepofterous error" of fancying himself above fuch trifles as being genteel, dancing, fencing, riding, and doing all manly exercifes with grace and vigour"; and he rejoices in having obferved, on the contrary, that he was "properly attentive to make himself genteel in perfon, and well-bred in behaviour". He proceeds on the subject of fencing, with fome observations, which it is impoffible not to regret were either not known or not regarded by the son of his nephew. "I am very glad you have taken a fencing master: that exercise will give you fome manly, firm, and graceful attitudes: open your cheft, place your head upright, and plant you well upon your legs. As to the use of the fword, it is well to know it; but remember, my deareft nephew, it is a science of defence: and that a word can never be employed by the hand of a man of virtue, in any other cause." P. 34 The application to other weapons is too obvious to be pointed out, and too melancholy to be difcuffed. Lord C. then cautions his nephew against stooping, and thus proceeds, with great fimilarity to the other noble monitor. "Above all things avoid contracting any peculiar gefticulations of the body, or movements of the mufcles of the face. It is rare to fee in any one a graceful laughter; it is generally better to smile than laugh out, efpecially to contract a habit of laughing at fmall or no jokes." (He concedes, however, fomething.) Sometimes it would be affectation, or worse, mere morofenefs, not to laugh heartily, when the truly ridiculous circumftances of an incident, or the true pleafantry and wit of a thing, call for and juftify it; but the trick o' laughing trivolously is by all means to be avoided: Rifu inepto, res ineptior ulla eft." Ib. Thefe coincidences, however, we do not confider as any reproach to the prefent author; they are the dictates of found good fenfe,and particularly proper to be fuggefted to young men whofe rank in life demands a diftinguished carriage and behaviour. The lift of books recommended by Lord Chatham is very fcanty. The following are the whole number. Virgil, Terence, Pope's Homer, Dryden's Fables, Homer, Euclid, Locke's Conduct of the Understanding, and Treatifes on Human Understanding, Government, and Toleration; Horace, Cicero de Officiis, Amicitia, Senectute, with his Catilinarian, and Philippic Philippic Orations; Salluft, Burnet's Hiflory of the Reformation (abridged), Father Paul on Benefices, Moliere's Plays, Addifon's Spectators; Oldcastle's Remarks by Bolingbroke, Nathaniel Bacon's Obfervations, Lord Clarendon's History, Burnet's Own Times, Revolutions of York and Lancaster in Pere d'Orleans, Rapin and his Continuator, Welwood's Memoirs, Davis's Ireland, Blair's Chronology, Cicero and Demofthenes generally, Vitrarii jus publicum. Thefe, with a Courfe of Logic, and another of Experimental Philofophy, form the whole fyftem of study recommended in these Letters; but it is certainly to be fuppofed that many other authors were privately fuggefled. With refpe&t to fome of thefe, the world is highly obliged to the noble editor for the cautions he has introduced into his excellent Preface, by far the most luminous part of the publication. This is particularly obfervable, with refpect to Bolingbroke's Remarks; on which, and thei; author, we have thefe excellent obfervations. "Some early impreffions bad prepoffeff& Lord Chatham's mind with a much more favourable pinion of Lord Bolingbroke than he might himfelf have retained on a more impartial reconfideration. To a reader of the prefent day, the " Remarks on the Hiftory of England” would probably appear but ill entitied to the praifes which are, in thefe Letters, fo liberally bestowed upon them. For himself, at leaft, the editor may be allowed to fay that their ftyle is, in his judgment, declamatory, diffufe, and involved; deficient both in elegance and in precifion; and little calculated to fatisfy a rafte formed, as Lord Chatham's was, on the purest models of claffic fimplicity. Their matter he (the editor) thinks more fubftantially defective; the obfervations which they contain difplay no depth of though, or extent of knowledge; their reafening is, for the most part, trite and fuperficial; while, on the accuracy with which the facts themfelves are reprefented, no reliance can fafely be placed. The principles and character of their author, Lord Chathamn himself condemns with juít reprobation; and when, in addition to this general cenfure, he admits, that in thefe writings the truth of hiftory is occafionally warped, and its application distorted for party purposes, what further notice can be wanted of the caution with which fuch a book muft always be regarded?" P.xvi. Lord G. has alfo rendered a public fervice, in bringing forward to public notice that fine fentiment of Plutarch, which flands fo frongly oppofed to the paltry maxim of French meannefs, that no man is a hero to his valet-de-chambre". He thus tran!lates and cites it. Real virtue", fays that inimitable moralit, "is most loved where it is moft nearly feen; and no refpect which it commands from ftrangers can equal the never-ceafing admiration it excites in the daily intercourfe of domeftic life. Τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀρετῆς κάλλιςα φαίνεται τα 3 μέλιςα μάλιςα φαινόμενα· καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐδὲν οὕτω θαυμάσιον τοῖς ἐκτὸς, ὡς ὁ καθ ̓ ἡμέραν βίος