We may just remark, that in The Scale of equal Parts, Shewing the Serviles and Radicals at one View, which is placed oppofite to the titlepage, is a very ingenious contrivance for exhibiting, in a fmall diagram, the form and claffification of the Hebrew letters. It is to be regretted, that the nun is placed among the radicals, instead of the ferviles, which feems its proper place.

We rather think, that the dage, in the gimel, in p. 20, is not eu phonic, but is meant to compenfate the be, and therefore comes under the fecond, and not the third rule. In p. 61, it might have been better not to fay, that pronouns compenfate the defect of the verb fubftantive; but that it is an idiom peculiar to the Hebrew, to make the fentence elliptical, by leaving out the verb fubftantive, as the author has more correctly stated it in p. 155. In p. 69, he omits to mention the dages forte, as a characteristic of the conjugation Hithpael, though he has properly noticed it in p. 101. In pp. 38, 39, in fpeaking of the rule for forming the plural of nouns feminine, he fhould rather have faid, when the he and the tau are radicals, they are not omitted in forming the plural.

We mention these as matters of small importance, and to fhow that, when we commend the whole of the work, it is not without having examined its parts.

ART. 42. Eight Meteorological Journals of the Years 1793 to 1800. Kept in London, by William Bent. To which are added, Obfervations on the Difeafes in the City, and its Vicinity. Also an Introduction; including Tables from Eight preceding Journals of the greatest, leaft, and mean Height of the Barometer and Thermometer, in every Month of the Years 1785 to 1792. 8vo. 15s. neatly bound, Bent, Paternofter, Row. 1801.

We have regularly noticed thefe Journals from their commencement, and have seen occafion to praife both the plan and the execution. The collective tables now publifhed, to complete the volume, give 29,88 as the mean state of the barometer for the whole period, and 50,8 for that of the thermometer, without doors. The greatest height of the barometer is 30,68, and the leaft 28,57. The greatest height of the thermometer 87, and the least 11,5. So ufeful a work will doubtless be continued.

ART. 43. Practical Philofophy of focial Life; or, the Art of converfing with Men: after the German of Baron Knigge. In Two Volumes. By P. Will, Minifter of the Reformed German Congregation in the Savoy. Crown 8vo. IOS. Cadell and Davies. 1799.

Our previous knowledge of fome part of Baron Knigge's Life, gave us little inclination to ftudy his "Practical Philofophy." His errors and eccentricities are very curiously painted by himself in his Introduction; he seems to us exactly the Old Man and his Afs in the table, trying to please all, and therefore offending all. The part he took in the pernicious fociety of illuminati, is mentioned only in general terms,

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PRIT. CRIT. VOL, XVII, MARCH, 1801.

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by himself or his editor. Behold then the picture of the philofopher drawn by himfelf:

"I was very young when I first stepped upon the theatre of the world, and the Court. My temper was lively, reftlefs, and easy to be affected, and my blood warm: the feeds of many violent paffions lay concealed within me; I had been fomewhat fpoiled in my first education, and had too great attention paid my little perfon, which induced me to demand too much confideration from thofe around me.-My livelinefs caufed me to commit many inconfiftent actions; I was precipitate in every thing, always doing either too much or too little, ever being too late or too foon; becaute, invariably, I was about to commit a folly or to retrieve one. I generally miffed my aim from omitting to act upon a fimple plan. When first I appeared at Court, I was too carelefs, too open, and unfufpicious, which did me a great deal of injury. I refolved however to become a complete courtier; my conduct grew artificial, and I loft the confidence of good men; I was too pliant, and this deprived me of external regard, internal dignity, and felf-confiftency. Being diffatisfied with myfelf, I grew referved and fingular. This created aftonishment; my fociety was courted, and my fociability revived again. I renewed my former connections, discarded my fingularities, and the charm which my feclufion from the world had created, and which had attracted the attention of others, difappeared at once. At another period I lafhed the follies of the times with fome degree of wit; I was now dreaded, not beloved; this grieved me; and being defirous to repair this lofs, I proved myself a harmless being, difplayed kind and benevolent fentiments, and showed that I was incapable of hurting and perfecuting others.-But what was the · confequence? Every one of thofe I had offended by my former con, duct, or who imagined themfelves the object of my farcafnis, abufed me on feeing me defend myfelf only with blunted weapons, which could do no harm. At other times, when my fatirical humour was encouraged by the applaufe of jovial companions, I lafhed great and little foods without mercy; the wits laughed; but those that were wifer thook their heads, and treated me with coldnefs. Being defirous of fhowing that my humour was not tinctured with malice, I ceased ridiculing others, and palliated every folly. This however made me appear to fome a fimpleton, while others fufpected me of hypocrify." P. xxv, &c.

