"Their LABOURS are in general very easy, and are trufted folely to nature; for thou à fome old woman commonly prefides, the delivery is fometimes conducted without a fingle attendant, or without its being known to any one, until the woman makes her appearance at the door of the hut with the child in her arms. Upon the Gold Coaft, it is confidered as infamous for a woman in labour to cry out. Unfortunate cafes, however, occur, where the powers of nature being ineffectual, the woman dies undelivered, her attendants being unacquainted with any means of rendering her affiftance. In fuch cafes, they frequently fufpend the woman by her heels, to alter the pofition of the child, or they put her into a variety of poftures, rolling her about, and rubbing the abdomen with their hands fmeared with palm oil. This fubject is particularly noticed by Dr. Schotte, in a letter to the celebrated profeffor Stein, "Depuis mon fejour ici, il y en a une negreffe de morte dans fes couches, ou plutot fans accoucher : peut etre aurois je pu lui porter de fecours, fi le prejugé general du pays ne m'en avoit empechè, qui eft de ne jamais laiffer un homme approcher ure femme dans cette condition. Lorfque l'accouchante a cu des doulcers reiterées, et les fages femmes ne voyent pas paroitre l'enfant, fans s'embarraffer de fa fituation dont elles n'ont pas la moindre idée, elles prennent une drap plus long que large, font une tour autour du ventre de l'accouchante, et une demie douzaine de femmes tirent de chaque bout de drap de toute leur force pour exprimer l'enfant; la negreffe, dont je viens de parler, fut tirée de la facon." In another letter he continues, "La facilité d'enfanter des negreffes depend felon moi de la bonne conformation des os du baffin: elles font dans l'etat ordinaire plus retrecies que chez les femmes blanches; la caufe eft, je crois, l'ufage de l'eau froide, dont elles fe lavent les parties a chaque inttant, non pas cependant avec certe intention, mais pour prevenir les excoriations et les chancres produits affez fouvent fans aucune virus venerien par la chaleur, le fejour, l'epaiffement, et l'acreté de l'humeur qui lubrifie cettes parties." Vol. ii. p. 209. Under the difeafes of children, the author notices "That frange propenfity called DIRT EATING in the West Indies, where it frequently occurs among the flaves, and often proves fatal by inducing chronic complaints, is fometimes met with among the children in Africa. When this pernicious practice has been followed for fome time, it induces fuch a change in the countenance and complexion, as renders the difeafe at first fight obvious to every one. The colour of the fkin changes from a deep black to a dirty light brown, or even approaches to a clay colour. The fkin alfo feels rough, and is cold to the touch. The tunica conjunctiva, or white of the eye, becomes of a dusky yellowish wake. The countenance appears dejected, the eye-lids are puffy, and the whole face is bloated. The gums lofe their healthy red colour, becoming pale and flaccid, and the infide of the lips and tongue appears almoft white; even the hair undergoes a change of colour, and becomes of a dirty white, like that of the white negro. There is a conftant uneafy aching pain at the ftomach, attended with a degree of naufea and loathing of food. The pulfe pulfe at first is not much affected, but gradually becomes quicker, and very fmall; there is frequently a troublefome palpitation of the heart, and a conftant throbbing of the large veffels in the lower part of the neck. The refpiration is of en opprefled, and is always hurried by the leaft degree of exercife. The abdominal vifcera, particularly the mefenteric glands, being enlarged and hardened, caufe the belly to fwell; the lower extremities become anafarcous; and frequently towards the conclufion of the difcafe, effufion takes place into the cavities of the abdomen and thorax." P. 225. There are four Appendixes, of which the firft contains an account of circumcifion, as practifed on the windward coaft of Africa; the fecond, of the bellenda, or African bark beforementioned, under the head of dyfentery; the third, remarks fuggefted by the perufal of Mr. White's work on the regular gradation in man; and the fourth, fome extracts from Profeffor Blumenbach's obfervations on Negroes, tending to prove (in contradiction to Mr. White) that Negroes, with refpect to their mental capacities and talents, do not appear to be in the leaft inferior to the other races of mankind." Thus, we are told, that an inftance of a Negrefs