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obvious, that to attempt to add to their force by any remarks of our own, would be quite superfluous.

It is rather a curious contradiction, that our author, after having declared in the Preface of the Tour to Alet, that his work does "not profess to be a history of Jansenism, formed upon a collation of authorities on both sides," but " merely a faithful abstract of the Port-Royal account of their own persecutions," should endeavour to refute the charge of error which we preferred, relative to his account of M. de St. Cyran's sentiments upon absolution, by the testimony of his enemies. He might, with equal ease, by a similar departure from his own professions, have proved that the great Arnauld himself was born a Huguenot*; that he went to nocturnal witch-meetings; that he was sent to command the troops of the Vaudois, and a thousand such absurdities.

The defence he has set up proves, at least, that his Port-Royal friends are marshalled on our side, while he fights himself in the ranks of the Jesuits.'

Having now stated the grounds on which we preferred against the author the charge of protestantizing Popery, we shall advert to our second general censure, which respected the substitution, in the place of Lancelot's narrative of the conversations which passed with the Bishop during his visit at Alet, a series of conversations framed in the author's own study. He has thought proper to say very little upon this charge; and we do not conceive it difficult to dive into the motives of his reserve. Yet, as he appears unwilling to allow that the liberty in question was inconsistent with the professions of his Preface, we would inquire on what principle it can be reconciled with his promise (Preface, p. 11.) of " the most strict fidelity in point of fact?" The sim

Vide the collection of Tracts published in reply to the Jesuit Bouhours, 12mo. 1700. p. 87; also Bayle's Dictionary, artiele Arnauld,

ple question is, Did these conversations actually take place between the Bishop and Lancelot, or did they not? If not, and this, speaking of them generally, is our unrefuted position, ought not the readers of the Tour to have been distinctly apprized that they were fictitious; since, after the promise in question, they would naturally regard them as genuine and authentic? Seldom have we had occasion to censure a more dangerous and unwarrantable liberty than this mode of giving speech to the dead.

Far from wishing, however, though truth compels this protest, to fasten a moral charge on the character of our author by any thing we have said, we can readily frame an excuse for him by supposing that he conceived his Preface to claim a greater licence than it actually does claim.

That the conversations are uncharacteristic, as well as fictitious, is still our decided opinion. But as our general remarks upon the charge of protestantizing have already explained the grounds of this sentiment, we shall forbear to enlarge upon it.

The greater part of the passages the author has adduced to support the credit of his description of Lancelot's approach to La Chartreuse, which be now avows was "manufactured" in his own closet, (p. 15), do not appear to us to confirm the more incredible parts of his statement. That which is quoted from Lancelot, (p. 21), and on which be places so much reliance, has scarcely any reference to the road in question, but relates to the situation of the monastery. But the best reply to his long list of authorities, even had they been more satisfactory, would have been a reference to Lancelot's own short and simple narrative, as quoted in our former critique (p. 34); by which it is very evident, that he had no just ground for the numerous embellishments be has thought proper to introduce.

What shall we say about our

figurative allusion to Pelion and Ossa? Surely our author cannot be so little read in those annals of extravagance, the wars of the giants, as to need a reference, with which any classical friend could have fur nished him, to Homer, Odyssey, X.

314.

professes to represent; that, instead of the Popery of the Port-Royal School, we have the Protestantism of the Church of England.

We are much obliged to the author for his correction of a verbal inaccuracy into which we inadvertently fell, of putting La before the name of our old friend Fontaine ;

Θασαν επ Ουλύμπω μεμασαν θεμεν αυταρ though, had he been possessed of

επ' Θέση,

Πηλιον εινοσίφυλλον.

weightier cause for triumph, we doubt whether he could have afford

Heav'd on Olympus, tott'ring Ossa stood; ed so much of his paper to labour at

On Ossa, Pelion nods with all his wood.

Pore. We, therefore, really regret that so much labour and assiduity as are exhibited in his catalogue of mountains, and their relative heights, should be so unprofitably applied.

giving importance to this trivial mistake. In return, we will present bim with one or two historical inaccuracies in his work, which he will do well to correct should it ever reach a second edition.

