hands and feet alone remain fmall and flender. As is the external form, fo are the irritability and the economy of the fluids within. The blood circulates more flowly, the heart beats more languidly: hence the defire of the fexes, which rifes to fuch a height with the increafing warmth of other countries, is here lefs violent. It awakens not till late; the unmarried live chately; and the women almoft require compulfion, to take upon them the troubles of a married life. They have but few children; whence they compare the amorous and prolific Europeans to dogs. In their connubial ftate, as in their general way of life, a calm fobriety, and an habitual ftillness of the paffions, prevail. Infenfible of thofe irritations which a warmer climate, and more volatile animal fpirits produce, they live and die peaceable and patient; contented from indifference, and active only from neceffity. The father educates his fon to that apathy which he esteems the grand virtue and happiness of life; and the mother fuckles her in-, fant for a length of time, with all the profound, tenacious affection of animal maternity. What Nature has denied them in irratibility and elafticity of fibre, fhe has given them in permanent indefatigable ftrength; and has clothed them with that warming obesity, that abundance of blood, which render their very breath fuffocating hot (fic) in clofe habitations." P. 29. The defcription of the perfons and manners of the Greenlanders is taken, we are told, from Herder's outlines of a philofophy of the hiftory of man. The rhetorical ornaments, the father educating his children to that apathy which he efteems the grand virtue and happiness of life; and the mother fuckling the infant with the profound, tenacious affection of animal maternity," are probably the additions of the lecturer. Before the child is scarcely two months old, the author says, in the fecond Lecture, "I have often had the mortification to obferve, that over-wife nurses begin to try experiments on its legs. As the bones, however, have not yet acquired fufficient firmnefs, it may be easily conceived what injury muft be done to the formation and growth of the child, by attempts equally prepofterous and detrimental." P. 55. But this is conjuring up errors, in order to fhow our skill in combating them. It is certainly by no means cuftomary, in this country, to put children on their feet at this agc. They have generally, in fact, long clothes, which effectually prevent But he goes on to say, the nurfes from attempting it. "There are other very injudicious cuftoms, which deferve fevere animadverfion, I allude to the ftrange habit of taking very young children to places of public worship or amufement; fending them to fchools, with the view of making them fedate, or confining them, efpecially during cold weather, in hot and fuffocating rooms. By fuch deftructive means, the foundation is laid for that plethoric habit, which difpofes them either to apoplectic or eruptive diforders, to convulfions, pally, palfy, epilepfy, in fhort, to that very general irritability of the fyftem which is the forerunner of confumption." P. 55. Here we have a long catalogue of difeafes, and of the moft dreadful kind, laid to the charge of caufes that are certainly inadequate to their production. It is by no means ufual for perfons in that rank of life, who were probably at the author's Lectures, or who are likely to fee his book, to take their children, when very young, either to places of worship, or of public amufement; and we believe it would be difficult to produce inftances of epilepfy, palfy, apoplexy, or confumption, having been produced by thofe caufes, or even by fending them too early to school, although that is an error of great magnitude, and productive of much mifchief. In the third Lecture, the author profeffes to give strictures on several modern fyftems of education, but his ftrictures are entirely confined to the fyftem, long fince exploded, of Rouffeau, of which he feems on the whole to entertain a favourable opinion. To parts, however, he objects. One of these parts, we will felect for our readers, with the lecturers obfervations. In order," he says, "to point out the merits, as well as the particular defects of this fyftem, it will be neceflary to advert to those parts of ROUSSEAU's pofitive injunctions which require to be explained, modified, or totally relinquished. "1. On the fubject of Nurfing and Suckling: I believe this effential duty has never been more forcibly inculcated, and brought home to the feelings of the maternal heart, than by this judicious Genevese. But, it deferves to be remarked, that healthy mothers only ought to fuckle their children, while thofe who are fickly, paffionate, fretful, or oppreffed with grief, fubject to fits of anger, epilepfy, fcrophula, confumption, and other diseases, should rather employ nurses, than ingraft their mifery on the innocent offspring. Nor is it proper, that mothers who either cannot or will not comply with the rules of a fuitable diet and regimen, should transfer their irregularities to infants." P. 85. That women, who are fubject to epilepfy, fcrofula, or confumption, fhould not ordinarily be allowed to fuckle their offspring, partly on their own accounts, and partly on that of their children, will be readily admitted; but that fretful, or even paflionate women, thould be reftricted, would anfwer little purpose, unless they were allo prevented from marrying. On the Treatife itself, to which the Lectures are introductory, we shall alfo content ourselves with making fome general obfervations. On a fubject fo interefting, and which has exercifed the thoughts and the pèns of the most ingenious men from the earliest periods, it cannot be fuppofed much of novelty can be advanced. On the diet of children, on exercife, cleanliness, and on the mode of alluring them to receive the the rudiments of education, the obfervations are in general just and proper; and though not new, yet, as they are too much neglected in practice, publishing them from time to time, in new forms, may have its ufe. Many of the obfervations, however, are fuch as we by no means accede to. Some of the ftrictures also are against vices or errors in the management of children, that are totally unknown in this country; and through the whole book, there are abundant opportunities of obferving how very far the