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In the Edinburgh Farmers Magazine, for the month of April 1801, the annual average consumpt of grain in Britain is estimated at 30 millions of quarters. The proportion consumed by all the members of the community, not dis rectly employed in agriculture, is stated at about seven and a-half mil. hons of quarters, or about one fourth of the total consumpt; while the quantity consumed in brewing, distilling, and for horses not employed in agriculture,

is reckoned at nearly 11 millions of quarters; or above one third part of

the total consumpt.

P. 70.

This is certainly astonishing; nor had we any idea of so enormous an amount. At the same time we may observe, that even supposing no error in the calculation, the beer and ale, in the production of which at least half the malt is probably employed, forms, from its nutritive quality, an important addition to the national food. When we deduct it, not more than a sixth part of the annual produce will be found to go to the production of whisky, which, however, is doubtless a very liberal allowance.

After these remarks on the subject of distillation in general, we shall say a few words on the circumstance # which first led our author into the present train of speculation. This he states to be a resolution of the county of Aberdeen to exert their utmost efforts to procure the repeal of an act passed for the prevention of private distillation. This resolution is understood to express the sentiments, not of the county of Aberdeen only, but of most gentlemen of landed property in the north of Scotland. Private, we understand to be only another word for illegal and smuggled distillation. Now we decidedly agree with our author, that if any application is to be made, it should be to legalize this trade, and not to protect the offenders in its illegal exercise; and that it must have a bad effect, that the leading men in the county should thus hold themselves out

the supporters of an illicit traffic.

Whether there is any thing in the local circumstances of the country, and in the insuperable aversion of its inhabitants to sugar-whisky, which may entitle them to be exempted from the general prohibition of malt, we shall not pretend to say; but we certainly conceive that the exemption, if it be given, ought to be full and free, and not to consist in a weak connivance at irregular proceedings equally hurtful to the revenue and the subject.

II. Cœlebs in search of a Wife; comprehending Observations on Domestic Habits and Manners, Religion and Morals. 2 volumes. London. Cadell and Davies ; 1809.

THE narrative contained in this

engaging book is shortly this: A young gentleman of four-andtwenty, who possesses a handsome fortune, and whose property lies in the county of Westmoreland, after being deprived of his parents, who seem to have been persons of great excellence and worth, naturally finds his situation to be solitary, and therefore sets himself to look about for a person, who may become a fit companion for him through life. Keeping steadily in his mind certain important rules, which he had received from his parents for his direction in the proper choice of a wife, and resolving to abide by a request which his father had made before his death, that he would delay fixing his affections until he had consulted his most intimate friend, Mr Stanley of Stanley Grove, in Hampshire, Coelebs sets off from the Priory, intending, after seeing London, to spend some time at the house of this Mr Stanley and his family, a visit, which he was to have made in company with his father, had not the hand. of disease and of death interposed.After remaining for a considerable time in London, in the house of Sir

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John Belfield, and meeting with a great variety of modish females, whose characters are particularly delineated, and after being introduced to a clergyman, who becomes a principal person in the narrative, being the rector of the parish in which Mr Stanley lives, and from whom Colebs receives a full account of the engaging family at Stanley Grove; he repairs thither, and is received with all the kindness and affection which could possibly be shewn to the son of a much valued and departed friend. Mr Stanley's family consisted of his lady and six engaging daughters, and really the account which is given of the inhabitants, and the whole domestic economy of the Grove, is so very pleasing and attractive, that well, we think, might good old Edwards exclaim to his master, "OSir, we are got into the right house at last." Lucilla, the eldest of the Misses Stanley, soon becomes the heroine of the story, an event by no means to be wondered at, when all the circumstances of the case are taken into consideration. This young lady seems to have united in her person so many natural good qualities and solid attainments, so much genuine sense and valuable information, so much elegance and gentleness, together with a piety and benevolence, which doub. ly enhanced all her other properties, that every right-hearted young man, we are persuaded, must have entered with a lively interest into the acknowledgment which Celebs is compelled to make, that "before he was a "week at the Grove, his precautions “had vanished, his panoply was gone, "and yet he had not consulted Mr "Stanley." The deep impression, however, which had been produced upon his mind, soon impels him to make Mr Stanley acquainted with the state of his affections. This declaration is receiv. ed evidently with feelings of pleasure and approbation, although Mr Stanley seems to have considered it most prudent at the time to decline expressing