The author has stated (in the As to the few lines of animadver- Tour to Alet), that the Letters and sion with which we noticed the Thoughts of Pascal were written in author's narrative of the situation of the seclusion of Port-Royal. Now, Port-Royal while the civil wars by his sister's narrative, and by that raged at Paris, our justification must of Bossu, whose biographical sketch again involve him in a charge of is much superior to any other, it contradiction. His narrative is in- will be evident that Pascal, though troduced in these words: "On this he occasionally paid visits to Port occasion one of the recluses writes as Royal, never fixed his abode there follows" (Tour to Alet, p. 213). (Vie de Pascal, p. 46). But Pascal What can this mean, but that his shall be his own historian :—“ You readers are to prepare themselves for will not fail," he observes to his the perusal of an original letter opponent, "to say that I am of written by one of the recluses? Port-Royal'; as if at Port-Royal We really took him at his word, and only were to be found those who simply gave credence to his own have zeal enough to defend, against assertion. He would now convict us you, the purity of Christian morals. of injustice and inaccuracy, by de- I know, my father, the merit of parting from his first statement, and those pious recluses: I know their avowing the letter to be his own com- piety; for, although I never have had pilation, and to contain the spirit of any settlement among them, I neverforty-seven of Mere Angelique's let-theless am acquainted with some of ters, fifteen leaves of Fontaine, and five of Du Fosse! We forbear any

comment.

Another mode which he has made use of to repel censure is to state, as a general answer to the charge of having departed from the spirit of the original, that he refers not to one, but to 314 originals. How is such an argument as this to be met? We can only meet it by shewing, as we bave already done, that the portrait the author has drawn is altogether unlike what it

them, and honour the virtue of all.” (Lett. Prov. Œuvres de Pascal, tom. i. p. 326).

At p. 228, Tour to Alet, the author asserts, that the alleged miracle of the holy thorn was the cause of Pascal's conversion. This will be found to be quite a mistake. It will not, of course, be denied that his conversion was prior to the pub lication of the Provincial Letters: now the first of these was published in January, 1656; but the date of the alleged miracle is March, 1656.

Vide the Life, by Bossu, prefixed to Euvres de Pascal, pp. 61 and 105. According to his sister, the event in question suggested to him the first idea of writing the Thoughts on Religion; but it is very obvious, from the evidence of the above dates, as well as from the tenor of her narrative, that our author is here entirely in an error.

Perhaps the public will now be of opinion, that the sympathy which the Author of "Proofs of Mistatements" expresses, towards the close of his pamphlet, for the errors which he would fasten on his Reviewer, might, with great reason, be reversed. We are disposed, however, to adopt a different tone; and rather to express a strong hope, that the influence on his future literary labours, of the present discussion, will be so salutary as to obtain for him, should it ever fall to our lot to criticise his promised works, the praises due to sound discrimination, strict accuracy, and a chastised imagination.

Having, in our former critique, paid the tribute most justly due to the eminent piety and superior ta

lent which marked the Port-Royal School, we would not be understood as at all detracting from that praise, by any of the extracts which have been introduced in this article. Had the Author of the Tour to Alet exhibited a faithful picture of that establishment, we should have been spared the painful task, now im-` posed upon us by a sense of duty, of entering into a detail of those errors and infirmities; which, though neither few nor unimportant, were greatly overbalanced by its eminent services, and by the exalted virtue which adorned it.

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LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE,

&c. &c.

GREAT BRITAIN. PREPARING for publication:-A Work on Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece; by Mr. Walpole: taken from unpublished Documents, Journals, and Papers of English Travellers; and,The Elements of Hebrew Grammar, by Mr. J. F. Gyles, of Bath.

In the press:-Under the direction and patronage of the African Institution, by Mr. Murray, The original Journal of the second Journey of Mr. Mungo Park into the Interior of Africa, in 1805; with the Particulars subsequently received of his melancholy Death, a biographical Memoir of Mr. Park, and Taps and plates: in 8vo. uniform with Mr. Park's former travels*;-Voyage d'un Fran

* Gentlemen desirous of having copies of CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 149.

