inflicted on him the punishment which he cruelly practifed on innocent travellers. His daughter was fpared by the conqueror, by whom she had a fon, after which the married Deioneus fon of Eurytus, king of chalia. Apollod. 3.- Diod. 4.-Hygin. fab. 38. Plut. in Thef.-Propert. 3, el. 21. v. 37.-Ovid. Met. 7, v. 440.” In his preface, the author announces his intention of publifhing, at fome future period, a Biographical Dictionary, in which he proposes, with the candour of intricate investigation and impartial difcernment, to connect the events, the characters, and the hiftory of modern times with the revolution, and the venerable records of antiquity. This is certainly a bold and arduous undertaking, yet there feems little reafon to apprehend but that the path which the learned author has long and fo indefatigably pursued, the general scope of his reading, and the wide circle of his tudies, will lead to the fuccefsful accomplishment of his purpofe. He may at leaft be affured of our hearty good withes; we think, with him, that fuch a work is a defideratum in lite. rature, and happy fhall we be to receive it from his hands. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. ARL. 14. Modern Paris; a free Imitation of the Third Satire of Amidft fome feeble and fome imperfect verfification, there are many lines to be found in this Imitation of Juvenal which deferve praise for their vigour and fuccessful application. As for ex ample: "Who are thefe mifcreants that the world moleft ; At home what were they, if they had a home, BRIT, CRIT, VOL. XXVI. Nov, 1805. Instead Inftead of fervants, mafters of the fete They now prefide where they perform'd of late. They ride in coaches, late who flood behind; ART 15. A Poetical Epifle to James Barry, Efq. containing Strictures upon fome of the Works of that celebrated Artift. With an Appendix. By Francis Burroughs, Ejq. 8vo. 132 pp. 3s. 6d. Carpenter. 1805. "Among the very few," fays this Poet, "by whom I am known, and to whom I had communicated my intention of publifhing the following Epiftle, it was pretty generally fuggefted, that, if my object was pecuniary, I fhould rather direct my mind to the compofition of a modern romance, or allay the pru riency of my fancy on topics and in ftrains like thofe of Mr, Little; that poetry was out of fashion, and verfes could not be endured, unless they were loofe or licentious; that the fubject was too vaft for modern ears, and too comprehenfive for modern ideas, and that chagrin and difappointment muft fucceed to the attempt." The author's friends were egregiously mistaken. If they had faid that verfes could not be endured, unless they were good, and that his were not fufficiently polished to ftand the telt of modern ears, they would have been much nearer the truth. As to writing ftrains like Mr. Little, we must fay, that, with all their faults, his are the trains of a Poet, which probably would be beyond the reach of Mr. B. Another hint, which the author's friends might have given, is this, that if he would make his poem popular here, he should not have grofly infulted this country for the fake of indulging an undue and extravagant partiality for his native Ireland. Had this caution been given we should not have read thefe lines:-- How have thy wrongs, O Erin, wrung my breaft, ΤΟ To explain this imperial place we have a note, (p. 78) which tells us, from O'Halloran, that Ireland does, and England does hot, rank as a free nation in Europe: beccaufe, forfooth, England was conquered by the Romans and Saxons. But, if fo, is it not a ftill greater difability to have been conquered by the conquered? But our with is cordial and everlasting Union, to the utter abolition of all such abfurd diftinctions. This indifferent poem is followed by rather more interesting biographical notes. ART. 16. Ballads, by William Hayley, Efq. founded on Anecdotes relating to Animals, with Prints, defigned and engraved by William Blake: 12mo. 211 pp. 6s. Phillips. 