himself very freely in the matter.He requests that a month might pass, before his daughter was pointedly addressed upon the subject, during which period he wishes his young friend to continue at the Grove, and to take part in the exercises of the family; no doubt, that an opportunity might be afforded for ascertaining whether the attachment which had been declared by the one party was returned by the other. The rest of the book is chiefly occupied with an account of the principal occurrences of this momentous period, during which, Sir John Belfield and his lady arrive at the Grove, and become prominent characters in the history; and the reader is also introduced to several of the neighbouring gentry, who furnish the opportunity of a great deal of conversation on many most important subjects. At length, the eclaircissement is brought about by a very natural and interesting circumstance, and is certainly made with much delicacy and propriety. It is almost unnecesary to add, that matters are soon agreeably arranged, and the wedding,—that constant consummation of every good story,-is appointed to take place, but not until after three long, tedious months. This last circumstance is the only one, during the whole narrative, which can occasion a single uneasy feeling to the mind of the reader, and after all, we think every Coelebs will be well off, if he obtain his Lucilla with as little seeming difficulty as our hero did.

A circumstance comes out towards the conclusion, which fully explains the meaning of the injunction which had been laid upon Celebs by his father, that he should not make his choice, until Mr Stanley had been consulted. These two gentlemen had been long and intimately attached, and in one of those sacred hours which friends such as these sometimes spend in the society of each other,-hours, in which the heart opens, enlarges and

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expands into all the expressions of affection and esteem; when every thing like fear or suspicion, every thing like restraint or reserve is chased away by the overruling presence of unbounded confidence ;-hours, of which they only know something who have enjoyed the pure satisfaction which they afford; in one of these seasons, and even while Miss Stanley was yet in infancy, the idea had occurred to them, that the day might arrive, in which their families might become allied to each other, by the union of their childWithout allowing such a prospect as this, which was dependant upon so many events, over which they could have no controul, to take too fast a hold of their minds, it still appears to have been cherished with much fondness by the parents: nor do the young people seem to have been less delighted when it was made known to them. So very interesting a circumstance indeed as this, could not fail to give a double relish to that happiness, which had been so liberally poured into their lot. The marriage would take place towards the close of last year, so that we rejoice in the thought, that this young pair are now in the full enjoyment of conjugal and domestic felicity at the Priory.

Amongst the various classes of men, whose curiosity has been drawn to this work, there are some, who seem to have been agreeably disappointed by the perusal of it. From the title under which it appears at first, they were led to conjecture, that it was nothing better than another of those soft, senseless, and effeminate romances, which are so instrumental, thro' the medium of the circulating library, in perverting the morals and the taste of the rising generation. Instead of this, they have found it to contain an illustration of certain rules for the regulation of human opinions and conduct, incorpora ted with a very interesting story. There are others again, who have been equally disappointed, but with

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feelings somewhat of a different kind. They, on the other side, expected to be gratified with an entertaining no vel; instead of which, they aver, that they meet with little else than religion from beginning to end, at least, that the alternate chapters are nothing but a tedious course of theological discussions. We stay not at present to consider the opinions of this description of men, with whose slashing mode of procedure we are certainly, however, not more disposed to quarrel, than with the practice of those individuals, (and the number of them is by no means small, especially in the female world,) who have adopted the system of being well pleased with every thing that they meet with, be it good, or bad, or indifferent; who have not, therefore, a single fault to find with the present publication, and who can include in one short sentence the fullest character which they find it possible to give of it. of it. We have but little patience for this summary manner of going to work, because we have an idea, that it betrays either the existence of a weak and insipid mind, or the prevalence of an inattentive and indolent habit of reading. For our part, therefore, we would have all the readers of

the

present work to enter a little more particularly into the substance of it, to institute a strict and scrupulous enquiry into the different principles which it contains; and to form an estimate for themselves, of the value of those remarks, with which they will here meet, on the important subjects which it professes to discuss, the remarks on human character, on female education, on personal accomplishments, and on domestic management. And we would even have them to find as much fault as they please, provided they do not exercise this liberty at random, and are equally disposed, on the other hand, to profit by what they cannot but approve, by permitting it to obtain a just influence over their minds. If the book be exami

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ned in this manner, we venture to say, that it will in general be productive of very essential benefit to the world. From these hints to the readers, we shall now turn to the work itself, and to the author of it, and shall proceed to state the opinion which we have formed with regard to both.

There is no expedient, perhaps, to which authors have recourse, in order to draw the attention of mankind to their works, which in general is more likely to be successful, than that of ushering them into the world, under a quaint and fanciful title. This circumstance, however, it must be confessed, is in general a suspicious symtom. At first sight, it seems somewhat to resemble those sly paragraphs in our newspapers, (of which we have of late been gratified with a plentiful variety,) where the curiosity of the unsuspecting reader is excited by some remarkable fact or some striking observation which appears in limine, but which only serves to carry him presipitately into the heart of a lottery juggle.