A more complete picture of a weak and frivolous mind than the author bere draws, and goes on to finish as his own, we never faw. The precepts of the author are, in our opinion, proportionably frivolous; nor can we think that the English public will feel any gratitude to the tranflator for providing fuch an inftructor for them. We cannot account for the tafle of the German public in taking off several editions; but we can answer for it, that the experiment will not fucceed in England. We have little notion that a frivolous man cau blunder himself into fuperior wifdom. What will the reader think of thefe fpecimens ?

Old uncles and aunts, particularly fuch as are married, are very apt to fcold, to vent their gouty and hyfteric humours, at their nephews and nieces." Vol, i, F. 180.

. When

"When you have long journies to make on foot, a glafs of water on fetting out in the morning, and a difh of coffee, and fome bread and butter after two hours walk, will prove very wholesome and refreshing." Vol. ii, p. 105.

It is not adviseable to reft under a tree within a small distance of the high road; for at fuch places beggars are used to reft and leave vermin." Ibid.

Here are difcoveries!

ART. 44. The Life, Adventures, and Opinions, of Col. George Hanger. Written by Himself. To which is added, Advice to the Prelates and Legiflators, how to correct the Immorality and Jacobinifm of the prefent Age, and at the fame Time increase the Revenue.-Advice to the lovely Cyprians, and to the Fair-Sex in General, how to pass their Lives in future to their better Satisfaction, and to enjoy with Difcretion the Three Cardinal Virtues.-On Matrimony, Compulfive Wedlock, and on Polygamy-On the Mifery of Female Proftitution.-The Hiftory of the lovely Egyptia, the Pamela of Norwood, and Paragon of the Egyptian Race; the Author's Marriage with her, and her cruel Infidelity and Elopement with a Travelling Tinker.-And a Hiftory of the King's Bench Prifon, written by the Author during his Cuftody under the Marfbal of that Prifon, defcriptive of the Miferies endured by the Prifoners, and the extravagant Expence incident to their Confinement. Two Volumes. 8vo. 148. Debrett. 1801.

Very foolish, and often very profligate. But the general example, compared with a few of the fentiments of the author, may ferve to fhow, that even fome good qualities, without common prudence, will not fave the circumstances from ruin, or the character from degradation.

ART. 45. 1. Account of a Plan for the better fupplying the City of Edinburgh with Coal; together with an Examination of the Merits of the Two principal Lines, pointed out for the intended Canal between Edinburgh and Glafgow. By Henry Stenart, Efg. LL. D. F. R. and A. S. E. 8vo. 142 pp. 142 pp. Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh; Robin1800.

fons, London.

ART. 46. 2. Obfervations on the Account of a Plan for the better fupplying the Cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow with Coal. By an old Coal-Mafter. Hill, Edinburgh. 8vo. 63 pp. 1800.

ART. 47. 3. Supplement to an Account of a Plan, for the better fupplying the City of Edinburgh with Coal; comprising an Examination of an anonymous Pamphlet, lately published, under the Signature of an old Coal-Mafter. By Henry Steuart, LL. D. F. R. S. and F.A. S. E Svo. 204 pp. Hill, Edinburgh; Longman and Rees, London. It has long been propofed to cut, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, a canal of fuch a depth, as to let goods be tranfported, by water, ih` light veffels, from the one city to the other. The expence of fuch a Canal must be very great; but it appears not to have alarmed our

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northern neighbours; for they have actually had the country furveyed, through which it muft pafs, and are now deliberating on the merits of the different lines which the furveyors have pointed out. Their choice indeed feems to be limited to two lines, of which one passes by a place called the Batten-mofs, and the other by the town of Falkirk. The object of Dr. Steuart's firft publication is to prove, that the former of thefe is by much the more eligible line for the intended canal; not merely becaufe it is the fhorter, but because it opens a communication by water to one of the richest coal districts in Great Britain, or perhaps in the whole world. Our limits permit us not to give even an abstract of his proofs; but it is our duty to declare, that they fully warrant the author to fum up the general character of the rival lines in the following well-written paragraph:

Suppofing both to hold forth a fund, in which prudence or fpeculation would willingly adventure, like moft rivals, they certainly would attract by very oppofite qualities. In the Batten-Mofs line, coal conftitutes the primary object; in the northern track, it is enumerated at best among the fecondary articles of trade. The first enriches an uncultivated region; the laft traverfes a populous district. Thus, while manufactures are improved by the one, by the other population and manufactures are produced. The merit of the first lies in directnefs, though attended with lockage; that of the laft in expedition, though retarded by circuity. The one vifits only the skirts of the coal diftricts; the other penetrates into the heart of the country. The utility of the northern track terminates in itself; the BattenMofs line would give birth to future navigators." He might have added, as a fair deduction from his own premifes, that the benefits to be derived from the northern line must for ever be confined to the cities of Edinburgh and Glafgow, with the track of country immedi ately lying between them; while thofe which would infallibly flow from a canal in the Batten-Mofs line, would inftantly extend to the caft coast of England, and very foon fpread over all Europe.