1805. When Mr. Hayley lately published his "Triumph of Mufic," we ftudioufly forbore to give any opinion of the poetry. Unwilling to wound the feelings of a veteran writer, by faying what justice actually demanded, we left the general character of his poetry to fpeak for itfelf, and made neither application nor diftinction in the inftance before us. But forbearance itself may be worn out; and if Mr. H. or any other author, will go on publishing one thing worse than another, he muft at length be told the truth. We cannot fay better of these ballads, than that they are mere dotage. The highest place that fhould be affigned them, is the latter end of Mr. Phillips's catalogue, which records "inftructive and amufing books for young perfons of both fexes," and in this they must rank much lower than "The Book of Trades," and very much lower than "The Wonders of the Telescope" and "The Wonders of the Microfcope." The author fays indeed, "Virginibus puerifque Canto," but Virgines and pueri ufually mean young per fons nearly or quite marriageable, whereas his ballads are fit only, (if fit for any thing) for the nursery. Hear reader the nambypamby ftrain. "Of all the fpeechlefs friends of man Deferving from the human clan!! This feeling creature form'd to love, I fing of all e'er known to live And, glory, if my verfe may give, * Brit. Crit. xxv. 482, A dog A dog of many a fportive trick, P. I. So begins this curious collection, and fo it proceeds. The verfification throughout is flat and feeble, the fentiments affected or overstrained, the incidents often impoffible. A worse work, we believe, was never produced by a man of any literary fame. We fay this with regret, but it must be faid. The engravings are worthy of the verses. ART. 17. Poems By Robertus. 7 I 2mo. 128 PP. 75. In a modeft preface we are told that thefe Poems "are the "productions of a young man, who will be gratified if the lite 46 rary cenfors will allow them that merit which some few friends "have given them." We are not among thofe literary cenfors who would churlishly reprefs the flights of young poets, or re quire from their pens the correctness of experienced writers. Romantic love, and a gaiety not always fufficiently moral, will prevail in their compofitions, let fevere critics fnarl or fcold as they may. But, without feverity, we may venture to hint, that fubjects may be purfued too far, and that even a youthful poet should not, like fome ingenious writess of the prefent day, openly profefs himself the votary of fenfuality. We do not however deem the writer before us peculiarly blameable in this respect; nor would we cenfure him in other respects more feverely than he cenfures himself, when he admits that he has taken fome liberties "in the translations, and in the original pieces has fometimes been "too careless and hafty." Yet the former often have fpirit, and the latter a confiderable fhare of tenderness. In one refpect Robertas has been happier than most poetical lovers. He has, it feems, obtained the beloved object of his wifhes and the subject of the greater part of his amatory poetry. Many of the tranflations are from Anacreon; and it conveys no cenfure on this writer, to fay, they are confiderably inferior to thofe of Mr. Moore. Of his original Poems we felect the fol. lowing as a fpecimen. It is not, perhaps, quite the best, but its brevity allows us to give it entire. To Charlotte and Augufta, on her Birth-Day. The fullen winter's blaft that keenly blows, And And rudely fcatter'd all its bloom away, Where Peace, where Friendship, and where Virtue dwell! For every day I feel a warmer fire!" P. 107. Upon the whole, we would by no means difcourage this youthful writer, fhould he continue his purfuit of poétical diftinction; but, when he publishes again, we would recommend more care in the selection of his pieces, and more attention to their moral tendency. ART. 18. Poems to Thefpit. By Hugh Downman. 8vo. 106 pp. 45, Cadell and Davies. 1805." When a poet fo well known, and of such established reputation, as Dr. Downman, prefents a work to the public, the most adviseable mode, perhaps, for a critic to purfue, is, to give a full and fair fpecimen of the author, without fubjoining many remarks of his own. The volume before us confifts entirely of poems of the amatory kind, addressed (as the title page informs us to a lady, under the name of Thefpia, and, for the most part, written in elegiac metre. They appear to have been compofed at an early period of life, and a few of them were published in the first and fecond editions of the author's poems, poems, The reft (if we rightly understand him) though printed, have not, till now, been published, but only prefented to his private friends. The warmth with which they have been received, and the praifes which they have obtained, induced him (as he further informs us) to difpenfe with a refolution once formed, of not fuffering them to be published during his life. Without enquiring whether the laudable partiality of friendship might not, in a certain degree, have influenced the opinions here alluded to, we will fubjoin the third Elegy (one of the few poems not in elegiac metre) as a fpecimen of the work. Ah! whence my Thefpia, can that anguifh flow? That figh which from thy ftruggling bosom stole? Ah! fay my Thefpia, I conjure thee fay, |