who was a noctefs, is mentioned by Haller; that Francis Williams, a fchoolafter of Jamaica, wrote Latin poems; that Ignatius Sancho distinguifhed himfelf by fome well-written letters; that James John Eliza Capitein, a Proteflant minifter, a learned man and a good orator, was a Negro; that Amo, a Negro, had the degree of Doctor of Philofophy conferred upon him at Wittenberg; and that Monf. Lillet, a Negro in the ifle of France, is among the corresponding members of the Parifian Academy of Sciences, and is celebrated for his meteorological obferva tions. The volumes altogether must be highly acceptable to the public, and are rendered ftill further ufeful, by an excellent map of the windward coaft of Africa, from the Rio Grande to C. Pallas, by a plan of the river Siera Leone, and by other engravings illuftrative of the author's fubject. ART. VII. Difcourfes on Theological and Literary Subje&s. By the late Rev. Archibald Arthur, M. d. Prof for of Moral Philofophy in the University of Glasgow. With an Account of fome Particulars in his Life and Character, by Prof for Richardfon. 8vo. 8s. Scrimgeours, Glafgow; Longman and Rees, London. 1803. WE are far from confidering pofthumous publications, in general, as injurious to fame: where they have been brought forward without proper claims on the public, no man thould fhould form from them his eftimate of the author's literary character. There is a natural feeling that commands us to give credit for all that is praife-worthy in them to the author, and to refer all that is bad, to the avarice of a publisher, or the mistaken admiration of a friend. But there are fome pofthumous works which have the higheft claims to patronage. When a character of diftinguifhed abilities may have been prevented by circumstances from doing himself juftice during life, it becomes the duty of his friends to give its reward to departed merit, and to make public, what the world has a right to expect. But even here, there is confiderable hazard of publishing what the author would not have published himself. It is a delicate and difficult tafk. Sentiments may have been expreffed in an occafional eflay, which the author might have feen reafon afterwards to expunge, or to modify; or facts may have been admitted, and conclufions drawn from them, which fubfequent enquiry might have difcovered to be erroneous. It may alfo be fuppofed, that in pieces written at different periods, and of courfe in very different flages of improvement, contradictions may be involved, which from their never being meant for publication, the author did not concern himfelf to discover, nor to correct. We may allow, too, that in delivering lectures, a teacher may occafionally introduce extracts from authors with whom he coincides in opinion, without in the fmalleft degree detracting from his own originality; and if it has fo happened that he neglected carefully to note fuch paffages, it is fcarcely poffible after his death to diffinguith them, or to difcover the fources from which they have been derived. For the care of felecting the materials of Mr. Arthur's pofthumous volume, again which hardly any of thefe objections can be urged, we are indebted to three of his mof intimate friends, Profeffor Richardfon, Dr. Taylor, and the Rev. Dr. Stevenfon M'Gill. We do not hesitate to declare, that they have executed with fuccefs their duty to the public, and to private friendfliip. In the life of the author, which is written in Profeffor Richardfon's characteri!lic manner, we are informed that he was the fon of a farmer in good circumftances, who being a man of fenfe and worth, was inftrumental in forming his mind. When about eight years of age, he was placed in the grammar-fchool of Pailley, whence, after he had completed the ufual term of five years, he was fent to the Univerfity of Glafgow. Here his progrefs was uniformly great. The Profeffors under whom he ftudied did not fail to difcover, through an exterior rather unprepoffeffing, the feeds of uncommon intellectual powers; and their friend friendship as well as his own merits, recommended him while ftudying theology, to the place of tutor in a gentleman's family, near Pailley, a fituation which is generally embraced by Scotch ftudents of theology, till they can obtain a permanent fituation. His religious tenets not being fo ftrict in fome fpeculative points as thofe adopted by the popular leaders of Prefbyterianifm in Scotland, it was with fome difficulty that he obtained a licence to preach. Soon after this, he was appointed chaplain