middling and lower ranks of the people in this country are advanced, in civilization, beyond those of the fame ranks in Germany. Books written, therefore, to instruct the people in Germany, either as to their medical, political, or moral management, and which may be perfectly adapted to that country, should be abridged, and not entirely tranflated, to adapt them for the fame purpofes here. We the more readily make this obfervation, as there feems at prefent almost as great an eagerness to introduce German medicine as German plays into this country. We doubt alfo whether the true ftate of medical knowledge in Germany will be obtained, by naturalizing all their most voluminous writers, who though they decorate each other with the titles of the celebrated, the illuftrious, &c. and are so denominated by their tranflators, yet they may not be the most enlightened, judicious, and rational practitioners in that country; any more than the followers of the Brunonian fyftem, reprefent the real ftate of medical knowledge here; and yet, from the zeal with which their works are diffeminated, their increafing multitudes, and the pompous eulogiums they beftow on each other, they may probably be fo received. We fhall close our account of this volume, with laying before our readers a paffage or two from the Treatife, which may fatisfy them of the propriety of the obfervations we have made. "On fome injurious Practices in the Feeding of Children. "It is neceffary that mothers fhould be made acquainted with those customs and abufes, which are practised by nurses and fervants, that they may be enabled to avoid or prevent them. I think it a duty in cumbent on me to requeft their attention to the following obfervations, from which they will discover many latent caufes of disease, and early death of their children. "1. All veffels in which their food is prepared, or out of which they are fed, must be kept as clean as poffible. The confequences arifing from uncleanlinefs and inattention, are far more confiderable and dangerous to children than to adults; for a very fmall portion of any pernicious fubftance which is fuffered to remain in the utensils, or mixed with their food, is fufficient to occafion indifpofition, or may even endanger their lives." P. 270. This is all judicious and proper; but the following account of the practice of the poor peasants in Germany, would difgrace a Hottentot. 3. One of the moft difgufting cuftoms is the fucking bag, which is given to a child for the double purpofe of nourishing and compofing it. Many a poor mother will tear a rag from an old shirt, or a clout, which the has found, perhaps in the street, and which may contain the remains of a venereal contagion: of this she makes a fmall bag, which is filled with bread, milk and fugar, and then given to the child to fuck. If the infant happens to drop this rag on the ground, it is prefented again, though covered with dirt: a number of flies fettle upon it when the child is alone, which but the moment before may have quitted a faucer of poifon. Nor are thefe the only bad confequences: the bread contained in this bag turns four, and the child may fometimes fwallow the whole rag, and be choaked by it. The gums become fore by the acidity of this mixture, and the points of the newly protruding teeth are blunted, become loofe, black, and fall out: the child is at length afflicted with various eruptions in the mouth; and thus the basis is laid for that terrible disorder, the thrush. "This abominable custom, alas! fill continues in various parts of Germany; where the fuperftitious nurfes are firmly of opinion, that it would be impoffible to rear up a child, without the use of this rag; and no perfuafions of the Faculty can induce them to relinquish fo mifchievous a practice." P. 271. There are fome useful observations on the form of the breeches worn in moft parts of Europe, which the author thinks may fometimes occafion ruptures; and, on the other hand, fome on the effects of fondling children (fee p. 110) which, we think, ought not to have been admitted in a popular publication. ART. VII. Richard the Firft. A Poem, c. By Sir J. B. Burges. (Concluded from p. 229 of this Volume.) WHEN Blondel has afcertained that his royal master lives, and is imprifoned in Trivallis, the particulars of his return are fuppreffed by the author; but the news of the difcovery he has made is quickly fpread throughout the kingdom. We remarked, in a paffage cited before, a fplendid and appofite fimile. Thefe illuftrations belong decidedly to the belt ftores of the higher poetry, and in these we fhall find Sir J. B. greatly excel. His comparifons are original and picturefque, drawn from obje&s fuited to poetical representation, and ufually wellapplied to the purpose of his narrative. At this period of poetry, poetry, it is neither a small, nor yet a common, merit to produce original fimiles. We have feen this fpecies of writing abufed, by the introduction of long and accumulated comparifons, perfectly unlike the objects compared ; and this abufe was ridiculed with fingular humour and fuccefs in the Loves of the Triangles; but we do not recollect to have feen in any modern poetry fuch a variety of judicious, and yet new fimiles, as in this Poem of Richard. They meet us again early in the Fourth Book. Thus the affembling of the Vaffals at the call of the Barons, is compared to the evening call of the Alpine Shepherds. "As when, at eve's approach, the Alpine swain They own their mafter's voice, and feek with him their home." Soon after, the fpreading of joy among the populace is compared to the catching of fire among dry ftubble. "Th' affembled croud the welcome tidings hail'd; And tranfport wild and extacy prevail'd. And, while around its fplendour it displays, We remark continually, as we proceed in the Poem, a very fingular skill and command of verfification, in varying the paufes, and diftribution of the ftanza; producing undoubtedly a variety of cadence by no means ufual in English poetry; thus, B. IV, St. 46. "In me," and as he fpake his helm he rais'd, ་་ Pembroke, your friend and comrade lov'd behold." In the ftanza preceding, a fpeech of Pembroke's breaks in, without preparation, at the fifth line. "Urg'd by a bafe and moft unknightly deed," Cried Pembroke," and our captive king to aid." The 61ft ftanza opens with a fpeech, fimilarly unprepared." "When |