Very different, however, is the case with the work now under review, although it is certainly presented to the public somewhat in disguise. Instead of being a wily bait to catch and to destroy, it is in reality a wholesome and salutary panacea, the plain ingredients of which the taste of most men might not probably be brought to relish, until it has been mixed up with other materials, which render it more pleasant to the palate, without diminishing its virtue. We mean not indeed to say, that its efficacy will be felt in the experience of all to whom it is administered. There are certain constitutions so much damaged, as to be proof against all medicine. There are some diseases, to which there is no antidote whatever. Still, however, it is the duty of a faithful physician to do his utmost for a suffering world, and when contending against the power of a dangerous epidemic, he must

consent to gild the pill for every patient who refuses to receive it in its simple state. In plain language, we desire to give the author of the present work full credit for the motive with which we conceive it to have been undertaken; that of introducing into circles, where probably it never would otherwise have found its way, a fair, candid, and complete view of some of the most important truths of Christianity, and of the influence which they have upon the happiness of human beings, when they become the great and leading principles of their daily conduct.

At the same time, it is necessary to qualify in some respects this general opinion. We fear that the plan of mixing up religion with materials, with which, in the minds of the majority of readers, it will be found difficult to make it coalesce, is an experiment attended with considerable hazard.Not that these materials and the principles of religion are at all incongruous in themselves; not that many individuals may not derive benefit from their being interwoven with each other in a narrative of this kind; but what we are afraid of is this, that a work such as the present, being generally considered altogether as a common-place book, and passing through the hands of the public merely as part of their light reading, the character of those great truths of Christianity, which are here brought into view, may be considerably injured.Granted as it must be, that many individuals will naturally be led to read the book from 'motives far removed from those of a serious cast; and supposing for the sake of example, that not a few young persons will be impelled to the perusal, from hearing that it contains the account of an interesting courtship; is there not some risk, we would ask, that these religious truths will be bandied about amongst them in a manner which but ill accords with their solemn and important nature? If we may be allowed to use

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There are certain feelings of solemn and devout reverence with which all religious concerns ought ever to be connected, and from which it is of peculiar importance that they should on no occasion be separated in the young mind. Nor is this a doctrine which consider it unimportant to inculcate in the present day, and in this country, where Christian knowledge is perhaps more generally circulated than in any other nation in the world, but where we have innumerable opportunities of seeing religion treated as if it were altogether a matter of ordinary interest, with far less respect at least

than is its due.

. Let it be remembered, however, that the effect which we have now described, and which we shall exceedingly deprecate, if it shall in any case result from this publication, is by no means a necessary one. It is in the power of every reader to guard himself against it; and these observations perhaps may not, in this view, be altogether without their use.

The present work being presented to the public in an anonymous shape, their curiosity has naturally been much excited with regard to the author. They will certainly not be dissappointed to understand, that it is now acknowledged to be the production of Mrs Hannah More,-a name already well known in the republic of letters. There are indeed various circumstances which had led us in our own minds, to ascribe the work to this excellent lady, previous to the avowal which has been made upon the subject. In the first place, there are Certain striking features of resemblance

between this and her former publications, both with respect to its composition and substance. Her style of writing possesses a peculiar union of copiousness and conciseness, with which we have long ago been struck. She has a certain short nervous manner of expressing her thoughts; a sententious and energetic way of contrasting the opposite qualities of objects, so as most fully to describe their peculiar nature. Even in her poetry this characteristic is retained. But our ideas will perhaps be better understood by a few examples. The following are fair specimens of the style of writing to which we have alluded:

"I wanted examples which should influence me to act, as well as proofs which should incline me to believe; something which would teach me what to do, as well as what to think. I wanted exemplifications as well as precepts. I wanted from beholding the effect to refer back to the principles. I wanted arguments more palpable, and less theoretic."

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My former friends and acquaintance had been decent and regular; but they had adopted religion as a form, and not as a principle. It was compliance, and not conviction. It was conformity to custom, and not the persuasion of the heart."

Again, "Economists of a higher class execute the well ordered plan as an indispensable duty, but not as a superlative merit. They have too much sense to omit it, but they have too much taste to talk of it. It is their business, not their boast. The effect is produced, but the hand which accomplishes it is The mechanism is set at not seen.

work, but it is behind the scenes.The beauty is visible, the labour is kept out of sight."

In like manner, the Antinomian's account of Dr Barlow: "He means well, but knows little.-He sees something, but feels nothing.-Mor argument than unction.-Too much reasoning, and too little religion; a little light and no heat."

In the following instance, however,

We

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