çois en Angleterre, avec des Remarques sur l'Aspect, les Arts, la Litterature, et la Politique de ce Pays;-A critical Analysis of Lord Bacon's Philosophy, with a Sketch of the Progress of Science from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the Time of Bacon, &c. &c.: by Mr. Alexander Walker;-An Account of a Mission to Abyssinia by Order of Government in 1809 and 1810, by Henry Salte, Esq. F.R.S.: in 4to. with maps, engravings, &c.;-History of theUniversity and Colleges of Cambridge, in 2 vols. 8vo.;--Essays,

the work in 4to. are requested to send their names to Mr. Murray, who prints no more in this form than may be subscribed for. The price in 4to. is not expected to exceed 28s.

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moral and entertaining; by Edward, Earl of Clarendon; An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture, by the Rev. W. Gunn ;-Discourses on the Evidences of Christianity connected with some of its practical Results, by the Rev. Sir H. M. Wellwood, Bart. ;-Essays, illustrative of the Principles, Dispositions, and Manners of Mankind, by the Rev. W. Potter ;-A Narrative of his Incarceration, and of the Massacre of his Family, in France, during the Revolution; and of his second Confinement, as a Prisoner of War; by Count O'Neil;-A Poem, descriptive of Greece, by Mr. W. Haygarth-An Account of the Captivity and Death of Pope Pius VI. by the Widow of General de Merck, the Governor of Valence, at the Period of the Pontiff's Captivity.

Account of the Weekly Amount of Bank Notes in circulation in the year 1814, distinguishing the Bank Post Bils, as well as the Notes under the value of five pounds.

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was

According to an account laid before Parliament, the number of three shilling tokens issued by the Bank of England, from the 10th of December, 1812, to March, 1814, was 3,008,933, and their amount in value 451,5471. 9s.; each token weighing 9dwts. 11grs., the silver of dollar standard. The number of eighteenpenuy pieces issued in the same period 1,510,440, the value 113,283l. 18. 6d.; each weighing 4dwts. 17grs. of dollar standard. No dollars were issued in the same period. At a late meeting of the inhabitants of Sheffield, it was resolved :--That this Meet ing do thankfully accept of the offer made by the Society for bettering the condition of the poor in this town, of undertaking the establishment and conducting of a plan, somewhat similar to one which has been adopted with great good effect at Bath,

Bristol, and other places,-- for detecting the impositions of vagrants and beggars, and for relieving the truly deserving, by furnishing the public with Tickets, at a low price, to be given instead of money to applicants of every description, which tickets will entitle the holders of them to such relief as their cases, after minute investigation, shall seem to require and admit of.

On Feb. 24, and March 3, a long but interesting paper by Dr. Herschell was read before the Royal Society, detailing the result of many years' observations on the sidereal and nebulous appearance of the heavens. The Doctor began by relating his observations on the relative magnitudes of the stars, considering those of the first magnitude to be equal to our sun; determined the magnitudes and changes in the appearance of a great number of fixed stars; gave a history of the alterations which he has noticed in the aspect of the sidereal heavens, during the last thirty years; and described those stars which have Facreased in magnitude, or brilliancy, have lost or acquired surrounding nebulæ, or have had wings, tails, or other peculiarities. He seems inclined to believe, from his observations, that new sidereal bodies are in a constant and progressive state of formation; that nebulous appearances gradually assume a globular character; that the heavens are not infinite, and that stars have a " compressing power." He considers the origin and progress of sidereal bodies to be nearly in the following order: first, vague and indistinct nebulæ, like the milky way; secondly, detached or clustered nebula, which consolidate into clusters of stars; thirdly, these stars becoming more definite, appear with nebulous appendages in the different forms of wings, tails, &c.; and, lastly, that all are finally concentrated into one clear, bright, and large star. Dr. H. concludes that the progressive discovery of nebula will be equal to the improvement of our telescopes, and that in proportion as we are possessed of more powerful spacepenetrating instruments, will our knowledge of the sidereal heavens be extended.Many of his latter observations directed to ascertain the absorption or condensation of nebulae were made on stars which he had before described in his numerous papers in the Phil. Transact.; others were made on those whose places have been determined by foreign astronomers.