τοῖς συνουσιν.” Ρ. ix. The paffage is happily applied to the nearer view of Lord Chatham afforded by thefe Letters. It is a little fingular, that Lord C. quotes Latin verfes in the form of profe, and fo they are printed in this book. Horace alfo he quotes very incorrectly. Quid voveat majus matricula dulcis alumno", p. 198, instead of " quid voveat dulci nutricula majus alumno". Would there have been any impropriety in correcting this in the printing? The picture of Lord Chatham in private life, exhibited in these Letters, has at least the advantage of being new; and it is calculated to excite regard rather than admiration. Of the latter, he had received enough as an orator and a statesman; but "Fame is no plant that grows on mortal foil, Set off to the world, nor in broad rumour lies, Of so much fame in Heav'n expect thy meed.” ART. VI. An Account of the Native Africans in the Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone; to which is added, an Accountof the prefent State of Medicine among them. By Thomas Winterbottom, M. D. Phyfician to the College of Sierra Leone. Two Volumes. 8vo. 15s. Hatchard. 1803. THE HE author modeftly calls this publication, which is the moft fatisfactory on the fubject which has yet appeared, a rude sketch of the domeftic economy, and medical knowledge of the inhabitants of the windward coaft of Africa. It is divided into distinct parts, of each of which we shall give a con. cife account. The first volume comprehends every particular relating to the geographical defcription of the African coaft, and more immediately fo of Sierra Leone and its vicinity. The divifion of the year, and the variety of climate, the flate of agriculture, the diet and cookery of the Africans, occupy two or more Chapters. Not the leaft entertaining, or interesting of those which fucceed, reprefent the ordinary employments and amusements of the natives. Some of these are as follows. "The "The Timmanees and Bulloms have moreover a variety of games which they practife with great pleasure, and take vast interest in, even when they are playing for amufement, and not for any stake of value. One of the games which they play at is called k'yungee-poo, or the game of bamboos. For this purpofe a fquare is traced upon the ground, in the centre of which, at the corners, and in the middle of each fide, a hole is formed. Two lines are drawn through the centre, which interfect each other, and pass through and beyond the lateral holes at each of their extremities, a hole or town, as they call it, is placed, which makes the number of towns amount to thirteen. Each player has eleven pieces of bamboo, which are diftinguished by one fet being longer than the other. In order to play, a bamboo is put into one of the corner towns; and, as the moves are alternate, the other party does the fame at the oppofite corner. The first bamboo is then moved to one of the lateral towns, in order to allow others to be introduced. It may at the next move be placed in the centre, end town, &c. The bamboos may be moved forwards or backwards at pleasure, but they must reft at the first town they meet in the path, and not pafs it for another. If one party be in a town at the extremity of a line, or in the centre, and the other be in the middle (or fide town) having the town behind it unguarded, the opponent may step over into the unoccupied town, and thus take a man as at draughts. The players may introduce as many bamboos upon the board as they chufe, but feldom above four or five are brought forward at once, and these can only be introduced at the corner town, which each occupied at firft. "This game does not appear to admit of fuch variety, nor is it fo generally practifed as the following, which is called k'yungee-bel, or the game of palm nuts. To play at this, they have a board about two feet in length, fharp point d at each end, and placed for conveni. ence upon a stand. There are fourteen fhallow round holes formed in it, fix of which are on each fide, and oppofite to each other; these they call towns. The two other holes are placed one at each end, for the players to depofit the counters which they win. Each player has twenty-four palm nuts or counters, four of which he places in each town on that fide of the board which he keeps to himfelt. The game confifts in moving thefe palm nuts all round the board from left to right, but fo that the whole number contained in any one town must be taken up and depofited one by one in the following right hand towns, as far as they will reach. If the last palm nut falls into one of the adverfary's towns, which contain but one or two counters, they are taken up and placed in the depot; but if there be already three in the town, as the addition of another nut forms a complete fet, they cannot be taken, but remain there without doing good to either party. Thus, if in the furtheft town towards the left hand, there happen to be eight palm nuts, the player may take them up; and leaving this town empty, he depofits a counter in each of his own towns in fucceffion towards the right, in addition to thofe they already contain; the remainder are depofited fingly in the three first towns of his adverfary. If in the town in which the last palm nu is placed there be only one or two counters, he not only takes them, but also thofe in the first and fecond town, provided with his addition the number of counters con |