to the University of Glafgow, where his discourfes gave fo much fatisfaction, that Dr. Reid, who was now aged, determined to propofe him to the faculty, as a fit perfon to be appointed his affiftant and fucceffor. They elected him unanimoully in May, 1780. From this period, he difcharged the active duties of the Ethic clafs, till the death of Dr. Reid in 1796, after whom he lived only one year, dying on the 14th of June, 1797. Profeffor Richardfon's narrative is, as we have already mentioned, written in his ufual ftyle, with elegance and feeling; we regret that we cannot allow room for an extract. The volume contains, befides the Life of the author, five Theological and fourteen Literary Difcourfes; befides an Effay on the Danger of Political Innovation, by Dr. Reid, which bears the flamp of his mind; but has a fronger relation to the times, than to the volume in which it is printed. The fubjects of the Theological Difcourfes are, 1. On the Argument for the Exiflence of God, from the Appearances of Defign in the Universe. 2. Obfervations by Mr. Hume on the Existence of God, confidered, 3. The Goodness of God, defended from the Objections of Mr. Hume. 4. On the Juftice and Moral Government of God. 5. Of Evils and their Caufes, and of the Syftems refpecting them. We shalt give a fhort analysis of the first of these, and then proceed to remark on fome of the Literary Difcourfes. It is neceffary in this to explain what is meant by defign. "If a man propɔfe to make a clock, and adjusts wheels and weights to one another, fo that a motion is produced, by means of which the hours are pointed out, we fay that he acts with defign, and we fay that the piece of work which he has produced manifefts contrivance. Whenever any thing is properly adapted for producing an end, or answering a purpose, we fay it is done with defign." P. ro. Apply this to the ftructure of the material world, apply it to man. Is not the fun properly fitted to give light? Are not the limbs of the human body admirably calculated for action? When we fee a fhip or a houfe, we infer that they were the effect of defign; that they had builders; to think otherwife would be to fuppofe an effect without a caufe, D BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXIV. JULY, 1804. which which is abfurd. We judge of caufes from obferving their effects intuitively, and not from experience, by which we can only acquire knowledge concerning contingent truth or matters of fact. Since we infer that a fhip or a house cannot be produced without defign, it may fafely be affirmed, that more complex pieces of mechanifm require defign alfo. The inference here is obvious. Thus far the Profeffor is on the fame ground with Dr. Paley. He proceeds to answer some objections which have been made to the existence of God by the ancient and modern philofophers. It has been urged, that as we fee every thing going on regularly, by the established laws of motion, without any appearance of fupernatural agency, there will be no abfurdity in fuppofing, that they have done fo from all eternity, of confequence that the univerfe never had a beginning. Some of the ancients fuppofed that a kind of Deity was diffufed through creation, and actuated the whole, as the foul does the body*. Some contended for the eternity of matter and motion, and imagined that this "fair creation" was rubbed and juftled into form by chance. Our modern Atheifts go a step further, and affert, that the universe, as it is, exifted from all eternity. Mr. Arthur allows, that the eternity of the world is not neceffarily atheistical, but that the world thould be eternal without a defigning caufe, is not only atheistical but inconceivable. "That there fhould be motion without a mover, is juft as impoffible, as that motion fhould begin at any given time, without a mover. Matter has no motion in itfelf". Mr. Arthur continues: "If we confult the monuments of hiftory which have been tranfmitted to us, they will not only convince us, that this earth at least which we inhabit, is not eternal, but even that its origin is not many thousand years removed from us. The hiftory of no nation carries us very far back into antiquity." P. 25. Again: "It is not to be fuppofed, that fuch empires, with their arts, could have entirely perished, and have been fwept off, as it were, from the The paffage in the fixth Book of the Eneid, in which Virgil inculcates this doctrine, is the finest in all his works; perhaps the finest of all antiquity. "Principio, cœlum, ac terras, campofque liquentes, face |