EAST INDIES.

On the 20th of September, 1813, a public disputation of the Students of the College

of Fort William in Bengal, took place before the Governor-general, Lord Minto, in Persian, Hindoostanee, Bengalee, Arabic, and Sanskrit; when nineteen students were declared qualified to enter on civil service, in the following relative order of proficiency, viz. Glynn, Hobhouse, Lindsay, Boulderson, Cayley, Ker, Stuart, Hyde, Pigou, Haring ton, Valpy, Oakes, Wilkinson, Harding, Metcalfe, Marjoribanks, Chastenay, D'Oyly, Mainwaring. Honorary rewards were distributed to these gentlemen and some others.

We have much pleasure in extracting the following passage from Lord Minto's address on that occasion:

"I feel particular gratification in reporting, at the end of the sixth year of my acquaintance with the college of Fort William, that its professors and all its officers, have continued to maintain the high reputation, which from its first foundation has enabled them at once to support and adorn the institution.

"A catalogue of the learned works executed since the last disputations, or now in progress, will be annexed as an Appendix to this Discourse; but I shal! briefly notice here some of the more distinguished of those performances.

"Dr. Lumsden, the Persian and Arabic Professor, made a proposal in the course of the year, to publish in succession a series of the best writers on Mohummudan Law, and, in pursuance of that design, has made considerable progress in preparing a corrected edition of the Ashbalio Nuzair; but the proposal has been withdrawn, in consequence of the considerable expense attending the undertaking. I understand, however, that the College Council has it in contemplation to recommend the usual subscription for a hundred copies of a few of the most valuable works on Mohummudan Law, to be printed and published under the superintendance of Dr. Lumsden and the leaned natives now attached to the college.

"Capt. Roebuck, the assistant secretary and examiner, is preparing to publish a new and augmented edition of Dr. Hunter's Hindoostanee and English Dictionary.

"The Bengalee and Sanscrit Professor, Dr. Carey, has just finished the printing of a Grammar of the Punjabee Language, and has now in the press Grammars of the Telinga and Carnatic Languages. He is also writing Grammars of the Kushmeere, the Pushna, Ballochee, and Orissa Languages. In addition to these various and

extensive labours, this pious minister and indefatigable scholar will complete, in two years more, his Bengale Dictionary, which I took occasion to announce in a former discourse.

"A Grammar of the Burmah Language by his son, Felix Carey, who already treads in the devout and learned footsteps of his father, is also in the missionary press of Serampore.

"Mr. Marshman and his young pupil, now become his associate, do not slacken in their pursuit of Chinese grammar and learning; by which, indeed, the public is. about to profit.

"Mr. Marshman has composed a work under the title of Clavis Sineca, or Key of the Chinese Language. It was at first intended only as an augmented edition of his Dissertation on the Chinese Language, formerly published with the first volume of the works of Confucius; but the matter extending as he proceeded, the book has assumed a new form and title. Of this work, the first part is already printed, and consists of two Dissertations; the first on the Chinese Character, the second on the Colloquial Medium of the Chinese. The second part of the Clavis will be a Grammar of the Chinese Language. These two parts of the work will contain from four to five hundred quarto pages; and Mr. Marshman has it in contemplation to add, as an Appendix, a Vocabulary, containing the characters in the whole of the Confucius, which he conceives will render it a complete key to the language.

"The passages in Chinese Characters contained in these works, are printed from moveable metal types, which Mr. Marshman and his coadjutors have had the merit of bringing, by the most laudable ingenuity and perseverance, to a state of perfection perhaps not known before.

"I profess a very sincere pleasure in bringing the literary merits of Mr. Marshman and the other reverend members of the 'Serampore Mission, to the notice of the public, and in bearing my testimony to the great and extraordinary labours which constancy and energy in their numerous and various occupations have enabled this modest and respectable community to accomplish.

"I am not less gratified by the opportunity which their literary achievements afford, of expressing my regard for the ex emplary worth of their lives, and the ter ficent principle which distinguishes

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