&c. from the parallels to the meridian of Greenwich, and likewife their diftances from that meridian."

This fecond Part of the Philofophical Tranfactions for the year 1803 concludes with a lift of the prefents received by the Royal Society, from November, 1802, to June, 1803, and the Index for the whole volume.

ART. III. Poems from the Portugueze of Luis de Camoens: with Remarks on his Life and Writings, Notes, &c. By Lord Viscount Strangford. Second Edition. 6s. 12mo. Carpenter. 1804.

THE merits of the Lufiad of Camoens, which was fo ably tranflated by the ingenious Mr. Mickle, are already fo well known, and fo univerfally acknowledged, that it will be fuperfluous to introduce, in this place, any commendation or account of that poem. To Lord Strangford, we are folely and exclufively indebted for the minor productions of Camoens; which, though lefs known, appear to be of eminent merit ; and thefe verfions, for graceful fimplicity, elegance of expreffion, and harmonious verfification, are fuch as have not often been furpaffed. They would do honour to poets of more established celebrity.

The noble author, in a well-written Preface, gives a most interesting and accurate account of the various adventures and fufferings of this neglected favourite of the Mufes; who, as a man of talent and misfortune, ftrongly demands our fym. pathy. Genius, however, is unhappily but feldom accompanied by prudence, and we cannot but feel, that the greater part of the diftreffes which fell upon Camoens, were occafioned by his own irregularities, and by yielding too impli citly to the diftates of his paffions. We are willing with Lord S. to make every allowance for the effervefcence of youth, and the infirmities of human nature, but there is an obvious danger in palliating glaring errors, fo far as to term them "the little wanderings of amatory frolic". We infert, however, his very feeling defcription of the latter years of the life of Camoens, before we proceed to his poetical excellencies.

"The latter years of Camoens prefent a mournful picture, not merely of individual calamity, but of national ingratitude.

"He, whofe belt years had been devoted to the service of his country; he, who had taught her literary fame to rival the proudeft efforts of Italy itfelf, and who feemed born to revive the remembrance of ancient gentility, and Lufian heroifin, was compelled in age, to wander through the streets a wretched dependent on cafual contribu tion. One friend alone remained to footh his downward path, and guide his fteps to the grave, with gentleness and confolation. It was Antonio

Antonio his flave, a native of Java, who had accompanied Camoens to Europe, after having refcued him from the waves, when shipwrecked at the mouth of the Mecon. This faithful attendant was wont to feek alms throughout Lisbon, and at night shared the produce of the day with his poor and broken-hearted mafter. Bleffed, for ever bleffed, be the memory of this amiable Indian! But his friendfhip was employed in vain: Camoens fank beneath the preffure of penury und disease, and died in an alms-house early in the year 1579. He was buried in the church of Saint Anne of the Francifcans; over his grave Gonçalo Coutinho placed the following infcription, which for comprehenfive fimplicity, the tranflator ventures to prefer to almost every production of a fimilar kind :

"Here lies Luis De Camoens:

He excelled all the Poets of his Time.
He lived Poor and Miferable;

And he died fo.

M.D.LXXIX."

The Poems are divided into four claffes, Madrigals, Stanzas, Canzonets, and Sonnets; we infert the following as among the most pleasing.

"When day has smiled a foft farewell,

And night-drops bathe each fhutting bell,
And fhadows fail along the green,
And birds are ftill, and winds ferene,

I wander filently.

And while my lone ftep prints the dew,
Dear are the dreams that blefs my view;
To Memory's eye the maid appears,
For whom have fprung my fweeteft tears,
So oft, fo tenderly.

I fee her, as with graceful care
She binds her braids of funny hair;
I feel her harp's melodious thrill

Strike to my heart-and thence be still,

Re-echoed faithfully,

I meet her mild and quiet eye,

Drink the warm fpirit of her figh,
See young Love beating in her breaft,
And wish to mine its pulfes pret,

God knows how fervently!

Such are the hours of dear delight;
And morn but makes me long for night,
And think how fwift the minutes flew
When laft amongst the dropping dew

I wander'd filently." P.52.

This alfo, though concife, is elegant,
Dear is the blush of early light

To him who ploughs the pathlefs deep,
When winds have rav'd throughout the night,
And roaring tempefts banish'd fleep-

Dear

Dear is the dawn which springs at laft,
And shows him all his peri! past.

Dearer to me the break of day,
Which thus thy bended eye illumes;
And, chafing fear and doubt away,
Scatters the night of mental glooms,
And bids my fpirit hope at last

A rich reward for peril past!" P. 54.

Our readers will doubtlefs thank us for inferting the fol owing moft happy imitation of Anacreon.

"I met Love wandering o'er the wild,
In femblance of a fimple child;

I heard his name, and in the found
So much of fweet perfuafion found,
That, piteous of his tears, I preft
The little darling to my breaft;
And watch'd his quiet flumbers there,
With all a father's tender care!
From day to day the orphan grew,
And with him my affection too;
Till at the laft, around my mind
The winning boy fo clofely twin'd,
I learnt his baby form to prize,
Like one of thofe within mine eyes,
And lov'd the young adopted more
Than ever fire did fon before.