The anonymous Coal-Mafter, whatever may be his own conviction, labours hard to perplex his readers, and by clumfy and petulant wit he diverts their attention from the force of Dr. Steuart's reafoning. He gravely contends, that a stratum of coal five feet thick is of more value than one of equal extent and of double that thickness; that coal lodged fifty fathoms below the furface of the ground can be brought to market at very little more expence to the proprietor than coal lodged at the depth of only ten fathoms; and that the carriage of heavy goods by water, especially of coals (which in this writer's apprehenfion have fome myfterious quality inconceivable by us) must be more expensive than by land, if the diftance do not greatly exceed fix miles! We can hardly fay that he reafons in fupport of thefe paradoxes; but he gives a long detail, wrapt in obfcurity by the perpetual ufe of technical language, of the comparative expences of deep and fhallow pits, and of what he calls "meoft below ground." In fupport of his opinion, that coals may be carried at lefs expence by land than by water, he exhorts the coal-mafters in the vicinity of Edinburgh to take this department into their own hands, and lays down, at fome length, a plan, by which he affures them they may retain the trade of that city to

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themselves, in oppofition to the proprietors of all coal which fhall be traufported to it, by the intended canal! Of the obvioufnefs of his plan, as well as of its fuccefs, he is fo confident," that it may appear ftrange," he fays, "that it has never been attempted; but when a moderate profit is made, there is as little tempation as neceflity for efforts of this kind; but that does not make their fuccefs the lefs certain, when occafion requires them to be called forth and it must be a great confolation to the coal-mafters in the vicinity of Edinburgh to know, that` by a land-carriage of fix miles they can tranfport their coals to market at a lefs price than the freight duty alone of this Baited Drawcanfir Canal amounts to."

It must indeed appear very frange, that an obvious plan for leffening the price of coals to the confumer, and at the fame time increafing the profits of the coal-mafter, has not long ago been adopted by the proprietors of coal in the vicinity of Edinburgh; and Dr. Steuart, in his fecond publication, by putting the anonymous author's reasoning (if reafoning it can be called) into the mouths of the coal-owners of Mid-Lothian, exhibits them in a very ridiculous point of view.

"Dear friends of Edinburgh," they are made to fay, "in whofe happiness and profperity we are fo anxioufly interefted! While our prefent monopoly continues undisturbed, you fhall pay very handsomely for your coals: but should a competition arife, and you think seriously of leaving us for this Drawcanfir Navigation, rather than lofe your bufinefs, we wish, as a piece of friendship, to convince you, that we can deter our rivals, by lowering our price"!! This is a very fair view of the conduct of thefe coal-mafters, according to the ftatement of their anonymous advocate; but the statement Dr. Steuart demonftrates to be erroneous. By much patient inveftigation, much elegant wit, and fome keen farcafm, he points indeed all the weapons of the unknown Obferver against himself and his employers, the coal-owners; while he has completely convinced us, "that London itself, as well as every other fea-port on the east coast of England, is almoft equally interelted as Edinburgh, in the fuccefs of the purpofed navigation by the Batten-Moss. Whatever may be the prejudices once entertained in the fouth against the Scotch coal, they are of fuch a nature as very quickly to be done away. Were they much better founded, than by the most competent judges they are now acknowledged to be, the prodigious faving that might be made, by adopting this coal as a fuel, and the great productive capital which could, in confequence, be applied to other objects, would be far more than fufficient to preponderate in the fcale. To perfons unaccustomed to confider the fubject, 36,000', a-year, which Edinburgh clearly would fave, may perhaps feem, at firit fight, an exaggerated ftatement; yet it is pretty certain, under judicious regulations, that a faving, even fuperior to this, might alfo be derived to a greater metropolis." Of the truth of this affertion the au thor has convinced us; and we recommend thefe three pamphlets to our readers, not only as being (the first and latt of them) extremely well-written, but as treating with perfpicuity a great national object, of at least as much importance to the fouthern as to the northern inhabitants of this ifland; an object, for the attainment of which, were we poffelfed of wealth, we fhould beg leave to be permitted to enrol ourfelves among the fubfcribers.

ART.