I had a bank of favourite flow'rs,
Which bloffom'd e'en in wintry hours;
Content, the bofom's thornlefs rofe,
And innocence, the heart's repofe:-
Love, like a rude and wanton boy,
Broke into my bow'rs of joy,
Tore content's young roles thence,
Kill'd repofe-and innocence!

Ah wretch! what mifchief haft thou done
To him who lov'd thee like a fon;
How couldst thou dim the doating eyes,
Which did thee, like their babies prize?
How break the heart of him who prest
Thee cold and weeping to his breast;
And watch'd thy quiet flumbers there
With all a father's tender care? P.

.79.

Lord Strangford is a very young man; and this volume, if we mistake not, was his firft appeal to public criticism: we are therefore the more defirous to exprefs our fatisfaction with his tranflations; and fincerely hope, that the hours of relaxation from his prefent public employment will be allotted to fubjects of ftill greater utility, and more general importance.

ART.

ART. IV. An Inquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Paper Credit, &c.

(Continued from p. 538.)

IN N the fourth Chapter, Mr. Thornton goes into fome of the material queftions directly arifing from the ftoppage of payment of the bank. Banks of advance, or of credit as they are fometimes called, are subject to these interruptions of their operations, from any caufe which fhall produce fuch a demand for coin on them, as fhall exhauft, or endanger the exhauftion of their hoards. These may arise from several caufes; danger from a foreign or domeftic enemy; great adverle balances of trade; imprudent augmentations of their paper; and even imprudent and timid diminutions of it. It is to the third of these causes that Smith tacitly attributes all the difficulties which the bank has ever laboured under in fupplying coin on demand; and he fays, that it has gone on in this impolicy for years together.

This erroneous pofition of a writer, who has long had too much faith given to him, is here ably refuted. It is by its loans to government, that the bank paper is chiefly augmented, and from this augmentation its danger from his caufe, if any, muft arife; but it is here thown, that it government were difpofed to dictate to the bank an iffue of notes beyond what its true intereft requires, it is fo tar under the controul of the proprietors, that it would be unable to effect it; and that it is far from the intereft of adminiftration fo to do; for as on occafion government is able to raise 20 or 30 millions by way of general loan, and the utmoft emiffion they can obtain of the bank would be four or five only, it would not answer their purpose, to throw every tranfaction of the money market into confufion on fuch an account. It is only where the individuals will not advance money to the flate, that it can be necessary to have recourfe to the expedient of borrowing new paper of a bank, a refource foon exhausted; and Mr. Th. here ftates this to be the fituation of fix of the principal courts of Europe. Hence their paper falls to discount. The depreciation of their national coin, which he mentions as taking place at the fame time, by which that fall is endeavoured to be concealed, is a gainful fraud in appearance, but only in appearance. The bank proprietors alfo, he clearly fhows to have no intereft in increasing their notes beyond a due amount, to increase their dividends; for as a great body of them have not more than 100ol. ftock, the gain on which would not exceed 201. on the emiflion of five millions; the advance of the

prices of neceffaries which it would cause, would not only annhilate that gain, but involve them in a greater lofs; befides the hazard in which it might involve the money market, and thereby the remainder and greater part of their capitals. The amount alfo of the bank notes being now publicly known, is, as he obferves, a check upon all fuch excels.

Hence, though it would be followed with danger, he contends, no apprehenfion is to be entertained of it. But he maintains, with great appearance of reafon, that the contrary mifconduct of the bank, the great diminution of their paper, below the amount now become accustomed, would produce a demand for its coin, which might exhauft its coffers, and involve it in infolvency. For all the greater payments in London are now made in bank paper, and those of the country by bills drawn on London; and the bankers in that city have introduced fo much œconomy in the ufe of that paper, that it is capable of very little reduction, without embarraffing all the payments there, and putting a flop to all money tranfactions in the kingdom. This would occafion a run on the country banks; which, as they always have it in their power, would fupply themfelves with coin from that of London, until they had utterly exhaufted it, if the flate fhould not interpofe; and thus a national bank, acting on the principles of Smith, by endeavouring to guard against a run upon it by reducing its notes, might render that total exhauftion certain, which was not much to be apprehended before.

To a timid adoption of a meafure of this nature, a great part of the difliculties of the bank, in the beginning of 1797, are here afcribed. Its paper, moreover, Mr. T. contends, cannot be reduced to two thirds of what at any time has become its cuflomary amount, without the imminent danger of producing infolvency in the capital. For fome years preceding the fufpenfion, the notes in circulation had been nearly eleven millions; they had been reduced for fome time to between nine and ten, and at that very period to 8,600,000l. or by a defalcation of 23 millions. A reduction little exceeding one million more muft have produced that great calamity; and even the diftrefs arifing from the reduction which had taken place, was severely felt in the metropolis, before the demand for coin from the country was made on the bank, which fo far reduced it. We add, that even inmediately after the ftoppage, the company extending its credits and paper, the difficulties in the money market ceafed, and the flocks role and Mr. T. informs us, that coin became remarkably plentiful; and the bank, as was fuppofed, replenished with it. We with to confider what Mr. Thornton has faid on the fubjects treated in this chapter, which ftill continues,